Bonus Epilogue
Ruby knocked on the door to the bathroom.
“Are you two finished in there? How complicated can this costume be?”
Aurora just laughed, adjusting her elf ears. They kept trying to slip off. “We have half an hour to the ceremony. It's fine.”
Ruby spun around, throwing up her hands. “But I want to see my brother in cosplay. You have no idea the blackmail that I'm going to subject him to. You think his Ranger buddies won't pay good money to see Devon dressed up like some elf king? I'm going to hold an auction.”
“I heard that,” Devon shouted from inside the bathroom. “And I have photo evidence of that haircut you got freshman year of high school. During your punk phase?”
“Sounds like mutually assured destruction to me.” Chase was in the bathroom, too, helping Devon with the costume they’d put together.
Aurora couldn't wait to see Devon either, but only because she knew how sexy he would be. The man was sexy in everything—and nothing.
The four of them were sharing a suite at the hotel where Aurora had planned the fantasy-themed wedding for her clients.
They were a couple of her former classmates from high school who now lived in San Diego.
They’d already had the venue and caterer booked, thank goodness—otherwise the short timing would’ve been impossible. But Aurora had taken care of the rest.
She was grateful for the chance to put together something special for them.
It was going to look great on her website, and the party was also going to be a blast. She’d worked out every little detail, from the trailing vines hanging from the chandeliers, to the pewter goblets, to the chocolate favors stamped with Celtic symbols.
She and the bride and groom had such a great time planning the event, they’d invited her to attend the festivities as a guest. She’d eagerly accepted—though of course, she’d spent all morning and afternoon checking that every vendor was ready and each aspect would be perfect.
It was all coming together without a hitch. Her first wedding. And her first big event that she’d secured entirely on her own, no help whatsoever from Max.
Aurora herself had chosen to wear a long flowing dress and intricate metal jewelry.
But Devon and Chase had been ridiculously secretive about his costume.
Apparently, Chase had a bunch of friends at West Oaks P.D.
who were into cosplay, and they’d all conspired together to outfit Devon in some elaborate get-up.
Chase and Ruby had tagged along on this weekend getaway just for fun, though Aurora was still uncertain of their status.
The two seemed to spend an awful lot of time together, yet they both insisted they were just friends.
They were sleeping in separate beds in the hotel room, for whatever that was worth.
But Aurora knew just how easy it was to end up naked with someone when you couldn’t resist the attraction.
Finally, the bathroom door opened and Chase stepped out. He had a huge grin on his handsome face.
“Get the cameras ready, because you're going to want to document the epic-ness you’re about to witness.” Chase moved out of the way, and Devon walked out of the spacious hotel bathroom.
Aurora clapped her hands over her mouth, covering a delighted shriek.
Devon was covered in metal armor. It even clanked when he moved. He wasn't wearing a helmet, instead opting for a gold circlet crown and a green cloak.
Aurora couldn't think of anything more perfect. “But where are your elf ears?”
He held his arms open as Ruby snapped pictures with her phone, giggling. “I’m not an elf. I'm Aragorn, true king of Gondor.”
“Then who am I?” She totally knew. She’d spent the last few months steeped in fantasy fandom. But she liked giving him shit.
Chase sputtered. “Hello, Arwen? His true love?”
Ruby couldn’t stop cracking up. “You didn't know, Aurora? Devon was obsessed with Lord of the Rings when we were kids.”
“Kellen was obsessed, not me. I was, like, barely into it.”
“Except for the Hobbit sheets you made Mom buy you for your birthday.”
Devon clanked toward the door to the hall. “Can we get going now, before my sister tells any more of my secrets?”
They headed downstairs to the room where the ceremony would be held. The place was dripping in greenery, and a quartet played medieval music straight out of a renaissance fair.
“I didn't know Devon Whitestone was a closet nerd,” Aurora whispered to him.
“Is this hurting my tough bodyguard image?”
“Are you kidding? No way. The opposite. But where's your sword?”
His grin was devious. “Don’t worry, you’ll be seeing it later.”
She covered her laugh as the bride's entrance music began.
Devon couldn’t understand how Chase’s friends wore these costumes for fake battles that lasted hours on end. But he had to admit, the wedding had been very cool. And he’d enjoyed Aurora’s costume, which cinched her waist and showed off her cleavage.
But now they’d snuck away after the reception to find a secluded spot on the beach.
He had stripped off most of his costume and left it back in the room, and Aurora had her long skirts gathered up around the tops of her thighs.
They waded through the surf in their bare feet, moonlight reflecting on the waves.
He and Aurora had been together for three months now, which by most measures wasn’t very long.
Yet almost from the beginning, Devon had known that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this girl if she’d let him.
His conviction had only grown stronger. Aurora made every day brighter and richer.
Devon had found a balance between his work and his home life in ways that he’d never dreamed possible.
And even though he still missed Kellen, he was starting to feel only nostalgia when he thought of times with his brother, instead of crushing dismay.
He loved that he could talk to Aurora about anything he was feeling, and somehow that knowledge made it all easier to bear.
And easier to talk to Ruby or his mom about those things, too.
His heated battles with Aurora over who got to take charge in bed hadn’t abated. Yet everything else between them came so effortlessly—even when they fought. He might be her knight in shining armor, but Devon knew how good it could be to surrender to her.
“So what’s the verdict?” Devon asked. “Do you think you’d want a cosplay wedding?”
Her eyes widened as she turned to him. “We’re talking about wedding themes right now? That’s what we’re doing?”
“Just…hypothetically.” His arms circled her waist, drawing her against him. “In case someone ever asked you. Better to be prepared.”
“Of course. Spoken like a true soldier. Hypothetically, if someone did ask me… I would say yes.” She stretched onto her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “As long as that someone is you.”
Grinning, he took her hand and kept walking down the beach.
“But no thanks on the cosplay,” she added. “I had an amazing time planning this one, but I’d want something simpler. Just the people that we love in a beautiful place—that’s all I need.”
He liked the sounds of that. Ideally, he’d wait until Haley could walk so she could be the flower girl.
The night was a little chillier than normal, and the beach was deserted. Aurora pulled him over to some large rocks. They were shaped in a crescent, forming a private spot out of sight of the walking path and most of the long stretch of the beach.
She started kissing his neck. “You looked so sexy in that armor. Like you vanquished some dragon that had me trapped in a tower. I wanted to show my appreciation.”
His body was showing its appreciation right back. Her hand cupped his crotch, where his dick was swelling in response to her touch. “I’d like that. But we’re technically in public.”
“Nobody’s anywhere near.” She pushed her barely covered breasts to his chest. He had on a black long-sleeved shirt and running pants, the clothes he’d worn beneath his knight costume.
“I doubt your brother would appreciate if we have to call him to bail us out for public indecency.”
She gathered her skirt higher, took his hand and brought it beneath the layers of fabric. His fingers met her wet heat. “I haven’t been wearing any panties this whole time.”
He groaned. “Fuck, Aurora. You’re going to get us into trouble.”
“But we’ll have so much fun doing it.”
He was terrible at resisting her. When it came to Aurora, Devon could never get enough. He could fuck her five times a day and probably still get hard again when she smiled at him—assuming he could eat enough to fuel all those orgasms.
God, those thoughts were only getting him hotter.
“I don’t want to get your dress dirty.”
“That’s what dry cleaners are for. Come on. I need you.”
Aurora backed up against the rocks, yanking her dress even higher.
Devon reached for her ass, hauling her up.
He held her aloft with one arm while his other hand pushed down his running pants, setting his aching cock free.
The cold air was a shock, but that didn’t last long—he plunged himself into her, loving her gasp of pleasure.
This felt so good, he knew it wouldn’t take him long, which was for the best. Less chance of getting caught. She clung to his neck while he pounded into her. “Just like that,” she begged. “Please. Oh, Devon.”
Aurora’s head fell back, her long hair trailing over her shoulders. As he fucked her, Devon pulled down the front of her dress to expose her breasts. His head dipped and his lips found her nipple and sucked. She moaned, squeezing her legs around his waist.
He buried his face in her hair as he came. He loved the thought of his cum spurting into her, filling her, marking her as his. He’d never get tired of it.
Within a couple of minutes, they’d fixed their clothes and were walking hand-in-hand away from the scene of the crime. Devon brushed a hand over the back of her dress, knocking free a bit of dried kelp.
They went past an older couple, who nodded at them politely.
Aurora leaned into him. “If they’d walked by a few minutes ago, they’d have gotten a naughty surprise when they passed those rocks.”
His face heated. “I don’t know how you get me to do these things.”
“Admit it—you love it.”
“Of course I do.” He stopped to pull her into a kiss. “Every second of it.”