Epilogue
“All right, Peabody. I’m showered, dressed, and ready to hear your big strategy. Hit me with the details, and take me to dinner. I’m starving.” Shay grinned and did a little twirl in the skimpy strapless black dress, loving the way Ryan’s eyes lit up when he saw her. Tonight marked their six-month anniversary as a couple, and Shaylee was dying to ask him the biggest question of her life. Why had she gotten so worked up about the possibility of Ryan leaving her for a younger model? He wasn’t her asshole ex-husband. Ryan was amazing, thoughtful, considerate, fun. And the way he looked at her—like right now, his eyes dark and full of passion—yeah, he was definitely attracted to her. He’d told her those very same words—and shown them with the use of his hard body and soft tongue—and even scolded her a few times for putting him in the same league as Roger. Shaylee loved that he looked at her as an equal, never trying to force an idea or thought. But man, in the bedroom, when he took her hard and fast, or soft and slow…hell, every way he took her left her shattered in a million pieces. Ryan was not getting tired of her.
He’d hinted a few times that he wanted more from their relationship, but she’d always brushed it off. “Let’s revisit this in a month or so,” she’d said several times since their big race in Death Valley. Not because she didn’t want more between her and Ryan. She did. But her love had scared her too much—and the possibility of him finally getting sick of her and leaving. Courtney had talked some sense into her. Ryan was sticking around. He wasn’t like other men, and hell, she wasn’t like other women. They completed each other. And it was time to take things to the next level.
She’d baked a wedding ring into the individual chocolate cake she’d made tonight. Shaylee was going to propose to Ryan. A bit unorthodox—just like the rest of their relationship.
Fidgeting with the hem of her dress, her palms sweaty with nervous tension, she smiled at him. “I made your favorite cakelet and thought maybe we could chat and eat dessert first. Then go to dinner.” Leading him into the kitchen, she went through her mental list of the way things could go wrong. He could choke on the ring, and then she’d have to perform the Heimlich on him on the kitchen floor. Not too romantic. Yikes. He could also say no. He wouldn’t be like that, though. He would sputter, his face would go red, and then he’d make an excuse like, “Oh, wow, Shay, you’re amazing, but…” Yeah, the “but” would kill her.
“On second thought, maybe we should go get dinner first and have dessert later. We don’t want to miss our reservation. This place sounds amazing, and I’ve never tried Indian cuisine.” She frantically eyed the two cakes, willing them to disappear. If he didn’t see them, he couldn’t eat his. If he didn’t eat it and find the ring, she wouldn’t have to follow through and ask him to marry her. Yeah totally backwards and cliché, but she hadn’t been thinking with her head for the past week. It had been all lovey-dovey, sappy heart stuff. Crap. There was too much to lose here. They had a good thing going on, and she could totally ruin it with one little cake. “Yeah, let’s just go to dinner.”
“I’m starving, Shay. And their appetizers take a while to come out. Let’s eat the cakes first, talk about my idea, and then head out. Is that okay with you?” He grabbed the cakes and placed one in front of her and one at his spot at the table. “Have a seat.”
She sat. Her legs wouldn’t have held her up much longer, anyway. This was worse than her ultra-marathon three months ago.
Crap, he’d given himself the cake on the right, the one with the gold wedding band in it. Maybe she could switch them out when he turned to get them a drink? “Um, do you mind getting the wine? My legs are tired from this morning’s ten miler.”
He was so cute when his eyes crinkled like that, and that little dimple in his cheek appeared when his lip turned up at the corner. “Sure. I brought something special for us to try. Hold on while I grab the glasses.”
When he turned his back and started talking about the fruit-mixtured something or other with wine and rum, she grabbed the cakes and switched them.
Phew! Now she had the one with the ring. She’d just be careful when eating it, and tell him she wasn’t that hungry after a few bites.
After he sat down and handed her an ice-filled drink that looked like a cross between a mimosa and sangria, she took a tiny sip and watched him eat his cake. He moaned in delight, telling her again how much he loved her baking skills.
Fiddling with hers, she managed a few bites and took another sip as the ice clinked in the bottom of the glass.
“Hey, if you’re not going to eat that, I’ll take it.” He grinned and reached for hers. His empty ramekin sat on the side of the table, and she watched numbly as he polished off the new cake.
Where was it? Panic flared through her. Oh my God, had he swallowed it? He did eat pretty quickly. What would a three-hundred-dollar ring do to your body as it went through the digestive system? She held in her groan and started casually looking around the table for crumbs. Maybe it fell on the floor? She dropped her napkin and knelt. “Oops.”
Not on the floor. Oh boy. How much would an emergency room trip cost?
“Looking for something?” Ryan’s head poked under the table as he knelt and grinned at her. “Want some help?”
“I-I…” She swallowed hard and tried to figure out how to tell her boyfriend he needed a special trip to the doctor.
“Let me see if I can help you.” He held the ring in his palm and lured her out.
She crawled forward on all fours and sank onto her bottom in front of him with a sigh. “Where’d you find that?”
“I switched the cakes when I brought them over to the table, knowing you would trade mine. Very Princess Bride, eh?”
“I guess I could have put one in each cake and solved that problem,” she said, laughing as he helped her to her feet. “Now we only have one ring.”
With one eyebrow raised, he pointed at her glass and winked.
Right there, in the bottom of her glass, was a diamond ring.
“I was kind of afraid you might choke on it and then I’d have to perform CPR, but I took my chances for the sake of being romantic and cliché,” he said.
She closed her mouth with a loud pop. “Outmaneuvered by the brilliant Peabody again.”
“So, wanna marry me?”
“I was going to ask you!” She sputtered and tried not to laugh at the absurd moment.
“Too late. I’m going to ask you again.” He fished the ring out of her drink and held it in front of her, still kneeling. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You’re funny, smart, gorgeous. I love the way you keep me on my toes and don’t give an inch if you don’t want to. I love how you soften under my touch, but when you get riled up, you go all Xena Warrior Princess. That’s hot, by the way. I love that you aren’t afraid to age gracefully with me and let yourself be you. The perfect you. Perfect for me. I love you Shaylee Markle, and if you agree to one small concession, I’d like you to be my wife.”
What kind of concession? A prenuptial agreement would make sense. Or maybe he wanted to be able to still go out on his own and act young and free. Or what about an open marriage? She tried not to let the fear eat through her tummy at the possible things he would ask for. Planting a firm smile on her lips, she released the breath she’d been holding and nodded. “I would like to hear your concession before I make any decisions.” She gave him a small, tight-lipped smile.
“I understand and acknowledge your response. This one might be a tad difficult, but I think you can manage it.”
“Okay, what is it?”
The mischievous smile lit up his whole face. “You have to say—out loud—that I, Ryan Banks, out thought you for this moment, and that I asked you first.”
“No way. Not fair!” She fumed and grabbed the empty ramekins. “I-I came up with the idea first. I baked you cake! I should be the one who wins this. I was going to ask you first.”
“Too bad.” He stood up, took them out of her hand, and kissed her on her nose, grinning as she sputtered. “An unrealized idea not expedited and done to completion is only a vision. A wonderfully thought-out vision with lots of planning and notes lying around for anyone to see.” The dimple grew with his sly grin.
“You read my notecards with my plan to propose?”
“Yeah, they were under my phone a few days ago.
“I thought that was mine.”
“Nope.”
She growled under her breath, and he laughed at her as he pulled her into a big hug.
“For what it’s worth, I’ve been holding onto that diamond for six weeks. You just gave me the perfect opening. When you looked like you were going to back out, I decided to push forward. Can you forgive me for spoiling your proposal?”
“Fine.”
His eyes widened when she pulled them both down to kneel on the floor then left him there as she stood above him. “I, Shaylee Markle love you, Ryan. I acknowledge that you totally outsmarted me on this one. The only time,” she added. “I love you and will marry you under my own condition.”
“What condition?”
“Ask me again.”
“Marry me, woman, and make me the happiest man in the world.”
She shook her head and squealed with laughter when he jumped to his feet and picked her up. Carrying her against his chest, he took them straight to the bedroom.
“What about our reservation?” She laughed as he dropped her on her back on her bed.
He growled and nuzzled into her neck, sending lust straight down to her core. “Screw the reservation. All I want now is you, Mrs. Soon-to-be Banks.”
She reached down and massaged against his cock in his pants. “I think you should be Mr. soon-to-be Markle.”
“Let’s discuss it later.” He pulled her dress up and took her left nipple into his mouth.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say.” She arched up, so he could take more of her aching bud into his mouth. “For now.”
Ryan pulled her arms above her head, holding her wrists with one hand as he pressed her into the bed. She groaned when he did that amazing thing with his tongue and fingers. One nipple received the attentions of his hot, wet tongue, scorching her, sucking, tugging… The other nipple, he twisted and tickled, rubbed and pulled with his fingers. Holy cow, she could come unhinged just from the way he treated her breasts. But she needed more. And he knew it.
She pushed out of his embrace and rolled over on top of him. The playful grin gone, now he lay on his back as she straddled him, her wet pussy grinding against his still-covered groin. Ryan’s eyes were dark with lust—he wanted her as much as she wanted him. But it wasn’t time yet. She wanted to play a bit more. Take charge of the hot, masculine body beneath her. She rubbed against his washboard abs, loving the feeling as his hard form tickled her aching clit. God, she could come just from this. He reached up and took her breasts into his hands again, playing, toying, manipulating them with his sexy mouth and fingers.
Pulling down the zipper of his pants, she leaned down to take his full length into her mouth. Up, down, in, out, she wasn’t wasting any time. Sucking, slurping, all she heard was the sounds of her lips as she licked his rigid cock, and the wet sounds as her mouth popped on and off him. He was glorious. The salty taste of precum hit her tongue, and she took him in deeper, her eyes watering as she gagged on him. She loved it. Loved Ryan.
Smack! The loud sound echoed through the room before she observed the sudden heat on her right bottom cheek. “Did you just…spank me?”
He cocked his head with a sly grin. “Yeah. What’d you think?”
“That was hot! Do it again,” she commanded and arched her back, raising her ass higher for him. The next three hard slaps took her breath away, and she groaned as her pussy wept in delight. Holy crap, she should have tried this kinky stuff ages ago. She lowered her mouth again, having forgotten her earlier mission to make her fiancé come before her. The way they were going, she would go first. Gloriously, messy, and loud, she was about to lose it right then, and he hadn’t even entered her yet.
When he reached down between her legs to play with her clit, she knew she was done for. “God, Ry, I’m going to die before we even have sex.” She humped his hand, trying to alleviate the pressure building within her.
His low chuckle sent a thrill through her whole body, and he pulled her back long enough to slip on the condom from his pocket. She was so wet, so ready, it didn’t take any effort for her to slide down and sheathe his long cock. He held her hips as she raised herself up and down, loving the feel of him inside her. As the heat and friction built within her core, and so did her need to let go. Lose it all. Scream like a banshee as her fiancé fucked her into oblivion. The kind of raw sex that came when you were so connected to your partner you couldn’t tell where he ended, and you began. She needed this. And every hard thrust and pull brought her closer to that moment.
“You feel so good, Shay.” Ryan grunted and pistoned his hips to meet hers, going deeper as he pulled her ass up higher in the air and her chest down to his. “Tell me if this is okay.”
He stroked the wetness running down her inner thighs, grazing her clit, and she undulated her hips in reply. When his finger went to the crease between her bottom cheeks, she froze for a moment. Her breath stilled. Was he going to touch her there? He tapped her bottom hole a few times, and she couldn’t help but moan and press back toward him. It was kinky. Different. She’d never done anything like this before. Missionary position with her ex was about as good as it got. But holy hell, this man’s fantastic cock was filling her, one finger was tickling her clit, and now… He pressed more firmly against her bottom hole. “Ummm, eeee?” She wasn’t sure what she was trying to say. “Don’t touch me there. It’s too embarrassing?” or “Please, for the love of all things Thor related, fuck my ass and make me scream.” Both made her nervous as anticipation built with her, but she couldn’t ignore the growing heat in her womb as he pressed inside her most intimate hole.
The digit slowly sank in, and she held very still, reveling in the new sensation. Wet heat now filled both her pussy and her anus, and she was so very close to losing her mind. In the very best way. Screw the overthinking, she told herself. “Keep going, I-I think I like this.”
His gaze grew darker, and he did just that. With one hand, he gripped her hips and started pulling her up and down, hard and fast onto his cock. “Keep going like that, woman. Hard and deep as you can.”
She brought her legs forward so her knees were bent at an almost ninety-degree angle, her feet on the bed above his hips. She held onto his shoulders for support and pushed herself up and down, reveling in the new angle as she took him even deeper within her.
When his finger started wiggling back and forth within her bottom, she released a high-pitched laugh. It was weird and sexy and oh my Lord fantastic. Her body was on fire. He withdrew almost all the way and then brought it in with a second finger, just as she came down fully seated on his cock. She’d never felt fuller, and she knew she wasn’t going to last much longer before she broke into a million pieces. “Ry…a…n.” She could barely get his name out as he fucked her senseless. He squeezed her clit when she came back up, and she screamed her release. Her pussy, her bottom, her whole body shuddering as the moment crashed through her like a runaway train. A moment later, he bellowed his release and jerkily met her thrust for thrust as they found each other in the chaos of lust and love.
She fell on top of him, trying to catch her breath. “Holy crap, that was…” She wiggled a bit more, as the orgasm finally subsided.
“Different, amazing, weird, cool?” Ryan supplied with an easy grin.
“All of the above. I’m up for trying it again sometime.” She kissed him as he rolled them both over, so he was on top of her.
“Good to hear. I have a book I’ve been dying to share with you.” He kissed her long and hard then disentangled their limbs as he stood. “Be right back.”
She listened to the sounds of him washing up in the bathroom sink, and grinned at the dull ache in every part of her body. Maybe she should tell him about the secret stash of books she’d never been able to utilize? Later. They had all the time in the world.
Ryan returned with a warm, wet washcloth and proceeded to lovingly wipe every inch of her. She loved how attentive he was. “So, what do you want to do for dinner? We can still make our reservation if we hurry,” he said.
She opened her arms, and he lay down and took her against his hot chest. “We’ve been racing toward all these different goals for a while now. Why don’t we just stop racing for a bit. Relax. Enjoy the moment.”
“I had a feeling you might say that.” He grinned and popped up when the doorbell rang. He pulled his pants and shirt on quickly and met her surprised gaze “I ordered pizza, just in case we didn’t want to go out.”
She laughed and pulled the blankets over herself as he walked out to the living room. Ryan kept her on her toes, for sure. She could finally enjoy the moment with him—for them—and relax.
No more racing toward love. She’d found it in Ryan.
About the Author
Everleigh Clark is a pen name of a USA Today bestselling author who wanted to write some fun paranormal romance. She’s also a homeschooling mommy, crafter and choc-aholic.
When she’s not wrangling kittens, googling math help or cleaning up slime, she’s plotting and writing her next book. Her characters are fun, lovable and messy. Just like the characters in her real life.
Everleigh loves to connect with readers! Please visit her on:
- to win prizes, get to know Everleigh, hear about sales and receive ARCs.
Do you want to be updated on everything, receive bonus scenes and get the “behind closed doors” explanations about the contemporary and paranormal worlds Everleigh has created?
Join the newsletter.