I reluctantly let go of my girl and my mom, and briskly wipe away my tears. Then I grab hold of Tess’s hand and walk her down the aisle, only letting her go when we’re next to Jasmine and Luisa.

I hesitate to leave her side until Jasmine rolls her eyes and punches my shoulder. “We’ve got her, Blaze. I promise you you’ll get her back soon.”

I lean in and whisper in her ear, “We have a lot to talk about,” then kiss her one last time before I retake my place between Quill and Hawke.

This has turned out to be the happiest day of my life as well.

* * *

Tess

Three weeks later

I light the candles one at a time, waiting for Blaze to get home from the clubhouse. It’s been three weeks now since I surprised Blaze at Charity and Trigger’s wedding. It killed me to allow Blaze and the club to think that I was dead, but it was the only way to ensure mine and the club’s safety.

You see, that night when the car crashed over the cliff, I thought I was a goner. It seems Snake was able to free my leg and pull me to safety while I was unconscious, and he didn’t give up on me. I would be dead if it wasn’t for him.

So when I came to, after he revived me, he said he had something to tell me—that he’d been working undercover for the NYPD the whole time he was with the Forseekers. The club had apparently been under investigation for a while, first for trafficking drugs, and then for the girls they were abducting. He admitted he was glad I left when I did, because shit got worse, and Viper was crazier than ever. He also apologized numerous times for not being able to help me more when I was taken to the warehouse, adding that if he knew what Viper was doing to me in his room, he would have shot him.

That night, Snake convinced me to go MIA. He told me that my father had put a bounty on my head, and Snake knew then that if he didn’t step in, I would be killed. So I took his advice and let everyone think I was dead. Snake got me the protection I needed—I was living in Ohio under witness protection, with a different name and the ID to go along with it. I desperately wanted to contact Blaze the whole time and let him know I was okay, but I couldn't. In order for this whole operation to have been successful, no one could know I was still alive.

That was until my father passed away, and most of the Forseekers are now doing long stints in jail.

I’d missed Blaze, so much so that I nearly came close to calling him and letting him know where I was a few times, but Tom—Snake’s real name—kept in touch with me the whole time, and kept reminding me that it wouldn’t be long till I could be with him again, that things were happening and there was an end in sight.

So imagine my surprise when I finally got the call to say I could leave Ohio. Of course I immediately began to make my way to New York, to Blaze.

A few days later I pulled up to the clubhouse, desperate to see Blaze, only there was no one there, just some new prospect who told me they were all on their way to Trigger and Charity’s wedding, had left about fifteen minutes ago. I got the prospect to call me another cab and headed to the address he’d given me—just in time, it worked out.

With the boys already outside waiting, I was able to catch Charity and the girls in their dressing room and explain how I was still alive while they all cried and hugged me. And then Jasmine said that in no uncertain terms could I just go outside and show Blaze I was alive and well, but that I needed to surprise him. Make it kind of a moment. Hazel, Trigger’s sister, immediately gave me her bridesmaid dress, saying I just had to wear it down the aisle, and she wouldn’t take no for an answer. So I did, quickly changing into the beautiful gown, and Lu giving my hair and makeup—dismal from all the travelling I’d done to get there—a quick makeover.

When I stood at the end of the aisle, looking up at the altar, Blaze standing there all handsome in a suit but looking so, so lost, my heart literally ached for him. I had real regrets then about not contacting him any sooner. He looked exactly the way I had been feeling—sad, lonely, even in a space full of people, so weary, and like a shell of his former self. He was so much thinner I almost didn’t recognize him. But when our eyes connected over that short distance that felt like miles in that moment, I didn’t doubt it was him—and that he still loved me.

So many wonderful things happened that day. It was one of the most amazing days of my life, and I got to share it all with my friends—my new family. And now with Viper and my dad dead, and the majority of the Forseekers locked away, I can now be free, and live my life with Blaze the way I’ve always wanted to.

The sound of a motorcycle reaches my ears, and I smile to myself, knowing that when Blaze sees me in what I’m wearing, he won’t be able to take his hands off me, which is exactly what I’m hoping for. Since I’ve been home, he’s held back, scared to take things further than some pretty intense oral sex, and I’m not sure why. I mean it’s amazing, the things that man can do with his tongue, well… yeah. I shiver just at the thought. But I need to feel him inside me, filling me—owning me completely. The time for being gentle is over. Maybe he thinks I’ll leave him again, that I’m not ready, but that would never happen, and I won’t break. Tonight, I plan to show him that.

“Hey, babe, I was riding back from the club, and you wouldn’t believe—” He cuts off when he closes the front door and turns to see me standing there with a drink in hand for him, wearing nothing but a lacy black thong and a matching bra. His expression shows disbelief, and his eyebrows are raised. I count to three under my breath before he drops his keys to the floor and storms toward me, grasping the back of my hair as he pulls my head back, revealing my neck to him. Warm, soft lips devour my flushed skin, kissing and licking up to my jaw where he nips my skin, before his mouth is on mine. He tastes incredible—tobacco and mint and his own distinct taste. I breathe him in, all of him. I can’t get enough, his musky aftershave mingled with leather and spice.

I lay the beer I was holding on the table and wrap my arms around him, loving how his kiss turns desperate and hungry.

Then suddenly he stops and looks deep into my eyes, and I let out a small moan. “What have I done to deserve this?” he asks, looking over my shoulder at the dinner I’d prepared for him. The lighting in the room is dim with only the candles on the table shining.

I pull him down to me, giving him a soft kiss, then smirk. “I just wanted to celebrate us, that’s all. Do you not like what you see?”

He pulls back and looks down at my body, his eyes hooded with desire. “Hmm,” he says, cupping his chin, his gaze heated as it travels over every inch of me. “I know something I’d like more.”

I plant my hands on my hips. “Oh really? And what’s that?”

Suddenly he gathers me in his arms and picks me up bridal style, carrying me to our bedroom with little effort.

“Hey!” I say in protest. “What about the dinner I slaved over all day?”

I’m quite proud of my cooking efforts, and it smells amazing, but when Blaze whispers in my ear, “I’m not hungry for food, I’m hungry for your pussy,” the food is immediately forgotten, and I groan into his ear.

He throws me onto the bed, and I squeal in delight and run my hands through my hair provocatively, loving the touch of cold sheets beneath my hot skin burning for the touch of Blaze.

His eyes don’t leave mine as he unbuckles his jeans and pulls them over his hips, standing there in nothing but his cut and T-shirt. His cock juts up, hitting his stomach, and my mouth waters at just the sight of it. He removes his cut and drops it to the floor, then slowly reaches down and lifts his T-shirt over his head, revealing his wide and incredibly cut chest. A dark happy trail begins at his navel and travels down to his groin, hiding behind his engorged shaft. He’s like a work of art.