Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
KNOX
ONE WEEK LATER
By the time evening rolls around, I'm wound tight. Jax and I have been moving around the house all day, making sure everything is in place. Ainsley has been oblivious, playing with Owen, helping with laundry, completely unaware of what's coming.
"Where are we going?" she asks as I help her into her jacket.
"Perdition," Jax says. "Club thing."
She frowns. "On a Thursday?"
"Trust us," I say, my hand resting on her lower back.
She looks between us, suspicious, but she doesn't push. "Okay."
Owen is staying with one of our club brothers and his wife tonight. They picked him up an hour ago, both of them grinning like they knew exactly what was about to happen.
Because they do. Everyone does. Except Ainsley.
The ride to Perdition is quiet. Ainsley sits between us in the truck, her hand resting on my thigh, her other hand in Jax's. She's relaxed, trusting, and it makes my chest ache.
When we pull into the parking lot, she notices immediately that it's packed.
"Why are there so many bikes here?" she asks, her voice uncertain.
"Club business," Jax says easily.
She narrows her eyes at him. "You're a terrible liar."
He grins. "Come on, baby. Let's go inside."
The moment we walk through the door, the entire bar erupts.
Ainsley freezes, her eyes going wide as she takes in the scene.
The place is packed. Almost every Iron Reaper is here, Mason, Steele, Tiny, Cole, Weston, Wyatt, Revolver, Blade, and dozens more. The Old Ladies are here too, Lucy, Tessa, Hadley, Erica, Scarlett, all of them grinning like maniacs.
Switch and Bella are standing near the bar, both of them beaming.
"What—" Ainsley starts, but Jax takes her hand and leads her toward the center of the room.
I follow, my heart pounding.
Mason steps forward, his presence commanding the room into silence. "Brothers," he says, his voice carrying. "We're here tonight to witness something important."
Ainsley looks at me, then at Jax, her confusion clear.
Jax squeezes her hand. "Just listen, baby."
Mason nods to us, and Jax steps forward first.
"I'm not good with words," Jax starts, his voice steady but rough. "Knox is the quiet one. I'm the one who talks too much. But tonight, I need to say this."
He looks at Ainsley, his green eyes intense. "When we found you on that highway, I thought we were just helping someone in trouble. I didn't know you were going to wreck me. I didn't know you were going to take everything I thought I knew about myself and flip it upside down."
Ainsley's eyes are shining now, her hand trembling in his.
"You made me want things I never thought I'd want," Jax continues. "A family. A future. A reason to be better. You and Owen, you're everything. And I'm done pretending this is temporary. I'm done pretending I could ever let you go."
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small black box.
Ainsley gasps, her free hand flying to her mouth.
"This isn't just a ring," Jax says, opening the box to reveal a simple silver band with two intertwined lines. "It's a promise. Will you be ours forever? Will you marry me, Ainsley Reed?"
She looks from Jax to me. I can't say anything, hell, I can hardly breathe. She bites her lip and looks back at Jax. "Yes, I'll marry you."
He slides the ring onto her finger, and she's crying now, tears streaming down her face.
Then it's my turn. I step forward, and the room is so quiet I can hear my own heartbeat. "I'm not good at this," I say, my voice low. "Talking. Sharing. But you already know that."
Ainsley laughs through her tears, and it loosens something in my chest.
"I've spent my whole life keeping people at a distance," I continue. "Keeping my walls up. Keeping myself safe. And then you showed up, terrified and fierce, holding a tire iron like you could take on the world."
I reach out and cup her face, my thumb brushing away her tears.
"You didn't just break down my walls, Ainsley. You made me realize I didn't need them anymore. You made me realize that being vulnerable isn't weakness. It's strength. And you're the strongest person I've ever met."
I pull out a second ring, identical to the first, and slide it onto her other hand.
"Two rings," I say. "One from each of us. Because you belong to both of us. And we belong to you. Will you marry me?"
With tears in her eyes she nods. "Yes, I'll marry you."
Our dad, Switch, steps forward, his eyes shining with pride.
"My boys," he says, his voice thick. "I've watched you grow up. I've watched you make mistakes. I've watched you figure out who you are. And I've never been prouder than I am right now."
He looks at Ainsley. "You're good for them. You make them better. And you're family now. Welcome to the Iron Reapers, Ainsley."
Mom is crying as she pulls Ainsley into a tight hug. "I'm so happy for you, sweetheart."
The Old Ladies descend next. Tessa is the first, throwing her arms around Ainsley. "You're officially one of us now, bitch! No take-backs!"
Lucy is next, her smile warm and genuine. "We've got your back. Always."
Hadley, Erica, and Scarlett follow, each of them hugging Ainsley, welcoming her into the sisterhood.
The rest of the night is a blur. Music plays. Drinks flow. The Old Ladies take over the dance floor, pulling Ainsley with them. She's laughing, her face glowing, her hands touching the rings on her fingers like she can't believe they're real.
I watch her from across the room, Jax beside me.
"We did good," Jax says.
"Yeah," I say. "We did."
Later, much later, we take her home.
She's still wearing the cut, and she keeps touching it, running her fingers over the stitching.
"I can't believe you did that," she says, her voice soft.
"Believe it," Jax says, pulling her close.
Once we're inside, I lock the door behind us and turn to face her.
She's standing in the middle of the living room, her eyes dark and full of heat.
"Take it off," I say, my voice low.
She blinks. "What?"
"The cut," I say, stepping closer. "Take it off. Slowly."
Her breath hitches, but she obeys, sliding the leather off her shoulders and folding it carefully before setting it on the couch.
"Good girl," Jax murmurs, coming up behind her.
We take our time.
Jax kisses her neck while I work on the buttons of her shirt. We undress her slowly, reverently, kissing every inch of skin we reveal. My mouth trails down the soft curve of her stomach. Jax's hands cup her breasts, thumbs brushing over her nipples until they're tight and aching.
By the time she's naked, she's trembling.
"You're so fucking beautiful," Jax says, his hands sliding over her hips.
"So perfect," I add, dropping to my knees.
I settle between her thighs and drag my tongue through her already-slick folds. She gasps, fingers flying to my hair.
"Knox—"
"Let us take care of you," I growl against her clit.
Jax is behind her now, mouth on her throat, one hand rolling her nipple while the other reaches down to spread her open for me. I eat her like I'm starving, slow, deep strokes of my tongue, sucking her clit between my lips until her thighs shake.
"Please," she begs, voice already breaking.
"Not yet," I say, and keep going.
When she finally comes, it's with a sharp cry that echoes off the walls. Her hips jerk against my face. I don't stop until she's whimpering and oversensitive.
Only then do I stand.
Jax turns her toward the bed and guides her down onto her hands and knees. I climb onto the mattress in front of her while he settles behind.
"Look at me," I tell her.
She does, eyes glassy, lips parted, rings glinting on both hands.
Jax reaches for the lube we keep in the nightstand. I hear the click of the cap, then the wet sound of him coating his fingers. Ainsley shivers when the cool gel touches her.
"Easy, baby," Jax murmurs, working one finger into her ass slowly. "Gonna take both of us tonight. My cock in this tight little ass, Knox filling that pretty pussy. You ready for that?"
"Yes," she breathes. "Please."
He works her open carefully, one finger, then two, stretching her while I stroke myself and watch her face. When she's pushing back on his hand and moaning, he pulls free and lines himself up.
I move closer, guiding the head of my cock to her soaked entrance.
"Together," Jax says.
We push in at the same time.
The stretch is brutal and perfect. I sink into her pussy in one long thrust while Jax works his thick cock into her ass, inch by careful inch. Ainsley's mouth drops open on a broken moan. Her arms shake.
"Fuck—oh God—"
"That's it," I groan, bottoming out. "Take us both. Feel how full you are."
Jax seats himself completely with a low, guttural sound. "Jesus Christ, she's so tight. Her ass is strangling me."
We give her a second to adjust, both of us buried deep, breathing hard. Then Jax starts to move, slow, deep rolls of his hips that drag his cock along every sensitive nerve inside her. I match him, thrusting into her pussy in the same rhythm so she never empties completely.
"Fuck, you feel so good," I rasp, gripping her hips. "So wet and hot around me while he's stretching that ass."
"Gonna fill you up," Jax growls behind her, one hand fisted in her hair, the other splayed over her lower back. "Gonna come so deep in this perfect ass while Knox pumps that pussy full. Gonna make you ours in every way. Gonna put our baby in you."
Ainsley sobs with pleasure, rocking between us. "Harder, please, harder.”
We give it to her.
The rhythm turns filthy and relentless. Skin slaps skin. The wet sounds of both of us fucking her fill the room. Every time Jax drives into her ass, she clenches around my cock; every time I bottom out in her pussy, she pushes back onto him.
"Look at you," I say, voice rough. "Taking both our cocks like you were made for it. Our good girl. Our wife."
She comes hard, screaming, body locking up, walls fluttering wildly around me while her ass clamps down on Jax. The tight, rhythmic squeezes drag us both over the edge.
Jax curses and buries himself to the hilt, pulsing deep in her ass as he comes. I follow a second later, grinding into her pussy and flooding her with everything I have.
We stay locked inside her until the aftershocks fade.
When we finally pull out, she collapses onto the mattress, boneless and shaking. Jax and I clean her gently, warm washcloths, soft towels, then I take the salve from the nightstand and carefully soothe the marks we left on her skin and the slight redness where Jax stretched her.
We settle on either side of her, bodies curled around hers, hands gentle and possessive.
"I love you," she whispers, voice hoarse.
"We love you too," Jax says, pressing a kiss to her shoulder.
"Forever," I add, threading my fingers through hers so I can feel both rings.
Later, as she sleeps between us, I think about how far we've come.
From two playboys with no future to two men with everything.
A woman to love. A son to raise. A family to protect.
I think about that first moment on the highway, seeing her terrified and fierce. I think about how one person can change everything. How one woman can rewire your entire world. And I know, without a doubt, that this is exactly where I'm supposed to be.