Page 63 of Wolf

But I think I’ve realized it’s also about partnership.

My stomach fills up with fire, my balls throbbing as I thrust and grind into her wet, convulsing depths. Her face twists with an ecstatic agony. She starts bucking and spasming, and then her back arches and her hips grind forward against mine with a ferocity that nearly takes me by surprise. If I was anyone else, I wouldn’t expect this small, sweet woman could hold such wildness inside her.

But I know differently. I know her. I know the Julia from the past, and the woman she is today, and I want to know the woman she will be.

I want to see the man I will become with her.

I sink into her, letting myself be carried over the edge. I burst apart, all thoughts being obliterated as my body spurts my heat to mix with hers. In that moment, I bend down and bite her, mark her, make her mine all over again.

When my thoughts start filtering back in, I spur myself into motion though I would like to just lie there dead for an hour or so. Wrapping my arms around her, I pull her in against me and stroke her trembling back. Her breath hitches against my neck as she struggles to catch it.

“I love you.” Those three words come out so easily, like they were lined up and ready to go this whole time. They probably were, way before I was ready to admit it.

Julia lifts her face to look up at me and touches her lips to my cheek so tenderly that my heart quivers like it will break. “I love you, too.”

“I love Artie, too. I want… I want to be there for him.” My throat tightens as all my love for that boy comes through me like a steamroller, crushing me with its weight and significance. “I don’t know the first thing about bein’ a daddy, but…”

“Are you kidding?” Julia laughs softly. “You have already been more of a father to him than Malcolm ever was. And he loves you, too. I know that whenever we tell him you’re his daddy, he’ll be so happy.”

“God, I hope so, Julia. I want that almost more than anythin’ else.”

“You’ll see.” She traces her fingers lightly over my chest. “I think I’ll stay here in Helena. I’ve remembered how much I love it here. And I have noticed a white space.”

“What?”

“It’s a marketing term,” she says, my smart woman. “It means an untapped opportunity. There’s no bakery here in town. I think I would like to see if I can open one up. What do you think?”

“I think whatever you want is perfect,” I say, and guide her face up to mine to kiss her.

She kisses me back, and that is perfection.

Epilogue

Julia

Six Months Later…

More people than I would have thought possible cram their way into the courthouse. The men all wear their vests, though some of them have donned nicer shirts and pants. At least, shirts and pants with a minimal amount of stains and rips.

Their women, the old ladies, accompany them, like delicate flowers growing in a field of obsidian boulders. They have brought out their nicest dresses and done up their hair, and every one of them is so beautiful they take my breath away. Combined, it’s almost too much to bear.

There are children too, in their parents’ arms, or standing next to them.

The air is full of chatter and laughter, but for the moment, no one is talking to me and I’m left alone with my thoughts.

It’s been a full and busy last few months, which passed seemingly in the blink of an eye. There were so many things to do.

I moved out of Mom’s and in with Wolf, into his tiny house. It’s still tiny, but now it’s full, bursting at the seams with life and color. We’ve painted the walls and fixed up the kitchen, and bought more furniture, enough to fill up the one master bedroom and the smaller room, too. The stove is old and gas, but it works perfectly fine. I cook dinner there most nights. Sometimes, Wolf takes over. He’s been getting good at it. Or, we get a takeout, and sometimes we eat with another family.

At least once a week, we hit up the diner. Mom is always sure to join us then.

She’s also moved, selling that old house with all of its bad memories and moving into an apartment near where Wolf and I live. We see her almost constantly, except for when she’s not around. She likes to go for walks and visit the old friends that she’s reconnected with.

I kind of wondered if Wolf would be angry that Mom sold the house. What was all that work for? Except he wasn’t mad. He said my mom probably got a better deal because of the work he’d done and I’m inclined to agree.

As for Malcolm, he recovered from his injuries and was charged with over a dozen crimes. His trial is upcoming and it’s not looking good for him. The other cases have also been reopened, and the word is that a case is being built against him. The state wants to lobby for the death penalty, if it turns out that he really is a double murderer.

And… Wolf is being looked into, too.