Epilogue
Silas
“Holy fuck, mama.” I whistle, scanning my eyes down Posey’s body in a tight blue dress. “You’re gonna bring me to my knees wearin’ that.”
A beautiful blush covers her cheeks. “Just where I like ya.”
If only she knew what I have in store for her later.
Pulling her to my chest, I tip her chin. “I will gladly as soon as we leave the reception.”
Hopefully sooner rather than later.
Although her twenty-ninth birthday is tomorrow, we’re celebrating Jamie and Jackson’s nuptials in Knoxville this weekend.
We’ve kept in touch with them much better over the past six months, getting all the details of how they confessed feelings for each other and how their parents took the news. They weren’t on board at first, but they came around.
Jamie and Jackson are happy together, so that’s all that matters.
“I’m wearin’ five-inch heels and a corset underneath this thing, so I’m gettin’ my money’s worth. Which means, you’re dancin’ with me until my feet go numb.”
“Whatever you want, love.” I wink, pressing my mouth to hers.
She slides her fingers inside my collar and pulls out my chain, then plays with the P pendant. “I only want you wearin’ this tonight.”
Posey…” I warn. “Watch it or we’re not gonna make it to the ceremony on time.”
She knows what her teasing does to me, purposely getting me hard before we have to be somewhere.
“Then you better stop starin’ at me like you wanna eat me.” She smirks, sliding her palms down my chest and abs. “I can practically hear the dirty thoughts in your head.”
I grab her wrists before she goes any lower and bring her knuckles to my lips. “Can’t help it when you take my breath away.”
Her blush deepens.
“Let’s go, cowboy, or we’ll be walkin’ in after the bride.” She flicks my hat, the one that drives her wild.
I smack her ass when she walks away and grab my wallet before exiting our hotel room.
Between our chaotic work and sleep schedules, we only get a few hours together in the evenings. On the weekends, we sleep in, then run errands and grocery shop.
Posey hired two more workers for Langston Soapworks, so they stay caught up on orders, and I’m planning to hire a part-time secretary this fall. That should cut some of my hours each week to spend more time together.
It’s the domestic kind of life I’ve always dreamed of sharing with her.
And I can’t wait to make it last forever.
I don’t even mind the rats anymore except when I trip over their stupid exercise balls. Not a fan of holding them either, but they’re growing on me.
Sadly, their lifespan expectancy isn’t long, so I’m mentally preparing for the day I need to replace one without Posey knowing.
The ceremony is beautiful and wraps up within fifteen minutes. Watching them commit to each other and recite their vows makes me excited for my own wedding someday.
“Champagne?” I offer, handing Posey a glass.
“Thank you.” She takes a sip, and her eyes widen. “Oh damn, this is good. Don’t let me have too many of these.”
Chuckling, I nod. Definitely need her to stay awake for later.
We sip on our drinks and snack on appetizers while we wait for dinner. Since we don’t know most of the guests, we make light conversation with the other people at our table.
“I’m dyin’ to know who made the first move,” an older woman asks next to us. “And was it before she turned eighteen or—”
Oh no.
“It was recent,” Posey answers. “Last year.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Well, ’cause we went on a double date with ’em last September.”
The woman’s eyes widen and pingpong between Posey and me. “Oh.”
Yeah, that’s going to give her more questions than answers.
“It was one date,” I interject. “And I knew he had feelings for her even then.”
“Really?” The woman’s face lights up before she sips her cocktail. “How sweet.”
“Sometimes you just know who your person is even when you try fightin’ it.” I shrug, squeezing Posey’s thigh underneath the table.
Dinner music plays in the background as we eat and listen to the speeches. Their friends and family have nothing but nice things to say even if they crack a few jokes about them being step-siblings.
“Are you ready to dance, love?” I hold out my hand, waiting.
“I am.” She takes it and stands, then I lead her onto the dance floor.
Between slow and fast songs, my feet ache by the time we take a break to eat some cake. When Jamie and Jackson walk through the venue, we finally give them hugs and thank them for inviting us.
“I’m so happy y’all made it!” Jamie squeezes Posey. “You two look so cute together.”
“Thank you.” Posey grins. “You’re so stunnin’ in your dress.”
“Thanks, but honestly—” She leans in closer. “I cannot wait to get it off me. I can barely breathe in it.”
“I’m sure Jackson won’t mind helpin’ with that,” Posey quips.
“Not one bit,” he confirms.
We chat for a few more minutes before they walk over to the next table.
Posey leans into my ear, whispering, “I think it’s time for you to rip this dress off me…preferably with your teeth.”
Coughing, I quickly clear my throat so I don’t choke on the water I just sipped.
“Jesus.” I blink at her. “I wasn’t expectin’ that.”
She looks up at me between her dark lashes, giving me her cutest innocent face. “Take me to our room and I’ll give you another surprise.”
I’m the one who’s supposed to be surprising her tonight.
“Okay, but me first…since it’s your birthday and all.”
Her eyes brighten and she bites her lip. “Let’s go.”
When we step into the elevator, I pin her against the wall and crash my mouth to hers. As I slide my palms up her sides, she gasps when I cup her breast.
“Careful, cowboy. There’s cameras in here.”
“Fuck,” I mutter, sinking my teeth into her neck. “I’m sure it’s nothin’ they haven’t seen before.”
Although I don’t like the idea of anyone but me watching her unravel.
When the elevator opens, I carry her to our room, and as soon as I get the door open, her mouth’s back on mine.
The last time I had hotel sex was with her, nine years ago, and I have to say, I'm a fan. The different scenery and knowing there are rooms on either side of us make it a bit more thrilling.
I should’ve packed our toys, though.
“I wish they had a bigger tub here for both of us to fit.” Posey sighs, resting her cheek on my chest after I’ve made her come three times. She’s still trying to catch her breath, as am I.
We’re spoiled with the one she has in her master bathroom, but once we add on, I plan to get an even bigger one.
“Do you realize this is the third weddin’ we’ve gone to and ended up in bed together after?” I ask, brushing my fingers softly against her face. “Goin’ all the way back to Warren and Maisie’s.”
Our first time ever. For both of us.
“And then Landen and Ellie’s,” she adds.
Our first time after we reunited.
“Now, Jamie and Jackson’s.” I smirk, knowing what’s to come this time.
“I guess we like tradition,” she teases. “We can’t break it now. Whose weddin’ is next?”
“Well, I was thinkin’…” My heart rate kicks up as I try to find the courage to say the words I’ve been dying to ask for months. “Maybe we should have one of our own.”
“Our own what?”
“Weddin’.”
She sits up, folding her arms on my chest. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, baby.” I cup her face. “I’m madly in love with you. My heart is addicted to yours. You are my home and it’s my favorite place in the world to be. Marry me and let me cherish you for the rest of our lives.”
Tears well in her eyes as she sucks in her lips. “You wanna marry me?”
“More than anythin’, love.”
A beaming smile splits her face. “Me too. I mean, yes! Yes, I’ll marry you!”
Wrapping her into my arms, I kiss her until we’re both breathless.
“Do you wanna see the ring?”
“You have it?”
“Of course. You think I’d come unprepared?”
She giggles and sits up when I move to grab the velvet box out of my bag.
“Here, let me do this the right way.” I quickly pull on my boxer briefs, then get down on one knee.
She’s half-wrapped in a sheet with her legs hanging off the bed, messy hair, and makeup smudged, looking freshly satisfied and more stunning than ever.
As I open the box and reveal the diamond, her mouth pops open, which is just the reaction I was hoping for.
“Oh my God, Silas! It’s stunnin’…” She stares, eyes widening the longer she looks at it.
I take her left hand and slide it over her ring finger. “Perfect fit.”
“Wow…you did so good.” She holds up her hand and waves her fingers around.
“I’m not sure if you can tell, but this style is called a compass solitaire. There’s four prongs placed ’round the oval diamond that represent north, south, east, and west.” I point to each of them. “See?”
“Oh my gosh, you’re right,” she squeals. “You’re unreal.”
“I knew right away—that was the ring worthy of my future wife.”
“I seriously love it so much.” She pulls me in for a kiss. “And that it’s meaningful to both of us makes it extra special.”
“I agree, baby. And it’s engraved, too.” I carefully slide it off and flip it over so she can read it.
To our next greatest adventure.
Tears fill her eyes and spill down her cheeks. “You’re the most thoughtful person I know.”
Moving closer, I kneel between her thighs and cup her cheeks. “You deserve it, my love. I wanna give you everythin’ you want and need for the rest of our lives.”
“You already do,” she chokes out, sliding the ring back on her finger. “How long have you had this?”
“Uh…that’s privileged information.”
“Silas!” She playfully shoves my chest. “Tell me.”
“I started lookin’ around February and picked it up from the jewelers in April.”
“That was two months ago! Why’d you wait?”
“’Cause Warren wouldn’t give me his blessin’ until I proved I was good enough to marry you.”
She furrows her brows. “What?”
“Yep, I was tryin’ to be respectful, ya know…marryin’ my best friend’s sister, so I asked for his blessin’ and he straight up said no.”
“You’re jokin’.”
“Nope. Ask Maisie.”
“So what’d you have to do?”
I sigh, knowing I’m about to embarrass myself.
“He put together an obstacle course ’round the ranch and each time I failed to get to the end, he’d make me start over. Took me four weeks to finally complete it.”
She bursts out laughing, quickly covering her mouth. “Shut up right now…”
“I swear! He said I needed to get better at horseback ridin’ and wanted to be confident I’d be able to fight off any threats if someone tried to hurt you. So he made me ride to different areas, and when I’d get to ’em, Bodie and Colt would be waitin’ for me.”
“Oh no…”
“Yep…” I shake my head. “One tased me and the other pepper sprayed me when I wasn’t lookin’.”
“You’ve gotta be makin’ this up.”
“He called it brotherly bondin’.”
She folds her arms, looking like she’s ready to murder him. “Then what happened?”
“It was pourin’ rain, and I had to ride through a swampy pasture to find the next trail. But I could hardly see through the fog and accidentally led the horse down the wrong path and ended up in a muddy ditch. We were both covered and I had to ask ’em to help us out.”
“Where the hell was I when this was all goin’ on?”
“Workin’ or with your sister and mom. That’s why it took me so long to get through it ’cause I didn’t want you to get suspicious.”
“Did you ask my dad for his blessin’ too?”
“Of course. He gave it to me right away, but it was important to me that I also got Warren’s.”
“You know he only did that to humiliate you?”
“Oh, I have no doubt. He took several pictures.”
“I can’t believe you went along with that…” She dips down and presses her lips to mine. “How’d I get so lucky?”
“I ask myself that same question every day, love.”