I meant what I said—there's no turning back now. Electricity races up my spine as my orgasm approaches, and I feel her inner walls squeezing my cock as we both chase our release. She orgasms first, and as she does, my fangs fully descend, and I bite down on the soft skin between her neck and shoulder again. Everyone will know she's mine.
Releasing her, I groan deeply as I empty my seed deep inside her, my hips bucking through the intense pleasure until we're both completely spent.
Mine.
I turn her gently in my arms and kiss her gently. "I love you, Saffy. With you and Annie, I have everything."
She looks up at me with tears brimming in her eyes. "I never knew it could feel like this," she whispers. "I love you, too."
My heart and wolf beat with the same satisfaction at hearing her words. "Annie's with my sister tonight. Come home with me. Let's make this real."
"Real is all I've ever wanted," she says, reaching on her tiptoes to kiss me again.
Epilogue - Saffy
Fourteen Months Later
"I can hear laughing from all the way down the hall. Where are you?" Tanya calls out.
I wipe my hands on the towel, still laughing, "We're in here!" I call back.
A moment later, Tanya's head appears around the bathroom door. Her eyes go wide as she takes in the situation. My makeup bag is strewn across the floor, Annie is sitting on the closed toilet seat with the remnants of my makeup smeared across her face, and I’m standing in the middle of it all, my high-end heels discarded in the corner and the sleeves of my designer dress rolled up trying to clean Annie's face.
Annie beams at Tanya, "I wanted to look as pretty as Saf, but I put a bit too much on."
I can't help giggling again at how chaotic we must look. "Annie actually did a marvelous job," I tell Tanya, ruffling Annie's hair. "A little too much blush, but we were just toning it down when I turned the tap the wrong way and soaked her, so now we're doing damage control. Totally my fault."
Not entirely, but Annie was so proud of her blush and lipstick combo, I don't want her to think it wasn't perfect for the party. Soaking us both with water was definitely my fault, though. Cole keeps his Brite Corp bathroom office immaculate. I giggle again, imagining his face if he walked in right now.
"Oh my goodness," Tanya says, smiling. "I'll tackle the floor. You and Annie fix the makeup."
"Thank you," I breathe, stepping to one side to let Tanya collect the soggy towels as I give Annie's now-clean cheeks a barely-there sweep of blush. "There. You look like a princess."
"We both look like princesses," Annie declares, hugging me. Her tiny body melts into mine as I squeeze her tightly. "Eww, your sleeves are all wet!" she groans.
I laugh, tickling her until she's in hysterics. "I wonder why that is?"
"You both look absolutely perfect," Tanya declares, the room now tidy thanks to her. "Let's get these dresses straightened up, and we'll be good to go. Are you excited, Annie?"
"Iloveparties, Auntie Tanya." The little girl whoops, rushing out of my arms and back into her father's office, where we've been getting ready.
I grab my discarded shoes and follow her, relieved that my sleeves don't look or feel too wet once I roll them back down. "Disaster averted," I say to Tanya as she checks out my dress.
"You look stunning, Saf," she says, admiring my dark green knee-length silk dress with tears in her eyes. "You deserve all of this. Your brother and I are so proud of you."
"Are those pregnancy hormones getting to you again?" I ask with a laugh, hugging her. At four months pregnant with her second child, Tanya cries at the drop of a hat now. "You know I couldn't have done any of this without you. I'm so glad you agreed to consult on this."
"Well, now I'm really crying," she says, giggling and dabbing at her tears in an attempt not to spoil her makeup. "Come on, you two. You can't be late to your own party."
She's right. I check my reflection in the mirror one last time and then help Annie put her shoes on before taking her hand and leading her out of the office. As I walk the halls of Brite Corp hand in hand with Annie, the music and sounds from the party wafting toward us from the stairway, I can't believe how far we've come.
I felt a connection with Cole the moment we met at the fair. It seems like a lifetime ago now. I never dreamed he'd feel it, too. Now, nearly eighteen months from when I started an internship at Brite Corp, we're about to launch the first product based on my original program. The second product will be a government-wide security upgrade, which is currently undergoing testing.
Any doubts I had about working with Cole vanished the moment we got started. His support and business acumen have taken my ideas to places I could never have envisioned.
He keeps saying this launch party is for me, but it's not. It's for us. Annie, too, because together, we've become a family.
We reach the top of the stairs, and suddenly, there's a hush. Everyone turns to look at us, and my cheeks burn as the crowd below breaks out into spontaneous applause. Annie clings to my side, but her beaming smile remains.