2. Ronny
2
RONNY
Once the plane lands, the first thing I see out the window is my family waiting for me on their bikes, and right in the middle is my bike.
Dad and I spent a whole year working on this bike when I turned fifteen, it was one of the greatest accomplishments in my life to be able to build something from the ground up with him.
As soon as the door opens, I practically run out of the damn plane. I’m so damn tired of being on planes, it seems like I have lived in them the last few years traveling for hockey games.
Winning the Stanley Cup was a dream of mine. I wanted to win that and now that I have, I’m so sick and tired of not having a permanent home, to be with my family for all of the small shit and to be close with my cousins once again.
My mom is the first one to run to me. I have towered over her since the age of fourteen. “I’m so glad you’re home.” She sniffs and I chuckle at her antics, while Dad grins down at her before hugging me with her squished in the middle.
“I’m glad to be home,” I tell them both. Over their shoulder, I see my uncles. Smiley and Lane, while Tiffany is riding behind her dad on his bike. Christopher, who is Lane’s son and the future president of the club, is grinning at me.
My two younger siblings, Trace and Arianna, are behind my parents, waiting for their turn to hug me. I hold out my arms and they jump into the group hug, which sets my mom off giggling.
Once they’ve had their fill, I turn to the rest of my family. Not everyone is blood-related but blood doesn’t make family; they have been a part of my life since the day my parents took me in.
Lane is holding my cut that he got off my bike. “It’s good to have you home, brother.” He hands me my cut and I slip my arms through it.
“It’s good to be home.” I hug him and turn to the next generation MC. One day it will just be us running shit.
Christopher is a couple years younger than me, and his dad is training him to take over one day. Mason and Cole, Wilder’s sons, are around the same age as Christopher. I hug them one by one. The list goes on and it thrills me that all of them are here to welcome me home.
Some of the Devil Souls MC kids are here too. We have all grown up together, so I’m just as close to them. Trenton, who is Torch’s son and is around my age, shakes my hand. “It’s good to have you home, maybe we can keep the girls out of trouble now.”
That sets off Tiffany. I give him a sympathetic look. “Yeah right.” I snort and we all bust out laughing. I have heard the stories over the years of how the girls are insane.
Greyson gives me a hug, still laughing. He is the future president of the Devil Souls MC.
After I greet everyone, Mom gives me another small hug. “I have your room all ready.” She beams at me and I look to my dad who has a knowing look on his face.
“Mom, I’m going home to Olivia,” I tell her softly, not wanting to upset her.
Her eyes widen before she grins. “About time!” She smacks me on the shoulder slightly, and I think I have been hit harder by a fly than that.
Dad pulls her to his chest. My mom had a hard life, Dad has told me the shit that she had to deal with. If her parents weren’t already fucking dead, I would be the one to end them.
When I told Dad I was interested in Olivia, he gave me some of the details that Mom had to deal with, informing me how he had to be patient with her.
It fucks with me that most of the women in my life have been hurt by the hands of a man—shit like that shouldn’t happen.
We all walk to our bikes, with my sister riding on the back of my younger brother’s one. It’s crazy to me that he has his own bike and he is riding.
I slide my leg over my bike, turning her on, and the purring sound it makes warms me. “Hell yeah.”
We all take off together riding. I split off, only to get to the house I had built for Olivia.
I can see her looking out of the window. She opens the front door and I grin at her. Olivia is wearing a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt that hugs her frame.
She was beautiful when I first met her, but now she is unreal. She is all fucking mine. I can still taste her on my lips from that kiss at my last game.
I turn off my bike, swinging my leg over, and she takes off running like she did on the ice, and I chuckle, catching her and swinging her up so her legs wrap around my waist.
“Welcome home,” she tells me, smiling happily and tucking her head in the crook of my neck, and I just hold her tight.
“I’m so glad to be home,” I whisper, kissing the side of her head as I walk with her in my arms inside of our house.
I shut the door behind us with my foot. I may have had this house built but she made it a home. It’s all creams, golds, and oak wood. It has Olivia’s touch written all over it.
“I can’t believe you’re actually home!” She leans back, looking at me like she can’t believe I’m actually here.
I hold her up with one hand, reminding me how tiny she is. Cupping her cheek with my free hand, I tilt her head farther back. “I need one thing to make it more real.” I wink at her, hearing her catch her breath as I lean down to kiss her first.
She melts into me. In this moment, I kiss her with everything I feel for her. My hands slide from her face to her hair, burrowing deep into her locks. “Now I’m home,” I tell her when I pull back, her eyes hooded as she gazes at me.
Olivia smiles. “I think I might need another reminder.” She giggles and presses one soft, sweet kiss to my lips. “Food is done, if you’re wanting to eat,” she tells me, wiggling her butt to indicate she wants me to let her go, and I lift her up so she doesn’t rub against my dick. I know she is not ready for that.
I let her down gently on her feet as her hair swings around her face beautifully. “You’re beautiful.” I can’t help but run my hands through her long, blonde hair. “What did you make me?” I ask her, smelling the food coming from the kitchen.
Olivia smiles. “Come on, let’s go eat,” she says, taking my hand and leading me to the dining room through the kitchen where she has the table set up.
She went through a lot of effort to make this moment perfect. “You did this for me?” I ask her, pulling out her chair so she can sit, and I scoot in next to her.
Olivia
He looks floored that I went through the effort. This will be his first night here in this house and I wanted it to be special for him.
“I did. This a big moment,” I tell him, resting my hand on his large, muscled forearm. I never knew a man’s arms could be this sexy, but Ronny has these deep veins running up to his biceps, and you can see the strength he has.
My finger glides along one of his veins, and he takes my hand and kisses the back of it. “It is,” he agrees.
I dish up our food. I settled on roasted chicken thighs with homemade mashed potatoes on the side and grilled veggies. I know he is a healthy eater, so I went with something basic.
“This looks amazing, you didn’t have to do all of this. Takeout would have been great for me,” he informs me, cutting into his chicken and taking a bite. He closes his eyes, groaning. “Fuck, I forgot how good of a cook you are.”
For a minute there I thought about going to culinary school, but being a social worker honestly makes my heart happy, even if sometimes it breaks it.
I think the reason I went into social work is because of Ronny. He slipped through the cracks and suffered because of it. I’m thankful every day that Bell and Maverick adopted him.
Ronny is diving into his food like he hasn’t eaten in days, it makes me happy. I loved to cook once I returned home after being rescued from the cult, it was a way for me to get out of my bedroom and have a life again.
I was terrified to leave the house. I went to be with other women that were saved from the cult just like I was. We all healed together in a lot of ways and it helped because we all went through almost the exact same thing. We weren’t alone.
Some, sadly, don’t have a good quality of life, they stay behind those gates and just live the best life they possibly can.
Ronny made that promise to me all those years ago, and I can’t help but wonder if this is what he truly wants, or does he just feel obligated to keep to his word?
“I can feel you thinking,” he tells me, and I look up to see his handsome face. His eyes are so piercing, it’s like he can see into my soul.
It’s hard for me to fully grasp that someone like him, who is so amazing, could want someone like me.
I swallow hard, laying my fork down on my plate. “Ronny, I wanted to give you an out,” I start, then cringe because that didn’t sound so great.
“An out.” His voice has no emotion as he repeats this.
I nod, sighing. “You made that promise to me all those years ago. You’ve been so patient with me, and I just wanted to make sure that I was worth the wait—if this is truly what you want…” I trail off, thinking of my next words. “Or if you feel obligated?”
He genuinely looks amazed at the words coming out of my mouth, but I’m not perfect and I need to know.
I have been in love with him since I was fourteen years old, when he saved me and prevented me from being taken. That feeling has grown over the years because of the respect he has given me, never straying from where I needed him to be.
I love him enough that if this is not what he truly wants, I would let him go, even if it would wreck me.
“Angel.” His voice is deep as he scoots my chair out with one hand and lifts me out of my seat easily, walking with me into the living room.
He plops me down onto the couch, with him sitting directly beside of me so we are face to face.
“It kills me that you think you’re just so easy to replace.”
He growls deeply, his hands going to my hips like he is afraid I’m going to get up and bolt out of the room.
“You are not replaceable. From the moment I saw you, I knew you were meant to be mine, and I am content with any way that I can have you. If it meant I never got to touch you, to make love to you, then I would’ve been fine with that too.” He stares deep into my eyes. “No one can compare to you. I’ve seen you come from something most people can’t come back from. You are here, and you are so beautiful.”
I think I could die right now, his words are hitting me so hard.
“Thousands of women could undress in front of me and I wouldn’t be fazed because all I see is you.”
That does it, the tears fall from my eyes and he lifts me into his lap, holding me tightly. “You have proved yourself to me over and over, Ronny, but I feel like I’m not worth all the effort.”
He hisses. “You are worth the whole fucking world.”
For the first time in my life, I believe what he says. I’m going to make an effort to push my doubts and insecurities to the back of my mind.
“Thank you for never giving up on me.” I lift my head to look at him, his face a little blurry from my tears.
I feel so many powerful emotions right now, but bliss is one that is showing through the most. “I will never.”
I smile. “I know.”
He smiles back at me, leaning forward to press a kiss to my forehead.
“No one else can compare to you either, Ronny. I don’t see other guys. You’re all I pretty much think about,” I tell him.
He grins. “Good to know.”
He scoots back into the couch, cuddling me closer. “Imagine my shock when men have asked me out and I’m horrified because it’s not you.” I giggle, thinking about the other day when I was at a store and some random man asked me out. I blinked at him, like you exist?
I expect Ronny to laugh, but his jaw is clenched angrily. “Did you tell him that your man will kick his ass if he didn’t take the rejection?”
Holy shit, he is pissed. I find his possessiveness way too attractive. “He accepted it and moved on.”
Ronny settles back into the couch and I laugh at his satisfied expression. “Good, it still fucks with me after what happened in high school with that fucker.”
I cringe at the mention of Holden. “He works in town at a mechanic shop. I went there to get an oil change and I backed out of there the second I saw him.”
“Is it one the club owns?” Ronny asks, and I shrug. The club has so many businesses that it’s hard to even keep track of them all, honestly.
“He does have kids, their file has come across my desk before. He is an alcoholic, so I have them in a great foster home, where they’re thriving.”
It does make me sad that Holden didn’t change any of his ways after school and just went downhill.
“He is a stupid fucker, I knew he was going to be shit.”
One thing I will never understand is how some parents are just so worthless, they don’t care as long as they get what they want.
“Around half of the women that live behind the gates can’t have kids. A lot of them have become certified foster parents and it’s worked out really well,” I tell him about one of my newest ventures.
“I’m so proud of you, you’re changing those kids’ lives.” He kisses my cheek and I grin at his affection.
While we finish our food, he doesn’t let me leave his lap. I’m content with him holding me, loving the feeling of how safe he makes me feel.
“Let’s go watch a movie,” I suggest once we finish our food. We can clean all of this up later. “We can go into the bedroom or on the couch?” I ask, and my eyes widen at the mention of my bedroom, not wanting him to think I want sex.
He bursts out laughing. “Fuck, your face is so red right now,” he points out, which just causes my face to redden further. I can feel the heat radiating from my cheeks.
He rises, still carrying me bridal style in his arms, and we go up to the stairs to the bedroom that he had built for us. I remember being embarrassed when he planned out the room and the bed.
“I guess the bed it is,” I mutter under my breath. My heart is beating so hard because us lying in bed together makes it more real.
He sets me on the bed before walking to the closet. His clothes are here—he filled the closet already and hasn’t used any of it.
He comes back out with two pairs of sweats and two of his t-shirts. He hands me one of the sets of clothes. “I do love your clothes.” I take them and he winks at me.
Over the year, I have collected his clothes and I typically wear them at night when I sleep.
His smell alone makes me feel safe. I bought a bottle of his cologne and spray it on the bed when I’m having a bad day.
I go into the bathroom, taking off the clothes I’m wearing and change into the sweats before washing my face, feeling a million times better now.
I smile at myself in the mirror, touching my lips where he has kissed me multiple times since he’s been back. My lips are swollen.
It’s hard to not be nervous, but I’m thrilled that Ronny is here with me after all of these years. It feels like a dream.
I push the door open to find him lying on the bed with his back against the headboard.
He looks exhausted, so I turn off the light and walk over to him. He takes my hand, helping me get in the bed. “Always the gentleman,” I tease him, and he chuckles.
“One day you will see how much I am a gentleman.”
His words hang in the air at his double meaning. I duck my head and lay lean on his chest, sighing deeply the second I snuggle into him.
The TV isn’t on. “Let’s nap.” He groans, reaching with his free hand for the blanket, and I throw my leg over his.
I have dreamt of this so many times. I yawn and close my eyes.
“Good night,” I whisper, bringing my hand up under my chin, resting it on his hard chest.