EPILOGUE PART ONE
CARA *SIX MONTHS LATER*
“Well, hello, light of my life, master of torture, giver of orgasms.”
I watch as he stabs his axe into the tree stump as he approaches me. I’ve requested the interior designer include working fireplaces in practically every room just so I get to watch this man chop wood—who knew I had the makings of a lumberjack kink.
You have an Ezra Wolfe kink; he could be wearing a sack, and you’d still harness your inner squirrel and climb him like a tree.
He lowers to his knees on the blanket, leaning in to kiss my lips. Hints of leather, cedarwood, and manly musk that is all him engulfing me, his hairline wet with sweat.
“You’re spoiling me with these greetings, sweetheart.” He smiles, inches from my face, leaning in for another chaste kiss before he tugs my lower lip between his teeth teasingly. When he pulls back, my body chases the connection as I fall forward.
“And you’re playing with fire teasing me.
What part of this face tells you that I won’t throw you down here and have my way with you, Mr. Wolfe?
” I direct a pointed finger at my face, my brows inching higher, and he falls to his side laughing.
Propped up on his elbow, he throws a cheese square up into the air from the picnic basket beside him and catches it in his mouth.
Chewing around that lopsided grin that has me instantly wet at my core.
Fuck him and his devastatingly stupid handsome face.
“While I want nothing more than to ravish you, my temptress—all day, every day, the forty or so builders working on the renovations over there might get distracted if I start stripping you bare and fucking you senseless. I want to give you everything your dark little heart desires, but right here, out in the open, might not be wise.”
“Just a typical Saturday afternoon,” I scoff as two guys in yellow vests pass us, struggling under the weight of the iron beam they’re holding between them.
“If I do, I’ll be forced to slaughter every last one of them for looking at my woman, and it’s a little early for mass murder—even for me.”
The pout on my face has him chuckling as he tugs open the tie of my summer dress decorated with red peonies so a little more of my cleavage is on display.
Sighing, he bites his lip and reaches for my travel cup filled with coffee. He takes a swig, his lip curling in disgust when he realises it’s a coconut milk decaf blend, sweetened with honey. He likes his black with no milk and four white sugars—simple and to the point. Just like him.
“It’s been far too long since you tied me up and punished me,” I whine, fiddling with the frayed edge of the tartan blanket as I wiggle my toes in the dewy grass.
“It’s been exactly four hours since I tied you to the chandelier in our bedroom and edged you to the point you threatened to use a spoon in a very creative manner if I didn’t make you come.”
“And it worked—I stand by my methods of making you concede.”
“You’re also not to be trusted with silverware for the foreseeable future.” He chuckles darkly, bonking me on the nose with his finger affectionately. I snap my teeth at it like a wildcat.
“I have a meeting today with a potential new business partner, and you’ve got to pick out the paint colours for the conservatory.” He runs his calloused thumb over the apple of my cheek, his gaze bouncing between my eyes.
Fluttering my lashes, I throw a silent ‘pretty please’ at him.
My powers of persuasion must be on the fritz because he plants a barely-there kiss against my slightly parted lips and then pulls away.
I grumble at the loss of him and snatch my coffee cup from his hand, which only makes him laugh harder.
“Insatiable,” he murmurs, those miss-matched eyes of his bright with adoration as he tucks a curl behind my ear.
“Incorrigible,” I throw back at him as I watch him stand. With the sun high in the sky behind him, it creates a halo effect at his edges as he blocks it out.
My depraved dark angel in all his glory.
Fuck, I’m thinking about his cock again.
He offers me his hand, and I take it. Hauling me to my feet effortlessly. I press myself up against his chest, rising on my tiptoes as he towers over me so I can tuck my face into his neck.
“I’m tired, tense, and turned on,” I grumble.
“And stunning, smart, and sexy,” he adds, kissing my forehead. “I’d suggest a nap, but I don’t fancy having you threaten to rip my spine out of my arse again.”
“Idle threats.” I grin, remembering back to the other day when Ezra had to fuck the sass right out of me after he innocently suggested I sleep off my bad mood and I threatened bodily harm.
I’m tense and on the edge—ready to enact brutal takedowns on a whim.
Maybe I do need a nap.
It’s been hard to get a handle on the mixed emotions I’ve been feeling these past two weeks. Maybe it’s the stress and upheaval of the new build, or a shift in the moon cycle or something. Either way, he’s right—stab-happy with this many witnesses isn’t ideal.
He holds me steady as I slip into the faux alligator skin heels with the red soles at the edge of the blanket.
“New shoes?” he chuckles, knowing exactly where I got them.
“A gift from an old friend,” I reply, reaching up to run my fingers through his beard. Per my request, he’d let it grow out more than he usually would, and I can’t lie, it does wicked things to me.
“Well, that was nice of her,” he adds, his face resting into my touch.
Lenora had never recovered after her little shock therapy incident, or at least not enough to still need these shoes.
We’d sent her two towns over to be cared for in her vegetative state, lost in her own head for the rest of her days.
Ezra was right, she didn’t deserve the release of death—she deserves to suffer.
I seal each monthly cheque to the facility with a kiss and a fuck-you-very-much vibe especially for her— money well spent .
The doctors say she’ll never recover, but that her brain function shows she’s alert to the world around her; a fate fitting for her if you ask me.
Most of the residents have moved on to other facilities.
Crazy Cathy ended up eloping with Clive, living out married life in a remote cottage in the woods—the word around town is that Clive’s mother is still getting used to her new house guest.
With the manor rightfully belonging to Ezra, and his inheritance reinstated, he decided on a new use for the property—one more fitting with what we want to achieve; it meant that a U-Haul of everything Blackwood Asylum stood for was needed, but it’s our home first and foremost.
Murder and mayhem is turning out to be a very lucrative side-hustle; it seems there’s a lot of bad men in the world who need punishing.
Thankfully, Ezra is more than willing to take on the task.
Top of my list as his second-in-command is to track down the girls Lenora sold and bring them home.
I lost Raven’s trail three weeks ago in Budapest, but I won’t give up until I find her.
The clip-clop of horses’ hooves on the gravel driveway pulls our attention over to the pillared entrance of Blackwood; the handler politely asks the foreman to cease work so as not to spook them and the man calls lunch to his workers.
Caleb and Cooper stroll out with their bags in hand, shoulder-checking each other as they throw out teasing one-liners, their smiles broad.
The balding wheels of a small flatbed truck whine in the distance as the vehicle trundles down the long driveway, reminding me of the day I arrived almost a year ago.
It circles around the new water feature we had installed, a brass plaque front and centre commemorating the girls who met their grisly ends under Lenora’s instruction.
The tall shapely woman crafted in stone sits on a bench, gazing at a large wolf protective by her side.
A portly man with greying hair, one arm, and less than a handful of teeth in his head stumbles out of the driver seat of the truck, interrupting my thought process.
A lanky teenager hops out of the passenger side, and the older of the two blurts instructions for the kid to hook up the box trailer Ezra had ordered in for the twins to transport their horses.
“So, you’re off?” I say as we approach Caleb.
He nods. Ezra takes his bag from him and slings it into the truck bed where Cooper is loading up the feed, vests, and saddles for the horses.
“Do you have a destination in mind yet?” Ezra asks Cooper.
“Hells Haven sounds nice this time of year, don’t you think, brother?” Caleb’s tone is playful, but I recognise the undercurrent of darkness that flickers to life in his question.
“Got to see a man about a girl,” Cooper adds, esoteric motives hidden behind his devilish grin that tells me that’s all the information he’s willing to share.
“Well, we’re here to help if you need us,” I say.
He shuffles forward towards me with his arms outstretched.
The possessive growl that tears from Ezra’s throat has everyone in the vicinity adopting the stance of living statues—even the guys loading up the horses stop what they’re doing.
“And you said you liked your head where it was,” I tease, moving in to hug him, just to see how far I can push Ezra before he snaps. A quick rough fuck to adjust my attitude is exactly what I need, and this is a perfect way to get it.
Cooper, knowing there is no upside to entertaining me and going against Ezra, holds his palm up against my forehead to keep me at bay.
I sulk and cross my arms over my chest as I turn to Ezra and huff.
Cooper drops his hand and steps back, stroking the white horse’s mane, ready to hop up onto it and ride off into the sunset if he needs to.
After a brief silence, Ezra grins at me and chortles, “Wise man,” as he stalks over and pats Cooper on the back. All signs of his beast gone as the darkness in his gaze dissipates and his mood shifts.
The guys leave with little fanfare, promising to call us if they need help tracking down their mystery girl.
Ezra stands tall at my back and loops his arm protectively around my waist. As the truck pulls out of the wrought iron gates at the end of the driveway and turns left, a grey mustang with tinted windows pulls in from the right.
“Anyone would think we’re opening a hotel.”
“That will be my new prospective business partner,” Ezra comments as he dips down and plants a nipping kiss below my ear. The ghost of that sinful grin that tells me that he’s up to no good caressing my skin.
The car glides to a stop outside the main entrance. I wait with quiet curiosity as the engine dies out, and the passenger door swings open. A pair of sleek black heels touch the gravel first, delicate but sure. When she steps out fully into view, the air punches from my lungs.
Ezra dips down and whispers, “Surprise,” in my ear, and I squeal.
A breathless laugh escapes me as I rush forward into her waiting open arms. Her familiar vanilla and cinnamon scent fills my nose as I hug Suzy against my body the best I can, my face buried in her thick auburn waves.
The driver’s side door swings open and out steps her husband Jax. At 6’6, I wonder how he managed to fold himself into the small car in the first place. Tall, dark and murderous – my best friend has a type.
Refusing to let go of Suzy, I turn us so I can face Ezra over Suzy’s shoulder.
“Jax is your new business partner?”
“I’ve heard great things about him, Red.”
I glance back at Jax and note the scowl etched on his face.
“Don’t mind him, he’s pouting—we had to leave his motorbike at home.
” Suzy rolls her eyes and stands back, holding me at arm’s length.
“Enough about Mr. Moody Pants. How is my niece or nephew doing?” She bends down and runs her palm affectionately over my swollen belly, her ruby red stained lips pressed against the fabric of my summer dress as she whispers something to the baby growing inside me.
Standing, she rund her thumb across my cheek affectionately.
“Let’s chat nursery decorations over mimosas. ”
I smile as we both glance down at my belly.
“I’ll have your share of the champagne,” she giggles heading towards the entrance. “We’ll leave the boys to chat business.” She throws back at me as she readjusts her purse on her arm.
Muffled yells and banging come from the boot of the car, grabbing everyone’s attention.
“What’s that?” I ask, glancing around at each of them in turn.
“That will be the business,” Ezra states, sharing a conspiratorial smile with Jax.
I follow Suzy towards the entrance. I needed her here and he knew that without me even having to say it.
I sign my thanks to Ezra as we pass with a beaming smile on my face, I’ve made a point of practising wherever I can.
In true Ezra-style, he grabs my arse and crowds my back, rubbing his other palm over my belly. His lips inches from my ear.
“I’ll share for a little while, but later, you’re mine.”
I bite my lip to stifle the groan, and he lets me go.
“Have fun, ladies,” Jax calls out as Suzy loops her arm around my shoulder, and we step across the threshold.
“So, tell me everything. Getting in bed with the beast looks good on you.”