Second Epilogue
Ember–five years later
I lean back in the lawn chair, chestnut hair caught in a loose braid, and take in the sight of Clay—shirt off, sunscreen glistening on his shoulders—wading into the clear mountain lake with our two kids in tow.
The water laps around him, and the kids shriek when he splashes them.
He laughs, loud and free, and it hits me: this is everything I never thought possible.
“Hey, Fireman!” I call, raising my voice across the water. “Don’t let the kids distract you too much—your fishing rod’s waiting.”
He glances over, grin widening, and winks. “Don’t worry, Firecracker—I catch more than fish.” He gives me a slow wave, then dives under the water. The kids erupt in giggles.
I smile, that warm, full kind of smile that makes my chest ache. Because this—this right now—is our life. Two kids, a studio and firehouse side by side, laughter echoing off the trees. I didn’t just survive my past—I thrived. With him.
I rise, stretching my arms, feeling the sun hit my skin. I walk toward the picnic bench where our gear is stashed—cooler, rod racks, snacks. Clay emerges from the lake, kids climbing out and shivering despite the heat. He hands each a towel and fishes our youngest’s toy dinosaur out of the water.
“Mama!” Rory, the youngest, shouts. “Dad took Rex!”
Clay holds Rex up high. “He jumped ship. He’s headed for shark territory.”
She rolls her eyes. I grin. He’s impossible. And exactly right.
I drape a towel around my shoulders and walk down to the water’s edge. Clay watches me, those gray-blue eyes taking in my wet sundress clinging to me. Nearly translucent in the hot sun. My heart thunders in my chest when his gaze flicks to my legs, then up to my face.
“Come on in,” I say, tone playful. “The water’s nearly warm enough for me—will you consider joining?”
He smirks. “Depends. On whether you deserve it.”
I splutter mock outrage. “I deserve it—how else would you have someone to fetch your beer?”
He laughs, that growl deep in his chest. “I’ll fetch my own—what I want from you is optional.”
My lips twitch. “You want a lot.”
He takes a step toward the shore, water dripping from his arms, muscles flexing under the sunlight. “I get a lot.”
I swallow, the heat turning real. I want to pull him into the water, push him beneath, make him chase me. Make him show me he still wants me. Here. Now.
But I keep my composure. I scroll through my phone, pretending to look at something. “Hey—bedtime plans for later?”
He arches a brow. “I thought you’d let me surprise you.”
I toss him a smile. “Nope. I prefer to plan to get in trouble.”
He steps out of the water and comes closer. The air between us crackles. Kids still playing behind us; we’re not alone—but I feel alone with him.
“I was thinking…” he leaves the sentence hanging, fingers brushing a lock of my hair back behind my ear. Heat blooms low inside me. “We go skinny dipping later. After they’re asleep.”
My heart flips. “You are ridiculous.”
He grins. “And you like it.”
I narrow my eyes. “Don’t push your luck.”
He leans his forehead against mine. “I’ve already surpassed it.”
My breath catches. I’ve stood here before with men who pretended they wanted me. Clay doesn’t. Doesn’t hold back. Doesn’t mask what he wants. Doesn’t hide the way he’s mine.
He pulls me closer. The heat of his body seeps through the towel. I don’t move back. I can’t.
“I love this,” I murmur. “All of this.”
He kisses my temple. “Me too.”
I glance at our kids, splashing and laughing. “They’re perfect.”
He chuckles. “And loud.”
I laugh. “And messy. And everything I couldn’t imagine liking.”
He tugs me by the towel until I’m in the shallow water beside him. “Good thing we set up the studio and the house and the life right. So we can handle the loud and messy.”
I press my hand to his chest, fingertips tracing the ridge of his pec. “I never thought I could love like this.”
“Yeah you did.” His voice is low. “You just needed someone worth staying for.”
I tilt my head up, stare at him. “You think I chose this?”
He chuckles. “Damn right. You made it.”
My breath catches. The way he says it. The way he sees everything.
He dips his head and kisses me—slow and deep, the water splashing around us, the world narrowing to just us.
“Five years,” I whisper against his lips.
“Five beautiful years,” he murmurs, pulling me into his arms. “And I’m just gettin’ started.”
I grin. “So was I.”
He shakes his head. “You were born ready.”
Later, we’re settled on the dock, kids asleep in the tent under the stars. The air is chill, the lake quiet except for the gentle lapping. He hands me a thermos of hot chocolate—he knows me too well.
“Cold shake?” he teases.
“Just because you’re freezing.” I lightly smack his thigh.
He folds me into his side. “Best kind of freezing.”
I slip my fingers into his hand and then he guides me down the wooden steps into the cool water.
The air smells of damp earth and pine. He peels my sweater over my head, and my pulse quickens.
I shiver when his fingers tug my leggings down past my hips.
We step to the water’s edge. The forest presses in on all sides and I pause, one toe dipping into the lake water.
A soft groan slips from me when he brushes himself against my backside.
I arch into him, searching for more of that delicious pressure.
“So sensitive,” he whispers, a single finger traveling up the center of my torso before cupping my breasts. Heat blooms beneath his touch. He leans close and I catch his words on my skin: “I can smell how turned on you are.”
His hand tightens on my thigh and he guides me into the lapping water. The cool water envelopes us as soon as we’re waist-deep. When my hips meet his, I gasp—and then moan as he slides a finger inside me. My name tumbles from his lips on his first thrust.
He hums against my ear, “You’re so eager and sweet. I couldn’t love you more. When I found you, everything snapped into place.”
Now the water covers us to our chests. It tingles against my skin and heightens every brush of his body against mine. His words feel like fire in my veins, leaving me exposed and trembling.
This man is mine. I wrap my arms around his neck, pressing my bare chest to his. Our lips collide, urgent and wet, and the world around us fades into the steam. My heart hammers. “Please, fuck me, Clay. Make me yours again.”
His muscles bunch beneath my hands. Only his shoulders break the surface of the water, taut and gleaming. The moon filters through the pines overhead, and all I can hear is our breathing, our moans, the gentle lapping at our skin.
He pushes himself inside of me in one slow thrust, pulls out and then sinks back into me again. I clutch his broad shoulders, my legs tightening around his waist as he moves. I cry out, lost in the rhythm, my soaked core fluttering around him.
“I could spend every night with you right here,” he whispers.
A soft hum rises in my throat. Waves of pleasure roll through me until I break apart, my body clenching around him. He follows in an eruption of warmth, spilling into me. I hold him close as the aftershocks shiver through us both.
My heart thuds with desire and a fierce joy. Forever with Clay—it’s all I ever wanted.
He tilts his face down to mine. “I love you.”
I press my lips to his. “I love you more, fireman.” I lean in close, breath warm on his lips. “I think… I think I want another baby.”
His grin fades into something intense. His hands squeeze my hips. “Then let’s make one.”
“Do you think we’re ready for another one?”
“I think we can take on the world. I think we’re fireproof.”
I smile, lost in him. “Yeah.”
And bathed in the moonlight I know it deep in my bones—this life, this man, this love—it’s everything.
Everything I chose. Everything I needed. Everything I never knew I wanted.
My fireman. My best friend. My forever.
The End.
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