Epilogue
The doors automatically locking behind us always sent a shiver down my spine. But then, who in their right mind enjoyed the feeling of being locked away? Who in their right mind wanted to be confined in movement or choices? It was probably one of the reasons BDSM never appealed to me. I had no desire to be tied up, and I had no desire to tie someone else up. Restraints never appealed to me. While a lot of couples viewed handcuffs as a bedroom prop, in my world, handcuffs represented something way different. And it sure the fuck wasn’t pleasure.
Looking around, I didn’t care how green the landscape may be, or how fresh the exterior paint was, being confined in one place was being confined in one place, and no amount of lush surroundings could make me forget that.
“He looks good, don’t you think?”
Our hands intertwined, I lifted Devi’s hand to my lips, and kissed the back of it. “He does.”
She leaned into me as we made our way down the walkway. “Is it bad that I felt relieve that he wants to stay here for six more months?”
“No, baby,” I told her. “I actually think it’s the first honest thing he’s ever done for himself or anyone else.”
Two weeks after Devi had moved in with me, Keith had checked himself into rehab. With me footing the bill, we’d chosen one of the best in the state, and Devi and I made the trip to see him once a month. The first three months had been no visitors, but as soon as he’d been cleared, we had come up to see him.
At first, both Devi and Keith had argued against me paying for it, but I had insisted. I had even played the safety card and had guilt tripped them both into accepting my help. They’d been so used to doing things on their own, I’d known not to take their stubbornness personally. I had even told Keith he could pay me back if he felt that strongly about it, but I’d told them to table the logistics until he was done with the program and had a plan.
“I can’t thank you enough for getting him into this place, Cassius,” she said. “You saved his life.”
I stopped and pulled her to a halt. Taking her face in my hands, I said, “Devi, I saved my life. I did this to save my life. You were always going to be at risk if Keith couldn’t get his shit under control.” I shook my head. “And I couldn’t allow that. It would have driven me insane.”
Devi leaned up and pressed her lips to mine in a soft, loving kiss. “Even so, you’re saving my brother at the same time, and I will always be grateful to you for that.”
I wrapped my arms around her and nuzzled her neck. “Grateful enough to throw your birth control pills away?”
Devi laughed. “Cass, we just got married.”
While I had asked Devi to marry me after only two weeks of living with me, she hadn’t agreed until just last month. With Keith in rehab, and Alvin’s murder still so fresh, Devi had claimed her right to some time to wrap her mind around her new life.
But last month, when she finally agreed to marry me, we had called the rehab center and had asked them if we could get married here, so her brother could give her away. They had denied our request because a ‘festive’ occasion might prove too tempting for some of their patience, but they had given Keith a day pass. So, we’d gotten married in the quiet, little town of Wilshire, at their city park. As soon as I had kissed my bride, we had returned Keith to the rehab center, and had gone on our way.
I pulled back to look down at her and shrugged. “What can I say? I want a bunch of little girls with eyes like their mother.”
She shot me a look. “I’ll have you know, I was teased when I was little for having one green eye and one blue one.”
“But our girls will know how to kick ass, so problem solved.” Devi laughed, but she couldn’t know how serious I really was.
“Fine,” she relented. “But the first time one of them comes home, crying, because someone made fun of their crazy eyes, you’re dealing with it.”
“My pleasure.”
And it would be. It really would be.
The End.