Epilogue
Reid
One Year Later
“It’s so beautiful,” Jodi whispers in awe.
We’re standing on the sidewalk in front of the Skyline Bar and Grill along with a huge crowd of people all watching the Christmas Parade in Hope Peak. We celebrated with Jodi’s family the week before we came out to visit Amber for the holiday this year.
“Yeah,” I agree, but my eyes aren’t focused on the floats coasting down the street. I can’t take my eyes off my girlfriend. A year later she still knocks the breath from my chest with just a casual glance.
“This was the perfect place to celebrate our anniversary,” she says as she leans back into my embrace.
She clutches a steaming cup of hot cocoa from Perfect Brews, taking a small sip as another float passes by, this one with an inflatable snowman on top and several children tossing candy canes to the crowd.
“I’d go anywhere with you.”
Jodi turns away from the parade and nuzzles her cold nose into the crook of my neck.
“You’re going to miss Santa,” I tell her as she trails soft kisses down to my collarbone. “You’re going straight onto the naughty list.”
“Oh no,” she whispers low enough that only I can hear. “Could you put in a good word for me?”
“Why should I do that?” I whisper back.
We’re not close to the front, and it’s easy for us to move further back, allowing other people to get a better view.
“I’d be so grateful.”
My plan is sinking faster than a shipwreck in those deep blue eyes.
“Not good enough,” I say. “You’re asking a big favor from your boyfriend.”
The space between her eyebrows scrunches as she frowns up at me in confusion. When I reach into my coat pocket her expression clears. She’s trying to mask her delight, but she can’t fool me. I knew I wouldn’t able to surprise her.
My Jodi knows me too well.
The ring box is light in my trembling hands, and I nearly drop it as I fumble to open it.
“If you want husband privileges then you’ll have to marry me.”
My knee barely touches the ground before she says yes.
“Yes, yes, a million times yes!”
The people closest to us clap and congratulate us as I slide the ring onto Jodi’s finger.
“I bought this ring before we closed on our cabin,” I confess.
“Yeah, I found it in your sock drawer. That was the worst place to hide it.”
“I can’t keep any secrets from you.”
“No,” she says looking at me from underneath her lashes. “But I think you can keep a secret for me.”
“What kind of secret?”
“The naughty kind.”
We leave the parade early, rushing back to our room at the Last Hope Inn.
Jodi barges through the door, grinning as she drags me into the room after her.
The door shuts behind us, cutting off the cold air and the distant cheering from the parade.
The room is warm and softly lit, the glow from the lamps reflecting off the snow piled high on the windowsill.
“You gonna be good for me?” I ask, pinning her to the door.
She shakes her head, teeth nibbling at her bottom lip.
“Perfect.”
My kiss isn’t gentle and neither are my hands. They grip her waist roughly thumbs digging into the soft flesh of her belly.
“I only fuck good girls.”
Her gasp makes my smile sharper.
“That’s right,” I whisper, lifting her up until she can wrap her legs around my hips. The warm soft weight of her thighs squeezes my sides until I’m on the edge of coming in my jeans. “You gotta earn my cock.”
“Please, Reid.”
She begs me so prettily. Shame it’s futile.
“No,” I whisper not even trying to hide my delight.
She grinds her pussy against my cock, the thick layers of denim separating our skin doing nothing to mask the damp heat emanating from her core.
“Admirable, but no.”
Her coat and her shirt hit the floor leaving her in only a green bra that has a tiny bow between her tits. Bouncy supple flesh tempts me, but I’m not giving in that easy.
“I need it,” she pleads.
“This is not good behavior.”
She kisses me, teeth nipping at my lips and it almost breaks my resolve.
“Naughty, naughty,” I groan on a ragged breath.
Her hands strip me from the waist up with ruthless efficiency. I think if I didn’t have her pinned to the door, she’d stop waiting for me to get on board and fuck herself with my cock.
“This is not how you get on the nice list.”
“It could be,” she whispers against my lips.
Fuck.
I wanted to make her beg more but I can’t wait any longer. Not when my cock is leaking precum and hard enough to hammer nails.
“You want my cock?”
She nods eagerly, arms clutching my neck as I carry her to the bed. Her jeans put up a good fight, but the scrap of lace between her thighs tears like paper.
“Then take every inch,” I order through clenched teeth as I thrust into her pussy. Hot and wet it grips my cock like a vice.
“Yes yes yes,” she chants. The joyful words remind me of how she answered my proposal. Those blue eyes sparkled then just like they do now with my cock buried inside her.
Pointy sharp nails dig into my shoulders and claw my chest as I set a pounding rhythm. She urges me on, heels pressing hard into my spine and her cries echoing around us.
I’m not going to last long. Not when she’s chanting my name like a prayer and begging me for more.
She comes first, her words a jumbled plea, and her pussy drenching my cock. I can’t hold back. Not for a second orgasm. Not for my life. Fire runs down my spine, hot and tingling as I come. My hips continue pumping as seed shoots out of my cock in spurts.
“Fuck, Jodi.”
“You just did,” she says with a little giggle. It takes some wiggling to get comfortable without my cock slipping out of her, but we manage.
“Did I make the nice list?” she asks as she nestles into my shoulder.
“You never left it,” I reply.
“I cannot believe you proposed during the parade,” she says, laughing as she presses her forehead to my chest. “Everyone was watching.”
“You loved it,” I accuse. We both know it’s true. She loves when I show affection in public, which is a good thing because I’ll never hide my love for her.
“I did,” she admits with a soft sigh.
Lying in bed next to Jodi, I’ve never felt more at peace. Chicago wasn’t home but neither was Crescent Ridge.
Home isn’t a place. It’s a bubbly blonde with horrible taste in cars and questionable taste in men. It’s soft morning kisses and late night movie marathons. She believes fate brought me to her when she needed me the most, but I disagree.
I was the one who needed her.
The End