We did . . . but that didn’t mean fate wasn’t a fucked up bitch waiting to ruin it.
“We got all of them. It’s fucking over.”
He was referring to bullshit I wanted to forget and couldn’t.
“Yeah.”
I agreed with him that we faced and defeated every enemy we had, but there was still that tiny part of me that couldn’t let the past completely go. If there was danger, my Reaper and Berserker would sense it. They would know.
But I wouldn’t stop protecting my family or my club or staying vigilant in case shit went down. Those Russian motherfuckers nearly destroyed my family. Shit like that stayed with you long after it was finished.
“Ian.”
I focused on my brother, releasing a sigh. “I hear you.”
“I’m living next door. Our families are protected on a street where, on some nights, there are more club members than in the clubhouse. Nothing is gonna take us by surprise.”
He was going through a hell of a lot of effort for someone who wasn’t worried. “Says the guy who’s overexplaining shit.”
He chuckled. “I guess you’re right.”
“We focus on our women and making this the best Valentine’s Day they’ve ever had.”
“And if something isn’t right?”
“We take care of it.”
Chapter 2 Nylah
“There’s breastmilk in the freezer if Gia gets extra hungry.”
Rael nodded. His arms banded around Gia as he held her while she stuck sticky applesauce-coated fingers on his chest and babbled baby talk. “Nylah?”
“Yeah?” I asked as I picked up my purse and keys.
“You know you don’t have to work, right? That I won’t ever ask or tell you that you gotta leave our babies.”
That hit me right in the chest, not just because he said the words in his gritty, deep timbre, but because as his voice softened, I knew he truly meant it.
He was so good to me. “I know,” I assured him, moving closer to press a lingering kiss on his lips. “But I need this for my sanity.”
And that was the truth. Being a mother fulfilled a lifelong dream for me, but I also had moments when I needed to be reminded it was okay to be more than just a biker’s ol’ lady and the mother of three perfect little ones. It was all right to want more and to have a career as a nurse, since it was a job I loved. I didn’t want to lose that part of myself.
Rael stared at me like he understood my internal musings. “Okay.” A soft smile quirked his mouth. “You ready for our date later?”
“Which one?” I teased him since he not only asked me to marry him on Valentine’s Day in front of all our friends and biker family, but also out to dinner after I got off work tonight. “The dinner or the vows?”
His gaze swept over me from head to toe, slowly gliding over every inch of my body and the curves that had grown fuller and softer after giving him the twins and our little girl. The extra fewpounds didn’t bother Rael. He seemed to enjoy them, clutching me often and giving my bottom a squeeze. He’d groan and tell me that I had better be ready for a dicking down later.
Even now, the lust darkened the color of his eyes, making the hazel a deeper green, transforming his facial features until a wolfish grin spread his lips wider. “I’ll ride with you, in you, beside you. You’re my ride or die, my whole fucking world.”
And that, right there, was why I was marrying this sexy bastard. Who could pass up the desire and devotion in his gaze or the grit in his voice that proved every word was true?
Plus, I loved this man, including his Reaper and Berserker, and the life he’d given me with three beautiful children. I would change nothing, not even the hard, challenging parts, because it made every moment like this so fucking worth it.
“As you’re mine,” I swore, tapping my heart. “Right here. Always.”
His gaze heated, and I saw both the Berserker and the Reaper battle for first place. They all desired, cherished, and loved me—three entities inside one inked, muscled, towering frame of irresistible alpha male biker. A guy who rode his Harley and lived life hard, on his terms, but never let me forget what I meant to him. It was bizarre, thrilling, and yet intoxicating knowing I had all three of their hearts and devotion. My soon-to-be-husband owned me as completely as I owned him.
