Later that night,Ghost pulled his motorcycle through the gate of theVia DaemoniaMC property. He drove past the clubhouse, where he had no doubt a number of the club was. When the VDMC had first been formed, the clubhouse had been the hub of parties, a real bachelor pad. Now, it was a family gathering spot.Kids’ toys and playpens had been added where keg stands and a beer pong table had once been.
The president’s house was the closest to the clubhouse. With the monitoring system Keys had set up, there was no doubt in Ghost’s mind that everyone knew he was back on the property too. And since the only secret kept around these parts was Superman’s true identity, they would all know by now that Ghost had gone to Ranger’s sister’s wedding, and had ended up stealing the bride.
But they could suffer through one more night before bombarding Becks. She might have agreed to marry him, but he wasn’t sure she completely understood just what was in store for her as far as the club was concerned.
Pulling into his driveway, Ghost turned off the engine. Becks dismounted easily. While at the mall on Sunday, she’d found a shoe store and saw a pair of heeled boots in the display window that had caught her eye. Ghost never thought he’d enjoy shoe shopping, but fucking hell, watching her put on shoes was nearly as hot as watching her take them off. How the hell was he thirty-eight and only just realizing he had a shoe fetish?
Ghost dismounted and immediately lifted Becks into his arms.
She threw her head back, laughing. “You’ve already carried me across the threshold,” she reminded him.
“Not here,” he told her, nodding towards the house. “Welcome home, Mrs. Keir.”
CHAPTER 11
Asingle message from Ghost kept the VDMC away from the house, but Becks knew the morning would be very different. Following the nickel tour of her new home where her husbandand her brotherlived, Ghost brought her upstairs to his—their—bedroom. The first thing she noticed about the bed were the restraint rings built into the headboard.
When she looked at Ghost with raised eyebrows, he nonchalantly admitted to the strap and cuff system he had tucked under his mattress. After their wedding night, Becks had figured out that her husband was kinky, but to have all the equipment so readily available, in what would betheirbed?
Becks wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
But Ghost, ever vigilant, kissed her temple. The furniture and the mattress were all new, bought when he moved into the president’s house. He had toys and certain things that he’d done with other women, which was understandable because Becks wasn’t a virgin either, but he’d never been with a woman inthisroom.
Their room.
His assurance of that certainly made her feel better, but that feeling didn’t last long. Even with Ghost’s arms wrapped aroundher, Becks had a hard time falling asleep. The club kids who had school would meet her later in the afternoon, but the rest of the club? She knew a lot of names from Liam’s stories—emphasis ona lot. Because there were a lot of them! Members alone were twenty something, plus wives and kids and parents and pets… Becks had never been very good with names.
And what was her role now in the club? Becks may not have ever met them, but she knew the story of Jenna and Steel. Jenna was the matriarch, the head of all the ol’ ladies. Was that because she was the president’s wife, the first ol’ lady, or because of her personality? Had she ruled with an iron fist? Becks was used to being on her own and doing her own thing. Who was she to come into this group of women who had known each other for years and be expected to rule them?
Or maybe she was thinking too much. It wasn’t ‘rule’ like a monarchy. She wasn’t their leader, but their friend and guide. But who the hell was she to be someone’s mentor? She’d been left at the altar and planned on running away herself, only to end up at that same altar with a different groom, while the first groom showed up drunk and possibly high.
Not exactly the dream wedding to tell her kids.
Ghost had held so much of her attention this weekend that she’d barely had time to think about Ritchie, and the times she had, she pushed the thoughts aside because she didn’t want to sour her mood.
She would have left anyway, she knew that in her bones. It might have taken her arriving at the actual sanctuary to realize it, but she’d already been mentally out the door that morning. And doing so would have made her the bad guy. Ritchie would have been left at the altar, embarrassed and heartbroken, and the guilt would have driven her crazy. Yet that hadn’t been how it’d played out.
Ritchie had showed updrunkto their wedding. And the things he’d said? Calling her a pig and a cow? It hurt. Not in a heartbreak way, but in the knowledge that she’d been blind. Was that how Ritchie actually saw her and thought of her? Then why would he date her, why would he want to marry her?
Becks thought about her wedding dress. Shehadloved it, but Ghost was right. She’d picked it out for Ritchie. Because she knew that he wouldn’t want anything flashy or revealing for their big day. Add the cape on top, and she really did feel the fool. Ritchie had said it was because his conservative bosses were in the audience, but what if that had been only half the truth? What ifhehad wanted to cover her up?
She’d been such an idiot. Falling for a man who clearly did not love or respect her. Likely only wanted to marry her to show his bosses that he too was a traditional man. All those red flags waving in front of her, and Becks had excused every single one of them as wedding jitters.
What if Ghost hadn’t shown up, giving her a glimpse of the life she actually wanted? What if she’d followed through with the wedding because she’d been deluded into thinking she was in love?
Until five days ago, Becks would have sworn she knew what love was. Ritchie had been the first boyfriend that she’d fallen for. It couldn’t have all been a lie, right? Maybe he saw her as an opportunity to impress his bosses, and because she traveled so much for work, thought she was the perfect target?
In the dark room, Becks looked over her shoulder at Ghost’s sleeping form. She’d been wrong about Ritchie, was it possible she was wrong about Ghost too?
Even thinking such a thought felt blasphemous. In the short time she’d known Ghost, he’d treated her with nothing but kindness and respect. Even going so far as to put his needs aside for her. He was a good man. Possessive, demanding, and kinky,but agoodman. What was it he’d said about not knowing what a good marriage was but he knew what it wasn’t? She felt like that analogy applied to her too. She might not know if she loved Ghost yet, but she knew what she felt with Ritchie hadnotbeen love.
Not real love, not the love of fables and fairytales. The love that she wanted and deserved.
She briefly contemplated reaching out to Ritchie, but nixed that idea almost immediately. What would be the point? What would she even say?
There was a lot Becks still needed to figure out. Ghost had told her that all her things were here, or would be by morning. The prospects he’d sent down to Alabama had gotten caught in some bad traffic from a pile up and were having to take a longer route on backroads to get back. Ghost hadn’t been too happy to learn that, but Becks hadn’t cared. In fact, she was dreading getting her phone back. It had been really nice to disconnect, especially being able to avoid all the drama and accusations and fallout from the botched wedding.
She was enough of a chickenshit to admit that she was even a bit scared to face Libby, Liam, and her mom. She’d have to face Liam tomorrow, since he would be leaving early in the morning to come back.
