Sal (The Ride Series) (25 page)

“This is the third time, Soph,” he growled at her.

“What do you know about it?” Sal demanded, angrily glaring at Axel.

“You want to focus on that right now, really?” Axel demanded.

He had a point.

“Sophie?” I pressed quietly, trying to cut through the testosterone weighing the air.

“It’s my problem,” she answered quietly.

“Honey, around here there’s no such thing,” I told her gently.

“Then I’ll leave,” she replied simply, though I knew it pained her to say it.

“The hell you will,” Sal argued, his eyes fierce.

She shrugged and looked away. “Kat’s lease is almost up. You guys have done more than enough already. I don’t have a job. Soon I won’t have a place to live,” she sighed.

“We love you, Soph. Nobody wants you to leave. We’ll all help you,” I assured her.

“We’ll see,” she replied as Axel glared down at her.

One thing was for sure, sometimes our guys could stand to tone down the intensity a bit.

“Let’s go get a drink,” I suggested, taking her arm and guiding her away to where Scar and Connie sat under the trees.

“I don’t know why they want me to stay so badly. They seem so pissed at me all the time,” she muttered, sitting down with a huff as I handed her a beer.

I fought back the urge to laugh. “They’re not angry, babe. They’re controlling, passionate men who can’t handle not being in control, especially where our safety is concerned,” I explained quietly. “You’ll learn how to hold your own. Lord knows we all have,” I grinned, nodding toward the ladies surrounding us.

“I guess,” she agreed somewhat reluctantly.

“You ready to head out?” Sal asked, appearing at my side later that night. I looked up into his gorgeous face and nodded with a grin.

He grabbed my hand, leading me out to the bike and I grinned at the gesture. Day by day he staked his claim more and more with physical affection, and I loved it.

“Let’s go to Spain,” he murmured through the dim light of our bedroom. We’d gotten home, torn each other’s clothes off, and now lay wrapped up in each other

“Yeah?” I asked dreamily, propping my chin on his chest and looking up into his dark eyes.

“I want you to meet my family. I want my grandma to see that ring on your finger,” he explained, and my heart lurched at the sentiment.

“I’d love to.”

“Good, because I already bought the tickets,” he admitted with a chuckle.

I swatted at his chest, though I wasn’t really upset. “Well, let’s hope I can get the time off!” I laughed.

“I already talked to Pete,” he said as he shrugged.

Wow, that was really thoughtful.

“Thanks, honey.” I kissed his chest. “When do we leave?”

“After Cole and Scar’s wedding,” he replied. “In just a couple of weeks. I can’t wait to show you…everything,” he swallowed, and I knew he meant more than just Spain.

“Me too,” I said as I grinned.

Chapter 21

“Y
ou may kiss the bride!” the minister yelled over the boisterous crowd as Cole pulled Scarlet into a passionate kiss.

Whoops, whistles, and cheers followed suit.

It was an unbelievably gorgeous day in the mountains. The spring flowers had bloomed, covering the meadow in which we now stood with a colorful blanket of vibrancy.

Scarlet looked beautiful in a form-fitting, white wedding dress accented appropriately with cowboy boots. All of us girls wore boots as well to match the bride.

Cole pulled back from his new wife and they turned, grinning to the whistling crowd as Cal handed Gracie to her mama. Together, the three of them walked through the crowd, Scarlet throwing me a beaming smile when my eyes met hers.

The party was in full swing immediately following the ceremony. Clubs from all the surrounding areas joined in to pay their respects to the Knights’ Vice President and his new bride. It was a good thing we’d found such a remote location. With the amount of people and the liveliness of the crowd, we would have been kicked out of any other location.

There was a large main house Cole had rented where all the food was set up. It was big enough to sleep many of the revelers who’d need to crash for the night. It also worked well because Gracie could spend the night there with her grandpa. I didn’t think I’d get over the sweetness of the big, badass Prez watching his grandbaby through the night. I’d offered to take her, but he’d firmly declined. He loved that little girl like nothing else.

“One dance?” I asked Sal, tugging on his arm where a dance floor had been set up.

“Don’t dance, babe,” he shook his head with a sly grin, delivering his practiced line.

“When we get married, you’re gonna dance with me then, right?” I demanded with my hands on my hips.

“Maybe,” he said as he shrugged, still smiling.

“Salvatore Armstrong, you swear to me right now you’ll dance with me or we’re not getting married,” I threatened.

He chuckled at my antics and pulled me into a hug.

“What are you going on about?” Wes asked, coming to stand with us.

“I’m complaining about how my man will never dance with me,” I pouted.

“Don’t need a man to take you out on the floor to give you a dance,” Wes said as he grinned suggestively.

“That’s what I keep telling her,” Sal’s deep voice rumbled with a smile.

I threw up my hands. “Men,” I huffed, stalking off to find my friends.

Hours later and several drinks deep, I sat contentedly under a large pine tree watching the revelers under the lights of the big house. I watched my large group of friends and felt a sense of peace I’d never known up until this group of crazy bikers entered my life.

Then my eyes found Sal. He was standing across the meadow, his hands buried deep in his pockets as he talked with Cole and Scarlet. He was so beautiful. Christ, I didn’t think I’d ever get used to it. Then he looked over at me and smiled and I felt my heart flutter in response. He cocked his head, indicating for me to join them, and I grinned as I walked the expanse of green to meet him.

“What are you doing over there by yourself?” he asked with a quizzical look on his face.

I shrugged as he threw an arm over my shoulders and pulled me closer. His eyes grew warm then as he regarded me.

“You ready to hop on a plane in a few days?” Cole asked, taking a sip of beer with his arm strewn proudly over his new wife’s shoulders.

“Can’t wait,” I replied.

We’d decided to leave for a month. Pete let me have the time off and, to be honest, I would have gone regardless. It was the opportunity of a lifetime to travel around Spain with my man.

Our only concern, and it was a big one, was Sophie. I looked for her, finding her sitting with Ettie and quietly sipping her beer. She smiled more these days, even laughed sometimes. And she seemed to trust most of us. But something was still off. Way, way off.

And then there was Axel.

Something was clearly going on with them, but neither one of them would admit to it.

“You think she’ll be okay while we’re gone?” Sal asked, catching on to my line of thinking as he always seemed to.

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “But she’s got a lot of people watching out for her,” I assured him.

“Yeah, and some who I wish wouldn’t,” he muttered, no doubt referring to Axel.

“He obviously cares about her,” I insisted.

“He’s too old for her,” he argued.

I shrugged. “Ten years is a lot,” I allowed. “But, maybe she needs that. Plus, you’re her big brother; you’d have an issue with anyone. Wouldn’t you rather it be one of your brothers, someone you know and trust rather than some random man?” I pressed.

“Maybe,” he muttered begrudgingly.

I grinned at his crankiness and switched the subject.

“You wanna go upstairs?” I asked quietly. We’d snatched up one of the rooms in the main house.

“You know I do,” he growled, biting my neck lightly and swaying us slightly to the music.

“Is this the only dance I’m gonna get?” I teased.

“It’s the only one you’ll ever need,” he assured me, taking my hand and pulling me from the crowd.

And damn, he was right. As much as I wanted him to take me for a spin on the dance floor, all I’d ever needed was for him to lead me in a dance which was ours alone.

Epilogue

Three weeks later

“W
hat should we do today?” I asked, my heart still hammering as Sal lay over me, still inside me.

We’d had an amazing trip, starting out in Sal’s family’s small village outside of Madrid before traveling through the rest of the country.

Sal’s family had been amazing from the moment we’d arrived. His grandmother was a petite force of nature, hugging and kissing us to death before we’d even stepped foot into their modest house. I’d worried she was going to have a heart attack when she saw the ring sitting on my finger.

I think I’d heard “ay Dios mio” more times than she took breaths before we could get her to calm down a bit.

His father had been more reserved, but no less warm. He’d eyed Sal with a pride that made me want to cry.

The language barrier had made things difficult, but the intent was always clear. By the time we left to continue our travels, I felt like they were my family, too.

Barcelona, as we’d both discovered, was our favorite and we’d decided to spend our last week there rather than continuing to travel.

“I have an idea,” Sal mused, pulling himself back slightly to peer down into my face. His brown skin and colorful tattoos stood out beautifully against the crisp white sheets of our hotel room bed. I took a moment to admire him, again, before answering.

“Oh, yeah?” I asked, smiling up at him.

“Marry me,” he answered seriously.

“I will,” I replied, my brow knitting in confusion.

“Today,” he clarified, watching my reaction carefully.

“Er, what?” I sputtered. My brain was still slightly fried from my orgasm and what he was suggesting certainly wasn’t helping to clear it.

Typical Sal, he didn’t give me space to get clear. Instead, he moved that much closer. “Birdie, it’s you and me. Has been from the start. We have a lot of great friends; we have the club, and my family here, but at the heart of it, it’s us. We worked through a lot of shit over the past year, and when I put that second ring on your finger, I want to be all you see. ‘Cause you’re all I see,” he murmured.

I felt tears prick the back of my eyes as I swallowed audibly. “Scarlet would kill me,” I rasped.

He broke out in a grin knowing I was at least considering the idea. “We’ll have a big party when we get back,” he assured me.

“How would we even pull it together?” I wondered aloud.

“Not the first day I’ve had the idea, baby,” he shared. “There’s this little chapel right down the road. I think you’ll love it. If you do, we can get married there tonight,” he added, his eyes bright with hope.

I couldn’t formulate a response and simply stared at him with shocked eyes.

He gave me a bit of space then, disengaging his body from mine and moving to lay on his side, pulling me so we faced each other. “If you want a big wedding we can do that. We’ve never talked about it,” he said quietly. “I just figured with how much you love this city, you might like this idea, too,” he explained.

“I love the idea,” I murmured.

He broke into a heart-stopping grin. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” I grinned.

“You’re gonna marry me today?” he asked, his tone nearly awed.

“I am. That is if I can find a dress, rings, and if we can get the chapel squared away.”

“The last two are taken care of,” he surprised me by saying. “I didn’t think you’d appreciate me choosing your dress,” he chuckled.

“When did you even have time?” I wondered aloud. We’d been together nearly every moment for the past three weeks.

“You take a lot of naps, babe,” he said with a wink.

“Right,” I muttered.

And that’s how I found myself standing in front of the love of my life at the end of an altar that same night.

The chapel was beautiful, just as Sal had promised. It was small, in the best way possible, with gorgeous stained glass and vaulted ceilings. It was nothing like the churches I’d been in before. It was warm and inviting, romantic even. Especially with the lit candles that flickered around us.

Sal’s hands were clasped over mine as we promised to be true to each other, to love each other, and to respect each other for the rest of our lives.

I marveled at how far my man had come, how far we’d both come. I loved him without reservation and knew to my bones he loved me back in the same way.

“You may kiss the bride,” the minister stated in beautifully accented English.

Sal took my mouth in a consuming kiss, wrapping me up against his big body. We stayed that way until the minister politely cleared his throat, and I broke away blushing.

Sal grinned, taking my hand in his. “You ready, Mrs. Armstrong?” he grinned down at me before taking my mouth again in a soft kiss.

I knew he meant more than the night to come.

Neither of us was perfect, we never would be, but our imperfections made us our own brand of beautiful and I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life at his side.

I grinned against his lips and nodded, feeling an elation I’d never known until Sal. “Ready,” I replied. I placed my hand in his, allowing him to lead us out of the church to the bustling city beyond and into the beginning of what was sure to be the ride of my life.

~The End~

Stay tuned for Axel and Sophie’s story!

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