Epilogue

THERON

ONE MONTH LATER

Walking into the office, I look around at the men who surround the table. I can’t help but feel as if something is amiss. They are watching me, all of them, waiting for some kind of reaction, but I don’t know what the fuck it is they’re anticipating.

So, instead of standing in front of them and staring back, I decide to say something to break the tension in the room.

“This feels like bad news specifically for me,” I announce.

Merrick clears his throat, which tells me it is bad news. I should probably feel some kind of way about it, but I don’t. I’ve had so much bad news in my life. What’s another thing headed my way?

Instead of being pissed or upset, I arch a brow and wait for whatever the fuck they’re going to tell me because it’s clear that something is going to be said, and I’m not going to like it.

It’s Vaughn who speaks. I watch as he lifts his hand, places his palm on the table, then slides his fingers over the smooth surface. His gaze follows the movement. He’s being dramatic as fuck, which lets me know that this is bigger than I thought.

“Just tell me,” I demand.

“It’s about Lucille,” Hale murmurs.

I almost say no shit because I can’t imagine they would be so hesitant if it weren’t.

I press my lips together. I’m not sure if I care about what anyone else thinks or says about her. Except this is one of my best and oldest friends in the world. The rest of the men in this room are also my brothers. So I don’t interrupt him. I don’t tell him to fuck himself for mentioning my woman.

Instead, I stay quiet, waiting to hear what he has to say. The entire room stays silent to the point where it’s a bit uncomfortable. Unable to stand it a moment longer, I speak.

“What about her?” I ask when he doesn’t continue.

Vaughn clears his throat. “Since she started doing some contract work, I thought it would be a good idea to have a working file on her.”

Listening to him, I nod because he’s right on point. All the people who contract for us in any capacity have working files. I know he wasn’t looking for anything bad; he’s just doing a workup on her.

“Did you call this meeting because you found something?” I ask.

Merrick clears his throat as he shifts uncomfortably in his seat, and that’s when I know he has, indeed, found something, and it must be big because he appears to be supremely uncomfortable.

“Tell me,” I demand.

Balling my fists at my side, I widen my stance, thankful I haven’t sat down yet. I wouldn’t have been able to stay seated for very long. Pressing my lips together, I wait for him to speak, wondering if I'm going to have to get into a fight with one of my best friends in the whole world.

“It took a lot of digging, but something always bothered me about her being on the dark web and how she got hooked up with that. I didn’t find out the how, but I did discover something on there that caused me to pause and dig a bit deeper.”

I inhale a deep breath and hold it for a moment, then let it out slowly. I’m not sure if I should be pissed off or not.

“If you don’t fucking tell me right goddamn now, I’m going to punch you in the face. My fucking wedding is tomorrow.”

My tone is harsh. I know it is, but I need to know whatever it is he found before I say my vows. If she’s fucked me over, then I need to know. Although I’m not sure why I care that much. I’ve owned her for over a month—and loved her for a decade. It’s not like she’s going anywhere anyway.

“Lucille isn’t just on the dark web. She put herself up for a hit or purchase.”

His words start out strong, but by the time he gets to the end of his revelation, I hear nothing but white noise. There is no way that Vaughn just said what I think he did. Shock doesn’t begin to describe how I feel at this moment. I’m finding it hard to breathe, let alone think.

Opening my mouth, I think about asking him to repeat himself but then decide not to. Snapping my lips closed, I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from saying something that I’m going to regret. I inhale through my nose, let my breath out of my mouth, then jerk my chin toward him.

“You’re certain it was her?” I ask.

Vaughn hums. “I’m certain it was her.”

I’m not sure what to say about any of that. I want to find Lucille right fucking now and have a conversation with her. A long conversation. I want to fucking know what the goddamn fuck she was thinking.

“Lucille’s in your office,” Hale mutters.

Without another word, I spin around and march out of the room, heading straight for my office. I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I get there. Reaching for the door, I push it open and move into the space, slamming it behind me. Then I jerk my chin up and look down my nose at her.

Lucille is sitting on the edge of my desk, her arms behind her, gripping the edge. When the door slams, she lifts her head, and her eyes find mine.

“Theron,” she whispers.

Shaking my head once, I watch as she snaps her lips closed, no doubt feeling my energy, which is not to be fucked with right now. Standing in front of the closed door, I cross my arms over my chest and press my lips together, exhaling a deep breath before I speak.

“You want to start talking?” I ask.

She doesn’t say a word. Instead, she pushes off the desk and turns toward me but doesn’t make a move in my direction. She begins to strip out of her clothes. As pissed as I am, what I don’t do is tell her to stop.

When Lucille is completely naked, she hops back on my desk and crosses her legs. “Is this your way of telling me that you don’t want to talk to me?” I ask.

She shrugs her shoulder, then clears her throat slightly. “I’ll talk to you,” she says, but I don’t believe her.

“Want to tell me how you ended up putting yourself on the sale, kill, or trade black market?” I ask.

To her credit, Lucille doesn’t seem the least bit surprised that I know. When she slowly lifts her gaze to meet mine, I see that she isn’t just unsurprised. She has something of her own to add.

“And you know this because you bought me, right?” she asks.

Color me fucking shocked. “When did you figure it out?” I take a step closer to her, trying to keep from reaching for her, picking her up, and fucking her against the edge of the table… I still might do just that.

“About the time the transaction went through.”

My lips twitch into a smirk. “You took two million dollars from me without a fucking word,” I say.

She shrugs a shoulder, then spreads her thighs. I slide my gaze between her legs, mesmerized by her cunt. I’ve been inside of her more times than I can count, especially over the last month, but seeing her nakedness will never get old.

Pressing my lips together, I tear my eyes away from her pussy and connect my gaze to hers. “You could have been killed, Lucille,” I state.

“I could have,” she confesses. “But you wouldn’t let that happen.”

“So, you manipulated me.”

Her lips curve up into a smirk. “In a way, but I didn’t force you into buying me or keeping me,” she says.

“Which is exactly what a manipulator would say.”

Moving closer to her, I roll the sleeves of my shirt up and close the rest of the distance between us. Stopping in front of her, I look down my nose and into her eyes. Her head is tipped backward, her eyes on mine.

“I don’t think you mind, Theron.”

The truth is that I don’t. It’s sexy as fuck that she wanted me to herself so fucking bad that she was willing to list herself up for murder on that stupid fucking site. I cup her cheek and run my thumb across her bottom lip, my eyes following the path before I speak.

“I don’t fucking mind, not in the goddamn slightest, and that’s why we’re meant for one another.”

Tilting my head to the side, I slam my lips against hers—hard. My tongue slips inside of her. I need to taste her before I fuck her mouth. My fingers glide through her center, and I moan at the wetness that greets me.

Breaking the kiss only when I need to breathe, I shift my head backward slightly and look into her eyes as I continue to fuck her with my fingers. She grips the edges of the desk, her nails digging into the wood, and I hope that she leaves marks that I can look at every fucking day. Pressing my thumb against her clit, I lean forward and touch my lips to hers again, but I don’t kiss her. “Come all over my fingers, sweetheart. Show me how much you want to keep me. How much you want to marry me.”

Lucille doesn’t reach for me. She doesn’t pull me closer to her. Instead, she slowly lies back so she’s flat on the desk.

Fuck me.

As much as I want to pull my hand out from between her legs, I don’t. I need her to come on my fingers first before I slide my cock inside of her. I’m not sure I'm going to last long. I continue to move my thumb against her clit and curl my fingers inside of her, and it only takes me a few more seconds until she cries out as her body jerks against my desk.

Fucking gorgeous.

Shoving my pants and underwear down, I reach out and grab hold of her thighs, tugging her to the edge of the desk. At the same time, I thrust my hips forward and bury myself inside of her still pulsing cunt.

Again.

Fucking gorgeous.

Tugging her body toward me, I thrust my hips forward and watch as her tits bounce with each move.

“I own you, Lucille,” I growl.

She reaches forward to wrap her fingers around my forearms. I don’t stop moving hard and fast. I watch as her body sways with each thrust and pull, using her body to jack my cock, and it’s fucking beautiful.

Biting the inside of my cheek, I can’t take my gaze off her body. I’m lost to myself, lost inside of her, and when she comes, I don’t expect it, and my own orgasm is ripped from my body.

Letting out a gasp, I look into her eyes. She opens her own, and a smile plays on her lips. Burying myself inside of her, I fill her body with my cum and watch as she takes it, takes me. It’s fucking beautiful, just like her.

“You seem pleased with yourself,” I state.

“Pleased in general,” she whispers.

Releasing her leg, I place my hand on the center of her belly and slowly glide it up the middle of her body before I curl my fingers around the front of her throat. Staying inside of her, I lean over her body and touch my lips to hers, but I don’t deepen the kiss.

“You keep something this big from me, you won’t like the outcome,” I grind out against her mouth. “You really won’t like it, and I can guarantee it will not end like this.”

“Okay,” she exhales. “I love you, Theron. I always have.”

Straightening, I keep my fingers firmly wrapped around her throat before I squeeze her there. “I love you, too, Lucille, but this can never happen again. My whole team knew this shit before I did. That makes me look like a fucking idiot.”

She bites her bottom lip, her wide eyes find mine, and then she lets out a long exhale before she responds. “I’m sorry. I never intended?—”

Touching my mouth to hers, I effectively shut her up. “I know what you did and what you didn’t. I know you would never purposely make me look like a fool. But that is what happened, so no more secrets.”

“No more secrets,” she whispers.

That is fucking that. “Let’s get married tomorrow, sweetheart,” I mutter against her lips.

LUCILLE

SIX MONTHS LATER

Reaching for the headboard, my fingers curl around the wood as I push my ass backward. Theron’s fingers grip my hips as he thrusts; I can feel his hips press against my ass. My boobs sway with each thrust, and I tip my head backward, closing my eyes as he continues to pound inside of me.

Being married has not dulled our sex lives one ounce. In fact, I think it’s gotten better. Theron’s fist grasps my hair and tugs my head back a little farther. My back arches, and he slams into me, burying himself deep inside of my body.

So.

Good.

“Touch yourself, sweetheart,” he says, but it’s not a question; it is a demand.

And what a delicious demand it is. I do just that. Releasing one of my hands from the headboard, I slip it between my legs, and I begin to touch myself. It won’t take me long to get there. Once, twice, three times, and I come.

It rolls through me, slowly building until it is all I feel. A constant, seemingly never-ending orgasm that consumes my entire body. I wish it would continue forever. That I could stay just like this until I die.

Theron continues to move inside of me during my orgasm. I almost ask him to stop. The sensations are too much, too intense, but I don’t ever want this to end, no matter how it feels.

He stills inside of me when his own orgasm rocks throughout his body, and then he folds over my back, his lips touching the side of my neck. “Fuck,” he hisses. “I love the absolute shit out of you, Luce.”

“I love you, too, Theo. So damn much it aches.”

He chuckles, his warm breath sliding against my ear. “I think you ache from my cock, sweetheart, not from love.”

“Po-tay-to, pot-tah-to,” I murmur.

He nips the edge of my ear and, unfortunately, slips from my body and lies on his back. Releasing my grip on the headboard, I shakily shift so that I can lie down beside him. He gathers me in his arms and tugs me against his side.

Looking up at him, I hold my breath for a moment, taking in just how absolutely gorgeous he is. There is something about Theron having just come that makes him look stunning, or maybe it’s because I’ve just come, and he was inside of me. I’m not sure I care as long as I continue having orgasms from him.

“I have to go out of town next week,” he announces.

I push up slightly, my palm pressing against his chest as I straighten my arm and look down at him. My gaze searches his, unsure that he’s just said that. We’ve been working somewhat together, and this is the first I’ve heard of him leaving.

“What do you mean you’re going out of town?” I snap.

His lips twitch into a smirk. One of his hands slides up my back before his fingers tangle in the strands of my hair. Gently, he tugs my head down, and my mouth touches his. His tongue slides across my bottom lip.

I lift my head, and he releases his grip on my hair. Shifting backward slightly, I keep my gaze connected to his as I wait for whatever his explanation is.

“Merrick needs me in New York,” he murmurs. “It’s about Colette.”

Oh, Colette. Merricks estranged wife, Colette, whose father is a mobster and forced their hand in marriage. That Colette. I only met her at my wedding, but she seemed nice enough. Extremely shy and quiet, but nice enough.

She definitely is not going to put a hit out on herself or sell herself to keep her man. “Are you going to tell me what it is?” I ask.

Theron shakes his head before he cups my cheek and glides his thumb across my bottom lip. I can’t take my eyes off his. Just a few months ago, I was watching him from afar, stalking him, wishing I were right here again.

I will fight to stay where I am. Never again will I let him walk away from me. There is nothing he can say or do to get rid of me. He bought me, and he is keeping me—forever, especially now that I’m having his baby.

“It’s not for me to tell. I’m just going as support for Merrick.”

It’s my turn to laugh. “You mean as backup?”

“Basically.”

Then something ugly slides throughout my belly. “Don’t you dare let anything happen to you,” I snap.

He slides his hand around the back of my neck and gently squeezes me as he guides my face down toward his again. “Nothing could keep me from this bed, from your side, Luce.”

“It better not,” I mutter against his lips. “You’re the only person I’ve ever loved, Theron Henderson.”

He hums against my lips before he speaks, and when he does, a thrill of desire slides down my spine. “You’re the only person I have ever wanted to wake up beside. The only person I would buy for two million dollars without batting an eyelash. And the absolute only person I could fall in love with.”

My heart swells, and I wonder if I should tell him my news right now. I had planned on waiting until his birthday next month, but now that he’s going to be leaving, I think he needs to know. Or maybe it’s just the fact that I can’t keep this inside for another minute without bursting.

I hold my breath for a moment, then let it out slowly before I tell him what I’ve been holding inside for almost three whole hours.

My words come out in a whisper. My eyes fill with wetness, and then tears begin to fall down my cheeks in a steady stream. I can’t hold back the fact that I am going to have a baby with the only man I’ve ever loved. A man who I thought was lost to me. A man who I watched from a distance and wished would come back to me.

“You’re the only man I would make a baby with.”

His eyes widen as a deafening silence hangs between us. I watch him, waiting for his verbal reaction, but he just stares at me. Pressing my lips together, I try not to demand he say something. I need to know right now just what is going through his head.

Then, without saying a word, he pulls my head back down so that my lips are on his. Effortlessly, he rolls me onto my back, his hips fitting between mine. Staying silent, he slides inside of my body, burying himself to the root.

I wrap my arms around him and hold on, wishing I could look up into his eyes. I can feel the wetness of my tears sliding down the sides of my face and onto the pillow when his tongue slips out and swirls around my mouth, tasting me.

Theron’s hips move, his length sliding in and out of my body. I’m still sensitive from earlier and let out a hiss as he grinds his pelvis against my clit. Nibbling on my bottom lip, he breaks the kiss before he lifts his head and his gaze finds mine.

“My baby?” he asks on a downstroke.

Shaking my head once, I smile up at him. “Our baby, Theron.”

“Fuck me,” he growls. “I never thought I was capable of this or that I would ever want this.” He continues to move inside of me with every word he speaks. “But I don’t think I could ever be happier than I am in this moment.”

I lift my hands between us as a fresh wave of tears rolls down the sides of my temples to cup his cheeks.

“I didn’t think this reality was even possible. Thank you for choosing me, Theron.”

He shakes his head, his eyes searching mine for a moment, then lowers his head again before his lips brush against mine. “You didn’t give me much of a choice, Luce, but I’m thankful as fuck about that.”

I didn’t give him much of a choice, and if I could do it all over again, I would have tried all my tactics a lot earlier… like years earlier. But I know it all happened the way it was meant to happen, even if it felt almost like a form of torture at the time.

It’s perfection now.

Every minute of every day is better than the one before.