Epilogue
Three Months Later
L A certainly felt more glamorous than Griffinsford, particularly at night.
We had spent the afternoon shopping and buying the girls frivolous things, at Axel’s insistence.
The girls twirled in front of mirrors until their skirts fanned.
They called them princess dresses and Axel indulged them by buying each of them a little tiara to wear with their dress.
I was wearing a slim black pencil skirt that hugged every line and made my legs look longer and a cream silky blouse. Axel put on his dark suit, the one he wore for anything that required a jacket.
The restaurant was on the top floor of the tallest building in Los Angeles. It had floor-to-ceiling windows, displaying a gorgeous view of the city lights. The girls were mesmerized and to be honest, so was I.
We ordered slowly, just to make the night last. The waiter wrote down the girls’ very serious decision on sparkling water with cherries and called them ma’am.
They loved everything about this experience.
He returned with pink drinks in stemmed glasses, and they were eager and careful with them.
Axel watched them with a smile of adoration that softened every hard angle of his face.
When he looked at me, that grin turned into flirtation.
Our conversation drifted to the news about Richard.
We’d learned fast that Harvey took the recording Axel sent to the District Attorney’s office.
Preempting any legal arguments from Bryce about being recorded without his consent, we also had Hacker get the restaurant’s CCTV, which corroborated the exchange.
Richard and his men had been arrested earlier that week.
The judge set bail for the small fish, and they slipped out into daylight again with a gag order in place and ankle monitors.
Richard wasn’t granted bail because he was still under investigation for the bribery allegations.
Bryce, who was still cooling his jets in jail awaiting his trial for abducting me, had eagerly cut a deal, claiming that his father had orchestrated the kidnapping and paid a shady security firm that sent men to stand on that catwalk.
He’d also told the cops where to look if they needed any more evidence on his father’s business dealings.
I rested a palm low across my stomach without even thinking and he covered my hand with his and pressed down gently. We did not need to say anything out loud. The waiter refilled our water.
When the plates were cleared and our table was tidy again, Axel’s gaze at the waiter made me wonder what he was up to.
The waiter nodded, almost imperceptible, and disappeared.
Axel reached for his jacket slowly. He slipped his hand into the inner pocket and stayed there a moment, not pulling anything out yet.
The waiter returned with a tray and three covered plates shaped like silver moons. He set one before each of us and retreated with a smile. Axel finally withdrew his hand from his jacket. Velvet glowed under the candlelight. He lined them up, one in front of me and one for each of the girls.
“Pretty girls deserve pretty things,” he said, his voice low and warm. His gaze settled on the twins first. “Open your gifts.”
Tiny fingers lifted lids carefully. Inside each flat box lay a gold bracelet with a small charm that looked exactly like a perfect wedge of cheesecake, pale enamel, little golden crust, a hint of strawberry glint at the top.
The girls gasped together, then looked at the plates in front of them, then back at the charms, then back at Axel with open awe.
“Is this for us?” Jenna whispered, breathless.
“All yours,” he said. “More charms to come. Whatever you want to remember, we will add a charm that represents it.”
Axel had thought of them. He had thought of me, but also of them. They reached for him at the same time. He let them climb into his side, and they gave him hugs.
“Help me put them on,” I said, my voice soft, and the girls presented their wrists, eager for their shiny new gifts. He hooked the clasp on one tiny wrist while I fastened the other. Their bracelets caught the light, a small glimmer that whispered future.
By the time we settled them back into their seats to eat their cheesecake it was my turn. Axel slid my box closer with two fingers. My box was different. It was a ring box, to be sure.
“Go on,” he said. “Open it.”
I lifted the lid slowly and gazed inside.
There was a ring resting against black satin, an engagement ring to be exact.
The diamond was flanked on either side by two smaller stones that matched in size.
The band was smooth and strong. It was perfect for me.
I blinked back happy tears. I did not have words.
For one, I didn’t think he was going to propose this fast and now that he had, there was no way on earth I would say no.
Axel held my hands in both of his, his thumbs warm against my pulse.
He stayed seated for a second longer. His eyes held mine, as he let the weight of the moment settle into place before he spoke.
“I want you to know that having you and the girls has given my life new meaning. You turned my house into a home. I want you to be my wife, and for us to raise our three children together.”
His words weren’t fancy, but they were from the heart and that’s the only thing that mattered to me.
I nodded, “Of course I will. You’re the one I love first.”
His serious expression turned into a confident smile. “I’ll make sure you never regret this decision.”
I turned the ring on my finger and felt tiny ridges inside the band catch on my skin. Axel leaned close. “Check inside,” he whispered.
I slid the ring off and tilted it under the candlelight. An engraving ran along the inner curve, Ride with me. Always .
My eyes stung so fast I had to blink hard to keep tears from running down my face.
“I love you,” I said, barely able to keep from bawling.
“I love you too,” he answered.
The waiter offered to take our picture, and we huddled together for our first official family photograph. The photo caught all of us smiling and happy.
He let my hands go and we ate our cheesecake slowly, savoring it.
***
Later, when the girls were in their pajamas and their bracelets sat on their nightstand, Axel and I stood by the window and watched the big city lights.
He wrapped his hands around me from behind and one hand landed on my belly, and I covered it with both of mine.
The beautiful ring he gave me was warm on my finger.
“Tomorrow,” he said, his voice low. “We talk dates. Small ceremony in Griffinsford with the club. How does that sound?”
“Small sounds really good,” I told him. “Sooner, rather than later,” I added.
He kissed the top of my head and sighed against my hair. “Very soon. I promise.”
The rain picked up, blurring the view of the city lights outside the window. I leaned back into Axel’s embrace and closed my eyes.
The silence settled over us. My heart was still racing from the way Axel had looked at me when he slid that engagement ring onto my finger.
Now the girls were in bed, and it was just the two of us.
We were still fully clothed. His suit jacket was open, his cut still under, reminding me that his club would always be there for us, just like he would always be there for his club brothers. He reached up and tugged his tie loose.
I could see the hungry expression on his face merely by looking at his reflection in the window. I turned in his arms.
I smoothed a hand down the front of his dress shirt, undoing the buttons as I went. Both his hands came out to cup my small baby bump. I was now four months along. I brought my hands up over his and murmured, “Soon, I’ll be as big as a house.”
His hands slid up my chin, tilting my face up to look into my eyes. “Don’t you dare,” he murmured, voice low and rough. “Don’t you dare start thinking you’re anything but beautiful while carrying our child. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, Tracey. You’re everything.”
Heat flushed my face. The last of my nerves melted when he bent and kissed me. His tongue swept into my mouth, claiming every ounce of me.
He kissed me until I was dizzy and lightheaded. I clutched his suit jacket, just to stay upright. When he finally pulled back, his mouth curved in a pleased grin. “Now, that you’re my fiancé,” he said, “I get to worship you the way I’ve been dreaming of for a very long time.”
When he dropped to his knees right there, on the expensive hotel carpet, my breath caught in my throat.
His big hands smoothed up my calves and under my skirt.
The next thing I knew, he was unzipping the back of my skirt and stripping it off my body.
I stepped out of it. He growled low in his throat when he caught a glimpse of the fancy underthings I had bought with him in mind.
His fingers hooked into the sides of my panties.
“Pretty fucking gorgeous,” he said, reverently, before tearing them off my body and tossing them aside. “That’s what you are. Now open those pretty legs so I can have a taste.”
Swallowing all my embarrassment at being so open, I did as he asked by moving one leg sideways.
The cool air of the room rushed in to clash against my heated flesh.
The next second, his mouth was on me, hot, hungry, needy.
I gasped at the pure pleasure he gave so effortlessly.
Feeling weak in the knees, I grabbed his shoulders for balance as his tongue swept through my folds.
He was slow at first, teasing me and finding out what I liked.
Then he went deeper and pressed his tongue more firmly against my clit.
He moaned against me like he loved licking me as much as I loved being licked.
“Axel, oh God.” My knees wobbled as he tipped me over into my first orgasm of the night.
Barely giving me a minute to recover, he wrapped an arm around my hips, holding me in place while his tongue licked, sucked, and circled my clit with relentless devotion for a second time.
“You taste so good, baby,” he rasped between licks, his stubble scratching deliciously. “Gonna make you come on my tongue twice before I fuck my new fiancé.”
His words nearly shattered me all over again.
Something about being called his fiancé did it for me.
Maybe because it sounded like being claimed.
My hips bucked but he only held me tighter, groaning as he devoured me.
Pleasure swirled hot in my belly, building fast. When his tongue flicked just right, circling hard and steady, I broke apart with a cry.
My orgasm ripped through me so hard my vision went white.
He didn’t stop until I sagged against him, panting, trembling. Then he looked up at me, his lips shiny. “My fiancé,” he said again, as he smiled up at me. “Are you ready for my cock, gorgeous?”
Before I could recover, he lifted me effortlessly into his arms and carried me to the second bedroom in our suite.
He laid me down on the bed and I took off the rest of my clothing as I watched him undress.
He yanked his tie off, stripped his jacket, his shirt, his belt, until he was gloriously naked and hard above me.
I reached for him, but he caught my wrists and pressed them to the mattress while looming over me. “Look at you,” he murmured, his gaze sweeping down my body, his gaze lingering over my swollen breasts, and my baby bump. “You’re mine, Tracey. Every inch of you. And tonight, I’m gonna prove it.”
He guided himself to my entrance, thick and hot against my folds. My body clenched with need, already slick for him. He pressed slowly into my core, inch by inch, stretching me full, his breath shuddering as he sank into me.
“Fuck, baby,” he groaned, forehead dropping to mine. “Always so tight. And so fucking perfect.”
I whimpered, wrapping my legs around his hips, pulling him deeper. “Don’t stop. Please.”
He thrust, deep and steady, each stroke hitting that place inside me that made me want to moan and cling harder. His hand slid down to my stomach, pressing gently against the swell as he moved inside me.
When a soft moan slipped from my mouth, he covered it with his hand.
The combination of his words, his touch, his body filling me was overwhelming.
My nails raked down his back, my hips lifting to meet his every drive.
The bed creaked, the city lights bled through the windows, and Axel worshiped me with every thrust, every kiss, every groan of my name.
When he slipped a hand between us and rubbed my clit, I shattered all over again, my cry muffled against his hand. He followed me seconds later, rumbling low in his chest as he came hard, burying himself deep and holding me tight through it.
We collapsed together, breathless, sweaty, and tangled in satin and sheets. He braced himself on his forearms, keeping himself buried deep inside me as he kissed my temple, my cheek, the corner of my mouth.
Joking with him like he does with me, I said, “Your cock likes it in there, doesn’t it.”
His face lit with a smile. “Pretty women who tease their fiancés get fucked all night long. You might want to remember that, sweetness.”
I skimmed my nails down his chest and abs and watched his body tremble. “I’ll be remembering a lot when it comes to this night.”
Then he rested his forehead against mine. “My soon to be wife,” he whispered, kissing me again, softer now. “You are the best part of my life. I want you to know that.”
In that moment, with his seed still warm inside me and our baby between us, I believed him with everything I had.
THE END
Hope you enjoyed the book!