To Claim His Girl

“So? How old were you and Dad when you stopped trick or treating?” Robin popped her gum.

“Eli!”

“Yeah, babe,” her husband said, coming out of the basement. He carried a large cool box that she had sent him down to get.

“How old were we when we stopped trick or treating?”

“Stopped? Babe, we still do it today.” He moved up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck.

“You two are so gross. I’m never getting married.” Robin left the kitchen, popping her gum.

“Do you think this has something to do with Boyd?” Eli asked.

Boyd was Mary and Branson’s second kid. He was thirteen going on forty, and believed everything was lame.

“Yep, but I don’t care. We’re all going to the lake. It’s tradition.” Eli kissed her neck once again. “I can’t wait to get you home tonight.”

Aria relaxed against him, knowing tonight was going to go really slow. Fifteen years had passed, and they were still as strong now as they were when they were kids, if not stronger.

Unlike their friends, they did wait to marry until they graduated from college. Eli had a business economics degree, and she was a trained therapist for young people. The truth was, life had gotten so crazy that getting married never seemed a main priority. They had each other, and for them that was enough. Marriage was just an extension of how they felt for each other, and for the world to know they belonged to each other.

Giving birth to Robin had been life changing for Aria, as she loved being a mother. Four children later, she was happy to call it a day, and give her lady parts a rest, at least for giving birth. She wanted more time with just her and Eli, and lots of sex. She was still addicted to the feel of him inside her, and that had never diminished. They still had the passion, the fire,

the need that drove them. When it came to Eli, she knew she would love him for the rest of her life.

Packing everyone up into the car, along with the food, they drove toward the lake.

Chris and Rachel didn’t finish college before their first child was born. Missy was so sweet, and over the past fifteen years, they had all had twelve children among them. It was really surreal to think how quickly their families had grown.

Parking up beside the other two family cars, everyone climbed out, and made their way toward the lake. There was some music filtering toward the car.

“The party has clearly started without us,” Eli said, carrying their youngest boy, Jason, in his arms.

Everyone was down at the lake. Rachel and Mary rushed toward Aria, and the kids took the trays of brownies she had made, and started passing them around.

“You decorated?” Aria asked, pointing toward the webs and Halloween decorations.

“Yeah, it’s not at the house so I thought I would go all out,” Mary said.

They all stood together, looking at their children play. Boyd was playing it cool with Robin, and Aria tapped Eli. “See, I told you it was him.”

“Yeah, he better keep his eyes on hers.”

“She’s ten.”

“So, he’s filled with hormones, and she won’t stay ten for long.”

Turning toward her husband, she smiled up at him. “Did you always look into my eyes?”

He grabbed her ass, moving her back behind one of the trees. It was moments like this that she realized her caveman hadn’t gone anywhere. He always took control, took command of her body, making her yearn for more of his touch.

“What are you thinking?” she asked.

“That I didn’t always look into your eyes. I loved looking at your body, and knowing that it would one day belong to me.”

“You were that confident?”

“No. I knew I wouldn’t let anyone else take what belonged to me, and you belong to me, Aria. There’s no denying it.”