11. Epilogue
Samuel
SIX MONTHS LATER
Sipping my cup of coffee, I step out onto the porch that overlooks the town below. It’s the perfect morning – crisp, fresh air, the scent of pine trees mixing with my freshly brewed coffee. It’s the kind of morning I never used to appreciate until Stella came into my life six months ago.
I turn back inside and let the door close slowly behind me. The house, which once felt like a solitary retreat, away from the world and their judgmental eyes, now feels like a home.
I move through the hallway, my slippers making soft thuds against the polished wooden floors. I’ve adorned the walls with dozens of photos from the cruise. All of my favorite moments that I captured on board, from Stella smiling at the camera as she grips the rail, looking over the endless ocean, to a photo of both of us in the Steakhouse restaurant. I laugh at that picture all the time. I look so grumpy – it was the night Stella invaded my private dinner for one. She’s beaming, and I look like I would rather be anywhere else.
Now, I miss her company, and she’s only been at work for half an hour.
I pass by the living room, trying to decide what to do today to keep myself busy. I’ve retired from the military, choosing to focus on healing instead. The scars are still there – both inside and out. But they don’t feel as heavy as they once did.
Stella’s presence, her love and support has made all the difference. She’s moved to Falls Creek, embracing the slower pace of life, and it suits her. She’s managed to keep her job in marketing, but now she does it from the comfort of our home. I’ve set up what used to be an empty old bedroom into a home office, and it’s helped her cut back her hours, choosing to take time out to enjoy life instead of working all the time.
This place has become our sanctuary, and I can’t help but make my way down the hall towards her office.
I knock softly on the doorframe, peering in.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” she says, her voice soft and inviting. “What are you up to?”
I step inside and my heart skips a beat. She’s sitting at her desk, her eyes focused on the screen, but she quickly flicks up to look at me as I enter the room. She’s so damn pretty, the black frame of her glasses making those stunning eyes pop even more.
“Just thought I’d check on you,” I say, stepping further into the room.
She glances to her screen, obviously checking the time. “It’s been twenty minutes, sweetheart.”
“Thirty, actually.”
She scoffs a laugh and shakes her head so her silky hair falls over her eyes. “You can’t be bored already.”
“No, I’m not,” I say brightly, shaking my head. “I just remembered that you said the light bulb was flickering, so I figured I’d take a look for you.”
She leans back in her chair and gives me a knowing look. “You know, I’m pretty sure you just like finding excuses to come in here and distract me.”
I wiggle my brows. “Is it working?”
She laughs and shakes her head again.
I grab the stool and set it up under the light fixture. “I can’t help it, baby. You’re too damn distracting and I just want to be with you always.”
She murmurs something as I step up on the stool and unscrew the old bulb. I can feel her gaze on me the entire time, and it’s not long before I catch her checking me out. Her eyes travel over my arms, my chest, and I can practically feel the heat of her stare.
“You keep looking at me like that and I might electrocute myself,” I tease, glancing down at her with a smirk.
She bites her lip, her eyes darkening with a familiar desire that I’ve grown to crave. “Maybe I don’t want you to focus on the light bulb.”
I finish screwing in the new bulb, the room brightening instantly. But it’s the fire in Stella’s eyes that really lights up the space.
I step down from the stool, tossing the old bulb onto the desk before moving in closer to Stella.
“Is that so?” I ask, my voice dropping to a low rumble. I lean in, resting my hands on either side of her chair, spinning it so she’s trapped between my arms. “What do you want me to focus on?”
She looks up at me, blinking slowly as her eyes drink me in. Her breath hitches and I let my lustful gaze drift down her body, catching sight of the swell of her breasts that’s peeking out of her shirt.
“I just find you so damn sexy when you’re fixing things,” she murmurs, her fingers reaching up to trail over the muscles of my arms. “It’s hard to concentrate on work when you’re around.”
“Well,” I say, dipping my head to press a kiss to her neck. She shivers under my touch. “Maybe I should give you something else to focus on?”
She doesn’t need any more encouragement. In one swift movement, she’s pulling me down, her mouth closing around mine, swallowing me until my tongue is working over hers. Her touch is electric, just like the first night we met.
Her hands tug at my shirt and I quickly rip it off, doing the same to her. Her heavy breasts threaten to spill out of her bra, and I’m quick to release them, my fingers gripping her tits with a hard grab. His skin is soft and warm under my hands, and the way she fumbles at my belt, so desperate and needy, only makes my blood burn more intense.
I lift her from her chair and kiss her, hard and deep. Our mouths clash as I unbutton her jeans, pushing them down her legs with a rough urgency. She’s already wet, I can see that when I lift her onto the desk and part her legs.
I slide my hands between her thick thighs, teasing her until she’s squirming, biting and gnawing at my lip as my fingers brush against her slick arousal.
“Please,” she moans, her hips grinding against my hand. “Fuck me, right here.”
I growl with an animal like hunger. Pulling her panties aside, I latch onto her neck and bite down, my fingers sliding inside her at the exact same time, making her yelp out. She’s so ready for me, so desperate and horny. It’s all I can do right now not to fucking blow my load all over this desk.
I free myself from my underwear and position my hips between her legs. Her chest heaves and I dip down to take a nipple in my mouth, my teeth clamping down around the hard peak. Her hands grip my shoulders, her bare ass sliding on the smooth, cold surface of her desk as I notch myself at her tight pussy and slide in.
The desk creaks beneath us, the sound lost in our needy moans. The wet slap of our bodies takes hold, and she meets me thrust for thrust, her body clenching around me so good with every movement.
“Jesus,” I grunt, my cock tensing already. “I’m gonna cum already.”
It’s raw. It’s urgent. It’s fucking passionate.
Just like it always is with this woman. It’s this connection between us that drives me wild. This is so much more than sex. This has become my life. I can’t stay away from Stella, I’ll never be able to.
I feel her tighten around me, her body matching my need to let go. I reach down, my thumb circling over her clit, pushing her closer, driving her wild. She sucks on my neck, her nails all over my back, marking me as her own.
She cries out my name, her orgasm crashing over her. I watch her face as I pound into her, my own release about to take hold. Her eyes squeeze shut and her breathing halts. The sight of something so beautiful, so precious, it’s enough to pull me right over the edge with her.
I bury myself right to the hilt, thrusting one final time as I release deep into her pussy.
“Phew,” Stella breathes, releasing the tight hold she has over my body as I slide out of her heated wetness. “That was amazing.”
I step back and find my pants, helping Stella gather her clothes and dress again. As I buckle my belt, my eyes catch on her computer screen.
“What’s this?” I ask, leaning on the desk to look at the website of the Infinity Voyager.
A slow smile spreads across her face and her hands slide over my back as she stares at the screen with me. She’s been booking a new cruise, another trip onboard the ship where we fell in love.
“Planning our next adventure already, are you?” I ask.
She smiles and nods. “You bet. I thought we could use another escape, just the two of us.”
I can’t help but smile. “What about work?”
“I’m remote now,” she shrugs, beaming with enthusiasm. “I can work from anywhere.”
“Sounds perfect, when do we leave?”
“Soon enough.”
A grin tugs at my lips, the thought of another cruise, another adventure with this wonderful woman filling me with excitement. The man I was when I boarded the Infinity Voyager feels like a distant memory.
A man weighed down by guilt, pain, and a deep fear of letting anyone in. But Stella changed all that. She’s been my light, guiding me out of the darkness and helping me find a part of myself that I thought was lost forever.
I pull Stella close, my heart swelling with love and gratitude. As we plan our next adventure, I know that no matter where we go, as long as we’re together, we’ll keep finding new ways to love, to heal and to live the life we both deserve.
The Infinity Voyager may have been the beginning, but with Stella by my side, I know that the best is yet to come.
– THE END –