Epilogue
EPILOGUE
PART 1: MATTEO
“I ’m so nervous and excited,” Heaven murmurs, placing her hand over mine on the stick shift of our rental car.
This is our second visit. Our second honeymoon in six months.
There were times I wanted to pinch myself on our first trip here. It was our new beginning. Our second chance. When we got back to New York, the shine of the new wore off, but never the shine of Heaven.
Of love.
And we slowly found our way to each other. In the bedroom was perfect. Out? We had our ups and downs, but now, we’ve arrived. And where we are with each other is beyond good.
There’s strong trust and friendship. There are fights we can get through. And the passion burns so hot and bright.
This trip…this is the real beginning. The continuation. The celebration of our love. Whatever the fuck you want to call it. I’m back one hundred percent, and Heaven is, well, Heaven .
“I’m glad we chose a convertible. There’s nothing like driving along the coast and being consumed by the elements.”
“With you, Matty.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere. Keep going.”
She laughs. “Small doses when and where I see fit. Are you nervous about scuba diving?”
“No.” I think the term is scared shitless, but I’m not telling her that.
The balmy sea breeze whips through my hair as I follow the single-lane road along the coast. Dusk has fallen and it’s almost time for the underwater mating show to begin.
And no, I’m not talking about me and Heaven.
This show is different, and one which my wife has been researching endlessly since we made plans to return to Bonaire at the right part of the season for her show.
Just like she always wanted.
That first trip was mostly indoors, in bed. Long walks. More naked exploration. This one’s got all that planned, it just comes with a lot of extra.
“The pictures and videos are incredible.” she sighs. “I just wish… Well, you know.”
“I do,” I say, downshifting when the car in front takes a left turn. There’s a lot that she wishes. She wishes Molly was here to experience the very thing they’d sworn to do together. She wishes things with her family could have worked out differently. She wishes she could share this experience with all of them.
And unfortunately, I’m not a genie.
I can only make so much happen.
I surprised her with this second trip because I know how rough the past couple of months have been for her, and I wanted to give her something special, a new set of memories. She’s spent a little bit of time with her Aunt Maura and with Patrick, Niall, and Quinn since the fallout, but she hasn’t contacted her father.
He and Conor haven’t reached out either, the fucking pricks.
Anger clutches my gut, the same way it does anytime I think of her family and how horribly they treated her. Conor, as far as I’m concerned, should be dead with that asshole Declan lying in a shallow grave next to his.
I’ve been tempted to turn that into a reality more times than once.
But as devastated as Heaven is about excommunicating herself from her family, I know she’d never want them to meet the end I’d very much like to deliver.
Although, if given the chance, she might just slit Conor’s throat.
It’d be therapeutic, if nothing else.
But I’ve had eyes on the Mulligans. Just like I told her I would. And the cracks are showing. Declan’s retiring any day, and Conor’s fucking up more. It will be hers soon, if she wants it. But I’m letting her come to me with that.
Time will, as always, tell.
We have other things to focus on: new opportunities, each other.
It’s more than enough.
I don’t need the world, just her.
“We have a lot to look forward to, amore mio ,” I say. “Once we get back, we’re off to Las Vegas to work with the other families of the syndicate and put plans in place to grow our influence. The Excelsior is thriving, and that means a lot more opportunity for expansion in the gambling industry.”
The Excelsior is the new hotel and casino we’ve built with our new Sicilian business partners, the Marcone family. Sergio has been running the operations since it opened. But Vegas represents more than just new business ventures for our family.
Partnering with the Marcones also introduced us to the Severinov Bratva, a Russian family that already owns a lot of the area we’re looking to rule. Building this syndicate gives us endless possibilities for expansion. It also gives us muscle times three, which never hurts in our line of work.
After handling Dominguez, I figured we’d be out of the crosshairs of any cartel, at least for a little while. But a new threat has surfaced in Vegas, the Becerra Cartel. And they’re out for blood.
I don’t like the threat looming over what we’ve built, but Sergio is on the front lines, watching and waiting.
We have a lot of planning to do.
Later.
Right now, I have Heaven next to me, and we’re exactly where we’re meant to be.
Together. Forever.
I maneuver the rented truck off of the pavement and onto rocky terrain. Heaven jumps out of the car and rushes over to the edge of the rocky cliff that overlooks the Caribbean Sea. There’s a metal ladder that leads into the water here at Oil Slick Leap, and even though it’s not quite pitch black, the semi-darkness is disconcerting enough.
Guys with guns and knives don’t scare me, but novice scuba diving in the dark gives me pause.
But I’m certified now, and Heaven got a refresher course after I surprised her with the trip, but this will be our first-ever night dive. We put on our wetsuits and gear, and as we finally step into the sea…fuck…
The depths of the sea light up all around us like someone flipped a switch and turned on a bioluminescent lamp. The ostracods glow all around us, tiny circles of blueish white lights in linear form.
In their light, Heaven’s pleasure is visible, her excitement and wonder intoxicating. It’s mesmerizing, unlike anything I’ve ever seen or imagined in my life.
Finally, we get out of the water and strip each other down. There’s no one around, which is perfect, and I pop open the trunk of the convertible and toss Heaven a towel.
But before she can use it, I pull her close and nuzzle her ear. “Mm, you taste salty.”
“We’re naked, Matty, seems a shame to waste that.”
“Like maybe we should do like the ostracods,” I say. “And make a baby.”
“We can try.”
My cock hardens. I step back and grab two comforters from the trunk before spreading them out on the ground.
“I’m glad nobody else is around tonight. We got lucky.” Heaven leans into the plush center, letting out a contented sigh. “It’s so cushy. Smart thing, packing two with all of these craggy rocks around us.”
“I’m a strategist.” I part her thighs and slide over her, kissing her.
She tastes of the sea and pure Heaven and I plunge my tongue into her hot and hungry mouth. She fists my hair, our tongues circling one another as I line up the head of my cock with her wet slit. Slowly, I push into her tight heat. Her walls tighten around me and she gasps into my mouth as I begin to move. I thrust into her, and our kisses grow more frenzied. Her hands are on my back, pushing me to go deeper, harder. I do. I know her so well, and I can’t ever get enough. She’s pure desire.
Her body trembles, quivering against mine. A rush of her juices flows over my cock. I drive my hips against her, a burst of light exploding behind my eyes when the orgasm tears through me and I empty myself inside of her, giving her everything I have.
My wife.
My life.
My forever.
PART 2: MATTEO
A loud buzzing sound on the nightstand jolts me awake. I crack open my eyes to the flashing glow of my phone screen. The room is otherwise dark, the air still and silent.
Heaven lets out a tiny moan, her long hair pooled over my chest. The warmth of her skin, flush against mine, makes my dick swell. The urge to say “fuck off” to whoever is on the other side of the call grabs hold as I run my hand over her ass.
But the phone doesn’t stop vibrating against the wood table top. It skates closer to the edge, enough where I can reach out and grab it without even moving from my spot on the mattress. I let out a deep sigh, flinging out my arm to catch it before it falls over the side and crashes onto the floor. I bring it in front of my face, blinking fast to adjust my eyes.
Unknown.
I furrow my brow. This is my personal number. I only give it out to people I know. People I trust. But a nagging feeling in my gut reminds me that here in Bonaire, I’m far enough away from everything and everyone to answer any incoming call, no matter what the Caller ID says.
With one arm still wrapped tight around my wife, I use my free thumb to stab the Accept button. “Villani,” I grunt.
A deep, ominous chuckle invades my ear. “I was afraid you’d be too drained from fucking your wife to take my call. How were the ostracods last night? I hear they’re a sight.”
I sit straight up in the bed. My heart slams against my chest. “Who is this?”
“Wrong question, Villani. You should be more worried about why I’m calling.” The man pauses. “You had a deal with a very important man in the cartel network and you didn’t deliver. Dominguez was an ally of ours. Your wife Heaven killed him. And now you’re on your fancy fucking honeymoon in Bonaire like you don’t have a care in the goddamn world. But you’re wrong.”
My throat clenches.
He knows where we are…he knows what we did…
“You thought you could take out the head of the Dominguez Cartel and get away with it? You thought nobody would avenge him? You were fucking wrong. His enemies are now our enemies. And we’re going to make you all pay.”
I bristle, his sinister words ringing between my temples like clashing cymbals.
“What do you want?” I growl.
“See, that’s the right question, boss . The answer is we want everything. And that’s what we’re gonna take.”
PART 3: SERGIO
Fuck me.
It’s her .
“You look like you could use a drink,” she murmurs against my ear, her rich, perfumed scent immediately infusing my senses.
My breath hitches when her luscious curves graze my side, her piercing green eyes rooting me to the spot.
“Is that an offer?”
She cocks her head to the side, her long eyelashes fluttering over black-rimmed eyes. “I just take the orders. I don’t fill them.”
Hm. I can think of a lot of things I’d like to fill her with.
“So you work here, then?”
“Yes.” A slow nod follows, a seductive smile lifting her lips. “Among other things.”
“That sounds promising,” I say, my voice husky. Red warning lights flash in my periphery because my mind is alert enough to know that she’s here for a reason, but I ignore them all because the heady lust is making my brain short-circuit. I feel like a runaway train right now, and the end of the track is rapidly approaching. Still, it doesn’t slow me down one bit. “What kinds of things?”
The woman closes the space between us, trailing her hand down the side of my jacket. She flips her hair so that it cascades down one bare, tanned shoulder, leaning in so close I can almost taste her cherry-red lips. And oh, God, I wanna take a bite…
Her sultry voice drops conspiratorially. “The kinds of things that keep entitled, thug assholes like you away from things that belong to me .”
“Who the fuck are you?” I hiss, recoiling. “Since we never actually covered that the other night.”
“Who I am doesn’t matter. Yet ,” she says in a sweet voice, twisting around when two other men in dark suits head in my direction. “What matters is what I can do to you. And trust me, it won’t be as painfully excruciating as you think.” She leans in close, her breath hot against my face. “It will be worse.”
Get ready for SAVAGE LIAR, Sergio and Jaelyn’s steamy and explosive captive romance, up next!