The last chapter :') It's been a long journey (almost a year)! 32 chapters, too many words, and 101 pages on a word document! I'd have to say this is my longest and best story to date. I think it may also be my last one. I don't know if it'll be my last one ever, but at least for a while. Thank you to all my wonderful and faithful readers and reviewers! You all kept me going with this story. I feel like I just couldn't continue writing it, I lost my drive, so I ended it here. I hope you aren't disappointed; please leave a review and let me know!

Disclaimer: Janet Evanovich owns all the Plum universe characters, and I have not made a single cent from this story.

Enjoy!

Chapter 32

"I'm a mess Rex," I explain as I make a peanut butter and olive sandwich. Not appetizing to most, but super delicious. Rex wags his tail at the mention of his name. I smile and drop an olive.

"I love him, why do things have to complicate it?" I question, looking at Rex for answers. I sigh and contemplate Carlos and I's first real fight (the Jeanne Ellen incident doesn't count). I bite my lip. We survived a whole war together and now we're fighting about my safety and competence. We're even married. Sigh, I swipe some more peanut on my bread before laying the knife on the counter. I put my slices of bread together when the front door opening catches my attention. I turn and wait to see who it is.

"Babe?" comes the call from my Captain. I turn back to my sandwich. I don't know what I'm going to say to him. He wants to go overboard on protecting me, and I don't know if we'll ever see eye to eye. I'm also still upset about him yelling at me earlier. I feel his presence. There's a hum coursing through my body, and it grows more intense the closer he gets. I can't deny the attraction even if I'm mad. He lays a hand on my shoulder, and I instinctively lean into it. My eyes close.

"Babe," he says spinning me around to face him. I keep my eyes closed. He puts a finger under my chin. "Babe, look at me." I open my eyes to look into his deep chocolate brown pools. They show all of his emotions. I'm drowning in those eyes. My breath catches. He tilts his head down and captures my lips in his. His right hand cups the back of my neck while his left grabs my hip. His soft lips move perfectly against mine, and his tongue seeks entrance into my mouth. I moan. My butt is pressing into the counter and Carlos is pressing tightly against me. I can feel him pressing into me. I feel the burning low in my stomach. We break apart to breathe. He tilts my head back and lays another kiss on my mouth. I moan into his mouth, and he pulls me closer. He tilts his head to the side and starts dropping open mouth kisses down my neck. I feel my legs turning to jelly. He grabs my butt and lifts me up. I squeal and wrap my legs around him as he starts walking towards the stairs. His eyes are locked on mine. I see the crow's feet at the edges of his eyes and his laugh lines all etched into his mocha latte skin. He's perfect. And his mouth, oh his mouth should be illegal. Soft full lips made for kissing me. I forget my name when he kisses me. Rex is bouncing beneath me. I chuckle and Carlos looks amused. He gets to the bedroom and shuts the door in Rex's face before depositing me on the bed.

He strips off his grey short sleeve shirt off, and I can't help licking my lips as I look at his chiseled body. Years of hard work have definitely shown. He has a defined six pack of abs with a delicious happy trail leading to the Holy Grail. Then his arms are perfectly sculpted and toned and bulge without him even flexing.

"See something you like?" he asks with a breathtaking grin. His white teeth contrast brightly against his skin. I nod and crook my finger for him to come to me. I strip off the tank top I'm wearing. I'm left in my black, lacy push-up bra. He stalks forward and puts his hands on the waistband of my jeans. He gives me a mischievous smile before undoing the button and pulling them off. He then presses himself in between my thighs. He puts pressure on my core, and I can't help but writhe against him. I can feel the wetness pooling in my panties. I want him inside me. I groan as I push myself against him. He sweeps my hair back and trails kisses down my neck, down my chest, and on the tops of my breasts. In a swift movement he unhooks my bra and removes it. I'm bare in front of him and my breasts bouncy perkily. I can feel them harden even more since being exposed. I see Carlos' eyes darken before he leans down and takes one of my pebbled buds into his mouth while grabbing the other with his thumb and forefinger. I groan loudly at his ministrations. I feel frantic, and I'm desperately grinding against him. He suckles, nibbles, and tugs on my nipples to drive me insane.

"Take," I start before gasping, "your…pants…off." I struggle to get the sentence out as he tortures me. He pulls back and the cold air hits my nipples. They harden to almost painful, and I can tell my panties are soaked through. He strips off his jeans to reveal that he'd been going commando. I waste no time and take off my panties. He grins.

"I want you in me," I demand, "now." I'm looking him dead in the eye, and I probably look a little crazy. He tends to have that effect on me. He stalks forward and my eyes are closed in on his hard cock that bounces as he walks. He steps in between my thighs and pushes my shoulders back. I can feel his tip grazing against my skin. My hands glide over the smooth skin of his arms and he looks at me with his intense gaze. He places a kiss on my lips and grabs my lower lip with his teeth. He gently pulls and my back arches toward him. He lets go and continues kissing a path down my neck to my breasts. I lift my legs and wrap them around his waist. With one swift pull, I've managed to get him inside me. We both pause to adjust. He brushes the hair at my face.

"You're so beautiful," he whispers before kissing me gently, "I love you." I smile.

"I love you too," I reply before moving my hips. He groans and starts thrusting forward into me. His eyes shut and his brow furrows.

"Oh god, oh god, Steph," he chants as he picks up the pace. He puts one hand on my breast and tweaks my nipple.

"Oh Carlos," I moan as I start moving my hips again. We find a good rhythm together, and I can tell I'm close. Carlos has beads of sweat gathering. I reach down and cup his balls and that sends us over the edge. We explode together. I close my eyes and a bright light blinds me.

I probably shouldn't have gone all caveman on my wife, but it was just instinct. I was worried about her, and I had to reassure myself she was alright. I instantly regretted yelling at her, and after watching her wake up in my arms, I made sure to let her know. She's the best thing that's every happened to me, and I never want to risk losing her. I know she was upset that I yelled, and I'm upset at myself that I let it get that far. I made a promise to myself to never yell at her again. I never want her to be afraid of me or afraid to tell me things because of how I might react. I am her husband, and I will always be there for her. She apologized to me as well. I'm glad we made up considering all of the little bumps we've gone through lately. I know marriage isn't easy, and I sure as hell wouldn't want to do it with anyone else. I smile as I glance at her. She fell back asleep in my arms. Her hair is sprawled over my arm and the pillow and her mouth is open slightly. She's perfect and all mine until death do us part.

Epilogue

Being married means working through the hard parts and enjoying the good parts. I knew when we got married that we'd have our ups and downs, and honestly I wouldn't want it with anyone else. Since the moment Carlos and I met, something bound us together. Maybe it was fate, maybe that was the point of this whole journey. We both challenge each other to be better people. While we don't always see eye to eye, we come to a compromise. I don't want our life to be dull, and it never is-honestly, I don't think it could be. I'm lucky to have found such an amazing man. I can't believe I ever doubted him. I look over at him as he drives us towards our vacation spot. We've been together twenty years now. Looking back, I never would have imagined my life going this way. He feels me staring and looks over.

"Deep thoughts, Babe?" he questions, grabbing my hand. His hair is short now, and mostly gray. The lines around his eyes are deeper than before, but he's still gorgeous as ever. I smile.

"Just thinking about how much I love you," I reply with a smile. He gives me his 1000 watt grin.

"I love you too," he states as he takes the next exit. "I wouldn't have wanted to spend the last twenty years with anyone else and I wouldn't want to spend the next twenty years with anyone else." I smile.

"Should I call Jeanne and inform her of that?" I ask with a grin. Carlos lets out a loud laugh. We chuckle at almost disaster that happened as newly-weds. I reminisce on that fiasco. Mercedes, Lula, Connie, Mary Lou, and I all got together one night and planned our revenge. We may have done some illegal things, but hey-they're the girls I'd go to to help me hide the body.

We broke into Jeanne's house and put nair in all of her shampoo bottles. We didn't leave any trace that we were there. We also put a raw fish in her ventilation system. Maybe what we did was petty and illegal, but the bitch needed some air taken out of her. Even now, I don't regret it. I'll never forget the first time I saw her out afterwards, I realized she had bought a wig and, I commented on it. She turned bright red, and I think that's when she realized I was behind it. Not my fault the girl didn't have any security measures in her house. We could have been way more evil to her, but we ended up being pretty nice. At the end of the day, she wasn't worth that much of our time.

"Babe, we're here." I come out of my daydreaming to look at our Point Pleasant house. We added on over the years to accommodate our children and grandchildren. It's our favorite spot to come when we have time off from work. Neither of us work in the field anymore, and our son Josue has followed in his father's footsteps.

Carlos and I step out of the car. I lean against the hood of the car and look down at the ocean. Carlos wraps his arms around me and presses a kiss to my cheek. We stand there, enjoying the peace and the love we surround ourselves with.