Epilogue

HAYES

"You're not wearing that."

Quinn hitches her brows up at my words, her hands in her hair as she styles it into a bun that somehow looks messy yet intentional. "Excuse me?"

I slide off our bed and make my way over to her, not stopping until I'm just inches away, capturing her hazel gaze in the mirror.

"If you wear that, all I'll want to do all night is rip it off you, and I really doubt our friends want us to fuck in their bathroom."

"Why, Adam Hayes, are you saying you can't control yourself around me? Because that's kind of hot."

"Yes." I lean forward, pressing my lips against her exposed shoulder in a soft kiss before sinking my teeth lightly into her skin .

She tilts her head to the side, sighing. "You're killing me."

"And you're killing me in that dress. You look too good in it. It's unfair."

I drag my hands up the back of her legs, taking the form-fitting deep pink dress right along with me until I'm greeted by the sight of her perfectly pert ass in nothing but a lacy, black thong.

"Fuck," I mutter, looking down at her.

She giggles. "Thank you."

I run my finger under the lace material, pulling at it softly. "You have no idea how badly I want to sink to my knees and get a taste of you right now, have you press your hands against the mirror while I eat you from behind." I smack her ass roughly, and she gasps. "I'd fuck you hard after, just the way you like. I'd bury myself inside you until you're so full you can't stand it."

She runs her tongue over her bottom lip, then presses her top teeth into it.

"Would you want that, Quinny? Would you want me to slide my cock into your pretty, pretty cunt and make you go to the party with my cum leaking out of you for the rest of the night?"

She's panting now, her chest turning red with the heat that moves through her, and with my hard cock pressing against her ass, there's no way she doesn't know I mean the words I'm whispering in her ear .

"Yes," she begs. "Please."

"I want it so fucking bad I can't stand it."

"Me, too. So, so bad."

I believe her.

For a moment, I worried when Quinn officially moved in, we might grow tired of one another, worried the thrill we got from sneaking around was the real glue that kept us together, and without it, we would break.

That couldn't have been further from the truth. I'll be the first to admit it—Quinn Benson isn't what I was expecting. She's better. And man am I fucking crazy about her. Being with her is everything I never thought was possible.

It's coming home to someone who actually gives a shit about me. It's having someone to talk to and who listens. It's having someone believe in me for me and not just the money I make. It's being loved in a way I've never been loved before.

When Flora came to live with me, I never anticipated this was how my life would turn out, but now? Now, I can't imagine it any other way, and I really don't want to, either. I have the best girls anyone could ask for, and I wouldn't change a damn thing about any of it.

"Maybe just a taste won't hurt…"

I move to drop to my knees and deliver on at least half of what I promised I'd do, but Quinn has other plans, grabbing my hair and pulling me back up to full height. I jut my lip out in a pout, and she laughs, spinning and circling her arms around my neck.

"As amazing as that sounds, we really do need to get going, or we'll be late."

I don't give a shit about being late. With my hockey schedule and her classes—which she's totally killing—in full swing, I feel like we hardly get to see each other anymore, and when we do, it's never enough. To be fair, I don't think any amount of time will ever be enough with Quinn, but I really don't want to share the one evening I have with her with my teammates.

"So?"

" So , I'm trying to be a punctual adult, remember? We're trying to be punctual adults. Set a precedent for that kid out there we both kind of love."

"She ruins everything fun."

I roll my eyes, but we both know I don't mean a word of it. If life with Quinn is fun, it's ten times better with Flora around too. Yes, she still has her moments of being the shy and quiet kid she was when she first got here, but she's changed so much it's almost like I don't even remember the first few hard months with her last year. We're so far past that now it's like a whole new chapter in our lives. She's doing great in school and making friends. She's even asked about joining a hockey league.

I still worry about her constantly—and I think I always will—but my anxiety isn't nearly as bad as it once was, and that's in large part thanks to Quinn and Gertie, the new nanny we hired, who lives in Quinn's old bedroom.

"Fine," I relent. "We'll go be adults. But when we get home, after Flora goes to bed, I'm fucking you until I'm content, got it?"

"Is that supposed to be a threat?"

"No. Maybe. I don't know." I press a quick kiss to her full lips, knowing if I linger, I'll want to kiss her more, and apparently , we don't have time for that right now. "Now come on. The sooner we get this over with, the better."

"Be nice," she warns, untangling herself from me and pulling her dress back down over her ass before opening our bedroom door. "Or I'll make sure you get no cake."

"There's cake?"

Flora appears out of nowhere, her eyes wide with excitement. "How come you didn't tell me there'd be cake, Just Quinn? Uncle Adam?"

I look to Quinn with a shrug. Her eyes say I got this.

"Because, little flower, I didn't want to ruin the surprise," she explains .

"Well, it's ruined now. Pickles, we're getting cake!" Flora shrieks, taking off through the house to the front door.

"No running!" I holler after her, shaking my head with a sigh. "Remind me again why we're going to this party and not staying here in our big comfy bed."

"Because," Quinn says, patting my chest, "Fox is your teammate, and this is his engagement party. We have to attend."

"I still can't believe he's getting married," I mutter. "Or who he's marrying. It all seems so…sudden."

"Hey, when you know, you know, right?" She winks at me as she brushes past.

She's right—when you know, you know.

But what I know and she doesn't? I intend to marry Quinn Benson and truly make her mine. For forever and for always.

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