"Fuck," I growled, leaning down to grab my wallet out of my pants, fetching the condom, making short work of protecting us before sliding my cock up and down her cleft, giving her a second to let the desire start to claw at her system again.
My cock slammed inside her, feeling her tight walls clench around me, pull me deeper, demand more.
And if more was what she wanted, more was what she was going to get.
My hands sank into her hips, dragging her up and off her feet, giving me complete control, fucking her slow and hard at first, loving the sound of her surprised gasp each time I took her as deep as her body would allow.
But as her walls clenched tighter, getting closer, my own self control slipped away, dropping her knees back down on the bed, my hand slipping between her thighs to work her clit, getting her desire all over my fingers before pulling my hand back, sinking my finger into her ass, almost coming the second she cried out, begged for more.
"Oh, God," she whimpered, fingers clawing at the comforter, ass slamming back into me, demanding harder, faster, more, everything.
My other hand slipped between her thighs again, pressing into her clit as my hips thrust forward, as my thumb did too.
And she fucking shattered around me, breaking me apart with her, both of us collapsing forward onto the bed, boneless, gasping for breath, searching for some kind of control over our own bodies again.
I don't know how long we stayed that way, recovering. It seemed like my body took three times as long to come back down, put itself back together as usual before I slowly lifted up, pulling out of her, giving her ass a little squeeze before moving off into the bathroom, dealing with the condom, washing up, and coming back out to find her still in the same position.
Her breathing was even, she just couldn't seem to find the muscle control to lift herself up, slide up the bed, slip under the covers.
"You alright, mami?" I asked as I moved to the side of the bed.
"I'd mock you for that self-satisfied smirk, but you earned it," she informed me, not even lifting her cheek up off the mattress.
"Come on," I said, reaching down to lift her up, placing her at the top of the bed. "Scoot over," I demanded.
"So I can be stuck with no escape?" she asked, small-eyeing me, but a little smirk was pulling at her lips.
"You're gonna be on me anyway," I reminded her. "In case of emergency, just roll the rest of the way over me," I added, snaking an arm around her shoulders, dragging her down onto my chest.
"Hey Roderick," she said a long moment later. I had been sifting through her hair, her body so lax I thought she had drifted off already.
"Yeah?"
"Merry Christmas."
My smile was huge even though she couldn't see it. Because it was that. The merriest of Christmases.
"Merry Christmas, Livvy."
-
"So you're why it was taking so long for him to get his ass back to Navesink Bank, huh?" Reign asked the next morning, dark brow lifted, everything about him in scary-prez mode even though he was usually a bit softer with women.
"And by that, he means it's nice to meet you, Livianna," Summer said from his side, knocking his thigh with her hip like she was silently chastising him for his lack of manners.
"It's nice to meet you too..."
"Summer," I supplied for her.
"So... you really just ran up while he was getting mauled and robbed him?" Summer asked, eyes dancing.
"Not one of my finer moments," Liv said, shaking her head. "I did nurse that arm back to health eventually," she added, clearly feeling a bit like she was on trial with all my people around... and none of her own.
"It's cool. I gave Edison a black eye last week. No hard feelings, right?" Lenny asked, patting him on the stomach as she moved past.
The door behind Reign opened, bringing in Adler and Lou, making Liv's brow raise.
"You!" she said, faking anger. "You snitched on me."
Lou actually looked a bit guilty at that, shaking her head. "I mean... you did bring it on yourself in a way," Lou told her, shrugging.
"So this is the gun runner ya refused to talk to me about," Adler said, nodding at Liv. "I even used naked persuasion and everything."
"That is Adler," I supplied, noting that - aside from Reign and Summer, only the couples without kids were showing up at the compound the day after Christmas. And, according to Reign when I'd pulled him aside before Liv came out of the shower, the boys were too busy on their video games to even notice they were gone.
"Adler," Liv mused. "Underground fighting. Bought a dog for your girl."
"He's been talking 'bout me, huh?"
"I got some quick bullet points on all of you, I think. Summer who cannot be trusted around an AK-47."
"Hey!" Summer objected, shooting daggers at me.
"Andddd... Lenny works at a dive bar for shits and giggles. Edison practically growls everything he says and occasionally slips into Romanian when he's frustrated."
"And me?" Reign asked, head ducked to the side a bit.
"You have a very good sense of humor," she supplied. "Though this I-am-going-to-grumble-and-glower-at-you-so-you-know-I-mean-business thing kind of contradicts that."
"Oh, don't get me wrong, babe, I think it's fuckin' hilarious that you pulled a fast one on Roderick. That being said, I'm pretty serious about people fuckin' with my club. We've had enough of that lately."
"I brought it back," she reminded him. "And it was never personal. I needed the gun like you did. And, trust me, I've learned my lesson."
"Heard about that," Reign said, nodding, eyes going a little less guarded. "Glad you made it out of there."
"We're going to have to introduce this Astrid girl to Lo and Jstorm," Lou decided. "I mean if you guys decide to set up shop here. I think Lo could make use of someone with her skills."
"Thinking about setting up shop here?" Reign asked, voice a little rough again.
To that, Summer rolled her eyes, patting her hand on his stomach. "I think everyone is getting a bit ahead of themselves. Roderick and Liv are just... testing things out. So we can all stop questioning them. And grumbling at them," she said with a pointed look up at her husband. "Liv, did you get any coffee yet?" she asked, very clearly trying to get her out of the hot seat, something I could kiss her for.
"No, actually."
And with that, the women all walked away, leaving me in the hot seat. which was fine. I had been in it for weeks now. I was getting used to the heat.
"She has no plans to fuck with club business," I insisted when we were alone. "She has her own list of contacts and clients. And trust me when I say she more than paid for her mistake in taking from us. I thought the bastard kicked her skull in," I added, feeling the rage bubble up again, wishing I could resurrect the fuck just to gun him down again.
"Like that she called ya on yer shit," Adler added, smiling.
"I'm not asking that you give her access to the gun safe, Reign. Just let her stay here when she's in town."
Reign's lips twitched a bit. "If I said I didn't want that..."
"Then I guess I would have to get an apartment," I told him, lifting my chin a little, knowing I was playing with fire, that I was toeing the line with my loyalty. But I certainly wasn't the first - and I was sure I wouldn't be the last - who did so for a woman.
"Figured as much," he agreed, nodding. "It's fine. But if shit gets serious, we're going to need to address this again," he warned.
"I figured," I agreed, knowing there were too many loose ends in that possible future with the probability of her moving into town, what that would mean for both businesses, what it would mean for Cam and Astrid and all that.
I wasn't worried about Astrid per se. I'd gotten a text from her early in the morning telling me I better not hurt her girl or she'd go all Rambo on my ass. No matter what the future held, she would adjust, and be happy to do so if it meant Liv was happy. Cam was more of a loose end.
But that was something t
o think about later, when we were all together, when we could all discuss that kind of thing. However one went about having a discussion like that with someone who didn't, well, discuss anything.
We'd figure that out.
"Yo, it's you," Virgin called after a phone had vibrated on the bar. "Tell Ma thanks for the leftovers," he added, tossing my phone toward me.
"Hey Ma," I said, smile falling almost immediately.
"You'll never guess what I just weaseled out of your sister this morning."
Oh, shit.
"I expect to see her at my table on New Years, mijo."
And, well, there was no arguing with my mother.
TWELVE
Livianna
It was a big deal.
I didn't care how many times Roderick tried to feed me that bullshit about it not being a big deal; it was a big deal.
Meeting the family always was, right?
It was the basis of a ton of rom-coms.
There was always the jittery heroine being comforted by the hero who assured her that his family was going to love her, all the while the lying bastard knew damn well his parents wanted him to marry the girl next door with the twinkling laugh and not the uptight career-focused chick he actually fell for.
It was supposed to be hilarity that ensued, but it always made me feel squirmy and uncomfortable.
Now, that was fiction.
This was real life.
So that feeling was amplified by like a million, making me feel jittery and sweaty even though the compound was kept at a temperature Cam would approve of.
"Relax, mami. I promise my family isn't going to put you in the hot seat or anything. They know better."
"Because I am a criminal," I shot back, big-eyeing my reflection in the bathroom mirror while he sat off the edge of the bed like this dinner was not some giant test to our budding relationship.
"So?"
"So," I said, popping my head out into the bedroom. "I really doubt that your mother dreamed about you settling down with a woman who breaks the law for a living."
"Livvy, I break the law for a living," he reminded me unnecessarily.
"That's different."
"How?"
"Because they already love you," I told him, sighing as I decided that this outfit - my third one - wasn't going to work either. It was too casual. You didn't go to meet your boyfriend's mother wearing jeans and a plain long-sleeve tee. That was for when you knew them and they knew you and no one gave a shit anymore. I didn't want to go there looking like I didn't give a shit. That was not the right vibe to bring to this dinner.
"You're overthinking this."
"Am I? How do you know? How many women have you brought home to meet your mother?" I asked, nodding when he shook his head. "Exactly."
"My sisters have brought men home to meet her."
"Guys are different," I insisted, only realizing I was pacing when Roderick's hands shot out to grab me, pull me down on his lap.
"Yeah, because they don't give themselves ulcers over shit like this. My mom is going to like you. My sisters will too."
All five of them.
I had six people to try to impress.
That was a lot of pressure, the kind I wasn't used to. I never needed to try to impress anyone before.
"The club loves you," he reminded me as his hand started to rub reassuringly up and down my spine.
He had a point.
Over the past few days it seemed the word of me had made it through the grapevine, making all the members pop in to meet me.
Cash was there the next day, him and Cyrus giving me a bit of light and sweet among all the somewhat dark and serious that was Roan, Edison, Reeve, Lazarus, and Renny who - I got the feeling - was trying to suss me out. Roderick said it was a habit of his, trying to figure out what made people tick, why they did the things they did, what motivated them. It was a game for him. One he often took too seriously. So to beat him at it, I just gave him my story, leaving out the abundance of detail I had given Roderick, but giving him enough that he stopped looking at me like he wanted to poke at me until I combusted.
Not long after he showed up, so did Lo with a teenaged girl trailing behind her.
And I saw it in her.
The way I had seen it in Astrid.
The damage.
But also the potential.
And after only five minutes of talking with Lo, I realized she was just the person to take that potential, pull it to the surface, make it shine.
I'd briefly met Jstorm - whose reputation I knew because Astrid knew it - and her man Wolf who, in some ways, reminded me of Cam, making me miss him so much that it ached. We hadn't been apart this long since we had met all those years before. It was strange to be away from my people. I couldn't help but wonder if the sink was overflowing, if the mail had been picked up from the box, if anyone had remembered to drop the check for the rent in the mail.
But Astrid called. And always assured me that everything was okay even if mama was out of town.
She would probably tell me the same thing Roderick was, that I was overthinking this. that I should just be myself and if they don't like me, to hell with them.
Normally that would be my response. But I couldn't say to hell with his mother and sisters - these women who meant the world to him.
I needed them to at least like me enough to accept me. Because, quite frankly, they probably had a lot of pull in Roderick's life. Their opinions likely meant a lot to him. I didn't know what that would mean for me - for us - if they just put their feet down and said they all hated me.
"Let me up. I have to get changed real quick. I don't want to be late," I told him, giving him a quick peck to the lips to try to soften the somewhat harsh tone to my voice. Nervousness, apparently, made me a bit snippy. It was interesting the things you learned about yourself when in a new relationship. It wasn't all pretty, but they were all parts of me that I maybe never would have gotten to know if not for him.
I dug through my bag, finding the long A-line sage green skirt Astrid had packed for me for some reason, dragging out a white tank top and sweater she had as well, deciding it toed that line between casual and trying too hard perfectly.
I had just wiggled out of my pants, leaving me there in my bra and panties when Roderick moved into the bathroom, giving my reflection a small smile as he moved behind me.
"You're practically twitching," he informed me as though I couldn't feel that about myself. "I know how to calm you down, mami," he declared, fingers hooking my panties, dragging them down over my ass.
"We don't have time to..."
"To help you relax so you don't have a panic attack on my mother's doorstep for no reason? We do. We have the time," he told me even as his finger traced up my slit, making a tremble move through me, my body so overwrought that it was overly sensitive to every slight brush.
"Wet already," his voice rumbled through his chest as his finger pressed inside me, making a slow, deep breath escape me, all thoughts of worry washing away under the growing anticipation, pleasure, the promise of oblivion. "You want more, mami?" he asked, lips on my earlobe before his teeth sank in a bit, making my ass slam back into him, begging for more.
"Yes." My voice sounded choked, desperate.
"Yes, what? What do you want?"
"Quiero que estés dentro de mi."
I want you inside me.
A growl moved through him at that, a sound that made my sex tighten.
I didn't - as he did - slip into Spanish often. Likely because, unlike him, I didn't have people around me, people close to me who spoke it. So while I occasionally used it when talking to a client or some random person at a store or restaurant, it wasn't something that came so naturally to me anymore.
But, apparently, given his reaction, it was something I should utilize more with him in bed.
Because the second the words were out of my lips, he had somehow freed his cock and slammed it deep inside me.
My arm
went back around his neck as his arm anchored around my belly, both of us holding on, both of us knowing there would be nothing slow or soft or sweet about this. We were both too desperate for it, too far gone to try to make it last. We just wanted to find oblivion together as quickly as possible.
And so we did, both of us watching each other's reflection in the mirror as the orgasms slammed through our systems, stealing the air from our lungs, the sound from our throats, both of us coming oddly silently save for a hiss of breath, a sharp exhale.
He slid out of me slowly, pressing a kiss to my neck before moving away, grabbing a washcloth, cleaning us both off before sliding my panties back up my thighs, settling them over my ass.
"We're late," I declared, looking down at my cell on the edge of the sink.
"And yet you aren't freaking out about it," he told me, giving my ass a small pat before moving off so I could finish getting ready.
All said and done, we were twenty minutes late, walking up past a driveway full of cars, hearing raised voices even as we walked up the front path of the bungalow Roderick had bought for his mother, a thought that made my heart swell in my chest a bit.
A good man.
That was what he was.
A good fucking man.
Cam aside, I had all but forgotten that they existed.
But they did.
He did.
And his hand slipped down to lace into mine as his hand reached for the handle.
Seeming to sense my surprise, he gave me a small smile. "It's not my house, but it will always be home," he explained a concept I didn't understand myself. "You don't ring the bell at home," he added, bringing out hands up to press a kiss to the back of mine.
I took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly as the door pushed open, as the voices inside came to a deafening silence, all heads swiveling in our direction.
Roderick had told me a lot about his sisters, about their ages, interests, talents, jobs.
He had left out one little thing about them.
They were all just stupidly, unnecessarily gorgeous. Which was no surprise because standing in the middle of them all was an older woman - their mother - and she was just as stunning.
Roderick Page 18