“Lu, what’s going on?” I walk into my childhood bedroom and find Luisa sitting on my bed crying. “Hey, Lu, talk to me.” Lifting the bottom of my dress to sit down, I trail my hand down Luisa’s back. “Lu, please, it’s my wedding day. The rules state you’re not allowed to cry.”
She sniffles. “Oh, Jazz, it’s happened again,” she finally says, looking up at me. Her mascara is all smeared, and she wipes more tears away. “I didn’t mean to worry you, I just needed to be on my own right now.”
“Hey,” I say catching Luisa’s gaze. “What’s happened again?”
“Don’t worry about me, it’s your wedding day. I’ll be fine. It’s time for you to go, Quill is going to be furious,” she says as she leans in and cries against my shoulder.
“I’m not leaving you like this, Lu. I can’t. Is it Hawke? Where is he?”
“He’s gone,” she says, the pain she’s feeling evident in her voice.
“Where has he gone?”
“To her!” she replies and covers her face with her hands, unable to control her crying.
“No,” I say, stunned. “He wouldn’t do that, not again.”
Before we flew to Tennessee for the wedding, Hawke saw his ex Josie at Quill’s bachelor party. Hawke had been engaged before, but she cheated on him and Hawke broke it off. It had been a while since he’d seen her, and when Hawke saw her stripping at the strip club he was shocked. When he’d been involved with her she’d had a successful career, and would never have done anything like that. When he found her out the back after her performance, he caught her doing drugs as well. She was high as a kite, so he drove her home. According to Hawke Josie had admitted that she still loved Hawke, and then he’d done the most unforgiving thing: he kissed Josie. He says he wasn’t the one who instigated the kiss, and maybe he wasn’t.
That’s not the problem here, though. The problem is that he lied to Lu regarding his whereabouts that night. But to add to that, he never told Lu he’d been engaged before. The next day Lu found a message on his phone from Josie, thanking him for that night and saying that she will always love him. Lu wanted to give Hawke the benefit of the doubt about what had happened, and when he finally got the chance to explain, and also told her that he loved her, she forgave him.
Now here we are on my wedding day and she’s crying, saying it’s happening all over again.
“Wouldn’t he?” she states, her voice low and tight, wiping away more tears with the back of her hand. “He told me she was in trouble, and that he had to go and help her. She’s always going to be there, Jazz. She’ll always be between us. I can’t compete with her—she was his first love, and he was going to marry her. I can’t, I just can’t.”
“Oh, Lu.” I hug her once again and say, “I’m so sorry.”
“What’s going on in here?” a deep, husky voice says from behind us. I know that voice. Luisa and I both look up and see Quill standing there, arms crossed and his eyebrows pinched together.
His eyes exude warmth, then deepen with obvious lust when he focuses on me. My heart flutters as his gaze licks my skin. I can never get enough of this man, and he’s all mine.
He walks into the room when his eyes take in Lu. He leans down when he reaches us, and I kiss his lips briefly before he gives Luisa his attention.
“What happened? Where’s Hawke?” he asks.
Luisa begins to sob again, and I rub her back trying to shush her, whispering that everything will be okay. “He’s gone, Quill, he just left,” I explain, repeating what Lu said earlier.
“What do you mean he left? Hawke wouldn’t leave on my wedding day without telling me.”
I go to comfort Quill, reaching for his hand, but he steps away from us and snatches his phone out of the inside of his jacket, pressing buttons rapidly. “I’ll see what the fuck’s going on,” he murmurs.
Quill starts pacing, looking down at his phone before lifting it back to his ear. “Hawke, where the fuck are you, brother? Call me.”
“He’s with his whore!” Luisa shouts when Quill ends the call. I look closely at my friend and realize just how hurt she is by all this. She’s a mess.
“He’s what? Who the fuck is his whore?” Quill questions, his jaw clenching tightly.
“Josie. You know his ex-fiancée, don’t you?” Lu spits out.
Quill sighs and rubs a hand over the back of his neck. Is it bad of me to want him so much while my friend is in pain? I can’t help it, my biker husband in a suit does things to me. And I know what’s beneath that suit: firm and sculpted muscles, a body that should be worshiped.
Quill stops pacing and walks closer to the bed where Luisa and I are seated. “Tell me exactly what he said,” he orders, his voice low and demanding, like he’s on the verge of losing his shit.
Lu jolts in her seat at his request, and visibly swallows. She wraps her arms around her waist. “Hawke and I were dancing… until his phone rang. He said he had to take the call, so he left and went outside of the marquee. I went to check on Jasmine and noticed he’d been gone a while, so I went searching for him and found him talking on his phone. He disconnected when I approached, and then told me he was going to have to leave, on club business apparently.”
“Club business?” Quill repeats.
Luisa nods and continues. “When I asked how he could leave at a time like this, he said Josie was in trouble, and that he had to go make sure she’s okay.”
“This doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t Hawke come talk to me before leaving?”
“Maybe because he knew it’s our wedding day,” I offer, knowing that Hawke wouldn’t have done this intentionally. I know Hawke, he wouldn’t leave if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.
“Look guys, it is your wedding day. Don’t worry about Hawke, I’m sure he’d call if it was indeed club business,” Luisa says, and I don’t miss the subtle hint of sarcasm in her voice.
Quill walks around the bed to Luisa and grabs her hands in his. He kneels down in front of her. “Hawke loves you, don’t doubt that. He has a big heart, and if Josie called him because she needed his help, Hawke wouldn’t be able to turn his back on that. He’s just not built that way, neither of us are. We served together, I know him like a real brother.”
My heart warms at this side of Quill. He may be demanding, and liked to be in control, but this side of him is what I love the most. Deep down behind that bad-boy-biker exterior he cares, and I love that he is looking out for my best friend.
Luisa inhales deeply. “I know you’re right, Quill, but he almost lost me not too long ago because of his lies. Now he’s going to her? Surely there’s someone else that can help her.”
Quill shakes his head. “Not sure, Lu, but I know she’s lost everything, and that may include everyone.”
“So how is it his problem?” she asks, exasperated.
Quill stands and runs his hand through his styled hair, causing it to have that messed-up look I love so much on him. He eyes me briefly, smiles warmly, then looks back at Lu.
“It’s not his problem. I’m pissed at him too, Lu. Leaving my wedding without coming to me, something doesn’t feel right. But I’ll find out, don’t worry,” he says gently, leaning in and wiping away Luisa’s tears with his thumb.
“Thank you, Quill,” she whispers, smiling at him weakly.
“Fuck, I sound like a fucking pussy, don’t I, babe?” Quill asks me shaking his head. I giggle and get up from the bed and wrap my arms around him, unable to keep my hands to myself any longer.
His eyes watch me intently, and I respond, “I find it very sexy.” A loud growl erupts, coming from deep inside his chest, and then his lips are on mine, kissing me with everything he has. With Lu all but forgotten, I moan into his mouth, loving his taste on my tongue.
I hear Luisa in the distance say something but I can’t focus on her words—all my attention is on Quill’s hardness pressing against me, his scent filling me. I want him, and I want him now. I don’t care that there’s a tent full of people waiting on us. This man consumes me completely.
I feel his hands slide over the curve of my butt, his fingers inching the back of my dress up and exposing my black leather G-string, bought especially for him. His mouth leaves mine and trails to my earlobe, nipping and sucking on it until I squirm at how good it feels. I’m wet between my thighs, and then Quill moves his hand to my ass, sliding a finger between my asscheeks and beyond, feeling my damp folds for himself. He moans against my neck and moves down to lick the swell of my breasts. I arch my neck, giving him further access to my body, and his finger rotates around my entrance.
Quill opens his mouth to say something, but we’re interrupted by my mother yelling up from the stairs, “Jasmine, are you up there? You need to come and throw the bouquet, everyone is waiting for you.”
Quill growls and rests his forehead against mine. “Fuck! I just want to be inside my wife and I can’t fucking get two minutes of you to myself.”
I sigh and lift my hands to cup his face, kissing him briefly. “Tonight you can show me just how much you want your wife to yourself.”
Quill smashes his lips to mine, and I run my hands through his hair. My dress falls back to the floor, and I pull away and step back out of Quill’s hold. Quill adjusts himself, and I look down at his visible erection. “I’ll look after that tonight,” I say on a wink, smirking at my frustrated husband.
Quill’s lips raise in a smile and he replies, “Fuck, baby, you’re killing me. Let’s go downstairs so you can throw your fucking bouquet, and then we can get the fuck out of here.”
I put my hand out to him and he takes it. I lead him out of the room and we walk down the stairs. My mom is waiting with my bouquet, a sly smirk on her lips.
“Finally,” she says, holding my flowers out to me.
“Thanks, Mom,” I say, taking them in my hands.
I walk out to the marquee where all the single ladies have gathered in preparation to catch the bouquet. I spot Luisa at the front with Tess and Hailey beside her. I laugh when I see Blaze pulling Tess out of the group, telling her she better get her ass out of there because there’s no way in hell she’s a single lady. She struggles, saying she’s not technically married, but Blaze simply picks her up and carries her away from the group over his shoulder. Quill pulls me to him by my waist, kissing my cheek, and whispers in my ear, “I’m just gonna have a talk to my boys, then I’m coming back to take you away from here. I can’t wait any longer to have you to myself and under me.”
Fuck, he does it every single time. I look at him and nod, trying to remain calm when inside I’m a molten hot mess. “Sure.”
“I love you, baby.” The words are said with such sincerity, and make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
“I love you more,” I whisper back, looking up at my handsome man.
Quill shakes his head. “Not possible.”
After kissing me on my forehead he walks away, heading toward his boys. I look at the women surrounding me. “Are you ready?” I ask. They smile and nod their heads. I turn around with my back to them and shout, “One!” I raise the bouquet over my head. “Two! Three!” I throw the bouquet over my shoulder and immediately turn around, just in time to see Hailey catch it. She jumps up and down, squealing in delight. I walk up to her and kiss her cheek, congratulating her.
“Now I just need a man to marry,” she says sighing dramatically, and we laugh together.