Epilogue
. . .
reed
One Month Later
Iglance back at the clock on the nightstand, my heart racing, not just from the heat building between her thighs because of me, but from the minutes slipping away.
Our wedding is in two hours, and here I am, tangled in the sheets of our hotel suite, my hands roaming her body as if I can’t get enough, because I can’t.
My soon-to-be wife couldn’t wait until after the ceremony, and truthfully, neither could I; I needed to see her now.
She’s already in white lace lingerie, the delicate fabric hugging her thighs, and the sight of her steals my breath away.
“Reed,” she breathes, half-laughing, half-protesting, as I trail hot kisses down her neck. “We’re going to be late to our own wedding.”
I lift my head, my dark-framed glasses slightly askew yet still perched on my nose, a soft smile tugging at my mouth.
“Shh, my love,” I murmur, my voice low and soothing as I bare her breasts, the cool air pebbling her nipples. “We’ve got time. Let me worship you one last time before you’re mine forever.”
I slide my hands up the insides of her thighs, my thumbs brushing the tender skin just beside where she’s aching most.
Spreading her wider, I open her completely to my gaze.
“Look at you, baby,” I murmur, kissing her inner thigh.“So fucking pretty, and so wet for me already.”
She bites her lip, her cheeks blooming pink as her fingers twist in the sheets.
“Reed…”
“Shh.” I lean in, letting my breath ghost over her clit. She jolts anyway, her hips lifting toward my mouth. “I’ve got you. Just let me taste what’s mine.”
I press the flat of my tongue against her entrance first, lapping up her arousal already dripping toward the sheets.
She tastes of salt, honey, and pure need. I groan against her, the vibration making her whimper.
“God, baby,” I rasp, pulling back just enough to look at her. “You taste so fucking good. I’ve been thinking about this all morning, getting my mouth on you one last time before we make our vows.”
I drag my tongue through her tight heat, stopping just short of her clit. Circling it, teasing, never quite touching.
Her hips chase me. “Please, Reed—”
“Patience, baby. I want to savor every second of this.” I say, smiling against her skin.
I flatten my tongue again, licking a long, firm stripe from bottom to top, sealing my lips around her clit, sucking gently.
Her back arches off the bed; a broken moan spilling out.
“That’s it,” I murmur, my voice muffled against her. “Let me hear you. Let me feel how much you love my mouth on this pretty pussy.”
I flick the tip of my tongue over her clit, quick little licks, sucking again, harder this time.
Easing two fingers inside her, I curl them upward, stroking that soft, ridged spot that makes her thighs shake.
“Reed, fuck, right there—”
I hum in approval, the vibration sending another jolt through her. My fingers pump slowly as my tongue works her clit in steady circles. I can feel her walls fluttering around my fingers, feel her beginning to tighten.
“You’re gonna come for me like this?” I ask between licks. “Gonna give me one right before I slide inside you and make you mine forever. Can you do that for me, baby? Can you give me one more before the dress, the vows, and everyone else sees how beautiful you are?”
She’s nodding frantically now, her hips rocking against my face as her fingers tangle in my hair so tightly it stings in the best way.
“Yes, yes, Reed, please—”
I add a third finger, gently stretching her while I suck her clit harder, rhythmic pulses, as my tongue flicks fast against her swollen bud.
Her whole body locks up.
She comes with a cry that’s half sob, half my name as her pussy clenches hard around my fingers, flooding my tongue with her arousal.
I don’t stop as I keep licking her through it, slow and gentle now, drawing out every aftershock until she’s whimpering, oversensitive, her thighs trying to close around my head.
With one last soft kiss to her clit, I crawl back up her body, trailing kisses until I meet her mouth and give her a gentle peck.
She’s flushed from chest to cheeks, eyes glassy, lips parted. I settle between her legs, my cock heavy and leaking against her inner thigh.
I brush a damp strand of hair off her forehead, kissing her again.
“Mine,” I whisper against her lips. “Every inch of you. Every sound you just made. Every drop I just swallowed.”
She smiles against my lips. “Yours,” she breathes. “Forever yours.”
I notch myself at her entrance, pause, as my forehead presses to hers.
“Ready to let me in, Mrs. Soon-to-Be-Hayes?”
Her laugh is soft, breathless, perfect. “Been ready since the first night I walked into your bar.”
I push in slowly, letting her feel every inch. When I’m buried to the hilt, when she’s wrapped around me like she was made for this exact moment, I kiss her like it’s the only promise that matters right now.
“I do,” I whisper against her lips.
She smiles through fresh tears. “I do.”
Her nails rake lightly down my back as her lips part on a shaky exhale. “Reed…”
I brush my lips against hers, pulling back just enough to look into her eyes.
“Feel that?” I whisper. “Every inch in this sweet cunt.”
She nods, her eyes glassy as her hips rock in tiny, helpless circles.
“I need—” Her voice cracks. She swallows, trying again. “I need it harder, Reed. Please. I want to feel you as I walk down the aisle.”
Fuckkk. My cock twitches hard inside her.
I rest my forehead against hers. “You beg so pretty, baby. Don’t stop, let me hear you.”
She whimpers as her hands slide down to my lower back, urging me closer, deeper.
“Harder,” she breathes. “Please, fuck me harder. I want it rough. Can you do that for me?”
I groan, pulling my cock almost out, until just the tip is stretching her entrance, before I snap my hips forward.
The bedframe knocks against the wall as her cries echo throughout the room.
“Yes, yes, like that—”
I do it again, setting an intentional but brutal rhythm. Every thrust bottoms out, my balls slapping against her, as my cock grinds against her sweet spot that makes her sob my name.
“Harder,” she begs again, her fingers pulling my hair gently. “Reed, please, don’t hold back—”
I shift my angle, hooking one of her legs over my shoulder so I can go deeper, open her wider.
“Like that, baby?” I rasp against her ear, picking up the pace as my hips snap with real force now. “You want me to fuck you like I own you? Like this cunt is mine to ruin before I put my ring on your finger?”
“Yes, God, yes—” Her nails dig into my shoulders hard enough to leave half-moons. “Ruin me.”
I give her what she’s begging for.
My thrusts turn punishing, each one driving the air from her lungs in sharp little gasps. The headboard bangs rhythmically against the wall as the bed creaks under us.
Her breasts bounce with each thrust as her pussy grips me so tightly I can barely control myself from coming right now.
“You feel that?” I growl, my voice shredded. “Gonna leave you sore, baby.”
She’s crying now; happy, overwhelmed tears slipping down her temples.
“R-Reed, I’m, I’m gonna—”
“Come,” I command, slamming in hard, reaching down to touch her clit, giving her that extra pressure she needs. “Come on this cock, baby.”
Her whole body seizes as her back arches, her pussy clamping down so hard I see stars.
She screams my name as her walls pulse violently around me, milking every inch as she comes apart.
Wetness floods between us, soaking my cock, my thighs, the sheets.
I can’t hold on anymore.
Burying myself as deep as I can, I groan gutturally, my cock pulsing, spilling inside her. Pulse after pulse until I’m shaking, until I’ve filled her so full I can feel the excess leaking out around me.
We stay locked together, panting, trembling, as our foreheads press together.
I kiss her tears away, soft now, tender.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” I whisper. “And you’re all mine. Forever.”
She smiles through the tears and pulls me down until my full weight is on her.
“Forever,” she says, caressing the scarred skin along my cheek, “I can’t wait to marry you.”
I kiss her slowly as I’m still buried inside her.
“Two hours,” I murmur against her lips. “Then you’re officially Mrs. Hayes.”
layla
As the doors creak open and all sounds seem to fade, the soft shuffle of dresses, the quiet hum of a piano somewhere behind me, until all I hear is the pounding of my own heartbeat.
Reed’s at the altar.
Fuck.
He’s standing there in a black suit, his hair slicked back, his scruffy mustache tamed yet still him.
His brothers flank him, Maverick grinning like a fool, Carter’s hand steady on his shoulder.
Amelia and Catalina stand on opposite sides, their tears shining through.
And there’s Reed. My Reed.
The man who held me when I was nothing but broken pieces and made me believe I could be whole again—the man who never once looked away from the scars, his or mine.
I take a breath and begin walking, each step sinking into the old wooden floorboards as the train of my lace gown whispers behind me. The veil catches the sunlight, turning its edges into soft white fire.
In my hands, the sunflower bouquet feels vibrant and warm, with its bright yellow standing out against the pale ivory of my dress.
Reed’s eyes lock onto mine, and for a moment, he seems like he might stop breathing. His lips part, revealing the tears he’s desperately trying to hold back.
Maverick nudges him gently, whispering something that makes Reed let out a shaky laugh, but his eyes remain fixed on me.
Every step closer feels like a lifetime of memories—the morning I showed up at his door, the paint-stained afternoons, the motorcycle rides through open fields, and the nights at the bar when the world finally felt safe again.
It all led to this.
I finally reach him, and he exhales as if he’s been holding his breath since we first met.
His hand reaches out, palm open. I slip mine into his, and it feels exactly as it did that first time, steady, sure, home.