Epilogue
EPILOGUE
THREE YEARS LATER
T he entire dining room table before me is littered with papers and textbooks and notes of all kinds. I stretch my arms over my head and then roll my neck to relieve some tension before I grab yet another document and start skimming through it.
Golden light from the afternoon sun shines in through the windows and illuminates the beautiful room around me. Furniture in rich dark wood and decorations in onyx and silver give the space a classy get modern look. Most of it is my doing, and I’m very pleased with it. Though at the moment, the grand dining room table is barely visible underneath all of my course material.
The sound of the front door being opened comes from across the house.
I look up from the document I was reading.
Clothes rustle, a click sounds as the door is locked again, and then footsteps start towards me.
A few moments later, Tristan appears in the doorway to our dining room .
My heart skips a beat.
Even after all these years, my heart still skips a beat every time I see him.
Casually crossing his arms, he leans one shoulder against the doorframe. A mischievous smile plays over his lips as he watches me.
He is as criminally handsome now as he was when we met again that day on campus three years ago. His black hair is perfectly styled and his green eyes glitter in the golden light that streams in through the windows. He’s wearing a white dress shirt and a pair of black slacks that make him look exactly like the rich and well-respected engineer that he truly is.
A sly smile quirks his lips when he notices me staring at his athletic and dangerously hot body.
“Hello, sweetheart,” he says, still leaning casually against the doorframe like that.
His voice wraps around me like silk, making my skin prickle and heat flicker through my veins.
I shift my weight on the chair and try to feign nonchalance as I reply, “Hey.”
Amusement tugs at his lips, as if he can see right through me. But he doesn’t comment on it. Instead, he nods towards the scattered papers across the table. “How’s it going?”
“Good.” I give him my best innocent smile as I add, “But I am getting a little hungry.”
He chuckles. “I’d better make us some food then.”
I grin at him, mischievous victory sparkling inside me. He might be in charge of huge projects at work, giving orders to hundreds of people, but he would rip the moon from the sky and give it to me if I so much as looked longingly at it. And the best part is that I would do the exact same for him .
“I’m just going to take a shower and get changed first,” he continues.
My mind is immediately flooded by images of Tristan standing naked in the shower, water dripping down his firm chest and sliding across his sharp abs. Another wave of heat rolls through me, and I have to shift my weight on the chair again and press my thighs together.
“Alright,” I reply, yet again trying to sound casual. It works incredibly poorly.
But God, I really do need to finish studying. I can’t let myself get distracted by his hot body and his dominant hands and his glittering eyes and his lips on my throat and?—
Aw, crap. I’m getting distracted again.
“Unless you want to join me?” Tristan says, that sly smile still on his wicked mouth.
I clear my throat, trying to stop the heat I can feel radiating from my cheeks. “No, I need to study.”
“You’ve already spent all day studying. You need to reward yourself with a little break.”
“This is the first exam week of my final year. My final year. I need to do well.”
“I could always kidnap you and lock you in the basement. Would be kind of fitting, both beginning and ending your time at Bercester U like that.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You wouldn’t.”
“We bought a new pair of handcuffs just last week, didn’t we?” A devilish grin spreads across his lips as he flicks a glance up and down my body. “Since someone pulled so hard on the other pair that they broke.”
Dark desire floods my veins at the memory, and I press my thighs harder together as my clit starts throbbing .
“Well, you shouldn’t have made me come so hard then,” I mutter.
His wicked smile widens.
“No,” I say, raising a finger in warning. “Don’t do that. Don’t look at me like that. I need to study.” I point towards the stairs in the hallway behind him. “Go and take that shower.”
“Alright.”
He straightens from the doorframe and uncrosses his arms. But instead of turning around and walking away, he reaches for the first button on his dress shirt.
My heart flips.
“What are you doing?” I ask, need pulsing through me as Tristan deftly unbuttons his shirt.
His smile is downright villainous as he holds my gaze. “I can’t very well take a shower with my clothes on, now can I?”
Before I can reply, he slips the shirt off his broad shoulders.
My heart leaps, and a small noise comes from the back of my throat.
Without the white dress shirt, his honed body and his breathtaking tattoos become visible. My clit throbs. God, it should be illegal to be that hot.
Tristan walks up to the table and drapes his shirt over the back of the chair right across from me. My pulse thrums in my ears as I drag my gaze over his half-naked body.
It’s incredible. With the dress shirt on, he looks like a successful engineer. And shirtless, he looks like a ruthless MMA fighter who would beat someone up if they dared to look at his girl the wrong way. Which is exactly what he is. Both. Both the engineer and the ruthless punisher.
And I love it. I love all contrasting sides of him. I love him .
On the other side of the table, Tristan reaches down towards the button on his pants.
I blink, pulling myself out of my stupor and instead snapping my gaze back down to the papers before me. I will not let him distract me. I’m stronger than this. I will not lose to his wicked games. I will?—
“Mrs. Kane.”
Lightning crackles through me, and my gaze instinctively darts towards the wedding ring on my finger. Mrs. Kane . God, I love it when he says that.
“Yes, Mr. Kane?” I reply as I look back up at him again.
My heart jolts in my chest as I find him standing there in only a pair of black boxers. The ache in my clit intensifies, making me squirm in my chair.
His eyes glint as he flashes me a sly smile. “Are you sure you don’t want to join me in the shower?”
“Yep. Uh-huh. Completely,” I managed to press out.
“I see. Well, I guess you leave me no choice then.”
Before I can so much as blink, he has rounded the corner and pulled my chair out from the table. I let out a yelp as he grabs me by the hips, lifts me out of the chair, and then throws me over his shoulder.
I blink, completely stunned, as he starts walking towards the hallway.
“Hey,” I blurt out. “No. Wait. What are you doing?”
“I’m kidnapping you, of course. As you well know, I’m not above resorting to that kind of thing to get what I want.”
Trying to brace my palms on his back, I squirm on his shoulder, but his arm around my body keeps me mercilessly trapped. I wiggle harder as he starts up the steps.
He gives my ass a firm slap.
I gasp, and lust floods my veins .
My pussy throbs with need. God, I love it when he dominates me like this.
When we reach our bedroom, he strides right through it and towards the master bathroom. My stomach flutters as he walks straight into the shower and sets me down there in front of the gray tiled wall.
I toss my hair out of my face as I straighten. Opening my mouth, I get ready to speak. But before any sound can make it out of my mouth, Tristan turns on the shower.
Water splashes down right over us.
Something between a shriek and a laugh rips from my chest.
The dress I’m wearing is soaking wet within seconds, as is my hair.
Tilting my head back, I find Tristan watching me with a grin on his ridiculously handsome face. His black hair is wet and has been swept out of his face. Water runs down his muscled body, and his eyes gleam like emeralds.
A full laugh spills from my mouth.
Resting the back of my head against the smooth tiles, I laugh up into the ceiling as water cascades down over us. Then I reach up and lock my hands behind the back of Tristan’s neck. Pulling his face down to mine, I claim his lips while laughter still bubbles out of me.
“I will get you back for this,” I say against his lips in between breathless kisses.
He grabs the back of my thighs, hoisting me up and bracing my back against the wall. I wrap my legs around his waist.
“Oh, I’m counting on it,” he replies with a dark chuckle.
I slide my hands up his neck and rake my fingers through his wet hair. He tightens his grip on my ass and rolls his hips, making his hard cock grind against me. Lightning shoots through me.
He laughs against my mouth again. His warm breath caresses my lips and makes my spine tingle.
My heart is filled with so much love and joy that I feel like it’s going to burst.
I couldn’t have dreamed of a better partner. A better soulmate. Someone who understands exactly what I struggle with. Someone who has fought a similar battle. Someone who sees me, all of me, and loves me anyway. Loves me because of it. Loves me because of all the conflicting sides of me and because of all the messy and complicated parts of my past. Of our past. Someone who has my back against everything and everyone. Always and without question.
Tristan Kane barged into my life, pushed every boundary, and shattered the glass walls trapping me inside a restrictive little box of fake perfection. He made me feel like I can finally breathe again. Like I am enough exactly the way I am. And he still does.
He challenges me and helps me grow. Just like I do to him as well.
And every day, we embrace this messy and absolutely incredible life together. Without perfection or masks.
Because we are both.
We are both perfect and complicated.
And I can’t wait for us to face the rest of this perfectly imperfect life just the way it should be.
Together.