Epilogue
They say time is linear, but it never feels like a straight course. Years can bleed together, one after the other, until an event occurs that becomes the most pivotal moment of your life. A singularity that changes you forever.
And sometimes, that same thing happens at the same time in another person’s life, and the two events connect. A bridge connects the gaps in what feels like an otherwise inconsequential existence, and two people fuse into one.
That’s what happened between him and Ivory. Maybe it wasn’t as scientific—less of a wormhole and more of a miracle—but it felt just as profound.
Over the past few months, their life had become more of an impossible dream-turned-reality. One where laughter came too easy, and his chest burst with feelings he never imagined he’d be capable of. It felt as if Ivory had knit herself into every fiber of his being, like she’d altered his very DNA. Even his apartment had more life in it—not to mention a lot more purple.
Sometimes, all of it made him afraid to blink. But today, that feeling arose with renewed potency.
“Almost ready?” he called from the bedroom, shrugging on a freshly dry-cleaned suit jacket. Formal attire wasn’t his forte, and he’d avoided formal events since his father’s funeral, but he had to admit the tailored black cotton fit perfectly. Without Ivory, he’d be lost.
She’d gone above and beyond to make the most out of tonight, and he was more than proud of all her hard work. Few words could express how he felt about being her date—the one who got to stand at her side and call her his, to show her off and take her home after it was over.
“Um…yes,” his sweet witch answered from the bathroom.
He knew that tone. She wasn’t almost ready.
He grabbed the black tie off his dresser and slipped it around his neck, then went to check on her. Fumbling with the sleeve, he paused in the bathroom doorway. Dammit, why were these cuffs so hard to button?
Ivory set her make-up brush on the counter and turned with an amused smile. “Need help?”
Her eyes took a long sweep over his form in appreciation of her handiwork, lingering on his chest, where he’d left the top buttons undone, and a few dark hairs curled into sight.
To her credit, her outfit captivated him just as much. Modest, but at the same time, begging to be torn off. A pale pink dress flowed around her like loose petals while her hair fell in ombre hues of brown, pastel pink, and purple—his one contribution to her style—and a small string of pearls adorned her neck.
He extended his arm to offer the uncooperative cuff, and Ivory’s face softened into an expression he recognized all too well. “From the look in your eyes, you’d rather I be helping you,” he murmured.
A guilty hum left her lips, painted lashes fanning over a rosy pink blush on her cheekbones. He had to call on every ounce of his self-restraint to stop from mauling her then and there.
“If you do that, we’ll never get to the wedding on time,” she replied after a pause as if it hadn’t been the first response that came to mind.
He held no qualms about taking a detour. Caspian and Nia would understand. “We can be fashionably late, as they say.”
Ivory rolled her eyes and popped the button in place. She reached for his other sleeve, but he grabbed the back of her neck and brought his lips to her ear. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re turning into a little brat.”
A shiver passed through her and went straight into him. She melted at his words, betraying the lingering fatigue despite all her excitement. Her head tilted to expose more of her neck, and she sighed as she reluctantly stated the obvious. “I’m the coordinator. And the Maid of Honor. I can’t be late.”
He brushed his lips over her freshly showered skin, basking in the sweet warmth of her natural scent. “Then don’t tempt me,” he whispered. “I’d more than enjoy smearing all that pretty make-up you put on and turning you into a beautiful mess for me to devour.”
She let out a faint groan but forced herself to pull away and fixed his undone cuff. “The make-up will have to come off sometime…you could always help?” Her lips pressed into a presumptuous smile, and she gazed up at him with a scandalous shine in her green eyes.
“What a generous offer,” he hummed. It might not be their wedding night—yet—but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy his bride-to-be as soon as they got back home. Besides, he’d have much more fun if he spent the evening imagining ways to ruin her as soon as it was over.
After she finished with the buttons and knotted his tie, he slid his hand up her arm and gingerly took her wrist. Time froze, as it always did when they took a moment to be quiet and still, and he didn’t have to watch her face to know they were looking at the same thing, their thoughts all but synonymous.
Lifting her hand to his lips, he pressed a kiss to the golden engagement band around her finger. One that matched the shiny new ring on his.
Eight months, three weeks, and a handful of days passed since she’d approached him on Halloween night. Almost four months since Jun died. And he’d counted every second that his sweet witch could be in his arms, safe and happy and cherished. He spent years trying to spite fate for taking away his family, and finally, it gave him someone in return.
He sighed and let go of her hand. “I came to help, but I think I ended up being more of a distraction.”
Ivory rewarded him with a loving grin. “That’s okay. I enjoy you being a distraction.” Her tease earned a glare, which only made her giggle. “I really am almost done. Is everything else ready?”
He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll go double-check.”
***
At first, he hadn’t understood why Ivory wanted to wait to put on their own wedding. Making babies was one thing, and as much as he wanted to inflate her belly and let their mini-mes run around wild, he knew it would be better for everyone if that happened after graduation. But making her his wife felt too important. Too monumental to set aside.
Tonight gave him a new perspective.
Between helping everyone get to where they needed to be and ensuring everything happened when it needed to happen, he’d barely seen Ivory outside of taking the wedding party photos.
Like hell he’d let her out of his sight at their own wedding.
He didn’t care about decorations or food or if anyone else came at all—but Ivory did. She’d want her special day to be flawless, and she deserved no less. Rushing things would only add unnecessary stress, so their big event could take as long as she needed. Until then, he’d celebrate her every day on his own. After all, she’d always be his.
The wedding venue’s ballroom glowed with the soft white light of hanging orbs, a romantic ballad playing through the speakers as the two newlyweds spun in slow motion on the dancefloor.
Caspian had stepped up and wore a fashionable tux while Nia donned a simple, elegant white gown. The epitome of a happily ever after. For the first time tonight, they both looked at ease, able to enjoy each other’s company without splitting their attention between the other guests.
He’d watched them struggle to grow together, but against the odds, they did it. Maybe their strength is what had inspired him. Maybe helping Caspian had afforded him some good karma. Either way, seeing his friends happy was a priceless gift. Finding his happiness alongside them was a blessing he never anticipated.
They’d gotten a bigger turnout than he expected. He’d seen Avril helping Ivory for most of the evening, and was surprised to hear Serena got an invite, too. Of course, it turned out she couldn’t make it. Both Nia and Caspian’s families had come, and outside of him and Caspian not-so-politely convincing Nia’s stepfather to leave before the bar opened, everyone had been supportive. Ivory clearly enjoyed shining a spotlight on her friends—some things about her would never change, and those lucky enough to get a piece of her heart knew just how fiercely and persistently she loved.
Waiting for Ivory to finish whatever task she’d gone off to now, he rubbed the petal of a flower he didn’t know the name of between his thumb and finger, wishing it was Ivory’s skin instead. She felt softer. Warmer. Better in every way imaginable. Nia had purposely thrown her bridal bouquet to Ivory, yet he ended up guarding it while she faithfully returned to her duties.
“Hey.”
He glanced up as Ivory’s voice filtered through the crowd, more subdued than usual as she emerged to stand by his side. Instinctively, he discarded the flower and reached for her hand. “How’s it going?”
Her fading smile said more than her words, giving away her exhaustion, happiness, and pride all wrapped in one. “I think I got everything taken care of.”
That’s exactly what he needed to hear. He offered his thigh and pulled her close. “Sit.”
In her state, she didn’t need to be told twice. She followed his gentle tug and folded herself into his lap, then deflated against his chest. He banded an arm around her waist while keeping their fingers entwined. “Have you had any cake yet?”
“A little.” She stifled a yawn and laid her head on his shoulder.
Of course, Ivory offered to bake for the event, but Nia wisely insisted she was already doing too much. From the looks of it, if Ivory tried to work herself any harder, she’d collapse on the spot.
He reached over to his plate and pinched off a bite-sized piece of the slice he’d been saving. “Want some?”
Her face lit up, and she parted her lips, humming as she licked icing off his fingers. “Mm, it’s so good.”
He grinned as her enthusiasm returned, and he quietly fed her more, piece by piece, until she came back to life. The slow melody over the speakers shifted into a new song, and he leaned in to whisper against the shell of her ear, “Do you want to dance? Or are you too tired?”
She turned to grace him with a tender kiss, sugary and sensual. He pulled her against him, making her ass press into his hardening erection. His hand tangled in the hair at the nape of her neck, and she broke into a smile. He licked her lips, craving a taste of her happiness.
“Nothing a foot rub when we get home won’t fix,” she murmured, then stood and pulled him along with her. Her expression looked as radiant as it was seductive.
But before they reached the dancefloor, he pivoted and led her to the open exit door.
“Wait, where are we going?” She bit her lip, drawing his attention to the shine their kiss had left, her bottom lip swollen and strawberry red.
Instead of answering, he continued to walk them out to the gardens. The music filtered out in subdued tones, the air cool and refreshing as dim light from a row of lamps lit their path. He stopped in front of a small iron bench, then kneeled alongside the rose bushes to slip off her shoes.
“You don’t need these.” His hands glided along her ankles, rubbing the marks her straps had left on her skin. Why she insisted on wearing heels, he didn’t know.
Memories flooded back from their first ride together. How stubborn she’d been and how the need to protect her overrode his every thought. He should’ve known from the moment he’d been concerned about her feet that she’d be his wife. Not that he had a particular thing for feet—he had a thing for every part of her—but it certainly hadn’t been an attraction he felt with anyone else.
Ivory wiggled her toes in the grass, giggling as he left delicate kisses around her knees until she shifted to open her thighs. The scent of her arousal bloomed sweeter than any rose, and his cock swelled with need. Before he lost all logic, he stood back up.
“That’s much better,” she sighed. Her eyes fluttered open, and she gazed at him like he’d just rescued her from a tall, dark tower. But they both knew the truth. If he were a knight, his armor would be black. If he’d saved her, it was only to keep her captive in a much taller, darker tower. All to himself.
“Good,” he murmured.
“The moon’s so bright,” she noted as he walked them out onto the lawn. “It was darker, then. The night we met.”
He hummed in affirmation and placed his hands on her hips, the fabric of her dress glossy and smooth under his palm. “Not dark enough to hide your blush, though.”
She hid her face in his neck and grinned against his skin. “Yet you still turned me down.”
He tucked his fingers under her chin and brought her face back to his. “I wanted to protect you.”
“From yourself?” She shook her head and reached her arms around his neck. “Silly boy. Clearly, you’re the one who needed protection.” Her lips hovered over his in a brazen tease. “Now I get to keep you all to myself.”
A possessive sound came from the back of his throat, something that could only be described as a growl, and he sunk his teeth into her lip. Her words ignited a fire in his chest, and her kiss fanned the flames. She molded her body to his, pressing his erection into the dip between her hip and the plush mound of her sex.
He groaned into her mouth and tipped her head back to reclaim what belonged to him. His tongue smoothed over hers, their bodies dancing to much more than the music. He trailed hot bites over her jaw and sucked on the pulse fluttering in her neck.
“What if I’d said yes?” she whispered, breathless. “When you offered to play that game?”
His words all those months ago echoed in his mind. Then are you looking for a game? To let me play with you until I’ve had my fill? Because that’s what I offer.
He’d been rude on purpose. To make sure she said no, because if she hadn’t…
He pulled away. “That’s a dangerous question, sweetheart.”
“What?” She gave him a look that said that’s exactly what she’d hoped to hear.
He splayed his hand between her shoulder blades and brought his lips to the hinge of her jaw, tickling her skin with barely-there kisses to remind her what danger really meant. That he could control her with the slightest touch. That he owned her as effectively with tenderness as he did with unyielding demands. “Your sexy witch costume filled my head with more ideas than you want to know.”
She shivered.
He gripped her hair hard enough to elicit a moan from her lips and looked down at her face. She wore the same expression she had that night, like she wanted to see how far he could push her. Like she knew it was forbidden and wanted it anyway.
Damn, there’d be no end to the things he wanted to do to her.
“I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into your pretty plum lips,” he said, bringing his hands back down to her waist. “If you said yes, I’d make sure you ended the night screaming my name. But you’d have to work for it. You’d have to convince me to give it to you.”
“How would I do that?” Her voice became breathless and wispy, saturated with need.
He ran his nose down along her shoulder to her chest. Her skin felt hot, her heart hammering out a strong, lustful rhythm. “Don’t think I didn’t notice the way you looked into the woods. Like you were drawn to the darkness. Like you wanted to find something there…or wanted something to find you.”
Her breath caught. He coaxed their bodies to start dancing again, moving in casual, slow circles. “If I had it my way, I’d dress you in boots and that same cute cloak. Nothing else. Then your sweet tits would be on display, that pussy ready to take me whenever I wanted.”
Fuck, the mental image alone was enough to make pre-cum leak from his cock. He nudged it against her core, and the friction from their clothes nearly squeezed until he burst.
“I’d make you run,” he whispered. “Follow you until you forget where you went. Until you questioned if I’d left you alone or if some starving wolf might find you unaware. You’d be so on edge. Your thighs wet, your pussy swollen from waiting and wanting, your nipples cold and needing my mouth.”
Her lips parted as leaves rustled in the trees.
“Then I’d take you.”
She met his eyes, overflowing with lust and longing, and turned her gaze toward the forest on the edge of the property.
But someone else was already there.
Caspian carried Nia in both arms, her dress hiked up to her hips, and they escaped from their own party behind the first line of trees.
“Oh my,” Ivory whispered and turned into him. “I have to pretend I didn’t see that.”
He chuckled. “Close your eyes, sweetheart. Let me distract you. I'll tell you what happens when good girls want to misbehave.”