Kings of Anarchy (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #3) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,134

smile on my face practically branded there. I was about to marry the most beautiful, smart-mouthed, badass girl I'd ever seen, piss Saint off better than ever before and get one up on my miserable motherfucker of a grandfather all in one fell swoop. Not to mention the consummating. There was going to be a fuck ton of consummating for sure.

I took Tatum's hand as I led her towards the front doors of the church, leaving our helmets hanging from the handlebars of my bike while Niall carried our new outfits inside for us.

The doors were unlocked and when we stepped through them, I spotted Father Bernard and the old organist Mrs Presley lighting candles in anticipation of our arrival.

"Ah, my children, what a joyous day this is," Father Bernard called as the heavy doors swung shut behind us and our footsteps echoed up the aisle towards him.

There was no mention of the fact that he'd only had an hour's warning to prepare this and provide us with a second witness - he was professional at least. And Niall had assured me that he would cover all the legal aspects involved too. All we had to do was show up, say our vows, kiss the bride and then go home and consummate the fuck out of it and Tatum Rivers would be mine forevermore.

"Let's get this over with quickly shall we, Father?" Niall said, grinning like a Cheshire Cat. "My pa has eyes and ears all over the city and I'm willing to bet we're on something of a time restraint here."

"Is there somewhere I can get changed?" Tatum asked, plucking the white dress bag from Niall's arms.

"I'll show you to the antechamber," Mrs Presley announced, bustling forward and leading Tatum away. I noticed she was maintaining her distance all the same and I wasn't complaining about that. I had no intention of getting close enough to anyone to risk catching the Hades Virus while we were out here.

"Do you think she's gonna climb out the window and make a run for it, lad?" Niall asked with a laugh as he lay down in the front pew, tucking an arm behind his head.

"Not a chance," I replied cockily and I was surprised to realise that I really was confident in that. And not just because Tatum knew she had to go through with this to be safe from my Grandpa, but because I was actually certain that she wasn't going to run from me. Not now. There was a time when I'd been sure she'd run from us one day and never once look back, but I realised that things had changed. We might still be a bunch of assholes who had bound her to our will, but we belonged to her now just as much as she belonged to us. She wasn't going anywhere, and neither were we. One way or another, the five of us just fit.

I stripped down in the middle of the aisle, not giving a shit about the priest's blushes as he flipped through his oversized bible to find the part he needed.

The suit I'd chosen was black with a black shirt to go beneath it. Nothing too unusual. But instead of pulling the jacket on, I tugged my own leather jacket over the dress shirt instead and I kicked my boots back on too. I hardly looked like the catalogue version of a groom, but my girl knew that wasn't what she was signing up for with me anyway.

I began to loop the tie around my neck and then thought better of that as well, tossing it aside and leaving a few buttons undone so that some of my ink was left on show. I wasn't going to pretend during this. I wanted to marry my girl for real, not just for her safety and I wanted to give her a real version of me for it.

Mrs Presley reappeared with a wide smile as she hurried over to take her place at the organ and Father Bernard beckoned me over to stand before him. I chose a spot six feet away just in case and Mrs Presley placed her fingers down on the keys of the organ and started up the traditional bridal march.

My heart was pounding in my chest as I turned at the flash of white which caught my eye and I found Tatum standing at the far end of the aisle, clad in a figure hugging white lace dress which spilled