Epilogue

EPILOGUE

LIBBY

I wrapped my arms around me and tried not to shiver. But between the cooler weather and the darkness, not to mention the windy night, I couldn't help it. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I turned and glanced over my shoulder, squinting despite wearing my glasses, trying to make something out in the darkness.

But I couldn't see anything.

Nothing or anyone was there. I turned and tried to shake off the feeling someone was following me.

Watching and waiting to pounce.

I knew the feeling, after all.

Hector had not been wrong.

When we returned to school, that first semester had been the hardest of our relationship. That first football season was brutal. Between classes and juggling two jobs and trying to make time for my very needy boyfriend, things had felt overwhelming by the time the season was over.

But not necessarily in a bad way.

There wasn't a moment of the day when Hector didn't know where I was, and I him. We tracked each other on our phones. Constantly texted random little things throughout the day. And other than the handful of away games I hadn't been able to join him on, there hadn't been a night we spent apart. By Valentine's Day, we had moved out of the dorms and into our own little studio apartment. We not only didn't need a lot of space, but we also always liked to be around one another. Plus, it helped us save money.

That was four years ago.

I pushed my glasses up and tried to walk a little faster without accidentally flashing anyone who might be walking, too. Why I'd worn a dress was beyond me. Especially one so short and flowy. Blanca had said it was sweet but had tried to persuade me into a slinkier, tighter body con dress. One I wished I had picked instead since the skirt of the one I was wearing felt like it was about to give me my very own Marylin Monroe moment.

My phone vibrated in the pocket of my cardigan, taking my attention from whatever my imagination was making me think was behind me. I saw who it was and smiled. I answered the phone and put it up to my face.

"Hello," I said, slightly out of breath.

"You okay?" my husband's deep voice rumbled on the other end.

"I'm good. Almost there."

"I should have picked you up," he complained. I rolled my eyes. Some things never changed. I glanced over my shoulder, but again, nothing was there.

"Libby? Mi vida, you there?"

"Yeah, sorry. The office was so close. A walk is always good."

"But late at night?" he asked. "Anyone could be following you. Watching you look over your shoulder like you're scared." I shivered.

"Hector?" I whispered. The pulse point at my neck picked up speed. I glanced behind me again, but there was nothing but rustling trees in the wind and darkness. I'd cut through the park that lay between the office I worked from and our place.

"Anyone could be behind you, princess. Watching you. Following you."

I had no idea why his words sent a thrill down my spine.

But then again, Hector could probably read me an old encyclopedia, and it would have the same effect. Well, maybe not the same effect, but close. Wetness pooled between my thighs. Every breeze that picked up and washed through me reminded me of just how wet I was.

"Or they could be in front of you, waiting to pounce that pretty little body." I turned and jumped.

Hector was wearing black dress pants and a matching button-up dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up his forearms.

"You scared me," I muttered, ending the call and slipping the phone back into my pocket.

Hector's obsession hadn't changed.

If anything, I was pretty sure it had grown and evolved into something so much more. Not that I was complaining. Not when it meant he was mine. And if I was honest, I was pretty obsessed with him, too.

After graduation, we'd been accepted to the same medical school and then the same places for our residencies. I was almost positive he had something to do with it, but I never asked. Hector always watched over and took care of me. I never doubted where I stood with him.

I was his priority.

Before we graduated from college, I'd had a serious heart-to-heart with him. He had decided not to enter the draft, and I had worried he was giving up the possibility of a professional football career for me. I knew how good he was. He'd been named the best linebacker in the league, and it had been big news when he didn't enter the draft. I didn't want him to look back on his life and regret not going after something he had worked so hard for. He'd held me tightly when he told me he was done with football. He loved what he'd done and how far he'd gone, but he was ready for more. He needed more.

"Look at you in this sexy little dress," he admired.

Even after being together for four years and married for two, he still made me blush. I had a feeling that would never change. He glanced over his shoulder and took me by the hand, rushing me toward a tree. Excitement rushed through me.

I knew that look.

I'd seen it countless times when we'd been in school and finished up our residencies. We might have been at the same place, but it didn't mean we worked every shift together, and we had learned how to be quick and subtle in secret corners of the hospital.

The black night wrapped around us. Hector might not play football anymore, but it didn't mean that had changed how fit he was. The man was a solid wall of muscle. And in that moment, that wall caged me against the tree trunk. His fingertips tilted my face up, forcing me to look into the eyes of my forever.

"You look so fucking good in this sexy little dress, Libby."

"Hector," I whispered.

"It's new, isn't it?" I nodded. I'd bought it on a whim, making sure to FaceTime with Blanca to get her opinion on it. "It reminds me of that dress from the party. So fucking innocent. Sweet. So damn mine," he growled before his face dipped into the crook of my neck.

His muscular thigh moved between my legs, lodging it perfectly against me to give me the friction I needed.

I loved how well we fit.

He licked and sucked and bit my sensitive flesh, knowing very well I'd have to wear a higher-collared scrub top tomorrow because there would be no other way to hide his love marks.

But I didn't care.

It was worth it.

We were insatiable for each other.

"More," I whimpered, and the sound he made vibrated against my skin. I was no longer chilly. But then again, I was never cold around Hector. He made sure to keep me nice and warm and safe.

His hand hitched up my thighs and below the hem of my dress. Teasing my bare sex. "No panties?" he growled. "Mi vida, you better tell me this isn't how you've been all day long."

"Just when I left," I admitted. "I hoped you—" I couldn't finish my thought. Not when he teased me the way he did.

"Would pop by and find you?" His nose brushed against mine, and I sighed. "Drag you into the darkness and have my way with you where anyone could see?". The darkness in his tone made me nod enthusiastically.

There was something exciting about knowing we could be caught.

Through the years, we had discovered time and time again just how much his freak matched mine. His nose flared, and he was about to kiss me when he froze.

"Shit," he rumbled. I glanced over and could hear a group of people laughing as they walked through the park.

"Later," he promised the moment his gaze touched mine.

"Later." I nodded, knowing my husband would more than deliver.

The excitement of almost getting caught was one thing; indecent exposure was another. We were both doctors now and respected members of our community. He backed away and adjusted the bulge in the front of his pants before taking my hand in his. We walked to where he had parked, and he drove us to the bowling alley for our date night, where we shared a pizza and then a pretzel. I always had a great time when I went bowling with Hector.

And when we got home? Hector made me get on my knees in the garage, where I begged for him to fuck my throat like a dirty slut. My dirty talk had improved five-fold through the years. My man gave me exactly what I needed until he couldn't hold back and lifted me up off the floor and bent me over our car and fucked me so hard I'd wake up hoarse the next day. But it was worth it.

Every moment with my stalker ex-linebacker now doctor was worth it and so much more.

He liked to say he was a lucky guy, having found me and locking me down. But I always felt it was the other way around. I couldn't believe the only guy I had ever crushed on was the man I got to spend forever with and work next to him as we made each and every one of our dreams come true.

Life was pretty dang good!