Sophie fans herself. “I need a cigarette and I don’t even smoke. Did you cry?”
“A little. Ugly cry. Snot and everything. He laughed at me, called me his Firecracker, said no take-backs.”
Bella leans in closer, voice dropping. “And the sex after? Be honest. Was it different knowing it was forever-official?”
I bite my lip. “Slower at first. Like he was savoring it. Hands everywhere, eyes locked, whispering ‘forever’ every time he thrust deep. Then it got rough again. He flipped me over, fucked me from behind with one hand in my hair, the other on my hip, growling that I was his wife now even if the paper wasn’t signed yet. I came so hard I saw stars. Twice.”
The table goes quiet for half a second. Then they all lose it.
Brooke slaps the table. “I hate you. My man’s been too scared to touch me since the baby drop-kicked his balls last month.”
Bri laughs. “Lucky’s gonna knock you up before the wedding. Mark my words.”
Sophie’s eyes sparkle. “You gonna do a big wedding or courthouse quickie?”
I shrug. “We haven’t talked about the details yet. But I want something small. Here at the compound maybe. Bonfire, beers, the club as witnesses. No fancy dress. Just me in jean and him in his cut, us saying fuck it and making it legal.”
Bella squeezes my arm. “I love that. No bullshit. Just family.”
Across the fire, Lucky catches my eye again. He’s talking to Mason but he’s watching me. Always watching. When our gazes lock he lifts his beer in a silent toast, smirks that slow, dirty smirk that still makes my stomach flip. I blow him a kiss. He catches it, presses it to his chest over the scar, then mouths “mine.”
I mouth back “yours.”
The girls notice. Sophie groans. “God, you two are disgusting. In the best way.”
Bella raises her cup, even though it’s only soda. “To Savannah and Lucky. May your bed stay broken, your fights stay short, and your babies come out screaming.”
We all clink. The whiskey burns sweet going down.
Brooke leans in one more time. “Seriously though. How’s it feel? Knowing it’s forever?”
I look at Lucky again. He’s laughing at something Dagger said, head thrown back, the firelight carving shadows across his face. That jagged scar peeks out from his shirt collar. Reminder of how close I came to losing him.
I turn back to the girls. “It feels like breathing after holding my breath for years. Like I finally get to stop waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
Bri reaches over, squeezes my knee. “You deserve that. All of it.”
Sophie jumps up. “Enough sappy shit. Let’s dance before these men decide they want us back.”
She grabs my hand, yanks me off the table. Bella and Brooke follow. We stumble toward the open patch near the speakers, hips swaying, laughing too loud.
Lucky’s eyes find me instantly. He sets his beer down, starts walking over. I spin toward him, back to his chest, grind slow against him while the music thumps. He wraps his arms around my waist, lips at my ear. “You telling them all our secrets?”
“Only the good ones.”
His hand slides down, cups me through my jeans. “Gonna have to remind you who you belong to later.”
I turn in his arms, loop mine around his neck. “Promise?”
He kisses me deep, right there in front of the whole damn club. Whistles and cheers go up. Someone yells “Get it, Lucky!”
When he pulls back his eyes are dark. “Promise.”
EPILOGUE
RIOT
I kickthe back door open hard enough that the frame splinters. The room beyond is pitch black except for one weak bulb swinging from the ceiling. Smells like damp concrete, rust, and fear. The kind of fear that’s been sitting in a body too long.
