“Okay, so you got equal parts of our stubbornness,” he conceded with a snort. But the noise turned into an agonized sound when a tear broke free and dripped down my cheek. “I-I would like the chance to get to know you now, if it’s not too late. Maybe…” He stopped and swallowed hard a few times before he was able to continue. “Maybe we could have dinner once a week, just the two of us.”
“I…” I stopped and pressed my lips together, holding on to my angry words at the sight of his own tears spilling over his lashes. Seeing his pain gave me no joy. If anything, it only made my broken heart ache more. “I don’t know,” I muttered instead. “Maybe.”
“I realize winning back your trust and forgiveness will take time, River. I’m just asking for a chance.”
“I-I’ll think about it,” I offered.
“While you’re thinking, could I walk you down the aisle?” he asked. His voice was so full of hope, and with his tears still falling freely, I found myself nodding.
Dad lifted his hand toward the front door of the clubhouse. “After you, sweetheart.”
Holding the train of my dress, I walke
d into the clubhouse. Mom and the twins were right inside, and the three of them rushed to get me cleaned up since my tears had messed up my makeup.
The music started, and my heart jumped into my throat. It took every ounce of willpower I had not to run into the common room and rush into Maverick’s arms. A simple “I do” from the both of us and we would be married. But if he’d helped set all this up, with Mayor Jenkins even getting our marriage license taken care of so it wouldn’t ruin the surprise, that must have meant he wanted a wedding shared with our family and friends, so I wasn’t going to ruin it for him.
Kingston was waiting to walk my mom down the aisle, and then the twins followed behind them. When it was our turn, Dad offered me his arm, and I hesitated for a moment before finally placing my hand through it.
I was still mad, and my heart still ached, but I knew he was trying. His walking me down the aisle meant a lot to me. It showed me that he had accepted that Maverick was my forever.
Unlike at Mila and Monroe’s wedding, the clubhouse wasn’t overflowing with people. Lyric’s huge extended family had all come, and the building had been bursting at the seams with a mixture of rockers and bikers. Now, there were only bikers, which meant there was room for chairs, so the guests could sit.
As Dad and I started down the aisle, everyone stood and faced us. I heard several people close to us murmuring how beautiful I looked, but I was too entranced by the sight at the end of the aisle to pay attention.
Maverick stood there, Kingston and Jack at his side, wearing a suit for the first time in his life—but, of course, his cut was on over it. His hair was pushed back from his face, and he’d shaved. I’d never seen him look more handsome than he did right then. His gray eyes ate up the sight of me in my wedding dress, and I watched as he struggled to swallow.
Halfway down the aisle, he lost the battle against his tears and the first one spilled free, but he didn’t lower his gaze or try to hide them from me. His smile was trembly but so full of love that my own tears started to flow again.
It felt like it took forever to reach him, but it was only a matter of seconds. And then the minister was asking who was giving me away.
I held my breath as the entire clubhouse seemed to fill with tension. I’d been worried about this part from the moment I’d agreed to let Dad walk me down the aisle, wondering if he would actually let Maverick have me. The two men I cared about the most in the world stared each other down, and then Dad offered Mav his hand. The two shook, then my dad pulled Maverick in for a hard, backslapping hug.
I was blinded by my tears, and by some miracle, I was able to hold back my happy sob as the hug ended and Dad placed my hand in Maverick’s. At the feel of his touch, everything and everyone in the room seemed to disappear. Not even the minister existed for me except when he instructed me to repeat my vows.
It was just Maverick and me, the way it had always been. The way it always would be.
I slid the ring on to Mav’s finger then had to hold back a sob when he did the same. It was official. Nothing could ever come between us. Nothing and no one could take him from me now.
He’d always been mine, and now the world knew it.
Twenty-Four
Maverick
As soon as the driver closed the door of the limo, I had River’s dress up over her hips. She was already soaked, her pussy lips glistening with her need for me, and it took me a second to truly grasp how perfect this moment was.
I felt like I’d been waiting my entire life for this day, to show the world that she was mine—that she fucking chose me.
She could have had any motherfucker she wanted, but I was the lucky bastard who got to be her man.
Her fingers were already working on my pants. The moment her hand wrapped around my shaft, I threw my head back, groaning at how good her touch was. It had been too goddamn long since I’d last had her, but I hadn’t wanted to chance hurting her. Staying away the night before after the doctor had given us the green light at her appointment had been one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do. “Baby, put me in you,” I pleaded. “I can’t wait.”
She bit her lip, hesitation suddenly on her beautiful face when she’d been just as desperate for me as I was for her only seconds before. “What if…?”
My heart stopped, and I cupped her face. “I’ll respect whatever you decide. There’s protection in my wallet. But if you want to try…”
Sucking her bottom lip between her teeth, she considered the options for a moment before lifting up and then guiding my cock into her tight little body. “If it’s meant to be, it will happen,” she said on a moan as my girth stretched her pussy walls. “I won’t be scared if you promise to hold me the whole time.”