Damaged and the Outlaw (Damaged #4)

“Prove they’re not.”


Raven laughed and kissed me softly. After she fixed my hair that she’d mussed during the kiss, I took her hand and slid the ring over her finger that was still bruised around the knuckle.

“If you piss me off, I won’t leave you,” Raven said, caressing my cheeks. “I’ll just train you to be less annoying.”

“Oh, will you?”

“I’ll do whatever I have to do to make a life with you. I know who you are and I won’t expect you to be someone else. But yeah, I’ll train your ass when necessary.”

“Now, that’s wife material right there.”

“The ring is beautiful,” she said, staring at it with bright eyes. “Did you choose it?”

“Why?”

“Larry had his secretary choose my mom’s ring. He said guys can’t pick things like that.”

“I don’t have a secretary.”

“No, but you know girls who could help.”

“Did all the heavy lifting myself.”

“That’s so sexy,” she said, wrapping her arms around my neck. “You are so multifaceted. Mmm…I need you inside me.”

As Raven sucked at my neck, I lost the ability to think of anything except her naked under me. We hurried back to the cabin where she stripped down, flopped on the bed, and stared at the ring.

“I’m going to be the wife of a good man. I never thought that was possible.”

Kicking off my boxers, I frowned. Raven noticed my hesitation then rolled her eyes before turning over and wiggling her butt at me.

“Fine, you’ll be a good husband. Feel better, drama llama?”

Shuddering, I thought of how many times I’d tormented Judd with that insult.

“Don’t forget what I am.”

“The sexiest fucker in creation. A man who makes sure I’m happy because my feelings matter to him. I’ve never been with a man who did that. Not after they got in my pants anyway.”

Smiling, I stroked my fingers along her pussy. “You poor thing. Only a good hard fuck will help you forget those shitty men from your past.”

“Might need two or three hard fucks actually,” she said, throwing her head back and laughing like a giddy child. “I want to be mush when you’re done with me.” Raven glanced at me over her shoulder and gave me the most intense expression. “Own me, Vaughn.”

“Hell,” I muttered, caressing her with my cock, “you’re mine. If you leave, I’ll chase you. If you run, I’ll chase faster. If you let me catch you, I’ll make you my slave.”

“I’m not leaving you,” she said in a soft voice.

“No,” I murmured, caressing her hair. “No, you’re not. This is forever.”

Raven turned around and tugged me onto the bed. “I love you and I will forever.”

What began as a one night stand had turned into forever and I couldn’t wait to get started. Our life was bigger than just the two of us though. So while I wasn’t a party type of guy, Raven deserved to celebrate our engagement with friends.

Lark promised to make the get-together special and swore she and the girls could keep everything a secret. I put the planning in her hands except for one request. When I told Lark, she fell silent on the phone then burst into laughter. A part of me worried she wouldn’t go through with what I asked, but I didn’t want to nag. Not when she laughed every time I mentioned it.

Arriving at the bowling alley, I was relieved the girls didn’t go fancy. Engagement parties for rich fucks were at seafood restaurants or steakhouses. Maybe that was the right way, but I wanted to have fun, not show off. Well, besides showing off my hot fiancée and the ring she kept staring at in wonder.

The crew rented out the alley for a private party, so the parking lot was full of our friends’ cars and Harleys when we arrived. I walked inside with my arm around Raven’s shoulder and her snuggly against me. Our friends yelled surprise even though we knew they were there. Raven still faked like she was shocked, staggering and screaming. A laughing Lark immediately ran over and checked out the ring.

“I called this,” she said, glancing back at the others. “We all called it.”

Tawny nodded. “We wanted to bet money on you two hooking up, but no one was willing to put money against it.”

Kirk sat nearby with Jodi on his lap. “I would have bet it’d take you two less time. You dipshits took forever.”

Even wanting to put on a little bravado, I was fucking happy. Raven was everything I never knew I wanted. If I’d dreamed up my perfect girl, she wouldn’t be as amazing as what I found with her. Raven smiled at me like she knew we were blessed to have fumbled our way into each other’s lives.