Epilogue
STELLA
“ Leo . We should not be doing this here.”
My husband’s scarred hand fists the soft cotton fabric of my dress as he slowly guides my hips atop him. The friction from my panties and the thickness of his erection has me salivating, desperate to let him have his way.
Despite being in the back of a rented town car, where the driver up front sits oblivious to Leo’s deviant ways, parked outside my sister and brother-in-law’s condominium. In the few short months since Leo fulfilled Genevieve’s demand, he’s permanently rejoined my world, fitting himself into my life more seamlessly than I’d imagined, and I’ve learned that location doesn’t matter to this man.
He’ll fuck me in the back of a packed movie theater or in the restroom at the Glass Tower—the nightclub he bought and is working on re-opening, now that we’re settled in an apartment without Valerie.
I know Val’s happy to have the place to herself now, considering how insatiable Leo’s proven to be.
Most of the time, I don’t mind his passion—it helps chip away at the pesky insecurities I’m still working on, and I really like fucking him. But most of the time, we aren’t about to enter a lion’s den.
His fingers slip between my slick flesh, parting me and finding my clit. I tense, grabbing his arm and the door as sparks of pleasure ignite within me.
“You want it though, don’t you, baby?” he whispers in my ear, his breath warm on my skin.
“ Yes , but my sisters are waiting?—”
“We’ll be quick.” His middle finger travels lower, curling and then pushing inside me, and he catches my gasp with his mouth. “Need something to take the edge off from meeting your in-laws.”
I roll my eyes but reach under me to undo his fly anyway. “Liar. You’re not scared of my sisters’ husbands.”
He speeds up his pace, adding another finger, and the sounds of my arousal are loud in the vehicle. I blush fiercely.
“What if they don’t like me? Or the fact I married you without telling them?”
“Both my sisters got married without asking my approval.” I pant, fishing his cock out and grinding along its length. “They’ll be fine.”
“Better get in a last fuck anyway. Just in case.” With that, he withdraws his fingers and lines himself up, filling me slowly.
I let go of his arm and plant my palm against the divider, hoping that our driver isn’t paying any attention.
Leo moans into the back of my neck as my ass sinks all the way down on his lap. We’re flush, damp skin to damp skin, and my brain feels like it’s melting. The sensation of being so full is one I’m still not used to, even a few months after our first time in that tower.
I shudder as he fucks me harder, pushing me down slightly, hitting a new angle that makes spots dance at the corners of my eyes. My lips part, and I grab my ankles, trying to keep from coming too soon.
“Hey,” Leo says through gritted teeth, squeezing my hip and sliding one hand into my hair. It hasn’t grown much, now just past my collarbone, yet he’s as obsessed with it as he was the first time we met. “Don’t hold out on me. I can feel you resisting.”
I whimper as the drive of his hips kicks up, hitting me just right. “ I can’t go inside with cum dripping down my thighs.”
“But you’re going to. Whether it’s just mine or ours is up to you, stellina .” His pace becomes erratic, and he tugs on my hair, looping it around my neck to gently rob me of air.
Pushing up, I reach behind me to yank at his pink tie. The color matches my dress, a detail he thought was incredibly cute and insisted on. My fist crawls to the knot, cinching, and a low groan spills from his chest.
“Shit,” he huffs, his free hand coming to toy with my clit. “Harder, baby.”
I obey, pulling tighter as my breathing scatters, caught up in the excitement of our mutual mercy. His thrusts turn punishing, bouncing me in his lap, and every nerve in my body begins to unspool as soon as he chokes out that he’s coming.
There’s no denial once he reaches climax. My own barrels through me like a bolt of lightning, exploding like a night sky of fireworks while my muscles suction in around his cock.
We sit there, unmoving and panting, for several moments. I feel him leak out of me and wince when I slide off, settling onto the seat beside him.
He hands me a baby wipe from the pocket inside the door, and I clean up as he does the same, adjusting my underwear. With a harsh sigh, I slump back and watch him fix his pants, then drag both hands through his hair, focusing those gray eyes on mine.
My heart skips a beat in my chest, the same way it always does when we make eye contact. After so long of being apart and then not knowing what was going to happen to us at the Black Rose Auction, such a simple gesture feels monumental.
Things aren’t perfect—we’re basically newlyweds, so living together and learning to be a couple has been an adjustment all on its own. With him leaving Boston and attempting to make a legitimate living by restoring run-down clubs in town, plus my takeover of Rampion Core—after he bought the lab and I presented a sister neuroscience company with the orchid—things have been busy and stressful.
But every night we come home to each other, and that’s what matters.
I can’t fathom a reality where he isn’t there, nor do I ever want to experience one again.
Once we’re presentable, Leo opens the door, and sunlight rushes into the vehicle. He starts to get out, but I lean over and put a hand over his, reveling in the warmth. He hasn’t worn his gloves since the summer, having gotten used to being without them while his fingers were healing.
“I love you,” I tell him in a soft voice.
Those are his three favorite words. I only sort of said them that day I woke up in the hospital, and it took me a while to reach a point where I could admit it without feeling like I was compromising a part of myself, but nowadays, the words flow freely.
Because being with Leo isn’t a compromise at all. In everything, he’s a partner to me—not a handler, or a guardian, or a captor. He accepts me for me and doesn’t try to squash my hopes and dreams. Instead, he does what he can to help fulfill them.
That’s love, I think. For me anyway.
He grins back, tugging me from the car and into his arms. Boston’s just as busy as I remember, the scent of the harbor prominent, since Ariana and her husband live on the waterfront.
As Leo tucks a piece of hair behind my ear, Leo’s eyes crinkle at the corners. “I love you too.” He releases me, reaching for my hand, and we start up the walk to my sister’s building. “Don’t think I’ll forgive you so easily if this goes south, though. If one of your brothers-in-law tries to shoot me, it’ll take a lot more than just orgasms to make it up to me.”
I laugh, squeezing his palm. “Don’t worry. I promised to always save your ass when I agreed to keep being your wife.”
“Good thing.” He sucks in a deep breath. “Okay, let’s go meet the family.”