A small smile curved his mouth. “Neither do I.” She looked down at her hand resting over her stomach, then back at him. He was the man who showed up for her. He was the one who stayed by her side and the one who fought for her without trying to own her. Elias was the man who loved her.
“Yes,” she said, the word soft but sure. “Yes, Elias. I’ll marry you.” For a split second, he didn’t move. It was as though he wasn’t sure that he had heard her right. He exhaled, his breath shaky but relieved as he slid the ring onto her finger with hands that trembled just slightly. She laughed through tears as he leaned forward, pressing his forehead to hers, careful of wires and monitors and everything else that suddenly felt very far away.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you,” he replied, voice thick with emotion. “I promise that I’ll always be right beside you, but never in front of you. We’re going to do this side by side, honey.” Aliza closed her eyes, the weight in her chest finally easing. For the first time in a very long time, the future didn’t feel terrifying. It felt shared with a man whom she adored, and that meant everything. He was her personal Doctor Daddy, and she wouldn’t want things any other way.
Epilogue
It was almost impossible to convince Elias that she didn’t want a big wedding. The one thing she demanded was that they get married before the baby came, but other than that, she was fine with going downtown to the Justice of the Peace to get married. He told her that he wanted to give her a big wedding, so that she’d feel like a princess, but she didn’t need any of that. Besides, who would they invite to a huge shindig?
Instead of all the bells and whistles, she and Elias headed downtown to the courthouse with Dani and Jonnas by their sides, and got married—making everything official just months before the baby’s due date. And it was absolutely perfect.
They decided to hold off on a honeymoon until after the baby came, since Aliza wasn’t allowed to travel out of the state. Since her scare and hospital stay, Elias had been overly protective, and at first, she thought that it might drive her crazy to have him hovering over her that way. But after a while, she learned to accept that was just who her guy was.
He found her in the bathroom, getting ready for their night out. It was just a hospital mixer, but she was looking forward to spending the evening with friends, getting dressed up, and having a good time. It sure beat her normal outfit of yoga pants and one of Elias’s oversized T-shirts that she wore around the house.
“You about ready?” he asked, looking her over. She was standing in the bathroom in just her panties and bra as she shot him a disbelieving look.
“Um, do I look ready?” she sassed.
He smiled at her in the mirror and crossed the room to stand behind her. “You look pretty damn good to me,” he growled, grabbing her breasts through her bra. Her pregnancy hormones had been crazy since she got home, and Elias couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her. She moaned and shoved back into his already growing erection.
“You keep that up, and we’re going to really be late,” she breathed.
“Then, I say we should just be late,” he whispered into her ear, making her shiver.
Elias’s hand settled at the small of her back as though he wanted to claim her. Since she returned home, he had become more dominant with her in the bedroom, and she had to admit she liked that side of him. Even when she teasingly called him “Daddy,” he didn’t seem to mind as much anymore.
His voice dropped, calm and steady, the way it did when he was making a decision that wasn’t up for debate. “Stay right there,” he said quietly. The authority in his tone sent a shiver through her. She did as she was told without thinking, her heart pounding, and her breath already shallow. He stepped behind her, close enough that she could feel the heat of him, the solid presence that made her feel small in the best possible way.
“Still trust me?” he asked.
“Yes,” she whispered, “always.” His approval was so immediate that it was almost tangible. A hand slid down her hip, fingers firm and unyielding in her flesh. His hand stayed there, grounding her, owning the moment, and Aliza couldn’t seem to get enough of him.
Her breath hitched, a soft sound she didn’t recognize as her own. “Good girl,” he murmured. “I need you to tell me what you feel.”
She swallowed. “Turned on,” she admitted. “And safe.” That seemed to do something to him to ignite the fire that was burning between them.
He pressed closer, one hand braced beside her on the bathroom counter, the other steady and sure as it tugged her panties down her legs. Every movement was intentional. Every pause made her more aware of how completely he was paying attention to her reactions.
When his hand came down again on her fleshy backside, it wasn’t about force—it was about control. It was about knowing exactly how much she could take and never crossing the line without her consent. She leaned into his hand, surprised by her own reaction, and by how much she liked surrendering that control to someone who treated it like a responsibility instead of a right.
“That’s it,” he said softly. “You’re doing so well, baby.” The praise went straight through her, curling low and deep in her belly, making her crave more from him. She turned her head slightly, meeting his eyes, and the intensity there made her knees weak.
“I didn’t know I’d like this so much,” she confessed.
He brushed his thumb along her jaw, tilting her face toward him. “Neither did I,” he said honestly. “But I won’t take anything you don’t want to give to me.”
She nodded, breathless. “I want this. I want more,” she begged. “Spank me, please.” The look that he gave her then—dark, focused, and reverent—made her feel powerful even as she gave herself over to him.
When he finished making her ass feel warm and well used, he dropped his pants, letting the belt hit the tile floor with a thud, and sank into her from behind. His skin brushing over where his hands had marked her turned her inside out with need as he pumped in and out of her body. He waited for her to find her release, and when she felt as though she might collapse, he wrapped his arms around her and lost himself deep inside of her body.
He kissed her slowly afterward, grounding her, reminding her that dominance didn’t mean distance. “I think that we’re definitely going to be late for the mixer,” he teased, pulling free from her body.
She watched as Elias crossed the bathroom and turned on the shower, letting the water warm up before tugging her into the spray with him. He quickly cleaned them both up as she thought about how she’d spent so much of her life fighting to hold onto control. It almost made her laugh at the fact that giving her power to Elias willingly felt even better than she ever imagined it could. She knew that it had everything to do with the fact that she felt safe with him. He was her whole world now, and that meant everything.
The hospital mixer was louder than Aliza expected it would be. Music pulsed through the ballroom, mingling with laughter and the clink of glasses, and everywhere she looked were people Elias worked with—doctors out of scrubs, nurses in dresses, administrators pretending they weren’t already three drinks in. She rested a hand on her very pregnant belly and shifted her weight, smiling politely as Elias’s colleagues stopped them every few feet to congratulate them on their marriage and the baby.
