His words came out of nowhere, smacking me straight in the face like a sack of potatoes. I couldn’t believe I’d even heard him right. How was he even capable of using that word? How could a man like him be in love with anything other than himself and his bike?
I faltered, from shock rather than anything else…because I knew exactly what my feelings were. I’d been going through them in my head for a very long time.
“I don’t expect you to say anything, Ava. I just wanted you to know,” he said and I knew I had already taken too much time to respond appropriately.
“No, I want to say something. I love you,” I said and I was sliding upwards, over his shoulder now and my head was gently knocking against the floor. Our faces were at level together. Then he smiled. The dimples on his cheeks grew deeper, and his blue eyes sparkled as we stared at each other.
“I will never do anything to hurt you, Ava,” he said and knotted a strand of my hair around his forefinger lazily.
“I know you won’t. I trust you,” I said to him and then he reached over and kissed the tip of my nose.
“You’ll always be safe with me,” he said.
“And happy,” I added and we both smiled.
I couldn’t imagine a time in my life that I wouldn’t be happy and satisfied with this man. I needed nothing else, other than his presence in my life.
“I’ve learnt from other people’s mistakes…my father’s. I do not want to repeat them and you have my word on that,” he said and I nuzzled my face into the crook of his arm, breathing in his potent masculine scent. Nothing else seemed more pure or more powerful.
I had made mistakes of my own, errors in judgement and Commando had saved me from my biggest one.
“And I’ve learnt from my own mistakes. I now know what is good for me, what is right for me…and you are,” I said and we kissed again, a slow sweet kiss that I lost myself in. When he pulled away from me, I saw that he was smiling and I wondered if he was feeling as happy as I was. No, he possibly couldn’t, because he was the one keeping me safe and warm.
Commando’s grip around me grew tighter as we stayed like that for a while longer, in each others arms on the bathroom floor. At some point, we drifted off to sleep and it was the first of many…of endless…good night’s sleep.
Epilogue
One year later
Commando
“My only problem with this wedding, is that there are no strippers allowed,” Slade said, exchanging laughing looks with Girth. I was staring at my reflection in the mirror, while Mom was helping me fix my wine colored bowtie.
“Will you boys leave him alone? He’s trying to set an example for you, so learn from him,” Mom snapped teasingly at them, and they continued to laugh. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at me in the mirror. I could see she was proud. Settling down with a good woman, was not something she had expected from her son. She was smiling and I was happy that she was happy too.
“Congratulations, brother,” King said, thumping my back, just as Dad entered the room.
“Clear out, boys. I need to speak to my son,” he said.
Dad was already in his suit…an attire I had never seen him in before. He was standing at the door of the room, his hands clasped together in front of him.
King, Girth and Slade each patted my shoulder in congratulations as they headed out. My best men. My brothers. Mom kissed her husband on his cheek before she left the room too. I could see that she was in a romantic mood.
I tucked a hand into the pocket of my pants, as I looked at him through the mirror. He remained standing where he was and I wondered if he still secretly disapproved of this relationship. I knew he liked Ava, in fact he fucking adored her. That was not the problem. The problem was that I was marrying her. It was more than just a casual relationship with a beautiful girl I couldn’t keep my hands off.
Dad took in a deep breath and I met his eyes.
“Your sister’s out there,” he said and I nodded my head.
“I saw her already,” I said to him. Moira rarely ever paid us a visit anymore, staying away from our lifestyle as much as possible. I preferred it that way, but she wasn’t going to stay away from her brother’s wedding. She had to see it for herself to believe it.
Dad was quiet again, stroking his salt and pepper beard. I knew he had something to say and I wished that he would just say it.
“If your mother hadn’t become pregnant with you, son, I would have never married her,” he said and I clenched my jaw. This wasn’t exactly something I wanted to hear on my wedding day.
“Yeah, I always got that feeling,” I said and he stepped towards me.
“Don’t get me wrong, Kelley, I love your mother. She’s the only woman in the world who can keep me in control,” he said and I looked away from him, and turned to fixing my bow tie again. I tried to picture Ava, walking down the aisle towards me, to focus on anything but this bullshit that my father had decided to put me through.