Epilogue

Bo — four weeks later

M y doorbell rang late on Friday evening. With a groan, I got up from the couch. Max, the new kid on our team, had tried to deflect a shot, and hit first my thigh, then my face with his stick. Both parts of me now sported deep blue bruises and hurt like a bitch.

When I limped to the front door and balanced on one leg to open for the pizza delivery guy, it was with the greatest difficulty that I didn't topple over and landed on my ass.

"Good evening, Mr Persson. I hope this isn't a bad time," he said with a cheeky smirk before he took in my appearance and the seductive smile died on his face. "Oh my God, darling, what happened to you?"

"?lskling?" I asked in a feeble voice, unsure if he was an apparition or not. Do I have a concussion? Or am I haemorrhaging?

"Surprise." Ollie took a step nearer, wincing when he saw me in the hallway's light lamp. Soft hands came up to my cheeks, palming them, and I suppressed a sigh when he got on tiptoes to be even closer.

"I love you," I blurted out. If this was indeed a sign of my brain giving out on me, the last thing I wanted to do was tell him how I felt about him.

He stopped his scrutiny, huffed, before pressing a soft kiss on my lips. "I love you, too. Let's get you back inside. You need rest, and a nurse. Good thing I'm here."

"Why are you here?" I asked once I was half stretched out on the couch with him hovering over me, surprised when he blushed.

"Were you hungry for me, ?lskling?" It wasn't as if I could do anything about it right now. Well, I supposed I could lie down and let him use me to quell his hunger. Gods . The mere idea made my cock thicken in my pants.

"Always." Leaning down, he pecked me again on the lips, an adoring smile on his face. "But I didn't come here just to sleep with you, darling. I—" He broke off, took a deep breath, and went on. "I've come to stay. If you want me to, I mean, I can always go back…"

The rest of his sentence came out as a muffled mumbling, because I dragged him down on my body and devoured his mouth.

"Are you serious?" Unable to keep the tears at bay, I stared up at him.

Please don't let this be a joke.

"Yeah, I am. Noah took over my job at LFD. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I thought I'd probably find a job here. If not, I'll just be your trophy husband. Bo!" Ollie gasped when I turned us around on the couch, ignoring my aching body.

"Did you mean that?"

"What?" He looked flushed and flustered, hips subtly bucking up to rub himself on my hard cock.

"That you will be my husband," I rasped, so close to losing my shit.

"Well, yeah. Unless you don't want to—"

He broke off again, looking up at me with concern as I burst into tears. Hiding my face at his neck, I cried until I got a grip on myself.

"Darling, it's okay if you don't want…"

Pushing up off his body, I gripped his throat, my subconscious brain marvelling for a moment at how gorgeous he looked with a hand necklace, and a deep, dangerous snarl rumbled in my chest.

"I. Want. You. Oliver Bright. All of you, forever," I told him, feeling surprisingly calm after my little breakdown. "I make enough money for both of us. You can exist and look great and go out to buy more books all day. Perhaps get a dog to keep you company when I'm not there? Whatever makes you happy, I want you to have it."

His mouth had fallen open while I spoke.

Not an easy feat lying on your back.

"Marry me, Oliver."

The first cautious nod almost made my heart burst in my chest.

"Oh my God, yes. Yes, of course." He was crying, too, slinging his arms around my neck and pulling me in for a kiss. "Oh no, I forgot you're hurt, darling."

"Me, too. It's not too bad. Well, my thigh aches a lot," I whispered against his mouth. "Maybe you can kiss it better?"

Ollie snorted and shook his head at me. "You're unbelievable." And yet he pressed a small peck on my bruised cheekbone, then one more, a little closer to my eye, barely touching my skin so he wouldn't hurt me. "Poor baby," he crooned, kissing down my cheek and slanting his mouth over mine again. "Let's get you into bed so I can have a closer look at your thigh. I'll take care of you, my love."

And I knew he would, as would I, of my future husband. As much as I loved my sport and how great winning felt, he was the only trophy I ever truly cared about.

THE END