Read Online Between Embers (Lost Kings MC #5.5): A Companion to White Heat: Three Short Stories by Autumn Jones Lake - Free Book Online Page A

simmers over me for not being a better bridesmaid.
    We park and Z helps Hope out. She and Rock meet and, well, they’re in their own little world. Wrath meets Trinity and asks where Heidi and Murphy are. Somehow we lost them along the way.
    Z walks up and offers me his hand. “Hey, pretty girl.” His low, smooth voice does all sort of inappropriate things to my insides.
    My voice fails me, and I realize I’m staring at him like an idiot. Finally, I reach out and take his hand, and a jolt of awareness heats my body.
    He sort of dips his head, almost like a shy gesture. Z’s anything but shy, so I’m intrigued. “You’re…that color’s beautiful on you. You look amazing.”
    His words come out so serious that again, I’m at a loss for words.
    “Were you guys drinking this morning?” he asks as we join the others.
    “No. Why?”
    “You seem off.” He leans in close to whisper in my ear, “And because I need you fully sober for all the things I plan to do to you when this is over.”
    Our eyes meet and he winks.
    He takes his place across the aisle from me, leaning over to say something in Wrath’s ear. The big blond chuckles softly and nods.
----

    “ T WENTY DOLLARS SAYS they’re fucking before this thing’s over,” I say to Wrath in a low voice when I join him on Rock’s side of the aisle.
    He shakes with laughter and nods, but doesn’t respond. He’s too fixated on watching Trinity. Probably thinking about what kind of wedding Trinity will arrange for them.
    My gaze drifts to Lilly. Fuck, she ripped the air right out of my lungs when I saw her this morning. She’s prickly, though. Probably have to trick her into marrying me.
    The ceremony’s over quick. Boxes of butterflies are passed around, and everyone releases them into the air.
    I’ve really had my fill of all this girly shit. But based on what I’ve seen some of my cousins go through with their wives, I suppose it could have been a lot worse. Rock’s a lucky bastard.
    Would Lilly be some crazed bride trying to micro-manage everything down to my underwear? Or would she be happy with something simple like this?
    I doubt I’ll ever know.
    Shit. In the last few months, I’ve watched the two people in the world closest to me voluntarily settle down. It leaves me coming up with a lot of stupid ideas.
    Unfortunately, the only girl on my mind these days is Lilly. Even though she’ll dodge me for weeks at a time, I still can’t get enough of her. The amount of fucks I should give that I have to chase after her are hard to come up with.
----

    “ Y OU THINK ABOUT GETTIN’ MARRIED ?” Z asks as he watches Rock feed Hope a bite of cake.
    The wedding was beautiful. Food has been amazing. Poor Trinity’s been running around all night.
    And Z’s asking me if I think about marriage? “God, no,” I finally answer.
    “Never?”
    A catch in his voice makes me turn my head. “ You do?”
    “Yeah,” he states matter-of-factly.
    “Why?”
    He stares at me as if a flock of butterflies just flew out of my mouth instead of a one-word question. “Same reason anyone does.” He nods at Rock and Hope, who are so immersed in each other it almost feels like an invasion of privacy to watch them.
    “I don’t think everyone who gets married has what they have,” I say as I turn back toward Z.
    “No. Probably not.”
    While I admire my friend for sticking by her man while he went through some trouble this summer, I know for a fact I couldn’t do it. Visit Z in jail? No way. It would break me. Not to mention how horrified my family would be. It’s not like I can’t guess that Z’s motorcycle club is more than a club. That they’re into some shady stuff. Maybe Hope managed to convince herself of her husband’s innocence, but since meeting Z, I’ve heard enough stories about the Lost Kings MC to know that they’re anything but innocent. While Z’s hot, great in bed, and super sweet, he’s not marriage material.
    I don’t think explaining any of