by Jenika Snow
Tarren smiled and nodded. “I hope, and I kind of think he might be. He loves children, and a grandchild?” Her smile widened. “Yeah, I think he might not have an aneurysm when I tell him.”
“Tarren, Alexis, it’s time to start.” Molly poked her head through the opening in the tent and smiled. “You ready?” Molly asked Alexis.
“As ready as I will ever be I guess.” She gave Tarren one more hug, and she took a step back and watched Tarren leave the tent to join the rest of the bridesmaids.
Ten minutes later and Alexis was standing at the end of the aisle and staring at everyone that had joined in the celebration. There were so many Harleys lined up on the side that it looked like some kind of biker show. There were over one-hundred guests in attendance, and the majority of them were Grizzly MC members. Many of the bikers came from all over the country to be here with them today, and all of them had on their dark sunglasses and leather Grizzly MC cuts. They stood on the outer side of the chairs that the rest of the guests were sitting in. Seeing all those bear shifting bikers framing the aisle had this warm, protected feeling surrounding her. She didn’t know the majority of them, but that didn’t matter. The Grizzlies were one huge extended family. But it wasn’t just The Grizzlies that had showed up, but The Brothers of Menace from River Run, too. Malice and Lucien were in attendance, and Dakota sat beside his father. The other members of The Brothers of Menace all sat beside their President. She also noticed that Dakota was single at the wedding, and she couldn’t help wondering what had happened to the girl he had been dating. More than likely she hadn’t been able to handle the hard, rough life the biker lived.
Lucas, Cain, Mason, Jakob, Bodhi, Odin, and Ben all stood in a line beside Nico. But none of them wore the standard penguin suits to this biker wedding. They might have on the black tux pants and white dress shirts. They had left the first few buttons undone at the collars, didn’t have ties on, and had their Grizzly MC cuts on—the ones that were patched in members did, at least. Ben was still a prospect, and Odin wasn’t even in the club but in school, but they still wore black leather vests so they matched with the rest of the guys. And then there were her girls standing on the opposite side. Tarren, Tawny, and Lina were the first three, and although she had friends from school, she wasn’t close enough with anyone that she would have invited to be in her wedding party. She smiled at Tarren even though she knew she couldn’t possibly see the gesture, and not because Alexis wore a veil over her face. Tarren was staring at Lucas, who in turn was staring at her with this goofy smile on his face. Yeah, Alexis knew things between those two would work out, even if they were like oil and water at times with each other.
For the other four bridesmaids she had Molly, Lilly, Maggie, and Hope all standing beside her childhood friends. Those women might be Grizzly old ladies, but they had been like mothers to her, too. She would have had her own mother and Sonya standing up there, but they had decided to sit in the audience with the rest of the guests, and she was okay with that. She forced herself not to cry as she stared at the women that had been in her life for … well, her whole life. Their dresses were black lace, fell to the knee, and had a delicate white silk bow tied under their busts. They looked so beautiful, and she was thankful she had so many people in her life that she cared about, and that cared so much about her.
“Are you ready, baby girl?”
She turned and looked up at her father. She had her arm in the crook of his, and as she stared at her dad, the man known as Brick because he was just as hard and could be as unforgiving, all she saw was the man she had called “Daddy” as a little girl. Hell, she still did at times. His scar stood out as the sun shone over it, but she had always loved that mark on him. Like the rest of the men in attendance, he wore a suit, but had his cut over his white dress shirt. Just like the other bikers, he didn’t wear those shiny dress shoes but his scuffed up motorcycle boots that had seen far too much throughout his life. She smiled up at him. “I’m ready, Daddy. Are you?”
He stayed silent for a moment, and when the music started playing for her to walk down the aisle he sighed heavily. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to ever let you go, baby girl.”
“Dad, you’re not letting me go.” She smiled, but she felt on the verge of tears again.
“I know, sweetheart, but you know what I mean.”
Yeah, she did, and she loved him more for his worry about her and her starting this new chapter in her life.
“But he better not break your heart. I’ll say that much, because if he does, you tell me and I’ll straighten his ass up.”
She closed her eyes and felt a tear slide down her cheek as she laughed. Her dad, Brick, was always this badass bear shifting biker, but right now he was just her dad. “Ok, Daddy,” she whispered. He reached out and lifted her veil enough that he could brush her tears away
“No crying on this day, okay?”
“It’s a happy cry, Dad.”
He smiled, and there weren’t many times her dad smiled genuinely. “Okay, let’s get this going, darlin’.” And then her dad was walking her down the aisle, stopping in front of Nico, and turning her around so he could see her face. He cupped her cheeks, and she could see the fatherly love reflected back at her. In that moment she thought about all the times he had sat next to her in her tiny bed, reading her stories about witches and princesses, and then making shit up until the ending was what she wanted. He was a good dad, a phenomenal one, and she would love him until the end of time.
“I love you, Alexis.” Her dad leaned forward and kissed her forehead through the veil, and then turned and looked at Nico. “Son, you watch over my daughter.” Brick paused for effect it seemed like. “You see all of these bikers?” Her dad didn’t wait for Nico to answer. “There will be a lot of bears that will be ready to tear you up if this little girl is hurt.” Her father said it harshly, but then he grinned and pulled Nico into a tight hug.
She couldn’t help but smile that her dad still saw her as a little girl.
“Take care of my girl, son.”
“Always, Brick.” Nico said seriously.
And then her dad was handing her over to her future husband. This was the first step in her new life. She stood beside Nico, and before they even said their vows Nico reached behind him for a leather jacket that Lucas gave him. He opened it up and turned it around so she could see the back. The top rocker read “PROPERTY OF”, and the bottom rocker read “NICO”. And in the center of the jacket and between those words was The Grizzly MC patch. She was really crying now as Nico helped her put it on, and she didn’t even care that the warmed leather was covering up her dress.
“This is it, baby, no going back now,” he said softly. “No cold feet?” Nico grinned, but through his smile she actually saw a sliver of vulnerability.
“Not on your life.” And then they turned and got married in front of everyone they loved.
****
Nico had Alexis wrapped tightly in his arms as they danced slowly in the center of the room. The tent that had been erected for the reception was large and easily held all of the guests. They had ended up using The Brothers of Menace property that they had in River Run. The wooded acres were perfect for their wedding and reception, and the wilderness of their surroundings matched their lifestyle.
“I am so tired,” Alexis said sleepily.
“Me, too, baby.” He held her tighter and looked around. There were lights hanging from the top of the tent’s ceiling, and the tables were decorated with white and black accents. It was fancier than what he would have ever wanted, but this was all about Alexis and what she wanted. She had changed out of that gorgeous formfitting dress she had worn as they said their vows, and it had been sheer strength that had helped him not get fucking hard just looking at her. But this cream and black lace dress she wore now showed off her curves that went on for miles, and her cleavage was poppin’. She had her head resting on the center of his chest, and he had his cheek against the top of her head. Couples d
anced around them: Lucas and Tarren, his dad and mom, even Brick with Darra. To say it was strange to see his folks, and other club members, acting so … romantic was an understatement. After almost a year of planning, prepping, and finally saying “I do” Nico finally had the girl of his dreams as his wife.
“You hungry? Maybe want another slice of cake, or some more champagne?” he asked against the top of her head.
“I’m stuffed. Actually I’m kind of sad we even ate the cake.”
He glanced at the dessert in question. “It was a kick ass cake.” He felt her nod against him. The three-tiered black and white cake had skull and white rose accents on it, and on the very top had been a little figurine of a bride and bear on a Harley. He had laughed when they had it custom made because it had fit them perfectly. Although Nico felt like he was in their own little world right now, some of the guys were good and trashed, and a group of the older members from different charters around the country were outside of the tent with their classic rock blaring from their bikes, the kegs spread out behind them, and their laughter filling the air. Even when Nico and Alexis left tonight, the party would still be going on strong until the sun rose.
There was loud laughter from Mason, Jakob, and Bodhi from beside the cake table. They were the most outgoing of the younger Grizzlies. They were also the ones that seemed the most fucked-up from drinking all day, and before anything happened, Nico had a feeling in his stomach, and the sensation of his bear rising. Some shit was about to happen.
“What’s wrong?” Alexis asked and pulled back from him, no doubt sensing the rising animal in him. And then it happened. Bodhi and Mason were having a shot drinking contest, got a little out of hand, and when they slammed their glasses down on the table where the cake and champagne glasses sat, the whole fucking thing came crashing down. They hadn’t realized how much they had used their grizzly strength until broken glasses, and a now smashed wedding cake lay in shattered pieces on the floor. The room seemed to grow deathly silent as everyone stared at the guys that hadn’t been able to keep their shit together. And then Nico looked at Alexis, waiting for her to flip her shit, and rightly so. His wife stared at the guys and then glanced at the destruction scattered across the floor.
“Baby…” He wrapped his arm around her and looked back at the guys. “I should kick your ass for this—” But his words were cut off when Alexis started laughing. It was a soft one at first, and then turned into a hysterical one. He knitted his brows, feeling maybe his new wife had someone how snapped from all the wedding stuff. “Baby, you okay?”
She nodded and wiped the wetness from under her eyes. “I am totally okay. I was waiting all night for something to happen.”
And then Nico was laughing, followed by everyone else in the tent. If she had been pissed he would have kicked the guys’ asses for making Alexis unhappy on her day, and maybe he still would when they got back from their honeymoon. But right now he laughed along with everyone. “Come on, let’s call it a night.”
She nodded and smiled. After Mason, Jakob, and Bodhi gave her a hug and started cleaning up their mess, and Alexis and Nico said goodbye and thank you to everyone else, they headed to his bike. Someone had attached a few beer cans, some ribbon, and a “Just Hitched” sign to the back of his bike.
“Hold on.” Alexis pulled away from him, and he turned and watched as she walked up to her dad, who stood at the entrance of the tent watching them leave. She was definitely a Daddy’s girl, but now it was Nico’s turn and his right to take care of her. She gave Brick one more hug, and when she pulled away and turned to head back to him he saw Brick watching him now. They tilted their chins at the same time, a sort of act that was respectful, but also a nonverbal way of saying shit was all-good. With one more look from Brick, the Sergeant at Arms headed back inside.
Nico looked at Alexis and grinned. It was kind of surreal to know that he was looking at his wife now, even if he had always known he would marry her. He held his hand out, but she smiled, took a step back and proceeded to pull away the bottom of her dress. For a second he thought she was tearing it, but the closer he looked the more he saw that it was made to be pulled away. She tossed the extra fabric to the side, and he looked at his wife. She wore these hot as fuck skintight black leather pants under her wedding gown, and the whole image of her looking ready to kick some ass and ask questions later had his cock jerking forward.
“Damn, baby, you are one smoking hot biker chick.”
She grinned and took his hand that he had still held out in front of them. He had been so dumbstruck by how good she looked that he kept his hand hanging between them like some kind of asshole.
“Glad you like it.” She grinned again, and he pulled her closer for a long, hot kiss.
He handed out the leather jacket he had presented to her at the ceremony, the one that showed everyone she was his, and watched in satisfaction when she put it on. Yeah, she looked fucking good with it on. He pulled away and climbed on his bike and helped his new bride behind him. Once they had their helmets on he just sat there for a moment reveling in the feeling of having her on his bike, and in his life permanently now. A piece of paper didn’t really mean shit to a Grizzly, and he knew she had always been his, but now it just felt official as they made it known to everyone around. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tight, just like he liked, and he started the engine and pulled away from the party.
He turned his head slightly and said, “I hope you’re ready for this ride, baby.” He grinned, and knew by the way she tightened her arms around him that she knew he didn’t mean in the literal sense. They were in for one hell of a ride all right, and there were sure to be a lot of twists and turns along the way, but they had each other and that was all that mattered. He pulled onto the road, opened up the engine, and they rode into the darkness to the rest of their lives.
The End
www.jenikasnow.com
Other Books by Jenika Snow:
www.evernightpublishing.com/pages/Jenika-Snow.html
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Evernight Publishing
www.evernightpublishing.com
