Cue girly stomach flip.
He squeezed my hips a little tighter before he stepped back and walked away. Both Macy and I watched him walk into a sea of leather, doing some chin lifts and back slaps with various men wearing cuts. Some I recognized, some I didn’t. Children tore around their feet.
There were women, too, but I didn’t get to take a good look at them or try to spot the infamous Gwen and Amy because the woman demanded my attention.
“Holy fucking fuck that was hot,” she fanned herself. “I mean, I’m married, happily. Very happily. To a man who pleasures me every night. And I know that sounds like a lie because we’ve been married for years now, and people who are married for years aren’t supposed to have daily orgasms.” She paused. “Well, not from each other, anyway.” She winked. “But as it’s very obviously become clear to you, these men are an entirely different breed.”
Both of our eyes went to the sea of leather for a hot minute before the woman demanded my attention once more. “I swear, I never thought I’d see the day when Hades brought a girl home.” She put a hand on her heart. “And I cannot tell you how glad I am that it’s you. I mean you, Freya Barker.”
“And you’re Macy?” I guessed.
Her eyes went wide. “Oh my god, yes! Did I not mention that? I’m such a dork. I’ve been so excited for you to arrive. Hansen made me have two sangrias to calm myself down, but that kind of backfired.” Her eyes went to the kitchen counter, which was overflowing with plates of food. I’d placed a batch of cookies and wine amongst it all right as we’d walked in. I might’ve been raised in a trailer park, but I knew it was good manners to arrive at someone’s house bearing gifts.
“Let me get you a sangria, then I’ll introduce you to the rest of the girls. They’ve been dying to see you.” She leaned forward and squeezed my hand. “Welcome to the family, honey.”
Her words, spoken softly, almost offhandedly, punctured my heart. I had to bite my lip to hold back my tears at such a simple statement. Something that no one had ever uttered to me before. Not Derek’s family, who had known me for two years and purposefully said my name wrong every time I went to their house. No one.
“Okay, so you were kidnapped.” I pointed at the gorgeous brunette with the emerald eyes and outfit that somehow did not have a single stain on it despite the fact it was crisp white, she had two kids and she was drinking red wine.
“And so were you.” I pointed at the red-haired knockout wearing heels higher than even I’d worn. Her outfit, like Gwen’s, looked like it was supposed to be on a runway somewhere. They oozed style and class in a way that wasn’t intimidating.
“Your husband is your high school boyfriend back from the dead,” I pointed to Caroline, the stunning woman with the shocking red lipstick and the impressive journalism career.
Each of them nodded.
“Holy fuck,” I said, taking a large sip of my drink.
“Right?” Amy smirked, taking a large sip of her own drink.
“The courting process of the Sons of Templar seems to err on the side of the dramatic,” Gwen chimed in with a warm smile and an accent I couldn’t get enough of.
“The first time I met Hades he was bleeding from a stab wound. And then he moved in with me because my ex beat me half to death. We’ve already had our fair share of drama, and we’ve only been sleeping together for less than forty-eight hours,” I explained.
Amy’s eyes bugged out while she made a choking sound at the back of her throat. Gwen leaned forward and helpfully pounded on her back while taking another sip of her own drink.
All of the other women chuckled at Amy’s reaction, waiting for her to get a hold of herself.
“Sorry,” she croaked. “I swear, I thought you said that you only had sex with him forty-eight hours ago.”
“I did say that,” I nodded.
“You’re serious?” Caroline asked, her expression one of disbelief.
“Serious,” I replied.
“You’ve had that,” Amy pointed directedly at Hades who seemed to be in some kind of man huddle with Hansen, and who, of course, looked over the second she pointed, “in your house for over a month, and you only just started having sex? How did you survive?”
It didn’t sound believable when she said it like that, especially not when Hades was standing there with the desert backdrop, looking all ... Hades. Yeah, sure all of the other men, especially the husbands of these women, were so attractive I had the urge to poke them with a pin to make sure that they bled, but they had nothing on Hades.