Mom stared at him blankly, obviously uneasy about the odd way he was looking at her.
Suddenly, Jackson kneeled down and hugged her. He wrapped his large arms around her and held her. “I’m Jackson…”
My expression softened when I saw Jackson wear his heart on his sleeve. He acted like a tough guy all the time, but he was just a man underneath that rough exterior.
Mom returned the embrace, and a small smile crept on to her lips. “You’re a very sweet young man. It’s nice to meet you.”
Rome blinked her eyes quickly to rid her tears.
Jackson finally pulled away, looking just ghostly as he did before. “Thanks…” He rose to his feet again then stood beside me like he didn’t know what else to do.
We took our seats in the lounge chairs, looking at my mother with the partially completed scarf on her lap. Her short hair was curled and framed around her face. She wore a blue collared shirt with a white gold necklace around her throat. Her eyes were alive with brightness now that she had company to share the afternoon with. I could see so many of my own features, my eyes as well as my facial structure. I’d inherited my father’s rugged masculinity, as had Jackson. But the few soft expressions I possessed came from her. “We thought we could read to you today. How does that sound?”
“That’s very sweet, but no thanks. I would much rather enjoy a conversation with you.” My mother’s reaction to us was always different, and that was interesting to both Rome and me. Sometimes she wasn’t in the mood to talk. All she wanted was to listen to a good story. And other times, she wanted to chitchat. Her moods couldn’t be attributed to any specific event. That was just how she felt when she woke up first thing in the morning.
She eyed Jackson and me, her gaze switching back and forth between us. “Are you two brothers? You have the same eyes…”
Jackson was still incapacitated. Words didn’t form on his tongue, and he didn’t open his mouth to speak.
So I took over. “Yes, we are. I’m the older one.”
“That’s sweet,” she said. “You guys are close?”
That was a complicated question. “We see each other pretty often.” We didn’t exactly go out and get a beer together, but we seemed to be in each other’s business a lot.
She nodded. “That’s lovely.” She turned to Rome. “Are you seeing either one of them?”
Rome placed her hand on mine. “Calloway and I have been seeing each other for almost a year.”
Wow. I couldn’t believe how much time had passed. “Yeah.”
“Do you have a girlfriend?” Mom asked Jackson.
“Uh…” Jackson struggled to answer the question even though her interest seemed harmless. “No…no girlfriend.”
“Take your time,” Mom said. “You want to find a nice girl to settle down with. It’s better to wait for a truly fantastic woman than to settle for someone mediocre. You two are too handsome for ordinary.”
My mom still gave me advice without even realizing it.
“Keep waiting, Jackson,” Mom continued. “I’m sure there’s another Rome out there for you.”
Rome smiled at the compliment.
Jackson still looked sick.
I nudged him in the side, encouraging him to talk to her like she was a normal person.
Jackson cleared his throat. “So…what are you making?”
“A scarf.” She held up the piece she’d constructed. It was only halfway completed, but it was a nice mixture of colors, perfect for springtime. “I’m not sure if I’ll ever wear this, but I thought it would look nice.”
“Yeah…” Jackson cleared his throat. “It is nice.”
I knew I couldn’t push Jackson too hard. He wasn’t good at dealing with his emotions. I wasn’t much better, but I could handle difficult situations a little better. “Maybe you could wear it with a dress or something.”
“Exactly what I was thinking.” She eyed Rome before she turned back to her knitting. “But I think Rome would look much better in it. Just let me finish this up, and you can take it with you when you go.”
“Oh…” Rome flinched at the offering. “Thank you…that’s sweet.”
“A beautiful scarf for a beautiful girl,” Mom said. “It’s perfect.”
Rome smiled, her eyes full of tears.
Even when my mother didn’t know who we were, she still treated us exactly the same way as she would if she knew Jackson and I were her sons. That was the kind of person my mom was, always making everyone feel like family. My dad was such an ass to her. I was grateful she didn’t remember him.
Jackson must have had the same thought because he suddenly excused himself to use the restroom. “I’ll be right back…” He left the patio and retreated back inside.
Rome watched him go, sympathy written on her face.
I decided to follow him, knowing he needed some comfort in this dark time. Rome engaged my mom in conversation, so I slipped away without notice. I walked inside and reached the lobby where Jackson had taken a seat on one of the comfortable couches.
I sat right beside him, our knees almost touching.
Jackson stared at the floor. “Sorry…I just…I don’t know.”
“I get it, man.”
“She’s exactly the same, you know? She just doesn’t remember things.”
“Yeah, her personality hasn’t changed.”
“I feel like I’m talking to my mom…but she doesn’t know I’m her son…but I feel like her son.”
I nodded. “I get what you’re saying.”
“Makes me happy, but it also makes me sad.”
Those were the exact emotions I felt every single time I came to visit. “I want to tell you it gets easier, but it doesn’t. I guess I’ve gotten a little numb now that I’ve been visiting her more often, but even then, it’s not easy seeing her like this. But you know if the situation were reversed, she’d visit us every single day.”
Jackson showed his agreement with a nod. “Yeah…now I feel guilty.”
He should have been visiting her with me this entire time, but I certainly didn’t think less of him for it. “Don’t feel guilty. I know your absence isn’t caused by indifference, but pain.”
He finally pulled his gaze from the floor and stared straight ahead. “Rome is good with her.”
“Rome has a special effect on people.” She’d worked her magic the first time I laid eyes on her. After all this time, I was still just as obsessed as I was then. “Mom never remembers her, but she always falls in love with her every time she comes to visit.”
“Yeah, I can see why you’ve fallen in love with her.”
I didn’t agree with the statement, but I didn’t contradict it either. Love was a complicated emotion that was too pure for me to feel. My father claimed he loved my mother, and then he turned into a complete nightmare.
“I guess I can go back in there now. Just needed a moment to calm down. This is a lot harder than I expected it to be.”
“Just remember, Mom is in a great place. This facility takes good care of her, cooks for her, takes care of her medications. She’s in great health too. She does her hair just the way she used to, wears nice clothes…she’s the same.”
“Yeah, I know.”
I patted him on the shoulder. “Let’s get back in there. Visiting hours are over in about an hour.”
“Okay.” He took a moment to compose himself before he stood up, rising to his full height. He nearly as tall as I was, only about an inch of difference between us. “Let’s do this.”
We finally made it home and had dinner. We were both starving after spending the evening with my mother and having nothing in between. We ate at the dinner table like usual but didn’t make conversation because we were both too hungry to say anything. We scarfed down our plates then loaded them into the dishwasher.
I dropped my jacket over the back of the couch and loosened my tie before I sat on the couch. I usually showered after I got home from work, but tonight I was too drained to
care about completing my regular activities.
Rome sat beside me and kicked off her heels. She always massaged her feet because her shoes killed her feet, but yet, she continued to wear them. The stupidity drove me crazy sometimes. The only reason why I didn’t say anything was because she looked damn fine in those five-inch stilettos.
“Jackson is kind of a sweetheart,” she said quietly.
“Yeah. He tries to act macho, but he’s really a pussy.”
She sent me a glare because she didn’t care for my cold comment. “Calloway.”
When she gave me that no-bullshit attitude, I couldn’t help but respect her. No one else ever stood up to me, not even Jackson. “He has a big heart. He tries to hide it all the time, but it’s definitely there.”
“You’re both very sweet.”
That was debatable. Jackson and I both got off on whipping women, so we weren’t exactly Prince Charming.
“I think a real man wears his heart on his sleeve. I think a real man should love his mother. And I think a real man shows his feelings without caring what anyone thinks. Both of you are that way.”
“For the most part.” But we both possessed darker sides. If I could kill Hank and get away with it, I would. If I could have killed my dad before he’d had the chance to hurt my mother and me, I would have. Just because I hadn’t committed any sins didn’t mean I wouldn’t have, given the opportunity. I treated Rome with respect only because she demanded it. If she were a different woman, I would expect a perfect submissive or walk away. “With a few exceptions.”
“Well, I think you’re the greatest man I’ve ever known.” She held my gaze as she said it, showing her sincerity. The affection was in her eyes, the look she gave me countless times during the day. It was the same expression she gave me when we made love. I knew exactly what it meant—that she loved me.
I loved seeing that look.
“I think you’re the greatest woman I’ve ever known.” I leaned toward her and pressed my lips against her neck. The second my mouth was on her skin, my body flushed with heat. It burned my lips and made my mouth ache for more.
Rome’s body reacted to mine, and her hands touched me everywhere, moving up my arms until she reached the buttons of my shirt. She undid each one, popping them open until the shirt came loose. “Make love to me…” Her lips moved against my ear, her voice deep and seductive.
She never needed to ask me to do such a thing, but I loved hearing the demand anyway. I wanted my woman to want me as much as I wanted her. I wanted to give exactly what she wanted to take.
I moved her to the cushions of the couch and got her ready underneath me, not even bothering to take off all my clothes before I got inside her. My slacks and boxers were pulled over my ass, and my shoes were still on. Her panties were pulled to the side because there wasn’t time to remove them.
I shoved myself inside her, and that’s when the connection began. That exquisite alignment of heartbeats, the deep breathing we both shared, and the excitement that neither one of us could contain ran wild through both of us.
Now she was all I could think about.
And I was all she could think about.
15
Calloway
Jackson called me at work later that week. I assumed he wanted to tell me he would visit Mom more often, but that wasn’t how the conversation went.
“Do you think you could swing by and help me with a few things?”
I didn’t want to take Rome back in there again. When we’d dragged Jackson out of there, it was still awkward. There was no way we could both set foot inside that place and not think about what happened in the playroom. “Can’t we take care of this now—over the phone?”
“So, I’m supposed to read off everything to you?” he asked incredulously. “No, I’ve got more important shit to do.”
I rolled my eyes because I knew we were back to where we were. He was going to act like the conversation we had about Mom never happened. “How long is this gonna take? Can I leave Rome in the car?”
“Just take her home. You’re telling me she can’t be alone for thirty minutes?”
I didn’t like it when she was alone for even one minute.
“Hank obviously isn’t a problem anymore. You scared that bitch-face off for good. So drop her off and stop by, alright?”
“Fine.”
Jackson hung up without saying goodbye.
Wish I could say I was surprised—but I wasn’t.
I was only going down there because I was attached to Ruin. Even if I wasn’t running it anymore, I still cared about it. I wanted it to be in good hands. That place had been home to me for so long. I met a lot of friends there, a lot of submissives. It definitely had a place in my heart, as strange as that sounded. If Jackson needed help with a completely different business, I would have hung up a long time ago.
I finished the workday then picked up Rome at her office. We made it to the elevator without touching, but once those doors were shut, I cupped her face and kissed her on the lips. There was a camera in the corner, but that didn’t stop me from doing whatever I wanted.
I pressed her against the back wall as I kissed her, our bodies slowly descending to the ground floor of the building. Rome didn’t tell me to back off. She kissed me with the same slow passion, her lips giving me purposeful kisses that were innately sexy. I wished I could stop by her office whenever I wanted, just for a kiss, so making out in the elevator would have to suffice.
When we hit the ground floor, the doors opened and we walked to the car.
“I’m going to Ruin for about thirty minutes,” I announced once we were in the back seat. “Tom will drop you off at the house then come pick me up.” We were already on the way to Ruin, moving in the opposite direction of my home.
Rome didn’t seem concerned about it. “Okay. I’ll get dinner started.”
Even though she didn’t ask any questions, I elaborated. “Jackson said he wanted me to help him out with a few things.”
“You’re the best person to ask. You ran that place for years.”
I wasn’t sure if I expected her to disagree with my decision, but I was surprised by her reaction all the same. “You’ll be okay at the house by yourself?”
She had the nerve to roll her eyes. “Calloway, I’m not scared in the least. I’ll be perfectly fine.”
Rome’s fearlessness was what attracted me to her in the first place. When Hank assaulted her, she fought back and got away—multiple times. She didn’t roll over and play dead. She had a fire that couldn’t be put out with a fire hose. “Okay.”
Tom pulled up to the club and waited for me to get out. I turned to her. “I’ll see you soon, sweetheart.”
“Alright.” She leaned over the seat and kissed me on the mouth.
The second I felt her lips, I wanted to go home. “Don’t tease me, alright?”
“If I wanted to tease you, I’d do this…” She yanked down the front of her dress, showing her perky tits.
My face hardened with frustration and arousal.
“Don’t worry.” She leaned back and crossed her legs. “They’ll be ready for you when you get back.”
“Better be.” I got out and shut the door behind me. The bouncer immediately stepped to the side and allowed me entry with just a nod for a greeting. I buttoned the front of my suit as I walked into the darkness. Even though it was still early in the evening, there were already people dancing under the black light. Music thudded from the speakers and immersed me in the world I’d been born into.
I walked to the office and hoped I wouldn’t run into Isabella on the way. I hadn’t seen her since she dropped by my office about a month ago. I was ashamed to admit she tempted me, not because I missed her or wanted her, but because I wanted that relationship with Rome.
I rapped my knuckles against the door before I walked inside. “Where do we start?”
Jackson left the desk and walked back into the hallway. “Follow me.”
We crossed the bridge that overlooked the first floor and headed to the other side of Ruin where the playrooms were stationed. Jackson fished out his key card then walked to one of the playrooms reserved for either of us or VIPs.
“What’s this about?” I asked, trying not to jump to the wrong conclusion.
“You’ll see.” He got the door open and stepped into the dark room.
I followed behind him and waited for the lights to be flicked on.
Jackson hit the switch then pressed his body against the door, as if he was blocking it.
I didn’t like that one bit. “What are you doing?”
He crossed his arms over his chest then nodded to the center of the room.
Isabella sat on her knees, wearing a leather top and leather shorts with black heels on her feet. Her hair was in a braid over one shoulder, just the way I liked. As if we were back in time, she was ready for me.
I turned back to Jackson and practically snarled. “What the fuck, Jackson?”
“Just listen to me before you flip.” He raised one hand like that might steady me. “You let the Dom go free sometimes. If you bottle him up for too long, bad shit will happen. Trust me on that.”
“Move away from the door, or I’ll make you.”
Jackson held his ground even though he knew I could kick his ass. “There’s no harm in it. Be who you are then go home to Rome.”
“What the fuck?” I snapped. “I thought you liked Rome?”
“I do like her—a lot,” he countered. “Which is why you need to do this. If you don’t balance out your needs, it’ll never work between you two. You can be a good boyfriend to her most of the time—but not all the time. You’ve done everything you can to make Rome budge, but she won’t compromise. If she doesn’t want anything to do with the lifestyle, then fine. But she better expect you to get it elsewhere.”
I wasn’t sure what caused me to hold my tongue. I stared my brother down before I looked at Isabella, who was on her knees with her gaze averted like the perfect submissive she was.
My hands formed fists.
My knuckles turned white.
Black Promise (Obsidian Book 3) Page 18