Chapter Six

"Let me go!" she hissed at him.

Rage ignored her fists on his shoulder. A couple of guys congratulated him as Rage made his way up the stairs. They probably overheard his conversation with Breaker. Heck, Rage wouldn't be surprised if word had spread to the entire MC by tomorrow morning.

The second floor housed each MC member's living quarters. His room was just down the hall and what a journey it was. Cassie cursed and battered at him until all the energy was wrung from her body.

Rage kicked his door open, then dumped his future bride on his bed. She didn't skitter away like a frightened prey animal. She stood her ground. Cassie glowered at him as he closed the door and locked it. What a sight she made. Cassie reminded him of an angry goddess and that only made Rage want her more.

"You're pretty pleased with yourself, aren't you?" Cassie demanded. "When did you even decide you want to marry me? What is this, a pissing contest?"

"When exactly? I don't know. Maybe after I saved your ass from Hawk's punks and you fought like an angry she-lion and believe me, sweetheart, it's not a contest of any sort."

Rage met her gaze evenly. He wanted her to know he meant every word he said to Breaker. That Rage wasn't just going to use her, then dispose of her.

Did she think so little of him? Then again, Rage couldn't blame her. He hadn't exactly displayed any exemplary behavior so far, but he'd soon change that. Rage sat next to her on the bed.

"What is it then?" Cassie demanded. "Everything's happening so fast, it's dizzying. I still haven't even recovered from my recent attack."

"I just want you. Plain and simple. What I want, I get. That's the first thing I want you to understand about me," Rage answered. "When you become mine you will learn I take good care of all my possessions. You'll want for nothing. No one would dare touch you, because they know they'd end up dead."

He cupped her cheek and Cassie blew out a breath. When she didn't fight or scream at him, he leaned over and kissed her. The magic that sparked between them yesterday—some traces of it were still present. Instead of pushing him away, she fisted his shirt, digging her nails into his collarbones. Then she kissed him back, all fieriness and bite. They ended up rolling on his bed, with Cassie above him. She settled herself on his stomach, her hands pressed firmly on his abs and her legs digging into his sides.

"What about what I want?" Cassie asked him.

She trailed her fingers down the thick tendons of his neck, placed feathery touches on his chest, his abs. When was the last time a woman was curious about his body? The answer was never. Most of the time, a quick fuck with some random club whore satiated his needs. With Cassie, it was the exact opposite.

The more time he spent with her, the more he craved her. It wasn't just Cassie's body he was obsessed with, but also her mind. Her likes and dislikes. Her personality, which once repulsed him, now intrigued him.

"Do you even know what you want?" Rage threw back at her. She fell silent for a few seconds, probably chewing on his question.

"You and me, it's a bad idea," she whispered finally.

Rage could tell she wasn't entirely opposed to the idea but Cassie would need more convincing. Cassie lifted the hem of his shirt and Rage raised his hands so she could peel it off him.

"There's no future for you back in the city, Cassie. Hawk will keep sending men after you," Rage told her point-blank.

"Why?" Cassie asked, lower lip trembling.

"You know the answer to that question. You're not that naive," Rage said.

"Breaker," Cassie said. "You know, when I was younger, I often wished I wasn't born as Breaker's daughter, wasn't exposed to this kind of life."

"There's no point wishing. You can't change the past," Rage said. "But we can decide the future together."

"What if we spend all our married life bickering?" Cassie asked him.

"You worry too much." Rage was tired of this conversation, so he leaned forward and kissed her. She responded eagerly, and started unbuttoning his jeans. Cassie pulled his zipper down, then positioned herself lower, until her lips touched the crown of his dick.

She licked the pre-cum gathered at the tip. Rage speared his fingers into her hair, urging her to continue. Cassie licked her lips and went down on him. Boy, he was wrong about her lacking in experience.

Cassie sucked every inch of him. She gathered his balls into her mouth. Rage groaned, using her hair as a handle as she bobbed her head up and down. Damn, but Cassie's mouth on him felt like Heaven.

"Stay still," Rage ordered when he knew he was close.

Cassie did as he asked. Wasn't that surprising? Cassie could be sweet if she wanted. Rage understood it was need and desperation that rode her now, but it didn't matter. He'd give her the solace, the quick release she needed.

He pumped in and out of her. Sensing his imminent climax, Rage started to pull out but Cassie wrapped her cherry-tinted lips around his dick and took all his seed, not spilling a single drop.

"Fuck," he uttered. This woman was going to be the death of him and he didn't even care.

Cassie crawled on top of him when it was over, resting her head on his chest. Rage reached out, stroking her sweat-covered hair.

"I got to be honest, this isn't exactly how I pictured the way things would go when I told your father I want to take you as my old lady," Rage told her.

"Don't talk, don't ruin the moment. Please." If Cassie hadn't added that last word, Rage might have prodded the matter more. He decided she was right. They had done enough talking for the day.

****

The sun cast a warm glow over the backyard of the MC clubhouse. Someone had cleared out all the junk, cleaned the area, and somehow made it … .magical. That was the only word Cassie could use.

Cassie didn't know who was responsible for putting the white gazebo up, but he or she did a spectacular job. White roses and delicate lace decorated the gazebo and that was where she found Breaker.

He wore a suit—and Cassie and never seen him in one before. He paced back and forth the gazebo entrance restlessly when Cassie approached him in her wedding dress.

Breaker turned to her, eyes hooded and unreadable. They'd never been a touchy-feely kind of family. Breaker grasped her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"I'm proud of you for not backing out," Breaker said.

Some fathers would tell their daughters not to worry, that they could still change their mind. Of course, Breaker had agreed to this arrangement because it suited him.

If Cassie and Rage tied the knot, then Breaker could rely on his right-hand man to keep an eye on Cassie all the time. When Cassie put on her wedding dress three hours earlier, she stared at her reflection in the mirror and saw a stranger.

No one was forcing her to do this. In fact, she could've walked out of the clubhouse that morning, but she didn't. It was a little crazy, how easily Rage convinced her they were meant for each other. Certainly, there was explosive chemistry between them. They were madly in lust, not love. Would that be enough in the long run? Cassie realized she didn't mind finding out the answer.

She spent every waking moment with Rage the last seven days. One-hundred-sixty-eight hours was enough to convince her that every day with her former enemy would be exciting. Challenging. Cassie sorely needed that right now. Sure, that another MC president was gunning for her was a factor, but it wasn't the only reason she agreed to marry Rage.

She spent half her life running from her father and the MC, dreaming of the day she could leave Hanging Cove to start a new life in the city. In the end, that new life turned out to be one tired grind after the other. Cassie worked her ass off for a large company that really didn't give two shits about her. She'd look forward to partying on Friday nights and weekends only to dread the upcoming workweek. Cassie hadn't really formed any true connections in the city either.

The friendships she did manage to form were all shallow. None of the girls she usually hung out with bothered texting or calling to see if she was all right. That stung but at the same time, it made her realize that family was important. Breaker was an awful father but he did care if she lived or died. The MC, for all its faults, had always been her family.

Then there was Rage … he wanted her in ways she didn't understand.

"He might not look it, but Rage is a good man underneath," Breaker was saying. He'd been telling her a few things but her mind had drifted. She focused on him.

"Rage could also be a jerk most of the time but could also be unexpectedly protective and caring," Cassie acknowledged.

Her father peered at her a little too closely for her liking, as if Breaker was trying to read her mind. Then he laughed and that only pissed her off. Weren't typical fathers supposed to be encouraging and helpful?

"What?" she asked, irritated.

"Nothing. That's the look your mother used to wear on her face whenever she saw me." Breaker's face had turned uncharacteristically soft and it made Cassie uncomfortable.

She'd never known her mother, because she passed away from cancer after Cassie turned two.

"Anyway," Breaker said, suddenly clearing his throat. "We should get this party started. The men are getting restless."

Cassie snorted. The rest of the MC would use any excuse to party.

Half an hour later, the entire area was packed with noisy and rude bikers. Some brought their girlfriends, others their old ladies. Cassie found herself holding a bouquet in her hands, and about to walk down the aisle.

She ignored all the rowdy bikers and focused on Rage, waiting at the end of the aisle with the priest.

Under his leather cut, Rage wore a clean button-down shirt and even a bow. He looked ridiculously good. No one ought to look that gorgeous. Rage also wore a triumphant smirk on his face as she walked toward him.

He looked at her hungrily, like he couldn't wait for the ceremony to be over, so he could toss her over his shoulder and run away with her. Cassie's heart hammered in excitement. Her pulse raced. Marrying Rage had been a reckless decision but there was no point second-guessing it now. Cassie had made her choice. She'd thrown in her lot with Rage, her father, and the Death Seekers MC. There was no going back. She didn't think she'd regret her decision.

The moment she was a few inches from him, Rage grasped her hand and jerked her close for a kiss. The priest mumbled something under his breath.

Rage didn't pay him any attention. He kissed her like a man in a desert thirsting for water. Then he pulled away and this time, he waited for the priest to finish. Cassie whispered her vows. Rage did the same.

"I do," she said when the priest asked if she would take Rage as her husband.

"Yeah, ditto," Rage said when it was his turn.

Then he kissed her again, taking all the time in the world and not caring that everyone in the MC was watching. Cassie fervently kissed him back.

That was when she heard the rumble of motorcycle engines and gunshots fired in the air.