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Anthony
It was a crime to still be this fit after birthing three children. Anthony was sure of it.
He swallowed roughly as he watched her, heat creeping up his neck and across his cheeks as his wife of nearly twelve years tipped her chin toward the late afternoon sun, golden brown skin glowing under a butterscotch sky, eyes closing in contentment as the waves lapped about her knees.
Ethereal. Resplendent. Exquisite. Unreal.
There weren’t enough words to describe his wife—his wife, he thought incredulously, as his heart clenched in his chest, just as it had every day for the past 4,236 days.
It was hard to believe that this much time had already passed since the day they’d stood together under the arbor in the Bridgertons’ backyard, tears streaming down their faces as they uttered matching, awestruck I do’s, and officially intertwining their lives forever.
Each day was a blessing—albeit a hectic, dizzying, tiresome, chaotic sort of blessing at times—but a blessing, nonetheless. And if the past twelve years were anything to go by, Anthony couldn’t help but look ahead to the next twelve with optimism in his veins and a heart filled with gratitude.
As a young lad, despite witnessing his parents’ love for one another, he’d never known he himself could love someone quite so much—so wholly, so desperately that he would’ve given up everything just to see her happy.
And given up everything he nearly had.
Anthony still looked back to that time on occasion—the time he’d nearly lost her forever, when his heart would break anew every second of every day that he’d been reminded of his position as her man of honor and not her betrothed, her impending nuptials to another man signifying her forever choice, and his forever misery.
Even today, he knew that one word from her would’ve kept him silent forever. Had she really, truly loved Tom, he would’ve remained on the sidelines, content to love her from afar, satisfied in the knowledge that, even if he would be permanently scarred, she would still be living a fulfilling, joyful life.
But she hadn’t been happy, and she hadn’t loved Tom—not like she loved him… and dammit, if he wouldn’t be eternally grateful for that each and every day of his life.
She’d loved him all along, and while they’d quite possibly taken the most difficult journey imaginable to get to where they were now, they’d made it. They were here, with this incredible life, three beautiful children shared between them, and every bit as in love as ever.
Anthony took a deep breath, willing the sudden swell of emotion to fade while simultaneously struggling to keep himself from marching over to Kate, tossing her over his shoulder, and racing her back to their rental house to show her just how much she still affected him.
But then she bent over, a bright peal of laughter escaping her as her hands dipped under the water, and the blood was gone from his brain in an instant.
By God, if he didn’t get to her now, he would-
“Daddy, stop moving!” the little girl squealed next to him, and he jolted in surprise, only to have her shriek again as a huge pile of sand toppled and spilled all around him. “Daddy, you ruined it!” she cried, tiny arms flailing toward his legs—legs which had once been completely buried under the… “castle” his five-year-old daughter had insisted on building atop him.
Anthony shook his head a bit to clear it, before sighing. “I’m sorry, love. Daddy just got… distracted.” He glanced back over to where his wife still remained, crouching down to help Miles back up after he’d fallen off his boogie board for at least the tenth time.
“It’s okay, just…” she reached for Anthony’s face, little hands grasping either cheek as she looked him straight in the eye, “just be still, okay? Please?”
With that, Anthony’s face softened, heart melting into a puddle at the little girl’s feet. “Of course, Charlie. I’ll be still as a statue.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Satisfied, his daughter set about gathering the sand in her little plastic pail once more, unceremoniously dumping it into his lap one cold pile at a time.
Anthony smiled as he watched her, eventually helping her pound the sand into smooth, hardened planes while she tried her very best to shape it into one of the princess castles she was so fond of reading about during their nightly story time.
He didn’t look away again until he felt the familiar weight of one particular set of eyes trained on him, studying him openly. He glanced up, stomach swooping as Kate continued to look, lips turning upward into a smile when she noticed him notice her.
Immediately, Anthony beamed back, heart pounding in his chest, just like it always did, just like it always would.
And then she winked at him, and he was flushing all over again, suddenly both glad and dismayed by the layers of sand pressing down into his lap.
The urge to get close to her, to touch her, clawed at his chest once more, and it took even more force of will than he might’ve thought necessary to keep from standing up—his little girl’s sandcastle be damned—and doing just that.
How she could still turn him into this desperate, horny mess of a man after twelve years and three kids, he’d probably never know. He found he didn’t quite care, though, as he intently continued to watch her rake a hand through her wet hair, turn away from the beach, and dive back into the surf toward their two sons.
~~~~~~
Kate
I want it to be like this forever, she thought as she smiled back at her husband on the beach, who was helping their youngest pile so much sand on his legs they’d surely start going numb soon. Just you and me, and our babies, here together. Just like this.
It probably should’ve been jarring to know how much Anthony Bridgerton still affected her, how one smile—hell, even one single glance—could make her fall over and over and over again. But he’d been doing it without fail for practically as long as she could remember, so it was no surprise when her heart tripped over itself at his wide grin, cheeky and unrestrained.
I love you so much, she thought for the umpteenth time as her heart thundered away in her chest, suddenly yearning to reach out and touch him.
It had been too long—far, far too long—since they’d truly been alone together. If it wasn’t school, or work, or Edmund’s football practices, or Miles’s tennis lessons keeping them busy throughout the week, it was always something else. Play dates with any number of their many, many cousins, visits from Grandma Violet and Ammamma Mary, trips to the dog park with a geriatric-but-still-kicking Newton… Even at night they were hardly alone, it seemed, Charlie’s recent nightmares having her wedge her tiny body in between them in the middle of the night, finding comfort in the protection their presence offered.
And while Kate would never dream of taking any of those things for granted, she knew they’d both been itching to have just a bit of time to themselves, a bit of time to… rejuvenate.
At that thought, she felt an all-too-familiar pang of desire form in her stomach before quickly working its way south.
Anthony was still so handsome it made her ache, his once boyish features having slowly begun to fade in recent years, deeper wrinkles around the eyes and a bit of salty hair sprinkled in with the chestnut brown. But those signs of maturity only made him sexier than ever, and she found her jaw clenching involuntarily as her mind flashed with vivid images of what they could be doing together right now, had they not given in to their children’s pleas to join them this time on their yearly beach getaway.
But alas, they weren’t alone, so for now, Kate simply shot him her most flirtatious wink before turning to swim towards the sound of her sons calling out for her above the waves.
~~~~~~
“Mmm, finally” Anthony groaned before attacking her lips with his, his body backing her into the old, battered corner panels of their beach house, just out of sight of the children hosing sand off themselves on the back porch. “God, Kathani…” he breathed lowly, “I’ve been thinking about touching you all afternoon. All week, really.”
Kate couldn’t help the soft moan that escaped her lips, heat already thrumming through her veins as his bare torso melded deliciously into hers. She breathed him in, curling her arms around his neck and tangling her hands in his hair.
She had to keep from moaning even louder when his tongue danced over her lips, before licking into her mouth and sighing at the taste of her.
Their tongues moved together, desperately sliding over each other as Anthony’s hips gently pushed forward into hers.
“We… we have to stop” Kate gasped not even a minute later, despite wanting to do anything but. “Before-”
“Amma!” came a cry from off around the corner, effectively finishing her thought for her as Anthony sighed, pulling away from her reluctantly.
Kate would’ve giggled had she not seen the small twinge of frustration behind her husband’s eyes, the same feeling she knew she’d been experiencing lately as well.
“Sorry, babe” she whispered, before leaning forward to peck him on the lips. “Duty calls.” She kissed him again, raking her hand back through his hair. “But tonight, after the kids are asleep…”
She smiled at the spark of excitement that statement induced in him right away. “Yeah?”
“Hell, yeah” she whispered seductively, before slipping out of his arms. “I’ve been thinking about touching you all week, too.”
And she couldn’t help but blush at the low growl that rumbled in her ear as they both turned the corner, heading back to their children once more.
~~~~~~
Anthony
It was a little past 2 a.m. when his eyes fluttered open, already rejoicing at the feel of her hand ghosting under his t-shirt and up his torso, fingers tickling the tufts of hair on his chest.
He turned his head to the side to look at her, a lazy smile spreading across his lips.
“You still feeling up to it, tiger?” she smirked at him, the moonlight spilling through the window painting a heavenly glow across her skin.
“Oh, hell, yeah” he replied immediately, moving to reach for her waist.
He might’ve dozed off for a moment after they were finally able to get Charlotte back into her own bed, but he sure as hell wasn’t about to waste this opportunity on something as boring as sleeping.
Sliding closer, he trailed his hand lower down her back until his fingertips reached the hem of her black cotton shorts—a pair of the tiniest shorts he’d ever seen in his life, surely worn for the sole purpose of driving him insane.
“God… how?” he said, gravel in his voice, as his hand dipped under the fabric, the other hand cupping her neck to pull her in for a heated kiss.
“How what?” she hummed as she pulled away, eyes drifting shut as he firmly squeezed her backside in appreciation.
“How are you so fucking sexy, Kate? How do you still do this to me?” A growl escaped his throat as he kissed her again, filthily shoving his tongue past her lips and licking along the roof of her mouth, swallowing her responding whimper. “You wreck me, Kathani. Every. Single. Day.”
Her voice shuddered as he rolled on top of her, teeth grazing along her neck. “You’re one to talk.” She hissed as he nipped at the skin over her collarbone. “Watching you with Charlie today? Being the best, most patient dad in the world?” She gripped his jaw and guided his head back up to meet hers. “It took everything I had not to jump you right then and there.”
“It was-” he gasped as she pulled his bottom lip into her mouth and sucked, legs drawing his lower half further into the cradle of her hips, “-it was nothing.”
“It was everything” she whispered, rolling her hips up into him, encouraging more of his body weight to press into her.
He choked out a laugh even as he groaned her name. “Well, I would just like to point out… had you actually decided to jump me earlier, I certainly wouldn’t have protested.”
Kate huffed as she tugged at his shirt, quickly yanking it over his head when he pushed off of her. “Yes, I’m sure our three young children wouldn’t have been traumatized for life by that whatsoever.”
Anthony smirked down at her. “Well, they would understand one day, I’m sure.”
Kate just rolled her eyes as he curled both hands into the waistband of her sinful little pair of shorts, along with her underwear, tugging them down in one quick motion as she lifted up for him.
And then he lost the ability to speak at all for a long moment, mind going numb at the sight of her bare before him, already soaking wet. He licked his lips, doing his best to ignore the responding stretch of his boxer briefs, the throbbing already becoming a bit painful.
“Fuck, Kate. Fuck, you’re beautiful.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to… first?” she breathed, eyeing his growing bulge with hooded lids.
“Absolutely not” he replied, already ducking his head between her legs to get closer. “I’ve been thinking about tasting you all day, and if I have to wait any longer, Kate, I’ll go insane.”
“Well, if you ins—fuck!” she gasped, hips nearly slamming into his face as he dove straight in, tongue pushing through her folds and burying itself as deep as he could go.
Her responding moans were muffled, teeth likely biting down on her lip as her body writhed underneath him, hands digging into his hair. He hooked his arms around her hips and over her stomach to keep her anchored, a thrill shooting straight through him at the sound of her pleasure.
He made quick work of it, alternating long, deep licks with quick flicks of his tongue over her sensitive bud, only spurred on further by the sting of her hands yanking at the strands of his hair.
“Oh, God” Kate breathed, chest heaving. “God, Anthony, it’s so…”
Anthony just hummed straight into her, grinning to himself at the answering tremble of her pelvis.
Not two minutes later, he doubled down, intent on making her come so hard she’d have to bite her arm to keep from screaming.
But then, without warning, she flinched away from his tongue, clenching up.
He backed off immediately, recognizing her signs of overstimulation.
“S-sorry” she muttered shakily, one hand releasing his hair to stroke her thumb over his cheek.
“Don’t you dare be sorry” he insisted, lips moving to press featherlight kisses along her thighs instead.
“It’s been a while… I think I just need a sec-”
“I know.” He moved up to meet her eyes. “It’s okay, baby. We’ll take all the time you need.”
She took a deep, grounding breath, before kissing him slowly. “I love you” she whispered.
Anthony’s heart clenched in his chest, those words spoken from her lips never getting old. “I love you, too, Kate.” He brushed their foreheads together, breathing her in. “Tell me what you need.”
“I just… need you.” She kissed him again. “Inside me.”
He nodded, stomach twisting in anticipation as always. He moved to hover over her, quickly pushing down his briefs with one hand before lining himself up with her entrance.
He met her eyes once more, kissing her softly before murmuring in her ear. “You’re so beautiful, Kate. So beautiful.”
She smiled as she stroked his face. “You always say that.”
“It’s always true.”
She moved to kiss him again, a moan building in the back of her throat as he pushed his hips slowly forward, just starting to ease in.
“Oh, fuck, Anthony” Kate groaned. “You feel so g-”
“Holy shit!”
Two gasps that weren’t their own had them wrenching apart, only for Anthony to jump back to cover his wife with his own body, shielding her protectively as his head shot toward the doorway.
They both looked up to see the bewildered faces of their two sons—Edmund, flush apparent even in the dimness of the light, and Miles, eyes round, brows drawn and confused.
They all stared back at each other for a beat, not quite sure what to do.
“We’re… we’re sorry!” Edmund finally choked out, before grabbing his younger brother by the shirt sleeve and yanking him back, slamming the door behind them in the process.
Anthony and Kate just turned back to each other, matching expressions of disbelief on their faces.
“Oh, fuck” Kate whispered.
“Yeah” Anthony echoed, swallowing heavily.
"God, they're gonna be traumatized, for sure."
“Well…” Anthony replied, desperate to somehow make light of the situation, “at least they didn’t see me with my face down there…” he glanced down to where they were no longer connected, “you know…”
And he could do nothing but cringe at Kate’s responding groan into his neck.
~~~~~~
Kate
“Boys, can we come in?” Kate murmured through the door as she knocked quietly against the aged wood.
“Sure” came a hesitant response.
She and Anthony glanced at each other once before twisting the knob and pushing into the room their sons were sharing. Anthony turned on the light switch, Kate sighing at the uncertain looks on both of their faces. Edmund was sitting on the edge of his bed, Miles under the covers of his, linens pulled up to his chin.
“I’m sorry, Amma. Dad.” Edmund couldn’t meet their eyes as he said it, looking more embarrassed than she’d ever seen him. “Miles… he woke up because he realized Blankie was still in Amma’s suitcase, so I thought we could come in and be super quiet because… because you guys would be asleep.”
A blush rose to his cheeks again as he looked to the ground. Kate could only smile in understanding as she tiptoed over to his bed and dropped into the space next to him, careful not to touch him in case it made him even more uncomfortable.
“It’s alright, anpe” she soothed, as Anthony passed them both to squeeze himself onto the bed with Miles. “We’re sorry you saw… that.” She felt her own face flushing as awkwardness filled the room for a moment. “Next time just be sure to knock, okay? Even if you think we’re asleep.”
“Oh, I’m never, ever coming into your room again” Edmund stated emphatically, face twisting into mild disgust.
Kate blinked, eyes finding Anthony’s across the room, before an unexpected snort of laughter bubbled up and spilled out of her before she could help it.
And just like that, the spell was broken, Anthony joining in with her, followed by a still-confused Miles, and then finally, Edmund.
They giggled together, until Miles, sliding out from under the covers and leaning into Anthony’s side, looked between them both.
“What were you guys doing?” he asked, innocent eyes brimming with curiosity.
Kate opened her mouth but closed it, not quite sure how to begin. It wasn’t as though she and Anthony had never discussed this with one of their children before—they’d talked with Edmund not two years back, after all—but that time had been meticulously discussed and planned beforehand. This time most certainly was not.
Fortunately, Anthony spoke up for them both, putting his arm around their son and squeezing his shoulder. “Well, buddy, that’s what we came to talk to you about.”
At that, Edmund groaned, falling back onto his bed with an arm covering his eyes. “Oh, Lord have mercy. I don’t have to be here for this, do I?”
Kate chuckled again as she patted her eldest son’s knee. “No, anpe. Not if you don’t want to be. You can go lie on the couch for a little bit—or you could go to our bed, if you w-”
“Oh, God, no!” Edmund nearly shouted, looking thoroughly affronted.
“Right. Sorry” Kate replied, pushing her lips together to keep from smiling.
“I’ll be sleeping on the couch if anyone needs me.” With that, Edmund grabbed a pillow and blanket off of his bed, before rushing out the door without a second glance behind him.
Kate and Anthony shared another amused look before turning back to their other son, Anthony quickly turning serious again.
“Miles…” he started slowly.
The young boy looked up at him, expectant.
“We, um, we wanted to come and explain to you what just happened, so you could understand, and ask us any questions you might also have.”
Miles just blinked, waiting for him to go on.
Anthony looked back to Kate, who smiled softly and nodded, ready to chime in when necessary.
“Well…” he continued, taking a deep breath. “Remember when we talked a little bit before about how babies grow in mums’ tummies, like Amma did with you, Ed, and Charlie?”
Miles nodded. “Uh huh?”
“Well, one thing we haven’t told you yet is how exactly they get there.”
Miles frowned at that. “I already know how babies get in mums’ tummies, Daddy.”
Kate and Anthony both tried—and failed—to keep their surprise at bay.
“You… you do?” Kate probed gently.
“Yes.”
“How, then?”
Miles sent her a look that indicated he was seriously questioning her sanity. “The government, of course.”
He stated it so simply that it had Kate huffing out a laugh of disbelief, distinctly remembering those words having come from Edmund’s mouth several years before, verbatim.
“Fu-freaking Benedict” Anthony grumbled with a roll of his eyes, “what a useless uncle he is.”
“Dad…” Miles said, a bit impatient now as he turned back to his father, “I don’t understand. What does that have to do with you being naked on top of Amma?”
Anthony turned bright red in an instant, rubbing the back of his neck as he struggled for words.
“Anpe…” Kate replied, stepping in carefully. “Babies… they don’t come from the government—no matter what Uncle Benny may have told you.” She took a deep breath. “Babies are made by a woman and a man, like Daddy and I, and usually it’s because they love each other very much.”
Miles frowned, mind visibly reeling. “Really?”
“Yes, anpe. They make a baby… when they’re naked together. Like how you saw me and Daddy.”
The little boy’s eyes bulged at that. “You guys were trying to make a baby?”
“No” Kate chuckled, “no, Miles, we weren’t. But sometimes two people still like to be naked together, even if they aren’t trying to make a baby.”
“Why?”
“Well…” Anthony chimed in a bit bashfully, “because it feels good.”
“It does?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Anthony chuckled this time, and Kate’s heart squeezed at the gentleness behind his next words.
“Um… well, okay, you know when we talked to you before about the special parts of your body?”
“You mean my penis?”
Anthony’s eyes danced in amusement.
“Yeah, bud, your penis.”
“And girls’ vaginas?”
“Yes, Miles.”
“What about them?”
“Well, we use them to go to the bathroom, of course, but also… we use them to have sex.”
“Sex.” Miles considered the word for a long moment as he looked back and forth between his parents. “I heard someone say that word at recess one time, but I didn’t know what it meant.”
“Yeah, bud, some other kids your age will know about it, too. And hopefully it’s because of their mums and dads talking to them like we’re talking to you.”
“But I still don’t get it” Miles said with a frown. “What do you do with your special parts to have sex?”
“We, um…” Anthony glanced over at Kate, his cheeks still tinted a bit pink. “Well, Miles… we basically just… move them together.” He swallowed. “I… I put my penis inside Amma and move it in and out until… until we both feel really good, all over. It’s called an orgasm.”
“You… move it in and out of Amma’s vagina?” Miles turned to Kate then, eyes wide. “Amma, doesn’t that hurt?”
Kate laughed, moving over to join them on the small bed, Miles in between them. “No, anpe. I mean, it may have hurt a little bit at first, but it feels very good now. And Daddy and I like to do it to show how much we love each other.”
“But… but how does doing that make a baby? And how can you just decide if you want to make a baby, or you want to do it just to feel good? Or-”
“One step at a time, love” Kate said softly, laying a hand on her son’s shoulder. She looked over at Anthony and gave him a small, encouraging nod.
“Let’s just focus on the baby part for now, alright?” Anthony cut in. “Now, what I’m about to tell you might actually sound a bit silly, Miles, but-”
“Oh, all of it sounds very silly” Miles stated matter-of-factly. “But I suppose I believe what you’ve said so far.”
Neither Kate nor Anthony could keep from letting out a snort at that, their middle child every bit as pragmatic as he’d been since the day he could talk.
“Well, go on.” Miles waved his hands at his father. “What is it, Daddy?”
Anthony shook his head with a chuckle as he regained his composure. “Alright, so… whenever I feel really good and have an orgasm? This whitish sort of liquid just kind of… shoots out of my penis, and into Amma’s vagina.”
The boy’s eyes went rounder than Kate had ever seen them. “Like a squirt gun?”
Kate pressed her lips together yet again, beguilement and affection welling up in equal parts.
“Sure, buddy” Anthony replied with a chuckle, “like a squirt gun.” He cleared his throat. “It’s called semen. And this semen, it’s… well, it’s made up of a bunch of things called sperm. And these sperm can swim.”
“Swim?”
“Yes. Sort of like tadpoles.”
“Tadpoles?”
“Yes, Miles.”
“This sounds like the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. Go on.”
“Okay. Well, these sperm swim through your Amma’s vagina and along this tunnel until they reach an egg. Then only one sperm will combine with that egg, and together, they make a tiny little baby, until it grows big enough in Amma’s belly until it’s time to come out. And that’s how you, Edmund, and Charlie were all made.”
Miles blinked, then blinked again. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
Kate and Anthony both watched as Miles took a deep breath, before blowing it out slowly. “Phew” he sighed, suddenly sounding much older than his mere eight years, “that’s… a lot.”
“We know, love.” Kate squeezed her hand that was still on his shoulder before leaning in to kiss him on the forehead. “That’s why we want to answer any questions you might have right now. There’s a lot more to talk about, though, and we’ll keep having more of these discussions in the future. Alright?”
Miles nodded slowly, blinking up at Kate. “I do actually have a question for you, Amma.”
“Of course, anpe. What is it?”
“Well, you and Daddy were best friends growing up, right?” At her nod, he continued. “And you had sex with him?”
Kate nodded again, albeit more slowly this time. “Yes, anpe, but not until we were much, much older.”
“Callie’s my best friend…” Miles continued, glossing over Kate’s previous statement entirely. “So… does this mean we’ll grow up and have sex with each other?”
Kate tried to keep herself from reeling a bit, the notion of her little boy having sex one day making her suddenly want to cry.
Sensing her distress, Anthony chimed in again. “Maybe one day, bud, yes. If you end up falling in love with each other. But only when you’re much, much, much older” he emphasized, sending a pointed look Kate’s way.
Kate shot back a small smile as she blew out a breath.
“So…” Miles started again, “I can’t have sex with her right now?”
“No!”
The young boy jerked back in surprise at both his parents’ shouts of dissent, eyes bulging.
“Sorry, anpe” Kate breathed, holding a hand to her chest. “You just… surprised us, is all.” She forced out a small laugh, willing her voice to come back under control. “We’re only telling you these things now because it’s important to understand how our bodies work, so that we can make good choices about what we do with them, as well as what we allow others to do.” She moved her hand to rub along her son’s back. “You have to be very careful when it comes to sex, because it can be misused in a lot of ways.”
“It can?”
“Yes, anpe. Sex is a wonderful thing, and that’s why you have to protect it, and your body. Like a treasure.”
Miles didn’t say anything for a long moment, staring ahead as he mulled her words over. Then, to her unmitigated relief, he finally smiled. “Like a treasure.” He nodded once. “I like the sound of that.”
“Pretty cool, huh?” Anthony asked with a small grin.
“Very cool” he replied, voice suddenly growing strained as he repressed a yawn.
“Alright, well, it’s very late, love” Kate soothed. “Why don’t we pick this conversation up again another time soon, yes?”
Miles shrugged, already yawning again. “Sure.”
“Do you feel a little better about all of this now, anpe? Are you okay?”
At his sweet smile and sleepy nod, Kate leaned in once more to kiss him on the forehead. “Good. Good night, anpe. We love you.”
She and Anthony stood to leave then, but just as they reached the door, Miles called out one more time.
“Amma? Daddy?"
"Yeah, kiddo?"
"Are you guys gonna go have sex now?”
Kate fumbled through the door as Anthony laughed openly in response. “Absolutely not, bud” he replied cheekily. “We’re tired, too—besides, you and Ed already ruined the moment.”
~~~~~~
Anthony
“I’m sorry, but were you not just on holiday for nearly a week?” Benedict asked as he peered at them through the front door with narrowed eyes. “Why exactly am I being cajoled into watching seven children all alone tonight?”
“Because Sophie’s at work, and you owe us” Anthony stated simply, as Kate handed over the diaper bag full of snacks and spare clothing.
“And why is that, pray tell?”
“Well, how about the fact that you’ve lied to not only one, but two of our children about where babies come from?” Anthony replied with an exasperated glare.
“Oh.” Benedict’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Well, see… what happened was… I was just… it was really-”
“Save it, Ben.” Anthony rolled his eyes, though he couldn’t quite hide his playful smirk. “You screwed up, and now you have to pay. Besides, Kate and I have been needing a date night for a while now, just the two of us.”
Benedict just sighed as his niece and nephews slipped by him through the door, already calling out for their cousins to come and play.
Just before Miles disappeared around the corner, though, he turned back to his parents, expression deadly serious. “Are you guys just leaving us so you can go have sex?”
Edmund’s groan rang throughout the house as Kate froze in place, Benedict pursing his lips and raising his eyebrows in clear accusation.
Anthony, however, just bent down, leveling his younger son with an open, honest gaze. “Yes” he said simply.
Miles paused for only a moment, before shrugging and turning the other way. “Okay” he replied, nonchalant as ever, as he took off into the house to join his siblings once more.
~~~~~~
They didn’t even make it back home before they were on each other, SUV pulled over on a side street they could only hope was hidden out of sight of any prying eyes.
Anthony followed Kate eagerly as she scrambled into the back seat, cursing as his knee hit the center console.
“How…” he started, voice swallowed by her desperate kiss, “how exactly are we gonna do this?” he asked, back nudging painfully into Charlotte’s booster seat.
“We can fit on the floor, I think.” She laid back, only to curse at the slew of crumbs and food wrappers crunching into her back.
Anthony would’ve laughed out loud had he not been so singularly focused.
“The boot” he growled, pupils blown wide, his entire body aching with need.
“Great idea.”
They both climbed over the last row of seats until falling unceremoniously into the boot of their car, Anthony furiously shoving football boots, tennis rackets, and a heap of other things out of the way.
When they’d made enough room, he turned back to her, chest squeezing at a sudden memory flashing through his mind. “Do you remember the first time we did this?” he asked softly. “When we’d just gotten together, and we couldn’t even last a full workday without seeing each oth-”
He was cut off by Kate’s lips crashing into his, her arms wrapping around him and pulling him on top of her as she laid back against the rough carpet. “We can reminisce all you want later, babe” she breathed. “But right now, I just want you to fuck me. Hard.”
Anthony didn’t have to be told twice as he fumbled to remove his clothing as quickly as possible, tugging his shirt over his head and pulling off his shoes before yanking down his jeans and underwear. Then he helped Kate as she worked to unhook the strap of her bra, the both of them moving like terrified teenagers afraid they were about to get caught out by their parents.
Finally, she was bare before him, and he couldn’t help but place a soft kiss to his wife’s lips, taking just a moment to let the vision of her sink in.
“You’re so, so beautiful, Kathani” he muttered against her lips, awestruck as ever.
“You always say that” she whispered back.
He smirked as he positioned himself over her. “It’s always true.”
In one swift, nimble movement, he pushed inside her, drowning out her loud moan with a desperate cry of his own.
His pace was fast and unrelenting as they moved together, careening toward the peak of their desire like they’d been starved of each other for far too long (and truly, they had been—it had been almost two whole weeks since they’d last made love, after all).
Kate wound her legs around him even tighter as she gasped his name, Anthony burying his face into her neck as his thrusts quickly grew frantic.
“Shit. Fuck, Anthony, that’s so good.” She moaned as he slammed into her with every last bout of energy he had in him, her fingers twisting in his hair as she held on for dear life.
“Kate” he grunted, moving his head to swallow her lips in a searing kiss as they dangled just over the edge together.
“I love you, Anthony” she gasped as he gave his final, furious thrusts.
And then they both fell, spiraling together in delirious, heated ecstasy, hearts pounding as they gripped each other tight.
Chest heaving, Anthony eventually brought his forehead to hers, sweat on their brows making them slide together gently.
“I love you, too, Kate” he whispered. “I’ll love you forever.”
~~~~~~
Six weeks later
Kate
“This can’t possibly be accurate” she whispered, eyes wide as she gawked up at her husband.
Anthony just shrugged, fighting a smile. “What do you mean, babe? Of course, it can.”
“I can’t… we can’t be… can we?” Her mind reeled as she played through the past several weeks.
She’d been so consistent, she thought. So careful. Just like they’d always been, only making it happen when they’d been actively trying.
What had she missed?
“Oh, fuck” she hissed after a long moment, sliding to the bathroom floor. “Fuck. The night we took the kids to Ben and Sophie’s…”
Anthony just nodded as he joined her on the ground, as though he’d already reached the same conclusion.
“How could I have forgotten to take it?”
“Well, we were pretty busy that night, if you don’t recall.” His smug smile was just irritating enough that she almost didn’t care how cute it was. “Y’know… first in the boot of the car. And then on the couch as soon as we got home, then in the shower, then in our be-”
“Alright, alright, I get it.”
“Besides” Anthony continued, reaching for her hand as his voice turned sincere, “it’s every bit my fault as it is yours—if you can call it a fault, that is.”
Kate blinked as she looked into his eyes. “I thought we agreed that we’d stop at three, though. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
Anthony just squeezed her hand in reassurance. “Maybe that’s what we decided, but clearly, the universe had other plans.” He used his free hand to caress her face then, smile already starting to brim with tears. “We’re having a baby, Kate. A beautiful, perfect little baby. And you’re going to be the most incredible mother to four amazing children. And I’ll consider myself a successful father if I can be even half as good a parent as you.”
Anthony looked at her as though he was preparing to pull her into his arms, to wipe away the anxious tears, to reassure her that everything was going to be alright.
But somehow, the anxiety never came.
Instead, Kate just took a long, slow breath, before bright, elated laughter came tumbling out on the exhale.
“Four children…” she breathed, smile incredulous.
Anthony beamed back at her. “Four children.”
And then she was in his arms, anyway, kissing him and kissing him until they eventually had to part for breath.
“This baby is going to be so loved, Kate” he whispered against her lips. “And he or she will fit right into our crazy, wonderful family.”
She kissed him again, tears of joy stinging her eyes as she reached to wipe his own tears away. “I can’t wait.”
~~~~~~
“A baby?” Edmund and Miles said at the same time, while Charlotte immediately jumped up from the couch, squealing in delight.
“Yes” Kate replied, clutching onto Anthony’s hand and squeezing tight. “Here in about seven and a half months, you guys will have a new baby brother or sister.”
Edmund took a deep breath, glancing back and forth between the two adults. “Well… I suppose there are a million of us Bridgertons, anyway.” He stood, gaze a bit careful. “What’s one more?” Then he just shrugged, before a smile spread wide across his lips as he stepped forward to hug them both tightly.
Kate looked over to Anthony, feeling herself sigh in relief at their eldest’s happy acceptance of the news.
As Edmund pulled away and ran around them to swing Charlotte about the living room, their attention was brought back to their second child, who was studying them with an oddly suspicious gaze.
“That night on the trip…” he started, finger and thumb holding his chin, “I thought you said you weren’t trying to make another baby.”
Anthony chuckled. “We weren’t, bud. But sometimes this kind of thing just sort of… happens.”
“So… people can still have a baby even if they’re not actually trying to make one?”
Kate nodded. “That’s right, anpe.”
Miles frowned, sighing heavily. “Well, then, if that’s the case… I’m not having sex for a very, very long time.”
And when he walked off to join his two other siblings, Kate and Anthony turned to each other, bright smiles growing on their faces.
“We’re pretty awesome parents, aren’t we?” Anthony asked, holding up a fist.
Kate just chuckled, bringing up her own fist to bump into his. “The best.”
The end.