Epilogue #3
That night had been a disaster for me. I was overly emotional and drunk. But he’s right. I still willingly married him. “We make quite a team,” I manage.
“The best.” He pulls me closer, fingers resuming their lazy patterns on my skin. “Though I still think you’re too good for me. I’m luck you love someone like me.”
“Probably,” I agree, making him laugh. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
We fall into comfortable silence, listening to the waves and the distant calls of seabirds. The sun has shifted, painting the water in deepening shades of turquoise and azure. Soon it will start its descent, treating us to another spectacular sunset.
“Should we get dressed for dinner?” I ask eventually, though I make no move to leave our cozy nest.
“Mmm, not yet.” His hand slides lower, cupping my ass possessively. “I’m not done appreciating the view.”
Heat pools low in my belly at his touch. “The view, huh?”
“Mmm.” His other hand tangles in my hair, tugging gently until I meet his darkened gaze. “My beautiful wife, naked in paradise, wearing nothing but my ring. It’s quite a sight.”
“Your ring is very sparkly,” I tease, even as my breath quickens. “Hard to compete with that.”
“You outshine it completely.” He pulls me up for a searing kiss that leaves no doubt about his intentions. “Let me show you how much.”
I melt into him, letting everything else fall away. The ring glitters on my finger as I brace myself against his chest, a tangible reminder of how far we’ve come. From reluctant allies to passionate lovers. From a marriage of convenience to a partnership deeper than I ever imagined possible.
His hands roam my body with familiar reverence, touching me like he’s mapping territory he never wants to forget. I arch into him, craving more, always more.
“ Mine ,” he growls against my throat, marking me with teeth and tongue.
“Yours,” I agree breathlessly, because it’s true. Just as he’s mine—the good and the bad, the light and the dark, all of it.
The sun continues its slow descent, painting us in gold as we lose ourselves in each other. Dinner can wait. Right now, there’s nothing more important than this—this moment, this man, this love we’ve built against all odds.
Tomorrow we’ll return to reality, to the complexities of our lives and the challenges we still face. But for now, we have this perfect slice of paradise. And I plan to savor every second of it.
“I love you,” I whisper against his lips, meaning it more than ever.
His response is to kiss me deeper, harder, until I forget everything but the feel of him. The ring catches the fading light, throwing sparkles across our skin like stars coming out early.
Paradise indeed.
The waves continue their steady rhythm against the shore, providing a timeless soundtrack to our love. Soon the sun will sink below the horizon in a blaze of color, but we’re in no hurry to move. We have all the time in the world.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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I put a permanent end to my husband’s unrelenting abuse. It was him or me. I chose me. Now I’m choosing to go on the run—with his father.
Micah Hunt is everything his son wasn't—protective without being controlling, powerful without being cruel. At fifty-four, he towers over me with quiet strength, his gray-streaked beard and dark eyes hiding secrets as dangerous as my own.
I’d done the unthinkable. The unforgivable. But Micah didn't turn me in for snuffing out his only child’s life. Instead, he cleaned up the evidence and whisked me away to his remote cabin to protect me.
Now we're forced together in close quarters, and the attraction between us is becoming impossible to ignore. Every touch, every glance, every praise from his lips sets my body on fire with forbidden desire.
But loving Micah comes with a price. He's not just my deceased husband's father—he's also a dangerous man whose enemies lurk in the shadows. As threats close in and my past threatens to expose us both, our taboo romance could cost us everything.
I know I should walk away. The age gap between us, our complicated history, the violence that surrounds him—it's all wrong.
But in Micah's arms, I feel safe for the first time in years.
He swears to protect me at any cost, and the possessive glint in his eyes tells me he means it.
The morally gray enforcer might walk a dangerous line, but his love for me burns pure and true.
Now we're both marked by his enemies, and time is running out. Can our forbidden love survive the dangerous consequences of our choices? Or will the dark world Micah inhabits eventually tear us apart?