“Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins.” Kalen grinned, and raised his glass again. “I was just about to toast James and Thalia.”
“A toast? Wait, I need a drink!” Katherine glanced at a waiter who came to provide new glasses, and Kalen sighed at being interrupted again but waited. After a few moments everyone turned back to him, holding their glasses aloft, and he nodded.
“We are all here tonight for James and Thalia. I’ve known James for a long while, and in all those years he’s become like a brother to me. He was the first person I wanted to introduce my blessing, Maggie, to, and he was the first person I called when I knew I loved her. And when he called me about Thalia, I had a feeling that this wasn’t just any woman in his life. Then, when I saw them together, I knew. I like to think I knew before they did -”
“You did, Kalen.” James grinned up at him, and he squeezed Thalia’s hand under the table. She laughed, remembering Kalen’s lecture about the two of them after the crop. About how glad he was that James had found her, that they had each other, and that he knew she made James happy.
“You absolutely did, Kalen.” Thalia smiled too and he grinned down at them, tilting his head in acknowledgment before raising his glass higher.
“Their love for each other is the kind of love so few people find, but that I have had the fortune of finding myself, and as I look around this table I think many of ye know what I am talking about. James and Thalia balance each other. They acknowledge each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and they are stronger together because of it. They fight for each other, and that’s how I know that they will last.” Kalen lowered his glass and dropped his free hand onto James’ shoulder, “I love ye both. Congratulations.”
“Congratulations!” The room echoed in a surge of voices and the clinking of glasses, and laughter, and cheers.
Julie leaned over to whisper in her ear, “You’ll have to tell me what you think of fiancé sex.” Their explosive laughter attracted the attention of everyone at the table, but when the two noticed the looks they were already laughing too hard to explain.
“I’m glad Antonio was able to make it, he’s been away for a few weeks.” Julie was still grinning as she sipped wine.
“Were you back at Purgatory? You know you could have stayed with me, Julie.” Thalia laughed, turning to catch James and Kalen in the midst of a friendly debate. Boys.
“Of course I went back to Purgatory! It was a blast.” Julie giggled and then her mouth formed into a perfect ‘o’ as she gasped. “Oh my God! I forgot to tell you. Ethan has a new girlfriend, an actual sub this time. Her name is Clair and she’s so sweet, and gorgeous! Kalen and Maggie totally approve.”
“Seriously?” Thalia smiled as she caught Nick and Analiese making out at one end of the table, and she heard Analiese’s gasp and giggle over the white noise of everyone talking and laughing. Apparently she’d overcome being so quiet.
“They were only there two days after I got there, but yeah, they seemed really happy together, and she was sweet!” Julie leaned back on Antonio as he wrapped his arms around her.
“Wedding planning is insane, fair warning, Thalia.” Antonio laughed when Julie elbowed him.
“Antonio is being dramatic, all he’s done is pick out his favorite kind of cake. I will help you with everything, I swear it!”
“I’m going to need it, Julie, because I have no idea what to do.” Thalia shrugged, about to say more but James turned her and kissed her fiercely. It was absolutely the most passionate he’d ever kissed her in public, and her face was hot with a blush when he pulled back and she had to turn and face his parents. They just smiled, and Katherine whistled before winking at her.
The evening became a whirlwind of conversation, of sweet words, and hilarious stories that were carefully tempered for the audience. Julie talked about helping with the wedding planning, and everyone pitched in ideas, but Thalia didn’t mind that at all. Julie lived to decorate and plan, and she was damn good at it. The studio was an example of it. Julie also made sure everyone knew she was still jealous that James and Thalia had been the first to learn about the baby.
Then the conversation had shifted until Maggie and Kalen were the focus. No, they didn’t know the sex. Yes, they had ideas for names but they weren’t ready to share. It was fun to watch Kalen pestering the waiters to keep Maggie’s glass full of water, to watch him ask her ten times an hour if she needed anything. She just smiled and rolled her eyes, mumbling across James that he was only getting worse the bigger her belly got.
Becca had surprised Thalia by fitting in with the girls like she’d always been there, cracking jokes with Chloe and Lauren that for once had them blushing. Even Evelyn and Henry were smiling and laughing, and James’ work friends melted into the group as the night progressed.
Until after good food, and a lot of good wine, there were no strangers to be found.
The night had been perfect. The kind of warm celebration that could only happen with real friends and loving family. A party full of acceptance and trust and shared histories and a commitment to be there for many more to come.
It was well past two when James and Thalia had finally made it home, and as James went to get undressed she stopped into the office and woke up her laptop. The light from the screen caught the diamond on her hand and she twirled the ring, still barely believing it was real and what it stood for.
A future. With James.
Her inbox updated and the soft beep of a new email made her look up. It was an alert from the forum, a new post. Thalia’s heart thundered in her ears as she clicked the link to open it, and as she logged in she heard James call for her from the bedroom but she couldn’t answer. There had been a few posts over the last week as the packages had started arriving all over the world. Tenuous little hellos, nervous posts asking if it was real. Thalia had replied, welcoming each of them.
The newest post was still bolded, unread, at the top. She clicked it and she had to fight the urge to cheer, or cry, or hug the laptop. James’ hand landed on her shoulder, his voice etched with concern, “Baby? Is everything alright?”
She couldn’t speak, she just tilted the laptop towards him as hope filled her up and pushed back the lingering scraps of darkness inside her. She had a future with James, she had a life, she had love, she had friends, and her project was working. It was actually working. The post on the screen was proof. He leaned past her to read, and her eyes traced the simple sentence once more:
I got the letter, and I know it says I’m BD0211, but you all can call me Beth.
James’ arms wrapped around her, pressing a kiss to her shoulder, and she leaned back against him as the last piece of their path clicked into place.
*** The End ***
“Temper us in fire, and we grow stronger.
When we suffer, we survive.”
- Cassandra Clare
End Notes
It’s over! If you’re anything like me the end of a series is always bittersweet. You’re glad that you know what happened, but don’t want to leave the world these characters exist in. I have a bit of good news on that front, there is a special “extra” story called ‘Christmas at Purgatory’ that follows James and Thalia when they spend Christmas with Kalen and Maggie. It’s… rather hot for a winter story, but I think you’ll like it!
I’ve been asked by fans if I’ll come back to these characters, and while I’m not writing anything more with James and Thalia (or any of the others) at the moment, I’m definitely not saying that won’t happen. Any special releases I do for any of my stories will likely be released first to my mailing list – so please sign up!
Before you go, I will ask that if you liked this book that you take a few minutes to write a review and capture how you’re feeling right now so other readers can find Thalia! Reviews are truly one of the most effective ways to help authors out, and I would be very grateful.
Again, thank you for reading and I hope you’ll check out my other books!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jennifer Bene is a best-selling author of erotic fiction. Her writing has been described by readers as "dark in a way that turns you on", and she definitely takes that as a compliment! She has a terrible mouth that often gets her in trouble but comes in handy when she's writing. She loves to write strong female characters and dominant male characters in stories that take readers for a walk on the dark side.
When she's not attached to a keyboard, she likes to read, drink wine, do yoga, binge on Netflix, and enjoy life with friends/family. She lives in Texas, and no, she doesn't own a horse or wear a cowboy hat, you'd have better luck finding her on the dance floor downtown. Seriously.
Jennifer would love to hear from you! She does her best to keep readers up to date via social media, and tries to always respond when readers are nice enough to message her!
Check out her website - http://jenniferbene.com/
Find her on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/jbeneauthor
Follow her on Twitter - http://twitter.com/jbeneauthor
Books by Jennifer Bene
Dark / BDSM Erotica:
Security Binds Her (Thalia Book 1) (Amazon #1 Best Seller in BDSM, and Romance Erotica!)
Striking a Balance (Thalia Book 2)
Salvaged by Love (Thalia Book 3)
Of Fog and Fire (Part I & II)
Taken by the Enemy (Coming March 2016 from Blushing Books)
Dark / Paranormal Romance:
Fae (Daughters of Eltera Book 1)
Tara (Daughters of Eltera Book 2) (Coming Spring 2016)
BDSM Novellas:
The Invitation
The Rite
Christmas at Purgatory (Thalia Extra #1)
Reunited
Anthology Appearances:
The More The Merrier (Menage / BDSM Erotica)
The Darker Side of Love (Dark / BDSM Erotica)
Twist (BDSM Erotica)
The More the Merrier 2 (Menage / BDSM Erotica)
Salvaged by Love (Thalia Book 3) (The Thalia Series) Page 29