Page 90 of Thawed Gladiator: Draco
Draco locks the door behind us, and the air shifts. Becomes charged with possibility.
"Come here," he says softly.
I do, melting into his arms, into his kiss. His hands find the zipper of my dress and slide it down slowly, deliberately. The fabric pools at my feet, and I step out of it, standing before him in just my underwear.
"Beautiful," he breathes. "Every time. You're so fucking beautiful."
"Your turn." I tug at his shirt, pull it over his head to reveal the muscled torso I've mapped a thousand times with my hands. Scars from the arena, marks of a life lived hard and survived.
We undress each other slowly, reverently, like we have all the time in the world. Because we do. That's the gift of freedom—time to savor each moment, to build a life worth living.
When we finally fall into bed together, skin against skin, it's not desperate or urgent. It's coming home. It's choosing each other again and again, every day, for the rest of our lives.
"I love you," I whisper against his lips.
"I love you more." He rolls me beneath him, settles between my thighs. "Impossible miracle woman who saw a broken street magician and offered him everything."
"Not broken. Never broken." I arch into him as he enters me slowly, deeply. "Just lost for a while."
"Found now," he murmurs. "Found and keeping forever."
We move together in the darkness, hearts beating in sync, two bodies, one soul. Outside, the Missouri night wraps around the sanctuary. Inside this cottage, we make our own promises. Not the formal vows we'll speak at our wedding, but the real ones—the daily choosing, the constant showing up, the fierce protection of what we've built together.
When we finally collapse, sated and breathless, Draco pulls me against his chest. I trace lazy patterns on his skin, already half asleep.
"Draco?"
"Mmm?"
"Thank you for finding me."
"Pretty sure you found me first. In your cottage, hiding like a criminal."
"Then thank you for staying."
"Nowhere else I'd rather be." He kisses the top of my head. "Nowhere else I'll ever be. You're stuck with me now,cara."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
I fall asleep in his arms, the ring on my finger catching starlight from the window. Tomorrow we'll travel back to our tiny Manhattan apartment, back to our busy lives and thriving careers. But tonight, we're here at the beginning, where a group of impossible men learned that second chances exist.
Where a frozen gladiator became the best street magician in New York.
Where a trapped heiress discovered her own voice.
Where two lost souls found each other and decided to build something beautiful.
This is our epilogue, but it's really just the beginning. The beginning of everything we'll become together.
Andthat's the real magic—not tricks or illusions, not ancient history or modern miracles. Just love. Just us. Just this moment and every moment after, choosing each other over and over again.
Forever.
