Page 35

EPILOGUE

QUINN

6 months later…

Earlier tonight, I stood at my graduation, a moment I hadn’t thought possible just half a year ago, or even three months ago when my mom passed away and I had to overcome that hurdle as well.

The auditorium buzzed with the low hum of families and friends, but my mind kept drifting back to everything I had overcome just to make it there. From the stage, I watched Jack in the crowd, Sienna perched on his lap, her tiny hands clapping along with the audience.

She’s grown so much over the past six months, and watching her meet each milestone along the way has been nothing short of amazing.

Ezra sat beside them, and Kruz’s bright smile from a few rows over from me was the same steady source of warmth I had come to depend on.

When I crossed the stage, pride swelled in my chest. The cap on my head somehow made me feel lighter than the burdens I’d carried through the years, and the diploma in my hands wasn’t just a certificate—it was proof of everything I’d fought through. The applause echoed in my ears, but it was Jack’s smile that made me feel the most proud. I couldn’t help but think of all the nights he had stayed up with me, encouraging me to keep going when I wanted to give up.

After the ceremony, we all gathered outside in the cool evening air. Sienna tugged at my gown, giggling, and I bent down to scoop her up, her joy contagious as I smothered her fat cheeks in kisses.

I often think of all the things Anna is missing out on with her daughter, but I’m eternally grateful to have this place in Sienna’s life. Jack cut his sister off after learning she had been involved in Stu’s fucked up little game, and he’s made it clear he has no plans to forgive her—whether she knew the full extent of what was happening at the time or not. But she hasn’t tried to reach out anyway.

For the first time in what felt like forever, I realized the future was mine to shape. Standing there, surrounded by the people I loved—people who had been with me through the worst—I knew I wasn’t just celebrating my graduation. I was celebrating survival.

Jack’s house is dark and silent, Sienna having gone for a sleepover with Uncle Ezra for the night—and Kronk as well because they both insisted. I never imagined my dog having sleepovers for funsies, but here we are.

Kruz volunteered to help babysit after a celebratory dinner at our favorite restaurant—not that Ezra needs help. He’s great with Sienna, and I’m sure there are a million other things Kruz could have chosen to do on her graduation night. More and more every day I wonder when she will finally admit to herself that Ezra is more than just a fling to her.

The way he looks at her, she’s definitely more than just a fling to him.

I unstrap my heels as soon as we walk through the front door, anxious to get the death traps off my feet.

I wrap my free hand around Jack’s forearm to steady myself, and the way he looks at me tells me he has no intentions of us making it to the bedroom before our celebration begins.

I kick my shoes to the side and turn my body toward his, reaching up to clasp my hands around the back of his neck as he closes and locks the front door behind him.

I pull him down for a kiss, and he releases me to turn and set the alarm—some things are non-negotiable after everything we've been through. I appreciate that he always puts our safety first, even though there’s not much to worry about these days.

I don’t have time to react when he spins back toward me, pulling me against him and pinning my wrists behind my back with his large hand. He assaults me with kisses, and I’m completely lost to him.

Putty.

Goo.

He can do whatever he wants with me.

“You’re so easy to make submit,” he hums against my neck, kissing me between each word and I already feel drunk and lax.

This man short circuits my brain, and it’s hard to find it within myself to want to push back against him when he handles me like this, but he likes it when I do.

“Am I?” I whisper, barely loud enough for him to hear. Then, without warning, I twist out of his grip and dash toward the stairs, laughing as I go.

His startled chuckle follows me, and I can hear the sound of his footsteps as he takes off after me. “Oh, you think you’re getting away that easily?” he calls, amusement lacing his voice.

I leap up the first few steps, glancing back with a grin, but I can barely make out the outline of him in the dark.

He closes the distance with ease, but I squeal and dart up two more steps, my heart racing with anticipation.

I hear him right behind me, his footsteps heavy and determined. “You’re only making this worse for yourself,” he teases, his voice getting closer.

I laugh, trying to speed up, but I know it’s only a matter of seconds before he catches me. “ Worse? Yeah, okay.”

As I reach the top of the stairs, his hand catches my waist, and I let out a yelp as he spins me around. “Got you,” he says, grinning down at me. Before I can protest, he scoops me up effortlessly, tossing me over his shoulder like I weigh nothing.

I’m laughing uncontrollably now, playfully pounding my fists against his back. “Put me down!”

He gives a mock sigh, carrying me toward our bedroom. “You never learn, do you?”

“You love it,” I shoot back, breathless with laughter.

He gives my thigh a gentle squeeze. “Maybe. But now you’re at my mercy.”

“My favorite place to be,” I giggle.

With one arm holding me in place by the back of my knees, he uses his other to undo and remove his belt. I am slightly disappointed that it’s dark and I’m hanging upside down because there’s nothing hotter than watching Daddy Jack remove his belt one handed.

He plants me on my feet in the hallway next to his bedroom door and presses my back against the cool wall. With a swift movement, he wraps his belt around my wrists, securing them above my head. Trapped between his body and the wall, I feel both vulnerable and exhilarated.

I squirm playfully, mostly because I want him to be a little rougher. “I can get out of this.” I can’t, and he knows that as well as I do, but I tease him nonetheless.

He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a knife, flicking it open with ease. The act is far sexier than any sane person would ever consider it.

The glint of the blade catches my eye as he stabs it through his thick leather belt, effortlessly piercing the wall behind me and pinning me in place. “Can you?”

The question now isn’t whether I can or not, but whether I want to.

And when Jack drops to his knees in front of me, I decide that no… I do not.

He pulls another knife out, and Quinn six months ago would have asked, “What in the literal fuck?” —but present-day Quinn knows, loves, and accepts her man.

And all of his quirks and stabby little tendencies.

He’s marked my body more times than I can count at this point, and I have found that I love it just as much as he does.

His knives have left scars all over my skin, a reminder of our passionate and intense love. The sharp sting against my skin is addicting, making me crave more of his touch. I can't get enough of the pleasure and pain he brings, willingly giving myself over to his skilled hands. With each new mark, our bond seems to grow stronger, and it’s something I am not sure either of us will ever get enough of.

He grasps my thigh, his fingers digging into the soft flesh. I flinch as he pierces my skin, but he quickly soothes the sting, leaning in and tracing circles over the spot with his tongue, causing a jolt of pleasure to shoot through me. As he continues this pattern, the mix of pleasure and discomfort sends shivers down my spine.

I don’t even try to bite back the moan that slips out.

“God, you’re so fucking dirty,” He says against my inner thigh, kissing his way toward where I need his mouth most. “You love the pain as much as I love to inflict it.”

He bunches the fabric of my skirt and yanks it up to my waist, exposing my hips. He twists the crotch of my panties around his fist, tearing them from my body with a loud rip, the force of it pulling me forward.

My wrists yank free from the wall, the knife clattering to the floor.

I reach down and grip the hair at the nape of his neck tightly, his belt still binding my wrists, and my heart pounding in my chest as the intensity of what I feel for him.

With a flick of his tongue, he traces a wet path across my lower abdomen and down the crease of my thigh, pausing to suck and nibble at my sensitive spots. He plunges his face between my legs, eagerly lapping up every drop of my arousal as I writhe and moan under him. My body undulates with pleasure as he expertly works me over the edge until I can no longer control the sounds coming from my mouth and the jerky movements I make as I come undone and drench his face.

He lifts me up and wraps my legs tightly around his waist. My back presses against the door, pushing it open as he carries me effortlessly to the bed. With a swift movement, he tosses me onto the soft mattress. As he undoes his pants, I can see the hunger in his eyes. Without hesitation, he settles himself between my thighs and thrusts into me, causing the bed to shake beneath us as he fucks me into the mattress. The sound of our moans fills the room as we lose ourselves in each other.

“ Fuck . Marry me,” he whispers the words against the shell of my ear between rough thrusts.

I probably shouldn’t take them as seriously as I do in the throes of passion, but I answer seriously anyway. “Yes,” the word comes out a grunt with the way he ruts into me, but he stills when he hears it, fully seated inside me, our pelvises flush with one another.

“ Yes? ” He rests his sweaty forehead against mine.

All I can do is nod and kiss him softly on the lips.

Apparently he likes that because without another movement on either of our parts, his body twitches against mine as he fills me up.

I grin against his mouth because I love that I have this effect on him, and also because…

We are engaged now?

Maybe not… that was probably not for serious.

But then he pulls out of me and shifts his body, taking something from his pocket.

How much shit can those pockets hold?

He unbinds my hands, kissing the tender spots on my wrists from where the leather of his belt had cut into them.

Then, so tenderly, he slips a ring on my finger.

My mouth falls open in shock.

“That wasn’t how I planned to ask you, but I planned to ask you nonetheless.”

I can’t find words.

My eyes fill with tears that immediately spill over my cheeks.

“Say something, baby.”

Through bleary eyes, I manage to whisper, "I already said yes, do you want me to say it again?"

His face breaks into a grin as he pulls me closer. “Yes.”

“ Yes .” The weight of the ring on my finger feels both foreign and right, a symbol of the love that binds us together in this moment.

As we hold each other close, I can't help but think back to all the moments that have led us here—the highs and lows, the laughter and tears. It's as if everything has been building up to this one perfect moment, where he asks me to be his forever.

I think I’ve known he and Sienna would be my forever from the start. They are the only things that have ever felt sure in my life.

In this embrace, with his heartbeat steady against mine, I know that whatever the future holds, we will face it together. With him by my side, I feel like I can conquer the world. And as we lay here, lost in each other's arms, I know that this is just the beginning of our greatest adventure yet.