Chapter 33

thirty-three

. . .

Romeo

We’d been backfor over a week, and it had been a three-ring circus in Magnolia Falls. We’d arrived home the day after the fight, and people had lined the streets with signs as they cheered me on.

This entire town had been behind me.

I guess in a way, this fight represented a lot to many people.

A small-town boy doing something unexpected.

Going the distance.

It taught me that you could accomplish anything you wanted to accomplish if you worked hard and stayed the course.

If you had the right people in your corner, which I did.

The next few days were spent recovering, taking a lot of baths with my girl, and enjoying every second of her pampering the hell out of me.

The guys teased me relentlessly about how concerned she’d been, and I sure as hell wasn’t complaining.

I’d been the same with her. Worried like hell about her broken arm and insisted she hire more help at the coffee shop so she didn’t have to work so much.

This morning, I watched her sleep, running my fingers through her silky hair. She was so goddamned beautiful she took my breath away every time I looked at her.

“Hey,” she whispered. “Are you watching me sleep?”

“I am.”

Her eyes peeked open, and she blinked a few times. “How do you feel?”

“Pretty damn good. How’s the arm?”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore. I told you that.” She chuckled.

I ran my fingers over her shoulder. “Good.”

“Are we still going to see a few houses this morning?”

“Yes. There’s one down on the water. It needs a lot of work, but we’ve got two contractors at our beck and call, and you’ve got a good eye.”

“A good eye, huh?” She pushed up, keeping the sheet around her shoulders as she moved on top of me. Sitting up with one leg on each side and straddling me.

This girl, man.

She was so fucking beautiful.

My hands covered her perfect tits, tweaking her nipples and loving the way her cheeks flushed when I touched her.

“You’ve got a good eye for design,” I said, my voice gruff.

“I think I have a good eye for more than that,” she teased. “I picked you out, didn’t I?”

“I didn’t make it so easy for you in the beginning, did I?”

“No. But that’s okay. I’m all about the long game.” Her teeth sank into her juicy bottom lip, and I groaned.

I pulled her mouth down to mine. She raised her hips, settling just above me, and she slowly slid down my throbbing cock.

I didn’t know how I’d gotten so lucky to find my way to Demi.

I never believed in happily ever after before I met her.

But she’d changed everything.

She pulled back and smiled down at me. I gripped her hips as she started to move.

Slowly at first, but then she found her rhythm, and I thrust into her every time she slid back down.

We were insatiable together, and I fucking loved it.

Loved her.

I tugged her mouth down to mine, my tongue slipping in and out as she continued to ride me.

And I savored every minute.

Kissing her.

My hands roaming her body.

We were both covered in a layer of sweat, and she was begging for her release.

I never was any good at making her wait.

I wanted to give her everything.

My hand slipped between us as I continued driving into her over and over. I circled her clit, and she tightened around me seconds later.

She cried out my name as she squeezed my dick and went over the edge.

I flipped her onto her back in one fluid movement, and I thrust into her three more times before I came so hard, I could barely see straight.

That was the way it always was with us.

And I couldn’t get enough.

We’d seen several houses over the last few days, and Demi’s grandfather had asked us to meet him at his house to talk about something important.

I’d grown close to the old man, and I respected him.

He loved his granddaughter fiercely, and he and his wife were good people. I’d misjudged them over the years.

Thinking people with money were all corrupt.

And I’d been wrong.

We’d had dinner with Demi’s mother a few days ago, and she was nothing but kind to me. She and my mom had become friends now, as well, and had apparently watched my fight together.

Demi’s parents were still not living together, and there didn’t seem to be a lot of progress going on there. Demi hadn’t spoken to her father since we’d returned. I’d offered to go with her to see him, but she said she wasn’t ready to talk to him.

There was a lot of damage there, and it would be up to him to try to repair things.

The one surprise in her family had been Slade. He’d asked her for my number and texted me congratulations after the fight.

We’d gone back and forth a few times. He was leaving rehab in a few days, and I was going with Demi to help her get him settled.

It was what you did when you loved someone.

Most of this shit didn’t matter much to me the way it used to.

Maybe it was because I was happy now.

She’d brought this light into my life that had erased a lot of the darkness from my past.

It was hard to be pissed off all the time when you were nauseatingly happy.

That was what River called it when he razzed me all the time.

“Hey, we’re here,” Demi called out as we walked into her grandparents’ home.

“There’s the champ,” Carson said as he hugged his granddaughter and then pulled me in for a big bear hug. “It was all that training out here with the horses.”

“I think you might be right,” I said, as I hugged Demi’s grandmother, and we followed them into the kitchen.

We sat around the table, drinking sun tea and talking about the white party for a bit before her grandfather changed the subject.

“I just wanted to give you all an update on what’s happening with the men that attacked you that night, Romeo. The one who hit you, as well, Demi,” he said, his eyes welling with emotion.

I understood the way he loved her.

There was something about her that made you want to protect her, no matter how badly she wanted to prove that she could take care of herself.

She loved hard, and she was loyal as hell, and the people around her loved her just as fiercely.

“Were they able to tie him to Ronny?” Demi asked, as she reached for her tea.

“His family is scrambling to cover it up; it’s just what they do. But with the other women coming forward and you filing that report against him, they are going to be tied up in court for a long time. All three guys were quick to throw Ronny right under the bus, so I don’t think he has a chance of walking away from these charges.” Demi had officially reported what had happened to her with Ronny and she’d filled out the paperwork, so at the very least, there was documentation about it.

“I don’t know what he thought he was going to accomplish by having me jumped,” I said, scrubbing my hand over my face. Here was a guy who had everything at his fingertips. Money and opportunity to pursue whatever the hell he wanted, but instead, he was a piece of shit and spent his time trying to cover up the shit he did.

“I think he was having a temper tantrum. He wanted to retaliate against you and thought he could pin it on the other fighter and no one would suspect him. He’s a bad guy at his core, and it’s catching up to him. I’m just glad that you two are all right.”

“He had three guys jump Romeo, and they didn’t make a dent in you, did they?” Demi waggled her brows at me.

“Well, that’s because my girl came flying out of nowhere to fight them off.” I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and kissed her cheek.

Her grandmother placed her hand on her heart and smiled at us. “Did you two go see some more homes?”

“Yeah. I think we found one that we love,” Demi said. “It’s down by the water. It will need some work, but it has potential.”

“It also has a lot of land around it, which means we can get the barn up and going, and she can have Teacup there so she can ride every day if she wants to.”

“How about you? Are you going to get a horse so you can ride with her?” Gramps asked with a gruff chuckle. He knew I didn’t ride.

“I’m not much of a cowboy. I prefer to be on foot, chasing after her.” I shrugged.

More laughter.

We spent the next hour talking and catching up with them, and as we walked to the door and hugged them both goodbye, her grandmother reminded me for the millionth time that she expected to see all of us at the white party.

The thought of wearing a suit made my skin crawl, but Demi had found a dress, and she wanted to surprise me with it the day of the event, so I’d embraced the idea.

And all the guys would be joining us, so I wouldn’t be the only one standing out like a sore thumb.

I pulled the helmet over her head and fastened the strap beneath her chin, before helping her onto the back of my bike. I’d take it slow, as she had one arm that wasn’t very helpful when it came to wrapping around me. But she’d wanted to feel the breeze in her hair today, so we’d taken my bike out.

We were heading to Whiskey Falls to meet everyone. Nash and King had gone out to the property we’d found and were going to give us some bids for how big this renovation would be.

River and Hayes were stopping by to meet us for a quick bite. Hayes had dropped Cutler off with my mom for the afternoon, as she was working in the garden and, apparently, he liked planting flowers with her.

He’d made Demi come over a few days ago to redo the Sharpie tattoo because it had faded. I’d nearly fallen off my chair when she’d shown me the inside of her wrist, which also had a Sharpie tattoo that said: Beefcake.

When we walked into the bar, they were all there. They’d ordered lunch, and they led a chant when I stepped inside.

“Golden Boy. Golden Boy.”They got everyone there to join in, which meant there were four other fools saying the same thing as them.

I held my hand up, pleading for them to stop, and Demi just laughed like she always did.

She fit in with my boys like she’d always been there.

They’d ordered a bunch of appetizers, and it was damn good to finally get to eat bar food again. To not have to be so careful about what I put into my body and to not have to work out ten hours a day.

Lionel brought over some extra napkins and clapped me on the shoulder. “Proud of you, Romeo. This whole bar was packed the night of your fight. Thanks for not only winning but for helping me sell a shit ton of liquor within a few hours.”

“At least you have your priorities straight,” River said, rolling his eyes.

Lionel’s gaze moved to Demi, and he scanned her arm. Everyone in town had heard what happened, but she’d continued to brush it off.

“I get mad every time I see you with your arm in that sling,” Lionel said.

You and me both.

“Please. You should see the other guy.” She waggled her brows.

“Atta girl. You take no shit.”

“Exactly,” she said.

Lionel walked off, and we filled them in on what we’d heard from her grandfather.

“It’s about time that piece-of-shit Ronny is held accountable,” River hissed.

“Yeah. You can only run from karma for so long,” Kingston said over a mouthful of onion rings.

“Can you please stop talking with your mouth full?” Nash grumped. “Every fucking day, this guy is telling me something over a mouth full of fucking food.”

Hayes barked out a laugh. “He’s been doing it since we were kids. He’s not changing.”

“Hey, he can hear you two dick weasels talking shit. He happens to enjoy life, and when he has something to share, he shares it.” Kingston winked at Demi, who couldn’t hide her smile.

“So, Cutler made me take him to get sized for a white fucking suit,” Nash groaned. “Apparently, your grandmother encouraged him to get a suit for the white party.”

“He told me all about it. He said he looks really good in it,” Demi said over her laughter.

“Damn. Beefcake is going to show us all up.” Kingston held up his phone to show Demi a photo of him in his suit. “I think I’m going with baby blue.”

“I like it. It suits you.”

“I thought we were wearing black suits, and the women would wear white dresses,” I said, grabbing the phone and falling back in laughter at Kingston wearing a baby blue suit that was far too small for him.

“Hey, that’s the style. It’s called slim fit.” He raised a brow and grabbed his phone from my hand. “Grammie said the women wear white and the men just need to be in suits. And that suit spoke to me.”

Yes. He was calling Demi’s grandparents Grammie and Gramps. Because this was King that we were talking about.

“It spoke to you, huh? Did it also tell you to turn around and trade it in for a black fucking suit that isn’t sized for a toddler?” River asked, and more laughter erupted around the table.

“Trust me. The ladies like my style. You boring fuckers can wear your penguin suits, and I’ll be the standout.”

“Yeah, you and Beefcake.” River smirked.

“I’m happy you’re all coming,” Demi said.

“We were kind of bullied into it by your grandmother, Beans.” Hayes raised a brow at her.

“She’s very persuasive,” Demi said.

“She’s not the only one.” I nipped at her ear.

“Oh, for God’s sake, wife this girl up already. You two are making me sick.” River feigned irritation, but I saw the way the corners of his lips turned up when he watched us.

“Agreed. They’re moving in together and renovating a house. Put a ring on it already, am I right, Demi?” Kingston broke out into his best Beyonce imitation and sounded absolutely fucking ridiculous.

I threw my napkin at him and shook my head.

And then I sat back and took it all in.

My brothers.

My girl.

The way life had taken an unexpected turn for the better.

My hand found hers beneath the table, and our fingers intertwined. I leaned close to her ear. “You know I do plan to put a ring on it someday, right?”

“What did it for you?” She leaned closer and whispered into my ear. “Was it the fact that I jumped into a fight for you in the back of the alley, or was it the pumpkin chai?”

I grazed my lips over her ear, watching the way goose bumps spread down her arm.

“I think it’s the way you look when you’re sleeping,” I spoke against her ear.

She pulled back to look at me. Those gorgeous green eyes that always found mine. “What do I look like when I’m sleeping?”

“You look like forever.”

Ain’t that the fucking truth.