Page 56 of Catch a King (Five Kings 1)

Trading in my Dragons Ruin jacket for a Reaper one should have felt weird. It didn’t. It felt as if I was always meant to wear it. I never had the same feelings for the Dragons as I should have. It was always Billy’s, Axel’s and now Slade’s baby. I suppose I was always searching for more and what’s better than combining my two worlds? My love of military life with my love of bikers. The sweetest part is finding Millie, the woman I was always meant to find and now I know we will be ok because we have found our home, a place we belong together.

The door swings open and I blink in amazement because I was not expecting this. I’m so used to the dirty Castle bar, I am pleasantly surprised when I see a place five times larger and modern to the extreme. Large screens are set on walls playing the game and bikers lounge on couches that look modern and clean. A huge bar runs the width of the room and it sparkles and gleams, making me feel ashamed of the one Millie spent hours scrubbing and yet it’s not the interior that takes my breath away, it’s the people.

There must be fifty bikers who turn to watch our entrance with interest. Men like me, ex-military, Navy SEALS mixed with guys who take no shit. Leather, alcohol and sex are the cocktail of choice in this place, stirred with a hint of honor. Some are playing pool and some are sitting in groups with women who look nothing like the ones we’re used to at The Dragon’s Ruin.

Millie grips my hand tightly as we head inside and Ryder says loudly, “This is Sawyer, newest Reaper in town, someone get him a beer and make him feel at home.”

The noise is deafening as the guys make me feel welcome and the women look at me with interest but smile at Millie with happiness. I feel quite emotional as I receive the warmest welcome, and it takes some time before we head toward a group of people at the bar, looking at us with interest. Ryder stops beside a gorgeous blonde who smiles so sweetly and grips his hand hard. She looks at Millie with excitement and says with a cute southern drawl, “Welcome, Sawyer, we’ve heard so much about you. I’m Ashton, Ryder’s old lady, and we are so pleased to meet you at last.”

I shake her hand and smile as I fall in love on sight with a woman who is the sweetest person I think I’ve ever met and then a woman who reminds me a little of Marina with a whole lot more fire in her eyes, steps forward and grabs my hand. “I’m Bonnie, Snake’s old lady. It’s so good to meet you.”

She steps back as another woman takes her place and introduces herself as Brewer’s old lady, Lou.

One by one they introduce themselves and it feels as if I’ve come home. All the time, Millie holds my hand and I love hearing her laugh as she chats with the women and the men. If I had reservations about her position here before, they don’t matter because as I look around, it’s made up of so much love, there isn’t room for anything else.

The guys are respectful, loud and crude, obviously, but there’s a code of honor here at the home of the Twisted Reapers MC and I am proud to be a part of it.

We don’t stay long and I’m guessing nobody expected us to because inside an hour, Millie drags me off and whispers, “I’ll show you our room.”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

We share a grin and as I follow her through the impressive steel-clad building to a door leading outside, I look with amazement at the many buildings behind this one. Millie explains, “The single Reapers live in the blocks to your left and right. Behind that is a mirror image where the whores, or should I say, single ladies live.”

She blushes a little and I stop and pull her close. “Don’t be ashamed of your past, darlin’ because it made you who you are today. It’s what’s in here that counts, and I’m not the judging kind. Hell, most men are whores until they find the right woman, so it’s just a word that has absolutely no bearing on who you are as a person.”

Millie nods and says softly, “I knew I loved you before, but now you own the whole of me.”

Dipping my head to taste those lips, I feel the same. I still can’t believe how lucky I was to meet this woman and I’m not letting anything get in the way of that, past, present and future. We’re together and that’s all that counts.

We carry on and Millie says with happiness, “To the rear of these buildings is a small community where the married couples live with their families. As soon as it’s legal, the Reapers arrange for another house to be built and the happy couple set up home there. There’s so much land we could go on for years, so who knows, that might be us moving out there soon.”

“I think that’s a definite.” I say with a hint of impatience, “So, which room is yours because to be honest, I could skip the guided tour for another day because there’s only one place I want to be and that’s inside you.”

“Fucking crude biker.”

Millie pushes me and I swing her into my arms, loving the way she squeals. “Never pretended to be anything else, darlin’, but I’myourcrude biker and god help you; I hope you can deal with that.”

“Can you?”

She winks. “I mean, I’m no pushover baby, you heard the man, the women run things around here.”

“Then show me what that means, darlin’ because I can’t wait to be controlled by you.”

As I capture Millie’s lips, I feel the happiest I have ever been and as she groans, my cock twitches with impatient fury. It’s time to go and love my woman and this time, I’m never leaving her side.

Epilogue

Slade

It feels strange being the only one in the Dragon’s Ruin. The last Channing and the last member of my family running this bunch of surly bikers.

It’s going to take some doing; turning them into a club that’s respected around these parts, but if it takes my entire life, I’m gonna try at least.

“Hey, Slade, you fancy heading out to get something to eat?”

Marina pokes her head around the door and I shake my head. “I’m good thanks.”

She looks concerned. “Are you ok, honey, you’ve been holed up in this office for days. I can’t remember the last time you even came to the bar; the guys are talking.”

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