epilogue
I gasp awake. Slipping my hand into her hair, I grip and growl, “Winnie.”
She pops off and flips the covers back to expose her smiling face. “Good morning.”
“I told you, you can’t suck me off anymore if you won’t let me touch you.”
She pouts, and it’s the cutest fucking look, so I have to close my eyes.
Winnie hasn’t let me touch her pussy since we lost our baby, and I get it, but she insists on waking me up with a blowjob more often than not, and it makes me feel like the biggest piece of shit for being the only one coming between us.
“I was thinking…” She twists her lips, a mischievous smile growing in place. “That maybe I let you touch me.”
“If you say psych right now, I’m going to fucking die, Winnie Lewis.”
She giggles the sweetest sound, but I’m serious. The window across my room is four levels off the ground, and I will jump.
“I don’t know if I’m ready for sex, but maybe oral?”
Yes, fuck. I’ll take anything. “Get on my face.”
She takes too long, and I lean forward and lift her petite body on top of my face. She hesitates, but I grip her hips and shove her down on my tongue and suck in the sweet, sweet relief.
Winnie falls forward, I think meaning to go for my dick, but I’m a starved man, ravished for his girl, and it’s the first time she’s given me the chance in too fucking long.
I sit up, still holding her waist, and drop her on the bed. She doesn’t get a word out before I’m diving back in for her pussy, lick after lick. She’s gasping, gripping my hair, and riding my face.
I’m going to remind her how good it feels to come whether it kills us both or not.
Winnie screams my name, for sure waking the guys, but that’s not my fucking problem.
I bring my fingers up now, watching her, but her eyes are closed. I drag them through her slit, teasing her pussy. While not pushing me away, she’s tense, but that’s expected.
The tip of one finger slips in, and she groans, withering with pleasure, so I push farther. Her hips rock, taking my finger deeper.
There’s my good girl.
I lap at her pussy and let her ride my fingers as fast and hard as she wants until another orgasm overtakes her body. She thrashes, and I have to flatten my other hand on her stomach to hold her in place.
When she’s done, she tugs on my hair, pulling me up her body.
“That was…”
“I know.”
She blows out a sweet breath. “I’m sorry I’ve been holding back.”
“Don’t apologize. I know why.”
Pain flashes through her eyes, a look I see often, and I know she sees the same from me, but we are working through it.
Together.
“We need to get ready.”
“I don’t want you coming, Win. I told you this.” I slip from the bed and wander to the bathroom. Praying she doesn’t follow. This is one thing I’m not caving on.
When my mom called me a few weeks ago, telling me my dad was dying, I didn’t even blink. To me, the man who took part in creating me is dead. Whether he’s walking around earth or not. I didn’t plan on going to any kind of service they had for him, but Winnie mentioned how there probably won’t be many people, and for whatever fucking reason, my mom is sad. Basically, she guilted me into going, but I made it clear she was not.
How fucking sick would it be for Winnie to go to the funeral of the man who killed her dad? Pretty fucking sick.
“Well, it’s a good thing I’m a grown-ass woman, then.”
Yeah, a grown-ass woman and a pain in my ass. I spin, ready to argue, but come up short when I find her naked. Dirty game, Winnie. And she damn well knows it.
She pads by me and makes sure to brush my dick with her hip as she does.
I narrow in on her ass, and a growl tumbles from me.
Water pelts against tile as I flick the shower on, grab her wrist, and pull her under the cold water with me.
“Reese,” she screeches right in my ear, but I don’t let up.
“You need a cold shower. Playing these teasing games like I’m not five seconds away from pinning you against the wall and fucking you senseless at all times. I’m really trying to respect your wishes, Winnie.” I tighten my arms around her. “But you don’t realize how close I am to snapping.”
“I wish you would.” Her voice is so small, so quiet, it hardly reaches my ear, but it does, and my flaccid dick stiffens.
“Tell me what you want, Winnie. I want words.”
She turns in my arms, tears in her eyes, but a look of defiance on her face. “I want to be fucked. I want you to pin me to the wall and fuck me like you mean it. I don’t want gentle. I want The Rapture.”
She has no clue what she’s asked for.
“Are you sure?” My restraint is snapping by the fucking millisecond.
“Yes.”
If my girl wants The Rapture, I’ll fucking give her The Rapture.
“You didn’t come in me.”
“I know. I figure we’re not ready.”
Winnie steps behind me and kisses between my damp shoulder blades. “Thank you for always knowing what I need.”
“I do my best.”
Her heat leaves my body, and I look back, watching her shimmy from the room. “You do a pretty good job, Reese Larson.”
How do you say goodbye to someone you spent most of your life hating? Death is hard, but my dad’s death is complicated. Our last conversation weighs heavy in my mind. It was months ago, right after Winnie moved to town and right after I found out she called me his name. I wanted to speak with him and make sure I was actually nothing like the man. He was so apologetic, but it doesn’t take back all the mistakes he made. The mistakes I paid for.
He might have gone to prison, but I’m the one who lost everything that mattered most to me.
I don’t cry, because I won’t miss him, but there is a weight of what could have been. If he was a good dad, or if he was the one to die in that accident instead of Mr. Lewis.
Soft footfalls stop at my side, and a gentle hand slips into mine. I look down, expecting my mom, but she doesn’t have ginger hair.
My voice is hoarse as I mutter, “I thought I told you to stay home.”
Winnie flicks a warm look up to me. “You held my hand when I had to bury my dad. It’s only fair I’m here when you do.”
I tug her against my chest and wrap my arms around her front. “I fucking love you.”
“I fucking love you too.”
I grin into her neck and place a chaste kiss on her soft skin. She smells edible, but it’s not the time to get a boner.
“I didn’t come alone, though.” Winnie points around my arm, behind us.
Sure enough, Sawyer, Emma, Laney, Schmidt, and… Elijah stalk forward.
They take turns offering their condolences, and I’m sure they are probably wondering why I’m not more upset.
Elijah stops by my side. He glances at his sister, then at me, and he sighs and looks to the grave. “Your dad was a piece of shit.”
Someone gasps on the other side of me. I’m guessing Laney or Emma since Elijah is keeping his voice low enough my mom shouldn’t have heard. Not that she isn’t fully aware of that herself.
“I know. Thanks for coming, though, man.” I know Winnie dragged him, but Elijah doesn’t get dragged into anything he doesn’t want to do, so him being here says a lot.
“You weren’t the cause of my dad’s death, but I was the cause of your baby’s.”
Both Winnie and I wince. We went through a time blaming ourselves, and it was a very dark time for both of us.
I clear my throat. “Don’t say that.”
“It’s true.” His jaw is locked, but he turns sorrowful eyes my way. “Anyway, your dad was a piece of shit. But it doesn’t mean you are. I’m still not happy you fucked my sister, but that’s life.”
“It is.”
There’s a beat of calm silence before I pull my hand from Winnie’s and angle it in Elijah’s direction. “Brothers?”
He takes my hand, squeezing harder than necessary. “Brothers.”
His voice is mocking, but I’ll take it.
“Eventually brothers-in-law,” Winnie adds enthusiastically.
Elijah drops my hand and grumbles under his breath.
I chuckle and drop a kiss to the top of Winnie’s head. “My wife. I like the sound of that.”
Her small body wiggles in front of me with her version of a happy dance. “Just say the words, baby. We could be married today.”
Actually, that’s not a bad idea.
“Where are we going?” A laugh tumbles from me, but not easily. I haven’t been able to catch my breath since Reese hasn’t stopped tugging on my arm. The service finished, and I stepped aside to let him say his goodbyes and talk to his mom, and ever since, he’s had this crazy excitement about him.
He’s planning something, but I don’t know what.
Reese reaches into my pocket and grabs my keys. There was hardly any room with the people I brought, but if we add another body to the pack, there’s going to be no room at all. Ignoring that, though, he tosses my keys to Sawyer.
Reese throws open the back door and hops inside, then pulls me onto his lap and dives for my mouth.
My head is spinning with everything going on, but you’ll never see me turning down a kiss from Reese Larson.
“Did you mean it?”
I’m breathing hard and am confused. He can’t kiss me like his life depends on it and then ask me a question. “What?”
“About marrying me. Did you mean it?”
Is that what has him so excited? I giggle because this is silly. “Yes, I’ve said it a few times now. Why, are you asking me?”
“Nope.” He pops the P, then leans forward. “E, throw on some fitting music.”
“Yup.”
“Will someone tell me what is happening?”
Emma and Laney squeal with excitement, and then the music plays. “I love spur of the moment, but you will owe us a real wedding eventually.”
I tilt my head at Emma. “What do you mean?”
“Going to the Chapel” by The Dixie Cups starts blasting through the speakers, and my mouth falls.
Elijah glances back, his version of a grin coloring his face. “You always did love this song, eh, Win?”
I did, but…
I whip my head to Reese and stare into his wild, excited eyes. “You can’t be serious. On the day your dad was buried? Right after his funeral?”
Reese waves me away. “Today is special for another reason, baby.”
My eyebrows pinch, and I tilt my head.
“It’s the seventeenth.”
Oh. Right. I knew it was coming, but I didn’t realize that was today.
Reese pulls me close to his body and kisses my head. “I’ve loved you forever, and I know you’ve loved me too. How could you not?”
He pumps his eyebrows, and I swat his chest as Elijah complains from the front.
Reese swipes away the stray tears from my cheeks with his thumbs and holds my face. “So, no, I’m not asking you. I’m telling you, baby.” His eyes soften. “We need this, Win. A good thing to remember this day by.”
Reese often says I stole his heart when we first met, but I think he stole mine the same day. From the broken boy across the street, to the strong man holding me in his arms right now, he has owned my heart the entire time. A love like ours isn’t one that just goes away. I was silly for ever thinking Reese wasn’t my end game. I could have fought it until I was blue in the face, but nothing would have changed. He still would have been there, waiting for me with open arms.
I stare into the hazel eyes of the only boy I’ve ever loved, allowing all the emotions I’ve always held for him to bubble to the surface. I choke on a sob and ask, “What are you saying?”
“We’re getting married, Winnie Lewis. Today.”