She bit her lower lip. “I don’t think your club likes me.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because they know about what I tried to do with Warren Cabot. About the evidence that could’ve—”
He placed a finger on her lips, shushing her. “Nothing happened and it’s over. If you marry me, each member of the club would lay down their lives to protect you.”
“What about me working?”
He shrugged. “Sure. I have no problem with you bringing home a paycheck. Probably would be a good idea, actually, since I’m pretty sure The Forgotten Rebels are now out of the drug trade. Which means no cash flow until we figure something else out.”
“Oh, Heart, really? I admit, I have a big problem with the drug running.”
“I know. Nothing has been decided so far, but from what I’m hearing from the other men, and from what Wick just told me, I think the Rebels are going legit.”
“And what does going legit entail?”
“No sure yet,” he said with a frown. “Some members thought about opening the garage again. The burned out one across the street.”
“Church could work there,” she mused.
“Maybe. And maybe you could run it. I mean, you got experience in that department, right?”
Her mouth opened, closed, and opened again, as if unable to formulate the thoughts racing through her head. “Um, yes. I studied business in college.”
“There you go. Signed, sealed and delivered.”
“But what if you fall in love with someone?” she asked softly.
He cocked his head, placed his hands on her shoulder, and smiled tenderly. “I am in love with someone. You.”
Shock dominated her pretty face. Then she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “Do you mean it?”
“Yep. Cross my heart.”
She leaned back to smile at him. “Now I know why they call you that.”
“So what do you say?” he prodded. “Will you marry me?”
“Will you have a ring by the ceremony?”
A smile spread across his face. “Darlin’, I’ll run out right now and get you one.”
“Then yes,” she said softly. “I will marry you.”
He bent his head and kissed her.
Chapter Seventeen
“Thank you for not making me wear a dress,” Church said. She looked down at her jeans and black army boots.
“Thank you for being my maid of honor.”
“I would’ve said no had you insisted I wear a dress. And heels.” She shuddered in horror. “Torture devices.”
Cherry looked at herself in the mirror, loving the white dress that dipped in at the waist then flared out over her hips. Doll had done her makeup and hair. They’d gone shopping together, and it had been Doll who had found the dress and matching pill hat in a small boutique one town over. Cherry felt elegant and beautiful, and she could hardly believe it was her wedding day.
Doll poked her head into the room. “It’s time!”
Nerves had her stomach quivering, and Cherry hoped she wouldn’t vomit on the preacher’s feet. Church offered her arm.
“Ready?”
Cherry took a deep, steadying breath. “Yes.”
She slipped her arm through her sister’s and the two of them left the room.
A small archway adorned with flowers had been constructed outside. A walkway had been formed by dividing the folding chairs, with white flower petals littering the ground where she was to walk. All The Forgotten Rebels Brothers sat as witnesses, dressed in their finest jeans and cleanest t-shirts. Heart’s Aunt Terry kept dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. Even Kix and his wife Piper, or Sissy as she was known to the Brothers, was there. Heart stood at the altar with Wick as his Best Man, and when he saw her a beaming smile lit up his face. That helped ease her nervousness. When the Wedding March started up, Church escorted her down the aisle.
“Who gives this woman in marriage?” the preacher asked.
“As her only living relative, I do,” Church replied. The she lifted Cherry’s hand and kissed the top before retreating to the side.
Heart held out his hand to her, and without hesitation, Cherry grasped it. As they said their vows and exchanged rings, their little bubble grew with love and happiness.
****
After the ceremony, they had gone back to the cabin for a small honeymoon. She and Church had decided to sell it so this would be Cherry’s last goodbye to the memory of her grandfather, as well as the boy she thought she had known.
Heart carried her over the threshold. To her surprise, the cabin was completely different. Gone were the numerous couches, and a double bed now rested against one wall in the corner. On the table was a vase of flowers, and it looked like the whole place had been scrubbed from top to bottom. Church had disappeared after her return, and only now did Cherry realize where she’d gone.
“There’s a bed!” she cried in surprise.
“Yep, your sister thought it would be more romantic if we actually had someplace to sleep together.”
“I once told you that your husband would take your virginity,” Heart said, his voice husky with desire. “Even then I aimed to be that man. You’re mine, Cherry Sundae Wayne.”
Her heart rate suddenly accelerated as she saw hunger flare to life in dark eyes. “I like the sound of that, Eric Wayne.”
His hands settled on her shoulders. Slowly, he trailed his fingers down her arms, then back up, across her collar bone, up her neck. She shivered, not from cold, but from the need slamming into her body. Heart turned her around to unzip her dress. It fell to her feet in a pile of tulle and silk, leaving her in a white bra and white panties. One finger traced over her spine until it came to her bra. With practiced ease, he unhooked it and let the scrap of material drop. Then he kissed the back of her neck. Cherry gasped and arched a little at the sensual caress, panting a little as he kissed his way down her back only to fall on his knees. He took hold of the lacy panties at her hips and slid them down, placing a kiss on each butt cheek. Doll and Parky had taken her for a body waxing the day before, so she knew her skin was smooth and soft.
Once she was naked, Heart simply stared at her, taking her in from head to toe. She would’ve been self-conscious if awe wasn’t shining from his face like a beacon. The combination of tenderness, love, and raw lust emanating from him was a heady fragrance, so she grasped Heart's large hand and placed it on her breast. She didn’t need words to express her feelings or to understand his, this was their moment. Heart cupped the fleshy globe while his thumb brushed lightly over the taut nipple.
With shaky hands, she unbuttoned his shirt and then reached inside to caress the defined cords of muscle. When the material opened up, he shrugged out of the shirt and this time it was her turn to admire him. The soft chest hair tapered down his belly to disappear into the waistband of his black jeans, and she couldn’t wait to explore that part of his anatomy again. He stepped back but only long enough to shuck the rest of his clothes. Naked, he lay back against the pillows before dragging her down on top of him.
Although they’d lain with each other before, this time it held depth. This man was her husband. Just the thought that her ring now rested on his left hand sent a jolt of ownership through her, and she wondered if this was how men felt when they said my woman. She couldn’t help but rub her body against the full length of him. He kissed her slowly, taking his time. Making love with her and to her. He grazed his hands down her ribs to cup her ass and leg, pulling her thigh over his pelvis so she could feel the full length of his erection. He was big, no doubt about it, and it sent a silver of apprehension through her brain. How could something so big fit inside her?
He kissed her neck and latched on, taking part of the skin between his teeth and sucking. The slight sting made her moan and clutch his muscular shoulders while her hips moved with a mind of their own, grinding against his, instinctively seeking what she wanted so badly. He caught her hands in his just
as he captured her lips in a soul-searching kiss, rolling her beneath him. Their legs twined together as he nestled between the juncture of her thighs, and her eyes flew open when his cock pressed against her slit. Their eyes locked together for a moment before he bent to rain kisses along her jaw to the hollow below her ear. He burned a trail down her throat and nipped playfully at her collarbone before continuing lower, until his upper body rested between her spread legs, giving him all access to her pussy.
He slid his hands under her ass and tilted her up to meet his mouth. She moaned in frustration as he teased her, bypassing the area that wanted to be sucked to graze along the lips of her pussy. Each stroke fanned the flame higher, and Cherry wiggled her hips, begging him to give her the pleasure she sought, deeper and deeper until he finally reached her clit. Only then did he show no mercy, sucking on her clit until she screamed as she came, unable to stop herself from toppling into bliss.
As she basked in the orgasm, Heart inserted a finger into her vagina, using her own lubrication to explore her depths. He pressed one finger, then two, upward and some far-away thought recognized that he must be preparing her for his cock. But the stretching had another side-effect which was to amp up the lethargic afterglow that had settled in her bones. She went from satiated to turned-on in a nanosecond, and just as her hips began to move in time with his probing fingers, they withdrew and Heart surged up her body to settle once more between her legs.
Their gazes locked and held as he took himself in hand and guided his cock into her body. Even with his preparation and her own juices coating the way, he had to push a little hard to break through her virgin barrier. Discomfort gave way to a sharp pain, and she winced as he broke through and continued to push forward. Slowly, little by little, he eased into her body, allowing her body to become accustomed to his girth. The pain didn’t last long, however, and by the time he was fully seated, pleasure once more gripped her. One heartbeat later, Heart pulled back before thrusting deep. He pushed his upper body up until he could stare down at her, and all she could do was grip his shoulders tightly as he began to thrust. This was more than simple fucking. It was primal, and real, and the emotion flowing between them took them into a different stratosphere.
Cherry was surprised to feel herself speeding toward another earth-shattering climax because she’d always heard that virgins never came the first couple of times. She had expected to just let him do his thing, but Heart was a demanding lover. He wanted her to look into his eyes and the connection flowed from her fingertips all the way down to where they were intimately joined. Cherry’s nails dug into his shoulders as her climax crashed through her, and she vaguely heard his triumphant roar as he came, too. For an infinitesimal moment of time, their heartbeats synced. Then he collapsed on her, panting, his skin slick with sweat.
It took a moment for him to roll off her, but when he did, he dragged her with him until she laid her head upon his chest. They lay like that for a long time, until their bodies had cooled and their breathing returned to normal.
“Cherry?” he whispered.
“Yes?”
“I will love you until I fucking die, and then I’ll love you from beyond the grave.”
“Promise?”
“Cross my heart.”
Epilogue
Church walked around the old garage shop in Stevens, looking at what remained after the fire that had claimed it long ago. The structure looked sound, although there were some patches of dry wall that needed to be replaced. Concrete made up the floor and some of the walls, but the only things that needed replacing seemed to be superficial.
“See anything you like?”
Church gasped and spun around. “Fuck! You fucking scared me, Darrell!”
“Jesus, jumpy much?”
She glared at him. “Did you follow me? Because I don’t like being followed.”
“I don’t think anyone likes being followed, Church,” he said. “In any case, you didn’t answer my question.”
“Yeah.”
A stretch of silence descended between them and she raised her chin a notch. He chuckled.
“All right, little diva, I’ll bite. What do you like?”
“This garage has three pits and two solids, perfect for doing a variety of work,” she said. “With some plaster and paint, this place can be up and running in no time.”
“You want a job?”
She snorted. “Don’t make me laugh.”
“I’m serious. I want to ride again and I can’t do that with the bike I have.”
“You want to get rid of the suicide shifter?” Ideas began to burst through her head.
He nodded. “Is it doable?”
“That’s a complete overhaul of the transmission system. I’m not sure if the bike is worth it.”
“It’s not the bike itself I care about,” he said. “It’s the loss of it. I’m part of a motorcycle club and yet I can’t even get on a fucking bike! It’s like I lost more than my leg and I fucking hate it.”
The look in his eyes mirrored the turmoil in her own psyche. A caged animal always recognized another one.
“I have to get back to my garage and make some decisions about it,” she said. “Now that my sister is under someone else’s watch, and I know he’ll take care of her, I can’t keep avoiding the garage and the cabin.”
“Yeah, okay. I get it.”
“No, you don’t. Let me take care of those things and then I’ll give you a bike you can ride.”
He pointed his finger at her. “No girly bike.”
Church used her index finger to put an ‘x’ on her chest. “When I’m done, you’ll kiss my feet and worship the ground I walk upon.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re that confident?”
“I’m that good.”
The End
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Take Aim and Reload (Forgotten Rebels MC Book 3) Page 11