by Karen Renee
Forks clattered on plates, and Neil had pushed herself away from the table, her life-long indication she was stuffed. Vamp had an arm around Rainey and was leaning heavily into her.
I slid my hand up Brock’s thigh, but he grabbed it to halt my progress. He lifted it away, but then put it back on his leg. I looked up at him, and he gave me a closed lip smile —if you could even call it that.
He leaned over while he squeezed my hand. “We have to talk, honey.”
I nodded.
The waitress returned to our table, and put a plastic credit card holder tray in front of Vamp. There was a gleaming green card on top of the white slip of paper. I felt Brock stiffen, but heard Razor’s irritated voice.
“What the fuck, brother? We talked about this before your brother showed up. We were splitting this shit.”
Vamp shifted in his seat as he put his wallet back into his pocket with the credit card inside. The sinister grin he shot at Razor made my skin crawl. “You talked about that. I didn’t say shit, which means I didn’t agree.”
Brock sighed. Then he murmured, “Thanks, Cary. Appreciate it. But next time, you need to run that shit by me.”
“Whatever, Brock. Just take good care of your woman.”
I shook my head before I said, “Thank you for dinner, Vamp.”
He turned to me and smiled. It was identical to Brock’s smile, but it wasn’t half as appealing to me for some reason. “You’re welcome. But seriously. Take care of yourself.”
I nodded. Then I felt my seat being tugged, and realized Brock had stood and he was ready to go.
Once I was standing, I grabbed my purse, but said to my sister, “Tennille. Great to see you. If you’re gonna be around–”
“No. We gotta get back. Leavin’ first thing in the morning. Should’ve planned this better, but I wanted my Marigold to see her sister while we were in town.”
I smiled. “Well, thanks, Razor.”
He looked over my shoulder at Brock. “Brock. Good to see you. Just want to say, I’m glad you realized my Marigold wasn’t for you.”
Brock spoke from behind me. “Marigold, huh? Well, you can have your Marigold. I’ve got a far more robust and resilient flower in my Sunflower, here.”
Neil stood up. “Will you two stop! Everything seems to be working out like it should be. Now, CeeCee, come give me a hug before you go.”
“I want hugs too,” Rainey said from the other side of Vamp, and I chuckled.
SOUTHERNERS GET FLACK for the “Southern Good-bye.” If anyone in my family was guilty of the lengthy, hard-to-shake good-bye, it was my sister. I didn’t understand this because when we were teens, she couldn’t stand when MeMaw and Mom would draw out the process of getting home. Now she was a master at it. Thus, Brock and I were standing near his vehicle while Tennille invited him and Vamp and Rainey to her place for mint juleps.
I had wanted her to wrap this shit up a long time ago, so I couldn’t keep myself from blurting, “The Kentucky Derby was two months ago, Neil.”
She glowered at me. “The Derby is not the only time for mint juleps, CeeCee.”
I pursed my lips and twisted them to the side, but to my chagrin, Rainey mumbled, “I kinda think it is.”
“Whatever,” my sister said, and looked to Brock. “Bring Cecilia. Juleps don’t have to happen, I just want to see you two.”
Razor wrapped his arms around her from behind jerking her back into his body. “All right. I think he’s got the message, Marigold. Seems I’ve taught you all too well. Bikers don’t need a reason to party, so they get to town, they’ll come by, I’m sure. Now we need to go, and so do they.”
I smiled at her, she pouted, but it was short-lived because Razor turned her around and led her to his Harley.
Vamp nodded at me. “Cecilia. Nice to see you. Take care.” He clapped a hand against Brock’s bicep. “Brock. Tell Gabe I said, ‘Hey.’”
Brock returned the bicep clap. “You stop at Dad’s tell him your damn self. You two ride safe. Love you, man.”
Vamp responded with a chin-lift and a grin. Rainey gave me a small wave and they left.
I shuffled my feet, and turned toward my car in the parking lot, but Brock wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I looked up at him slightly surprised.
“My car’s–”
He squeezed me and wrapped his other arm around my waist. “No matter where your car is, you’re followin’ me back to my place. You’re spending the night with me, and you’re gonna do that until further notice.”
My brows furrowed. “What? I didn’t hear you right.”
His eyes widened. “You heard me. You’re stayin’ with me. I’m not fuckin’ around with a former john, and a pimp who may or may not want you back. I don’t give a fuck. Gabe’s at Dad’s for probably the next couple weeks. You’re stayin’ with me.”
I knew Brock had some alpha tendencies, but this? This was not something I was accustomed to from him. I took a deep breath.
Letting it out, I asked, “If I say no?”
His grin was diabolical, but his brief eyebrow arch spoke volumes. “You feel free do that, Sunflower. But, to answer your question, you say no, I’ll thoroughly enjoy forcing your hand. You are not going to be unsafe while I’m around. You don’t have to sleep in my bedroom, but if you chose Gabe’s unmade, dirty-ass bed over mine, well. That would say a lot.”
“Why would I do that?” I blurted my question.
He shrugged. “I don’t know, but then again, why would you refuse staying with me when there might be some asshole lookin’ to drag you back to turning tricks?”
I sighed. “Nobody’s gonna do that, Brock.”
His arms tightened. “How do you know that?”
My head tilted. “Seriously? The fact I ran into that guy is sheer happenstance. Just because he knows where I’m working means bupkis. No way he knows where I live because getting to the parking lot for guests is a damn trick. Getting to the employee parking lot is an even bigger trick. Not a chance he’ll be able to tell this Byron bastard where I live.”
His arms were still tight, but now he took in a deep breath and it forced his torso tight to mine. He exhaled before he said, “How about you just humor me for a night or two?”
I glanced up at him. “All right. I’ll humor you, but I need to drop by my place to grab some stuff. Okay?”
His sigh included traces of a growl. “Fine, but I’m following you there, and hanging while you get that shit together.”
NINETY MINUTES LATER, Brock unlocked the door to his place and ushered me inside before him. He divested me of my duffel, but dropped it by the wall so he could use his body to pin me against the door while one hand went to the door above my head and his other hand took firm hold of my hip.
“Now, it got lost in the conversational shuffle at dinner, but you’re damn well gonna tell me why in the hell a week after the fact, I’m just hearing about this fucker seeing you at work.”
His intense blue eyes, the flare of his nostrils, and the firm set of his jaw told me he was holding his temper in check, but just barely.
“Our schedules were out of whack, Brock. And that is the truth.”
“Bull. Shit.”
My eyes widened. “That was not an over-the-phone conversation,” I hedged.
His head cocked to the side ever so slightly. “Funny. Seems you mentioned it over the phone twice. Once to your mother and once to your grandmother.”
I exhaled slowly. “Well, with you it’s different.”
He head straightened but jerked back. “Really?”
I nodded. “Yes. Really.”
“How?”
“Well, this reaction for one. You’ve got me pinned in, and you’re clearly unhappy. I wasn’t about to tell you about this over the phone, and...”
“And what, Cecilia?”
I looked to the side for a moment. His hand left the door and pulled my gaze back to his. With only his brows arching, he insisted I continue.
“
And we’ve needed to discuss my past a little further any way, but this asshole was not the way I wanted to start that discussion.”
His head shook. “What are you talking about? We discussed it plenty weeks ago.”
I dipped my chin in agreement. “Yes, but not before you got busy with me. We did not talk about if something like this happened. And I was grateful as could be that you weren’t around when this guy showed up.”
His frame stilled. I shook my head.
“No, Brock. He didn’t do anything, but I freaked a little. I hid it from the wife, but I knew immediately, you would’ve picked up on my freak-out. Seriously. You’ve said you love me, but God, if someone else runs into me –”
His body pressed into mine. “Someone running into you is not going to change how I fuckin’ feel about you, Cecilia.”
“You can’t know that,” I whispered.
His eyes widened. “I can know that.”
I closed my eyes. His finger traced my cheekbone. “Look at me, Sunflower.”
I opened my eyes. “Okay. Let’s say you can know that. I take you home to meet Dad and PaPaw. We go out to lunch or dinner on our own in town. Even if we stick to Fleming Island, it’s as good as being in Green Cove, which is to say it’s a damn small town. We will run into someone who knows about me. You can’t know you can let that shit go. And when you can’t let it go, it’s gonna fester, Brock. I don’t want to see that happen.” I pressed my lips together and then decided to give it all to him. “It would gut me for that to happen. I care too damn much about you to watch you resent me or suddenly realize how much of a waste I am.”
His hands brutally thrust into my hair at the sides of my head and he put his face inches away from mine. “You are not a waste, Sunflower. No way, no how.”
Even though it hurt the fine strands along my hairline, I shook my head. “When you hear what they say, you’ll think so. Just like Daddy.”
His face came closer. “I fuckin’ love you, so no way that can happen. And if your father said that and actually fuckin’ meant it, then I’m gonna have words with his ass.”
I sucked in breath, but to my dismay it was audible.
“Yeah. I mean that shit, honey. You’re not a waste. You’re the strongest fuckin’ woman I’ve ever met because of everything you’ve overcome. Some dickwad thinks he’s gonna drag your ass back to that way of life, he’s damn sure gonna do it over my dead body.”
“I’m just taking one day at a time, Brock. It’s not some overwhelming feat.”
His forehead lowered to mine. “You’ve made more changes in your life than most women make in the span of a decade. All of it is a feat, so quit downplaying shit.”
Those intent aquamarine irises filling my vision forced a curl of warmth through my torso which solidified my earlier realization. My lips tipped up a little, but I opened them to say, “It’s not as good as when you announced it, but I’m pretty sure I love you, Brock.”
His hands slid out of my hair and down to my shoulders as he pulled his face from mine. “You mean that?”
I pressed my lips together and nodded.
“Thank fuck somethin’ good came from this irritating conversation,” he said.
Then he lowered his lips to mine and kissed me long, wet, and hard.
Brock
WHEN I HEARD CECILIA’S small moan, I wrenched my lips from hers. She was breathing hard, and I was breathing harder. Part of me felt relieved, but I knew that wasn’t right. It wasn’t relief, it was satisfaction and a little bit of gratification that she loved me too. While I knew I couldn’t put a time limit on her returning the feeling for me, it didn’t change the fact I didn’t like my feelings hanging out there unreturned.
My thoughts were interrupted by the gleam of her huge smile. That reminded me to get back on topic.
“Love that you love me, honey. But, from now on, you don’t keep shit from me. Got it?” I asked, squeezing her shoulders.
Her head tilted. “I didn’t intentionally keep it from you. I planned to tell you this afternoon, then the dinner came up and –”
“Don’t care, Sunflower. No more. I don’t care what our schedules are like, whether it’s over the phone through a SnapChat. Hell’s bells, you could send me the fuckin’ message via smoke signal, I don’t fuckin’ care so long as you tell me when something that fuckin’ whacked happens. Comprende?”
Her chuckle was a single grunt before she said, “Comprende, B-Rock.”
“Shit isn’t funny, Cecilia.”
She sobered instantly. “Believe me, I know that, but a Snap to tell you about whacked shit? I don’t think so.”
My sigh was angry and I gave her a harsh look.
“Okay, all right. How can I soothe the angry beast which is you, at this moment? Do I need to make sure your brother is out of the apartment?”
“He’s back at Dad’s. Thought you heard me say so?”
She shook her head. “It slipped my mind. You get a wee bit intense when you’re angry.”
I bent to grab her bag. “Well, how about I get intense in an entirely different way, huh?”
She grinned and followed me to my bedroom. “Okay.”
After I tossed her bag to the floor on her side of the bed, she cleared her throat. “Sorry to say it, honey, but I spent part of my day on the sidewalk outside the gift shop, so I have to take a shower.”
I shook my head. “Wrong, Sunflower. We have to take a shower.”
Her eyebrow arched at me.
I pulled my shirt over my head in response. “Let’s go, woman.”
She unbuttoned her blouse while her eyes grazed over my chest, but I swooped in and laid her out in my bed.
“Brock! I’m serious. I got all sweaty today and I–”
I leaned over to kiss her hard and quick. “I don’t fuckin’ care because for one damn thing I’m gonna make you sweaty all over again, but in a good way. And if you smell, that’s fine too, because I intend to fuck you so hard if you didn’t smell, you would afterward.”
Her eyes flared. “You can’t be serious.”
“You love me?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Then get your pants off,” I ordered while I did the same.
TO SAY CECILIA RETURNING my love made for even better sex was like saying sugar made cotton candy sweeter. She took me on her back with her legs draped over my biceps and we held eye-contact the entire time. I watched her come twice before I finished inside her. Mentally, I told myself to find out if she was on the pill or something because ditching the condoms was definitely in order.
After our shower, Cecilia unearthed some orange sherbet from the back of the freezer and an aerosol can of whipped cream. She made us both bowls of dessert, and we vegged in front of the living room TV. As soon as she was finished, I needed to chase the tangy sweetness of the sherbet with the tangy sweetness of Cecilia. I ate her out to rousing results for her, and after I located a condom in the drawer of the end table, I fucked her from behind on the couch.
Now, I had brushed my teeth and Cecilia crawled into the bed with me, her face slightly glistening from washing it.
She fell to a hip and curled up next to me. “Man, I’m thinkin’ I should’ve told you I loved you back when you said it.”
Forcing my arm under her body, I gave her waist a squeeze. “Say that again?”
She chuckled. “Just before you told me you loved me I was thinking this thing between us was just right. Then you said the l-word, and I freaked out a little.”
“A lot,” I muttered.
She swatted my chest. “Whatever. I mean, sex with us has always been really good, but if I woulda known it would get that much better, I definitely would’ve told you sooner.”
I shook my head against my pillow. “No way, Sunflower. I don’t want you sayin’ shit to appease me. It’s better that you be sure about your feelings. No way do I want you to lie to me, which would mean you’re lying to yourself.”
Her pale blue e
yes danced. “God, you’re smart and really sweet, Brock.”
Gently, I brushed her lips with mine. “Not so sure I would call it sweet, but I do think it’s real, honey.”
Her finger glided along my jawline. “You’re right. Speaking of being real, are you sure I need to stay with you? I don’t want to cramp your style, and one of us working nights while the other is on days, that’s gonna get old fast.”
I rolled into her. “No, babe, I got the next couple days off. Plus, I don’t like the idea of you stayin’ with two other women when some asshole might come after you. And, I didn’t say I love you for no good reason. I see this lasting a good long while. And by that, I mean I want to sleep with you next to me every fuckin’ chance I get. The sooner the fuckin’ better.”
Her lips pressed together. “So, you’re asking me to move in with you?”
“Yes, and no. There will probably be nights here or there when we have to sleep separate, and I can see where you would think it’s too much too soon, but when I say I love you, I’m serious. Which means I’m serious about us, and moving toward us having a future.”
She nodded, and I sensed she was trying to hide a freak-out. My arm tightened around her and I rolled to my back pulling her on top of me. Her hair hung down into my face, tickling me. I gently slid it to one side. “Honey, do not freak out. It’s like anything else. One day at a time, but in tackling each day, I think it’s important to keep your eyes on the end goal. You mean a helluva lot to me, and I don’t want to catch-as-catch-can. I want to sleep next to you, and as that progresses and builds, we’ll see where we go from there.”
She sifted a hand through my hair. “Okay, Brock. You’re right. One day at a time. And believe it or not, that first night you gave off a distinct vibe. You were after something serious, which honestly was another reason I tried to get you to take me back to the club before we even got here that night.”