AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They headed back to the farmhouse, their hands pressed together, their fingers entwined.
“I love you so much,” Marius said and looked over at her, a soft smile on his face. “You’re it for me, my world, even when the one we live in has gone to shit.”
“It’s you and me against everything else.”
“It sure is, baby.” He tightened his hold on her hand. “Until the end.”
Even the end of the world didn’t look so bad, not with Marius by her side.
Epilogue Two
Five years later
Marius held Maya, her naked, soft body pressed against his. He closed his eyes and just let the sound of her breathing lull him. He could have fallen asleep to that sound.
He’d worked all day reinforcing the perimeter of their home, making sure there were no weak spots. It was the end of the day; they’d bathed together, with Marius washing his woman, rubbing sprigs of lavender they grew in their garden over her warm, wet skin, and feeling her relax against him even more.
He was exhausted, but sleep just wouldn’t claim him, not when he had his woman pressed right beside him. Damn, Marius was happy, deliriously so.
He slid his hand down to place it over her swollen belly. For a moment, he felt their baby kick, and a smile curved his lips.
For the past five years, they hadn’t tried to prevent any pregnancies. But it just hadn’t happened. Not until eight months ago, not until they realized they were going to be parents.
He was going to be a father. Maya was going to be the mother of his child. God, how’d he become so damn lucky?
Things were working well. They had a life here, safety and protection. They had food and shelter, and his woman was safe. He made damn sure of that. He also made sure she was protected, that she was loved.
That’s all he could ask for, all he could hope for.
He shifted on the bed and rose up, bracing an elbow on the mattress and looking down at her. He looked down at his reason for breathing.
They may not have official marriages in this world anymore, but he didn’t need that piece of paper to know Maya was his. His woman. His wife. His life. The mother of his baby.
Maya stirred slightly but stayed asleep, and Marius closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. God, she smelled so good, like lavender and the homemade soap she created in the little work shed, the one with hints of vanilla and cedar.
“I love you,” he whispered softly. “I love you so much.”
She snuggled in closer to him, as if she’d heard him. He felt their baby kick again, so hopeful for the future, knowing that although nothing was certain in this fucked-up world, it was paradise for him, because he had the love of a perfect woman and the future of a family at his fingertips.
The End.
