Chains by Kristine Allen
Nerves like I’d never had in my fucking life had me fidgeting and pulling at my collar.
“Stop it. You’ll fuck everything up,” Voodoo muttered behind me.
“I feel like I’m gonna pass out,” I mumbled. He chuckled.
“I’ll catch you, Sleeping Beauty,” he teased. I rolled my eyes but quickly straightened up when the music changed.
Staring down the aisle, I had a hard time catching my breath at the vision in white. Dark hair tumbled around her golden shoulders in soft curls. A stunning smile spread as she looked at me. Her slender hand curled around the crook of her brother’s arm as they slowly made their way closer to where I stood under the ridiculously frou-frou archway she’d insisted on.
I couldn’t quit smiling, no matter how hard the damn butterflies slammed around in my guts or how the collar of my monkey suit seemed to choke me. She was absolutely beautiful.
And she was mine.
She reached the front row and paused. My heart tripped. Was she changing her mind?
I needn’t have worried. She leaned down to press a light kiss on our daughter’s head where she sat in the front row in my mother’s lap.
“You sure you don’t wanna run?” Voodoo teasingly whispered. I didn’t so much as acknowledge him, because my attention was focused on the woman I love.
My brother, Maximus, sat next to my mother. It was still so weird that I had a grown brother I’d known nothing about. The thing was? He was a great kid—man. Things were a little awkward with him, my mom, and me, but we were working on it.
Ehria waved her arms and reached for her mother, but Jasmine smiled and bopped her nose with her finger, making Ehria giggle. My mother leaned down and whispered in my daughter’s ear, and she rested her head on my mom’s chest.
Jasmine continued toward me until she and Angel were two feet away. Blood rushed in my veins, my heart working overtime as I gazed at my bride.
From the second her hand rested in mine, I barely heard a word the officiant had to say. Voodoo had to nudge me when it came time to say my part. I startled, and my face burned as soft laughter bounced through the intimate gathering.
“Uh, sorry,” I whispered, then spoke my vows. I’d written them myself, and I was fucking nervous as hell.
“I, Nikolai Andreas Trinidad, take you, Jasmine Leanna Bearheart, to be my ride or die. I promise to be a pain in your ass but make it up to you every chance I get. You will never question my devotion, though you may question my sanity. I promise to give you lots of babies that are as beautiful as you are and to protect them with my life. I promise to be by your side through the good days and the bad, never wavering and never leaving you behind. I may not always be the easiest man to get along with, but I promise I will love you above all others for the rest of my days.” A single glistening tear trailed down her cheek as I finished. She gave a little sniffle before the officiant asked her to speak her vows.
“I wanted to write something flowery and profound that told you the depth of my love. Except every time I sat down to write the words, all I could think about was how you make me feel. So I decided to tell you. From the first time I laid eyes on you, I knew you were the one. Though it took us a lot of ups and downs and a few wasted years, we made it. You saved me in so many ways that I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am for your strength and your love. You make me a stronger person, and you make me believe in myself. Every time I lay my eyes on you, my heart swells and my stomach flutters. So my vow to you is to always do my best to ensure you know how important you are to me. I will always be your biggest fan and staunchest supporter. Nothing will ever sway my dedication to you and our little family. I will be honored to be your ride or die and to have your babies, though we need to discuss the definition of ‘lots,’ okay?”
My grin was ear to ear by the time she finished. I wanted to beat on my chest, swoop her up, and toss her over my shoulder and go somewhere I could bend her over and toss her dress up. We wouldn’t come out until she could barely walk.
The officiant cleared his throat, pulling me out of my head again. He wrapped the service up with a big, fat bow, and I waited for one single phrase.
“You may kiss the bride,” he said, and I framed my wife’s face in my hands.
“I love you,” I said before I brushed my lips to hers. I intended to keep it PG, but when her lips parted, I groaned, and my tongue invaded her. Her taste drove me crazy, and we quickly lost ourselves.
That was until the whistles, catcalls, and cheering broke through. With a smile, I reluctantly broke away. She sighed against my lips, and I swallowed her breath, drinking her in. Then I stole one last kiss before the preacher-dude announced we were Nikolai and Jasmine Trinidad.
Jasmine had wanted a traditional wedding with the pomp and circumstance to go with it. Unfortunately, she married into a crazy family of bikers. The sound of roaring pipes as throttles were twisted rang out over the typical music we were supposed to walk back down the aisle to. We laughed as we were pelted with birdseed as we hurried toward the clubhouse where the reception would be held.
Brothers from all over the country were there.
We started the reception line as the guests began to follow us in. I quickly slipped on a thin pair of soft leather gloves in preparation.
“Congrats,” Patriot, Rael, Grim, and Bodie said as they each shook my hand. No one questioned the fact that I wore gloves as I shook hands, when it was usually frowned upon. They all knew. Their ol’ ladies gushed over how beautiful Jasmine’s dress was as they hugged her and welcomed her to the family.
“Chains, you still owe me that ink,” said Axel with a grin. He and the rest of the Flagstaff chapter had made the trip up for the wedding. The four months I’d spent with them brought us pretty close, and they were as much my family as my own chapter. They each congratulated us as their ol’ ladies hugged me and Jasmine.
“Chains,” Jameson said with his usual stoic demeanor when he shook my hand. His ol’ lady, Sadie, hugged us both with a whispered “congrats” as they passed.
“My young Nico. I’m so very happy for you,” said Madame Laveaux with a fond smile. She framed my face with her beringed hands, then whispered, “You have made me so proud. Now I’m waiting for more great-grandbabies to play with theirs.”
She thumbed her hand at Voodoo and Kira.
My eyes went wide as she moved on to Jasmine. Voodoo laughed as he and Kira hugged me. “I take it Granmé told you? We haven’t said anything yet, so keep it under your hat.”
“Shit,” I whispered as I cast a sidelong glance at my wife. She might not be ready for that quite yet. Ehria was a handful. A beautiful, precious, and wonderful handful, though.
Angel was next, and as he hugged me, he whispered, “Remember, you hurt her and I’ll still kill you.”
As he stood back, he grinned at me and winked. Korrie rolled her eyes at him, obviously having an idea of what he’d said. I could only laugh, because I had no intentions of hurting my wife. Unless it was to smack her ass a little.
One by one, my brothers and their families gave us their best wishes.
The prez of the Tampa chapter, Nycto, and his ol’ lady, Eva, were next, followed by Void, Toxin, and his ol’ lady.
Spark and Croc even came with their ol’ ladies from Australia. Croc hooked my neck so hard as he hugged me, we nearly fell over. It was good to see him again and catch up. I had to tease him about how he was already picking up the accent.
Tarak and Edge were there from New Mexico with their ol’ ladies, which surprised me. I hadn’t seen them in forever.
Lean was there from Pittsburgh and his ol’ lady Mani was damn near making notes. “Thanks a lot, Chains, now she’s gonna have me in a monkey suit, too,” he said with an eye roll.
“I’m here to help out,” I replied with a laugh.
There was such an incredible turnout of brothers, I was blown away.
By the time everyone had run through the line, the drinks were flowing and the music was playing. Guests spilled out into the back that had been set up as overflow with picnic tables and another bar. The perimeter of the area was strung with lights from pole to pole that the prospects had busted their asses to get set up to Jasmine’s specifications.
“Can we get the bride and groom to the dance floor?” Ghost said into the mic that was broadcasted through all the speakers.
Jasmine and I made the rounds as we headed toward the dance floor. A smile so big my cheeks hurt couldn’t be tamed as I pulled her into my arms.
John Legend came through the speakers singing “Conversations In The Dark.” Jasmine caught her bottom lip in her teeth as we slowly moved around the dance floor. The words of the song resonated with me in a way not much else did. We often held each other in bed at night talking softly and sharing our dreams. She was perfect, and I wouldn’t try to change her. I would be there when she got lonely, and I wouldn’t break her heart. She was my everything.
“I love you so much, Mrs. Trinidad,” I said as I brushed a featherlight kiss across her perfect red lips. Her eyes glistened as I pulled back.
“I love you too, Mr. Trinidad.”
The song was wrapping up when a squeal caught our attention, and Ehria ran from the edge of the crowd where she’d been watching us. We both stopped, and I leaned down and lifted her as Jasmine kissed her cheek.
“Mommy! Daddy! Dance!” she demanded. Her dark curls bounced as she clapped and giggled while we danced with her to “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran. Her tiny beaded purse swung wildly on her wrist. It was hard to believe she was already a year and a half. Time had flown.
I spun my girls as we hit the corner, and they both were all smiles. Never in my life had I imagined this. My heart was so full, I could barely breathe.
“Remember you have something for Daddy,” Jasmine said to our daughter, whose green-gold eyes went wide. Then she fumbled with her little purse as the tip of her tongue peeked from her rosebud lips. She pulled out a folded-up piece of paper that she proudly handed to me.
With a kiss to her cherub cheek, I took it. Every little scribbled picture she made me hung in my room at the shop. This one would be added to the collection.
I carefully unfolded it and immediately stopped dancing. As I stared at the grainy black-and-white image, I swallowed the lump in my throat. My gaze lifted from the small picture to my wife, who momentarily went blurry before I rapidly blinked.
“You’re….” I began but was interrupted by my daughter yelling.
“I a big sista!”
Overwhelmed with all the emotion coursing through me, I lifted Jasmine with one arm as the other held our daughter and spun us around.
Best fucking day of my life.