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“Exactly.” She giggled as she opened up the box she’d carried in and immediately started pulling frames out and placing them on the mantle of their fireplace.
“Shouldn’t we finish bringing everything in, like the furniture, before we start unpacking?” Archie never really had a house before. He’d lived with his parents, at the academy, and in temporary apartments for the last ten years.
He wasn’t exactly an expert, but he wanted to do this right. It had to be perfect for her.
She shook her head. “I already knew what was going up here when you told me this house was ours.”
He stepped closer to her and watched as she pulled out more pictures. She was carefully placing them across the mantle, switching a few of them as she pulled out more. Most of them were of the pair of them growing up. There were a few with family and friends. It was like looking at a timeline of their lives, skipping over the last ten years.
“It’s perfect.”
She smiled at him. “I wanted this to be the first thing unpacked because it reminds me of what we had to get through to get here. We’ve lived a lifetime together as friends and have the memories to prove it.”
“I like that.” He walked up behind her and put his arms around her middle.
“I love you, Archie Stryker.”
“I love you, Tabitha.” He paused, then pulled back. “There’s just one problem.”
She turned to face him. “What’s wrong?”
“I don't like Tabitha Grimaldi so much anymore.” He did his best to hide his smile as he reached into his pocket. “I want to make it Tabitha Stryker.”
“Oh my god!” Her hands covered her mouth.
He got down on one knee and held up the ring. “Tabitha, you’ve been my best friend my whole life. I was an idiot for not doing this a long time ago. You’re the love of my life and I want to spend every day that I’m here on this earth proving it to you. Will you marry me?”
She nodded as her eyes watered. “Yes!”
He’d barely slipped the ring on her finger, and she leaned down to kiss him. She pulled back and looked into his eyes. “You gonna love me forever?”
“I always have.” He lifted his head as he reached up and tangled his fingers in the hair at the back of her head.
He pulled her in for a kiss and then lifted them both off of the floor. Down the hall, their bedroom was just waiting to get christened, like every other room in this house. The bed had already been set up and made, so it would be easier to fall on it tonight after they were done unpacking for the day.
Archie was nervous. It wasn’t their first time together, but it might as well have been. It had been months since he pushed her away and then she was in the hospital. She’d been trying to start things since the doctor cleared her and fuck if it wasn’t hard to deny her.
He wanted everything with her, but he also wanted this particular time to matter. It was the first time they were going to be together when they truly knew how the other was feeling. No more secrets, just love and a lifetime ahead of them.
Together.
EPILOGUE I
TABITHA
Six Months Later
A moan escapedher lips as she struggled across his lap. Another smack followed by the sting. His hand rubbed her ass, softly before squeezing. She didn’t doubt it was red with his hand prints now. His hand dipped between her legs and his fingers moved against her wet folds.
“Arch!” she gasped.
“You were wearing nothing under your wedding dress the entire time.” He lifted her from his knees. “I had to find out when I was on the damn floor getting the fucking garter belt off your leg.” He squeezed her hips. “Then I had to spend the next three hours of that damn reception with a hard on.”
She tried to conceal her smile as he turned her to face him and hauled her into his lap. His cock rubbed against her wet lower lips as she straddled him. He pulled her down onto his hard length and their moans mingled.
“Fuck, baby. You feel so good.” He gripped her hips and thrust upward. “You liked being spanked didn’t you?”
She lifted up on her toes and dropped back down again as she rolled her hips. The idea of being spanked had never been something she’d desired before. She didn’t think she would like it, but she was beginning to think she might like anything that Archie threw her way. Especially if it meant they ended up like this, then she was all for it.
