Epilogue

Danielle

Five years later…

I stand in the cockpit of the Longs’ private plane and dust off my uniform—a blouse and a pair of tight, tailored pants. That’s the simple uniform I picked out two years ago when I completed my commercial pilot’s license.

I lay my hand on the seat and stare out at the runway. The dark tar shines in front of me. It’s going to be one helluva hot day, but it’ll be cooler in France.

It’s times like these that the wonder strikes me.

If not for my crush on my boss years ago, I wouldn’t be in this situation.

A knock raps at the plane’s side door and I frown—I’m not due to fly for another two and a half hours. I make a habit of checking the interior of my plane prior to every flight. I like to spend time in here alone. Just let it sink in.

“Danielle?” Holden’s voice shuttles through the cabin toward me.

I smile and turn from the cockpit. I walk through to meet him.

My boss waits in the center of the cabin, his arms at his sides and a warm smile lifting his lips at the corners. He gives me a hug and a pat on the back, and we part.

“We need to talk,” he says.

“We do? Is it about the contract?” Oh, god, does he want me to leave the company? It’s been a while since Holden and I have spent time alone together.

“No, of course not. You’re an amazing asset to Galactic Empire.”

“Oh, good.” I giggle nervously.

“It’s about us. You and me.”

I blink up at him, take in his blond, styled hair and those aquamarine eyes. No mole next to the mouth like Joey, and a few more lines on the forehead than his brother.

“All right,” I say, softly. “What’s up?”

“I don’t want to upset you, Danielle, but I think our time together is over. Our romantic time, at least.” He takes in a breath, as if he’s struggling with this. “It couldn’t continue forever. It couldn’t be more than a fantasy. I think we both knew that.”

Did we? Probably, yeah. It’s unreasonable for me to assume I’ll have my cake and eat it forever. And things have kind of petered off with Holden.

“I’ll always love you in my own way. Just not the same way I did at the start of all of this.”

I laugh, not bitterly, but at the fact that he’s clearly rehearsed this speech. That’s such a Holden thing to do. As in control as always, but softer, now. A little older, too.

“You’re upset,” he says, and those lines on his forehead become more pronounced. “I don’t want there to be any hard feelings here, Danielle. I think you’re beautiful, amazing, a star in so many ways. I’ve met someone else, though, and I want to commit to her fully, knowing that this portion of my life is closed.”

There will never be any hard feelings between any of us. We’ve shared too much for that. And while I loved every second of being with Holden, it’s true that the passion we shared on Mystique Island, at the start of this adventure, has been sated.

It’s not a roaring fire anymore, it’s warm coals. And it’s friendship, mainly. We haven’t been together physically in over a year, now.

But with Joey…

“You’re right.” I squeeze Holden’s hand. “Of course, you’re right, and I’m happy for you. I’m happy you’ve met a woman who satisfies you and who loves Jessie like the mommy she deserves. I’m so proud of you, Holden. And I’m so grateful.”

His eyes glisten. “Danielle, you’ll always be a friend to me,” he says, drawing me into a hug. I inhale his scent—the spicy sweetness—one last time, and my heart flutters a little goodbye. “You don’t have to thank me for anything. Because of what we shared, I’m totally open. I’ve unlocked a different side of myself, and I can give that to Lauren. Thank you, Danielle.”

The hug lasts a second longer, then Holden pulls away from me and shoots me an easy grin. “Now, I’d better get going. I believe you have another visitor. See you at Christmas.” He gives me a mock salute then heads for the door, walking the length of the cabin, with its rich carpet—the one Joey chose—and the leather seats interspersed throughout, with their polished wooden tables between.

He reaches the door and nods to someone outside, then ducks out without a backward glance.

Light floods the entrance, but another figure blocks it again, almost immediately. The same height as Holden, but not exactly the same size. Bigger. Joey’s spent a lot of time working out between business meetings.

We often go to the hotel gym together. He lifts weights while I cycle or do Pilates.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hi,” I reply, checking my watch. “I wasn’t expecting you for another two hours.”

Joey strides across the cabin and halts in front of me, looking down the front of my blouse. “Have I ever told you how cute you look in this uniform?”

“Every flight,” I reply, winking at him.

“Good, just as long as you know how crazy you drive me.”

“Still?” It’s been five years, and Holden’s definitely moved on. What if Joey does, too? Unlike his brother, I’m still infatuated with this man. Every second I’ve spent with him has been better than the last.

I know this man, now. I love this man more than ever.

“How is that a question, baby? You know I’m crazy for you. And it makes me even crazier now that you’re mine, alone, as you should’ve been from the start,” he says.

So, he knows then.

I stroke the sides of his face, and he draws me into his chest, kisses my temple, then my cheekbone, my jaw, my neck. He opens his mouth and sucks, hard.

“Hey,” I say. “We’ve got to fly soon.”

“How about we fly early?” he asks against my neck. Joey slides his palms down my back then grabs my ass cheeks, lifting me into the air as if I weigh nothing. I let out a little shriek of joy.

“The door’s not closed,” I whisper.

“So?”

He carries me through to the cockpit, then sits down in my chair, and grinds me against his erection. “Fuck,” he says. “It’s such a turn on, knowing it’s official. You’re fucking mine. You’re mine for good. Forever.” Joey slips his fingers to the button on the front of my pants and undoes it. “Take it off. I’m going to own you.”

I stumble upright and do as I’m told, strip off my pants, my core tightening up already. God, I can’t wait for the future with him. Whatever happens, it’ll be perfect.

Joey makes quick work of tugging his dick out of his pants. He doesn’t pull them all the way down, though.

“We’re going to make a mess,” I say.

“Fuck it, I don’t care. I want your cum on my dick. Get over here, girl.”

I straddle him, and he lifts his dick, sweeps it between my lips and shares our fluids, spreads them over his head.

I quiver for him, biting my lip. “Joey,” I whisper. “Don’t tease me.”

“Quiet,” he grunts, landing a hand on my shoulder. Slowly, he presses me downward onto his cock, sheathing himself inside my heat, inch by thick inch.

I writhe and clench around him, hard. “It’s too good,” I say.

“Baby,” he whispers, moving me up and down, his hands on my hips. “Baby, you’ve got to stop clenching or I’m going to come. It’s too tight.”

I only tighten up more at the sound of that.

Joey’s my fucking god in the bedroom. He grazes his dick against my g-spot and brings me to an earth-shattering internal orgasm within seconds. I cry out and keep moving, shaking, squirting all over his lap.

“Fuck,” he grunts. “Fuck me. I’m coming. I’m fucking coming.”

He unloads inside me as he’s done so many times before, squirts that hot cum deep, as I rock through the last of my orgasm, my gaze tied to his. We’re connected. We’re in love.

Joey finishes with his eyes wide open, his lips parted, and his hair flopped to one side. He’s so expressive. So fucking amazing.

So hot.

My hot. All I need.

This is the man I belong with, the man I fell for years ago, entirely by accident. Our love story might not be conventional, but it’s real. It’s true. And nothing will ever take that away from us.

Joey curls me against his chest, his dick still inside me, our combined juices leaking between us, probably staining my pilot’s chair and definitely his Gucci suit pants.

“You’ll marry me,” he says, kissing the top of my head. “Right?”

I bathe in the scent of him, that lemony cologne I loved from the start. “You don’t even have to ask.”