Broken (Surrender Book 1)
Broken: Epilogue

‘Good morning.’ Novalee stirred awake.

‘Good morning, angel.’ Conner’s raspy voice was thick with sleepiness. He snuggled his head into Novalee’s breasts, which was his favorite morning pastime. Well, that and wedging his head between her legs –both of his heads.

From the first moment he laid eyes on her, walking down the aisle at Quentin and Amy’s wedding, Conner knew she was an angel. His angel. Everything else around her had faded to smoke. Conner was nearly blinded by the light that emanated from Novalee. It threatened to splinter into the darkness of his soul. At that moment, he knew that he had to have her. One night would suffice. One night where he could lose himself in her goodness, her blinding light.

Conner knew that he wasn’t worthy of anything more from a woman like her. But then he had a chance to sit with her, get to know her, and all bets were off. He couldn’t just have her for one night. Just being in her presence quieted down the unsettling in his spirit. The hatred. The vileness. The agony. From that moment on, he was obsessed with all things Novalee. An obsession that became an addiction. An addiction that became his air supply, his lifeline. His devotion and love for her only seemed to grow, with each passing day.

Novalee ran her fingers through his unruly bed hair. ‘How’s the birthday boy doing this morning?’ She grinned at him, her plump lips stretching into an affectionate smile.

‘After last night? Pretty fucking fantastic.’ His cock twitched just thinking about last night. He leisurely pulled her pajama tank top up over her small perky tits and planted kisses all over her flat abdomen, before trailing his tongue over the swells of her breasts and delicate collarbone.

‘How much time do you think we have?’ he asked, his hands roaming her body. Maybe they could have a quickie. Five minutes tops, before they were interrupted by their sons. That wouldn’t be a hard feat, seeing that his longevity was always a battle of the wills whenever he was inside of her. It always took sheer brainpower and iron self-control to not spill inside of his wife from the moment his dick was wet. But his inherent need to see and feel her come undone, and his vanity to be the best fuck she’d ever had, kept him from becoming a premature ejaculate lover.

‘Mmm,’ Novalee responded as she lifted her pelvis, grinding against him with skilled rhythm. His jaw ticked and his erection was like stone. He knew he would have to be gentle with her, especially after the debauchery they partook in last night. ‘Not enough time. The kids will be up soon. They’ve already slept in as is.’

He dropped his head on her breasts and groaned. ‘You’re right,’ he said, but it was taking a while for his dick to get the memo. He loved his sons more than anything in the world, but they wore the ‘cockblocker’ badge with honor. Rolling over on his back, he held Novalee firmly, rolling her with him until she was on top of him.

She folded her arms across his hard chest and looked down at him. Her soft curls fell around his face like silk. ‘The caterers and party planners will be here at 2 o’clock. My stylists, at 3. Our guests, at 6.’ This was the first year that Conner would be celebrating his birthday since the death of Colton. Novalee had been planning it for months. He still could have done without a big party, opting to spend the time alone with his family. But he did it for them. His wife and kids. He loved them beyond measure, and if they wanted to celebrate his arrival into this world, who was he to deny them anything they wanted? The smiles on their faces alone, when he finally agreed to the party, was worth it. Dr. McLaughlin seemed to believe it was a good idea, as well. Not that he particularly cared what his therapist thought about the matter. Although he trusted Dr. McLaughlin, he still pretty much gave zero fucks about the opinions of others, except for his wife.

‘Skylar will be here in a couple of hours to keep the kids occupied until my parents get here.’ Skylar. Victor’s obsession. Although Conner rarely trusted anyone around his children, and with good reason, Skylar was harmless. A mousy, awkward thing, that always seemed terrified of Conner, like he killed puppies for sport. ‘Will your dad be bringing a plus one?’ Novalee chewed on her bottom lip as she looked down expectantly at him.

Didn’t she know how fucking sexy she looked when she did that? She was responsible for the memo delay to his dick. ‘Possibly,’ he said as he ran the pad of his thumb across her bottom lip.

Possibly. But Conner doubted it. Who knew, when it came to his father? Since divorcing Martina, good ole’ dad had been sticking his dick in their childhood maid, Lupe, seemingly on a full-time basis. He even hired another maid to take her place. Lupe’s new job seemed to be to keep his dick wet.

Kenneth and Conner never had a close relationship. Kenneth always prioritized pussy and money over the relationship with his sons. Conner gave him a little credit, however, for attending a couple of therapy sessions with him after the birth of his grandsons, whom he adored. It was during one of those sessions that Conner told his father about the sexual abuse. Although there was no statute of limitations in the state of Texas for such a crime, Conner refused to press charges against Martina, not wanting a public scandal. Kenneth agreed. Novalee gave her reluctant agreement, but Conner knew she was none too pleased that Martina wouldn’t pay for her crimes, preferable in a jail cell.

What Novalee didn’t know was that the Brathwaites tended to handle things more…privately. Though they had judges, politicians, and police in their back pockets – even before Conner was born, his bloodline preferred a more ruthless type of justice, one that Novalee knew nothing about. Conner had never dirtied his hands with such affairs. He wasn’t loyal enough to his father and family line to taint or threaten his reputation and soul any farther. It had already been darkened enough by the sins of his mother. He made sure to keep his business dealings clean and had decided to separate the home division segment of Brathwaite, Inc., into its own new company, C.C.B. – Conner Colton Brathwaite, in memory of his brother. It felt good, being both President and C.E.O of his private-owned company, not answering to anyone. Not that he answered to his father while at Brathwaite, Inc., but still. With the vast and lucrative success that C.C.B brought in, in addition to his inheritance, Conner still had more money than he could ever spend in ten lifetimes.

Martina left the United States and lived meagerly in a small flat in Italy. In fear of criminal charges, Kenneth encouraged her to leave their family fortune behind. According to Kenneth’s people, Martina was shacking up with a broke artist, and snorting the little money she had left from her modeling days, up her nose. Kenneth saw to it that Martina was sterile, not able to ever carry children again. How the fuck he was able to see to that? Conner had no idea and wanted to be spared the details.

Novalee wrapped her legs around Conner’s hips, straddling him, which snapped him back to reality and away from his dysfunctional family. His fingers bit into her hips, which had gotten curvier since the birth of their children. He knew he was a lucky bastard. ‘Maybe we can shower together once Sky gets here?’ Novalee suggested, as her deep brown eyes implored his. ‘Who knows what type of shenanigans we’ll get into?’

His wife was just as insatiable for him as he was for her. He arched an eyebrow at her, thinking about the things they could do in the shower. He cupped her ass in the palms of his hands. ‘You’re so fucking hot.’

Novalee awarded him with a seductive smile before leaning down to suck on the column of his throat. Her cell phone started to buzz on the nightstand as she planted kisses along his jaw.

‘Leave it,’ he grunted, as he began to pull her pajama shorts and panties down.

‘It could be important.’ To his chagrin, she reached over and grabbed her phone.

She read off the text aloud to Conner:

Hey Cousin. Our flight was delayed. We’ll be a little late. Your stylists are confirmed for 3. Sorry I won’t be back in time to do your hair. But I have my best team of stylists coming through to hook you up. Tell Conner we said Happy Birthday! Muah! Love you!

Like he gave a fuck about anything else at that moment, except for burying himself inside of his wife. Conner grabbed the phone out of Novalee’s hand and flung it across the bed. ‘Hey! I was just going to send a quick text back…’ Her words were interrupted by a moan, as Conner inserted a long finger inside of her. Then another. Then another. ‘Oh, God,’ she moaned as he stroked inside of her.

‘What were you saying?’ he asked, looking up at her with a casual look on his face, as he fucked her with his fingers. Her juices were coating his hand.

Novalee tried and failed to speak coherently. Only moans and sharp intakes of breath escaped her lips before she tugged his pajama pants down over his ass and stiff erection.

The sound of the door creaking open caused Conner to remove his fingers from Novalee and swiftly roll her over onto her back. Shielding her with his body, while she adjusted her clothing, Conner pulled up his pajama pants. ‘Happy birthday, daddy!’ Caleb and Caden, their rambunctious identical twins, came barreling through the door, running straight towards them.

‘Hey, guys!’ Conner called out before discreetly licking his fingers of Novalee’s juices. Fuck, he needed more of that. Soon.

‘Fiend. Go wash your hands,’ she murmured, before hugging Caleb and Caden, as they crashed into her with smothering hugs.

Conner chuckled as he rose from the bed and pulled a t-shirt over his head. He caught Novalee ogling him as he pulled his shirt down over his muscled abs, which only made him want her more. He needed a cold shower and a workout. He made a mental note to go downstairs to their gym and pump iron until his muscles burned. Anything to take away some of the sexual frustration until he was able to be inside of his wife again.

‘Daddy! Where you goin?’ Caleb, Conner’s shadow, called out. His mouth was already pouting in a frown.

‘Just to the bathroom, bud. I’ll be right back.’

‘Hey babies,’ he heard Novalee say behind the bathroom door. ‘I wondered when you guys were going to wake up.’ Caden must have reached for her septum piercing. ‘What did mommy tell you about pulling her nose ring?’

‘Sorry, mama,’ Caden said.

After taking a piss and washing his hands, but not before sniffing the sweet scent of Novalee on his fingers, Conner sauntered out of the bathroom.

‘Caleb, stop jumping on the bed,’ Conner warned, with no heat in his voice.

‘Ah, daddy. Please,’ he begged as he continued to jump.

He gave Caleb a look that spoke volumes. Caleb halted in his jumping. Caden began to giggle, which he did whenever Caleb got in trouble, which was often because Caleb always got into trouble. Conner scooped up both boys in his arms, causing them to squeal in a fit of laughter.

Just then, a piercing cry rang out through the baby monitor. ‘Can we go get Nova, daddy? Pleeease?’ Caden asked as he hung sideways, tucked under Conner’s arm.

‘Sure. Let’s give mommy a minute.’ Planting both boys on their feet, Conner leaned over to kiss Novalee’s luscious lips and ran his fingertips over the freckles that he loved so much. The boys responded with an ‘Eww’ in unison.

Conner walked down the hall to the nursery. Caleb and Caden ran ahead of him, pushing the door open to the pink and purple explosion of all shit girly. Nova’s wailing cries ratcheted up even louder until Conner appeared. Her cries then turned to squeals of laughter. Standing in her crib, decked out in her cotton onesie and dimpled chubby legs, was Conner’s mini-me. Nova’s arms were outstretched, her two teeth peeking through a slobbered grin. Caleb and Caden were now distracted, taking turns diving into the mountain of teddy bears that were on display in one corner of the room. Conner’s heart swelled every morning, and something akin to fear and protectiveness reared, whenever he looked at his baby girl. He would move heaven and earth to keep her safe. To keep his boys and his wife safe.

After changing a motherload of a shitty diaper and trying not to gag, Conner washed his hands and carried a sleepy Nova back to his bedroom. Novalee was coming out of the bathroom, in a pair yoga pants and a tank, pulling her hair up into a ponytail. Conner kissed the top of Nova’s unruly mop of curly hair as she looked up at her daddy with her big green eyes.

‘Nova pooped, and it was really stinky.’ Caden elaborated. ‘Daddy changed her diaper.’

‘I made sure daddy washed his hands,’ Caleb added.

‘It was like a toxic explosion.’ Conner scrunched up his face as he and Novalee sat back down on their bed. Both boys giggled at their daddy’s description. No one would ever describe Conner as funny. Hell, not even as a nice person. But his sons thought he was the most hilarious guy on the planet. Always laughing at his corny jokes. Yes, he joked now, on occasion, but only in the privacy of his own home. Outside of their home, he was still a douche.

Nova began to yawn and snuggled deeper into Conner’s chest. Within a couple of minutes, fourteen-month-old Nova was sound asleep, softly snoring.

Conner leaned back against the headboard, cradling a sleeping Nova as she gripped the fabric of his t-shirt. Novalee sat back beside Conner. Caden and Caleb sat at the foot of their parents’ bed, crashing their toys trains into one another, as they mimicked the voices from Thomas the Train. Conner looked around at his four favorite people in the entire world.

‘How did I get so lucky?’ Conner asked, turning to Novalee. He asked her this often.

She leaned her head on his shoulder, and he leaned his head into hers. ‘I think it was long overdue for us. This. Is. Everything.’ Novalee closed her eyes, savoring the moment.

‘You’re mine,’ he whispered with a smile on his lips.

‘Yours,’ she repeated, as they turned towards one another, their foreheads meeting.

‘Yours,’ he affirmed, as they rubbed noses.

‘Mine,’ she claimed, as she pressed her lips to his.

‘Ours.’ He gestured to their three children, and then placed his hand over Novalee’s flat tummy, which was growing new life inside of it.

‘I love you, Mrs. Novalee Brathwaite.’ His eyes shone bright with love.

‘And I love you, Mr. Conner Brathwaite.’