I guess the old saying is correct. If two people are meant to be together, no matter how long it takes, it'll be fate that will bring them back into each other's arms.

Finally, something in my life went my way. And I'll be forever grateful for Tawny coming back to give me a second chance. A chance I never thought would happen, and one I never saw coming.

Not only did Tawny come back, allowing me to love and appreciate her again. But she also came back with a gift, an extra special, and one very tremendous gift I'll never take for granted—another human being to love and appreciate. A little girl we created out of love. And now, I cannot wait for our little girl to make her debut into this world.

A father.

I can't believe I'm going to be a father!

Who knew having a child, my flesh and blood, would ever be something I'd look forward to having? And I couldn't be more proud telling the world that I have something as special as that entering my life. And I'm so looking forward to it.

As Tawny lay beneath me, I couldn't help staring into the eyes of the woman I thought I had lost forever. The love of my life, and now, the mother of my child soon to come.

They always say you never know what you lost until it's gone. But I did. I knew exactly what I had lost. And now that my girl is back, giving me that second chance, I'll be spending the rest of my life showing her she'll never have to worry about me betraying her trust ever again.

Now's my time to shine. To show Tawny how thrilled I am, she's here, what she means to me—what Tawny has always meant to me.

My mouth lowered to hers, and it was the best feeling in the world to be tasting my girl's sugar-coated lips again.

Finally, a dream came true.

Kissing Tawny again felt like our first kiss, and how badly I wanted our lips to be locked together.

She let out a soft whimper when I left her lips but began purring when my mouth continued adoring her and the silky smooth skin I've missed touching and tasting. Making sure I didn't miss an inch of her body, using my lips, tongue, and hands, I idolized her like the goddess she is.

I desired a sugar high and conveyed my way back to my girl's mouth. I was desperate and collided my lips to hers. Instantly dissolving all of our fears, our love for one another increasing, and the trust she once felt she lost with me was building up the longer I French kissed the life out of her.

My lips left Tawny's to give her a break, to replenish the air she needed back in her lungs after feeling her struggling to breathe. Then, after noticing her fun bumps increased in size, my mouth wished to explore her much larger tits, areolas, and breasts, and nibble kissed my way down to the new beautiful sight. I licked, teased, and sucked from one breast to the other, all while letting her know the rest of her skin was still on my mind by kissing it using my fingertips.

Curious to see if she was in the mood for a bit of discipline and if she remembered her safe word, I kissed, licked, sucked, and teased right before my teeth latched onto her erected left nipple. I tugged softly at first, and when there was no whimper or squirming, I started pushing it, pulling harder and harder until her fingers gripped and intertwined in my hair. She squirmed like a worm and then yelped in my ear, "Accident!"

Although it brought me great pleasure hearing Tawny remembering her safe word, it still hit my heart the word she chose, including how she still hasn't heard me explain what happened the day of the accident and that her version of what happened that day was entirely correct.

I didn't want the mood in the room to change, so I continued, testing her resistance with her other nipple, pushing the limit again until she squealed the safe word once again and alerting me her tits were much more sensitive than ever before.

I backed off, then preceded with giving her those epic chills that form every time I graze her precious skin with my lips. But before I dipped into the pink sugar cookie I've been craving and have missed for months; I stopped at the beautiful mound to say hello to my newest princess.

While speaking to the little one and pressing my lips to her belly after each word I said, she responded by elbowing or kicking me in the mouth—letting me know that she, too, won't take my shit, along with a warning that my littlest princess has an attitude like her mother.

I fucking love it...

I felt parched and wished to quench my thirst; my tongue immediately slid down to the flowing pink canal, and then it dipped inside. I craved for more the longer my tongue stayed inside, teasing Tawny's walls and drinking up her sweet tasting juice. Something was different about it, and I was fucking loving how she tasted so much sweeter than what I remembered that I couldn't get enough of it.

Tawny purred like a kitten, squirmed and twisted, all while tugging my hair and begging for more. I wanted to see her squirm even more, so I exited the canal and slowly licked my way up to the swollen throbbing clit, and stimulated it more by flicking it repeatedly until she couldn't handle it any longer. Finally, her hands grabbed hold of my head, and as her body trembled, she pressed my face deeper into her and yelled, "I'm coming!"

That was music to my ears, but I wasn't done teasing her, so, as her body convulsed, I bit, then tugged on her clit with my teeth. "Acc-i-d-e-no!" she stammered loudly, making me stop and smile. Then, I drank up her sugary liquid to finish having my appetizer.

Tawny wasn't having any more of it and reached for me, pulling me up to her. "I wasn't finished," I pouted as she pressed her lips to mine and her tongue thrust into my mouth, getting a taste of her sweetness.

"I'm done. Now it's my turn," Tawny moaned, with our lips still locked.

The palms of her hands rested on my chest; she pushed me off her, then as I dropped on my back, she climbed on top of me. Then, with a grin, she seductively said, "You were a bad, bad boy. And because of that, it's time for your discipline."

My dick just got much harder.

"What have I done wrong?" I taunted, my eyes heavily focused on her beautiful round belly that's staring me in the face.

With an eyebrow raised and a mischievous look in her eye, she turned, grabbed something off the shelf, then faced me, showing she was going to be putting clamps on my nipples.

Fuck...

They're still sore from her tugging on them earlier.

She clamped one onto the nipple, saying, "You were a naughty boy for hurting me."

"I thought you forgave me for that?" I said, my eyes squinting as the clamp dug into my sore nips.

"I did. But I had to remind you," Tawny said, devilishly smirking. "Anyway, you were naughty about destroying your beautiful home."

"Hannah told you?"

"She showed me."

My lips curved into a pout. "I was upset and drunk."

"Just because you got upset and drunk over something that you could have done differently doesn't give you the right to behave like a child who didn't get their way. Although, I do understand it's your home, and you're welcome to do whatever you wish to do. But having a tantrum the way you did, shows you need to learn how to control your anger."

She's right. And Hannah was right.

It was foolish on my part to behave like a dumbass.

"I apologize," I said, trying to charm her with a smile.

My smile didn't work; she still reached for my other nipple and put on the clamp. "You also need to be disciplined for breaking your brother's nose. Even though that night I, too, was seconds away from punching him in the face."

I cut her off. "If that's the case, I think you should let that one slide." I hope she does because this sucks.

Her eyes were on me, looking as if she was thinking. "Fine. I'll let that one slide. But what I won't let slide is how you were drowning your liver in booze."

"I thought you were gone. And I wanted to be where you were."

"As you can see, I didn't do what my mom did."

"But I didn't know that," I sighed, feeling guilty.

"Exactly... so you see. Had you drank yourself to death, you would have left me with a child who'd never know their father."

Ouch... I held up my hand, then pointed my finger to the air. "But in my defense, I thought you were gone because you mentioned before how you were ready to be where your mom was. So I thought you did it."

"True, but did you ever get confirmation I did?"

"No... but people go missing all the time, and they're either never found, or found days, months, or years later." I said, trying to get out of this so I could put another happy smile on her face.

"True. But you still were doing something stupid. Crying over spilled milk."

Okay, fine, she's got me.

"You know what? Let's get this over with so my heat-seeking moisture missile can finally hit its target."

I can do this.

Don't be a wimp, Ian. You do this to her. If she can take it, you can too.

The corners of her lips curled up into an amused smile, and then she tugged. My teeth clenched, and then she pulled harder, my teeth clenching tighter, trying to tough it out.

"Have you learned your lesson?" she asked, smiling cheerfully.

She tugged again, but instead of me saying my safe word, I yelled, "Tune in Tokyo!"

I caught her off guard, and she released the chain to the clamps with a confused look on her face. "Tune in Tokyo?"

I chuckled, then shrugged. "It just came out." I raised my hands, then pinched both my thumb and pointer finger together, sliding the fingers together, saying. "I think it came out because I'm ready to tune you in," I winked.

Now she caught me off guard. Her one hand took control of my shifter, while her other hand pulled the chain, tugging until I howled, "Pineapple."

She giggled. "Was that so hard to say?"

"No."

"Good, because I'm not done with you yet," she warned, lowering down to my very hardened shaft and wrapping her mouth around it like it was a melting popsicle.

"Ah fuck," I murmured, my eyes rolling back and my head snapping back on the bed. Tawny's mouth, pleasuring my cock, was so euphoric I felt like I was in another galaxy, seeing stars shining brightly.

Tawny taking me, sucking me in whole, felt fucking incredible. The amount of suction Tawny used felt like she was pulling the life force out of me. The intense state of ecstasy I was in had me on the verge of exploding, and it worried me. The one thing I didn't want was my child getting a taste of me.

I freaked out, groaning, "I can't allow you to do this!" Then, when she kept massaging me with her mouth, I loudly said, "Pineapple!"

Tawny pouted, wiped her lips, then moved up and hovered over me. "Is something wrong?"

"I won't allow you to feed my child any of my secretions. That's not right."

Instead of arguing or asking more questions, she took control by placing me at her entrance. Then she lowered down and slowly began riding me.

Now, this I like, and I'm enjoying it like ever before. From this angle, I get to watch her big beautiful breasts bounce up and down and sway from side to side. I get to stare at the belly I caused to grow. And I get to watch her satisfy herself by making sure my cock hits all the areas needed to help her feel pleasure.

Her bouncing slowed, her toes curled, and her eyes rolled back. Then she stopped bouncing and swaying her hips. Instead, she cooed and trembled, and when I felt her insides become warmer, I knew she was in the midst of an orgasm, and I released what I'd been holding into her.

She dropped down, then nestled her head in the crook of my neck, my cock still pulsating inside her. "I needed that. I've been so damn horny lately; it was driving me insane," she breathed heavily.

"So that's why you came back to me. You wanted to get laid," I said, grinning and caressing my fingertips along Tawny's smooth as silk backside.

She playfully punched me in my side. "No. That's not why. I told you why I came back. First, to forgive you, and then to have make-up sex," she admitted, giggling. "But I also came back to set the record straight on an issue I know where it hurt you," she said, lifting her head, her eyes meeting mine.

"What issue is that?" I asked, having a clue of what it was about.

"My answer," she hinted, confirming my suspicion. "It was something I didn't mean to say because I always told myself I'd say yes if you ever asked."

Teasing her, I said, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

She twisted her lips, and then she started tracing my cheek. "You asked me to marry you. I said no. Remember?"

"No," I lied. I remember that day to a T because her response did hurt. But that's okay. I didn't have Tawny's ring at the time.

Her mouth met mine, slowly and passionately kissing me. And with her mouth still pressed to mine, she said, "Marry me."

I broke free from her mouth and pressed my head harder against the bed. Wishing to get a view of her face. Then, curious if I heard her right, I asked, "What?"

"Will you marry me?" she asked clearer.

"No," I said firmly.

"No?" Tawny screeched.

"No," I repeated, sliding her off me. Her face showed disappointment. Then she laid on her back and stared at the ceiling. I hovered over her, cupped her chin, then turned her to look at me. "I have a very good reason for saying no. Give me a second to find my clothes."

She said nothing. And just sadly sighed.

I darted off the bed then walked around, looking everywhere for my clothes. Finally, I found my pants, but not my jacket; I panicked, then turned to Tawny. "Do you have any idea where my jacket would be?"

"Arnie had it. He might have put it in the office. Why?"

Shit. "Because I have something important inside the pocket. Something I've been carrying around for months."

I just realized my watch was gone, too, after looking to see the time. So I looked at the door, then shifted my head, my ear facing the door, and tried to hear what was happening behind that wall. When I heard no sound, I asked, "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"I don't have my phone near me, but when you finally awoke, it was around four in the morning."

Perfect...

"I'll be right back."

I slowly opened the door, peeked my head out, and smiled after seeing the lights were off. I hurried out of the room, then rushed to my office, reminding myself to erase the security tapes in case Arnie decided to scroll through them when he got in. That's all he needs to see is his older brother's frank and beans.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw my jacket hanging by the door. I grabbed it, checked my inside pocket, then hurried back to Tawny. "Sorry," I said, sitting next to her.

She said nothing as she stared at the ceiling.

"I need to explain something to you before we leave this room."

"Start explaining because I'm ready to leave right now," she finally said.

"First of all, the day you left, there was something I needed to tell you. Something you've been waiting to hear."

Her head turned towards me. "What's that?"

"You were right all along about the accident. It took me a while to remember, but sometime before you disappeared. Maybe a month or two months before," I admitted, disappointedly shaking my head, "something happened where it hit me, causing me to remember the accident. And it replayed in my head over and over... you were right. It was me who caused it, and it was because I was looking at my phone, reading a message from Alexandra. Telling me we were over and that the wedding was off--"

"Is that why you deposited that huge amount in the account you opened for me? The amount I was to pay you?"

I nodded. "Yes. I felt it was only fair that you received that money."

"That's why you bought me that SUV!?"

"Yes and no. In a way, yes, because I was the reason for your totaled car. And no, because I wanted you to drive a more reliable vehicle than that piece of shit car you were driving. It was a rust bucket. It was falling apart, had no power, and was only running on two cylinders instead of six. It was a complete pile of shit."

She giggled a little. "It was free. But you're right. The car sucked."

I finally got Tawny to smile, but it didn't last long. "Please don't be mad; that was something I needed to get off my chest since it's been weighing on me since remembering how it happened. And I feel if we're going to start over, we need to start being honest with each other. No more secrets, no lies, no bullshit, no nothing."

"I agree. So thank you for telling me," Tawny finally said with a hint of a smile.

"Are you mad?"

"No. After everything you and your attorney put me through with that accident, I should be. But I'm not. Not anymore. After meeting and talking with Hannah and seeing the amount of that deposit, I suspected that it was your way of telling me it was your fault."

I reached for her. And as my arms wrapped around her, she pushed back, stopping me from pulling her to me.

She's still mad I declined her proposal.

Hopefully, that won't last long because of what I'm about to do; I'm hoping it'll change that frown into a smile.

I ran my fingers through my hair while nervously exhaling the air I had just inhaled. Then, after calming my nerves, I slid off the bed and got down on my knees. I rested a hand on Tawny's leg, and when she finally looked up at me, I smiled, then sweetly ordered, "Come here, beautiful. There's something else I need to say."

With a bit of hesitance, Tawny finally maneuvered to the edge of the bed, her legs hanging over and with her saddened, hurt eyes on me. "What's on your mind?"

Here we go... we both said no. Now, will there be a yes in store?

"The reason I said no was that I wanted to be the one to ask you to marry me."

She furrowed her brows, asking, "What's the difference?"

I side smirked. "There's a big difference. But before I show you something I have for you, I need to explain something that happened five months ago."

"I thought we already did that?" she asked, looking confused.

"Not about this." I scooted closer, her belly touching my chest.

"The day I first asked you to be my wife was the day I spent the entire morning at the jewelers, designing that perfect ring to put on your finger."

Her eyes softened, and she gasped after it sunk in on what I had just said.

"I was bummed when they informed me it would take a couple of months for it to come in. I knew it would take some time, but I didn't think it would take that long. I also thought I'd be able to bribe them into making it come sooner, but that didn't work out either. So I told myself two months wouldn't hurt since we'd only been together for about four months, anyway. But then that night, after making love to you, the love that was expressed in your eyes when you looked at me and how excited I'd been all day about that ring, the question I wanted to ask when your ring came in suddenly came out."

A look of thinking crossed her face. "That's why you were acting the way you were. It wasn't about who we were meeting that night. You were acting happier than usual because of what you decided to do."

My lips instantly curved upward. "Yes. Well, I was also excited about who we were about to see, but the ring topped it off."

I lifted the little black box I held in my hand, then opened it, showing her what I've been keeping close to my heart since it came in three months ago. "When your ring came in, I was excited to see it, but it depressed me also since you weren't around for me to proclaim my love for you. So, since I thought you became an angel, I decided to keep it inside my jacket pocket, next to my heart. To remind me that there would never be another woman like you to love for the rest of my life—vowing to myself and others I would never love another woman."

Tawny's hands shook as she stared at the ring.

"You're the love of my life, Tawny. And this ring here says it all. Will you marry me?"

"Yes, Ian," she whispered, then louder she excitedly said, "Yes, I'll marry you!"

I removed the ring from the box, then stood and leaned to her, kissing her lips. "I love you, Tawny."

"I love you, too."

I slid the ring on her finger, then sat beside her and held up her hand. "This ring came from my heart. Hence, the six-carat heart-shaped diamond." Then I started pointing out the diamonds on either side of the heart, explaining what the diamonds mean to me. "These two emerald marquise diamonds represent my eyes. Letting you know I will only and always have eyes for you. The two Tsavorite-colored pear-shaped diamonds below the emeralds mean we have an emotional bond—a connection. And to remind you that you deserve to be happy. It also means that I will do everything to ensure our love will be a never-ending adventure. These two smaller Almandine Garnet-colored heart-shaped diamonds, beside the two green stones, represent our two hearts, along with my promise to you that I will unconditionally love and protect you for life."

"Ian..." she whispered in awe, interrupting me.

I turned her hand sideways a little, then pointed, "And the infinity twist, loaded with all these beautiful sparkling diamonds cascading on either side of the ring, is letting you know I'll only love you. Forever. No matter what happens."

"Ian," she said in awe, lifting her hand and studying the ring further. "I love it. I absolutely love it!"

I curled my finger underneath her chin, turning her for our eyes to meet. "That's why all this time I had been keeping it close to my heart. You're my girl. My sugar lips. And my only true love. No other woman will ever come close to you or my heart... So now I'm curious. Did I do okay? Will it be something you'd enjoy wearing for the rest of our lives?"

She looked back at her hand and smiled. "It's the most beautiful and unique ring I've ever seen. It's perfect, Ian. Just perfect," she said in admiration. "Thank you, Ian. I love it so much that I'll never take it off. Ever..."

I hope the chapter was okay!!🤞🤞

Okay, everyone, I'm sad to say, the next chapter will be the final chapter. ( The Epilogue )