We woke up to someone wiggling their way into the blanket fort. I opened my eyes and smiled when I made out Jamie settling himself on my right. Fable was still sleeping with his thumb in his mouth.

  “Hey, how’d it go?” I asked Jamie.

  He wrapped an arm around me. “Grimm was mad. I think I’ve only seen him that mad once before, and it was when I crawled into his bed naked, but this was worse because he didn’t even spank me.”

  “He didn’t?”

  “No, he said he was disappointed in me for us going off on our own without letting anyone know. He was more upset about that. And of course, me pilfering weed from his stash.”

  “That was ballsy of you.”

  “I didn’t think he’d miss it,” he said on a giggle. “But we had fun last night.”

  “Yeah, except for the part where we landed in jail.” I snorted. “Though the look on your uncle’s face was priceless when we were brought in.”

  “Whose idea was it again to go streaking through the park?” Jamie asked.

  “Honestly, I have no idea.”

  By the time we all crawled out of our hidey-hole, we were more rested and ready to get me hitched. Nervous excitement fluttered in my stomach. In just a couple of hours, I was getting married.

  “You look so handsome,” Fable told me as he fixed my tie.

  “Elegant,” Jamie agreed.

  He was one to talk when he was wearing a floor-length dress with a slit in the side and gorgeous gold strappy slippers. He had diamonds Grimm must have given him at his throat. Fable was just as stunning in the perfect tuxedo tutu dress that we’d found when we went shopping. The only thing that would have been more perfect for him was if the tutu portion of the skirt was purple, but he was just excited to wear something like this to my wedding.

  “You don’t think we should have worn something less flashy?” he asked me. “It’s your big day and all attention should be on you.”

  “Of course not, I love how diverse my wedding will be. You two are bright spots in my life, it’s only fitting that you’re the bright spots in my wedding too.”

  “Do you know if Miles is going to show up?” Jamie asked me.

  “I hope so, but I’m still not sure.”

  The doorbell rang, and I glanced up. “Who could that be?”

  “I hope it’s not Mort. He’s seen you enough times already before the wedding. He will not be seeing you in your outfit until you walk down the aisle.”

  “Is it weird that I chose to walk down the aisle alone?” I asked them. “I wasn’t sure who to choose after everyone volunteered. That was so sweet.”

  “Not weird at all. You’ll not be alone. We’ll all be cheering for you.”

  Tears popped into my eyes, and I snagged a tissue to dab the corners. “I wish my mom was here.”

  “Oh, Cass.” Fable wrapped his arm around me and so did Jamie.

  “I understand,” Jamie said. “I think about my dad a lot too, but if it helps, I think they’re watching over us every single day.”

  A knock sounded on the door. Fable and Jamie immediately stood in front of me.

  “You can’t seriously believe in this stuff,” I said.

  “I’m not taking any chances,” Jamie replied. “Who is it?”

  “It’s Zak. You boys decent?”

  As if he hadn’t seen us all naked before. He’d fucked Fable on the same bed where Mort had been fucking me at the time.

  “Are you alone?” Jamie asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Then come in.”

  Zak entered the room, and we all fawned over how gorgeous he looked. Of course, he was. Zak was a beautiful man.

  “Wow, you boys look great,” he said, but his eyes were trained on me, and something didn’t look right in them.

  “Thanks. Is something wrong?” Did Mort change his mind about me?

  “Well, there’s a man in the living room who says he’s here to see you, Cass.”

  “A man?”

  “Yeah, he says he’s your stepdad.”

  The world fell away from me, leaving me stranded on a ledge with nothing but a void surrounding me. “M-m-my step-d-dad?” I stuttered.

  “Yes, I thought you knew but I also texted Mort to let him know.”

  “My stepdad is here?”

  This couldn’t be real, but that man at the restaurant. That had been him, hadn’t it?

  “Do you want me to kick him out?” Zak asked. “I don’t know the extent of what damage has been done between you two.”

  How about the man who had taken advantage of me when my mother died by raping me then prostituting me to other men? If that wasn’t bad enough, he’d hardly spent a dime of the money he prostituted me for on me.

  “No.” I shook my head and headed for the door. “Where is he?”

  “In the living room.”

  I stopped at the door.

  “And Mort’s coming?”

  “Yes, he said he was on his way with the twins right after I texted him.”

  Good. I’d begged Mort not to go after the man even though he’d wanted to, but since Michael dared to show up on my wedding day, then he was asking for this.

  “Do you want us to come with you?” Jamie asked.

  I hesitated. For so long Michael had scared me. He’d made me codependent on him for so long that I hadn’t grown any form of self-confidence until I ran away from home. This was my time to face him.

  “I want to see him alone,” I said. “But will you stay close?” In case I needed them.

  This was not supposed to happen on my wedding day.

  I dismounted the stairs and took a deep breath before entering the living room. And life was so unfair. Karma should have him old and bald with rotten teeth and broken by life. But he seemed well off, still good looking, and when he smiled as I entered the living room, it was that same devastating smile that had landed me in bed with him a mere weeks after my mother was buried.

  “Good god, Cass, it really is you.” He outstretched his arms. “Come and give your dear old dad a hug.”

  I stood rooted to the floor. Was he fucking kidding me?

  “What are you doing here?” I croaked.

  “I heard a little rumor that you were getting married,” he said. “And I thought to myself, how can you get married without your dad walking you down the aisle to the man of your dreams.”

  A startled laugh escaped from me. “You don’t want to do that.”

  “I don’t want to do what?”

  “Walk me down the aisle to the man of my dreams,” I replied. “He’d gut you in front of everyone.”

  He flinched. “I got to say I’m disappointed. I don’t like the way you left home, Cass. I was giving you time to find your way back. Imagine my surprise when I found out you were getting hitched.”

  “I didn’t leave home, I had to run away because of how sick and disgusting you were.” My shoulders shook. I didn’t deserve this on my wedding day. On any other day but this one.

  “I don’t recall doing anything to you that you didn’t want done. In fact, I’ve heard you’ve grown quite the reputation, playing fast and loose with men.”

  “Don’t you dare talk about my reputation. You’re the one who made me what I am.”

  “I showed you your potential. I just worked on what was there in the first place.” He shook his head at me. “You were in my bed that night.”

  “My mother’s bed. I was missing her. I thought you were at work. It wasn’t an invitation for you to touch me.”

  “But you didn’t stop me.”

  “Because I was hurting and at the time it made me stop feeling that way,” I snapped. “You took advantage of me and then after—the things you made me do for money that I didn’t even get any of, you were disgusting.”

  “It kept food in your belly and your ass occupied enough for you to stop moping. Honestly, I’m just here to wish you well and walk you down the aisle.”

  “Over my dead body.”

  I spun around to find Mort handsomely dressed in his formal clothes with his cut over his dress shirt. He looked so handsome. And angry.

  “I take it you’re Cass’s fiancé?” My stepdad asked, extending a hand. “I’m—”

  “A dead man.” Mort was across the room in a flash, his fist planted in my stepdad’s face. Michael didn’t see it coming. He stumbled back and before he could regain his confidence, Mort had him by the collar of his shirt, hammering his fist into the other man’s face.

  Usually, I would have stopped Mort. I hated violence, but my heart was stone where this man was concerned. I might have overlooked what someone like Kane did, as in the end, he admitted his wrongs, but my stepdad walked back into my life pretending that he’d been in the right to pimp me out. Like he hadn’t taken advantage of my grief and trained me how to please men for my benefit.

  I’d never been bright, but this man had made me believe I was stupid. Because of him, crippling self-doubt and low self-esteem made me second guess everything, pushed me to make dumb choices, and interact poorly with situations I found myself in. But being with Mort and making my friends, I felt stronger, more decisive, more confident in myself, and to trust my instincts.

  “Stop! Stop!” my stepdad screamed at Mort, his face a bloody mess, bleeding on the fancy shirt he thought he would get to wear to my wedding.

  “You think this makes up for even half what you put him through?” Mort crouched over the man and grabbed him by the throat. “You deserve nothing but to die a slow and miserable death, and if I’d supported rape in the least, I would have men do to you what you did to Cass all these years. It’s nothing less than you deserved, you sick bastard.”

  Another punch knocked him out cold. Mort rose to his feet and turned toward with his jaw clenched. I’d seen him this angry before when we confronted Kane. It didn’t terrify me. Not when I knew it wasn’t directed at me but the people who hurt me.

  “Fuck, I’m sorry you had to see that,” he said, stepping over the body lying on the floor and walking toward me.

  When he was close enough to me, I held his face in my arms and kissed him hard. “My only regret is that you got blood on your very nice shirt.”

  He captured my lips with his and kissed me hard. “My only regret is that my hands are bloody, and I can’t touch you the way I want to. I can’t wait to marry you.” He hesitated. “Unless this has thrown you off and—”

  “No, I’m good. We’re getting married today.”

  “That’s what I’m talking about. I’m making you mine in a few, Cass. I’ll own every piece of you.”

  “All right, guys,” Zak announced behind us. “While I understand the sentiment here, y’all need to separate and find yourselves at the clubhouse all ready for the ceremony.” He glanced at the body on the floor. “Problem is, who’s going to dump this piece of shit? I ain’t missing the wedding.”

  “We’ll handle it,” Noose said.

  I hadn’t even heard them enter. I frowned at Mort.

  “I brought them with me in case I needed help.”

  “So, let’s deal with it,” Noose reiterated. “I’m going to need you all out of the way though.”

  Nine

  JAMIE ALWAYS SAID that bad luck comes in three. I figured we got jailed last night and my stepfather tried to ruin my wedding, so something else was going to happen. Jamie was wrong.

  When we got to the clubhouse where the wedding ceremony had been set up outside, I was in absolute awe of what the wedding planner had done with decorating the venue. Although I’d seen Mort just half an hour before, seeing him waiting for me at the other end of the aisle left my throat dry.

  In the minute it took me to get to the end of the aisle, my life flashed before my eyes. Of the happy days when my mother was alive, of the terrible ones with my stepdad, the liberating ones when I found the club, and then there were these upcoming days with Mort. The days together that would make up the rest of our lives.

  I walked right up to Mort who still had specks of blood on his shirt. It should have been a reminder of my stepdad, but I saw it as a promise. That this man would love me and cherish me and protect me as long as he breath inside his body.

  He cupped my face and kissed me, a deep hard kiss that reached the core of my being.

  “Ahem,” Reverend Homer cleared his throat. “I think we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves here. If we can wait until the end of the ceremony to do the kissing…”

  Mort released me, his face flushed. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “You can go ahead. Marry us but try not to take all day.”

  I stifled my chuckle as the officiant scowled at Mort before schooling his features into a smile.

  “We are here together to witness the commitment…”

  We recited our traditional vows and rings, then as if to spite us Homer went off on a tangent about what marriage went until Mort hissed at him to wrap it up already. The officiant grinned and gestured toward us.

  “I now pronounce you spouses for life.”

  “Come here.” Mort grabbed me by the waist and lifted me. I wrapped my legs around his waist with a laugh and kissed him.

  It was done. We were married. I now had the legal right to call him my husband.

  Lots of pictures followed the wedding. Professional photographs as well as friends just wanting to snap pictures with us. It wasn’t Mort’s favorite part of the wedding; I knew that much, but he endured it all with somewhat of a smile.

  When it was time to give the toasts, Jamie stood, clearing his throat.

  “Oh god, shoot me now,” Mort grumbled.

  “Because it’s your wedding day, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” Jamie said, and everyone laughed. “The first time I met Cass, I wanted to hate him, but that quickly proved impossible. He’s the most lovable, kind, and thoughtful friend ever. He’d put himself in harm’s way if he thought it would help you out of a bad situation, and that’s one of the main reasons I love him…” He turned to me. “That I love you. And Mort, sorry I had little confidence in you when all this began.” He flicked a finger between Mort and me. “But I see the way you love and care for my friend, and that there’s only one best man for him. And... that’s me of course…” Laughter again. “But you’re the only man for him. “I wish you nothing but the best in your marriage and when the fights happen, just remember you can overcome them if you love a little harder.”

  A perfect speech but then he of course had to ruin it. “Although I don’t see how you two can love any harder than you do now.”

  “I think that’s enough Jamie.” Grimm stood and placed a hand over Jamie’s mouth. “To Cass and Mort.”

  Mort and I had our first dance to Love on the Brain. We started with the familiar waltz steps I’d been taught, but somewhere along, we forgot about getting the rehearsed steps right. His hands wrapped around my waist and mine went around his neck, my face pressed to his chest; his hard cock against my belly.

  I chuckled at the feel of his hardon. “Really, Mort? Right here in front of all our guests?”

  “Hey, I find you hot regardless of how many people we’re in front of.”

  “How much longer for the ceremony?” I asked him.

  “Why? You got something in mind?”

  “Kind of. The shed around the back is empty.”

  “Dammit, Cass.”

  I peered up at him with big eyes. “What?”

  “Now you’re going to have me thinking about that shed and what I want to do to you in it.”

  “Do it. Do it,” I chanted softly. “I’ll never say no.”

  “Maybe you should, then I wouldn’t be so tempted half the time to carry you away.”

  The song transitioned into Happy Together by The Turtles. Since our first dance ended, other couples filtered onto the makeshift dance floor. I kept dancing with Cass, moving us further and further away from the crowd. With the dancing, I figured our wedding might turn into a full-blown party soon. No one seemed to miss us slipping away.

  “Should we make a run for it?” I asked Mort.

  “Nope, we’d only draw attention to ourselves. We’re just going for a stroll. Take my hand.”

  I took his hand and we walked away, my heart hammering in my chest at the thought that any minute now someone was going to catch us sneaking out of our own wedding to do the nasty. I giggled and Mort shushed me as we finally rounded the back of the clubhouse. Finally, all alone. Mort swept me up in his arms and kissed me. I wrapped my legs around his waist, as he walked us over to the shed where they had their bikes serviced.

  The door was already unlatched, so Mort pushed it open. We froze at the rhythmic slapping of flesh against flesh that we were far engaged in too often not to recognize it for what it was. Grunts and moans filled the shed. My eyes rounded. Someone else had taken our spot.

  “Mine,” a masculine voice growled, way too low for me to identify.

  My eyes traveled the length of the shed to the far wall where a biker cut had another pinned by the hands to the wood. His ass jackknifed forward and back.

  “Harder. Harder, pound me, brother.”

  My mouth fell open. Oh my god. Oh my god.

  Before the squeak could come out of me, Mort’s hand covered my mouth and he backed out of the shed, closing the door gently behind us for it not to make a sound.

  “Don’t squeal,” he said.

  I nodded, and he removed his hand. “But that was--”

  His hand covered my mouth again. “Yeah, I know. But it’s their business, so we don’t say anything to anyone. When they’re ready to let others know then they’ll do it. Not us. Okay, Cass?”

  I nodded but my head was still back in that shed, where Noose had Whip pinned to the wall. Oh, my fucking god. I had this juicy news to tell, and I couldn’t even share it with Jamie and Fable.

  “I’m trusting you not to tell anyone, Cass,” Mort said as if he could read my thoughts.

  “I know, I won’t tell, but Jamie and Fable wouldn’t have any problem with it.”

  “Cassius Kennedy.”

  I beamed at him. “Yes, Mr. Kennedy?”

 

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