EPILOGUE

RYLAN

SIX MONTHS LATER

Mark was sentenced to fifty years in prison for attempted murder, felony kidnapping, illegal possession of a firearm, not to mention the aggravated assault charges from when he hit me before.

Seeing him being led away in handcuffs for the last time was beyond satisfying. Not only would he never hurt Cassie again, he’d never have the opportunity to harm another woman either. 

Unfortunately, his abuse had lasting effects on Cassie beyond that day at my apartment. 

She had trouble sleeping and would frequently wake up in a panic from nightmares. Anything that sounded even remotely like a gunshot sent her into a panic as well. 

Several nights a week I woke up to her scrambling out of bed, screaming my name and trying to run out the door. I pulled her into my arms every time and did my best to soothe her, telling her I was here and it was just a dream until she relaxed.

It killed me to see her suffering like that and I finally convinced her to seek therapy. 

It was slow-going and difficult but gradually, my beautiful and happy girl started coming back to me. 

She still didn’t sleep through the entire night but the nightmares steadily decreased. She stopped jumping at sudden noises as much and finally seemed able to move past everything she’d been through.

At nearly six months to the day of Mark holding her hostage, I woke up to find myself alone in bed. 

Light poured down through the skylight as I scrambled out of bed and bounded down the stairs in a panic. Did I actually sleep through her waking from her nightmare? 

On the kitchen counter sat a French press full of coffee and a note that read, Victory! I slept the whole night! :) Went in for an early shift. I’ll be home around noon, Kisses, Cassie. 

My chest swelled with pride and warmth as Cassie’s words sank in. Yes! My girl just kept on improving. Her resilience only made me respect and admire her that much more. 

When she came home, I was halfway through the French press with my feet up on the coffee table, watching TV. Before I even saw her, I smelled the doughnuts and my mouth instantly watered.

“Mmm, there’s my girl,” I said, rising up to greet her with a kiss. 

She wore her dazzling smile, flour-stained work uniform, and carried that magical pink box full of sugary goodness. 

“Mmm,” I repeated, tasting a hint of sugar and raspberry on her tongue. “Did you get started without me?” 

“Maybe,” she said with a sly wink. “My new raspberry cream filling is addictive since I tweaked the recipe.”

“You know what else is addictive,” I murmured into her neck, kissing my way to her shoulder as I pulled her tight against me. She’d only been gone a few hours but I still missed the hell out of her. 

“Hey, I thought of something today,” she said, wriggling in my arms. “Now that I’m sleeping like a baby and getting past everything.” 

“Mm-hmm?” I continued to trail lazy kisses across her hot skin, hoping her idea was coming back to bed. 

“Now that all the dust has settled and everything.” She took a hesitant pause. “I can finally move forward and get my own place.” 

I pulled away in surprise and just looked at her.

Confusion, shock, and I won’t lie, a bit of hurt passed through me. We never really talked about our living situation. Although the circumstances were far from normal, I considered my apartment to be hers as well. She seemed happy here. I never considered her moving out. 

“Is that what you want?” I asked, my voice a bit strained. 

“Well that’s the thing,” she replied with a bite of her lip. “Now would be the right time to do it but I don’t want to.” 

She reached up and touched my face, setting my heart aflame with those crystal blue eyes. 

“I love you and I don’t know what I’d do without you supporting me tirelessly through all this.” Tears threatened to fall and her lip wobbled. “I want nothing more than to stay here with you but if I’m a burden, just say it. I’ll get my own place and you can have breaks from me.” 

“Are you kidding me?” I whispered incredulously, lifting her up in my arms. 

Hoisting her over my shoulder I ran up the stairs to the loft. To her surprised shriek of laughter, I dropped her on the bed and pinned her beneath me. 

I didn’t speak again until I covered her gorgeous face and neck with kisses and felt my erection growing between us. 

“I want to wake up to you every single morning,” I said with my forehead against hers. “When you have nightmares, I want to hold you until you’re okay. When you’re happy, I want to laugh with you, eat doughnuts, and fuck like animals in the wild outdoors.”

“I want all those things too,” she said softly. 

“You’re not a burden and you never were,” I insisted. “Maybe one man treated you like one but he was wrong about everything.” 

Cassie wiped her tears away and I rolled us over, holding her on top of me as she giggled. 

“I love you and I want you to love yourself,” I said, sliding my hands across the back of her thighs.

“It’s a process but I’ll do my best,” she said with a sweet smile, running her hands down my torso. “But I’ll always love you more.”

I grinned as I closed my eyes, eager to savor her beautiful taste, and pulled her closer for another kiss. 

“We’ll see about that.”