Afterglow: A Brother's Best Friend Romance, page 22
“I know I loved watching you,” I admit, opening the door to the private room I reserved the other day when I booked the stage for us.
I tenderly set Izzy on the bed and head to the attached bathroom to wet a cloth so I can clean her up.
I’m not surprised to see Izzy hasn’t moved when I get back. I start by sliding out the butt plug, then wipe between her legs. Once she’s clean, I sit on the bed and pull her into my arms.
Next to the bed are all the supplies I requested. I open the bottle of orange juice, shove a straw in it, and bring it to Izzy’s lips.
“Tonight was amazing,” she whispers after taking a few sips.
“It really was,” I say, opening the chocolate bar and placing a piece in her mouth. “How are you feeling?” I check in, stroking her hair gently.
“Tired,” she tells me honestly.
“I bet. Once you’re finished with your juice and chocolate, we’ll get dressed and go home. I just want to make sure you don’t drop too hard before then.”
She smiles, kissing my chest.
“I love you so much,” she whispers, and I kiss the top of her head.
“I love you too, baby. Forever.”
I hate all of the shit Izzy had to go through before me, and I wish I had truly seen her before then. I wish we could have been together years ago. But we can’t change the past, and I’m simply grateful I have her now.
Never in a million years did I think I would be so madly in love with Isabella Thatcher. My best friend’s little sister, but here we are, and I couldn’t be happier. I will love Izzy and make sure she’s treated like the princess she is until the day I die.
Epilogue
Dax
One month later
My palms are sweating as I wait for Izzy to walk out of the bedroom. In my left hand, I’m holding a long jewelry box with a satin exterior. Inside the box is a black velvet choker necklace with a diamond tiara pendant on the front. I’m praying she loves it because it screamed Izzy to me when I was searching online for the perfect collar.
“Caidance just called to say they are running late,” Izzy informs me, coming out of our room and staring at her phone.
She looks amazing in a pair of skinny jeans and a band tee. Her hair is pulled into a high pony, and her makeup is soft and subtle. It’s the perfect look for game night with our friends.
“What do you have there?” Izzy asks, eyeing the box in my hands.
I smile and reach out my free hand to grab hers.
“It’s a present.”
“Is it another iTunes gift card to pay for my BTS obsession?” she guesses, and I can’t help but laugh.
“You remember the gift I got you for your sixteenth birthday?” I question, and she nods as she nibbles on her bottom lip.
“I felt like you really got me. It definitely didn’t help the crush,” she confesses, making me chuckle.
“I guess maybe I saw you a little even back then. I just wish I had seen you as the grown-up woman you grew into sooner because then I could have offered you this quicker.” I open the box, and she gasps. “Will you let me collar you so everyone knows you are mine?” I ask, and she nods so fast it’s almost comical.
Her eyes are glassy when I take the necklace out and secure it around her neck.
“Fucking perfect,” I whisper, and she turns and wraps her arms around my neck.
“Thank you so much,” she murmurs as I hold her. “I’m so glad the universe allowed us to be together. You are perfect for me.”
“And you, me,” I respond, giving her a toe-curling kiss.
I’m thinking about rushing to the bedroom for a quickie when the bell rings, and when I break the kiss, Izzy pouts.
“We have all the time in the world for sex later. Tonight is about having fun with our friends and family.”
She mumbles something under her breath as I hit a button to let Nixon, Denver, and Beckett up.
“Thanks for coming, guys,” I greet them once they’re in our apartment.
“Wouldn’t miss it. I love free food,” Denver says, and Beckett pushes his shoulder.
“Don’t be an idiot,” he scolds him.
Izzy giggles. “Well, there is lots of food,” she tells them. “I’d help yourself now before my brothers show up and eat it all.”
“Thanks for the invite,” Nixon says, giving me a bro hug. “You been keeping out of trouble?” he asks Izzy and hugs her.
“Trying. So far, I don’t need another bodyguard, so I think that’s a positive. But I’ve been considering finding more trouble just to have you back. I’ve missed our card games at lunch.”
He chuckles. “We’ll have to play some tonight, maybe even set up a weekly games night, but if you get yourself into more trouble, I’ll make sure your man here tans your ass,” he says, and I can’t help but laugh.
“That sounds fun to me,” I say, and Izzy turns a beautiful shade of red.
The bell rings again, and Izzy smiles.
“Yay, more people.” She rushes to let whoever it is in while Nixon and I laugh.
“What are you guys doing here?” Izzy hugs her mom and dad.
Tonight was planned to be a game night with our friends and her brothers, but she doesn’t know what else I have up my sleeve for tonight.
“What, you don’t want your parents at game night?” Mrs. Thatcher feigns offense.
Izzy rolls her eyes, shaking her head with a smirk on her lips. “Of course not. I just wasn’t expecting you, is all.”
“Well, your brothers told us, and we were free, so we decided to crash your party,” Mr. Thatcher says. I try to hide my smile. He’s a good liar.
“You’re welcome here whenever you want,” I assure them, and Izzy shoots me a death glare.
I raise a brow at her, begging her to challenge me, but she relents with the cutest pout.
“Dax is right. Maybe just call next time,” she concedes before following her mom to the kitchen.
“Are you ready?” Mr. Thatcher checks with me quietly.
“Absolutely.”
“You’re a good man, Dax,” he tells me, grabbing my shoulder and looking into my eyes. “Your parents would be so proud of you.”
Shit. I was not expecting to get emotional yet. I nod and blink back tears. Thankfully, the bell rings again, so I can excuse myself to let our next guests in.
It doesn’t take long for everyone to show up, and we make our way to the entertainment room. We have music playing, and people have broken off into groups to play different games. Some are just milling around, talking, like me.
I’m leaning against the bar, half-ass paying attention to Riley when he smacks me on the shoulder.
“Shit, dude, what was that for?” I rub the sting from my shoulder.
“Stop staring at my sister and actually pay attention to me,” he scolds, and I laugh.
“What can I say… I’m in love,” I admit, and he frowns, which isn’t his normal response, and I wonder if something is going on. “Things not going good with Marissa?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“She didn’t actually have to work tonight. We’re kind of over,” he tells me, and my eyes go wide.
“Shit, I’m sorry.”
He shrugs. “I guess things weren’t moving fast enough. She said she was afraid I was getting cold feet because we moved up the wedding date by a year. Of course, that’s what she said after I found her sending naked pictures of herself to Dustin.”
What a fucking bitch. I knew I didn’t like her for a reason. I can’t believe she was cheating on a man as good as Riley, especially with her fucking stepbrother.
“She’s the one who asked you to move the date for the wedding,” I remind him, and he nods and takes a long pull of his beer.
“I know. She was just making fucking excuses. She didn’t want to take the blame for cheating.”
“Do you know how long that’s been going on?”
He blows out a breath. “Apparently, the entire relationship. I guess they’ve been fucking for years, and I was the man she used to try to get over her feelings for him. Apparently, they’re in love. Sure would have been nice to know before I spent all that money on her ring.”
“Fuck. That’s a lot,” I murmur.
“Well, at least we didn’t go through with the wedding,” he says and turns to grab a bottle of my expensive whiskey and two shot glasses. “But let’s forget about my bullshit and focus on the fact that one of us is getting the life we dreamed of.”
The shot glasses are filled, and we both down them.
“Now go ask my sister to marry you,” he whispers when Izzy starts cheering.
“I am the champion,” she shouts as I make my way over to her.
“Congrats,” I say and kiss her.
“Who wants to lose next?” Izzy asks, looking around the room for her next opponent.
“How ’bout you take a break for a second? I want to ask you something.”
“What’s up?”
I drop to my knee, and she gasps. “Isabella Thatcher, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side. You make me a better man, and I’m so fucking lucky to have you. You deserve to be treated like the precious gem that you are, and I want to be the man who gets to do that. Will you be my wife?”
She nods enthusiastically, and I pull out the ring, slip it on her finger, stand up, and kiss her passionately.
“Get a room,” someone yells, and I flip them the bird while I smile against Izzy’s lips.
“I love you,” she whispers, and I kiss her again. This time a bit more PG-rated to appease the guests.
We may be exhibitionists, but these are our friends and family. They don’t need to see what we do when our clothes come off—that would be fucked up.
“I’m kind of regretting inviting everyone,” I confess to her as quietly as possible, and she giggles.
“Now I know why my parents are here,” she says with a cheeky grin before she is pulled away from me.
“Let me see the ring,” Caidance shouts, grabbing Izzy’s hand.
Briana is standing behind her with a look on her face that I recognize too well.
“You’re gonna have a sore ass later,” Izzy whispers, and Caidance smiles.
“I hope so,” she tells her, and I chuckle as I turn to hug Izzy’s parents.
I remember when I wanted a brat like Caidance. Now I’m really happy to have my good girl.
I never dreamed of having a life like this, but I’ll never let Izzy go.
Who knew that falling in love with my best friend’s little sister would be the best thing that ever happened to me?
Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed this book please leave an honest review!
Need more from Dax and Izzy? Download the bonus epilogue now!
Ready for more kinky romances? Pre-Order Nixonbook 1 in the Hunter Security Series-an m/m bodyguard romance series.
Acknowledgments
Thank you so much for reading Afterglow! I had so much fun writing this book and can't wait to write more kinky books!
As always there is so many people to thank, because it takes a village to write a book.
First, I want to thank my amazing team. Without them I would be an absolute mess! Brittany Franks and Suzanne Talkington are the real MVPs!
Secondly, I want to thank my superb Alpha/Beta Readers Mandy, Meaghan, and Robin. These ladies are always pointing out the beginning issues and are always available for me to bounce ideas off of. I'd probably still be stuck trying to figure things out if it wasn't for them.
My sensitivity reader for making sure that I did the kink community justice, Lo Morales. Lo is a fantastic friend and an extremely busy lady, so I am completely thankful that she took time out of her busy schedule to help with Afterglow.
My editing team who helped me polish this book and make it as strong as it is today! Chantell, Nay, Nikki and Kaylene at Swish Designs and Editing were so amazing to work with as always! They really helped me strength this book and make it what it is today!
My cover designer for creating the perfect cover for this book! Brittany with Chaotic Creatives knocked it out of the park, and I mean it when I say I'm obsessed.
My family for putting up with me when I put myself on a deadline and go a little crazy.
And last but obviously not least… you... the reader… without you I wouldn't be continuing to put books out! Thank you for your continued support. I love you all so much!
There are a lot more books of mine coming soon so make sure to sign up for my newsletter to stay up to date on everything I have up my sleeve!
Also By Laura John
Sultry Summer Series
Summer Heat (A FREE small town romance short story)
Long Summer Nights (A Small town low angst romance)
Summer Daze (A Small Town Interracial romance)
Summer Memories (A M/M second chance small town romance)
Summer Dreams (A M/M Age Gap romance)
Love In Sienna Series
Secret Smiles (A friends to lovers rock star romance)
Hidden Kisses (An enemies to lovers baseball romance)
Guarded Hearts (A New adult, best friends to lovers, single mother romance.
Whispered Desires (A single mother, enemies to lovers, age gap, rock star romance)
Confidential Moments (A M/M Baseball romance)
Clean Slates (A fast burn rock star romance)
Tangled Love (A rock star romance love triangle romance)
Restless Beat (A rock star romance)
Love In Sienna Boxset (Books 1-4)
Love in Sienna Boxset (Books 5-8)
Sentinel Protection Duology
Fighting Attraction (A M/M bodyguard romance)
Embracing Temptation (A M/M age gap bodyguard romance)
Standalones
Monster In The Shadows (Dark romance standalone)
Kissing in the snow (A M/M Christmas Novella set in the Sentinel Protection World)
About Author
Laura is a steamy romance author from Alberta, Canada, who melds love and angst together while normalizing mental illness. She also brings a mixture of m/m and m/f books because love is love. In her books, you will fall in love with her rock stars, bodyguards, baseball players, a small town and even a hired hit man!
When she’s not writing, Laura enjoys reading, going to concerts, hiking, and experimenting with makeup! Music means everything to her, so make sure to check out her playlists to get a sneak peek into what inspires her!
You can find Laura online here:
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Laura John, Afterglow: A Brother's Best Friend Romance
