Epilogue
JAIME
“Mr. Lamont, please state your name, and spell it for the record.”
Fiddling with the tie that felt too tight around his throat, Jaime took a deep, steadying breath, and looked up. Not at DA Rivera, who had just called him to the witness stand to testify against Jeffrey Dugan, but at his mate, sitting in the front row.
Finn’s eyes were already on him, full of warmth and pride that Jaime felt echoed deep in his chest.
Next to him sat Sam, whose gaze was the other side of Finn’s coin. His pride was fierce, and the nod he gave was resolute in his trust that Jaime could do this.
And on the other side of Sam, was Silas. Silas, who had whooped and hollered, picking Jaime up and spinning him around before crushing them both in a bear hug the day after he and Finn had claimed each other, exclaiming how happy he was that they were brothers now.
Finally, on the end sat Sheppard. Reserved as always, but his usually stoic features softened a touch as he smiled in support.
So much had happened since that day the media swarmed his house and Finn had thundered back into his life. They’d all been through a great deal together, and Jaime was thankful every day for them, for his family, and especially that they were all there to support him today.
Gaze skittering back to Finn, mooring him, he cleared his throat, and began.
Jaime’s hand braced against the headboard, stopping his slide up every time Finn brutally fucked into him. “Yes, like that! Harder, please. Just like that—that, Finn. Fuck!”
Finn hiked Jaime’s legs up higher on his shoulders, nearly bending him in half as he ground his hips down, whispering filth into his ear. “Is this what you need, baby? You n-need me all the way inside you, stuffing my cock deep in your—b-belly?”
Jaime mewled, unable to form words anymore. He could tell by the way his hole stretched around the base of Finn that his mate would come soon, and fuck, he was nearly there just from Finn pegging his prostate with his thick, blunt tip.
Jaime snaked his other hand between them, canting his hips up higher to give Finn the best angle, the angle that always had them both screaming each other’s names, and took his cock in hand, pumping hard to bring himself over the edge.
“Come inside me, baby. I’m close. Fill me—fill me up. Up. Breed—breed me, please. Knot me and make your m-mate come.”
That was something new they’d learned together after Finn had knotted him for the first time. No matter that he couldn’t actually get Jaime pregnant, asking Finn to breed him was the equivalent of a vibrator on high direct to Finn’s prostate, with how fast it made him blow his load deep in Jaime’s ass.
And Jaime fucking loved it.
One day when Jaime was working on a watercolor commission for a local client from home, Finn had texted saying how bored he was, and how much he wished someone would call with an emergency request to get him out of all the paperwork piled up on his desk.
So, Jaime had slicked himself up, sat on the plug he hadn’t used in ages because Finn knotted him so often, and snapped a selfie. He’d replied, telling Finn that he’d worked up quite the emergency situation at home and that he desperately needed Finn’s help, before sending him the photo, captioned, Breed me.
Finn’s truck had screeched into the driveway only a few minutes later, feet stomping up the stairs two at a time before he’d burst into their bedroom, bent Jaime over the dresser, and fucked him with a ferocity he hadn’t seen before.
Later, as they’d laid tangled up in each other, panting heavily and Finn’s knot pressed deep inside, he’d sheepishly explained that the thought of Jaime, alone, slick and ready to be bred while anyone could just happen by the house, had short-circuited his brain, sending him straight into wolfy mine territory.
Jaime had replied that he certainly wasn’t complaining, and that they would absolutely be doing that again.
Jaime’s hand was flying over his shaft now, while Finn snarled, “Your tight little hole is squeezing my cock back inside, baby. It’s begging for my knot. Begging to be b-bred. Do you want your mate’s cum? Do you want m-me to fuck into your belly and breed you? Do you want my load that badly, baby? Take my—cum!”
Finn gasped and buried himself deep, pressing his full body down and knot blowing wide as Jaime’s hole swallowed around him. Jaime shouted his climax, tightening the fist around his cock as he shot all over his stomach and chest.
He wrapped shaky arms around Finn’s shoulders, twitching through the electric pulses zinging through him while he basked in the pressure of Finn’s knot pressed against his prostate, cum filling him up.
Dropping Jaime’s legs off his shoulders, Finn rolled them until Jaime was mostly on top, legs and arms a jumble as they breathed through the come down, pleasure softly pulsing through him as he felt Finn’s rumbling purr underneath. By the time his knot softened enough to pull out, and Jaime felt like he could form full sentences again, he was ready for a hot shower and Finn’s Shepherd’s pie.
Jaime told his mate so, who chuckled and shuffled them both into the bathroom, where Finn very attentively washed away the cum and lube dripping down his thighs.
And then sucked Jaime’s cock down and swallowed around him until he was hard again and keening, pouting and begging until he splashed down Finn’s throat, blearily watching him jerk himself off on his knees.
A little while later, hair still damp and muscles pleasantly liquid and sore, Jaime sat in their dining nook and watched Finn pad around the kitchen, shirtless, slicing and sautéing and whatever else he was doing that was far less interesting than the bunch and stretch of his back muscles as he bent over.
Jaime really needed to buy him that damn apron.
“Thank you for being there, today. I know it had to be boring sitting through all of that, but it means a lot to me that you were there. And thank you for afterwards, upstairs. I needed that, too.”
Finn turned toward him, a crease forming between his eyebrows. Jaime remembered the first time he saw that crease, and how much he’d wanted to smooth it away, so he stood up, padded over to his mate, and did just that.
Finn hooked an arm around his waist. “Of course, I was there. There was never any question about that.”
Jaime smiled. “I know. But still, it’s important to me that you know how much I appreciate it. How much I appreciate you. That there never was any question for you. I love you, and I am grateful for who you are.”
It was Finn’s turn to smile now, and he pressed a kiss to Jaime’s temple before he turned back to their food. “I’m very proud of you. You did so well today. Whatever verdict the jury returns, you did Vera justice.”
Jaime nodded. He had answered all of the questions that DA Rivera asked him without issue, feeling lighter after his story was finally out there. But then the defense attorney had peppered him with more difficult, pointed questions. She’d brought up things that Jaime hadn’t thought were relevant, but that he’d been forced to testify about.
His job, his brother, his relationship with Finn, and thus the security firm. Feeling like he’d been put through the wringer, Jaime had finally stepped down after DA Rivera had helped him re-state some of the details he’d felt like the defense attorney had muddled.
Somehow, that took nearly all day, and Finn drove him home in a daze.
When they’d walked through the door, Finn kicking his shoes off next to Jaime’s and offering to make them an early dinner before going to bed, a sudden swell of emotion had come over him. He was proud of himself for staying composed on the witness stand, yes, but for some reason, he hadn’t been able to shake a horrible sense of what-if.
Jaime had seen a version of himself come home alone after testifying, without Finn. He’d seen himself warm up a frozen pot pie in the microwave, sit on the couch, and eat dinner, alone.
The emptiness he’d felt as he pictured it had Jaime pouncing on Finn, pulling him up the stairs and begging for his knot. Finn, as always, had sensed what he needed, and gave it to him.
Brutally, over and over.
Jaime needed Finn to know that he saw that, saw his unwavering support, and would always be grateful for it.
As Finn slid their Shepherd’s pie into the oven to bake, Jaime thought about what Finn might be needing, and asked something that he’d been wondering about for a long time.
“Have you ever thought about getting another dog?”
Finn turned wide eyes toward him and leaned back against the counter. He opened his mouth to answer, but then stopped, taking a moment to consider. “I didn’t want to at first, after Luna died. I couldn’t handle the thought of giving my heart away again.”
He smiled softly at Jaime, and continued, “But now, with you. Yes, I have thought about it. A lot, actually. I was debating over whether to ask if you’d like to get a puppy together. Or maybe find a shelter to adopt from.”
Jaime cocked his head. “Why were you debating asking me that? Of course, I would love to get a dog with you, Finn. We’d be fucking fantastic dog dads. I’ll get us all matching sweaters. The Christmas cards will be adorable.”
Finn chuckled, eyes bright. “Well, the thing is… there’s something else that I’ve also been wanting to ask you, and I was debating on which to do first. There might be travel involved in the second request, and I’d hate to leave our new puppy at home without us so soon.”
Jaime was lost. “Do you want to go on a vacation? I agree, I think we should do that before we get a puppy—Finn, what is so funny?”
That mirthful look still on his face and eyes glowing, Finn plucked something out of one of the kitchen drawers that Jaime never had any reason to look inside anymore, and sidled up to him, crowding Jaime back against the counter. Reflexively, he grasped Finn’s forearms and began running his fingers through the soft hair there.
Finn’s voice was teasing, a knowing smile slashed across his face. “So, you agree? We should do the other thing, first? Get that out of the way before we dive headfirst into puppy parenthood?”
Angling his head up, Jaime narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the amused grin on Finn’s face. “What am I missing?”
Finn’s laughter settled into a warm, joyful smile, and he held out his open palm before Jaime, presenting him with a brushed gold wedding band.
“Will you marry me, Jaime?”
Jaime blinked. Blinked again. “Oh.”
Finn smirked. “Oh?”
Jaime batted at Finn’s chest. “Yes, oh. And, not fair! You’re not supposed to tease me after proposing, you’re supposed to confess your undying love for me, and tell me how much you can’t live without me, and how good I am at sucking your dick, and?—”
Finn cocked an eyebrow at him. “I think I said all of that and quite a bit more an hour ago upstairs, when you were clawing my back up and screaming my name while I was balls deep inside of you. But if you’d like, I’m happy to repeat myself.”
Jaime swatted at his chest again, blushing at the memory. “Alright. I suppose we have done and said all of that today, already. And, yes. I will marry you. Honestly, I thought mating was it for wolf shifters, I didn’t know you all had ceremonies like humans do?—”
Finn shut him up with a kiss, deep and intense.
Pulling away, he pressed his forehead to Jaime’s and slid the ring onto his finger. “I love you, so very much. You are mine, and I am yours. We’re forever, baby. But I’d also really fucking love to call you my husband, loudly, so that guy we always see at the grocery store stops checking you out.”
Jaime threw his head back and cackled. Wiping at his eyes, he answered, “Babe, that guy is checking you out, not me. You just only notice him when he’s looking at me, and trying to figure out how I bagged these swoon-worthy broad shoulders of yours.” He ran his hands appreciatively along them to emphasize his point, beaming at the glint of the golden band on his left hand.
Finn cataloged that, briefly. “Huh.”
Jaime gripped Finn by the shoulders. “I love you, too. And yes, it would bring me so much joy to call you my husband. Yes, I will marry you, and we can go on an amazing honeymoon, and then we can get a puppy, and then we can grow old and gray together. I want all of it, with you.”
Finn gave him that midnight sun smile. “All of it, with you.”