Enlightened (33 page)

‘Oh!’ she gasped breathily, ‘Good, Nicholas, so good …’

Smiling smugly I continued with my gentle ministrations until both of her nipples were hardened peaks and she was arching her back, trying to force harder contact from me.

Rearing up I practically leapt from the bed in my sudden desperation to rid myself of my trousers. Kicking off my wedding shoes I pulled down my trousers and boxers in one go and after shedding my socks I was back on the bed, practically smothering Becky in hot kisses on every part of her flesh that I could reach.

Rebecca’s hands were roaming all over my back, leaving a tingling trail in their wake as her nails gently teased my skin. One hand began to skate around my hip and as she made contact with my throbbing cock I couldn’t help but gasp loudly and thrust into her warm palm. Christ, I was so close to losing it. The mixture of desire and lust in my system combined violently with my previous excitement from the day, not to mention my recent discovery of her crotchless knickers, and was driving me to a point of arousal so close to climax that I almost couldn’t cope with the touch of her fingers as she cupped me.

Taking both her wrists in one of my palms I removed her touch from my pulsing erection and shifted myself up slightly so I could pin them above her head. Rebecca looked slightly confused by my move so I gave her a shy smile, ‘I’m so close, baby; one squeeze from you would have sent me over the edge.’ I watched as she returned my smile, lust igniting in those beautiful green eyes as her wrists went loose and pliant in my grip and she raised her head and claimed my lips in a deep, passionate kiss.

Breaking our lips a few minutes later I felt marginally more in control and manoeuvred the tip of my erection to her warm opening. I released her wrists and her hands immediately went to my shoulders, and then making sure we had full eye contact I began to press my length into her until I was buried to the hilt. Her body felt like a hot velvet glove around my cock and I had to pause while I allowed my simmering arousal to dim slightly. Attached like this, so very intimately and gazing into each other’s eyes, it seemed the perfect moment to tell her just how much she meant to me. ‘I love you Rebecca,’ I murmured softly, ‘
Mrs Jackson
.’ I added with a grin.

‘I love you too, Nicholas. I’m so happy.’

‘You’re incredible. I’m going to cherish you every day for the rest of our lives,’ I vowed as I pulled out to the tip and thrust back in smoothly and firmly. Enough talking. Now it was time to express my love in a wholly different way. As hard as I tried to prolong things, I was just too aroused, too in love, to make this last for long and my careful, rhythmic thrusts soon evaporated into harder, more demanding movements as Becky clawed at my back and met every one of my thrusts with an upward movement of her own.

The room was soon filled with the scent of sweat and sex, and the air reverberated with the sounds of our heavy breathing as our naked flash slapped together repeatedly. ‘Nicholas … I’m close … together, please …’ Rebecca gasped, and I wasted no time in obliging my new wife as I thrust home hard and deep three more times, sparking her climax which in turn triggered my own as we both moaned and repeated each other’s names into the night.

Rolling over I cradled Rebecca’s replete body to my side and heard her sigh contentedly against my chest. ‘You’ve made me the happiest man alive today. I love you, Becky,’ I murmured again, before she had a chance to fall asleep.

‘Not as much as I love you,’ she said, saying the jokey little reply we used with each other. I knew she loved me, and I knew she always said she loved me more than I did her, but my heart was so full with feelings for this woman that it felt like it could burst, and I just couldn’t fathom how she could possibly feel more emotion than I did.

She was my everything. She always would be.

As I cradled Rebecca in my arms and felt her gradually fall asleep on me I couldn’t help but smile. I think she had a pretty good idea that I had been serious when I said that I would cherish her forever, but I intended to keep to that promise every single day, starting right now. What an utterly amazing day this had been. I literally couldn’t wait for morning so we could start the rest of our lives together.

Epilogue –Stella

‘Just one more push should do it!’ the midwife said from the bottom of the bed. One more frigging push and I was fairly convinced that I would split in half. ‘Come on, Stella, you can do it! One more!’ she said ridiculously cheerfully. I’d spent the best part of the last seven hours with this woman intermittently in between my legs, and I had to say, I now pretty much hated her cheery persona. I knew it was just an emotional response to the discomfort and pain I felt at the moment, but still, she’d clearly never given birth if she could refer to the ripping, heaving, heavy sensations in my lover half as ‘just one more push …’ 

When preparing for the birth I’d read an article that said most new borns are in a state of ‘quiet alertness’ in the first hour after birth and that it is the best time to start the bonding process. Mostly due to this advice we’d opted for a relatively drug-free birth, a decision I was starting to seriously question, but I was determined for my first ever interactions with my baby to be lucid. Gritting my teeth I forged on and followed my orders by clinging to Nathan’s sweat-soaked hand and screaming down half the hospital as I gave the biggest push I was capable of.

Two high-pitched cries rang out in the room, Nathan swore next to me, and then seconds later I saw the midwife holding a reddish-blue lump in her hands, covered in blood and what looked like cream cheese.
Ugh
. Well, that certainly wasn’t as glamourous as the Hollywood movies portrayed it, was it? ‘Mr and Mrs Jackson, you have beautiful baby boy,’ the midwife said with a flourish, ‘Let us just check him over and I’ll get him straight to you,’ she said as I craned my neck to try and see my son.
My son.
Glancing at Nathan I saw him looking equally as shocked as me with his eyes fixed on our son.
Our son.
We were parents now. Holy shit. This was all going to take some getting used to.

There then followed a flurry of activity as I was sorted and cleaned off a bit and then before I knew it, a swaddled baby was being placed in my exhausted arms. ‘Completely healthy little fella. We’ll give you a few minutes alone as a family and be back shortly to finish off the cleaning up and check-ups,’ she said with a smile before the doctors left the room, leaving us alone.

Looking down I saw huge, blue eyes gazing up at me and I immediately felt my throat close up with emotion. Yes, he was still covered in a bit of blood and gunk, but oh God, he was beautiful. ‘Would you like to hold your son?’ I whispered, rocking him gently in my arms. When Nathan didn’t reply I looked up to see him still stood staring down at us both, sweat rolling down his temples and his eyes wide with a slightly unfocused look to them.

Taking a step back from the bed I saw his chest heave with several jerky breaths, then he started backing towards the door before spinning round and grabbing the handle. ‘I need to … I … um … just let me have a second … I just need to … go …’ Yanking open the door I felt panic engulf me at the thought of him leaving me. Leaving
us
.

‘You are nothing like your father, Nathan. Don’t you dare walk away from us,’ I blurted, hazarding a wild guess at the cause for his panic. Considering I’d just given birth and was in mid-panic my voice was amazingly firm and controlled, but as the door slammed shut I did allow myself a wince.

The noise of the blinds clanking on the back of the door filled the space as they swished back and forth from the force of the slam and I sat there still cradling my sleeping son.

I stayed silent for several seconds, trying to make my thoughts slow down to something resembling normal speed. The main thought dominating my mind currently was that Nathan hadn’t left the room. He’d looked right on the verge of it, but then after my words he’d closed the door instead and was now stood with his back pressed against the wall, staring at me as he panted far too quickly to be healthy.

‘I wasn’t leaving you … I would never leave you … but I think I’m having a fucking panic attack …’ He wheezed as I watched his white-knuckled fists open out to flatten on the wall. ‘I need to do my breathing …’

The love and relief that filled me was so immense I almost laughed out loud in reaction to it, but instead drew in a breath to calm my own near panic attack and then looked him steadily in the eye. ‘Do your breathing in here, Nathan, it’s okay, sweetheart, I get it. I’m pretty freaked out myself.’

Nodding his head Nathan closed his eyes and tilted his neck back and began drawing in long, slow breaths through his nose and releasing them through his mouth. He was probably counting down too, but must have been doing so in his head, because I couldn’t hear it. All I knew was he must be doing an extended version of his relaxation technique, because he carried on for much longer than his usual five seconds before finally opening his eyes.

Running trembling hands across his face he pushed back his crazy mop of hair and came to the bedside where he immediately lowered himself down to drop a long, hard kiss on my lips before placing a gentle hand around the little bundle in my arms. ‘This is just so much to take in. I never thought I could feel love like I do for you Stella, and now …’ He glanced down at our son and swallowed loudly, ‘… now it’s happened twice. I don’t even know him yet, but I love him so much already.’ Running a shaky hand through his hair Nathan looked up at me with a hesitant smile, ‘Christ, I can’t believe I got this lucky.’

Tears of happiness slid down my cheeks as I nodded my agreement. ‘I love him so much my chest hurts,’ I said with a hiccup. ‘And I love you. It’s crazy, isn’t it?’ I murmured, feeling so happy and content at that moment that surely nothing could improve it. Smiling shyly Nathan turned his wide eyes on me and licked his bottom lip, ‘Can I hold him?’ he asked in such a small voice that I genuinely think he believed I might say no. Wordlessly I handed over my son to his father and immediately withdrew my last remark – the sight of Nathan holding our son and looking so excited upped my contentment and happiness to near obscene levels.

‘Have you thought of any names yet?’ he murmured, gently rocking his arms back and forth. We’d discussed names, of course we had, but not knowing the sex we’d kept it fairly general and decided to see if inspiration hit us after the birth.

‘Not really, you?’ I asked.

Looking up to meet my eyes Nathan gave a small shrug, ‘I was thought maybe William. What do you think?’

William Jackson. Smiling, I nodded, ‘I like it.’

Nathan’s face split into a huge grin. ‘That way he can be Will when he’s younger, or more formal as William if he chooses to. What do you say to that, Will?’ Nathan said, stooping his head down to lay a gentle kiss on William’s forehead. I wish I had a camera, because seeing Nathan like this was just the most amazing scene. ‘He smells nice,’ Nathan commented as his eyes continued to absorb the features of his son. It was a really simple thing to say, but it made my heart clench with love. If our little boy grew up to be even a quarter as handsome or charming as his daddy then we were in for some interesting teenage years, that was for sure.

A few minutes later there was a tentative knock on the door as Nicholas’ head poked into the room. ‘Up for a quick visit?’ Nodding, I waved them in and was thrilled to see Kenny with Nicholas and Rebecca. I couldn’t help the tears that fell as I watched in happiness as Nathan proudly introduced them all to William.

‘Your mum and dad just called, they’re on their way, Stella. You mum said to give you and the baby a huge hug,’ Becky said after the initial excitement had died down a little. ‘Any chance Aunty Rebecca can have a quick cuddle with the newbie?’

‘Of course!’ I replied immediately. Nathan gave a small frown, obviously reluctant to give up his time with William so soon, which made me smile – his possessive qualities were kicking in already – but he did eventually hand Will across to Rebecca’s outstretched arms.

I smiled as I saw Nicholas watching Rebecca affectionately for a few seconds before he Kenny and Nathan became engrossed in a conversation about the birth as Nathan recounted all the gory details in their fullest. At least his panic attack seemed forgotten now. Stepping closer to the bed so she was out of earshot of the brothers Rebecca lowered herself onto the bed, careful to support William’s head. ‘He’s so gorgeous, Stella,’ she cooed, rocking him gently.

‘He is, isn’t he?’ I replied, although I was obviously a little biased. ‘I hope he keeps the blue eyes, they’re just the same colour as Nathan’s.’ Watching her blissfully smiling face for a few seconds I grinned, ‘Something tells me you’ll want one pretty soon,’ I remarked playfully.

Rebecca’s head popped up and after she flashed a quick glance towards the boys to make sure they weren’t listening she licked her lips and leaned in close. ‘After the wedding we decided to start trying,’ she confided in me, causing me to gasp in delight. ‘Actually, between you and me, I have a bit of a funny feeling this month. My period’s late by nearly six days now. I haven’t told Nicholas yet, but I think I might surprise the hell out of him by asking him to stop off and buy a pregnancy test on the way home. Watch this space!’ she whispered with a wink.

Watch this space indeed! Nathan, Kenny, and Nicholas finished their conversation and came to join us at the bedside. The way that Nicholas slid an arm around Rebecca and affectionately leaned down to touch William’s hand told me that he’d be pretty ecstatic if Rebecca really did turn out to be pregnant. Kenny took his turn at cuddle time and turned out to be a born natural at calming William when he had a little screaming session.

After stroking Will’s head until he completely calmed, Nathan came to my side and took my hand in his, giving it a squeeze as we both gazed lovingly at our new-born son. What a random roomful of people we made, but so perfectly suited at the same time. If I cast my mind back to nearly three years ago when I’d first met Nathan in Club Twist I never would have believed that this would ever be the outcome of our contracted relationship. From everything I knew about their past it seemed almost impossible that both Nathan and Nicholas have overcome their abusive pasts and were settling into normal relationships. But here we were, all four of us and now William too. Not forgetting Kenny of course; he’d always be part of my life.

The journey both Nicholas and Nathan had taken to get to this point might have had some pretty severe bumps, jolts, and ups and downs, but they’d survived them all and pulled Rebecca and I along for the ride too. I was so very grateful that they had, because as I sat here gazing around at the people I loved most in the world I realised to my surprise that I wouldn’t change a single thing. We were all about to start new chapters in our lives – Nicholas and Rebecca as husband and wife, and Nathan and I as parents – but as my hand absently sought out the collar at my neck and fiddled with it, I smiled, knowing that our old chapter wasn’t quite finished yet either.