Epilogue
Chad
A few weeks later
“John!” I shout as I enter his house. He’s been leaving the front door open when he knows I’m coming so I don’t have to break in anymore, although I kind of miss that. “John! I have to tell you about the cutest thing that happened today with Jack and Jenny!”
“Hey! I’m in the living room,” he calls out, so I quickly head that way. He’s standing in front of the fireplace, and I hand him the picture I already have pulled up on my phone of them.
“Look! I was at the farm, and Blake and Liam’s new puppy was snuggling with them, and it was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. You have to see the pictures!”
John smirks as he scrolls through them, stopping on an adorable one Wyatt took of the puppy in my lap while I was sitting on the ground. Jack tried to sit on my other leg and Jenny was sniffing my hair. It’s definitely one of my favorites.
“This is a good one. Maybe we could put it up here.” He nods toward the mantel above the fireplace where he must have just put framed photos.
I freeze as I take in what they are. The picture John took of me and my donkeys when he first met them. The photo of him holding me bridal style at Blake and Liam’s wedding when I jumped in his arms. Then I look at the last frame and nearly burst into tears.
“Oh my God! You put up our wedding picture?” I basically yell as I throw my arms around him. “I love it so much! I can’t believe you put it up, Hubby! I thought you’d burn that box if you ever saw it again since you hate frills and fun.”
“I don’t hate frills and fun, I just don’t think we need screen-printed shirts with our wedding photos. Who would wear that?”
I laugh as he hugs me back, and when I finally let go, he’s biting his lip, looking nervous, but I have no idea why.
“What’s up?” I prompt when he doesn’t say anything.
“I wanted to talk to you about something,” he answers slowly.
“Anything,” I remind him.
He takes a deep breath, and starts quietly. “I have a lot of really fond memories here, but I’d like to add more, and I’d like to do that with you, here, in the same house.”
Holy shit!
This wasn’t him just casually putting up pictures. John is way more intentional than that.
He wants me to officially move in! It’s finally happening. I’ve obviously been ready to live with John since I showed up on his doorstep before Blake and Liam’s wedding months ago, but I told myself I wouldn’t push him, that I would wait for him to be ready.
It seems like that patience has paid off and today is the day! He looks so cute all nervous, as if I’d ever turn him down.
“If it’s too weird for you to know I live in my ex’s house, then I can move into your place,” he continues carefully.
Oh my God, did he rehearse this? He’s so fucking sweet.
“Or we can figure something else out, but I’d like to live together,” he finishes, and I force myself to answer before I throw myself at him again.
I shake my head. “It’s not too weird. Luke was a huge part of your life and shaping who you are, and in case you haven’t noticed, John, I really like who you are. I’d love to live here with you and add more happy memories together!”
He smiles fully, and I’m done holding back. I throw my arms around his neck as I jump up and wrap my legs around his waist. “Fuck, Chad,” he huffs as he catches me, but I knew he could handle it. My man is strong.
He sets me down, and then he gets down on one knee and pulls a key out of his pocket. Holy fucking shit!
“We’re obviously married already.” He laughs. “But you got down on your knee that time. I figured you might like it if I did it for this instead. Chad, will you officially move in with me?”
“Yes, Hubby!” I take the key, and my cheeks hurt from how big I’m smiling, breaking out my old nickname for him.
“I love this all so much, thank you. I love you.” I pull him up to stand with me as I kiss him as passionately as I can, hoping he understands how much all of this means to me.
Eventually, I force myself to step back so we don’t start stripping each other in the middle of the living room.
I turn the key over in my hand, trying to really take the moment all in, and everything it means for us. We’re already husbands, but this solidifies everything. “I wonder what I should do with my house. Do I sell it?”
“I actually had a thought about that when your parents were visiting,” he starts.
“Your mom and Wyatt were talking about how there should be more options for people to stay around here. What if you turned it into a bed and breakfast? You and my brothers have made the place look great so far. They could add a few things, and I think it would be cool.”
“Yes!” I immediately agree. “I mean, I’ll probably have to hire some people to help me because I know absolutely nothing about running a hotel or business or anything, but that would be so cool!
Oh, maybe Wyatt would help me! He always talks about how he misses working and how Liam and Blake don’t let him do anything. ”
John chuckles. “You could certainly ask him.”
I nod. “Wow, this is just so exciting! And I love all of the pictures you chose!”
“The wedding picture was the least cheesy thing we had from that night to display. The rest is far too much.”
“Whatever you say,” I agree easily. He didn’t say I couldn’t use or wear the other items. “Wait. Does this mean we can start wearing our rings again?”
He shrugs. “If you want to. I know you’re my future. The rings and paperwork have always seemed like more of a you thing, but I’ll do whatever will make you happy, Princess.”
I beam up at him. “Well, if you’re okay with it, I would like to wear the rings, but you’re right, that does seem like more my thing…
” I trail off, considering if there might be something he’d like more that I’d know is his way of outwardly showing his commitment to our marriage.
“Hmm. What’s more of a you thing? I know the whole BDSM aspect isn’t really a lifestyle for you, but I saw things about everyday collars when I was researching. Is that something you’re into?”
He shakes his head, smirking. “Nah, I get why some people like it, but I’ve never really seen the point when they can come off.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.” I look around the room, trying to think of something more significant to represent the permanence of our future.
When I turn back to John, ready to tell him I’ll have to think about it, I zero in on the perfect idea.
“Tattoos!” I nearly shout as I have the thought.
“You can give me a tattoo! It’ll be perfect. ”
John raises a brow in question, but the heat in his gaze is obvious as he quickly gives me a once-over, no doubt imagining what or where he could give me one. “You want me to give you a tattoo?”
“Absolutely! I want a permanent reminder of our commitment to each other,” I explain.
“Growing up, I had assumed that would be what getting married meant, and it does mean that to me, but I know we went about the wedding in such a backward way. I’d love to do something intentional now that we’re both in the same place about our future. ”
His smirk has grown into one of his rare smiles that I love so much. “Okay, I’d love to tattoo you. When do you want to do it?”
“Right now. Do you have everything you need?” I ask hopefully.
“Yeah, I’ll go grab it. Sit on the couch, and I’ll be right back.”
I hurry over and get settled, absolutely thrilled that John was as immediately into this idea as I am.
He comes back with a bag, sets up his equipment on the coffee table after cleaning it, and sits in a chair he set up right next to me.
“Do you want to pick what I do and where, or should I do that part?”
Oh my God, I love this so much. “The surprise, of course.”
The corner of his lip lifts. “I figured. Do you want a blindfold or can I start?”
“Hmm… You know I love a blindfold, but I want to start right away. Maybe we can do that after.”
“Sounds good,” he agrees with a chuckle. “I’m going to put it on your thigh. It’ll still be a surprise since I need you laying down on the couch.”
Eeek! It’s happening. I pull my pants off and shout, “Yay!” as he pushes my boxer briefs up my thigh.
He puts black gloves on and shaves the area about halfway up before cleaning it again.
My anticipation grows as he messes around with the gun for a minute before dipping the tip of it in the tiny cup of black ink.
“Okay, I’m going to start now,” he warns. “It’ll hurt a bit, but it shouldn’t be too bad. Try not to move, okay?”
“Maybe you should have restrained me,” I tease.
“Next time,” he promises with a wink, and my stomach flips. He’s so sexy normally, but who knew that him threatening to tie me up to mark me with permanent ink forever would be such a turn on?
He steadies my leg with his left hand and brings the needle to my thigh.
It’s a weird feeling. Definitely a new one.
I don’t know why I expected it to be more intense, like a knife stabbing maybe, but it’s more of a dull sharpness, which I guess makes sense because the needle is a lot smaller than a knife.
I actually kind of like it. In a weird way, it sort of reminds me of the pain with the nipple clamps, definitely there, but accompanied by some pleasure.
I didn’t expect for this to make me hard, but maybe I’m more into pain than I thought I would be. Especially if my hot tattoo-covered husband is the one inflicting it. Far too quickly it’s over, and he’s wiping my leg down again, admiring his work.
“Did you want to see it, or did you need some help there first?” he teases, nodding at the obvious bulge in my underwear.
“Ummm…” That’s a tough decision. But no. I need to focus and see what John tattooed. Then sex. “I want to see it,” I insist.
“Go ahead.” John helps me sit up so I can see the black ink, and I tilt my head to confirm I’m reading it properly.
John tattooed “Princess” on my thigh in his handwriting.
“Holy shit, it’s perfect!” I say, voice tight with emotion.
He leans in to kiss me, and we stay like that for a while. Enjoying the connection, the feel of each other’s lips moving in sync, communicating all the love and devotion I feel in this moment.
I’m so lucky. I love being his princess. I’m obsessed with knowing I’m the most important, special, and spoiled person in his world. Seeing this will always bring me joy.
“My turn,” I declare when we finally part.
“Your turn?” he repeats as a question.
I nod. “Now I get to tattoo you. If you want. Can you show me how?”
He nods, a smile slowly spreading across his face again. “Okay.” He cleans everything, sets it all up again, and then he takes off his shirt. “I want you to put a C on my chest. There should be room here.” He points to a small gap between the existing ink that covers most of his body.
I suck in a sharp breath. “Over your heart?”
“Yeah,” he confirms, and I have to blink back the tears threatening to blur my vision. “I’ve got everything set up. I’ll turn it on and hand the gun to you. Use light, consistent pressure. The weight of the machine does a lot of the work. We can always add more. Sound good?”
“Yes,” I confirm when I’ve pulled myself together. I do exactly as he described, taking the tattoo gun and carefully adding a C to the place above his heart.
I fucking loved our Vegas wedding. I love that part of our story. But this, John not only marking me forever as his but trusting me to leave my own mark permanently on his heart, literally, this moment is so much better than I could have ever hoped when we said our vows all those months ago.
I might have promised that night to be the best husband ever. But I think I’ll have to share the title with John.
We were definitely the biggest winners in Vegas.