Epilogue
LIAM
It’s been six weeks since I chased her back to Charleston and I’m starting to wonder if moving in together is a good idea.
She’s bent over a box in the kitchen, her skirt pulled up to reveal her smooth, tan thighs, and I’ve got a boner the size of Brooklyn as I imagine walking behind her and sliding those pretty panties aside.
There’s every possibility that I’m going to fuck her until we both die of exhaustion. The only time I don’t think about sex is when we’re both at work, or when I’m playing racquetball with Myles. I thought I’d get used to it by now but moving in together has only made me hornier.
I’m imagining christening each room with her. Multiple times. Bending her over the bath, pushing her against the tiled wall in the shower, eating her for breakfast on the counter.
“Did you find the coffee pot?” her dad asks, walking in with a tray of cookies. I immediately deflate which is a very good thing.
“Yep, it’s here.” Sophie stands and holds it up like she’s won a prize. Then she sees me skulking there like the dirty stalker I am.
“Oh hey,” she says. “When did you get here?”
“Five minutes ago.” And yes, I’ve been watching her the whole time. She’s my girl. Sue me. “Everything’s finished with your apartment. I handed the key back.”
I first saw this house before Sophie and I were officially together. Even then I could picture her in it perfectly. It has a skylight that spans the length of the kitchen and she loves looking up and watching the clouds.
And I love watching her do it, so we both win.
“Do you want some coffee?” she asks.
“Yes, please,” Myles says, carrying in a box.
We’ve pretty much enlisted the whole family.
Eli’s driving his truck – yep, he’s actually driving his own vehicle – which has most of my things from Myles and Ava’s bungalow.
I’m kind of sad to say goodbye to that place because it means I’ll see less of Charlie.
Although we have a room here that’s perfect for him if he ever wants to sleep over. Or more importantly, if Myles and Ava ever let him. I know they trust Sophie but me…
I’m working on it.
Sophie makes the coffee and her dad hands out the cookies and then I call a local pizza delivery joint and arrange for enough food to arrive to keep my brothers from bitching about being hungry.
Even Holden’s here, having gotten a few days off from work.
And Linc and Brooks have actually been helpful, setting up the beds in all the rooms and putting together the furniture Sophie and I bought.
I love them all. But I’m damn happy when they all leave a few hours later and it’s just the two of us. When I close the door after Eli, the last out, I turn around and let out a sigh before walking through the house to find her.
This house is big. Probably too big for just us. But it’s only a few minutes away from Myles and Ava and within easy distance of work for Sophie. Plus it has a great office I can work from when I’m here.
I’ve still kept my apartment in New York. I’ll have to fly there once a week, at least for the foreseeable future. But I have a plan.
Sam’s gotten a well-deserved promotion. She’s more than good at what she does. She’s also hungry for more. And I trust her.
Plus she’s already a hit with our clients. They love her. Between us we’re keeping them happy which keeps me happy because I get to spend more time with my girl. If she keeps doing that I can see her becoming the head of our New York operations in no time.
Sophie’s currently in the bathroom, taking off her makeup. I walk into our bedroom hoping for a quick view of her stepping into the shower, but the door is closed. I frown and wonder if it’s too much to open it, but then I see a note on the bed.
Along with a piece of black fabric. A mask. One of those ones you wear when you can’t sleep at night.
Picking up the note I read her words.
Put this mask on and shout ‘ready’.
This isn’t like her. I’m the one who makes the demands. She’s my good girl. And yet I kind of like this. It’s kinky and I’m here for it.
Shrugging, I pull the mask over my eyes. It takes a minute to adjust the elastic because it’s clearly made for a woman’s smaller head, but eventually it doesn’t feel like it’s cutting off the blood flow to my ears.
And then I call out to her. “Ready.” Or at least I think I am.
I hear the creak of the bathroom door and the thud of bare feet against the floor. “Do you trust me?” she asks, her voice throaty as hell.
I ask her that all the time. I’m happy to report her answer is always yes these days. She trusts me and it’s like I’ve won the damn lottery.
“Always, baby,” I tell her honestly.
“Good. Take my hand,” she says, sliding her palm into mine. “We just need to go somewhere.”
A smile plays at my lips as I let her lead me out of the bedroom and into the hallway. We turn left, which means we’re heading toward the living room that opens up to our beautiful backyard.
“I’m hoping you’re naked right now,” I tell her.
Sophie laughs softly. “Stand there,” she whispers, so I do. I stand and try to ignore the throbbing in my dick because even smelling and touching this woman makes me hard.
I hear a shuffle. A click of a lock and a sudden cool breeze. She must have opened the back doors. “Are we outside?” I ask. I picture her naked on the grass, her hair splayed out, her eyes wide as she stares up at me.
“Yes, we are. You can take the mask off now,” she says, her voice more distant than I thought it would be. I reach up and pull it over my hair, my eyes eager to see her naked in our yard.
But what I see is even better.
She’s fully clothed. Kneeling on the grass in front of a huge lit up sign.
Liam Salinger. I love you. Will you marry me?
“What the?” I walk all the way outside and she’s still kneeling there, a dark blue box in her hands. It’s open and nestled inside are two rings. A thick dark band and a thinner one.
“These are just temporary,” she tells me. “If you say yes we can buy some new ones.”
I fall down to my own knees in front of her. Some guys would hate this. They’d want to be the one to do the asking. Maybe they’d even feel emasculated.
But not this guy. I didn’t even know I needed this but I did. I needed to know she trusts me completely.
And these rings and her kneeling and that sign… yeah. I’m welling up.
“Will you?” she asks, her eyes shining.
I swallow because there’s no way I’m crying even if my eyes are telling me different. “Yeah,” I say my voice rough. “I’m going to marry the fuck out of you. Here in the backyard.”
She laughs. “Is that a euphemism?”
“Kind of.” I definitely want us to marry at our house. I can’t imagine anywhere better. But yeah it’s also a euphemism because I want her. Now.
So we slide the rings on, then I pull her into my arms and show her exactly how not emasculated I am.
She’s soft and smiling as I kiss her. Looping her arms around my neck, I pull her toward me until she’s sitting on my thighs.
I slide my lips down her neck and she lets out that little mewing sound that makes me harder than steel.
My feisty kitten. My girl. My future wife. How the hell did I get this lucky?
“We’ll do it soon,” I say, laying her down on the grass.
“Get married.” She looks almost exactly like my vision but with too many clothes on.
I begin to rectify that, unbuttoning the front of her dress, pushing it open to reveal the flimsiest of lacy bras.
Taking a moment to admire the sheer perfection of her body, I dip my head and scrape my teeth against her nipple.
“How soon?” she gasps.
“What you doing tomorrow?”
She laughs again as I stroke my tongue against her.
“Working. As are you.” She’s spent most of the last few weeks recruiting new employees.
Since Michael quit and headed west, she’s been appointed head of the weather department.
Her job is growing because her submission won and Charleston is now the regional weather hub, too.
She’s killing it and I love that for her.
“Within the next two months.” I kiss my way down her stomach. I like this dress, it buttons right down to the hem. So I unfasten the rest of them until it opens up like a gift in front of me.
Her panties match her bra. Lacy. Almost non-existent. I kiss the little bow at the front of them because it deserves a thank you.
Then I yank them down. She lifts her ass and her thighs to help me.
“Good girl.”
She fucking glows. I’ll never get tired of that.
I kiss her soft thighs, her jutting hips, the crease where her legs meet her torso. And then I give her one long, languorous lick right where she needs me.
“Liam,” she gasps. “The neighbors…”
“They don’t overlook us,” I remind her. “And if you keep it quiet they’ll never know.” Another good thing about a big house like this is that it has a huge ass yard. The possibilities are pretty endless.
We can spend the rest of our lives trying them all.
Or maybe not. The kids might notice. We’ll have to be more discreet. But I can work with that.
And kids? Yeah. We want a lot of them. A whole new Salinger dynasty. Or a West-Salinger dynasty.
Or Salinger-West dynasty. I blink because there are so many possibilities.
“Where have you gone?” she murmurs, stroking my hair.
“I was just thinking about our kids.”
“Shall we get married first?” she asks. “I know it’s old fashioned, but it’ll make our families happy.”
I nod, and kiss her right at her center, making her gasp. “And what will make you happy?” I ask her.
“You,” she says simply, her fingers raking my scalp. “It’s always you.”