Epilogue 1

Epilogue 1
ARIA

Five Years Later

I pull the casserole out of the oven and kick the door closed with my foot, careful not to burn myself. 

Somewhere deep in the house, I hear screaming. 

"Barty?" I say loudly. "What's going on?"

There's a considerable pause before he responds. "Nothing!"

I shake my head and set the dish down on the dining table. "Wren? Wanna tell me what's going on?"

Again, she doesn't respond right away. I know those two are up to something. They're always fighting and their relationship is not at all what it should be—Wren's his aunt, but Barty doesn't seem to understand that. 

They're like siblings. Then again, what did we expect?

"I want both of you to come downstairs right this minute!" I yell. "Lunch's ready and Dad will be here any minute. Don't forget to wash your hands!"

I hear them clearly arguing before the sound of their footsteps fills my ears. I can't help but smile to myself. Those two are so adorable and I don't know what I'd do without them in my life. 

I didn't have doubts about raising Wren, even when Ryder and I were shocked by the news that Lizzie had died during childbirth. I took one look at the baby girl and felt my heart shatter. I knew what it was like to have no parents, and to me, it didn't matter who her parents had been, or what they'd done. 

Wren was innocent and she needed a home. 

We've been with her ever since. Establishing our relationships has been...complicated. She calls me 'Mommy', but she knows that Ryder is her big brother. Is it strange? Yes. But our hearts are in the right place and that's what counts.  

I hear them racing down the stairs and turn my attention to them both. She comes to me first, pouting. "He gave me a boo-boo here." 

She points at a bruising spot on her forearm and I gasp. "Barty! How many times do I have to tell you to play nicely?"

"She gave me a boo-boo first!" he cries, pointing at his forehead. They launch into a huge argument just as the front door opens and Ryder walks in. 

At last. 

"Hey, hey, hey," he laughs as he shrugs off his coat and hangs it near the door. "What's all this about?"

They both start yelling over each other and his eyes meet mine. I shrug and fold my arms, letting him resolve the matter. 

"Tell him to stop, Big Brother," Wren says as she wraps her arms around his neck. Barty does the same and Ryder picks both of them up. 

"Okay, no more fighting, both of you. We're family. We don't fight among ourselves, alright? You two love each other."

Barty folds his arms and turns his face away. "I don't love her."

I stifle a laugh and Wren whimpers before crying. Ryder spends about twenty minutes convincing them that they're friends and that they do love each other, and then we sit down to eat. 

His hand settles on my thigh under the table and he squeezes it. Our lips meet briefly and he whispers, "I didn't even give you a proper hello."

"Whatever we get is good enough these days."

After lunch, Barty usually gets pretty sleepy, so that means that Wren takes a nap, too. We put them both in bed, and then we have the entire afternoon to ourselves. 

Ryder wraps an arm around my waist before we even get to the bedroom, his lips latching onto the side of my neck. I giggle and he kicks the door closed. 

"Finally," he grumbles as he fumbles with the buttons on my shirt. He palms my breasts over my bra and my head rolls back. "I thought we'd never get any alone time."

"I thought you were busy with Alpha Wilson's visit," I remind him. He tosses my shirt on the floor and brings the straps of my bra down my arms. 

"He can wait," he murmurs against my nape as he unclasps the bra. "The rest of the world can fucking wait."

I turn around as we stumble toward the bedroom, running my hands up and down his bare chest. As soon as I land on the bed, he unbuttons my pants and tugs the soft material down my legs along with my panties. I'm completely naked before him, and then we both work on getting him undressed. 

In no time, he's on top of me and his mouth takes over my nipple. His tongue laves over each one and I writhe beneath him. I'm mad with need. 

"Ryder," I whisper as I thread my fingers through his hair, disheveling it. 

"Perfect," he murmurs against my skin after popping one wet nipple from his warm mouth. "So fucking perfect. Mine. This is all mine. You're all mine."

He trails his lips down my stomach, then lower until he's right between my legs. He presses his nose against the most sensitive part of me and inhales deeply. I arch against him, needing more of his touch. 

I let out a cry of pleasure when his mouth starts working my clit. Shivers race down my spine and my whole body comes to life. Ryder palms my inner thighs and pushes my legs further apart, spreading me as wide as he can. 

I feel him push two fingers inside of me while his tongue travels up and down my slit. He lets out a groan that travels through me as he devours me. He then reaches up to palm my breasts again while I roll my hips against his face, trembling.

I chant his name. "Ryder, Ryder, Ryder..."

He stops right before I climax and crawls back up my body. I kiss his wet lips, tasting myself on them. It drives me insane. As he hooks my thighs around his waist, the look in his eyes lights me up all over again. 

He whispers in my ear, "I need to be inside you, baby."

I push his chest gently so he's lying back on the end and I'm on top of him, straddling his waist. I reach behind me and wrap my hand around his cock. I start stroking him and lean down to kiss him. 

Ryder's tongue plunges inside my mouth and he starts kissing me desperately. Before I know it, he flips me so that he's on top of me again, and then he kneels in front of me and grabs one leg. He hooks my thigh over his shoulder and positions himself right against me. 

The tip of his cock teases my entrance and I moan. He pushes into me slowly, groaning, and squeezes the fleshy part of my thigh. 

When he's all the way inside of me, we both cry out. I see the desire in his eyes. The way he looks at me...it will never cease to make me fall for him over and over again. Day after day. 

This closeness...this love...it's the reason why we're still here, stronger than ever. Prepared to face the world together at all times. 

"Baby," he moans as he pulls out just before pushing back in. I move my hips against his, meeting him thrust for thrust. I glide my hands up his chest and tighten my legs around him. 

"Yes," I moan breathlessly. "Oh, yes. Just like that."

"You feel so good," he grits out, thrusting into me harder and faster. My fingernails dig into his skin, leaving little moon-shaped marks behind. I close my eyes as a wave of pure pleasure washes over me, but before I can climax, he stops and flips me so I'm on my stomach. 

I don't have time to protest. He pushes into me from behind and the different angle makes me cry out. I fist the bedsheets as he drives into me while wrapping my hair around his hand. I'm pressed flush against him, back to chest, and my moans fill the room, echoing.

His lips brush against my ear and his free hand settles right between my legs, finding my clit. He rubs me into a frenzy, and I shudder below him, begging for release. 

"P-Please," I whimper. Goddess, I can feel it. My body's preparing for the climax that will sweep over me. His hand keeps moving. Massaging me. I close my eyes, panting. He rams into me over and over, quicker and harder, and my body tenses.

I let go. 

I cry out with shameless abandon, clenching around his length. His movements become frantic and then he comes, too, spilling deep inside of me while his face is buried into the curve of my neck. 

We cling to each other afterward, and he breathes in my scent with a long sigh. That felt so good. 

So incredibly good. 

Ryder laces his fingers with mine. I turn my body around to face him, then kiss his sweat-drenched upper lip. 

"My Luna," he whispers against my lips. "My everything."

"I love you," I whisper around the knot forming in my throat. "So much it hurts."

He presses his forehead against mine. "And I love you. I always will."

I fall asleep in his arms with the certainty that nothing will ever tear us apart. Nothing will ever ruin us and make us turn away from each other. 

He's mine, and I'm his. 

Now, and always.