Epilogue

Athena

Six weeks later

I hurried into the kitchen, pausing only for coffee. I pulled my favorite travel coffee mug out of the cabinet, hurrying over to where the coffeemaker burbled on the counter.

“In such a rush this morning,” Lucas tsked from his place at the kitchen table. “Relax, baby.”

“It’s my first day,” I explained as if I hadn’t already emphasized the same thing fourteen times. I carefully measured out the sugar and added it to the thermos. “I want to make a good impression.”

He stood and rounded the table to grab the creamer from the fridge for me. “I know you do. And you will. But if you don’t slow down, you’re going to spill coffee all over that sexy little outfit. ”

I rolled my eyes as he used the opportunity to cop a feel, cupping my breast through the baby blue blouse I wore. My blazer was gently folded over my purse on the counter, ready for me to slip on when I walked out the door rather than on my body, giving him plenty of room to work with. My exasperated eye roll morphed into something else when he cupped the other breast as well, thumbs rubbing gently over my nipples. I let him go on for a couple seconds, his lips finding their way over to the base of my neck, before I spoke again.

“We don’t have time for this, Lucas, but we can pick it up again later.” I gave him a wink when I stepped back, reaching for the matching lid to my travel mug, screwing it place after Lucas poured the right amount of creamer in my drink. When a man knows how you take your coffee you know he’s a keeper. I placed a hand on his chest, smiling up at him. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he smiled back. His eyes were so very full of affection it nearly made my heart burst. I didn’t expect to feel so loved and important to anyone ever again after my mom died.

I shifted the hand on his chest, grabbing hold of his tie and pulling him down for a quick kiss. Then a longer one.

I pulled back before I got too distracted.

“This is a nice tie,” I commented, smoothing out the soft material. “Is it new?”

“Yes,” he said, but the way his features locked told me he was hiding something. What was it? Why?

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“Something. ”

“Nothing important enough to delay your first day at the new job.”

“But something important enough to delay it if today wasn’t day one?”

“No, it’s something meant to be discussed after your first day, not before.”

Interesting. I ran my fingers along the material again. Was that silk? “Now you’ve got me curious, baby. Give me just a little bit more here.”

“I can’t. I don’t want to make you late. You’re starting something new today.” More than just a new job, I was going into a new field: I wasn’t working in criminal defense anymore. I managed to secure a job at the D.A.’s office, working with guys like Lucas, not against him. “Have I mentioned yet how proud of you I am?”

“You have.” Probably about sixty times in the previous twenty-four hours. It was cute. “Don’t change the subject.”

“Do you have time for this?”

No. “I’ll make time.”

He raised an eyebrow, debating. His eyes flicked to the time displayed across the stovetop and back to me. His trademark grin began taking over his expression, but he still didn’t tell me.

I twisted my hand until the tie was wrapped around my wrist, gripping it to pull him down closer to me. “What’s going on?”

“You really want to know?” That raised eyebrow was taunting me, but it was the smirk that made me shift, sliding my thighs together. What was happening here? Why was he giving me that saucy look ?

He unbuttoned the cuffs on his button up, slowly rolling up the sleeves. Whatever was going on, it was about to get serious. He kept his gaze on me the whole time, eyes darkening.

Then he put his arm around my waist and took another several steps forward, guiding me backwards until he had me pinned against the wall, his other hand on the back of my head so I didn’t hit it hard. I licked my lips. What was going on? I glanced around, wondering if I was missing something.

“Hey,” he said, putting a hand under my chin and lifting my face until my eyes met his. “I’m talking to you.”

“Ummm. Okay.” I was more than just a little flustered.

“Good girl.” He spoke softly, using that deep voice that he knew drove me crazy. But his eyes were just so fucking amused.

“You asshole!” I laughed, pushing against his chest. “You’re doing all the Booktok book boyfriend shit!”

He backed up a few steps at my gentle shove, but I’d only pushed him into the doorway to the kitchen.

“Come here,” he said, jerking his head to the side, gesturing me closer. I moved on instinct to his side, and the motherfucker lifted his arm up along the doorframe and leaned his body in so close to mine, staring down into my eyes. Not the doorframe lean!

“Hey, baby,” he said, giving me that gentle, sexy smile of his. Nothing else. Just hey, baby.

Motherfucker. I was going to be so late to work.

He saw the surrender in my eyes, lifting his free arm up to run his thumb along my lower lip. “What a good girl.”

Thank god I’d already put the lid on my coffee because I dropped everything in my hands faster than if they were burning me. His arms met me as I threw myself against him, holding me hard to his hard body, kissing me with just as much fervor and fury as I kissed him. But then he stopped just as suddenly as I started. Before I had a chance to complain, he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. “You’re coming with me.”

“Stop it!” I cried, laughing so hard my words were obscured. “No more Booktok! I get it, you did your research!” My words stuttered as he began to climb up the stairs. I didn’t know why I was surprised that he remembered my taunts from so long ago during that first week we met—the old softie seemed to remember every single thing I’d ever said to him, no matter how trivial or unimportant.

But I still didn’t know what any of this had to do with his new tie.

We entered our bedroom and Lucas flung me unceremoniously down onto the bed, my body bouncing on the mattress.

“God, I love it when you do that,” he groaned, pulling the tie loose, his neck muscles elongating as he worked them back and forth against the pull of the tie until it was free.

“Do what?” I asked, fighting off a smile, but I knew exactly what. I was leaning back on my elbows so my chest was pushed out, glancing demurely up at him from under my eyelashes. My legs dangled off the edge of the bed and I kept my knees modestly together.

“Pretend that you’re just a na?ve, innocent little girl. Pretend that you don’t expect me to spread these very legs—” he began, hands gliding up the thighs of the legs in question “—and drink in every drop of you. That you’re not waiting, anxiously, impatiently, for me to do just that.”

“I can be patient,” I lied with a shrug. He kneeled down in front of me, hands paused at the very top of my thighs, my pencil skirt pushed up to accommodate him.

“Good. You’ll need to be.” And then this man—the one who could never keep his mouth to himself—actually kissed up and past my impatiently waiting pussy, farther up my body. I would never complain about him covering my small form with his large one, but it was definitely a surprise.

“Whatcha doin’ up here?” I asked. He laughed, the sound starting off joyful, but trailing off in a wickedly delicious way.

“Trying something new.” His hands were firm against my body, following my curves from my hips all the way up my shoulders and along my arms. He kissed me again, deeply, and then pulled back a couple inches to meet my eyes. “Do you love me, Athena?”

“With everything I have in me.”

“Do you trust me?”

“With my life.”

“And with your body?” His hands were trailing over my wrists, guiding them up above my head. Only as the silk tie began to encircle my wrist did I realize he still held it in his hand. My breath caught in my throat for half a second before I could answer.

“Always.”

“That’s my good girl,” he complimented, wrapping the tie loosely around my wrist, and then leaning over to pull a second matching tie from his nightstand drawer to wrap around my second wrist. Then he brought out the next item from the drawer.

“Lucas,” I began.

“Ssh,” he whispered. A good thing, too, since I had no idea what I wanted to say or even how I felt when he carefully clicked the first handcuff in place over my wrist, the luxuriously soft silk tie protecting my delicate wrist from the hard metal. “I’ve got you, baby.”

I knew he did. His next kiss was still deep, but slow, languid, as he fed the open side of the handcuffs through the decorative iron of the headboard and brought my second hand into position, locking me in place.

“I’ve imagined this, you know. You under me, handcuffed to the bed, at my mercy and under my control, eyes staring at me with so much fucking need—” He paused to clear his throat. “I’ve had this image of you in my head since the very fucking day I met you, Athena Kane, and I can say with one hundred percent certainty that my imagination is shit because nothing compares to the reality.”

“And what are you gonna do about it now?” I challenged. He was already unbuttoning my blouse, spreading the material and revealing more of me to his eager eyes.

“I’ll start by thanking you for trusting me,” he said, hands skimming down my torso, reaching back under my ass to hook his fingers in the waistband of my thong, pulling it down my legs. “To show my gratitude, I’m going to fuck you like the good girl you are until you’re done screaming my name, and then I’m going to let you go into work only one hour late.”

“Stop talking and just do it already, Lucas. ”

“Don’t tell me what to do.” He reached down and undid his belt buckle.

“You like it when I boss you around.” Lowered his zipper.

“And you like it when I show you who’s the fucking boss in the bedroom.” Shoved his slacks down to the floor.

“Yes. I do.” Lowered his boxer briefs so his hard, thick cock sprang out.

“You do,” he repeated, sinking that thick cock into me, my pussy already so wet that he entered in one smooth movement until he was sheathed inside me. “You love me telling you what to do, how I want it?”

“I do,” I repeated while he slid in and out. My hands automatically tugged at the restraints, wanted to wrap my arms around him.

“No, baby, those hands stay right there. I’m in charge in this room.”

I moaned, nodding against his chest, but let my legs wrap around his waist.

“You’ll do what I say, Athena? You’ll be a good girl and give me what I want?”

“Yes.”

“Good girl,” he groaned, reaching forward to lift one of my legs over his shoulder. I gripped the chain holding my hands together, feeling myself clench at the deeper angle. He dropped his head down to kiss and nip at my breast, gently sucking one of the nipples into his mouth. “Such a good girl. Should I let you come as a reward?”

“Yes,” I moaned, arching my back, crying out as he switched to the other breast. “Please. ”

One hand slid under my shoulders, supporting his weight at the elbow and holding me close in one go. The other hand reached between us, circling my clit. My first orgasm always came so easy with him, my body eager to let him have his way with me, to let him touch and feel me everywhere. But those gentle fingers were too soft to do the trick right away.

“Do you need more, Athena?” he asked, already knowing the answer. I nodded. “Use your words, baby.”

“Yes.”

He applied more pressure, thrust a little harder. “Like that?”

“Yes.”

“More?”

“Yes!”

“Close?”

“Yes!” His fingers left me for a couple seconds to fumble around in that drawer again, but came back, finally giving me the perfect pressure and speed, his thrusts urgent inside me as he chased his own release.

“You’ll do what I want, Athena? You’ll give me what I need?”

“Yes! Lucas, please!”

“You’ll marry me?”

My eyes jerked open as the orgasm hit, meeting his steady gaze as my hips jerked wildly, writhing and riding the waves.

“Yes! Yes, Lucas, yes yesyesyesyes!”

“That’s right, baby,” he soothed, continuing his circles, slowing down as the orgasm faded, fingers gentle again as I rode the last waves. “Good girl. You liked that?”

“Yes,” I told him, tugging at my bonds again. I wanted to hold his face in my hands .

“And you’ll do what I want? You’ll give me everything?”

“Yes,” I told him.

“You’ll marry me?” he confirmed, fingers finally releasing me completely, grabbing at the small ring box he’d placed next to us on the bed.

“Yes,” I told him, tears welling up in my eyes.

He opened the box, revealing a delicate silver ring, the square-cut diamond modest, but beautiful.

“Yes,” I said again, wishing I could hold him.

“It was the ring my dad gave my mom,” he admitted, a small blush lighting up his cheeks. “I know it’s a little small, but he was just a working class stiff and—”

“It’s perfect,” I interrupted. “I love it. Yes.”

He smiled down at me, reaching up to slip the ring on my finger. “It looks good there.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it,” I teased. “I can’t see shit from here.”

He squinted at me, pretending to think. “If I unlock the handcuffs so you can see, do you promise to turn around before I lock them back up so I can have you back under my control while I fuck you from behind until you scream yourself hoarse?”

I was going to be very late for work.

“I do.”

Follow along to read Detective Mark Rosenberg's love story with his busy little Bee, coming early 2025.