The problem comes when Hero takes a wrong turn away from the compound. He should be heading east. Instead, he has us pointed west.
“What’s the deal, brother?” I ask. “Can’t be lost already.”
“Not lost. Just taking the scenic route,” he answers.
Okay. I’m not getting whatever this is, but I sit back, enjoying the feel of Hannah’s body pressed to my side. I can’t wait to get her on her back again. Fuck. That’s a thought I don’t need while riding in the van with her sister and my Lord brother in front.
The hours pass. We stop for bathroom breaks and gas. The food the Missouri hot mama made tasted pretty good, though no one cooks like a Brown woman.
“Hero, seriously. Your scenic route is really fucking scenic at this point,” I grumble. I want out of the van. I want to bury myself in Hannah and forget for a while.
“We’re getting close to our destination.”
“And where the fuck is that? Sure as hell isn’t Kentucky.”
It’s dark again by the time we reach his planned destination. Hannah’s eyes grow wide and excited as she takes in all the lights of the strip. “Vegas?” she asks.
Hero laughs from the front and reaches over to squeeze Brinley’s knee. I laugh then too. He said he was marrying her; I just didn’t figure it would be so soon. We still have so much shit left to deal with, not to mention all those fresh losses.
We end up at a small casino hotel nearer the end of the strip with a vacancy. The four of us pile out of the van and stretch for a moment before heading inside. It’s clean. High ceilings. Has that sort of Rat Pack Vegas feel—I like it. Hannah and I could use a shower for sure. We get two separate rooms specifying they need to be on the same floor. Safety in numbers and all.
Then we walk through the lobby until I grab Hannah’s arm to walk us in the direction of the bar. Brin and Hero follow. I order a bourbon on the rocks and Hannah a Dark ‘n’ Stormy—she loves those damn things—and this one smells fantastic. I only mean to take a sip but end up drinking half of hers, so I order two more. Hero orders beer for himself and a coke with cherry for Brinley since Brinley, being knocked up, can’t drink alcohol.
“What’s the game plan?” I ask.
“Well, Brin and Hannah need to go shopping in the morning. You and I need to clean up and then we’re heading for the Elvis chapel. They have Elvis ministers of varying Elvis ages and looks. She wants Vegas Elvis with the big sunglasses. That’s where we’re headed.”
Hannah peps up, clapping her hands in front of her and with her eyes watering, jumps from her stool to hug Brinley. “Can’t believe you’re getting married, baby sister. This is huge. Huger than huge.” Brinley smiles a big, watery smile. The woman really is gorgeous. I’ve thought it before and I’m sure it won’t be the last time, but Hero’s a lucky man.
Looking between the women, those two drinks making me feel loose and relaxed, I need to be alone with this happy, mellow Hannah. It’s time for bed.
When we get up to our room, the first thing I do is throw my cut on the dresser and order us into the shower. The room is nice. Modern. Clean lines. All white. Padded headboard—I can get behind that. My gaze landing on Hannah again, she’s wearing that sexy Hannah smile on her face, lowering her lashes in that come-hither look she has that’s never failed to make me want her.
I get her down on her knees in the shower and then return the favor. Twice. But we need food and chillout time. After drying off, I toss Hannah one of my T-shirts from the bag I brought with me. It’s still clean because we didn’t have much time to clean up and change when we were on the hunt for the women.
Dialing down for room service, we order pretty much every comforting food on the menu. Chicken fried steaks, mashed potatoes in a creamy gravy, these green beans slow cooked with bacon and onion. Molten chocolate lava cakes.
Hannah turns on the TV and when I hang up the phone, I gently glide the remote from her fingers to find us a movie to watch.
She glares at me. It feels normal, like we don’t have the world pressing down on our shoulders. I smile and continue to flip through the channels.
“Can you at least make it a comedy?” she asks. “I need light. I need to laugh.”
A comedy? Yeah, I could absolutely give her that.
We settle in on top of the comforter. She’s on her side, her whole body pressed against mine, head to my chest, when the knock comes.
She moves to get up, but she’s wearing only my T-shirt. I don’t need some dumb fuck ogling her, so I bend down to kiss her. “You stay. I’ll get it.”
I walk to the door in just my boxers. The guy startles but collects himself. I move to let him roll the cart in. He sets it up for us on the table to the side of the bed, then before he leaves, I hit him with a fat tip.
He eyes the bills and thanks me profusely as he backs the cart out of the room, shutting the door before he leaves completely.
“That was really nice of you,” she says. “But I need food. Feed me, babe,” she orders. Feed my woman I do. We eat, drink and watch movies until we literally pass out. I never get to fuck her, but tonight’s a good night.
The next morning, after we’ve showered and dressed, I call down to Hero’s room to let him know we’re ready. They weren’t exactly ready. “Jesus,” I say to Hannah as I hang up. “He already knocked her up. What more does he want?”
Hannah bites her bottom lip and smiles through it. “Forever,” she says.
Fuck if that ain’t the truth.
We don’t have too much of a wait before Hero and a freshly fucked Brinley with her attempt to tame her sex hair show up at our room. The four of us walk to the elevator. They know exactly where they’re heading. It’s this little bridal shop off the strip.
It’s cool of the dress consultant to not assume which woman is the bride, asking before both Brinley and Hannah get whisked out of the room. Halfway down the hallway, I hear Brinley tell the woman, “I want us both in white.”
That’s odd, isn’t it only supposed to be the bride? Well, it’s her fucking wedding, her fucking day. She wants her sister in white, I doubt Hannah’s going to complain. Knowing they’re in safe hands, Hero and I leave to get our shit done.
“Not wearing a suit, but I am dressing up. I do this, it’s with my cut on.”
“I hear ya. Boss, Duke, Chaos all did the same.”
We maneuver around the throngs of people to find a menswear shop. Hero and I both find appropriate attire for a biker wedding. New jeans. High quality black button downs to go under the cuts. The salesman folds our sleeves to just below the elbow in an elegant fold. The guy even talks us into wearing black, silk ties. Hero and I are a couple of stylish but classy bastards by the time we leave. From there he leads us to a jewelry shop about a block down.
“Gotta get Brin’s wedding ring,” he says. I don’t know how he knows Brinley’s ring size, but he’s confident when he drops 5k on a ring set. It’s like white gold and this gorgeous blue gem, a sapphire, I think. It’s fucking huge. When I lift my chin, indicating I like the ring choice, he smiles. “Brin doesn’t want diamonds. She calls them blood diamonds. Says the people who mine them are brutalized. Sapphires are her favorite gem. Hence dropping a wad on this one.”
Makes sense.
“What’s Hannah’s favorite gem?” he asks.
I look at him, puzzling that one out. “It’s pink. I know that much for sure.” Pink’s Hannah’s favorite color and I’ve overheard her waxing on about how much she loves pink stones enough times over the years. Any time one of the other old ladies of the club got engaged.
Hero turns to the saleswoman still happily waiting on us. “Pink precious gems?” he asks. She smiles as she walks us over to a different display cabinet. It’s so full of sparkling pink, I’d swear I was at a party for Jade, Duke and Caity’s daughter, rather than a jewelry store.
But there’s this one giant-ass pink stone. “What’s that?” I ask.
The saleslady smiles even wider. �
��That is our pink sapphire. It’s gorgeous, don’t you think?”
“I thought they were blue,” I reply stupidly to the woman.
She laughs. “They come in an array of colors. You have a wonderful eye, however. This one is our halo set in fourteen carat rose gold. The center gem is three carats and is encircled by beautiful pink morganite, which also adorn the band. As it’s a set, the wedding band comes adorned with the morganite as well.” She waits for me to speak, expectantly showing off a mouthful of bright, white teeth.
The wedding band? Shit. This is what I wanted. We’re in Vegas, after all. Her sister is here. I punch Hero in the shoulder. “Bastard,” I whisper. “You and Brin had this planned all along.”
He laughs but doesn’t deny it.
The saleslady cuts in again. “We have a very manly men’s ring to coordinate with this set and if you don’t mind me saying so, it would go stunningly with your hair,” she says, a pink blush covering her cheeks.
I snicker. “Show me the band.”
On a nod, she leads us over to a counter holding an array of men’s rings. I look to my brother. “You knew I’d give in, didn’t you?”
“I just led the horse to water, man. I can’t make your stubborn ass drink. That’s on you.” He’s wearing that arrogance that Hero is known for.
“She’s either gonna be happier than I’ve ever seen her or pissed as hell. I can’t be sure.”
“Does that mean you’re finally drinking?” he asks.
“Yeah, your damn Kool-Aid,” I answer, smiling and shaking my head. He outright laughs. In the end, I drop as much on the rings for me and Hannah as he did for his old lady. I think we made that saleswoman’s month.
We leave the store with all our bags then pop in to grab each of the women those frou-frou coffees they both love and I look down at the time on my phone. “Think we’ve given them enough time?” I ask.
“Yeah. Just got the text from Brin.” We head back their way and meet the women inside the store to pay for their selections. Both dresses are already in garment bags, which means I don’t get to see what she’s picked out, though Hannah smiles sheepishly at me. I have no clue what that one means.
She takes her cup, sucking up the drink through the straw until she has to pinch the bridge of her nose. “Brain freeze.” She laughs, flapping her hands and making herself look like a goof.
But once the brain freeze subsides, she goes right back in for another sip. Hannah. I shake my head chuckling under my breath as I roll my eyes at the woman I love. Without a doubt, this is the woman I want to spend forever with.
Before walking back to the hotel, the women pop into a Walgreens for makeup and hair shit. Our final stop is the hotel, where Brin goes to our room with Hannah and I go get ready with Hero.
As we both showered this morning, it doesn’t take us long to dress, and damn, I have to say we’re a couple of good-looking motherfuckers. “Don’t we clean up nice,” I say.
“Fuck yeah. The most gorgeous women in Vegas deserve it, don’t you think?”
I snicker, shaking my head as I pull my phone from my pocket to text Hannah.
Almost done, she replies. Hero’s going to be blown away.
We leave Hero’s room, making sure he’s got the keycard in his pocket, and walk down to my room. I knock on the door. After a minute, it opens and my mouth drops open. Hero’s going to be blown away? I’ve never seen Hannah look so breathtaking. She has her hair down in these rippling waves and the dress is almost like a pink champagne. I remember Brinley telling the consultant that she wanted them both wearing white, but this is so much better. Han has a darker pink flower tucked and pinned by her left ear. The dress is strapless and forms like a mold over every curve. The front bodice dips low in the center like a heart. It’s like satin or something. She looks like one of those 1940s pinup girls.
And fuck me, when she turns around, the back only goes halfway up and there’s a long slit stopping just below her rounded ass so she can walk in that skirt. All I want to do is get her out of it and have my wicked, wicked way with her.
Brinley steps out from the bathroom and I think Hero’s heart might have stopped. His feet sure do. He stands there, a shocked expression, taking her all in. Han wasn’t wrong. Brin has bright red lips. A blue-and-red flower tucked and pinned behind her ear drawing attention to her flowing, black hair. She’s got on this white halter-style dress that pushes up her ample tits, narrows in at her waist, and flairs out in the skirt.
She looks beautiful. I’m positive if my brother could pick his jaw up off the floor, he’d tell her the same thing.
Brinley dips her chin in this demure thing she’s had going since she showed up at the compound. I can’t lie; it’s sexy as hell. “We better get going,” I suggest. “Sooner to get the groom to his honeymoon.”
Hero snaps out of his Brinley trance, offering her up his arm. Checking first that I have our keycard before leaving, we head to the elevator. As we walk through the lobby, the four of us are peppered with shouts of congratulations. Hannah has no idea.
We take the van because it’s too far to walk. But the chapel looks exactly like the photo on the website. When we walk in, since this is Vegas Elvis, the receptionist looks like Ann-Margaret, I think her name was, with big hair, shimmery go-go boots, and a shimmery silver dress that barely covers her ass.
“I suggest the romance package,” she says. “It comes with the bouquet, professional photography, and a private ceremony so you don’t have others waiting in the seats while you’re exchanging vows.”
“Sounds great,” Hero says.
“Don’t you want to know the price?” she asks.
“Doesn’t matter. My bird gets the best,” he answers. The woman smiles. I look at her then back at Hannah who’s helping Brinley smooth out any wrinkles in her dress from sitting. Then I pull the receptionist closer to me.
“Can it be a double wedding? I’ll buy a package, too. The women are sisters. They’d go out of their minds. But I want it a secret. My woman doesn’t know.”
She winks conspiratorially at me as I hand off my credit card. Once I’ve signed the receipt, the women are whisked away to find flowers. “You don’t mind me hijacking your wedding, do you?” I ask Hero.
“Nah, brother. This is exactly how Brinley would want it. She’ll go crazy seeing you and Han up there with us. It’s Han I’m wondering about.”
“Leave her to me,” I say. “She’ll come around.”
Ann-Margret meets us at the private chapel room and shows us into the waiting room. There are a few people ahead of us in the public chapel room. We’re given complimentary champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries. The woman brings Brinley a sparkling grape juice on request instead.
After about a half hour, Ann-Margret comes to gather us. “Elvis has taken his place inside,” she says. We stand. “Which ones are Brinley and Levi?” Hero wraps an arm around Brin’s waist and raises a hand and waves, fingers bent like he’s gesturing number one. She smiles at them. “You’ll walk down the aisle first,” she continues. “And when I give the sign, Hannah and Raif will follow.”
Hannah narrows her eyes, but I guess she figures we’re standing up in their wedding.
We’re directed to take our spots to the left of Brin and Hero.
The music begins. It’s a piano version of “I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You.” Brinley bursts out in tears, pressing her face against Hero’s cut. But when they’re directed to, she stands straight and loops her arm through his offered one, holding her bouquet of pretty white roses as they begin the walk along the white velvet carpet. They get about six beats ahead when Han and I are directed to follow. I offer her my arm. She smiles as she takes it. It’s another one of those heart-stopping moments. God damn, she’s beautiful.
We begin the slow stride down the aisle and when we reach them, Hero moves him and Brinley over a spot so Hannah stands next to her sister carrying her pale pink roses. It’s only then that she takes in our
positions and looks at me, then at Hero and Brinley, and then back to me. “What’s going on?” she whispers.
Elvis speaks over her. Ann-Margret sits at the back of the room. “I notice we don’t have marriage licenses on file.”
“Fuck, I’m from here and everything—I should know this shit. I was so excited to get here that I forgot the most important part.”
I’ll make an exception. Mind you, it’s only a commitment ceremony until you get me the license, but if you go right after and bring it back, I’ll sign it and make the whole thing legal. Deal?”
“Absolutely,” Hero answers.
“Right then… We’re gathered here today to unite these two beautiful couples in holy matrimony. I’ve seen a lot, done a lot, but this is a first even for me.”
“Couples?” Hannah shouts. I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her in close, and try to bite back my laughter. Han elbows me in the gut even with tears shimmering in her eyes.
Brinley does exactly what Hero predicted she would. “Oh, sissy,” she says, throwing one arm around Hannah. “This is the best day ever.”
“Now,” Elvis starts. “Brinley… Hubba hubba.” Brin blushes. He looks to Hero. “Levi, you’re a lucky groom.”
Hero nods. “Don’t I know it.”
“Tell me, Levi,” Elvis says. “Do you take the beautiful Brinley to be your wife?” Then he gives a hip swivel.
Hero immediately replies, “Hell yes.”
We all laugh.
“Glad to see you so excited, but we’re not done, you see. You got to promise to love this little lady in sickness and in healthy times. Through prosperous years as well as lean ones, through thick and thin, until death do you part.”
He smiles again. “I promise. I do. I absolutely fucking do.”
Tears streak down Brinley’s face as Elvis turns to her. “Now you, Miss Brinley, do you take Levi to be your husband? In sickness and in healthy times. Through the prosperous years as well as lean ones, thick and thin, until death do you part?”
“I do. I so do. I can’t believe it. Mom would be so happy, Han. This is just…” She trails off, hiccupping. Hannah leans away from me to kiss her sister’s cheek, using her thumb to wipe the lipstick mark from Brinley’s face before moving back.
Blood Revealed (Brimstone Lords MC Book 6) Page 14