Chapter 9
“I still can’t believe Stone and Raegan got hitched the night before their wedding,” I call out from the bathroom, zipping the micro dress Ivy gave me to wear tonight. It looks more like a hand towel than anything else. She also showed me how to curl my hair and put on light makeup.
“We could do it too, you know,” Beckett says from the doorway, startling me.
“Do what?”
“Get married while we’re here,” he says so nonchalant that it’s hard to tell if he’s joking or not.
“That’s crazy,” I say, turning to face him instead of watching him from the reflection in the mirror.
Stone had some meeting set up here in Vegas but wanted to surprise Raegan by also getting married. He’d come over and called Ivy, and we talked about playing along with a girls’ trip. It was tough keeping the secret after watching your friend suffer, believing that her man was pushing her away.
Two nights ago was supposed to be the planned wedding, but Stone couldn’t wait after hearing her doubting him.
They eloped, and the next morning Raegan came to the room still wearing the clothes from the night before.
At breakfast they informed us of the news.
Seeing Raegan so happy, I realized that it was something that I wanted too.
Growing up with The Fellowship, it was always assumed, at least between the members of the church, that the women would be placed with a match that Papa would arrange.
I thought it was normal until I reached high school and saw kids my age were not matched by their parents.
It wasn’t until right before I was shipped off that I started questioning Papa and the church’s ways of living.
Conversations with others stuck with me in Colombia.
Being forced there by their parents made me realize that the way I was taught and brought up wasn’t normal.
Hearing stories of kids drinking at parties or hooking up never crossed my mind.
It got me thinking that I wanted something different for my life.
That the memory of my mom trying to leave was for this reason.
The night that our group was attacked changed my mindset.
I knew that once I was back on American soil, my days of living under my father’s thumb were numbered.
“Are you ready?” Beckett comes into the bathroom. I watch as he takes in my attire.
“Almost, just need to put on my shoes,” I say as his eyes take in my lower half.
“You’re to not leave my side the entire night,” he voices as he licks his lips. The heat from his eyes sends a shiver down my spine. He looks like he could eat me alive.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I scoff and walk past him into the bedroom of the hotel to find my heels that Ivy let me borrow.
“I mean it, Sutton. The last thing Stone is going to want to deal with here in Las Vegas is a string of dead bodies because some guys thought they had a chance with you.”
I clasp the last strap of the heels and stand, putting my hands on my hips.
“You better not,” I chide him, but I’ve come to realize that Beckett is going to do whatever he wants to do.
He grunts, then comes over to where I’m standing, engulfing me into his arms. My back has fully healed with less than a handful of long scars across my back so it no longer hurts when he holds me. Now I welcome his touch.
“Where are we being forced to go tonight?” he asks, as he runs his nose up the column of my neck.
“Ivy got us all tickets to a big production show,” I respond breathlessly as my heart starts the race, just like it does anytime he has his hands on me.
“I’m sure they won’t miss us if we skipped out and stayed in,” he whispers against my ear as my skin begins to pebble, completely turning me on.
Right before I relent and agree, a loud thud on the hotel door breaks our bubble.
“Y’all ready?” we hear from the hallway.
A growl leaves Beckett’s throat, and it makes me giggle. He takes a deep breath then his eyes meet mine.
“This better be one helluva show.”
Gathering up my purse, we walk hand in hand out to where the others are all assembled. Ivy, Allison, Rocky, Raegan, and basically everyone we know from the MC are all waiting. There are several women hanging off all the single guys.
“’Bout time,” Rocky states, acting annoyed and looking at his watch.
“Sorry,” I tell him and give him a hug. He returns it and as usual he lays his head down on my shoulder.
I wait for him to release me before I do the same.
Rocky is the kindest human and loves to come over with Melissa to play with Zane or just hangout during the day while I’m holed up in the house.
Once he pulls away, he looks over at Stone.
“Can we go now?” he asks.
Stone nods, and we are all ushered out of the hotel and into a party bus that an associate of the MC hired for all of us for the next few days.
Vegas is nothing I’d imagined it to be. The lights are sparkling and eye-catching.
The energy here is fun, and if you had an abundance of money, I could see the appeal of all the games that are available to play.
Everything is so much bigger than the pictures I’ve seen, and the hotels are so grand on the inside.
The moment we step off the bus and into a new hotel that looks like a castle, the energy changes as music fills the air.
“I think everyone is going to loooove this show,” Ivy tells us. The gleam in her eyes tells me she’s got something mischievous up her sleeve, but I’m not sure what it could be. Most of the men are either distracted by the slot machines or the half-naked women hanging off their arms.
Once we’re shown to our designated table in the second row, I look around at the theater. There is a large stage in the front with a sparkly curtain, and two large bars are along the back wall. The place is packed.
“What the fuck?” I hear a deep voice from one of the tables we’re occupying.
A half-naked man in a cowboy hat, jeans, and the biggest buckle I’ve ever seen comes over to take our drink order. My head snaps over to Ivy who is at the table next to mine. She’s with Riot, Reaper, and Hawk and their dates. And she’s ignoring me.
“What can I start you lovely folks out with to drink here at Spurs the MC will handle it. Take a leap and start living your life,” she gently tells me.
“I’ve been thinking about it over the last few days. I mean they’re both over here all the time, and it’d be nice to finally settle somewhere to call home.”
“Then do it, honey,” she urges. “Plus, I selfishly need this house.”
“What?” I ask. “I thought you said that Phillip—”
“Oh gosh, no, that man is stuck with me.” She waves off where my mind was going.
“The boys have been pressuring me to let Rocky have his own place, and I’ve been saying no.
But I think this is the perfect place if we’re going to let him try.
He’ll be between his two brothers, and we are only two streets over.
Of course, the only way for me to agree to this is if we put up cameras everywhere and have Hawk load this place up with the best security features. ”
“I think he’d love it here. Especially being so close to Stone, Blaze, and Beckett,” I tell her.
“I think so too, but I haven’t decided yet. And I haven’t told anyone either. Was hoping you could help me out with the surprise,” she reveals.
“How can I help?”
“Thought maybe you could spruce up the place and have Rocky help you. Find out all his favorite paint colors and y’all do the projects. He’ll never know that you’re turning the house into exactly what he’d want. I’d cover all the materials and cost for everything.”
“I love that idea. I’ve been going stir crazy being here with nothing to do,” I tell her.
Her face breaks into a smile.
“It’s settled then. Once you and Rocky finish the inside, we’ll announce the surprise, and hopefully my mama heart will be ready for him to move in here and out from under my roof. And you can finally take that leap of faith and start your family with Havoc and Zane.”
“This is going to be so much fun,” I say and feel giddy that I’ve found something I can dive into and be part of.