Epilogue
Because of the amount of time that Aaliyah’s legs hadn’t been working right, a part of her really thought that if Max tried to carry her over the threshold of their honeymoon suite, she might put up a fight and insist that she could do it herself. But instead, when he swung her into his strong arms, she turned into a giggling pile of mush at her enjoyment. As the door was opened for them, she was the one to thank the hotel bellhop as Max was far too busy nipping and kissing at the soft spot behind her ear. Between the champagne, his kisses, and how drop-dead sexy he looked in his tuxedo, Aaliyah could feel the heat pooling inside of her stomach, and she knew it would only be a matter of time before that same heat traveled south.
He set her down on strong legs inside of their suite for the night. Still wearing her wedding dress, Max took her hand and spun her in a circle.
“You look absolutely stunning,” he told her.
For the millionth time that night, she thanked him for his compliment, but just as he’d meant it every time he said it, so did she. She had felt completely thankful for everything that she had, the strength she’d regained in her body, everything that had happened to her, and especially her new husband, all night long.
Once their relationship had gone public again, it was hard to take all the tabloids and their criticisms, but they took it in stride as a couple, deciding not to care about what anyone said about them. They were even able to laugh at a few of the stories, especially the ones that included him paying her to come back to him.
“If only they knew that I was getting paid the first time around,” she had mused.
Eli had been skeptical, just as Aaliyah had expected he would, but the more their relationship progressed and Max stayed out of trouble, the more Eli learned to trust him again. At least, as much as a father figure can. Caroline was far harder to convince that Max was a good guy. She fully believed that Max was generally good, it was just hard convincing her that he was good for Aaliyah. When they all hung out together, it was as if Caroline had one eye on Max at all times, but he took it in good stride and did everything he could to convince her he wasn’t the playboy he used to be.
Including setting her up with one of the guys from his team whom she’d brought as her date to the wedding.
“Real celebrity wedding here!” she squealed as they were getting their hair and makeup done for the big day. “You’re marrying a major star; your maid-of-honor is dating his star friend. We’ve finally made it!”
Aaliyah laughed a little at the enthusiasm of Caroline. She didn’t feel like she’d made it because she was marrying a celebrity like Max, she felt she had made it because she was simply marrying Max. True, they hadn’t been together long before he proposed, only a few months really, and they had only taken eight months to plan the wedding, but even though they hadn’t been together very long, she knew she was marrying someone special.
Once their real relationship had begun, she saw how absolutely romantic he could be, how much he tried to make her happy, and how he always made her feel like a princess, just like she was feeling in her wedding gown. With her hair swept up in an elaborate style which Aaliyah had no idea how she’d get out, and a white sparkling tight bodice that flowed perfectly into a ball-gown fit for a true princess, she couldn’t have dreamed for a better wedding.
Max pulled her close to his body and began to kiss her deeply on the mouth. It never ceased to amaze her how much just his kisses affected her. Just one kiss made her legs feel weak in a completely different way. He drove her wild, and she loved it. Lightly, his fingers traced up and down her bare arms, and goosebumps rose as her body heated up. His mouth moved with a definite purpose from her lips to her jaw and then back to that spot behind her ear and her neck. A little moan escaped her lips, and she reached out her hand to brush up against him. He was already straining against his pants.
“You make me crazy,” he whispered against her. The hot words against her neck sent a shiver down her body.
Aaliyah couldn’t wait any longer as she pushed him back toward the bed and pulled his pants down, freeing exactly what she’d been wanting to see. But she knew he’d been waiting to see her too, so she stepped away from the bed and unzipped her own dress, letting it fall to the floor. Max’s eyes grew wide as he saw the pure white lace lingerie against her dark skin. He tried to sit up and go to her, but she gently pushed him back down.
She wanted to, needed to, taste him.
Her eyes stayed trained on him as she gave him pleasure, moaning at the feel of him on her tongue. She could feel the pressure building up inside of him, and he grabbed her by the hips, swinging her on top of him. The feel of him inside of her was almost too much satisfaction for her to handle. The way they moved together as if they were made for one another, the way he could hit all of her spots the way no man ever had before, drove her to the brink of ecstasy constantly.
But he was very careful about not pushing her over the edge too fast. He would make her wait, drag it out, push her to her edge and then pull her back in, leaving her panting, sweating, and begging for more from him. The best part was knowing that she made him just as needy for her body. The way he would grab her, move her around the bed, around the room, let her know that he simply couldn’t get enough of her. That he wanted her every way he could have her and he’d always want to drink her in.
When he finally let her fall over the edge into ecstasy, he fell right along with her, both of their bodies convulsing and writhing, their senses ignited. While the feeling lingered, every touch and every movement sent waves of pleasurable sensations flowing through her body. Her fingers traced light trails along his back as he let his body fall on top of hers. Their breathing settled, and they began breathing as one just as their rapid beating hearts slowed and fell into rhythm together.
When he finally rolled away from her, she immediately missed the warmth of him, the strength of his body, and she shivered. Sensing exactly what she needed, he pulled her close to him and held her tightly. She relaxed in his arms and felt at peace and, more importantly, at home. With her eyes shut, she pictured her amazing day and a smile rested on her lips.
The wedding venue had been gorgeous, spacious, and classy, filled with red roses. Everyone on Max’s guest list had RSVPed they were coming so Aaliyah knew before the doors even opened that it was going to be packed. But when the doors had swung open, she hadn’t seen anyone except for her fiancé standing at the altar. Their eyes had locked, and it was as if nothing and no one else in the world mattered. When she’d gotten close enough, she’d seen the tears that were brimming in his eyes.
“Wow,” he’d breathed when Eli gave Max her hand.
After she’d lost her parents, she didn’t imagine she’d ever find someone to walk her down the aisle, but Eli had stepped up to her side and offered to be the one to give her away. With him walking her down the aisle, Caroline her maid-of-honor looking stunning in a wrap dress, and her fiancé (in a few moments, her husband) looking beyond delicious, she couldn’t have felt luckier. All she’d thought about through the whole ceremony, as eyes watched them hold hands and everyone listened as they said their vows, was how much she loved them.
It was funny how easy it came to her to forgive him for his earlier mess up. Because in just a year, there she was, standing with a man becoming his wife, thinking that she’d never even known she could love someone as much as she loved him. Amazed at how full her heart felt with Eli, Caroline, and mostly Max.
At his insistence, Max had given her the most spectacular ceremony, as well as a reception that had been deemed the ‘party of the year’ by the media. There were food and drinks in every corner of the dining room, and the biggest dance floor she’d ever seen. When they were planning, the whole thing had felt like too much of a fuss for her, but as she danced in the middle of the crowd, Max never leaving her side, it didn’t feel like too much. It was wild, unpredictable, and extravagant, just like their whole relationship had been.
And now she lay, drifting off to sleep in his muscled arms, her body and soul spent from the perfect day and the perfect wedding.
“Do you know how much I love you?” he whispered against her hair.
“I think I have a little idea,” she teased back.
“I don’t think you do.” He kissed the crown of her head and pulled her tighter. “I don’t have any idea where I’d be if I hadn’t met you. Even though the situation wasn’t ideal in the beginning, the moment I saw you at the restaurant with Eli, I was mesmerized by you.”
“That seems like a lifetime ago.”
“It was,” he answered. “My life didn’t really begin until I fell in love with you. Your feisty side, your adorable side, your lips, your skin, your strength, and your love. Until I met you, I wasn’t really living.”
Aaliyah propped herself up on her elbows, letting the crisp hotel sheet drift down her body.
“Do you ever miss the life you had before me?”
Max looked intensely into her eyes. “Never. I don’t even remember who that guy was anymore. I’d rather spend a Saturday night with popcorn and a movie on the couch with you than spend it in some club getting wrecked.”
“And the sex?” she teased, lifting her eyebrow playfully.
“Oh, baby, trust me, I didn’t know how good sex could really be until you.”
She leaned down and kissed his lips. “Good,” she chided.
Settling back into the crook of his arm, she let out a satisfied sigh. “Without you, I don’t know how I ever would have gained the strength to walk again. Aside from losing my parents, that accident was the hardest thing I’ve ever dealt with in my life. You were the only person that could pull me out of my depression, my pain, and my fear. When you would come to my hospital room, I would suddenly feel lighter, like I could handle anything.”
Max pulled away to look at her, and she met his gaze again. “I really did that for you?” His voice was filed with awe, and it touched her so deeply that she could feel her heart filling even more for him. She reached out and placed her hand on his jaw, feeling the rough stubble against her palm.
“You really did that for me. I wanted to be like the women you’d been with before. I wanted you to see me that way, to be proud of me, of being with me.”
Max rolled on top of her, pinning her beneath him. She laughed and once again took in his body in sheer amazement that any man could look that perfect.
“From the moment I saw you, I wanted you. I’ve always been the lucky one to be with you.”
She leaned up and kissed him, knowing that his heart beat for her just as hers did for him.
***
Max lay awake that night after Aaliyah had fallen asleep, naked and spent in his arms. He had always wondered how people could say they just sat and stared at someone; he always wondered how that person didn’t get bored. And more importantly, how you would even find someone in your life worth staring at for that long.
He didn’t have to wonder anymore—he knew.
As the night grew into sunrise, he studied every feature of Aaliyah’s beautiful face. From the eyelashes that brushed gently against the apples of her cheeks, to the freckles that lightly dusted her nose that no one would even notice unless you’d been staring at her for so long, which he had. As the sky lightened, he realized his wedding was over and that this was his first day as a husband. He had to stifle a chuckle as he realized that he was a husband.
If anyone had told him just a short time ago that he’d be dropping his party ways at the drop of a hat to become a husband, he definitely would have laughed in their face and probably downed another shot. But instead, he had a white gold band that gleamed on his ring finger and a huge sparkling rock on hers that told the world that, indeed, playboy Max Connors had settled down.
It terrified him how close he’d come to losing her, how he’d made such a mistake with Sylvia out of a night of pure fear. But after he’d kicked that sneaky woman out of his apartment, he hadn’t heard from her again. He did hear that she’d found her way into another celebrity’s bed and he was keeping her there for a while, so he supposed he was happy for her. Not that he cared all that much. All he truly cared about was the woman wrapped in his arms.
There were two perfect moments of his entire wedding day, ones that he would remember and hold on to tightly for the rest of his life. The first was the moment the doors opened and he saw his bride—God was she a sight. Absolutely stunning with a dress that hugged her body making her look sexy and like a princess all at the same time. And her smile, it was so pure, so genuine, it nearly broke his heart how much he loved her. When their eyes locked, he could see every bit of love he had for her reflected back at him, and he knew it was a feeling, a picture, and a moment that he’d remember for the rest of his life.
The other perfect moment was having his brother by his side at the altar. He was dressed in a great-looking tuxedo and smiled with pride the entire time. Ever since Max had brought him to the game, their relationship had changed drastically. He never would have guessed that one day could change two of his most important relationships. But since then, he and Sammy had gone out and done things together—dinners, casual drinks, movies, and team events. It felt great to have a brother that he could do things with, that he could make memories with.
He knew Sammy wouldn’t be around forever, and sometimes he hated himself for missing out on living life with him because he’d been so worried about protecting him. But Aaliyah, the person who could always make him feel better, made him see things in a new light by reminding him that while he may have missed some time, he has the rest of the time to make up for it. When he had asked Sammy to be his best man, his big brother had told him it would be an honor, but the truth was the honor was Max’s to have his brother at his side as he said “I do” to the most magnificent woman he’d ever met.
Once their day started, they were going to be taking off on a plane to a private island far away from cameras, basketball, and (Aaliyah promised) internet connection, so she would leave her budding freelance business at home. He’d always thought getting married meant the end of adventure, the end of really living life, but he was wrong. Getting married had started the greatest adventure and journey he was ever going to go on, with the best teammate he’d ever find.
She stirred next to him as the sun peeked through, and he felt almost as giddy as he had the day before because today was the day their life really started together. If waking up to his wife every day for the rest of his life made him feel like this, he’d be eager to wake up every day.
“Hello, handsome,” she said, her voice still husky with sleep. “Is it time to get up?”
He kissed her forehead. “Almost, gorgeous, but I have a very good idea first.”
She caught the twinkle in his eyes, and she giggled, pulling him on top of her. The feel of her body, the scent of her skin, was always dizzying. He moved inside of her, waking her body from sleep and bringing his alive again.
“Thank you for making me the luckiest man alive,” he told her and kissed her lips.
“Thank you for making me your wife, for making me feel so special.”
They never did make their plane ride; they had to change it to the next day. Honeymoons could wait, Max figured. But staying in a bed all day with his amazing wife was something that he was thrilled to hang onto forever.
{{**}}
Dear Bad Boy Lover,
Thanks so much for reading this novel and I really hope you are enjoying this series.
It would be amazing if you could leave a review on Amazon – just a sentence or two would be great. Every review helps others to discover my work! :)
The other books in the “Bad Boys In Bed” series are listed below, go collect them all :-D
Book 1 – Max (This one)
Book 2 – Axel
Book 3 – Justin
Stay beautiful
Kendra x x