It's been 3 weeks since we returned to Seattle. We had a small Gala thrown together the week following our return. The Gala was a lot smaller than usual, but the guests all had a great time. Anton and Christian didn't leave my side for the entire night.
The kids and I were so happy to be reunited after a very long year. They filled me in on what I missed. They even told me some stuff that Christian had already told me, but I love to hear it from them as well.
Anton went home to Russia the day after the Gala. Christian and I stayed the night at his house after the Gala and the 2 talented men took me back into the playroom. It was spectacular.
Liam has been trying to decide which college to go to. Christian told him that if he wanted, he could get a business degree and come work with him. Liam loved this idea. He's always admired Christian's job.
He will be leaving next summer to go to Yale. We will miss him when he's so far from us, but we have a jet, so we will be able to visit with him on a regular basis.
Phoebe and Lily have both started to go boy crazy. Christian had been dreading this for years. We encourage them to come to us and let us know if they start dating or anything like that. They were embarrassed whenever we gave them 'the talk'. They got over it, though.
Gideon is officially in prison in Washington state. He won't be eligible for parole until he is like 70. I'm thankful for this. I don't want any more run-ins. We've lived a peaceful life for the past 3 weeks. We are hoping that it stays that way.
Tonight, Christian is taking me out on a date. We still haven't stopped having dates on a regular basis. With the exception of the year that I was gone, of course. I've missed our dates.
I get dressed in a blue cocktail dress with matching heels and a clutch and I pack the usual into my clutch. I meet my husband downstairs and we say goodbye to the kids and let them know that we will be back in the morning. We're leaving the kids with the nanny as well as my dad and Samantha.
My dad has moved Samantha in with him and I've honestly never seen him quite this happy. He still says that I will always be his number 1 girl, though. He confided in me that he wants to propose to her soon. I gave him my blessing and I am excited for this to happen.
Whenever we arrive at the Mile High Club, Christian helps me out of the SUV and offers me his arm and we take the elevator up to the top floor.
Whenever we step off of the elevator, we're directed to the private booth that Christian reserved for us.
He helps me into my seat and scoots in beside me. "I want to test you tonight, Ana." I eye him questionably.
"How do you want to test me?" I ask.
He smiles. "You will enjoy it because you've always told me that you love a good challenge." I giggle.
"I trust you."
The waitress brings us our drinks and takes our orders. While she is gone, Christian lays a napkin over my lap. He puts his hand underneath it and slides my skirt up and rubs my core through my panties. I gasp. "Shh… You have to act like everything is normal." I smile and nod. He takes his hand from under my skirt and the napkin. "I want you to take off your panties and give them to me."
I nod and remove my panties, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Once they are off, I ball them up and put them into his hand. He lifts my skirt and quickly places the napkin over it. He slides his hand under the napkin and slides it up my thigh until he reaches my core. I manage to keep a straight face as he does this. He slides his fingers between my outer folds and rubs my core. He finds my clit and begins rubbing it with his thumb as his fingers slide into my core. I clear my throat trying to maintain a straight face.
I glance over at him and he's staring at me. I smile at him as he begins to stroke me from the inside. I lean over and kiss him to distract from what's going on under the napkin. I feel myself getting close. The waitress approaches the table and sets our plates in front of us and tells us to enjoy our meals. Christian is stroking me the entire time. "Let it go now, Ana." I close my eyes as my orgasm washes over me and I'm trying hard not to make a sound. Christian's lips crash into mine. Once my orgasm ends, he pulls his fingers out and pats my core before pulling his hand out from under the napkin. He licks his fingers and winks at me before turning to start eating his meal.
I start eating as well. "Ana, I have another task for you." He whispers in my ear.
"What do you want me to do?" I ask.
"First, we need to scoot to the back of the booth." I nod and scoot to the back of the booth, leaving enough space for him. He puts our plates back in front of us. He takes another bite so I do as well. "Be inconspicuous, but I want you to pleasure me with your mouth. No one will see you if you act like you dropped something. I will cover for you."
I'm shocked by this request, but I nod. I drop my knife under the table and slide underneath the table cloth. I look around and no one can see me. I kneel in front of my husband and I unbuckle his belt quietly and unzip and unbutton his pants. I pull it down just slightly and free him from his pants. I wrap my fingers around his cock and begin stroking it. I take it into my mouth, paying special attention to the head, frenulum and balls. I take him deeper in my throat with each stroke, until my mouth is buried in his pubic hair. He's buried deep in my throat. I pull back out and catch my breath. He puts his hand on the back of my head, encouraging me to do it again, which means that he's probably about to come.
I take him all the way to the base of his cock again and he holds my head there as I feel him spilling his essence in my throat. Once the final pulses of his orgasm stops, he lets go of the back of my head and I pull out and catch my breath and I suck and stroke him until every drop is gone. I help him back into his pants and then I grab the knife and pop back into my seat. "Found it." I announce and he smiles at me. He leans over and kisses me sweetly.
"You're a remarkable woman, Anastasia. Don't let anyone ever tell you different."
"Thank you."
"Now finish eating so we can get out of here and I can get you home and have my way with you."
I smile. "Yes, sir." And I dig into my food as he stares at me with the look of admiration and love in his beautiful grey eyes.
Once we're both done eating, we slide back to the edge of the booth and he gets out and helps me out before throwing some hundred dollar bills on the table. We go to the elevator and take it to the ground floor. Whenever we exit the building, Taylor is standing by the SUV waiting for us. Christian helps me in and then goes around and gets in himself. Whenever we arrive home, the kids are all in bed so we check in on them and then we go to bed ourselves and we worship each other's bodies for hours.
Over the last 3 months, I've helped my dad to plan the perfect engagement. We are going out to fly out to our Hawaii home, where Christian engaged to me the first time. We're only inviting Kate and Elliot and their kids because Kate has been close to my dad since I was in witness protection.
Today is the big day and only me and my husband know what's going to happen today. I can't keep a secret from him, nor do I want to. This marriage has been stronger because of our open honesty with one another.
The kids are all excited to go out on a vacation for the weekend.
Whenever we all arrive in Hawaii, we go straight out to our home. It's a good thing that the house has several rooms other than ours or this would be an awkward trip.
Whenever we get there, we get everyone settled in and have everyone get dressed in their swimming attire. We all go down to the beach, but dad says that he's got to take care of something and will be out shortly. I wink at him on my way out the door and the kids all take off running out onto the beach. Lily and Phoebe help the twins. They have their little floaties on their arms, even though they swim pretty well for 4 year olds. Christian says that it's better to be safe than sorry and I have to agree.
They go straight for the water. Liam, Phoebe and Lily know how far they are allowed to go so the other kids do as well. There are loungers set out for the adults. I relax between Christian and Kate and Samantha sits on the other side of Christian.
Finally I hear someone clear their throat and look up to find my daddy in his form fitting tux. Everyone else looks up at him as well. "Samantha, ever since I've met you, you've brought more joy in my life and this may sound cheesy, but you seem to complete my life. I think I've been waiting a lifetime for you to come along and all it took was giving in to Ana and going to that Gala 3 years ago.
The last 3 years with you have been nothing short of amazing. I know that I resisted you for the first year. I've been afraid of relationships for years. I finally gave in and I couldn't be happier that I did. You, Annie and her family fill my life with joy that I've never felt before."
He helps her to sit up and gets on his knee in front of her and pulls out a little box. "Samantha Lee Carter, will you please do me the honor of being my wife?"
She gasps. He opens the box to reveal a beautiful ring. "I'd love to be your wife, Ray." She says and everyone starts clapping as my dad puts the ring on her finger and he picks her up and hugs her. I'm crying tears of joy at this point. Christian wraps his arm around me.
"I'm so happy for them. Daddy finally found the love that he's always deserved." I tell him.
"I know, baby. I'm happy for them as well." He gives me a sweet kiss. I get up first to congratulate my dad and his new fiancé.
"Congratulations, Daddy. I am so happy for you." I wrap my arms around him and hug him and he hugs me back. I kiss his cheek. He thanks me and I approach Samantha and hug her as well. "Congratulations and welcome to the family, Samantha."
"Thank you, Annie." She says. Only her and my dad can call me Annie.
Everyone else takes turns congratulating them and the kids all approach and ask what happened and we tell them the good news and they are all happy for their Papa or Uncle Ray, as Kate's kids call him.
Samantha takes my dad inside to get him dressed in swimwear, but I have a feeling they may sneak in a little rendezvous while they are in there, not that I want to think about that.
When they get back, we all spend the rest of the day swimming until it's time for dinner. We go inside and Samantha helps me to cook us all dinner. "Annie, I know that I will never be your mother, but I'd like you to know that I consider you my daughter and you can come to me for any motherly advice that you may want or need."
I smile at her. "Thank you, Samantha." I hug her again. Once we're finished cooking we call everyone to the dining room and serve them after everyone is cleaned up. We enjoy our beautiful meal together and we all relax inside until it's time for the kids to go to bed and Christian and I tuck ours in and Kate and Elliot tuck in theirs.
My dad and Samantha go to bed early and Christian, Kate, Elliot, and I sit in the family room and enjoy some wine and beer whilst talking for a little while before we all decide to go to bed ourselves.
It's been 6 months since my dad proposed to Samantha. Kate and I jumped right into planning their wedding and it's being held in the Grey's gardens, just like all of our weddings. The wedding is in the morning. Kate, Samantha, and I are staying at our house and Elliot, Christian and my dad are staying at Elliot's house. The boys are staying there with them and the girls are staying here with us.
Mia has been invited to the wedding, but we are uncertain if she will come. I am Samantha's MOH and Christian is my dad's BM. Kate is a bridesmaid, as well as Lily and Phoebe. Liam and Teddy are the other groomsmen. Penny and Elijah are the flower girl and ring bearer.
Liam will escort Kate down the aisle and both Lily and Phoebe will escort Teddy. Elliot was offered a position as a groomsman, but politely declined because he said that he didn't want to be in the middle of everything again. We're all understanding of his position.
Christian and I bought dad and Samantha a honeymoon and they get to take our jet. They don't know that yet. Dad said they're just going to spend a couple weeks alone in their home. We will see about that.
Teddy is now 12 and Lily is 15. The twins recently turned 5 as well. Next week is the last week of the school year and Liam will officially graduate right after. He's exceedingly happy that he was accepted into Yale.
Kate, Samantha and I stay up talking after we put the girls to bed. We drink some wine. About 11 pm, we put Samantha to bed and go to bed ourselves. Tomorrow is my daddy's big day. I drift off into a peaceful night's sleep.
When I wake up in the morning, I meet Kate in the hall and we go into Samantha's room and wake her up. "Are you ready to get married, Mrs. Steele?" we ask and she smiles.
"Yes, I am." She replies.
"Go get cleaned up and put on something loose so that we can get our hair and makeup done before we get you dressed without messing up your hair." I say.
She gets up and goes to the bathroom and we go and take our showers as well. After we have breakfast together, the stylists come in and get all of our hair and makeup done. Johnson takes us over to the Grey's manor and we sneak straight up the stairs to Mia's room. Kate and I put dresses on us and the girls before we break out the secret wedding dress that Kate's mom made.
We help her into the dress and button up the back. "I love it!" she says. Once she's ready, we get some jewelry and put it on her.
"Are you ready to be Mrs. Samantha Steele?" I ask.
"I've never been more ready." She says. Elliot didn't want to be in the wedding, but he has agreed to escort her down the aisle. Whenever he shows up. I wish Samantha luck and give her a kiss on the cheek. All of the girls and I head down the stairs. Phoebe and Lily head down the aisle first, followed by Kate. I go down the aisle next and take my spot. The twins come down the aisle next. Penny stands in front of me and Elijah stands in front of Christian. I make eye contact with him and wink at him and he winks back.
Then the wedding march comes on and everyone stands and turns towards the bride and Elliot coming down the aisle together. Whenever they get to my dad, Elliot kisses her hand and puts it in my dad's hand. The ceremony goes beautifully. I'm crying more tears of joy for them whenever they pronounce them husband and wife. I have a step-mom.
They go back down the aisle followed by the twins and Christian and I and then everyone else. We head to the reception and we eat and then it's time for Christian and I to give our speeches. I stand first and take the microphone and look at my dad and Samantha. "Daddy, I've always looked up to you. You were always so strong and resilient. I hate what my mom did to you, but you moved past it and once you rescued me and I was able to come home to you, you spent most of your time looking out for me.
I will never be able to properly convey the love and deep respect that I have for you, but I hope you know just how much you mean to me." I wipe away a stray tear. "Then this young lady came along. She treated you well and I've never seen you so happy in my life. It makes my heart sing seeing you this happy. That is why Christian and I have gotten you a present." I nod to Christian and he pulls the brochure for Greece out and hands it to Ray. "You and your new wife are going to Greece for your honeymoon and you won't have to fly commercial. You can use our jet. The trip is for 4 weeks. I know you and you're probably dying to refuse this gift right now, but we want nothing more than for you to have your happiness and start out your new life together in a beautiful place. We insist that you accept this." I finish.
My dad has tears in his eyes and so does Samantha. She takes my hand and squeezes it and my dad looks up at me. "Thank you, Annie."
I smile. "Thank YOU, Daddy. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be half the woman that I am today. I owe everything to you. This is the least that we could do for you." He stands and I approach him and he wraps his arms around me and I reciprocate the hug as everyone around us starts to applaud us. I finally let go of him and wipe away my tears and my dad discreetly wipes away his own.
I hand the microphone to my husband and he gives a speech, thanking my dad for raising me right and how much he has enjoyed getting to know him and how much he means to our entire family. My dad stands and claps him on the back thanking him as well.
After the speeches, everyone comes and tells us how much they loved our speeches. Whenever it's time for the first dance, my dad leads his new wife out to the dance floor and we watch as they share their first dance as husband and wife. Afterwards is supposed to be the father-daughter dance, so I dance with my daddy and Christian dances with Samantha. The rest of the wedding party, which consists of Kate and our kids, joins us on the dance floor and we all dance together.
After a couple more hours, we see my dad and step mom off to their honeymoon and much to me and Christian's dismay, Lily catches the bouquet. Mia never did show up.
Once the bride and groom are gone, everyone else starts to leave and we have the decorators come out in the morning to clean up, like we do with the Gala. Everyone is exhausted so we take the kids and head home. Most of the kids fall asleep on the way home so we have to wake up the bigger ones to go into the house and change before going to bed and we carry Penny and Elijah.
It's been a month since my dad's wedding and they just came home today. The kids have been grilling them for over an hour about their honeymoon, so I finally told them to leave them alone. Samantha is officially their maw maw. They told us the highpoints of their honeymoon and thanked us again for it. Dad tried to offer to pay us back. "Daddy, what part of present don't you understand?" I ask him.
He finally relented. "We're going home to get some sleep." We hug them as they head out back.
Tomorrow is Liam's graduation. I'm excited for the most part, but nervous because he will be moving so far away on his own. My first baby boy is going to be leaving the safety of our nest soon. He's decided to stay and celebrate his 18th birthday with us first. We've got to make it bigger this year. We're about to have an adult child. I think that's a good reason to celebrate. We got him his own apartment to start him out there so that he doesn't have to live in dorms. He will have full access to his trust funds and we just hope that he spends it wisely. Christian and I are going out with him this summer to get everything in the apartment set up.
We spend the rest of the day with all 6 of our children and then when they're in bed, we go to bed ourselves, but not before we make a much-needed visit to the playroom.
Whenever we wake up, we all get dressed and find dad and Samantha downstairs. We load into our SUVs and Liam drives his car, but promised to stay near us. He insisted on driving to his own graduation.
Whenever we arrive at the location of graduation, we all hug Liam as he goes off to join the other graduates. He is valedictorian. We are beyond proud of him. We all find our seats pretty close to where the graduates will be seated. Everyone behaves. Kate, Elliot, their kids, my dad and Samantha and Mia and little Carrick all join us. We take up an entire row. Pomp and Circumstance starts to play and we all stand as the graduates make their way out to their seats. When we see Liam, we all cheer for him louder than anyone else.
After a speech from the Principal, Liam goes up to give his speech.
He talks about stories from their school years and at the end, he says, "I'd like to thank all of my teachers and fellow classmates throughout the years. Most of all, I'd like to thank my parents. You guys made me who I am and I followed your principles throughout the years and I don't know where I'd be without your unwavering support and love. I'd also like to thank my siblings for keeping me on my toes and teaching me patience. I am truly blessed to have the most amazing family that I could've ever asked for. Thank you all!" and he walks away from the podium and we are all standing and applauding him again, while I have silent tears running down my cheeks. Christian wraps his arm around me and I wrap mine around him. I'm so happy that I was able to help mold him into the fine young man that he has become.
We all sit back down and listen to the Salutatorian give her speech as well. We all applaud her as well. Afterwards, the graduates start getting called to receive their diplomas along with a rose and they turn their tassels to the other sides of their hats. Liam goes first and we're all cheering for him and taking pictures.
After he leaves the stage, he approaches us with the rose and he leans down and hands me the rose. "Thank you, Mom and Dad. Thank you for everything." We both wrap our arms around him and he hugs us both and I'm crying all over again. I kiss his cheek as he pulls away.
"We love you, Liam. We will ALWAYS be here to help you out with absolutely anything that you ever need, no matter how old you are." I say.
"I know. I love you guys, too." He says and he smiles as he walks back to his seat.
I lay my head on my husband's shoulder and cry some more. "It's okay, baby. You know we can see him as often as we want." I nod.
"I know. I'm sorry. This is kind of like the first time I left him with someone else. It's bittersweet." He squeezes me in his arms.
"I understand that." Whenever the ceremony is over, Liam and some of his friends come out to our house and we have a little graduation party for them all.
After several hours, Liam says that they are going out to celebrate with their classmates. "Just be responsible and enjoy yourself. You're welcome to have the party at the penthouse so everyone stays safe."
"I know, Mom and Dad. I will see if anyone wants to go there. I won't do anything stupid. If they try to talk me into anything, I will come straight home."
I smile. "Well, have fun." I wrap my arms around him.
Christian hugs him as well and he heads out the door.
"You do still keep your liquor locked up at the penthouse, right?" I ask Christian.
"Shit. No, I'll have Taylor go over and lock it up before they get there." I smile and kiss him sweetly and then he goes off to tell Taylor what we discussed. We spend the rest of the day with our entire family. I'm surprised Mia actually came over. She hasn't been here in like 2 years.
We all have a good time. Mia asks to speak to me in private. I tell Christian that I'm taking her to my office, in case I don't come out soon.
Once we get into my office, I sit behind the desk and she sits across from me. "I'm so sorry, Ana. I'm so sorry that I've been such a bitch to you. I know that you're not a slut and that Gideon is a crazy asshole, but I chose to blame anyone but him because I loved him so much. I talked to my therapist and this is me trying to make amends with you. We're family and we should act as such."
I nod, surprised by this apology. I reach my hand across the desk and put it on top of hers. "I accept your apology, but if there's a next time, I won't be so forgiving. I've already forgiven you twice over the last 10 years."
She nods and smiles at me. "Thank you. I know now, after all of this time, how much you love my brother and are dedicated to him. I'm sorry I ever believed otherwise. May I hug you?" I nod and stand up and she does as well and she wraps her arms around me and I wrap mine around her.
We make our way back out to the party and we're smiling. I think that it surprises my husband. I sit next to him on the lounger. "How did it go?"
I smile at him. "She apologized." I tell him.
"Wow. It takes a lot for her to swallow her pride. She's stubborn like me when she gets something stuck in her head. I'm glad you finally made up. It hasn't been easy trying to stay loyal to both of you whenever you weren't getting along."
I giggle. "What do you say we go on a vacation alone after the Gala?" I ask.
"I'd love that. Would you mind if Anton comes along or would you like it to be just us?"
"That's up to you. I just want my husband happy first and foremost." I say.
"I will start planning it immediately. Do you want to go to our island or to Russia?" he asks.
I think about this for a moment. "Russia, I think. I've been on an island far too long in recent years."
He smiles and kisses me sweetly. "Russia it is. We should completely surprise Anton. We won't see us coming, literally." I giggle.
"Sounds like a plan, baby." After it starts getting dark, everyone starts to go home and we put the kids to bed and we go to bed ourselves and worship each other's bodies. Next up is the Gala.