“Please what?”
“I need you. Inside me. Now.”
I slide home in one long stroke, and we both groan at the connection. She’s tight, wet, perfect—everything I never knew I needed.
“I love you,” I tell her again as I start to move. “My wife. My everything.”
“I love you too.” She arches up to meet me. “Husband.”
We move together, finding a rhythm that builds and builds. The pleasure coils tighter with every thrust, every gasp, every whispered declaration. And when we finally fall over the edge together, it feels like the beginning of everything.
Afterward, we lie tangled together, sweaty and satisfied, watching the lights of Vegas through the window.
“So,” Josie says, tracing patterns on my chest. “What now?”
“Now we go home.” I press a kiss to her hair. “Build a life. Take down the occasional cartel. Host holiday dinners that Ginger will inevitably take over.”
“Sounds boring.”
I can hear the smile in her voice. “You love it.”
“I loveyou.”
“Same thing.”
She tilts her head up to kiss me, soft and sweet.
“Thank you,” she whispers against my lips. “For giving me this life I never knew I wanted.”
“Thank you for letting me.” I pull her closer.
We fall asleep as the sun starts to rise over the desert, wrapped around each other, exactly where we belong.
EPILOGUE
JOSIE
THREE MONTHS LATER
The clubhouse is fucking chaos.
Ginger has taken over the kitchen, directing traffic like a sequined general. Maggie is arranging flowers on every available surface. Duck—Mayor Duck now, which is a still fucking hilarious—is attempting to help and mostly getting in the way. The twins are running circles around everyone while Andi tries unsuccessfully to corral them.
It’s Thanksgiving, and apparently that means the entire extended Stoneheart family has descended on the clubhouse for dinner.
“Is it always like this?” Isabel asks, appearing at my elbow. Lily clings to her leg, watching the chaos with wide eyes.
“Pretty much.” I smile at her. “You get used to it.”
“Really?”
“Eventually.” I crouch down to Lily’s level. “Hey, sweet. Want to help me set the table? I need someone to put the napkins in the right spots.”
She considers this very seriously, then nods.
“I’ll be right here,” Isabel tells her. “Just in the next room.”
The fact that she can let Lily out of her sight for even a moment is huge. Stone finds me in the dining room, Lily carefully folding napkins beside me.
