Epilogue
I leaned against the railing, drawing in a deep breath of salty air. The crystal blue depths in front of me commanded my full attention, obstructed only by the wind tossing my hair around my face. The sun dipped lower and lower into the horizon, creating pretty streaks of gold across the ocean as it made its descent.
Jareth had recently purchased this massive twelve-bedroom yacht, and I was here for it.
“What are you doing out here?” His voice rumbled against my ear.
I let out a sigh as my muscles naturally relaxed into him. Our bodies fit together like two halves of a whole. “This is my first time cruising the Mediterranean. I don’t want to miss a thing.”
Behind me, the heat of Jareth’s body soaked into me just before his chest pressed flush against my back. His arms came around my sides to cage me in a bubble of love and safety. A sigh of happiness escaped my mouth as he nuzzled that spot in the crook of my neck.
We needed this vacation.
Our lives had been turned upside down at the discovery of Terri’s betrayal. Jareth’s former honorary uncle was currently sitting in jail awaiting trial.
I’d been fearful that Jareth would withdraw into himself after finding out his godfather had killed his dad. Instead, he opened up further to me and continued to let me in. He finally trusted me enough to support him and we were able to discuss the swirl of emotions a betrayal like that cost. Tears pricked the back of my eyes as I thought about the beauty of our growing relationship.
When I tilted my head to the side to look at him, he captured my lips with his. His front pressed into me letting me feel the hardness of his arousal at my back while one hand slid around and under my shirt to tweak my nipple.
I groaned into his mouth while my hips pushed back, grinding into him. His answering moan every time I connected with his turgid length made me want to reach around and pleasure him as he was doing for me.
I pulled my lips away trying to stifle my panting breath. “Someone might see us. We should?—”
His hand slipped into the front of my shorts and down into my underwear. My thighs clenched as he quickly slid his finger between my folds and then into me. My eyes fluttered shut as my head fell back to rest against his chest.
I gasped. “Oh, God. I can’t think when you do that.” I was soaking wet.
“Sunshine, if I didn’t know any better it would seem the thought of someone possibly seeing us is turning you on.” I didn’t need to see him to know a smirk graced his mouth at the truth of his words.
“I—” A second finger entered me and I squeaked at the welcomed invasion. My core clenched hard around his fingers as he picked up the pace and I struggled to breathe.
“Keep still and be quiet then no one will know,” he whispered.
I shuddered and attempted to hold back the next sound that threatened to escape my mouth. When his other hand shifted from my breast to clamp down over my lips I realized I hadn’t done a good enough job.
“Only I get to hear your sweet sounds, Sunshine. If you can’t stay quiet I’ll need to stop.”
I frantically shook my head as his fingers hit the spot that made my body sing. My entire body shuddered as he pressed his thumb to my clit while still pumping his fingers into me. I groaned beneath the weight of his palm. Sparks shot through my body as I coiled tighter and tighter barreling toward my release.
His hand moved faster, my hips rocked to meet his touch until the world sheeted white and my orgasm hit me making my knees buckle. If Jareth hadn’t been holding on to me I surely would have been in a puddle on the wooden deck beneath our feet.
I let out a shaky sigh, my body still pressed tightly to his. Tiny tremors still shook my body as he withdrew his hand. How lucky was I that we had the rest of our lives to be together, to explore this passion between us, and to love each other in every way possible.
My eyes fluttered open to see his fingers sliding into his mouth.
“Still my favorite taste,” he said, his voice raspy.
The sounds of voices drifting to us quickly pushed away the lethargy of my muscles. They tensed as I instinctively tried to jump away from Jareth sure that whomever saw us would know exactly what we were doing.
His arm banded around me, not letting me move an inch.
“They’ll know,” I whispered frantically to him.
“Sunshine, they won’t know.”
I patted at the top of my shorts making sure they were in place and smoothed out my shirt. As my butt shifted back his hard erection poked me and a giggle escaped my mouth. “They won’t know?” I teased.
He shifted his body so we turned in unison just as our cruise companions stepped around the corner onto the deck we were on. I held back my smirk as he kept me strategically placed in front of him.
“I’m not skinny-dipping,” Gran’s exasperated voice had me laughing out loud.
“Why not? I bet Nolan would like it, wouldn’t you?” Franny gave Gran and her boyfriend an overexaggerated wink.
Her BFF elbowed Nolan in the ribs. The poor man’s face turned bright red while Gran glared at her best friend.
Franny linked her arm through George’s and grinned. “And you can bet we’ll be adventuring sans clothing.”
I cringed. I did not need that picture in my head.
“Hello, sweet girl,” Gran called out, effectively shutting down the conversation.
“Hi, Gran. Out to enjoy the sunset?” I gestured toward the glowing orb behind us. The sun likely only had a few minutes left before it completely disappeared.
She nodded as Nolan pushed her wheelchair closer and the two couples sat down on the loungers spread out across the large deck.
This was everything I never knew I needed. Thanks to Jareth, who decided to sell his old yacht for this handicap-accessible one, Gran was able to vacation with us. She’d finally agreed to date Nolan, and when we asked her to go on this cruise with us, she asked if her friends could come along too so she wouldn’t feel like a third wheel.
We’d also invited the Belmont’s but Niki and Lacey had needed more time to find coverage for the bar. Their parents had officially signed the place over to them and they were hiring and training new staff to take over their old positions.
I leaned back in Jareth’s embrace, feeling like after everything that happened to me, I could finally breathe easy now that we were on the yacht. It had been six weeks since I was kidnapped, and even now, I sometimes woke up after a nightmare feeling that blade pressing into my neck.
Jareth was always by my side in an instant. Unless he wasn’t already curled around my body, cursing the fact that he hadn’t killed the man responsible. Terri, we learned, had been in the back pocket of the Sultans for the past thirty years. He hated that he grew up poor, and when the awful couple offered him a cut of what they were embezzling, he jumped at the chance to become wealthy.
He tried to play the death of Jareth’s father off as self-defense, which seemed like a long shot, but we knew he would go down swinging. I did my best to keep Jareth from obsessing over every little detail, but I also didn’t want him to completely disregard everything that had happened. He had to learn to deal with it without letting it consume him. It was a delicate balance he was still figuring out.
His next exhale ruffled the hair on my head and the tender kiss he placed on my temple gave me the warm fuzzies that settled low in my belly. I was excited for this trip for more than one reason. This morning we’d been in negotiations with VS Productions about how they wanted to handle my contract. After singing at The Wooden Nickel, and with Trixie’s glowing recommendation, Lance and Jareth had discussed the label representing me. I still hadn’t decided what I wanted to do, especially since we had a lot to discuss during this trip that might take precedence.
I had something big to share with Jareth tonight, and the timing felt right. As the stars slowly emerged, lighting up the night sky I turned in his arms. My hands skimmed up his biceps to settle on his broad shoulders. I tried to settle my shaky hands as nervousness took over. It’s not that I was afraid to tell him, I just wasn’t sure how to break news like this.
“Sunshine, there’s something I want to talk with you about,” his voice rumbled softly.
“I wanted to tell you something,” I said at the same time. The two of us laughed as we spoke over each other.
“Me first.” He pulled back the tiniest bit.
I nodded. What I had to say could wait.
“You are everything to me,” he started, and then cleared his throat. “I was a fool to keep you at a distance for so long. I didn’t know what to do with the feelings you stirred up inside of me. If it wasn’t for your determination to hold on and to fight for us with everything you had, I might never have come to my senses.”
I ran a hand over his cheek to wipe at the tears that silently fell from his eyes. Tonight, and the night he rescued me, were the only two times I’d ever seen him cry. “Oh, my love.”
“While I still believe you are far too good for me, I also know that I can never let you go. I crave everything that is you—your touch, your voice, your compassion and kindness, and most of all, your love.”
The tears that had teased their arrival now spilled down my cheeks. With each word he uttered, I felt more content in my news. Our relationship, while relatively new, had been building for years. The friendship we’d established well before the physical side of our relationship had helped pave the way for our future.
Jareth pressed his forehead to mine. “I will love you until the end of time. Even longer, if it’s possible.” He slid from my grasp, downward, settling himself on one knee.
My breath caught in my throat and my hands flew to cover my mouth. Holy schnikes! Was he going to—Oh my God, he was!
Jareth pulled out a small velvet box from his back pocket and flicked it open in the middle of his palm. Inside was the most stunning ring I’d ever laid my eyes on. The large cushion-cut yellow diamond, flanked by a ring of smaller diamonds, sparkled up at me. “Hazel, I—You would make me the luckiest man in the world if you agreed to marry me.”
I sniffled, my voice tight from the tears I was trying to stifle.
“Sunshine… ” he said, and ran his thumb across my lips and let his hand settle on the curve of my cheek. “You’re killing me here with your silence.”
I gave him a watery smile. “I didn’t hear a question.”
He laughed. “You are absolutely right. Hazel my love. The light of my life. Will you marry me?”
“Of course I will. I love you so much.” I held out my hand.
As Jareth let go of my face and reached down to pluck the ring from the box, cheers erupted behind us. Our friends had witnessed the proposal! Were they in on it? Jareth slid the ring on my finger and returned to his full height, taking me in his arms and twirling me around.
My stomach heaved with the spin and I tapped his shoulder. “I need you to put me down.”
He quickly set me on my feet, a worried frown tugging down the corners of his lips. “Sunshine, are you okay?”
“I am.”
When he didn’t look convinced, I patted his chest. “I’m more than okay.” Another wave of nausea hit and my hand flew to my mouth.
“If you’re not feeling well I can send for the ship’s doctor.” He pulled out his phone, ready to call for help.
My stomach had already begun to settle. “I promise I’m all right.”
“Sunshine—”
I cut him off. “Just before we left yesterday I found out why I haven’t been feeling so great the last few days.”
His body stiffened, and a stricken look passed through his eyes. I needed to speed up what I wanted to tell him because with the various emotions crossing his face I figured he’d come to a more dire conclusion than I wanted him to.
A happy grin stretched across my face. “I’m not sick. Well, not in the way you’re thinking.” I took his hand and laid it across my lower abdomen. “I’m pregnant. It’s still really early and anything can happen, but I couldn’t wait to tell you.” The positive test was stuck in a plastic baggie at the bottom of that Michael Korrs weekender bag I’d had my eye on. Jareth had gifted it to me the day he told me we were going on a two week Mediterranean cruise.
“We’re having a baby?” The absolute awe in his voice warmed me from the inside out.
I nodded. “We are.”
He lifted me up into his arms and pressed his lips to mine. The kiss quickly went from a chaste peck to our mouths hungrily devouring each other.
Franny’s wolf whistle reminded me we weren’t alone.
I grinned sheepishly. “To be continued,” I whispered.
When he let me down I turned toward my grandmother who was sobbing in Nolan’s arms. “I’m going to be a great-grandmother.”
Jareth’s hands settled gently on my hips, his fingers kneading the tender flesh. His lips skated up the column of my neck. “Let’s sit down. I don’t want you to overexert yourself.”
I couldn”t stop the uncontrollable laughter that burst out of me. “I’m like seven weeks or something. I don’t think I’m going to break.”
“Sunshine… ”
“Jareth… ” He was not going to bully me throughout this pregnancy, but for now I’d give in. I spun in his arms. “I know we hadn’t planned for anything like this… ” I had an IUD, which clearly had failed, so a pregnancy had not been on our minds.
“I want nothing more than to have a child with you.” His breath feathered across my lips. “I’m scared I won’t be any good at the dad thing, but knowing our child has you as its mother makes me want to try my damndest to–.”
I cut him off to reassure him he was worthy. “You, Jareth Vizier, will be a phenomenal father.” When he opened his mouth to respond I laid my fingertips against his lips. “Haven’t you figured out by now that I’m right about everything?”
He grinned.
I let my hands drop away to settle on his shoulders once again. “Now kiss me so we can celebrate the best day of our lives—so far.”
He laughed and pulled me into another deep kiss, until the whoops and cheers around us became background noise. I mentally cataloged every second, wanting to remember how I felt in this moment, the moment when all of my dreams came together. The moment both of us realized our happily-ever-after wasn’t just a wish.
It was real.
I absolutely loved the evolution of Jareth and Hazel’s relationship. How Hazel refused to give up and how in the end Jareth saw the beauty of their love. Their story started with Jareth showing off his wicked ways to the world in Second Chance for Mr. Alden. Hazel only made a brief appearance at that time and immediately captured everyone’s heart. Want to find out what the catalyst was for Jareth and Hazel to acknowledge their feelings? Then check out the Christmas party that started it all in Wicked Beginnings.
If you love confident plus-size heroines, alpha heroes, and found family you wish you could make your own, then check out my Curvy Ever After series starting with Fake Dating Mr. Prince.
Fake Dating Mr. Prince
I’m a CEO who lives like a prince. She”s a struggling entrepreneur. We’re worlds apart, and she just brought me to my knees.
I make no excuse for my playboy ways. I work hard, and I play hard.
I’ve been burned by what I thought was love. Now one night with a woman is all I can give. I won’t risk my heart again.
Then a mysterious masked woman with curves for days enthralls me. After the hottest night I’ve ever had, I want more. But when I wake up, she’s gone.
No names. No promises. My mind says forget her, but my body won’t listen.
When our paths cross again, my need for her hasn’t diminished. I can’t give her a real relationship, but the guise of one will give us what we both desire most.
A fake relationship will clean up my image and give her the connections she needs to jump start her business—though there’s no faking our scorching nights together.
Just when my feelings become real, my company is threatened, and she might be to blame. Was her coming into my life a devious plan to steal from me, or the innocent run-in she claims?
Either way, my company and my heart are on the line.
Fans of fake dating, opposites attract, and billionaire romances will devour this modern, reimagined Cinderella tale.
Fake Dating Mr. Princeis a dual POV steamy romance filled with lust, language, and love with a guaranteed happily-ever-after.
Author Notes:
A fake dating, opposites attract, one-night stand, workplace romance with a playboy CEO who’s afraid to commit and a curvy career-driven woman who’s determined to become a success in the fashion industry.