Epilogue
EPILOGUE
VERONA
Ten years later
“B ut Daddy,” came the soft voice from around the corner, “I’m scawed you won’t come home.”
“I’ll always come home to you, bug,” Hollywood cooed in the same soothing voice he used to calm me. “I love you to the moon and back.”
“You pwomise?” Edie asked. At four years old, she still had trouble with her Rs.
I turned the corner and paused to take in the sight of my husband lying in the miniature bed with our daughter wrapped around him. Her bed of curly brown hair matched her father’s, but she looked up at him with eyes a shade bluer than mine. Even still, with that adorable pout on her lips, there could be no denying she was his daughter through and through.
“I promise.” He leaned down to kiss her forehead before glancing up to see me standing in the door. “Grandpa’s here to watch you, but no ice cream before bed.”
If there was one person our little Edie loved more than her father, it was mine. Hollywood long forgotten, she jumped out of bed and shouted a joyful “Yay!” as she ran past me to the living room.
Crow had come by to spend time with her so we could have a night to ourselves, something long forgotten in the early days of parenting.
“Well, I guess I’m chopped liver,” Hollywood said, crossing his arms under his head on the tiny twin mattress.
“Welcome to the club.” I smiled and walked to the space between his legs as he sat up to run his hands over the backs of my thighs, resting his forehead on my sternum, just under my scar. “I guess there’s always next time.”
“Next time?” He looked up at me, raising his eyebrows in quiet question. “You mean?—”
I nodded and held up the sonogram showing our new little bean brewing in my uterus.
“Woooooo!” He let out a howl, causing two identical giggles to echo from down the hall, one much deeper than the other. “Fuck yeah. I knew I’d knocked you up again. It was only a matter of time.”
I snorted and sighed, recalling the times we’d tried for a second and fallen short. “This one’s further along. It’s strong.”
Hollywood bit his bottom lip and blinked against reddened eyes, clearing his throat as he glanced back up at me. “It’s a boy.”
“We don’t know that,” I said, cupping his jaw so I could tilt his face toward me and plant a soft kiss on his lips. “Right now, it’s a fetus.”
“If it’s a boy, I want to name him after my brother.”
“Hmm.” I liked the sound of that. Trojan’s real name had been Troy. “Troy Montgomery-Hudson.”
“Trojan Montgomery-Hudson.” He laughed, kissing the disgruntled scrunch off my nose before moving to my lips. “When do you want to tell everyone?”
“Let’s wait until I’m showing.” We’d made the mistake of telling people too soon before, and it had only ended in heartache.
“Deal.” Hollywood pushed to his feet and wrapped an arm over my shoulder, leaning in close to me so he could whisper against my ear. “Are you ready for tonight?”
“Pfft. I was born ready.” I glanced up at him, knowing he was responsible for the other end of this show. “Are you ready?”
“Fuck yeah.” He bit my earlobe, sending a shiver down the right side of my body, but I caught sight of his chain underneath his shirt, telling me he’d been ready since he got up this morning.
We said goodbye to our daughter and my father, promising to return before sunrise, and headed out to Hollywood’s bike. As I wrapped my arms around his waist, a warmth ran through my bloodstream at how right my life had turned out to be. Sure, it had taken a lot of blood and sweat to get here, but we were here. I had a family of my own, one I cherished and adored above everything else, and I had a man who loved me more than his own breath. In addition, he loved our children, and every day he reminded me of the same lesson he’d taught me all those years ago.
There were people in this life worth dying for, but more importantly, worth living for. And they make all the difference.
* * *
HOLLYWOOD
“You look amazing,” V said, rubbing her hands over my naked chest and stomach, reminding me she was my wife and she loved me despite what she was about to do to me in front of all these people.
I leaned down to kiss her, this beautiful woman who gave it to me like I wanted it, who had given so much purpose to my once pathetic existence.
“Baby, you look good enough to eat.” I grinned at the blush on her cheeks, especially when she scoffed and rolled her eyes. But I took a moment to run my hands over her stomach, where new life had taken root, growing healthy, promising a future we’d both wanted for so long.
“Mistress Mayhem and her beautiful submissive, Mister Mischief,” Ru announced to an explosive applause. In the years since the Beacon reopened, V and I had made a killing by letting people watch the things she liked to do to me. Since we had Edie, the only chance we got to play was when we were able to come here.
Honestly, my whole world these days revolved around our daughter, so there hadn’t been much time for any of this. But I didn’t begrudge that at all. Watching V bring Edie into the world had been the happiest day of my life. I had a family of my own, finally, and if anyone wanted to take it away, they’d have to go through me and my brothers to do it.
But those worries faded away as I watched the spotlights glint off my Mistress’s leather bodysuit. Today was the tenth anniversary of the Beacon’s grand reopening, so we’d decided to make a rare appearance.
I’d been wearing the cock cage all day, so when she led me to the St. Andrew’s Cross, facing toward her, I leaned back against the cool leather and prepared for her to do her worst. We’d planned this entire scene down to the second, so nothing would be a surprise.
My stomach still twisted with butterflies as she cuffed my wrists and ankles into place. Trembles raced down my torso at the glint in her eye, the one that told me she couldn’t wait to let her alter ego take over.
“Hey,” I whispered as she stood to step away. She paused and glanced up at me, furrowing her brows as apprehension and confusion replaced the excitement in her gaze. “Do you still hate me?”
“Of course.” She curled her lips into my favorite grin, the one that made her cheeks rosy and lit up those violet eyes. “Does it still turn you on?”
“More than anything.”
“Good.” She pushed up on her toes to kiss me one last time before grabbing the nipple clamps off the stool next to her. “Now hold still while I hate you as much as I can.”