Epilogue
ACE - EIGHT WEEKS LATER
“Ace.”
My name escaped her, breathless and needy. I loved it and had to stop what I was doing just so I could smile against her naked skin.
Tessa and I were in my bed, and she’d decided she wanted to climb on top of me this morning. Who was I to complain? There’d never come a time when I’d stop this woman from getting whatever she wanted from me. She could take and take and take.
Just like she was doing now.
I couldn’t say I wasn’t doing the same. But where Tessa was taking what she needed while she rode my dick with wild abandon, I was getting something a bit different. I was using my hands and mouth on her.
With a bunch of pillows propped up behind my shoulders, my head was at the perfect spot to bury my face in her tits. Inhaling her scent, squeezing the soft flesh, and tasting her nipples. I took it all.
But that wasn’t all. I was greedy when it came to her. So, my hands journeyed down her spine, over her ass and hips, and along her thighs.
“Ace,” she moaned, her tone an indication she was close.
My eyes met hers, and I urged her mouth to mine. As my tongue swept past her beautiful lips, Tessa whimpered.
Just as I expected. Just as I’d come to know and love.
She’d been on a downward glide, but once she reached the bottom, she stayed there, grinding. Her mouth separated from mine, another whimper escaping.
“That’s it, Princess. Take what you need.”
Tessa was searching, seeking, right on that very edge. Then it hit. Her head flew back, palms to my chest, as her pussy convulsed around me. With the way she moaned and squirmed on top of me as each wave of her orgasm washed over her, I was a ticking time bomb.
It was only with superhuman effort that I managed to restrain myself and give her the chance to take all that she wanted. But the second I saw and felt and heard it leaving her, I lost control.
Surging up, I flipped her onto her back and drove in deep. “Ace,” Tessa breathed.
“It’s my turn to take now, Tessa.”
Her eyes darkened at my warning, a challenge in her gaze. Clearly, she was ready for anything, and I was grateful.
After all that she’d been doing on top of me from the moment she woke up, I’d been holding back, biding my time.
With each merciless thrust, Tessa moaned. The sounds from her had always been something to drive me closer to that edge. And the harder I went at her, the more I heard.
Tessa had come into this relationship with virtually no experience, but that hadn’t been a bad thing. Not only had I been able to lead her through so many first-time experiences, but I also learned what she liked right along with her.
We’d experimented a lot, and it seemed that just the mere thought of us being naked together lit my woman up. When we were in the throes of it, when I was riding her just like this, she was something else altogether.
“More, Ace,” she begged. “Please.”
My eyes dipped down from hers and took in those plump, pink lips before journeying down to her tits.
Full, round flesh that moved each time I plunged my cock inside her.
I watched them for a while, before I decided I wanted more.
My gaze drifted down her toned abdomen to the spot where our bodies were connected.
I loved every gorgeous inch of her beautiful body, but there was nothing like this. Like watching as her legs spread to take me. My fingers bit into her thighs as my hips slammed forward. “Do you know what it does to me to watch you take me?” I asked her, my voice a deep rumble.
Tessa tipped her chin down slightly and shook her head. “Do you love it?”
“Fuck, Princess, there’s nothing better.” I slowed the pace of my thrusts, but they remained just as purposeful. “Sinking myself between these beautiful legs, feeling you all warm and tight and wet while you beg me for more…”
Another moan escaped from her as she pressed the back of her head deeper into the mattress.
“I want a lifetime of this, Tessa. A lifetime of you. Of us.”
Her eyes sparkled, and her lips parted. “Ace.”
A victorious smile spread across my face. She was there again. I might’ve been ready to take from her, but I couldn’t ever seem to do that without giving to her in the process.
Knowing she was close, feeling myself on the verge, I dropped down to my forearms and took her mouth.
She whimpered as my tongue dipped inside.
We continued to move against one another—mouth, tongues, hands, hips, and legs—as it built and built.
And once it hit, Tessa’s nails dug into my shoulders, panting, as I buried my face against her neck and groaned through my own release.
I worked us both through to the other side, and we stayed connected like that for a long while afterward. Tessa was holding on with her arms and legs wrapped around me while I soaked up the warmth and softness and scent of her body.
Eventually, I pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I love you, Tessa.”
“I love you, too.”
“Hang tight while I get rid of this condom.”
She gave me a nod before I gave her a peck on the lips.
After I’d tossed the condom and gotten us both cleaned up, Tessa and I were back in my bed. I’d resumed my previous position, my body over hers. Tessa snaked a leg around my thigh, the other around my hip.
I kissed along her neck, inhaling as I did, and realized I just couldn’t get enough of her. Tessa’s fingertips drifted lightly along my spine.
Eventually, I pulled my face from her throat and looked down at her, still wondering how I’d gone for so long not acting on what was so clear to me now.
Tessa’s features softened as she took in the look on my face, lifted her opposite hand to my hair, and tangled her fingers in it. “This is what I want a lifetime of.”
“Cuddling after sex?”
Her lips tipped up in a smile. “That, too.”
“So, what did you mean?”
Tessa pulled her fingers from my hair, watched as it fell over my brow, and her grin grew. She brushed the hair back again and explained, “I want a lifetime of being able to run my fingers through your hair.”
I’d give her anything she wanted. And feeling her hands on me—anywhere she put them—was something I enjoyed immensely. “It won’t be me that stops you.”
Her expression grew satisfied. “I’m so glad I have this weekend off. With the exception of when we all went out to celebrate Hawk’s birthday at the beginning of last month, I’ve had weddings every weekend. It was nice to sleep in today.”
I cocked a brow and sent her a questioning look. “I don’t know if I’d call what you did this morning sleeping in.”
She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. I just liked that there was nowhere for me to go this morning, so I could take advantage.”
“And you have just one more wedding next weekend, right? Then the chaos of the season is done.”
“Yep. We’ll just be going into a different kind of chaos.”
“What’s that?”
Tessa allowed my hair to fall over my brow again so she could study it.
When she’d gotten her fill of the look, her fingers were back in it.
“The holidays. We have Thanksgiving and Christmas. Plus, a ton of our friends have birthdays. And I’ll be swamped at the salon as we approach the holidays.
Everyone wants their nails done before they head to their holiday parties. We’ll have a lot to keep us busy.”
For a long while now, I’d known what I wanted to do and was simply waiting for the right time. This seemed as perfect a time as any.
“Well, then I guess there’s just one question.”
“What’s that?”
“Do you still have it?”
Her fingers stopped their movement in my hair as her head tipped to one side. “Have what?”
“Your plans for your wedding.”
Tessa looked even more confused. “What do you mean?”
“Years ago, you and Lark went out shopping and somehow came back with your hair and makeup done, and you were wearing a veil. You told me that you two wanted to know what you’d look like on your wedding days and had decided to spend the rest of the night working on planning your wedding.
I’m just curious if you still have those plans. ”
Her eyes searched my face for several long moments before she answered, “I do.”
“Maybe that’ll help.”
“Help what?”
“For you not to feel like things are too chaotic,” I said. “Between work and holiday parties and birthdays and Christmas festivities, having to plan a wedding might make you feel overwhelmed. I wouldn’t want to cause you any unnecessary stress.”
Again, Tessa simply stared at me in silence. My hand shifted and came to rest against the center of her chest. Her heart was pounding wildly.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Why would I have to plan a wedding?”
I smiled at her before I reached out to the nightstand, yanked open the drawer, and pulled out the ring box. Then I held it up between us.
Tessa’s eyes rounded, and she squirmed beneath me. “Oh, God. Oh, God. Are you… Are you serious?”
I lifted myself enough to free her body, and when she was sitting up, her hands covering her mouth in disbelief, I slid off the side of the bed and onto one knee.
“Ace,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes.
Reaching for her left hand, I held on to it as I said, “Tessa Stone, you are the love of my life. I wish I would’ve known sooner that you were the woman for me, but now that I’ve got you, I never want to let you go.
Will you do me the honor of giving me a lifetime with you, Princess? Will you marry me?”
The tears had escaped and spilled down her cheeks. But she managed to nod and respond. “Yes. Yes, I want a thousand lifetimes with you, Ace. Yes, yes, yes.”
Chuckling, I opened the ring box, pulled out the ring, and slid it onto her finger.
“Oh my gosh, it’s so beautiful.”
Returning to the bed, I kissed her and said, “I wanted something that would come close to being as beautiful as you.”
Tessa framed my face in her hands. “I love you, Ace Townsend.”
“I love you, Tessa Stone.”
She kissed me, tore her mouth from mine, and asked, “What are we doing today?”
“Whatever you want.”
“I want to go visit all our family and friends and tell them the good news. And when we come back home, I’m going to pull out those wedding plans, so we can go through them together.”
Wrapping my arms around her, I fell to my back in bed and took her with me. “Two things, Princess.”
“Okay.”
“First, I can’t tell you how much I love it when you call this place home.”
She nibbled on her lip. “Well, it is. It started out as temporary and turned very permanent a couple of months ago. And you’ve never made me feel like this wasn’t my home.”
It was nice to know that. After everything went down with Georgia at Tessa’s old place, Tessa wasn’t keen on going back to live there.
So, we’d taken the steps to get her things out and move her here permanently.
It was a huge relief to know she believed this place was just as much hers as it was mine.
I stroked my thumb along her cheekbone. “I’m glad.”
“What’s the other thing?”
Grinning, I said, “With your plans for the day, it seems you’re not wasting any time on this wedding news.”
“Do you know how long I’ve waited for this, Ace? It’s like all my dreams have come true.”
My thumb moved from her cheekbone to her mouth, where I dragged it along her bottom lip. “There’s got to be more.”
“More what?”
“More dreams. Isn’t there anything else you want?”
Tessa took a moment to consider the question, and her eyes lit up. “Not yet. Not immediately. I want time for us to just be together. But I want babies with you, Ace. Lots of them.”
“Lots?”
She nodded.
“How many?”
“At least four.”
Four.
Four kids.
Tessa was one of four. No wonder she wanted so many.
Sensing my thoughts, she asked, “Is that okay? I mean, I’m sure I could be happy with three.”
“We can have four. I’d give you five, if that’s what you wanted.”
She arched a brow. “Don’t tempt me, handsome.”
I laughed, lifted my head from the pillow, and touched my lips to hers. “So, a wedding and babies.”
“A wedding, lots of time together as just the two of us, and then babies.”
That worked for me. “How soon do you want to get married? I’m sensing this is going to happen quickly.”
She beamed at me. “Why would I not want you to be my husband for as long as possible?”
I chuckled again. “Fair point.”
“Assuming you like my plans for the wedding, I’d love to do it within the next six months.”
“Really?”
She nodded. “Absolutely.”
“Then pick your day, Princess.”
“We might need to make tweaks to the plans first,” she countered.
“Why?”
“Because you might not like something.”
Smiling, I wrapped my arm around her lower back and squeezed. “Are you going to be there?”
A crease formed between her brows. “At our wedding?”
“Yes.”
“Of course.”
“Then that’s all I need. You, our family, and our friends. Everything else can be whatever you want. You’ve been dreaming of this since you were sixteen, Tessa. I want it to be exactly how you want it.”
Her features softened, eyes sparkling. “You know, this isn’t fair.”
“What isn’t?”
“To all the other women in the world,” she declared. “It’s not fair to them that I’ve got you, because I got the best there is.”
“That is tragic,” I teased. “But it’s lucky for you.”
“It is.” She squirmed beside me. “Now, can I do something to show my fiancé just how happy he’s made me?”
“What did you have in mind?”
Tessa brushed her lips against mine. “What fun would there be in me telling you all my secrets?”
My fingertips traveled lightly from her hip and up her side. “You’re right, Tessa. Surprise me.”
She kissed my mouth. Then she grinned, lifted her torso, and tugged on my wrist. “We’re heading to the kitchen.”
I blinked in surprise. “What?”
“I’m making you breakfast.”
“But—”
“You can have me on the counter beforehand. You know how much I enjoy appetizers.”
She didn’t have to tell me twice. I got up, lifted her over my shoulder, and carried her to the kitchen, where we both enjoyed a meal starter before Tessa finally had the chance to make me breakfast.