by Nicole Snow
Blue steps forward.
There’s dirt on her face. Her hair is a mess. Her shirt, torn. There’s a gun stuck in the front of her jeans.
All in all, she’s absolutely gorgeous.
My throat swells. I try, but words won’t come. My eyes burn, this time with something besides maniac rage.
I shake my head, clearing my throat. “Blue, I heard a gun go off.” I have to clear my throat again.
“That was Kessler.” She shrugs. “Shooting at me. Idiot missed.”
“Where is he?”
“I’m not sure, but I think I hit him with the back of the car. I never saw him in the mirror after I took off, but it sorta felt like I hit something. Could've been whatever the car hung up on, though.” She shrugs again. “Or not.” Glancing over my shoulder, she asks, “Is that the only way out of here?”
She’s pointing up the road. “Yes,” I answer. “Why?”
“Because there's a car hanging off a cliff up there, and I’m not sure where it’ll land. But it could be on the road.”
I grab her by the upper arms. “What?”
Fuck, when does it end? That had to be what I saw glistening in the moonlight.
“I shut off the headlights so no one would see me following and sort of misjudged that one really sharp turn.” She steps closer to me. “Only two wheels went over the edge, but the other, the back one, was skidding over when I climbed out.”
My heart stops. I pull her close.
Hug her. Kiss her. Kiss her some more.
She’s the one who finally stops the kiss I want to last forever.
Holding up a finger, she says, “Hold that thought because this –” She makes a circle in the air with one finger. “Isn’t over. I saw a ton of headlights down in the valley, Brent. And after that explosion, they’ll be heading this way. Pronto.”
Fuck. “Wait here!
I run to the trees and snatch the backpack off the ground. At the top of the knoll, I see Blue's right.
A shitload of headlights the size of a small army rolls on, coming this way. It can’t be close to three in the morning, so the Grizzlies aren’t here yet.
I don’t have much choice. I’ll set off the bombs I’ve buried, and then we’ll have to make a run for it. Hopefully, the blasts will take out enough to give us a fucking chance. Panic the ones who survive into running.
I pull out the detonators and hit the first trigger. Suck a breath and hold it in.
There's a slight delay before the first bomb down in the valley explodes. Then the second.
By the time the third one goes, I’m in jaw-hanging awe. The hills around us light up. None are close enough to make out completely, but I imagine there are dirt bikes, four-wheelers, dune buggies, and damn near every kind of all terrain vehicle.
As the sixth and final bomb goes off, the lights start descending down the hills. Harleys send their deep growls through the valley, and tracer fire rains down on the smoldering wreckage below.
“Your friends?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I say, wrapping an arm around Blue. “They've got the high ground. Cross-Bones came early. They'll clean up real nice.”
She wraps her arm around my waist and we watch the lights for a moment. Then she sighs. “Do you think all those bikers will want to come to a wedding?”
I turn, twisting her about so we're facing each other. “Wedding?”
She nods and grimaces. “My mother expects you to marry me after...” She shrugs. “All this. And she likes big weddings. Won't care one bit if half the guys are wearing leather and tattoos.”
“What do you want?” I ask.
She shakes her head.
My heart takes a tumble. I would've sworn she’d say yes in a heartbeat. “You don’t want to get married?”
She shakes her head and then nods. Bites her little lip.
“Blue, talk to me? Which is it? Yes or no?”
She presses both hands to her lips and shakes her head again.
“What? You can’t talk?”
Shrugging, she nods. Then she shakes her head at me again.
Damn.
She closes her eyes and holds up a finger as if saying ‘give me a minute.'
I get it. She’s been through a lot the past few hours. I was speechless not that long ago myself. Grateful to be alive.
I don't have a ring, just the remains of Davey's turtle stuffed into my pocket.
Fuck if I care. All she has to do is say the word.
Letting out a long breath, she says, “I want...whatever you do.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’re going to get until you tell me first.”
I smile. That’s my girl. Willing to give up whatever she might want for someone else.
Selfless. Sweet. Beautiful. Infuriating.
Blue. Red. Pink. And mine.
There's only one thing missing from that list, which I'm not waiting another minute to add.
God, do I love her.
This small, blue-haired, gun-toting preschool teacher. I’ve never been more sure of loving her. Tonight, after hearing that gunshot and fearing it was her, I knew exactly what I wanted.
A future. With her. All ours.
She’s shown me that with her, I don’t have to change. Be one thing or the other. I can be me.
Hard-ass when I need to be, or family man. Eden, Brent, or Monk. It doesn’t matter.
She’s there.
She's here with me right now. Staring nervously with the same pale gray-blue eyes I fell for what seems like an eternity ago. She’s the angel for the devil inside me. The voice of reason. The love of my life.
The one I have to – fucking have to – call my wife.
“You already know what I want, babe.” I stand up, kiss the tip of her nose, reaching into my pocket. Then I'm down on one knee again, grasping her hand in mine, pressing that silver turtle against her palm. “I’ve been your fiancé for over a month now. I’m ready for the wedding the second you say yes. Marry me, Blue. Give me all of it. All of you. Let me love you like I've never loved anyone else.”
“Brent...”
I nod. “Tell me, babe. Gotta hear it. Straight from your lips to my soul. Say yes.”
“Yes!” It's barely a hiss. But it's enough.
I jump up, throw her back in my arms, hold on tight, and kiss her longer than it'd take to count the lights dancing all around us, above and below.
It's the strangest kind of fireworks between the stars and the flames crackling in the valley, smoking debris, but it's ours. It's fitting. It's chaotic and scary and exhilarating all at once.
It's everything I've wanted since the second we locked eyes in her class. And it's everything I'll keep till my dying day, smiling like a wrinkled old fool, remembering how our love blew the world apart and outshined Heaven itself for one crazy, unforgettable, heart-stopping night.
“I love you, Blue. Give me a week. I'll take part of Davey's turtle, whatever I can't repair, and have it made into a proper ring.”
She pulls back before kissing me again, the tears in her eyes falling out. “Jesus. You're sure?”
I give her the most solemn nod of my life.
It's one last homage to my little brother, wherever he is, and it's also continuity. Without his sacrifice, I might not be here. There wouldn't be an us. I wouldn't be free from the oppressive weight on my back.
Free and clear to focus on making this woman the happiest on planet Earth.
“Blue, I'm positive.”
She wraps her arms around my neck, bringing her lips close to my ear, speaking straight to my soul. “I love you, too, Eden. You and your everything.”
Two Months Later
“Kiss the bride.”
There's nothing more exciting than hearing those words.
Nothing better than tasting her lips.
Nothing better than pulling my newly-married Blue into my grasp and fusing us with a kiss that promises forever tenfold.
/>
It seems like a whole eternity passes in a kiss.
I can't hear the laughter, the screams of joy, all the friends and family and even a few bawdy bikers roaring in the distance.
Right here, right now, it's me, her, and nothing else.
My feisty, blue beautiful all. My passion, wrapped in her ivory white dress with a fresh blue stripe in her hair.
My temptation. It's hard as hell not to rip off the veil I've just thrown back to own her lips.
Fuck, it's hard not to just pull her out of the whole ensemble and put her where she belongs: under me.
I've never wanted to be in this woman more than I do now.
Every waking second since she became Mrs. Eden.
“God!” She whispers one word, turning away, just as reluctant as me to break the kiss. “We'd better get going. We've got a reception to get to.”
“Yeah. That thing,” I tell her with a wink.
Her hand pulses several times in mine. I lead her down the aisle and we walk through the confetti shower. Nat stands on a chair next to my parents, hurling it everywhere. Country music blasts from the elaborate sound system.
Never been completely my style, but today, it works. It's us, after all our highs and lows and near-death somersaults to this very moment, when forever isn't just theoretical anymore.
I've married the woman of my dreams. I'm walking with her hand-in-hand, past my grinning daughter, my family, a hysterically sobbing new mother-in-law, and big men with Grizzlies MC and US Army patches alike.
It takes almost a million years to make our way through the many handshakes, back slaps, hugs, and congratulations coming from all sides.
Finally, we're in the limo. Blue barely has time to pour herself a glass of champagne before I tug her on my lap, storming kisses up her neck. “Easy, babe. I promised you four hours. My limit. Then we've got ourselves a date with a bed and a closed door.”
“You're lucky I agreed to a short reception. If mom had her way, there'd be karaoke blasting until dawn.”
I grin, loving how she shudders the longer my beard grazes her throat. Encouragement. I plant several more kisses, marking on my territory before I say, “Like I don't already know I'm the luckiest man between here and Pluto. Four hours, babe. I'm pushing it so hard because it's all I can take.”
“Oh?”
Growling, I play with the frilly collar of her dress. One little rip is all it'd take. I'm able to reign in my inner caveman just enough to keep her gown intact. “Need to fuck my wife, Blue. All night. Very hard.”
She bats her hands playfully at my chest, laughing. I show her how serious I am, palming her cheek, bringing her in for another kiss. Her champagne lips taste sweeter than usual.
Good way to get started this evening, too. I'll need a few stiff drinks at the reception just to keep my dick in line.
Let the four hour countdown begin.
“Brent, what's wrong?”
I can't take my eyes off the scene in front of me. We're lucky we had the dance floor to ourselves for our first waltz, or we damn well might have been upstaged by a very drunk Clara dancing like mad with Scarecrow.
I hadn't seen him for years since. Not since leaving the Grizzlies. The mean, lean young man with the long tawny beard became an even more jacked thirty year old with an even longer beard in the meantime. Possibly the only man on earth capable of shutting Clara's big mouth.
Hand on my face, I turn back to see Blue laughing. “Oh, that? She's having fun doing something besides wagging her tongue. Proves this wedding's really something special!”
“There's your chance, Blue.”
“Chance?”
I swing her around as another song starts, bringing us closer to the odd couple. “You. Her. Gossip. Payback.”
“Eden!” She pinches my cheek.
I close off her gasp, smothering her lips with another feral kiss.
“What? You're telling me you really can't stand kicking up a little mischief?”
“Not here. Sure, she annoyed me, but our guests should be immune from –”
“All right,” I growl, pulling out my phone. “We'll do it your way, then.”
Her jaw drops as I snap a pic. Then several more in quick succession, just as Scarecrow dips Clara low and she runs a clumsy hand through his scruff. “Brent, hey –”
“I'll be sure our photographer cleans it up and posts it front and center all over social media. That'll get some Derbys clucking, yeah?”
Blue's eyes go big. Then she's smiling, wrinkling her nose, trying to suppress a snicker.
“Sometimes, I think you're trying to give the devil a run for his money.”
I shrug. “Yeah, Blue. Except I'm better looking. You knew that long before we said 'I do.'”
She slaps me playfully again. I turn away from the bizarre mating dance between my old biker bud and her cousin, giving her lips my full attention again.
They're more than happy there till a small voice behind me hits my ears. “Daddy? Izzy? Can I cut in?”
“For you, baby girl, anytime. Come here!” I bend down low to take Nat's hands and spin her slowly to Johnny Cash.
Blue gives me a knowing look and saunters aside, casting one last sexy glance my way before she trots off to mingle with her relatives. The night couldn't get more perfect.
I'm left smiling. Teasing my daughter constantly about how the next time we're dancing at a wedding, it might be her own.
Later, I rejoin Blue. We spend another hour talking up our guests. A whole slew of folks from her ma's side I hadn't met at Megan's wedding, Derbys I already know, then men on my payroll, vets from my unit, and guys from the club I used to call home.
Cross-Bones reluctantly takes the huge bear hug I lay on him before we head out. I don't care. “Thanks again, Veep. For everything. Wouldn't be here today if you hadn't sent the cavalry that night. Give my best to Blackjack when you see him again.”
“You're damn welcome anytime. I will. Drop us a line sometime, Monk. Even if it's just for beers.”
“Will do.”
Our limo's waiting outside. Cross-Bones whistles to the guys. I'm a made man, plenty of money to go around, but I'm not sure I'll ever get used to this high class shit.
I'm not Knox Carlisle, the Phoenix billionaire who owns the Black Rhino jewelry company, where I had her ring made using bits of Davey's old turtle. Knox heard about the blowout with the Pearls and personally ordered it done free of charge.
And I'm perfectly okay with that.
Life is good. Especially when we're in the limo again, on a one way trip to our fancy hotel near the airport. Tonight only. Tomorrow, we're bound for Zurich. A city steeped in history, beauty, and art Blue's always wanted to see. I'll be perfectly happy to load up on fresh air and good Swiss beer.
“I hope Nat won't miss us too long,” Blue says.
Makes me smile. She can't help it.
Even on our wedding night, she's got my little girl in mind. I didn't go into this looking to find her a mama, but damn it, I did. There's no one else I'd rather have in Nat's life than me and Isabella Eden.
“My parents will keep her plenty busy, Blue. Probably buy her pizza and tacos every night they're in town, holding down the house, after dragging her to every art museum between here and Tucson.”
“You're right, I suppose.”
“Totally,” I say, pulling her closer onto my lap. “Now, Mrs. Eden, we're close to the four hour mark. We both have some very pressing business.”
I grind my hips into hers, shifting up slightly. She smiles, feeling my hard-on.
So full, so ready, and so wild. Aching like hell to claim my wife's sweet cunt for the very first time.
Less than a half hour later, we're stumbling into our honeymoon suite. She tugs on my tie, muttering a few words about how she's sorry to see my tux go. Not sorry enough to resist my hands when they start pulling her out of that dress.
We crash down on the bed after we're free. Naked. Frantic.
She sucks me with a vigor I haven't seen for weeks. Maybe it's because we swore off fucking for the past seven days, something she wanted, telling me it'd make tonight that much sweeter.
I put up a fight at the time.
Damn if she isn't right, though. Her little mouth takes me so good, so deep, it's hard not to pop off in the first couple minutes.
Good thing I've got stamina. I'm not the only one looking my finest this wedding night either. Her hair looks damn good.
Feels good in my fist as I gently tug several blue-blonde locks, lifting her away.
Then, I push her back on the bed, spread her legs, and hear the word that makes my cock tingle. “Oh, Brent!”
Oh.
O.
That's what I'm here to deliver. Wedged between her legs, tongue going, lapping at her folds like the sex starved maniac I've become.
Her clit goes between my teeth. I suck until she whimpers.
Hello, Heaven.
But it's nothing like every beautiful inch of Blue quaking as she goes off on my tongue. Her thighs catch my face. I don't fucking stop for anything. She rides my mouth, my beard, my tongue – which leaves nothing to the imagination about how hard we'll be fucking soon.
She's still clenching the sheets when I come up for air, wiping her sweetness off my fingers. “Babe,” I whisper, hovering over her.
Blue's already trying to twist onto her belly. Hot and bothered, ready to put her ass up for me.
Growling, I pin her down, loving how desire flashes in her eyes as they roll.
“Up,” I say, taking her hand, leading her across the room.
I love fucking her from behind. There'll be plenty of that to come.
Right now, I've got something different in mind.
I booked this place months ago. It's a Presidential suite which has probably had a few real Presidents and reams of royals and CEOs calling it home during their stay in Phoenix. These fancy ass rooms need a draw, and the big one here's obvious.
The mirror up against the wall in the bathroom is huge.
Like something damn near out of the seventeenth century. I have to spread her arms wide to flatten her hands along the edges. Love how she huffs a small, uncertain breath as my hand drifts lower, spreading her thighs.