Ghost did not givea damn about their audience. He’d gotten what he wanted—he’d gotten Becks. And fucking hell, it felt amazing. Freeing.Right. He was never so sure of anything as he was in his decision to claim Becks. Not even being patched over as president felt this good, and that had been one of the proudest moments of Ghost’s life.
Once outside the sanctuary doors, Ghost carried her down the steps to the parking lot. More eyes turned to them. Guests who had come to see a completely different wedding. Ghost spotted several of the groomsmen by a red Mustang, but no sign of the former groom. Good. While Ghost wouldn’t have minded kicking the guy’s ass again, he’d much rather be buried balls deep inside his new wife.
Wife. Christ, that sounded good. For years, Ghost had watched as his club brothers had fallen in love and claimed their women, and even before that with his SEAL teammates and fellow sailors. Ghost had never dreamed that this was something he wanted, let alone could have.
Thankfully, Ghost had parked his hog relatively close to the church entrance at the end of the sidewalk before the cemetery. He hadn’t really been thinking when he’d parked—his goal only to get to Becks before she walked down the aisle without making a giant scene, which he semi-failed at—but he had been careful not to block access to the sidewalk.
Putting Becks down, he made sure her skirts didn’t get tangled up or stepped on. He had no idea how she was balancing in those heels, but he was starting to think he had a shoe fetish he never knew he had before. Maybe it was just a Becks Fremont—nope. A Becks Keir fetish.
“You’re changing your last name,” he informed her as he pulled his helmet out of the saddlebag. He didn’t have a spare, so she was getting his. It was illegal for him to ride without one, but he didn’t give a damn. They’d head to the store at some point to get a new helmet for her, but until then, she would not be riding without one.
“Am I?” she questioned as he buckled the strap under her chin.
Ghost kept one eye on the groomsmen, who were starting to point in their direction, and the other on what he was doing. “You are. Also, I owe you a new dress.”
Her eyebrows flew up. He hadn’t put the visor down yet. “You do? Why?”
Ghost pulled his pocketknife out again, and flipped it open with a twist of his wrist. Becks startled, but she didn’t back away from him. Her faith in him humbled Ghost. They might be married, but they were still little more than strangers.
As Ghost knelt in front of her, he heard noises rising from across the parking lot. It must have distracted Becks, because she jumped when he started to cut through her thick skirts.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, trying to pull her dress out of his grip.
“Hold still,” Ghost ordered. “I don’t want to cut you.”
“But you’ll cut my dress?”
He’d warned her, hadn’t he? “You can’t ride on my bike with skirts this long. Hence me cutting off the bottom and owing you a new dress.”
Becks frowned down at him, though she did stop resisting. “I loved this dress.”
“You bought this dress to impress another man,” he reminded her, his voice harsh. “You’ll buy another one,” he informed her as he came around behind her, still slicing. “Only this time, you’ll buy it forme.”
“You’re not used to not getting your way, are you?”
Ghost finished off his long slice. Jagged, her skirt now fell to just above her knees. He stood up and pocketed his knife. “Usually,” he said, still very aware of the shouting coming from the groomsmen. “But never forget who’s in charge here, Becks. I may be demanding, pushing you and your body to their limits, both in and out of the bedroom, but never forget that it’syouwho rules me.” He cupped her face. “You only ever have to ask, baby,” he told her softly, “and I’ll lay the world at your feet.”
“I don’t need the world,” Becks said, turning her face into his left palm. “It’s going to sound so selfish, but I just want to matter. I want to be someone’s priority, the person they think about first and last and always.”
Ghost bent his head and kissed her gently. “That’s not a selfish ask, and something we can talk about more in depth. Justlater.”
Becks looked around him to the groomsmen. Using the reflection in the church’s window, Ghost saw that two of them were closer than before. They were still shouting at the other two while pointing at Becks and Ghost. There was still no sign of Ritchie, though depending on what he was on, he might be passed out somewhere. Ghost had kicked him hard, but not enough to permanently damage the fucker.
“Yeah, I don’t want you to get into another fight either.”
Ghost snorted, holding out his hand to help her step out of the bottom half of her dress that was now pooled on the sidewalk. “I don’t give a damn about them. We’ve been married almost fifteen minutes, and I’m not inside you yet.” He straddled his hog. “That’s a tragedy I plan to rectify as soon as possible, and preferably without an audience that includes your family members.”
Becks’ cheeks flushed at his crass words, but he also saw her eyes alight with humor. “Sounds good to me.” She put the faceplate down and then got on the bike behind him. When she put her arms around his waist, Ghost took hold of her wrists and pulled her tighter. He kicked up the stand and started the engine. Beck’s voice shouted over the roar, “So is now a good time to mention I’ve never ridden on the back of one of these before?”
Ghost hadno intention of accidentally ending up at the hotel where the groomsmen and out-of-town wedding guests were staying, but he also did not have the patience for a long ride to put distance between Becks’ hometown and them. He got them to the highway, aiming north. He’d give it ten miles, and then he was stopping at the next hotel or he’d end up fucking his wife for the first time over a picnic table at a rest stop. Which he wouldn’t do… Hopefully.
No! No, of course he wouldn’t do that. Becks deserved a bed and comfort and a shower, and hell,lunch. He knew he hadn’t eaten other than a gas station donut early that morning, and both of them were going to need their energy for what he had in mind for them.
“I just realized I don’t have my purse or my phone!” she called over the engine.
“Ranger will get them,” he assured her. He’d also need to get some prospects down here to move all her stuff to Mount Grove. The only plus side about her plans for moving to the city after the wedding was she was already packed. It’d be easy to have them rent a truck and come down to collect her things without needing Becks to return too.
“It’s so weird, you calling him ‘Ranger’. His buddies in the Army called him ‘Snow White’.”
