large frame.
“Asking me to marry you when you’ve never even told me you love me! God! When Richie told me you were going to do this I didn’t even believe him!”
Mel’s voice cracked.
“I need you to say it, Kade. Do you love me or not?”
There it was. The straw that always seemed the break the camel’s back. It wasn’t like Kade hadn’t expected the question to arise eventually. Still, he couldn’t seem to get past the last part of what she had said.
She knew he was going to propose?
Richie was a dead man.
“When did he tell you?” Kade questioned, tensing his jaw.
Mel shook her head and laughed stoically.
“ Really Kade? After everything I just said, that’s what you ask?”
Kade lit a smoke and shrugged. Mel snatched it from him and put it out.
“He called shortly before you got here.”
What the fuck?
“But he didn’t just tell me you were going to propose.”
Mel placed her hands on her hips and stared Kade down.
“He told me why .”
Kade’s heart sunk as he remembered his drunken words to Richie. He started to speak but Mel spoke over him.
“I’m marrying her because it’s what she wants and the free sex for life is sure as shit a plus.”
Kade groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. Stupid. That’s what he was. A stupid fucking idiot. He tried to reach for Mel’s hand but she snatched it away. She threw the ring box at Kade and he caught it with unsteady hands.
“Look at you!”
“You can’t even say the word love and here you are wanting to get married!”
Her voice sounded empty and far away but it wasn’t quite as vacant as her eyes—two pools of blue that reflected her loneliness and longing for something more.
They always wanted more.
Here Kade was, offering Mel exactly that, but it wasn’t enough for her unless a blatant declaration of love was attached.
She wasn’t usually this cryptic.
They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity without speaking. For the first time in his life Kade felt romantically vulnerable. Here he was, as far out of his comfort zone as he could possibly fucking get, asking a woman to marry him, and all she could find it in herself to give him was silence.
Kade relented, pushing the words from his throat. He couldn’t take it anymore.
“I love you.”
“If that’s what you need to hear to know how serious I am, then there it is.”
“I love you and I want you to be my wife.”
Mel turned to look out the window in quiet contemplation. Snow had begun to fall and white flakes covered the glass. She looked down at the ring on her finger and sighed, gripping the counter and turning to look back at Kade, eyes blazing.
“Alright.”
Kade frowned.
“Alright?”
Mel nodded.
“I’ll marry you.”
Without another word, Kade jumped to his feet and embraced her. He pressed wet kisses along her jaw and neckline, taking his time to make her feel good.
It wasn’t love...but it was something.
Chapter Nine
N ash secured Richie’s arms behind his back as he struggled. Kade met eyes with him. A bonfire was burning a few feet away. Landon, Sergeant-of-arms of the club, held Richie’s cut over it, waiting for his order.
Nash had returned to Falls Creek early, three days after Kade’s proposal to Mel. When he had found out about everything that had transpired in his absence, there was no transparency made about what the consequence would be.
“Richie Kane. You have been stripped of your cut and disowned by the Sons for repeated acts of dishonesty at the expense of the club and your brothers, specifically, the deadly hazing of a prospect without orders. Your punishment will now match your crime. Is any of this unclear?”
Richie nodded and remained quiet. Nash gave Kade a nod and he stepped immediately forward, coming face to face with the man that had put him through so much shit just a few days prior. At first it felt impossible. Laying hands on a man he had once known as a brother. But an order was an
“Asking me to marry you when you’ve never even told me you love me! God! When Richie told me you were going to do this I didn’t even believe him!”
Mel’s voice cracked.
“I need you to say it, Kade. Do you love me or not?”
There it was. The straw that always seemed the break the camel’s back. It wasn’t like Kade hadn’t expected the question to arise eventually. Still, he couldn’t seem to get past the last part of what she had said.
She knew he was going to propose?
Richie was a dead man.
“When did he tell you?” Kade questioned, tensing his jaw.
Mel shook her head and laughed stoically.
“ Really Kade? After everything I just said, that’s what you ask?”
Kade lit a smoke and shrugged. Mel snatched it from him and put it out.
“He called shortly before you got here.”
What the fuck?
“But he didn’t just tell me you were going to propose.”
Mel placed her hands on her hips and stared Kade down.
“He told me why .”
Kade’s heart sunk as he remembered his drunken words to Richie. He started to speak but Mel spoke over him.
“I’m marrying her because it’s what she wants and the free sex for life is sure as shit a plus.”
Kade groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. Stupid. That’s what he was. A stupid fucking idiot. He tried to reach for Mel’s hand but she snatched it away. She threw the ring box at Kade and he caught it with unsteady hands.
“Look at you!”
“You can’t even say the word love and here you are wanting to get married!”
Her voice sounded empty and far away but it wasn’t quite as vacant as her eyes—two pools of blue that reflected her loneliness and longing for something more.
They always wanted more.
Here Kade was, offering Mel exactly that, but it wasn’t enough for her unless a blatant declaration of love was attached.
She wasn’t usually this cryptic.
They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity without speaking. For the first time in his life Kade felt romantically vulnerable. Here he was, as far out of his comfort zone as he could possibly fucking get, asking a woman to marry him, and all she could find it in herself to give him was silence.
Kade relented, pushing the words from his throat. He couldn’t take it anymore.
“I love you.”
“If that’s what you need to hear to know how serious I am, then there it is.”
“I love you and I want you to be my wife.”
Mel turned to look out the window in quiet contemplation. Snow had begun to fall and white flakes covered the glass. She looked down at the ring on her finger and sighed, gripping the counter and turning to look back at Kade, eyes blazing.
“Alright.”
Kade frowned.
“Alright?”
Mel nodded.
“I’ll marry you.”
Without another word, Kade jumped to his feet and embraced her. He pressed wet kisses along her jaw and neckline, taking his time to make her feel good.
It wasn’t love...but it was something.
Chapter Nine
N ash secured Richie’s arms behind his back as he struggled. Kade met eyes with him. A bonfire was burning a few feet away. Landon, Sergeant-of-arms of the club, held Richie’s cut over it, waiting for his order.
Nash had returned to Falls Creek early, three days after Kade’s proposal to Mel. When he had found out about everything that had transpired in his absence, there was no transparency made about what the consequence would be.
“Richie Kane. You have been stripped of your cut and disowned by the Sons for repeated acts of dishonesty at the expense of the club and your brothers, specifically, the deadly hazing of a prospect without orders. Your punishment will now match your crime. Is any of this unclear?”
Richie nodded and remained quiet. Nash gave Kade a nod and he stepped immediately forward, coming face to face with the man that had put him through so much shit just a few days prior. At first it felt impossible. Laying hands on a man he had once known as a brother. But an order was an
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