Chapter 32
Vienna
Before
“Luke?”
“What’s up, love?” I murmured on the edge of sleep.
“What if it wasn’t like this?” Gabriella asked, her voice barely audible.
But it got my attention.
“Like what?” I shifted our bodies, moving her slightly up the bed until she was facing me, unable to hide her words in my chest.
“Just… this,” she sighed, waving her hand, gesturing to nothing. “Don’t you ever wish we could be normal? Look at Dante and Laura—”
“They’re far from normal,” I scoffed.
“You know what I mean, though. They don’t have to hide in the shadows.”
“Dante does enough hiding, Gabby.”
“I know,” she sighed. We were both well aware how unhappy our friends were with their match. “But you know what I mean. They can go on dates. They can be seen in public together. Don’t you ever wish we could do that, too?”
“I wish for a lot of things,” I told her, placing my fingers under her chin so I could gently tip her head back, looking into her face. “But I’m not greedy. I have you. There was a time where I thought that was impossible. And yet my club has accepted us for the past three years.”
“I just can’t help but feel as though we’re delaying the inevitable.”
“Where has this come from?” I asked, sitting up as I spoke. The blankets pooled around my waist, and then were removed from me entirely as Gabby sat up and tucked them under her arms.
“Eventually my club will find out.”
“I know. And I’ve been telling you we should just tell them and get it over and done with.”
“I think you’re right,” she said softly. So softly I wasn’t sure I heard her correctly.
Shuffling closer, I pushed the hair out of her face and behind her ears and scanned her eyes. “What was that?”
“I think we should tell the Riders. Because I don’t want to hide in the shadows any—”
“Vienna!” came a banging at my bedroom door, making Gabriella jump. “Church in half an hour! Get your dick out of the poor girl and give her a fucking break!” Crash barked, before we heard him stomping back down the hallway.
“You were saying?” I asked, rolling my eyes at the interruption and turning back to my woman.
“We’ll pick this up later. Get ready for Church.”
“We’ll continue this right the fuck now,” I said firmly. “Why do you want to tell the Riders now? What’s changed?”
“I just…” she sighed heavily. “I just want to be open. I know they’ll disown me.
I know they’ll cause so many issues, but I’m so fed up of hiding.
We’re twenty-four, Luke. I want to be able to go places with you.
I’d love a double-date with Dante and Laura.
I want to get on the back of your bike and join in with the Devils’ weekly rides.
I want to be your old lady. I’m so tired of seeing life pass us by, when we could just take a leap of faith and have it all. ”
I couldn’t help the grin that split across my face. “You want it all?” I asked, cradling her face in my hands.
“I want it all,” she beamed back.
For a moment, everything else faded.
No Riders. No Devils. No impossibilities.
Just her.
“You were always going to get it, Gabby. You’ve already been welcomed here. There was never any other ending for us.”
Feeling as though my heart was going to jump out of my chest, I kissed her, trying to convey everything I was feeling into that one kiss.
“You know this is going to be a disaster,” she said, her words stilted, broken up by our kisses.
“I never expected both clubs to hold hands and skip through Leeds singing Kumbaya,” I chuckled back. “But you know I’d lead the line if that’s what it came to.”
“I don’t doubt it,” she laughed back, falling back onto the pillows with me.
Allowing her to take control, I laid back, watching her body with greedy eyes as the blanket fell away and she leaned over me, her hands either side of my head. Her hair fell in long, silky waves, sheltering us from the world, cocooning us in our own little coconut scented bubble.
“You know, if we do this—”
“When we do this,” I interrupted, not allowing her a second to change her mind now that she had finally committed.
“When we do this,” she corrected with a grin. “That means we can finally start planning our future.”
“Start planning?” I said with a scoff. “Princess, I have our lives planned to the finest detail.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s in the line-up?”
“Well…” I said, making her squeal as I flipped her over onto her back and buried my face in her neck. “We’ll spend lots of time here, in this bed, of course.”
“Oh, of course.”
“And eventually, Mama will get sick and tired of hearing all the banging orgasms I give you, so she’ll kick us out to live in one of the houses on the compound.”
“And?” she encouraged when I became distracted with kissing up and down her neck.
“And then you’ll become my official old lady, you and Laura can rule the roost and keep Mama in her place. Eventually, I’ll become VP, and we’ll settle down with a couple of kids.”
“You want kids?” she asked, sounding shocked. I pulled away to look down at her.
“You don’t?” I frowned.
“I never really considered them a possibility.”
“I consider them an inevitability,” I said. “You’d make a brilliant mum.”
“You’d be the best dad… Well…”
“Err, excuse me. Explain that ‘well’,” I demanded with a grin.
“Why do I suddenly have visions of you teaching our kids to bark at people?”
“I happen to think that’s an exemplary example of parenting. And I’d only teach them to bark at those who deserved it.”
“Them? How many are we having?”
“I figured six was a nice number.”
“Six?” she gasped. “Two!”
“You drive a hard bargain, but fine. We’ll compromise with seven.”
“You figure out how to carry them, and we can have a dozen,” she laughed, wrapping her arms around my neck and sinking her fingers into my hair, pulling my head down to hers.
“When are we doing this?” she whispered against my lips. “Let’s set a date now, and then we can start planning.”
“I’ll speak to Crash during Church. The Devils will need a few months to get things in order, just in case the Riders do kick off. And I want to make sure the safe room is fully equipped should you need somewhere to hide.”
“Do you really think it will come to that?”
“I’d rather hope for the best, but plan for the worst. I’m not risking your safety, Gabby.
I don’t expect it to go smoothly. But my brothers and I will make sure we come out on top.
So, I think we do it after your twenty-fifth.
It’s six months away. That gives us all plenty of time to get things in order and prepare for any retaliation from your club. ”
“Maybe… maybe this will be a bridging point. It doesn’t have to be like this forever. This could mark the end of the Devils/Rider rivalry.”
“Nothing is impossible, Gabby. But this is my life. The Devils, the club… it’s who I am. If push came to shove, can you stand by and watch me fight your brothers, your dad? The men you were raised with?”
“If it came to that, then yes. Because you’re fighting for my freedom. For my ability to make a choice. They would be fighting to control me. I choose you, Luke. I want the life you’re offering me.”
“I will always choose you, Gabby. The Devils are my life, but as far as I’m concerned, you are a Devil. You’re a part of everything I do. All you need to do is trust me, and believe we can make this work.”
“I trust you, Vienna,” she breathed, her eyes shining.
I choked on a breath hearing my road name come from her lips.
She never used it. She always called me Luke.
The fact that she did so now… I understood what she was doing.
She was showing that she accepted me, too.
Both sides of me. The man she loved, and the biker she trusted. I lowered my head, kissing her gently.
“Right, that’s enough,” she said suddenly, pushing at my chest. “You have Church to get ready for, and you could do with a shave before you do.”
“I’m not shaving right now, Gabby. You’re fucking naked beneath me. Shaving is the last thing on my mind.”
“Yeah, and my skin is paying the price,” she laughed, and then hissed as I nuzzled my face against her neck. “Your stupid stubble is giving me a rash.”
“Stupid stubble? Well, that’s rude. It’s called style, Princess.”
“It’s called fucking laziness. Go and shave,” she demanded, but wrapped her legs around my waist anyway, preventing me from leaving.
“Hmm… I don’t think I will,” I said, grinding my hips against her until her breaths came in desperate pants. “Since you hate it so much, I’ve decided I’m never shaving again. Not until you’re officially mine.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she moaned, arching her back and thrusting her hips up to meet mine.
“I’m serious. The day you’re officially my old lady is the day that I’ll shave. If you don’t go ahead with this after your twenty-fifth, be prepared to see a very sexy-looking Gandalf wandering around.”
“I’m almost tempted to delay just to see that,” she laughed, and then moaned loudly as I thrust inside her. “Luke…” she breathed, rocking her hips against me.
“You’ll be mine on your twenty-fifth, even if I have to chain you to this bed and force you to stay,” I promised darkly, only half serious.
“I can think of worse places to be chained. Now, Gandalf, go ahead and make me cum. You have Church in ten minutes.”