“Jesus Christ, I love you.” I chirped in giddiness. “Fine. Give me what I want right this second.”
Drew squeezed my ass, gripping it tight before he spun us about around in one swift move, my back landing against the comforter on the bed before he shuffled me up to the pillow and made me comfortable. His hands seemed to be everywhere as he climbed on top of me. He ran his fingers through the lengths of my hair, fanned it out on the pillow, and whispered, “So much sunshine”with a smile. He traced my cheek, my neck, and let his finger slide between the curves of my breasts before he found the hand wearing my engagement ring and brought it up between us. On his knees, there was a space for us to play hanging between us, and he used it. He used everything around him to make every moment more special and every touch more perfect.
Kissing the ring he’d given me, he dropped my hand to my stomach and hovered over my body, resting on his arms, which were propped up on either side of my head.
“What you want right this second is what you’ve not had yet. As good as this body of mine is…” He winked, letting his eyes fall to my mouth. “You need more than that. You need to bereminded of what I’m going to give you. So let’s start with the wedding…”
“What about it?” I asked with a grin, my hands trying to make their way to his belt.
“Well, I figure you’ll be the star of the show, as always,” he whispered, running his thumbs over my hair. “Libby, Sloane, Autumn, all the chicks will help you become the lady in white, while my guys will try to get me drunk before breakfast. But I’ll refuse it. I’ll refuse everything. I want to be more sober than I’ve ever been when I see you walking toward me with that sexy as sin smile on your face. I’ll be wearing a suit.” He opened his eyes wider. “You heard me right. A damn fucking suit. Sharp and crisp. Tailor-made. Shiny shoes and the whole shit.”
A giggle slipped from my lips as my fingers released his belt. “How do you expect me to control myself? I’m going to take one look at you and I’ll be absolutely lost in my own fantasies of what will be happening behind closed doors the second I get you alone.”
“Fantasize away. If I’ve paid hundreds of dollars for a suit and shiny, shiny shoes, you’re gonna have to hold the ovaries, darlin’. At least until we’ve said the vows.” He beamed, flashing his brightest, whitest smile. “The vows will be poetic, by the way. I don’t know if you know this, but I’m quite the wordsmith when it comes to you. I could write love songs for days. You’ll be crying, ruining all your makeup, and I’ll be standing right above you, lovestruck on your streaming mascara and wishing I could screw you up against the altar in front of everyone. Panda eyes and all.”
My hands abandoned their work on his belt and moved to cups his cheeks. I couldn’t explain the sudden emotion thatcame over me with his words, but I couldseeit. I could see me in a dress, him in a suit and I could imagine how overwhelmed I would be—how happy I would be seeing him there waiting for me.
“Tell me more,” I whispered desperately.
“Some guy we don’t know will tell us we’re husband and wife,” he whispered, leaning in closer. “And I’ll get hard, and you’ll get swoony, but we’ll both know we have to hold off. Because all our brothers will be in the front rows, cheering us on. Even Harry.” He stopped, a flash of uncertainty washing over him before he flicked it away and said it like he meant it. “He’ll be coughing and spluttering, and he’ll annoy the shit out of us, but he’ll be free, and that will be good enough. All we’ll be focused on is each other. You’ll be the star. I’ll be the guy whisking you off your feet and carrying you to his bike to go and ride on a straight road that leads us to the horizon. It’ll be perfect, Ayda. Every second will be perfect. You’ll wake up the woman you used to be and go to sleep as the woman you were always meant to be. My wife. Mrs. Drew Tucker.”
I pulled him to me, our mouths crashing together in need and desire. Always desire. With my eyes closed, I could see it, and I wanted it so badly. I wanted every little detail of the wedding he’d built for us. So I absorbed every image and held it to my heart so I could pull it out whenever I needed it the most.
Epilogue
HARRY ROGERS
Road Captain
The Hounds of Babylon MC
Three Weeks Later
My cellmate’s name was Clint. Every time he spoke, he had a western drawl to his voice that instantly made me think of Howard Sutton. But Clint was nothing like the chief of police. He was short—shorter than me—and fat. His snores sounded like thunder and kept me awake most nights. I preferred the noise to the silence, though. The silence made me think about too many nice things, miss people, laugh at the memories and sometimes cry at the losses.
I’d lived a good life, and it wasn’t over yet. Some men lived to the ripe old age of a hundred, but never really lived at all. They go through their days doing what they think is expected of them. They study at college. They meet a pretty, shy girl. They dance with her one night then take her out for a stroll. They kiss her. Make love. After a few months, they declare their undying affection for each other because that’s what’s expected at that stage. They buy a house, move in together, get married and have at least two kids. Three kids if the woman feels like she isn’t getting the attention she needs off her man and demands it from another baby. The man works in an office for sixty hours each week, counting downthe minutes until he’s set free. Well, kind of free. From one set of shackles to another. Freedom from work means entering the prison of domesticity. They dream of retirement… becausethat’s when life begins.But when they get there, they’re too old to fuck like they once wanted to. They’re too brittle to run through forests and escape the police that are hot on their heels for petty crimes. They’re too inexperienced to ride a bike in the wind at hundred miles an hour with nowhere to be, the open road in front of them, and only the sun to chase. They’re retired, but they’re just waiting to die.
I never wanted to get like that.
I was middle-aged and happy enough to go.
Whoever was running my life had decided that I’d had enough fun for one visit to this Earth. I’d screwed hundreds of women, had my dick sucked every other night, and I’d woken up beside some of the prettiest faces. I’d had the best family. No man had ever been loved more than me. I’d had true freedom—freedom away from the laws of mundane society. Even when I’d been in prison during my first stint, there’d been a freedom to being bad.
Nothing was expected of me. I never lived for a goal I didn’t want. Every day I woke up among the richest family—rich with love, loyalty, and respect.
I’d had the whole goddamn universe in my life, and now it was time to give that over to someone else.
“The sun. It’s too bright,” Clint moaned from his bed. I stared up at the ceiling, imagining the way he was scrunching his face up, throwing his arm across his eyes and wiping off his drool-stained chin.
“Don’t expect the sun to stop shining because you can’t handle its glow,” I muttered quietly.
“Have you slept at all?” He groaned as he rolled his legs off the side of the bed and bent over.
I coughed softly, swallowing the taste of death as quickly as I could. I felt it more now. I felt it in every fiber of my body. The cancer was a sadistic mistress, taking residence in a body it didn’t have permission from, slipping its claws into all my vitals and taking ownership, leaving me with no choice but to succumb to her and face the consequences.
“A couple of hours.”
“Today’s the day, huh?”
