Page 67 of Auctioned to the Prisoners

Lory swallows him down, stroking his hip as he comes.

I find her clit with my fingers, but Colton has recovered enough to round the bed, and he’s there, wanting to play a part in getting our woman off again.

“That’s it,” he whispers. Whatever he’s doing makes Lory clench around my dick, and I grunt with the resulting pleasure.

“Oh… Oh.” She gasps, and her hips begin to buck, seeking the pressure and depth of penetration she needs.

I grip her chin and turn her head so that her ear is close to my mouth. She’s wearing the diamonds I bought her and when she wears them on her pretty ears, it fills me with pride.

“Give it to me, Lory. Come on my cock. Give it to me, princess.”

“Fuck…” she gasps as her body turns feral, snapping taut with release and then softening. My dick surges with the contractions of her orgasm, spitting my release with the impact of a flamethrower. My mind spins out of control as bright lights flash behind my eyelids, and boiling heat tightens my balls and powers my dick in stuttering thrusts.

“That’s it,” Colton says, breathless with awe.

“Fuck yeah.” James’ voice comes from somewhere behind, filled with a smile that’s totally right.

I laugh, and it’s big and booming, a release of the last of the tension I’ve been carrying around with me since the police picked me up and presented me with unwavering evidence of my own misdemeanors.

We’re together. We’re free. We have Lory and a future that’s as bright as the Mexican sun. New names and a new life. I want to say we deserve it, and in a funny way, I guess we do.

We’re no angels, but we know how to treat our woman like the queen she is. We’ll be grateful for every day we get to spend with her, knowing what life was like before she appeared with her pretty eyes and a giant heart. We’re going to work hard to keep on the right track so that our kids will have the kind of start that we could only have dreamed of and never face the reality of incarceration. We may have regrets, but what we did to deserve Lory will never be one of them.

I finally have happiness resting in the palms of my hands, and I’m going to do my best to hold on to it and never let it go.

EPILOGUE

LORY

ALL I WANT

The sound of the ocean is magical. Before Mexico, I’d never seen it outside of pictures and on TV. It’s impossible to imagine its sound, the rushing white noise of its push and pull, or the vastness of it yawning into the horizon further than the eye can see.

In Cancun, the water is fierce and unyielding as it tugs at your feet beneath the foaming waves. It’s loud, too, crashing against the seabed, making me insubstantial as it buffets me around like driftwood.

I was scared at first, but Connor hasn’t let go of my hand. I think he’s a little afraid of it, and maybe my hand is a comfort. Neither of us learned to swim yet, and the Atlantic isn’t the place to start.

The beach is a swipe of glittering white that almost hurts to look at. Caleb and Nora play in the sand, digging castles with James, who’s indulging his inner child. He let them help bury him when we first arrived and then broke free, rising like a fearsome sand monster that made Nora scream and Caleb laugh.

My sister, Kennedy, rests on a sunbed, stretched out in her new bikini. I convinced her to buy the bright pink one that contrasts nicely with her hair and skin. She prodded at her loose tummy in the store, but I wasn’t having any of it. My stomach is still loose and a little puckered, but I don’t care. Little Ethan loves to nuzzle it, and so do Connor, James, and Colton. Nothing good in life comes for free, and my war wounds just make the miracle of my son’s arrival and life even sweeter.

Colton watches us. He’s holding Ethan in his arms while he sleeps, but he’s wary of the ocean’s power and keeps his eyes on us the whole time.

Connor tugs me into his arms, kissing my mouth, all heat and strength and rasping facial hair. He looks so different from how he did when we first met. He’s lost the hard edges, softened by the sunshine, and a life without danger. He’s even lost some of the watchfulness he had when he first escaped, although he’s kept in the habit of bleaching his hair and wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap whenever he’s outside. Being conscious of your appearance must be hard, but he takes it in his stride. I love his beard and the way it scrapes my skin.

He looks older in a good way. More mature. Asexydaddy.

He laughs when I call him that when Ethan’s around. He growls when I whisper it in his ear when we’re alone.

“You getting tired?” he asks. We’ve been jumping the waves for about fifteen minutes like overexcited kids.

“Yeah. And cold!” I shiver even though the sun is bearing down. He wraps me against his body, which is still like a furnace despite the chill of the water, and then he picks me up and carries me out of the ocean like a blushing bride. I swat at him, laughing. “I’m capable of walking, you know.”

“For the love of God, will you let me indulge my inner caveman? What’s the point of these—”

“Muscles.” I pinch his thick bicep, and he hugs me tighter, pinning my arms.

“Stop wiggling, or I’ll have to tie you up later.” His threat sends a shiver of heat and cool right through me, building anticipation. Our hotel suite has a headboard that would handle just that.

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