Page 59 of Sick Little Devotion

“I love you so much,” Aiden pants as he rolls off me. “I never knew I needed that.”

I dip my lips to his. “Me either, but I love you.”

He holds my eyes. “I’ll fuck every one of your holes every fucking day for the rest of my life, Sara. You’ll always be full of me. Marry me.”

I laugh at the vulgar statement mixed with the proposal. “That’s insane.”

“Everything about us always has been,” he says softly, brushing my hair from my face. “Which is why you need to be mine forever and have my last name.”

I nod, drowning in the profound sense of belonging and acceptance. “A fresh start. I like that.”

He smiles, kissing me lightly. “Me, too.”

Epilogue

AIDEN

Two Years Later

Istare at the wedding ring on my wife’s hand as she sets the brownies down on the table. She’s something else, with her long, chocolate brown hair falling in waves to her waistline. Sara’s been glowing ever since the night I shot Will, and I have to admit that I have been, too. There’s something about what happened that night that has healed both of us, and I don’t think it was just the sex—though maybe it was.

I don’t know. I don’t pick it apart.

“Can we have dessert first?” Eliza asks, eyeing the brownies. “I could go for a brownie right now.”

“No,” Sara chides her. “You have to set a good example for your sisters.”

“I can have a brownie, too,” Lilly chimes in. “I mean, it is almost my birthday.”

“Your birthday is in two months,” Sara’s mom teases, reaching out and poking her adopted daughter’s arm.

I smile at the exchange, unable to hold back from what I see. Sara’s mom has changed a lot. She sold the store and restaurant, and we got her into a decent rehab that helped her work through what she had experienced. Is she perfect? No. But is she trying? Yes.

“Have you spoken with Carlos today?” Sara turns to me. “Is he coming?”

“He’s got a meeting,” I answer her with a smile. “He said to save him leftovers.”

I’m not entirely out of my illegal business ventures, but I’m working on it and letting Carlos take the lead. I still make money, and Sara is okay with that. It keeps the girls in an esteemed private school, it pays for the counseling for her mother, and Sara gets to donate however much she wants to charity.

I think that’s how she justifies it for now.

Eventually, maybe, we’ll get out of it. However, I have no qualms about staying on the outer edge. I no longer play the cartel God, and Sara no longer has to worry about what kind of backlash we might face.

“You know, you guys have to have a kid soon,” Lilly speaks up. “I’m tired of you not having a baby. You’ve been married forever.”

“Lilly,” Sara’s mom scolds. “You can’t just decide when a baby is going to happen. That’s not how it works.”

“I know how it works,” Lilly smirks. “I think we all know how it works now.”

“Doesn’t mean we need to discuss it at the dinner table,” Eliza snaps. “That’s disgusting. I don’t even want to know, honestly. I mean, I do know, but spare me the details.”

“You have a boyfriend, so I don’t want to hear it,” Lilly teases, sticking her tongue out at her teenage sister.

I cringe at the thought, though from what I can tell Eliza’s boyfriend is a good kid. He comes from a decent family, although they might be a little too straight-edged for my taste. Along with Sara's mum, I’m the girls’ guardian—as is Sara. And I’m sure there are rumors about us in the community and how we made the wealth we have, but I think no one really cares. They all believe Sara's mom became wealthy after Will passed away from a stroke.

Sara smiles as she takes her seat. “Alright, everyone, dig in—but not into the brownies.” She shoots me a wink that makes my heart flutter, and I reach out, squeezing her hand. If it were possible for a man like me to win the lottery, I’d say that I’d done it.

“You’ll have to tell me how you like this chicken parm,” Martha says to Sara.