Page 130 of Revenge (Corrupt Empire 3)

Epilogue

Avery

It wasn’t often I was awake before Aiden. He looked so peaceful as he slept, his hair ruffled and his face clear of all worries and concerns. The sun streaming in through the windows highlighted his tattoos. He’d thrown the sheet off in the night. It was hot even though we had the fan going. I’d forgotten to put the aircon on. I wasn’t exactly upset about it because Aiden looked so fucking sexy. I was tempted to wake him up, but I couldn’t. Not when he looked so calm. I leant over and placed a kiss on his chest before silently slipping from the bed.

I pulled on a robe and walked out into the open plan living area. Marissa, our housekeeper, was in the kitchen.

“Morning,” I said.

“Mrs Avery, you want a tea?”

I nodded, smiling. I leant against the dining table. A few minutes later, she brought over a steaming cup for me.

“Is Mr Aiden not awake?” she asked, dark eyes glinting.

“No, he’s still sleeping.”

“I leave out breakfast for you both before I go.”

“Thank you.”

I strolled out onto the large deck, eying the pool and the sun loungers for a moment before I walked over towards where there were steps down to the beach. I sat down on the edge of the deck, letting my legs dangle down as I sipped my tea. It was stunningly beautiful here at this hour. The sun glinted across the clear blue water lapping up against the white sand.

I couldn’t quite believe this little piece of paradise was ours. We’d been here for a month already and I didn’t want to leave. It’d been good for us. Time to relax. Time to heal our emotional wounds. I wasn’t sure I’d ever really be at peace with what I’d done, but the day I signed the company over to Rick was the day I decided I was done. The past couldn’t be changed. I’d learn to live with it. I wasn’t going to wallow in painful memories.

Perhaps we both deserved to be punished for what we’d done, but I felt like Aiden and I had suffered enough. And we’d done the right thing by turning in the rest of them. That was justice and it was being served without us needing to divulge our involvement.

Now we could move on. Now we could have a future. A quiet life together away from all the horrors and bullshit of our dark pasts. That was all that mattered.

I heard his footsteps across the deck, but I didn’t look up until I felt his presence behind me. He was only dressed in a pair of swimming trunks, his bare chest still on display. I swallowed at the sight of him.

“You didn’t wake me up.”

“You looked peaceful, how could I?”

He smiled, settling himself down next to me with a mug of his own. I leant against him.

“I suppose I’ll forgive you. I mean we are supposed to be on our honeymoon.”

“This is a rather long, extended honeymoon. Gert and James keep asking when we’re coming home.”

“They can just fucking deal.”

I grinned, sipping my tea. They did miss us, but they also knew we needed time away too. It’d been a few months since Aiden’s birthday and in that time, we’d donated a lot of money to the fund set up to help the girls who’d been sex trafficked and bought this place in a secluded place on the island of Antigua in the Caribbean.

Whilst neither of us were particularly extravagant, Aiden had wanted to get away from everything and so did I. Rather than sinking money into an expensive hotel, we’d bought a little house instead. It was peaceful and we couldn’t ask for more.

“We do have to go back at some point. Christmas is coming up and you know we promised to do another New Year’s Eve get together at ours.”

He took the mug out of my hand and stood, walking over to where the sun loungers were and placing them on a little table. He put his hand out to me. I got up, walking over to him with a smile on my face.

“We’ll go home soon, I promise, but for now, you and I are going to enjoy the sun because I for one love this little tan you’ve got going on here.”

His fingers went to the belt of my robe. I wasn’t wearing anything underneath it, which made his grin turn wicked.

“Naughty girl,” he growled, tugging me closer as his hand went to my breast.

“Marissa is making breakfast.”

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