by Karen Renee
He moved to the door, but twisted to us before he left. “And Gabe. I’m old enough to tell you right now, it’s never good to let one get away. And damn fuckin’ sure never good to let the one who is meant for you to get away. So, take care of that shit.”
He closed the door as he left and Gabe and I both stared at the door in silence.
Epilogue
You're Next
Cecilia
Five Months Later...
Holding the largest bouquet of flowers I’d ever seen, I slowly walked the aisle of the church. My sister already stood at the altar, holding a similarly styled bouquet, but hers was smaller. A recording of Wynton Marsalis playing Pachelbel’s Canon in D filled the sanctuary. I let my eyes slide to the right and my breath caught at the sight of Brock wearing a black tuxedo with a black bow-tie. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back and a shit-eating grin on his face. I had told him he looked like a movie star back when he wore a suit to take me to dinner, but this topped that in a big way. God couldn’t have crafted a more handsome man if He tried. Though, my hunch was that Rainey would disagree, because Vamp stood next to Brock, close to the minister, and he looked sexy as hell in a tuxedo.
How she had talked Vamp into getting married wearing anything other than his motorcycle club cut, I would never know. Then again, she had been vehement that since the day of her wedding—a Monday— was as untraditional as it got, everything else would conform to tradition.
With serious concentration, I succeeded in joining Tennille, Mallory, and Trixie at the altar. As I turned to face the congregation, Brock winked at me and I smiled shyly.
Everyone stood when the music faded, the doors swung open and a new song began. Since Wynton Marsalis didn’t have a recorded version of the Wedding March, Rainey had decided the only other thing untraditional about her wedding would be the song she walked down the aisle to, and Warren Sullivan slowly escorted her down the aisle to an instrumental version of “Stardust.” I couldn’t tell who looked more pleased, her or Warren, and it filled my eyes with tears because Rainey had never met her father and I loved that Warren insisted he give her away to his son.
During the ceremony, I caught Brock watching me, and the intensity in his stare made my palms clammy. His focus on me nearly caused him to miss the minister asking for the rings.
I handed Rainey the ring for her man and smiled at her. She returned my smile, her eyes shiny. Then she whispered, “You’re next, lady.”
My eyes widened, but I managed to keep my cool. No, I wasn’t next. At least not anytime soon. Brock and I had been living together for the past five months, but no way he would be proposing before we made it past the year mark, or possibly longer.
My mind raced at the thought of getting married, and the next thing I knew the minister presented Mr. and Mrs. Cary Sullivan. Most guests clapped, but the Riot MC brothers whooped and hollered. Brock held out his elbow to walk me up the aisle behind his brother and sister-in-law.
I caught a whiff of his cologne as he leaned his head down slightly toward my ear. “What’d she say to you?”
I shook my head. “That I’m next, but she’s wrong. Weddings do things to people, you know.”
His chuckle was low and rumbly. “Yeah. Makes ’em really fuckin’ horny.”
We were outside the church and being directed by the photographer’s assistant to move to a nearby gazebo.
I dropped my hand from Brock’s arm and slugged him playfully.
“Brock! You can’t be serious.”
His eyes bulged. “Woman. I haven’t been able to take my fuckin’ eyes off you. Thought Rainey was outta her mind choosing black and white as her wedding colors, but hell if that black dress doesn’t make me itch to rip it off you.”
I shook my head. He lowered his and at my ear he said, “And you never know. She might be right. You could be next.”
He couldn’t have said anything more shocking to me, and I knew it was written all over my face. When he pulled away from me and caught the look on my face, his reaction wiped it clean away, though. Mainly because he threw his head back to laugh with abandon, and I loved watching him laugh.
Brock
I LOVED MY SISTER-IN-law, but I did not understand why she didn’t go the route of a biker reception. She embraced Vamp’s lifestyle with the Riot MC, but here we all were on a makeshift dance floor in a stuffy ballroom. My big brother should’ve put his foot down about this but it wasn’t my wedding, and the food and booze were free, so how could I complain?
My best man duties were officially over. The rings had been exchanged. I’d given my speech without embarrassing either one of them too much, and the cake had been cut.
Cecilia made an excellent dance partner, since she followed my lead no matter what form of ballroom dance I threw her way on the dance floor.
Every day I learned something new about her, and I loved it. The past five months had solidified our relationship, even if we still had Gabe as a roommate. We were both busy. Cecilia’s last day at the Magic Kingdom had been the day after Christmas, and she would soon start working for Clint’s mother at her hair salon. I had finished my probationary period with Otero-Silva Investigations, and my buddy had been right. The hours and pay were both great.
The music shifted to heavy metal, and I guided my woman to our table.
Before she could sit down, I murmured, “Hang on. I have to give you something.”
My tuxedo jacket hung over my chair, and rather than yank it up, I took a knee to dig into the pocket holding the small box. I heard Cecilia gasp, and then a female voice shouted, “I knew it!”
Hell.
I shrugged to myself and decided to go with it. With the box in hand, I shifted so my body faced hers.
Looking up at her, I couldn’t tell if she was excited or terrified. Normally the line between those two expressions would be well defined, but not with Cecilia. “Sunflower, tomorrow we ring in the new year. And I would be honored if you’ll ring it in with me,” I held my palm up with the box in the middle and immediately relief swept over her face. “In our new apartment.”
I opened the jewelry box and Cecilia laughed into her cupped hands at the sight of the key nestled inside it. When she had herself together, she planted her hands on her hips and concern filled me even as I felt my dick twitch at the feisty stance.
“You chose our next place without any input from me? Seriously?”
I chuckled and stood. “Honey, it’s identical to our current apartment, just without Gabe as a third wheel. We can make the second room an office or whatever.”
Her eyes widened. “You are crazy. Why not just make your brother move out?”
With an arm behind her waist, I pulled her to me. “Because, his name’s on the lease, which has already been renewed. I don’t just want to live with you, I want where we live to be yours, too. Not just in your head, but on paper, also.”
She rested her head on my chest for a moment, then she looked up at me beaming. “Have to say, Brock. A key? That is not what I expected.”
I slid my nose alongside hers. “Don’t you remember, honey? It will always be safe to say, nothing about you and me is what’s expected.”
She pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. “So noted.”
I arched my brows. “So? Are you gonna say yes?”
“Yes. I will ring in the new year with you in our new apartment.”
The O-Town Series will continue with the story of Gabe and Cassandra...
If you’re curious about Vamp and Rainey, their story is available now.
Click here to order Inciting a Riot!
Sneak Peek at Wild Forces
Chapter 1
Gabe
Growing up, I had a guilty habit. Okay, fine. I had two guilty habits, but jacking my beanstalk is not what I was referring to, though this habit definitely added fodder for that.
I loved watching Melrose Place.
The show predated me, but an aunt, or more likely a woman my da
d dated on the sly, had left a DVD copy of the first season behind, and when I was fourteen, I would sneak it to my room. My older brother, Brock, caught me watching once and laughed his ass off. But then his seventeen-year-old ass slumped into a beanbag and finished the next two episodes with me anyway.
Yeah, Heather Locklear had it going on.
Little did I know, that show made more of an impression on me than I realized. At twenty-six, residing in a sweet apartment complex, I was living my own bad version of Melrose. Brock, also my roommate, warned me not to ‘shit where I live.’ However, I didn’t consider it shitting. I made sure every woman I took to bed knew the deal.
No strings.
No commitments.
And most importantly, no repeats.
Besides, I hadn’t fucked every woman in the complex.
No.
There was one woman I wouldn’t touch.
Couldn’t touch.
Cassandra Daughtry.
The first time I saw her, yeah, I wanted her plump pink lips pressed against mine, and other parts of me as well. But like my Dad never fished from the company pier, I couldn’t bang the teaching assistant of one of my classes. It didn’t stop me from chatting with her, and now we had a beautiful friendship. I was dead set to prove wrong the When Harry Met Sally theory that men and women cannot be friends without sex entering the picture.
Early dawn light peeked through the blinds of the apartment as I snuck out of a woman’s bedroom. Last night, I had fucked that woman three times.
My typical escape plan relied on wearing a woman out, waiting until she fell asleep, and bolting. When I quietly closed the bedroom door behind me, the sight of a beautiful round ass clad in black yoga pants bent over the oven door greeted me, along with the scent of bacon. She closed the door, turned around... and my stomach lurched.
Cassandra lived here.
Fuck!
I knew Cassandra lived in the same complex as me, but I had never met or laid eyes on her roommate. She always said her roommate’s name was Kaylee, but the woman I met had said her name was Kylie. I knew because I asked her once in the club and again in the parking lot. No way I thought she lived with one of my best friends.
It was the first time my brothers were right. I had shit where I lived.
I stood midway into the living room, with Cassie eyeing me with disappointment and disgust.
If her ass didn’t do me in, the sight of her in a pair of sexy-as-fuck librarian glasses damn sure did. Then she had to open her luscious mouth.
“Seriously, Sullivan?” she asked. “Good to know Kaylee finally got what she wanted. Maybe I won’t have to hear any more about it, but that’s highly unlikely. Now, I’ll be treated to an endless postmortem. Probably have to hear about every little thing you did in bed.”
I wanted to answer her, but my mouth was dry and it kept me silent. The first time I saw her, I thought she was hot; but I had no idea she wore contacts. Those glasses, her green eyes, and everything else that was her... My dick twitched. She wasn’t hot, she was scorching.
She mistook my silence, and shook her head. “Well, I won’t hold you up. What is it I’ve heard you say? It’s always important to make a quick, clean getaway. Have a nice day, Gabe.”
Have a nice day. I couldn’t believe she dismissed me like that. We were friends. Or had I somehow shit on that too?
Coming in November 2020. Available for Pre-Order Now!
About the Author
Karen Renee is the author of the Riot MC, Beta, and O-Town series of books. She once crunched Nielsen ratings data but these days she brings her imagination to life by writing books. She has wanted to be a writer since she was very young, but it’s taken the last twenty plus years for her to amass enough courage and overall life experience to bring that dream to life. Some of those life experiences came from the wonderful world of advertising, banking, and local television media research. She is a proud wife and mother, and a Jacksonville native. When she’s not at the soccer field or cooking, you can find her at her local library, the grocery store, in her car jamming out to some tunes, or hibernating while she writes and/or reads books.
Other Books by Karen Renee
Please visit your favorite eBook retailer to discover other books by Karen Renee:
The Riot MC Series
Unforeseen Riot
Inciting a Riot
Into the Riot
Calming the Riot
Foolish Riot
Respectable Riot
Starting the Riot
A Friendsgiving Riot – a short story found in Romancing the Holidays Coming Sept. 22!
THE BETA SERIES
Beta Test
Beta Sites Coming in 2021
Beta Baby (Working Title) Coming in 2022
RIOT MC BILOXI CHAPTER Series
Harm’s Way Coming Soon
Brute’s Strength
Roman’s War
THE O-TOWN SERIES
Relentless Habit
Wild Forces Coming in November 2020
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