ELLIE
“Holy shit, it’s like Sons of Anarchy threw up hotness all over the house,” Lily whisper-yelled two days later.
Mason and I had spent the last two days mostly in bed, making love, assuring each other we were both alive. He’d held his family off as long as he could, but time had run out, and several of the Knights had arrived that morning on their way to visit another MC in town.
Cole, Mason’s oldest brother, had arrived with Axel and Sal, who I knew from Mason’s stories were like uncles to him. In tow were Max, Mason’s brother, and Tatum, Cole’s son. All in all, it was a lot of leather and tattoos that had walked through Ryan’s door.
Ryan took it all in stride, but I couldn’t help but smile at how close he held Lily with all the attractive men around.
When they’d first arrived, as though we’d known each other for years, as though we needed no introduction, Cole had headed in my direction, his blue eyes glittering with intensity. “You good?” he’d asked me.
“I’m good. Mason made sure of that,” I’d assured him as Mason held me close at his side. I’d barely been a foot from him in the last few days.
“Don’t doubt that,” he’d grunted. “Pop expects you both for a visit soon,” he’d added, his eyes on Mason. “Scarlet also wants to host you guys—she’s sorry she couldn’t be here,” he’d added, referring to his wife. “She even said she’d make her famous ribs, which means you’d better fucking come soon. She won’t even make them for me anymore.”
“We’ll get back home soon.” Mason assured him. It was something we’d talked about. I was eager to see where he’d been raised, the small town he loved so much.
And that had been that.
Now, Lily and I sat in Ryan’s kitchen getting an early start on cocktail hour as the guys talked in the living room.
“So what’s next?” she wanted to know.
I shrugged. “We find something temporary while we sort where want to live. We move on.”
“Just like that?” she queried.
“Well, I didn’t start yesterday,” I reminded her. “I’ve had years of practice. I’ve been trying to move on from Brian for so long. But I needed the closure. That asshole is never seeing the light of day again.” I gestured toward the MC members conferencing with Mason—a conversation I knew involved making Brian’s prison stay less than survivable. But it wasn’t just knowing Brian was really and truly dealt with. It was having something to run toward. “There’s nothing I want more than a future with Mason. So yeah, just like that.”
“And when and where do I get the credit for dragging you to that party?” she demanded.
I grinned marveling at how much had changed in a relatively short amount of time. “You get full credit, my friend. Forever and always. And now, can we talk about what’s next for you and Ryan?”
She grimaced. “Well, I suppose he wore me down.”
I tipped my head back and laughed at her comedically pained expression. “And what exactly does that mean?”
“It means that I’ve fallen completely head over heels for him,” she admitted.
Any trace of teasing left me as I leaned forward, taking her hands in mine, knowing how huge that was for her. “I’m so happy for you, Lily. You deserve it.”
“I do, don’t I?” she murmured as though affirming it for herself more than me.
“We both do.” I squeezed her hand just as Mason wandered over, placing his hands on my shoulders.
“Everything okay over here?”
I smiled up at him reassuringly before asking, “So, should I start thinking about how to feed all these men?”
He stroked my hair back from my face. “Nah, they’re not staying. They have a meet with the Royal Bloods, an MC in town, but wanted to make sure we were good.”
As if on cue, the Knights men began to stand, gathering their stuff, clearly preparing to head out.
“Ellie, it was nice to meet you,” Axel, the largest of the men, with a large beard and piercing gray eyes, said by way of parting.
“You guys too. Hopefully next time it will be under better circumstances,” I replied.
“Far as I’m concerned, these are fucking great circumstances,” Tatum put in, surprising me. “Bastard’s all but dead, you’re out of the marshmallow mansion, and Mason looks happier than I’ve ever seen him.”
