🔥 The Anniversary 🔥

An Exclusive Bonus Chapter from Tending Her Garden

Thank You for Reading! 💕

You made it to the bonus content—which means you’ve experienced Elena and Maya’s journey from strangers to forever. Thank you for giving their story a chance.

This exclusive scene is our gift to dedicated readers like you. It’s too hot for Amazon, so we’re sharing it here. Set one year after the epilogue, it features their anniversary celebration in the jasmine pergola—champagne, candlelight, power exchange, and proof that some fires only burn hotter with time.

Content warning: This scene contains explicit FF sexual content with power exchange dynamics, dirty talk, and multiple orgasms. Adults only.

The Anniversary

Set one year after the epilogue

Elena had been planning this for weeks.

The garden was at its peak—a riot of late summer blooms that filled the warm evening air with jasmine and rose and the green-growing scent that would forever remind her of Maya. Fairy lights twined through the pergola, candles flickered on every surface, and a bottle of champagne chilled in an ice bucket beside the cushioned daybed she’d had installed last month.

One year. Three hundred and sixty-five days since a woman with dirt-streaked hands and an irrepressible smile had bulldozed through every wall Elena had spent a decade building.

Best year of her life.

“Elena?”

Maya’s voice drifted from the terrace. Elena smoothed her dress—a simple white slip that skimmed her thighs and left her shoulders bare—and stepped into the candlelight.

“Over here.”

Maya appeared at the entrance to the pergola and stopped dead.

She was still in her work clothes—worn jeans, a tank top that clung to her toned arms, her curls wild from a day spent coaxing the new rose garden into existence. Dirt smudged her cheekbone. Her hands were filthy.

She had never looked more beautiful.

“What’s all this?” Maya breathed, taking in the candles, the champagne, the daybed draped in silk.

“Happy anniversary.”

Maya’s face softened. “You remembered.”

“Of course I remembered.” Elena crossed to her, sliding her hands up Maya’s arms. “One year ago today, you walked onto this property and proceeded to destroy every defense I had.”

“I was just doing my job.”

“You were doing considerably more than your job.” Elena kissed her softly. “And I’ve never been more grateful for anything in my life.”

Maya’s hands found her waist, pulling her closer. “I should shower. I’m covered in—”

“Don’t you dare.” Elena nipped at her lower lip. “I happen to like you covered in dirt. It reminds me of the first time I saw you.”

“Attacking a tree stump while you watched from the balcony like a creeper?”

“I was not a creeper. I was… appreciating the landscaping.”

“You were staring at my shoulders.”

“I was absolutely staring at your shoulders.” Elena’s hands slid beneath Maya’s tank top, finding warm skin. “I’ve been staring at your shoulders for a year now. I have no intention of stopping.”

Maya laughed—that warm, rich sound that still made Elena’s heart stutter. “You’re ridiculous.”

“I’m in love.” Elena pulled back just enough to meet her eyes. “With you. Completely, hopelessly, embarrassingly in love.”

“Embarrassingly?”

“Do you know how many times Sofia has caught me staring at you through my office window? She’s started keeping a tally.”

“I love Sofia.”

“Sofia is a menace.” Elena kissed her again, deeper this time, her tongue sliding past Maya’s lips. “But she’s not here tonight. No one is. Just us.”

Maya’s grip tightened on her hips. “I noticed. The staff disappeared around four.”

“I gave them the night off. And tomorrow.” Elena smiled against her mouth. “I have plans for you, Maya Brooks. Plans that require privacy.”

“What kind of plans?”

“The kind that involve this dress on the floor and you on that daybed.”

Maya groaned. “You can’t just say things like that.”

“I can say whatever I want. I’m the boss.”

“Not tonight you’re not.” Maya’s voice dropped, taking on the commanding edge that never failed to make Elena shiver. “Tonight, I’m in charge. Remember?”

Elena’s breath caught. They’d discussed this—a year of switching back and forth, learning each other’s rhythms, discovering what they needed and when. And tonight, their anniversary, Maya had requested control.

Elena had been thinking about it for weeks.

“I remember,” she whispered.

“Good.” Maya released her, stepping back. Her eyes raked over Elena’s body—the thin white dress, the obvious lack of anything beneath it. “Take that off.”

Elena’s fingers trembled as she reached for the straps. She slid them down her shoulders, letting the silk pool at her feet.

The warm night air kissed her bare skin. She was completely naked beneath the fairy lights, exposed and vulnerable and achingly turned on.

Maya’s gaze burned. “God, you’re gorgeous.”

“So are you.” Elena’s voice came out breathless. “But you’re still dressed.”

“I’ll get there.” Maya circled her slowly, like a predator assessing prey. “Hands behind your back.”

Elena complied, clasping her wrists at the base of her spine. The position thrust her breasts forward, put her on display. She felt her nipples harden in the night air.

“One year,” Maya murmured, stopping behind her. Her breath was warm against Elena’s ear. “One year of learning every inch of you. Every sound you make. Every way to take you apart.”

“Maya—”

“Quiet.” Maya’s hand came down on her ass—not hard, just a warning tap. “You don’t speak unless I tell you to.”

Elena’s cunt clenched at the command. She nodded.

“Good girl.”

The words sent a pulse of heat straight to her core. Maya knew exactly what that phrase did to her—knew how to deploy it for maximum effect.

Maya’s hands traced up Elena’s sides, thumbs brushing the curves of her breasts without quite touching her nipples. Elena bit her lip to keep from whimpering.

“Do you know what I thought about, that first day?” Maya’s voice was a low rumble. “When you came out to the garden in your silk robe, all ice queen composure, pretending you hadn’t been watching me for hours?”

Elena shook her head.

“I thought about this.” Maya’s hands finally cupped her breasts, squeezing. “I thought about what you’d look like stripped bare. What sounds you’d make if I got my hands on you.” She pinched Elena’s nipples, and Elena gasped. “I was right, by the way. The sounds you make are incredible.”

She spun Elena around and kissed her—hard and claiming, teeth and tongue, nothing gentle about it. Elena melted into her, hands still clasped behind her back, her whole body trembling with need.

“Daybed,” Maya ordered against her lips. “On your back. Legs spread.”

Elena obeyed on shaking legs. The silk sheets were cool against her heated skin. She lay back, letting her thighs fall open, offering herself completely.

Maya stood at the edge of the daybed, looking down at her with dark, hungry eyes.

“Touch yourself.”

Elena’s breath stuttered. “What?”

“You heard me.” Maya’s smile was wicked. “I want to watch you. Show me what you do when I’m not here.”

Heat flooded Elena’s face—even after a year, certain things still made her blush—but she moved her hand between her thighs. Her fingers slid through slick folds, finding her clit already swollen and aching.

“That’s it,” Maya breathed. “God, you’re soaked. Already so wet for me.”

Elena circled her clit with trembling fingers, watching Maya watch her. The vulnerability of it was excruciating—being seen like this, exposed in the most intimate way possible. But Maya’s gaze held nothing but reverence.

“Inside,” Maya commanded. “Fuck yourself.”

Elena slid two fingers into her own cunt, gasping at the stretch. She was so wet she could hear it—obscene, slick sounds that filled the pergola.

“Faster.”

She obeyed, pumping her fingers, her hips rocking up to meet her own hand. Pleasure coiled tight in her belly, building toward the edge.

“Stop.”

Elena’s hand froze. She whimpered, right on the precipice, aching for release.

“Not yet.” Maya finally moved, stripping off her tank top and jeans with efficient grace. She climbed onto the daybed, settling between Elena’s spread thighs. “You don’t come until I say you can.”

“Please—”

“What did I say about speaking?”

Elena clamped her lips shut.

“Better.” Maya lowered her mouth to Elena’s breast, sucking a nipple between her lips. Elena arched into the sensation, her empty cunt clenching around nothing.

Maya worked her way down Elena’s body—kisses and bites and long licks that left trails of fire across her skin. By the time she reached Elena’s hip, Elena was shaking, desperate, ready to beg.

“You’ve been so good,” Maya murmured against her inner thigh. “So patient. So obedient.” She pressed a kiss to the crease of Elena’s leg, inches from where Elena needed her most. “I think you’ve earned a reward.”

She sealed her mouth over Elena’s cunt and sucked.

Elena screamed.

Her hands flew to Maya’s hair, clutching desperately as Maya’s tongue worked her clit with devastating precision. She was already so close from touching herself, and Maya was relentless—licking and sucking and driving her higher with every stroke.

“Please,” Elena gasped, beyond caring about the rules. “Please, I need—I need to come—”

Maya added two fingers, curling them deep, finding the spot that made Elena see stars.

“Come for me,” she commanded against Elena’s clit. “Now.”

Elena shattered.

The orgasm tore through her with a violence that stole her breath, her vision whiting out, her whole body seizing around Maya’s fingers. She sobbed through it, tears streaming down her temples, overwhelmed by sensation.

Maya didn’t stop.

She worked Elena through the first orgasm and straight into a second, her tongue never slowing, her fingers pumping relentlessly. Elena came again—and again—until she was a trembling, incoherent mess, begging Maya to stop and never stop in the same breath.

Finally, mercifully, Maya gentled. She kissed her way back up Elena’s body and gathered her close, stroking sweat-damp hair from her face.

“I love you,” Maya whispered. “Happy anniversary.”

Elena couldn’t form words. She clutched Maya’s shoulders, pressing her face to her neck, still trembling with aftershocks.

“I need—” She swallowed hard, finding her voice. “I need to touch you. Please.”

“You don’t have to—”

“I want to.” Elena pulled back, meeting Maya’s eyes. “I want to make you feel as good as you just made me feel.”

Maya’s expression softened. “Okay. I’m yours.”

Elena kissed her—tasting herself on Maya’s lips—and rolled them over until she was on top. The position felt powerful after so much surrender, and she relished it.

She took her time. Kissed down Maya’s neck, across her collarbone, between her breasts. Worshipped her body with hands and lips and tongue, drawing out every gasp and moan.

When she finally settled between Maya’s thighs, she looked up at the woman who had changed everything.

“I love you,” Elena said. “More than I ever thought possible.”

Then she lowered her mouth and returned the favor.

Maya came twice—once on Elena’s tongue, once with Elena’s fingers buried deep inside her—and by the end they were both wrecked, tangled together on the silk sheets, breathing hard.

The candles had burned low. The champagne sat forgotten in its bucket. Above them, stars wheeled through the gaps in the jasmine vines.

“Best anniversary ever,” Maya murmured.

“We should do this every year.”

“The elaborate setup? Or the mind-blowing sex?”

“Both.” Elena smiled against her shoulder. “Definitely both.”

Maya’s arms tightened around her. “I’m going to marry you someday.”

Elena’s heart stopped. “What?”

“You heard me.” Maya pressed a kiss to her hair. “Not tonight. Not tomorrow. But someday, when you’re ready, I’m going to ask. And I’m hoping you’ll say yes.”

Tears pricked Elena’s eyes. “I’ll say yes. Whenever you ask. I’ll say yes.”

“Good.” Maya’s voice was thick with emotion. “Because I’m never letting you go, Elena Rostova. You’re stuck with me.”

“Promise?”

“Forever.”

Elena closed her eyes, listening to Maya’s heartbeat, feeling the warmth of her body, breathing in jasmine and roses and the green-growing scent of everything they’d built together.

Forever sounded perfect.

— THE END —