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by Alexa Riley
“I don’t give a goddamn if they just bid for a chance to wave at you, no way are you doing it. You’re mine, Samantha. I won’t let this happen. You may not have wanted to admit it, and you may keep me at arm’s length, but this is it. I’m done letting you have your way. You’re taking your pretty ass off this stage and coming home with me. Home. Where we live. Together.”
I feel the tears threaten to come up. My nose burns with the need to shed them. He’s doing it. Claiming me in front of everyone; it’s what I’ve wanted for month.
“You don’t have to do this, Leo,” I whisper, trying to let him off the hook. Giving him one last chance to not shatter me. If he takes me from here, I’ll fall so deep into him I don’t think I’ll ever get out.
“Don’t have to do what?” He reaches down jerking the microphone out of my hand and turning to face the crowd. “I should have done this a long time ago. But if any of you know Samantha, you know she is the most stubborn, hard headed, obstinate, willful, uncompromising woman on the planet.”
“I’d put my wife up against her,” I hear Don shout, and I feel myself smile.
“If you know Samantha, you also know that she’s the most caring, kind-hearted, devoted, thoughtful person you’ve ever met. Which is why I fell in love with her.”
Leo turns back to me, and it’s then I feel a tear slip.
“She’s fought for everything she’s ever had, and she’s fought to keep people out. She’s tough, I’ll give her that, but she won’t keep me out. I’m going to fight for you. For us. No matter how much you push, I won’t ever leave you. And if a big show is what you’re looking for, then here it is.”
My hands go to my mouth as he gets down on one knee in front of everyone and pulls a ring out of his pocket. What the fuck? How does he have a ring?
“I bought this after the first time I came to your office.”
There are a few catcalls from the audience, but I ignore them. I never thought I was good enough for Leo. I always second-guessed myself based on the fact that we kept our relationship a secret, but that was my request. I based it on the fact that he never took me around his family, but I always made an excuse when he begged me to. I based it on the fact that I thought he could do better than me, but that’s because I didn't think I deserved him. I had built these walls around us, not him. I’d staged this whole thing to see if he’d claim me in front of others. How hadn’t I seen this before? It seems I can see everything else so clearly except when it comes to myself.
“Samantha, I love you so damn much, and I want the world to know it. If you’re ready to give all this up, I’ll support that decision. And even if you’re not, I’ll support that, too. I don’t give a damn about anything but having you in my life for eternity.”
He opens the box, showing me the ring. It’s a princess-cut black diamond solitaire on a platinum band. It’s huge and gorgeous, and I’m overwhelmed.
I deserve Leo. A man who has been honest with his feelings from day one. A man who has put my needs before his own. A man who has stood by my side when I didn’t think I needed him. But I did need him. I do need him. I’m tired of pushing him away when all I’ve wanted to do was let him love me.
“Goddamn it, if you don’t marry me, I’m going to take you to bed and fuck you for days without an orgasm until you say yes.”
The crowd erupts into whistles and laughter, but I ignore them as I look into those forest-green pools of love and nod my head.
“I love you, Leo. Yes.”
He gets off one knee, scooping me up in his arms, and the audience goes wild. Cheers and claps echo through the auction house as Leo carries me off the stage and out of the building.
It’s a show the likes of which I’ve never seen, and it’s so over the top I’m shocked it was real. I don’t think I’ll be able to stop smiling for the rest of my life.
When we get outside, his town car is waiting, and he slips us into the back. He’s on me the second the door shuts, taking my mouth in a heated kiss.
“Tell me that just happened. Tell me you said yes. Tell me you’re going to be my wife. Tell me you love me.”
I laugh at his words, hearing the excitement in his voice. “Yes, that was real. Yes, I’m going to marry you. Yes, I love you.”
His lips move down my neck, and I moan at the sensation. God, he knows my sweet spots, I think as he places a few hungry kisses there before pulling back.
“Why did you do it, sweetheart?”
He cups my face, making me look at him. I feel something I haven't felt in a long time. Uncertainty.
“I guess I just wanted to see if you’d pick me. Claim me in front of everyone.” I see the understanding and relaxation fill his eyes, but I cut him off before he can say anything.
“It wasn't until I was up there and I saw you charging towards that stage that I knew it was stupid. Of course you’d claim me. I just…my head is everywhere, and I’ve never felt like this. No one has ever loved me, Leo, and it scares the fucking shit out of me. I’m sorry I have no idea what I’m doing.”
Leaning in, he kisses me hard. I can feel so much in his kiss. What he feels for me.
“I’ll always fight for you. No matter how much you push or things start to scare you, I’ll come for you. Always. I felt like I was made for you. You were dealt a shitty life that left its scars on you, and I was brought to you that night to help put you back together again. To show you that you are worthy of love. And I’m going to pour it all over you for the rest of our lives. I’ll make it so you never have to question it.”
“I love you so much.” The words come so easily now. Words I’ve never said to another person in my whole life.
“I love you, too, sweetheart.”
“There’s one more thing, though.”
He stops kissing me and looks into my eyes, waiting.
“I’m pregnant.”
For a second I panic, thinking that this might be too much. We never talked about marriage and babies, and I wonder if maybe this isn’t part of his plan.
Suddenly his eyes are filled with unshed tears as he buries his face in my neck. I can’t see him, but he wraps his arms around me, just holding me close to him.
“Leo, I know we didn’t plan on it. I’m scared, too. I—”
He cuts me off by pulling back and locking his lips on mine. His kiss is fierce and dominant, and I melt into him. I feel just a trace of a tear on my cheek and realize that he’s happy about this news. The relief I feel knowing that he’s happy makes this so much sweeter. Knowing that Leo wants me and our little family has butterflies taking off inside my body.
“I can’t wait,” he says, breaking our kiss and pushing up my dress. “I need you, Samantha. Now.”
I feel the same way. It’s as if we need to seal the deal, and there’s no time like the present. Reaching down, I undo his slacks and pull out his hard cock, just as he rips my lacy thong off me. The feeling of him being in control makes all my insecurities melt away.
Lining us up, I plunge down on him, taking his entire length inside me at once. We both let out moans at the contact, needing the connection.
In a sudden panic, Leo tries to lift me off him. “Oh, God, the baby!” he shouts, and I have to try to hold in my laugh.
“Shhh. It’s fine. Everything is going to be fine.” I slowly lower back down on his cock as I kiss his lips.
I feel him grip my hips, helping me ride him, as he kisses me back. “Better than fine, Samantha. This is the greatest day of my life. In a matter of minutes, you’ve given me everything I ever could have wanted.”
He pulls my mouth back to his, and I become a puddle in his arms. His words so loving and so tender. He’s truly the most wonderful man that ever lived. He’s perfect.
Our bodies are as attuned as they always are, and Leo takes what he wants from me, while giving me what I need. I cum while he holds my hips and fucks me, telling me how much he loves me and how he can’t wait to spend the rest of his life making babies with me.
I clench around him hard enough to send him over the edge, and we hold one another tightly as our passions mix.
* * *
It’s not until I feel him pulling out of me that I realize that I’ve fallen asleep. He rights our clothes and holds me to him as he carries me out of the car and into our home.
Our home.
The thought makes me smile and snuggle more into him. The day I found out I was pregnant, I knew it was time to end the Auctions. I knew the life I had growing up, and I never wanted the same for my child. I was nervous to tell Leo, but I should have known better. He’s wanted this from the beginning, and he proved it today, if the ring he’s been carrying around is any indication.
As he carries me inside and takes me to bed, I let all the fear and anxiety melt away. This is where I want to be for the rest of my life. In his bed and in his arms.
“I love you, Leo,” I say, kissing his lips.
“I’m never going to get tired of hearing you say that.” He kisses me passionately, and we make love and talk about the future all night. It’s the best day of my life and the first day on the road to our life as a family.
I may have gone about getting my happily ever after in a not-so-traditional way, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t get it.
Epilogue
Leo
A few months later…
When I hear the buzz for the gate, I look up from my computer screen to see a delivery truck pulling up at the entrance. I really should just build a guard shack at the end of the driveway to accept deliveries at this point. I don’t like how Samantha buzzes them in so easily.
Since Samantha has found out we’re having twins—a little boy and girl—the deliveries haven’t stopped. She has filled up a whole room full of stuff. I have a feeling I’m going to be donating a lot of things that have never even been opened. Not that I care. I love how excited she is about this. I never thought I could be this happy. It wasn’t even a year ago I was fighting her to spend her nights with me. Now we’re practically inseparable.
Once she told me that she didn’t think I wanted to be seen out with her because I was embarrassed. I showed her just how proud of her I was. I love putting my hands on her in public to let everyone know she’s mine. That I have somehow made one of the most powerful—if not the most powerful—women in Vegas fall for me.
To find out that we were both keeping our distance in front of others because we thought that was what the other needed was ridiculous. I told her we’d never go through that shit again. All cards on the table at all times, and it’s been that way since. Now we can’t seem to keep our hands off each other. At home or in public.
Since the Auction we've been spending a lot of time with the Cortez clan and a few other couples that found their own happily ever after. And babies seem to be coming from everywhere. Samantha has a silent competition that our babies will have the best baby rooms. She’ll definitely win if the winner is whoever has the most delivery boxes in a room. Or if she sticks that assistant of hers—who goes a mile a minute—on the task.
As I rise from my chair quickly in an effort to get to the door before her, I see I’m a few minutes too late. She’s still wearing the blue nightie she slipped on this morning after I woke her with my mouth between her legs, then flipped her over to ride me. Nothing seems to get me off more than seeing her perched over me, swollen with our babies, as she rides me. It might be barbaric, but I don’t care. To see the extent to which I’ve finally claimed her just does it for me.
At least she slipped on the matching robe, not that it helps much. She stares down at the delivery slips while the delivery man looks over every inch of her. It’s clear she’s fucking pregnant. How much more taken can she look?
“What the fuck are you looking at?” I bark, making them both jump. The man drops the box he was holding under his arm.
Samantha just shrugs like, yeah who wouldn’t look at me? I step in front of her. I’m starting to notice she likes to see my jealousy. I think it gets her off. Maybe after all the times I’ve played it cool around her, she now wants to play catch up. But in all fairness she never dressed like this before, and she’s more relaxed. The cold exterior she used to always show the world has been melting away each day, and I take pride that I’m the one causing the thaw. I’m showing her that she doesn’t have to hide. I love every part of her. No matter how dark those parts might go, I’d gladly go with her.
I go to move in front of her, blocking her from his view as he picks up the box.
“Keep it, and don’t fucking come back here,” I growl out before slamming the door.
“Hey, that was my breast pump. I need that.”
I turn to see Samantha with her arms folded, pushing her breasts up so they’re almost spilling out of the nighty. Her blonde hair is still wild from this morning.
I snatch the slip from her hand, tossing it to the ground before grabbing the front of her nightly and ripping it right down the center. Her gasp rings loud in the entryway as I crowd her, forcing her to look up at me with those dark blue eyes.
“If you think I’ll let others see you in this shit, I’ll destroy every one of them.”
She licks her lips as her nipples respond, growing hard.
“I’ll pump your breasts for you, if you like,” I tease.
She snorts.
I lean down, taking one into my mouth and sucking. I rub my thumb across her nipple.
“Oh, God.”
I slide my other hand between her thighs, going straight for her clit, pushing one finger into her tight pussy and using another to stroke her clit. She starts to move her hips, my name slipping from her lips, over and over again.
I pull back, stopping all movements.
“Leo, please,” she begs.
“Still need the pump, sweetheart, or you think I got you?”
“You got me. Please just…”
Her words die off as I suck her nipple back into my mouth and start moving my fingers again.
Her juices coat my hand as I work in and out of her. When I feel her pussy clench around my finger, I give her nipple a little bite, applying more pressure to her clit as she comes undone. I use my arms to catch her as the pleasure rocks though her body.
I pick her up and carry her through the house, up the stairs into the master bedroom, laying her on the bed.
“Now I’m going to show you what happens when you make me jealous. Trust me, when I’m done with you, everyone will know you belong to someone and are very well taken care of.”
Epilogue
Samantha
Ten years later…
“Cowboy, get your pretty ass down here before I get mad!” I yell through the house as our daughter, Lori, walks by me.
“He’s outside with Uncle Don. Hey, can I stay the night with Grace? Peaches said it was okay.”
“Who else is going?”
“Penelope and Ruby.”
“I’ll talk to Peaches, and if she says it’s okay, then I’m fine with it. Go get the plates and silverware out for dinner. It’s almost time. Oh, and go track down Austin. I don’t know where he and Simon got to.”
“Ugh. Austin may be my twin but we weren’t conjoined!” She rolls her eyes at me as she does what I say. I swear, that girl is going to get them stuck like that one day.
I can hardly keep up with all the kids who come and go in our house nowadays. Grace is the daughter of Don and Peaches, and she’s the same age as our twins. Penelope and Simon belong to Ethan and Tiffany, and Ruby is Charles’s and Mandy’s daughter.
We have all created this little family together, and thankfully, our kids are close enough in age that we can get together and just let them run around.
As I make my way to the back porch, I spot Leo on the grill with Don and Charles. I walk up behind him and wrap my arms around his waist, leaning into his back. I feel his hands rub my arms, and he leans into my embrace.
“You forgot to get me mustard at the store.”
/> “Oh, damn! I’m sorry, baby. Did you need it?” Leo says.
“No. It was only for the potato salad, so now it’s ruined and it’s all your fault.”
He turns around and brings his fingers to my waist, trying to tickle me. The guys behind him laugh, but he’s knows I’m right.
“Well I guess the cookout is canceled. Let’s tell everyone to go home,” Leo teases, picking me up off the ground.
I lean into him, kissing his neck, and it’s all it takes to get him to pull me to him. We’ve been together long enough now that I know just how to wind him up and just how to cool him down. I’m lucky that I got to marry the best man I’ve ever known, and I’m thankful for him every day. Even when he forgets the mustard.
“Tell me you love me,” Leo says, rubbing his nose against mine.
I think after denying him the words for so long, he never gets tired of hearing it. Even after all these years, he makes me say them over and over.
“I love you, cowboy.”
“Damn right you do,” he says, winking at me.
“Dinner’s ready. Why don’t you let them handle the grill and come help me set the table?”
Leo looks over his shoulder, watching Charles and Don pull the chicken off the grill, and carries me inside the house. I wrap my legs around his waist and bury my face in his neck.
“Oh, gross. Not again,” I hear Austin say as he leaves the kitchen.
“Really, guys. There are people present,” Lori says on her way out.
“We really know how to clear a room,” I say, laughing.
“Thank God, it’s finally working. Remember when we couldn’t get them to leave us alone?” Leo says, kissing my neck as he sits me on the counter.
“I do miss having babies, though.”
Leo pulls back and gives me a soft look. We tried a couple of times after the twins to get pregnant again, and it never happened. But we were lucky that we got one of each, so I know that we are blessed.