by Nikki Riker
There's a park nearby that I visit during times like these. It's a quiet, pretty place to pass the time, and almost no one bothers me.
To my surprise, I find someone draped over the bench by the creek, my usual spot to lounge, and waiting with a smoothie in hand. The streetlights don't reach here, so I'm only a few feet away before I can make her out properly. When I do, my breath catches in my throat, and I stop dead, torn by the uncharacteristic desire to bolt and the equally powerful desire to snatch her into my arms and kiss the breath right out of her.
Penelope is breathtaking in a scarlet dress. To my amusement, it's cut in almost the same fashion as the ones I teased her with, though the pastel colors are long gone. Her long golden legs are on display, a pair of heels on her shapely feet. I have a vision of laying her out on the park bench with those heels resting on my shoulders, clamping around my neck when I eat her pussy.
She sits up straighter when she sees me.
"Long time no see, asshole." She tries for nonchalance and fails miserably. I can hear the undercurrent of anger beneath her tone. And, against my better judgment, my lips curl into a smile. God, I missed her.
"Am I supposed to apologize?" I venture. "Because from where I'm standing, I didn't have many options."
"Fuck yes, you're supposed to apologize," she growls, standing. She wobbles on the heels, a sure sign she's not used to wearing them, and they're solely for my benefit. That simple gesture warms me immensely. "For this whole 'leaving you for your own good' bullshit. I'm a big fucking girl, Calamity, I can make my own decisions."
"Vincent," I correct her. "I'm going by Vincent these days. Harder to track."
Her face softens my a few degrees. "Fine. But you're still a dick. I wasn't even close to being through with you. We had something, and you just ran off."
My hands come down on her upper arms, and she steps closer, so we're almost chest-to-chest. It's so good to have her back in my arms. She's chilled, though. She shouldn't have been waiting in only the short, backless dress. How long has she been out here?
I snort. Probably since I left the apartment. Brooklyn can predict me better than I ever dreamed. She's going to push Penelope at me. She's the only woman who I've given a damn about in a long time.
"It won't work, Penelope," I whisper. "You know that it won't. There's too much history. And even if there weren't, I'm still a wanted man."
"Not anymore. Cruz and I convinced Harman to come forward with his testimony and the evidence he had. You're a free man now, Vincent. You can do whatever the hell you want. Be whatever the hell you want to be," she swallows thickly and glances up at me through her long lashes. The smoldering intensity of that gaze makes my cock stir in interest. "You can love, whoever the hell you want to love."
I smile in spite of myself. "Stubborn girl."
"Dick," she repeats, though a good-natured smile has swept in to replace her scowl.
I'm a free man. She's right. I could theoretically do anything. But there's only one future I can see for myself now, difficult as it will be.
"What can I do to thank you?"
She taps her chin thoughtfully, and the smile transforms into something devilish.
"You could take me back to South Hollens and fuck me into Cruz's guest room mattress," she suggests.
A bark of laughter escapes me. Setting the smoothing aside, I bring my hands up to frame her face, kissing her as hard as I dare. Her jaw is bound to be a little tender. She plasters herself to my front, grinding eagerly against my apparent arousal.
"And maybe in the car on the way," I mutter.
"Or on Kase's couch, before we go," she adds between kisses.
"An excellent suggestion," I say with a smirk. "I still have to drop the smoothie off."
Epilogue
Penny
If someone told me a year ago I'd be engaged to Calamity Fucking Gardel, I'd have beat their face in after having a good hearty fuck-you laugh. If someone told the Spades that their war with the Hellions would be won because of Calamity Fucking Gardel, they'd have been laughed out of town.
And yet here we are, stuffed into the interior of the clubhouse. The Spades numbers have swelled to around two hundred when Calamity's men joined up. It would have been more, but he insists on vetting them before they join.
He took my concerns seriously. No pimps. No more drugs. And no more executions. Any King that couldn't abide by the new rules was welcome to join what remained of the Hellions. Not a great prospect. So everyone toed the line or else.
We hang back in the clubhouse, watching as the members new and old pair off and file out the doors. Cruz and Holly linger the longest, Cruz staring unhappily at how I'm curled around Gardel, head on his shoulder, my feet half in his lap. I don't think he's ever seen me so cozy with someone before. The fact it's Gardel I'm smitten with is just bizarre, even by our standards.
"PDA," he grumbles.
"Oh fuck off, Ro," I retort. "Your hand is still on Holly's ass."
He glances down with an unrepentant smirk. Holly was always curvy, but she's filled out a lot since having her kid. Her bust is impressive, and her already enviable ass has gained its own gravitational pull.
"Did you two hear a thing I said?" he asks testily.
"You mean there was a point to that pontification?" Calamity shoots back, daring Cruz to get pissed. I almost think my brother will rise to the bait. Then he deflates, keeping his insults to himself.
It's progress, at least. They're not threatening to shoot each other anymore. And Calamity has stopped hitting below the belt.
"Goodnight, Penny," Holly says, squeezing Cruz's forearm pointedly. "You'll make announcements next meeting, right?"
She gives me an exasperated look, rebuking me silently for my cowardice. I smile in what I hope is a contrite manner.
"Right."
Holly tugs Cruz out of the room after he and Calamity have exchanged a few pointed jabs and a mutual fuck you. I sigh and sink into his side, glad that everyone has gone. The place is downright claustrophobic these days.
"You seem tense," he says, squeezing my fingers. "Are you really that worried?"
I trace my fingers over the back of Calamity's hand, stalling. It's still surreal to see the Spade inked onto the back of his hand. Surreal that his name is on the recovered charter that Harman held onto for years. Surreal that he's in charge of my ass inside and outside of the bed.
"Not worried, per se. Just...possessive. It's my secret."
"So, that's why you didn't announce it?" He traces his fingers lightly down the inside of my wrist next. Heat trails in the wake of his fingers. The sex has gotten impossibly better since we settled into our own home. Every time he touches me, I'm painfully aroused. Damn hormones. Right now I just want to take him down to the bench seat and ride him until I scream. He's already teased me to an almost painful extent.
"You were distracting me," I hiss back. "It's not exactly polite to finger someone under the table at a club meeting, Vincent."
He grins unrepentantly. "You needed to unwind. Also, your brother likes to hear himself talk, and I bore easily. Idle hands and all that shit."
"Pervert."
"You love it."
Sadly, that's true. I'm down for just about anything where he's concerned. Voyeurism has never been my kink, but when he's around, I suddenly stop caring about who might be watching. I just want him inside of me every second these days. It's taking most of my concentration to keep the conversation in check.
"Why didn't you announce it?"
"I'm not the one carrying the kid. It seems like you should get the honors. My contribution seems a little...pitiful in relation to yours. I came. Now you do the hard work. I tell Cruz, and we'll end up with a shotgun wedding officiated by a judge instead of the private service you wanted."
He has a point. Cruz tolerates Calamity. Barely. He'll be fucking pissed when he learns that he knocked me up months ago, during our first night together.
It wasn't the wa
y we planned it, but I'm happy. Things are relatively peaceful, my brothers are both settled in and happy. Calamity has been exonerated and the guilty parties finally made known.
And I'm also ridiculously in love with the father of my child.
And to think, it started off with each of us trying to spite the other. Adversity makes strange bedfellows.
I stroke my stomach idly as he guides me outside. The cool air of South Hollens does little to dampen my libido.
"Do you want a boy or a girl?"
I'm hoping for a boy, strangely enough. Nothing can replace the one he lost, but maybe he can have a son.
"I don't care. It's mine. That's all that matters."
I couldn't agree more. Our lives are imperfect, unplanned, and messy, and I like them that way. We love each other, and we want this.
The rest we can figure out tomorrow.
Dear Reader,
Thanks for reading.
I hope you’ll leave a review and/or rating at the retail website where you purchased it, I appreciate you and your feedback.
Thanks again,
Nikki Riker
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Also by Nikki Riker
Miles Brothers Romance
Hawke: Bad Boy Bachelor #1
Kade: Bad Boy Bachelor #2
Lars: Bad Boy Bachelor #3
Sleepless Spades MC
Cruz #1
Ryker #2
Kase #3
Calamity #4
