Epilogue
Jackson
Ella’s friend, Julianna, waves at us from the reception doors. “Ready?”
“Yes,” we answer in unison.
Flipping her grown out blue hair back, she clears her throat. “And now the moment we’ve all been waiting for! Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in giving a warm reception to our newlyweds! Stand up and let’s hear it for Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox!” She claps her hands and moves to the side.
I hold Ella’s fingers in my hand and walk next to her into the hall. A sea of people part as we make our entrance, all of them clapping enthusiastically and smiling. To the side I can see my old Lieutenant Connor with his fiancée Charlotte. He gives me a fist pump in the air and it reminds me of the old days when he led our platoon and always knew how to encourage us to put our best foot forward.
I hope I can put my best foot forward right now. I swallow nervously and lead Ella to the dance floor. As we walk through the crowd, I smile at my SEAL buddy Gabe and his new wife, Vanessa. It makes me happy to see him finally settled down with someone. After our improvised explosive attack, he suffered badly, wearing the scars of that day on his face forever. It makes me happy to know he found someone who saw beyond the superficial and got to know and love the real him.
We step out onto the cleared dance floor and Julianna makes another announcement as I gaze at the crowd gathered on the sidelines.
“The couple will now share their first dance in marriage.” She nods to the DJ and we wait for what feels like an eternity for the music to start.
“I love you, Daddy!” Chloe yells out from a couple feet away.
The crowd awwws and I can’t blame them one bit. She’s as cute as ever in her little flower girl dress. She told me this morning that today she knew what it was like to be a real princess as the hairstylist pinned a band of baby’s breath flowers into her hair.
“I love you too, hon.” I blow her a kiss and she pretends to catch it in the air and then eat it. I just shake my head as the people around her laugh.
My eyes drift over to my mother. She’s right next to Chloe, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. She was a total wreck at the wedding, but she kept insisting she was crying happy tears. My daughter didn’t understand it at all. To be honest, I don’t really understand it either. All I know is my family has never been happier, or more whole, since Ella joined us.
Ryan’s deep blue eyes twinkle as he lays a reassuring hand on my mother’s shoulder. I squint at him, feeling anything but reassured by his gesture. Luckily I don’t have time to overthink it because the music starts and I focus on Ella, my wife, looking for her lead.
The song we first danced to, “Despacito,” begins to play. “Just do it how I taught you. You’re going to be amazing.” She gives me a smile that melts my worries away. A smile that makes me realize that even if I mess up this dance, even if I trip or fall on my ass in front of everyone, it won’t matter one bit. I’ll still walk out of here as the luckiest man on earth.
I slowly waltz with Ella, leading her around the floor for the slow opening of the song. I’m counting my steps in my head and trying not to step on her long wedding dress the color of fresh fallen snow. As the music speeds up I meet her eyes and change my hand position, getting ready to do the dance we’ve been practicing for months now. The salsa.
I step and move my hips and, magically, the movements become natural. I don’t even have to think about what my next move is. My body just knows what to do. Instead, I get lost in Ella’s beautiful upswept hair and the long line of her delicate neck that I want to kiss. I study her large brown eyes and her crimson lips. She’s breathtaking.
I turn her and her dress billows out as she twirls around and comes back into me. The song I once stepped on her feet trying to dance to has become special to us. What started as an inside joke between us became layered with meaning as we realized it was that night and that song that started it all for us.
The music peters out and I take my new bride in my arms, dipping her low and then lifting her back up into a long kiss that makes me wish we could run right back out those reception doors and rip our clothes off. When I step back, the rest of the room comes back into focus. All of our friends and my family, now her family too, cheer and whistle for us loudly.
“I love you so much,” I murmur into her ear and she smiles against my cheek.
“I love you too, Jackson. From now until forever.”
As I look around from the faces of the men I served with to my mother, my child and now, my wife, I suddenly understand the idea of ‘happy tears.’ My eyes mist up and my throat feels raw as I realize how remarkable this journey has been. I can’t believe I ever thought of ending my days on this earth. If I had done that, I never would have met my wonderful child. I would have never met this woman in front of me that I still can’t believe I’m lucky enough to call mine. All I would have done is break my mother’s heart and become another veteran statistic. Since that day, every single moment of my life has gotten better. It hasn’t always been easy, but it’s been worth every step and every stumble that led me here.
Epilogue
Jackson
“This place is paradise.” Ella stands next to my lounge chair and smiles and looks down the pristine shoreline of the Molokai beach.
I have to agree with her. I’ve been quite a few places in the world, but very few can compare to the bleached white sand and the bright teal waves of Hawaii. I knew I wanted to bring Ella here for our honeymoon so she could experience it firsthand.
Chloe and my mother have been loving every second of making sandcastles and exploring the lush, green walking trails. A lot of people gave me a weird look when they found out that all of us were making this trip together. Like there’s some rule out there that says only the newlyweds can go on a honeymoon vacation. But with my mom looking after Chloe in her room and Ella and I in our own luxurious suite, there’s been plenty of late evening and lazy mornings full of fucking until we both couldn’t move anymore. The way I see it, this is the best of both worlds. I get to see my daughter in the daytime and I get to try to make her a little sibling at night.
“If this is paradise, then you’re my angel.” I reach up around her waist and pull her down into my lap as she laughs.
I pull her into my lap and she squirms around a little, driving me crazy. My cock instantly rushes with blood, growing rigid under her full ass. A twinkle dances in Ella’s eyes as she smiles knowingly over her shoulder at me. I look down the beach, it looks like we have it all to ourselves. One of the benefits of coming to one of Hawaii’s lesser known islands. And, since my mother and Chloe are out exploring this afternoon, I know that we will keep having this beach to ourselves for quite a while.
“You’re so bad,” Ella whispers. She teases me, grinding her hips softly until I can feel the heat of her pussy envelop me.
“You haven’t seen anything yet. If you’re my angel, I think I’m about to get your halo dirty,” I murmur.
Sliding my hands up her thick thighs, I softly push them open so she’s straddling me. My cock presses up tight into her spread ass cheeks, our flimsy bathing suits doing very little to stop it. I glance each way down the beach again, but there’s no one around. I lick my thumb and slide it under the front of her bikini bottoms, pressing it up flat against her clit as she whimpers and rocks against me.
Ella’s hands grip the arms of my lounge chair tight. Her plump ass covers my cock, making me throb with need as she grinds down against me, her hair cascades down her back and onto my belly as she moans and I hold my thumb steady on her clit. When she begins to moan, I can’t hold back my desire anymore. I wrap my hand in her hair, and tug it back to me so she’s arched backward over my body and I kiss an urgent trail over her neck. Ella mewls helplessly, her body a prisoner of pleasure.
“I can’t hold back, I need you now,” I growl in her ear. I pull my hand free from her white bottoms and she cries out in protest. Grabbing the little bow on the
side of her hip, I pull the string open and her bikini falls open, exposing her beautiful bubble butt.
My cock throbs, begging to be freed from my swim trunks. Ella lifts her hips and I quickly flip the waistband down until my fat cock swings up to meet her. Holding the base firm, I slide it into her soaking pussy. I can’t help the loud groan as she spreads for me, her body perfectly fitting against mine, her walls squeezing down on my shaft.
I slide my thumb over her shaved pussy until I reach her firm nub again and she throws her head back, pressing her tits out toward the ocean and slides further down my cock. I pull her hair tight around my fist, keeping her arched out so I can see the way the small of her back curves out into her full hips and down to the soft jiggle of her ass as I thrust inside her as deep as I can.
Ella grips my chair so tight I can see her knuckles strain with the pressure. I thrust into her, owning her movements, owning her pleasure, from under her. Her pussy clenches tight, reminding me with every thrust that I’m the only man she’s ever experienced. That I’m the only man she’ll ever have.
“Oh! Jackson,” she cries out at the clear blue sky. I can feel the quiver of her orgasm as it shreds through her body. Her pussy milks my cock desperately and I can barely hang on.
I lift my thumb, coated in her sweet juices, “Lick it off sweetheart, every drop,” I demand. Pushing my slick thumb in past her lips, Ella sucks on it greedily, driving me wild.
Holding her hair tight, I fuck her so hard I wonder if we might collapse through this chair and fall onto the sand. Even if we do, I won’t stop. I can’t. I need to feel her body wrapped around me. I need to make her mine. I fuck her hard as she gasps and my thumb drops from her lips. I wrap my arm around her waist and hold her tight, pushing every inch of my cock inside her again and again.
I can feel the blissful heat of my orgasm shiver through me, my cock spurts cum inside her deep as I bottom out against her. Holding her still, I keep her flat against my body until every last drop has filled her sweet pussy. As the shudders lessen, I lean in and kiss her neck again. This time slowly, sweetly. A haze of happiness radiates from us as I let my fingertips explore her soft skin.
“I love you, Ella,” I breath the words into her ear.
“I love you too Jackson, so much,” she relaxes back into my arms, neither of us eager for me to pull out. Neither of us wanting to separate even that much. Both of us enjoying the perfection of this moment in silence.
THE END
The Woodsman’s Baby
Full Length Bonus Novel - Connor’s Story
Synopsis:
We all have that one person we never get over. The one person who haunts your dreams, crushing your soul when you wake up and realize they're gone. The one person whose name is tattooed forever across your heart.
Like the clashing kaleidoscope of tattoos that run down his arms.
Connor McLean.
My brother's best friend.
I've loved him my entire life.
And I've been the invisible sidekick. The pesky little girl with fluffy hair and gangly legs.
I always thought I'd grow up and he'd finally see the real me. That he'd watch the little girl blossom into a woman worthy of his love.
But he left.
Connor joined the SEALs and broke my heart.
So, when I see his familiar swagger across the bar. When his cocky smirk makes my heart flutter, I know this is my chance.
It's wrong to deceive him. To pretend I don't know him. But I need him to give me one night. One chance to see that I'm not a little girl anymore.
However, my secret is nothing compared to the one Connor has been holding all these years. The one that could tear us apart before we ever have a chance.
1|Connor
“Man, I spend all week helping you with your house and this is how you repay me?” Ryan Rogers looks around the bar with disdain.
“Pfft, helped me all week,” I roll my eyes exaggeratedly. “More like helped clean out my cupboards, not to mention my booze,” I shoot him a look.
“What can I say? Your entire cabinet was a good vintage,” he laughs and his blue eyes twinkle as we walk over to the bar. “I’ll have a rum and Coke,” he nods at the sleepy looking bartender.
“Make it two, please,” I add. The woman behind the bar looks like she’s been doing this for decades and that every long night has permanently taken their toll.
“Two rum and Coke coming up,” she answers like she just uttered the most boring string of words in the universe before she twists her long, greying hair up into a bun and grabs our glasses.
“I know it’s not a hot club or anything, but I hate those places. You can’t even hear yourself think, let alone talk to anyone. Besides, you know how it is,” I glance over at him and I can see from the seriousness that passes over his face that he gets it. We don’t need to talk about how when you get back from a deployment like ours, you can’t stand wall-to-wall crowds anymore. Or how you automatically scope out the exits when you walk inside, mentally taking note. We don’t need to have a chat about how I only feel comfortable with my back to the wall when we go sit down or how people wearing backpacks set off a little alarm bell in my mind. Those things don’t need to be discussed, but I can tell he knows them well.
“You wanna pay now or run a tab?” Our alcohol slinging ray of light slides the drinks over the bar at us and doesn’t even pretend to smile as she waits for an answer.
“Tab, please,” I answer.
“Good call,” Rogers smirks and lifts his glass in a clink-less cheers. We both take a drink and scope the place out.
“Over there,” I point to a table at the far end of the room where I can sit with my back to the wall. It’s a quiet part of the room, but I’ll be able to see everything going on around me.
Rogers agrees and we pass a couple of tables full of ladies having a girls’ night and some guys pretending not to scope them out a few seats over.
We relax into the well-worn chairs and put our drinks on the slightly wobbly table. “Well even though you drank all my booze and ate all my food, I still wanna say thanks for your help man,” I look up at my former military subordinate. “I mean, I totally could’ve gotten that window in myself, but it was nice to have a hand with it,” I take another sip of my drink as Rogers laughs.
“Oh yeah, you might have. Or they may have found your body under a layer of broken glass in a week or so,” he snorts.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence man,” I laugh.
“I’m not saying you couldn’t do it or anything, I’m just saying my money is on the second one,” he chucks shit at me before taking a huge mouthful of his drink.
“Hey, take her easy man, you’ve got all night,” I glance at the disappearing brown liquid in his tall glass.
“And if she’s easy, take her twice,” he brings the glass to his lips and tosses the rest of his drink back, making his cheeks puff out as he swallows it down.
“Or, you know, chug it all like a frat kid. Whatever,” I shake my head and suddenly feel my age. When I was the Lieutenant of our SEAL team, I always felt like I might have been too young and too close in age with my guys to really be in charge of them. Don’t get me wrong, I had world-class training and I did my job well, but when I was thirty-one and the rest of my guys were only a few years younger than me, I didn’t feel like the experienced, grizzled vet you see in movies. Now, at thirty-two, I feel like I’ve aged a decade in the last year. There’s something about war that makes you cautious, that makes you hollow, that makes you old.
“Listen, not everyone wants to live in some cabin on the edge of town, like, chopping wood and shit. Some of us still want to ride the tides. Let’s relax and see where the night goes. I’m gonna grab another one, you want one?” Rogers stands up abruptly, scraping his chair across the dull, wooden floor.
“Nah, I’m good,” I hold up my barely touched drink and he shrugs.
“Suit yourself, I’ll be back in a sec,” he
saunters across the bar, noticeably checking out the table of girls as he passes them and I take another drink. Maybe not everyone feels like this when they get back. Maybe it’s just me. I can’t help but smile when a couple of the ladies at the table giggle and watch Rogers walk past.
Show off.
I look around the room, it’s getting louder now that there are few more people bustling around. I scan the faces, all of them unfamiliar, and don’t really soak in their features as much as I look for things that are out of place. Rogers is right, I need to relax. I’ve got to leave the desert overseas.
My eyes fall on two girls across the room, one with long hair the color of fire and milky skin, but it’s the other one with black hair and mocha skin radiating like a bronze statue, that holds my gaze.
They both look away quickly and I realize they were scoping me out. For a second, I feel like I was kicked in the gut as I take a deep breath and try to understand how every guy in this place isn’t feeling the same twitchy, swirling madness that’s been stirred in my soul just by looking at her.
“I got ya one anyway,” Rogers plops down our drinks and mine slightly sloshes over the edge of the cup leaving a fizzing black puddle on the oak tabletop. “I’m not letting you nurse that thing all night like some kind of old lady, drink up,” he blabbers on, but I can’t move my eyes.
“Uh, yeah,” I’m not sure what I’m agreeing about as I take a huge sip and finally manage to convince my gaze to sweep back to his face.
“What’s going on, man? You got that million-mile stare happening, you alright?” He looks around the room and his shoulders stiffen a little, like he’s shot with a tiny lightning bolt as he spots them. “Oh, yeah, I can see how you’d be distracted,” his voice goes down an octave.
Tinder Ella: A Modern Day Single Dad Fairy-Tale Page 16