by Brook Wilder
He gave me a tender smile, his hands clutching my hips.
“I know, babe. I love you too.”
I rose and slowly lowered myself on him again, seeing the tortured look on his face. This was where I belonged. This was my happiness, my coming home. Leaning in, I kissed him hard, starting a slow assault on his hard cock. Neil’s hands slid up my waist and under my shirt, cupping my breasts reverently until I whimpered in my own kiss.
Breaking our connection, Neil’s tongue traced down my neck as his hands travelled low, finding my swollen clit and rubbing it hard until I was screaming his name, vibrating around his cock as he urged me on.
“That’s it,” he growled, urging me faster. “Just like that, Rox.”
I grabbed his shoulders and slammed down on him, another orgasm overtaking me as I rocked against him. Sweat beaded on my body as Neil pumped into me, roaring as his own orgasm hit, his body stiffening as he poured into me. I gasped for breath as I felt him inside of me, another tender feeling taking root in my heart. This was the man I loved. This was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
This was the man that would give me children, that would grow old with me and, one day, would be the last name I uttered before I died as well.
This was the happiness I had longed for, and I wasn’t going to ever let it go.
Chapter Twenty Six
Neil
Two Weeks Later
I watched as Grant watched the video’s on Leo’s phone, his face full of emotion as he heard Leo’s own words. I had watched the videos at least three times, once with a crying Rox, who’d had to see it for herself.
And now I wanted Grant to see them, to give Leo one last gift beyond the grave.
Grant sighed as he set the phone on the desk, rubbing a hand over his face.
“Well, I guess there’s nothing else to say. You were right. Roxanne was right. Leo was no traitor.”
I blew out a breath. Everything was going to work out. Grant was an honorable man and I knew he would make things right.
“Thanks.”
Grant looked up at me, regret etched in his expression.
“I wish… hell, I wish he had come to me. I wish I could have saved him from those bastards.”
I couldn’t have agreed more.
“We will hunt them down for Leo, then.”
Grayson was still on the loose, along with what was left of his own traitorous gang, and now we had the Teutonic to deal with. Just last week, we had confiscated a huge shipment of guns aimed for the neighboring county, killing two of their members and burning the weapons before they got in the hands of kids. Baer had not responded yet, but I knew that, when he did, we would be at war. It was going to be a trying time for everyone in the Horsemen and anyone that was associated with them, which was more of a reason to be ready at a moment’s notice.
Rox had started going back to the salon herself, but I rode her there every morning, and now she had a gun mounted under the counter she worked from. Hell, all the time we were apart I constantly worried about someone lashing out again, attempting to harm what was mine.
But I couldn’t be with her every waking moment of the day.
“We need to protect everyone.”
Grant nodded.
“But if we don’t hurry, we will be dead ourselves.”
I grinned, and Grant stood, straightening his tie. Today Zack and Sydney were going to finally tie the knot. After our hellish time at the Teutonic bunker, Zack swore that he wasn’t going to wait any longer to make Sydney his wife. He had nearly lost her then, and he had no intentions of doing that again. We had all told him that, just because he put a ring on her finger, didn’t mean she was going to stop her police work, but Zack was adamant that getting her pregnant would.
I let him believe what he wanted to.
Together, Grant and I walked out of the clubhouse and went to his own house, situated behind the clubhouse. The club had been good to Grant, and he had a massive back yard that was perfect for the wedding and large enough to hold the entire club and their dates. It would be one of the only times that the police would be on good terms with the club, partly because they respected Sydney so much. She had asked for a truce, and she had been granted one from both sides of the aisle.
“Think it will be your turn soon?” Grant asked as we walked up the drive.
I grinned, thinking about the ring that was tucked in my vest pocket, one that I intended on giving Rox today.
“Maybe sooner than people think.”
Grant laughed.
“Good man, good. I wouldn’t let that one get loose. She’s a good one.”
“I know,” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat.
The past two weeks had been time for me and Rox to get to know each other again. Every night, I made love to her in that house before collapsing in the bed with her in my arms, and every morning, she woke me with a kiss and a smile I would never get over seeing. We were still working on where we would put down our final roots, but Rox was teetering on the edge of selling Leo’s house.
I was going to support whatever she wanted, as long as I was there with her.
“See you at the reception,” Grant said as he walked in the direction to take his place in the wedding party.
I wandered into the crowd, searching for my redheaded woman in the wedding party. She and Amy were to be at Sydney’s side today, and I was looking forward to peeling the green dress off of her later on.
We had barely gotten out of the house without doing it before the wedding.
Shaking my head, I turned to see her walk down the aisle, a huge smile on her face. She was fucking gorgeous, and my heart swelled at the sight of her, how her expression softened when our eyes locked. That woman was everything to me, and I couldn’t imagine not having her in my life. She was the very air I breathed.
And now I wanted to make her mine permanently. I had given it some thought, even talking with momma to see what she thought, for which she had given her full approval. The bond between her and Rox was becoming stronger and I rued the day that I would be ganged up on from the two of them.
But more importantly, Rox was the woman I had waited for. I would have waited longer had she not forgiven me, had we not gotten back together.
Amy started her slow descent down the petal strewn aisle, and I noticed how exhausted she looked. Amy had lain low since the gunfight at the bunker, the rumors swirling throughout town that she had been seen with the same guy who had rescued them from the bunker, a Teutonic member at that. Grant refused to discuss it with anyone, and Amy had quit coming around the club, where she was known to throw in her two cents to anyone that listened.
If Rox knew anything, she wasn’t telling me, but I gathered the weekly wine talks they had were full of the secrets that everyone was dying to find out about. The truth would come out soon enough, and I hoped that it wasn’t true for her sake.
Then Sydney made her appearance, looking gorgeous in her strapless wedding gown. I shifted my gaze to Zack, who was wiping tears from his eyes as he gazed upon his wife to be, and wondered if I would have the same reaction the day that Rox and I got married and made this thing official.
Hell, yes, I would. I wasn’t afraid to show my feelings toward her, and to know that she would carry my last name as my wife was a gift that you couldn’t put a price on.
“Dearly Beloved,” the pastor started, quieting down the large crowd. “We are gathered here today.”
His voice trailed off and I started to feel nervous about what I was going to do in a matter of hours. Fuck, I hope I didn’t pass out.
**
The reception was just as massive as the wedding, held in the same area under the dying Texas sun. The food and alcohol were plentiful, and I was surprised to see how many of the police officers were mingling with the club members, smiles on everyone’s faces. Maybe this was a turn for the better.
Or maybe it was just a truce for tonight.
“Hey
you.”
I turned to see Rox behind me, her lips curved in a smile and holding two beers in her hands.
“Thirsty?”
“Hell yes,” I grinned, taking one of the beers. “Are you officially done with your pictures?”
She nodded, taking a sip of her beer.
“Thank God. I was tired of faking my smile.”
I laughed and pulled her toward me, wrapping an arm around her waist.
“You don’t fake your smile.”
“I do for this,” she laughed, laying her head on my shoulder. “When can we go home again?”
I wanted to do that and more, but first…
Plucking her beer out of her hand, I sat them on a nearby table and pulled her toward the dance floor, where a few couples were slow dancing to the live band. “Come on, dance with me first.”
“You dance?” she asked, arching a brow as I tugged her into the spot.
I shrugged. Hell no, I didn’t dance, but this sounded like the best time to have her attention, something she would remember for the rest of her life, or at least I hoped she would.
“I do with you.”
Her expression softened, and she threw her hands around my neck.
“You sure know how to melt a girl’s heart.”
I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat, my mind racing with the words I wanted to say. I had drawn the line at writing them down.
“I need to talk to you about something.”
Her soft look faded and she looked alarmed.
“What? Did Grant not believe the evidence?”
“No, not that,” I hesitated. “He’s going to work on it. He believes Leo’s testimony.”
“Good,” Rox answered, her eyes searching mine. “What’s wrong? You seem nervous about something. Just say it.”
“You know I love you,” I said immediately, reaching into my vest to retrieve the ring from my pocket.
My palms were slick with sweat and I could feel sweat rolling down my back. Damn, I was going to have a heart attack before I got this out.
“I know,” she said slowly.
I licked my lips, finding them suddenly dry.
“And there is nothing I want more than to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Her eyes widened as I brought the ring between us, the diamond sparkling in the low light.
“Please marry me Roxanne.”
“Neil,” she breathed, looking from me to the ring and then back to me. “Are you sure? I mean are you sure sure?”
I grinned, enjoying the hitch in her voice.
“I am damn sure.”
“Yes!” she squealed, launching herself at me and nearly sending us to the floor. “God, I love you so much! You make me so happy.”
I squeezed her tightly, feeling the rush of emotions nearly taking me over as well. She had said ‘yes’. I only planned on doing this one time and one time only.
“Let me put this damn thing on before we lose it.”
People started to stare at us, as she pulled back and I slid the ring on her finger, pressing a kiss to her hand as I did so.
“I will love you until the day I die,” I said softly.
Her eyes welled up with tears, and she kissed me tenderly.
“As will I.”
“Shit no, man! Tell me you didn’t just get engaged at my wedding!”
Laughing, I pulled back to look at Zack, who had a good-natured smile on his face, Sydney pressed up against him.
“I did. Seemed like good of time as any, since you were gonna provide the romantic atmosphere and all.”
Roxanne laughed beside me, punching me in the arm, as Zack reached out and shook my hand.
“Congrats, man.”
“You better be good to her,” Sydney added, her cheeks pink from the excitement of the day. “Or I will hunt you down myself, Neil.”
“Yes ma’am,” I chuckled as Rox slipped an arm around my waist. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
“A toast!” Grant called out, holding up his beer. “To the happy couple and the soon-to-be-married couple. May you always find a family amongst the Horsemen!”
“Hear hear!” others called out before taking a drink.
I spun a grinning Rox around and pressed a kiss to her lips, a peace about what had just happened settling deep in my bones.
Everything was going to work out.
END OF BOOK 2
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PREVIEW – DEFILED
Amy
I eyed the bottle of whiskey, feeling the nausea roll in my belly at the thought of having one sip. This date was never a good date for me, and normally I celebrated it by getting rip-roaring drunk.
But not this year.
With a sigh, I walked out of the kitchen and fell onto the couch in the living room, mindlessly scrolling through the channels on the TV with no interest in what was on. Normally, I would be with my friends, Roxanne and Sydney, at Roxanne’s hair salon, griping about men and enjoying some girl time. But today I wanted to be by myself.
Even after twenty years, the pain was still there.
Tears crowded my eyes, and I brushed them away. My mom, Heather Travis, had died in a car accident twenty years before when I was five. Even at that age, I could still remember the cops coming to our house and informing my dad of her death. My dad, Grant Travis, was not a favorite of the cops, being the leader of the Devil’s Horsemen motorcycle club, and usually when the cops came, they were taking him in on some bogus charge that never held water.
But that night, I watched from behind the stairs as my father allowed one of the cops to hug him as he wept. It had been no secret that my mom and dad had been a love match. Stories were told through the years of how Grant had stolen Heather away and won her over with his suave personality. If there was anything about my dad that I could say he didn’t have, it was the suave personality.
Growing up, I had more uncles than I’d care to mention. Being the daughter of the president of the Horsemen, I was to be protected at all costs, and before my mom died I was the darling of the club. I got whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and had all of them in the palm of my hand.
But after my mom died, things changed. My dad grew harder in his grief, and while on the outside he was hard-assed and unforgiving, there was many a night I would catch him crying in the bedroom, the one that had been their bedroom, and would curl up in his lap to try to offer him some solace. Little did I know then how much that had helped him.
So, there grew the bond between me and dad. I had learned everything about the club, from the finances to the punishments he doled out when needed. I learned how to shoot a gun, wield a knife, and test for real drugs versus the fake shit. I also learned to fight, which had come in handy more than once growing up.
And then, when I was twelve, dad decided to get married again. My half-sister Harley was born before my next birthday. Tessa was a nice woman, one that knew what she was getting into, marrying a man like Grant Travis. She treated me like her own kid, maneuvering me through life as a teenager though I hadn’t made her life easy. And neither had Harley. We were both products of our father and had his rebellious attitude to boot. In other words, I could be a bitch when I wanted to, and Tessa had taken it all in her stride.
But no matter what kind of woman Tessa was, it was clear to me that my dad never got over my mom’s death. Sure, he loved Tessa, respected her, but she could never replace Heather Travis, and I believe she knew that.
Every year, I sat here in this house, drinking my life away and wondering what it would have been like had she been ali
ve. Would I be a different person? Would I be brash and unapologetic, a woman with only one plan and one plan only for the future?
Or would I have been someone completely different? Would she have softened the edges and kept me from becoming the person I am today? Who knows? I credited my father for making me into the person that could handle just about anything that came my way.
Well, almost anything.
The doorbell rang, and I got up, brushing my long hair off my face. There was only one person who would dare bother me on this day, knowing the significance that I kept from a lot of other people close to me. Opening the door, I gave my sister a tentative smile.
