“And I love them.”

I brought her arm up from my chest to kiss her palm and then her scarred wrist. “I’ve been thinking,” she said.

“Mmm,” I murmured as I continued kissing along the scar.

“Since I’m going to be a biker’s old lady, I think I need some ink.”

I glanced up from her hand in surprise. “You do?”

“All of the girls have a tattoo but me, even Alexandra.”

I was once again surprised. “She does?”

Annabel nodded. “It’s somewhere hidden by her clothes. Somewhere only Deacon can see.”

“Mmm-hmm, and is that the type of ink you plan on getting? Something somewhere that only my eyes will see?”

“Not exactly.” She held her wrists up for both of us to look at. “I want to get the scars made into something beautiful. Maybe a butterfly on one wrist and angel wings on the other.”

I smiled, since it was obvious she had been giving this a lot of thought, even when we were apart. “Why those specifically?” I asked.

Annabel pursed her lips thoughtfully. “Well, a butterfly has a beautiful rebirth when it comes out of its cocoon, especially since it seemed like its entire world was over.”

“That’s true.”

“And then angel wings because it felt like at times I had an angel watching over me.” She smiled. “Or maybe you’re my angel.”

I laughed. “I think I would be more of the fallen angel variety.”

“I don’t mind.”

“I think you getting ink would be wonderful. I have just the guy to do it for you. I can make you an appointment when we get back.”

“Thank you. I would appreciate that.” She stared up at me with hopeful eyes. “Will you go with me?”

“Of course.” I pushed a strand of hair out of her face. “We’re a team now.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” She reached up to kiss me tenderly. Just as we started to get hot and heavy, my cell phone rang on the nightstand.

When I pulled away, she protested by gripping me tighter. “I need to get that,” I murmured against her lips. “Tell the boys where I am.”

“Okay.”

I reached over and grabbed the phone. “Yeah?”

“You’re in Virginia?” Deacon demanded.

“Are you tracing my phone now?”

He snorted. “No. But as your VP, I was just informed by a prospect that a very angry-sounding man by the name of Senator Percy called the roadhouse wanting to speak to you.”

With a groan, I glanced over my shoulder at Annabel. When her brows rose questioningly, I said to her, “You need to call your parents.” Then it was her turn to groan.

“Thanks, brother. I’ll take care of it.”

There was a moment of silence on the line before Deacon asked, “So you went after her finally?”

I smiled into the phone. “Yeah, I did.”

“It’s about fucking time.”

With a laugh, I said, “I assume that means we have your blessing.”

“It sure as hell does. Just get your ass back here ASAP so we can celebrate.”

“We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

“Later.”

“Bye.” I then handed the phone over to Annabel. “Deacon sends his love.”

She grinned. “He does?”

“Yeah, he’s glad I finally came after you.”

“That makes two of us.”

When she crawled across the bed to wrap herself around me, I shook my head. “Call your parents.”

“Then will you make love to me again?” she asked, her breath warm against my cheek.

“Babe, you don’t even have to ask.”

NINETEEN

ANNABEL

Getting home to Georgia took a little longer than we had expected. While I had bought some warm clothes and boots to make the drive, it was still blistering cold to be on the back of the bike for any length of time. But even with the extreme cold, I grew to enjoy riding with Rev. It didn’t take too long to see the allure that it held for him—the freedom, the adrenaline rush. More than anything, I enjoyed wrapping my arms around him and squeezing him tight. Although I’m not proud to admit it, I might’ve played on his sympathies a bit with worrying about me and the cold. The truth was I wanted nothing more than to stay in bed with him for a few days.

I don’t know who was more surprised by my insatiable appetite—me or Rev. But I couldn’t seem to get enough of him. I loved learning all the little things about him, like what made him groan with need or pinch his eyes shut with passion. It felt like I was discovering sex for the first time. In some ways I was—at least the new Annabel was. I knew there was still a wolf looming at the door, and at any minute this newfound perfection could come crashing down through flashbacks. But for the moment, I chose to be optimistic and happy.

Three days later, we pulled up at the Raiders compound. I was never so glad to see a place in all my life. Still, I was more than a little surprised to see the twinkling Christmas lights. “Who would have thought bikers would be so festive,” I remarked as I handed Rev my helmet.

He chuckled. “Trust me, we aren’t. That’s all for Willow.”

When we walked through the front door, a roar went up in the room. “WELCOME HOME!” everyone shouted. At first I felt completely overwhelmed, but the feel of Rev’s hand on the small of my back gave me the courage to smile and move closer to my new family.

As if they had been given a pep talk on how to treat me, they hung back and let me go to them. I was hugged and kissed by more people in the first few minutes than I had been in my entire life. At the back of the main room, Rev’s blood family stood anxiously awaiting me. I couldn’t hide my shock at seeing Mama Beth. She was never one to be in the roadhouse. I ran into her waiting arms. “I’m so glad you’re home, sweetheart,” she said, her voice wavering as if she was about to cry.