Chapter 15
Wire
“Remember this place, Retta?” I ask Rem over Bluetooth as we ride through Roxburgh.
The rest of the crew are back at the last stop, stretching their legs and probably making out, but Remy and I stopped long enough to pick up our card, then take a little ride through town. I have a gift for her and I figured this would be the best way to give it to her.
“Of course, this was Death Rider territory,” she says softly.
Even though Roxburgh is only a two hour ride from Rose Grove, we don’t visit much.
Remy has some great memories of her family here, but her life in Roxburgh wasn’t idyllic.
My woman grew up lonely and shy in a harsh world.
Sure she’s tough and knows the score, but she deserves the peace that Rose Grove, the DRMC, me and Jovie can give her.
I angle my bike toward the post office in town and Remy’s arm squeezes a little tighter around my waist for a moment.
Backing into a parking spot Remy’s body twists and wriggles and I know that she already has her helmet off and is fluffing her blonde hair.
Remy isn’t just my woman, she’s an extension of me, and has been since we were fucking 13 years old.
The warmth of her body pressed to mine disappears as she dismounts, leaving me with that empty feeling I often get when a ride with Remy is over, but I suck it up as I take her in, beautiful smile on her face, her hands clasped in front of her as she waits patiently, holding out her hand for me.
“So, lover boy-” I raise a brow and she giggles. “It's Valentine’s Day! I can call you that if I want.” She rolls her eyes. “Anyway, lover boy, what are we doing at the Roxburgh post office?”
I swing our clasped hands as we walk into the area where the postal boxes are. “I have a feeling there’s a package for you.” I shrug, trying not to smile.
Not that it works as the smile that grows on Remy’s face makes mine grow with it. She does a happy dance before smacking a kiss on my lips and hustling her heartshaped ass to her post office box. She fumbles a little with the key in her excitement, so I step up behind her, steadying her hand.
She releases a little sigh as she leans back into me, happy to let me take over.
Pressing my nose to her hair, I inhale the scent that is all Remy, before I kiss her crown and step back, allowing her access to the plain brown paper wrapped item inside.
She slides it out, hands gentle as she carries it pressed to her chest. I lead her back to my bike, lifting her under the arms and plopping her side saddle on the seat as I step in between her legs.
“Open it, baby,” I gently urge, watching as she caresses my sender name on the back. St Margarita.
With shiny eyes she carefully peels off the tape, ever so gently folding back the paper to reveal a book with her favorite picture of us on the cover.
Us lying in bed, Remy’s face beaming into her phone camera as she takes a selfie of us, me with my face tipped toward her, not even looking at the phone screen as my whole gaze is locked on her. Only her.
“Oh, Marg, it’s beautiful,” she whispers, running her hand down the cover before opening to the first page and gasping.
There, in black and white on cream paper, are our messages. Each and every message we sent each other, from the very first message until the very last before we met in person, is there, immortalized on page.
“Oh no! I’m making the pages wet!” Remy frantically tries to wipe her tears off both the page she is looking at and her face.
Cupping her cheeks I take care of the big, fat tears rolling down, capturing them with my lips.
“It’s just so sweet, Saint, it’s perfect, I love it even more than that sexy, half-naked picture of you Rider gave me,” she whispers as I press my lips to hers before pulling back and gazing into her huge blue eyes.
“It’s our history, baby. It’s what brought us together, over all those years, and now you’re here and I’m never letting you go. I love you, Remington.”
“I love you, Saint.”
Judge
“Are you being serious right now?” Kaia’s grumpy voice filters through my Bluetooth. “Are you seriously taking me to the riverside where I caught you with Chelsea?”
The weight of her against my back shifts and I flinch a little as she slaps me with her tiny hand.
“Babe! I have a plan, just,” I sigh, “Just trust me. Please?” I ease the bike further down the lane until I get to the spot where I made the worst mistake of my life.
Tank asked if I needed him here for moral support, but I left him and the rest of our brothers and DRMC family at our third poker run spot.
I did ask him to grab our card for us, and to not peek at it or swap the thing, but I know Tank.
He hates losing so I wouldn't be surprised if we get back and have a shitty card to add to our hand.
“I trust you, but it doesn't mean that I have to like you at this moment,” Kaia huffs, launching herself off my bike as soon as I park.
She stands with her arms crossed, her right foot tapping.
Fuck she looks so sexy, her wild curls all mussed from her helmet and the wind, her curvy figure filling out her leathers just right.
I take the two strides that have my boots meeting hers, cupping her face and devouring her lips.
My tongue glides along her plump bottom lip, and I groan when she gently catches my bottom lip between her teeth, before giving me a hard nip.
“You deserve that for bringing me here,” she whispers into my mouth before sucking my lip into her mouth, soothing the sting of her bite. My woman has claws when she needs to.
Pulling back, I slide my fingers into her soft hair, my palm cupping the back of her head, fingers massaging her scalp just the way she likes it. The way she’s always liked it. She groans a little, before a smirk plays on her lips.
“I guess with us all the way out here no one will hear me scream.”
Pulling back, I stare down at her. What the hell? “Why would you be screaming?”
She slips her hand into the little pocket at her hip, sliding out what looks to be a Polaroid. She holds it up long enough for me to see skin. A lot of fucking skin.
“What the fuck is that?” I stab a thick finger in the direction of the picture she’s currently fanning herself with.
“Oh, just a guy. A hot guy. All oiled up, muscles upon muscles. I bet he knows just how to make a woman scream.” She darts away when I lunge at her, making all sorts of obscene noises before cackling.
“Kaia. I swear if thats from one of those Craigs List fuckers we’re going to have a major fucking problem.”
“Oh?” She raises a brow, looking the picture of innocence but I know Kaia. She’s as devious as they come.
“Yeah. Because I’ll go to prison for murder.”
She cackles even harder at this, and then takes another long, hard look at the photo, biting her lip this time.
She makes a sound of indignation as I pluck it from her distracted fingers and turn it to face me.
My eyes bug out and a strangled noise escapes me before it’s drowned out by Kaia’s laughter.
Fucking Rider. This is indecent! It’s obscene. Jesus Christ.
I run a hand down my face and I can feel my cheeks heating.
Actually, my whole head is heating with pure embarrassment.
I can’t imagine what my parents would think if they caught wind of this.
It looks like I’m the male equivalent of a Playboy bunny.
A Playgirl bunny if you will. I’m fucking sure there were better shots than this at that damned photo shoot.
“Oh my gosh have you gone all shy on me?” Kaia points at me before folding in half and laughing hysterically.
“Of course I am! This is, it’s, it’s, it’s indecent!”
Kaia laughs so loud and hard this time that she wilts onto the ground and there’s nothing I can do except watch her.
My eyes dart back to the photograph in my hands and I cringe.
There, on the silky bed, I’m posed in an almost plank-like position, except my bare ass is in the air, round cheeks shiny with the baby oil we doused ourselves in.
“Baby, you have nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed of.” Kaia says, on her feet having caught her breath.
Her palm rests against my chest, as she presses a kiss over my heart.
“You are fucking beautiful and sexy. And I may have used that image and the vibrations of your bike to get off on our way here.”
“What!?” I splutter. Surely she doesn't think this picture is…good?
“What?” She shrugs. “It’s fucking hot. I hope there are more where that came from because that’s going straight into my Rub Hub.”
I stare at her. “Have you always been this filthy?” She raises her brow. “Yeah, right, dumb question.”
“Now, why the hell are we here? And it better be for a good reason.”
Taking a deep breath, I slip my hand in my pocket, not only retrieving the ring I’ve bought her, but also the piece of lined notepad paper where I’ve written my vows. Taking a knee I look up at her and her breath catches.
Clearing my throat, I gaze up at my woman and marvel at how the dappled sunlight bounces off her dark skin. How the blonde in her hair glows in the sunlight. How she worries her plump bottom lip with her teeth.
“Kaia. I’ve carried this place with me for years.
Not because I have good memories of this place.
The opposite.” I blink away, taking in the water burbling beside us.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you, and yet that day, by not listening to you, by not standing up for you, I hurt not only you, or me, but our twins too.
I hurt so many people with my actions and I regret it every fucking day.
” I swallow, my breath coming too quick because it fucking guts me how I broke Kaia. Broke us.
“Oh, Leo, we’ve spoken about this-”
“Please, baby, let me finish?” Kaia nods, her eyes already misty.
I sniff, looking at my notes again. “That day you did what strong women do. You walked away. You carried our twins. You built a life. You became strong and capable and whole without me.” Kaia sniffs and I reach up, brushing a tear from her cheek.
“I am in awe of you. Of what you survived. Of who you became. Of the way you love our twins and the way you forgive and love me.”
“Oh, Leo.” Kaia cups my cheeks, before leaning forward and pressing her lips to my forehead, holding them there for a beat before straightening.
“I regret that I didn’t choose you when I should have.
I regret that you had to be brave because I wasn’t.
” I grip the back of Kaia’s thighs in my hands, gently, caressing.
“But I have never regretted loving you.” I swallow, looking deep into Kaia’s eyes.
Eyes I fell in love with when I was too young to even know what love was.
“I want to marry you, Kaia. With honesty. With loyalty. With my whole heart. I want the woman who loved me first, who survived without me, and who still chose me anyway to not only be my Ol Lady, but to also be my wife. Will you marry me?”
Kaia launches herself at me, knocking me on my ass as she straddles my legs, her arms wrapped around me so fucking tight, as if she’s afraid to let go.
“Yes, Leo, yes,” she whispers against my throat as she rests her head between my collar and jaw. “A thousand fucking times, yes.”