Vicious Little Darling (Love So Cruel #3)

27. Epilogue

JAXTON

Three Years Later

I snap his neck and let the body drop, frowning at how easy it was.

“You didn’t fight hard enough, buddy,” I joke, stepping over the limp man. “But you really should’ve gotten better at paying back loans.”

Slipping out of the alley, I check my watch, and see that it’s half past midnight. I pull out my phone, and dial Roman’s number.

“Done?” he answers.

“Yep,” I say, breathing out a sigh. “He didn’t fight. Spent most of our encounter begging for his life, but you know how that goes.”

“Never well,” he chuckles.

“Nope. I’m leaving him there. I don’t think anyone will think twice about a junkie dropping dead in the middle of this part of town. Just another casualty of addiction.”

“Good plan.” He sounds indifferent to the idea. I take the moment to hail a fucking cab to get back home. Ember’s probably waiting, and she knows what happens on nights like tonight. Turns out, I was right.

She is all I need.

“Have a good night,” I tell him. “We’ll meet up sometime tomorrow.”

“Got it.” Roman hangs up the phone, and I shove it into the pocket of my jacket and climb into the backseat of the cab. I lean my head back against the seat. Megan was supposed to come over, but I hope like hell she’s gone by now.

We’ll see.

I’m still not a huge fan of any woman other than mine, but that’s okay. I don’t think Ember minds at all. She never has to worry about me fucking one of her friends. No one but her will ever do it for me. I swallow hard, shifting as my dick gets hard thinking about what’s to come.

“Late night?” the cab driver tries to make conversation, and I roll my eyes.

“Guess that depends on what you call late,” I say.

“True,” the driver chuckles.

I spend the rest of the ride in silence, and by the time I’m back at the apartment complex, my fucking hands are shaking with need. I blow through the front doors and head straight for the elevator, punching the damned button like a madman. My foot taps on the floor and what’s only a few minutes feels like hours.

The doors finally chime open, and I step inside, the light glinting off the silver wedding band on my left hand. Mrs. Marks is waiting for me, and I know she’s just as fucking excited as I am about what’s to come.

I take a few raspy breaths as the elevator rises to the penthouse level. I step off onto the floor as soon as the doors are open wide enough for me to fit through. I punch in the code of my front door, and then shove it open, letting it bang against the wall.

I’m home, Ember.

But she’s nowhere to be found.

The whole of the apartment is pitch black, and it ups the ante. I shut and lock the door, before reaching into my jacket pocket. I pull out the old faithful mask, and slide it onto my head.

“Where are you, Little Flame?” I call out into the silent house. My voice seems to echo, but I grin at the little squeal of excitement I hear coming from upstairs. I nearly laugh at how excited she sounds. As much as she loves to play this game…

She’s terrible at it.

I do not creep toward the stairs; instead I let my footsteps echo on the floor. I know that gets her riled up, hearing me coming for her pussy. I climb the stairs to the second floor, and then quietly ease down the hallway.

Our bedroom door is cracked and the light from the TV floods the hallway. I now shift to creeping, wanting to get my eyes on her before she knows I’m there. I peer in and catch sight of her lying on the bed, dressed in her best lingerie.

Of course, she’s going to torture me.

I take in the way her breasts tease me from behind a sheer black teddy, and it cuts into a deep V at her hips. Her hand slides down her body, not stopping until she’s rubbing herself over the thin fabric.

You know I’m watching.

But still, I linger, enjoying the show she’s putting on for me. Her back arches and a moan slips from her pretty lips. Her hair is spread across the bed, cascading like silk. She’s a goddess.

She’s my goddess.

“Don’t you dare fucking come yet,” I growl as I push the door the rest of the way open. Her back is arched so much that there’s a gap between her lower back and the bed. “I’d hate to have to punish you for it.”

“In that case,” she moans out, bringing herself all the way there. “ Jaxton ,” she cries out my first name as she comes, which has become a moment of fucking magic. She comes beneath that fucking little piece of fabric, and she knows what that does to me.

“You’re such a bad girl,” I rumble, stepping inside and shutting the door. “You’re lucky you’re so goddamned pretty.”

She grins up at me wickedly. “What are you gonna do about it?”

I grab her ankles, dragging her to the edge of the bed. I lift the mask up just enough for my mouth and run my tongue over the material between her legs. “Such a shame you’re covered, Little Flame.”

Ember gasps, reaching down and fumbling with the release for the bottom of the piece. “I can fix that,” she pants.

“No,” I grab her wrists pinning them down. “I think you’re going to pay the price for taking away my turn to make you come. You’ve already gone, so it’s my turn.”

She giggles as I stand, pulling the mask back down. As hot as it is to be serious and dark, I love the way she laughs. It’s fucking music to my ears, and I’ll take any sound she makes over anything else in the world.

I flip her onto her stomach, and pull the fabric to the side, giving myself just enough room to plunge right into her. “Oh fuck,” I groan as she whimpers with pleasure. “My turn. My. Fucking. Turn.”

I pound into the back of her mercilessly, giving her every inch of me over and over, until she’s screaming my name all over again. I rip the mask off my head as I lean down over her, fisting her hair and biting down on her shoulder.

She comes a second time, and I follow her, pumping her pussy full of my cum. I groan with satisfaction, and then kiss the place I bit her.

“I love you, Ember,” I murmur into her skin, inhaling her like I’m starved for oxygen.

“I love you, too,” she sighs back to me, rolling over as I pull out of her.

“How was it?”

“Mm, I’d rate it a ten out of ten, just like always,” I smirk, leaning over and planting a kiss on her lips. “It’s you. It’s always good.”

She giggles but then swats my shoulder. “I mean how was the job tonight. You haven’t gone out in a while.”

I suck in a breath. “It was fine. The guy was a limp fucking noodle, really. I snapped his neck in a few seconds and that was that.”

“Damn,” Ember sits up, stretching her arms over her head. “You fucked me like it was more exciting than that.”

I laugh, palming her pretty tits. “Anytime I come home to this, it’s exciting. It has nothing to do with the job.”

I let out a sigh and take a seat next to her. “In fact, I don’t think it does anything for me at all. I just need you, Little Flame.”

She smiles softly up at me, tracing her fingers along my jaw. “I just need you, too, Jaxton.”

I rest my forehead against hers. “I think we might need one more thing.”

“What’s that?” she hums. “Because I hope it’s not adding a third. I could never handle you touching someone else. I might turn into a serial killer myself—and my parents are coming, too.”

I chuckle. “No one for me, but you.” I run my hand down her bare thigh. “But I was thinking that maybe it’s time to expand the family.”

She falls silent and pulls away from me, tipping her head back.

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” I say the word carefully, trying to gauge her expression. “I mean, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened yet, because we never try not to, you know? And I don’t know… I think…” My voice trails off as I push some of her hair out of her face. “I think I’d like to see you as a mother.”

Her eyes glisten with tears. “Really?”

“Yeah,” I say, confused as she gets to her feet and grabs for my T-shirt, pulling it over her head. It drops to the middle of her thighs, and I feel the familiar pang of disappointment as her body is suddenly covered. “We don’t have to. I’m happy either way.”

She disappears into the bathroom, and I curse under my breath. I thought this is what she’d want. She’s been making fucking hints for months, and even my uncle noticed that she’s been talking to his new wife about it. I run my fingers through my hair, waiting to see if she’s going to come back—or if I’m going to have to go after her.

“You know,” Ember’s voice called from the bathroom. “Has your uncle talked to you?”

“What?” I call out, shaking my head. “No, I mean, yeah, but not like that. I just thought…”

She reappears from the bathroom, a soft expression on her face. “I’m glad you want that. I am…”

“But?” I raise my brows as she comes to stand between my legs, putting my head at her chest level. “But not right now?”

“No,” she says, and then presses something into my hand. “I think right now might be the perfect time, actually.”

I wrap my fingers around what she’s placed in my hand, already with a clue as to what it is. A blast of anxiety and excitement thrums through my chest as I pull my hand away from hers and reveal the pregnancy test stick.

“Holy shit,” I whisper, seeing two-pink lines pop on the test. “You’re pregnant, Ember.”

“I am,” she says quietly.

I stare at the two lines for a few moments longer, taking it all in. Then, I peer up at her, seeing the way her eyes are glistening and the way her expression is etched with nerves. She’s been nervous about telling me.

“This is amazing,” I say to her. “The second-best day of my life.”

“Really?” she breaks into a smile and a tear rolls down her cheek. “What was the first?”

I pull her in for a kiss. “The day I found you.”

THE END.