by Jenika Snow
And there had been a unanimous grunt of affirmation from the men at the table.
They started with the stories about Scars when he was younger, how he was a good man, did good things for people and the community. They told her he’d help anyone in need, that he’d give the shirt off his back to a beggar. She had a feeling they were trying to win her over.
But he’d already done that tenfold.
She looked at the man she loved and knew that to be wholeheartedly true. She loved him. She was madly, irrevocably, undeniably in love with the big biker.
He was a good man, caring and generous, protective. And although she knew he could be dangerous, that he did what he had to do, would do what he had to do in order to protect the ones he cared about, at the core of his being, the center of his heart, he was a good man.
“Did you enjoy dinner?”
Hannah glanced over at Stella, Scars’ daughter. She was beautiful and sweet, funny and smart. Hannah saw so much of Scars in Stella that it made her feel closer to the woman instinctively. It was as if they’d known each other their whole lives.
It was a little odd, seeing as Stella was around the same age as Hannah, but that wasn’t a focal point, not something they even worried about.
Hannah and Scars were just two people who had found each other at the perfect time. They’d fallen in love, and she was getting her happily ever after. So was he.
Hannah smiled at Stella. “I did. Everything was so delicious.”
Stella took the empty seat right beside Hannah, and she shifted in her chair to look at the other woman.
“I’ve never seen him this happy,” Stella said almost absently as she looked over at Scars. He stood on the other side of the room, talking to some of the guys, but Hannah noticed him constantly looking in her direction.
And when their eyes would lock, he’d smile, a real, genuine one that told her she made him happy.
“I’ve never been this happy,” Hannah found herself saying then felt her cheeks heat. She turned her attention to Stella and saw the way the other woman smiled.
“I’m glad you’re in his life. He seems… whole for the first time in his life. He’s a good guy. A great dad. And he’ll be the best....” She trailed off, maybe wondering how serious Hannah and Scars were.
“He’ll be the greatest forever.”
Stella beamed and leaned over to hug Hannah. “Welcome to the family,” Stella whispered, and then she was whisked away by her tattoo-covered, alpha, grunting husband, Cadeon.
And then Scars was striding toward her, sat down, and promptly pulled her onto his lap. She nestled right in, and it felt incredible. It felt like this was right where she belonged.
“I love you,” he murmured against her ear and kissed the shell, sending goose bumps along her arms and legs.
She shifted on his lap, and he pulled back so they could look into each other’s eyes. “And I love you.”
He lifted his hand and smoothed his finger along her jawline. “You sure you’re ready for me, for all this?” He gestured to everyone in the club, and Hannah felt herself smile.
She looked at these men, some with their wives, girlfriends, others alone and telling stories to each other.
She saw Stella and Cadeon in an embrace off to the side. She saw the VP of the club, Booshie, with his woman Naggie. Everyone had been so nice, welcoming, but the best person in this room, the one who made her heart stutter and her cheeks flush with just a look, was the man currently nuzzling her neck.
He gave her soft kisses, his hand tightening on her hip as he pulled her closer.
“I know I’m ready for you and a future together,” she finally said and felt his smile on her neck.
“Good.” His voice was a deep rumble. “Because I’m never letting you go. You’re mine.”
“And you’re mine, Mickey.”
Epilogue Two
Two years later
Hannah shifted on the bed and winced. She was tired, unbelievably sore, but deliriously happy. She glanced over at Stella, who sat on one of the chairs in the corner and held the tiny little bundle wrapped in a bright teal blanket. Hannah felt herself smile, her heart swelling with joy, and tears pricking her eyes.
She hadn’t cried so much in her life than she had in the last twenty-four hours.
But she did when the baby was born and she held him for the first time. She cried more when she stared at his dark eyes, pressed her nose to the soft tuft of brown hair on his head, and smelled all the things the future promised. She sobbed when she watched Scars hold his son for the first time and she saw the wonder and amazement reflected on his face.
Hannah had already loved little Luca before then, from the moment she found out she was pregnant, and that love grew with every kick he delivered from inside her womb, and with the way her belly expanded over the last nine months. And that love had grown tenfold when she looked at Scars and had seen how happy he looked every time his eyes landed on her swollen belly, that possessive, territorial gleam in his eyes knowing he got her pregnant, that it was his baby she carried.
And when he held her at night, his palm placed on her pregnant belly, his fingers warm and calloused as he moved his in slow circles along the bump, she sometimes felt like she dreamed all this up. Because how could it be real to be this happy and loved?
Thinking of Scars had her smiling like a fool.
The love of her life.
Her husband.
Her soulmate.
They’d gotten married a year ago, and shortly after, she found out she was pregnant. It had been a surprise pregnancy, but one they’d both been excited about. He might be older than her—hell, old enough to be her father if she were being honest—but they wanted a family together. They wanted to have something that was a little bit of both of them, that tied them together even more.
And now they had little Luca.
“He’s perfect,” Stella whispered as she smiled down at her new little brother.
Stella’s rounded belly could be seen under her shirt, and that made Hannah smile even wider. She knew she and her husband Cadeon had been trying for a baby, and now they would be getting a little addition of their own in the next coming months.
“I know he’s new and little and will change as he gets older, but I swear he looks like Scars.” Hannah rested her head back.
Stella looked at her after she spoke and smiled. “I was just thinking that, Hannah. I swear he has my dad’s scowl already down.”
They both started laughing just as the hospital room door opened. Hannah glanced to see Scars walk in, all muscles and height, masculinity and danger that surround him like a second skin. He had this animal attraction that poured off of him, and with just a look, her heart started racing.
As soon as he saw Hannah, his face softened, and he smiled. The love in his eyes for her practically burst from him and covered her, and she relaxed into the bed, feeling that comfortable sensation that he always gave her. It moved along her body like a touch. Like his touch.
“Hey,” he said in that masculine, gruff voice, but it was soft. He always used a different tone with her than everyone else.
“Hi.” She smiled as she watched him walk up to her. He wore his standard worn jeans that encased his muscular thighs to perfection, a dark T-shirt that stretched over all that raw, hard muscle, and of course his Vicious Bastards MC leather cut. His boots were dark and also worn—biker, shit-kicking boots, she called them.
He leaned over and kissed her forehead, his lips lingering on her skin. She heard him inhale deeply. He did this all the time, as if he wanted her scent in his lungs. And when he pulled back, his smile grew as he watched Stella stand with baby Luca. She walked over to her father and handed off the baby. He gave his daughter a hug, and then she came over and gave Hannah one as well before leaving them.
Once the door was shut softly behind Stella and it was just the three of them, she couldn’t take her focus off her husband as he held their son. Luca was so ti
ny in Scars’ arms despite the baby being over nine pounds when he was born. All the nurses kept saying how he was going to be a big boy, just like his father.
Scars pulled over a chair by her hospital bed and sat down, little Luca still in his arms. The baby started making those sweet little newborn sounds, and Scars looked down at his son with this small smile on his face and light in his eyes.
“The nurses are afraid of you,” Hannah said after a second and started chuckling.
Scars looked up and scowled, but she saw the amusement in his eyes.
“I heard them whispering how it looks like you escaped from prison.” He cocked an eyebrow at that. “I wanted to tell them you’re a gentle giant.”
He snorted and settled back in the chair. “Only with you. Everyone else gets my wrath.”
She started laughing harder, even though she knew that was the truth. But her laughter had her immediately wincing as the pain increased.
Scars straightened, his face showing worry, but she waved off his concern. “This is normal. I mean, I pushed out your larger-than-life son.”
The smile he gave her could have melted ice. He looked at Luca and leaned down to kiss him softly on the forehead.
“He looks like you,” she whispered softly and saw the way his throat worked as he swallowed.
He nodded slowly. “Yeah,” he said in a gruff, emotion-filled voice.
She closed her eyes, her body sore and tired, her mind worn out from the last twenty-four hours, but her heart full. It had all been worth it.
“Hey,” Scars said softly, and she opened her eyes to look at her husband. He stared at her with so much… devotion. “I love you.”
Her heart did a little gallop in her chest. He reached for the hand closest to him and brought her knuckles to his lips, kissing them softly.
“I love you too. So much.”
He brought their joined hands to his forehead and just rested them there, his eyes closed, the room quiet, the silence welcoming.
She’d never felt complete before, not until Scars had come into her life, and now that they had their little boy, everything had come full-circle. Yeah, things were… perfect.
About the Author
Find Jenika at:
www.JenikaSnow.com
[email protected]