Draked Up: Book 5 of Colson Brothers Series

by Reese Madison

  “Drake. Stop.” My Cherry commanded. Her voice is like a lifeline for me right now.

  I froze knowing I could be hurting her without knowing it. I can’t focus enough to tell what I’m doing.

  “That’s better.” Her hands cupped my face as her face filled my vision. “Put your hands on my hips and keep them there. Do it now.” She ordered like a true soldier.

  “What? Why?”

  “Do you trust me?”

  “What kind of question is that?”

  She looked behind my head and nodded, “Inhale. Now.”

  I took in a deep breath and felt a sharp pulling pain in my side. “Fuck was that?” I tried to turn and look, but Cherry held my face firmly in her hands.

  “Wait. Doc is looking it over. Don’t move. Hear me? Don’t. Move.”

  I inhaled again, “Knife?”

  “An ugly one, yes. Keep your eyes on me honey.” She commanded again before looking down to my right. “Is he okay?”

  “Yeah, he’s gonna need stitches, but nothing vital was hit. Stay where you are, sitting here is the best place to do this.” Doc cringed at the not so clean picnic table. “Dirty, but moving now would make you bleed out more. Can’t have that.” He went right to work on my wound.

  Cherry nodded and looked around behind me, “Are they gone?”

  Joe’s voice came from behind me, “Almost. Keep him focused on you.”

  “Cherry?” My voice is back. Well that’s fucked up.

  She looked at me, “Right here honey. Good to hear your voice again. Is this going to cost me all my clothes?” She smiled and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

  “Yes. What happened?”

  “I’ll tell you later. Here, drink this. I’ll drive you home when Doc is done stitching you up.”

  “Where’s Red?”

  “Red? Why?” She asked stealing a sip of the whiskey after I took one.

  “Joe?”

  “Yeah man.”

  “Tell your wife to fire mine.”

  “Done.”

  Cherry leaned back and shook her head, “Did you hit your head??”

  “I’m not sure to be honest, but you’re done working. Ow. Fuck.” Doc put the needle in my flesh to numb me up for stitches.

  “We’ll talk about it later.” She assured me as I finished the whiskey.

  “More.”

  Doc interrupted, “Not yet, it thins the blood. You can have all you want when I seal this over.”

  “Fuck. Hurry up.”

  “Easy Monk.” Joe is standing guard for some reason.

  “What the fuck happened Joe?” I asked him directly since my Cherry won’t give me a straight answer.

  Joe nodded to someone in the distance before looking at me, “You flipped the fuck out. Goat and Gunner are going to be busy cleaning up your mess for the rest of the night. Take your ass home and stay there. I don’t want to see you in the club for a few days.”

  “You’re kicking me out?”

  “I’m telling you to go home and bury your face between your old lady’s legs for a few days. Hurry up Doc, I want Monk out of here before Slider gets back.”

  “Fuck.” I complained. “How many Joe?”

  “Two, and three that are going to need dumping outside the ER. You can’t fuck people up here like in Somalia dumbass. Get your head right before you come back inside this gate. Sherry, if he needs to talk to someone, call Celeste.”

  “I don’t have her number.”

  “You have my wife’s, use it. His shit needs to stay in house, no outside shrinks. Keep his ass at home for at least three days. I’ll wire you some money if you need it since you won’t be working.”

  “She doesn’t need money Joe.” I growled at him.

  He smacked the back of my shoulder causing a lot of pain, “You really need to retire old man. There was a day when not one of those bastards would have left here alive. You’re losing your touch.”

  “Fuck you.” I complained knowing he’s right.

  “Happens to the best of us. Take your old lady home and forget the jungles and deserts. That shit is over. Bury it in the past, then go home and bury your face in your wife’s pussy. Nothing like good pussy to make a man forget.” He rubbed my shoulder making me realize it’s dislocated.

  “Go ahead.” I told him. He’s reset it before.

  Without warning he grabbed my shoulder and arm, aligned them just right, and slammed my arm back into my shoulder.

  “FUCK!!” I’m getting too old for this shit. “Fuck.”

  “That will help too.” Joe stepped back putting this arm around his wife Red.

  “Alright Joe, enough with the Penthouse advice. Sherry, you have the week off. Just so you know you always have a job here when you’re ready to come back.” She pointed to me, “And you, owe me a wall. Bring your checkbook when you come back.”

  I nodded and looked at Joe, “Send me a bill.”

  “Will do.”

  “Alright kids.” Doc stood up. “Take him out of here.” He handed Sherry a small brown bag. “Everything you need to treat him is in here. I put my business card in there too. Call if you have any questions.”

  “Thanks Doc.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. Doc smiled and waved goodbye to everyone.

  Cherry made a helpful crutch on the way to the truck. The guys tried to help, but she shooed them away. She seems very protective of me all of a sudden. I like it.

  Back at the house I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror, “Who kicked my ass?”

  She chuckled, “Joe. You kept flinging everyone else off like fleas. Goat and Gunner helped once Joe hit you hard enough to knock the wind out of you. You kind of went bat-shit crazy Drake. It was pretty scary.”

  “Sorry babe. I snapped when that asshole smacked you on the ass.”

  “Yeah, noticed that.” She flushed the toilet and started the water in the shower. “You should get comfortable. I’m going to do the same, then I’ll give you a sponge bath. Doc says no getting your wound wet.”

  “Sponge bath sounds good.”

  “So does the sound of your voice. I poured you a whiskey.” She nodded to the glass she’d set on the counter while I was undressing.

  “Thanks.” I downed the drink and almost broke my neck as I caught her stepping naked into the shower stall. I set the glass down and walked over to watch. There’s no door or curtain because the stall is so deep.

  She saw me right away while lathering her long hair and smiled. “Feel better?”

  “Looking at you, yes.”

  “You have to behave for a couple days. Now that you can talk, we should probably do a lot of that anyway.”

  “I don’t want to get into it tonight.”

  “Me either. Why don’t you go lay down? I’ll be in a little while to clean you up and tuck you in.” She’s teasing me.

  “Tuck me in? I’m going to tuck you in my bed and keep you there.” I looked her over one more time. “Hurry up.”

  “Don’t you bark orders at me Drake Colson. You’re not the only one that had a traumatizing night.”

  I looked her over more carefully. “Did I hurt you??”

  She leaned back under the water to rinse the shampoo. “No, but you did scare the living shit out of me.”

  “I don’t remember much. Tell me what I did.” I leaned my shoulder against the wall out of habit, then straightened as the pain slammed into me. “Wait a minute, did you drug me?” There seems to be a delayed reaction I’m not used to with this body.

  She picked up the conditioner and shook the bottle as her innocent green eyes tried to fool me, “Who me? Would I do that??”

  “What did you give me?”

  “Just the pain meds, in your whiskey. Doc gave you an antibiotic shot, so you won’t need those pills until tomorrow.” She explained running her fingers through that long dark hair spreading the conditioner.

  “Why didn’t you just ask me to take them?”

  “Because you’re a stubborn m
ule of a man, and I knew you wouldn’t take them.”

  She knows me well already. “Don’t do it again.”

  “I’ll do it again if I see fit. Someone needs to look after you.” She flicked water in my face. “Go away, I need to shave and you can’t be trusted if I bend over.”

  My little Cherry has a bite to her. It’s good to see her strong. Not that I thought she was ever weak, but she’s so damn sweet. “I’ve never needing looking after.”

  “Doesn’t mean you don’t now.” She splashed me again, “Shoo.”

  I hesitated because I’m not used to the pain pills. “I can take care of myself.”

  “You sound like a teenager. Go sit down before you fall down. I can’t pick your big ass up, so if you fall, you stay where you land.”

  “You’re not my mother.”

  “And you’re not fifteen years old anymore Drake Colson,” she pointed to the door leading to the bedroom, “get your ass out of here before I kick it.”

  I bit back a chuckle. “God you’re beautiful.” I vowed to rile her often, then kiss her to feel her heat on my tongue as she softens under my touch.

  “Drake.” She scolded me with a stern look on her face.

  I put my hands up noticing how bloody my knuckles are, “Okay, I’m gone. Don’t hurt me.”

  * * *

  “Drake!!” I rolled my eyes. The man has snapped right out of his solemn self into a giant pain in my ass. “Stop it.”

  “I can’t.” He cupped my left breast, again.

  “I can’t get all this dried blood off you if you don’t sit still and stop fondling me.” I scolded him, again.

  “It’s more fun like this.” He argued feeling the effects of the whiskey and painkillers I’m guessing. Make that hoping. Hoping he’s not always this much of brat.

  “For you, yes, for me, it’s just making more work. I’m tired Drake. I want a glass of wine and five minutes to catch my breath before my head hits the pillow.”

  “Hey.” He took the washcloth away and dropped it in the water before turning me to sit on his lap. “Take a break with me. I’m sorry I scared you.”

  “If you ever did that in front of the girls…” The idea was unsettling to say the least.

  “That was a one-time thing baby. I’ll talk to Celeste to make sure, but I know. I think that snap has been building for a few years. It’s done, and like Joe said, it’s time to move on.”

  I chuckled, “Joe told you to go home and eat pussy.”

  He chuckled for the first time, “I knew there was a reason I liked my little brother.”

  “I like his advice.” I teased forming an idea in my head.

  “Oh really?” He started to move me onto the bed.

  I pushed his shoulders and stood up, “Not yet. Behave yourself, and I’ll let you do that in the morning. Tonight my love, you are done.”

  He grabbed my wrist as I reached for the washcloth in the bowl of water. “What did you just say?”

  “I said behave, and I’ll let you do that in the morning, if you want.” I amended in case he’s not a morning person. Then I remembered whom I was talking about.

  “Not that part, the other part.”

  “I don’t know Drake, turn around. Carefully.” I motioned for him to give me his back. He took a couple hits to the back that are swollen pretty good.

  “You said ‘my love’.”

  “Did I?” Oops. “Either turn around or you’re sleeping alone. You have blood everywhere back here. It’s gross.”

  “You’re avoiding the question.”

  “No. I’m avoiding the answer. I think I liked it better when you weren’t talking.” I teased laying the wet cloth over a patch of dried blood to soak so I don’t have to scrub a nasty bruise. It might pop. I know. I’ve had them pop. It’s fucking gross, not to mention more painful than being hit.

  He turned giving up, “It felt like I was trapped in a clear box.”

  “I kind of sensed that. You seem okay now. Well, as okay as you can get. It’s like you woke up after that fight. I feel like I should introduce myself.” I know better, but in a way it does feel like that.

  “I know damn well who you are. Now I want to taste you. Are you done yet?”

  “I see we’re still a grump. I’ll be done soon, and then you’re going to sleep. No playing around for you tonight big guy. You need to rest so you don’t pull these stitches out.”

  “I don’t like being told what I can and can’t do.”

  “Then you should have listened to me when I told you to run while you had the chance.”

  “That will never happen.”

  “Stand up. Let’s get you undressed and comfortable. What do you want to sleep in?”

  “You.”

  “I’ll get you a pair of shorts.”

  “I’m fine.” He threw the covers back and slid his big naked butt between the sheets. “Come lay down with me.”

  “In a few minutes. I told you I wanted a glass of wine and five minutes to settle my nerves, and I need to clean this mess up.”

  “Leave it. Come here.”

  I sighed almost giving in, “I’ve been bossed around most of my life. Granted you’re a lot sexier when you do it, but there are times when you’re just going to have to deal. I’m done being pushed around. Done. Now, before I get pissed off, I’m going to go get a drink and clean up this mess. Okay?”

  He grumped and groaned but didn’t argue.

  “Thank you.” I gathered up the cleaning supplies and headed out leaving the door open. If I close it he’ll go nuts and get up to come find me. How do I know this? Probably because the man has barely left my side since we met. He even slept outside my hotel room door in San Diego.

  I found a bottle of red wine I’d picked up on my way home this afternoon and took my time with the first glass without touching the bowl of dirty, bloody water. I cleaned up while sipping the second glass. By the third I was able to relax a little and enjoy the view from his big picture window in the living room.

  There’s a couch, or reading nook, built into the wall under the window. I want to read here one day for hours on end with a bottle of wine. It would be nice to get lost in a book for a day.

  I miss sex. Not the abuse I’ve suffered for the last twelve years, but the good stuff. The nicer side of sex where both people get something out of it. Until Drake and his wandering hand I hadn’t had an orgasm in over a decade. I can’t find it in me to masturbate. There’s just nothing in my head to get off to.

  Until now. Good grief one look from that man could hold a girl over for a year. I smiled catching my reflection in the glass. I actually have a nice smile. It’s been a while since I’ve smiled in the mirror. I’ve smiled with the girls, and at customers, but I don’t see myself smiling at them. Smiling in the mirror never occurred to me until I caught myself smiling in the reflection of this window.

  I’m not real sure what to do about Drake. Maybe it would help if I knew what he wanted with me. I have nothing to offer him. No money, no real skills that would get me a job that pays well, I can’t have kids, I don’t want to get married again, and I’m loaded with two beautiful pieces of baggage.

  I jumped when I caught movement, “You’re supposed to be in bed.”

  He wiped a tear off my cheek, “You’re crying. Why?” The deepness of his tone does something to my insides.

  I shrugged using my sleeve to get the rest of the tears I hadn’t felt falling. “I didn’t know I was.”

  “What were you just thinking about?” He sat facing me.

  “A little bit of everything. Mostly why I’m here.”

  “You’re here because I want you here. I need you here, with me.”

  I sipped my wine unsure what to say.

  He waited until I was done and touched my chin, “Look at me.”

  I did, hesitantly. He’s hard to look at without getting lost.

  Those blue eyes that have had my number since day one searched mine, “When you cry I get c
hest pains. Tell me how to make you happy.”

  I smiled and leaned my cheek into his palm, “Get me my girls, get rid of my ex-husband, and never change.”

  “I’m not going to change who I am, I can’t. We’ll get your girls, I promise. You need to know I want you for the rest of my life.”

  “I can’t think that far ahead right now.”

  “Fair enough, but you’ve heard me say it, so don’t sit here and wonder where you belong, or why you’re here. Don’t sit and wonder what I want from you, because the answer is everything. I want you, and everything that comes with it. Your battles are no longer your own, they’re mine too.”

  I smiled and kissed his palm before turning around and leaning back against his chest. “Do you believe in love at first sight?”

  “Nah. I didn’t fall in love with you until the second time I saw you.”

  I giggled, “Yeah well, I don’t know exactly when I fell for you, but I think I bumped my head during the fall.”

  He kissed the top of my head as his arms came around securing me in the perfect spot between his legs. “Have you always gone by Sherry?”

  “No, I went by Michelle while I was married. When I moved to Phoenix I wanted to go by Shelly, but there was already a Shelly working at the other bar, so I changed it to Sherry on the spot when I applied for the job. I thought it might eliminate confusion on the floor. Michelle isn’t even my real name.”

  “What??”

  “Well, it’s my middle name. My maiden name is Erica Michelle Blackwood. When Daniel and I got married he made me change it to Michelle, no-middle-name Moore, because Erica didn’t sound right. He said Erica was too slutty when it didn’t sound too much like Eric, a man’s name. My parents could have cared less, they just wanted me married off, so I just changed it to make him happy.”

  “When we’re married you can change it back, but Blackwood, or Moore, becomes Colson. Hyphenate if you have to for the girls, but I’d like to get them away from Daniel and make them my daughters. He doesn’t deserve them, but that’s your call. Just know the offer is on the table.”

  “Are you trying to overwhelm me tonight?”

  He rested his cheek on my head, “No. I saw you staring out the window looking lost. You’re not lost, or helpless, or unloved. I got you right here. Okay?”