by Alexa Riley
Fuck yes, I think as I follow his instructions, looking for my target. Bingo.
“Got him,” I tell him. I’m itching to go it.
He’s standing next to a motorcycle, smoking a cigarette with a beer in his other hand.
“Keep eyes. No movement until my go.”
So I wait, doing as I’m told and knowing Knox will do me right. I don’t take the target until I have the all clear.
“Affirmative,” I tell him. “I won’t lose him.” I keep my scope locked on him while I listen to Knox pack up our camp and make a call to Cas, telling her to get public. They had decided to make sure Cas was trackable when the shot went down so no one could claim it was her. That’s what everyone would think. I’m too new for anyone to know about.
What I can do is to remain a secret. A card no one knows about. For some reason I like that. You’re always at the best advantage when people don’t know what’s coming and when you take them by surprise.
“We’re clear, baby. You still good?”
“Perfect,” I tell him, letting my eyes fall closed for a second. I feel the wind on my skin, gauging my shot like Cas taught me. Preparing myself for the run down the mountain with my gun in tow.
“Then take it.”
I open my eyes, zoning in, and I take the shot. The impact sends him flying back, knocking over his motorcycle in the process. I watch everyone scatter and see if he moves. He doesn’t. He was dead before he hit the ground.
“Target’s down.”
“Move,” Knox tells me, and I do. Faster than I ever have in my life. I want to get back to him as fast as possible and never leave that bed he talked about.
It’s then I realize I’m more excited about doing that than reporting in to the Ghost Riders to show them I was capable of being here. In this moment, all I can think about is Knox.
10
Knox
“Jesus. It’s huge.”
“I love it when you say that, baby.”
Violet looks over at me and rolls her eyes, then looks back to my house. It’s big, but me and the guys used it for a hangout back when we were in the service. The pool and the movie room were great for entertaining. But lately it’s felt too big for just me. Since Pres got the clubhouse up and running, we haven’t had a need for this place much anymore. Most nights I just crash at the club. I’ve got a single room on the second floor with just a bed and a change of clothes. I could have taken Violet back there, but something in me wanted to bring her here first.
I jump out of the SUV and go around to grab her door. I hold out my hand to help her out, and she raises an eyebrow at me.
“I’m a gentleman, baby. Don’t look so disappointed.”
She laughs, and I pull her into my arms. I love the sound of her laughter. It’s so light and sweet. It warms me to the core.
After the hit, we got out of camp, keeping cool and watching our asses. We got confirmation that Casper had been in town, so we didn’t have to worry about the Ghost Riders getting exposed as the shooter. The Five Aces had a lot of heat from other clubs, so we weren’t the only ones looking to target Cobra. It didn’t take long after the kill to hear about the club scattering and everyone getting the hell out of town. It’s the exact scenario we wanted, and Violet and I are feeling good about a successful mission. I’m just not ready to let her try to get away from me yet. I called Pres on the way back from Colorado and said Violet and I were going to lie low one more night before hitting the clubhouse. I’m sure he knows exactly what I really meant, because he didn’t put up a fight. Violet and I agreed that one more night away wouldn’t be so bad, and she agreed to come back to my place with me.
I pick her up off the ground, and her laughter increases as she starts to playfully wiggle in my arms.
“What are you doing? Put me down.”
“Nope,” I say, hitting the code to get in my house and carrying her through the door.
When we get inside, I set her down on her feet and close the door behind us and lock it. I look at her and take a step forward, and she takes a small step back, still smiling at me.
“You going to run from me?” I challenge.
“Me? Never.”
She says the last word and turns, running faster than I expected. The house is big, so she’s got a lot of places to hide, and I kind of like the idea of finding her.
I laugh and start to count. “One, two, three…” When I get to ten, I shout, “Ready or not, here I come.”
Slowly I make my way to the back of the house, and it’s then I hear water running. I follow the sound to the master bedroom and walk over to the master bath, where the door is slightly ajar. I see Violet in the shower, completely naked and soaping up her curves. I’ve never stripped out of my clothes so fast in my life. I throw them off me and go in to join her.
She opens her mouth to make some sassy comment, but I just barrel inside and grab her around the waist, lifting her up and pressing her against the tile. Her legs go around my waist as my lips come down on hers. The kiss is powerful and consuming. She moans, and I use it to my advantage, sweeping my tongue inside her mouth and tasting her. My hard cock rests between our bodies as the warm water flows from above. She’s clinging to me with ravenous passion, and all it does is push me further over the edge.
I adjust her hips a little and slide my cock up and down her pussy until she’s leaning her head back and moaning loudly. We weren't able to get as loud as we wanted in the woods, so it feels fucking amazing to hear my name on her lips as it echoes off the shower walls.
“You’re in my house now, baby. We’re doing this my way.”
I move my hips so my cock is at her opening, and I thrust all the way inside her, balls deep. She moans and grips my shoulders tightly as I start to move inside her.
“I let you have control when we were in the tent. But you’re mine here, and in my bed you’ll do what I say.”
She locks eyes with me, and for a second she looks like she wants to deny me. But she licks her lips and nods.
“Say it, baby.”
“I’m yours,” she breathes, gripping her legs tighter around my waist and giving over her control.
It’s the last piece of the puzzle I need from her, and now I’m complete. I want to own not only her body but her heart and her mind. When she holds those back and doesn’t let go, I can’t be a part of her in every way. This is why I didn’t want to go back to the club tonight. I needed this last bit of her for myself.
Keeping one arm around her waist, I hold her up and continue to thrust. I move my other hand up to her neck and hold it there while I stare into her eyes. I give her every hard ridge of me and watch as she cums on my cock.
She tenses up but doesn’t break our eye contact as she finally lets go and gives her pleasure to me. I’ve taken her over the edge and made her mine like no one ever has and no one ever will again.
When I feel her clenches, I thrust hard one last time and give her my hot cum. My own pleasure takes over my whole body, and I have to grip her ass with both hands to keep from dropping both of us to the shower floor.
I rest my forehead against hers and try to catch my breath. The intensity of what we just shared rolls around us, and I’ve got to finally say the words I’ve been holding back.
“I lo—”
“I love you, Knox.” Violet interrupts me and steals my thunder.
Of course she does.
I give her a cocky smirk and a soft kiss on the lips. “Knew it the whole time, baby.” She playfully slaps my arm and I kiss her again. “I love you, too, Violet. Love at first sight.”
She looks at me and blushes, and I swear I could stay like this forever. But instead we wash each other’s bodies and hair and then fall naked into bed. After two nights of camping with no sleep, I practically fall on top of her and start snoring immediately.
It’s the soundest sleep I’ve ever had in my life, and when I wake up in the morning to her smiling face, I know I won’t let another day go by w
ithout it.
11
Violet
“You ready?” Knox asks as he squeezes my hand. We just pulled up outside the club, and I can see the row of choppers lined up. Everybody is here.
Looking into his eyes, I squeeze his hand back, letting him know I’m not running. After last night and finally giving over to him and admitting what I’ve been feeling, I’m not looking back. I plan on living my life the way I want to, and for once, I’m going to be honest about who and what I want. I love Knox, and I’m taking him. If my attack when I was younger taught me anything, it’s that life is short and it can all be taken away from you in the blink of an eye. I’m not willing to live the rest of my days in fear of it falling away. I’m ready to grab hold of what’s in front of me and live in the happiness and love he makes me feel.
“Let’s do this.”
Pres called a meeting this morning to go over the shooting and any sort of blowback. When Knox finally let me out of bed, we threw on some clothes and headed over. It didn’t hit me that everyone would be here and see us together until we got close. But now that we’re here, I’m over it. Let them see what we have. I know Knox loves me, and I love him. This is something beyond the club, and I know he feels that way, too.
He walks around and opens the door of his SUV for me, and we walk into the club hand in hand. All the members are sitting around the bar. Casper is in one of the big chairs with her feet propped up. Her feet are swelling almost as much as her ankles.
When we walk in, everybody turns to look at us. Pres looks down at our joined hands and then looks to Knox. I open my mouth to say something, but he beats me to it.
Of course he does.
“Yo. Little announcement here. Violent Violet and I are together. She’s my old lady and I’m her old man. Yada yada yada, we’re getting married. So there’s that.”
I look at him, and I feel my jaw pop open. “Did you just yada yada your proposal to me?”
Knox shrugs like it’s no big deal. “Wasn’t going to let you tell me no.”
The big scarred-up guy named Savage comes over and gives him a high five. “Best way to do it,” he says and pats Knox on the back.
“What the fuck?” I mumble, knowing I should probably be protesting what he said, but my stomach is busy doing flip flops of excitement. I bite my lip to hide my smile. Holy shit, I’m engaged!
“About time you made an honest man out of him,” Pres says, walking over and giving me a hug. I feel Knox’s hand tighten, and he doesn’t let it go while I awkwardly try to hug the guy back.
Casper gets up and makes her way over to us, and she gives me a big hug, too. This time Knox lets my hand go, and I wrap my arms around my sister-in-law. “This might be the first time we know something before Vincent does,” she says, leaning back and smiling at me. She looks way too excited about knowing something he doesn’t.
“Don’t be too sure,” he says from behind us as he makes his way over to where we’re standing. He reaches out, shaking Knox’s hand and congratulating him. “Figured this was what he was up to after changing your Facebook status.”
I glare at Knox, and he just shrugs again like it’s no big deal. I’m going to strangle him when we get home. But then I’m sure I’ll end up giving up. Because what do I really care? I kind of just like riling him up.
“We all good?” Pres asks Vincent.
“Just got the clearance from the Fed. Nobody’s digging too hard into Cobra’s death, and they’ve targeted men inside their own club. The place was dismantled when they got there last night, and someone had set it on fire. Looks like the Five Aces are finished, and the Ghost Riders claim the territory back. My guys are okay with this as long as things keep running like they are.”
Pres nods and looks at me, and I feel the weight of the club’s eyes on me, too.
“You took care of the club, and you made sure we’re all safe for generations to come.” He looks at Casper as she rubs her belly, and then over to Savage who’s got two little kids of his own. “We’re all a family here now, and it’s going to stay that way. We agreed that you’re patched in, regardless if you marry this nerd or not.”
I lean into Knox and laugh. “Thank you.”
“Welcome to the Ghost Riders,” Pres says, and suddenly I hear a champagne cork pop and we’re all being sprayed with suds.
I try to turn into Knox’s chest, but he holds me in front of him so I get covered. I don’t know how many people have bottles, but they all have their fun soaking everyone in the group.
It feels like a time to celebrate. To prepare for a new baby on the way with Vincent and Casper, to welcome me to the club, and to toast the end of the Five Aces. We finally have peace in our town and in our club. No more drama or worry about what comes next. And that’s a pretty great feeling.
As more champagne is popped and more bottles get poured, Knox spins me in his arms and raises me up so we are at eye level.
“I love you, baby,” he says, kissing me on the lips.
‘I love you, too,” I mumble as I wrap myself around him.
I’m finally at peace with myself and my life, and I’ve got someone to always make me feel safe. It was a long time coming, but it was worth the wait. And now we’ve got the rest of our lives to do this thing we call love.
Epilogue
Violet
5 years later…
“What are you doing?” My sister Vanessa leans over in the passenger seat, trying to look at my phone. I’ve been staring down at it for the past five minutes instead of leaving the grocery store parking lot. We were supposed to be back at Mom and Dad’s twenty minutes ago to cook for Mother’s Day, but I haven’t been able to get a hold of Knox for the past three hours, and it’s starting to really piss me off.
Something is up with him, and I’m wondering if he knows and he’s freaking out. There’s something I’ve been keeping from him. I wanted to wait for Mother’s Day. I felt it was fitting, and I could tell everyone at once.
Since I brought Knox home, he’s become a Cassano. One of us. He’d even taken my name when we got married. It wasn’t normal and it shocked me at first when the subject came up. But when we got hitched years ago, he made the decision.
He said my family has been better to him than his own had ever been, and that he’d be honored to carry my name if I let him. He said he’d want our children, when we had them, to have that name. Everyone got a little choked up, even Cas. My sisters all turned to a pile of goo, and even I fought like hell to stop the tears from flowing.
I thought this was something that he wanted. Hell, when I’d gone to the doctor months ago to get my new birth control shot, I was told I didn’t have an appointment. After the third time it happened, I knew it was Knox canceling them. He’d actually hacked into the system and canceled my appointments.
That seemed like he was on baby board, if you ask me, but over the past week he’s been randomly falling off the grid. What the fuck is he up to, and who with?
“You know this place?” I show my sister my phone. It’s a map of Knox’s location on my iPhone tracker. I have it on satellite so I can actually see the building he’s in. Looks like just a bunch of new office spaces.
“I know the new center that was built, but I’m not sure of all the businesses that have been set up there.”
I pull the phone back, debating what to do.
Knox has never given me a reason to question him, but this is driving me nuts. I’m blaming it on the pregnancy hormones.
“Violet,” Vanessa says in warning.
“Well, why the fuck isn’t he answering his phone?” I snap back.
She grins evilly. “Let’s go spy,” she says. “We’ll just, like, drive by. Park right across the street or something.”
“Okay,” I agree, like I’m down with her idea and I wasn’t already going to go there.
“We don’t even have spy stuff.” She starts digging around in the truck like she might find some as I pull out of the parking lot.<
br />
“Bingo.” She produces a pair of sunglasses and slides them on.
“Oh yeah, no one will ever know it’s you now,” I tell her, but she doesn’t seem to care. She’s just happy to have the giant sunglasses.
“Whose are these?” she asks, taking my rearview mirror for her own usage. They clearly aren’t mine. They are giant and have freaking pink diamonds on the side.
“Probably Valerie or Victoria.”
“They’re mine now.” She says it with a smirk on her face. You’d think at this age the three of them wouldn’t be fighting over clothes, but here they are still doing it.
“Wait, what are you doing! We have to hide, not pull right in!” Vanessa explodes.
“Right.” I throw the truck into park. “Stay here,” I tell her as I exit, slamming my door behind me. I see Knox’s chopper sitting outside, and I have to resist kicking it. Even with my sister carrying on in the car, my mind has been whirring with possibilities. What is he doing here? Why?
Feelings of jealousy that I’d never felt bear down on me. I keep telling myself it’s irrational, but here they are. I know this can’t be club shit or I’d know about it. So then what the hell is it? Never has Knox cleared my phone call.
I push open the door, and the bell sounds.
The office is pink. All the walls are covered in a soft pink, and different kinds of chandeliers hang from the ceiling. Three desks with computers sit there, and written on the back wall is, “Perfect Match”.
Is this like a fucking dating match-up place? I see red just as Knox comes out from the back. He stops when he sees me.
I’d always thought if something like this ever happened, I’d be on him. That I’d be cutting his dick off like I always joked, but for the first time in my life all I want to do is run. Maybe vomit.
“Baby?” He starts coming towards me, but I don’t want him to touch me.