Epilogue #2
She chuckled. “Yeah, I thought it was you.”
“You thought I . . .” He couldn’t voice his thoughts. Instead, he pinched his eyes tight to try and let go of the memory of Wyatt naked in front of Jessica. He rubbed his face, trying to physically scrub the image away. “Yeah, well, you’re right. Wyatt’s—”
“A bad boy?” Grace smiled.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Asher said under his breath. “Yeah, let’s keep them away from each other.”
“What about Emily?” Grace asked, and Asher followed her eyes to watch Emily and Liam dancing.
Even from where he stood, he could tell the guy was working his charm on her.
“Who knows—if a tough guy like you can fall in love, maybe there’s hope for them, too.” Jessica turned into his arms, and he rubbed her bare biceps, anxious to get her out of that dress and pinned naked beneath him.
“Out of the two of us, Peaches, you were the tough one to crack.” He leaned in closer so his lips hovered near hers.
“Yeah, he’s probably right,” Grace said.
He’d nearly forgotten he wasn’t alone with Jessica. Whenever they were together, the world seemed to disappear.
“Thank God you found a way, though,” she whispered against his lips before he lifted her off the ground and kissed her.
“You’re much naughtier than I realized.”
Asher parted her thighs with his knee and braced himself over her. “And you loved every minute of it.” He nipped her bottom lip. “And you want more, don’t you?” He raised his brows a few times and smiled.
She arched her back off the bed; her hands were tied to the headboard with the silk belt from her red robe. “And I get whatever I want now since I won the bet.”
“I may have purposefully conceded,” he said with a smile.
“Sure. Sure. Sure.”
He stared at her full lips before settling on her blue eyes. “You’re so beautiful.”
“Mm. You are, too.”
He shook his head, his forehead lifting. “No.”
“Okay. Ruggedly sexy. Hotter than your body double Aquaman, which I didn’t think was possible, but—”
“My what?” Laughter erupted from deep within his chest. “I didn’t take you for a comic fan.”
“Oh,” she said with a lazy grin, “that’s not why I—”
“Well, does he have a queen?” He lowered himself closer, so their bodies touched.
“He’s a king, so . . .” Her words converted to a throaty gasp when he buried two fingers into her wet center. He removed his hand a moment later, and she tugged her wrists, pulling at the silk knot attached to the headboard. “Not fair. What are you doing?”
He inched his way down her body, his mouth trailing a line of kisses in the process. “Bowing down to my queen.”
“Hey!” a voice hollered through the door. “You awake?”
Asher groaned and pressed his forehead to her abdomen. “Your brother and his damn timing.”
She chuckled. “Tell me about it.”
“Why isn’t he doing the same thing with his wife?” He shifted to his knees and untied her.
“Yeah?” she called out.
“Can I come in?” Luke asked.
“One minute,” she answered, and Asher slapped her ass when she stood.
He handed her the belt once she slipped on her robe, and then, for himself, grabbed the white cotton robe that was courtesy of the hotel.
Jessica opened the door, and Luke rushed in. “Sorry, I—” His eyes landed on the bed, the comforter crumpled at the bottom. “Shit.”
“What’d you think we were doing in here?” Asher scratched at the back of his head when Luke forced himself to face him a beat later.
“Yeah, uh . . . POTUS called. We’re needed in Argentina.”
“What?” Her mouth rounded. “You just got married. You leave for Hawaii tomorrow.”
“Yeah, well, you know bad guys don’t give a fuck about my vows.” He crossed his arms.
“How many men do we need?” she asked, tightening the belt of her robe.
“Five. Maybe seven.”
Jessica placed her hands on her hips. “Asher and I can handle this. We’ll take Echo. You and Owen stay on vacation. Plus, this gives Harper a chance to get her feet wet.”
“You sure?” Luke’s arms tensed, the muscles flexing as his fingertips bit into his biceps while he considered her suggestion. He’d had a hard enough time giving up control during his paternity leave—but he sure as hell better do it for his honeymoon as well.
“What do you say?” She turned to Asher. “Want to save the world with me?”
Asher smiled. “Well damn, woman, when you put it like that, how can I say no?”
“See?” She faced her brother. “You go on your honeymoon, and we’ll handle Argentina.”
“I don’t know.” His arms dropped to his sides. “Maybe ask Liam or Knox to come with you guys, too.”
“I’ve got Jessica’s back,” he said while finding her eyes. “And she’s got all of ours.”
Luke expelled a hard breath, a slow roll of tension dropping into the room. “Shit, okay. Eva would kill me, so . . .”
“Good. Now, how much time until I have to round up the boys?” she asked.
“A couple of hours. But you might need to schedule in some time to find Liam. Knox is passed out, but I haven’t seen Liam since the reception last night.”
“Maybe he got hitched,” she joked.
“Funny,” Luke grumbled.
She pulled him in for a hug. “Now, go get laid. Your wife is waiting for you.”
Luke mumbled something before pulling away then found Asher’s eyes.
He gave him a reassuring nod, letting him know he’d keep Jessica safe. “Have fun in Hawaii. Make another baby.” He patted Luke on the shoulder and said goodbye before closing and locking the door.
“So.” He cocked his head to the side and strode toward her. Then he reached for the knot of her belt and tugged at it.
“What are you doing?” Her eyes lit with a smile.
“You heard the man. We have time.” He peeled off her robe, so she was standing naked in front of him. “Now,” he said and lifted her into his arms, “let’s get you back onto that bed so I can see how naughty you are this time.”
“I don’t know. I’m pretty tough to crack.”
“Yeah, and I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Chuckling, he set her down and dropped his robe to the floor. “But thankfully, I have the rest of my life to figure it out.”
Her eyes thinned, the color a hypnotic shade of blue that sucked him in. “You’re a patient man, aren’t you?”
“After six-plus years of waiting for you . . .” He wet his lips and smiled broadly. “Yeah, I really, really am.”