Her Arranged Alpha Husband by Alicia Banks
Epilogue
Teri
“Why do you keep checking your watch today? Do you have somewhere that you need to be? Since the babies are due today, and your mother is rarely wrong, I think you should be here with me.” Teri was perturbed to even think of him leaving her. She didn’t like the idea of it at all. They’d barely let either one of them out of each other’s sight. Teri knew that it was going to be a while before she was comfortable with it.
Ben grinned. “I just have something coming later, and I was checking what time it is, that’s all.”
Teri nodded. “It’s a surprise?”
She was ready to pop and hadn’t been able to have much fun the last few weeks. Teri was ready for a surprise, but then she frowned and wrinkled her nose.
“What?” Ben asked.
“Well, I mean, you aren’t going to get all sexual with it, are you? I just can’t do that today.”
Ben grinned and told her that he would find a way to hold himself back. She was ready to pop and though Teri heard him tell her that she was beautiful, she had eyes. It wasn’t sexy and she had turned him down the last few times he’d tried. Teri was sure that it would change soon, but not right then. She couldn’t even imagine it.
“I’m serious.”
Ben just shook his head and said that he knew she was. Teri didn’t get what was so funny. She didn’t feel very good, so she wasn’t in the best of moods. When she asked him what he was smiling about, it immediately faded, and she felt bad for saying anything.
“I probably shouldn’t get a surprise. I don’t deserve one,” Teri relayed. He told her that she was being silly, but Teri knew that he was just being nice. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate it, but it was still hard for her to handle.
Ben wrapped her into his arms. “You deserve all of the surprises in the world, and I hope that this one will make you feel better.”
Teri said that she was fine, but Ben knew better and told her so. “You are sad, I can see it in your eyes.”
She agreed that she was, but she didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t have to. Ben knew what it was that she was so upset about and it was only when she was quiet and not moving. She’d been thinking a bit more because she couldn’t do as much, and it made her miss her family. Ben was sure that’s what it was.
“Well, it’s time. Are you ready for your surprise?”
Teri agreed that she was. She didn’t realize that it was going to include getting dressed up to go outside. It was too cold for her to dally around outside much, so it had been a while since she had been out there. Ben made fun of her, but she didn’t care. The cold was harsh, and she braced herself against the wind. She didn’t know how far they were going, but she didn’t want to be out there.
“It’s not far, I promise,” Ben relayed when she started to question his surprise and sanity. There was a large house they came upon, and she knew it as where his dad used to live. Teri didn’t want to live there, had made it clear, and she wondered why they were there then.
“I told you that I don’t want to live here, Ben.”
He chuckled and said that she wasn’t. “There are some visitors around though, some that are going to stay with us for as long as they like. Would you like to go see who?”
Teri could see the look of love on his face. It was a good surprise and the first thing she thought about was that it was her family and friends. They were who she missed the most and when she was greeted with hugs and encouragement from many of her family members, Teri was at a loss of words. She had missed them so much, especially as she was pregnant. She wanted her mom, friends, and her sister by her. Ashley was the first one to hug her, and she was sure that she understood her now more than ever.
Not only were many of them going to be there for the birth of her children, but there were also some that were going to stay a while. Her sister and her husband were going to have an extended stay, and Teri couldn’t have been happier. They had so much to talk about, so many conversations to have again. Teri was so naïve before, but now she understood love and the crazy things that it could make a person do.
When everyone was settled in, the family had dinner and Jill was introduced to Teri’s side of the family. There wasn’t any tension and without Ben’s father there, Teri felt like she belonged. With Ben, it made sense.
***
“I can’t believe you got them all here.”
Teri was snuggling against her husband, and she was still in awe of what he did for her and how he loved her. Teri had never felt so taken care of before. She knew that she would never get that feeling with anyone else. He had gone above and beyond so that she would feel good. Teri didn’t know how to repay him or if she ever could.
“It wasn’t that hard. They wanted to come. You have a good family, Teri.”
She agreed that she did, especially knowing what kind of dad he was given. Teri wanted him to know that he was part of that family too. She told him as much and he grinned. “I don’t know why, but that sounds really good, Teri.”
She smiled back at him and there was silence between them for quite a while. “What really sounds good is some sleep. The babies will be here soon enough and then there will be no time for any rest.”
Ben took that as an invitation. He rubbed on her for a time, her back and hips, soon moving to other things like her neck and her breasts. She asked him what he was doing, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he teased her for a time before she had to stop it.
“You only think of one thing,” Teri accused.
“How can you blame me? You are right next to me, looking all sexy, and it makes me need you.”
Teri clicked her tongue. “How did I know that you would try something?”
“Hope?” Ben asked with the same sentiment.
The sound of his tone, paired with those puppy eyes of his, Teri couldn’t help but relent. His hands were magical, and it wasn’t long before her eyes were closed and Teri was working on making sure that she didn’t lose herself completely. She wanted to, again and again. Once Ben started to push it even a little, Teri always gave in. She couldn’t tell her husband no.
THE END
