Gluttony (Seven Deadlies MC Book 3)

by Kaitlyn Ewald

  As she parked her mustang she adjusted her burgundy dress and checked out her reflection in her rearview mirror. Perfectly applied makeup, rose gold earrings that sparkled in the sun, a shade of lipstick that matched her dress exquisitely…Even though Scarlett knew she looked perfect, she was still nervous.

  After Limit had left the morning before, she felt like she was in some form of love-struck-limbo that only made her more confused about what she wanted from him.

  Scarlett took one deep breath and kicked the door open, her rose gold designer heels making a solid clicking sound against the pavement as she made her way to Ox.

  His lips lifted in a grin that made him look ten years younger as she neared him, and he surprised her when he brought her in for a hug.

  “You look beautiful, Scarlett.”

  She blushed as she thanked him.

  “Thank you.”

  Ox pulled away, his eyes misty, as he pushed her hair over her bare shoulder.

  “I hate to think about all the dances I missed. Your prom, too...,” He trailed off when she took his hand into hers.

  “You didn’t miss the most important day a woman wears a dress. I still have to convince a man to marry me,” Scarlett joked.

  Ox took her arm and tucked it under his as he led her towards his own car.

  “Trust me, you won’t have to do much convincin’. You’re a vision just like your mama.”

  Scarlett could hear the tiniest hint of pain in his voice as he said that, so she patted his arm gently.

  “You have a special woman to walk down the aisle today. Tomorrow we can talk about Maddie, and I’ll see if she can send some pictures of me out here. Tonight? Well, tonight let’s just focus on how damn happy Fury and Rayna are going to be,” She said.

  Ox stopped walking when they reached the passenger side door and kissed her forehead.

  “Your mama raised you right. You’re a fine woman, Scarlett.”

  Her lower lip trembled when he cupped her cheek and nodded his head, like Ox truly believed that.

  Like he truly believed her to be great. Like he was proud of her.

  “Thank you,” She whispered again.

  Ox opened her door for her and waited for her slip into the car before he closed her door and walked around the mustang to his own side.

  As he sat down next to her, she wondered briefly if he was mad at her for what had happened with Limit. The last thing she wanted to do was cause trouble with his club, and if Limit was his enforcer, that meant that he was a very important member.

  “Ox?”

  He glanced at her as they pulled out onto the road that would lead them to the Dixon venue.

  “I’m really sorry about what happened with Limit. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble or drama with the club,” She said.

  Ox waved her worries away.

  “Don’t apologize for his jackass behavior. That was his fault, not yours. I will never interfere with my men’s love lives, but you? You’re special. You’re my daughter. I can’t have anyone in my club hurting you.”

  It was a simple declaration, really.

  One sentence that didn’t hold any miraculous arrangement of words that would make anyone particularly happy.

  Yet, to Scarlett, Ox’s words were everything.

  Sure, she’d grown up with Carter. He was an excellent provider, but it was no secret he wasn’t a nurturer by nature. He was brash and harsh and at times unrelenting, but she loved him in her own way. He worshipped her mother, and that was really all Scarlett could ask for. But, hearing Ox claim her as his family, as his daughter…well, that made her feel complete in a way she never knew she’d needed. Apparently, there was a void inside her that only Ox could fill and the fact that he was obviously more than willing to do so resonated so deeply within Scarlett that she was sure she’d spend the whole evening crying.

  As Ox turned into the parking lot of an obviously very expensive local venue in Bryson City, Scarlett was readily impressed.

  “Fancy digs,” She commented.

  Ox chuckled as he threw the car into park and slanted her a glance.

  “Rayna ain’t much for fancy, but when it came to planning her wedding, Fury let her do whatever she wanted.”

  That made sense. Every wedding Scarlett had ever been too had been over the top. Expensive, ostentatious, and most of the time far too stuffy for anyone to truly enjoy themselves.

  For some reason though, Scarlett thought a big wedding suited Rayna.

  She deserved it.

  Ox took her hand and led Scarlett into the big brick building, his long stride almost twice as wide as hers. Scarlett tugged on his hand just a little to grab his attention.

  “I know you have somewhere to be, so why don’t you go ahead and find Rayna? I’ll go inside and find a seat,” Scarlett offered.

  Ox almost looked relieved.

  “I’m sorry to abdanon you, but I’m running a few minutes late.”

  This time Scarlett kissed his cheek before sending him on his way.

  “Go on ahead, I’ll find you later.”

  As Ox turned to walk away, she heard a deep voice behind her.

  “My my, you the Prez’s new woman?”

  Scarlett stiffened at the man’s words as she turned to face him.

  Big as a brick house, and looking just as sturdy, a pair of mismatched eyes met hers.

  One green and one brown, they were both trained on her.

  Whomever the stranger was, his stare was intense.

  She held out her hand in his direction.

  “I’m Scarlett. Ox’s daughter.”

  His eyebrows hit his dark hairline as he shook her hand. His calloused palm engulfed hers completely as he nodded.

  “Rebel. Part of Axel’s crew. My apologies for the assumption, Scarlett.”

  Scarlett slowly smiled as she shook his hand.

  “Apology accepted, Rebel. May I ask how you earned that name?”

  He released her hand as he laughed, the rough sound enticing. He scratched at his bare chin, and she caught sight of a grim reaper tattooed across his forearm, bright and covered in flames.

  “Let’s just say I don’t like to follow the rules.”

  As people milled in through the doors behind them, Scarlett caught Esme’s eye through the crowd and smiled when Esme practically fell into Prettyboy’s lap in an effort to get her attention.

  Rebel followed her gaze and smiled kindly at her.

  “Well, Scarlett, it looks like you’re being summoned. I hope I ain’t bein’ too forward if I ask you to save me a dance later?”

  Scarlett smiled easily at him, her hazel eyes taking in every detail of his face. She had no idea who Axel was, but the Lone Rangers patch on his cut told her her he was a part of Esme’s old club, and a close ally to Ox.

  “I would love to,” She said softly.

  He nodded in her direction and motioned for her to step into the lavishly decorated hall.

  Scarlett followed Esme’s still waving hands and Prettyboy’s exasperated grin all the way across the room.

  “Beautiful, if you wave those hands any harder, you’re gonna take flight,” Prettyboy grunted.

  Scarlett choked out a laugh as she threw her purse onto the seat where her name card rested. She was wearing a shawl around her shoulders and as she took a look around the large room, she took note of just how many men there were. Never in her life had she imagined she would see a room full of bikers dressed to the nines, but here she was, seeing exactly that.

  “What did Rebel say to you?,” Esme asked.

  Scarlett glanced at her.

  “He introduced himself and asked if I would save him a dance.”

  Esme’s eyes widened.

  “That little flirt! Did you tell him you were with Limit?,” Esme asked.

  Scarlett laughed again.

  “Limit and I have no strings. He doesn’t want them,” She said almost sadly.

  True, they’d spent a lot of time together, and
true they’d made considerable progress since the other night, but Scarlett wasn’t going to get her hopes up.

  Two days wasn’t long enough to really get to know someone, especially someone as complicated as Limit.

  Prettyboy started to smile.

  “You honestly don’t see it?,” He asked.

  Scarlett smiled at him as she began to untie her shawl.

  Underneath the shawl she was wearing a burgundy dress that was skin tight and strapless, complete with an elegant plunging neckline.

  “See what?”

  Scarlett asked this as she dropped the shawl onto the chair beside her and frowned when Esme whistled at her.

  “Damn, Scarlett! What my ol’ man is trying to say, is that Limit’s crazy ass is crazy about you!”

  Scarlett rolled her eyes.

  “Mind blowing sex does not a relationship make, Esme. Limit’s good at a lot of things, but something tells me relationships aren’t one of them.”

  Prettyboy drummed his fingers on the tabletop as he watched her for a moment, his bright green eyes narrowed.

  “Ya know, that man took an ass beating for your sake.”

  Scarlett planted one hand on her hip before she turned to face Prettyboy completely.

  “That man deserved a beating after what he said to me. I didn’t ask Ox or Fury to do that. So don’t you snap at me, mister!”

  For a moment she thought he would snap back at her, but he started to laugh and so did Esme.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry for being rude,” Prettyboy said through a wide grin.

  Scarlett started to laugh then too, only to be interrupted by Esme.

  “Seriously, that dress is killer! Ox let you walk into the lion’s den like that?”

  Scarlett’s brows drew together.

  “He was in a bit of a hurry, but what’s wrong with my dress?”

  She looked down at the velvet material, her hazel eyes finding nothing wrong with it.

  Esme waved her hands in the direction of the hall, her fingers almost stabbing Prettyboy directly in the eye. He glared at her from behind her dark hair, his eyes rolling.

  “Hello! Look at all these bachelors, babe! If you don’t have a man, you’re fair game to all of these men.”

  Scarlett bit her bottom lip as she looked around the room again; candle sconces, roses, tulle and pretty twinkling lights met her eyes.

  She also began to notice how many men wearing cuts were looking at her table now, and she suddenly felt the urge to put her shawl back on.

  That would be too obvious, wouldn’t it?

  …Wouldn’t it?

  As Scarlett eased into her chair she set her purse and shawl under the table.

  “I see your point,” She whispered as she sat back in her chair.

  There was an aisle way separating the room in half, and at the far end of the aisle rested a beautiful archway covered in lights and roses and underneath it stood a man wearing a cut that she didn’t recognize. She supposed it was only fitting to have someone from an MC marry them, so who was she to judge?

  “Don’t worry, as soon as Limit gets here he’ll protect you,” Esme said confidently.

  Scarlett didn’t bother to tell her that she didn’t want nor need his protection, and instead focused on the change of lighting and the music that was playing.

  “Shit, that’s my cue! Gotta run, guys!”

  Esme was up and out of her seat in no time, her happy smile contagious.

  It wasn’t more than a few minutes later that Scarlett saw the men enter the room.

  Out the corner of her eye Scarlett finally saw men she recognized.

  Rider, Slayer and Limit came into the room, and Scarlett had a hard time not looking at Limit. They were obviously the groomsmen, and Scarlett gasped when she saw them.

  They all looked so handsome.

  “Is Esme the maid of honor?,” Scarlett turned to ask Prettyboy.

  He laughed as he shook his head.

  “Nah, Green is.”

  Scarlett thought he might be joking but the serious expression on his face told her he wasn’t.

  “He’s her maid of honor?”

  Prettyboy shrugged as he rubbed a hand over the scarred half of face, his ringed fingers tugging the thick skin downwards for a second.

  “Green, as I’m sure you’ve discovered, is a strange man.”

  Scarlett’s tinkling laugh filled the air as she nodded, her fingers circling the bottom of her wine glass that rested beside her name card.

  Prettyboy nodded towards the other side of the room.

  “It ain’t the other lion’s in this room you need to be worried about, Scarlett. It’s the lion watching you right this second.”

  As Scarlett lifted her glass, she could almost feel his gaze raking over her skin as she slowly turned around, her hazel eyes meeting Limit’s immediately.

  Her tongue darted out to taste the wine as it dripped into her mouth, her other hand clenched in her lap.

  Limit looked hot.

  He was wearing a tux, and some small part of Scarlett thought he looked like a hero from a romance novel. She’d experienced many a man in a tuxedo up close and personally before, but he took the cake.

  Tall dark and handsome was an understatement, and it didn’t even bother her that he wore his cut over the lavish suit. She liked the way he looked, and if the way he was watching her was any indication, she’d get to tell him so soon enough.

  His grey eyes were working their way from the top of her head all the way to her stilettos and no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn’t look away.

  Limit was trapping her in a web she wasn’t so sure she’d ever escape from, and he didn’t even know it.

  As she stared into his eyes from across the room, Scarlett knew that Prettyboy was right.

  No other man in the room mattered; none but Limit.

  And, as she’d already figured out, the bite of a lion like him was deadly.

  Chapter 17

  Scarlett stood at the same moment everyone else did.

  The music that played was a gorgeous piano medley that had tears filling her eyes as she watched Ox enter the room, Rayna on his arm.

  A quick glance towards the ‘altar’ told her Fury had misty eyes as he grinned like a madman, his joy evident. He had his tanned hands pressed against his mouth as she floated down the aisle towards him. Her dress was an amazing confection of lace and glittering jewels that sparkled every time she moved.

  Green was just ahead of her, his own handsome face overcome with pure happiness.

  He was also wearing leather pants that looked a little too tight...

  Ox looked proud as hell to be walking Rayna down the aisle, and Scarlett was proud of him for doing it. Rayna herself had told her the story about the Blazin’ Eagles and how they’d murdered her father, so Scarlett knew how hard today was for Rayna.

  She clapped happily as Green rounded the altar with a flourish and stood next to Esme, who’d walked down the aisle first. She looked beautiful in her golden gown, her long black hair curled to perfection and pinned to the side.

  Esme ushered him out of the way and the brunette man with the scarred face and broad shoulders laughed. Green hurried to stand in position as Rayna and Ox neared the altar, her thin frame leaning against his. Ox kissed her forehead and held her hand out to Fury’s, who took it like he was afraid that she would disappear.

  Her blonde hair was curled and down around her shoulders and adorned with a pretty tiara that sparkled and held a long veil in place.

  Rayna gripped Fury’s hands in her own as she smiled lovingly up at him.

  “Alright, let’s get these two married!,” The man beneath the arch said.

  The entire room erupted into cheers.

  Rayna and Fury both waved and laughed together, but Scarlett could see their love for one another clearly.

  Her eyes watered and she pressed her palms against her chest as Fury leaned in closer to Rayna.

  “The c
ouple has decided to say their own vows today. Fury will be going first.”

  Fury nodded as he lifted one of Rayna’s hand to his mouth and placed it over his heart. He was the only man in the entire hall Rayna had eyes for, and they were a sight to behold.

  “Rayna Claire, you’ve turned my entire world upside down. From the very first time I saw you up until now, you’ve been a true blessing. A man like me doesn’t get blessed very often, but if I get to call you mine for the rest of my life, I don’t care if the Lord ever answers another one of my prayers. You’re the most beautiful, caring, badass woman I’ve ever encountered and I am the luckiest man alive to be able to call you my old lady!”

  Rayna’s eyes were wet with unshed tears as she smiled up at him, her beautiful face the perfect image of bliss.

  Scarlett watched, awed, as Rayna gathered herself before she too spoke her vows.

  “You found me when I needed you most. You’ve never asked me for anything that I’m not willing to give you. You’ve loved me in a way that no one else has ever loved me before, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am to have you. I love you, I promise to love you for the rest of my life, and I will never let you down,” Rayna said shakily.

  Fury’s dark eyes glimmered with happiness and contentment when he slid her wedding band onto her finger.

  As Rayna slid Fury’s black band onto his hand, the man beneath the roses clapped his hands and grinned.

  “I now pronounce you husband and wife. Kiss your old lady, brother!”

  Fury wrapped his arms around Rayna’s waist and kissed her deeply, his strong arms positioning her over his bent knee.

  Scarlett couldn’t help herself, she stood up and clapped wildly, her eyes filled with her own tears. Scarlett was and always would be a romantic, and when she saw her new friends tying the knot, it reminded her just how much she loved a good happy ending.

  Prettyboy stood up next to her as he too clapped his hands, and the entire room took turns cheering for the happy couple. Scarlett watched as they held onto one another and began to circle the room. Esme hugged both Fury and Rayna before she happily skipped across the room and joined Scarlett and Prettyboy again.

  “Oh my God, can you believe it? They’re finally hitched!,” She cried joyfully.