Epilogue

EPILOGUE

SIX MONTHS LATER

Violet

Cain stands with his back to me, his hands shoved into his pockets, staring at the blue, blue sky over the ocean. I take a moment to admire him before I walk over. From here, the blue sky outlines his large, masculine frame. His shadow on the ground before him could be a giant. I remember thinking of him as the fabled Paul Bunyan. His thick, dark brown hair is tousled, and I know exactly how it got that way after this morning's romp. He never bothered to fix it. He knows I like it a little on the long side so I can tangle my fingers in it.

He looks to his left, but not at me, and I can see the ruggedly masculine face and square jaw, still darkened with a five o'clock shadow that never seems to go away. When he looks at me, I feel the power he holds, his intelligence and wit. But as I've gotten to know him… as I've grown to love him… a bit of the hurt he carries has seemed to dissipate. Maybe it's only my imagination. Or maybe he's found a way to heal.

Healing.

It's a wonder that two people so capable of love could hurt one another so easily. It's a wonder that the very same people are the ones that bring healing.

I marvel at his strength, his power, and all that makes him whole, before I come up behind him.

"Cain." He startles when I call his name. That's unlike him.

"I don't know if I've ever seen you jump when someone came up behind you. Are you losing your skills in your advanced age, sir?"

He smirks, his eyes twinkling. "No, babe. I think you're the only one who could do that to me."

"Oh?" I come up beside him and nuzzle my head on his shoulder. He drapes a heavy arm around my shoulders. "And why's that?"

"Because you're such a part of who I am, it's as natural as breathing to have you with me."

"Now, as romantic as that sounds, it's a lie, Mr. Master."

He chuckles, the sound rolling through me with a delicious heat.

"Oh?"

"It is. You know where I am, at all times. If you're not by my side, one of the guys is, and you make sure that I'm safe from the moment I wake up until the moment I go to bed, and even when I go to sleep."

A shadow darkens his eyes for such a brief moment, I almost miss it. "Do you feel smothered, Violet?"

I shake my head. I know the answer to this question. "No. I feel… loved."

For the first time in my life.

I know that if I decided to leave, he'd let me. He let me go once, even though I know it pained him to do so, and he'd do it again if he had to. It would wound him… scar him, even… but I'm certain that if I needed him to, he'd let me. The freedom that comes from being his, from really, truly, being his, is worth every smothering thing he does, because I know he loves me.

"Good, Vi," he says, kissing the top of my head, an easy target for him because of how tall he is in proportion to me. "I want you to feel that way."

A ferocious little bark sounds not far behind me. I turn to see Cudgel, nearly fully grown, bounding his way toward me with endless puppy energy. I bend to greet him, and he nearly tackles me over in his enthusiasm to greet me.

"He'll be a strong defender one day," I say to him. And to myself. And soon we'll need that.

I need to tell Cain. I will, I just… I want to hold my news to myself for a little while longer. I also want to take him to the target range for "practice," and I'm afraid he won't touch me if I tell him now.

"Got my new Wilson. You know, it's okay to actually make me earn these things every once in a while."

He grins. "You like it, baby?"

I grin back at him. "Ah, hello, I fucking love it. Is that even a question?"

"Then you've earned it. I've never seen anyone get as excited about a new gun as you."

I reach for his hand. "Not true. You lit up like a bonfire when your new Ruger showed up."

"Well, yeah, that baby was on back-order for fucking ever ."

"Still, you can't deny you were excited."

He squeezes my hand. "Not denying anything. Want to test them both out?"

"Hell yes I do."

We head to the range. I've already set things up so we're ready. We shoot until our guns are hot to the touch and our stomachs are growling with hunger, but there's still plenty of time for a little more.

"I will never forget taking you here. I will never fucking forget that first day here. I teased you with the knife…"

"Mmm. Now that I haven't forgotten."

His eyes heat, and he reaches into his pocket. "You haven't?"

My mouth is dry, and my throat doesn't want to work. I shake my head from side to side.

"Good. Because I know an excellent way to establish more trust between us."

I blink before I nod. I want this. I need this.

"Hands over your head, baby, and bend over the table."

I obey by instinct, offering him my wrists. He quickly secures them in the straps above my head. My feet are planted on either side of me, supporting me, as I hear him draw the knife out of its sheath.

"There," he says, as if he's just revealed a perfect masterpiece. "I'll buy you a new one."

Panic slams into me. "A new what?"

"A new everything." Rip. The knife slashes through my leggings, and they fall to the floor like ribbons. Another tear, and my panties join them.

"Will I need to wear your T-shirt back to the house again?"

"I'll figure it out. Hush now, Violet."

I hush.

I close my eyes.

I draw in a sharp breath when the knife grazes my shoulder blade, then my neck. He draws a pattern across my back, then kisses the scars there, before he drags the knife between my ass cheeks.

"Cain," I gasp, trembling.

"Trust me, Violet."

I close my eyes and nod. I do. I trust him. I trust him implicitly. It's taken a while to get here, but he's proven himself so often, I know now that I can trust him fully.

The tip of the knife crosses lower still, to where my thighs meet my ass, and then he scrapes it along each of my thighs. The skin burns, then tingles, and I feel as if every sense has been magnified. I freeze completely when he places the handle of the knife between my legs.

"Open those legs up."

I trust him.

I do what he tells me. He glides the handle between my legs. It's cold and hard, but I'm so turned on, I'd come with one stroke of his fingers.

"Fucking gorgeous. Look at you," he murmurs to himself. "You really do trust me."

I nod. "I do. Of course I do."

"I love you."

"And I love you."

The knife makes its way down my legs to my ankles, then drags across the tip of each foot, until he's drawn a trail map across my entire body. He hasn't drawn blood, though, and that's where the trust comes in.

"I need to taste you, Violet," he whispers.

My mouth's so dry, I can only nod. My hips arch with the first feel of his tongue doing wicked, perfect things to me.

"Yes," I whisper. "Oh, please. Oh God, just like that. "

He laps and sucks and plunges his tongue in my core, until I'm nearly weeping with the need to come. I can't hold back any longer.

"Come, baby. I want to taste you. I want to feel you. Come on my mouth."

Light explodes behind my eyes, a sparkle of stars showering my vision when I'm enveloped in perfect ecstasy.

He groans, milking my orgasm, until I slump over the table.

He makes quick work of undressing, taking his position behind me, and when I feel his cock at my entrance, I moan and whimper a little. "Yes. Yes, please, just like that."

He plunges into me with one firm thrust, and my world shatters and rocks, ecstasy filling every cell as he works a perfect rhythm until we both scream our pleasure in the soundproof room.

I'm slumped over the table, riding the waves of bliss, his body pressed up against mine. I love this man so much.

"Oh, good. Now I can tell you."

He pulls out and cleans me off. He's got a little kit he keeps here for this very purpose, filled with all sorts of kinky accoutrements. Our little goody box.

"Tell me what."

"I was afraid if I told you before, you wouldn't fuck me, and I really needed to be fucked."

"Violet…"

There's my name in my favorite voice. I grin.

"The doctor would tell you it's perfectly fine, though."

"Violet, I swear to God if you don't tell me what the fuck?—"

"I'm pregnant," I blurt out.

"You're… pregnant." He repeats it like I've just spoken in a foreign language, so to tease him, I do. "Ich bin schwanger," I say with a nod. I look over my shoulder at him. "And that doesn't mean we can't get kinky or have sex."

"You're… pregnant," he repeats again.

I nod.

"When?" he says. His voice is hoarse. It's so rare that he gets emotional on me, that my own eyes blur.

"In the fall. I'm due right around the end of September."

"A baby," he says, then he breaks out in a grin that reaches all the way to his eyes. "A baby! Holy shit. Oh my God. I'm gonna be a daddy!"

He looks almost boyish when he grins like that. I'm laughing and crying when he hugs me and calls Skylar. "We're having a baby! Did she tell you? We're having a baby, Sky."

Then he calls Joe, and Claude, and Alma, and before lunchtime, he's got a huge celebration planned for tonight with my favorite foods from Sushi and Sake.

When everyone's gone to bed, and the food's all put away, I lay on his chest and sigh.

"Today was perfect, Cain. There aren't that many things that are perfect, but today was."

"You're right. Nothing's perfect, Violet. But there are moments that are." He kisses my fingertips then places them on his heart. "Moments like this."

THE END