Craving Rose (The Aces' Sons)

by Nicole Jacquelyn

  “I put a stop to it,” I said.

  “Well done,” Farrah said.

  “I was handling it,” Rose said stubbornly.

  I saw red. “You were handling it?” I ground out. “You think so?”

  “I know so,” Rose replied, standing up.

  “How you figure?” I asked, taking a step forward.

  “I would have taken care of it,” she hissed back.

  The tension in the room amped up as we stared at each other. I wasn’t real happy we had an audience, but fuck it.

  “By eggin’ him on?” I asked. “You think you can take on a grown ass man?”

  “I’d do my best,” she shot back.

  “Your best is shit,” I roared. “He coulda done whatever the fuck he wanted.”

  “No, he couldn’t.”

  “You got a piece you’re hidin’?” I asked. “Huh? You got anything to defend yourself?”

  Rose just glared at me.

  “You got a drunk, pissed off man comin’ at you, and you think it’s a good idea to call him a needle dick?”

  I ignored Farrah’s snicker.

  “I wasn’t just going to stand there and let him talk to me like that!”

  “That’s all you had to do,” I yelled, pointing at her.

  “Okay, lets all just calm down,” Callie said, trying to defuse the situation.

  “I’m her man?” I snapped, looking at Rose’s mother.

  She looked back and forth between us. “Yeah.”

  “Then you got no part in this,” I said, dismissing her as I turned back to Rose.

  “You didn’t think to bide your time and keep him calm and wait for me?”

  “No,” she said, shaking her head.

  “What the fuck, Rose?”

  “I wasn’t going to just let him do that again,” she shouted back.

  “Words hurt, huh?” I replied, getting in her face. I was so livid I could barely see straight. “You know what hurts worse? Fuckin’ fists.”

  “Come on, man,” Farrah said. “She gets it.”

  I ignored her.

  “You know what hurts? A man twice your size overpowerin’ you. Doing whatever the fuck he felt like doin’, and havin’ it easy because you were already half naked.”

  “I knew it wouldn’t get that far,” Rose rasped back.

  “How’d you know that?”

  “Because I knew you were coming,” she said softly, her eyes filling up with tears.

  “Jesus Christ, baby,” I said, letting out the breath it felt like I’d been holding since the minute I heard Copper’s voice in the woods. “You scared the shit outta me.”

  Rose was in my arms in the next heartbeat. Her legs wrapped around my waist like a vice and she pressed her face into my neck. It was then that I noticed how badly she was shaking.

  The other women left the room quietly as I stood there with Rose in my arms.

  “I let him talk to me like that for too long,” Rose whispered, her body shaking with a silent sob. “I couldn’t let him do it anymore.”

  “Fuck,” I muttered, turning so I could drop my ass to the bed.

  “What’s going to happen now?” she asked, burrowing her arms under my cut like she was trying to get as close as she could.

  “Gonna sit down with the boys when we get home.”

  “What about Copper?”

  “He took off before we got back.”

  “He’s still here?”

  “He won’t be showin’ his fucked up face around here this weekend,” I assured her, rubbing her back. “By now, every man in the club knows to keep an eye out.”

  “I braced my legs,” she replied, her fingers tightening in the back of my shirt. “I thought if he punched me, I just had to stay standing.”

  I closed my eyes against the picture that painted. Fuck me.

  “Next time,” I said, trying to keep the anger from my voice, “you talk him down.”

  “I thought you said he’d stay away from me.” Her voice wobbled.

  “He will,” I promised. “But if another man, any man, is hasslin’ you, you try to calm him down. You keep your smart mouth shut.”

  “I can’t promise that,” she said, pressing her head harder against my shoulder.

  “You have to,” I replied, using her hair to tug her head back so I could look her in the eye. “This ain’t about women’s rights, or me thinkin’ that a woman can’t do whatever she wants. This is fuckin’ survival, baby. You gotta promise me that you’ll do what I’m askin’.”

  Rose shook her head.

  “Listen to me, Rose,” I said, tightening my hand in her hair. “You’re brave as fuck. You don’t back down from a fight and I love that about you. But you’ve got no chance takin’ on a man that’s bigger, stronger, and meaner than you are.”

  “So, I’m just supposed to let them do whatever they want?” she asked, looking at me like I was crazy.

  “I’m sayin’ let them say whatever the fuck they want,” I replied. “You figure out how to get away, you do that. You can’t, I’ll always come for you. Always.”

  “And what if you don’t?”

  “Baby,” I said, pressing my forehead against hers. “If there ever comes a day that I’m not comin’ for you, I’m already a dead man, and you don’t have to worry about any promises you made to me.”

  The night was over for me and Rose. She was too freaked to camp where we’d been, so me and Will moved our shit over to where he’d set up. It was loud and we’d lost the privacy we’d had before, but Rose felt safe, so the other crap didn’t matter. We laid there in the dark, listening to the party around us long into the night. I wasn’t sure when she fell asleep, but I didn’t crash until the sun started lighting the inside of the tent.

  “Mack,” Rose woke me, running her fingers down the side of my jaw. “Have you seen my bag? One of the old ladies said I could use the shower in her man’s room.”

  Fuck. I hadn’t told her. She crawled around the tent, lifting up the sleeping bags to look under them.

  “Babe,” I said, voice rough. “Copper snagged it.”

  “He what?” she asked, turning her head slowly to look at me.

  “When we got back to the camp, I checked the tent and it was gone.”

  “He stole my backpack?” she said incredulously. “Why?”

  “Who the fuck knows? You remember what was in it?”

  “Just my clothes and a bag of toiletries,” she said, falling onto her ass. “I left my wallet in your saddlebags.”

  “Well, at least that’s somethin’.” I sighed.

  “He took my clothes,” she said, shaking her shoulders in a mock shiver. “That’s creepy as hell.”

  “He was probably just tryin’ to be a dick,” I replied, sitting up. “I beat his ass, and there was no other way to get even.”

  “He’s going to be pissed when he realizes I didn’t bring anything worth stealing.”

  “I don’t know, babe,” I teased, trying to lighten the mood a little. “That fancy shampoo you got costs a grip.”

  “My mom’s a hair stylist,” she said, rolling her eyes. “She’d kill me if I used something from the drugstore.”

  “Come here,” I ordered, reaching out and yanking her onto my lap. “You gonna kiss me good morning?”

  “You have hangover breath,” she replied, wrinkling her nose. She kissed me, anyway.

  “Everybody up already?” I asked as she pulled away.

  “Yeah, you’re the last one.”

  “Time is it?”

  “Two.”

  “Shit,” I grumbled. “I slept late.”

  “You needed it,” she said with a shrug. Her fingers played along the edges of my bruised knuckles.

  “How you doin’ today?”

  “I’m okay. Pissed more than anything. He’s always been a shitty drunk.”

  “Why’d you stay so long?” I asked before I could think better of it.

  Rose was quiet for a long moment. “Be
cause I told myself the good outweighed the bad, I guess.”

  “That’s a tough spot to be in.”

  “It was stupid.”

  “Nah.” I shook my head. “Wantin’ to believe that things will get better, or that shit isn’t really as bad as it is? Human nature. We all do it.”

  “You, too?”

  “Me more than anyone,” I said, Mia’s face flashing in my mind. “Come on, this is too heavy for our current digs. We can talk more at home, yeah?”

  “Okay,” she said, kissing me again.

  I followed her out of the tent and pulled on my jeans.

  “You realize you just gave everyone a show, right?” Rose asked, hands on her hips.

  “Nobody’s lookin’,” I replied, bending down to snag my shirt.

  “Everyone’s looking.”

  I glanced around the property and didn’t see a single set of eyes on me.

  “I’m jealous,” Rose announced. “You need to get dressed inside the tent from now on.”

  I tried to hold back my smile, but it was impossible.

  “I’m serious,” she insisted. “No more prancing around in your underwear.”

  “You ever seen me prance?” I asked, shoving my feet into my boots. I threw my arm around her shoulders and led her toward the house. We were still at least fifty yards away when I caught a whiff of bacon. Yes.

  “You know what I mean,” she said as we reached my bike. “I don’t want other women seeing the goods.”

  “Noted,” I said in amusement as I pulled my toothbrush and a tiny tube of toothpaste from my saddlebags. “You wanna use this first?”

  “Gross,” she replied. “I’m not using your toothbrush.”

  “Grosser than not brushin’ your teeth?”

  “Just give me some toothpaste,” she grumbled, sticking out her pointer finger.

  “You’ve had your mouth a lot dirtier places than a shared toothbrush,” I joked as I gave her some toothpaste.

  If I hadn’t been watching her face, I would’ve missed the flinch.

  “Hey,” I said, tipping her chin up with my hand. “I meant on me. You’ve had your tongue so deep in my mouth, I wasn’t sure which was yours and which was mine. Sharin’ a toothbrush is nothin’.”

  “I’m still not sharing one,” she said with a shrug, stuffing her finger in her mouth to scrub at her teeth.

  “Love you,” I said softly, watching her.

  “Love you, too,” she replied, giving me a foamy smile.

  The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful, but by the time we pulled into my driveway Sunday night, I was beat. Sleeping on the ground was fun when I was young, but now it just meant that I could never get comfortable and slept like shit. It didn’t help that the night before, I’d had no interest in drinking and hadn’t been able to pass out in the tent like I’d planned. Rose had spent the night laughing too loud and pretending that she wasn’t bothered by the shit that had gone down, which drove me nuts. Be upset, be angry, be relieved, be whatever, but don’t fucking hide that crap.

  “I’m gonna head home,” Rose said with a groan, stomping her feet to get the blood circulating.

  “You sure?” I asked. We’d barely gotten our helmets off and she was already trying to bail, which wasn’t usually her style.

  “No,” she said with an uncomfortable laugh. “But I probably should.”

  “Stay tonight then,” I said, as I emptied out my saddle bags. “You can head home in the morning.”

  “Yeah. Okay.” She nodded.

  We headed into the house and went directly upstairs, not even bothering to turn on any lights. Since we hadn’t been sure when we’d be home, my parents agreed to have Kara stay an extra night. I was glad we had the place to ourselves. I dumped my dirty clothes on my bedroom floor and immediately reached for Rose.

  “Let’s shower,” I said, tugging her t-shirt off.

  “Are you saying I stink?” she asked, giving me a tired smile.

  “You’re fresh as a fuckin’ daisy,” I replied, making her chuckle quietly. “But I’m ripe.”

  Rose faceplanted against my chest. “Smell good to me,” she mumbled into my shirt.

  “Just don’t get too close to my pits,” I joked.

  I stripped both of us down and as I walked her to the bathroom, Rose was unusually quiet. She was somewhere in her own head as I got the shower started and pulled her inside with me, closing the curtain behind us.

  “You’re gonna have to use the drugstore crap,” I said, situating her under the spray as I ran my fingers through her hair. “You don’t have any of the fancy stuff here.”

  “I don’t mind,” she replied, tipping her head back under the water.

  We were silent as she washed her hair, but my hands roamed all over her. I couldn’t help myself. Rose’s skin was so soft, it didn’t seem real. There were no blemishes at all beyond a few stretch marks on her tits that had long since faded into tiny white lines. My mouth watered as I traced them with my finger.

  “You have them, too,” Rose pointed out, opening her eyes. She reached out and traced the stretch marks where my chest met my shoulders.

  “My shoulders grew too fast,” I said, looking down at them.

  “So did my boobs,” Rose said with a shrug. “I’ve got a few on my hips, too.”

  “I know,” I said with a dramatic sigh. “I love ’em.”

  “What?” She laughed. “Why?”

  “Just do.” My fingers found the marks she’d mentioned without hesitation. “You’ve got four on this side and five on this side.”

  “It’s kind of weird that you know that,” she said, trading places with me so I could stand under the spray of water.

  “I pay attention,” I replied, shrugging my shoulders. I groaned as the hot water poured over my skin. Rose shivered and I tugged her against my chest. “We need two shower heads in here.”

  “And a bigger shower,” Rose joked. She reached for the soap. “I’m going to wash off and get out. I’m freezing.”

  Without a word, I traded places with her again so she could warm up. She was right, the shower was pretty small for the two of us. Hell, it was small for me. My shoulders made contact with both the shower curtain and the wall when I stood sideways.

  I couldn’t stop from staring as Rose washed methodically, working her way down her body. She wasn’t trying to be sexy, but she couldn’t really help it. Everything about her turned me on, from her smart mouth to the way she walked.

  “I thought things were supposed to shrink when you’re cold?” Rose said, glancing down at my erection.

  “Not when you’re standin’ there, soakin’ wet and naked,” I replied dryly.

  She chuckled as she finished rinsing off, then wrapped her arms around my waist. “Your turn.”

  “Go get in bed,” I said, pressing my lips to hers. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

  As soon as she was out of the shower, I let the weekend’s events roll through my mind as I washed up and rinsed off. I was going to have to do something about Copper. Even if the brothers voted to take his patch, he was still going to be a problem. He was probably already back in Sacramento licking his wounds, but assholes like that didn’t give up. He’d be back at some point just to fuck with Rose. He wouldn’t be able to help himself.

  From what Rose had said, Copper had never been violent with her. She’d been adamant about that. But in my experience, if a man was comfortable taking out his frustrations on his woman verbally, there wasn’t a whole lot he wouldn’t do if he thought he could get away with it. Situations like that escalated all the time.

  I flexed my fingers as I toweled off. I’d hit that motherfucker hard. I could have easily killed him, probably just a few more blows after he’d gone down and it would’ve been lights out forever. The only thing that had stopped me was the fact that Rose was watching. She didn’t need to see that shit, not from me, not ever. If I had the chance again, though, I couldn’t be sure I’d let him live. I’d do wha
tever I had to in order to protect her.

  Rose was still awake as I climbed into bed beside her.

  “Sorry, I tried to dry my hair with a towel, but it’s still pretty wet,” she said, curling up against my side. “It’s going to be crazy in the morning.”

  “I don’t mind,” I replied. I relaxed into the bed with a sigh. Jesus, I was beat.

  “What’s happening this week?” Rose asked sleepily.

  “Hopefully, absolutely nothin’,” I replied, closing my eyes. “Parents’ll probably come over for dinner at some point. Maybe have us to their place.”

  “I’m working every night but Tuesday, but let me know and I’ll try to be there.”

  She fell asleep before I could even reply.

  I was tired as hell, but I couldn’t shut my brain off. Me and Rose just worked. Being with her was effortless. I didn’t have to worry about what I was going to say or act a certain way around her; we were comfortable together in a way that didn’t need any of that bullshit. If it weren’t for the stuff with Copper, our relationship would’ve been completely drama free. I hadn’t realized how important that was until I had it.

  When I turned onto my side, she automatically turned in her sleep so that we were spooning. Yeah. I kissed her wet hair. This was it.

  And I’d do whatever I needed to protect it.

  Chapter 11

  Rose

  My apartment didn’t feel like home anymore. I came to the realization almost a week after we got back from Seattle. I didn’t feel relaxed when I sat on my couch or want to veg out in front of the TV. I didn’t sleep well in my bed. Everything felt too quiet now. Lonely.

  It didn’t help that I felt like I was looking over my shoulder all the time. Nobody had heard a thing from Copper in Oregon or Sacramento, which I wasn’t sure was a good or a bad thing. I hoped that he was embarrassed by the whole debacle, so he was laying low for a while, but I wasn’t counting on it. Copper was a coward. He only said shitty things to me when we were alone, knowing that he could twist the truth if anyone ever called him on it. Now that someone else had seen him being a dick, I wasn’t sure what he’d do. It wasn’t like he could play it off. Maybe if it had ended before he’d charged at me, he could have apologized, but that wasn’t even an option anymore.