The time had come. Christine put her hands in place and took a deep breath. "All right, Ashleigh. Push."

Everything happened in a blur and all I could do was whisper to Ashleigh and tell her it would all be okay. Our babies would be here soon and it would all be over, the pain would be over. I focused on nothing but her, until the cries of my child echoed throughout the room. It was as if it was in slow motion. Christine smiled as she placed my baby girl on Ashleigh's chest.

Ashleigh broke down in tears and looked straight at me with the biggest smile on her face. "Emma," she whispered. "My sweet Emma."

Emma had a head full of dark hair, and the tiniest hands I'd ever seen. I kissed Ashleigh on the lips and gazed down at our daughter. She was perfect, just like her mother. They let Ashleigh hold her for a minute before taking her away to examine her. As soon as they did, Emma tested out her lungs and wailed. Ashleigh started to cry, but I turned her chin toward me.

"She's okay, angel." I looked over at the scale where they weighed her. "And she's a little over six pounds." That was a good weight for any newborn, not to mention a twin.

Christine talked to the nurses and looked at Emma with a smile before coming back to us. "Are we ready for the next one?" she asked.

"How's Emma?"

"She's doing great. The neonatologist is looking at her now to determine if she should go into the NICU. So, are you both ready?"

Ashleigh kept her gaze on Emma and nodded her head, but when another contraction spiked, she gripped my hand and squeezed. Christine gloved up again and got into position with both nurses beside her.

"You can do this, Ash."

She looked up at me and nodded quickly. "I can do this," she repeated.

"On the count of three I want you to push," Christine said. "One . . . two . . . three . . . push." Again, time stood still until the next little cry sounded in the room.

Ethan was here.

Chapter Thirteen.

Ashleigh As soon as Ethan was born, it was as if all the pain just disappeared. I couldn't think of anything else other than my babies. Holding them for the short amount of time I was initially given, just wasn't enough. I wanted them back. Ryley never left my side, even when I told him he could go and look at them being examined.

"I told you, angel. I'm not leaving your side." When the twins were born, I saw tears in his eyes. I could tell he wanted to hold them, but they had to be checked out first. Once the neonatologist switched over to Ethan, Jeannie bundled Emma up and headed our way.

"Good news. Emma's doing just fine. She doesn't have to go into the NICU."

Breathing a sigh of relief, I held my arms out to receive her. She was so tiny and fragile. Ryley leaned over me and kissed her on the head. "Do you want to hold her?" I asked him.

He blew out a shaky breath and nodded. Holding his arms out, I gently laid her in his arms and he slowly sat down in the rocking chair. A tear escaped the corner of his eye and he let it fall.

"Ashleigh," Christine murmured gently. I wiped away my tears and turned to her, lifting my brows. She glanced over at Ryley and smiled before coming back to me. "We're going to get you cleaned up and start moving some of this equipment out. As soon as that gets done, you can have your visitors. I think there's a room full out there."

While the nurses cleaned me up and changed the sheets on the bed, I watched Ryley and Emma. He talked to her the entire time, as if no one else was in the room. Christine talked to the neonatologist who was still examining Ethan and then came back to me while the nurses finished up.

"It looks like Ethan's going to be just fine," she said happily. "Now, after all the hubbub settles down, I want you to get some rest. You have all of this adrenaline rushing through your veins right now, but believe me, you'll feel it later. You delivered two babies today. That's not easy. Tonight, after everyone leaves, I recommend you let the nurses take the twins to the nursery so you can get some sleep. You're going to need it."

"Can they stay in here all night?" I asked. The thought of letting them go terrified me.

She gave a small smile. "Yes, they can. I know what you're feeling, as I felt the same way when I had my boys. But, you're going to need your rest. The next few months will be filled with sleepless nights, and you'll need all the rest you can get."

"We need to take her advice," Ryley cut in. "You need your rest, even if it's just for a couple of hours."

About that time, Jeannie brought me Ethan and put him in my arms. He was bigger than Emma, but not by much, and his hair was lighter. I could see it all now. Ethan was going to take after his father, and Emma after me.

Christine whispered something to Ryley, but I couldn't hear it. My focus was on my little boy, the future heartbreaker. When Christine and everyone left, that was when the room filled up with our family and friends.

Gabby ran straight over to me with tears in her eyes when she looked down at Ethan. "Oh my God, he's so beautiful. They both are."

Ryley sat down on the bed and brought Emma closer so everyone could take a look at them. "They're perfect," he whispered. "And it's all because of you."

I smiled and kissed his lips. "No. Because of us." He kissed me again and the camera lights flashed. It was the perfect picture; me and Ryley holding our twins, the beginning to a whole new life.

Chapter Fourteen.

Ryley Two days had passed and as soon as we got the go ahead from the doctor, we'd be on our way home. We were lucky. In most cases, a lot of twins had to stay in the hospital for extra time. Ashleigh was so attached to them, I didn't want to imagine what it would've been like if we had to leave the hospital without them.

It was still early in the morning and I was thankful Ashleigh was finally getting some sleep. I was starting to think I had more separation anxiety than she did. As quietly as I could, I slipped out of the room and shut the door. I needed some coffee so I went to the cafeteria and bought me a cup along with a pumpkin muffin for Ash.

By the time I got back to the room, I had finished my coffee and set a muffin on the table so she could eat it as soon as she woke up. Since she was still asleep, I left again to head down to the nursery. There was a lady standing there who I'd spoken to yesterday. She was adopting a girl who'd been born on the same day as the twins, and couldn't stomach the thought of leaving. She was still in the same sweat pants and T-shirt from two days ago. I'd been so caught up with everything, I'd also forgotten to take a shower, until Ashleigh told me I needed one last night.

When I walked up to the glass, both Emma and Ethan were sound asleep with their little hands up by their faces. It was hard to believe they were mine. "Hello again," I said to the lady. Her name was Katherine.

Her eyes went wide and they darted across the hall and then back to me. "Where did you come from? I swear I just watched you leave out that door," she said, pointing down the hall.

Had she lost her fucking mind? "No," I replied slowly. "I haven't been by here this morning."

Furrowing her brows, she shook her head. "Wow, I must either be sleep deprived or there's someone out there who looks exactly like you." She stared hard at me, pursing her lips. "I swear he had the exact same face, or what little I could see of it. He had a hoodie on."

My back stiffened and she stepped back like she sensed my unease. "When did he leave?" I asked.

"Just a couple of minutes before you showed up. He took the door to the stairs."

I quickly glanced at Emma and Ethan and rushed for the stairs. Katherine called after me, but I kept going. If my brother was there, I wanted to know why. As soon as the door slammed shut, I looked over the rail and there he was, walking down the stairs. The door slamming caught his attention and he peered up, his face half covered by the hoodie he wore. It was him. Even from as high up as I was, I could see the scar that marred the side of his face.

In his hesitation, I started down the stairs, taking them as fast as I could. There was no way I could catch him in time, but I had to try. I still had two flights to go down by the time I heard him exit. Fuck!

I raced out of the hospital, and searched around the parking lot. "Cam," I shouted. It was then I saw him in his sports car, speeding out of the parking lot. Someone had to have told him about the twins . . . but who would have spoken to him?

Chapter Fifteen.

Ashleigh The time had come for us to leave the hospital and we were finally on our way home. Ryley was in a mood and I had no clue what was wrong. He walked into the room this morning and I could feel something brewing, just underneath the surface. Not long after that, Christine came in and said we were going to be discharged. The rest of the time had been spent getting the twins bundled up and ready to leave.

For the fiftieth time since being in the car, I looked back at the twins to make sure they were okay. They were both sleeping soundly in their carriers. Why couldn't they do that in my belly? It felt like every hour they were moving around and kicking me in the ribs.

Even though Ryley and I had the nights to ourselves while the twins were in the nursery, I didn't sleep worth shit. I'd close my eyes and try to sleep without them, but I couldn't. For months, they'd been with me, moving around in my belly, and now they were gone. I had a feeling I was going to be one overprotective mother.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" I asked softly. His expression was unreadable. Ryley sighed and clenched the steering wheel.

"Please, Ryley, tell me what happened. I don't like being kept in the dark."

"Camden came to the hospital," he blurted out.

I gasped. "He did? What did he say?"

"I don't know. I didn't get to talk to him. He ran away."

That was strange. "So you saw him? How did he even know about the twins?"

Ryley glanced over at me and shrugged. "Fuck if I know. When I went after him, he ran away and hopped in his car, speeding out of the damn parking lot. I mean, what the actual fuck?" He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "It's just, when I found out he was looking at our twins, I flipped out."

My eyes went wide. "So he was just down the hall?"

He nodded. "Katherine, the lady I told you about, was a little confused when she saw me walk up. She thought I had just left down the opposite end of the hall. Needless to say, I thought she'd lost her fucking mind until it all clicked into place."

"Maybe he wants to reconcile, but seeing you scared him off. I don't know. It just seems weird. Why would he come by just to see the babies?"

"No," he said, shaking his head repeatedly. "Reconcile what? There's nothing left to reconcile, Ash. I can't. Seeing him again made me realize I'm just not ready."

As much as I hated Camden for what he did to us, there was always a point in time when you needed to forgive. The betrayal went deeper with Ryley though. I respected him, and if he didn't want to work things out yet, I wasn't going to interfere.

Taking his hand, I held it to my cheek. "If you're not ready that's okay. Let's just table this for now, and focus on getting our son and daughter settled in our home."

Bringing his hand down and holding on it in my lap, I turned my attention to the road. Maybe Camden was sorry for what he did and wanted to reach out. If there was anything I knew about the Jameson boys, it was that neither one of them wanted to be the one to falter. They were both alpha men and Camden sure as hell wouldn't want to be the one to admit he was wrong. The car was quiet as we finished the last ten minutes of our trek. My eyes grew heavy and I was about to fall asleep when we pulled into the driveway.

Terry's little white car was there, as well as Paxton's bright yellow Hummer. "Did Shelby get all she needed for the interview? I don't remember much else about that day, other than having our twins."

Ryley laughed and parked the car. "Yeah, she got everything. The article will be in the March issue. Apparently, we missed the chance to hear Gabby and Paxton's story. From what I hear, there's a lot we didn't know about."

"Well then, it looks like we'll just have to get her to tell us, or wait for the magazine to come out." I yawned and closed my eyes. I didn't even want to move. My body was sore and just the thought of walking inside made me cringe. All I wanted to do was lay down and relax with my twins. I just wanted to hold them and not have to share them with anyone except Ryley. We hadn't spent any time alone with them since I had them. Every hour upon the hour in the hospital, I was poked and prodded and barely had time to even hold them.

When I opened my eyes back up, Ryley smiled. "Maybe she and Paxton can tell us another day. Right now, I think it's best we tell everyone to leave us alone. What about that?"

"I couldn't have said it better myself."

Later that night after everyone had left, Ryley said he could handle the twins on his own while I took a shower. His mother had left us a refrigerator and freezer full of food, so we were set for a while. She said that having one baby was hard enough, but with two, it was double the work and finding the time to cook wasn't going to be easy. The Christmas tree was still up, lighting our living room with a soft glow of twinkling lights. Everything was quiet, and when I turned the corner, I saw why. Ryley was on the couch, lying down with both babies on his bare chest. He smiled at me when I sat down on the floor beside him.

"All they do is eat and sleep," he shook his head. "I don't think I've seen them awake, except for the time they eat."

"I think you forgot the pooping, the peeing, and the crying. Oh, and don't forget the spit up," I added.

He glanced lovingly down at the twins and grinned. "I think I can handle that. What about you? When can things go back to normal with us?"

My body definitely had some healing to do before I could even begin to think about that. "Six weeks," I informed him. "Once I go in for my check up, we'll be good to go. But we'll definitely have to be more careful. I don't think I can handle two sets of twins."

In all seriousness, Ryley sighed, his blue eyes boring into mine. "Do you think you'll want anymore?"

Gazing down at the twins, they were so perfect, but they were going to be a handful. "To be honest, I don't know. I have a strange feeling these two are going to drive us crazy. They might be all I can handle. Besides, you're going to be too busy fighting off the little boys. Emma's going to have you wrapped around her little finger."

Ryley kissed her on the head and smiled. "She already does."

SIX WEEKS LATER.

Tonight was the night. I got a clean bill of health from Christine and I was ready. Ryley was by far ready to make love to me again, but he kept his distance until I could get checked out. The poor guy had to settle for hand jobs, and one special occasion blow job, which I knew wasn't the same thing, but I made sure to take care of him while I was out of commission.

Soon, it was going to be time for him to train again. People had called for him to fight, but so far, he turned them down so he could stay with me. Now that the six weeks were up, Danny was going to be knocking down our door for him to start fighting again. He was itching to get back into the ring.

Ryley put Emma in her crib and I put Ethan in his. Even though they were twins, both of them were completely different. Ethan had Ryley's eyes and Emma had mine. Their weight was different too; Ethan was much larger. Needless to say, he was definitely going to take after his daddy.

Tiptoeing to our room, Ryley closed the door but left it open just a crack. We had the monitor on, but they were so close I could hear them without it. Sometimes, I would get up in the middle of the night just to watch them breathe.

With a mischievous grin on his face, Ryley stalked toward me. "How much time do you think we have?" he asked, lifting his T-shirt over his head. He was already hard between his legs and by the look in his eyes, he wasn't going to hold back. Ryley was a physical being and not being able to make love to me had been torture on us both.

Once his clothes were off, he gripped the hem of my shirt and lifted it over my head. I helped him out by dropping my pants to the floor. "I don't know, but hopefully they'll stay asleep long enough."

Picking me up in his arms, he threw me down on the bed and covered me with his body. His hands and lips were all over me, touching . . . tasting. He closed his lips over a taut nipple, massaging my breast, and I lost it within seconds. Chuckling, he kept my nipple in his mouth and slid his fingers inside me. I was drenched and ready. It was most likely going to hurt since it'd been a while, but I didn't care. While he pumped his fingers in my depths, I wrapped my hand around his cock and worked him up and down.

He growled low in his chest and thrust his hips. The tip of his head grew wet with his desire so I swiped it with my finger and brought it to my lips, sucking it off. "You are going to fucking kill me, angel. I don't think I'm going to last long."

Pulling his fingers out, he replaced them with his cock and gently pushed inside. I tensed at first, but he took me slowly. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I gasped when he pushed in deeper. My orgasm slowly started to build and as soon as he picked up his pace, my whole body exploded around him. We held each other tight and I trembled when he released inside me. I'd missed making love to him, my husband, and the father of my children. I don't know how I ever got so lucky.

"I love you, angel," he murmured against my lips.

"I love you too, always."

About that time we heard whimpers across the hall and then a full blown cry. Ryley looked down at me with a huge smile on his face. "Well, at least they gave us a little bit of time. It's starting to look like quickies are going to be our new future."

Holding his face in my hands, I gazed up at him. "It's better than nothing at all. Besides, quickies are fun too."

He kissed me quickly and pulled out. "You got that right. Now let's go see what they want and get back to it. I'm not done with you yet. I have six weeks to make up for."

And I was ready for it.