Epilogue
Lyssa -- Six months later
I ran my hand over the small bump under my shirt.
A daughter. I smiled when I recalled Beast’s reaction.
He’d gone from amazed to terrified in the blink of an eye.
If I’d thought he’d strengthened the compound in the weeks after he’d rescued me, it was nothing compared to what he’d done since finding out the gender of our baby.
The fence line was slowly being replaced with a large stone wall.
He’d had spikes mounted across the top of it as well as motion-activated cameras.
To some, it might feel more like a prison, but I knew he’d done it to keep us safe.
My mother stood beside me, her arms folded as she watched our family. My siblings ran across the grass while my dad and Beast headed for us. Mom pursed her lips, and I had a feeling she was about to give my dad hell.
“Why haven’t you put up a wall like this one? All the trouble we’ve had over the years and we still have chain-link fencing.”
My dad snorted. “Because we have more land than the Reckless Kings. Do you have any idea what it would cost to put up a wall like this?”
My mother sniffled and pouted. More than once I’d seen her cry on demand, and her eyes welled with tears now. “Our family isn’t worth the cost of a sturdy wall? Do we mean so little to you?”
“Oh hell.” My dad stalked closer and yanked my mom into his arms. “You don’t play fair, woman. You know damn well I love you and our kids. If you want a big-ass fucking wall like this one, I’ll figure it out.”
I rolled my lips in and pressed down so I wouldn’t smile or laugh. Mom winked at me over my dad’s shoulder and I rushed over to Beast before I couldn’t stay composed. He opened his arms and I cuddled close.
“She do that often?” he asked, his voice low enough my dad wouldn’t hear.
“Yep. And he falls for it every single time. It’s a thing of beauty to watch.”
He smacked my ass. “Don’t go getting any ideas.”
I looked up at him. “But I don’t need to trick you into doing what I want. All I ever do is ask and you give me anything and everything I could ever want or need.”
His lips grazed mine, then he kissed me fully. “Because I love you and I want you to be happy. Should we show them what else we’ve been building?”
I nodded. Instead of making an in-law suite out of the empty room out back, Beast had decided to put up a set of guest cottages.
Even though I was the only one with family who would come visit, sooner or later we’d have more families here.
If the women who fell for the other Reckless Kings had big families like mine, they’d need a place with plenty of room when their family stopped by.
The first cottage was complete and the second was already underway.
“If you two are finished, we have something to show you,” Beast said, raising his voice to be heard over my brother and sisters.
We walked a little farther down the road past our house. Beast stopped in front of the completed cottage and handed my dad a key.
“What’s this for?” my dad asked.
“The cottage is yours to use while you’re here.
I’ll need the key back when you leave. It’s the first of three guest homes we’re putting in.
Lyssa wanted to make sure you had plenty of space when you came to visit, and I think she’s hoping some of my brothers will settle down.
She wants more women around, which could mean more families visiting.
” Beast placed his hand over my baby bump.
“Besides, you’ll want to come back when little Madison is born, won’t you? ”
My mother was already nodding. “Of course we will! I can’t wait to hold my first granddaughter.”
Torch looked heavenward and sighed before coming to shake Beast’s hand. “Looks like I can’t get rid of you now. You not only knocked up my daughter, but you’ve made my wife happy. Welcome to the family, Beast.”
Portia shyly approached, the look she gave Beast was full of adoration. “Does that mean you’re my big brother now?”
He released me to kneel down to her level. “Absolutely, Sprite. I hope you come to visit us often. Your sister has been fixing up one of the rooms at our house just for you. Maybe after the baby is here, and we’ve adjusted to being parents, you can come stay for a week or two. Would you like that?”
Portia nodded eagerly.
“Can I go play with the ferrets some more?” she asked.
“Sure you can,” Beast said.
“I’m heading back to the house,” I said, feeling an ache start in my lower back.
I’d found that standing or walking for long periods of time didn’t agree with me during my pregnancy.
If I’d known all those months ago, when I’d left with Tony, that I’d been carrying Beast’s baby, I might have rethought my strategy.
Thankfully, the drugs I’d been given hadn’t hurt our child, and my old man had come for me before anything worse happened.
I still had the occasional nightmare from that day, but Beast was always there to chase the shadows away.
I loved him more and more each day. When I’d come here that first day, I’d only hoped for some help getting Tony to leave me alone.
Yeah, I’d fallen in love with the idea of him when I’d first heard about his part in saving Lilian.
It had been about the same as falling for a movie or book character.
Meeting him in person had changed things.
I never thought I’d find my soulmate. There wasn’t any other way to think of Beast. He completed me, as sappy as that sounded.
He looped my arm through his and led me home, my family following with excited chatter from Portia and Hadrian. Little Ivy was quiet. I figured she wasn’t sure what to make of Beast and the other Reckless Kings just yet. Eventually, she’d come to trust them and realize they were family.
“Thank you,” I murmured.
“For making sure you don’t trip over your own feet?” he asked.
“No. For loving me. The day you made me yours was the happiest I’d ever been, until we found out about Madison.” I rubbed my belly again. “You’ve made me so happy. I can never tell you enough times how much you mean to me. You’re my entire world, Eric.”
He glowered and I smiled up at him, knowing he didn’t like me calling him by his given name when others were around.
Although, I knew Wire and Lavender could find out anything they wanted when it came to Beast or anyone else.
Still, it was a sign of respect to use his road name, and I usually did. This time was a little different.
“I know. You’ve earned the name Beast, and I’ll use it when necessary, but right now I’m telling Eric how much I adore him. The man who sleeps beside me at night, dries my tears, gives me more pleasure than I can stand sometimes, and for some reason loves me just as I am.”
He drew me to a stop and pulled me into his arms. “Love you too, Tink. More than all the stars in the sky. You and Madison have given me something I never thought I’d have again.
Family. You’re the greatest gift I could have ever received, and I will cherish the two of you until I draw my last breath. ”
“Such a sweet talker.” I smiled and then pushed up on my toes to kiss him. I heard Hadrian make a gagging noise, which just egged Beast on. He growled and deepened the kiss, making a big production of it. Until my dad started gagging alongside Hadrian. “Seriously? Mom, can’t you make them behave?”
She gave a bark of laughter. “Yeah, right. About as much as you can make your man do as he’s told.
Give it up, daughter. They’re wild and untamed, and you know damn well that’s exactly how you like Beast. You wouldn’t change him for anything, just as I would never try to change your father. We love them, rough edges and all.”
“Damn straight,” my dad said, smacking my mom’s ass.
“Now you’re going to make me gag, except there’s a good chance breakfast will come up when I do.”
“Stork didn’t drop you off, Lyssa,” my dad said.
“No shit,” I muttered, thinking of all the nights I’d had to listen to him make my mother scream his name.
There were some things it was just better for children to remain ignorant about.
The fact your mother screamed out “Oh God” as your dad made their headboard slam into the wall repeatedly was definitely on that list.
Beast leaned down and whispered rather loudly. “One day that will be us. Just think of all the fun we can have terrorizing our kids with talk about sex.”
“You’re terrible.”
“Maybe.” He winked at me. “But admit it sounds fun. And sixty years from now, our daughter can do the same to her kids.”
“Sixty years?” I asked.
He nodded. “Yep because she’s not dating until she’s forty. Then I’m going to demand a long engagement.”
I nudged his shoulder. “Careful there, old man. In sixty years, you’d be over one hundred. Might want to rethink your timeline.”
“Watch it, Tink. You might be pregnant, but that doesn’t mean I can’t spank you.”
My cheeks warmed, as did other parts of me. We hadn’t been able to use the playroom much the last month, mostly because he worried he’d hurt me while I was pregnant, but Beast still enjoyed using his hands to make my ass burn. I liked it too. A lot.
I leaned in closer. “How long before we can tell them to go back to the cottage for the rest of the day?”
“If you’re offering up sex, then… in about two seconds.”
“We aren’t having sex right now.”
“Don’t challenge me, Tink. You’ll lose.”
I knew he was right, all too well. Every challenge I issued, he met head-on. Of course, I liked the ones where I demanded lots of orgasms. My pussy ached for a good day or two afterward, but it was so worth it. I sighed and leaned against him. “Fine. But I still say we wait until after dinner.”
“Whatever my woman wants, she’ll have,” he murmured. “Even if it means I get blue balls.”
I buried my face against his arm and laughed.
My dad had always kept things interesting, but I could tell Beast would too.
And the two of them together? Never a dull moment for sure.
If our daughter took after him, she’d be hell to deal with later.
I looked forward to watching the mighty Beast fall with the crook of her tiny finger.
And heaven help whatever boys decided to look her way.
Life was never perfect. It was messy, often painful, and full of mistakes.
But it was in all the imperfectness that you could find true joy, and that’s exactly what I had with Beast. Our lives were just starting, and I had no doubt it would be a bumpy, winding road.
As long as I had him by my side, I’d face everything head-on.
With him, I was invincible, but only because that was how he saw me.
My dad and mom chased after my siblings in the front yard, making my heart feel full. I remembered the days when I’d been one of the kids being chased. Now that I was all grown up, I’d be the one doing the chasing. When my pregnant belly wasn’t slowing me down.
I pressed my hand to my baby bump again. “I can’t wait to meet you, Madison. There’s so much to show you, tell you, and teach you. But mostly, I can’t wait to build a life with you and your daddy, filled with tons of memories.”
Beast stopped and dropped to his knees, kissing my belly.
I ran my fingers through his hair as he talked to our daughter.
He always whispered his conversations with her, so it remained between them.
I found it endearing, and it made my big, fierce biker all that more special to me.
Beast was a force to be reckoned with, but with me -- and now with our daughter -- he was a gentle giant.
I’d found myself a biker with a heart of gold and a soft mushy center. It didn’t get more perfect than that.