by Evie Harper
“This is Portland Mechanics, my family’s business.”
My eyes widen and I inhale sharply. He owns his own business.
“Yes, the Street Kings have normal jobs just like everyone else. Did I wreck your perception of us?” he asks with a laugh.
Mack comes out of the shed with an elderly man and they walk toward Slater and me.
Mack winks at me, and I smile brightly back at him. Mack is scary. He puts off a ‘don’t fuck with me’ vibe and he’s a big guy. He’s the poster boy for arm porn with tattoos on his forearms and biceps, but at the same time, he still manages to be adorable. I’m still confused by how he pulls that off.
The man walking with Mack nods and says, “Slater.”
Slater returns the gesture but doesn’t say anything.
“Slate, I’m taking Mr. Malcolm’s car for a drive to see what’s wrong with it. Ah—” Mack cautiously looks over to me then back to Slater. “Jimmy’s in the shed working on a timing belt.”
My back straightens at his words. Jimmy. I look around Mack and the man as they walk toward a silver sedan.
“Piper,” Slater growls as I start walking quickly toward the garage.
I enter the shed and I’m blown away by the cleanliness and expensive-looking parts of cars positioned in what looks like the shop front and reception area.
I scan the large shed looking for a boy working on a car when Slater grabs my elbow and turns me around to face him, furious.
“You need to stay away from Jimmy. You scare the shit out of the poor kid.”
“Why? I just want to help. I have a home for him, Slater. A good home with people I personally know who will care for him and give him everything he needs. He will go to school, be able to be a normal kid before his childhood is over. He shouldn’t have to rummage through trash for food or sleep under the stars freezing.”
We both hear a gasp beside us and we turn to see Jimmy standing there in a pair of jeans, and an oversized white shirt covered in grease. His eyes are wide and staring straight at me, face pale and his hands shaking.
My heart twists painfully at seeing this amazing kid so frightened of me.
I step forward slowly and softly say, “Hello, Jimmy.”
Instantly, he drops the tool from his hand, the clank echoing around the shed as Jimmy sprints past Slater and me, heading toward the road.
“Stay here,” Slater demands angrily.
Tears fall from my eyes as I watch Slater chase after Jimmy, calling out his name.
I’ve had kids run from me before, but never have I seen one physically frightened of me. Terror filled his gentle soul, and it kills me he thinks I’m here to take him back to where he escaped.
A few minutes later, Slater returns, eyes cold and both hands rolled into fists, his whole body tight with anger.
“He’s okay, but next time I tell you to stay away, do it, Piper. You think you know this world, these kids, but you don’t.”
“You think this job is easy, Slater? All I can do is try to approach these kids who keep running away over and over again. How else can I get to them, offer them candy?” I respond, frustrated.
“Why don’t you and your kind just stay the fuck away from them? You aren’t helping them; you’re just damaging them further.” Slater’s tone is critical.
My kind? “What?” I whisper, confused. “Then who would help them? You? A gang member who’s killed people?” I end on a shout.
Slater physically flinches at my words and I would feel bad if he hadn’t just majorly pissed me off and told me my reason for wanting to help children was to hurt them more than they already had been.
“How can you so easily disregard what social workers do for the children who are lost and helpless?” I ask, wanting an honest answer.
“Very easily. You hand them over and then forget about them,” Slater growls.
“I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I’m not a fucking lazy social worker who just dumps kids with anyone who applies. I work my ass off to get to know these foster parents, and I visit their homes regularly. I’ve stayed overnight and weekends with the kids to make sure everything is as it appears. I watch, Slater, and I watch very carefully. If I think any foster home is not what the parents make it out to be then I would pull my kids out of there as fast as lightning. I have the resources to do just that. What decent person wouldn’t, if they had the ability?”
Slater’s face pales, and his expression of shock and vulnerability breaks my heart. “Our CPS workers, that’s who.” He glares at me. “My brothers and sisters were given to a monster because our social workers left us and never returned. They didn’t care about us, or what he was doing to defenseless children.” Slater roars into the garage, storming away from me and over to a blue car. He leans forward on the vehicle and bows his head. I watch as his back rises and falls heavily while my heart shatters at hearing his words. What he was doing to defenseless children? Oh, God, they were abused.
I wipe away a lone tear that has escaped and decide to give him a minute to cool off. When I go to him, I approach cautiously, finally having some understanding for his hatred toward me. Well, toward my job and anyone who works for CPS.
“I’m not that person, Slater. I care.” My sight becomes blurry as I try to stop more tears from falling. “And if you would just help me, I know I could get through to Jimmy.”
Slater shakes his head and squeezes his eyes closed tightly. Someone let him down greatly, and now I’m going to pay the price for that. I don’t want to, but I understand why Slater is the way he is now. I would hate the person, as well, and if I didn’t have the actual person to hate I would hate the institution as a whole, which is clearly the route Slater has chosen to go.
“Is that why you rejected me?” I ask softly. “Because you think I’m like the CPS worker who left you behind?”
Slater looks up at me, uncertainty clearly shown in his expression. I place my hand gently on his arm. “I’m not, and I never will be. I come from a foster family that was loveless. Not a bad place or bad people, just not a home. It was a house filled with lots of people, but it was never my home. I want different for other children. I know I can’t help them all, but I will help as many as I can.” I end with a small smile for him and find his gaze piercing mine, his emotions exposed to me; vulnerability, hope and need.
In a flash, I’m pinned between Slater and the car. The air crackles with anticipation and lust. Slater cups my ass and pulls me up until my legs are wrapped around his waist and my hands have nowhere to go but around his neck.
Neither of us speaks a word while he holds me to him. Slater’s eyes show hesitancy but mostly desire for me. Finally, I’m seeing things for how they truly are. Slater has told me time and time again that he’s a harsh man because he’s had to be. He’s grown up on the streets and before that, in Hell; those experiences have crafted the man he is today. Nothing else matters anymore except the truth shining in his eyes right now. He wants me, but he needs to move past a belief he’s held tightly to for so long.
“Gonna fuck you now, Piper.” Slater’s tone is urgent and low.
“Okay,” I agree eagerly with a smile. My mind is telling me not to let him in again, but my body begs my thoughts to quieten. It’s my desire that wins out, the need too great.
Slater’s serious face twists to a full-wattage grin and then I’m falling backward onto the hood as Slater starts lifting up my dress. “Six days without your gorgeous cunt, Piper. Fucking thinking about it, dreaming about it. I need in, now,” Slater growls. “I’m about to slam into paradise, baby, so hold tight.”
And I do. I hold tight to my heart and let this be just what it is, just sex... for now.
Chapter Eight
Let Her Go.
Slater
I hear the shower turn on. Knowing Mack and Pace are in the garage and Dell’s left for college, I check who’s in the living room watching television. I find Kel splayed out on the lounge, lost in his TV show.
I take out a coin from my pocket and turn the lock on the bathroom door. It’s a basic lock, and my brothers and I worked out how to unlock it through the years of playing jokes on each other.
I quietly open and close the door while sneaking inside the steamed room. Piper’s humming and I have to shove my fist in my mouth to stop myself from laughing at her off-key notes.
I strip and glide into the shower behind Piper, who still hasn’t noticed me as she hums and wiggles her ass.
I begin fisting my cock at the sight of her. I could get off right now just watching her, and she wouldn’t even know. That’s one of the things which fucks with my head the most: Piper is buried so deep under my skin I could get off like a fifteen-year-old kid just by watching her.
This week, her living in my home has been fucking amazing. Seeing her at my breakfast table every morning, smiling and laughing with my family and then fucking her every night until we both pass out. What more could a guy ask for? Well, there are those eight hours in the day when she’s working a job which I fucking despise. I’m trying to come to terms with her being a good CPS worker and that some may be different like Piper, but it’s hard to get my head around.
Could I really ever fall for a CPS worker? No, Piper and I could never have a real future, but I’m happy with what we have right now. I need to fuck her right out of my system and move on, which is what I’ve been doing this whole week. I’ve also been begging to wake up the next morning and know that I’m over it, over her, but that morning has yet to come. It better fucking happen soon, though.
I’m staring at her swaying ass when she turns around and screams loudly. My lips tip up into a smile, enjoying that I surprised her. My eyes skim down her body and I can almost physically feel the heat behind them as they lower to Piper’s full, heavy breasts.
She says nothing, just stares at my hand fisting my cock and then she fucking licks her sexy lips and I’m done for. I groan and move straight for her, slamming my mouth onto her wet, cool lips. I suck the water from them and groan again, desperate to be inside of her.
Piper
My skin erupts into goose bumps as Slater kisses me, his hard dick now pressed firmly against my stomach.
I grasp hold of his cock and start stroking him up and down, slowly at first, but then gradually clenching him tighter and faster as my body begs me to fill myself with him. It begs me to slam down on him as hard as I can and watch as he’s forced to close his eyes in pleasure. Orgasms are delicious; they rule my world for moments at a time when I know nothing can ever be better than what’s running through my body, claiming it for its own pleasure. But my heart and my mind crave to see the pleasure on Slater’s face. Just the knowledge that I can take him to the edge and have him fall over, losing all control, is an equally gratifying experience. It’s beyond the best foreplay I’ve ever had.
Slater’s fingers dig into my ass cheeks and it’s a delicious pain. I place my hands on his shoulders and push down, signaling for him to sit in the shower. He does so without a word. I lower my body over his outstretched legs and his sprung cock. My pussy lips surround his dick, and while holding on to his shoulders, I rotate my hips while Slater groans at the movement. He grasps my waist to push me down harder as he watches me with lust, adoration and need in his eyes. It’s intoxicating to know I’m fucking a man who needs and respects me all at the same time.
I lean down and suck on his neck. Slater rumbles deep in his chest as I bite him then lick to soothe the sting.
Suddenly, Slater grasps my ass and lifts me, slamming me back down and then he’s everywhere: inside me, staring at me, sucking on my breasts, kneading my ass. I can’t breathe, or perhaps it’s that I’m breathing too fast. Too many sensations race through my body, and I can’t grasp a hold of any of them long enough to even think. I just experience and it’s fucking amazing.
“Oh, God,” I whisper as my body builds to the breathtaking moment only Slater can give to me. My head falls back while I dig my fingers into his shoulders and hold on for the ride which is about to send me spiraling into ecstasy.
“Fuck, you’re sexy,” Slater growls.
My heart comes close to bursting but I hold it in, unwilling to let it take on those words and truly believe them. Not yet, but hopefully soon.
My orgasm hits me hard and I arch my back as a wondrous sensation races through me. I scream out Slater’s name and it seems to spur him on, slamming into me at a punishing pace as my pussy continues to contract around his cock. I pray it will never end.
But it does, like it always has, and instantly, I’m wondering when I can feel that miraculous sensation again.
“Piper, look at me. I’m gonna go off, and I need to do it looking into your eyes, baby.”
I lower my head and pierce Slater with my gaze. It’s the most truthful moment of my life, and I show him everything: how much he means to me, how much I crave him. As much as it kills me to admit that and unmask myself to him, I can’t stop the outpouring of emotions even if I tried. He’s who I want, who I feel I’ve waited for all my life. He’s my safe place, even though I know he doesn’t want to be. It’s ingrained in us both; we never had a choice. The only control we have is whether we take our fate with a tight grip and hold on for dear life. I intend to do just that, and I can only hope Slater wants to do the same.
Pain slices through Slater’s eyes and I push away my thoughts and try to stay in the moment. He roars out my name as he releases inside of me. His eyelids clench and his moans of pleasure wrap around me like a tight embrace. That’s what I love, the ability to make him lose himself for the briefest of moments in life. Slater letting go is a beautiful thing. He has a tight hold on life because he has to, to protect his family and what he’s built. However, to be the person who can take that away unconsciously while I give him pleasure is the best aphrodisiac in the world.
We both calm our breathing and then Slater opens his eyes. I search them for an answer, for a small light to show me which way we are heading. I hate that he has all the power, the ability to crush me, but mostly, I hate the reason for it: a perfectly understandable, unchangeable reason for not wanting to be with someone like me. But I will not change my career for him. I will never change for a man, no matter how much my heart may beg me to.
Slater lowers his eyes and dread twines its way through my chest. I’m left feeling cold, exposed and disorientated.
Slater slides his arms around my waist and pulls me to him. One hand reaches up and holds me at the neck and his other winds around my waist, my head resting on his shoulder. As his hold of me is iron-tight, all I can do is hold him back with equal strength for as long as he will allow me to.
My heart beats twice as fast, worrying itself with what this moment may mean. A few tears fall, but the shower’s spray washes them away before their warmth can hit his skin.
Slater kisses my neck and whispers, “Amazing, as always.” Then he’s untangling his body from mine and stepping out of the shower, leaving me alone, just as I was before he came. But now, I have an empty feeling in my chest. I’ve never felt this lost before, even when I had no one in my life.
How can I lose something I never had?
I hear the door quietly close and look up. The water falls heavily down onto my face.
God, why must you take everything from me before I can even revel in knowing what it feels like to hold it in my grasp, to enjoy the feeling of having before knowing the heartache of losing?
Silent screams escape my mouth. Only God and I can hear my pain.
***
Dry and dressed, I head down to the kitchen to grab some breakfast. I notice how quiet the house is and look out the kitchen window to watch as Pacer drives Chev
y out of the shed and beside the house. I’ve recently learned the blue car which sits in the shed, the one Slater fucked me on, is Slater’s pride and joy. It’s his race car which they all call Chevy, the same car he will be racing against Rex today for terms he hasn’t yet told me about.
Slater is over by the toaster as I fill my mug with coffee. I take a seat at the table and just stare into the grooves on the wooden top. If Slater wins today, then I go home. Was that what the hug was all about, a goodbye?
“You want some toast?” Slater asks.
I reply softly, distantly. “No, thanks. Not very hungry.”
I’m feeling adrift, out of control because this has been the best week of my life. This one week stay has become so much more to me than a place to hide out for a while. These men and Della are a real family. They fool around, make fun of each other, laugh all the time and if you look hard enough, you can watch as they take care of each other, in a way only a family can. Small things like Della putting out each of her brothers’ favorite cereal in the mornings, Pacer making Della lunch for college and Mack telling Kel his favorite jeans are washed and dried on his bed, knowing he will be heading out that night. And Slater, vacuuming the floors after each of his brothers walks around the house with a plate of food in their hands while doing their thing. They can be the toughest men in this town, city or probably the state, but at home with each other, they’re just a family, just being and doing what they’ve always done: living as best they can. For children who had no parents and grew up on the streets, they are amazing people.
“I must not have worked you hard enough, if you don’t have an appetite after that round.” Slater pulls me from my thoughts and I look up to see him grinning at me, but his eyes are questioning. I’m usually better at hiding my disappointment. I’ve had plenty of it in my life, but leaving this house, which is so clearly a wonderful home, is more than I bargained for. This is what I always wished for: a family to laugh with and to lean on. But instead, I was told I had to take what I got in life, and really, it wasn’t much. Parents who died before I was old enough to remember them and a cold, sterile foster family.