Epilogue

Aster

I started out wanting to be someone others saw and respected. I had no idea that would turn into me changing one crown for another. You might not see it, but I can feel the weight of it on my head and the link it holds to my heart. This crown...this one I want to wear. And with pride.

I have a drastically new life than I did back in Chicago and I'm ready for even more change.

As it turns out, the owners of The Gilded Key Society couldn't wait to sell and made it easy to take over not only the New Orleans branch but also the Seattle version of the same outfit.

But I have an idea of my own I want to see come to life. And if I can pull it off, it will have an irresistible allure of its own.

A stack of papers half an inch thick is pushed in front of me. Sunlight pours through large windows lining the front of the double gallery townhome. We are in the middle of the New Orleans' Garden District and the pulse this place puts out feeds directly to mine. It's a steady flow of both new and old energy I felt the second the real estate agent pointed to it on a map two weeks ago.

"If you would sign here and here, that will be the last of the paperwork for you. Then your…" The real estate agent turns his curious eyes to the three men in suits standing behind me like sentries.

"Today, they are my escorts. Growing up, they were my godfathers." I lean in like I have a secret to tell, feeling a bit wicked. "And tonight, sweetie, they will be my lovers." I wink at him and sit back, feeling proud of the shock on his face. Maybe I shouldn't tease, but he makes it easy.

Across from me, Mr. Dupont swallows hard and can't decide where to look after my little confession.

He takes the pen I used and holds it up to Mirsha first. "Gentlemen. You can sign here," our mousy agent offers, unable to hold eye contact with my godfathers. Poor man. Maybe I should gift him a membership to The Gilded Key Society for helping us seal the deal to this place. I make a mental note to do just that.

"It's all good. This is hers. We are just here for moral support."

I look up and Viper winks at me. His wicked streak is just as long and wide as mine.

"Bad girl," Mirsha admonishes in my ear when we rise from the table and the agent stays behind to shuffle some paperwork until we move to another room.

My godfather twirls me around and pins me to the wall of what will be my new office. When I'm not at the Society, of course.

I run my hands up his chest before fisting the top of his tie and pulling him closer. His hungry grin is a dark promise I will make sure he keeps.

"Wanna punish me now and give him a juicy story to take home? I bet he could use some color in his life."

"Don't give your real estate agent a heart attack," Luther growls, coming up beside me. "Good ones like him are impossible to find."

My head falls back and the bubbly laughter that pours out cleanses my soul of all the bad juju it has accumulated in recent years.

I know I sound pretty happy for a girl who lost her father, but how much can I mourn the man willing to use me to advance his greed for power? I feel…actually I don't know what I feel. It's only been a few weeks since my mother had him cremated and spread out over the city he desperately wanted to own. Well, now the city owns him. She said it was a beautiful ceremony with lots of people giving their respects. I am sure there were plenty of fancy napkins and silverware to keep her mind working overtime. I don't blame her for who she is, but I don't have to suffer through her weaknesses anymore, either.

"Am I late? I got your text to meet you here, but finding here was a bit of a challenge." A flurry of chaos with blonde hair and pink everything slams through the arched entrance and the smiling face of my new friend comes into view.

I leave my men in the office space and wrap Magnolia in a big hug. Her candid talk with me that night at The Society left me with a seed of an idea. Fingers crossed it gives women like us a place to find support and a place to share our wicked stories of loving a harem of men.

I pull back and lead her deeper into the large open space of the galley on the left. "What do you think? It was built in the late eighteen hundreds. 1846, I believe. And all the interior wood is original to the home. The wrap-around porch, the wrought-iron gate…it's all original, actually. We can transform the eight bedrooms into gathering areas and use the front living room space for meetings or something. I don't know. Yet. It's coming to me."

I turn to Magnolia, who wears a shocked expression.

"Am I talking too fast?"

My men watch from the large doorway, always needing to be nearby. Some might find it suffocating. I find it calming and necessary to breathe.

"A bit. This place is beautiful, and I always wanted to see inside this townhouse, but I still don't know what I'm doing here."

I take a deep breath and wrap my hands around hers. I feel my men give me the room and I silently thank them for understanding this is a moment I need with my friend.

"When you shared your story with me, I took your words to heart. You could be happy right now if someone had guided you the way you guided me. I want to pay that energy forward and help others get their happily ever after. But I can't do it alone."

The more I explain, the brighter Magnolia's smile turns. And the look of understanding in her pretty hazel eyes gives me the courage this idea of mine isn't as silly as it sometimes seems.

"You want to help women who fear loving so hard and between so many?"

I nod my head. "The morning after is the scariest time. Having other women to share the experience with, get feedback from if needed or just listen and understand is priceless."

I lead her through the spacious front room and out the front door. An abandoned garden spreads out in front of us. Its expanse is only controlled by the edge of the porch and the large brick wall encompassing the one-hundred-and-sixty-year-old home.

"And this place? What will you call it and where do I fit in?"

I feel my men watching from inside, but respectful of my space. I send a wave of love through our connection and get it back threefold.

"It will be the Morning After Society and I want you to be my partner. I can't do it all alone and as you can tell, this place needs a lot of work. Just like us."

Magnolia stops, turns to me. Brows pop up, and the look of confusion on her face makes me want to hug her again. "But you don't even know me. I could be a psycho killer hiding in plain sight. And you are already my boss. Are you sure? Partner?"

I cock a grin. "Err…true to the killer part and boss. But I want to change that. But that much pink on one person should be questioned, but I am willing to forgive if you bring your know-how to here and help get this place going."

"Partner, huh? I do love the Garden District."

"I have a sixth sense about people and I knew it the first time I met you we would become old friends. Our energy… I don't know. You can call it spooky voodoo magic that seems intertwined and rooted deeply into everything about this city. Or just my gut feeling. Really, put any label you want on it, but I know you are a kind soul and that is what matters to me."

She looks around at the weeds and peeled paint. "The Morning After Society, huh?"

"Mmhm. And there's space on the deed for your name."

"I guess this means I'm permanently moving to the Big Easy."

"I guess we both are."

And I am totally okay with leaving Chicago in the rearview. My desire to be an undertaker for my family has found a new venue. One where runners and undertakers are not needed. At least I hope not. There are secrets about the Gilded Key not everyone is privy to. Key bearers are elite members of society, but their knowledge of the intimate workings of the Gilded Key Society stop at the ground level—both metaphorically and physically speaking. To them it's just a sex club.

But it is so much more.

I silently stroke the pad of my thumb over the key newly etched into the tender flesh of my arm. But the real reason my men made the purchase goes deeper than that. The clandestine society within the sex club is where the real power is found. Empires rise from the depths of the society. Thrones are built. And lost.

As the night deepens and the city of New Orleans slumbers, the real Golden Key Society comes alive, its members engaging in activities that will shape the fate of so many. It is a place where fortunes are made and lost, where alliances are forged and shattered, and where the shadows hold secrets that could change the world. And now that it belongs to us, I am determined to make sure we use the power in our hands to do good. I have to for the sake of my new family.

As the night deepens and the city of New Orleans slumbers, the real Golden Key Society comes alive, its members engaging in activities that will shape the fate of so many. It is a place where fortunes are made and lost, where alliances are forged and shattered, and where the shadows hold secrets that could change the world. And now that it belongs to us, I am determined to make sure we use the power to do good. I have to for the sake of my new family.

As the night deepens and the city of New Orleans slumbers, the real Golden Key Society comes alive, its members engaging in activities that will shape the fate of many. It is a place where fortunes are made and lost, where alliances are forged and shattered, and where the shadows hold secrets that could change the world. And now that it belongs to us, I am determined to make sure we use the power to do good. I have to for the sake of my new family.

As the night deepens and the city of New Orleans slumbers, The real Golden Key Society comes alive, its members engaging in activities that will shape the fate of many. It is a place where fortunes are made and lost, where alliances are forged and shattered, and where the shadows hold secrets that could change the world. And now that it belongs to us, I am determined to make sure we use the power to do good. I have to for the sake of my new family.

I find Mirsha, Luther and Viper watching from the second-floor balcony.

I've found my home and they've vowed to never leave my side again and I believe them.

Magnolia disappears inside, and my men find me in the gardens, sitting on a bench by the jasmine a few minutes later.

Two settle on either side of me, while Mirsha comes to crouch in front of me. He brushes the backs of his knuckles over my cheek.

"Thank you," I offer, a moment later. I hold a hand up when I know all three are going to say I don't need to thank them. "I am not thanking you for buying me this beautiful location. I'm thanking you for believing in me. That takes a level of trust no one has given me before and I cherish it as much as I do your love."

Mirsha kisses me first and then Luther. Viper, the greedy bastard, always likes to wait for last so he can take the longest. When he's had his momentary fill, he breaks the kiss but doesn't move away. His lingering touch feeds our connection, and I love his warmth.

"There's nothing you could do that will break our faith in you. Our hearts and souls belong to you. You know this."

I cup Mirsha's face. "I do. And that is why I know what I have to say next will make us all stronger together."

I take their hands and one by one I place them on my abdomen. "It didn't happen on our first night together, but I'm glad that it happened sooner rather than later."

Three sets of eyes widen in surprise. "Are you saying?—"

"Yes," I cut in when they all try to speak over me. "You are all going to be fathers." The joy triples, radiates and buries into the very fabric of this place. Hundreds of years from now, the new owners of this place will feel the energy and my hopes are they find peace in the love we one day leave behind.

"Come here, baby girl," my three godfathers growl possessively. They lift me from the bench and turn me around. My skirts are around my waist and I'm suddenly very exposed. Luckily, the garden walls are high, but poor Magnolia.

We have a list of things we have to take care of today. Meet with the Belladonnas and meet with their fences. They think they are interviewing us, but they are the ones under our microscope. We don't make it easy to become key masters. Trust is earned, not given.

But all that fades away the second their hands caress over my exposed skin. And that is how we christened the garden of the new Morning After Society.

With my heart full of dreams and my future filled with gilded kisses, I take the love my men freely offer. I don't say it, but I believe fate is magical.

T hank you for reading Gilded Kisses. Many secrets were revealed and many more are to come inside the coming releases. Magnolia's reimagined happily ever after is next and you can pre-order your copy by tapping here .

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Behind its gilded doors, the promise of unlocking the most hidden of desires reigns.

Tarnished men, ruled by violence, seek redemption in the innocent women who dare to love them. But can love grow in darkness?

"One night," he promises. "One night and you can walk away from us."

The dark glimmer in his eyes says otherwise.

"Liar."

My secret lover slips me their gilded key. "Only one way to find out," he teases with a heated kiss meant to unlock my secrets and tie my heart to him.

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