Epilogue
Reese
Ten Years Later
“Charlie, knees,” I called from the grass bank next to the lake. “You’re skating tall again.”
Theo corrected him before our son could even register the note in my voice, gloved hand tapping Charlie’s thigh, gentle and precise.
Charlie bent lower, pushed off, and cut a cleaner arc across the lake. The ice held firm, pale under a sky that always had trouble making up its mind this time of year.
“That’s it,” Theo said. “Again. Same path.”
The surgery was a distant memory now, and he still moved like the ice belonged to him.
Not anything like when he was still in the thick of it, but there were signs.
That old version had burned itself out. This one was steadier.
Efficient. His repaired shoulder set his limits now.
It talked to him when bad weather rolled in, a dull warning that made him favor one side.
And for the most part, he listened. Although I gave up hoping he’d become less stubborn with age.
Charlie took a turn too wide and skidded. Theo reached him in two strides and caught him before he went down.
“Easy,” Theo said. “You’re ahead of your edges.”
Charlie huffed. “Coach says to push hard.”
“Yeah, well, maybe your coach needs some lessons himself.”
“Theo…” I gave him a warning look. He was always ready to meddle, unable to leave that life fully behind. “His coach is the best, remember?”
He rolled his eyes where Charlie couldn’t see. “Sure. Best coach ever.”
“Second best,” Charlie quipped, sliding the puck between his dad’s legs, and circling fast to catch it again. “Yours was the best, right, Daddy?”
A shadow stole over Theo’s features, and he smiled through it. “That’s right.”
I wrapped my sweater tighter, boots crunching over the snow at the lake’s edge. “Hot cocoa in five,” I said. “No negotiations.”
Charlie groaned. “Mo-ooom.”
Theo shot him a look. “You want numb toes at tryouts?”
Charlie’s shoulders slumped. He skated toward the dock, sulk brief and theatrical, then brightened when Theo flicked snow at him with a skate.
I watched them come in together. Theo’s arm rested across Charlie’s shoulders, a habit that stuck. Protective without being loud about it.
Inside, the kettle screamed. I poured milk, stirred cocoa powder, and added marshmallows Charlie pretended not to like anymore (he always beamed when he found them floating in there). Theo leaned against the counter, stretching his shoulder with a wince he thought I didn’t see.
“Rain tonight,” I said.
He nodded. “Been feeling it since morning.”
Charlie hopped onto a stool and blew on his mug. “Daddy says that all the time.”
“That’s because your daddy’s old,” I said.
Theo laughed, and gave me a playful shove. “I happen to be a man in my prime, thank you very much.”
Charlie slurped cocoa and grinned. “What’s a prime?”
After boots and gear were piled by the door and Charlie disappeared into the living room for some TV time, the house settled.
Theo rinsed our mugs at the sink. I watched his reflection in the window, shoulders broad, posture a little more careful than it used to be. He dried his hands and turned to me.
“You think he’s ready?” he asked.
“For tryouts?” I leaned back against the counter. “He listens. He works hard. Most importantly, he loves it. That counts.”
Theo nodded, gaze drifting toward the stairs. “He’s got your focus.”
“And your stubborn streak.”
“Superhuman combo, if you ask me.”
He crossed the kitchen and stopped close, hands warm at my waist. “There’s just one thing…”
I raised a brow. “Oh?”
Theo hesitated. That never happened much anymore. “I think he might be lonely.”
“Superheroes are usually alone,” I replied with a shrug. I knew what he was getting at, but also knew just how to rile him up.
“Yeah, but I think our superhero could do with a little brother or sister, don’t you?”
I took his face in my hands, thumbs tracing the faint lines time had earned him. “I’d say we should head upstairs.”
His grin came slow.
We didn’t rush it. There was no need. The lake waited outside. The house held us. Ten years of history pressed in on every wall, every stair.
Theo took my hand, and we went up together.
He followed me onto the bed, his face hovering just above mine. “I’ve been thinking about this all day. Since you’re ovulating and all.”
“What?” I slipped out from under him to check my phone on the nightstand. He was right. “How do you know my cycle better than I do?”
He just smiled and pulled me closer before rolling on top me. The mattress dipped with his movements. And just the look in his eyes was enough to make my body prickle with heat all over, his broad frame enveloping me.
Every brush of his hand on my body sent a jolt of lightning coursing through me, and with every passing graze I wanted more and more. His touch was slow and meticulous, almost calculated to send me spiraling. Something he seemed to grow more skilled at the more time passed.
“God, I love you,” he murmured before closing his lips around mine, dragging me into the depths of pleasure.
I buried my hands in his hair, curling through it to make sure he stayed as close as physics would allow. A deep moan fluttered out of me and into his mouth, which he swallowed with relish.
Coming up for air, I managed to whisper “I love you too” before taking his mouth again, feeling his lips curve into a smile without breaking the kiss.
He slipped his hand behind my neck, his mouth coaxing mine to open and let him in even more. I didn’t have to stop and think about it. He kissed me hard and deep, until I was gasping for breath. Until every part of me, flushed with heat and arousal, ached for him.
We made quick work of tearing through the layers of clothing between us, careful to keep our movements quiet. Who knew how much time we had before one of us was summoned back downstairs?
That made every kiss, every touch, even more urgent.
Hands on my waist, he rolled over and pulled me on top of him with my knees on either side. Already, his cock bulged hard and hot beneath me, and I rolled my hips against him. He let out a ragged groan, and tugged my bottom lip between his teeth until he got the same response from me.
He bucked his hips and the feel of his hard-on pushing against my core sent a shock through me.
I pulled from the kiss, and arched my back, letting him pay attention to each of my breasts.
Kneading, sucking, taking me to the edge of release with his perfect mouth.
I lifted his face so I could kiss him again.
Ready to devour him, and everything he had to give.
He moved under me, and I couldn’t help but gasp at the sudden throbbing that started up in my clit. He had my body doing exactly what he wanted, when he wanted. I pushed down harder, rubbing myself along the length of his shaft as it strained flush with his stomach.
With my one hand gripping the headboard, I used the other to guide him to my entrance. I was so wet, my arousal covered my own hand as much as his dick. I slipped his tip just inside, just enough to stay put, then placed my hands flat on his chest to steady myself.
Theo threw back his head, breathing hard, eyes closed to the sensation of my pussy clamping around him.
He was fighting the urge to thrust into me, rather waiting for me to do it.
The sense of control sends a rush through me, so that when I finally lower myself to take him in, my pussy walls are already fluttering wildly with the promise of my orgasm.
He swallowed a moan, and used both his hands to push me down even more as I started to ride him.
Rocking my hips, I moved back and forth in a steady rhythm that he set with his hands on my ass.
He was so deep inside me, and so fucking hard, that every time his pelvis brushed up against my swollen clit I had to moan out loud.
“Shhh,” he said, pulling my face to his so he could drink in my cries with a searing kiss.
The new tilt in my hips made him hit a different sweet spot inside me, and I found myself picking up the pace to tease it out.
We broke apart, breathless, and he buried his face in my chest. The fire of his mouth there, mixed with the rising heat in my pussy, began to pulse and snake through me like wave after wave of molten lava.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and rode him harder.
“Oh fuck, I’m coming, I’m coming.”
I sank my fingernails into his back. No longer in control. The wave was riding me now. I felt it building, swelling up, reaching its highest point only… only…
Only to come crashing down on me without restraint or sympathy.
I cried out. Over and over, my climax swept through me, sending my body into a quivering mess on top of him.
His hold on me tightened, and I felt him tense beneath me as a strangled moan tore out of him.
Together we tried to breathe our way back down, shaking and trembling with the remains of our passion.
His fingers gently stroked my back, and I didn’t want to let go of him just yet either.
We collapsed in each other’s arms, basking in the rare quiet moment we had together.
“Boy or girl?” he asked, still breathing heavily.
I smiled softly, and kissed his cheek. “How about you let me surprise you? For old time’s sake.”
He gave a deep, low chuckle, and held me tighter against his chest, his heartbeat steadily bringing us both back down to earth.