by K E Osborn
But now, right now, I’m doing up my shirt as my heart races in my chest. Soon I’ll be the man standing at the top of the walkway waiting for his fiancée to walk toward him. Swallowing hard, as I do up my top button, I take a deep breath. I’m not nervous as such, more excited. I never thought this day would come, and now here I am, on the other side of the world, about to say I do to a woman I’ve known for a few months.
Is this fast? Yes.
Is it real? Abso-fucking-lutely.
They say when you know, you know. So why wait?
Obviously, when I asked Shay to marry me, I didn’t have a ring. So as soon as we got to the airport, I went straight for the jeweller and helped her pick the one she wanted. She didn’t want anything expensive, but I told her to get whatever she wanted, no matter the cost. Sure it wasn’t sixty-five thousand like Flame’s ring that she still doesn’t have, but it still took a sizable chunk out of my bank account, and that made me happy.
“You ready to go, brother?” Steel asks walking up to me with Jackson by his side.
I turn and smile. “Nearly,” I reply leaning over to the bed and pulling up my cut and sliding it over my dress shirt. Taking a deep breath as Steel smiles at me and nods, I open my arms. “So, how do I look?”
Steel chuckles and shakes his head. “Like a fuckin’ goose, but Shay will love it.”
“Yeah, you fucking goose,” Jackson quips while I scruff his hair.
Rolling my eyes, I shake my head. “You do realise you’re both wearing the same as me, right?”
Steel looks down to his white shirt, cut and black slacks, then to Jackson in his same outfit. We gave him a mock cut for the day, and Steel grimaces. “Shit we’re a gaggle,” he quips, and I chuckle at his lame joke. I’m surprised he even knows what a gaggle of geese is.
“We’re a fucking gaggle,” Jackson repeats.
I chuckle as Steel rolls his eyes.
“Right, you ready to do this, brother?” he asks gripping my shoulder and squeezing.
Smiling brightly, I nod my head. “Fucking oath.”
We start walking out of the hotel room and down to the Venus Garden. The walk is quick but quiet as I think back and reflect on my time with Shay. She really is the only woman I can see my life with, good thing seeing as I’m marrying her in T-minus five minutes.
We arrive at the base of the garden, and around the corner to see all the guests sitting on the stone benches. Smiling as I look out to see my brothers from Aldinga, some of the guys from Bendigo came along too, not to mention a couple of the guys from the Athens chapter of the Brother’s by Blood MC came along to support me. They are our American brothers in arms. They support us whenever we fly to the States, and we do the same for them when they come to Australia, which is very rare. But they know we would always have their backs whenever they need us. It’s so good to see the Athens Prez, Optimus made it here with his Sergeant At Arms, Leo. I must make time to go and thank them for coming. It’s a nearly four hour flight time to get from Alabama to Vegas, so for them to make the trip means a lot.
Everyone turns around to face us, and a general cheer erupts as I walk down through the centre. I chuckle as I look at my brothers as they all cheer me on. The excitement inside me is only growing at seeing my girl walk toward me. I can’t fucking wait. We reach the top and Steel stands to my right as I face the front and nod to the celebrant.
“I hope she doesn’t do that fashionably late thing that women do,” I murmur to Steel, and he chuckles.
“Knowing Flame, they’ll be here any second.” As soon as he finishes his sentence, the music starts like some kind of freak coincidence, and I chuckle toward Steel as he shakes his head. “See, told you.”
Turning around, my heart races frantically as I try to control my breathing. My palms are sweating, and I’m so fucking excited to see her I just want to run to meet her. But I won’t. I would look like a dickhead. Everyone stands, and Flame rounds the corner in a dress that can only be described as the colour peach. I beam widely and chuckle slightly while shaking my head, as she walks down toward me smiling so brightly as she carries some white David Austin roses. She looks stunning, and I think I hear Steel gasp beside me. I glance at him and his mouth is open in awe, his eyes are basically sparkling with lust. It’s cool to watch.
“Wow! Miss Willow, you look fucking hot!” Jackson calls out loud, and everyone bursts out laughing, except Flame, who shakes her head.
“Jackson… shush,” she chides. He sinks into Steel’s leg and smirks as she continues to walk toward me.
I try to hold in my laugh as she looks at me and she lets out a small giggle as she steps up to my right. “You look stunning,” I whisper to her.
“Wait till you see your Peach,” she whispers back, and my chest tightens with adrenalin as I turn back to look down the aisle to watch her turn the corner with Stump walking beside her. I’m so glad her parents could come, but to be honest, I don’t even care about the massive burly man walking toward me right now. My eyes lock onto Shay, as she wears a halter neck Grecian gown. It’s completely backless, and around her tiny waist is a peach coloured band. It’s elegant, but not overstated, perfectly quirky and simply Shay. Her hair is tied up with braids running back into a messy bun, with a few tendrils hanging down, and she looks the spitting image of perfection. She’s never looked more beautiful than she does right now. I think I just fell even more in love with her if that’s possible. Her ice blue eyes are brimming with unshed tears as she floats toward me, and my chest is heaving so hard I don’t know if I’m breathing too much or not at all. All I know is she’s surrounding me, filling me with hope, with love. She is my life. My desire. And I’m about to make her mine forever.
Stump brings her to me, and somehow I find the strength to take my eyes from hers to look at her father. He’s smiling wide and nods at me. “You hurt her, I’ll cut your balls off and feed them to my Old Lady’s Chihuahua.”
Taking a deep breath as Shay huffs. “Dad!”
“I mean it, Techie,” he reiterates.
I nod and take her hand in mine. “Sir, if I ever hurt her, I’ll cut my balls off for you.”
He smiles wide and chuckles. “Good lad.” He slaps my shoulder and leans in kissing her cheek and lets her step up beside me.
“So sorry,” she murmurs, and I shake my head.
“Don’t be. You look… there are no words, Peach. You’re stunning.”
She draws her bottom lip in with her teeth and looks down like she’s gone all shy. So I bring my hand up under her chin and force her to look at me. “You’re beautiful. Get used to hearing it.”
She nods and leans up pressing her lips to mine. That spark, that electrical pull surges through me with such force I almost lose my balance. Kissing her is powerful, but in this moment, the connection is supercharged.
“Ahem…” Someone clears their throat, and I regretfully pull back from Shay and turn to see the celebrant with a bored look on his face.
“Shit! Sorry. I guess we should get married, hey?”
Shay giggles. “Yes please.” She links her arm around my side, and we stand joined together. Sure it’s not conventional to stand cuddling together throughout a ceremony, but nothing about Shay and me is conventional.
***
The ceremony went without a hitch, and now we’re at the reception. Well, it’s a party let’s be honest. Everyone’s drinking, eating and dancing. It’s good to have the brothers all mixing together, and even Gadget’s being civil. I think he sees how happy Shay is, and so he’s easing slightly. That plus I think Stump might have had words with him. He respects his father, so if Stump is rooting for us, then I guess Gadget has no choice but to jump on the bandwagon.
I’m on the dancefloor with my wife. Yes, that’s right, my wife, and as her body moves along with mine to the funky sounds of Walk the Moon’s ‘Shut Up And Dance With Me.’ I can’t help but sing the words thinking how true they are—this woman is my destiny!
Shay
smiles and laughs as Flame and Meli race over and start pulling her from me.
“C’mon we need to dance with our newest Old Lady!” Flame calls out.
Shay smiles at me, and I reluctantly let her go dancing with her friends. She blows me a kiss, and is dragged off to the middle of the floor with the girls, and I stand back and watch smiling like the fucking Cheshire cat.
“You’re a lucky man, brother,” a deep, gravelly American voice startles me from my staring, and I turn to see Athens’ Prez Optimus, and Leo, smiling at me.
“Hey Op, thanks so much for coming. It means so much to me that you guys could get here.”
Op smiles and nods. “And miss a biker wedding? No way, brother, these parties get hectic.”
Laughing, I nod. “Tell me about it. So many bikers under one roof. Add Vegas and watch the fireworks, right?”
“Plus, you Aussies are a crazy bunch. You’re definitely entertaining.”
“For sure, I wasn’t missing this for anything,” Leo adds, and I chuckle.
“How you been, Leo? I haven’t seen you since that time we went to the Alabama Pie Festival with Macy. She’s gotta be growing up fast?”
“Yeah brother, she’s three now—”
“Shit already? It’s been three years since I was here last? Fuck me! She was a midget the last time I saw her. She’d be a little cutie I bet.”
“Yeah, feel like my club is being taken over by unicorns and fairy princesses. Can't help but love the brats, though,” Op says, and I nod.
“Kinda like Jackson. That kid… shit, he’s a terror. But we’d all be lost without him.”
Op chuckles as Leo shakes his head. “He’s… interesting, that’s for sure.”
“It’s a long story.”
“Steel seems happy, though. That’s good,” Op says, and I nod.
“He is, finally. He’s been through a lot, but he’s getting there. And you, big man, settling down with little miss Chelsea, hey?” I tease, and he lights up as his eyes gleam with that same look that Steel gets, and I know I get it too. It’s the look of undeniable love.
“She’s my blackbird, wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“So happy for you, brother, and you Leo? Any news?” I ask, and he tilts his head.
“There might be someone, but it’s new. I don’t want to jinx it before it’s even started, you know what I mean?”
Nodding, I look over to Shay and smile. “Yeah, I know what you mean. But I’m glad for you, Leo, after everything you deserve to be happy.”
His smile falters slightly, and he nods. “Thanks.”
The music cuts dramatically, and a loud whistle echoes through the room making us all look over to Steel. Furrowing my brows, I look to Shay, and she shrugs as Steel clears his throat.
“Can I have your attention, fellow bikers, Old Ladies, club girls, families, and independents.” We all chuckle at his formal tone.
Flame looks at him and tilts her head, she obviously has no idea what’s going on either. Suddenly, ‘Marry You’ by Bruno Mars starts playing over the speakers, and my lips turn up into a bright smile as Steel looks to Flame and gestures for her to walk to him. She raises her eyebrows as she hesitantly walks over to him, and we all cheer loudly. Swiftly, Jackson bursts through the doors wearing a little suit, and he looks pretty fucking cute I must admit. Flame laughs as he carries a pillow in the shape of a pig. Obviously Petunia couldn’t come with us to Vegas, she’s at home with Amelia. So I guess now she’s here in spirit as a pillow. I laugh as Shay walks over to me and I wrap my arm around her waist pulling her close to me.
“Did you know about this?” she whispers.
“No idea,” I whisper back as Steel steps in front of Flame, and Jackson holds the pillow up high above his head.
“So, you’ve been around for a while now, and I’ve wanted to do this for months. But things kept gettin’ in the way. Adoptin’ Jackson, then Techie kinda stole the whole show. Thanks for that, brother.” He looks at me, and I chuckle.
“No worries, anytime,” I call out.
“But I couldn’t come here and keep this from you any longer.”
“Miss Willow, look it’s a fucking ring,” Jackson calls out. Flame looks down to the pillow, her eyes open wide and she gasps, her hand rushing to her mouth.
“Thanks, buddy,” Steel says untying the ring from the Petunia shaped pillow.
Flame lets out a small sob, and Steel drops to one knee in front of her and then Jackson drops to one knee too, holding out the pillow. Everyone chuckles as Steel scruffs Jackson’s hair.
“Willow, you have honestly made me the man I am today. You have not only changed me, you made me better. You make this club better—”
“Here, here,” rings out around the room. Flame chuckles looking around at everyone watching them.
“So…” he takes a deep breath, “…Willow Arbour, you’re not just my partner, you’re my best friend, my life, my world. Will you do me the greatest honour, wear a property patch, and officially become my Old Lady.”
She giggles and nods her head, as tears fall down her cheeks gently. I smile so wide as he slides that fucking ring finally on her finger.
“Yes, a million times, yes!” she says.
Steel jumps up slamming his lips to hers, as Jackson jumps up and spins around in a circle.
The whole room erupts in cheering and applause as I grab Shay and head over toward them. Jackson tugs on Steel’s cut, but he isn’t budging from kissing Flame for anything. I chuckle as I lean down picking up Jackson and resting him on my hip as he huffs and curls up his nose at them.
“It’s about time, brother. That ring has finally made it on her finger,” I say as they break free from each other and turn looking at us both.
“What do you mean by that?” Flame asks, and I chuckle.
“You have no idea what that ring has been through, Flame.”
Flame looks to Steel, who laughs and shakes his head. “That’s a story for another night. Right now, I want to take you back to our room and celebrate.” He waggles his eyebrows suggestively, and I chuckle.
Trigger steps up and smiles wide leaning in toward me. “Jackson, you wanna come stay with me tonight?” he asks, and Steel looks to him.
Jackson jumps in my arms and wriggles out of my grip. “Fuck yeah!” he calls out and races over to Trigger making us all chuckle.
“Have a good night, you loved up couples,” Trigger calls out as he walks off with Jackson, and I smile at Shay and waggle my eyebrows at her suggestively.
“Well, thanks for havin’ me as your best man, brother, but I’m bailin’. I have far more pressin’ issues to attend to. Plus, a kid free hotel room. I’m out. Flame, let’s go,” Steel says, and Flame giggles wrapping herself around Steel and then they walk briskly out of the room.
Shay and I chuckle as she turns to face me. I wrap my arms around her waist as the room moves back into party mode.
“Our honeymoon suite is waiting for us, too,” I suggest.
“Shouldn’t we stay and party with everyone? They are here for us?”
I scoff. “Fuck them. I just want to celebrate you being my wife.”
She smiles and nods leaning up on her toes to kiss me. My cock aches at the thought of finally fucking her as my wife, and I pull back grabbing her hand and pulling her with me toward the door. She giggles as we rush out of the room and head for the elevator. We break into an almost run as I stop and press the button frantically, then turn grabbing her and pulling her body flush with mine. Her lips connect to me, and my tongue finds hers effortlessly. Kissing Shay is the best feeling in the world, other than when I said ‘I do.’ The door opens, and I step her back into the elevator and up against the wall, pressing my now fully hard cock into her stomach.
Pulling back slightly, I run my hand up to her cheek and caress it tenderly. “I love you, Shay, more than anything I’ve ever loved in this world.”
She smiles and holds onto me tightly. “I love you, Techie,
and I’m going to be the best Old Lady, you’ll see.”
“I don’t doubt it, Peach.”
“You better not, Yoshi!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
GATOR’S POV
We’ve been in Vegas for a couple of days now, and while Steel and Techie are off playing fucking loved up couples, I decided, I’m in Vegas, I’m a biker, I’m going to gamble! But not your everyday run of the mill casino gambling—that’s for pussies. I need something more dangerous, something with more excitement. I’m more and more agitated these days, so I need some adrenaline to keep my heart rate pumping. I was seeking adrenalin, and I’ve found it at an underground poker match.
The guys here are all douches, we’re not playing for simple coin—it’s thousands, Rolexes, cars. Big stuff. This is the real deal, this is where men are made, and if there’s one thing I know, it’s poker. But luck hasn’t been on my side tonight. I’ve already forked out two hundred and fifty K, my handgun I picked up on the streets when we arrived, and the loan car I hired, which I think is hilarious because it’s not mine, so I don’t actually care about that anyway.
Jock, Mooch, Jigsaw, and Lookout are here too, along with Optimus and Leo from Athens, so I know I have backup if things get tricky. But I’m more in a devil-may-care attitude at the moment anyway. All this fucking love bullshit this week has me on edge.
“Gator, maybe you should sit this round out, brother?” Optimus announces as they start to set out another round.
Huffing, I run my hands through my hair and stand up abruptly from the table, the metal of the chair scraping on the concrete floor. Turning, I walk out the double doors onto the back street to get some fresh air. Heavy footsteps alert me that I’m being followed. I don’t have my piece anymore, so I tense up as I turn around, but it’s just Op and Leo.