Theirs to Ransom

by Stasia Black

  I will love you loyally.

  I will love you completely.

  I will love you always.

  So those were the words she gave back to him.

  His eyes were fierce with promise as he leaned down and pressed a simple kiss to her lips. She knew his intense passion would erupt tonight in the bedroom when he finally unleashed himself and a shudder went down her spine in anticipation.

  Audrey’s Clan had volunteered to babysit so for once, they’d have the house all to themselves for the whole weekend.

  Finn had already declared that they were determined to put another baby in her this weekend.

  Some of the other women had begun investigating birth control methods but not Sophia.

  She wanted a house bursting with children, full of noise and laughter, and yes, children’s screams and shouting, too.

  She wanted it all. She wanted life, in every shape and color and sound.

  Ever since she’d made the determination to stop living as if the only emotion she was allowed to feel was cheerful and happy, life had become more… interesting there for a while.

  It was an adjustment. But so was living with four men. And their first daughter, Ella, had come only eleven months into their marriage.

  There were growing pains, Sophia wouldn’t lie.

  But the same could be said for the entire nation trying to put itself back together after civil war, no matter how brief.

  Finn finally stepped up and clasped Sophia’s hand and warmth flooded her.

  Here, of course, was the number one reason she’d been able to get through it all.

  Her husbands. And yes, maybe Finn in particular.

  Because while Jagger commanded her passions in a way that no one else could, and Leo made her laugh, and Mario gave her safety, loyalty, and love, it was Finn who’d been her first.

  His vows said it all.

  “It was always you for me, Soph.”

  And as his warm, familiar mouth closed on hers, she felt what she’d always felt with Finn.

  A sense of coming home.

  His kiss was long and sweet and lingering… and cut short by a loud shout from the front row.

  “Shay!” Jonas called anxiously, pushing between Finn and Sophia.

  Sophia swung to look and saw Shay holding her stomach, her features pinched in pain, and as Jonas got to her and Charlie and Gabriel helped her to her feet, Sophia could see a pool of water on the pew where Shay had been sitting and soaking the bottom of her dress.

  “Mama!” Shay’s daughter cried.

  “It’s okay, Nicky,” Shay said, obviously breathing easier after the contraction passed. “Mama’s just about to have your baby brother or sister.”

  Shay’s husbands and women from the community hurried to Shay’s side and helped her as she began waddling toward the back door of the church.

  Shay paused and said something to Jonas who was holding her arm. He turned around hurriedly.

  “We officially welcome Clan Kincaid to the community! Barbeque will be ready in fifteen. We’re off to bring a human into the world!”

  Cheers and clapping erupted from all around the church. Sophia laughed as everybody got to their feet. Almost immediately squirming little bodies jumped down from the pews and made a beeline for the doors to go play, parents shouting and hurrying after.

  “I should go be with Shay,” Sophia said, staring at the door all the women had gone through.

  “She’ll be fine, little dove,” Jagger said, coming up and circling his arms around her from behind. He kissed the back of her neck. “And it’s not every day I get to marry a woman as fine as you.”

  “But the barbeque—”

  “Will be going on all night,” Finn interrupted, taking her hand again. “I say we start this honeymoon early and send someone out for food later. Just think, for once we won’t have to worry about rushing or being interrupted by the pitter patter of little feet or Anna waking up in the middle of the night.”

  Finn moved to her front, sandwiching her in between him and Jagger.

  Sophia could feel both of them, hot and hard against her as the last of the church emptied out.

  Leo and Mario came close, until she was boxed in on all four sides.

  Just the way she loved it best.

  “Well what are we waiting for?” she asked a little breathlessly. “Let’s go get this honeymoon started.”

  Epilogue II

  ERIC

  Eric bounced his one-year-old granddaughter in his arms as he and Drea walked out of the church. The Vasquez Clan had two little ones near the ages of little Ella and Val, Sophia’s other two daughters, and offered to look after them since Audrey needed to go with Shay.

  Eric glanced over his shoulder at his daughter, surrounded by her four husbands.

  “I still can’t believe my little girl is big enough to have little girls of her own.”

  Drea smiled at him. “You’re only forty-six. Hardly ancient.”

  Eric shrugged, then kissed his baby granddaughter’s head. “I don’t know. Sometimes I feel twice that.”

  “Don’t we all. But look at this.” Drea pointed at the lawn outside the church packed with people chatting and laughing, kids running around and getting underfoot. Eric got what she meant. It could have been any Pre-Fall church picnic.

  “You did this,” Drea said, sliding an arm around Eric’s waist.

  “Hardly,” Eric scoffed. Was she serious? “No, babe, I’m pretty sure you did this. We’d all still be hiding in a cave somewhere if you hadn’t stepped up and taken leadership of the country.”

  Drea laughed. “How about we just agree that we’re both kickass and leave it at that?”

  “Who’s kickass?” Garrett asked as he, Jonathan, David, and Billy came up behind them. Eric and Drea had taken the fastest car they had, an old two-seater Camaro in order to get here on time. The others had followed in a bus and must have just arrived.

  “Clan Valentine, naturally,” Drea said, turning to them and welcoming each with a quick kiss.

  “Fuck yeah we kick ass,” Garrett said. “Did you see how quick those Hell’s Hollow’s assholes folded once we started putting pressure on them to cut out the slave trading?”

  Drea sighed. “At least out in the open. They’ll just go black market with it and we’ll have to work even harder ferreting them out.”

  “Still,” David said. “It’s a win that all over the Republic law and order is becoming the norm and not the exception.”

  Drea smiled and Eric was glad as always for David’s cool head. Eric couldn’t always manage the same equanimity that the other man seemed to be able to keep, especially when it came to their wife.

  Then Drea looked around at them anxiously. “Do you think Kylie’s okay? Did you check at the telegraph office to see if we’ve gotten any word from her yet?”

  “I checked,” Billy said. “No word yet, but I’m sure she’s fine.”

  Drea nodded, jaw hardening as she looked out on the happy crowd.

  “I’m sure she’s fine, though,” Billy repeated. “We only just left her yesterday afternoon and they had to get all the way to Colorado.”

  They’d parted with Kylie at the northern border, them going one way, and Kylie going another.

  She was being taken away by an emissary of the Queen of Colorado who’d appeared out of the blue and requested a meeting with President Drea Valentine.

  That was the urgent business they’d had to attend to. Terrible timing, but there was no way they could say, hey, sorry, would you mind waiting a week while we jot down to Central Texas South to see our daughter get married, then we’ll get back to your emissary who’s attempting to make first contact after well over a decade?

  No, they’d sped up to the north and met with the woman and the small security force she’d travelled with.

  The Queen of Colorado wanted to meet face to face with Drea, the emissary said. She was inviting Drea to come visit Artemisia, what used to be called
Denver.

  Saying no would not only mean missing out on the opportunity to see what had previously been a closed land, it could be taken as an insult.

  Or so Drea had said. Repeatedly.

  Drea had wanted to go herself but finally Eric and the others were able to talk her out of it. It was simply too dangerous for the President of the country to walk sight-unseen into a potentially volatile situation.

  So they compromised. They’d send an ambassador first. And considering that Colorado was apparently a matriarchy now, it needed to be a woman.

  Kylie and Drea had first become friends when they lived in the bachelorette house in Jacob’s Well, and Kylie moved up to Fort Worth to help Drea with administrative tasks when she became President. Over the years, Kylie had become more and more invaluable.

  There was no one Drea trusted more to represent her.

  Kylie had said yes when Drea presented the possibility of going without even batting an eye.

  At the time, Eric had pulled Drea aside. “How is this any different from what Sophia did?” he’d asked. “Heading into New Mexico because men lured her there with false promises of truce and trade?”

  “It’s different because ever since we learned from Jagger what really happened during the war there, we’ve worked to independently verify all he said about the Queen of Colorado.” Drea said it all patiently but Eric had been able to see the worry lines in her forehead, too. Who was she trying to convince? Him, or herself? “And everything the Queen’s emissary said matches up to the intel our spies have gathered.”

  Still, Eric had overheard the conversation Drea’d had with Kylie. “I won’t lie. This could be dangerous. We have no idea what you’ll be walking into. I’m not ordering you to do this as your President. It’s up to you.”

  “Of course I’m going,” Kylie said without even missing a beat. “This is too big an opportunity.”

  “But you really need to think—”

  “I’m ready, Drea. I’m ready to do something that matters. You know I’ve felt like I’m just spinning my wheels for years. After Justin, I just—”

  “That guy was an asshole,” Drea interjected.

  There was silence for a moment and Eric knew he should pull back from the door. He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. But then Kylie went on.

  “I can do this, Drea. Give me the chance to prove I can.”

  Eric had backed away after that but next thing he knew, Drea and Kylie were coming out of the room and it was settled. Kylie was going as their ambassador.

  So that was that. Kylie had left with the emissary two days ago and they’d been on the road ever since.

  Baby Anna started fussing on Eric’s shoulder and Drea reached for her. “Who’s a good girl? That’s right, you are.” Then she blew a strawberry on the baby’s belly, eliciting little shrieking giggles.

  Eric could only stare. Jesus, didn’t she know she tore at his heart when she did things like that? Or really, all the time. She was just so fucking beautiful and strong and— and stubborn. But fuck if he didn’t love her for it.

  “That’s a good look on you, Mrs. V,” Ross from Clan Washington came up and said… or was it Riordan. Eric never had been able to tell the twins apart. “You ever think about popping out one of your own?”

  “Riordan,” said the other twin, coming up and smacking his brother on the back of the head. “Jesus, that’s not something you ask a lady. Especially the President.”

  “What?” Riordan said. “It’s all anybody talks about around here. I swear, they should change the name of this place from Jacob’s Well to Baby’s Well for as many kids the women are having all the time.”

  Eric worried Drea would be upset but she just smiled easily, taking it all in stride. They talked about kids sometimes, but she wasn’t sure she wanted any. She’d gotten a fresh IUD a year ago from a haul from an old medical facility Scrappers had found. She said that if she did want to think about kids, it would be after she was through with her term in office, and none of them was sure when that would be.

  Should the nation stick to the max eight-year term the old United States had? Or was a ten-year term more realistic to get the state of the nation to a more stable place before passing the baton off to someone else? Either way, they were in no rush. Drea was only thirty-one.

  “Well it’s good to hear the women of Jacob’s Well are doing their part to repopulate the country.”

  “We’re not supposed to say,” Riordan leaned in, eyes gleaming, “But Vanessa’s preggers again.”

  “Riordan!” Ross smacked him again. “You know she doesn’t want people knowing yet.”

  “I can’t help it, man.” He looked back to Eric and Drea. “We’re gonna have another girl. I can feel it.”

  “You’re gonna feel my fist in your face if you don’t learn to keep your mouth shut,” Ross muttered.

  “Oh really?” Riordan jumped on his brother, tackling him to the ground. They rolled around, wrestling and grappling.

  A group quickly gathered, townsfolk clapping and whistling and cheering for one brother or the other.

  “Glad to see nothing changes around here,” Drea said affectionately, stepping back.

  One brother pinned the other, crowing, “Say uncle! I’m not letting you up until you say uncle.”

  “Never!”

  “Say it!”

  “Good Lord,” said Logan, walking over with a plate full of barbeque in one hand and holding their daughter’s hand with his other. The little girl was also holding onto her twin sister’s hand. “What are these two on about now?”

  The two twin girls, Tara and Natalie, started jumping up and down, shouting, “Wrestle! Wrestle!” except they couldn’t say their ‘r’s very well, so it came out sounding like, ‘Westle! Westle!”

  The pinned brother looked over to the girls. “Come rescue me, girls. Come rescue Daddy!”

  Logan let go of his daughter’s hand and both twin girls went and threw themselves on top of where their twin fathers piled on the ground.

  “Oh, he’s got me,” Ross said, pretending to be incapacitated.

  “Say Uncle!” cried the girl.

  “Uncle, Uncle,” the big man said, smacking the ground. Then he flipped around and grabbed one of the girls up, tickling her mercilessly.

  Riordan grabbed the other girl and did the same.

  “God I love coming home,” Drea said, nuzzling close to Eric’s side as the boys continued to tussle on the ground, the shrieks and giggles coming even louder.

  “Oh yeah?” Eric looked over at her in surprise and saw her face was relaxed and happy.

  “Reminds me what it’s all for,” she said.

  They shared an intimate gaze for a long moment. Eric had never felt so goddamned full as he did right now, the sun shining down from above, his family around him, his daughter happily married. This was the shit happily ever afters were made of.

  “Why we standing around here, woman?” Garrett smacked Drea on the ass. “Let’s go get us some barbeque before it’s all gone!”

  “Oh you’re gonna regret that,” Drea shouted, turning and taking off after Garrett.

  Eric laughed and followed after them, patting his baby granddaughter on the back as he went.

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  Have you missed any of the books in the

  Marriage Raffle Series?

  MARRIAGE RAFFLE SERIES

  Theirs to Protect

  Theirs to Pleasure

  Their Bride

  Theirs to Defy

  Theirs to Ransom

  A Note From The Author

  Just wanted to let everyone know that while the series proper is finished, there will be one more book coming that follows Kylie’s adventures into Colorado, but I’m taking a
break from this series for a bit to write some other ideas that have been burning to get out :) I do anticipate writing Kylie’s book, HIS ONE AND ONLY, probably before the end of the year. As you might be able to tell from the title, it won’t be a Revere Harem, but a strictly one on one M/F.

  Also by Stasia Black

  MARRIAGE RAFFLE SERIES

  Theirs to Protect

  Theirs to Pleasure

  Their Bride

  Theirs to Defy

  Theirs to Ransom

  BREAK SO SOFT SERIES

  Cut So Deep

  Break So Soft

  Hurt So Good

  STUD RANCH STANDALONE SERIES

  The Virgin and the Beast: a Beauty and the Beast Tale (prequel)

  Hunter: a Snow White Romance

  The Virgin Next Door: a Ménage Romance

  Acknowledgments

  First round of thanks goes to Lee Savino who kept my spirits up during the process of writing this book and was just phone call away during several breakdowns. So much <3

  Huge thanks to Aimee Bowyer for a SUPER fast beta turnaround on this one. It was a bit of a rough go but as always I find your feedback invaluable. *Hugs*

  Thanks to Melissa Pascoe, you gorgeous lady, you, keeping my social media straight and helping me stay on top of things, thank you!

  A bajillion thanks to Jennifer R! Or lol, not sure how you prefer to be named, but you know who you are, you insanely talented goddess who have made my life SO much more sane since you came on board. THANK YOU!

  And to my hubby who never reads these but always deserves so much damn thanks. I’m staring at you right now as I write this, gorgeous, and I love you so fucking much, you nerdy genius, you. I don’t feel like me without you, that’s how intertwined we’ve got over the years. Now if both our lives would just slow down a tad so we could see each other’s faces again on the regular. Sound like a plan? *mwah sexy*