by V. Theia
But today, he hadn’t bitched once.
Rider showed he was in no rush to finish the dance when he surprised a squeal out of her by spinning her out, bringing her back with a twirl. When she was back in his arms, chuckling, he kissed the sound from her lips. “God, I love you so much, Ambrosio. More than I thought possible.”
“Ah, my girl. You’ve made a bad man very happy. Don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m real fuckin’ happy you’re mine.”
They swayed and held on. Rider’s hand curving under the tumble of loose curls of her hair.
At that, they were attacked around their legs by a blonde hellion, laughing up at them. Rider reached down and hoisted Harper into his arms, keeping one around Zara. Harper hooked her arm over Zara’s shoulder, joining all three of them. Zane and Knox were zonked out with their grandparents, dressed in the cutest little suits. Harper wore a pale pink dress. Her only requirement was she wanted it ‘fluffy like mama’s,’ so it had fifteen tutu underskirts. She’d been twirling all day.
“Doesn’t mama look pretty?” Rider asked their girl. She grinned at Zara and pressed their foreheads together. “Prettier than cake.”
What a compliment, Zara laughed and kissed her girl before she wanted to be set free again to twirl over to her favorite uncles.
Their life wasn’t run-of-the-mill. It never would be either.
She’d been fully aware of what Rider planned to do earlier. He hadn’t kept it a secret from her. People could say their life wasn’t normal, but it was theirs, and Zara would fight tooth and nail to preserve what they had.
Toward the end of the song, other couples joined them on the dance floor.
Zara danced with her father and then Rider’s father. Then she was passed around her biker family until she ended up back in Rider’s arms three songs later.
His lips met the tip of her nose, and she cuddled into him. Content like never before.
Everyone was together, everyone was happy. No more so than Zara herself.
Rider proved he was the absolute best man for her when his mouth came to her ear and told her. “Only had you a few hours ago, Icy, and I already wanna strip you out of this dress so I can eat you until you scream.”
With the way her face flamed, she was sure everyone must know where her thoughts flew to. She laughed, tugging on his hair, “bad biker-man, someone might hear.”
He didn’t care about that.
Her hormones jumped and fizzled beneath her skin. Fingers tightened around the buttons of his crisp shirt, now rolled up his veiny forearms.
At their table, Zara was pulled onto his lap. His mouth found the side of her neck and she played with the back of his hair. “You waited years to get me here, Rider,” she teased, running the tips of her fingers over his shorn beard, watching how his navy blue eyes flared under her touch. “Do you want to rush us out of here and miss out on the only wedding you’ll ever have?”
“I got my name and ring on you; it’s all I wanted,” he gloated with a smirk twitching his mouth, “everything else is for you.”
He might be a hard-worn, stubborn man, but every word he spoke melted her. “Even the cake?”
Another smirk and a nip of his teeth on her chin, “especially the cake. My dessert is under this dress.”
The mouth on him. Zara chuckled on a steamy breath and pressed their foreheads together.
“You would tempt the devil.” She puffed. Feeling squirmy inside, needing his hands and his mouth on her in the worst way.
“Do I tempt you?”
The bad-biker-man knew he did because he was smiling cocksure and sexy as hell.
“Every day of my life.”
Wasn’t that the truth?
Rider had been the only man who could have given her the sexual confidence she needed to rebuild herself. A glance from him showed her he desired what he saw. A touch from his calloused hands could send her into a tailspin of sticky need.
There were close to two hundred people in the opulent banquet room, and she saw only one man, looking at her with love.
She wanted him too.
Right now.
Rider chuckled and kissed the side of her face. “There she is, my wild woman simmering under the innocence of a blushing bride. Fuckin’ love you, Zara.”
And that’s what they had.
So much love, it was unfeasible some days, to hold all that love inside her.
They weren’t perfect. Not by a long shot.
But they were perfect for each other.
They would always have each other’s backs, this much she knew.
Tonight she would dance her sexy man’s ass off before spending the night in the honeymoon suite. Tomorrow they would head to Cabo for seven whole days.
It was going to be biker-man bliss.
They planned a much longer family European vacation in the summer.
“We did it,” she whispered against his lips, feeling them stretch into a saucy grin. The black wedding band she’d pushed onto his finger kept drawing her eye. Had she known how visceral she felt seeing that symbol of their union on his hand, she would have rushed him to a celebrant long ago.
Even Zara was still learning lessons.
She had nothing to fear by changing their status quo.
If anything, she loved him even more, today than ever before.
“My wife,” he gruffed because he knew that shit turned her on.
If he were lucky, it would be Zara dragging her man out of there before the party broke up.
Bikers were notorious party animals. They could go all night.
Her husband especially.
Husband. Sigh. Zara grinned, slipping her hand into his. “Dance with me again.”
He did.
Over and over.
They partied with all their friends and family before her parents took the kids back to Zara’s house. And the party went on for a few more hours.
Rider was her soulmate. The man who meant the world to her.
But not because he completed her.
Rider was the man who helped Zara complete herself. The woman she’d always meant to become.
She didn’t know she was born to rule at the side of the most famous biker in the country. But here she was, loving her life and knowing she was meant to be here with him.
Her soulmate loved her with so much conviction; it wasn’t hard to be capable when she had that much strength standing at her back. To let herself heal and become comfortable in her skin again.
Zara was who she wanted to be.
She was a grown woman who enjoyed Disney and sweets.
She was the complete opposite of Rider on paper, but they fit like two perfect puzzle pieces in life.
They’d waited to meet.
Fought through the tough times to love one another.
And now they walked side by side into this new chapter of their life.
Zara was speaking the absolute truth when she whispered in his ear how she couldn’t wait to strip him down and celebrate their marriage.
As predicted, Rider lasted four minutes before he growled, grabbed her up, and carried a laughing Zara to start their party of two.
She knew her man and could manipulate his dirty side when it benefitted her too.
The Marinos’ were going to be unreachable for a while.
EPILOGUE
“To be continued…” – Knox Marinos
Six months later.
The last of the Souls new business ventures was opening today.
After overseeing the construction, Rider was more than ready to hand over the day-to-day running of them to the managers Zara hired. Some were club groupies; others were locals. It never hurt the club’s rep when they could give jobs to the town. They’d provided forty-five jobs, but that was never his primary goal. Their hard work was all for the profit.
He stopped his bike outside the strip mall, braced a booted foot on the ground and placed a hand on Zara’s thigh behind him. “You good, Icy?�
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“I never tire of going on a ride,” she declared, happiness in her tone. He grinned to himself. They’d been busy as hell this past six months. What with getting the shops ready to open, making sure their hellions had food in their bellies, and didn’t throw themselves off the top of a closet. That one was mostly his Harper, she was a handful and a half, and she ruled their household with her endless giggles and love for her brothers. She loved those boys like they belonged to her. Knox, who was coming into his personality, followed her everywhere. He couldn’t do the shit she did yet, but he tried and then screamed when he couldn’t climb like Harper.
Never a dull moment in his house.
Helping Zara down from the bike, he hooked a hand under her hair and brought his mouth to her forehead, lingering for a second.
His fucking salvation is what she was.
She hadn’t tamed the dirty biker he was. If anything, he was filthier than ever because he loved the fucking bones of her.
She was dressed like a biker chick today. Her ice-white hair fluffy and gorgeous around her face. Tight skinny black jeans, fuck-me heeled boots and a white and red tank shirt. But what made her Zara was the printed picture of Mickey Mouse riding a Harley on the front.
His sexy fucking woman. Sweet as she was tough.
She was his world.
Every breath through his lungs was because of, and for her.
Forever Zara.
He made his hard world safe for her and his kids. He couldn’t claim to be decent, not with the things he did or would do again in the future if it needed doing. The Souls wouldn’t run drugs or guns; they didn’t pimp out women. They owned more legal businesses nowadays than they did illegal ones. The shit they did to keep their club in the position it was, Rider especially, still straddled the one percenter title.
His stance was, he’d do what the fuck he had to. He’d put blood on his hands and blacken his soul if it meant his family was golden.
He’d found his priority.
Which meant he’d always be a part of a one-percenter, following his laws and morals, however questionable they were.
Right and wrong were never black and white. He lived in the gray areas and did it happily.
A hand smaller than his slipped into his palm, squeezing him.
How she could look sweeter than sugar when she’d woken him that morning, blowing him hard enough that he lay for a minute afterward, thinking she’d killed him.
“It’s going to be a good day, Rider.” She said, smiling, as they took the walk down the mall to the building on the end where the bar was situated.
She was opening Bar Icy today.
“Zara, I got head even before my eyeballs were open; it’s already been a good day for me.”
She laughed and poked her elbow into his ribs.
Pressing his mouth to her ear as they approached the waiting crowd, the local press and all his boys and their old ladies were already there. “Like when you get in a mood, baby.”
“That’s good to hear,” she told him, looking up through pale lashes, a smile touching her mouth. “I might have another mood when we’re finished here.”
He pumped out a growl and almost bit her on the neck like an animal claiming its mate.
Forever Zara.
His.
Always.
The one woman he’d walk through fire for.
Troubles would come. But she was his most stable constant.
He’d be a fool to ever fuck that up.
Slinging an arm around her shoulder, he tucked her into him, feeling how she curled her arm around his waist.
People watched them as they passed by. Like they were someone to envy and fear. In their house, they were only Rider and Zara. She’d given him a piece of normal he cherished. If not for Zara, he didn’t know what path he’d be on now. A lonely one.
“Gonna hold you to it, Zara.” Kissing the side of her head. He motioned to the bar, almost a full block wide. Inside was modern chrome and high stools, intimate tables. Zara had tapped into what was popular currently.
Slapping hands and fist-bumping his boys, he stepped up to Hawk, who had Gia under his arm. Leaning in, he kissed his sister’s cheek. “I take it you got him to this?” Hawk hated the fanfare of crowds. Gia chuckled. “Yep.” He didn’t wanna know what his baby sister had to bribe his VP with.
In the crowd stood his father, mom, and Rex’s widow. He didn’t know what was going on with his two cousins, didn’t care. As dumb as they were, it took little persuasion for them to believe Rex had fled with all their money to live in Vegas with his mistress. They took off back to Texas. But their mom, after her initial surprise, decided she didn’t care where Rex had gone. She’d wanted to divorce him for years and was unable to find the courage to leave. She now lived outside of Denver and saw Annie and Ajax regularly.
Some shit worked out the way it was meant to. No one missed Rex.
He thought it might cause waves with Mad-dog, but his father never brought it up.
“Smile, VP,” Rider smirked, “being social won’t last long.”
“The first drink is free, Hawk!” Rider’s woman declared.
Hawk only grunted, chin down to his chest, watching the crowd like he expected ninjas to jump out from every corner.
Everyone was here. But two of their boys were missing. Lawless and Arson. One day they’d be a full crew again.
He stood back and let his Zara take the reins as she announced the bar open. She even cut a ribbon taped across the double doorway, and she did it beaming, cute as fuck.
Only when people piled into the bar, he pulled her toward him, found her mouth with a deep kiss, she moaned.
“Gonna take you for another ride,” he let her know. Her head angled up. Eyes drowsily lowered while she licked him from her lips.
“Yes, yes.” She replied.
“Then how about we wrangle the monsters, see if Angie is free, and go out for food in Denver?”
They didn’t get many days where they could do what they wanted. The club kept them both busy, but he’d always make time for his family.
For decades it was always club first.
He had it drummed into him; living by that one rule, nothing got in his way.
And then something extraordinary happened.
It was a pint-sized, Disney loving angel who took him down and rebuilt him from the ground up, strengthening him, more determined than ever to rule the right way.
And to live.
He had four good reasons to make sure he went on breathing.
“You read my mind. I’ve been craving fried shrimp for days.”
“Craving, huh?” He smirked, arm around her waist. “Something you wanna tell me, Icy-baby?”
He didn’t expect the elbow to his gut, but it made him laugh, anyway.
“Get that thought out of your mind, Rider Marinos. My reproductive system is out of business. Do you think I can cope with more of your babies?”
“You made half of ‘em too.”
“Yes, I did. They get all their goodness from me.”
“Is that so?” He rasped. “I’ll see how much of my badness I can put in you later.”
That was the thing about being married to this woman. There was no need to be in business mode or Prez mode. She relaxed him, made him playful.
Laughing, Zara pressed her face into his chest.
“Hey, Ambrosio?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“Love you too.”
“But we are not having any more kids,” she said, firm, “the ones we have cause enough trouble as it is.”
Rider grinned, wasn’t that the damn truth, and they were still babies.
Fuck knows what they’d do when they were older.
If they were anything like he was, they were gonna get into some shit one day.
He was willing to find out, with Zara at his side.
Willing to kick their little butts when they needed it.
* * *
17 years later.
Harper had never been a fan of being told what to do.
It was instinctual to rebel against an order
And not by a big dumb alpha idiot who thought he knew what was going on when he didn’t know shit.
She glared at Knox. “Keep pointing that finger at me, and I’ll snap it off.” It was a rare moment when she was in an argument with one of her younger brothers. Knox was the more stubborn of the two boys. He couldn’t get it into his stupid head he wasn’t in charge of her, or the club yet. However, he was in training to take over from their father one day. It didn’t make him the prez today.
She was her own woman and wouldn’t stand for someone telling her what to do. Or not to do, as the case was here.
“You fucking end it now, Harp. I mean it, don’t force my hand.”
Her chin went back, stare blazing, staring at the same color eyes as her own. All three of them had grown up like triplets. Though she was the oldest, Knox acted like the oldest kid, her protector, and overbearing boss.
“Or you’ll do what?”
“I’ll put an end to it. You know it’s goddamn fucked up.”
“It’s none of your business what I do.”
“Or who you do? Open your fucking legs for anyone you want, but not him.”
She gasped, feeling as though he’d slapped her.
Knowing they hardly ever fought, unless it was something stupid that resulted in the three acting like kids again, his insult came like a physical punch to her midsection. She put her hand on her stomach, stepping back from him.
“Goddamn. I didn’t…I didn’t mean it like that.” Knox was tall like their dad, towering over her in all his 6’4 stature. He stepped in and cupped the back of her skull.
“You dare call me a whore? How many chicks have you had in your bed this month? Double standards, little brother.”
“I wasn’t calling you a whore. You know what you’re doing is fucked up. He’s too old for you for one. An untrustworthy crooked asshole, not to mention who he is. How do you think mom will react when she knows this? It will kill her, Harps.”