Epilogue
JULIA
FIVE AND A HALF YEARS LATER
If I thought I loved my husband wearing oily jeans and a stained white T-shirt, fresh from the garage, it was nothing compared to the way he looked with our children on his chest. Our daughter, Olivia, had just turned four and our son, Noah, would turn two next week. There could be no denying they were his. They’d both inherited his dark hair, the shade of his brown eyes, and the Montgomery face shape. Olivia looked more like V than she did like me, but I didn’t mind that so much. They were both Rose and Caputi. They were a symbol of peace and prosperity.
Roman worked tirelessly to be the best president of the SRMC that he could, and I stood by him as his faithful and loyal queen. Together, we maintained the peace we had so desperately fought for. And at the end of every night, after we came home from the clubhouse or he stopped turning wrenches at the garage, he spent his evenings entertaining all three of us. Then he stuffed his massive form into their tiny bed and read to them until they fell asleep. The sounds of his deep baritone had stopped coming a few minutes ago, so I walked down the hallway to check on them and found him with a toddler under each arm, his eyes closed, his chest rising and falling in that steady rhythm that meant he’d also succumb to his subconscious.
I debated leaving him there. It wouldn’t be the first time one of us fell asleep in their bed only to wake up in the middle of the night with a stiff neck and shuffle down the hallway to our own room.
But I had other plans for my king. It had been six years of harmony between the Roses and the Caputis, six years of defending our territory as a unit rather than fighting with each other. In that time, we’d seen our fair share of obstacles—other MCs attempting to encroach on our land, dissenters from within struggling for power, and other players wanting a piece of what we’d gained. But with Leo at the helm of DC and the Roses steering the Madison County ship, we were far too powerful for anyone to topple.
“ Amore ,” I whispered, giving his leg a tender shake.
He opened his eyes and grinned when he saw it was me. “ Mia cara. ”
“Come,” I said, nodding toward the door. “It’s my turn to put you to bed.”
Roman stretched and smiled like a lazy lion, carefully extracting himself from our children before pushing to his feet. He wrapped an arm around my waist as I turned off the big light and closed the door, heading down the hallway to our bedroom.
Once inside, I checked that the baby monitor was still on before facing my husband. He sat on the edge of the bed, an eyebrow raised, that expectant look on his face.
I knew what he wanted, of course. I wanted the same thing. He’d been edging me for the better part of the day—stealing private moments when he could to shove his fingers between my legs, sending me dirty texts that had me blushing and squirming wherever I was, finding me during his lunch break so he could shove his head under my skirt and suck me nearly to orgasm. Our play certainly wasn’t the same as it had been before the kids, but he never let me forget how much he adored me. And I returned the favor.
Six years ago, I’d never dreamed my life could be like this. I’d never thought I’d fall in love with anyone, much less enjoy this type of dynamic. I’d never thought I’d have children, and here I was with two of them that meant everything to me. Enjoying these things with Roman, knowing we would both protect it with our lives, healed the broken pieces inside of me, and I’d never be able to thank him enough for giving that to me. I’d spend the rest of my life trying.
BEAR
My queen was far too eager to please me that night. After I fucked her damn near into a coma and checked that our children were still asleep, I lay with her tucked into my side, her head resting on my chest as she rubbed circles into my stomach.
“Leo is hosting a Christmas party at the mansion this year,” she said. “I’ve told him we’ll go.”
I hummed in agreement and lazily ghosted up and down her spine, far too satisfied to argue. Not that I would. In the six years since I’d married Julia, Leo had become a full-fledged member of my family. That was something I’d never thought I’d say, but after everything we’d been through between now and then, I trusted him nearly as much as I trusted my brothers. He had my back, and I had his. Not to mention he was on a very… very… short list of people I trusted with my children.
“Your father said he’d take the kids so we could go to Naples for our anniversary,” she continued. “I think it’s a good idea.”
My old man loved his grandchildren with his whole heart, and secretly, I had started to think he cared more about them than he’d ever cared about his own kids. I tried not to let thoughts like that keep me up at night. If it meant he kept them safe, secure, and happy, I’d deal with it.
“Thank you,” Julia said, nuzzling closer. “Thank you for building this life with me.”
“Of course.” I narrowed my eyes and put a finger under her chin to tilt her face to mine. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just…sentimental.” She wiped at an eye and sniffed, making me roll so she was under me, my arms caging her head in, her legs on either side of my hips.
“ Mia cara, I told you before, and I’ll tell you as many times as you need to hear it. I’d do anything for you.” Yeah, I’d just fucked her within an inch of her life, but my cock didn’t pay attention to silly things like that. Rubbing up against her warm, wet cunt got his attention, and all these lovey-dovey things we murmured to each other in the dark only urged him on. “I love you.”
“I love you,” she returned.
And when I shifted my hips to slip inside her again, I nearly collapsed from the hot, tight warmth of her body. In six years, I must have fucked her a million times, a billion, but it would always be like the first. She engulfed me, mind, body, and soul. I belonged to her in every single way.
Growing up, I never could have imagined I’d end up here one day. I’d never thought I’d ever care about someone as deeply or completely as I did her. She was more than my wife, my queen, my submissive, or the mother of my children. She’d become my partner in every sense of the word, my soulmate.
And heaven help anyone who came for her again. I’d once told her I’d kill for her, and I had. She could merely breathe the word and it would be done.
Together, we owned our ruthless reign, and I pitied anyone who tried to stop us.
The End