Like his mother, Lang had dreams, but this time he intended to live them out, not let them pass him by like his mother had.
“Lang?”
Her gentle voice filled his heart with love. He turned around slowly, wanting to remember this moment for the rest of his life. No more split loyalties—no more missed days and nights—no more unnecessary risks. Lily and his sisters deserved to know he’d come home every night after work, that they mattered more than the Brotherhood.
“Lily.” He stepped closer and covered her hands with his.
“I never expected you to leave the club. Please reconsider, I don’t want you to resent me.”
He couldn’t believe what she was saying. But it didn’t surprise him; she gave more than she received—whether she wanted to admit it or not. He reached inside his front jeans pocket and pulled out his mother’s engagement ring—a Victorian-era piece with eight smaller diamonds surrounding the one-carat centerpiece set in brilliant yellow gold. A treasure he’d carried with him since the day his mother had died.
He looked up; Lily’s gaze was focused on the ring.
“What are you doing?” she asked, sounding nervous.
“I’ve been waiting for you, Lily—all my life.” He dropped to one knee. “Please marry me—stay with Maya, Leigh, Trisha, and Rosa—complete our family, complete me.”
She covered her mouth with one hand; the other cupped his cheek. “Yes.”
Lang caught her left hand and slipped the ring over her finger. The diamonds sparkled in the fading sunlight, just like her misty eyes. He climbed to his feet and growled in approval, pulling her against his chest, loving the way she felt in his arms.
“You shouldn’t have left me hanging for three days, Lang. Did you listen to my messages?”
“Always share your feelings with me, Lily. I’m sorry I disappeared, but I needed to think things through. That’s the kind of man I am.”
“Even without the patches?”
“Yes.”
“Lang?” Vincent called from a few feet away. “We’re ready for you.”
Lang nodded, then wrapped his arm around his new fiancée, ready to face the world. They returned to the meeting room, where Arni occupied the president’s chair. He stood as Lang approached the table, leaving Lily by the doors.
“You’ve been voted in as a lifetime member of the Sons of Odin.” Arni offered him his cut back. “Retire in good standing, but if you ever want to come back, the door and this chair are always open.”
Lang gripped his hand, then pulled him in for a bro hug. Applause erupted, and everyone surrounded him then, slapping his back, shaking his hand, praising his leadership and loyalty.
Half an hour later, Lang escorted Lily to her car and followed her home to share the good news with his sisters and Rosa. Of course he’d take Trisha aside first; he intended to keep the promise he’d made to her at the picnic on the beach.
As he parked his bike in the garage, he looked over his shoulder at Lily standing at the front door. Now seemed the perfect time to present her with a last gift. He dragged her inside and opened the closet in the hallway. He’d never gotten around to giving her the leather jacket the night he went to her house after he returned from Austin. He might not wear his patches anymore, but that wouldn’t change how he felt about Lily.
“Close your eyes,” he commanded before he pulled the leather off the hanger.
“Another surprise?” she complained with a smile.
“Lily…”
She obliged, snapping her eyes shut.
“Hold your hands out.” He draped the jacket over her arms, patch side up. “Open.”
She eyeballed the patch. “ ‘Property of Lang’?” A beautiful smile spread across her face. “You expect me to wear this?”
His eyes blazed with hunger as he imagined her in his bed with nothing on but that jacket. He’d have to fuck her from behind a few times until he had his fill of seeing that patch plastered on her lovely back. “Scary biker men keep old ladies, Lily Gallo. And once you agreed to marry me, that’s what you became. Or if you prefer the nickname ‘house mouse,’ I’m good with that.”
“House mouse?”
“Are we back to learning club lingo?” he asked.
She nodded.
“A woman who stays at home and cooks, cleans, and fucks her old man on demand.”
Her hand slipped to her hip and she threw him her best offended pout. “I’m a feminist, Lang.”
He kicked the closet door shut and swept her off her feet, then climbed the stairs two at a time. She giggled in his arms and Lang knew he never wanted this to end. But he’d fuck some sense into her before he let her out of his room, their bedroom now. He closed and locked the door—determined to teach her a little lesson about the role old ladies played.
Epilogue
THREE WEEKS LATER…
Up at the crack of dawn, Lang brewed a fresh pot of coffee and toasted a couple of bagels. In three hours, he and Lily were catching their flight to Philadelphia. Her mother had gotten out of rehab a week ago and invited them both for a visit. He planned on taking advantage of the opportunity and formally requesting Lily’s hand in marriage from her very traditional father. The man was the kind of hero Lang would gladly shake hands with.
He buttered the last bagel before his cell rang. He huffed and checked the time on the microwave. Who the hell was calling at six in the morning on a Saturday? He picked up.
“Better be good,” he snarled into the phone.
“Lang?”
Vincent knew better—something must be wrong. “What’s up?”
“You better come down to the clubhouse.”
“Leaving now.”
He wrote a note for Lily in case she woke up before he made it back, and grabbed his leather jacket from the coat hook by the garage door. He backed his bike out of the garage, then coasted down the driveway before he started the engine. It rumbled to life and he opened it up, speeding all the way to Flour Bluff. Though he’d retired from the charter, he still owned the controlling shares in the property and Valhalla.
And he’d made a solemn oath to always have the members’ backs. He owed them that much.
He pulled into the parking lot, the gates to the Sons of Odin compound wide open. He parked and rushed to join the Brothers already gathered outside. Everyone greeted him as he approached, and the semicircle parted so he could walk past them.
A pair of bodies wrapped in red ribbons were laying side by side on the asphalt, single bullet wounds in the middle of their foreheads. He recognized Moco, not the other, but he resembled the man Maya had described as her kidnapper.
Arni gave him a somber look. “There’s a card attached to Moco’s shirt.”
Lang knelt and ripped the folded paper free. He opened it. Merry fucking Christmas. He handed the card to Arni and rubbed his chin. Karma was a bitch.
“What do you want us to do with the bodies?” Arni asked.
Lang didn’t care—justice had prevailed. His family was safe again. “Whatever you think best, Prez.” He fist-bumped Arni and threw an acknowledging smile at Vincent. “Do me a favor, though?” he addressed Arni again. “Remind the son of a bitch that delivered the packages that Christmas is in December.”
He walked away—free to live out the rest of his life. Free to love the woman he’d never let go. When he reached his bike, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Lily’s number.
“Hello?” She sounded so sleepy and cute.
“I love you, soon-to-be Lily Gallo-Anderson.”
“I love you too.”
He disconnected and started his engine.
Time to set Philadelphia on fire.
BY VIOLETTA RAND
Devil’s Den
Surrender
Seduction
Sin
Lies & Leather
Loving Lucas
Sons of Odin MC
Persuasion
Possession (coming soon)
&nbs
p; Acknowledgments
This book is dedicated to the people who took me under their wings and taught me the rules so I’d know how to survive—wouldn’t be here without you.
I’m grateful for the best agent, Jill Marsal, and the perfect editor, Sue Grimshaw. Thank you for helping me focus.
Big hugs to the best critique partner, Scarlett Cole, as well as Jessica Jefferson, Barbi Davis, Debbie McCreary, Dan Skrzynski, J.J., Jeff, and Violetta’s Valkyries, my small but mighty street team.
A special call out to R.W.: thank you for the education and friendship.
PHOTO: DAVID JENSEN PHOTOGRAPHY, ANCHORAGE, ALASKA
VIOLETTA RAND holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental policy and a master’s degree in environmental management. Having served as an environmental scientist in the state of Alaska for over seven years, she enjoys the privilege of traveling to remote places few people have the opportunity to see.
Violetta has been in love with writing since childhood. Struck with an entrepreneurial spirit at a young age, at five she wrote short stories illustrated by her best friend and sold them in her neighborhood. The only thing she loves more than writing is her wonderful relationship with her husband, Jeff. She enjoys outdoor activities, reading whatever she can get her hands on, music, and losing herself in the worlds she loves bringing to life in the pages of her stories.
violettarandromance.com
Facebook.com/ViolettaRandRomance
@ViolettaRand
The Editor’s Corner
Happy Holidays from our hearth to yours! This month we’re sending you some hot Loveswept romances to keep the fire burning:
USA Today bestselling author Bronwen Evans’s new Disgraced Lords novel is about a marriage of convenience and its delightful pleasures—and mortal danger—in A Whisper of Desire. K. J. Charles turns up the heat in her new Society of Gentlemen novel, A Seditious Affair, as two lovers face off in a sensual duel that challenges their deepest beliefs. Samantha Kane’s Birmingham Rebels series proves that three’s never a crowd…at least not for the hard-bodied football all-stars who give teamwork a sexy twist in Calling the Play. Welcome to Forever, new from author Annie Rains, introduces a small coastal town where America’s best and brightest risk everything for love. Jackie Ashenden ups the ante in the seductive Deacons of Bourbon Street series, co-written with Megan Crane, Rachael Johns, and Maisey Yates, with Hold Me Down, a story about what happens when the biker who broke Alice’s heart rides into town, and she must choose between passion and duty. Another story for MC fans is Violetta Rand’s irresistible novel about a sexy-as-sin biker who tempts a good girl to go bad, Persuasion.
In USA Today bestselling author Tina Wainscott’s gritty, emotional small-town romance Falling Hard, passions run high as a reformed bad boy reconnects with an old enemy…and gets her engine revving. In Laura Marie Altom’s tale of forbidden love, Stepping Over the Line, meet two tortured souls with an unbreakable bond. Then comes a tender military romance from Serena Bell, USA Today bestselling author of Hold On Tight, in which a war-shattered veteran gets a second chance at love with the one that got away in Can’t Hold Back.
Writing duo MJ Fields and Chelsea Camaron release another sizzling-hot Caldwell Brothers story: Morrison, which hits the Vegas strip as a bad-boy gambler from Detroit Rock City shows a single mom what it means to play for keeps. Then it’s off to Los Angeles, where Hollywood’s hottest young actor hits the road to chase his big break—and discovers a leading lady where he least expects in Cassie Mae’s No Interest in Love.
I can’t believe 2016 is upon us, can you? Thank you for spending your reading time with Loveswept, and we hope to entertain you all over again in the new year.
Happy Romance!
Gina Wachtel
Associate Publisher
Read on for a sneak peek at
Possession
Sons of Odin MC
by Violetta Rand
Available from Loveswept
Prologue
JUNE 5
Corpus Christi, Texas
Weddings brought out the worst in Tina. Through the patio windows she watched her best friend, Lily, slide into the back of the limo with her husband, shit-eating grins plastered on their faces. The ceremony and reception had been perfect. What could have gone wrong at an event attended by Philadelphia socialites and one-percenter outlaw bikers? Everything. She sucked down a shot of peppermint schnapps, their drink of choice when she and Lily roomed together at college. They’d snuck off twenty minutes ago and cracked open a celebratory bottle, clinging to the last minutes of their old lives. Because after Lily walked away, nothing would ever be the same.
She’d never been happier for her best friend, but a pinch of envy surfaced still. Knowing she hadn’t gotten her own life together enough to find that special someone made her feel inadequate. So Tina swallowed another mouthful of liquor.
“Maid of honor?”
Tina closed her eyes. Vincent’s resonant voice did funny things to her. “I believe we achieved the highest level of success tonight.” She twisted around, hiding the bottle behind her back.
“Did we?” he asked, filling the doorway.
Her gaze swept over his tux, which must have been spray-painted on, because the material gripped him in all the right places. No one would ever suspect he wore a Sons of Odin cut and leathers regularly. Nope, her dreamy colossus pulled off “normal” in a way she had never imagined possible.
He freed himself of the maroon bow tie and loosened his collar. “Goddamned monkey suit,” he complained, crossing the threshold. “But it’s done.”
“Guess we better see to the guests?” One thing remained certain: After planning a wedding with Vincent, Tina had discovered an attraction she couldn’t manage. Mix it with alcohol and she was pretty sure she’d end up on her back with her dress hiked up, fucking Vincent with prejudice.
He waved his hand. “Only a few stragglers left taking advantage of the open bar.” He grinned. “Hiding something behind your back?”
“Um…”
“I can see the bottle,” he said. “Give it up.”
“Girly stuff,” she admitted. “I won’t tell anyone if you take a swig.”
He swallowed an inconceivable amount. “Mouthwash,” he complained, wiping his lips with the back of his hand. “Girly shit is right.”
She laughed, liking the thought of getting drunk with him—the treasurer for the Sons of Odin—the guy she’d wanted to sleep with since the night she met him at Tito’s six months ago. A dead end. But God…She inched closer, snatching the schnapps out of his hand; the idea was to take turns. After she took another taste, he tugged her into his arms. Eighties dance music still filled the rental space, and Vincent apparently appreciated it, because he started to sway. Her hips wouldn’t be denied the opportunity to simulate sex with him.
He smelled of whiskey and cigars, and maybe a hint of citrusy cologne mixed in. It went straight to her core. He guided her to the side of the room, where she abandoned the bottle on the nearest tabletop. Hands free, she wrapped them around his neck, gazing into his eyes, trying to guess what he was thinking. But his expression remained as unnavigable as a cloudless sky. Just fathomless blue stared back.
“I like this song,” he whispered.
She couldn’t remember the artist.
“The Cutting Crew,” he said, as if reading her mind.
She strained to make out the words. I just died in your arms tonight…Yeah, she’d do more than that.
Hugging her tighter, he nipped her earlobe, and a violent chill spiraled up her spine. She sighed, already struggling to remain upright—blame it on slutty maid of honor syndrome. He’d never touched her that way before, and judging by the glassy condition of his eyes, he’d slammed a few too many drinks. Not enough to make him sloppy, though.
The schnapps had taken the edge off for her too, so she threw caution to the wind and risked biting his lower lip. One of his big hands squeezed her ass in response. May
be if she made another move, he’d do the same—they’d progress like a chess game.
“You’re determined to make me horny as hell, aren’t you, Tina?” This time there was no mistaking the look on his face.
“Tit for tat,” she said.
“Really? Let’s test that theory.”
“No reason to, Vincent. I’m more than willing to play.”
He released her. “Why do you always talk like that?”
“What?” she asked innocently.
“Everything is saturated with sexual innuendo. You want me?”
She felt like she was under the microscope, but why deny it? People said stupid shit after drinking too much. “Would it bother you if I said yes?”
“No.” He took a step forward.
“Then yes. I want to fuck you.”
He licked his lips. “I’m not the relationship kind of man.”
“What makes you think I want one?” Where did he get that impression? In her experience, men were the ones guilty of begging for commitment after she slept with them.
He rubbed the back of his neck like he didn’t know what to do next. Hunger flashed in his eyes as he corralled her against the closest wall. Desperate for contact, Tina’s lips parted in anticipation.
She’d agree to anything at this point….
FIVE MONTHS LATER…
Tina killed the ignition on her Escalade, staring across the street at the entrance to Tito’s, her favorite downtown club. Unaccustomed to partying alone, she’d already visited two other hot spots before finding herself here. Fall vacations were encouraged in her law office; for some reason, caseloads eased up between October and December. Blame it on the holiday season. Even her favorite co-workers, Alicia and Max, were in the Bahamas together. In the mood for a girl’s night out, she ventured out alone.
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