Page 28

Lacey

Four Months Later

M y parents invited everyone to our family’s lodge in the mountains. Even though it was winter, and all the leaves had fallen from the trees, it wasn’t too cold for the kids to play outside. I stood by the lodge with a huge cup of hot cocoa in my hand and gazed out at the multitude of friends and family roaming around our property. Most of the older folks, like my parents, aunts, and uncles, along with Rebel’s grandmother were bundled up in rockers, with warm drinks of their own just taking in the sights.

There was a fresh pine scent on the wind from the trees that covered our property.

Richie had been welcomed back into the family and had carved out his niche as the giver of rides in our three-wheeler. The kids kept fighting over whose turn it was to ride next. His shame-faced stepfather was nowhere to be found, and he most certainly wasn’t missed. Richie and Eric were doing their best to track down leads on his sister’s whereabouts—they still hadn’t found anything concrete, but no death certificates had turned up with her name or date of birth on them, so they were sure that she was still alive somewhere. I prayed that wherever Debbie was, she was safe and happy going into the holiday season.

My mom had even invited all of Rebel’s club brothers. About a dozen came out to meet our family and enjoy a weekend in the great outdoors. They’d planned on hunting excursions with my uncles and older cousins. This property was on prime hunting territory. It had been in our family for several generations and was currently locked in a trust. The trustees were my father and his siblings. It would pass on to me and my cousins at some point. We’d do our best to keep the property up and in use.

A pair of warm hands slipped around me and a big hand slid into my coat pocket. I knew what Rebel was after. It was the sonogram printout in my pocket. It turned out my implant hadn’t failed, but after talking to Rebel we decided that we wanted to try for a child, so I got my doctor to remove it. We must have hit the jackpot, because six weeks later I was pregnant, I’d just had my twelve week scan, and everything was looking good.

“You sure you want to announce it to everyone today, ladybug?” he said.

Glancing at him over my shoulder, I nodded. “Yeah, it’s the perfect time. Everyone is here, including your gran. No one else has news they want to announce, so we wouldn’t be stealing anyone’s moment. Now’s the time, babe.”

“Alright. If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do.”

He took my cup and set it down on the banister. Then he took my hand and led me down to the center of the porch where our family and friends were sitting. He brought his hands up to his mouth and whistled so loudly that I wanted to cover my ears.

“Gather around everyone. Lacey and I have news to share.”

However, instead of holding up the sonogram like we’d planned, he dropped down onto his knees and pulled a ring box out of his cut. I froze in place because this was not part of our plan for the day. Rebel had gone off-script in the most unexpected manner possible.

When he opened the black velvet box, my breath caught in my throat.

“Lacey Livingstone, I had this ring made especially for you in order to increase the probability of you saying yes to becoming my wife.” When I didn’t immediately respond, he added, “Don’t pretend like you don’t like the ring, because I can tell by your expression that you do. Just so you know, the ring and me are a package deal. You can’t have one without the other.”

Everyone around us burst out laughing and so did I. Leave it to Rebel to come up with an absolutely gorgeous ring design and a humorous proposal, specially crafted to make me laugh.

“I wasn’t expecting a proposal today but since you went through all the trouble to make a perfect one and I’m head over heels in love with you, I’m gonna have to say yes.”

He removed the ring from the box and slid it onto my finger. I just shook my head, staring down at it. “This is the most adorable engagement ring I’ve ever seen,” I gushed.

Rebel was all smiles, “I knew you would love it. Do I need to take a vote on whether I’ve earned a kiss for all my hard work?”

Everyone started shouting for me to kiss him, so I did and everyone cheered. Rebel raised his hand into the air. “Hold up. Don’t nobody go nowhere. We’ve got one more announcement to make.”

I glanced at my parents and my mom’s hopeful expression told me she was hoping this announcement involved a baby. She slid her hand into Rebel’s grandmother’s. The older woman looked her fondly and gave her hand a squeeze in response.

Rebel didn’t disappoint. He held the sonogram picture and announced, “We’re expecting a baby ladybug.”

I chimed in, “Or a baby biker. We won’t know for sure for a few more weeks.”

Rebel kissed me long and hard before being pulled away by his club brothers. He pretended to fight them every step of the way to get back to me. Again, it was amusing and added fun to the occasion.

When I turned around to face my mom and his grandmother, they were all smiles. I rushed over and knelt in front of his grandmother to show her and my mom my ring. Suddenly, there was Zoe and Alison on my other side.

My mother commented, “It’s a little lightbulb. The perfect ring for a master electrician’s wife.”

“Yeah, I love it.”

Zoe grinned at me, clearly surprised by the unique design. “Storm said it was amazing, and he was right.”

Even Rebel’s gran had to admit, “My grandson did good by you, Lacey.’

Alison stared down at it for a second. “That’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”

After everyone had finished admiring my ring, my mom, Zoe, Alison, and a couple of my aunts, crowded around me asking questions about how far along my pregnancy was and how long I’d been with Rebel, and pelted me with questions about his club. I immediately got swarmed by my female cousins asking questions about some of the single brothers. If I was being honest, it was starting to get overwhelming.

That’s when Rebel swooped in, scooped me up in his arms and walked off with me. I snuggled my face into his neck as he took me down to the pier. There was a boathouse I barely remembered, and several of his club brothers were milling about outside. They moved further away when he carried me into the wooden building, like they were standing guard.

When we made it inside, I realized why. Rebel had created a little place for us to rest. It was a mattress on a frame with loads of warm blankets and a little heater.

“This is really romantic, babe. Did you think up this all on your own?”

He glanced up at me with an amused expression on his face. “Of course. You act like I don’t know how to treat a woman.”

I grabbed his hands and gave them a little squeeze. “It’s not that. It’s just that the ring was so spot on and this little getaway you’ve made for us is so thoughtful and well planned. It’s even color coordinated. Zoe mentioned they have an event planner they work with, and I thought you may have availed yourself of her services.”

His eyebrows flew up. “Nope, I damn sure did not. This is all one hundred percent me, ladybug. If I’d known about this event planner, you can bet your sweet ass I would have used her though, because I worried myself stupid trying make everything perfect for you.”

I reached up and cupped his face in my hands then pulled him down for a kiss. “Like your gran said, you did real good for me today.”

Looking down into my eyes, he asked, “You aren’t teasing me, are you?”

“Nope. You gave me your love, put a baby in me, picked out the perfect ring, and created the perfect cozy nest for us on a cold day. What more could a woman ask for?”

He gave me an indulgent smile before saying the last thing I expected. “I thought you might want some orgasms. That’s why I posted some club brothers around to keep your family away.”

Giving him another lingering kiss, I said, “Well done, babe. Getting a little one-on-one time with you would be the perfect ending to a perfect day. But don’t you think they’re gonna miss us?”

“Listen,” Rebel said.

I did and I could hear music.

“The band’s started up so I reckon we have at least an hour where everyone’s gonna be distracted, so I thought it was the perfect time to distract my woman,” he said with a wicked glint in his eye.

He laid down on the bed, pulling me on top of him. I went eagerly, loving every minute of being with him. We kissed, cuddled, and talked about our day for a while. As the sun set, we ended up shedding our clothing and quickly warding off the chill by crawling under all the blankets he piled high for us.

Just being snuggled up together felt like coming home. Rebel had gone from being the grumpy guy who knew exactly how to get on my last nerve to the warm, fun-loving guy who knew how to make me feel not only seen but loved, secure and cherished.

When his hand splayed over my stomach protectively, my heart melted for him.

I ran one hand down his naked chest, pausing to feel each bulging muscle. “You’re way more involved in this pregnancy than I thought you’d be.”

“Why shouldn’t I be? I’ve waited a long time to find the love of my life. I’d be a fool to miss out on all the best parts of becoming a husband and father. I don’t think being married or having kids is ever gonna get old.”

“Maybe once you get a kid or two, having a wife won’t be such a big deal.”

He literally groaned. “If you knew how much I craved the taste of you on my tongue, you’d never worry about me losing interest in you. It’s like the more I touch you and taste you, the more addicted I become.”

“That’s a weird animalistic thing to say.”

“Yeah, but it’s a little hot too, right?” Something in the tone of his voice seemed unsure.

“Yeah, babe. It’s totally hot,” I told him, before I bent down and gave him a long, hot, open-mouthed kiss. We got lost tangling tongues and his arms came up around me, holding me close. When I was just about to pull back and let him breathe, he tangled one hand in my hair and held me in place for another round of kissing. Something about that tiny bit of control he wielded so well set me on fire for him.

When his hand moved down to fondle my breasts, I sucked in a breath as my nipples responded to his touch. Arousal pooled hot and heavy in my stomach, making my need for him expand into an inferno. Soon he was shoving me upwards so he could kiss his way down my body and sucking on my nipples as his hands moved down, so his fingers could explore my slit. It took him no time at all to go from having his mouth on my breasts to moving me up to his face so he could run his tongue over my clit. Sitting there with one knee on either side of his head while wave after wave of pleasure crashed over me, caused me to rub myself more firmly against his face. Being on top was one of my favorite positions.

Soon his fingers were inside of me, diligently searching out my g-spot. Once he found it, it was game over. He pushed me into one orgasm after another until I nearly collapsed on top of him. I made him stop by moving my hips down his torso to cover his thick cock with my still trembling pussy.

“Damn, I love the way your pussy clings to my cock. It makes me want to be inside you before you’re ready.”

“I’m ready,” I pleaded. “I’m ready right now. Want you inside me.”

He rolled us over and forced himself inside in one long slow stroke. I could still feel my core clenching around him. “God, you always totally wreck me in the best way.”

“You’re a good woman who deserves only the best cock.”

I chuffed out a laugh. “How do you always manage to compliment yourself right along with me? If you had a super skill, it would be that.”

Pulling out, he plunged back in. “I always thought making your pretty pussy come around my thick cock was my super skill.”

“There,” I said breathlessly. “You did it again.”

“Yeah? Well, I plan to do a lot of things that might be classed as a super skill with you.”

He set up a dizzying pace that made it hard to carry on a conversation. “Like what kind of things?”

He made a strong thrust, twisting his hips, which caused his cock to slide against my clit.

That’s when the next orgasm hit, hard and fast. My body went momentarily rigid, and I clamped down harder on him than ever before. He didn’t stop though. He kept leisurely rocking his hips until I came all over his cock a second time. Then he thrusted deep a few times, coming deep inside me.

He whispered in my ear, “It’s moments like this that make me believe there really is a happily ever after for a man like me.” Moving a strand of hair out of my face, he tilted my head up to look into my eyes. “You and me are forever. I’m gonna be so good to you that you never want to be anywhere but right by my side.”

When he leaned down pressing his forehead to mine, I whispered, “You can consider that mission accomplished, babe.”

It felt like it was such an honor to be his happily ever after, because he was mine for sure. I didn’t want the love flowing back and forth between us to ever stop. I just wanted peace and quiet and lots of little ladybugs and bikers filling our home and hearts for all the days of our lives.

THE END

Hope you enjoyed the book!

The next book in the Dark Slayers MC series is Havoc