Page 197 of Colt

A piercing scream echoed from the stairs outside the ballroom, followed by a woman’s voice yelling, “You asshole!”

We jumped up from our chairs so fast, they clattered back onto the floorboards. My heart pounded as we ran to the door leading to reception and the sweeping staircase leading to the rooms. The dimly lit hallway stretched out before us, and on the stairs, a tall, good-looking guy ducked out of the way of objects being thrown at him by some woman whose fury rolled off her in waves.

The guy was dressed only in low slung jeans, his bare chest wide and muscular as he held his arms out defensively. “Baby—”

“You told me you loved me!” the woman screamed; her voice tinged with anguish. “Then I come to visit and you’ve got some whore in your room!”

“Told ya, you could’a joined in,” he reasoned, ducking just in time to avoid the pot of cream that flew past him, shattering against the wall, its contents spilling on the floor.

“You’re cleanin’ that up, Rockabye,” Will snapped, approaching to comfort the woman who by then was in floods of tears.

“Who’s that?” I asked Colt, his hand warm on my shoulder.

“Rockabye,” he replied dryly. “The resident manwhore.”

“Rockabye?” I asked curiously.

“Herockstheir world then saysbye.” He shook his head frustratedly. “That’s the fourth one since I’ve been here. He’s averaging two a week.”

“Oh my God,” I breathed. “That could’ve been Bowie a few years ago.”

“This place is even more fucked-up than Wyoming,” Colt muttered, leading me back into the ballroom. “The guys here have all got a crazy streak a mile wide. Iceman’s one’a the fuckin’ sensible ones, can you believe it?” He shook his head. “I’m gonna have a job keepin’ these assholes in line.”

I slid my hands up his hard chest and clasped my fingers around his neck. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

He looked down at me, eyes clear and free of the demons that had ravaged him for as long as I’d known him. “I’ve got everythin’ I ever wanted in my arms, Freya. The job and the club’s a bonus I never expected.” The corners of his mouth tipped up. “Your dad called me while you were talkin’ to Mom in the kitchen earlier.”

My jaw dropped. “What did he say?”

“Asked me if I could keep an eye on the cameras remotely,” he told me. “Said things are getting weird in Hambleton and they need all hands on deck.”

I beamed a smile. “Did he act like nothing had happened and he didn’t give you a concussion at all?”

Colt dipped his chin in a nod.

“That’s Dad.” My lips twisted with humor. “Means he’s over it. He won’t apologize but he wants to move on.” I leaned closer. “Guess what?”

Colt’s eyes sparkled with humor. “Tell me.”

“I used one of his credit cards for gas by mistake, and it worked.” I grinned. “So I’ve maxed it out to furnish the bedroom in our new house. Every time we fuck on the new sheets I bought for the bed it’ll be courtesy of Dad.”

“I dunno if that makes my cock hard or soft,” he said thoughtfully.

I giggled. “We’ll find out in a few days. We can always give them to one of the brothers if you can’t take it.”

I’ll give it a good go,” he vowed.

My eyes locked with Colt’s ocean-blues and my heart skipped a beat.

We’d done it, against all the odds we were together, a couple, engaged, with a new house, new careers, but still lucky enough to have the support of a good club and good men behind us.

“This place will challenge us you know,” I murmured. “It’s crazy and beautiful but I have a feeling it’ll drive us bonkers too.”

“Whatever happens,” Colt murmured, his words a sacred vow that weaved around my soul. “We’ll face it together. You and me, Freya. Always.”

Epilogue

Colt ~ Two Months Later

---