Page 95 of Crossing the Line

Epilogue

Paisley Grove

Ican’t remember which day of the week it is. Not wearing a stitch of clothing, I push the curtains open. Our villa is high on a cliff. Below, sparkling blue waves crash against the stone mountains. We’ve been to Rome, but Hercules and I prefer the romantic towns along the Amalfi Coast. We arrived in Positano yesterday. And then one hour later, our lives changed forever.

Our families are too occupied by our grandparents’ explanation and apology tour to give us much thought. As light filters into our beautiful bedroom, I hold my hand up to the sky to admire my fifty-carat diamond ring. It’s so magnificent. I’m generally not into jewelry, but I’m so into this ring my husband has bought me. Hercules and I were married yesterday. It was just the two of us, and our ceremony rocked my world. We couldn’t wait for the planned ceremony that our mothers are nitpicking over. We fear something could go wrong between now and the New Year’s Eve wedding day. They’ll never know we’re already married, though. We won’t tell them unless we have to.

Hercules had asked me several times whether Treasure would ever agree to marry Orion. And each time, I told him that she would only if she was desperate enough. But I assured him that my cousin was a classic Scorpio who rarely forgave those who crossed her.

And it’s because of how difficult it would be to make Treasure say yes to marrying either Lord brother that we decided to get married before the deal could fall apart.

“Admiring the ring again,” Hercules says.

I light up as I whip around to face my husband. He’s standing in the wide arch of our bedroom, wearing nothing but a towel. I’m hungry for him again. His Adonis-like body is tempting, but it’s his face that always steals the show.

“I’ve never been into jewelry until this,” I say, showing him the back of my hand with the ring on it.

He quickly closes the distance between us. I’m in his arms. His body is damp from his swim.

“Mrs. Lord, I need to be inside you.” His eyes are full of fire and desire.

Hercules grips two handfuls of my derriere. I’m against him. And he’s as hard as steel.

Before our lips can make contact, my cellphone chimes. I’ve just received a message. We both turn to see whose name is on my screen.

“It’s your brother,” Hercules says.

I chuckle scoffingly. Max is angry that Leo and my dad made a deal with the Lords without including him. He would’ve rather used my union with Hercules to leverage me to get TRANSPOT up and running. Then I could have been paid royalties for the new software. That would have put us in the range to receive the Lord Trust account privileges. But the major problem with Max’s plan was that it would take years to figure out how to develop TRANSPOT and even longer to make sure it was safe and able to go to market. The Lords can’t wait that long. They’re on the verge of losing LTI. Well… we’re on the verge of losing LTI.

As a reward for packaging the deal with my family, Achilles is allowing Hercules and me to buy LTI. I’m using my Killer Firewall royalties to pay for my half. He’s using savings he’s accumulated over the years to pay his half.

Hercules raises an eyebrow. “Should we tell him now?”

Surprisingly, seeing Max’s name on my screen hasn’t quelled my lust. My brother is such a buzzkill. But my sex thumps for the hardness pressing against me.

“No,” I whisper before my lips smash against Hercules’s.

Then we’re on top of our bed.

And then my husband is inside me.

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