Epilogue

 

MANDY

I am exhausted. But I guess that’s what happens when your boyfriend drags you to bed and fucks you over and over and over again with his big and perfect cock. Also, ouch! My pink bits are a little sore today. We couldn’t get enough of each other last night.

I stretch my aching muscles and smile as Cas enters the room with a tray. There’s coffee cups and orange juice and a single African violet from the pot on the kitchen window sill. “Morning, sleepy head. You will never believe who is in my kitchen, whipping up breakfast for the masses.”

“Dylan and Gabe.” I sit up, tucking the sheet under my arms and snagging a piece of buttered toast as he sits the tray in the middle of the bed and climbs on beside me. Above us the fan skims lazy circles in the humid air that still smells like trees and dirt and fresh rain. The storm didn’t last long enough. “I asked them last night before I found you. Either you weren’t going to be in town, or you were going to be right here in this bed with me. So I asked them for help.”

“Good move.” He smiles.

“You think?” I don’t know how we got here. I mean, I know the details of the last three months. I can recall every single move we made, but I’m still surprised, still blown away. Never in a million years should we have ended up falling in love. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. And yet he makes my heart happy, and my body sing. It’s terrifying and blissful all at the same time, and I don’t ever want to forget this sensation.

“It was a great move.” He places the tray out of the way so he can grip my waist and pull me free of the tangle of sheets and on top of him. “Having you all to myself sounds like the perfect way to spend the morning.”

“I can’t believe you’re my boyfriend.” I clasp his face and kiss him. He’s scruffy, his jaw coarse against my skin as he slides his tongue along mine. Big rough hands skim my spine and hold me close. He’s already growing hard between my thighs as I pull his cotton T-shirt up over his head.

“You’re insatiable, Mandy Pearce.” He curls up to suck my nipple between his teeth. “And I am so glad I get to be your boyfriend for now.”

“For now?” I roll my hips and make him groan.

“Trust me, girl.” He twists so that I’m flat on my back and then he’s crawling backwards so that his hands are planted by my hips and he’s staring at my pussy. “I plan on being much more.”

“Fiancé.” I giggle, and then the world spins as he licks his way up my pussy to my clit. Taking his sweet, sweet time he devours me until all the words and thoughts in my head melt away. He sucks and nibbles and tongue fucks me until I scream his name, and then his hand covers my mouth, and I fall apart.

Then he crawls up to kiss my lips. “Husband.”

“Baby daddy?”

“Maybe we’ll adopt a pet first.” He grins.

“We had Soldier.” I pretend to pout. I’m not quite ready to go down that path. I want to be selfish with Cas and hold all his attention for a while.

“Good point.” He brushes his thumb across his lip. “Maybe a kitten this time.”

“Maybe,” I agree. “Or maybe we can borrow Razer and Claire’s baby from time to time.”

“What?” His brown eyes widen. “They’re having a baby?”

“Yes.” I bite my lip. “But I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.”

“That’s pretty cool,” he says, enclosing me in his arms. I rest my cheek against his chest, listen to his heartbeat. “Razer must be ecstatic to start his own family.”

“Family is…” Even with Cas beside me the idea of family, of never knowing where I came from, and never knowing who my people are makes me feel alone for a moment. Sam gave me my birth certificate last night. Where did I put it? In my purse. I scramble off the bed. “Where did I put my purse last night?”

“Kitchen, I think.” Cas rests on his elbows and tracks me as I dress in one of his T-shirts that comes to mid-thigh. I’m already ripping open the door when he jumps off the bed and tosses a pair of sweats at me. “You’re not going out there like that.”

“It’s just the guys.” I pull the sweats on anyway. Chances are I’ll run into kids if I don’t. “Come on.”

“What are we doing?” He asks, pulling his T-shirt back on as we careen through the ranch to the noisy kitchen. Razer and Claire are in there as well as Dylan and Gabe and Summer.

I find my purse tucked onto one of the hooks by the door. Opening it, I pull the envelope out and rip it. My hands are so shaky. My chest is tight. This might not tell me anything I don’t already know. It may not help me find my parents. It doesn’t mean they want to know me. It’s a piece of paper that possibly may only bring heartbreak. I hesitate. My eyes water.

Cas stands in front of me. He looks at the envelope and then at me. “That something to do with finding your birth parents?”

“Yep.”

“You want to know?”

“Yes,” I whisper, my voice breaks.

“You want me to read it?” He clasps my hands in his.

I nod.

Gently, he tugs the envelope from my frozen hands and finishes opening it. The envelope is set aside, the paper read. He clears his throat and glances around the room. I swear we collectively hold our breath.

“Mandy Pearce, you’re the daughter of Harley and Will Ben—”

“—nington,” Razer finishes, his voice strangely gravelly.

“Holy shit,” Claire says.

“I don’t understand,” I whisper. The world seems queerly surreal, like any minute the floor will fall out from beneath me.

“You’re a Bennington,” Cas says, showing me the paper.

Razer comes to stand beside me, staring at me like he’s never seen me before. “Mandy, you’re my sister.” 

THE END

Enjoyed this book and want to know what’s coming next and when? Sign up for my . I promise never to spam you, but I will tell you about new releases, and share excerpts, and teasers, and sales.