Chapter 6
HOPE
The venue is perfect. I stand near the entrance, taking it all in.
The long tables are draped in ivory linens, and the room is bathed in a soft glow from the string lights overhead.
The smell of garlic and rosemary fills the air, mixing with the faint sweetness of the tiramisu waiting on the dessert table.
My heart melts listening to the hum of the many conversations our guests are having.
Frost's hand finds the small of my back, warm and steady. “You good?”
I nod, throat tight. “Yeah. It's... It's really happening.”
“Four more days,” he says, his voice low. “Then you're all mine. Forever.”
“I'm already yours.”
He grins, that slow, devastating smile that makes my knees weak. “Damn right, you are.”
The servers start bringing out platters of short ribs and salmon, bowls of garlic mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables, and Caesar salad in large wooden bowls.
Everyone's reaching across the table, passing dishes, and laughing.
The brothers are loud, as always, but it's the good kind of loud, the kind that feels like love and home.
My heart swells as I think about how everyone came together so quickly to make this day possible for us.
Mom catches my eye from across the room and blows me a kiss. I blow one back, blinking hard against the sting of tears.
“Alright, alright!” Hawk stands, tapping his glass with a fork, and the room quiets down. “Before we all get too drunk to remember this shit, we're doing speeches.”
Chaos jumps up, nearly knocking over his chair. “Best man goes first, right?”
“Unfortunately,” Frost mumbles beside me, but he's grinning.
Chaos clears his throat dramatically. “So, Frost… Deacon… Brother.” He pauses, milking it. “I've known this man for years. Seen him at his best, seen him at his worst. Seen him try to fix a carburetor with duct tape.”
Laughter ripples through the room.
“Seen him drink an entire bottle of whiskey and then try to convince us he could take on Eagle in a boxing match.” More laughter. “Spoiler alert… he couldn’t.”
Eagle beams. “Damn right. I might be old, but I can still kick your ass, Frost.”
“Jesus Christ,” Frost mutters, shaking his head.
Chaos grins. “But you know what I've never seen?
I've never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at Hope.” His voice softens, and the room goes quiet.
“Never seen him smile like that. Never seen him.
.. settled. He finally found what he's been looking for.” He raises his glass.
“Hope, you're one of us now. Frost, brother, I'm happy for you. Really fucking happy.”
My throat tightens. Frost's hand squeezes mine under the table.
“To Frost and Hope!” Chaos shouts.
“To Frost and Hope!” everyone echoes, glasses clinking.
Amy stands next, and I already know this is going to be good. She's wearing a dress, an actual dress, and she looks beautiful, even if she keeps tugging at the hem like it's personally offending her.
“Hope and I have been best friends since we were kids,” she starts. “I've seen her date some real winners.” She pauses. “And by winners, I mean losers.”
I laugh, covering my face with my hands.
“Then she met Frost.” Amy looks at him, and her expression shifts, still fierce, but softer. “I'll be honest, I was skeptical, especially when I found him in her room naked, and she was giv—”
My parents both cover their ears, but the club brothers lean forward, hanging on every word.
The heat rushes to my cheeks as I jump out of my chair. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence.”
“No, Amy, please finish your sentence,” Chaos encourages.
Amy shakes her head, laughing. “Fine. Anyway, here’s this guy, covered in tattoos, who rides a motorcycle, and calls her 'darlin' like it's her actual name.”
Frost smirks.
“Then I see the way he looks at her. The way he listens when she talks and the way he makes her laugh.” Amy's voice cracks just a little.
“He loves her.” She clears her throat, blinking hard.
“So, Frost, welcome to the family. But just so we're clear...” She reaches down, pulls out a big red plastic wiffle ball bat, and holds it up.
“If you ever hurt her, I know where to find you, and I know how to use this.”
The room erupts in laughter and cheers.
Frost raises his hands in surrender. “Noted.”
Amy grins and sits down, and I reach over to squeeze her hand. “Love you,” I mouth.
“Love you too, bitch,” she mouths back.
“Where’d you get that bat?” I ask, perplexed. We confiscated all her bats before we left for the rehearsal dinner.
She winks. “Made a pit stop.”
I grin at her. Typical Amy, but I wouldn’t trade her for anything in the world. My parents stand, and my chest tightens all over again.
Dad clears his throat, his eyes already shiny. “Hope, sweetheart. Watching you grow up has been the greatest privilege of my life.” His voice wavers. “Watching you find someone who loves you the way you deserve to be loved... that's all a father can ask for.”
Mom takes over, her hand on Dad's arm. “Frost, we're so happy to welcome you into our family. You make our daughter happy and make her feel safe. That's all we've ever wanted for her.”
I'm crying now, not even trying to hide it. Frost wraps his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close.
“To true love,” Dad says, raising his glass. “To family… To Hope and Frost.”
“To Hope and Frost!”
“To true love and tailpipes!” Colt hollers as everyone stares at him in disbelief. “What? The MC needs some representation, too.”
It’s silent for a brief second before everyone shouts, “True love and tailpipes!”
We finish dessert as someone cranks up the speakers, and a loud, upbeat song blasts through the room. People start getting up, laughing, and moving toward the makeshift dance floor.
“Oh, fuck,” Colt hollers.
My eyes scan the room for the commotion until I find it.
Chaos.
Running through the room in nothing but a white cloth diaper and a pair of white feathered wings strapped to his back, holding a toy bow and arrow.
“Oh, my God,” I breathe.
“Cupid is here!” Chaos shouts, shooting foam-tipped arrows at people. He hits Eagle in the shoulder and Glitch in the leg.
He takes aim at Amy and fires, hitting her square in the chest. She freezes. Her eyes wander down to the arrow and back up to Chaos.
“You're dead,” she growls.
Chaos grins. “Gotta catch me first!”
He takes off running, the diaper flapping and his wings bouncing. Amy bolts after him with the plastic bat in her hand, and the entire room loses it. People are doubled over, laughing and cheering her on.
Frost pulls me close, his chest shaking with laughter. “Your best friend is insane.”
“Your best friend is wearing a diaper,” I counter.
He kisses my temple. “Fair point.”
I look around the room at the brothers laughing, my parents smiling, and Amy chasing Chaos around a table while he shoots arrows wildly into the air. Frost stands beside me in solidarity as we watch our best friends’ antics.
Everything is picture-perfect. We might not be a Norman Rockwell family, but we’re all family, nonetheless.
A few hours later, we arrive back at the hotel. I'm buzzed with champagne and happiness. The elevator ride is crowded, and everyone reminisces about Chaos in that ridiculous diaper.
“Night, lovebirds,” Eagle calls as we reach our floor.
“Don't do anything I wouldn't do,” Chaos adds with a wink.
“That leaves literally everything,” Amy taunts.
Frost's hand is warm on my lower back as we walk down the hallway. The second our door clicks shut behind us, the energy shifts. He leans against the door, watching me with those dark eyes that make my stomach flip.
“Come here,” he says, voice low.
I shake my head, backing toward the bed. “No. You stay right there.”
His eyebrow lifts. “Okay?”
I reach for the zipper at the back of my dress. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”
The hunger that flashes across his face sends heat pooling between my thighs. I turn slowly, letting him see as I slide the zipper down, and the fabric loosens around my body. I glance over my shoulder as he adjusts himself through his jeans.
Perfect.
I let the dress fall, pooling at my feet in a whisper of silk. I'm wearing a blue lace matching bra and thong set I bought specifically for tonight. I step out of the dress and turn to face him.
His jaw tightens. “Fuck, Hope.”
I reach behind me to unhook my bra, letting it drop. His eyes track every movement as I slowly slide my panties down my legs and kick them aside. I'm completely bare, standing in nothing but my heels.
“Your turn,” I say.
He pushes off the door, yanking his shirt over his head. His belt hits the floor with a metallic clink, jeans next, and last, his boxer briefs. Before I know it, he's naked too, his cock already hard and thick.
I walk toward him, hips swaying, and push him down onto the bed. He reaches for me as I climb on top of him and straddle his hips. His cock presses against me, and I grind down slowly, teasing.
“Jesus,” Frost groans, hands gripping my hips.
I lean down and capture his mouth with mine. His tongue slides against mine as his hands roam my body. I rock against him, feeling him throb beneath me, and heat coils tight in my belly.
I kiss along his jaw, down his neck, tasting salt and skin. His chest rises and falls faster as I work my way down, kissing and licking, feeling the hard planes of muscle beneath my lips. My stomach twinges with a little flutter of discomfort, but I ignore it.
Not now!
I kiss down his abs, feeling them tense under my mouth. His cock is right there, thick and ready. I wrap my hand around the base and begin to stroke him slowly.
“Hope,” he breathes, voice rough.
I look up at him through my lashes to see the raw need on his face. Leaning forward, I lick the tip, tasting the bead of precum. Frost’s hips jerk in response.
My stomach cramps again, harder this time, but I push it away. I take him into my mouth, sliding down his length, feeling him hit the back of my throat.
“Fuck, baby,” he groans, hand tangling in my hair.
I work him with my mouth and hand, finding a rhythm, loving the sounds he makes. The groans, the curses, and the way he says my name like a prayer. My stomach twists again, sharper now, and I try to breathe through it.
And then it happens.
One second, I'm taking him deep, and the next, my stomach lurches violently. I gag, not from him, but from the sudden, overwhelming nausea. I don’t lift my head in time as I start to throw up with his cock still in my mouth.
“Shit!” I pull off him, hand over my mouth, but it's too late. Vomit splatters across his thigh and the bed. I roll off him and stumble toward the bathroom.
“Hope—”
I don't stop to reassure him. I barely make it to the toilet before I heave again, my whole body shaking as everything from dinner comes back up.
This can’t be happening… not four days before my wedding!