EPILOGUE
SIX WEEKS LATER
EMERY
Talk about a fucking whirlwind. That’s all the last six weeks have been and all of the work, all the conversations, all our focus, is paying off tomorrow. It’s almost too good to be true, but I know it is because the warmth of my man and the presence of his hard body against my back is a reminder that this is all very fucking real.
“Tomorrow,” I breathe out as I look around the cozy space that we’ve created in the front of the shop.
The windows are still covered so no one can see in, but the lights in the space make it bright, modern, and clean looking. It’s exactly what I envisioned the first time Kade showed me the building. That day was one of the best of my life, but not better than the day Kade showed back up and then never wavered from making up his blunder and showing me I’m his priority.
Once Kade explained to me that this building was ours for our shop and showed me the paperwork, I didn’t hesitate to call my asshole of a boss and quit. Right then and there. The next calls I made were to my clients.
When I told them that I was going to be opening my own shop with my man, they were more than happy to wait and be put on my schedule for as soon as the doors were to open. We told everyone two months, but Hammer was a man on a mission and now everything is ready to open two weeks early.
“Tomorrow,” Kade’s voice skitters along the sensitive skin right behind my ear which causes a shiver to work up and down my spine. “And now that everyone else is gone and we’re ready to open, we can christen the shop.”
I spin and look up at my husband with wide eyes.
Yes. Husband.
It wasn’t even a week after Kade showed me our building that I woke up with a property cut on my back and a gorgeous ring on my finger. It’s not flashy in the traditional sense, but the inlaid opals in the band make it the perfect ring for me because it won’t snag on the gloves I have to wear.
When I looked over at Kade, he was watching me with a smug as fuck grin on his face as he lounged next to me on our bed in the clubhouse. He had talked me into letting go of my apartment while dropping the bomb on me that we’d need to choose house plans for a build in the compound the same day that he showed me the shop. I didn’t even fight him because it was all so much and soaking everything that he was giving me that day was almost too much to absorb.
But why would I fight him anyway?
I clutched the sheet to my chest a little tighter and glared at him, even though there wasn’t much heat behind it, “Aren’t you supposed to ask me?”
Kade’s grin turned into a huge smile. “Already claimed you, this,” he pointed to the cut and the ring, “only makes it official.”
I couldn’t fight the smile on my face any longer and tackled my man to the bed. I then proceeded to kiss his chest and down his body before taking his cock into my mouth and showing him just how much I appreciated and loved his claim.
It’s not like I would have said no if he had asked, but the fact that he didn’t was such a Kade thing to do that I found myself falling in love with him just a little bit more.
A month later, we were married in a ceremony at the clubhouse. Everyone who mattered was there, including Aunt Dot. By the time she was a few drinks in, a few of the brothers were avoiding her and her grabby hands. It was hilarious.
But I did see a spark between Frenzy, one of the older brothers and one of the few who doesn’t have an old lady, and my aunt. I’ll be watching because I don’t want her to be hurt, but I also won’t get in their way if something develops.
Frenzy is a good man, even though he’s a little gruff. I have a feeling he might need the light Aunt Dot can bring to his life and that my aunt could use some adventure.
Jennifer is still in rehab, which made it easier not to give into the little bit of guilt I felt about her not being at my wedding. I also didn’t have to think about whether or not I would invite her. We’ve talked a little bit while she’s been working on herself and getting clean. It’s a start, but that’s all it is for now.
“What do you mean by ‘christen’?” My voice is coy as I ask even though I know exactly what he means.
The way his lips curve in a wicked smile that promises sin and pleasure has my thighs clenching together. Before I can even think about getting away from him, I’m thrown over his shoulder and he’s stomping down the hallway and into the office that has been designed for both of us to run the business.
When he’s standing next to his desk, he lets me slide down his body slowly. I can feel every hard plan of him against my every curve and it does delicious things to me. Before he can take over, and I have no doubt that my husband was thinking he’d be in charge here, I drop to my knees.
I glide my hands from his knees up and over his thighs. “Fuck, Ink,” he hisses, and I bite the corner of my lip to stop myself from grinning.
“What?” One word, one question full of faux innocence.
“What are you doing down there on your knees, Emery,” there’s a tease and a challenge in my man’s words.
With my eyes locked with his aquamarine ones, I undo his belt, zipper, and pull down his jeans along with his boxers. His hard cock springs free, the head angry, purple and begging for my mouth. “Looks like your cock knows exactly what I’m planning to do,” I hum.
Before he can say anything else, I wrap my lips around the head of his cock and flick my tongue across it to collet the pre-cum already beading there. The low growl he lets out is my only warning before his fingers spear through my hair and hold tight. Not that I’m complaining.
His hips start to move as I work his length, one hand rolling his balls against my palm and the other wrapped around the base of his cock. If I don’t remind him I can’t deep throat him, then he’ll punish my throat. There’s a time and a place for that, believe me, but not right here and now.
“That’s right,” he encourages me, “take my cock.”
His fingers tighten in my hair, and I know he’s getting close by the way his breathing picks up. Every muscle in his body is coiled tightly and ready to unravel, but he holds off.
The sound of protest I let out as he yanks my head back and off his cock before pulling me to my feet is almost pathetic. His movements are jerky as he tugs and yanks my clothes off. I’m completely naked and he’s still dressed when he lifts me up and lays me across his desk.
“Need inside of you, Ink,” he rasps, our noses touching and our eyes locked. “Need to fill you with my baby.”
I moan with his words and remembering the morning after he showed me the shop and we started down this path at full speed was the morning I found him flushing my birth control pills down the drain. Most people would have been pissed, but I wasn’t. It’s not like we hadn’t talked about starting a family.
Was there ever really a good time?
And he’s been doing his best to knock me up since that day.
“It’s a good thing the house won’t take much longer,” I pant out, my body strung tight with need, anticipation, and a little bit of nerves.
Kade stills, his eyes sharpening as he focuses on me. His voice is full of curiosity and banked hope as he asks, “Why?”
My hands cup his jaw and I smile up at my man, my husband. “Because it’ll be done before our little one arrives.”
Kade doesn’t whoop or yell out in joy. No, not my man. He swoops down and takes my mouth in a brutal kiss that tells me exactly what he thinks about my news. He also thrusts into me with so much force that his grip on me is the only thing that keeps me stable on the desk.
“Yes,” I gasp against his mouth, my body arching and my hips moving to meet his as he takes me.
“Most beautiful pregnant woman I’ve ever seen,” he grits out through his teeth.
He was already on edge but telling him my news has made something primal and so fucking hot shine through in his eyes. Our bodies move together, raw and untamed. It’s a claiming, for both of our souls, and a reminder of who we belong to.
It’s more than that too. We consecrate our space as ours, binding it to us and making it more than a business, but a living dream realized.
As his hand slides between our bodies and he pinches my clit, I fly over the edge, his name on my lips and my heart pounding in time with his. I can feel every jet of his cum as he fills me up, love in his eyes and his roar of pleasure echoing around us.
Tomorrow we open Sacred Tattoo, but today is for us.