Chapter 30
Summer
“Wake up, Mrs. Maddox-Heart.” Rebel murmurs in my ear while he lovingly strokes my belly. The sun isn’t out yet, but the sound of his alarm plays from the night-stand. His blue eyes are locked on mine when I open them.
“Mrs. Maddox-Heart. I like the sound of that.” Stretching away the remnants of sleep, I smile. Yesterday was… exhausting. Married. Kidnapped. My ghosts falling one by one.
By the time we’d taken Storm the cookies and blankets for Violet and Dawson, I could barely muster up the energy to shed my blood-stained clothes and step into the shower.
Rebel had been my rock, holding me up while the hot water washed away the night’s turmoil.
Drying me off and then holding me close while I processed everything I hadn’t had time to feel until then.
Four men are dead and my family is more than involved.
Rebel pushes my curls back from my face. “You’re thinking about what happened, aren’t you?”
“How could I not?” Mostly I’m worried about how my brothers decided to clean up the situation, when we all thought Kyle would be a bigger, much more alive problem. “You weren’t?”
“Now we don’t have to worry about Kyle, but people are going to notice that four of their men went missing overnight while I’m in town.”
“They were bad guys, Summer. And it’s possible we only scratched the tip of the iceberg. You shouldn’t feel guilty for what happened to them.”
“I don’t feel guilty.” They were going to kill me.
They’ve possibly killed at least one other woman.
Violet’s friend has been missing for a while, and she wasn’t in that basement.
Okay, I do feel guilty that she might never know what happened to her.
“I’m worried for my brothers. What if someone works out what happened? ”
“Have you met your brothers?” He smiles at me. “That’s a risk, if it ever becomes a problem, they can handle.”
“The way they handled Duke, Travis, and Kurt?” I almost have to bite my tongue, it’s sharp this morning. But my brothers taking it too far is a real—even if I would have said it was ridiculous until yesterday—fear for me. “Devil’s Bend might become a literal ghost town.”
“They did what they had to do to protect you,” he says. “We all did. I would have pulled that trigger too if given a choice between leaving them alive and protecting you.”
“I know and I love you for it.” I move in closer.
His hand leaves my belly and massages the outside of my thigh in sweeping curves that slowly wander further to include my hip. And then my ass.
It feels nice. Much nicer than thinking about what will come from Duke and the others disappearing.
I relax into it as his fingers trace the crack of my ass and the line between my thighs. Warmth spreads with the motion, creating tingles in places that long to be touched.
“We’re married.” It all happened so fast. I didn’t have time to truly appreciate it last night. The rehearsal turned into our actual wedding and before I could even begin to process, Violet called…
“It’s going to take a little time to get used to, huh?” Warmth and happiness radiate from him.
The closer he gets to touching me where I need it most, the more I anticipate. My breathing quickens as he strokes a little higher between my thighs.
His fingertips skim my clit. “I didn’t look after my wife properly last night.”
“I could disagree.” He’d come to my rescue. And afterward he’d held me up in the shower as he washed away blood and dirt before crawling into bed and holding me. That was absolutely looking after me.
“I should have been making you come. Instead of losing track of you and letting you end up in that basement. You should have been on my tongue and on my cock. You should have been wanting me because of what I was doing to your body. Not because you were scared.” He grasps my thigh and hooks my knee on his hip, opening me up for his fingers to explore.
“We have a lifetime.”
He eases a finger inside me, testing I’m ready for him. Making me lose my train of thought. What was I going to say?
“I’m going to love you, wife. And make love to you. Every damn day for the rest of our lives.” He trusts in and out, mimicking shallow fucking while his thumb rubs at my clit.
I grab at his shoulders, wanting more than his fingers, wanting him deeper. “Rebel.”
He slips his fingers out of me. A hand on my lower back, he draws me closer as he lines his cock up with my pussy and surges inside. “I should be making my wife come every damn day for the rest of our lives.”
Gazes locked and hips matching each other’s rhythm we linger in each other. When my orgasm arrives it’s sweet and insistent. I whimper and he captures my mouth in a kiss that rides the pleasure as it crests.
He comes too, groaning and grasping my hips tightly as he empties himself inside me.
We lay side-by-side for a little while, enamored with only each other. Until the sounds of the house stirring break through the intimacy.
“Time to be a best man,” I tell him.
“You know the only reason I agreed to be the best man is so I could sleep with a bridesmaid.” He tries to keep a straight face but fails.
“Very funny.” I toss back the covers. As if we need an excuse to sneak away later. After his brother and Ivy have made it down the aisle.
Today is about Rogue and Ivy’s present. Their wedding day. Everything must go to plan. Unlike yesterday, that almost feels achievable.
We know what happened to Stains. We know that Kyle was working with Nicole, even if we don’t know why. We might not have a cake, but at least that’s a normal wedding day type of issue.
I yelp when he scoops me off my feet. Giggle as he carries me bridal style into the bathroom so we can shower.
We almost lose track of time when he picks me up and continues round two against the tiled wall. By the time we get out and get dressed the house is loud and busy.
Adira has sent texts to hurry us all along.
Jett and Henry are in the kitchen when we head out to breakfast on the lawn.
“Summer, I need your opinion,” Jett calls out to me. He’s red eyed, and swaying slightly. It looks like he hasn’t had any sleep.
I gently push Rebel toward the front door when it appears that he plans to stay. I have no idea what Jett wants my opinion on, but Rogue will be wondering where he is. “Go, do your best man duty. I’ll see you in a little while.”
He presses a chaste kiss to my lips. “Can’t wait.”
Jett grips my elbow and ushers me around the island as Rebel closes the door behind him. He pulls open the fridge door. “What do you think? Will she love it?”
Shelves have been removed to make room for a three-tier white cake.
Glass smooth frosting and exquisite piping makes it look like the cake is wrapped in the satin of a wedding dress.
Rows of tiny, frosted pearls run around the bottom edge of each tier.
And the flowers… I reach out to see if they feel as real as they look before I catch myself.
“So?” Jett shuffles from foot to foot.
“How? When?” I’m speechless.
“Baked the cakes the night Stains ate the cake,” he says. “I just had this feeling it would be a good idea to have something on the backburner. But I didn’t want to step on any toes. I was going to offer last night, but then everything happened. So I decided to heck with it.”
“You decorated this last night? After everything?” It’s breathtaking. I take out my phone and snap a couple of photos for the album Ivy is planning on putting together. “And those flowers?”
“White chocolate. Hand painted. Totally edible. I used a lot of what was in that box you picked up yesterday. I hope that’s okay.”
“Perfect.” I hug him. “I knew you could cook, but I didn’t know…”
“It’s become a bit of a hobby.” He shrugs.
“Don’t be so modest,” I tell him. “This is amazing. She is going to absolutely love it.”
So much so it might make a fantastic surprise. Especially since she’s given up on having a cake at all.
“Good.” He finally smiles, only to yawn a second later. “Then I am going to have a nap. If I’m not up by the time everyone is taking their seats for the ceremony—”
“I’ll make sure you don’t miss it.”
He leaves and I send the pictures to Adira with a message to keep hush hush about it as I make my way to the sitting room where Ivy will be starting to get ready. He at least should be put out of his misery over not being able to produce a cake out of thin air and no time.
The sitting room is a frenzy of activity when I enter. We have a couple of hours yet, but hair and makeup and the dress… it all takes time. Adira is in his street clothes. He’s seated and one of the other queens has started on his makeup.
“Summer.” Ivy rushes across the room in an ivory robe and heeled slippers. Her hair is brushed down around her shoulders, and she doesn’t have a stitch of makeup on yet. She hugs me. “Thank God you are all right.”
“I’m glad you are,” I say when she steps back. “I almost can’t believe Kyle was working with Nicole. Except for… that I can totally believe it. At least it’s over now.”
“Until the next time Nicole finds a way to attack me.” Ivy grimaces. “But that’s not something we’re going to concern ourselves with today. Time for you to get in the chair so Yvanna Bey Yulava can do your hair.”
“Do you mind if I just grab a pastry. I haven’t eaten yet.”
“Go.” She shoos me toward a table set with champagne, orange juice, fruit, and pastries. I pour orange juice into a flute so I can pretend it’s a mimosa and snag a Danish to take to the chair with me.
“Oh my God.” Adira reaches over and squeezes my forearm. “Your brother. Wow.”
“Right?” I glance at Ivy who is staring at her phone intently. She didn’t hear. That’s good. But the look on her face. What is that? “Ivy? Everything okay?”
“Ivy?” Adira gets up as Ivy drops down on the sofa arm. “What is it, Love?”
“She’s dead,” she whispers hoarsely.
“What?” Did I hear her correctly.
“I don’t know how to feel about this.” Her body slackens, the phone in her hand lowering to her lap.
“Who’s dead?” Adira crouches in front of Ivy. Carefully he untangles her phone from her fingers so he can read what’s on the screen. His brows arch in the way only drag queens’ brows do. “Is this for real?”
“It’s from the prison.” Ivy wets her lips. “I asked them to keep me notified of her actions. But I didn’t think she would… do this.”
“Me either.” Adira hands Ivy back her phone. “This isn’t the way I thought that witch would go out.”
“Nicole?” I ask. Who else could it be?
“The email states she was found dead in her cell,” Adira says. “There’s no cause determined yet.”
“She’s dead,” Ivy says, like it’s starting to sink in. “She’s never going to hurt me or those I love again.”
“No. She’s not.” Adira squeezes Ivy’s hand. “She can’t cause you any more grief.”
“Are you okay?” This woman was her mother most of her life, and her greatest torment. The relief, like mine was last night, must be palpable.
“It kind of feels too good to be true.” Ivy considers my question. “Like maybe it’s not real and she’s still out there somewhere.”
“You don’t think the jail would do that, do you?” Adira asks.
“No. Probably not.” Ivy shakes her head. “I guess it’s going to take a minute to get used to her being gone.”
“So you’re okay?” I ask again.
Slowly a smile dawns on her face. “You know… I think I am. And… I am finally marrying my man.”
“Then let’s get this show on the road.” Adira grabs a glass of champagne and raises it in the air. “Our girl is marrying her prince.”
I raise my orange juice. Could there be a better wedding present than to finally be able to stop living in fear of the past. “To Ivy and Rogue.”