He kissed her. A gentle press of his lips against her. Shell let out a soft sigh and melted into him.
“Next year’s gonna be an adventure,” she said as she drew back.
“This year was an adventure.”
“Good point. Guess they’re all gonna be, huh?”
“With this club? Yeah, baby, pretty fucking sure life will never be dull.”
Shell hummed her agreement. “Let’s get out of here. I’ve got one more Christmas present for you.” She winked.
Well, who was he to look a gift horse in the mouth?
It was Christmas, after all.
EPILOGUE
STEPHANIE
“Holy shit, girl, Mav is going to lose his fucking mind the second he lays eyes on you.” Izzy stood in the doorway of the room Stephanie had claimed as a bridal suite of sorts. “That dress is fucking hot. If I ever lose this baby weight, can I borrow it?”
“Can you borrow her wedding dress?” Shell asked, looking at Izzy like she had two heads.
Stephanie laughed. “Sure, Iz. You’re right, this dress is hot. Too hot to sit in the closet for the rest of its life.”
“See.” Izzy stuck her tongue out at Shell, who rolled her eyes.
It was eleven-thirty on the dot on New Year’s Eve. The entire club and some additional invited guests had been partying their asses off for the past four hours. Steph and her girls had snuck away about two hours ago to prepare for the short and sweet wedding ceremony, which would take place in about fifteen minutes.
The girls had curled her blonde hair, now hanging halfway down her back. For a while, she’d considered wearing it up in a fancy updo, but Mav liked it best down, and she wanted him to lose his fucking mind as Izzy had said. They’d also done her makeup, giving her a sexy smoldering look she’d never have been able to accomplish on her own.
After slipping into the extremely tight and extremely short strapless white leather dress, Steph was nearly ready to go. All she needed were the sky-high sparkly white shoes that actually made her legs look long, and she was ready to rock and roll her way to her man.
Her soon to be husband.
Butterflies took flight in her stomach. A year and a half ago, if someone had told her she’d no longer be an FBI agent but working as a private security consultant for a biker owned company, and engaged to said biker, she’d have laughed in their face. But here she was. In love with and about the marry a man with more inked skin than not. Who was a professional snark artist and innuendo-maker. Who teased and joked more often than he was serious. A man who’d saved her from a horrible fate at a great personal sacrifice. A man who’d taught her the world was so much more than black and white, right and wrong.
A man who loved her a much as she loved him and who made each day better than the one before it.
“Hey,” Toni said as she walked over, wearing a short denim skirt and Handler’s tank top like the rest of her girls. “We’re gonna give you a few minutes by yourself to take it all in. See you at the top of the steps in five.”
After squeezing Steph’s shoulder, Toni began to turn toward the door.
“Wait,” Steph said as she grabbed her friend’s wrist. “Thank you. I know you all thought we were a little crazy for planning a wedding in about ten days, but you guys jumped right in with so much excitement.”
With a shrug as though she hadn’t worked her tail off for this since Christmas, Toni said, “We love you guys.” Then she kissed Steph’s cheek and followed the rest of the women out of the room.
After blowing out a breath, Stephanie finally stepped in front of the mirror and gazed at herself for the first time. The girls hadn’t let her peek the entire time they were jazzing her up.
“Holy shit,” she breathed as she stared at the nearly unrecognizable woman in the glass. Her hair curled down her back in thick, glossy waves. Her cheeks had a rosy glow and her eyes smoldered with a definite come fuck me vibe. Right up Maverick’s alley.
But they were right, the dress would drive her man insane. The poor guy would be marrying her with a hard-on for sure. It hugged her body so tight, breathing was difficult, but she had the rest of her life to make up for those missed breaths. Riding high on her thigh, the skirt combined with the shoes made her legs look miles long. Quite the optical illusion.
Her tits looked great too, encased in the leather dress that gave them a little lift. With her shoulders and back bare, but tanned thanks to the salon Toni made her visit, she truly looked better than she ever had.