Epilogue - Liv
My dress was stunning, white with gold accents, adorned with lace and gold embroidery.
The train trailed behind me, glittering in the light.
Everyone stood as the music began to play.
I saw Jessie, standing next to Rachel, who had Isaac slung around her chest. And at the end of my short journey, standing at the altar, was Drake, looking at me as though he had never seen anything so radiant.
I walked down the aisle, fully aware of Drake’s hungry expression as his eyes swept up and down me, taking in my dress before his attention went fully to my face.
I might once have called his expression inscrutable.
Now, I felt as though I could read every little microscopic expression that flickered across his features: happiness, nervousness, and lust that made my body heat.
The music dimmed as I came to stand in front of him. His tuxedo was perfectly cut, suiting his hulking muscles. A kernel of heat flickered through me as I took him in.
“You look amazing,” he murmured.
I smirked back at him. “I know,” I muttered back.
His eyes flashed with something that looked like hunger, and my insides heated again.
A wild part of me, driven by my wolf, wanted to grab him and press my lips to him, to let him take me here and now, audience be damned.
It was only the gentle, reminding cough of the elder at the podium that I reluctantly pulled myself away from him, even if all I could think about now was how his hands felt on my elbow as he guided me up to the elders, and how, despite the fact that we had planned the ceremony for ages, I had a sudden, desperate need for it and the reception to be over so that Drake and I could get home.
***
In the end, though, the reception was almost as perfect as the rest of the evening. I made the rounds, sometimes with Drake, sometimes without, enjoying the congratulations as I all but bounced on the balls of my feet.
“You look fantastic!” Jessie said, pulling me into a bear hug as she and Amelia broke off from the crowd. “Seriously, that dress looks incredible.”
“Thanks!”
“It really does,” Amelia added.
“Sorry, I know I’ve called out a lot at work lately,” I told Amelia. “Things have been a bit crazy, but it should all be over with now.”
“You earned the right to those days off,” Amelia said with a dismissive flick of her hand.
She gave a coy smile. “Though I wouldn’t be doing my duty as your boss if I didn’t say the kids were absolutely miserable and pining after you every day.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten asked when you’re coming back. ”
“Well, I can’t disappoint the kids,” I said with a laugh. “I’ll be there tomorrow.”
“Day after,” Amelia corrected, her eyes sparkling knowingly. “Because, based on the way Drake is looking at you right now, I doubt you’re getting much sleep tonight.” She winked, looped her arm around Jessie’s, and walked away.
I turned to look in the direction she was nodding. My stomach somersaulted as I caught sight of Drake, his eyes burning with hunger as he glanced in my direction from across the room while he spoke with Sam and Elias.
The image of him disappeared as Emma and Rachel materialized in front of me.
“How are you feeling?” Emma asked, her gaze flicking down to my side. I knew she was thinking about Azaret’s claws raking against my flesh.
“It still stings a bit sometimes,” I admitted. “But for the most part, I’m fine.”
After the events in the summer, I had taken some time off to just recover and get my feet back underneath me.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Emma said. “Our witchy meetings have been boring without you.”
“I’m still sorry about taking a break—” I began, but Rachel waved me off.
“It’s fine, really,” Rachel said. “It was a scary time. I probably would have done the same. You’re not going to help anyone if you’re recovering.”
“I’m hoping that you’ll be able to come back and keep helping us,” Emma said with a grin.
I nearly started laughing. “There’s no way in hell I’m going to let you go after that monster without me,” I said.
Azaret was still out there, as were his imps.
There had been a few reports of sightings, and one or two patrols had been ambushed.
So far, we still didn’t know where he was lurking, or what his plan was to take control of the power in the desert, but Rachel, Emma, and I had at least managed to find some wards specifically designed to stop demons.
For the moment, the town itself was safe, as was the underground spring, now protected by the same wards.
“You sure?” Emma asked.
“Of course.” Still, I didn’t miss the slight hesitation in my voice.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to help, but there was still a kernel of fear that loomed over me whenever I thought about it.
A year ago, I would have tried to hide the flicker of fear.
But I wasn’t going to anymore. “Does it scare me a bit? Sure. But that’s not going to stop me from helping out. ”
“Are you sure?” Rachel asked. “You don’t have to if you’re not—”
“No,” I emphasized. “No, I’ve got some choice words for that demon. He says he returns things a hundredfold. I figure that’s a great template for how I approach our next encounter, don’t you?”
Emma and Rachel laughed, Rachel pulling me into a hug.
“I’m just glad you’re all right and that everything’s worked out,” she said.
“Me too.”
She looked as though she might have something else to say, but she closed her mouth when Drake appeared by my side.
“I was hoping I could steal her away for a dance,” he said, his hand on my shoulder, burning through the fabric of my dress.
“I suppose we can spare her,” Rachel said with a melodramatic sigh. She raised an eyebrow as she stared him down. “You be good to her, Drake. Or you’re going to have a lot of people to contend with. Jessie, Amelia, Emma, and me to start.”
“I think that’s more than enough to ward most people off,” Drake said. “But don’t worry. I’ve learned my lesson.”
As if he couldn’t wait another moment, he guided me away toward the dance floor. He pulled me toward him, pressing my body against his as a slow song began to play. He twisted us around, fingers wrapping around mine as he guided us across the floor.
“I didn’t know you could dance this well,” I said. “You’ve been holding out on me.”
His lip twitched upward. He had a fantastic smile. It lit up the room. He was showing it more now, too. I loved it. I loved him.
“I guess there are still some ways to surprise you, then,” he murmured as he kept spinning us around.
The music filled the air between us, neither of us speaking, savoring the moment, the peace, the fact that we were truly together. I leaned against him, inhaling his scent.
“You look amazing, Liv,” he muttered. “Really just…incredible.”
“You said that earlier,” I teased.
“And I’m going to keep saying it the rest of the night,” he said. He pulled me closer, bending to whisper in my ear. “I’m looking forward to all the things I plan to do to you once we get back home.”
Electricity rippled through me at the words, a heat beginning to build inside me. He pulled away, a knowing smirk dancing across his lips as he watched my face, taking in the reaction his words had elicited.
“Don’t make promises you don’t intend to keep,” I teased.
***
The reception finally wound down as the night grew deeper, and it was after midnight when we finally stumbled home.
Still high on the excitement and revelry of the evening, I knew there was no way I was going to get to bed anytime soon.
Which turned out to be a good thing, because it became quite obvious the second Drake closed the door behind us that he had no intention of letting me fall asleep anytime soon.
He growled as he pulled me toward him, his hands roaming along my side as he eyed me hungrily, that look enough to heat my entire body. I sucked in a breath and bit my lip as his touch sent shivers rippling through me.
“I’m not going to lie. You look amazing in that dress,” he murmured. Then he pulled me tighter against him, and his mouth moved to my ears and whispered, “But I’ve been dying to get you out of it the moment I saw you in it.”
That hungry, husky whisper reverberated through my entire body. “Is that so?” I said.
“Mhm.” Without another word, he turned me around and tugged at the zipper. The dress pooled at my feet, leaving me in nothing more than a lacey thong. Drake growled as he grabbed my ass, squeezing tight as he yanked them down to join, leaving me bare and exposed to him.
He stayed behind me, his arms slipping around me, holding me gently against him as his hands roamed, fingers hovering teasingly over my clit before sliding upward, cupping each breast, making my body arch with need before they went to rest at my arms.
Still behind me, his lips caressed my neck, trailing down in gentle kisses. I leaned against him, letting out a soft, contented sigh.
His fingers tightened on my arms, holding them possessively, and that satisfaction mutated into need and excitement in an instant.
My body stiffened as that intense need began to grow.
I moaned, rubbed myself against him, feeling his cock harden beneath his pants.
With a snarl, he spun me around and pressed his lips to mine, claiming my mouth with a hungry passion that matched my own.
I melted against him, letting him control my body.
I was his entirely, and I needed him, needed all of him.
He slammed me against the wall. His fingers tangled in my hair as he pushed his entire body against mine, holding me in place as his hands trailed along my naked body.
I could feel his hardness pressing against me, and that sensation only made that burning need for him intensify.
I bit my lip as I tugged at his shirt, a button ripping as I tried to jerk it off him.