King's Reign (Sydney Storm MC #6)(73)

She wasn’t fucking wrong.

“Okay,” she said, letting go of my face, “let’s do these five fucking questions, so you can get to your favourite part of the night.”

I wrapped my hand around her neck and rubbed my thumb over her throat. “It’s my turn to ask the questions tonight.”

Her eyes lit up. “Ooh, okay.”

I kept my hand around her neck. “Beard or no beard?”

“Beard.”

“Good fucking answer.”

She grinned.

“Morning or night?”

“You are so freaking predictable with your sex questions.”

I gripped her neck harder. “Morning or night?”

“Night, but only because there are more hours for you to get your mouth on me at night.”

I eased my grip a little. “July or August?”

She frowned. “Huh? What’s in July or August?”

I pulled the blue box from my pocket and opened it. “July or August?”

Her eyes widened. “Holy fuck, King.” She glanced between the ring and me. She stared at me for the longest time, and then she crashed her lips to mine, her hands grasping my face with the kind of grip that turned me the fuck on. When she’d had her fill, she tore her mouth from mine and said, “Oh my freaking God, yes!” She looked at the ring in the box again, bending her face close, her eyes lighting up, and then looked up at me. “This ring is fucking beautiful.”

Jesus, I’d been hard for her all fucking night; I wasn’t convinced I’d make it through this proposal without ripping her clothes off and sinking my dick as far inside her as I could.

I pulled the ring out of the box and got it on her finger before she changed her mind. As she held her hand up to her face, checking out the ring, I growled, “Lily.” When she gave me her eyes, I demanded, “July or August?”

A smile spread slowly across her face. “You mean you’re actually giving me a choice? You’re not gonna just boss my ass into one of them?”

Fucking hell, this woman.

“You have exactly three seconds to choose one. After that, I’ll boss your ass into a fuck of a lot more than just the month.”

She leaned in close and brushed her lips across mine before saying, “July, but only because it comes first. If I had my way, I’d choose September because it would be warmer.”

“July it is.”

She looped her arms around my neck. “I love you, King. You might be a hard-ass out there in the world, but for me, you’re everything I need.” She studied the ring for a moment. “And this ring is perfect. Thank you.”

I’d taken a photo of her grandmother’s necklace that Holly had sent me, and asked a jeweller to design me a ring that matched it. A diamond bow, it matched not only her necklace, but also half her fucking belongings.

I took her face in my hands and kissed her. Deep and slow to begin with, it quickly became the usual demanding kind of kiss we both craved. When we were done, I rasped, “I fucking love you, woman. If I could, I’d marry your ass tomorrow.”

Fuck, as long as I lived, I’d never get my fill of this woman.

She’d breathed life into me when I hadn’t thought there was any life beyond what I already knew.

She’d given me hope after I’d forgotten what it was.

She’d fucking helped quiet the demons raging deep inside me.

And I was holding on tight.

Wherever Lily went, I would follow.

She may have thought I was running this fucking show, but she was wrong.

She owned the fucking show.





Epilogue





King

4 Years Later





I stood on my back deck and watched the kids running around the backyard as I sucked back some beer. Holly pushed Cade on the swing I’d built last weekend while Zara carried Meredith on her hip, laughing at something Lily said. Robbie and the girl he’d invited over for the party sat on the wooden bench I’d built for the back corner of the yard. Lily’s meditation bench. The one she spent a good fucking half hour on every afternoon while I played with the kids inside. She called that half hour her Sacred Pause. I didn’t give a fuck what she called it so long as she had it. Lily without that pause was wired for my blood. With it, she was wired for my dick.

“Hey, brother,” Hyde said, stepping out onto the deck. “We finally made it.”

I glanced at him, my gaze going straight to his daughter, Sage, who held her arms out to me. Letting her climb across to me, I said, “Your dad being an ass today?”

“King,” Monroe said as she and Tatum walked past us to head downstairs. Her voice held a warning like it always did when I had her daughter. I cut back my language around the kids, but as far as I was fucking concerned, ass wasn’t a word I needed to watch.

“Mama,” Sage called out as she spotted Monroe. I put her down, and she ran to her mother who scooped her up and carried on towards Lily.

“Everyone here?” Hyde asked, surveying my backyard where club members and their families hung out laughing and drinking.

“Everyone except Fury.”

Hyde met my gaze. “You got him out on a job today?”

“Yeah. I doubt he’ll make it.” Not with the messy shit he was taking care of for me today. Detective Stark would breathe easier tonight thanks to Fury.