Page 93 of Tainted Saints
“It’s just beginning,mi tesoro,” Blaine rumbles from next to us, and I twist my head to see pride making his chocolate eyes gleam in the dark like jewels.
“Reg, get rid of the trash,” Lan sneers, scooping me into his arms even though I know my legs can carry me now, but I don’t complain, I like being here too much.
“Yes, boss,” I hear Reg say, but I don’t look back. I’ve had enough of the man that used to be my living nightmare, I don’t want him to have anything else from me.
“Let’s get you home,” Lan suggests, heading back towards the bikes.
The cool breeze blows across my hot face, and there’s a smell of spring in the air. It really is as Blaine said, a new beginning. There’s a lightness in my chest, a breathlessness at all the possibilities that lie before us, and I intend to grab every single one of them with both hands, with my Saints by my side.
Epilogue
“Young and Beautiful” Scott Bradley’s Postmodern Jukebox
ASPEN
Two months later…
I take in a measured breath, exhaling slowly and then another, wiping my damp, trembling palms along my red sequin dress, much good that does me. The low murmur of the crowd beyond the curtains buzzes in my ears and makes my pulse jump, my muscles quivering.
“You ready,mi tesoro?” Blaine asks quietly in my ear, his large palm landing on my waist and squeezing gently. Some of the tension leaves me at his touch, and I lean back into his warmth, soaking in his steadfastness, using it to lend me strength.
“I think so,” I breathe out, smiling when he places a kiss on my cheek.
“And now, we welcome to the stage here at Tailor’s Ruin, Miss Aspen Buckingham accompanied by Mr. Blaine Garcia,” the MC announces, and the crowd erupts into wild applause, the sound making my heart thud loudly in my chest.
I take a final breath, then step out from behind the curtain, a smile on my red-painted lips. Stepping up to the old-fashioned microphone, I pause a moment until my eyes land on Forest, Lan, and Aoife sitting at the front, the boys dressed in nineteen-twenties suits looking too fine for words. Aoife is in a black-beaded flapper dress and looks stunning, the style really suits her, and I see more than one man glance her way.
“Good evening,” I say softly, and Forest wolf-whistles, my cheeks heating at the attention of my two men. “This first song is dedicated to my Saints.”
Giving the band and Blaine a nod, I start singing a cover version of Lana Del Ray’s “Young and Beautiful,” the crowd roaring their approval, couples getting up to dance, and all the while Lan and Forest keep their heated gazes trained on me.
As I sing the final note, they’re the first to leap to their feet, along with Aoife, clapping and cheering, and my cheeks ache with how wide my smile is. We launch into the rest of my set, and by the end, I’m so high I swear I’m walking on clouds.
Coming out from the dressing rooms, I head to the main bar to find all three of my Saints talking to the owner of the speakeasy club, Lark Taylor, and her four husbands. They have the same air of danger as my Saints, but when I catch Lark’s eye, she rushes over, pulling me into a hug. Her small, rounded stomach presses into me, and a pang of longing runs through me, reminding me of the time Blaine forced me to admit that I did want them to put a baby inside me one day.
“You were fucking incredible!” she gushes, letting me go but keeping my hands in hers. She’s beautiful, with tumbling, auburn hair and an emerald-fringed dress, and I’m reminded of the Christmas ball they held where she wore the same colour. She has an interesting tattoo across her sternum, birds holding chains in their beaks, as well as several others I can see across her exposed skin. “Tell me you’ll come back to sing again?”
“Of course,” I answer quickly, my heart racing at the possibility of performing here again. “I’d love to.”
“You were wonderful, Duchess,” Lan says in my ear, I hadn’t even noticed him sneak up behind me. A shiver cascades across my skin when he presses his lips against my neck. “And you look fucking stunning.”
Lark gives me a wink, squeezing my hands then letting go and stepping back as the other Saints surround me, Aoife joining us.
“You were fan-fecking-tastic!” she tells me, pulling me into a quick hug and kissing my cheek.
“The crowd loved you, sugar, as I knew they would,” Forest says as Aoife releases me and steps back. He has a wide smile on his face as he leans in and brushes his lips against mine. “You are a sensation.”
“Thank you,” I reply, leaning back into Lan. Blaine takes Forest’s place, Forest moving aside as Blaine hands me a champagne flute.
“Happy birthday,mi amorsita,” he says in that deliciously deep voice.
Lan steps out from behind me, holding his own glass up, Forest and Aoife doing the same. “To new beginnings,” I announce.
“New beginnings,” they repeat, the chime of our glasses like a promise.
I look into each of my guys’ eyes, all sparkling like jewels as they gaze at me with so much love that my chest feels tight. They might be Tainted Saints, but they saved me in so many ways and became the guardian angels I needed to take me from the dark and show me how to live in the light.
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