Page 42 of Ironside
“I’m right here, honey,” Pretty Boy said in a flat voice. “I can hear every word you’re saying.”
Lila smirked at her husband, cocking her hip.
“Don’t pretend to be a sourpuss. You benefit from my toy collection just as much as I do.”
Psycho whipped his head around to stare at them.
“What kind of toys are we talking here, Prez?”
“None of your business.”
“Do you have a favorite?” Trooper prompted,
“I refuse to be part of this conversation,” Pretty Boy mumbled into his glass.
“Cuffs and a vibrator,” Lila declared, loud and clear. “On him. Pinned down, tied up, with the highest setting pressed to his—”
“Goddamn it, Lila.”
Pretty Boy lunged out of his seat. But Lila was too quick, darting away, laughing.
While the club was distracted by Pretty Boy and Lila, Ironside and I slipped out the back door. Climbing onto his bike, we rolled out of the parking lot. Clutching the box of dilators to my chest, my pink diamond sparkled in the sunlight.
I snuggled against Ironside’s back, turning my face into the wind, while the road carried us home.
Epilogue
Lena - Four Months Later
“Where are you taking me?” I asked, gripping Ironside’s hands for support.
It was a chilly Saturday afternoon, with the first touches of autumn beginning to color the trees. Ironside and I were taking a scenic ride through the countryside, traveling the winding mountain roads before the first snow began in a few weeks.
Then Ironside pulled over and tied a blindfold around my eyes, saying that he had a surprise for me.
“Almost there,” he said. “No peeking.”
Judging by the uneven ground beneath my boots, and the feathery brush of something against my knees, I estimated that we were somewhere off the main road, wading through a field of tall grass.
“Do I get a hint?” I asked.
“It’s outside,” Ironside replied with a wry note in his voice.
I huffed.
“Thank you, dear. I already figured out that part.”
He chuckled. I tripped over something—a rock, or a patch of loose dirt—and stumbled into his chest.
“I’ve got you,” Ironside said, locking an arm around my waist to steady me. “I won’t let you fall.”
I leaned into him, taking a moment to soak up the strength and solidity of him. Ironside always had a calming effect on me. When I was stressed or anxious after a bad day, he would open his arms to me and I could stay there, wrapped up in his embrace, as long as I needed to.
“Since your parents are coming to visit us for Christmas,” he said. “I wanted to make a good impression. So, I thought I’d surprise you with an early wedding gift.”
“Reuben,” I chided softly. “You don’t have to do that. My parents are going to love you because I love you.”
He made a skeptical noise.
