Need Us by Amanda Heath Page B

bride on the dance floor. I don’t have all day, sir!” Chutney shouts, her voice vibrating the speaker next to my ear. I wince and laugh.
    I grab Channing’s shoulder and make him look me in the eye. “Stay away from Paisley. You don’t need that shit. I know how hard it is for you, even after a year. Getting up to your old tricks with her is going to set you back. And I don’t think I can relive what you went through.”
    He takes a deep swallow and nods his head. I turn towards the wedding reception.
    “Don’t get your panties into a bunch there girl!” I shout over the crowd, striding towards Wes in her beautiful gown.
    “You, kind sir, shall not speak about my underwear. That’s just rude.” Chutney’s blonde hair is down around her shoulders and she has her hands on her hips. “You hear that babe? Royal’s talking about my underwear!”
    I frantically look around for Chutney’s tall, dark and deadly husband. You don’t want to fuck with that guy. Even if I had all the guys at this wedding standing behind me, I’d still be scared to death. So would Chutney’s family and I’m pretty sure that’s why they let him marry her.
    Chutney is Ashley’s sister-in-law. Meaning Chutney’s older brother, Damien, is vice president of a motorcycle club. That means Chutney’s got a ton of over-protective dudes constantly watching her. Poor girl.
    Chutney’s husband raises his glass towards me and smiles. It’s not mean or predatory so I smile back and raise my hand in greeting.
    I take Wesley’s hand and put my other around her waist. Her hand goes to my shoulder and she beams up at me. “Are we going to Waltz? Yay!”
    I laugh as Chutney starts to sing some slow song I haven’t heard before. That’s unusual considering how much I love music. Chutney loves it more and probably knows every song ever created. Every band ever formed too.
    “You look so fucking beautiful, Duchess.” I lean forward to whisper in her ear, making sure my lips touch the shell. “I wanna eat you up.”
    I bring my head back and watch as she blushes and bites her lip. “You are so bad, Royal. I swear I can’t take you anywhere.”
    “I can’t help myself. You get me going and all you have to do is stand there.” She laughs and places her head on my shoulder as the song changes. I don’t even listen to it; I just want to hold my wife in my arms. “You really are though. Most beautiful fucking person on this earth, and you’re all mine.”
    “I don’t deserve the shit you say to me. I feel like a school girl on her first date every time.” She rubs her face against my chest and I know she’s trying to hold her tears in.
    I hold her tighter even though her hair is tickling my nose. “You deserve every thing I say to you. And probably more but I am only one man.”
    We dance for a while in silence just holding onto each other. I don’t notice the people dancing around us, or which song Chutney is singing. I just hold Wesley and pray to God I get to spend every day for the rest of my life with her.
    “Do you think Pierce and Rachel will be okay?” Wesley whispers into my chest.
    I smooth my hand over the small of her back, trying to relieve the stress I feel there. “I think your cousin is the only person on this earth who can get Rachel to do anything. So I’m positive they will work everything out. And I’m also positive I’ll be helping him bury Donovan’s body.”
    “I can’t believe Donovan did this. He used to be so happy and carefree. I remember that about him, clearly. What the fuck went wrong?” She sniffs and I know she’s on the verge of tears. I’ve had to chase more tears then I would like off this girl’s face because of her family.
    “Annabella.” She pulls her head away from my chest and looks up at me. “I mean, look what she did to Ashley and Victor. Whether or not she’s changed over the years, she still destroyed a lot of people.”
    “Well I’m sure glad she’s changed. Considering