Chapter 183 Born of Five Promises
POV Maya:
I press my heels into Thunder’s flanks, urging him to reach my men as fast as possible. As he gallops, within seconds I’m behind the five brothers. The ride makes me close my eyes as the pain becomes unbearable. I pull on the reins, making Thunder stop, and carefully dismount. The moment my feet touch the ground, I bend slightly.
I see Sebastian kneeling beside Scarlett, apologizing, and I swallow the pain and guilt I see in him.
Emotionally, I watch each of my men apologize to Scarlett. I’m glad to see that even years later, their apologies make her happy. But all my emotion vanishes the moment I see Sebastian hug her. No matter how understanding I am, there are limits—and I’ll make him pay for that. Scarlett’s eyes meet mine, and I smile when I see how happy she looks.
“Maya, thank you. I didn’t know I needed this until now.”
“I couldn’t let them keep hating you behind your back. Besides, it took the fun out of me cursing you,” I say with a shrug, because I’m being honest.
“I hope one day to hear your story.”
“Trust me, it’s boring as hell.” I squeeze Dominic’s ass, and he jumps in place. “Isn’t it, my caveman brute?”
“Maya, don’t start.” The brute pulls me by the waist, pressing me against his side. “We know you won’t be able to handle it.”
I smile because it’s true. Since I got pregnant, I haven’t been able to keep up—but I know that once our baby is born, I will.
Scarlett says goodbye and gets into the car. As they drive away, I bend forward slightly, no longer able to endure the pain. I watch my cowboys mounting their horses, and only then do they notice Thunder.
“Maya, you can’t ride a horse, fuck. How many times do we have to tell you that?” Luca scolds me, and I don’t hide my grimace of pain. “What is it?”
“I think it’s time to say that Benjamin wants to be born.”
The five of them stare at me wide-eyed, and within minutes I’m in Dominic’s arms as he runs toward our house.
...
I scream once more and push, but the baby doesn’t come, and I collapse back onto the bed. After we arrived at the ranch, my water broke. There was no time to go to the hospital—our only option was to prepare ourselves to bring our baby into the world right here.
Luca is beside Sebastian; the two of them took charge of delivering Ben. Dominic is at my side, holding my hand, while Mikhail and Adrian are on the other, kissing and wiping the sweat from my forehead.
“Push one more time, baby,” Luca urges, and I strain again, but I can’t—I’m exhausted.
“Luca, I can’t do it,” I say, tears streaming down my face. “I need to rest for a moment.”
“Push one more time and you can rest, love, please. You can do it—we’re here.”
Seeing the truth in his words and the comfort in my cowboys’ eyes, I gather every last bit of strength and push with everything I have. A few seconds pass, and then I hear a cry growing louder by the second.
My eyes overflow, joy spilling through my tears. Luca lifts our baby into his arms, kisses his little red-haired head, and passes him to Sebastian, who wastes no time bringing him to me.
“He’s perfect, love,” he says, and I look at the round little face of our baby.
“Welcome, Benjamin.” I kiss his forehead.
I stroke his red hair and breathe in the scent of his tiny head, promising myself that I will do my best to be the best mother in the world for him. I will always put his needs before my own. My cowboys surround us, and our son receives a kiss on the forehead from each of them.
It feels like yesterday when I found out I was pregnant—the uncertainty about what they would think, the fear that they would freak out. In the end, I was the one who panicked. They supported me every single day, and since then we’ve built an unbreakable bond.
“Thank you for making another dream come true,” I say, receiving a chaste kiss from each of them on my lips. “I love you. I love you more every day.” I look down at our son searching for my breast, and with Dominic’s help, I guide my nipple to his little mouth.
I’m so hypnotized watching him nurse that I don’t know how much time passes before I hear Adrian call me.
“Love.” I lift my head and see my five men kneeling beside the bed. “I think it’s time for you to say yes.” Adrian opens a small box with a beautiful ring set with five sparkling stones.
“What?” I whisper, letting the first tear fall.
“One more dream for our collection.” He takes the ring from the box and stands, sliding it onto my finger. “What do you say?” I look at the five of them and give the only answer in my heart.
“Yes,” I say, and in an instant they are at my side and at our son’s. “I love you—today and always,” I declare, overwhelmed.
“I love you, dirty girl.”
“We love you, redhead.”
“I love you, you little devil.”
“I love you, little pepper.”
I close my eyes, overcome with emotion at finally conquering what I always dreamed of—my family. I rest my head on Dominic’s chest while holding Adrian’s and Mikhail’s hands, as Luca and Sebastian clean me up. I sigh, finally able to rest, because I know that when I wake up, they’ll be right there beside me.