by Colt, Shyla
She gasps, rubbing her legs together as her full lips part.
“The boys told me to take good care of you and that’s what I’m going to do.”
“Ro.” She gathers my red hair in her fist.
Wetness spreads over my panties. She’s not the only one who’s been doing without.
“Mmmh, let me have a little taste,” I say.
Cora sits up. Gentle brushes of lips become more, fast. She slips her tongue in my mouth, and I moan, returning the favor. She’s so sweet and soft, where Danny is hard. It’s one of the things I love the most about our play time, the contrast. Our chests press together. Her hard nipples graze mine. I rub my thighs together, more turned on than I could remember being in a long time.
“Fuck, Irish, you’re so sexy.”
Her words make me whimper. Who’s seducing who here?
“Are you ready for me to touch you, baby?”
“God, yes,” I say. She runs her tongue across my lips, rolling my pert nipples through the material of my shirt. My breath catches in my throat.
“You like that?” She rasps.
“Yes, Cora, God.” I watch her.
Her eyes are half-lidded and she has her bottom lip caught between even white teeth. I skim my fingers up her along body and cup her breasts, giving her the same treatment. She whimpers and together, we climb exchanging sweet kisses and heated looks without our men looking on and lending their encouragement.
“Are you wet, Ro?”
“Shit yes, baby,” I whisper against her lips. “Lie down and let me give it to you. This is about your needs first. You’re the one growing life.” I run my fingers over her belly and smile. “My Baby Girl, all grown up and becoming a mother.” I unbutton her shorts and pull down the zipper, peeling them down. “Commando?” I lift a brow.
“Kept soaking through underwear,” Cora mumbles.
“Don’t you worry, baby, we’re going to take care of that. Lift your hips up for me.” She did as I asked and I work the denim down her hips and long legs. I kept our gazes latched as I trail a finger down her slit. “God, you are wet and hot.” Gathering her moisture I rub her clit, delighted when she bucks off the bed and grips the covers. “You need it bad don’t you?” I ease two fingers inside her, savoring the feel of her heated flesh closing around me. She flexes her walls, and I moan. “You feel so good baby. Are you going to come apart for me?”
“Yes.” She rocks her hips up.
I angle my fingers, brushing against her g-spot. It’s different with another woman. I know the things that will please her and I like the feel of her soft, silken flesh. I like watching her come to life. I’ve always taken care of her. This is just another extension. One, I love more than I ever could’ve imagined. I often heard people say love and passion wasn’t about the package, but the person inside it. I understand that now completely. She shakes beneath me and I stay with her. “That’s it, beautiful, let go for me, come over my fingers.”
“Ro-Rowan,” she cries out.
The sound of my name on her lips as she finds release fills my heart with happiness.
Present
“Hey, where did you go?” Cora asks, waving her hand over my eyes.
“Just thinking about the first time we played solo.” I smile at the bittersweet memories.
“Good memory.”
I rest my forehead against hers and soak up the calming vibrations she sends out without trying.
“Get the lead out ladies! We need to hit the road,” Dallas yells.
“Always a charmer, isn’t he?” I joke.
Cora laughs. “Charmer, my ass. Come on.”
We leave the room that’s been Dan’s and mine since we moved in six months ago. Once she turned up pregnant, Dallas bought them a home of their own.
“Come on, let’s get this over with,” I prompted.
“Your dad is going to tear up, the old softie,” Cora says.
I smile. I’m lucky to have a dad who can compartmentalize his shit. The years spent in the MC haven’t tainted him like others.
We said our formal goodbyes at the BBQ earlier. This one was just for our families. Rule and my dad, Sergeant in arms, Randall ‘Brain’ Singer would dole out last minute advice hugs and in Danny’s case, threats. My gaze lingers on the warm beige walls covered with pictures from the past and representation of Wesson Rebels.
We exit the hall, and I smile at my father.
Graying in his beard and his hair, the dark brown has become salt and pepper. Pushing fifty, he’s getting up in age, but there isn’t a damn thing wrong with his mind. Known as the man with the plan, he’s gotten this club out of more shit than even I can imagine. He holds out his arms to me.
I go in like a pigeon to a homing beacon. There is no safer place on this planet than in my daddy’s arms.
“Always knew you’d be on to bigger and better, Rowan my girl.”
“Daddy it’s two years of college. Then, I’ll be back.”
“Maybe you’ll get a taste for the normal life. You and Danny were always a bit different.”
I pull back. “You don’t want me to come back?” My heart aches. Doesn't Dad want me with him?
“I do. I just want you to spend some time thinking. There are lots of things out there for you if you've got a mind to have it, and this life has a way of aging a body fast. Hell, if I woke up and nothing hurt, I’d think I was dead.”
I laugh. “Dad, you’re timeless.”
“Hmph, still trying to earn brownie points. You’re my heart, girl.”
“I love you too, Daddy,” I whisper, stepping back. If I don’t stop this now, I’ll be a bawling mess and neither of us wants or need that.
“You,” Daddy points at Danny. “Out on the patio.”
And it begins.
“Come and give me some time, little girl,” Rule booms in the sexy voice that makes me quiver inside. Pushing mid-forties and graying at the temples and in the short beard he often wore, the man doesn’t lack for sex appeal. Dark brown eyes sit in a strong face with a dimpled chin. It’s easy to see how Dallas and Danny came out so pretty.
I walk over to him and inhale the scent of leather and male that accompanies his embrace.
“You’re going to be fine. You two look out after each other, keep my son from slaughtering those college boys with wandering eyes and enjoy yourself. You always were into books and shit.”
I snicker. Since I became Danny’s old lady, he’s treated me like a daughter. “I’ll do my best, but you know, they call him Samson for a reason.”
“Yeah, I got the bail money ready. If you need anything you call, understood?”
“Yes P, I savvy.”
Rule rolls his eyes. “Smart ass girl, go see if Brain is done reading my boy the riot act, so we can get you on the road.”
With my past firmly behind me, I step away from Rule to get my old man and start on our journey toward the future.
Present
Now, the very thought of that day adds to the rocky ocean in my stomach threatening to eject my last meal. It’s amazing how that memory which once excited and filled me with hope, is now the start of a fall from a great distance. I glance at Danny, unsure for the first time in my life how to help him.
Some shit you just have to live through one day at a time. Do your best to keep your heart from shattering and your mind from snapping under the pressure…like Dallas. I glance at Cora and back to Danny, feeling torn. Who needs me more? Cora is taken care of by a man I don’t know or trust and Danny is haunted. I remain rooted to the spot, help to no one. This crash is just a part of our lives. Shit happens that would shake a person right out of their sanity, but we have to move on.
So, I put on my big girl panties, took a deep breath, and went to Cora. “I got her,” I say, glaring at Houdini to let him know I see right through his facade. Helpful and harmless my ass.
“Maybe she doesn’t want to go.” His soft voice might as well have been a scream.
I go ram
rod straight and all but yank Cora away from him. “She needs to be with family right now, Nomad. Come on, Baby Girl.” I wrap my arms around her shoulders and lead her over to Danny. The best thing to do right now is hold tight to one another. “Danny?” I say gently.
He looks down at me and the emptiness in his hazel eyes frightens me.
“We should go inside and get out of the heat.”
He nods dumbly and glances over at Cora. His face softens and he snaps back into action. It was second nature by now, fixing what Dallas has broken.
Now though, I’m wondering if it’ll be enough. When you stretch a rubber band beyond its elastic threshold, no amount of glue will repair it. What do we do then?
Flipside
Danny
I glance down at the two women who mean the most to me. For the first time, I can remember this is something I can’t fix. I gather my fragmented thoughts and run a hand through my hair.
“Yeah, I’m here. Come on, Cora. Let’s get you home. I’m sure R would like to see his mother.”
She blinks and I watch the fire come back into her eyes. You don’t get to mess with this mama bear when it comes to her cub.
“Oh, my God, R.” She takes a deep breath and dashes the tears from her face. “Of course, I need to be strong for him.”
“Hey, you’re not alone, you know that, right?” I ask, looking at Rowan who nods.
“Never, Baby Girl. You know we and the rest of Wesson, always have you.”
A shutter comes down over her eyes and her face takes on a harsh expression I’ve never seen before. “It’s time I take care of myself I think,” Cora says.
The words are a blow to my already fragile headspace. It’s like the world's gone insane, and toppled on its head. My brain feels like it’s going to explode at any moment. I curse the day we left the club and tried to branch out to college. I knew this shit was going to boil over. Maybe if I’d been here, we wouldn’t be in this situation. Everyone has their role to play in life and mine has always been the restorer. I clean up the messes Dallas makes, it’s how we function. Because with the weight placed on him, he doesn’t have the luxury of niceties. Add another line to my list of sins and disappointments. I wrap my arms around the girls’ shoulders and mentally retrace the steps that led us here.
Past
The sound of the Wesson ringtone in the middle of the night wakes me. I fumble blindly and snatch the phone off my nightstand. “Yeah?”
“Danny man, I miss you.”
The drunken sound of my older brother makes me laugh. “Yeah, I miss you too, Dall. What’s going on?”
“Had it out…with Cora.” His words slur.
“Oh yeah, and how did that go?”
Rowan stirs in the bed beside me. I run a comforting hand down her back and slip out of bed. This isn’t club business. This is Dallas drama.
“Not sure. Had to break through that shell she’s placed around herself.”
“Yeah.” I shut the bedroom door behind me, gently and sit on the couch. “Did you call me just to tell me that?”
“Nope, guess I needed uh—moral support.”
I snort. “Alright, I think I can swing that.”
“Were you asleep?”
“Uh, Yeah, it’s like two in the morning.”
“But you’re in college. Shouldn’t you be out partying and shit?”
“Ro and I have done enough of that. If we want to get in and out of here, we need to pay attention in class.”
“Boring, if I were you two, I’d be living it up right now.”
I shake my head. “How’s shit down that way?” It wasn’t like Dallas to call me just to share his feelings. Usually, I get the run off when he’s stressing.
“The air is getting heavy, brother,” Dallas says.
“Oh yeah?” I try to read between the lines.
“Yeah, dark days are coming.”
I close my eyes tight and massage my temples. War would be arriving sooner than I thought. I’m not ready for the type of devastation that shit brought. We’ve lost enough already.
“I’m trying to get shit squared ahead of time with Cora before I’m hitting the pavement regularly. She’s fucking stubborn as shit though.”
The switch of topics is enough to make me dizzy, but I’d grown used to the way his frazzled mind works. “Yeah, she is Rufus’ daughter.”
“Just rub that shit in, why don’t you? From the minute, she fucking looked at me in the hospital that was it and you know it.”
I smirked. I could vaguely recall my five-year-old brother besotted by the brown skinned bundle Uncle Rufus carried around like a priceless heirloom. “You could’ve protected her without being with her,” I point out.
“There’d be a trail of dead bodies behind her if I hadn’t stepped up when I did,” Dallas says.
“Yeah, I hear you.” I think about the red-haired witch in my bed. I’ve never seen anyone but her from the time we hit our preteens. It made sense being together as MC Kids, but our compatibility was rare. Of course with Brain as her father, she’d be smart as shit.
“How’s Irish?”
“Good, missing everyone back home. But she’s enjoying the classes.”
“Yeah, well, she would,” Dallas replies.
“Don’t make it sound like a bad thing.”
“I never got you two and this need to devour books. Shit makes my head hurt.”
“I feel the same way about all the club shit you have to keep up with. Better you than I, any day. It’s quiet there, so I’m going to assume you’re at home?”
“Yeah. Just needed to deal with the shit going on in my head.”
“More than you and Cora?” I prod.
Dallas sighs heavily. “Shit, yes.”
“But you can’t say?” I ask frowning.
“Unsecure line,” Dallas replies automatically.
Red flags flap in my head. “You need me to come home this weekend?”
“I think it’d be wise.”
“Alright, we’ll head down first thing in the morning.”
“Thanks brother, I’ll see you when you get in, yeah?”
“See you then, man.” I hang up, feeling like the quiet before the storm will soon end. Setting the phone alarm for three hours from now, I make my way back into the bedroom and slip under the covers beside Rowan.
“Everything okay?” Rowan murmurs.
“Drunken Dall spilled some secrets. We’re headed down their way tomorrow.”
She glanced at me over her shoulder. “Is it bad?”
“Not yet, but I think it’s going to get that way.”
Rowan closes her eyes. Her brow furrows, bringing her two slim eyebrows close together in the middle. “I don’t like this.”
“Me either, Ro. That’s why we’re going to check it out firsthand.”
“College was good while it lasted, right?” she asks.
“Don’t give up on it just yet. If they wanted us down there before this, they would’ve asked.”
“Three months is more than I expected to get out of this move anyways.” She burrows in against me.
I wrap my arms around her waist, holding her tight. “Same here.” The first thing you learned, growing up…club came first. They drilled it into your head until it became a mantra. A way of life you lived and died by. You bleed for your club, hold them down, keep secrets and sacrifice, because in the end, it’s all for the greater good. People see my cut and think it’s glamorous. Truth be told, it’s a burden and a curse. You’re held accountable like a fucking soldier twenty-four seven, but they do take care of their own.
Sometimes, the good outweighs the bad and other times, it’s all you can do not to eat a bullet. A person can only take so much death, loss and pain. Wesson had been in mourning, but now we’re ready to ride on those who’d wronged us. The battle will get bloody before it gets better. Rolling Bones had a decent number of members and a reason to fight. They wanted to grow and Wesson had shit on lock. It never
ceases to amaze me what a man would do for land and power. Forcing my brain to shut down I close my eyes, I have a drive to make.
The wind on my face, the purr of my bike and my lady riding bitch did nothing to settle my nerves a few hours later. Every mile we gained added more stress. What did Dallas rattle loose? The man is a freaking tank. He blew up often, but him being shook frightens me. We rolled up to the compound and two prospects came up to the gate.
Flex and Shifty nodded at me and opened up the gates.
“Damn, two of them on guard and did you notice that gate was reinforced?” Rowan nods toward the gate.
“Yeah, I did.” I roll into the parking lot and park my bike at the end of the row. We dismount and head inside the club.
“Oh shit, college boy is back!”
I flip them off and laugh, accepting the hugs and slaps on the back as we were surrounded by family. There’s no feeling like coming home to the place you belonged. Nostalgia rushes up, wiping away all the reasons I enjoyed being away. I answer the questions flying at me and scan the area for Dallas. “Where the hell is Dallas?”
“Shit, still holed up with, Baby Girl,” my dad says, stepping into the crowd. “It’s been a rough week, Rufus crashed a few times.”
Rufus was in the hospital in a coma. “What? Why didn’t anyone tell us?” Rowan asks. Her face screws up into a horrified expression.
“We’ve had our hands full, trying to deal with the fallout. It got pretty ugly,” Rule says, pinning her with a glare.
Rowan bows her head, silenced.
I run a hand over my face. “How is he now?” I ask.
“Stable.”
“And Cora?” I raise an eyebrow.
“Shaky, but solid.”
We never should’ve left. My family is falling apart and I’m being kept out of the loop. I can feel the chasm beginning to grow between us and the life we’ve lived since we were born. Torn between dreams and reality, I straddle the fence in my mind. Do I come back, or stick it out up there? The wheels in my head spin furiously. I glance down at Rowan.
Her darkened eyes show me she too, is conflicted.