Epilogue
EPILOGUE
PART 1: SERGIO, FOUR MONTHS LATER
I stretch my arms overhead as the late-afternoon California sunshine beats down on my flushed skin. Damn, it feels good to be mobile again. It also helps in the bedroom. Hands-free sex is all fine and good, but I need full use of all limbs to perform at my best, especially when taming a vixen by the name of Jaelyn Torres.
I close my eyes, listening to the crashing waves as they break at the shoreline. The salty scent of the Pacific consumes me, and for this tiny sliver of time that we’re here in Palm Springs on a much-needed vacation, I actually feel somewhat relaxed.
It’s been a long four months since the fallout with Becerra and his crew. I finally got my seat at the table, my efforts earning the respect I’d been after. But it turns out, I didn’t need their approval after all. That wasn’t gonna fix my splintered relationship with Matteo. But saving his life definitely helped it.
And that’s a good thing since he and Heaven decided to stay out here in Vegas for a while longer. Turns out, my sister-in-law prefers the dry desert weather than the four seasons in Manhattan, and since she’s about five months pregnant, she’s the one calling the shots right now.
We closed down our nightclub Verve. It wasn’t worth the cash injection to keep it operational. Instead, I turned all of my attention to my new nightlife venture. Even with two bum arms, I jumped right into my new role as co-owner of the Sapphire Lounge and all of its sister clubs. And while Nate took a few weeks to recover, I had Jaelyn by my side, running her show, her way.
As always.
Even now, I can hear her grousing a few feet away, barking orders to her assistant Ashleigh into her phone.
Although, I have to say, for as much of a control freak as she is, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed taking little impromptu meeting breaks throughout the nights. That’s when the rest of her freaky sides come out to play.
“Leave her alone and get down here!” I call out to her, licking my lips as I eye her in that slick red bikini. Fuck, I can’t wait to tear it off of her with my teeth once we get back to the hotel suite.
“Okay, I’ll be right there!” she says, doing a little hip swing as she runs over to our chairs and tosses her phone onto one of the towels. She runs toward me, her full tits bouncing in that barely there top. Her bronze skin glows against the fiery red fabric as she dances toward the shore. A growl escapes my lips as she flings her tight body into my arms.
“Have I told you that I love you today?”
“Yeah,” I say with a grin. “But I never get tired of hearing it.”
“I love you,” she murmurs.
“And I fucking love you,” I say.
“God, it feels so good for you to hold me like this,” she says with a contented sigh as she leans against me. “I know it’s been a while since your arms healed, but having them wrapped tight around me never gets old.” She drops a kiss onto my lips. “And I’ll never take them for granted. Ever.”
I run my fingertips down her spine and her head falls back, a loud moan slipping from her lips. “Mm, that’s making me want to take you back to the hotel, Jae.”
“Why wait?” she whispers, snaking a leg around me.
I flash a wicked smile and slide my fingers into her bikini bottom. She lets out a gasp as they plunge into her soft folds, toying with her clit as I drag them out. My cock thickens under the water, and she pulls my board shorts down far enough so that it springs to life outside of the fabric. I slide the head of my cock against her opening, sinking into her as I gather her in my arms. Her pussy is warm and wet, clenched tight around me as I roll my hips, the friction making my balls ache with the need for release. She clings to me, her tits rubbing against my chest as tiny moans escape her mouth. Her nails lance my flesh, scraping and dragging down my sunburned back. I clench my teeth, pressing my hands into the small of her back as I thrust deeper into her pussy. Her legs lock around me, pulling me farther into her until we’re so connected, I don’t know where she starts and I end.
And that’s exactly the way I like it.
I drop my head back, staring up at the horizon, pinks, oranges, and purples exploding against the sky as the orgasm tears through me, filling her with everything I have…and everything I want.
She falls against me, her legs still wrapped tight around my waist as her breathing calms. “My God, you’re incredible.”
I trail soft kisses along the back of her neck. “This wasn’t exactly what I planned when I asked you to join me out here.”
“Was it better than what you had planned?” she asks with a mischievous smile on her face.
“No.” My smile fades, my face now serious.
Her eyes widen and she loosens her legs, dropping to the submerged sand in front of me. “Oh…well, I can’t imagine anything could possibly trump what we just did, but okay.” She lifts an eyebrow when I don’t immediately respond.
She doesn’t know why.
She’s gonna have to be patient, especially since board short pockets aren’t the easiest thing to unzip.
Especially when you’re under water and working with one hand.
Jaelyn tilts her head to the side, an expectant look on her face. “So…are you going to share your plan now or wait until my whole body prunes up?”
My fingers finally fish out the ring box from my pocket. Yeah, I could have done this back at the hotel, or even at dinner tonight.
But I can’t wait another second. As it is, I’ve waited about four months too long.
I snicker. “God, you’re so fucking controlling. I love it. And even if you were shriveled up like a prune, I’d still hammer you like a jackrabbit.”
“So romantic,” she groans sarcastically, giving me a little punch in the chest.
“Maybe I can redeem myself,” I say with a knowing smirk, pulling the ring out of the water and holding it up in front of her. Her eyes widen and she gasps, reaching for the sparkling gem that I’m holding just out of her reach.
“Easy. You haven’t said yes yet.”
“Then ask me!” She giggles, still trying to grab for it.
I grab her arm and hold it to my heart as I bring the ring directly into her line of sight. “Jae, you make me completely crazy…er, I mean, I’m completely crazy about you.”
She laughs, her tear-filled eyes glimmering like emeralds. “And?”
“And what? You want me to keep talking about how nuts you make me?”
“So long as you’re talking about what I do to you in the bedroom.”
I squeeze her tight. “You are tough and loud and powerful and strong. So full of passion and life. Just being around you makes me feel more alive than I’d ever imagined. Your
energy, your spirit…” I shake my head. “My God, you’re just incredible. And not to mention, sexy as fuck.”
“Can’t forget that,” she quips.
I shake my head, the ring still on my finger as I cup her face in my hands. “I want you by my side forever. I want you to be my wife.”
She smirks. “That’s not a question.”
I furrow my brow.
“I can’t say yes unless you ask me the question!”
“Will you marry me?”
“Yes.” She lets out a loud whoop as I slide the large diamond onto her finger. “Oh my God, Sergio, it’s huge !”
I give her a wink. “Not the first time I’ve heard that .”
She tilts her head up at me. “Yeah, I am a very lucky girl.”
PART 2: MARCHELLA
My eyes float open and I see white.
White and glaringly bright, recessed ceiling lights.
I swallow hard.
Fuck, is this heaven?
I squeeze my eyes shut for a second to adjust, then crack them open a bit once again, this time remembering not to stare. I roll my head gingerly to the right and left as I take in the space. I can see a desk and a few chairs in one corner of the room. Stark white walls. Covered windows. My hands run over a soft, buttery leather texture beneath me.
Okay, if it is heaven, then I must be in some angel’s office.
Or maybe God’s…
I rub a hand over the spot in my shoulder that feels like it’s on fire and my fingers graze a bandage of some kind. I squeeze my eyes shut, bringing my hands to my temples and cringing when a sharp pain shoots down my right arm.
Where am I?
And why am I here?
My brain struggles to focus, to make sense of the images wallpapering my mind. Splintered memories scatter behind my closed eyes and I take a deep breath, trying hard to focus.
Little things begin to make sense.
The sunshine. The Little League game.
I remember running. Fast and hard.
To escape.
Almost like I knew what was going to happen…
I try to raise myself up to identify any other clues about where I might be, but my body is sluggish, my limbs lethargic. It isn’t cooperating at all with my frenzied mind. Gripping the sides of the leather cushion I’m sprawled out on, I push upward, a woozy feeling crashing over me. Bile rises in the back of my throat and I squeeze my eyes shut, praying for the nausea to pass. I swallow a few deep breaths and that seems to settle my stomach.
But then again, I still don’t know why I’m here in the first place or who brought me here.
That realization alone is enough to send my belly back into upheaval.
I shudder against the back of the couch, voices in the hallway getting louder, closer, and more heated.
My ears prick up at their words. They obviously must think I’m still asleep.
One of the voices sounds vaguely familiar, although I can’t imagine how I’d know it.
I struggle to hear more.
“…meeting…Sal called…be here in an hour…kill them both…”
I let out a little gasp, fear clutching me.
Kill who?
Me?
Keep reading SAVAGE BEAST, Marcella and Roman’s spicy and dark second chance captive romance, now!