Chapter Twelve
Landry
I ’m a nervous wreck by the time Elodie, Samara, and I arrive at the courthouse. I’m actually marrying Keegan today. He’ll be my husband. We’ll be a real family.
It feels like a fairytale. One I’m not supposed to be living.
But as Elodie loops her arm through mine, leading me into Judge Hamilton’s chambers, my nerves settle. When I see Keegan standing in front of the judge in a tux, all of the anxiety simply…falls away. All I see is him. My future.
He turns as if he feels my eyes on him. His flare with heat as they run across me, taking in the flawless makeup, the elegant updo, and the ridiculously expensive wedding dress Samara and Elodie helped me pick.
Samara is holding Lily, leaving my hands free to clutch the bouquet Keegan sent me.
“Jesus,” he rasps, striding across the chamber to me. He immediately pulls me into his arms, burying his face in my throat. “Jesus, Landry baby. You’re glowing. You look like an angel.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, my heart thrilling. I feel like a princess right now, someone light years from the girl I was just a couple of weeks ago. In his arms, with my bouquet in my hand, and the silky dress trailing behind me, I feel like I’m home. Like the last two years were just a bad nightmare, some awful dream that has no sway here.
This is a fairytale. It’s mine, and it’s real.
“I have a present for you.”
I lift my head to look at him, startled. “You already bought me too much, Keegan.” It’s true. Between the dress, shoes, flowers, and jewelry, he’s spent a small fortune on making today perfect.
“I didn’t buy this one, sweetness,” he says, grinning as he reaches out to touch my cheek. “I went to see Dillon today. Everything has been taken care of.”
“You mean…?” My heart stutters and stalls, hope blooming.
“Yeah, baby, that’s exactly what I mean. You aren’t going to jail,” he whispers.
I throw myself into his arms, relief exploding through me. I’ve been so damn anxious about spending the rest of my life behind bars, kept from him and Lily for the choices I made. And now…I won’t. I never have to worry about that again.
Keegan catches me with a chuckle, crushing me up against his chest.
“I’m not going to jail,” I whisper, my voice choked.
“I promised you, didn’t I?”
Yeah, he did. And as I’m quickly coming to learn, Keegan never breaks a promise, not to me. His word is his bond. He says exactly what he means, means precisely what he says, and follows through, regardless of how impossible it seems.
We cling to each other for a long moment before the judge clears his throat. I pull back with my cheeks burning, but the older man just grins at me, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
“We can begin whenever you two are ready,” he says, glancing from me to Keegan.
“What do you say, baby?” Keegan asks. “You ready to be mine now?”
“Yes,” I say, my voice strong and sure. I made my decision in his arms in bed a week ago. So long as he wants me, I’m his. And even if, in some alternate reality, he gets tired of me someday, I’ll still be his. He has every piece of me.
Samara passes Lily to him, and his expression melts when he sees her in the little white dress Elodie found for her. She looks like a baby princess. Not that she notices. She only has eyes for her daddy as she reaches toward his face, babbling.
“My sweet little princess,” he croons, nuzzling her against his cheek. “You look just like your mama, you know that?”
She coos softly, grinning at him.
Keegan tucks her up against his chest, cradling her carefully, and then wraps one strong arm around my waist, leading me toward the judge. Elodie and Samara take their places beside Tate and Coby, who are here to act as our witnesses.
Everyone who has been helping us wanted to be here, but I never dreamed about a big wedding. The only thing I ever wanted was a man who couldn’t live without me, someone who made life new and beautiful. Keegan is so much more than I ever could have expected. How I become his doesn’t really matter to me. It’s not the wedding I’ll remember for the rest of my life, anyway. It’s what the ceremony symbolizes. That he chose me. That he loves me. That hope and happy-ever-after exist even in the darkest, deepest pits of hell.
I don’t hear a word the judge says. I’m too busy staring at Keegan. I think it’s the same for him because he doesn’t take his eyes off me once through the entire brief ceremony. The judge has to clear his throat three times before Keegan even realizes that he’s supposed to repeat after him.
He says his vows with his eyes locked with mine and his voice ringing around me. And I say mine with tears in my eyes and my voice shaking with emotion. But he hears them.
When it’s time for him to put his ring on my finger, he passes Lily to his sister and then grasps my hand, sliding a gorgeous diamond band onto my finger.
“Fuck,” he whispers, his eyes flaring with heat. He lifts my hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to the ring. “You’re mine now, sweetness. My wife.”
Tears well in my eyes, spilling over.
He captures them with the pads of his thumb, wiping them away as Judge Hamilton officially pronounces us married. Keegan doesn’t even wait for permission before his lips come down on mine, his kiss wild and full of emotion.
I sob against his lips, overwhelmed with gratitude and joy.
“My wife,” he breathes, holding me tightly.
They’re the most beautiful words I’ve ever heard.
“Are you sure Lily is okay?” I ask an hour later, peering out the window as we bounce along a dirt track, headed deep into the woods a few miles outside of town.
“Positive,” Keegan says, his voice firm. “She has everything she needs at the clubhouse. Tate and Samara will take good care of her for the night.”
I know he’s right, but…
“Maybe we should have brought her with us.”
“Baby.” He chuckles, reaching for my hand. “She’ll be back in your arms first thing in the morning. But I want you to myself for tonight.” His voice drops low. “I want you to scream as loud as you want when I’m inside you, without worrying about waking her up.”
I clench my thighs together, whimpering softly. I want that too, so damn badly. We’ve never had a night where it was just the two of us. At the clubhouse, we had to be quiet because there was always someone else there, or Lily was asleep in her crib across the room. At his place, Lily is right down the hall. Even in Colorado, we were in a hotel, surrounded by other people. I want him all to myself for one night. But… “I’ve never been away from her.”
“I know,” he says softly. “But she’s going to be just fine. You know Tate and Samara won’t allow anything to happen to her.”
“I know.” They’ve been a godsend to me the last couple of weeks. Samara and Elodie may be the first real friends I’ve ever had. Elodie is hilarious, and Samara is so sweet and understanding. It’s helped to have someone who knows a little bit about what I’ve been through. Our histories aren’t the same, but Samara knows exactly how much pain men like Garrick can cause. Men just like him killed her sister.
I peek over at Keegan. “It’s hard to let go. Even though I know she’s safe here, I still worry that if she’s out of my sight…”
“You’re afraid they’ll take her when you aren’t there.”
I bob my head in a nod. It’s so hard to let go of that fear when it’s been the driving force in my life for months. I’ve had to look over my shoulder and be hypervigilant every moment. Learning to relax and breathe won’t happen overnight. I’m trying. I really am. But until Garrick and the MC are no longer a threat, part of me will always be looking over my shoulder, afraid they’re going to snatch her out of my arms.
“That isn’t going to happen, Landry. Tate and Cash have the whole MC staying at the clubhouse tonight to help keep her safe.” He pauses. “Everyone except Giant, anyway. He’ll be out here, helping me watch over you.”
My eyes widen slightly. Giant usually goes home at night, leaving Keegan to watch over me. I guess since this place isn’t wired up, though, they’re taking extra safety precautions. “He won’t be able to hear us, will he?”
“Hell no,” Keegan growls, his expression heated as he turns to look at me. “No one gets to hear that sweet voice breaking for me except for me.”
I whimper softly and press my thighs together again. But it doesn’t really help. Not with memories of what he does to me playing through my head like a dirty movie. Every single night, he’s inside me, fucking me until nothing exists but him. He’s rough and gentle and everything in between.
Piece by piece, he’s put me back together with his hands on my body and his promises ringing in my ears. I’m stronger than I was yesterday because of him. I’m more confident than I was a week ago because of him. I feel safer than I ever have because of him. Garrick and the MC may have wounded me, but Keegan is teaching me that they didn’t break me. They never had that kind of power.
That’s Keegan’s alone. And God, I love the way he breaks me, unmakes me, and twists me all into knots. There’s nothing sexier than this man when he’s inside me, his lips gliding across my skin, and his groans echoing around us.
“You should drive faster,” I groan quietly.
“No need.” He flashes me that panty-melting grin. “We’re already here.”
I glance out and realize he’s right. We’re already pulling up to a cabin that looks like it was plucked straight out of a fairytale. Wildflowers and roses grow all along the front. Checkered curtains line the windows. There’s even a group of rocking chairs neatly lined up on the wraparound porch.
“Keegan,” I whisper, staring in awe. “It’s so beautiful.”
“It belongs to Slade,” he murmurs, referring to his coworker…or boss. I’m not entirely clear about that. Slade runs the shop, but I think Keegan and Coby own part of it, too. “He and Skye like to escape out here whenever they get a chance.”
“He doesn’t mind us using it?”
“Nope. He insisted. Said to consider it his wedding gift.” Keegan grins at me, pulling right up to the steps before parking. “Stay right there. I’ll come around and get you so you don’t get that pretty dress all dirty, baby.”
My heart flutters as he kills the engine and hops out, jogging around to my side of the truck. My feet never even touch the ground as he lifts me out, cradling me in his arms like I’m weightless. I feel weightless with him wrapped around me, like he’s the only thing keeping me from floating away.
"I'll grab our stuff later,” he mutters, juggling me in his arms so he can punch in the code on the smartlock. The lock whirs and clicks before he’s able to push the door wide open.
I don’t even look at the room as he carries me over the threshold. I’m too busy staring at him and the way he looks so content, like this is the happiest day of his life. Back in the judge’s chambers, he said I was glowing, but he is, too.
“I love you.”
His expression softens as he kicks the door closed behind us, striding deeper into the room. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you look in my ring, telling me that all my dreams have come true, Landry baby?”
“Show me,” I whisper, running my fingers up the back of his neck as my gaze settles on his lips.
He groans softly, dipping his head to claim my mouth in a scorching kiss. His taste hits my system like a shot of adrenaline, sending waves of desire rushing through me. I moan softly, sinking my fingers into his hair to keep him right there.
I could kiss this man forever and never grow tired of it. Never need air. I’d just exist on his taste.
Somehow, he manages to keep kissing me all the way to the bedroom. By the time we come up for air, we’re both gasping…and then I gasp again, staring all around in awe.
“Keegan.”
“It’s all for you,” he murmurs, setting me on my feet. Red, pink, and white rose petals are spread all over the floor and bed, and candles flicker on the nightstands. A gorgeous arrangement of lilies nestles between flickering candles on the dresser.
I practically float forward, brushing my pinky across a pale pink petal on the bed. “It’s so beautiful. Did you do all of this?”
“I asked Skye to help me out.” He shifts around behind me. “I wanted our wedding night to be perfect for you.”
I spin to face him, intending to tell him that it was perfect even without all of this…but the words get stuck in my throat when I see that he’s already removed his suit jacket and is working on the buttons of his shirt, unveiling one tantalizing strip of tattooed skin after another.
My heart stutters and stalls in my chest before racing away with me as his gaze tangles with mine. Neither of us says a word as he finishes removing the shirt, letting it drop to the floor at his feet.
“Keegan.” I practically trip over my feet as I stumble toward him, my gaze locked on the fresh ink tattooed over his heart. I reach out with shaking fingers, tracing the delicate petals of the lily. My name makes up the stem, just like on mine. The only difference is the crown. His is a queen’s crown. “It’s like mine.”
“Mmhmm.” He tips my head back, forcing me to meet his gaze. “You know why yours is a king’s crown?”
“For you,” I whisper. For the longest time, I wondered why he chose that one for me instead of a tiara. But seeing the delicate crown on him, the answer is obvious. He wasn’t just tattooing me the day we met. He was marking me as his…and painting our future into my skin.
“I asked Coby to do mine to match so you and our daughter are always close to my heart. It’s where you both belong.”
“It’s beautiful,” I breathe, tears in my eyes. The way this man loves me is terrifying and beautiful and so damn perfect. I don’t know what I did to deserve him. I don’t know if I’ll ever feel like I can deserve him. But when he looks at me, I feel worthy in a way I never have. I see myself the way he does. In his eyes, I’m not a scared little mess. I’m a warrior.
“You’re beautiful, baby. So goddamn perfect.” He suddenly drops to his knees in front of me, tilting his head back to look at me. “You’ve got me on my knees for you, sweetness. I’m yours to command.”
“Yeah?” I smile down at him, happy in a way I’ve never been. “Then I command you to bed, husband.”
“Fuck.” His eyes flutter closed. “Say that again.”
“Which part?” I tease, already knowing what he wants to hear.
A little growl vibrates in his chest.
“Husband,” I whisper in response to that sound. “Husband, husband, husband.”
He’s back on his feet in two seconds flat, hauling me into his arms with a desperate growl. His lips crash against mine, his kiss fierce. I run my hands down the solid muscles of his back, moaning into his mouth.
“I want this dress on the floor,” he growls, spinning me around in his arms. His lips come down on the side of my neck as he sets to work on the long row of buttons, his talented fingers making quick work of them. His lips against my skin set me ablaze, leaving me burning with need long before the dress slithers to the floor at our feet.
“Goddamn,” he breathes, spinning me around again. He takes a step back, his wild eyes running up and down my body. “I never knew white lace could look so fucking good, Landry.”
“Samara helped me pick it.”
“Samara is a genius. Remind me to send her a thank-you card.”
I smile up at him as he reels me back into his arms, tugging the cups of my bra down. The lacy fabric scrapes against my nipples, pulling a moan from my mouth.
That moan only grows louder when he dips his head to swirl his tongue around one nipple and then the other, licking up drops of milk that spill.
“You taste so fucking sweet,” he whispers, biting down just hard enough to make me gasp his name and cling to his shoulders. One big hand slips between our bodies, delving into my panties. “Right here, too. I could live between your legs, licking this perfect cunt.”
“Keegan,” I groan, clawing at his shoulders. His fingers are right where I need them…but he isn’t giving me anything. He’s teasing me. He’s always teasing me, keeping me on the edge until I’m desperate and pleading. Until nothing exists but him.
But I’m not the shy little virgin I was when we first met. And I’m not the scared little lamb I was two weeks ago, either. He fucked my inhibitions out of me days ago, left me desperate and wild.
I reach for the zipper of his slacks, yanking it down. Before he has a chance to stop me, I’ve got my hand inside, wrapping around his thick cock.
“Fuck.” He bucks his hips into my hand, groaning in pleasure.
I pull his dick out, stroking all the way to the head. My fingers bump against his piercing, which makes him growl. His fingers twitch against my pussy, but he still doesn’t move them. Not until I stroke him again, harder this time.
“That perfect fucking hand,” he growls, thrusting two fingers inside me.
I clench around them, aching so fucking badly. I’m always aching for him, always desperate.
He doesn’t have any mercy for me as he fucks me roughly with those two fingers, dragging me right to the edge as I try my hardest to get him there, too. But it’s a losing battle. I shatter with a ragged cry, coming all over his hand while he’s still hard in my hand.
His lips quirk into a grin as he plucks me up from the floor. “Thought you could make me come first, didn’t you?”
“M-maybe.”
He chuckles, dropping me on the bed. “Never going to happen, Landry baby.” He rips my panties down my legs, his eyes locked on my face. “I don’t come until you do. That’s the rule. Now, be a good girl for your husband and come all over my tongue.”
“Keegan!” I shout, shocked when he lunges, burying his face between my legs. He licks me from top to bottom, growling like a savage beast. I’m already overly sensitive, trying to crawl up the bed away from that wicked mouth, but he’s not having any of that.
He pins me beneath him with one hand on my abdomen, thrusting his tongue inside me. His nose grinds against my clit as he plays me like a freaking instrument, striking the right chord again and again.
“Come for me, wife,” he croons, his breath hot against my clit. “Soak my face.”
As if I have a choice when he’s all over me like this. I break into pieces, rocking against his face and babbling his name. Waves crash over me again and again, leaving me writhing in ecstasy.
“That looks so fucking good, baby.” He crawls up my body, nipping at my skin. “Tastes damn good, too.”
“Keegan,” I plead, wrapping my legs around him, trying to wrestle him into place. His cock glides through my folds and we both shiver and moan.
“Goddamn, sweetness.” He sinks his teeth into my shoulder as he sinks into me, stretching me around his cock. “You’re so fucking tight for me.”
“You’re just b-big.”
He chuckles and groans, burying his face in my throat as he sinks all the way to the hilt. His breath pelts the side of my throat as he lingers right there. “I love you, wife.”
I wrap my arms around him, pull him closer with my legs around his waist. My heart pulses, tears welling in my eyes. “I love you, too.” My lips brush the fresh ink over his heart. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. You and Lily.”
“Christ,” he groans, brushing hair from my forehead. His eyes meet mine, brimming with emotion. “You two are my world.”
“Show me.”
He tangles our fingers together, touches his lips to mine, and rocks into me. Each deep thrust pulls a cry of pleasure from my lips. They echo around us, his name and mine melding together near the exposed beams of the ceiling as candlelight flickers around us.
Again and again, he takes me right to the brink and then sends me tumbling over. Until each thrust feels like another tiny orgasm, building toward a detonation too big to contain.
He’s relentless as he loves me, using his lips and hands and words to send me flying higher than I ever have. His piercing drags against my inner walls in the most delicious way. I lose track of time. I lose track of everything except his weight on top of me and the way his skin glides against mine.
When I’m wrecked, convinced I can’t take another orgasm, he demands one anyway, fucking me so hard I scream his name again and again. My throat is raw, and his shoulders bleed where I scratch and bite and claw.
“That’s it, sweetness,” he groans, slamming into me again and then again. “Scream for your husband just like that.”
He slips his hand between us, grinding his thumb against my clit. And I lose track of reality entirely. The orgasm that rips through me steals it from me. It steals sight and sound, too. I float in a void of perfection, tangled in the threads of forever, stitched back together by the force of his love and his hands on my body.
“I love you. I love you,” he chants as he follows me over the edge, spilling into me in powerful pulses that leave me shaking and moaning beneath him, his in every single way.
“I dreamed about this,” I whisper a few minutes later, curled up on his chest with his heart hammering beneath my ear. “When I was trapped in that room and needed something to keep me going, I imagined this moment. What it would be like to be yours just like this.”
He plays with the ends of my hair, letting me talk.
“No one really spoke to me unless it was to threaten me. So I talked to Lily. I told her about you. About what I wished the future could be.” I swallow hard, my throat aching. “It was always like this, Keegan. You were always the biggest part of it, the part that gave me the courage to keep fighting.”
“You gave yourself that courage, baby,” he murmurs, his voice gritty. “You fought for our daughter and yourself because that’s who you are. You weren’t born to bend or break. You were made to fight and survive.”
“I was scared,” I admit. “So fucking scared that I wouldn’t be able to get her out. That you’d never know about her. It didn’t matter what they did to me so long as I got her out.” I swallow hard. “So long as I got her to you.” I hesitate for a minute. “At least, that’s what I told myself. But the whole time…I wanted to get to you, too. You made me feel safe in a way nothing ever has. I didn’t even know a person could feel like home until I was in your bed in Colorado.” I peer up at him from beneath my lashes. “You know when I fell in love with you?”
His eyes lock with mine. “When?”
“Right before we left your booth,” I whisper. “You made sure I was dressed before we walked out of there. And then again in the elevator when you told me that we didn’t have to do anything I didn’t want to do.” I reach up, stroking his jaw. “It was the first time I felt like someone cared enough about me to protect me or give me a choice.”
He turns his head, pressing his lips to my palm. “You always have a choice with me. And I’ll always protect you and our daughter. That’s what I live for now. It fucking killed me back then to realized that you were gone because I knew you were running from something. I hated that I didn’t know who or what. I spent most of the last year worried they caught you. Afraid because I didn’t know where to find you. Mad that I didn’t even know where to begin looking.”
“I’ve spent most of it hating myself for running out of there,” I admit. “I wanted to keep you safe, make sure they didn’t hurt you…but part of me hated that I went. Maybe you’d have known about Lily if I’d just stayed. M-maybe none of this would have happened.”
“Hey.” He hauls himself into a seated position and then scoops me up in his arms, cradling me against his chest. “Don’t do that,” he whispers, brushing his lips across my temple. “Don’t torture yourself with thoughts of what might have been. We have now. We have forever. It’s time to let all that go now. Lily is safe now. You’re safe now. You’re both mine, and nothing is ever going to take either of you from me again.”
He's right. It is time to let it go. It’s time…to forgive myself. I can’t undo the past. I can’t go back and redo that day or make different choices. Maybe the choice I made led me to hell. Maybe it is why the MC is hunting our daughter. Or maybe it’s why Keegan is alive right now with his arms wrapped around me and his ring on my finger. Maybe it’s why we have a chance at a real future. I don’t know.
But I do know that we’re here now. Despite everything, we made it to this point. And regardless of anything, we’ll make it through whatever comes next. We’ll do it one step at a time. Together.