Epilogue
EPILOGUE
Scottie
H untley’s large hands run down my body. They start at my bare collarbone and drift lower. With both of us naked and his hands pausing over my breasts, the night melts away.
The two of us visited Da’s grave tonight and shared the news that we’d taken down the man behind his death.
It was a bittersweet moment, but also a cathartic one. Da and Francesco needed to be avenged, and wherever they are, I know they’ll think using Agostino’s own witches to create the fake dagger to dupe him was an inspired twist.
“You okay?” Huntley asks, his blue eyes searching my face as his thumbs pause over my hard nipples.
I arch into his touch and groan. “I am, actually.”
And I mean it. The weight that’s been crushing my chest since Da and Francesco were murdered has lessened. And while I’m a long way from being okay, I can breathe again, and that’s a start.
“He’d be proud of us,” Huntley says, his hands gliding down my ribs. “Not the sexual situation of us all crossing lines, but of what we accomplished together.”
Sliding my arm beneath the sheet, I wrap my hand around the base of his stiff cock. After stroking him twice, I roll onto my knees and straddle his hips. “The sexual situation is our business. As long as we get the job done and Zane is safe, that’s what matters.”
I lift my hips and guide him to my entrance, sinking down to take him into my core.
His smirk melts away as he curses, his chest expanding as he exhales and grips my hips. “You take me so good—too good.”
“You like it when I ride your cock, Viking?”
He barks a laugh and tightens his grip on my hips. “Has any man ever said no to that question?”
Taking control, he lifts me up before sliding me back down. The first few times are a slow and sensual glide, but then he ups the pace.
I press my hands on his shoulders to steady myself as I grind on him, chasing that delicious zing of sensation building deep inside me.
“Lean back, princess.” The way he looks at me, his gaze hooded and dark, is way too sexy.
I do as he says and lean back, reaching behind my butt to grip onto his thighs. As I do, he slides his thumb over my clit and spurs me closer to the edge of my control. “So pretty.”
He must know I’m close to finding my release from the breathy sounds I’m making because he thrusts his hips to meet me each time I come down on him.
Repeatedly he fills me, stretching me until my head falls back, and I shatter. It’s perfection. The world beyond this room dissolves as my insides clench him with greedy abandon.
The rush of wet heat that he calls from me slicks us both and makes the slide and glide that much smoother.
He lifts my hips and sets me on the bed beside him. “On your knees, princess.”
In a quick scramble, I crawl on all fours and he positions himself behind me. He grabs my hips and pushes back inside me. “I’m going to take you hard. Are you okay with that?”
“Yes!” I moan as he slams into me. The force behind his thrust is incredible.
He wraps the length of my hair in his fist and tugs my head back. “Tell me if it’s too much.”
“It’s not,” I breathe, my words coming out breathless. “I love it.”
The sounds of my moans and our bodies slapping together are unhinged and I’m thankful the royal residence is so big, or the noise we’re making would be echoing through the compound.
Or it is…
I don’t care.
“Looks like you two are back from your outing and forgot to invite me to the party.” Zane is striding across my bedroom, shedding clothing as he comes.
Huntley doesn’t even slow down. “I’m not moving, so if you intend on joining in, pick another orifice.”
I snort. “Seriously? Orifice?”
“What would you prefer? Pleasure hole? Cock slot? Rail opening?” He thrusts hard a couple more times and I stop caring.
Zane is naked and crawls up the bed. He kisses me senseless, reaching under my chest to tweak my nipples as they sway freely. “I love you, Scots.”
“I love you, too.”
He sits back on his heals and watches the two of us for a moment while stroking himself. “So, if our Viking refuses to let me inside you, I know what orifice I’m choosing.”
He shifts behind Huntley, and I hear a slap. Huntley stiffens and loses his rhythm. “Look at how pretty that ass pinks up.”
Huntley grunts behind me and slows down. “I take it you’re going to fuck her through me?”
“Why yes…yes I am.”
The rest of the evening passes by in a haze of afterglow. I’m sore in all the right places and though it may sound greedy, it makes me miss Tucker. He and Jack left to fly up north three days ago and other than a few quick texts at an airport or a coffee shop, he hadn’t had cell service.
Apparently, the polar bear shifter village is intentionally remote and cut off from the human world.
I hope everything’s all right. Zane, Huntley, and I wanted to present a united force and go with them. But with the travel and daylight restrictions on vampires, it would have complicated things more than necessary.
Besides, Tucker thought it would be good for him and Jack to take on the assholes of his pack together.
A father/son bonding moment.
And so, I’ve been left missing him.
But, if everything is going to plan, he should be home soon.
I return from the training room, sweaty and with the dull ache in my muscles that told me I did well challenging myself.
After a quick shower, I’m dried off, dressed and ready to greet the night ahead. It didn’t take as long as I thought it would to flip my days and nights again.
Growing up in this way, my body considers it normal. Getting used to flipping mealtimes is more of a struggle. Thankfully, vampires live in a state of feast.
There is never any shortage of food, especially with the new chef, Warin.
I’m about to go down to grab something to eat when I hear Huntley and Zane shuffling around in the King’s Suite. “Hey, are you guys hungry?”
“I could eat,” Huntley calls back.
I stride into Zane and Francesco’s section of the residence and look around. “Why is my couch in here? And what are you doing with Da’s desk?”
Zane sets down his end of my father’s desk and tries to act casual. “I’m moving you in.”
I glance around and see more of my stuff added to what has always been Zane and Francesco’s space. Some of my art, the display case with Da’s fighting spears…
I arch a brow. “Did you want to ask me?”
“No. I wanted to surprise you.” He makes a face. “Are you saying you don’t want to move in with us?”
I look from him to Huntley. “Us? You’ve already settled in?”
“Only just.” Huntley grins, his pale blue eyes dancing with mischief. “Z mentioned we should move into the King’s Suite and start building our lives. I wanted to act before he changed his mind.”
I meet Zane’s emerald green gaze. “The King’s Suite? You’re sure? You’re ready to be in Francesco’s space?”
Zane nods. “We’ve proven ourselves worthy of taking Clan Vasari into the future. Still, I wanted to ensure you, Huntley, and Tucker are represented. I put the picture of Huntley’s parents with their torcs on the mantle. I know you love Bran’s desk and I’m putting it in the den so you can have your own space. After that, I figured I’d leave it to you to decide what else you want to bring over.”
“That’s actually very sweet.”
Zane blinks quickly, batting his long, dark lashes. “I have been known to be a bit of a charmer.”
I point to Da’s desk. “All right then, you may continue moving me in.”
“When is the big guy getting home?”
“I’m expecting him any time. His flight landed over an hour ago.”
As if summoned by his name, the beeping of the security scanner at the entrance of the residence sounds off in the distance.
My heart leaps and I turn and start running for the entrance. I rush around the corner, taking in Tucker’s loving smile as he sets a box onto the foyer table and drops his duffle bag to the floor.
I throw myself into the air and he catches me with a laugh, pressing a kiss to my temple. “Hello, beautiful. Missed me, did you?”
“So much,” I murmur against his lips. “So, so much.”
His arms tighten around me as I wrap my legs around his hips. “What a coincidence. I missed you, too.”
When he claims my mouth, the magic we share zings to the fore and my entire body tingles to life. And while it’s only been days since he left, it feels like longer.
It feels like forever.
I laugh at myself. After everything that happened with Zane, I never thought I would be ‘that girl’. I built up my emotional walls and schooled myself to never need a man, never lose myself in my lover.
And while I’m certainly not the na?ve girl I was—I need these men. Tucker is my heart, Huntley my mind, and Zane my soul.
Tucker’s fingers tighten in the hair at the back of my neck as his tongue battles with mine. He tastes so good and when his bear growls, the vibration hits me in all the right places, like a mating tuning fork.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I hear Zane clear his throat. It takes a moment to remember we’ve got an audience—which is hot.
I slow our kiss and ease back, meeting the heated gazes of Huntley and Zane.
“That’s how it’s done, Tuck,” Huntley says. “Welcome home, big guy.”
Zane chuckles. “In no way do I want to cockblock you, but if you could circle back around to the sexual welcome wagon, I’d like to tell you what we’ve been up to.”
Tucker nuzzles his nose against my neck and inhales. “I know what the three of you have been up to. You’ve marked our girl thoroughly.”
Zane grins. “True, there’s that, but we’ve been up to more than sex. I’ve claimed the King’s Suite, and I want the three of you to move in with me. Huntley and Scots agreed, so, if you’re game, we’ll be all-in.”
Tucker is still holding me in the air with my legs wrapped around his hips. He eases back a little and meets my gaze. “This is what you want?”
I swallow. “Yes. Is it what you want?”
“More than anything. You are my mate and Huntley and Zane are yours as well. I’ve waited to be part of something like this my entire life. I’m definitely all-in.”
I launch forward and hug him again. “Then it’s settled. This is us.”
“All we need is for you to make this place your own,” Zane says to Tucker. “Do you have anything you’d like to add to our space?”
“I do.” Tucker kisses me and sets me back on my feet so that he can reclaim the box he set on the foyer table. “I have some soapstone carvings my mother carved and some pictures of her I’d like to set out.”
Huntley picks up an intricate carving of a polar bear and whistles. “Damn, your mom had skills.”
Tucker picks up a framed photo and smiles at it. “She did.”
I move next to him to look. “No wonder Jack never got over her. She was stunning.”
Tucker slides his thumb over the image of his mother and nods. “That was part of what got her killed.”
“How so?” Zane asks.
Tucker looks up from the photo and his sad smile fades. “From the letters my buddy found, I learned she caught the eye of a male on the Polar Council. He asked our clan chief why she wasn’t mated and when he found out, he offered to forgive her lapse in judgement with my father and all she had to do to claim a life in the upper echelon of our species was to send me away and never speak of the ‘mistake’ of having me ever again.”
Oh, no. “I’m so sorry, sweetie.”
“Me too. Apparently, he was insulted she refused him, and his insult turned to threats, and then his threats turned to retaliation.”
“You and Jack killed the fucker, right?” Huntley asks.
Tucker meets the Viking’s gaze with a cruel smile. “You bet your balls we did. We left him cut and bleeding out the same way he left her.”
“That deserves a toast.” Zane leads us back into the living room and heads straight for the bar. Grabbing what is an insanely old and expensive scotch, he pours out four shots. “To avenging those we love.”
We each hold up our glasses and the soft clink of crystal solidifies the toast.
“To avenging those we love.” Huntley, Tucker, and I repeat Zane’s words before tipping back the shot and letting the burn of the alcohol sear our words into reality.
We all slam our empty glasses onto the bar and Zane refills them. I hold mine up and smile at my guys. “And to living past the loss to make them proud.”
We drink again and the four of us fall quiet.
It hasn’t been an easy road to get here, but what they say is true—what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. I believe that.
And looking at my guys—with Zane’s determination to lead his people, Huntley’s fierce warrior spirit, and Tucker’s never-ending strength and support—we are definitely stronger for what we’ve been through.
Taking the picture of Tucker’s mom out of the box, I walk over to the mantle. I set it beside a picture of Da and Francesco taken years ago somewhere in Italy, and the shadow box with the wedding picture of Huntley’s parents with their torcs.
“Perfect.” I step back and the guys come to stand with me. Tucker takes my hand on one side, Zane on the other, and Huntley hugs me from behind and runs his hand across my belly.
Yep. There really isn’t any other way to describe it except… perfect.