Epilogue

Sadie

Aore, Island in Vanuatu, Six Months Later

T he coolness of the sand caressed my feet as I sank them deeper into the soft ground. Leaning back in my chair, I stretched my arms over my head and stared out at the sparkling, deep-blue water. There was nothing more perfect than this.

As I closed my eyes to allow the sun to hit my cheeks, a little furry weight jumped on my leg.

“Hey, sweetie,” I said to Poe, watching him climb up and plop down on my chest. I ran my hand over his soft fur, listening to him purr loudly, as if he knew it would help to lull me into a relaxed state. The sight of him filled me with bittersweet joy.

My mind returned the moment I got him back. I was grateful that Mason decided to take care of my cat after he had called the police, keeping him until it was safe for us to return. I didn’t want to put him in danger, so Keelan broke into his home while he was at the bookshop, stole my cat back, and left another nice little Post-it note. It was just enough for him to know it was me, but not enough information where he’d have to lie to the authorities if they ever searched for us.

Keelan sat my drink on the little table beside me and leaned down, kissing me on the forehead. “Here,” he said, handing me his phone. “Take a look.”

I sat up quickly but wrapped my arms around Poe so he wouldn’t leap off my lap. The LA Times was on the screen. Right at the top was a photo of Keelan and me from when we got engaged, along with an article about how I was missing and presumed dead.

It was a risk we took, but it was a necessary one. Before we had met with my father, I had given Brian a few vials of my blood. We had staged the scene perfectly on my father’s boat, which he kept inside the Cabrillo Marina.

According to the article, they found the yacht floating idling off the western coast, with my blood, Keelan’s DNA, and a handgun with his fingerprints. On the edge, they discovered a torn shirt, where police believed Keelan Blake shot himself after murdering Sadie Ryan, daughter of the disgraced Los Angeles mayor, and fell into the water. The sea claimed both bodies, and the Ryan and Blake families mourned their deaths.

Though necessary for our escape, I hated that the world believed he would ever do that to me.

After escaping under new identities, we found a small home on the island, away from death and crime. There was always fear that the authorities would come to find us, though. But for now, Brian held up his end of the deal, and we could live in peace .

“Brian did one more thing for us,” he said. “Well, one more thing for someone I knew.”

“Who?”

Keelan took the phone from me and opened another article. The story was posted without a photo but with a headline stating that Andrew Wright, a former FBI agent, had been exonerated after new evidence surfaced and cleared him of wrongdoing. Shawn Daniels investigated the case, arresting the corrupt agents involved in framing him.

Keelan explained that it was Daniels who picked up the files at the cemetery.

I turned to look at him. “See,” I said. “You’re not as much of a monster as you pretended to be back then. You care about people, Keelan Blake.”

Keelan rolled his eyes and brought his bottle of beer to his lips. “I can show you much how I care,” he said seductively, biting his bottom lip.

God, why are men like this?

I placed Poe on the sand and watched him stretch before curling up into a ball under the beach umbrella by the coconut tree. Surprisingly, Poe enjoyed the beach, which some might think was odd for a cat, but we never had to worry about him wandering off to the ocean. He made his home here just like we did.

Keelan stood up and walked over to me, his body blocking the sun and creating a shadow over my face. “Stand up,” he ordered, and I very much obliged.

He sat on my lawn chair, and he pushed down his swim trunks, pulling his cock free and pumping it a few times.

“Ride it,” he demanded, and I shook my head.

“Keelan,” I said as my cheeks flushed. My lips parted, but I was quick to recover and remember that we weren’t alone. No matter how much I wished we were. “We still have neighbors we share a beachfront with.”

Keelan’s eyes turned dark. Clearly, he cared about our surroundings far less than I did. “I said ride my fucking cock, princess.”

Now it wasn’t just my flushed cheeks reacting as my stomach flipped and my core ached for him to slide inside.

I looked around the beach, ensuring no one else was outside watching the show. We were alone—for now, at least. I moved on top of his lap, pushing my bikini bottoms to the side. To any potential by-passers, we would’ve likely looked like a couple exchanging affection at this point. I positioned myself above him, straddling his hips and gradually moving down over his hard cock, his hand gently helping him slide inside. My brows furrowed as he filled me up, stretching me out with his size. He felt so damn good from this angle, rubbing up against all the sweet spots.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” he teased, leaning in and kissing the bridge of my neck and gliding his tongue to my ear as I began to bounce up and down his length. My hands gripped his shoulders, using them for additional support as I moved against him. My breaths were heavy already as the tip of his length hit so fucking deep, causing a trail of goosebumps to move up my back. “That’s my good fucking girl. Ride my cock, just like that.”

Keelan gripped the straps of my bikini top and pulled them over my shoulders. He leaned forward and exposed one of my breasts before putting it in his mouth and sucking. His tongue lashed against my nipple mercilessly, only intensifying the pleasure that was already coursing through me.

“Keelan,” I cried out, throwing my head back. One of my hands drifted upward, knotting in his hair and yanking him closer to ensure he didn’t pull back. He nipped at my breasts, just enough to cause me to wince and moan at the same time with a mix of pleasure and pain.

“God, your pussy was made for me,” he praised, the words coming out muffled against my skin. “So fucking tight. So fucking beautiful.”

This time, he took my entire left breast in his hand, sucking, squeezing, and teasing as he thrust up to push himself deeper inside me. His hands rested on my hips, helping to guide my pace. He had me right where he wanted me. I moved faster now, my pussy clenching around him, having to brace myself on his shoulders to keep from falling. The chair below us squeaked against the sand, threatening to snap under the force of our movements.

“Don’t slow down,” he said, lifting his hips again while I rode him faster. His eyes were almost pleading, filled with so much lust. “Don’t fucking slow down, Sadie. Fuck, your pussy feels so goddamn good around my cock. Just like that, baby.”

“Keelan, I can’t—” I stammered, wanting to let him know I was close. So close to the point where I couldn’t hold it back anymore. I could no longer hold in my cries, either, as I practically shouted his name, quickly burying my face into his neck to stifle any more sounds threatening to leave my lips. The neighbors were absolutely getting a show now.

I came hard and fast, soaking his cock in my arousal, my entire body shaking as I struggled to breathe. Keelan still kept a firm grip on my hips, thrusting himself upward to ram his cock inside me. “So needy, aren’t you? You need to come all over me more than once .…”

“Keelan—” I gasped for air, still shaking. My pussy was throbbing as he continued to fuck me, to where I could practically feel my insides shake with his force. “I can’t—”

“Oh, you can. My dick was made for you, princess,” he said soothingly, still guiding my body against his. Every time I bounced on him, a tingle of pleasure shot through my entire body. I wasn’t sure how long I would last this time, but I wanted to hold on for him. I wanted us to come together. My teeth sunk into my bottom lip, my eyes rolling back into my skull as I leaned back slightly. Keelan placed his hand between us, slipping his thumb against my wetness and circling my clit, stimulating me further. Fuck. Fuck, that felt too good.

Our bodies slapped together as my breathing became heavier all over again, and I was hanging on by a thread.

Keelan’s other hand gripped my thigh tighter as I slowed, unable to take the pleasure, directing me to roll my hips into his slow yet rough touch.

“I want to feel you come all over my cock again, Sadie,” he murmured, watching himself slide in and out of me, our juices soaking the fabric of my bikini. “Are you going to be a good girl and give me what I want, baby?” Before I had the chance to respond, he pulled me close, so he could bite down on the skin of my neck. This time, he clamped down, hard and feral.

Oh, my fucking God. It only spread another wave of pleasure through me, pushing me closer to that point of no return—so painful that I was sure he had broken my skin, and I loved every second of it as he marked me.

Marked me again.

“I’m going to come. You feel way too fucking good,” he said as Keelan lifted his lips from my skin. It was as if those words gave me one last push of energy, making me desperate to reach that peak with him. I sped up, using my knees to brace myself on the chair. After a few more thrusts, my orgasm hit, and a wave of euphoria washed over me. My lips parted, but no sound would come out as I shook on top of him. Keelan released his grip on me and quickly wrapped his arms around my body. He yanked me even closer while I whimpered and quivered against him, drowning in pleasure.

“Fuck yes,” he groaned. “Drench my cock again, baby.” Keelan didn’t last much longer after that, his head falling back into the chair as he came, filling me up as our pleasure dragged on—neither of us could breathe properly.

I didn’t immediately move off him as we both came down but leaned into him instead, resting my chest against his as he reclined in the chair. His cum dripped down my thigh, and honestly, I didn’t care. I was too spent even to consider moving or standing up.

The only sounds now were our heavy breaths and waves crashing against the shore.

“I’ll never get bored of this,” Keelan said, running his hand over my sweat-coated hair.

“Fucking me like this in front of our neighbors? Someone actually might call the police on us, Keelan,” I pointed out, and he chuckled .

“God,” he murmured, brushing my hair from my face. “I can’t believe you’re mine, Sadie. You’re actually mine.”

I looked up and placed my left hand on his chest, running my fingers in circles over his tattoos, the pink diamond ring glittering in the sunlight. “I’ve always been yours, Keelan Blake. My body is branded by your marks, remember?”

It was as if those words stirred something feral within him. He threaded his hands through my hair and tightened his grip. Even through the pain, he was everywhere at once. He had marked my body and soul, making me his in all senses of the word. He kissed me, and my heart felt whole.

I bore his sinful marks—stained by darkness and pain—branded by obsession and unconditional love. Keelan Blake was my destruction and my empowerment. He was my captor and my savior.

He. Was. Mine.