Epilogue

Nico and I stand at the large oSì,en window of Fang’s former room, now ours, watching from a distance as a giggling Victoria dashes across the clubhouse yard, chased by five-year-old Aiden. From what I’ve heard, they spend a lot of time chasing each other around.

“I think Victoria has just got her first boyfriend,” I tell Nico, who makes a noise in his throat that sounds a little like a dog’s growl.

It turns out he’s a ridiculously overprotective honorary uncle.

I laugh, then nod toward the other side of the yard where Maria is sitting at a low picnic table with Nina, Aiden’s mom, and one of the club’s widowed old ladies. Nina chose to maintain a close relationship with the club even after her biker died, so it’s nice to see Nina have someone like Maria to talk to.

“Maria and Nina seem to be getting along okay,” Nico muses. After making the trip out here with me twice in the past two months, he now knows everyone here by name.

I nod, smiling to myself. “They have a lot in common.” I don’t elaborate on their similarities, though.

Nina has traits of borderline personality, the same as Maria, but Nina has had extensive therapy, and she now works at the community center, supporting children and young adults with special needs. I’m hopeful that Nina’s friendship will help Maria even more than I ever could.

“I told you Maria and Victoria would do well here, Nico.”

Nico cranes his head to watch his pint-size niece and the boy chasing after her as Mags appears on the porch and calls to them to come in for snacks. “That’s still to be decided,” he grumbles.

“You do remember the story of the first boy who tried to kiss me, right?” I ask him, fighting a smile. I still feel sorry for the boy who walked me home after my first date when I was fourteen and then tried to steal a goodnight kiss.

He looks around, surveying the rough, overprotective club brothers around the yard, then nods. “Actually, you have a point there.”

“Of course I do.” In a very short time, Victoria has managed to weasel her way into the heart of every man and woman here. I have no doubt she’ll be well protected—just like I was.

Nico and I watch as Cade makes his way across the yard and swings a squealing Victoria up into his arms while Aiden follows them into the house. She may have a childhood crush on Aiden, but Uncle Cade has stolen Victorias little heart.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” Nico murmurs, drawing me closer so my back presses against his front.

I smile, “You want me to explain what Smokey was doing to that sweetbutt on the bar last night?”

He chuckles, “No, but when we get back, we’re having a bar installed in the penthouse.”

I laugh, amused and excited by the thought. “I could get used to that idea.”

“Consider it done,” Nico says, and then his tone turns serious. “What I don’t get is how Cade manages to conceal his club ties from the FBI. It doesn’t seem possible he’d pass the screening with his background.”

Smiling knowingly, I reply, “It helps when you served in the military with the current director.”

Nico looks puzzled. “Cade was in the military?”

“No, but my dad and Cade’s dad were, and they were close friends with the director.”

A brief look of astonishment crosses Nico’s face before he laughs, shaking his head. “I shouldn’t be surprised at anything by now, fiammetta.”

“Trust me, there are still a few surprises left.” Not the least of which is about the size of a bean at the moment.

My smile disappears as my stomach bottoms out—not for the first time in the past two weeks. I’m really not sure how Nico’s going to feel about this—hence the two weeks that have had me bordering on coward territory, especially when I found out the magnitude of the issue. I’ve been waiting for the ‘right’ moment to ‘fess up.

Because there’s totally a ‘right’ moment out there to tell a guy he’s about to be a daddy to twins. As soon as I told Mags I was pregnant, she’d made me get an early ultrasound scan, citing her not-too-recent brush with an ectopic pregnancy.

This one is not ectopic, alright. It’s a fucking twin pregnancy.

“Sophie?” Nico says, bringing my mind back to the present.

And since there’s no time like the present, I take a deep breath and blow it out. “I have something to tell you, Nico.”

Wow, that was smooth.

He looks at me, waiting patiently.

Butterflies churn in my stomach, and I’m pretty sure the sudden urge to vomit has nothing to do with morning sickness.

Suck it up, and spit it out, Soph.

“So, you remember your parents’ anniversary? The day we went to your family’s home for dinner?” I swallow, and my voice drops. “The bathroom?”

Nico smiles lasciviously and nods. “Sì, I remember.”

“Well, Nico, it seems an introduction to the Vitellis wasn’t all you gave to me that day.”

His brow furrows. There is no dawning light coming on in his eyes.

Ugh, come on. Any woman would have gotten that hint.

“I’m pregnant, Nico,” I finally blurt out.

There, I did it. See? Totally not a coward. All that’s left is to tell him they’re twins.

He looks at me for a moment like he’s waiting for the punch line, and then he glances down at my stomach. It’s still flat, but for the first time, I realize it’s not going to stay that way for much longer.

Dear Lord, I’m going to be huge.

I’m just on the verge of freaking out over that particular realization, when Nico looks back up at me, then grins from ear to ear. I swear, he’s standing up straighter like he’s already got that proud-papa posture going on.

“Are you okay with this?” I ask. We never talked about babies. Maybe he’s in shock. Or maybe he didn’t hear me right. “I said I’m having our babies,” I explain, adding the emphasis just to make sure we’re on the same wavelength here.

He cocks an eyebrow at me. “Si, I got that. I knocked you up. I got you pregnant. I put my baby inside of you,” he says in wonder.

Well, yeah, but that’s not the only point here. “Babies, Nico.”

He huffs out a laugh. “I heard you. That’s so fucking hot, amore mio.”

Relief washes over me as I lean into him. “I’m so glad you feel that way because—”

Suddenly he goes rigid, his face paling as he grasps the full meaning of what I just said. “Wait a second, Sophie. Did you just say ‘babies’?”

My heart pounds as I confirm with a nod.

“Fucking hell, Dio mio, this must be karma coming back at me.” He gulps, then asks in a strained voice. “Just how many are we talking about?”

“Two,” I manage to say softly.

He exhales a huge breath of relief. “Just two? Two is fine. I can definitely work with two. Thank fuck!”

His reaction puzzles me to no end. “Why, Nico, were you expecting more?”

In response, he simply whips out his cell phone and shows me a conversation. It’s between him and Enzo, one of his Capos, and it’s dated last week.

Boss, Im fucked. There are six of them! SIX! Madonna, but what the fuck am I gonna do with six kids? I fucking warned Connie about this IVF shit. I warned her, Nico. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here.

What do you mean you don’t know what you’re supposed to do? Youll man the fuck up and love all six of them, you fucking crybaby.

Do you hear me Enzo?

Yes, Boss.

I glance at Nico with a mix of shock and amusement. “Oh wow. What an empathetic boss you are, babe. Now I get why you were so relieved the same thing didn’t happen to you.”

He playfully tugs on my ponytail. “I’m not the only one who was relieved here. Were you expecting me to freak out about this?”

“A little bit. We never talked about kids, Nico.”

“Of course, I want children. And miniatures of you?” He runs his hand over my flat belly. “I can’t think of anything I’d want more.”

Oh, the poor guy doesn’t know what’s in store for him.

I scoff, “You might say that now, but you should talk to my dad and Grease about what I was like as a child. Seriously, I was hell on wheels.”

He leans in closer. “You still are, amore. And I wouldn’t want you—or our children—any other way.”

His arms come around me and he splays one big palm just under the curve of my breast and the other over my lower belly in an unmistakably possessive gesture.

Oh wow.Maybe I’m being self-conscious right now, but I feel like anyone who happens to glance through this window could tell from a mile away that I’m carrying his child—children.

“So that’s why you’ve seemed on edge lately,” he muses.

“Yeah. Was it that obvious?”

“Very. I didn’t say anything because I assumed you were working up the nerve to ask me to marry you,” he teases with a straight face.

“Nico! You are so projecting onto me right now, it’s not even funny.”

His rumbling laughter vibrates around me, making me shiver. “A little, maybe. But you’ve been thinking it, too. How many times have you caught yourself doodling hearts and little ‘Dr. Vitellis’ on the legal pads you take clients’ notes on?”

It’s maddening when your criminal boyfriend knows how to profile you. Even if we got married, I could never openly use his name at work, but that doesn’t stop me from daydreaming.

I reply with a mock-serious tone, “I don’t doodle, Nico. I sketch.”

“Ah, just as I thought,” he declares in triumph, then bends to kiss my temple and cheek. I turn my head to offer my mouth to his seeking lips. The kiss starts off sweet but suddenly turns decadent as Nico takes over, devouring my mouth like the man and the innate animal inside him are constantly at war for dominion.

Moaning, I push my fingers into the hair at his nape and lose myself in the bold lashes of his tongue and his teasing little bites. I love it when this wild side of him comes out to play like this.

By the time Nico breaks the kiss, I’m panting. And sure enough when I turn back, I find Grease and my dad by the dozens of motorcycles parked in the yard, just opposite our window. Grease is crouching low to examine a motorbike, but my dad’s face is scrunched up like he’s just sucked on a lemon.

Ugh, for fuck’s sake. We’re in a room with a closed door. A large open window, but still indoors. My dad calls Mud Nights without batting an eyelash, but seeing his daughter making out with the boyfriend he approves of is suddenly too much for him.

Nico’s gaze follows mine. “You think if I told your father you’re carrying my twins, he’d stop grinding his teeth every time I put my hands on you?”

I raise my eyebrows at him. “Nah. He’ll be excited at the thought of having grandkids, but I don’t think that other part will change.”

“Not even if we tell him we’re getting married next month?”

“Nico!”

“Two months then. We can have it here in Harmony. God knows I can’t wait to get the Vitellis down here,” he muses. “I know Dante would fucking love it, and he might even get Sal to lose his virginity.”

He’s actually serious about this.“Hey, hold your horses on the wedding planning, Romeo. Aren’t you forgetting something here?”

“What, the bride? Last time I checked, she was on the same page with me.”

I shake my head. “And this groom needs some high-intensity therapy for his grandiose delusions.”

Nico goes silent for a beat, then says in a strangely cool voice, “Check my left pocket, fiammetta, will you?” Then he buries his face in my neck, his lips grazing the fluttering pulse—a move that never fails to set my heart racing wildly.

“What’s in there?”

He nudges me with his hip, the movement unwittingly pushing his arousal into my lower back. “Go on.”

I immediately reach behind me and squeeze his cock, feeling the familiar tightening in my womb. It’s not even been an hour since he fucked my brains out, and I already want him again. “Nico—” I whisper, stroking his rigid length.

His palm connects with my ass in a deliciously stinging smack. “Not there, you greedy little minx.” he scolds. “I said, left pocket.”

I flush, finding his sharp tone and spank incredibly arousing. “Jesus, Nico, you’re so irritatingly bossy sometimes, you know that?”

He only grunts, still kissing my neck as I dip my hand into the left pocket of his pants. The moment my fingers close around the small velvet box, my mouth goes dry.

Oh God, Nico is doing it right now.

Nico’s embrace tightens. “Take it out,” he whispers, his breath warm against my skin.

I withdraw my hand, my heart already pounding. It’s a dark green box that snaps open with just a slight press. I gasp at the sight of the huge diamond ring that somehow captures the essence of everything I am. It’s an emerald-cut diamond solitaire set in platinum and framed by a Celtic knot on either side.

“Oh, my God.” Tears spring to my eyes and clog my throat.

“Do you like it?” Suddenly, the alpha don disappears, and I feel the tension radiating from him.

“I—It could be worse, I guess,” I begin, trying for flippant but failing miserably because my feet decide to do this annoying hopping-on-a-spot thing. “Oh fuck. I love it. I love it.”

Okay, we get it. Calm the fuck down, Soph.

Nico spins me to face him. In a voice that feels like the slow stroke of his callused palm down my spine, he begins, “Sofia Lauren Kellan. My little big spitfire. You are the…” he hesitates as if searching for the right words, “...the treasure I don’t deserve, but one I’ll—I’ll spend my life proving I’m worthy of. You are, without a doubt… the best decision I have ever made.”

My tears flow freely now, and I have no clue why I’m suddenly nodding because it’s not like he’s asked me anything yet—

“Marry me.” He whispers. It’s a desperate plea and a command.

And now that he’s asked, I’m speechless. His words are so beautiful, but much more than what he said is the fact that he stumbled on them. Nico never ever does that. Under all of that self-assurance and dominance, he’s nervous. Now that I think about it, he’s the one who’s been nervous all week.

Unable to speak, I simply hold out my hand for him.

Flashing a dimpled grin, he carefully removes the ring and slides it onto my finger. It’s a perfect fit, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from Nico.

“Nico?”

“Yes, baby?” He gently sweeps his thumbs across my cheekbones, wiping my tears.

“What did you call me earlier? The best what?”

He gazes at me, his eyes alight with love and a hint of amusement. “The best decision I ever made,” he repeats.

“Don’t you mean ‘the best mark you failed to take out’?”

His smile widens, pure joy radiating from him. “Hell, yeah. I don’t know what hit me, but I stopped working right from the moment I laid eyes on you.”

My laughter fades into a contented sigh as I rise in tiptoe to whisper in his ear. “Yes, I will marry you, Domenico Vitelli.”

He arches a teasing eyebrow. “Well, I don’t see that you’ve got any other choice in the matter, but yeah, I’ll fucking take the yes.”

I laugh, giving him a playful shove, which he returns, prompting me to push away from him and get in a fighting stance. His eyes take on a feral gleam as his erection twitches in his sweatpants. His reaction is just as I predicted.

“Really, Sparrow? You know you just earned yourself a punishment for that.” He cocks his head at my raised clenched fists.

“You’d have to catch me first—ah!” I didn’t even see him move. The next thing I know, I’m face down on the bed with my ass in the air. God, the man is fucking fast despite his size. And then I can hardly think anymore as he pulls down my shorts and starts to spank my naked butt. My laughter quickly dissolves into moans and squeals, and then, I’m begging him to fuck me.

He drags me up on all fours, then pulls down his sweat pants. He slides the head of his thick cock through my slippery folds, back and forth, making me jerk every time his piercing hits my clit. I spread my legs wider and cant my hips higher in a silent plea for him to stop the torture.

A draft of cool air against my heated face reminds me that the window is still open. While no one can see us, the sounds we’re making are another matter entirely.

“Window, Nico. Grease… Phoenix…Cade… They’re still out there.” I manage through broken moans.

“Leave it open,” He chuckles darkly. “The boys are sparring later tonight. We’ll work that shit out in the boxing ring. Although I guarantee I’ll end up with two black eyes and missing teeth by tomorrow, given the way you scream and beg for me.”

I’m too aroused to be mortified, but I really, really don’t want his teeth knocked out. “If you dare come back here with missing teeth, I will not marry you—fuck!” I lose my words on a loud moan as he enters me in a single deep thrust.

“Yes, you will, baby. You’ll take me any way you can get me.”

He’s right. He’s a criminal, lethal, cocky as hell, everything the world warns you about… but he’s all mine, and I wouldn’t want him any other way.

Oh well, Cade and Phoenix will just have to get over, or get used to it.

After all, like the Reaper Druids always say, destiny is not the road you choose but the one that chooses you.

Thanks for reading!