CHAPTER 10
LIAM
The urge to paint hit me out of the blue as soon as I saw the shields lined up against the far wall of the kitchen. I hadn’t hesitated in getting my paints out and start decorating them. JoJo, Ally, Jeanie, Maya, and Tilly had done a great job making them. Growing up in a houseful of boys, it was strange to have so many women in our space. They brought a completely different dynamic to the entire house, lighting it up with laughter and teasing.
I’d not paid any attention when Da had got up abruptly and left, but I’d noticed when Sera had followed him out. I stood up to follow them, but JoJo stopped me with a gentle hand on my arm, “Let them be; there’s nothing to worry about.”
I’d taken her at her word and gone back to the shields, but most of my attention was on the kitchen doorway, waiting for them to come back inside. It was only about ten minutes before Da walked back in; he looked like he felt lighter than when he’d left. Sera concerned me because although she was smiling and looked happy enough, she was also crying.
It made me wonder what the hell they’d been talking about. When I made a move towards her, she waved me off and wiped her face on her sleeve before continuing with the task Ally had set for her. I’d relaxed when, after a little while, she started laughing at something. Whatever it was that bothered her, I’d find out from her when we got home; for now, I’d let the two of them be.
Not an hour later, I’d finished the shields. The noise in the kitchen had died down about twenty minutes ago as everyone had disappeared to get dressed. Washing my brushes, I left them to dry and hurried out of the main house towards the path that led to my house. Opening the door, I smiled when I heard the sound of the shower running. Hurriedly, I toed off my boots and started stripping out of my clothes so that by the time I hit my bedroom door, I was naked with a pile of clothes in my arms that I tossed toward the washing basket.
Stalking towards the bathroom door, I push it open and am met by the gorgeous silhouette of my woman, naked in the shower. Arms up, breasts thrust out as she washes her hair, water streaming down her delectable body.
“Are you going to stand there or are you coming to join me?” she demands to know.
Broken from my reverie by her question, I open the shower door and step inside, crowding her up against the wall.
“We don’t have a lot of time,” she warns but doesn’t move away when I reach for her.
“We’ll just have to make it quick,” I tell her, lifting her up and sliding her down onto my hard cock. A deep groan leaves me as her soft, wet heat encloses around me, “Thank Christ, you’re ready for me, milseán. ”
Sera laughs, tightening her core around me before releasing. “Fuck, baby,” I groan, my head buried in the crook of her neck as I fight not to come when she does it again with another chuckle. “Two can play at that game, milseán, ” I tell her with a cocky smirk, lifting my head from the crook of her neck. Inserting my thumb in my mouth, I make sure it is good and wet before I slip my hand between our bodies and find her hard nub. Applying pressure, I bend my knees and push up hard into her. Sera gasps, tilting her head back and anchoring her long legs tighter around my waist, giving me just enough leeway to do it again and again until the friction has her keening.
“You need to fucking come, Sera, I’m not coming without you,” I growl in her ear. Taking the lobe between my teeth, I nip hard at it just as I feel the first ripple of her pussy around my cock. “That’s it, baby, just like that,” I praise as she starts to clench around me. “Ah, fuck,” I shout as I thrust hard, driving my cock into her softness time and again as we both come hard. “Holy fuck,” I whisper, blinking slightly and locking my knees so that we don’t collapse on the shower floor.
Sera starts to laugh. “There’s something to be said for quickies,” she tells me as she unwraps her legs from around my waist, leaning her head against my chest for a minute before she presses a kiss to my heart and pulls me into the steady stream of now almost cold water.
It was an experience showering with Sera; I guessed the Army made her quick and efficient, or maybe it was because she’d started before me. Either way, she was done way before me. Getting out, I wrap a towel around my waist and walk into my bedroom, coming to a standstill as my cock is instantly hard again, like he hadn’t just come not even ten minutes ago.
“Fuck me, you really are my queen,” I inform her as I peruse her from the top of her head down to her toes. She’s dressed all in black: tight black leather trousers, a long-sleeved black top with fake leather and fur body armour. Her long dark hair is hanging loose around her, with a few small plaits with silver adornments added in. On her head is what looks like a solid silver crown.
Sera grins and claps her hands, “It looks cool, huh? JoJo and the girls did an awesome job. Hurry up and get dressed; all I have to do is add the leather wristbands and then put some plaits in your hair.”
I roll my eyes at the mention of plaits but don’t say anything because we both know that I’ll be wearing plaits if she and my nieces want me to.
Going to the outfit that someone has put on my bed. Letting the towel drop to the floor, I bite back a chuckle when I hear Sera’s breath hitch slightly. Knowing we didn’t have time to have sex again, I pull my underwear on and then my dark brown jeans that are slightly more fitted than my usual ones. The rest of the costume I’d had to buy when Ally and Jeanie had come to me with their idea. It was a loose-fitting black tunic, and they’d made me similar armour to what Sera wore to go over it. Pulling on my motorcycle boots that came to mid-calf, I added the fake fur around the top, along with a belt that had a loop for what I assumed was the wooden sword Da had been working on earlier. To complete the look, someone had added a short cape with fake fur around the collar. Holding it up to Sera, I lift an eyebrow in query.
“JoJo,” she tells me with a small shrug, as if that answered all my questions. “Sit so I can do your hair quickly.”
Sitting on the bed, I let her do what she wanted; I figured it was better this way because there was no way in hell I’d be able to do plaits like she’d done in her hair.
Sera was nearly done when we heard the front door open and close and a voice that sounded like Evie’s shout out, “You guys better not be fucking; we’re running late.”
“Don’t be a dickhead, Evie,” Sera shouts back. “We’re nearly ready; I’m putting the last plait in Liam’s hair.”
“No need to shout, bitch, I’m not deaf,” Evie smirks as she pops her head around the door jamb of our room.
I could almost hear Sera’s eye roll, even if I couldn’t see it, when she grumbles at her friend, “You’re so fucking annoying.”
“Man, you guys look hot. This is a kids’ thing, you know.”
From the corner of my eye, I see Sera’s hand flash at her friend, one finger up in the universal sign for ‘fuck off.’ My shoulders are shaking with laughter at the two of them; it seems they live to give each other a hard time. Evie just grins.
“There, all finished,” Sera says, patting my shoulder and getting off the bed where she’d been kneeling to do the last one. Opening the wardrobe door so the full-length mirror is showing, I am surprised at how good we look. The girls had done an amazing job on our costumes.
“Here,” Evie says, handing Sera a crown that matched the one on Sera’s head.
Sera grins as she twirls it around on her finger before pretending to bow, holding it up to me and looking at me from under her lashes, “My king.”
‘Fucking hell, if only she knew what she did to me with the way she was looking at me.’
“ Mo bhanríon,” I return with a guttural rasp, taking the crown from her hands and putting it on my brow in the same place she wore hers. My gaze meets hers in the mirror, and heat flares between us.
“Yeah, I’m definitely not leaving you two alone with the way you are eye-fucking each other. You don’t want to disappoint your nieces, so let’s go, people. Your swords and shields are in the car. Come on now, chop, chop,” Evie claps her hands, making shooing motions at us to get out of the bedroom.
Silently, I sigh with disappointment that I won’t get another taste of my woman, but I’d made a promise, and I know Evie wasn’t wrong; if we stayed in this room any longer, I’d be hard-pressed to keep my hands off Sera. Turning away from the mirror and taking Sera by the hand, I pull her along behind me.
Winking at Evie as I walk past her, I tell her, “I’m going to cock block you so hard when you find a man, Evie.” My comment has both the girls laughing and me smiling wide as we walk out of my house and down the path towards where we parked the cars.
Once everyone has oohed and aahed at our outfits, I insist on getting pictures with my nieces, who look beautiful and as fierce as I know them to be in their shieldmaiden outfits.
Adam and Tilly are staying home with Da as Tilly isn’t feeling too good. They’re going to keep Ronan with them as he is too little to be out in the cold, which means Maya and Johnny can both go out tonight. I’ve come to realise it really does take a village to raise a family.
Maya is dressed as a Pink Lady and Johnny as a T-bird, with Emy and Jackson matching them. They look pretty spectacular all standing together.
Pictures done, we pile into cars, with Ally and Jeanie coming with Sera and me, Johnny taking his family, and Sera’s girls piling into the Jeep that JoJo drives.
It doesn’t take us long to get to the field the Crows use for this event. Slowing to a stop, I roll down the window of the car so I can speak to Sam, Ben, and Alec, who are manning the gate.
“Evening, lads,” I greet them.
Sam comes up to the window, “Hi, Liam, you guys look awesome. Dad said to tell you to park with the rest of the family. If you go past that line of cars right to the end, you’ll see a private access only sign. One of the Temple brothers should be there. They’ll let you in.”
“Thanks, Sam. Johnny and JoJo are in the cars behind me.”
“I’ll let them know to follow you,” Sam assures me, stepping back. Following his directions, I find the private parking, with either Brice or Booker Temple waving at me. I’ve still not figured out how to tell them apart.
“Wow,” Ally whispers softly from the back seat as she looks out over the sea of well-lit tents. It has a decidedly carnival atmosphere.
“Wow indeed,” Sera agrees, her face pressed against the window much like my nieces.
“Do they do this every year?” she wants to know.
“No, this is only the third year they have been doing this,” I reply, stopping the car in the space that I was shown. “They started this in 2003, I think, as a way to raise funds for the village or the local schools.”
“Amazing.”
“You girls ready to go and get some treats and play some games?” I ask, meeting Ally and Jeanie’s eyes in the rearview mirror.
They both beam happy smiles, nodding their heads.
“Good, grab the shields and swords and let’s go wow the masses with your costumes. You’re safe enough here, girls, but if at any time you’re worried, you come and find me or any of the adults that you know. Okay?”
“Okay, Uncle Liam,” they both agree, opening their doors as Sera’s squad walks over to us, followed by Johnny, Maya, and their children.
“Here, girls, I made you these in case it got cold,” JoJo says, holding up two capes. She swirled each one around the girls’ shoulders and did them up with a toggle clasp. “They’ve got hoods, so if you get cold, you can pull them up.”
Ally and Jeanie throw their arms around JoJo, “Thanks, Aunt JoJo, these are so pretty,” Jeanie tells her. “Our costumes are so awesome this year. I’m glad you all came with Aunt Sera.”
“Aw, honey, you’re welcome. I love doing stuff like this,” JoJo assures her. “Just think what we can do next year with a whole year to plan.”
Sera wears a soft smile as she watches JoJo with Jeanie and Ally. Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I press a kiss to Sera’s temple. “She’s in a good place to heal, baby. We’ll get her there.”
Turning her head towards me, Sera presses a kiss to my lips, “We will. I think this move is the best thing that’s happened to all of us.”
“You guys look fantastic,” Brice/Booker says as he walks towards us.
“Thanks, Booker,” Ally smiles. Booker it was then—how the hell she knew which twin he was, I’d like to know.
“Follow that rope path and you’ll come out by the booth that Bren, Carly, and Bella are running. The pub is a bit farther in, and there are rides close to that,” he tells the rest of us.
“Right, let’s go,” Johnny says, taking Emy from Maya as he and Maya start walking down the path as directed. It’s all well-lit, so it’s easy to see where we’re going. It doesn’t take us long to get to the first booth.
They’ve set it up so that booths selling goods are on one side, and down the other side are decorated cars with tables full of chocolate and sweets for the kids to do trick or treating from.
“How amazing is this,” Ange says as we all look around, and I have to agree with them.
“Where do you girls want to start?” I ask Ally and Jeanie, who are both looking a little shell-shocked at the sheer volume of people, tables, and stalls.
“I tell you what,” Sera says, wrapping an arm around Ally’s shoulder. “Let’s start at the top here and work our way down. You girls stop us when you see something you want to do or if there’s a ride you want to take. Jeanie, you stick with your Uncle Liam.”
That’s what we do. As a group, we walk down together, stopping when the girls see something that interests them. Finally, they are relaxed enough to enjoy themselves. I’d have thought that Sera’s girls squad would have got bored following along beside us, but it seemed that they’d taken the girls under their wing and were more than happy to spoil them with small trinkets they bought from various booths.
We’d wended our way down until we’d hit the small funfair. Our first stop was the bumper cars. I knew from experience that I wouldn’t fit, but that didn’t stop the girls. They each jumped into a car, with JoJo and Sera taking Ally and Jeanie with them. I knew straight away this was going to get messy; none of them took any prisoners. I had to hand it to them, though; they didn’t go for anyone outside of our group.
I was outright laughing when the cars came to a stop and everyone else who had been riding the bumper cars at the same time as them got out. I wasn’t too worried, as almost all were laughing at their antics. Jeanie and Ally got out and walked towards me with wide smiles.
“They’re crazy, Uncle Liam,” Jeanie laughs excitedly as she comes to stand next to me.
“What are they up to now?” I wonder aloud as Ange speaks to the guy running the cars. He first shakes his head, but Ange is being persistent; finally, he nods with a laugh as he takes the money that Ange hands him before she hurriedly returns to her car. He then proceeds to walk around, putting the closed chain on, explaining as he goes that it will just be for a few minutes while the wild women—his words, not mine—take his ride over a little bit.
He stops when he gets to me, “You’re a braver man than me, mate. Those ladies are wild.”
“My uncles and my dad are all brave,” Jeanie tells him proudly. “My aunts are going to show us how to be strong like them.”
“I bet they are,” he agrees, continuing on until the chains with the closes signs are all up. Once the ride was pretty much shut down for the next little while, he went to the booth and started the music up, and the girls really let loose then.
It was mayhem filled with manic laughter and a tonne of swearing and jeering from all parties involved. The crowds around us got thicker as more gathered to watch and started to cheer, and I’m not sure who was more disappointed when the cars wound down—Sera and her girls’ squad or the spectators.
They were laughing as they walked towards me, and there was something about a group of strong women dressed as Viking shieldmaidens that made the men around me feel like they had to preen and suck in their guts. It had me chuckling under my breath, especially when Sera strode up and pressed her lips to mine. I ignored the “Lucky fucker” comment because I knew I was.
“Did you and your girls have a good time?” I want to know.
“We did, but now I’m starving. What about you girls, do you fancy checking out what there is to eat?”
“Yes,” Ally nods, then says, “Maggie is running the café from the pub tent.”
“Well then, that’s where we’re going,” Sera says, taking Ally’s hand and picking up her shield before shouting over her shoulder, “Grub’s up.”
“Finally,” Billie shouts back. “I’m starving.”
Turning us towards the pub and food, Sera’s shoulder brushes mine. I’ve got Jeanie on one side, and Sera’s got Ally on the other, with Ange, Billie, JoJo, and Evie bringing up the rear. We must make quite a sight because a path clears for us as we walk through the crowd towards the pub tent.
Standing outside the tent are Reaper and the rest of the brotherhood, along with Johnny and Tommy.
A whistle pierces the air. “Holy fuck, Liam, you’ve got yourself a posse,” Rogue, who’s dressed as a pirate, shouts out. Julia, who’s standing next to him, socks him in the stomach and scolds him about his language.
Sera and her girls are smiling with amusement as they greet the Crows and some of their ladies before I usher them inside to a table that Maya’s sitting at. It doesn’t take long for us to get our food. We’d no sooner started to eat than our table seemed to fill up with more Crows. Before long, we’d added more tables and chairs, and the atmosphere took on a festive air.
This was very different to when Rhett and Noni had been together. While we’d all got along, we’d always known that they didn’t approve of the way we made our money. I much preferred this. The camaraderie was only amplified with Sera and her girls having served with them, and they slipped seamlessly into the banter being bandied around the table.
After we’d eaten, we’d gone to the shooting booths where we’d cleaned up in teddies—a lot more than Ally and Jeanie could carry, and they ended up giving them away to children that passed by, meaning there were a lot of happy children going home tonight.
“Happiness looks good on you, Liam.”
Turning my head slightly, I look at Reaper, who’d taken up a stance next to me a little earlier as we watched the mayhem Sera, her girls’ squad, and the brotherhood were causing. Somehow, the Crow Old Ladies had been pulled in when their booths shut down.
“It’s been a long time coming,” I told him. “But I’m not going to waste a minute of it now that I’ve found it.”
“I’m glad,” he told me before we went back to watching our people and their shenanigans.
It had been a lot of years since I’d had so much fun.