Epilogue
Reese
Two months later
“Reese, we can’t,” Clay hissed quietly, even though we were the only two in his office.
“Of course we can,” I replied with a roll of my eyes.
Perching myself on his desk, I leaned forward until I could rest my hands on his chair, effectively caging him in.
It was a heady experience having him trapped, since he so often did it to me.
Not that I minded those moments either. In fact, I sort of loved them.
Like I loved him.
Wishing for a love like my grandparents and the parentals was one thing, but actually finding it was so much better than I could have ever expected.
Every day, this man in front of me showed me I was never too much for him, and boy was it a heady experience.
He listened, he debated, he challenged, but most of all, he believed in me.
While I’d never truly given up on finding the Henley brand of love, I’d given up, at one point, on finding someone who backed me so wholeheartedly I would feel like I could do anything.
Lucky for me, I’d waited, because Clay fit that bill perfectly.
He gave me the wind, so my wings could allow me to soar.
“Our brothers are on the way here so we can meet the project manager I think will be perfect.”
Hiring a project manager had been a bone of contention between us.
There was a fleeting moment when he’d first mentioned it that doubt hit me hard.
Doubt in myself. Doubt in his belief in me.
Even after he explained his reasoning, I didn’t want to let go of the idea that I could do it all on my own.
Luckily, my parents and his grandmother saw it differently.
The urge to dig in my heels and protect myself was strong, but I realized my trust in Clay and this relationship we were building was stronger.
Now, I still wasn’t thrilled with the idea of someone running the show, but I understood it better and had come around.
Letting my high heel drop off my foot, I skimmed my bare toes over his knee, then along his inner thigh.
His hand shot out to stop my movement before I hit pay dirt.
“Spoilsport,” I teased. “And I know they’re on their way, but we have time.
” Granted, not much, but given how I could already see the impressive outline of his erection against his pants, I didn’t really think it would take long.
“You left before I had breakfast,” I whispered as I leaned in closer.
Lucky for me, Clay’s feet were firmly planted on the floor: otherwise, I risked face-planting into his lap.
Not that I didn’t plan on ending up there, but I hoped to do it more elegantly than falling off his desk. “I woke up alone and hungry.”
“I sense we’re not talking about food, are we?”
“Nope.”
The minute he closed his eyes and dropped his head back against the chair, I knew I had him. I slid off his desk, to my knees in front of him, and ran my hands up his thighs.
“You are such trouble.”
“You love that about me though.”
His eyelids opened, and he stared down his body at me. “I love everything about you; the trouble you bring with you is only one of many things.”
Every day I wondered how I got to be so lucky.
From worrying I’d always be too much for someone, to finding the person who actually wanted me to be too much of everything.
Grams once told me it’s never asking too much from a partner for them to help me see things about myself I couldn’t see on my own.
Clay did that for me every day. I only hope that I did the same for him.
Making quick work of his belt buckle and zipper, I slid my hand inside his pants and past his boxers until hot skin met my flesh.
Pulling his cock out, I glanced at the windows making up two of the walls of the corner suite, loving the sunlight streaming in on us.
“You know, we haven’t had sex on your balcony yet.
” I gave the head of his cock a lick, loving the taste of his pre-cum and the way he groaned my name.
“Reese, my balcony isn’t exactly as secluded as your spot on the property.” He sighed as I took him in my mouth. “Neither is my office.”
I’d never even had sex outside until the night Clay made a meal of me on my balcony. Now I couldn’t get enough.
“So?”
His hands tunneled through my hair as I swirled my tongue around his hard length.
“Dammit, Reese. You can’t say shit like that.”
“Why not?” I asked before I pulled him into my mouth, my tongue laving the vein along the underside of his shaft.
“Because.” I chuckled at his non-answer, the sound sending vibrations all along his cock. “Fuck me, that feels so good.”
A knock sounded, then a soft click, before Lachlain called, “Clay.”
“Lachlain, if you open that door another millimeter, I’m going to kick your ass. No.” He sucked in a breath as I swallowed him deeper. “I’ll fire you. Get out,” his roar preceded the closing of the door, but there was no way to miss Lachlain’s laughter.
“Your brother is a menace.”
“Forget him. Get that sexy, sassy, sarcastic mouth back on my dick, Little Trouble. I want to feel you swallow me down. Take everything I have to give you.”
I bobbed my head back and forth, loving the way he tensed as he got closer only to curse as I gentled my movements. “I learned a lot about teasing from you,” I whispered, hot air blowing on his shaft, and took him deep again. Seconds later, he erupted in my mouth.
Looking up at him, I expected to see ecstasy, passion, and the burning aftermath of release in his eyes.
Instead, there was love and tenderness. He dragged me up, until I sat on his lap, and he claimed my mouth.
When he pulled away, he framed my face with his hands, our foreheads resting against one another.
“I learned a lot about love from you, Reese Henley, and I’m not done learning yet. ”
Somehow, this man turned an office quickie into a declaration of love that prompted tears to form behind my eyes. “I don’t plan on ever being done with you, Clayton Montgomery. Seasons will change, but we’re going to see every one of them through.”
I hope you weren’t watching that, Gramps, but thank you. Thank you for giving me the courage to go after what I wanted, because it led me to what, and who, I needed.
I snuggled into Clay’s embrace, relishing everything I found. “This is a pretty good place to be, Clay.”
With a kiss on my nose, he nodded. “A fantastic place, Little Trouble.”
Logan
“You can just hang out here,” Lachlain said as he opened the door to a conference room. “I’d say our siblings would be here soon, but considering I think they’re having sex in big brother’s office, that may not be an accurate statement.”
I cringed. “Yeah, I really didn’t need to know that.
” I’d already spent far too many nights at the B&B or Owen’s place because I didn’t want to hear my sister and her boyfriend.
Calling a billionaire a boyfriend sounded a little weird to my ears, but so far, the man hadn’t put a ring on her finger, so boyfriend it was.
“Listen, I’m sort of shocked I even said it.
Clay’s not exactly known for office quickies, and by not exactly known, I mean has never had one.
I’ve encouraged it in the past, but with no luck, so I say, ‘Go Reese.’” He chuckled as I shook my head.
“Fine, fine. We won’t talk about what may or may not be happening in the corner office. ”
Stepping into the large room, I noticed blueprints, maps, and plats of our property occupied every spare inch of the twenty-person table.
“It’s like a war room,” I commented. It still shocked me that we were actually doing this.
Not because I didn’t think Reese could see her vision become reality, but because it still seemed so big.
Given the amount of paperwork around the room, it was a larger undertaking than I’d really expected or envisioned.
“That is practically what Grandmother is calling it: Henley Family Retreat Headquarters.”
We’d given the business we were building the family name, while the individual entities under it could do something that suited themselves more.
Ever had practically been beside herself with glee at renaming the winery, which has now led to a battle with Beck and Marsh.
For every sedate name they throw into contention, Ever picks one that’s off the rails.
If nothing else, it was entertaining to watch.
“Look around at everything. Clay and Reese will be here eventually, and so will the potential project manager. I agree with my brother, it’s going to be an ideal fit.
She’s done tremendous work for Conti-Montgomery in the past, and I’m pretty sure she herself is from a small town, so I expect her to be perfect for this.
” Lachlain looked at me as if he were afraid to ask the question.
“How’d Reese take the decision to bring someone in? ”
“You’ve met my sister, right? She’s a bit of a control freak.”
Lachlain laughed and nodded. We’d only met a few times, but I could already tell he would fit in with our family.
“She wasn’t thrilled, but I think your brother convinced her it was the right move.” I winced. “I don’t want to know how he did that.”
Lachlain slapped me on my back. “Good plan. It is for the best, though. This gives Reese the ability to step back if there’s tension within the family and let someone else decide.
Not to mention, it gives her time to focus on the B&B expansion and spend time with Clay.
Between you, me, and the blueprints, I think that was his ulterior motive.
Can’t jet her off somewhere if she’s running the entire project. ”
It made sense, and given their relationship was still so new, putting fewer roadblocks in their own way was important.
He reached into his pocket as his phone chimed. “Shit. I've gotta take this. Some of our business partners are still a little anxious after the Reg debacle. I have to calm their asses down. Be back in a few.” Lach started talking into the phone before he’d reached the door.
When I was alone, I stared at the myriad of plans.
Can you believe this, Gramps? It’s crazy, right?
The man had been on my mind more and more since we started down this crazy journey. Reese had her reservations about what he would have said, but I never thought she had to worry. Between his adoration of her and the way he believed in always moving forward, he would have been right beside her.
Or behind her, giving her a shove.
Bracing my hands on the table, I looked down at a copy of the original plat.
The existing structures were represented by the most basic of outlines, while all the new dreams we had were little hand-drawn pictures.
We’d all spent hours plotting it all out.
Everything from where the cottages would go to the spot I’d selected for my restaurant was delineated on the map.
The words “TOUCH AND DIE” in red letters with an arrow pointing at a circled building caught my eye.
Only one thing was designated as a no-go zone and that was Grams and Gramps’ cabin on the mountain.
Reese had even been willing to give up “her” spot, because she knew the view was spectacular.
The cabin, not so much. Clay had laughed at first when he read it, until he saw my sister’s expression.
I loved that cabin.
Like Reese had her spot with Gramps, the cabin was mine.
He’d taken me up there when I was little and still overwhelmed by all of the Henleys around me.
Somehow, he knew exactly when I needed to get away and find the solitude that had been a part of my first five years of life.
We’d sit on the patio and stare out at the mountains and the valley below.
We’d spend hours there. I’d come to think of it as my safe space, a place where I could tell him anything or sit in silence.
Either way, time there with Gramps was some of the best times of my life.
My mind flashed back to other times at the cabin.
Times with the person I’d lost my teenage heart to.
Ivy Booker. The cabin had become “our place” from the night of our graduation party when I took her up the mountain.
It held the best and worst memories from our short time together.
I didn’t lie when I told Reese that, some days, the pain was as fresh as it was fifteen years ago, but I didn’t tell her the whole truth.
Ivy never left my mind, and after all this time, I was afraid she never would.
The End