Page 168 of Caution to the Wind

Of course, I should’ve known better.

MEI

Even though TheFallen babes had warmed up to me over the last few weeks, I was still honoured to be invited to get ready with Harleigh Rose and her bridesmaids. Lila was her maid of honour, and Loulou, Cressida, Cleo, and Bea were her bridesmaids, but it seemed like all The Fallen women were crowded into H.R.’s sprawling ranch house that morning. Most of the men were at the clubhouse until the ceremony started, but Boner and the three prospects––Ransom, a wildly handsome teenager; Pigeon, a skinhead with eerily pale eyes; and Carson, a good-looking jock-type who was best friends with King and Cress––were on guard duty stationed around the property while planners set up for the ceremony. It was Carson who stayed inside with us, his boyfriend, Benny, cuddled comfortably in his lap because he was one of the gang, too.

“Okay,please, I am dying to know,” Tayline gushed dramatically as she sprawled on the couch beside me in the living/dining room where they’d set up beauty stations. “What’s Axe-Man like in bed?”

“Tay!” Cleo shouted. “Please don’t be gross.”

“Welcome to my world, babe,” Harleigh Rose drawled, waving at Cress and Loulou. “I’ve had to put up with these two talking about fucking my dad and brother foryears. It’s about time someone else felt my pain.”

Loulou and Cressida grinned unabashedly, but to my surprise, it was the former who winked conspiratorially at me. “Hot dads for the win, am I right, Blossom?”

It seemed Nova’s nickname for me had taken hold with the rest of the club, and I wasn’t mad about it.

Not even a little.

“Definitely,” I agreed with a sly smile. “Sorry, Glory, but really, I’ve got to defend Axe-Man’s reputation here.”

“Oh my God,” she groaned, putting her hands over her ears as she started to hum loudly to drown out what I intended to say.

I started by slipping the thick strap of my black satin dress off my shoulder to reveal the little love bites that peppered my upper breast. Tayline clapped in delight, and Lila laughed so hard, there were tears in her eyes.

“I waited years to get my hands on him, and let’s just say, it was well worth the wait,” I divulged to more laughter.

“It’s always the quiet ones,” Harleigh Rose said sagely. “I loved Lion for years before we got together, and I never could’ve known what a bossy sex god he’d be in the sack.”

“Maybe all bikers are good in bed,” Lila mused. “Because Nova seriously took his time with me this morning, and I’m telling you, I’m still weak in the knees. I’m worried about walking down the aisle without falling.”

“Trust me,” Hannah, the most experienced of us, said dryly, “they aren’t.”

Everyone laughed, including Cleo who’d lowered her hands to participate again. She looked happy and pretty sitting in the chair getting her makeup done by Lila. Her hair had grown out enough to curl around her ears, and she’d gained a little, though not enough, weight. Even though we’d bought pink hair dye, she said she wasn’t ready to reinvent herself quite yet.

“So, are you officially Axe-Man’s Old Lady, then?” Cressida asked, getting up to grab a bottle of tequila from the sideboard. “Because this deserves a toast, if so.”

I bit my lower lip and shared a look with Cleo. “I think we’re taking it once step at a time. It’s…casual right now.”

Lila rolled her eyes. “C’mon, babe. Nova told me what Axe-Man inked onto you without your permission. You still want to tell me it’s casual?”

“Oh! What did he do?” Tayline leaned forward with huge brown eyes.

I stole a glance at Cleo who sighed heavily, even though her eyes sparkled. “You better tell us, Rocky, before Tay tackles you and searches you herself.”

I stood up, pulling the silky fabric of my dress up over my ass cheek, exposed by my underwear. The words were a rich black in thick gothic script:Property of the Off-White Knight.

“Jesus,” Maja, Buck’s Old Lady, gasped, waving a hand to cool herself. “I think I just had a hot flash.”

I blushed as I dropped the fabric and sat down.

“You okay he marked you like that?” Cressida asked softly. “Men like ours can get a little…territorial. Still, he should’ve asked you before making it permanent.”

“It’s always been true,” I admitted with a shrug, feeling that truth keenly. “He just inked it into the surface. I’m not mad.”

I was elated, to be honest.

When I lay in Axe-Man’s arms at night, overfull with love, so close to bursting I thought I’d split apart atom by atom and die if I didn’t confess how much I wholly and ardently loved him, I comforted myself with the reminder of those words on my skin.

He had to feel more for me than friendship and lust if he’d branded me with his name, right? And this morning, when he’d told Cleo about us, I’d felt hope take up permanent address inside my chest.