Stranded With The Billionaire by Brynn Paulin

Epilogue

~Lily~

Four Years Later

“I never thought we’d be back here,” I said, looking around the new island Silas had purchased. Unlike the plantation, this one would be a luxury resort. Parts of it would be private and just for us.

My hand rubbed over my small bump where baby number three kicked heartily this morning. Our twins Jefferson and Mila were at home with Stella—or Aunt Stella as the three-year-old twins called my best friend. Fair enough. Since she and Ezra had gotten hitched, it was true. They’d both given into their attraction, once and for all, when she’d moved to the plantation to co-teach with me, covering my maternity leave then Stacy’s when it had happened a year later. When all three of us were working, Stella and I split up teaching upper grades’ courses, one of us backing up Stacy, as needed. It all worked out beautifully, especially with the influx of employees on the two big islands and a third Silas had procured the year after we married.

Ezra had pitched a fit when Stacy had moved halfway across the world from him to work for his brother. Any denials he’d made about loving my friend or being public about their relationship had ended there. He’d abandoned his position at the college and followed her to Blue Water.

Silas was quite happy to have him aboard. Ezra created all our marketing materials—he did anything that needed written content actually, including the website. It was a part-time job, and the rest of his time was spent writing. His second screenplay had been picked up a few months ago. Now, he often talked about producing something entirely different, but I wasn’t sure Stella was onboard with it. She claimed her niece and nephew, as well as our students, were kids enough for her. I wondered how long that would last, though.

Silas rubbed my shoulders, drawing my full attention back to him. “I know how much you loved it here,” he said.

“We were a captive audience,” I laughed.

“You didn’t love spending time under our waterfall or moonlit nights on the beach?”

I gave him a little shove. “You know I did. Actually, it’s a shame to mar it with humanity.”

“We don’t have to build the resort,” he said, “but I think you’ll find the plans pleasing. The huts will be on the water on the other side of the island.”

We’d discovered the land was much larger than we’d known, the rocks that had prevented our full circumference of the place had hidden quite an expanse—nothing that would have made our stay easier but a lot more beach and trees. It was perfect for what Silas planned.

“This part of the island will be just for us—though I’m planning to take down the cabins and put in something more…luxurious and modern. The waterfall is all ours, too.” He guided me toward the path between the trees, now delineated with wood planks…almost like a bridge across the sand.

“I see you’ve already done some work,” I commented.

Silas made a noncommittal sound. In a moment, I saw why.

“I see you’ve done a lot,” I revised. All the burned-out buildings had been razed and the area widened. He’d had a “hut” erected for us, all glass and thatch and natural woods, though I suspected it was quite sturdy and had hidden steel framing. Silas was all about keeping me as safe as possible.

Calling it a hut was a definite misnomer. While not as large as the mansion—not even close—the spacious vacation home would allow us to spread out and have guests if we wanted…though I didn’t see us ever wanting that. This was our own private paradise, but maybe as the kids got older they’d come along.

“Stella’s planning on us being gone for a few days,” he told me, lifting me in his arms and carrying me inside. Cool air immediately refreshed us after the humidity that had clung to us outside.

“Much better than our old digs,” I commented.

“I thought you’d appreciate it.” He carried me toward the wide stairway at the back of the great room we’d entered. It wasn’t a second level, per se, only up five steps. Instead, it gave the open-floor space of the great room, kitchen and dining area a sunken feel.

“I do. And you, by the way, are a sneaky man to plan a surprise vacation like this.”

“Anything for you.”

And he’d proved that true over and over the past four years. And I tried to be everything for him. After seeing how some other couples operated, after seeing how my parents were together, I didn’t think anyone could experience true love and want to be together after the initial “shine” period, but we did. We worked in perfect harmony and wanted each other more and more each year.

Well, almost perfect harmony.

Of course, we fought from time to time, usually when he was overbearing, but that wasn’t often. My personality synced with his. I wasn’t a doormat, but I could handle him and his caveman ways. Secretly, I liked that he was all about me being his and him taking care of me and in turn our children.

“So,” I said. “We’re starting the tour upstairs?”

“It’s a house. Nothing special.”

“Looks pretty special,” I replied.

“We’re going to start with the most specialist place.”

I rolled my eyes. He loved to kill me with purposely bad grammar. “Most specialist? Really?”

Silas smirked. “Well…it’s the place where a specialist does his magic—that’s me in case you were confused.”

“Oh, and what magic do you specialize in?”

My back hit the soft pillow of the thick blankets, and he came down over me, ever careful of our baby between us. “This kind,” he murmured against my lips while he pushed up my shirt. “The kind that will shift your reality and take you straight into bliss.”

I cupped his face, drawing his gaze up, so his eyes met mine. “You did that a long time ago. I live there every day.”

His lips brushed mine in soft, biting kisses. “And I intend to keep you stranded there forever.”

It was our joke, being stranded together forever, but truly, I couldn’t ask for anything better. Being with Silas, being in his arms every night and in his heart every moment of the day… My life was magic, and all because of him.

“I love you,” he whispered as we curled together after we made love.

“I love you,” I answered. And I did, so deeply. I never thought I’d be wanted, that there’d be a man like him in my life, but every day, I woke up in paradise. We could be on our island or in the frozen north of Alaska in the dead of winter, and it was still paradise, because I was in his arms and in his heart and he was in mine.

We’d chosen each other when we truly had been stuck together and had no other choices. Now, we chose each other because there was no other choice. We were meant to be. Silas said he’d recognized me as his other half the second he’d seen me. It had taken me a little longer, but I knew he was right. Maybe we weren’t a perfect seamless fit, but that’s what growing and loving together did; it molded us into one. And we had plenty of years for that. A lifetime.

“How about a tour of the rest of the house?” I asked.

“A naked tour?”

“Mm-hmm. We only have a couple days, and I think you should show me every room in the house and maybe a few places outside, too.”

“Mrs. Rutherford, you’re a wicked woman with wonderful ideas.”

“Glad you recognize that,” I laughed.

“Oh, I recognized it the second I saw you.” He rolled and pulled me over him.

“Tell me again…” I said as I straddled him, suddenly ready to go even though we’d barely just finished.

“I saw you, that braid swinging behind you, and I knew you were meant to be with me. You, me, you…” He adjusted me, and I sank down on him. “You riding my cock.”

I groaned, relishing him filling me and going so deep. “Mmm…Mr. Rutherford. Now, who’s the wicked one?”

“Always have been; always will be.”

I wouldn’t want us any other way.

Silas eventually gave me a tour of our new vacation home and the surrounding grounds, including reintroducing me to the waterfall. It was a long exploration, refreshing and exhausting at the same time. If I was a little wobbly when we got home to Blue Water, no one said anything. But then, when it came to Silas and me, they were all used to it. Good thing since it would probably never change.