Pauline held the kids closer, and leaned back into Carlos’ arm. The whole gang. Could she ever have imagined, just a month or two ago, that she’d be looking into a future where she had a family—a mate and children—and a real pack? All together?
It was hard to believe, but here it was, warm weights in her lap, leaning against her side, wrapped around her shoulders. All together.
Epilogue: Three months later
Pauline
“Quick,” Carlos hissed, slipping into the bedroom in their new house and closing the door behind him. “Troy’s off on the playdate, Drew’s out with Eva, and Val’s asleep. We have a very short window.”
Pauline laughed as he caught her up in his arms and transported her to the bed with all reasonable speed. “Are you sure Val’s asleep?”
“Totally, one-hundred-percent sure,” Carlos said firmly.
Val had recently started refusing to nap. Pauline wasn’t sure if it was a natural developmental progression, or some result of the tumultuous living situation she’d had for a while. Either way, it was always a good thing when she fell asleep during the day—fewer meltdowns in the evening, for one thing.
For another...”Well, then,” Pauline said, in her best come-hither tone, “we’d better get down to business.”
“Way ahead of you.” Carlos was in fact getting her jeans stripped off, his thumb stroking roughly over her clit through her panties. Pauline shivered, biting back a moan, and hauled him forward.
“Come on, come on—”
How long had it been? A week, maybe. Three kids was a lot of kids, and with Val’s erratic sleep schedule, and getting the community center off the ground, there had been a lot of nights where the only thing either of them wanted to make love to was sweet, sweet sleep.
Carlos was busy with his fly, so Pauline tugged her panties off, shivering at the breath of air between her legs. She was already wet, aching for the feeling of her mate inside her.
Carlos kissed her fiercely, pushing her back on the bed—both of them still half-dressed, stealing away in silence like they were teenagers. Pauline giggled with delicious joy at it all. Carlos didn’t ask her what was funny—maybe he already knew—just kissed her again and thrust into her in one long, gorgeous slide.
Pauline’s laugh fell off into a moan. Quiet, she reminded herself, and bit her lip, focusing on the hot expanse of man in her arms. Carlos was so big, and it was never more apparent than when they were in bed. He seemed to surround her with himself, until she was breathing him in, feeling his heartbeat as though it were her own.
Carlos groaned quietly as she clenched around him, luxuriating in the thickness of him inside her. He moved, stroking over all of her sensitive spots, and Pauline shuddered and bit his shoulder to keep from making any noise.
She could feel the tremor go through him as she bit down—did he like that? Experimentally, she tried it again. This time, his hips jerked forward and she could feel the groan rumbling through his chest.
“That’s good,” he breathed.
Well. Who said people’s sex lives got stale after they had kids? “Noted,” Pauline breathed back, and made sure to dig her fingernails in hard when he thrust in again. He shuddered and sped up, getting a hand between them to rub her clit.
He knew exactly the right way to touch her—the hard pressure she liked, the way he could slide his finger all the way down to where they were joined, and she’d scramble to hang on, to stay quiet. Pauline bit him again, loving the salt-warm taste of him, the heft and strength of him in her arms, and the feel of his cock inside her and his hand, so confident, knowing her inside and out.
He thrust in deep, hard, with his fingers circling over her clit once—twice—and climax ripped through her, orgasm darkening her vision, ringing in her ears. She panted for breath as she clenched around him, wet and shivery and weak with pleasure.
Carlos brought her through it, holding on with an effort that she could feel in the corded muscles of his shoulders, thrusting through her contractions and sending her up to dizzying heights, before the tremors finally started to subside. Then he let go. Pauline held him as he shook with climax, murmuring her name, holding her tight.
“I love you,” she whispered. “I love you so much.”
When he’d caught his breath, he pulled back and kissed her tenderly. “I love you, too. Pauline, you’re—”
A wail sounded through the house.
They froze, listening. Val wailed again, settling into a solidly upset cry.
Pauline fell back against the pillows. “Well, at least she waited until we were done.”
“Very thoughtful of her,” Carlos said, chuckling as he pulled out, slipping into the bathroom for a quick wash.
Pauline tried to pull her scattered atoms back together. “I can—”
“No, no, I got it. I’m more dressed.” He stepped out, clean and buttoned, with no evidence of what they’d just been doing. He dropped a kiss on her mouth on his way out of the bedroom.