A single tear slid down her cheek. I brushed it away with my thumb.
She smiled through it. “You think this is real?”
“I know it is.”
Outside, I could already hear Lucy’s voice echoing through the corridors, probably bossing someone into building a champagne fountain. But in that stall, everything felt still.
I’d given her the one thing I didn’t think I had in me—commitment. And she was given her wings back. Nothing else mattered. Just me and her.
EPILOGUE
IVY
Steam curled from the marble tub, softening the air with the scent of jasmine and smoke. I ran my fingers through the water, watching ripples chase each other across the surface. Yesterday's celebration still pulsed faintly in my veins—the laughter, the music, the way every gaze had followed us when Max’s mark flared gold against my skin.
Now the palace was quiet. Finally, blessedly quiet.
My reflection caught in the mirror—a flicker of disbelief that this was my life now. Bound, claimed, chosen. And for once, content.
I reached for the oils Shana had left out, her note still tucked beside them:For the newly imprinted. Try not to set the water on fire this time.Typical. I smiled despite myself, pouring a line of oil into the steaming water.
The scent rose around me, thick and sweet. My shoulders relaxed for the first time in hours. I wanted nothing more than to sink beneath the surface and let the world dissolve.
That was when the knock came—soft at first, then a little more insistent.
Thinking it was Shana with another snarky comment about how my imprinting celebration was ten times more elaborate than any other function in hell, I asked them to enter.
“For the last time, Shana. I can’t help who I’m related to.”
At the sharply inhaled breath, I knew my guest wasn’t Shana. Turning, I saw Max standing there in all his glory, not a stitch of clothing on that deliciously naked body. Tall and lithe, he had an athlete's body with the deep Vee leading down to a treasure trail that showed every inch of his massive cock.
Having had the pleasure of riding said cock all night the previous evening, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of delicious soreness between my legs. Had it been everything I had wanted it to be? Let’s just say that my pitfall experience with Gabriel hadn’t prepared me for what it would be like to ride my mated HuBull.
“I can’t believe that I have the rest of eternity to be with you,” he said simply, walking over to the bath. “Let me serve you. I know you are sore.”
I felt my face heating, but nodded and motioned to the small table where bath salts, oils, creams, and scrubs were located. Selfishly, I wanted Max to yank me out of the bath and fuck me again as he had over and over again last night. But I wasn’t quite brave enough to voice that yet.
Lucy called this the honeymoon phase, as if we were newlyweds rather than newly imprinted mates. Some say there is little difference, but I knew better. I felt intrinsically connected to Max in a way that I supposed humans would never feel. My heart yearned to be with him always, and his touch on my skin was like a benediction to the most beautiful service imaginable.
I could say without a doubt that I loved him. His body called to mine, stronger than a siren’s call, and I would have moved heaven and earth to answer.
Max knelt beside the tub and picked up a sponge, lathering it with soap. “Lean forward, Ivy.”
I leaned over my bent knees and allowed Max to scrub my back, the bumps where my wings were housed, and then my hair. He washed my legs and feet, tickling my toes like the cherubs used to when giving a pedicure. Then he lathered the sponge again and asked me to lean back against the rim of the tub. Gently, he took my breasts into his hands and massaged them, tweaking the nipples and then rubbing them with his palms.
I panted and cried out, “That’s more than washing, sir.”
Max laughed. “We haven’t even gotten to my favorite part.”
Without the sponge, Max soaped up his hands and cleaned my most intimate areas. He was gentle, thorough, and all the while I could feel my sex growing hungry for his fingers, his tongue, and his cock.
I rocked against his hand when he slipped a finger inside of me, pumping it softly and causing a moan to escape my lips. But then he removed it, and I tried to grasp his hand, pulling it back to me.
“Greedy, demoness,” he laughed. “I have more in store for you.”
Pulling me from the tub, uncaring for the water that splashed on the stone floor, Max lifted me in his arms and carried me over to where a vast mirror was hanging over a dressing table. He placed me on the table and parted my thighs.
Boldly, I parted them further, holding my knees and sinking back until everything and all that I am was exposed to him.
