Epilogue
MILLIE
TWO YEARS LATER
“Happy birthday, Lainey,” Dakota cries.
Tonight is a private party.
My music is slowly turned up, and then the lights follow. I begin to dance. Not only is it Lainey’s birthday, but this is also my last night on this stage. It seems fitting that the Vicious Reapers rented the whole place for the night.
We do every show just like normal, except that the only people in the audience are the old ladies. All my friends. Dakota, Lainey, Posey, Briana, Zadie, and Cidney. I should probably feel embarrassed that they’re going to see every inch of my naked body.
But I’m not.
I’m excited because this is my last show… maybe ever.
Twelve years on the stage is longer than most, and I’m ready for a break. I’m ready to have two nights off in a row, to sleep at night and be awake during the day.
And beyond all of that…
I’m excited and ready to sleep beside the man of my dreams every single night in our brand-new house. It’s a seventies ranch in need of a slight remodel, but it’s a four-bedroom, three-bathroom, two-car garage home that we can start a family in.
And I’m thirty years old.
I’m ready for a family.
As soon as my lights are up, I dance. My body can do every single move without my brain being involved. I press my lips together as I curl my arm around the pole, arching my back as I throw my other arm as elegantly as possible over my head.
Then I lift one leg, curving it around the pole as I spin. The girls scream, and I can’t help but smile. The men don’t usually get so vocal when I dance. As I spin around the pole, I decide that I’m not going to take everything off.
This is a show for fun. This is to show off my talents. I’m not making any money on this, and I don’t want any. I’m just happy to be done with the whole thing. When the music fades, the lights dim, and I sink my teeth into my bottom lip as the girls applaud.
When I leave the stage, I don’t bother going back to the dressing room. I make my way down to the floor and straight for Lainey. She stands and throws her arms in the air, her curls bouncing all around her shoulders.
“That was awesome,” she cries. “I loved it. You were gorgeous up there, all shimmery and gold. You look like an angel.”
I almost laugh, but decide against it. She’s a little tipsy and excited. I can’t blame her. I remember the first time I watched Heidi on stage. I think I had the exact same reaction. Maybe I was even more excited, I’m not sure.
“Happy birthday, Lainey,” I say as I wrap my arms around her in a hug.
A few moments later, the stage lights begin to rise again, the music grows louder, and I know exactly who is going to dance. It’s Heidi. And if these girls think I’m badass, they have no idea just how much their minds are going to be completely blown.
“Thank you,” Lainey whispers. “I cannot believe this is real life. I wish I had come here sooner. This is the coolest thing ever. I want to be a dancer,” she says. Her words are slurred. She is so trashed.
“Your brother would kill me if that happened.”
She waves her hand around as if she doesn’t care what Axton would say.
And I know she’s full of shit because she always cares what Axton says.
And he would lose his mind. It’s one thing for me, especially since this is what I was doing when we got back together.
It’s a whole different thing when it’s his baby sister.
As soon as the music fills the space around us, it flows through my body as if it’s pumping through my blood. The moment Heidi starts to dance, Lainey gasps, then she rushes over to her chair to sit down.
Taking a step backward, then another, I lean my back against the wall as Heidi takes over the entire club. Nothing and nobody else exists in the world but Heidi when she’s on the stage.
She is a force to be reckoned with.
“She’s good, but she’s not Millie Monroe,” a voice says next to me.
Turning my head, I smile as I look over at the person standing at my side. It’s Dakota. “She’s better than I could ever be,” I say.
She shakes her head. “A woman in love with her man. Dancing, knowing it’s the last one. A decades-long career coming to an end. But a whole new future beginning with no idea of where it’s going. Millie Monroe is a force to be reckoned with.”
“It’s a dream, Dakota.”
“A dream?” Her eyes are dancing as she watches me for a moment, waiting for me to continue.
I bite my bottom lip before I continue, telling her what I’m thinking. “It’s my wildest dream coming true.”
She wraps her arm around my waist, her gaze focused on the stage in front of her as Heidi lights it on fire. “This whole life since meeting Bishop has been the wildest ride, and I have loved every second of it. I’m glad you’re going to be part of it now.”
I am too.
So damn glad.
PIGGY
SIX MONTHS LATER
With my back against the headboard, I watch as her eyes slide closed before she sinks down along my length. She exhales a long breath, then a moan escapes that bounces off the walls around us.
Fuck me, but this woman owns me. Every single ounce of me. Always has and always will. Sliding my hands from her hips, I glide them up the center of her back. Wrapping my fingers around the back of her neck, I tangle my fingers in the strands of her hair with my other hand.
Gently dragging her body closer to mine, I feel her soft tits press against my chest. She continues to rock her hips, her lips touching the side of my throat. The sound of her whimper reaches my ears as she moves, her body climbing higher and higher.
I know she’s close. I can tell from the noises she makes against my throat, in the way her pussy feels as she rides me. I grip her hair tighter, my fingers flexing around her neck, and then it happens.
Her release. The way her cunt squeezes my cock, the way she groans against my skin, it almost vibrates throughout my entire body. I could come right fucking now if I wanted to. But I don’t. I’m not ready yet.
Bucking my hips once, I shift us so she’s on her back, and I drive inside her, thrusting hard and fast as I chase my orgasm. And then it happens. It takes over, my balls drawing up, my back tingling.
“Fuck,” I exhale, tugging her head back. Her neck arches, and I touch my lips to the center of her throat. “Fuck.”
“Axton,” she breathes, her nails sliding down my back, scratching me.
Lifting my head, I look into her eyes, my lips twitching at the sight of her lazy smile. “Morning, Mill.”
“I like this,” she whispers.
“What?”
She lifts her head slightly and touches her mouth to mine. “You and me. Waking up together, going to sleep together, no more living apart four days a week. It’s like heaven.”
Laughing softly against her mouth, I gently slip from her body and lie next to her on the bed, wrapping my arms around her. I drag her against my side. Millie hooks her thigh over my leg, places her palm on my chest, and rests her cheek against my side.
Cuddling.
We don’t usually do this, don’t usually have the time. And I’ve never really been one who had the inclination to do it either, but I like this.
A hell of a lot.
“Every fucking moment I’m with you, Millie, is heaven. Having you here in Thunder Rock, not having to drive back to Raleigh every few days, is just goddamn icing on the cake.”
I’d planned on doing it differently. Maybe attempt something romantic, like a ride to the mountains or a nice dinner, some shit like that. What I hadn’t planned on doing was asking her right here in bed after a great fuck, my cum still inside her.
Seems like as good a time as any, though.
Reaching across to the nightstand, I open the drawer and reach inside. There is a velvet box tucked in the front corner. I flip the lid and tug the ring out. Its metal is cool to the touch, and I’ve looked at it so many times that I have every ridge and smooth surface memorized.
Without a word, I slip it on her ring finger. She gasps before she says anything. Then she crawls on top of me, straddling me as she places both palms on the center of my chest, her chin dipped and her eyes focused on mine.
“Axton,” she exhales. “Are you asking me a question without actually asking?”
I snort. “I’ve loved you for almost thirteen years,” I begin. “I thought I lost you once, and I was a fucking fool. I never want to be that kind of fool again. You’re in my bed, living in my house, you’re my old lady, but you’re not my wife yet. Will you marry me?”
Her eyes fill with unshed tears as she stares down at me. She shakes her head before she cups my cheeks. “Axton Colter, I cannot believe you’re asking me to marry you,” she whispers.
“Marry me. Have my babies.”
“Yes,” she exhales. “Not just yes, but a million times yes.”
I wrap my arms around her and pull her torso against mine. She falls softly, touching her lips to mine. Lifting my hand, I grip the strands of her hair, holding her still so she can’t attempt to deepen the kiss.
I have one more thing I need to say to her.
Gently guiding her head back, I search her gaze before my lips curve up into a smile.
I can’t fucking help myself. Every time I look into her eyes, I can’t help but smile.
Honest to fuck, the past two and a half years, I haven’t been able to wipe the smile off my lips.
“I love you, Millie.”
She sinks her teeth into her bottom lip, her eyes dancing as she looks down at me. “I love you more than I could ever begin to imagine trying to describe, Axton. Not only are you my dream, but this is also my wildest dream come true. I’ll marry you—any time, anywhere.”
And that’s that.
I don’t just have an old lady anymore. I have a fiancée. And now, I’m going to fuck said fiancée. She must have the same thought, because her eyes glitter as they search mine. Then she shifts her face closer, and I feel her lips press against my own.
Rolling us over so that Millie is on her back, I fuck my fiancée.
And in a few months, I’ll fuck my wife.
I never thought I would have an old lady, let alone a wife. But now, I don’t think I could imagine my world without Millie. She is everything good in this life, and I aim to keep her—always.
And maybe this is her wildest dream come true, but it’s every fantasy I’ve ever imagined come to life, and I am holding on with both hands, never letting go.
Not fucking ever.