Epilogue
CASSIA
Five Years Later
"What are you doing?" Paige asks.
"Trying to convince Cord to breed me again," I say, putting the phone on speaker so I can snap a photo to send to my husband.
He's somewhere out on the ranch, handling business.
He won't be for long. If I know my husband—and after five years, I definitely do—he'll be rushing in the door to handle my business in about five minutes.
Since the kids are all with Cleary until tomorrow, we've got the house to ourselves.
I intend to put it to good use. I'm already naked.
Well…mostly naked. I'm wearing a Stetson and a pair of boots.
I also bought a lasso just for the occasion.
It's coiled around me on the bed. If that doesn't get my cowboy in the door, nothing will.
Paige's groan fills the bedroom. "You know I hate when you call it that. Also, TMI."
"You asked," I remind her. "Besides, didn't you just tell me last week about that thing Cam does with his tongue that I never needed to know about?"
"Oh yeah." Her wicked laugh echoes down the line, followed by a dreamy sigh. "He has the best tongue."
I giggle despite myself. Having one of my best friends as my sister-in-law is great.
I love it so much. She and Cam and their kids spend half of their time here in Lake Tahoe and the rest in Austin with her family.
I miss her like crazy when she's gone, but I have plenty to keep me occupied.
We aren't the only ones who ended up finding forever in Lake Tahoe.
Emmy, Zoey, and Clover did too. Mina comes to visit every chance she gets.
Plus, Cleary is here too. I love it so much!
I never realized just how lonely my life was until I woke up one day with Cord wrapped around me, and Paige, Cam, and Cleary in the kitchen downstairs, yelling for us to get up and come and eat.
Life has been a fairytale since. My cowboy might not be what anyone envisions when they think of Prince Charming, but he's my Prince Charming.
The day I thought he didn't love me was the worst of my life.
Trying to imagine my future without him hurt like hell.
I couldn't even think about making it through the weekend, let alone the next sixty years.
My heart wasn't broken. It was shattered.
Right up until he showed up at the resort, dropped to his knees, and laid all my fears to rest.
He tells me every single day that he loves me.
It's the first words that leave his lips in the morning, and the last thing he says to me at night.
He never lets me forget for even a moment that he's my cowboy.
He's so damn good to me every single day.
He spoils me and our babies with love and affection. He's our protector, our hero.
If he doesn't give me another baby soon, I'm going to lose my mind.
Our youngest, Caitlin, is only eight months old, but ever since Cleary got pregnant, I've had baby fever so bad!
I want another one. Caitlin is already outgrowing snuggles.
She wants to crawl after her big brothers and the dogs and play.
I miss when she was tiny and wanted nothing more than to cuddle with me and watch them roll around on the floor like the crazy people they are.
I love our babies so much. Corbin, our oldest, is Cord made over. He's going to be an amazing man someday. He's the most patient, loving big brother. He's so protective over his younger siblings. I just know Cord was the same way when he was a little boy.
Cassius, our three-year-old, is…well, he's a mess like me.
It's Cord's fault for naming him after me!
I told him it was bad luck, but did he listen?
No! He got all sweet and bossy and said that he wanted me to have a reason to learn to love my name, so we were naming our son Cassius.
And then he did dirty things to me until I agreed.
My relationship with my mom hasn't really changed.
Well, that's not true. She tried to put me down in front of Cord the first time—and only—time she ever came here to visit after Corbin was born.
I didn't even have to say anything. She might not have any respect for me, but Cord certainly does.
He told her exactly what he thought of her and the way she's always treated me.
I don't think anyone has ever spoken to my mom the way he spoke to her.
Once he said what he had to say, he sent her to stay at the resort until she was due to fly home.
She hasn't been allowed back since. And I…
honestly have never been happier. We speak on the phone on holidays.
She sends the kids gifts or visits when we fly to Seattle to see Rhys and his wife, Raven, and their kids.
But she doesn't speak to me the way she used to anymore.
I think she knows Cord will cut her out of our lives entirely if she does.
When it comes to me and our babies, my cowboy isn't rational, and he isn't forgiving.
He's a possessive, protective, crazy person, and we wouldn't have him any other way.
"Seriously, what are you doing?" Paige asks.
"Sending Cord dirty pictures."
"Oh! It's your anniversary!" she cries. "Crap. I forgot."
"Five years," I whisper, blinking as tears fill my eyes. Five magical, amazing years. "I'm so damn lucky."
"Galentine's in Lake Tahoe really was the best retreat ever," Paige agrees, a smile in her voice. "It changed all of our lives for the better."
"All because Cord started reading my books and emailing me to complain," I say, laughing quietly at the memory.
He told me not long after we got married that he complained because he knew it would get my attention.
He wanted to rile me up. From the very beginning, he knew what he was after, and he was willing to play dirty to get it.
Hell, he was willing to read my entire catalog to get it.
Everyone teases him about it, but he doesn't even bat a lash.
He has no shame when it comes to me. I love it so much.
The door slams downstairs.
"Oh, my evil plan worked. I gotta go, Paige."
"Wait!" she cries. "I called to tell you that you have an escapee."
"Hamburger?" I groan. It's been five years and that bull is still a menace.
It doesn't matter what we do, he still finds ways to escape.
I'm convinced Cord was right back then. He does it just to piss Cord off.
Half the time, he brings his own self home, but only after dragging Cord or Cam around the mountain half the day.
"Nope. It's Patty this time."
"Dang it." She's almost as bad as her pain in the ass daddy. Luckily, she's a lot nicer than he is. She tends not to wander too far either. Usually when she escapes, we find her at Cam's, or on her way there. "Can you guys babysit her until morning?"
"Yeah," Paige says, laughing. "I'll have Cam bring her home in the morning."
"Thanks."
"Have fun getting pregnant," she says.
I giggle and then disconnect before dropping my phone on the bedside table to wait for Cord. It doesn't take long before I hear his heavy steps on the stairs. I prop myself up against the pillows, the brim of his hat tipped low to hide my face, and then stretch out my legs.
He stops at the foot of the bed. I feel the heat of his gaze on me even though I can't see anything more than his legs.
"Pretty baby," he says in that deep growl that grates against my womb.
"I thought we agreed you were going to behave today so I could get some work done, and then we'd celebrate tonight. "
"I don't recall making such a deal, cowboy," I drawl, lifting my head slowly, a smirk tipping my lips up.
"In fact, I seem to recall you threatening me with a good time if I didn't behave today.
" I tap my finger against my bottom lip.
"Now, I'm not an expert, but wasn't lesson thirty-two something about how cowboys love to raise a little hell? "
He grins at me. "You aren't a cowboy, princess."
"No?" I look down at my boots and then at the rope on the bed and then back to my boots before looking at him again. "Huh. Then I guess I'll just go put some clothes on then…."
He's on me before I can even think about rolling off the side of the bed. I shriek with laughter as he comes down over me, growling my name in a tone that lets me know I'm in for a hell of a ride today. He claims my lips in a deep kiss, nudging my legs apart.
"Get my dick out, pretty baby," he demands, nipping my bottom lip as he tosses the lasso off the side of the bed. My borrowed hat follows it. "This first time is going to be fast. You've got me hard enough to pound steel. Once I take the edge off, I'm going to give you another lesson."
"Oh, yeah?" I breathe, reaching between us to undo his fly.
"Mmhmm." He kisses a trail down my chest, latching onto my left nipple. He sucks and bites, leaving a fresh set of marks in my skin. "I'm going to teach you what happens when you play with fire."
"Good," I whisper, tugging his zipper down and reaching into his pants to wrap my hand around his erection. "Make it burn, Cord."
"Plan to," he groans. "Fuck, get my dick out, Cassia. Stop teasing me."
I don't listen. Of course I don't. I tease him just because he's being all hot and bossy. By the time I finally give him what he wants, he's trembling on top of me, all but begging for relief.
"Breed me, Cord," I whisper in his ear, lining him up at my entrance. "Plant another baby in me."
"Fuck," he growls, his gray eyes meeting mine. "You want another one, princess?"
"Yes."
He growls my name and thrusts forward, not stopping until he's all the way in.
We both moan then, writhing together. I swear, that first thrust gets me every single time.
He's so damn big, so perfect. As soon as he's in me, I feel myself coming alive again.
I know he feels it too. I see the truth blazing in his eyes.
This ranch is our home, but this bed…this is where we live and breathe.
He stays still for a moment, giving me time to adjust, and then he takes me hard, pounding into me so deep I think he's trying to fuck his way into my soul again. I claw down his back, trying to leave my own marks in his skin despite his shirt. We kiss and roll and fuck, lost in one another.
Within moments, I'm screaming his name and coming all over him.
"That's it, pretty baby," he croons, watching me intently. "God, you're beautiful when you're soaking my cock and screaming my name."
"Cord," I whimper, my inner muscles clamping down on him.
He presses his forehead against mine, his lips seeking mine. He kisses me again and again, gently bringing me back down. "I love you," he whispers.
"Mm," I moan. "I love you too."
"Did you finish your book?"
"Yeah." I smile up at him. "It's about you.
" They're always about him. Pieces of him seep into every single one, parts of him painted across the pages as if to immortalize the man he is.
It's never intentional, but I find him there anyway.
His wicked smile. The devilish things he says to me.
The strength of his embrace. The way he settles me.
Mostly though, it's the way he loves me.
So soundly, so completely that it touches every moment of my life.
My love for him spills out, hidden carefully in the pages of every story.
I hope if someone picks up one of my books a hundred years from now, they see it and wonder about the man who inspired it.
"It damn well better be about me," he growls, eyes narrowed.
"Caveman."
"Cowboy," he corrects.
I laugh quietly, reaching up to run my hand through his hair. It's shot through with gray now, but he's still the sexiest damn cowboy I've ever met in my life. The man ages like whiskey, growing better by the year.
"You want another baby, Cassia?"
"Yes," I whisper.
"Why didn't you say anything?" he asks, watching me again. Always, he's watching me.
"I was worried you'd tell me no."
"Pretty baby," he sighs, nuzzling his nose against mine as his hand slides down my hip. "Don't you know? I'll never tell you no." His lips meet mine, his devotion searing me. "Not ever."
"Then breed me, cowboy," I demand, hooking my leg around his hip. "Give me one more."
"Yes, ma'am," he breathes, already rocking into me again. "Whatever you want."
He means it. I know he does. This crazy man doesn't just love me, he worships me. I see it every time he looks at me, feel it every time he touches me. He's rough and wild and every little piece of him is mine. If that's not a hero worth writing, I don't know what it is.