Epilogue

“Good morning.” Byron kissed Cassie’s neck and inhaled her scent. She made his mouth water, and he longed to kiss every inch of her body. But the light streaming in from the window told him they did not have time for a leisurely morning of making love.

“Good morning.” She turned in his arms and cupped his face in her hands. “I love it here.”

“So do I.” He bent his head and captured her lips in a gentle kiss. His tongue slipped into her mouth, tasting the sweetness of her. He was sure he would never tire of kissing her. As he slid his hand under her nightgown and cupped her breast, she giggled. Not the reaction he was going for.

“I did not mean here in bed,” she said as their kiss broke. “I meant here on Cairnnor. The light is different somehow.”

“It’s the mountains,” Byron said.

“What?” She wrinkled her brow in confusion.

“The mountains.” He looked out the window toward the distant peaks. “They reflect the light differently, bend it in ways that make everything seem...magical.”

Cassie smiled, drawing his attention back to her. “Magical, huh?”

“Lately, I have seen the magic in everything around me,” Byron said.

“And what magic do you see right now?” Cassie nestled closer into his side, her fingers tracing lazy circles on his chest.

Byron brushed a finger down her cheek, his touch featherlight. “I see magic in your smile, in the way your eyes light up when you’re happy. I see it in every little thing you do.”

Cassie stared up at his face. “My, Byron, you might be starting to live up to your name after all.”

Byron smothered a smile. “I thought it was a little cheesy.”

“Don’t spoil the moment,” she told him and slid a hand down between their bodies, curling her fingers around his shaft. He was already hard, and her touch sent shivers down his spine. Byron groaned softly, his breath hitching as he pressed against her palm.

“Cassie,” he murmured. Byron placed his hand gently over hers and closed his eyes, savoring the sensations flooding his body.

“Byron,” she whispered against his ear and then captured it with her mouth, her teeth grazing the sensitive skin. Byron’s breath hitched again, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer as her hand moved in slow, tantalizing strokes.

He wanted her. Damn, he always wanted her. Sometimes, when he lay awake next to her in their bed, he wondered how he had survived without her by his side. She completed him in so many ways.

And more than that, she got him. She understood him like no one else ever had.

He slipped his hand under her nightgown and rubbed his finger over the taut bud of her nipple. Cassie gasped, and Byron cupped her breast in his hand. She kissed him deeply, her tongue dueling with his, and Byron knew he would never tire of kissing her. As long as they lived, he would need her kisses to sustain him.

But he wanted to do more than kiss her. He wanted to claim her.

Pushing her nightgown up, he broke their kiss and lowered his head, capturing her breast with his mouth. His tongue teased the hardened nipple circling around and around until she writhed beneath him. She tasted sweet and salty, and Byron loved the way she moaned when he flicked his tongue over the sensitive bud.

Reaching down between their bodies, Byron ran his thumb over the nub at the apex of her thighs. Cassie gasped, her body arching off the bed and into his touch. She was already wet, and he groaned against her breast as he pushed two fingers inside her. Cassie whimpered, and Byron continued to torture her breast as his fingers slid in and out of her.

Her hand tightened around his shaft, and Byron knew that if she didn’t stop soon, he wouldn’t be able to control himself. Pulling back, he glanced at her face. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes gleamed with desire.

Byron didn’t think he’d ever seen anyone as beautiful as she was in that moment.

He kissed her lips and pulled his fingers out of her. Cassie’s hips lifted, seeking his touch.

Shifting his weight, he eased her legs apart and positioned himself between them. She was ready for him, her body eager for him. Byron kissed her again, savoring the taste of her mouth on his.

When he thrust forward, driving deep inside her, he was not prepared for the sheer pleasure that flooded his body. Byron moaned, his hips moving faster as his tongue entwined with hers. They were connected in every possible way, and it made his heart ache with love and longing.

Cassie broke their kiss, her finger and thumb tweaking his nipple before she licked it with the flat of her tongue. She knew exactly how to drive him wild, and Byron drove deeper still the pressure building. He knew he would not last long. She shifted her weight, wrapped her legs around his waist, and angled her hips to take him even deeper.

As he moved within her, Byron found it impossible to tear his eyes away from her. There was something so arousing about watching her expression as he claimed her. The way her eyes closed and her teeth dug into her lower lip, while her hands gripped the sheets beneath them. He slowed, circling his hips, stretching her wider. Cassie moaned and tightened her muscles, clamping down on his shaft.

Byron couldn’t hold back any longer. He grabbed her hips, driving into her over and over. She clung to him, her nails digging into his back, her gasps and moans urging him on. Byron felt his orgasm approaching and his whole body tensed as he gave one final thrust, spilling his seed into her.

Cassie’s inner walls convulsed around him as she cried out, her orgasm taking her over the edge. Byron buried his face in her hair, breathing in her scent. He could have stayed here with her forever.

A cry pierced the air, shattering their moment of intimacy.

Byron’s head snapped up. “He’s awake.”

Cassie rolled away from him and inched over to the edge of the bed. “He certainly knows how to get our attention.”

Byron chuckled. “In his defense, he doesn’t have to try too hard. Let me get him.”

Byron pulled on his pants and stepped into the adjoining room where their baby boy, Spenser, cooed from his crib. The instant Spenser saw Byron, his tiny face lit up with a gummy smile, his chubby arms reaching up toward his father. Byron’s heart swelled with a mixture of pride and love as he scooped the little one into his arms.

“There’s my little dragon,” Byron murmured softly, gently rocking Spenser back and forth. He kissed the top of Spenser’s head, the scent of sweet baby shampoo filling his senses. Cassie appeared at the doorway, her eyes soft as she watched Byron with their son.

“He’s adorable when he wakes up,” she said, walking over to join them, her fingers brushing against Byron’s arm. “And you...you’re pretty adorable yourself, you know that?”

Byron smiled sheepishly. “I try,” he said, his voice filled with a tenderness that only Cassie could bring out in him. “But nothing competes with this little one.”

Cassie leaned closer, resting her head on Byron’s shoulder as she reached out to stroke Spenser’s cheek. “I still can’t believe how lucky we are to have him and each other.” Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, as if saying it too loudly would break the spell of their perfect little family.

Byron turned slightly to kiss Cassie’s forehead, his lips lingering there as he closed his eyes, savoring the moment. “Me neither.”

Nor me, his dragon said happily.

“Come here.” Cassie held out her arms and Byron handed Spenser to her. “I’ll feed him while you go and make breakfast.”

“Breakfast coming up.” Byron tickled Spenser under the chin and then backed out of the room as Cassie sat down in the chair in the corner of the nursery.

Before the competition at The Lonely Tavern, before he met Cassie, he’d accepted that he would never raise his child in this house. That he would never cradle his own son or daughter in his arms in the same nursery where his mom and dad had cradled him.

But how wrong he was.

Who would have thought that a fake date could have turned into something so real,his dragon said.

Or that Oswald was the one faking it all along, Byron gnashed his teeth together at the thought of his cousin’s lies.

Thanks to Cassie’s crystal ball, Oswald’s visit to The Fickle Cauldron had revealed the truth about Byron’s cousin. Oswald had not met his mate and the boy he claimed was his heir, and heir to the family fortune, was not even his.

Dirty rotten faker, his dragon, ground out.

But then they also owed him a debt of gratitude. If Oswald had not concocted this whole fake mate thing, and fake heir, then Byron might never have followed Sophie’s advice and come to Wishing Moon Bay. He might never have stepped foot in the tavern that fateful night.

He might never have found his beloved Cassie.

“Ah, there you are, Byron,” his mom said as Byron entered the kitchen. “I thought I heard the little one was awake.”

“He cries so loud, I’m sure the whole of Cairnnor knows he is awake,” Byron said.

“And it’s the sweetest sound,” his mom said. “Coffee?”

“Please.” Byron glanced at the wide clock on the kitchen wall. The same clock that had ticked away the seconds of his childhood, now marking time for a new generation. “We’re running late. I’ll make Cassie tea to go.”

“Ah, your trip to Wishing Moon Bay,” his mom said.

“Yes. It’s already been a year since the couples’ competition and the Regulars want to celebrate with a get-together.”

“And what a year it’s been. A wedding, a baby…” His mom handed him a cup of coffee. “You sit and drink that while I make Cassie some tea.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Byron took the cup and settled into one of the wooden chairs at the kitchen table. The chair creaked familiarly under his weight, and he smiled at the memory of all the meals and conversations that had taken place around this very table.

His mother bustled about, setting a kettle on the stove and selecting Cassie’s favorite tea blend from the wooden tea caddy, intricately carved with a scale motif. There was so much of his family’s history in this house.

And so much history for us to make,his dragon said.

Joy filled Byron, and as Cassie came downstairs with Spenser in her arms, he felt compelled to break into…poetry.

Oh, no! His dragon lay his head down on the ground and covered it with his wings.

Byron stood and cleared his throat. “She Works in Magic,

She works in magic, with a smile so bright,

In jeans and boots, she’s pure delight;

A blue shirt wrapped in daily grind,

Her headscarf holds her hair confined;

Yet spells misfire and potions spill,

Her charm remains my heart’s sweet thrill.

Her shop, The Fickle Cauldron’s name,

With trinkets wild and charms untamed;

Malfunctions spark, yet still she tries,

In every spell, a sweet surprise;

Our son, a wonder, more precious than gold,

In her embrace, a love untold.

One wand misplaced, one potion wrong,

Yet in her heart, where I belong;

A witch whose magic may go awry,

But perfect she is, in my eye;

For Cassie, love, in work boots stands,

Her magic woven through our hands.”

“Oh, Byron,” his mom said, all misty-eyed.

“Oh, Byron,” Cassie said, an amused smile on her face.

Oh, Byron,his dragon shook his head in dismay.

“That was perfect,” his mom gushed.

“It was very me,” Cassie said as she came to him and kissed his cheek. “And very you.”

“I love you, Cassie,” Byron murmured. “And I love you, too.” He kissed Spenser on the cheek.

Maybe when they reached The Lonely Tavern, he might whisper a thank you to its walls, whether it heard him or not.

But part of Byron was sure it did. That it was a thinking, feeling being of some kind.

With the heart of a poet,his dragon said.