Epilogue
Roxanne
Say what you will about the Donovans, but they sure know how to throw a party.
Jack’s penthouse apartment is filled to the brim with his closest friends and family, all eager to celebrate his return home after so many months in the hospital.
Though by the reception he got when he walked out of General Mass earlier today, I already had my suspicions that this party would be a grand affair. It seemed like every Bostonian came out to stand outside the hospital doors just to show Jack how much this city loves him.
In all my years, I’ve never seen something quite like it.
The never-ending love poured out from this city for one of their own.
It was one of those awe-inspiring moments that I will never forget. And neither will Caleb.
Today, I saw the darkness that had haunted him all these months just vanish into thin air, and all that remained was pure joy and love.
But as much as I want to share in his happiness, I’m unable to.
Not while I still have to lie and hide from the world my true feelings for him.
It’s not fair on him, and it’s not fair on me.
I just haven’t mustered up the courage to tell Trent the truth, fearing too much time has passed for him to forgive such a professional lapse in judgment on my part.
Though, to be fair, that small lapse was the best mistake I’ve ever made.
Even if Trent decides to punish me for my indiscretion, I don’t regret it.
I knew the risks.
I knew what was at stake.
But falling in love with Caleb is the one mistake that I would make a million times over.
And it’s time that I womaned up and told the world as much.
I scan the crowded living room for my friend, and when I see him laughing away with Rex and Piper, I start marching in their direction.
“Hey, you.” Caleb wraps his arms around me, keeping me in place. “Where do you think you’re running off to so fast?”
“I’m going to do it. I’m going to talk to Trent. Today,” I say with conviction.
“Are you now, love?” he coos, kissing my neck.
“Hmm.” I nod, my resolve starting to wane with every lingering kiss.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather sneak off with me for a few minutes?” he whispers in my ear before biting my earlobe in a way that always makes my toes curl.
“In the middle of your brother’s party?”
“No one will even know that we’re gone.”
It’s true.
There are so many people here that no one even notices how Caleb can’t keep his hands off me.
When he sees me hesitating, a sly smile crosses his lips.
“You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?”
“I really should talk to him before I lose my nerve,” I say weakly as I feel him press his hard cock against my back.
“Trent can wait. I can’t,” he warns before sinking his teeth in the crook of my neck, making my eyes roll back in their sockets.
I wonder if there will ever be a time when I’ll become immune to his touch.
Doubtful.
It seems like every day we spend together, my love and desire for him just multiply—a fact that Caleb is all too happy to exploit.
“You have five minutes,” I relent breathlessly.
“No, love. I have a lifetime,” he coos, making my heart swoon at the love tinged in his voice.
I let him lead me out of the crowded living room, through the large corridor, and into an empty bedroom.
“No one will bother us here. This is my room,” Caleb says before locking the door and pinning me against it.
“And just how many women have you brought here?” I hike a teasing brow as I wrap my arms around his neck.
“Not even one. Erin would have my balls if I even tried.”
“And what makes you think she’d be okay with bringing me here?”
“Because you’re not some meaningless hook-up. You’re the love of my life. There’s a difference.”
“Caleb Donovan, you sure have a way with words,” I whisper breathlessly as he lowers himself to his knees, his penetrating, emerald gaze never wavering from me.
“You know what else I’m good at?” he asks as he pulls my panties down and lifts one of my legs onto his shoulder.
I shake my head, taking the bait.
“Making you come on my tongue.”
And with that lovely threat, he hides his head between my thighs, his tongue taking its first long lick on my already-soaked slit.
A wanton sigh escapes my lips as I weave my fingers through his hair, latching on tight to keep my balance. Each languid stroke drives me madder with want and desire, forcing me to bite down on my knuckles to keep my loud, euphoric wails at bay. My breath hitches when he begins to suck on my clit, grazing his teeth on it in a way that he knows will make me lose my mind entirely.
All my problems and my previous anxiety suddenly fall away, making me feel a love so strong that it threatens to consume me from within.
“Caleb,” I moan softly. “I need you.”
That’s all I need to say for him to get up from his knees and spin me around until my cheek is pressed against the door. As he frees his cock with one hand, he pulls my hair back with the other just so he can deliver his wicked kiss, intent on me tasting myself on his lips.
“Tell me again,” he growls in my ear as he teases the head of his cock at my entrance. “Tell me what I want to hear, Roxie.”
A lazy smile crests my lips as I look deep into his eyes.
“I love you. Always and forever.”
He lets out a groan and thrusts deep inside me, coaxing me to lull my head back onto his shoulder.
“I fucking love you so much. So fucking much,” he groans, grabbing my waist and fucking me from behind with reckless abandon.
My core clenches around his girth with each punishing thrust as he continues to whisper in my ear how much he loves me. How much he can’t live without me. How his world holds no meaning without me in it.
And it’s with these words of love that I come undone, willingly throwing myself off the precipice, knowing that he’ll always be there to catch me. He soon follows me over the cliff, with my name on his lips sounding like the sweetest prayer I’ve ever heard.
I’m still gasping for air as he gently turns me around to face him, his palms on my cheeks.
“You have no idea how happy you make me, Roxie. No fucking idea.”
“I think I do. If it’s half as much as you make me, then I think I have a pretty good idea.”
“Not even possible,” he whispers before pressing a tender kiss on my lips. Every bone in my body melts into this one kiss. “Best get you fixed up, love. You look properly fucked.” He laughs when he pulls away from our kiss and begins to fix my wrinkled skirt and disheveled hair.
“And whose fault is that?”
“Mine. Forever mine,” he boasts, kissing the tip of my nose.
He then picks up my panties off the floor and shoves them into his pocket as his own little keepsake. Before I have time to tell him that he doesn’t need such trophies, he rushes over to the ensuite, returning with a wet washcloth in his hands.
“As much as I would love nothing more than you walking around with my cum sliding down your thighs, there are kids at this party, so we have to set a good example.” He winks before running the warm cloth up my legs and over my pussy. I lean back against the door and just let him take care of me, sighing in pure contentment.
“Fuck. Now I’m hard again,” he grumbles, throwing the washcloth into a waste basket.
“You are incorrigible, you know that?” I giggle.
“What I am is yours, Roxie. Just yours.” My gaze hoods at the sincerity in his eyes. “Don’t look at me like that, love. There’s still a party we have to attend, remember?”
“Right. The party,” I murmur discontentedly, upset for having to come out of our little love bubble and finally face the music with Trent.
But I waited long enough.
It’s now or never.
Caleb laces his fingers with mine as if knowing I need his reassurance for what I’m about to do.
As he opens the door and leads me out of his bedroom, we come face to face with the one person I have been avoiding like the plague—Lawrence Preston, who, along with his wife Becca, look just as stunned to see us, too.
“You guys lost? The party is that way.” Caleb points behind the newlyweds, his voice unable to hide his lingering animosity for the club’s new owner.
It’s no secret that Lawrence has been on Caleb’s shitlist ever since he suspended him from the team. Though I really wish he didn’t poke the bear while still holding my hand, which is something that doesn’t escape Lawrence’s perceptive attention, considering how his gaze is fixed on our locked hands.
Damn it.
This is it.
This is how the truth gets out—with me getting fired on the happiest day of Caleb’s life.
Damn it all to hell.
“I… um… was just looking for a bathroom,” Becca says, her face looking just as flushed as mine must be.
“It’s right here,” I explain amicably, pushing the bathroom door beside her further ajar.
“Thanks, Roxanne. Lovely to see you again.”
“You too, Becca.” I smile at her.
I may have only spoken a handful of words to her husband since he took over the Guardians, but Becca and I have actually become quite friendly with one another since she also attended every Stanley Cup playoff game with me.
Becca quickly locks herself in the bathroom, and I don’t miss how her husband’s jaw clenches at the sound of the lock.
“We should also head back to the party, don’t you think?” I squeeze Caleb’s hand so he can get my drift.
“Actually, I have a few things I’d like to tell Preston here,” Caleb smirks.
“Caleb. Now is not the time,” I say through a fake smile.
“Actually, I think it’s the perfect time,” he says, lifting my hand up to his lips and pressing a kiss on it.
My heart feels like it’s about to leap to my throat at how he’s flaunting our relationship in front of the one person who could ruin my career with a snap of his fingers.
“Very well. I’m all ears,” Lawrence retorts in a light British accent, crossing his arms over his chest, getting ready for whatever Caleb is about to sling his way.
“I never got a chance to thank you.”
“To thank me?”
“To thank him?”
Lawrence and I blurt out in unison, in complete surprise.
“Yes, thank you. That shit I pulled with Bellamy… well, let’s just say it wasn’t my best moment, and you were right in suspending me for it. I don’t think any other club owner would have kicked my ass out of the team, considering everything I was going through at the time. But by doing so, you set an example that every teammate, no matter how long or brief their time on the team, was given the proper respect they deserved. So yeah, thanks for that.”
Pride mixed with disbelief washes over me as Caleb lets go of my hand to extend it to Lawrence to shake.
“I must say, I didn’t expect this,” Lawrence says, honestly bewildered as he shakes Caleb’s hand.
“What can I say? I love to keep people guessing.” Caleb smirks.
“So I’m gathering. I’m usually not one to be easily surprised, and here you’ve managed to do it, not once, but twice,” Lawrence explains with a curious expression stitched to his face. “Trent has told me that you would like the Guardians to host a fundraiser to raise funds for the restructure and modification of some sort of center you’ve been recently volunteering at up at Dorchester. Is that true?”
“It is.” Caleb suddenly stands up to attention.
“Hmm. I’d like to see this center for myself. If it’s as impressive as Trent swears it to be, then I’d finance the project myself.”
“You would do that?” Caleb counters in amazement.
“I would. What good is having money if you can’t do some good with it?”
“I don’t know what to say. I’m a little—”
“Surprised?” Lawrence finishes for him, a ghost of a smile tracing his lips.
“Kind of, yeah.”
“Pleased to hear it then. I do hate when people think me predictable. As I’m sure you do, too.”
“Nothing predictable about me. Isn’t that right, Roxie?” Caleb winks at me.
What the hell is he doing?
Does he want me to lose my job?
I’m about to say something—anything, really—to get out of this bizarre encounter when Becca steps out of the bathroom, Lawrence’s stiff demeanor seeming to relax with her now standing beside him.
“Well, look here, kitten. Seems like we weren’t the only couple in need of some alone time. It seems to me these four beat us to the punch,” we hear Trent joke as he makes his way towards us with Piper on his arm.
“Great minds think alike,” Piper teases, eyeing me and Caleb with a knowing smirk.
“Actually, Rebekah and I were just looking for the guest of honor, so we can pay our farewells before leaving,” Lawrence says, placing a protective arm around his wife’s waist.
“Leaving so soon?” Piper asks, her worried gaze now falling on Becca’s.
“I’m not feeling well. I think I might be coming down with a bug,” Becca replies, still looking a bit out of sorts.
“You’re still unwell?” Lawrence asks, tipping his wife’s chin up to him. The soft expression on his face as he looks at her is a total contradiction to the stoic man we all know him to be.
She nods weakly, pressing her palms on his chest.
“Jack should be hiding out with Erin in the kitchen. I’ll let him know that you had to leave,” Caleb explains when he sees the panic in Lawrence’s gaze as he looks into his wife’s eyes.
“Thank you. I appreciate that. Come, luv. Let’s get you home.”
Lawrence doesn’t spare us a second glance as he hurries away with his wife.
“I don’t know, kitten. I think you might be wrong. That looks like a man in love to me,” Trent says when they are no longer within earshot.
“It does, doesn’t it?” She chews on her bottom lip. “Maybe Laurie did marry for love after all but hasn’t realized it yet.”
“Oh, he knows. Believe me, he knows. A man who has fallen in love with the woman he intends to spend the rest of his life with knows the second it happens. Isn’t that right, Donovan?” Trent adds, turning his gaze away from the retreating couple and onto us.
Caleb snakes his arm around me and pulls me closer to his side, staring down at me with nothing but love in his eyes.
“I sure did.”
“See, kitten? We all know.” Trent smiles lovingly at Piper before setting his sights back on me and Caleb. “Now, if you two will excuse us, Piper and I need a moment.”
Piper laughs as she walks to the bathroom, Trent quickly following behind.
I’m still stunned speechless as he’s about to close the door on us, only to keep it slightly open to floor me with his next words.
“Oh, and Roxanne, you owe me one. If your first kid isn’t named after me, I’ll be very disappointed.”
And with that, he shuts the door.
“No way am I naming our first kid Trent.” Caleb rolls his eyes.
“I heard that!” Trent shouts from the other side of the door.
“Damn it. He’s got quite an ear on him,” Caleb grumbles, pulling us away from the hall towards the kitchen, forcing me to jump in front of him to prevent him from taking another step.
“Explain,” I order, tapping my foot to show him I mean business.
“Explain what, beautiful?”
“Explain how neither Trent nor Lawrence seemed one bit surprised to see us together? Explain how neither of them threatened to fire me or report me to the medical board. Explain all of it. Now, Caleb.”
“God, you’re hot when you’re angry.”
“Caleb!”
“Fine,” he relents, wrapping his arms around me with that devilishly mischievous smile of his. “Now, remember, Roxie. You love me. So whatever I say next, that can’t change.”
My fury dissipates somewhat at the tiny glint of concern in his eyes.
“Of course not. Nothing will change how I feel about you. But I don’t appreciate being kept in the dark either, so can you please just tell me what happened?”
“Fair enough. Hmm… where to start?” He runs his nose along the length of mine.
“How about you quit stalling and tell me how Trent found out about us.”
“Oh, that one is easy. I told him,” Caleb announces unapologetically.
“You did what?” I slap his chest.
“Easy there, love. I had the best intentions at heart. I knew you were having a hard time telling him about us, so I did it for you.”
“How? When?” I blurt out, not believing what I’m hearing.
“Remember that day Trent told me I was back on the team? Yeah, well, he’s known since then.”
“I can’t believe you told him without consulting me first.”
“I know. And I’m sorry. I promise to make it up to you. But I couldn’t live with myself if you lost your job because we fell in love. I just couldn’t do that to you. You love what you do. You’re amazing at it. I didn’t see why you should be punished for following your heart.”
“Apparently, I won’t be punished at all. What did you even say to him?”
His smile turns soft as his grip tightens around me.
“The truth. That you saved me. That loving you was the reason I was put on this earth. And come hell or high water, nothing would ever stop me from loving you. Or wanting to take care of you. And if he had a problem with that, he could fire me right there and then. Nothing would keep me away from the woman I loved. Not him. Not Preston. Not anyone. All I asked was to spare you if he did fire me.”
“You said all that?” I whisper, feeling like my heart is about to explode.
“Not only did I say it, but I meant each and every word.”
“So that’s why he showed me leniency,” I mutter under my breath, finally connecting the dots.
“That and also because he already had his suspicions.” Caleb grins.
“He did not?”
“He did, love. Apparently, when you went to bat for me when I got suspended, it raised a few red flags. I think Rex might have also whispered something in his ear before I had the chance.”
“Of course he did.” I smile.
I should have known Rex couldn’t keep a secret from Trent for too long.
“Apparently, all Trent was waiting for was for one of us to fess up. And since we were taking so long, he told Preston that you had recused yourself from being my therapist to pursue a romantic relationship with me instead. I got to hand it to him. He really is the best GM a guy could ask for.”
“And friend,” I add, feeling grateful for his unconditional support and genuine friendship.
“Yes, love. And friend,” Caleb says before placing a chaste kiss on my lips. “Are we good now?”
“Is there a world where I can be mad at you for long?” I ask, wrapping my arms around his neck and gently pressing my temple on his. “A life where I didn’t love you so much?”
“Not in this life, no.” He grins.
I lean in for another kiss, ready to end our fight on a high note, when we see Jack burst out of the kitchen like a man possessed, stopping at the threshold of his crowded living room.
“Party is over, assholes! Grab your shit and leave.” Jack shouts with a shit-eating grin. “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay the fuck here either! I’m about to make baby number four. I love you all dearly, but if you don’t get the hell out of my house in the next ten seconds, I’m going to start kicking you all out. Literally.”
“Yep.” Caleb grins. “Life is exactly how it’s supposed to be. Absolutely-fucking-perfect.”
The End.