by Mj Fields
She looks at me curiously as she turns toward me.
“Never could figure out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, but damn if those lions didn’t pop into my head all the fucking time, Paige. I dreamed of being a lion tamer.”
“So?” she shrugs. “I’m confused.
“No, you’re not. Neither am I. We both know exactly what we want, what we need, and it’s each other. I’m the fucking lion tamer.”
She smiles and shakes her head, laughing as she says, “Okay, Vincent, you’re the lion tamer.”
I let out a breath and feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders.
“Does that mean I’m the lion?”
I smile and nod. “Yes, it sure does. The beautiful fucking lioness.”
She looks at me with a confused yet sweet smile. “Vincent, what’s going on? Are you okay?”
“Here’s the deal. We all know that, at any given minute, that lion could turn on the tamer and bite his fucking head off, right?”
“But, if the lion loves the lion tamer …” She stops and sets her hand on her hip. “What’s going on, Vincent?”
“You do all your roaring on this boat, and do it before it gets to that one.” I point.
She looks at it then back at me. “Vincent?”
“I’m done with the constant confusion, the change in venue, the fucking conflicts in calendars, and you seriously need to stop stressing that someone might have to juggle a schedule around, cancel a plan, and every other thing that makes it so we haven’t nailed down a date to become husband and wife. I told you in Jersey, Labor Day was it. That didn’t work for you. So here we are.”
“What does that have to do with that boat?” She points at it. “Vincent, what does it have to do with that boat?”
“This is where you may get pissed. But before you do, know it’s because I want you to have my fucking last name. I want the damn paper and the vows and—”
“Vincent, what does it have to do with that boat?” Tears are falling out of her eyes. She doesn’t look mad. She looks shocked, and yeah, she looks happy.
“That boat is full of your family and our friends.”
“Why?” She bats away her tears and smiles.
“Because today you’re going to become my wife.”
“I am so pissed at you.” She lunges at me and hugs me tightly around my neck.
“Yeah, I see that.” I hug her back.
After a full minute at least, she whispers, “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” I step back and kiss her softly on the lips as I look over her beautiful face. “So fucking much.”
“So, you believe in love?”
“I believe in our love.”
Paige
Just like our engagement, Vincent planned everything.
Underneath my very fitted white dress, curves perfectly, and yes, proudly displayed, I am wearing purple lingerie. My earrings, necklace, and ring look as if they were picked around how they would look with this dress, and I am sure they were. My hair is in a loose French twist, and my makeup is perfect.
I walk out of the room to see my dad standing there, waiting.
I smile and tell him, “I met my warrior prince, Daddy. He even gave me back my sea legs.”
He smiles but looks at me oddly.
“What?”
“He gave you your sea legs, huh?”
“He sure did.”
“He didn’t tell you, did he?”
“Tell me what?” I ask.
“All those times you worried the hell out of your mother, Babička, and me when you rode your bike for two hours and we’d find you asleep in one of the boats.”
“I’m older and understand that it was wrong. I’m truly sorry.”
“Well then, I’m sorry I only took you on the boats when the weather was shit and I knew the sailing would be far from smooth.” He laughs.
“You did that on purpose?”
“Kept your ass at home, Pea. Gave your mom less worry and gave you enough courage to get the hell out of here.”
“I should be angry at you,” I say, fixing his bow tie. “But if I didn’t leave, two things wouldn’t have happened.”
“You wouldn’t have met your warrior prince, who magically gave you your sea legs.” He laughs from way down deep.
“And I wouldn’t have realized that Mom and Babička never missed out on a thing.” I look up at him, and he bends down to kiss the top of my head.
“You ready to do this?” he asks.
“Yeah, I’m definitely ready to do this.”
He stops before we walk out to the main deck where everyone is seated. “He’s a good man, Pea. I couldn’t have picked a better one for you if I tried.” He kisses my cheek, and then opens the door.
I hear a voice. It’s sultry, yet I know whoever is singing it is young. I look around, trying to see who it is when Carly Steel squats down and takes a picture of her daughter Kiki in a lavender sundress, singing “Make You Feel My Love,” the Adele version.
I take a deep breath, trying not to cry already, and squeeze the bouquet of iris violets in my hands, needing to make sure I don’t drop them.
I hear a violin, a guitar, and a keyboard, and see Taelyn and Xavier’s son Patrick playing the violin, Bell Steel playing keyboard, and Max, who is Jase and Carly’s son, sitting on his uncle Xavier’s lap, playing the guitar.
Cyrus, Tara, Truth, and Justice are sitting with Josephina and Thomas. Next to them is Xavier Steel’s wife, Taelyn, taking pictures. Behind them is Zander, Bekah, Brisa, Tris, and Amias. Abe is sitting with Fawn and Dromida, his children. Torrance and Marcelo, Sabato and Mel’s kids, and Dominic and Laney’s children.
Nikki, Mel, Laney, and Valentina are standing in lavender, looking amazing. Franco is next to my Vincent. I almost laugh when I see Babička snuggled up against him. It’s the sweetest thing, the way he plays along when she thinks he’s her Stephan. Franco has his hand on each of his daughter’s shoulders as they stand in front of him, with Dominic and Sabato next to them. And Pace is apparently officiating.
Vincent has truly thought of everything.
I close my eyes then open them, focusing completely on him. His eyes are dancing and happy. So, so happy.
“You ready?” Dad asks, and I nod as I dab under my nose with a tissue and I see Mom take Babička to her seat.
As soon as I am in front of him, we wrap both our hands together and around the bouquet I refuse to let go of.
Right now it’s like he and I are the only people on this boat.
Our vows are traditional, and our kiss is sweet, soft, perfect.
I walk with him to the back of the boat, push the flowers to him, and smile.
“What is it, Mrs. Stratos?”
“I don’t know. I just think it’s time to find out if it is.”
It takes him a moment to register that I am talking about whether we are pregnant or not.
“Would you like to wait until tomorrow?”
I shake my head. “And if you don’t look at it right now, I may lose my mind.”
“You haven’t looked?”
“I peed on it right before I walked out.”
“Together.” He holds out his hand, but I shake my head. “It wasn’t a question; it wasn’t a request; it’s how it will be from now on.” He takes my hand and pulls me closer to him.
He feels around inside the bouquet, and when he finds it, he pulls it out, his hand gripped tightly around it. Our eyes are locked, and both of us are trying not to smile.
“On three?”
I smile and nod.
“One … two … three.”
When I look back up at him, I swear I see tears welling in his eyes.
He pulls me into a hug. “Thank you, Paige, thank you so much for this.”
Sniffing back tears, I hook my arms under his and pull him closer. “Thank you for all of this, for everything.”
“It’s only the beginning.”
What’s Next
Tied In Steel…
GIA
He was handsome and from a good southern family.
I was beautiful and didn’t know my real family.
He was strong and self-confident.
I was broken and never knew confidence.
He was everything to a girl who had nothing.
I was everything to a man who needed nothing.
He told me I would be his queen
Then, three years later, he stripped me of my crown.
Six months into our marriage, I “fell down the stairs” and broke my arm.
At the hospital, I found out I was pregnant.
One year later, I “ran into a door” and hid my black eye behind designer sunglasses and a fake smile.
A year after that, pregnant with our second child, we went to meet some of his old college friends in New York City. I took too long to get ready. He told them I had the stomach bug.
Nine years ago, I was an eighteen-year-old girl, married to her high school sweetheart turned tormentor.
That fateful night in New York City, a cycle was broken. Now, I am empowered …
Today, my name is
Gia
but only eight weeks out of the year.
About STEEL
In March of 2013, I started a weekly post on Facebook. Every Friday I put up a chapter of what is now the beginning of Jase, book one, in the Men of Steel series. My page grew and so did the e-mails and inbox messages asking for more.
In April, I put it all together in a novella adding more just to see if my readers would embrace something a little different from me. It was an overwhelming yes.
It was the first time I ever wrote from the characters POV. The POV changes between male and female, within each book in the series, giving us the ability to see both sides to the story.
It’s hard to explain how I felt, but I’ll give it a shot. I felt numb watching the numbers and rankings climb. I felt that the last year and a half of my life spent not sleeping was worth it. You, the readers, did that for me. You gave me the push to follow this dream full-time. It was apparent that everyone liked Jase as much as I did. I then wrote a little end of summer novella, Jase and Carly. Cyrus and Zandor followed. Each of these books have been in the top fifty on lists including, New Adult and College, Fiction, Romance, and Coming of Age. They also have been most seen hanging out in the top ten on Amazon’s Erotic list and with each release they pop up on it again. Being on the ‘Naughty list’ is pretty damn awesome!
Xavier is the last of the Steel brothers, in the series, and was released in April 2014.
None of the brothers are the same and from the responses I receive, each gets better. I happen to love all their alpha, bad boy, twisted, tattooed, pierced and naughty ways. So I can’t pick one.
I love these brothers and wanted to give you all a chance to see them together. A chance for current MOS lovers to see where they started and new MOS readers to get a taste of them before joining us on this journey.
I am now putting them all together in hopes to spread the word of all things Steel.
Speaking of Steel, make sure you pay attention to some of the other hot bad boys within these books. Abe, Dominic, and Sabato all have a fan base and a story to tell. Check them out in Ties of Steel. Memphis Black, Finn Beckett, River James, and Billy Jeffers ( Xavier’s musical genius’) they all have novels in the Rockers of Steel series. Kat! Yes, that very unsocial… bitch ( said with love of course) Check her out in the hilarious duet, Match This! and ImPerfectly Matched! Make sure to keep Gage Falcon in mind, STEEL COUNTRY starts with Hammered, Gages story, and continue on with his brothers stories in Destroyed and Wasted.
Forever Steel
XOXO
MJ
Forever Steel
Chapter One
Cyrus
I stood in front of my new pad and smiled. Got it for a steal. It was a hurricane special. Meaning the place was destroyed by Sandy and the owners wanted the fuck out of dodge. Can’t blame ‘em, the shore didn’t seem the same anymore.
Fuck it. Life was about to become one big party and just in time for summer break.
I heard the roar of a vehicle heading down the normally quiet street, with the music thumping.
My brother, Jase, pulled in and jumped out. Abe, his best friend and honorary Steel, was with him.
“You gonna stand there all day or are we gonna get this party started?” Jase asked as he opened the hatch. “Help me out, bro.”
“Fuck, did you two knock over a liquor store?” I asked and grabbed one of the boxes from the Jeep.
“That’s your house warming gift.” Abe patted my back.
“Jack?” I asked looking in the box.
“Hell yes,” Jase laughed and pulled a bottle out of the front of the Jeep.
“It’s a quarter of the way gone, Jase.”
“Got thirsty.” Jase took a swig and handed it to me.
“You drinking and driving?”
“You channeling Momma Joe?” He laughed.
“Nope, just really don’t wanna be scraping your ass off a road, Jase. Or anyone else ‘cause you couldn’t wait ten fucking minutes.”
“Save it, Cyrus. I’m not fucking wasted.”
He was getting pissed, but I didn’t care. His shit was getting old. His new found ‘I don’t give a fuck’ attitude sprung up when our family’s restaurant was destroyed by the hurricane and we started the tattoo shop.
“You don’t get to give up, Jase …”
“Shut the fuck up, Cyrus. Not a fucking word or I leave! And let me tell you that wouldn’t be in your best interest.”
I started towards the house and yelled over my shoulder. “Why’s that?”
“Pussy. Lots of it. Abe hung up flyers at NYU announcing a get-together on the Shore tonight.”
“I put the public beach address on it. Less than an eighth of a mile to your left. We build a bonfire and they come to it like moths to a flame. All we have to do is sit back and enjoy,” Abe laughed.
“And that’s it. We build it, they will come?” I laughed.
“Over and over again,” Jase grinned.
“You’re staying the night?”
“Fuck yes.”
Jase and Abe followed me out to the back deck.
“Damn this turned out nice.” Abe sat two cases on the bar. “One weekend and you got this done?”
“When we get our minds made up, there’s no stopping us.” I cracked open a beer and handed it to Abe. “Pretty damn impressive huh?”
My brothers, Jase, Zandor, Xavier, and I spent a weekend building the ultimate back deck. It was thirty foot by thirty foot, bigger than some of the houses around here. We added built-in seating, a fire pit and a bar, of course.
“A hot tub would make it even more impressive.” Jase took a drink.
“But this is perfect.” Abe walked down the steps and out onto the sand. “We got boards here yet?”
“Not yet. Zandor was gonna bring them after he closes the shop. We can wake up in the morning, piss off the deck and head out.”
“Xavier know about this yet?” Jase grabbed the bottle of Jack and to a swig.
It was my baby brother Xavier’s twenty-first birthday and we were planning on going out tonight, then catching a cab and bringing home whatever we snatched up at the bar. But I thought the bonfire sounded like a better idea. “Nope. He’ll be by in a couple hours.”
“Who’s coming?” Jase asked.
“I invited Falcon, he helped rebuild this place. Zandor will love seeing him again. That’s it though, no one else. Six of us is enough.” I took a drink.
“Four bedrooms, Cyrus. Four bedrooms and six guys. I think you over invited. Abe was planning on taking the couch.”
“Falcon can have the deck.”
“Fuck that, I want the deck. That way they have less to walk to get the hell out when I’m done,” Jase snickered.
&
nbsp; We all laughed. “Then the deck is yours.”
“Yeah, especially if that Pam shows up.”
“She’s not coming. We’re on a break,” Jase smirked.
“Which is code for Jase picked a fight with her a few days ago. Told her he was done so she’d leave him the hell alone,” Abe laughed.
“She knows the drill. We fuck. Then we don’t.”
“Then she shows up and sucks him stupid and he ends up with her for a week straight,” Abe pointed out.
“You two need to adopt my rule. Three rides and no more. No strings, no hurt feelings, just get rode wild, and then you’re out.” I crossed my arms and nodded.
“How the hell do you do that? I mean, I wanna see the look on a girl’s face when you explain your rule to them,” Abe laughed.
“At first it’s a shock. Then it’s curiosity. And then it’s on. No big thing.” I sat down and leaned against the bench back.
“I like to get to know a chick for a while before I make the assumption that she’s not a keeper.” Abe sat down.
“Let me give you some advice, Abe.”
“Shoot.”
“When you’re at a bar and a chick is rubbing her snatch up and down your leg, you can safely assume she’s in it for a good time. When you whisper in a girl’s ear, ‘Wanna fuck?’, and her nipples perk up, you can assume she wants to get laid as much as you do. Then, when you tell her the drill and she doesn’t walk away, you know you’re in for a hell of a night.”
“What if she’s good? What if you want more?”
“Abe, it’s all pink on the inside man. Wet, warm, and God willing, tight. The next one is no different. Pussy is pussy.”