Captured (Devil's Blaze MC #1)(55)

“Why would you have? Most women don’t come attached with baggage that’s pulled from the demons of hell.”

Skull snorts, going back to brushing my hair. “Querida, you were mine the minute I saw you standing on the street. It wouldn’t have mattered if you belonged to Lucifer himself. I still would have claimed you.”

“What happens next, Skull?”

“We will wait another day or so, then attack again. I won’t stop until I bury Colin.”

“I wonder where Matthew is?”

“I’m not sure. We’ve been running checks and there’s not been one word from Matthew. It appears Colin is spearheading this. Though, there is talk of Edmund’s brother taking the reins again.”

My heart slams against my chest. I turn to the side, hoping Skull can’t feel it. I do my best to keep my body relaxed. I don’t want to give myself away. “Is that good or bad?” I ask, trying to figure out how Skull feels about this situation. Would he be willing to work with my father? Could they join forces and be rid of Colin? If I could arrange that, maybe I wouldn’t have to give him up. Maybe…

“None of it is good, querida. Besides, the strikes we made go farther than just the Donahues. They are just one faction inside a bigger one. Retribution will be sought. No, our only hope is to bury any of the Donahues we can. If we can cause enough problems and draw attention to them, the family will deal with them too.”

“Won’t the family lash out at you?” I ask, not quite grasping what he’s hoping to accomplish.

“Probably,” he says, and my stomach flutters.

“I was kind of hoping they’d back off after you struck back,” I whisper stupidly.

“We just keep going, Beth. Eventually we’ll find something to bring it to a head.”

That one sentence makes my heart turn over in my chest. I can’t stop the tremor of fear that moves through me, and I know Skull feels it too because he pulls me up his body so I am forced to sit up, straddling him.

“I know you don’t think so right now, Beth, but I promise you it will be okay. We will be okay,” he insists, his hands holding my hips loosely and his eyes boring into me, willing me to believe him. Again, Latch’s words haunt me: You need to have more faith in your man.

“I’m scared, Skull,” I whisper. It’s the most truthful I’ve been with him in what feels like way too long. “I’m terrified.”

He reaches over to the nightstand drawer and pulls out a gold chain. He holds it up, letting the gold wrap around his inked fingers. It gleams with the light of the lamp. At the end of the chain is a locket in the shape of a heart. It has two letters woven together—an S and a B. I recognize them before the tears flow heavier and it blurs everything. He holds each side of the chain apart, never turning away from me. I bend my head and he pulls it down so it rests against my neck. The heart lands perfectly between my breasts. The cold metal sends a chill through my bare skin. His hand comes to my cheek, holding it gently, and I lean into him.

“I take you, Beth, as my lawfully-wedded wife. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health,” he whispers to me, his eyes never leaving mine, and I don’t bother stopping the tears as his love wraps around me as surely as his words do. “From this day forward, we shall walk hand-in-hand in this world and into the next. I promise to love, honor, and protect you. Put no one or nothing before you. I vow to worship your body night and day and never let you forget who you belong to, and not stop until you come so hard in my arms every night that your f*cking toes curl, your body is weightless, and you hear angels singing.”

“Now that’s a f*cking vow,” I whisper, returning the same words to him that he’d given me earlier.

“Just wait till I deliver on them, baby,” he whispers, leaning up to take my mouth.

The last thought I’m able to hold onto is that Latch is right. I need to have more faith in my man. I’m going to hold on. I don’t have a choice. With my decision made, I give myself to him and lose myself in his touch.





“Rise and shine, querida,” Skull tells me. He’s standing at the foot of the bed. Me? I’m curled in a ball under the covers. It’s too early to be that cheerful.

“What? Why? What time is it?”

“It’s six, sweetheart. We have to leave early to go to Beast if you’re spending the day there. I have a meeting with Diesel and his crew today when they make it in from Tennessee.”

“I don’t want to go to the hospital today,” I yawn, trying to ignore the sliver of fear that hits me. “I thought I’d stay here today and be close to you. That way, if you got some time, you could sneak off and make good on your promise.”

“My promise?” he asks.

I smile up at him, my hand going to the locket he gave me. I slept in it because I can’t bear to take it off. “Yeah. Remember? The whole worship-my-body thing? I think I heard mention of my toes curling and angels singing, too,” I joke. I know every word he said. I’ll never forget last night for as long as I live.

“Is that a fact?” he says. He’s smiling and, for the first time in days, I see happiness in his eyes.

“Si,” I tell him saucily. “And it was my wedding night, so I’m hoping you weren’t overestimating your abilities.”