“I love you, Dorian,” I mumbled against him before the kiss deepened. We gained back the time that was lost to us, and we weren’t giving up one minute of right now without touching.
We kissed for what seemed like eternity before a knock made our lips break apart. Melissa Ann bustled into the room.
“I’m fully expecting to be your matron of honor since I called this from the beginning.” She stood there with her arms over her chest and a big-ass grin on her lips.
Dorian laughed, and I couldn’t help but join in.
“Well, if you two are done cannoodling, we need to patch Dorian up and clean this room. I’ve covered for you, Esme, and afterward you two can head out.”
I didn’t need to say it, because she saw the words expressed on my face. Melissa Ann was the bomb.
In no time, Dorian’s wounds were cleaned and he was stitched up. He promised that he would go into more detail about it later, but as soon as we left the hospital together he flashed us to his stunning apartment by the bay. He needed a wash and a change of clothes, so of course it was natural that I helped him get clean in the shower.
For hours we talked, we cherished each other’s bodies, and we loved hard.
A whole new world of possibilities had opened up to us. But the first thing I wanted to do when we came out of the apartment was to head to the Hero Society.
They’d become my family, and I had to see what happened to them, make sure they were okay.
“You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.”
Separating my life with them and with him would be difficult. But Dorian didn’t stop walking as we moved closer to headquarters.
Chapter Forty- Two
Esme
The restaurant was under construction. I’d forgotten that headquarters had been very new.
We walked around to the back parking lot and saw everyone there, all smiles, and embraces as we neared them.
A few people smiled when they saw me, but their smiles faded quickly when they spotted the man next to me.
Only Phillip, Draco, and Asher were unmoving.
“So, I guess I’m not the only one back from the dead.” I tried to break the tension between us all, and it worked. Laughs erupted and then I was swarmed by the ladies of the society.
“Why is he here?” Leon asked in a confused voice.
“I go where Esme goes,” Dorian replied confidently.
Phillip stepped up to the plate and decided to enlighten us all about what had happened, and where we’d go from there.
“Asher, with the help of Dorian and Draco, broke into time and reversed it to a place where everyone was alive, and the trouble hadn’t begun. I’m pleased everyone has their memories, and I hope you’ll find it in your hero hearts to forgive Dorian. I’ve invited him to join us if he wishes, to be a part of our family. He’s let go of his villainous ways and became the hero that saved us all. As for what we do now…we have a second chance. We start fresh, learn from our mistakes, and be the heroes to mankind we were originally meant to be.”
That was something I could get behind. My eyes roamed over everyone and saw they were in agreement too. We had something not many people got—a do-over. We had to make the best out of this rare opportunity.
Draco pulled Rose into his arms, squeezing her tightly, and Lilith looked at them with her wide smile while Leon snuggled her in as well.
Dorian wrapped his hand in mine, and we stood there as the sun rose, a new dawn for a new day.
“To a new start, and to the new adventures that await us all.” I raised our combined hands in a toast.
“Come on, Rose, you know it’s your turn to do your thing.” Lilith bit her lip, and everyone laughed.
“You guys are nuts.” Rose blushed and tried to hide her face but that wasn’t happening.
“Give your fans what they want, beautiful,” Draco teased, and she shook her head. Slowly Rose stood taller in the arms of her love, looking at every one of us with those strong eyes.
“We are heroes in the darkest times, and we will always rise to fight the shadows of the world of mankind. It’s what we do.”
Everyone hooted and cheered, and she shook her head with a chuckle. Dorian just rolled his eyes, but his grip tightened for a minute around my hand.
We would make him one of us soon enough.
Epilogue
Phillip
I watched my hero family hug and smile at being reunited. All of their futures flashed into my head, and I knew that all the pain, and all the suffering, was worth it in the end. I’d seen the brightest future and followed that path to a T.
Draco and Rose got married again; this time their wedding was on his property that had been destroyed before. The cows mooed and the chickens clucked as their caretakers said I do.
Rose became a guidance counselor at the local high school in hopes that future generations of sixteen-year-olds that came into their powers would have someone to talk to, to know that they weren’t alone.
Draco continued his work training heroes to use their powers and teaching about the gods and their sacrifices, in hope of protecting mankind.
But perhaps my favorite future to look at, as I stared at my sister while she gazed into Draco’s eyes, was the one I’d seen all along and fought for.
Draco’s hair had been dusted with gray as he chased his youngest son around the yard while Rose pushed their one daughter and middle son on the swing set I’d bought them for Christmas. They laughed and smiled big, living a beautiful life together. In the end, they knew they’d continue to grow old and would die in one another’s arms.
My eyes moved to the crazy couple and enjoyed peeking into their future too.
Lilith and Leon were on his sailboat, enjoying a proper honeymoon on the sea.
Happy his friend Charles accepted him again and had been healed by Dorian and Asher together, he was free of his guilt and could give himself fully to his wife.
Leon and Lilith became the mighty duo of the Hero Society. Lilith was a role model to many little girls of the world—that you could be pretty, wild, and strong. Leon started up a football team for people with powers, and together they worked toward making people feel accepted for being different.
Leon and Lilith loved their one little girl and traveled the world as a family, with Seahill as their home base.
Echo’s laugh broke into my thoughts, and I quickly looked at them to see Asher being a goof to make his woman smile, as always.
Echo stayed on with the police department, which allowed her to help protect and serve as a hero with both her powers and with a badge. Asher continued to run his bar, which became a hot spot for people with powers to hang out and feel comfortable.
Together they had four beautiful children and had a small wedding, mending the bridge with his coven since he’d married into a strong line and provided even stronger heirs.
They were often out in the woods, holding hands, and enjoying nature as a family. The couple were truly mates in every sense of the word. It had given us hope that people who were unalike in power and magic could love. Humans and those with gifts could accept each other.
Lastly, my gaze fell on Esme and Dorian. I wasn’t lying to her when I said her love was the making of legends.
Dorian continued his work at the hospital with Esme while they both helped the Hero Society when they could.
Esme had kept faith in her love for Dorian, and it saved the world. He loved her, and he spent every day after she was brought back proving it to her. He was still open to causing mischief here and there, surprisingly with the other males of the society at his side. But what transpired between Esme and Dorian was written in books. Stories were told of love conquering over all.
Dorian had taken care of the people who remembered him before and were waiting on a war that would never come. He apologized and helped them to see the error of their thinking.
He donated his other properties to house and train future heroes, since the headquarters under the res
taurant had become too small for our growing society.
Esme gave birth to twins, both of the new parents in tears as they never thought they’d experience having children.
They grew old, having lived strong and loved hard.
Movement caught my eye as two forms were walking over to us. My heart picked up as I saw AJ and Mina. She was wearing her bored expression until she saw me. Being human, neither her nor AJ remembered the months that we’d lost when going back into time. But AJ had been with me before, and he would be on my side until the end.
I’d told him where to find his sister, knowing she’d want to meet me, the man that united them.
Mina was asleep on the couch with our daughter in her arms, both of them wearing matching unicorn onesies after waiting up for me while I was out trying to save a building full of people in a fire.
We’d had a large wedding, because Mina was my queen and deserved whatever she wanted. We were a match in every way, and even though I knew all the futures that could happen, she still found ways to surprise me. I’d seen her for many years before I’d gotten to look at her in real life, and she still took my breath away, all spunk and fire.
My girls. The reason I’d fought so hard and suffered. For this moment.
Without a word exchanged between us, Mina jumped at me and hugged my body tightly. I caught her, knowing it was coming, and while I knew it was only because she had her brother back, I hugged her in return, knowing that I would make her fall in love with me again, and our daughter’s arrival wouldn’t be far behind.
THE END
Or is it?
For those heroes, it is.
But there is always someone in need of protecting, and the Hero Society will be there to save them.
A spin-off is coming.
More Books by Jessica Florence
The Final KO
I fight bitches for a living.
Which makes finding a decent guy hard when you're a female MMA fighter. None of them have been my equal. I yearn for a man who can push me to reach new heights and challenge me. A man who will treat me like a lady then lift me up by my ass and impale me against the wall.
But when Arson Kade, MMA's top fighter and notorious manwhore, declares he's that man for me I have my doubts. Any sane woman would.
There seems to be more to Arson than the rumors that surround him, but will it make me fall hard or run for the hills?
I know I've got no choice but to hold on for the ride.
It's the main event and my heart's on the line.
But will it be the Final KO?
The Final Chase
I never thought a wallaby, Henley shirts, and a horse’s rectal exam would have anything in common.
Turns out they did.
Jake Wild. Owner of Wild Rescue for exotic animals.
He’s everything I’m not, my polar opposite.
I’m heels and my salon,
he’s dirt and his creatures.
But much like the animals he cares for, he’s got that carnal edge.
He’s the type of man you crawl on your hands and knees for with your ass up in the air.
He bites, he's on the hunt, and now I’m his prey.
A chance meeting and a bet started the undeniable attraction between us.
But I’m not giving my heart and soul away that easy, he’s going to have to catch me first.
It's the ultimate game of cat and mouse.
But will it be the Final Chase?
Long Drive
There is a long road in everyone’s journey in life.
For some people, it’s a way to get from one place to another.
For others, it’s a search for one’s purpose in existence.
For me, the road was where I could find peace.
When everything in my life had shattered, I turned to the road.
And that’s where I met him.
Killian Lemarque.
A beautiful truck driver, and my salvation.
One month on the road together is the deal, and when it’s over, I will have hopefully figured out what I’m going to do about my torn reality.
But sometimes the road can change everything.
One Month. One Truck. One Long Drive.
How You Get The Girl
As Hollywood’s hottest actor, getting a woman in my bed is never a challenge.
Then I spotted her at a bar—she wanted a man for the night, and I jumped at the chance to fill the role. I gave her Joel Kline’s best, and she smacked my pretty face.
But don’t worry, that’s not the end of our story. Her brand of crazy inspired me, and I had to see her again, no matter the cost.
Now, Alessandra Rose is my lead makeup artist for the next four months.
Literally, her job is to touch me every day for the duration of filming. Sounds like a win, right?
Nope, she stops me at every hint of a flirt. I’m in uncharted waters for once.
Joel Kline’s famous techniques to get the girl are failing me. It’s no longer about those sexy Brazilian lips, or her fiery spirit that gives me a hard-on.
It’s about making her banana pancakes after she spends the night in my home.
It’s about knocking down those walls around her, claiming her as mine.
She’s going to fight me, of course, unwilling to accept that it’s not all an act.
But I’m not going anywhere; that’s how you get the girl.
Guiding Lights
He sings of suffering. His eyes hold the pain of living in sorrow.
The moment our gaze meets recognition flares within.
We are tortured souls drifting in a sea of darkness.
He knows I have secrets that I'll never tell.
I am numb.
I am broken.
I am dirty.
I can never be the guiding light through the darkness he thinks I am.
I have forsaken my past, I rely on keeping myself shut off.
But he has secrets too, secrets that would destroy everything I have left.
I wish things were different, that maybe we could be each other's lifeline.
But destiny drags us down like an anchor.
The broken can only drift in the sea barely staying afloat.
Blinding Lights
She dances with a passion I'll never know.
Seeing her again tears me at the seams.
She was never mine.
My soul is stained with the darkness of death.
I have killed.
I have tortured.
I have lost.
Her soul is too bright for the shadows within,
and her determination to be the flame in my heart could kill us both.
Still, I want her, I crave her.
But not even her blinding lights can fight away the darkness threatening us both.
Eventually, everything gets snuffed out.
Weighing of the Heart
What happens when the myths of old become reality?
Thalia Alexander has lived her life in peace until her twenty-fifth birthday when she has a strange dream about a man.
A tall, dark, and sexy man that shows up at her work the next morning.
Tristan Jacks is trouble with a capital T, but for some strange reason she is drawn to him like nothing she has ever experienced before. He has this possessiveness and adoration for her that she can’t explain. It’s like they have known each other forever.
Thalia’s strange dreams continue to stalk her as her relationship with Tristan builds to be a love that will last the ages.
And when those dreams and reality start to clash, will Thalia be able to handle the truth?
Could the world of ancient myths truly exist in modern times?
Evergreen
It was supposed to be an easy stakeout.
Until a bunch of bachelorettes mobbed me, changing my life forever.
I couldn't get Andi Slaton, with her red hair, blue eyes, and cotton candy-flavored lip glo
ss, out of my head.
But when she offers herself to aid the FBI to help me take down the biggest criminal family in Tampa, Florida, my very sanity is put to the test watching her spend time with my arch enemy.
She's everything I want, I will be everything to her.
We will be Evergreen.
Playlist
Nobody Knows- The Lumineers
Unstoppable- The Score
As Real As You And Me- Rihanna
Breathe Into Me- Marian Hill
Dancing in the Dark- Rihanna
Underneath- Cobi
Cannonball- Kiesza
Gravity- John Mayer
Little Do You Know- Alex & Sierra
Broken- Lifehouse
When the Darkness Comes- Colbie Caillat
The Parting Glass- Ed Sheeran version
I found- Amber Run
Heroes- Zayde Wolf
ACKNOWEDGEMENTS
Goodness.. where do I begin.
Night is has finally come guys!
It came and now it’s over.
So, so many people went into this series.
From my cousin Christina who let me tell her all about this epic tale I was going to plot. An epic superhero story.
To Leina, my friend and superhero guru who listened to all my thoughts and ideas, helping me understand the superhero ways.
To my amazing betas! Melissa Ann, MA Scott, Autumn, Marissa, Sarah, and Krystal. I COULD NOT HAVE DONE THESE BOOK WITHOUT YOU ALL. YOU HELPED PUSH ME!
Kristen (K-mazz) I’m so thankful for you. I wouldn’t have made it past Dusk if it wasn’t for you. Thank you <3
Amelia.. You have been pushing me and keeping my head above water since you let me be your new bestie. Forever yours biggest fan and friend.
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