by Naomi West
Zed
Their wedding came soon after. They managed to convince Natalia to stay in town for the next few days as they got Abby's backyard in order and as Zed and Kai had their tuxedos fitted.
Now, Zed stood there, his hands folded in front of him, Kai on his left as his best man. Both men faced the backside of the house as the string quartet began to play, “Here Comes the Bride.”
Zed realized he was grinning so widely that his face had begun to hurt. His heart felt full, like it would burst from his chest at any moment and try to dance a jig down the street. But, even as he watched her approach, he could feel the world swimming in front of him, his eyes already watering at just how wonderful this moment felt.
Kai nudged Zed as Abby, even more beautiful than the first time he'd seen her on TV, came down the grass towards them. Zed glanced to him, grinning like a lovesick idiot, then went back to watching his lovely bride.
Rather than an obnoxiously long train, or too many ruffles and lace, she'd opted for a simple ivory dress. Nothing too ostentatious or extravagant, but just graceful and lovely. It was the perfect match to their perfect wedding.
Abby walked slowly down the aisle, veil over her face, the bouquet she clutched made from the flowers she'd started to grow with the advice Zed had given her last year. She smiled at him from beneath the simple material, her crimson red lips lovely and inviting, her perfect teeth pearly and straight.
Across from Zed, Jackie grinned at them both as Abby handed off the bouquet and turned back to Zed. Together, they lifted her veil, and the whole world seemed to brighten like a second sun had just been born in the backyard.
“You look beautiful,” Zed whispered, still in a daze.
“You don't look half bad yourself, sir,” she said with a sly wink.
He grinned back at her as the officiant began the short ceremony. As he looked deeply into her eyes, he saw their dark past, the things he had done to her, and those he had done for her. He saw Abby strapped to the dining room chair, the belt around her neck as he gave her their first orgasm, his stripping of her ego, as well as her clothes. Their beginning had been dark, that was true. But it had been passionate.
Zed also saw the future in her clear, blue eyes, watched it unspool before him. He saw their future children, their friends and family, the holidays together, travel, and gardening. They would have all the simple parts of life. He envisioned her smiling face as she came home from work or her holding their child. He would wake up next to her each morning and go to sleep beside her each night. These would be the simple moments that, when piled together one upon another, would jumble together into the mess of life.
“Zed? Your vows?” the officiant asked.
Zed glanced to the man, nodding.
“The bride and groom decided to write their own vows. Zed, please?”
He swallowed, let out a nervous breath, and took her hands in his. “Abby,” he began, licking his lips nervously as he gently squeezed her hands, “I promise to you that I will keep you in my heart, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer. I promise I will stand beside you, prop up your spirits when you need help, and build you higher, for however long we may be together.”
Her face radiant and otherworldly in its beauty, she squeezed his hands tightly as he came to a finish, a single tear escaping from her eyes and running down her cheek.
The officiant turned to the bride. “Abby?” he asked, with a slight incline of his head. “Your vows?”
# # #
Abby
Abby took a deep breath, returning Zed's warm smile.
She wasn't the neglected girl she'd been before she met him. She wasn't fighting the same way for her place in a man's world. She'd gotten there, now. She was who she had always hoped she would be. She didn't have to act superior, or try to lord her success over anyone, especially not Zed. But, at the same time, she still didn't need to be forced into submission with him, either. She knew she could willingly submit to him anytime she wanted, and that he'd reward it with his own tenderly painful caress.
This man clinging to her hands just as tightly as she clung to his was her perfect match. A man strong enough to be his own person, and strong enough to bend her to his will. He was strong enough to deal with her when she needed to exert her own independence. He knew her own actions didn't lessen his, and that her own accomplishment didn’t lessen his self-worth.
“I promise, Zed, to be with you through thick and thin, richer and poorer. To love you, and hold you, and to always come home to you. To build you up, to never tear you down, and to always trust that you know what is right. You were my guiding light once, and my conscience when I needed one. And you always will be.”
“Do you have the rings?”
Abby and Zed turned to their respective escorts and took the wedding rings from them as the officiant went through his little speech on the importance of their symbolism. Then, they exchanged their rings and said their, “I dos.”
“Then, by the power vested in me,” the officiant said, “I now pronounce you man and wife. Zed, you may kiss the bride.”
Zed took her into his strong, warm, supportive arms and pulled her close to his body. They kissed, holding each other upright in this crazy world. As they broke apart, they grinned at each other like lovesick idiots. But they were happy lovesick idiots.
Chapter Forty
Zed
Abby lay on the giant bed in the honeymoon suite they'd rented for that evening. She'd purchased some special black lingerie, and her big blue eyes were just as seductive as the first time she'd given herself to him.
In Zed's hand was the vibrator he'd first found in her bedroom. In his other, the belt he'd worn.
His wife raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow questioningly as she gracefully shifted onto all four and began to crawl across the bed to him. “Forget the collar, sir?” she purred, as she came to a stop in front of him, her lust-filled eyes lifted to his.
He halved the belt into a loop in his hand, stroking the bulging side of the makeshift leather down her cheek.
She shivered, a delicious sight for her husband as the involuntary reaction trembled through her whole body, and closed her eyes, her lips parting slightly in anticipation of the fun about to come.
“Figured we had to save some fun for at home,” he growled back.
She shivered again. Zed just smiled. This was the happiest ending he could have ever hoped for.
# # #
Abby
The sun crept up over the horizon as she lay in bed, her body covered in new bruises and painful swat marks in the shape of her husband's hand. Zed was big spoon to her little, and he cradled her more tenderly than their earlier play had indicated was possible. She knew that, despite what they did to each other, rough sex was one thing, and abuse was another. He'd do anything to protect her, and would never hurt her unless she wanted it.
He was her husband, after all, not just her master in bed.
She licked her lips and closed her eyes, savoring the feel of that word on her mind's tongue. Husband. She trembled as she pushed back into him, snuggling into his warm embrace. Unconsciously, his arms tightened around her and pulled her closer.
“Husband,” she purred softly, before drifting off to well-deserved sleep.
This was the beginning of a happy, loving life for the two of them. She just knew it.
THE END
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[Bonus #1] Hawk’s Baby: Kings of Chaos MC
By Naomi West
He may be a killer, but I can’t say no to his touch.
Hawk Millard is not a good man. He’s a felon, a biker – and maybe even his brother’s killer.
But in the wake of Hugh Millard’s murder, Hawk is the only one who can care for Hugh’s infant son.
As a private
investigator, I’m determined to get to the truth, by any means necessary.
Even if I have to sacrifice my body to Hawk to get there.
Hugh Millard’s death still haunts me.
I was the detective assigned to his case, but the official answers never seemed to hold water.
So I quit the police force and struck out on my own.
I have to know what happened.
And Hugh’s brother seems like a damn good place to start asking questions.
But he’s not a man who takes kindly to strangers.
I move in next door, hoping to sneak my way into his life.
If only I’d known how that would end up.
Before I know it, I’m helping Hawk care for his baby nephew by day.
By night, I’m stifling my moans in dark hallways while Hawk’s hands and mouth roam across my body.
It’s wrong, I know.
But he just does something to me.
Awakens something I can’t control.
Uncages something that refuses to go back inside.
It’s not all fun and games, though.
I’m in too deep, mired in a world where I have no business mucking around.
There are killers out there, and people eager to come after what’s left of the Millard family and fortune.
They’re the kind of people who see someone like me as little more than a roadblock… an obstacle to be disposed of.
The only safety I can find is in Hawk’s arms.
But as I learn more about Hawk and his past, I realize that that might be the most dangerous place of all.
Chapter 1
Hawk Millard stuffed diapers into the diaper bag. He hated the pink, flowered bag, but he hadn’t had a chance to get anything that better suited him. It was all he could do to make sure Damian had diapers, clothes, something to eat, and a safe place to sleep. This baby thing had turned out to be much more complicated than he first expected.
He searched through the bag, thinking. An extra outfit, several diapers, his favorite binky, a clean bottle. What else would Damian need today for daycare? Hawk wasn’t sure how long he’d be tonight. He had a long list of cars to repossess and judging by the make and model of the cars, this might not be the easiest day on the job. The more someone paid—or in this case hadn’t paid—for a car, the more attached they tended to be and the more problems usually arose.
There was a time when he worked mostly at night, making repos much more peaceful. But having Damian to care for made that impossible. It was hard enough to find daycare that would work with his crazy schedule. The woman who watched Damian now ran a small daycare out of her home with just a few children, and she was flexible enough to be able to keep him overnight should the need arise. But she charged handsomely for it, and he hated to do that to Damian anyway.
Hawk zipped up the diaper bag and picked Damian up from his baby seat to get him loaded into the car carrier.
Many times in the last few months since he’d taken custody of Damian, Hawk had considered getting a more stable job with better hours. But he’d been a repo man for so long, it was really all he was good at. Most companies frowned upon felonies on a prospective employee’s record, but it just so happened that stealing cars was the one thing that might have made him one of the top repo men around. It paid well, too, but the hours could be difficult.
Falling into the repo business had been something of a miracle. He’d never been the type of kid who would be able to get good grades and go to college to do something “real” with his life, as his mother had wanted him to. Instead, Hawk struggled through school, got mixed up with the sort of people his mother had always warned him about. When she died, leaving him and his brother Hugh to fend for themselves while trying to live with their aunt and uncle and collection of cousins, Hawk dropped out of school. He became a full time criminal because that’s where the money was, and when he turned 18 he got a tiny apartment for him and Hugh to live in alone. Hugh finished high school, but joined Hawk on the streets soon after, stealing cars to pay the bills.
They’d been at it for years and hadn’t gotten into any major trouble. It only took a single day to change everything. One wrong move had changed every aspect of his life. Hawk had had his eye on a certain Ferrari. They were notoriously hard to steal, but Hawk had been at it so long, he hadn’t met a car he couldn’t break into. Except this particular Ferrari happened to belong to a repo man. Not only was the car alarmed, which Hawk had been able to override, but the garage it was kept in had been alarmed and booby trapped. When he started the car and tried to back out, the garage door shut and before long Hawk was eye-to-eye with a pissed off Butch.
After talking to him and admitting to being impressed with his talent, Butch had offered him a way to use his skill in a slightly more legal manner. He’d taught him everything he knew about being a repo man and brought him and Hugh on as employees. This simple change—going from stealing cars to legally removing them from their owners—took their lives off the streets. They made real money that could be proved and legally claimed. And that meant a nicer place to live. A nicer place meant less crime, better women, better everything.
Hawk had no desire to enter a new line of work, nor did he think for a second he’d get the same sort of break he had with Butch all those years ago. It’d been pure luck and Hawk had been grateful ever since. Working for Butch had opened up other options and now Hawk’s list of clients ranged from car dealerships to banks to the police. He’d find a way to deal with the hours and make it work for Damian’s sake. He needed a good paying job now more than ever. He would do whatever it took to make sure that his nephew had a good life. A life like he and Hugh should have had from the start.
Hawk bent down to Damian and made a silly face at him, then tickled his belly. Damian let out a little squeal. Hawk picked up the baby carrier and locked up the house. He opened the car door and connected Damian’s seat to its base. As he closed the door, he looked up at the house next door.
A large truck sat out front with a moving company logo painted in bright green on its side. Men walked in and out of the house and truck with boxes and furniture and other items. The house had been empty for some time now. The elderly woman who’d lived there had died and it had taken a while for her kids to go through the place and clean it out to get it ready for sale.
A woman stood just inside the garage. She caught his eye and waved. He held up his hand to wave back. That must be her, then. Good looking woman. He liked her short, dark hair and her small nose. No ring on her finger and no man around. Could she really be single and moving in next to him? He looked down the street, as if expecting another car to show up and for some guy to jump out and take her in his arms.
Hawk’s house and this house sat at the end of a long road. There weren’t any houses across the street since it was all woods. The closest house on his other side was several hundred feet away. He’d had this little section of the street all to himself for a long time. Whoever she was he hoped they wouldn’t mind hearing a baby cry.
Hawk glanced up at his own house before climbing into his car. Nothing too fancy. One story, three bedrooms, plenty of space. It was a decent house, just outside of the city and in a good neighborhood. The house his new neighbor was moving into was similar. Moderately priced and sized, but nowhere near the cheaper parts of the city.
He caught a glimpse of his motorcycle through the garage window. Hopefully this woman and whoever else moved in there wouldn’t mind the sound of a loud Harley, either. He rode with his MC every chance he got. That time had been limited since he got Damian, but he was a member of the Kings of Chaos motorcycle club, and there were plenty of old ladies around to help out and watch the baby so he could ride along with the boys.
He looked back in his rearview mirror at Damian, then the house next store.
Chapter 2
Alexa Reynolds looked up when the moving man called her name. “Oh, just take that to the bedroom.”
He nodd
ed and walked into the house with a tall floor lamp. She looked back toward the truck and saw movement next door. A man carried a baby in a carrier to his car. That had to be Hawk Milliard. And was that Hugh’s baby? Must be. She’d heard that Hawk might be taking custody of his nephew after his brother’s murder.
Hawk was the reason she’d bought this house in the first place. A stroke of luck, really. He didn’t live in town where there were many houses nearby to choose from, and on this secluded section of the street the only house available had been this one. When she’d seen that it was about to go on the market, she’d hopped out and stopped the realtor as she was getting in her car.
“I need this house,” Alexa told her. She’d flashed her badge and the woman had given her a confused look. “I’m willing to pay asking price if you don’t put it on the market, but sell it to me right now and get me in there as quickly as possible.”
Hugh’s death had been police business, but more specifically it had been her business. Back in the days when she was a detective, she’d been assigned to Hugh’s case. She’d searched through the evidence and followed every lead. She’d never had a case like Hugh’s. All the others had either been clear cut with solid evidence, or had so little evidence that the case went cold. Hugh’s had enough evidence, but nothing to point to a suspect. New evidence would turn up just as another suspect was ruled out. It kept going and changing and nothing seemed to make sense.
