by Naomi West
“Your face is easy to read.”
“I feel like I mention it every other day. I just wish we got on more.”
Rocky looked away absently for a moment and I almost cursed my stupidity.
“Sorry, Rocky. I didn’t realize…”
“No, it’s okay. I’m not fragile. I won’t break if you mention him.”
I nodded but I didn’t really believe him. He was more fragile than he knew.
“Do you ever think about your mother?” I said instead, though I wasn’t too sure why. It was something he rarely brought up, if ever, and certainly never with me.
“Not as much as I used to. I don’t really remember anything about her.”
I leaned over and placed a gentle hand on his arm.
“I wish I did,” he continued.
When we were younger we didn’t really talk too much about the fact that we only had one parent each. Some days I thought it was why we bonded so well in the first place. Two kids that were part of the club, though I didn’t know it at the time, both only with one parent and both just wanting a little more attention.
“You know the story around the club is that she died in a car crash while she was visiting her sister.”
“Isn’t that what happened?”
The way he said it made it sound like there was something more sinister at play.
“Fuck no.”
“Then why would they say that?”
Rocky let out a humorless bark of laughter.
“My mom split when I was about two or three. Probably didn’t want to deal with club life, I’d say. Dad didn’t want to admit to it at the time so he told the club she’d died. Can you believe it? Even his wife didn’t want to put up with the club. She left behind a note at least, if you could call it that. Not even a reason or an explanation. Just ‘I’m sorry.’ And nothing else. Never called, never visited.”
It was at times like this that I realized Rocky had probably kept this to himself for years, never letting anyone know his true feelings or his deep-rooted anger.
“That must have been hard as a kid.”
“I didn’t even know at first. Dad lied to me, too. It wasn’t until I was a little older and we were in the middle of an argument. I told him I didn’t want to be part of the club, I wanted to go off to college and make a name for myself. Not even sure if I believed what I was spouting, just wanted to make him a little angry. He turned to me and said, ‘Just like your mother. Not wanting to support me, not wanting to have my back. A true family we all are. Are you gonna run off and leave me behind too?’ He’d screamed it as well, right in my face, drunk out of his mind.”
At this point I was getting a little emotional. There were tears gathering in my eyes that I struggled to blink back. I was glad Rocky wasn’t looking my way so he wouldn’t think I was weak.
“I always thought you and your dad were really close.”
“I sometimes wish we were.”
The unspoken question hung in the air between us. Why was he doing this then? Why was he so intent on revenge?
“And then he went and died and I realized there was so much I never got to tell him. I never told him that I forgave him for being the way he was. I never told him that I didn’t hate him as much as he thought I did. I was just angry that ever since my mom left he put all his time and energy into the club and sometimes forgot about me. I just wanted him to be my dad.”
I couldn’t stand the distance between us anymore. I rolled over a little and wrapped an arm around his waist, placing a head on his shoulder and gripping him tight. He wrapped his arm around my waist and drew me further into him, allowing me to provide him with some small form of comfort. I had no idea how hard his life had been.
It was also very moving that he could be open with me and was okay with showing me his vulnerable side. I’d known that we had a deep emotional connection, but this just cemented it. I decided then and there that if the only thing I would ever be was just Rocky’s friend, then I would take it and never question it, just so that someone would always be there for him.
Mom was more right than she knew. He was hurting more than I’d ever imagined and I could never turn my back on him now. He was stuck with me for as long as he’d have me.
“I’m sorry for everything.”
“Don’t be.”
“I am,” I said firmly. “And I wish I could make it all go away.”
“I wish I could do the same for you. You had it just as hard as I did, worse even.”
“You can’t make that call,” I shook my head sadly. “And I’d go through it all again just so that I could be with you here and now.”
“You don’t mean that,” he said, turning his head away from me.
“I do.” I raised a hand to cup his cheek between three of my fingers and turn his head back to me. “Look at me. I mean it. I would do it all over again. For you.”
We stared into each other’s eyes and something seemed to click between us, something that I wasn’t entirely sure I understood or would ever understand.
Like neither of us could help ourselves, and I really didn’t think we could, we leaned in until our lips just touched. A spark spread throughout me, sending a shiver down my spine but I didn’t pull back. I couldn’t.
It wasn’t like the last time. It wasn’t frantic or rushed or animalistic. We took our time.
My hands trailed to the bottom of his shirt and lifted it up over his head, pulling my lips away from him for only a moment before I was drawn back to him like a magnet. I threw a knee over his lap so I was straddling him, allowing me to move easier.
I ran my fingers over his bare chest like I was exploring it for the first time. My hands were ice cold against his hot skin, causing an involuntary shiver to rush over him.
Rocky’s fingers were playing with the hem of my shirt, pulling it over my head in the next moment. His hands went to unclasp my bra and I helped him pull it off my shoulders, arching my back so that my breasts spilled out into his hands.
I was grinding into him, moving my hips up and down until I decided on slow circles instead. I could feel his thick length through his jeans, pressing into me and setting me on fire.
With Rocky’s thumbs playing with my nipples, I continued raking my hands over his chest. There was something special about just being so close to him.
I undid his jeans slowly, knowing I’d have to pull away to take them off completely and not sure if I would be up for that yet. Fortunately, Rocky made the decision for me, grabbing my upper thighs with either hand and lifting me up so that I was wrapped around him.
Rocky carried me off down the hall of his apartment, pushing open a door and walking inside. I could only assume it was the bedroom and I was proven right when I was laid gently down on a bed.
He peeled off my jeans slowly down my legs. Then my socks, one at a time. Next came my panties, which he slid down as deliberately slow as he could manage. As soon as they were off and I was naked, he trailed kisses up my leg, starting from my toes and ending at my thighs before switching to my other leg.
His jeans were still on, something that I was entirely not okay with.
“Rocky,” I said and he stopped his kissing. “Pants,” I responded to his raised eyebrow.
He complied with a smile, stripping them off almost as slowly as he did to my own pants. I only enjoyed the view for a moment before he returned to planting kisses all over me. Frustratingly, he stopped at my thighs and then moved to my stomach, up my chest, and over to my lips again.
“Everything all right, love?”
I almost hitched a breath at the endearment but pushed it to the back of my mind instead. He didn’t mean it that way.
“Rocky Weston, you are the biggest tease, you know that?”
“I know,” he grinned a boyish smiled that captivated me entirely.
He was poised over me but was slowly starting to press his entire body weight into me. There was something about having a man lying naked on top of me,
feeling him press every single inch of himself onto me that turned me on more than words could ever explain.
“Rocky, baby. I want you.”
“Are you sure?” he asked teasingly.
I was drenched beyond belief, my heart was racing and I was more worked up than I could remember ever being. That was what Rocky could do to me.
“I’m more than sure,” I affirmed.
In answer, he held tightly onto me and rolled us over so that I was now on top of him.
“Go on then, darlin’. Give it your best shot.”
I straddled him and moved my hands to his cock, hard and throbbing between my fingers. Lifting my hips, I guided the tip of him inside me, mouth dropping open in pleasure. I slid him in slightly further, enjoying the way he was stretching me fully. I could feel him so completely inside me and wished I could revel in the moment for longer.
Rocky was getting a little impatient though he was trying not to show it. I sped up a little, impaling myself further and further on him. I was panting now, but determined to continue.
“Any way you could speed up a little?”
Just as he uttered the words, I slammed myself down one more time and he pushed up his hips, his entire length filling me up to the hilt.
“Christ,” Rocky muttered.
Apparently having enough of me on top, Rocky flipped me around in one maneuver so that he was once again on top.
“Hey!” I protested.
Rocky pulled completely out of me and thrust back in and I was slick enough so that there was little resistance.
“Okay, continue,” I agreed and Rocky just laughed, pushing back into me.
He was moving at a leisurely pace now and I could feel my orgasm building up within me. Rocky lifted his free hand and brushed a stray hand of hair out of my face, gazing into my eyes as his hips move in and out. It seemed as if he was staring deep into my soul, giving me a smile that I could almost describe as loving.
“Rocky,” I gasped out and all at once my climax rolled over me and I shuddered fiercely as I came down from my high. Rocky followed soon after, exploding inside me as I milked him dry.
“Daria,” Rocky breathed heavily in the crook of my neck.
We rolled once more so that we were side by side and just regaining our breaths.
“This was definitely better than a stakeout,” I said.
“Definitely,” Rocky agreed and pulled me towards him so my back was to his chest.
I could feel him hardening up again behind me I gulped hungrily. I wanted him again. And again. And maybe another time after that. The truth was I couldn’t get enough of him, and I didn’t think I’d ever be able to.
Rocky seemed to have the same idea and as I brought a leg up to my chest, he entered me gently from behind. It was a different angle to before but just as good. Rocky thrust lazily into me until we exploded around each other once more.
We kept going for much of the night, finally collapsing in the early hours of the morning, entangled in each other’s arms and drifting off into a peaceful slumber.
Chapter Eighteen
Rocky
The low rumble of my motorbike engine as I started it up was like music to my ears. It felt like I’d never been this calm and focused in my entire life. After weeks of endless stakeouts and late night torture, it was finally time. Months of preparing for this moment and it was here. Jason Steele was going to die tonight and I was going to be there to watch it happen.
Garcia had contacted me the day before to tell me he’d set up a meeting with Jason Steele tonight and was going to carry out the hit. It was going to be simple enough; we were going to carry out the hit under the guise of a drug deal. Steele wouldn’t expect a thing, especially not from Garcia. Steele would probably bring a few men with him, just as a precaution, but I wouldn’t dwell on those too much. It didn’t concern me who got hurt tonight. As far as I was concerned, they were all responsible.
That wouldn’t necessarily mean I’d go out of my way to kill them but if it was a ‘them or me’ situation then I wouldn’t hesitate.
Cameron had wanted to be there as well. He’d initially told Garcia he was coming too which shocked me considering how he didn’t seem to want to be involved before. As far as I was concerned, my uncle wanted the results but didn’t need to be there for the method. So, it came as a surprise when Cameron had spoken about how he wanted to actually be there when justice was served.
Garcia stepped in though, changing Cameron’s mind with some hard-to-argue-with logic. My uncle was entirely too recognizable to take part in a pseudo drug deal. We’d be busted before we could open our mouths and that would truly be a disaster. So, Cameron was staying behind like I’d originally imagined and I supposed he would just have to be content with the knowledge that Steele would no longer be on this earth.
It was strange to think that in a few hours it would all be over. I didn’t really know what to feel. I’d been waiting for this day for so long but now that it was here, I didn’t know whether I should be excited or grateful or relieved or angry. I supposed it would become clearer tonight when I’d finally gotten my vengeance but until then I would be a mixed pot.
“Don’t think too much about it,” was the advice Cameron had given me. “Keep your eye on the prize and think about your dad. Think about the shock that must have been written all over his face when he was shot.”
That was a pep talk if there ever was one.
“Steele needs to die. Go make your father proud,” he finished.
It was his final words that made things a little complicated. Maybe you could say that I didn’t know my dad as well as Cameron knew his brother, but the words were still swirling in my head as I drove up to the Garcia’s warehouse to meet him.
Daria had made things a little more complicated too. I couldn’t help but feel guilty whenever I thought about her. She knew what she was getting herself into, though, and it was far too late to change anything now, even if I wanted to.
I finally arrived at Garcia’s warehouse and parked my bike outside, trying to keep myself as calm as I could before I entered the building. It would do me no good to get worked up and lose my cool, especially today. I knew if Cameron were here, he would tell me the exact same thing.
“Breathe, relax, keep your temper in check,” I muttered to myself before throwing open the doors to the building.
“Garcia,” I greeted. He was several feet away talking to the other men he’d be bringing along. There were two of them, and plus Garcia and I made four of us. That would be enough for the hit, especially since one of Garcia’s men would count as about three.
“Baby Weston,” he called back at me and spread his hands out in greeting. I let the insult roll over my shoulders. It doesn’t matter, I reminded myself. Eye on the prize.
I was introduced to his other two men, Lucien and Pedro, both of them greeting me as ‘Weston.’ I appreciated that they didn’t attempt to call me by the same name as their boss or we would’ve had serious problems.
Both men turned from me and to the table that was stacked with guns of all sizes. It was some serious firepower. Were we invading a country or taking care of one guy? I didn’t bother to ask as they began arming themselves to the teeth.
One of them, possibly Lucien, gestured at the pile. “Help yourself to anything.”
I kept my face stoic as I assessed their artillery. There was no way I would accept anything from them. Who knew what kind of strings were attached?
“No thanks,” I declined. “I’ve got my own.”
It was true, though not quite as extensive as theirs. My gun was tucked safely into my waistband and as far as I was concerned, that was the only one I needed. I was eleven years old when my father had gifted it to me, and so it was the perfect gun to use tonight.
“Alright men,” Garcia called us in. “We’ve gone over this before. It’s a simple hit. We’re arriving ten minutes before they are, so we have time to spare. Don’t let them be suspicious of
anything. As soon as they arrive we open fire. They’re going to retaliate quickly so we’ll need to take them all out. Jason Steele will not be walking away alive tonight.”
With everyone nodding in agreement, Garcia shouted, “Let’s go,” and we all headed outside.
We were taking a van instead of our bikes, which immediately set me on edge. I didn’t have the comfort of leaving in a hurry if problems should arise but I would also have more protection from bullets. It was a risk either way but I didn’t really have a choice as we all piled inside.
The meet spot was about a half hour away and despite riding in a cramped van that was more uncomfortable than I could imagine, we arrived in practically no time. The spot itself was exactly what I had predicted. It was a back alley in between two large apartment buildings that were near dilapidated.