He swept his arm around her waist, locking her to him, where he wanted to keep her forever. He’d had enough of bullshit lonely. Of believing he was the devil walking on earth. He might be a monster, but to this one woman, he wasn’t that. He hoped the others could take notice and have hope.
He hadn’t believed for one moment this miracle could ever happen to him, not even after Blythe had taken Czar back and Anya had kept Reaper in spite of all his mistakes. Even Breezy had forgiven Steele and seemed to be able to work with him. That hadn’t been enough for Ice to think his sins—and his needs—would ever be forgiven enough for him to find a woman of his own. But he had, at the eleventh hour.
Each member of his club had sins and needs that weren’t considered normal by society’s standards. But because he’d found Soleil, he wanted the others to know they had a chance to find someone of their own.
He fucking loved his club. His brothers and sisters. They’d helped him pull off the seduction he needed in a short time, and a wedding in just under three hours, a record for certain. More, when they’d gone shopping and he’d lost his mind because he couldn’t get enough of her and the way she made his body come to life, they’d taken his back and made certain she hadn’t been embarrassed or ashamed. He was certain that would come in the morning, when the magic wore off, but he would handle it when it happened.
Now, they had the reception, her party planned. There would be plenty of photographs. She might not like that in the morning, but she would later. Both Lana and Alena had assured him women liked that. He wanted the photos to help ensure there was no sliding out from under him.
He led her out of the chapel and back to his bike. Alena carefully tied the skirt of Soleil’s wedding dress around her waist and Mechanic helped her onto the back of the motorcycle.
Soleil clung to Ice. He turned his head, caught her by the nape of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. Sweet. Gentle. Filled with promises. Tasting like forever in the fairy tale he was weaving for her. The role was familiar. Prince Charming to the rescue. He’d played it a hundred times. Usually with Storm. The two of them could get a woman of just about any age to fall hard when they played it just right. Most of it was learning what a woman needed or thought she wanted. He couldn’t have Storm or anyone else play Soleil. They weren’t assassinating her. They weren’t carrying out orders. No one but Ice was going to touch her. Still, he’d managed to get a ring on her finger.* * *Soleil stared down at the ring on her finger. She had jewelry worth a fortune locked in her safe at her home in San Francisco. Not one piece mattered to her the way that laminated, drawn-on paper jewelry did. She wanted time to inspect it. To look at it under the lights and see every detail. She couldn’t believe that Ice had managed to make it for her, or that he would have even bothered. Just looking at that laminated ring was one more reason to fall for her knight in shining armor.
She tried to put aside her guilt. She’d told him what she’d done. He insisted on taking the blame, insisted he’d gotten her drunk. He didn’t understand that she was one of those rare people who didn’t really get drunk. Maybe she was a bit tipsy, or pleasantly feeling the rush of the screaming orgasms, although more likely it was the real thing. But she knew what she was doing, probably better than he did. She was really afraid of what he was going to do in the morning, when he woke up and realized he had gotten married.
She took a deep breath and held on to him as tightly as she could, pressing her face against his back as they rode back to the bar where, apparently, they were planning to celebrate. She was all for that or just skipping the party and going straight for a hotel room and hot sex. This was still the fairy tale, and if she could have Ice for this night, it was going to be the best night either one of them had ever experienced, if she had her way. If she had the chance to keep him, she would move heaven and earth to do so.
Still, she did promise herself, in the morning she would tell the entire truth to him—that she didn’t get drunk and that she wanted to run off with him and she would handle the annulment if that was what he wanted. She was always responsible, and she always took responsibility for her actions. Ice was a good man, and he didn’t deserve to be trapped into marriage.