We stay in that position for a while, and then Cade lets me go. He takes a deep breath to control his emotions. I slowly stop trembling, and manage to crush the fear back down where it came from. I can’t live with it. I won’t let anything else destroy me. I glance up at Cade, and I know he deserves my forgiveness. I know he deserves it more than anyone. I reach out my hand and he looks down at it.

“I know I fucked up, buddy. I treated you like a dog, and it wasn’t on you. I can’t take back what I did, but I can ask for us to move on and be friends again. So, what do you say? Friends?”

Cade reaches over, slapping his hand into mine, and gently pulling me back into his fuckin’ gut. Soft ass.

“You stupid fuckin’ idiot, we never stopped bein’ friends.”

I snort.

He laughs.

And just like that, the past is forgotten.

EPILOGUE

SIX WEEKS LATER

“God, Spike,” I cry as he thrusts in and out of my body, plunging deep.

“Baby, no fuckin’ sex for four weeks, ain’t no way in shit I am stoppin’ this anytime soon.”

His hands are in my hair, and I’m bent over the empty bar at the Hell’s Knights compound. It’s risky, anyone could walk in, but we don’t care. We’ve been fucking like rabbits for the past two weeks. Before that, Spike had to take it easy, and that meant no sex. He suffered too, every damn day. Poor thing.

“I don’t want you to stop,” I mewl, pushing my ass into his pelvis.

He wraps a hand around my belly, and gently strokes as he thrusts his cock in and out. “Gotta go easy, baby, can’t hurt you.”

I don’t listen; I’m too close to coming. I grip the bar harder, and feel myself building higher and higher as he slams into me harder and harder. I come a moment later, losing my mind for a split second. I cry out, and Spike follows suit, pumping his release into me and growling loudly. I release one hand, and find my clit, rubbing every shudder from my body. Spike’s growling subsides, and gently he pulls out of me, pulling me up into a standing position with him. He runs his hands over my dress, dropping it back down, and then he pulls up his jeans. He keeps his chest pressed to my back, as he runs his hands down my belly.

“You okay in there, junior?”

I giggle.

Two weeks after Spike’s surgery, I found out I was, in fact, pregnant. All along, I had been carrying his child. We found out just after he got home from hospital, and surprisingly, he was thrilled. Something about a near death experience making him pull his head out of his ass.

“She’s fine,” I smile, leaning my head back into his shoulder.

“Or he.”

“Oh no, totally a she.”

He grunts. “More females.”

I spin around, gripping his hair and bringing his lips down over mine. “We’re not so bad.”

“No, babe, you ain’t.”

I grin up at him, and he runs a finger down over my nose and stops at my lips. “You know, I’m still punishing you for disobeying me?” he growls.

“How long are you going to punish me?” I ask innocently, batting my eyelashes at him.

“Oh, for fuckin’ months, baby.”

I giggle, and he grips my hair, his eyes flaring with lust.

“Goin’ to put my hand to your ass many more times before I’m through...”

I lean up, and bite his lower lip. “So long as you’re deep inside me while you’re doing it, I don’t mind.”

“Fuck, Tom Cat, you’re makin’ me hard again.”

I pull back, giggling. “You’re always hard.”

He snorts. “I’ll show you hard in a minute.”

I beam up at him, and then suddenly I remember something I needed to give him. My eyes widen, and a big smile stretches across my face.

“What are you smilin’ like that for?” he grins.

“Wait here.”

He raises his brows as I turn and rush to my purse; I gather what I need out of it and hurry back. He’s still standing, watching me with a curious expression. I step forward, feeling my heart beginning to pound.

“Close your eyes.”

“Seriously?” he mumbles.

“Yes, seriously, now do it.”

He closes his eyes with a sigh, and I reach for his hand. He raises it up, and I gently secure a bracelet around his wrist. My chest tightens as I look down at it, remembering the day I gave it to him, and also the day he gave it back to me. I hurt him, he hurt me, but finally we’ve managed to make it through. He opens his eyes and stares down at the bracelet on his wrist, and then he looks up and stares into mine with an expression loaded with emotion.

“I gave this to you a long time ago, promising that I would always be there for you. I wasn’t there for you when I should have been, and I let my hurt get in the way. You gave this back to me, because I hurt you, and now I’m returning it. I want you to know I’ll always be here for you, Spike. No matter what happens in life, I will never abandon you again. That’s my promise to you.”

His eyes scan my face. “Fuck, Tom Cat...you’re makin’ my heart do crazy things.”

I step up closer to him. “You’ve been making my heart do crazy things for a long time now, I’m just glad I finally get to share it with you.”

He smiles down at me, his eyes full of love. “Fuckin’ love you, you know that, yeah?”

I beam. “Yeah, I know that.”