“You know what today is?” I said.
“What?”
“My birthday. November ninth.”
He smiled, that heart-breaking smile that lit up his face. “I’m going to marry you on your birthday, honey girl, that’s what I’m going to do. I love you. I need you. Please marry me. Today.”
I kissed him, rocking against him, holding him close, taking him deep.
The pleasure was too much. We were addicted, starved for each other. Frantic and insatiable.
Bonded and bound.
Together.
Epilogue
Two months later
I married Alexander on my twenty-first birthday, in a small courthouse in Key West, Florida. I wore the white silk dress I still carried in my bag. Our only witness was the Justice of the Peace who happened to be on duty that day. After, we went for a drink at an old-fashioned bar and walked on the beach. And later, he took me out on his boat to watch the sunset.
We had planned to spend the week there. He insisted we have a real honeymoon and he figured they could do without him at work for one more week. I cooked for him. He cooked for me. Turns out Alexander is something of a whiz in the kitchen. No housekeepers, no limo drivers, just me and my attentive husband. In the end, we ended up staying two weeks.
We returned to New York and resumed our lives and jobs at Skyscraper. I worked for a week in each department, even spending a few days in Political Affairs, which Mark Faber still runs. The three of us sat down over a cup of coffee and talked a few things through (leaving some topics untouched). It was a little awkward, I’ll admit, not because of Alexander’s jealousy or even Mark’s occasional knowing smirk, but more due to the that fact I wanted to jump Alexander’s bones the entire time. He’s introduced a new technique of ‘therapy’, as he calls it, that involves cuffs, leather straps and all kinds of other interesting contraptions. I’m becoming somewhat addicted to it, even though it has its moments of both ecstasy and vivid, stark intensity. But I trust him implicitly. And, if necessary, I can always cry Wolfe, of course. He has fixed me, in so many ways. I like to think we’ve fixed each other.
Shawna came to me and apologized in a dramatic, tearful confession. She was so desperate to win him back she admits she acted more than a little impetuously. I forgave her. I understand how hard it would be to let go of Alexander Wolfe. Alexander, though, won’t see her or speak to her. He thinks her lie was vicious, insane, and cost him two weeks of his life. I see it differently; the time we spent together in Key West was connective in a way I think we needed. The sparse, beautiful, basic privacy of that time and space is something I cherish and plan to aspire to more often. Either way, Shawna lost her column and all ties to Skyscraper, and once the media got hold of her story, her career has suffered.
After my initiation into Skyscraper, Alexander and I decided I wouldn’t be his assistant after all. He asked me to create my dream job, and I have. It’s a very small department, but one that’s growing quickly. It’s called ‘New York’ and will showcase artists, writers, activists, fashion designers, film makers, politicians, people in the community, and an endless list of other possibilities: people who are making their mark on the city’s landscape in new and interesting ways. I have a partner whose name is Gwen; I met her my first day on the job and she’s become a close friend and is a fabulously energetic, knowledgable work partner. Our first feature will go to publication in April.
I still see Eva now and then. She’s met a young doctor from New Jersey and spends all her spare time in, of all places, Princeton.
Alexander continues to astound me every single day. Ours is a love story that began within a tsunami of lust. I think the love was already there, though, from that very first glance. Something simply clicked in a way that changed us both and committed us irrevocably to each other before we even realized it. He is the most devoted lover, the most dedicated husband, the most beautiful, infuriating, affectionate, intelligent man I have ever met. I love him so much my heart sometimes feels like it’s on the verge of overflowing.
Jake is still under home detention and is growing tired of the restrictions. He has thrown himself into his work and taken on more clients at the investment firm he runs for Alexander. He’s entirely committed and totally focused, he says, on keeping everything legit. New territory for him, apparently. He’s also talking about starting his own company. Something small, just to see how it goes. Alexander thinks it’s a great idea.
As for Jake’s love life, well, that’s another story …
Coming soon:
BADBOY (BILLIONAIRE, Book 3)
Also by Juliette Jones
BILLIONAIRE
WILD RIDE
HONEY GIRL: BILLIONAIRE (Book 2) Page 20
