Eight Months Later

“Baby, don’t worry.” Axle’s deep voice carried to me through the thick oak door. I pressed my cheek against it and my palm flat. I could almost feel the heat of his own hand on the other side of the door.

“You sure it’s not bad luck?” I asked as another wave of thunder rolled across the sky. From the window, I could see the white caps forming as the wind picked up.

“It’s a light rain,” he said. “The storm’s moving out to sea. We’ll have clear skies in twenty minutes. I promise.”

Smiling, I let out a breath and tapped my fingers against the door. “It’d be just like you to think you can control the weather.”

“Baby, for you I think I can. Now come on out here. Everyone’s waiting.”

“Now that is bad luck. You’re not supposed to see me until I’m walking down the aisle.”

Axle’s soft laugh was laced with sin. It sent my blood humming. I’d kicked him out of my bed for almost a month in preparation for this day. Somewhere that seemed like bad luck too. Except now, my throbbing sex threatened to drown out all rational thought. God, I was addicted to this man, through and through. If the weather cooperated, I was ten minutes from pledging the rest of my life to him. The thought warmed me.

“There’s no aisle on the beach, Maya,” Axle said. “The guys are all ready. You know how long it took to get Benz to put on a clean shirt?”

“All right, all right. I’m ready. Just go on down there and I’ll be there. And Axle?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“I love you.”

He gave me that low, wicked laughter again. I was just about ready to throw all caution to the wind, open the door and let him take me right then and there. The hell with superstition. But, I heard his footsteps going down the boardwalk. Just a few feet over the small wooden footbridge and the rest of our lives could start.

If I needed any further urging, two violins began to play the first few strains of my favorite love song, One and Only. It fit us. Axle was the only one that I wanted. Now, we were finally both brave enough to declare it in front of everyone who mattered to us.

The tiny little beach house wasn’t being enough to hold me anymore. I stepped back and checked my hair in the mirror one last time. I’d worn it long the way Axle liked it. A crown of daisies held it out of my face. Mama Bear had made it for me. She waited for me at the other end of that footbridge too along with Gran, the entire club, and the members of my family who were willing to share this day with me.

My brothers Josh and Matt came. My parents wouldn’t. It was going to take them longer to accept my choice. But, I no longer needed their approval. I knew the path my life was meant to take and now it was time for me to start on it.

I smoothed my dress. It was simple. Just a strapless, white silk sheath. I wore a chain of pearls that Gran had given me. I would walk barefoot in the warm sand. As the chorus rose, that was my cue. Taking a deep breath, I picked up my bouquet of Calla lilies and opened the beach house door.

My brothers looked out of place and uncomfortable standing beside all those tall, strapping biker boys on the beach. I felt a little guilty for dragging them down here, but it was good to see them just the same.

But, my eyes and heart were all for Axle. He stood tall and strong at the other end of the bridge. He held his hands clasped in front of him. His thick, dark hair blew in the wind. He’d wanted to club it back but I talked him out of it. I liked his hair down just like he did mine. His eyes shone and I thought I caught the hint of a tear forming in one of the corners. His face was full of love for me and my heart nearly burst at the sight of him.

I don’t remember my feet touching the ground. It felt as though the breeze carried me so I floated to Axle’s side. He was right. The storm was long gone. As I reached him and he held out his hand to mine, a golden ray of sunlight burst through the clouds.

We stood in before my brothers and Axle’s. In a way, I wasn’t just marrying Axle. I was marrying the club. Mama Bear told me that. As Axle’s wife, the club would protect and provide for me for the rest of my life. I felt their eyes on us. Benz, acted as Axle’s best man. When the time came, he gave us the simple gold bands we’d chosen for our wedding rings.

Deacon Wade, the club chaplain performed the ceremony. He’d been a good friend to me over the last few months and I hoped someday he’d find someone to share his life with too. I hoped that for all of these men.

Bear Bullock, the club president hung back with Mama Bear. His arms came around her and he whispered something in her ear that made her blush and laugh. She reached up and touched his cheek, her own eyes misted with the love she had for him.

Then, it was time for me to say the words that would bind me to Axle forever. For better or worse, through sickness and in health. I pledged myself to him for all the days of my life. Then, Axle took me in his arms, lifting me straight off my feet. As he sealed our vow with a kiss, a hoot went up among the club members, loud enough to carry out to sea.

Someone popped a cork and the sounds of the violin music gave way to rock and roll that blared through the speakers Bear had set up along this stretch of beach. Beer and wine flowed and my brothers got treated to a wedding reception, Texas and Dark Saints-style. We had a pig roast at one end of the beach and all the fixings in between.

I danced with Bear, then Deacon, then Benz. Some of the girls from Cups made it out and Benz was busy trying to make time with Nikki, then Kirsten. The bar had reopened two months ago under new management. The DiSalvos still owned it, but Junior was gone. Axle wouldn’t tell me everything that happened. But, I had my suspicions. It only mattered that Junior DiSalvo would never be in a position to hurt me or anyone who worked at Cups again. Earlier in the day, I’d opened an envelope from Christine DiSalvo. She’d left a simple note on a wedding card that read, “Congratulations and best wishes on your future. I can assure you the past will never touch either of us again.” In it, she’d written us a check for fifty thousand dollars, enough to pay the remainder of my college tuition.

I hadn’t wanted to accept it, but Axle said it was her way of making amends for what her son had done. We showed it to Bear and he agreed. We had to accept it. The club needed a clean slate with Christine DiSalvo and she was using our wedding to do it. It made me uncomfortable thinking it was payment for my silence. Axle said it wasn’t and that Cory Kline had got his justice.

The DiSalvos even offered me my job back at Cups, but I got a better one, working in the Psychology Department at Texas A & M main campus. I’d picked a major, School Psychology. I already had an internship lined up in the Port Az public school district. Axle swore he had no hand in that but I had my doubts. Like Mama Bear said, the club will provide.

Axle found me after my turn around the dance floor with Benz. He circled his arms around my waist and pulled me against him as we looked out at the sunset.

“Happy?” he asked.

“It’s the happiest day of my life,” I said, my body flooded with warmth as his hands spread over my stomach, searing through the thin silk fabric. I reached up and cupped his jaw just like I’d seen Mama do to Bear during the ceremony.

“I don’t deserve you,” he said as kissed the top of my head.

“Yes, you do,” I answered.

“You might not always like club life,” he said, his voice dropping low.

“I probably won’t. But, it’s part of who you are. And I love all the parts of you, baby. For better or worse. I said it in front of a priest and everything.”

Axle laughed. “Deacon’s only half a priest. He never took his Holy Orders. We got to him first.”

I turned in his arms. “Close enough. And I’m sure there’s a story there I might like to hear.”

Axle’s firm lips met mine. My body ached to feel his. We’d been so long without each other, I had half a mind to let him take me behind one of the nearby dunes and consummate this marriage with the party going on a few feet away. By the giggles I heard coming from that direction, I was pretty sure Zig got the same idea and took Kirsten back there about an hour ago. Laughing, I said as much to Axle.

“Welcome to club life, baby,” he said. “It ain’t ever dull.”

“Mmm. Thank God. Meanwhile, I think you’ve all succeeded in scaring my brothers half to death. Last I saw, they were hanging back by the beach house cornered by Kade, E.Z. and Chase.

Axle laughed. “Naw, they’re just jerking their chain a little.”

“Well good,” I said. “It’ll give the Ballard boys a story or two to take home with them.”

Axle’s face grew serious. “You’re not upset your folks wouldn’t come?”

I took a breath and considered the question. “I suppose I should be, but no. Their life is their life. This is mine. I like my boundaries where they’re concerned. And, strange as it may sound, I feel like the Saints are more my family now than the Ballards ever were.”

He kissed me again. “I swear it. You and I were the ones who took the vows today, but the club is bound by them. For better or worse, in sickness and in health. I’ll honor you all the days of my life. The club will be there for you too. Forever.”

I ran my thumb along his jaw. “Does that mean I’m officially your old lady?”

He reared his head back and his eyes twinkled.

Laughing, I confessed. “I’ve been reading up on club lingo.”

Axle let out a deep-throated laugh that vibrated through me. He grabbed my ass with both hands and lifted me against him. “Damn right, you are,” he said. “How does that feel?”

The hard outline of his cock against the thin silk of my dress sent a shockwave of arousal through me. Those dunes were looking better and better.

“Mmm,” I said, throwing my head back. I could barely think straight. “I think it feels pretty good. Now, what’s the protocol? How long do we have to stay at our own wedding reception? Because if you keep touching me like that, the whole party is going to see how bad a state I’m in.”

Axle put me down. His eyes widened and a sexy snarl lifted the corner of his lips. My cheeks had to be flushed. I’d worn no underwear to avoid panty lines. He could see the outline of my nipples plain as day as they pebbled under the thick cotton.

“Axle,” I gasped. “Please?”

“Let’s get the hell out of here, Mrs. Hart?” he said, his voice ragged with lust.

Mrs. Hart. Axle’s wife. I’d never get tired of the sound of it.

My husband took me by the hand and led me up the dunes. He waved to a few of the club members as we passed. Then, we got to his Harley. I climbed on the back, hiking my dress up all the way to my thighs. Wrapping my arms around Axle’s waist, he revved the engine, drawing the attention of our guests. They raised their drinks in another toast and whooped and hollered as Axle waved.

“Your turn,” Axle shouted over the roar of the engine. I blew a kiss to the guys and held my bouquet high.

I aimed for Nikki. She stood a few feet away from Benz, her cheeks a deep shade of guilty red and her skirt was a little off kilter. If I had to guess, Benz had made use of the Dunes too. Laughing, I threw my flowers. The wind caught them though. Instead of arcing near Nikki, they landed against Benz’s chest with a thud. He grabbed them one-handed and endured a merciless round of ribbing from the other guys as Axle waved one last time and we drove away.

As we rounded the curve away from the Gulf, the stars came out, lighting our path like diamonds. I pressed my cheek against Axle’s back and held on tight. My heart full of love, Axle took a narrow curve, following the winding path toward our new home. The home we would share as husband and wife. Though I would never know what the road ahead might bring, I knew we could face it head on. I had his back and he had mine. Whatever else we needed, the club would provide.

The moonlight framed Axle’s profile in blue as he looked back at me and smiled. My Axle. My heart. His Harley roared between my legs as he took the next turn and we rode on together.