Epilogue
Two Years Later
It was our final night before officially becoming husbands. Crescent came up beside me, placing a hand on my shoulder. “It looks so beautiful outside.”
Rain was falling, small droplets against the tall, clear windows. I could feel the icy air permeating through them, a chill starting just at my feet. The nights had gotten colder, forcing the trees to change colors and shed their leaves.
It was beautiful, but it was nowhere close to as beautiful as him. Turning to him, I rested my arms around his neck. “Glad we have an inside venue for the wedding. It might rain tomorrow, too.”
His grin was immediate, a gorgeous chuckle blessing it. “Isn’t that crazy? We’re getting married.”
“Only crazy because it took us so long, I think.” I rose on my tiptoes, grinning against his lips. “Star is going to be such a beautiful flower girl.”
“I can’t wait to see Moon in his matching tux.”
“Your mom and dad are gonna cry, you know.”
“Fuck, don’t remind me.” He groaned.
I ran my hands down his chest, stopping at the hem of his shirt.
“But, most of all, you’re going to look so handsome.
So gorgeous. So sexy.” I lifted his shirt from the sides, bringing it up and over his head.
I watched as his hair fell around his shoulders, the ends curling.
“You’ll be my smoking hot husband, and I’m finally going to be a Miller. ”
Crescent shifted, pulling me toward him as he pressed his back against the window. “You were always a Miller, baby. Same last name or not, you’ve always been a part of our family.”
I gripped the waistband of his pajama pants, sliding them down as I knelt. “We were always meant to be, weren’t we?”
“There’s no universe where we weren’t, Sunshine.” His hand cradled the back of my head, his fingers tangling in my hair.
I closed my eyes, but only for a second. Just one moment to let myself feel how his hold on me sent warmth through my entire body. It was magical how easily Crescent had this effect on me. When I opened them, the only word I could think of to describe what I saw was stunning.
His cock was straining, the tip begging for my tongue.
I trailed my gaze up his body, over every bump, ridge, and hair I’d tasted a hundred times before.
On either side of him, the rain kept falling, shimmering in the moonlight.
A bright, off-white glow encased him, presenting him like the angel he was.
The angels we both were in another lifetime, our souls forever bound by the fire in our hearts and the sound of our wings flapping in the sky.
Holding him at the base of his shaft, I wrapped my lips around him, worshipping his cock like I’d worshipped his body many times before.
His moans and grunts were musical, each one a new note for the orchestra of our lives.
There was a light thunk against the window as he rolled his head, his eyes falling shut in ecstasy.
I took him, all of him, as deep as I could manage. I knew exactly how to drive him crazy, swallowing around him while my hands ran up his upper thighs, stopping on his hips. I gripped them, using them to pull his body closer to me.
“Fuck, El. Yes.”
Humming around him, I curled my hands behind him, grabbing his ass cheeks firmly. I could feel his muscles tense and release as he let his body take over, thrusting back and forth. There it was. He was losing his fucking mind, and I reveled in knowing I’d done it to him. It was me. Always me.
My scalp tingled as he tugged on my hair, arching his back on a long, drawn-out moan.
His hips stuttered to a stop, but I didn’t pull back, keeping him deep in my throat just like he loved.
The first couple of spurts had me moaning with him, drinking his pleasure until the final drop.
Seeing him flushed, his cheeks warm with a light blush, had me grinning up at him.
One of his hands held my cheek, his thumb resting against my cheekbone. “I can’t fucking wait to marry you.”
Yeah, our souls had waited long enough.
The birds sang with us, including us in their melody as I tried to keep up with Crescent. He was running faster than I thought he would, his hand outstretched behind him so I could grab onto it.
“Honey, wait. Daisies.” I stopped right before them, letting my eyes roam over each one in the patch.
“Oh, wow.” He came to my side. “There are so many.”
I leaned down, plucking one up, twirling the stem between my fingers.
It’d been years since I’d picked one of them up, but I’d painted them hundreds of times.
They showed up in my dreams, yet never in my nightmares.
They felt like peace, despite having brought me so much despair at one point in my life.
When I saw daisies, I didn’t think of the past anymore.
“Come on, baby.” Crescent urged me forward, leading us toward a small pond.
I followed him, watching as the setting sun glinted off his dark brown tuxedo. Mine was forest green, tailored to perfection. I held the daisy in my hand, squeezing the stem in my palm as we ran the last few feet.
The wind blew ripples along the pond’s surface, enticing us farther toward it. Each one sparkled as it moved across, gleaming with the different shades of the sky above it.
We stood there together, admiring the world as it passed us by. The horizon got darker, and clouds rolled in as the moon started to rise. A half moon. A crescent moon. I smiled at the thought, just as Crescent turned to look at me. He held his left hand up, just as I did mine.
Our rings lined up perfectly, the silver of them the same color as the moon above.
The wedding ceremony had been beautiful—a true dream come to life, though it was short and intimate.
Only those who’d known us our entire lives had been invited, all of them overjoyed to know we’d spent our childhoods together and would now spend the rest of our lives together.
Raising my other hand, I realized I still had the daisy in my palm. I hadn’t let go, almost like a subconscious need to keep it had taken over.
“Are you going to pluck them?” Crescent peered down at my hand with me.
I held it between us, picking the first petal.
He loves me.
I knew he did. I’d never doubted it for a second. Even as friends, I could always feel his heart beating in tandem with mine. I looked into Crescent’s eyes, following his gaze as I plucked the next one.
He loves me.
In a way no one ever had before. He loved me through my wounds, never despite them. He loved me fiercely. He loved me gently. He loved me in all the ways I never thought I deserved.
He loves me.
I understood it now. What people really meant when they talked about soulmates. The deep, burning fire that never seemed to cease but never quite reached a melting point. Loving him was easy. Being loved by him was easy.
He loves me.
The petal fell, catching on the breeze. I watched it dip and wave just before falling into the pond. All along the water were small, pure white specks. Daisy petals without the yellow middle to hold them. They were still gorgeous in their simplicity, a unique beauty in my eyes, whole or not.
He loves me.
I placed my right hand against Crescent’s cheek, and he placed his left against mine, his ring resting on my skin.
We pulled each other in—barely a tug, but enough to bring our lips together.
Like one of the many paintings I’d done of us, we stood united with love in our hearts.
We shared memories through our lips and warmth through our skin, the vows we’d taken earlier in the day a permanent commitment to each other.
To have and to hold, for better or for worse. Till death do us part, and even after.
He loves me.
Truly, and honestly. Crescent loved me when we were kids, and his soul would love mine until the end of time. He’d never let me go. Not then, not now, not ever.
He loves me.
The End.