by J Haney
She spots me and waves, pushing the guy who was talking to her right out of the way. She walks over and holds a cherry up. “Taste?”
Oh my God, she had no idea. I take the cherry from her hand with my mouth and lean down to her. “I’d much rather be popping yers.”
Her tongue darts out to wet her lips. “Took ya long enough.”
My hand snakes around her, and I nuzzle into her neck. “How’s the first stroke of midnight sound to you?”
“Like it couldn't come soon enough.” She comes up on her toes to kiss me. If that kiss is any indication, I’m in for an eventful night.
21 Onóra
I’m stuffed. Rónán has been telling me to eat for the last three hours. So many carbs! Pasta, bread, chips, really anything with carbs he's telling me to eat. At this rate, he's going to make me fat. Rónán's walking toward me with cake now.
“I can't eat anymore. You're going to make me sick.” I say, holding up my hand. Here comes Finn with a tumbler of something.
“Iced coffee.” He quips shoving it at me. “So I’m gonna go hang out at the Jarvis’ okay?”
“I can't eat or drink anything else. What are you two trying to do? Make me fat? Don't think the girls need to be any bigger than they are. What is this about you going somewhere? I thought we had a deal you stayed in the sight of Rónán and me?”
“It’s the house across the yards; you can see it from the driveway.” Finn pleads. “Hector and March have a pool with a slide and an indoor climbing wall plus all kinds of games! Please, just for now? I've never done a sleepover, and they are having everyone over there till Sunday! I don’t wanna be the odd guy out!”
Rónán’s hand massages my lower back in these maddening little circles. “Hector senior is good people. His wife Marcy and him take the Quinaquina boys, so their parents get some quality time. You can meet them if you like. I’ve known them for like ten years, now? Used to babysit their oldest for extra cash.”
“What if-you know?” Christ, my head is scrambled.
“We’re right across the way. If anything happens, we’re here. He’s gonna be fine, and so will you.” Rónán insists. “He’s a growin’ boy, let um have a wee bit of fun.”
“Fine. But take your phone. Send me a text before bed and one when you get up.” I point at Finn. “I don't like this. Just so everyone is aware.”
Finn hugs me, and I nearly puke down his back. “Thanks. Mom. I’m gonna grab my stuff!” Off he scampers, leaving me with just Rónán, which I think may have been the plan all along.
“So, whose idea was it to have him stay somewhere else?” I ask Rónán after Finn is gone.
“Why ya gonna go an look a gift horse in the mouth?” He smiles, and I give the stink eye. “It was him- mostly. I may have said I wanted to do something for ya tomorrow, but never actually told him to go. He assured me it was good by him, to be honest.
“What? You mean no more letting cats in to scare guys off?”
Rónán smiles. “I made him do yard work around here while you were recuperating.”
“You were jealous.” I don’t need to ask; I may have been born at night, but it wasn’t last night.
“Wouldn’t you have been?” He pulls me across the couch, so I’m wrapped in his arms.
“You know had you have not been so frustrating I could have been kissing you.”
“I’m sorry my strong moral fiber, and Rory yacking in my head kept me from it.”
“Tell me, Rónán, what’s the difference in then and now?”
He looks at his watch. “You’ll find out in about nine hours.”
“We’re alone, what difference is nine hours going to make?”
“Because while Noel Packer may be twenty-three in nine hours Onóra Russo will be eighteen, and no one will be able to say I took advantage, especially after we get you back your name.”
I pull back from him. “How in the hell are you planning to do that? They'll find us. The point is they not find us.”
“Let’s see just what you have, and then we’ll figure it out. Together.” He looks me in the eyes. “I have no intention of outing you to the families or even letting them know I’ve met you. I know though that there are ways of tying their hands. Rory did for decades.”
“Maybe so, I just don’t want to be on the run for the rest of my life. Having our real names, that’s all we’d be doing.”
“Rory never had to run and trust me between the info I have, and you probably got, there are a lot of people that would like to see it stay buried. People who sanction it all. You realize even the Boss has a Boss.”
“I’ve met or seen pictures of everyone on the Italian’s side but not the Irish. I know of the ones closest to Chicago. I just can’t help but be worried. I told ya, I’m not afraid of the goons. They’re big and stupid. On the Italian side, you watch out for Venanzio Di Chiaro and Guerrino Scarpitti. That’s your boss and underboss. Both sneaky. Irish, they have three to watch boss and underboss; Antaine Sorlry and Réamonn O'Brien. Then a hitman or well, in this case, woman; Senan Ó Heanraig. She can hide in plain sight, which was part of the reason I was being trained.”
Rónán shifts. “I know Senan; she used to get all her papers from Rory. Did a few things for her last year, to be honest. I swear she goes through so many looks I don’t think she remembers her natural hair color anymore.”
“Like how well?”
“Do I know Senan? Not as well as she would have liked, but she’s got like ten years on me, and by the time we synced up, she’d married an English fella. So no, my Wee Bird, there be no baggage there. Just a long standin’ friendship.”
“Just so you know she dyes or bleaches her hair before and then after every job. She’s had it exactly fifty-six different colors, and that’s because she mixed a few together.”
“Women.” He chuckles. “How are ya, feelin’? Do ya need to lie down for a tick? Or maybe I should run ya a bath?”
“I’ve got a headache but nothing major. I think we need to talk about something before we take us any further.”
“A’ight. I agree we need to talk. I just was figurin’ it could wait till you were sober and completely clear.”
“I’d rather not be completely sober if you don’t mind. In the last ten days, we explored certain parts of the other's body. You don’t like your back messed with, and well you’ve yet to see my ass for a reason. You took your lashings on the back where mine was my ass. We need to be able to touch one another without the other twitching or stiffening up.”
“My marks are not what makes me twitch.” He sighs. “It’s your potential reaction to them that I dread. Some women don’t like to touch them barehanded. Makes them skive. I can’t help what happened, so I’ve tried to cover it for the most part. It’s why I’ve got ink to my wrists.” He turns over his arms, thoughtfully. Some of us have scars on the inside, some on the out. I hold no ill for mine; they are a time in my life, that has long since passed away.” His hand caresses my cheek. “You though, to think anyone would break your beautiful soft skin. If I could, I would lash the son of a bitch that did it myself.”
“It was my own fault for the most part. Couldn’t keep my mouth shut and let a gun go off at one of the parties. I didn’t much care for the hitman that caught the bullet, so I took the punishment and went on. I’ve been a rambunctious teen.” I purse my lips.
“No kid deserves a lashing so hard they are left marked for life. The only marks you should have are the ones you choose.” Rónán looks away a moment. “Look, ya know that physically we have an attraction, that’s undeniable. Ya gotta know that sex; it can complicate things, especially if ya don’t go into it with open eyes. I don’t wanna scare ya, but you should know ya can feel real strong things in the moment, and that’s okay.”
“Would you quit talking to me like I’m a child. I’m twenty-three, or have you forgotten?” I smile and shove him playfully. “I’m not stupid. I understand that going there is going to change things. We st
ill have a lot to learn, and I really hope we get the chance to.”
“Again, not tryin’ to scare ya, but ya need to know, I’m not lookin' at ya as an FWB, I don’t- I’m not wired like that. If we do this, it’s not a dalliance for me.”
I need to break the tension somehow. It’s starting to weigh us down. I straddle myself across Rónán’s lap. “I care for you too. Do I love you? I don’t know, and if I did, I don’t think I could say it because every person I’ve ever loved has left me, except one. Wait that’s wrong he left me too for a sleepover.”
“Yes, but look at it this way, tonight, you get to have a sleepover of your own. Now let us get you in that bath and then perhaps an orgasm before supper?”
“I don’t plan to be sleeping.” I say wrapping my arms around his shoulders before bringing my lips to his.
22 Rónán
“That’s cold.” Noel squirms under me. I’ve got one of the popsicles I made and have been draggin’ it down her tummy. Following it with my hot wet tongue. The partying has left my property with the next set of fireworks being set off down the road, so most have congregated to the Johnsons yard. I took that as an opportunity. We’re outside on the patio with the fire pit going strong.
“Ya shush now, Wee Bird. I’m taking your pants, and you’re gonna sing for me, ya hear?”
She nods, biting her lip. “A or F sharp?”
“Let's start with a high C and build up from there.” I unzip her shorts with my teeth and pull them down. “The lacy thing?” I ask seeing the black knickers making my smile gape.
She shrugs. “I thought you might like it. Kind of like opening a gift on Christmas morning.”
“Awe, Wee Bird.” I come up to kiss her, and she yelps as some of the popsicle drips on her neck. I bend down, licking it off. “Seems this shirt must go as well.” I set the toy down in the glass of ice I had beside us and relieve her of her tank top to be smacked in the face by her rack, encased in black lacy goodness. “Best present ever.” I pull her up kissing her, forcing her to open her legs to bare my weight. My hands go behind her upper thighs, pulling her knees up over my hips. I’m sure she can feel my hardening cock through my swim trunks as it’s not hard to miss.
She runs her nails along my scalp. “You’re never, ever allowed to complain again about me teasing you. I’m pretty sure; you’re trying to kill me.”
I laugh through kissing her again. Pulling down the skinny little straps on her top, I immobilize her arms a bit with them, so I can tease her sufficiently. Taking the popsicle, I trace her lips, and she parts them slightly. I lick them where I’ve lined them and then trace down her throat to her chest, which is beginning to heave. I circle her areole slowly, and she gasps as the thing melts sending droplets and rivulets down her heating flesh. I lick and suck on her frozen nipples each in turn before continuing my descent once more. She wiggles and makes little moans as I kiss down her belly, then her inner thighs. Taking my time, I finally take her knickers in my hands and peel them down her silky smooth legs. She’s bare here, freshly shaved I may add. I kiss her swelling lips, letting my tongue explore her just as though it were her mouth and she brings her legs together almost boxin’ my ears.
“Easy.” I insist, as the popsicle circles her space. More wiggles, more moans. My name whispered through a bitten lip. I slip it inside her, and she almost comes. I don’t go deep; I’m savin’ that for me. I lick and flick her clit as the popsicle freezes her up, once I know she’s good and cold, I replace the cold with my mouth. My tongue delves in, and she clenches, grabbin’ my hair, her heels dig into my back as she finally comes. My face is wet, fuck me this girl can- she actually… I lick at my lips, loving the taste of her cum. She’s sweet and tangy, and I can't wait to be balls deep inside her. I grab the towel near me and wipe my face as I undo my shorts. Coming back up the length of her body, I let her feel me bare against her thigh.
Noel’s hands travel along my body, but her eyes haven’t left mine. Her fingers are playing with the hem of my shirt. “Can I?”
I nod and sit back on my knees. The tips of her fingers graze my sides, making me flex, as she lifts my shirt over my head. She has to lift herself off the lounger to get it off. “You’ve got lots of tattoos. I’ve never seen so many on one person.”
“What can I say I have something of an addictive personality. A couple to cover some scars turned into a Celtic knot mural of sorts. It’s probably why I don’t smoke or really drink much. Just once in a while, it’s how I deal with things. Control my environment.” I pull her into me, my cock bouncing between us.
This time she doesn’t ask she just touches. Her little hands wrap around my cock before looking up at me. I raise a brow and lick my lips.
“Think of it like a pogo stick, the faster ya go, the harder ya bounce, the higher ya get to go.” I smile, placing my hand over hers, getting her a slow, steady rhythm.
“And if I decided to use my tongue?”
“I explode, but at least I die a happy man.”
She bends at the waist, her tongue gliding over the tip of my cock. Her hands pumping me as she takes my cock into her mouth. Her legs are on either side of the lounger, and I can see her back arch marvelously in the firelight. As she begins to suck and lick my cock, I make her stop just so I can sit open-legged for her too. Then she’s back to it, and my hands are on her thighs. Kneading and squeezing them in the same archaic rhythm she’s going at me. Her hips start to flex, she’s rubbing her body on the lounger and I’d much rather it be some part of me. With that in mind, I slip my hand under her, my fingers finding her wet and ready for them. She writhes. Sucking harder, I go for her clit and she deep throats me! Son of a bitch! I wasn’t ready for it. Bam, I come, and she jerks back, there it goes, half down her chest.
“Fuck me, I’m sorry.” I pull back, turning away as I finish, grabbing the towel to hand to her.
As I face her again, she’s looking at her chest. She runs a finger through it and then sucks it into her mouth. “There goes that top.”
I’ve just been kicked in the balls, “That was the hottest thing I’ve seen… Like ever.” I grab her, kissing her. “We need to close this deal, or I’m gonna lose my ever-lovin' mind.” I lift her enough to get her under me once more, before laying her back down on the lounger.
“It’s about damn time I thought you were gonna make me wait till my birthday.”
“Forty-five minutes. I won’t tell if ya don’t.” I say as I lead my cock past her lips and straight to the promised land. Her nails dig into my arms, and I swallow her hard gasp. I know I should have been more gentle but let’s face it, ya don’t peel off a Band-aid, now do ya?
Once inside, it’s tight as a drum and wet as the insides of an eel. A perfect combination. We kiss, and I make sure to let her ride out her orgasm when it comes. I flip her, letting her get on the edge of the lounger, bendin’ her over it, there it is. The F sharp, with my name, rollin’ off it. This time when I come, it’s not a surprising mess. We settle on the concrete, the lounger now in need of serious cleaning, I’ve got my arms wrapped around her as both of our chests continue to heave. Her hair is down and drenched, as I push it away from her face.
“That was perfezionare. Though, I think we need a shower.”
“I’m gonna assume that was a good word? As for the shower, mine is big enough for two, but I have machinations.” I say, grabbing my pants.
“You can do whatever you wish. Just let me clean up I’m all sticky.”
“You clean up, but then how would you like to go a round in a bounce house?”
“As long as you make me come like that all the time, I’ll go anywhere.”
“That’s a promise.” I kiss her. “Happy Birthday.”
23 Onóra
Mio Dio. I can’t even begin to count how many rounds Rónán and I went or come close to telling you where it all happened. All I do know is I loved being wrapped up in him. He makes me feel safe and like home. At the same time there’s so much we don
’t know about one another. Like right now, he’s long since fallen asleep. We’re in his bed. I can’t sleep here, though. My night terrors keep me from sleeping in the bed with him.
I kiss Rónán’s head and slip out of bed. All I can do is hope he doesn’t wake up.
“Where ya off to?” He gruffs.
“I-uh can’t sleep.”
“Ya was doin’ a fine job of it a few moments ago.”
“I’ve not been to sleep, yet.” I bite my lip really not ready to go into this.
He sits up, pulling the sheet over himself I’m guessin’ so as not to distract him or me. “Come here.” He pats the bedside.
I sigh, taking a seat beside him. “You really didn’t have to get up.”
“You’re up; I’m up. That’s the deal. So if ya want me to go to bed, you’re gonna have to snuggle down, put ya head back on my chest and close those luscious lashes for forty winks.”
“Rónán, I can’t.” I’m almost pleading with him to understand.
“Ya afraid you gonna hurt me from the thrashin’?” He says watching me with the most gentle look.
“You know?”
He nods. “For a while. I mean I guessed, and Nolan he’s concerned. I just didn’t see it as my place to bring it up. It wasn’t so bad when I was at the house.” He takes my hand. “Call it ego if ya want, but I was hopin’ that maybe bein’ here- with me- that it may be different.”
“I was drugged then. I had medicine before, but it knocks me out. I knew I couldn’t take it never knowing when I’d need to run again.”
“Look I understand, but right now, tonight, there’s no one and nothing to fear. I promise ya no one knows this place. Knows this house. Rory always went to the families; they never came to us in our home except for your mum and papa. So here, right now, in my arms, you are safe as you ever could be.”