Epilogue

T WO YEARS LATER

REESE

M y cheeks hurt from smiling, from looking at the giant-ass rock on my ring finger. “I can’t believe we’re married.”

Enzo drapes his arm around me, placing a kiss on my head. “Better believe it, baby. I signed, sealed, and delivered.”

“So when are you two popping out a kid like this fool over here?” Ciaran asks while pointing to Vance.

“Never,” Enzo and I say together.

When we married, I made it clear that I didn’t want kids. For some, that’s a deal breaker, but I decided early in life that motherhood wasn’t for me. If I have kids, I want to do an older adoption. Kids like Enzo, Ciaran, and Finn once were. Children put into situations they had no control over need love and guidance as much as a baby. When I told Enzo, he lifted me off the ground, kissing me like I’d confessed the secret to eternal youth.

“What the fuck is taking so long?” Vance asks for the hundredth time as he twirls a blade on the waiting room table.

A few of the grandmas in the room keep eyeing him. One even has her cell phone clutched in her hand in case she has to call 9-1-1.

“Should you tell Vance to put the knife away? He’s scaring the old ladies,” I whisper in Enzo’s ear.

“If he puts the knife away, those little old ladies will have something to call the cops about. It might look scary, but it’s calming the fucker down. You’d think Clarissa was having major surgery with how cagey he’s being.”

“Why isn’t he in there instead of her friend Emily?”

Enzo grins. “’Cause when Clarissa gave birth the first time, he told the doctor that if she screamed one more time, he would put a knife through his head. She didn’t want to go through that again, so she asked Emily to go in with her.”

A nurse walks in, and Vance jumps up faster than humanly impossible. “She okay?”

“Yes, Mr. Matthew, she’s fine. You have a beautiful baby boy. She says you can go in and see her now.”

Vance mumbles something under his breath and runs out of the waiting room. I put my head on Enzo’s shoulder and sigh.

“You sure you don’t want kids?” he asks. “I know I’ve got some damage, but if you want them, I’ll give them to you.”

I lace my fingers in his, bring his knuckles to my mouth, and kiss them. I feel lucky that I’ve got him in my life. “Yes, I’m sure. I never wanted kids. I’m thrilled with just the two of us.”

“Let’s get out of here.”

“But what about the baby?”

“We can come back tomorrow. I’m sure Clarissa is tired, and Vance will hover so badly that it won’t matter. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“A surprise? You finally gonna show me the tattoo on your wrist you’ve been hiding for days?”

“Yes, a surprise, and don’t ask any more questions. You’ll see it when we get home.”

“ O kay, we’re home. What’s the surprise?”

Enzo takes my hand and walks me to the bedroom. A massage table is set up with another table beside it full of what looks like tattooing items, including a tattoo gun and ink. Dread curls in my stomach. I only have one tattoo—a snake. My father’s brand. The experience turned me off, so I never wanted to step into a shop and experience the gun buzzing in my ear or gliding down my skin ever again.

Enzo steps in front of me, his strong hands cupping my face as he brings his forehead to mine. “I want to replace it. I want to take all your nightmares and turn them into something beautiful, the way you’ve done for me. I just need you to trust me. You think you can do that?”

My beautiful man, the pleading look in his eyes, the longing for me to put all my faith in him just like he’s put his faith in me. I’m shocked he doesn’t know that I trust him so much that if he put a gun to my head in anger, I’d put the barrel in my mouth and wouldn’t move because I know he’d never hurt me. “Yes, of course. I trust you with my life.”

Enzo smirks, moving to stand behind me, his arms tightly wrapped around my waist. “Good.” He smacks my ass. “Take off your pants and hop on.”

I slide my jeans off, climb onto the bed, and lie down. “So what are you gonna brand me with?”

Enzo wags his eyebrows and smirks, a teasing gleam in his eyes. “Property of Enzo, obviously.”

I burst out laughing, shaking my head, and then I see the somber expression in his eyes and freeze. “You’re joking, right?”

His hand flies to his heart, and he juts his bottom lip and pouts. “I thought you trusted me?”

I shrug, relaxing into the table. I suppose if he brands me with his name, it won’t be the worst thing. I belong to him in every way imaginable. The man is the center of my world, just as I’m his. “So, who’s doing the tattoo? I didn’t see anyone else in the house.”

“I am. You think I’d let any other fucker touch your skin? You don’t want me going on a killing spree, do you?”

“What? Do you even know what you’re doing?”

“Yes, principessa . I’ve been tattooing since I was eighteen. I used to run one of Rossi’s shops that he uses as a front. That was when I started covering all my marks. Tattoos allowed me to transform my skin into what I wanted, not what it was.”

My heart aches at his words, and anger surges in me. My beautiful husband had so much stripped away from him, thanks to my father. “I hope the fucker is burning in hell.”

Enzo brushes my hair back, a sad smile that he only lets me see on his face. “That’s over now. We aren’t wasting our lives thinking about the past. It’s you and me, Principessa . As long as we have each other, none of that other shit matters.”

I nod at him and smile. “Okay, so let’s do this thing.”

He rests his hand on my hip and cleans the top of the snake tattoo. The whole time he’s prepping the tattoo gun, we sit in silence, but when I wince at the first touch of the needle on my skin, I see the fear in Enzo’s eyes.

“I’m okay. Keep going.”

Enzo nods, his eyes focusing on my hip. I close my eyes, trying to focus on the hands touching me, the hands of a man who cherishes me, loves me, will do anything to make sure I’m happy. This is Enzo branding me, not the monster. Enzo, my husband. Enzo, my love. When I keep chanting the mantra, my body relaxes, and the buzzing sound of the gun isn’t a trigger anymore. Somehow, it becomes calming because the man holding the instrument would burn the world to ensure I’m happy and safe.

“Okay. It’s done.”

“That’s it?”

Enzo kisses my head; his dark, intense eyes make my stomach flip. “Yes, sweetheart. It wasn’t a sizeable space to cover. Those rarely take too long, and you did well. I’m proud of you. Wanna see it? My name looks smokin’ hot on your body.”

I jump off the table, walk to the full-length mirror, and gasp. There on my hip, it’s not the snake looking back at me anymore. It’s now a white dove, wings out, soaring.

“It’s a symbol of freedom, peace, purity, and hope because you are all those things, Reese, and I never want you to forget that.” Enzo unwraps the bandage on the inside of his wrist. He got a tattoo a few days ago. He told me he’d show me later, refusing to let me have a peek. My gaze flies to the spot where his brand was, now replaced by a dove double the size of mine. Right in the middle, in bright blue letters, is my name, Reese, written in a pretty font. My gaze connects to his, and I burst into tears.

”Shit, if I’d known you’d cry, I would have done Property of Enzo. Is it that bad?”

I turn and leap into his arms, placing frantic kisses all along his face. “No. It’s perfect. You’re perfect. I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.”

“Now take those pants off and fuck me hard.”

Enzo chuckles, quickly removing the jeans hanging low on his hips. He bends me over the massage table, his fingers dipping into my pussy. “Always so wet for me.”

“Always.”

His hands wrap around my throat, holding me still when his dick plunges inside me, making me moan. “Good. My slut is always ready and waiting for me.”

“Fuck,” I scream as he goes in deep, so deep. “Fuck me harder.”

“You want it hard?” he asks, his hands squeezing my neck.

“Yes,” I whisper. “Fuck it all away. Take me and make me forget everything but you, but us.”

Enzo grunts in my ear. His hands move away from my neck, trailing down my body until they land on my breasts. His fingers latch onto my nipples as he squeezes and pulls them. “I fuckin’ love these tits. Touch your clit for me.”

My hand moves between my legs, my fingers rubbing my clit as he mercilessly pounds into me. He pulls my nipples so hard I scream at the mix of pain and pleasure that I crave so much.

“Come for me, Principessa . Come all over my cock like a good girl.”

My pussy clenches, and my entire body is on fire. My head falls back against my rock, my Enzo, and I come.

Enzo pulls out of me slowly and turns me. “I’m gonna come all over those tits.”

I tug at his cock, and his cum shoots all along my neck and breasts. He groans as he steps back and watches me. I smile as I gather some cum on my finger. I move it to my mouth, and he groans as I slip it between my lips and lick it clean.

Enzo groans again before walking over to me and taking a cum-covered nipple into his mouth, collecting it on his tongue. When he looks up at me, I open my mouth, and he spits the cum inside. It’s dirty and delicious.

“You’re such a dirty girl, and I love you.” He pulls me to him, his mouth crushing mine. “I love you so fuckin’ much,” he whispers against my lips.

“I love you,” I whisper, trailing my hands down to his cock, which is already rock-hard. “Wanna go again?”

T HE END