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  That makes me smile even more because I love the idea of Dad and Ivan hanging out. They have become close, my dad treating him at times like his own son. God, my family couldn’t be more perfect. They always say I’m the heart of this family, but in truth, it takes us all to make it beat.

  Epilogue

  Ivan

  Ten years later...

  Penelope comes running into the room and jumps into my arms. I laugh as I kiss her lips and carry her to our bedroom.

  “Are you happy, krasotu?”

  “Happier than I ever dreamed possible.”

  “Are you happy because our children are next door spending the night?” I smile at her and rub the stubble on my chin against her neck.

  She giggles and then snorts as I drop her on the bed.

  I hover above her, looking down at my beauty. The years have been a gift to her, because she is more beautiful with each passing day. The way she’s grown soft in her belly and the way her hips have widened... There is nothing more stunning than seeing my wife round with our little babies. We’ve had two, and she says no more. She says that we are blessed with one boy and one girl and that we are lucky.

  I am the lucky one. To have Penelope choose me as her mate, as her lover, for all of our days is the dream come true.

  We have made a family together, a life more precious than I could have imagined. After we were married she asked to live near her family, so naturally I built her a home next door to them. I will always give my krasotu what she wishes.

  Now Pandora and her family live on the other side of us. We are one big compound of babies and babysitters. Penelope loves nothing more than mothering us all and was quick to become a stay-at-home mom. People joke and say we have a village, but I don’t see this as a bad thing. We are a family, and that’s something I never dared to hope for. But as years have passed, Penelope has made me understand that it is good to hope.

  “I’m happy to have you alone for the night. Even if it’s only for a few hours before the kids try to sneak back over here.”

  I pull off her sundress and sandals, kissing her feet. My mouth moves higher as her legs fall open for me.

  “Do you wish for my kisses?” I ask, looking into the green eyes that hold my heart.

  “You know I do.” She winks at me, raising her hips in invitation.

  “Then you shall have all of them.”

  I move my mouth between her legs and kiss her sweet nectar until she climaxes. We’ve been together ten years, and as I sink into her I think about how it’s always special. Every time we connect there is love—love of our bodies, love of our spirits, love of our souls.

  She wraps her arms around my neck, and I pull her body flush with mine.

  “Stay close,” she whispers, and I obey.

  I hold her tight as I thrust in and out, leaving no space between us.

  It’s hours later when she’s sated, and I wrap my body around hers. There are no more words, only kisses and light touches as she drifts off to sleep. I hum softly to her, the same tune I sang to our babies. She closes her eyes, and her dark half-moon lashes make her look like a doll, so perfect and sweet as she sleeps on my chest.

  Although my life began dark and lonely, I am thankful for it. I would charge down any path that led to the love next to me, that brought me home to the happily ever after we have built. My beauty has taught me many things, but believing in fairy tales was the most important one. She shows me every day that dreams do come true.

  * * * * *

  Also available from Alexa Riley and Carina Press

  Full-length novels

  Everything for Her

  His Alone

  Claimed (Coming Spring 2018)

  Novellas

  Stay Close

  Novellas #2 and #3 (Coming Fall 2017 and Winter 2018)

  About the Author

  Alexa Riley is a pseudonym for the sassy dynamic duo of Melissa King and Lea Robinson. Both are married moms of two who love football, doughnuts and obsessed heroes in novels. They bonded over their love of steamy reads in the summer of 2013 and haven’t been able to stop talking since.

  Alexa Riley specializes in insta-love, over-the-top sweet and cheesy love stories that don’t take all year to read. If you want something safe, short and always with a happily-ever-after, then these are your girls. As a team, they are New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling authors of more than fifty books.

  Connect with Alexa Riley!

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  Facebook.com/AlexaRileyAR

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  Introducing the Carina Press Romance Promise!

  The Carina Press team all have one thing in common: we are romance readers with a longtime love of the genre. And we know what readers are looking for in a romance: a guarantee of a happily-ever-after (HEA) or happy-for-now (HFN). With that in mind, we’re initiating the Carina Press Romance Promise. When you see a book tagged with these words in our cover copy/book description, we’re making you, the reader, a very important promise:

  This book contains a romance central to the plot and ends in an HEA or HFN.

  Simple, right? But so important, we know!

  Look for the Carina Press Romance Promise and one-click with confidence that we understand what’s at the heart of the romance genre!

  Look for this line in Carina Press book descriptions:

  One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!

  Find out more at CarinaPress.com/RomancePromise.

  Find out more at CarinaPress.com.

  Discover the For Her series by New York Times bestselling author

  Alexa Riley

  EVERYTHING FOR HER

  For Her, Book One

  Mallory Sullivan never expected Oz to be the greatest culmination of her dreams. But sometimes fate determines who you fall in love with. Who makes you lose control. Who owns your soul.

  And then you realize it wasn’t fate at all...

  “I devour every single delicious word Alexa Riley writes.”

  —#1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Maya Banks

  HIS ALONE

  For Her, Book Two

  Paige Turner is trying to outrun her past, but there it is, tossed back in her face anytime she manages to get two steps ahead. As soon as she is ready for revenge, her boss, Ryan Justice, gets in her way and takes her off course. Ryan will stop at nothing to make her his. Before she knows it, he has made his way into her life and into her heart...

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  Want to break more rules with the Haven Brotherhood?

  Then don’t miss these sexy titles from

  Rhenna Morgan

  ROUGH & TUMBLE

  A self-made man with his fingers in a variety of successful businesses, Jace Kennedy lives for the challenge and he always gets what he wants. From the start, he sees Vivienne Moore’s hidden wild side and knows she’s his perfect match, if only he can break it free. He’s proud of who he is and where he came from, and he’ll be damned if he lets Vivienne go before showing her the safest place of all is in the arms of a dangerous man.

  “Gritty, raw, and a side dose of sweet lovin’. ROUGH & T
UMBLE by Rhenna Morgan will warm your heart and melt your panties.”

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  WILD & SWEET

  Zeke Dugan is not a man who walks the straight and narrow. He may have sworn an oath as a trauma doc, but he has zero problem leveraging his medical skills outside a hospital if it means giving the Brotherhood—the group of men he calls family—an advantage. Blood before business. All that changes when shy Gabrielle stumbles into his life and ignites his protective instincts.

  CLAIM & PROTECT

  Trevor Raines lives on the edge of legal. A good guy doing bad things to save lives, the only rules he follows are the Brotherhood’s, and there’s nothing in the world that will change that. That is, until Natalie Jordan walks into his life. She’s a woman with a plan, and the plan doesn’t include a man with secrets, no matter how kind—or intoxicating—he is. Trevor has no interest in settling down, but there’s something entirely too appealing about the woman he can’t stay away from.

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  We think you have a good book in you!

  Do you write in the below genres? Harlequin’s Carina Press wants to see your manuscript.

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  ISBN-13: 9781488080593

  Stay Close

  Copyright © 2017 by Author Alexa Riley LLC

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  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

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