Page 41 of Coal
Ripping my lips from hers, I whisper in her ear, “You were fucking magnificent, baby, and so fucking sexy.” I nip at her earlobe and love the way she shivers at the motion. “I can’t wait to get you home and fuck you all night long.”
Thea whimpers and I grumble, when we’re interrupted by Copper saying, “Attention, people. This is usually the President’s job, but as you can see, he has other things on his mind.” Everyone titters, chuckles, and some outright laugh at his comment. Keeping my arm around Thea, we turn towards where Copper is standing on a small makeshift stage in the clubhouse's corner. We only put it up on party nights and it’s usually where we have the music set up. Tonight, it’s for something else.
“If our President and our Queen would join me up here,” Copper continues.
Thea looks at me as I tug her along with me until we get to where Copper is standing.
I step up next to him, and take the microphonefrom him, and turn to the crowd. “Thanks for coming to celebrate with us. We’ve had a little excitement tonight.” Again, there’s laughter. “The reason for the party, as you can guess, is to introduce you to my wife. And after tonight, she’ll officially be my Old Lady.” Turning towards Copper, I take the cut from the box that he’s holding out and turn back to Thea. Holding it up, I continue, “Thea, I know when we got married you had doubts. I hope that I’ve made those doubts go away. You’ve accepted my ring and my name. Now I’m asking officially, in front of all these people, if you’ll wear my name on your back?”
Thea’s got tears brimming in her eyes as she nods and replies, “Yes.” Turning her back to me, she waits until I help her slip her cut on. As I settle her cut on her shoulders, everyone whistles, cheers, claps, and stomps their feet on the floor. It’s loud and perfect.
Seeing my name on her back has me wanting to pound my chest and carry her out of here to celebrate by ourselves. Unfortunately, as President, that’s not something I can do.
Hands on her shoulders, I lean forward, whispering in her ear, “So fucking beautiful, baby.”
Thea turns her head and kisses my cheek, mouthing, “Thank you.”
Taking her hand, I twirl her around to face the crowd, “Thea Tin, Queen of the Queens Wraiths Southampton Chapter.”
I’m smiling so wide my face hurts, and when I look at Thea, she’s the same. Tugging her towards me, I kiss her one more time before saying to the crowd.
“Enjoy your evening. There’s food in the kitchen and drinks at the bar. Remember the rules if you want to be invited back. No drunks, no drugs, no douchebags.”
The last one is shouted back at me, making me laugh. Most of this crowd are good people who like to party somewhere safe, but now and then we get a lemon. Unfortunately, tonight we’ve had two. The quicker we start background checks, the better.
“Come on,” Thea says, gripping my hand, “your mam’s wanting us.”
“Lead on, baby,” I tell Thea. It takes some time to reach my folks because of everyone stopping to congratulate us. When we get there, Mom’s got plates of food waiting and drinks at the ready. My closest family and brothers are gatheredaround, waiting to celebrate.
It’s a magical night with lots of talk about Thea taking the trash out, making her blush and laugh. So fucking badass one minute, then sweet and shy the next. My Old Lady was a conundrum, one that I was looking forward to unravelling a puzzle piece at a time over the next years.
Later that night, after I’d let her know several times how much I adored her, I finally let her sleep. Burying my face in her thick hair, I hoped my brothers would each find a woman like this. One that understood him, faults and all, and loved him just the same.
CHAPTER 14
THEA
Last night had been magical. When Coal had slipped my cut over my shoulders, the lost and lonely feeling I’d carried around my whole life, even with the love I knew my siblings felt for me, disappeared.
I belonged; finally, I belonged somewhere. I’d found a family that loved me for who I was, adored my daughter, and did what they could to keep me in contact with my sisters and brother.
The day after the party, Coal had given me a phone and a number and told me to have fun. He’d pressed a kiss to my head and said he’d go get Shea from his parents.
I’d looked at the number, not recognising it. Inputting it into the phone, I waited for the call to ring through. As soon as I heard Kara’s voice, I burst into tears.
“Thea,” she whispered. “Coal said you’d call. I’m so happy to hear your voice. Are you okay?”
Laughing, I pulled tissues out of the box andwiped at my face and blew my nose. “Oh, little sister, I’m so happy,” I assured her.
“Good,” she replied. “Tell me about your life.”
I spent the next two hours catching up with my sisters. In that time, Coal came back with Shea and played with her, keeping her busy. We talked until we couldn’t talk anymore. Eventually, we said goodbye. I was both sad and happy after my call. Sad because I missed my siblings and happy because I’d got to speak to them and know that they were safe.
Resting the phone on the table, I looked towards the lounge where Coal and Shea had now moved onto the sofa. Coal was lying down on his back with Shea on his chest, watching a cartoon. Standing, I walked over to them and crawled up from Coal’s feet until I was even with his head, careful not to disturb Shea. Fitting my body between his and the back of the couch, I pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Thank you,” I told him.
Coal smiled and lifted his mouth for another kiss that I was happy to give him, “You’re welcome, baby. Are they okay?”
“Aye.” I nodded and laid my head down on his chest, resting my hand on Shea’s back. Enjoyingthe closeness of the man who had done so much to ensure that I’m happy and my baby girl, who has always been the light of my life.
