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Gently, almost reverently, he pulled off the golden fabric and bared her to his eyes. "So fucking beautiful," he whispered, taking in her rosy-tipped nipples, the gleam of moisture between her legs. He touched her everywhere, swallowed her moans with his kiss, and pushed her thighs far apart as he poised by her dripping entrance.
"Tell me what I need to hear," he demanded, pushing in a few inches before he stopped, relishing the thrash of her head and the jerking lift of her hips. "Tell me."
"I'm yours, Liam. No more running. I love you."
"About damn time."
He pushed in and seated himself deep inside her. Gritting his teeth against the fierce shocks of pleasure, he began to slowly move.
Interlacing his fingers with hers, he took the journey far up, where sensations and pleasure ruled and the connection between them burned bright and hot. Took her to the edge, and kept her there, drinking in her beloved face, thrusting hard, scraping against her clit once, twice, and then--
They shattered. Her cries filled the air, and he pumped his hips, releasing and binding this woman to him forever.
They came down to the reality of desperate barks and whines as the puppies tried frantically to jump on the bed. He pressed his forehead to hers and stroked back her sweat-dampened curls.
"I love you, Isabella MacKenzie."
"I love you, Liam Devine."
"Shall we complete our family?"
She smiled and his heart filled. "Yes."
He scooped up Leia and Han and they rolled and licked, climbing over them in a crazed tangle of joy.
And on his bed, with the woman he loved and the puppies who had stolen his heart, Devine finally felt complete.
epilogue
"NOW, THAT IS an epic love story," Kennedy announced, sipping her apple martini.
"Agreed," Kate and Arilyn chimed in.
Izzy grinned and glanced around the circle. "I think so, too," she sighed. "Not many men would stick around that long."
"Oh, I don't know. Nate put up with a lot of my shit before I had to do something grand and surrender. Of course, I never thought of a gold lame bikini. You're smart, girlfriend."
Her sister laughed and grabbed a piece of pizza. "Izzy doesn't play. When she decides to snare her man, she goes all out."
"Are you ever going to put poor Nate out of his misery and marry him?" Kate asked curiously.
Kennedy grinned. "Yep. In fact, I'm planning to ask him to marry me. It's going to be major. I figure he's waited for me long enough, and I'm ready for the ring on my finger and a white dress."
Kate jumped up and down, and Arilyn blinked away her tears. Izzy and Gen clapped with glee. "I'm so happy for you," her friends said, giving her a quick hug.
"Thanks, guys. I'm still freaking out but in a good way. I'm so grown-up now. Kate, are my martinis so bad you don't want to even try them?"
A blush stained Kate's pale skin. "Well, umm."
Arilyn gasped. "Oh. My. God."
Kennedy stared. "Are you?"
Kate nodded. "I'm pregnant!" she burst out.
Another round of squealing, hugs, and threatening tears came over them. Finally, they all settled back in, chattering nonstop.
They were all seated at the bungalow, sitting cross-legged in a big circle. The puppies had finally been put to sleep in Izzy's room, passed out from too much excitement with all the company. Kate and Arilyn had brought over Robert and Pinky to play, but the puppies had exhausted even them. Now the dynamic duo snored in the corner, with Pinky curled up on Robert's back, her small head perched in between the pit bull's ears.
Two pizzas plus an array of cocktails lay in the center of the circle. Music played in the background and Magic Mike XXL was muted on the television. It was a perfect night with all the women Izzy loved.
"So, is it time to talk about the love spell?" Genevieve finally asked.
The women all shared a look. Izzy gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth. "I forgot about that!"
"You did it, right?" Gen asked suspiciously.
"Of course--a promise is a promise. But honestly, you don't all really believe in that stuff, do you? I mean, Earth Mother?"
Silence fell. Arilyn finally spoke up. "Umm, I kind of do. I mean, I think it's mixed with the power of harnessing our secret desires and putting it into the universe, but it worked. For every single one of us. Did it work for you, Izzy?"
Her eyes widened. Shock hit her. She remembered every single one of the traits on her secret list. As she mentally checked them off, she realized Liam was the exact match of every single one. No. Not possible. Was it?
Yet she'd met him right after the list was created. How odd.
"Okay, yes, he's everything on my list," she admitted. "I just don't know if I'm ready to promote Earth Mother and love spells."
"And that is why no one else gets the book," Kennedy announced. "It served our purpose. We all found love. Now we need to destroy it."
"I don't know," Kate said worriedly. "What if Earth Mother gets pissed and reverses the spells and our perfect men become monsters?"
Gen shuddered. "I agree with Kate. Why don't we just hide it somewhere? Or give it to a used-book store?"
"Izzy, do you still have it?"
"Yep." She got up, scooped it off of the bookcase, and returned to the circle. The purple fabric cover looked innocent enough, but they all knew what lay between the pages.
Kate shuddered. "I can't touch it--gives me a shock."
Izzy tilted her head. "Do you still feel a jolt when you touch two people meant to be together, Kate?"
Her friend's grin was full of mischief. "Yep. And I felt it with you, Izzy. You and Liam."
"What?"
"Yep. That day you did his intake, I touched both of you and that's why I fell on my ass."
Izzy gasped. "But you tried to set Liam up with that awful Brittany woman from Kinnections."
"It was just a setup to push you toward him. I knew you were fighting it. Figured you could use a bit of help."
Kennedy burst into laughter. "Nice move, dudette. I love your quiet manipulations. Now, I know we agreed to never talk about it, but it's just us in the circle. I know you felt the connection between me and Nate, and Liam and Izzy. What about Arilyn and Gen?"
"Confirmed. Now I'm happy to say hopefully I'm done getting electrocuted when we all party together. Maybe I can officially retire from being a subconscious witch."
Arilyn pointed to the book. "What's the agreement, then? The book helped all of us. It deserves to be taken care of, maybe for another generation."
"Maybe you're right," Kennedy said.
"I found it at the secondhand bookstore," Kate said. "What if we wrap it up and send it out to another bookstore?"
"But which one?"
Arilyn grabbed her laptop. "I'll type in a search and we'll pick one at random. That way, the universe can work in the way it wants, and we've safely delivered it back out there."
"Love it," Gen squealed.
Izzy laughed. She still wasn't sure if she believed in any of it, but she adored her friends and would back them in anything. Even a love spell.
"How about the Ripped Bodice? It's actually a store that just sells romance novels! What do you think?"
"Hmm, even if they didn't want it, they respect books and would find a good home for it. Let's do it," Kate said.
