Epilogue #2
Josie steps inside and turns on the spot. Her hand comes up over her mouth as she gasps at what she's seeing.
The room is so bright, filled with floor-to-ceiling windows along the whole ocean wall, giving a view of the Pacific stretched out endlessly.
The private terrace with its own outdoor shower has plants spilling over the rail, and through the archway, Josie's takes in the ensuite and that giant tub that's big enough for two.
I watch her spin another circle, her fingers trailing along the window frame like she's testing whether all this is real.
I can't look away.
My heart cracks open, filling with the sound of her laugh cracking on a sob.
I never wanted this. Never planned for it.
I came here to coast, to be nobody's anchor, to let the easy rhythm of waves and meaningless hockey games carry me through. But watching her fall in love with this room, I realize now, and I understand with bone-deep clarity, that I'm not coasting anywhere anymore.
I'm all in. Forever.
This woman, who was told her whole life that she wasn't enough, that she wanted the wrong things, that she'd never belonged… she's about to have everything.
I'll make damn sure of it.
Her mother stole her world, piece by piece, with every dismissive sigh and cruel word. Her father promised one and never delivered through no fault of his own.
But I'll give it back.
Every sunset we watch through these windows, every morning we wake up together in that ridiculous bed she's running her hands over right now, every moment I get to watch her realize she's exactly where she's supposed to be.
I never expected to feel this way. I never wanted to need someone this badly.
But now that I've got her, I'm going to treasure every second.
She moves into the walk-in closet that's the size of Beck's entire bedroom.
It's empty. Just waiting for her to fill it.
"This is—Declan, this is the biggest master suite I've ever seen. It's gorgeous."
"It's our suite. If you want it." I shove my hands in my pockets because otherwise they're going to shake. "Forget the rental, Josie. Move in with me. Up here. Because, apparently—" I gesture vaguely at the room, the house, my entire ruined life plan, "—we're adults now."
She's crying. She's crying and laughing at the same time, which I've learned is her factory setting for big feelings, and she swipes at her eyes and points an accusing finger at me.
"You kidnapped my boxes."
"I redirected your boxes."
"And you let me sign a lease, you psychopath."
"Mason's lawyer already handled the lease. You never had a lease in the first place. It was theater."
"Oh my God—" She spins another circle, taking in the tub, the terrace, the closet all over again.
I watch her fall in love with it in real time.
"The closet is bigger than my childhood bedroom.
My sisters would lose their minds." She stops at the mention of her sisters.
"Maybe... maybe they could come see it sometime.
Meghan keeps asking where I actually live now.
Maybe I just... show them? The whole thing. The life."
"Whenever you want." I mean it down to the bone. "Invite all of them. Even your mother. We'll traumatize them with Beck at dinner."
"Oh, my sisters would love Beck, that's the problem." She wipes her eyes again, then narrows them at the pristine white bed. "Wait. Hold on. Does this mean Biscuit finally stops sleeping in your bed? Since it's, you know, on the third floor."
We both look at the doorway, and of course, Biscuit is already assessing the mattress with the cold-eyed ambition of a real estate developer.
"Oh, he's absolutely still going to sleep on the bed," I say.
"One hundred percent," Josie agrees, and then she crosses the room and kisses me.
"So that's a yes? You'll move in with me?"
"Do I really have to answer that?" She continues kissing me, her hands slowly moving down my body. "Or would you rather me show you instead?"
She squeezes my cock through my jeans, and I walk her backward toward the enormous, waiting bed while Biscuit is gently but firmly escorted out the door.
I peel off her shirt slowly, kissing every inch of skin as it appears, then lay her back on the white bedding like something I'm still not entirely convinced I'm allowed to keep.
Her shorts go next, dragged down her legs along with her underwear, which I hold up for inspection.
"Yep. Mine now."
"You have an entire drawer, Declan—"
"And it's expanding." I pocket them, then settle between her thighs, my palms spreading her pussy open. She's flushed and glistening and already wet for me, right here, in our room. "Fuck, Josie. You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
"Declan—" her voice cracks around it, "—please."
So I take my time.
I lick into her slow, deep, dragging my tongue through her folds like I'm memorizing her all over again. I circle her clit until her thighs start to tremble, then move lower, lapping at her entrance, tongue pressing inside her while she whimpers my name at the ceiling.
My thumb takes over on her clit, slow firm circles, and I feel the tension winding tighter, her hips rolling against my mouth, her breath going ragged.
"Declan—I'm—oh my God—"
She comes with her heel digging into my back and my name breaking apart in her throat, and I stay right there through all of it, licking her through the aftershocks, drinking her down, groaning against her because she is genuinely the sweetest thing I have ever tasted and I intend to tell her so daily for the rest of my life.
When I finally crawl up her body she's glowing, and she pulls me down and kisses me, tasting herself on my mouth without a flicker of shame. She reaches between us to line me up, stroking my throbbing cock as I nudge it against her soaked core.
"Thank you, Declan," she whispers. "For everything."
I lean down and kiss her, letting our foreheads touch. "No. Thank you, Josie. You showed me life is worth living."
I slide into her slowly, filling her tightness inch by inch, both of us exhaling and groaning together. When I'm buried deep, I just stop and stare at her.
"We made it," she says softly.
"We made it."
I move deeper inside her, the ocean loud through the glass, sunshine sliding across her skin. She wraps her legs around me and rakes her nails down my back in those long lines the whole locker room pretends not to see.
When I get close she pulls me deeper, ankles locking behind me.
"Oh, yes. Inside me," she breathes. "I want to feel you. Always."
And that undoes me every single time.
"Fuck, Josie…" I thrust deep, burying myself as her pussy clenches around me, and I let go. "Mine. You're mine."
She holds me, grinding her hips as she milks me dry, her moans turning to breathless sobs as she feels how much I'm giving her. She whispers my name as the flow slows, her walls fluttering as I twitch inside her one last time.
We stay connected, breathing together until her nails slowly stop gripping my shoulders. Then I shift, pulling out slowly, and watch the evidence of my claim slide out of her.
She catches my gaze, then reaches down, two fingers gathering the mess. A glistening trickle of white tracing down the inside of her thigh. She brings it to her lips, tasting us both, her eyes never leaving mine.
"You're mine too," she murmurs, and my chest cracks wide open for her all over again.
Afterward, she's draped across my chest tracing the tattoo on my arm while Biscuit is scratching at the door.
"So," she says, in her gossip voice. "Speaking of emotionally functional Morrisons. Have you heard Beck's actually been going to his sessions with Dr. Sinclair? He passes my office every day. Rose says he leaves with dark chocolate every time."
"Good. Hopefully it helps."
"Mm." Josie twists in the sheets, turning to face me. "Although. According to Darcy, he's been attending a little more than his sessions. If you catch my meaning. There have been... hallway incidents. Verbal sparring."
"Verbal sparring?" I stare at the ceiling of my brand-new life. "Please. Darcy's going to eat him alive."
"Probably." Josie grins against my chest. "Should we warn him?"
"God, no."
The trade shadow flickers through me, the fight still coming, the storm my little brother's about to walk into with a woman he can't out-joke.
But Beck's a fighter. He always has been.
Lucky for him, he's not fighting alone.
The End… for now.
No names. No strings. One reckless night.
You watched Josie Whitfield walk into Breakers. You watched Declan Morrison claim her before his brothers could blink.
And then the hotel door closed. Rude, right?
Now find out exactly what happened during the night that ruined them both for anyone else. The night Josie did something she'd NEVER done before, and Declan lost control for the first time in his life.
One hotel suite. Zero regrets.