by Tillie Cole
“N-never s-s-seen you l-like this b-before, b-brother,” Styx said, handing me another smoke.
“Never had anything to lose before, Styx. Never had anything that could destroy me like losing Li would.”
Styx’s cell started ringing, signaling that Mae had Maddie. Maddie hadn’t left the apartment in months, apart from checking on Lilah after the cult abduction. That led to Maddie finding Lilah gone and cutting herself in the bar. After that, Maddie hadn’t dared come out. But she lived with Styx and Mae now, in their cabin, and Mae had obviously somehow convinced Maddie to come with us today.
Styx opened the truck door and said, “I-I’ll c-catch you th-there.”
I pushed off the truck and walked into the cabin. Lilah was cleaning, humming to herself, wearing a long-sleeved white dress. It was more fitted than she normally wore; it showed off her stunning figure. And she was kicking ankle-length biker boots on her feet. Her short blond hair was messy but fucking cool, and she was wiping along the countertops. But best of all was my patch on her back, her leather vest proudly stating that she was “Property of Ky”.
My heart sank as I watched her. I wondered if this would be the last time she’d be with me like this. Sucking up a breath and hearing Styx’s truck pass by our dirt road, I knew it was time I found out.
Walking to Lilah, I wrapped my arms around her waist, and she jumped, shedding her cleaning gloves.
“Ky!” She laughed, turning and wrapping her arms around my neck. She pressed her lips to mine and then nuzzled into my neck. “Mmm… you smell good. Like oil and smoke.”
“And that’s good?” I asked gruffly.
“Really good,” she whispered. “It makes me feel safe.”
My gut clenched and I held her real close.
Lilah held her breath, then edged back, looked into my eyes, and asked, “Are you okay, Ky?”
Cupping her face, I pushed her back against the countertop. My lips slammed against hers, and within seconds, I had her dress hitched up, her panties ripped in two, and thrust my freed cock up inside her.
“Ky…” Lilah moaned, gripping onto my hair, her bare ass on the granite top. I didn’t give her a chance to say much else as I pounded into her, her pussy drenched and starting to clench my dick.
“Fuckin’ love you, baby,” I rasped out as my thrusts got faster and I could feel myself about to blow.
“I love you too,” Lilah said just before her pussy clamped down on my cock, coating me with her wetness and draining my cock of everything I had.
“Fuck!” I shouted as I came, my head on her shoulder as I caught my breath.
Lilah’s hips rolled slowly, jerking the last outta us. Then she lifted my head, her eyes concerned. “What is wrong?”
I quickly pressed my lips to hers and pulled back, my dick sliding out of her dripping pussy, and I zipped up my fly. “Go get cleaned up and put on your leathers. We’re going for a ride.”
“We are?” she asked.
“Yeah, baby. Got somewhere we gotta go.”
Lilah eyed me with suspicion but did what I asked.
Five minutes later, we were cruising down the freeway, heading downtown. Lilah held on to me tight, and I did everything I could not to lose my mind.
*****
I pulled in behind Styx’s truck, and I felt Lilah’s arms tighten around me in surprise. “Ky?” she questioned.
Turning off the engine, I just sat there for a minute.
“So beautiful,” I heard Lilah murmur from behind me. I forced myself to look up at the church. That white church she’d been so wrapped up in all those months ago.
“Off, sweet cheeks,” I ordered, and Lilah swung her legs off the seat and hit asphalt. I followed after and watched her head tilt back as she drank in the sight of the church.
“So, so beautiful,” she whispered again.
“Exactly what I was thinking,” I said under my breath, but I weren’t looking at no white stone or stained glass window. I was looking at my woman, eyes bright with excitement.
Turning to me, Lilah asked, “Ky, what are we doing here?”
I glanced to the truck, seeing that it was empty, and I ran my hand under my nose. “You said you didn’t know who you were without your faith.”
Lilah’s eyes widened and she took in a ragged breath. “And… and you brought me here?”
“Yeah, babe. I did. Organized for the pastor to show you ‘round, show you how to have a religion that ain’t gonna abuse you or make you do shit you don’t wanna do.”
Lilah’s eyes filled with tears and she shook her head. “I do not… I do not underst—”
“Lilah, baby, I fuckin’ love you—”
“I love you too,” she interrupted, but I held up my hand for her to quiet. A tear dropped down her cheek, and I wiped it away.
“I fuckin’ love you, but I know without all this,”—I pointed to the church behind me—“you don’t feel whole. Don’t have no sense of purpose. But most of all, you believe in God, baby, and that’s what it boils down to.”
Lilah’s hand ran along the edge of my cut, and I couldn’t meet her eyes. Like a damn pussy, I couldn’t meet her fucking eyes.
“Ky,” Lilah hushed out as the back of her hand ran down my cheek. I looked up to see a sad expression on her face. “What is wrong? Why are you doing this?”
“Because it’s right that you have this. You’ve been told what to do your whole life. Never had something you loved, you owned, nothing.” I pointed at the church behind me and said, “You need this place, sweet cheeks.”
“But why are you sad?” she pushed again.
I stepped forward and pressed my forehead to hers.
“What you believe and how I live are poles apart, Li. The Hangmen don’t live a moral life. We live apart from folk, make our own rules, none of which chime with your faith. And I get that.” I blew out a sigh and said, “I just want you to be fuckin’ happy. I—”
The sound of a door opening behind me caught my attention, and ignoring Lilah’s gutting expression, I turned to see the pastor standing at the door, along with Mae and Maddie. Both were smiling wide at my woman. Mae urged Lilah to join them with a wave of her hand. Maddie looked calm, even happy.
Lilah hesitated and her blue eyes met mine. “Ky…” she said sadly, but I could see in her eyes she wanted to go.
“Go, Li. Go find out who you are.”
Lilah leaned forward and pressed her lips to my mouth. “Thank you,” she whispered, and I nearly broke down.
Lilah walked calmly up the stairs, shyly shaking the pastor’s hand. I watched as the pastor led them inside. Lilah followed without a backward glance.
I stared at the closed wooden doors for what seemed like an age and I thought my chest had caved in. I knew I’d lost her. How the fuck could I compete with God? I was a good-looking bastard with a damn near perfect body to match, but even I weren’t divine.
A whistle sounded to my right, and Styx was approached with two coffees. I leaned against his truck, head down, as he handed me a cup. Styx stood beside me.
He didn’t say anything, and after downing half my coffee, I said, “Pretty sure I just fuckin’ lost her, man.”
Styx sighed and put his hand on my shoulder.
“Fuck!” I spat and threw the coffee cup to the ground, ignoring the people around who were giving us a wide berth.
I ran my hands through my hair and breathed deep. Styx watched on. But his jaw was clenched shut and his eyes were narrowed. I could tell he was pissed outta sympathy for me, but I couldn’t look at it, couldn’t handle seeing his pity.
“I gotta ride,” I said and marched toward my bike. Stopping beside Styx, I said, “Make sure she gets back safe, okay?”
He nodded. I pulled out my keys the same time as the sound of the church doors opening creaked behind me. Footsteps clattered on the marble steps.
“Ky! Ky!”
Turning, helmet and aviators in hand, I saw Lilah pounding down the church steps, wav
ing at me to stop.
Worried something was wrong, I dropped my helmet and shades on the seat and ran to her. “What the fuck’s wrong?” I asked, searching her face, bracing to kick some pastoral ass. “Someone in there hurt you?’
But Lilah didn’t stop coming. She ploughed straight into me, wrapping her arms around my neck. She gripped on tight, tucking her head against my neck.
“Baby? What’s wrong?” I asked again, fisting her short hair.
Lilah pulled back, her eyes streaming with tears. “Ky…” she whispered, and every part of me tensed.
“Which one of them hurt you? I’ll fuckin’ kill ‘em!”
Lilah pressed her hand against my cheek. “No, Ky. You do not understand.”
I froze. Lilah smiled wide, fucking blinding me. “It is so wonderful, Ky. The things they teach, how they worship… the pure life they lead…”
Disappointment ripped through my stomach, and I stroked a strand of hair from Lilah’s face. “That’s good, baby, yeah?”
She nodded her head, a happy laugh bursting from her lips. “Yes… yes, I love it. We all do. I feel that I belong.”
“Good, baby. That’s real good,” I rasped out, confused as hell for why she came back out. To torture me? To make this even fucking harder than it already was?
“Ky?” Lilah questioned, forcing me to look at her. I met her eyes and breathed real slow. “You saved me. You have saved me,” she cried, her bottom lip wobbling.
My heart thundered in my chest. “I… Fuck, Li,” was all I could get out.
“You gave me back my faith, a pure faith, one without condition. And I have you…”
“I’m a sinner, baby, damned. Why the fuck would you wanna be with me when you got a faith as strong as this?” I pointed to the church behind me.
Lilah tilted her head to the side. “Even salvation can be found through the love of the damned.”
And right there I was done. She weren’t getting away. She was in my bed, on my bike, and fucking forever by my side.
Lilah’s hand stroked down my cheek. “Love is life, and you are my love…. You are my entire life.”
As I stared at my woman, fucking glowing, telling me I was her life, I knew there was only one way to make this right. To lock her down so she never left again.
Placing my hands on the back of Lilah’s head, I blurted, “Then marry me, Li.”
Lilah froze in my arms and she gasped. “What?” she whispered, shocked.
“Marry me. You wanna do all this shit right. Then marry me.”
“Under God’s holy law?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Under a fuckin’ pink unicorn’s law for all I care, I don’t give a shit.”
“You would do this for me?”
“Baby, I’ve done a complete one-eighty for you. May as well shackle myself to you for life too.”
Lilah laughed, throwing back her head. “Then, yes, Ky! My answer is yes!”
I crushed my lips to hers and thought my heart would fucking explode. My old man had it so wrong and I fucking bowed down to the woman in my arms.
A slap on my back made me turn around. Styx was smirking real big, signing, “Hades has frozen over if you’re getting tied down! Welcome to the pussy-whipped brotherhood, Ky.”
“My old man was wrong. Pussies are to be licked good, fucked hard—and always worshipped,” I signed back.
Styx laughed. “Amen to that truth, brother.”
“Cunt-struck, Styx. Always been cunt-struck for this pilgrim blonde.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Lilah
I married Ky at sunrise four days later, basking in the beauty of the Lord’s creation, doves flying high in the sky. I wore a simple white dress with garlands in my hair, and Ky wore his leathers, his Hangmen cut in place.
Mae and Maddie stayed with me as I dressed, Mae could not stop crying, Maddie watching on with a happy smile…
“You are so beautiful, Lilah,” Mae said as she placed the garland on my head. Her shining blue eyes met mine and she clutched my hand. “You deserve this love, Lilah. You deserve to be happy.”
“Thank you, sister,” I said through a thick throat as I pressed my forehead against hers. I still found it difficult to believe this was happening.
I was marrying Ky, declaring my love for him under God’s eyes.
“Shall we share a prayer?” Maddie asked from behind me, and I turned to see her offering her hands to Mae and I. Nodding, I clutched her hands, as did Mae, and Maddie led us in the Lord’s Prayer.
As she finished, the three of us looked to one another, and no words needed to be spoken. We three had survived. We were united. And we had a new faith and the hope of a new life, free of pain.
We were gradually breaking free from our curse…
Pastor Elsie James held the ceremony in front of Ky’s brothers, their old ladies and my sisters—who acted as my bridesmaids—in the beautiful rugged garden of our cabin. Even Elysia, Ky’s hidden sister, attended, much to the shock of the club. She said she would risk being exposed to see her only and “reformed whore” brother get married. But, I knew she wanted to be here for her only family on this special day, and I could see how happy Ky was when Sia turned up, proud tears in her eyes.
Ky and I exchanged rings. Ky gave me a simple gold ring, sliding it on my finger as the most perfect ceremony came to a close. We said 'I do', and as the sun reached its peak, I officially became “Property of Ky”.
Pastor James declared us man and wife and Ky turned to his brothers and cemented our union by shouting, “Live free. Ride free. Die free!” As we walked through the MC family, they echoed the credo with happiness.
They received us as man and wife.
Later that day, we were sitting on our porch, me on Ky’s lap, circling the golden ring on his finger and I was unable to stop feeling an incredible sense of contentment.
Ky lifted my hand to his mouth and asked, “You good, baby?”
Laying my hand on my husband’s chest and watching my new family drink and laugh in my garden, I spoke the truest words I had ever spoken. “My heart is content. Without my beauty, but blessed with your unconditional love. For the first time in my life, I am content.”
Ky sighed. I recognized it signaled his agreement.
Styx and Mae pulled into the yard on his bike, back from escorting Maddie to church. My sister had found her place within the four white walls of Our Savior Church. She had found peace in a place without judgment and pain. She would sit for hours at the feet of a white marble Christ, protected under the watchful eye of Pastor James. I knew she would not stay at my ceremony long. She was still uncomfortable around people.
Mae approached us, smiling, and bent down to lay a kiss on my head before sitting on Styx’s lap on the rocking chair next to us. Cowboy and Hush were on our other side, talking to Elysia. She and Cowboy were engaged in a conversation about horses and rodeos, Hush unable to keep his eyes off her too, the three of them seemed to have instantly taken to each other. I could not help but giggle at Ky’s overprotective scowl, but adored seeing Sia so happy and relaxed.
My heart fluttered in happiness. I had another sister to love.
“I think they both like her,” I whispered to Ky. “And I think she may like them too.” The look he gave me informed me that he was displeased with that fact.
Laughing at Ky’s narrowed eyes as he watched the three of them talk, I turned to Mae. “How is Maddie? She seemed to enjoy the ceremony.”
“She did,” Mae said. “And she is doing better. Though I am not sure what can be done to truly make her feel happy and safe.”
I sent a silent prayer to the Lord to help Maddie find her path.
“And so the psycho returns!”
I glanced toward a commotion at the entrance of our property. AK and Viking had just pulled into our yard in their truck. Flame jumped out of the back door, his brothers walking over to welcome him back. Flame had been in the hospital recovering from his neck injury thi
s whole time. AK and Viking had been sent to retrieve him, so when he came around from the calming drugs, he was not in the hospital and would not hurt anyone in his path.
Hush and Cowboy jumped to their feet and each slapped him on the back, greeting him home, and the two men made me smile. They were officially staying here with us and had “patched in” with Austin, as Ky had explained. As I glanced to Sia watching them with a blush upon her face, I wondered if we might be seeing more of Sia too.
Tanner, Tank’s friend, had also moved into the compound. He was generally quiet and kept to himself. I always got the sense he was carrying a huge amount of sadness in his heart. Ky told me he had not been fond of the man at first, but after Tanner risked his life to help get me back, he now had his respect.
Flame’s head was twitching from side to side and his black eyes roved the yard like an animal seeking prey. A bottle of beer was thrust into his hand by Viking, but Flame threw it to the ground and continued his search.
Seeing us sitting on the porch, Flame stormed over, his arms and chest muscles bulging under his full body of tattoos. He wore a cut but no shirt with leather pants and heavy black boots. The side of his neck was stitched, red and scarred where my bullet had grazed his neck. Seeing that wound filled me with guilt.
“Where is she?” Flame snapped at Styx before I had a chance to apologize for what I had done to him.
Styx’s eyes narrowed, yet he stayed silent.
Flame next looked to Ky. This time his voice was like broken glass. “Where. Is. She?”
Ky shuffled below me, adjusting my position on his lap, and said, “Calm the fuck down, brother. You only just got back, and it’s my motherfuckin’ wedding day in case you haven’t noticed!”
Flame radiated rage and, face turning red, he screamed, “WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE!”
“Our Savior,” I said quickly. Flame’s tormented eyes bored holes into mine. Sitting forward, I said, “Firstly, Flame, I want to apologize for hurting you. It was never my intent. I was… I was not in a good place.”
Flame tensed at my apology, but curtly nodded his head, and I knew that it was as far as the conversation would be going.