“Aw, sweetie, you’re so cute. Thank you for being worried about me, but really, I got this.” She sighed and picked up her purse. “Where are you going?”
“I’m leaving you to your plans. I’m not going to be here when he gets home and you go all psycho on him.”
“I’m not going psycho! I’m getting back at him for every woman he’s discarded as if they mean nothing.” She continued out the door, so I followed as far as I could. “Just think, Reese. Imagine every guy that wanted to get rid of a girl, so he just tossed her out as if she meant nothing. Well, I can finally get back at him. He can’t kick me out and he can’t kill me. Breaking it off with me will do nothing! This is what every woman dreams of!”
She stopped and turned to me. “So, you’re just going to do all the shit that he hates to get back at him for everything he’s ever done to another woman?”
“Oh, hell no. I don’t give a shit about the other women he’s been with. I’m just trying to fuck with him and get fucked at the same time.”
“Brooke, you can’t just play with people like that.”
“Oh, I can. And I plan to.”
✯✯✯✯✯
I had dinner on the stove when Rocco walked through the door. I had to play this carefully, not wanting to seem overly clingy, but enough that he knew I wanted him. When he came into the kitchen, I gave him a sexy smile.
“Dinner’s almost ready. How was work?”
“A clusterfuck.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “What time is Cara bringing Evie by?”
“In an hour.”
I bit my lip playfully and walked over to him. “So, I was thinking maybe you need to relieve some tension. I could help you with that.” I slid my hand down and gripped his cock through his pants. His eyes widened fractionally, but I knew I had him.
“What about dinner?” he asked gruffly.
I reached back and turned off the stove, covering the pan with the lid. “It can wait.”
In an instant, he hauled me up over his shoulder and stalked back to the bedroom, throwing me down on my bed. I didn’t mention that he could have taken me to his room. I had to take baby steps. Besides, I had some fun toys in here that I could whip out. While he started shucking his clothes, I scrambled to my nightstand and yanked out my vibrator. In seconds, I had stripped my pants and was shoving the vibrator against my clit. The sounds that left my mouth had him stopping and staring at me.
My legs were spread wide, giving him a good look at my pussy. I had him. But then his face turned into a scowl and he yanked the vibrator from my hands.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I asked in shock.
“You don’t need a fucking vibrator. What the fuck are you thinking? You ask me to fuck you and then you whip that thing out? I’m all you fucking need, and don’t you forget it.”
I nodded slightly, loving this domineering side to him. I had seen glimpses of it when we had been on the road, but only when he fucked me. I wanted to see more of it. Craig had been kind of like that with Reese, though he was more stalkerish than domineering. I wanted a man like that, and I planned on making sure that Rocco gave me what I wanted.
He threw the vibrator across the room. It banged off the wall before falling to the floor with a thud. It took a minute for me to realize that he was still in his clothes. I looked at him in confusion, but then I saw all his weapons sitting on the dresser. He didn’t bother to take anything else off as he climbed onto the bed and yanked my legs back apart.
The hungry look in his eyes had me wet in an instant. I felt like I was leaking all over the bed and instinctively tried to close my legs. But he braced his hands on either thigh, keeping me from closing them. His mouth was on me in seconds, sending shivers racing through my body. I needed more and wished that he had hair I could actually grab onto. But he had it cut too short. I grabbed onto his ears and guided him where I needed him. His grunts didn’t deter me from taking what I needed. I was just on the edge when the doorbell rang. He started to move away and I panicked.
“Not yet!” I gripped his ears harder and yanked him against my clit. He licked and sucked as I bucked against his mouth. His teeth latched on, and that was it for me. I was done, spilling over into oblivion. I sank back onto the bed and let my body come down from the high. It wasn’t until I had completely recovered that I saw I was alone in the room. He had shut the door behind him, leaving me pissed off. He really was a bang ‘em and quit kind of guy. It was going to take a lot to turn a man like Rocco around.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Rocco
Goddamnit. I thought I was gonna fucking lose it when the doorbell rang. I was so close to being inside her again, but I couldn’t ignore the fact that I had a daughter, and I couldn’t just abandon her for pussy. No matter how good that pussy might be. As soon as I made Brooke come, I walked out of the room and shut the door, needing the separation so that I could calm my dick down. There was no way I was answering the door with a woody.
When I was finally ready, I made my way to the front door and tried to appear totally cool. However, the smirk that Cara gave me just proved that I sucked at hiding what had just happened.
“You know, you could have just called me and told me you needed another hour,” she said with a chuckle.
“I didn’t need another hour. And that’s not what you’re here for. I’m not gonna take advantage of you to get laid.”
“Is that what you think? That I would think you’re taking advantage? Rocco, you’re family. You’re a single man taking care of your daughter all by yourself. The only time that I watch her is when you’re working. I don’t think it’s asking too much to take some time for yourself.”
“Look, when I need to get laid, I’ve never had a problem getting someone to watch Evie. But you already help me out enough.”
“And I could have helped you out for another hour,” she said, not giving an inch.
“Thank you for watching her while I was gone,” I said, trying to put an end to the conversation. As she turned to leave, I reminded myself how lucky I was that I had gotten a job here. It almost hadn’t happened. The first time I had applied, there were no available openings. Cap said that he was really impressed, but they didn’t have any teams available for me at the time. So, I went looking for other work, taking on construction jobs where I could. Cap had put me in touch with Ryan, who was now married to Lola, and I worked there until Cap called and said there was an opening. Since it wasn’t a newly formed team, I had to fit in with Derek and Hunter. But I wasn’t the only applicant, and essentially, it had been up to Derek and Hunter to make the final call. And it took forever. I thought I had lost the job when I didn’t hear anything for months on end. But the call came, and I was so fucking grateful that it had. Working construction was fine, but I craved the adrenaline rush that I had gotten in the military.
I set Evie down on the ground and went to the bathroom to clean up. There was no way I could give her kisses after what I had just done to Brooke. I brushed my teeth and sat down to play with my daughter. It took a while for Brooke to come back out. She looked at Evie awkwardly and went to the kitchen. I sighed because it really sucked that she didn’t like kids. I felt a connection with Brooke that I hadn’t felt with any other woman. That’s why it was so necessary to make sure Brooke followed the rules. It was a very real possibility that I would fall hard for Brooke if we kept this going. And I knew she would break my heart if I didn’t keep her at a distance.
“Dinner’s ready,” Brooke said, dragging me out of my thoughts.
I picked Evie up and set her in her high chair. She fought me every time, wanting to sit in a chair like a big kid, but she was just too fucking messy for that. I knew eventually I would have to let her have her way, but I would hold out as long as possible.
I didn’t try to talk to Brooke at all during dinner, sure that if I ignored her, I could also ignore how much my body wanted her. I helped Evie when she needed it, and then I took her out of he
r chair to wipe her down. I could see Brooke scowling at me out of the corner of my eye, but I ignored it and pretended like my daughter was the only thing that mattered. Because at the end of the day, it would only be her and me.
✯✯✯✯✯
After telling Evie a bedtime story, I headed for the living room to clean up. Part of me hoped that Brooke would clean up. She was in charge of cleaning, after all. It said so in my rule book, which she had laminated. I grinned and walked up behind where she sat on the couch, yanking the magazine out of her hands.
“Hey! I was reading that.”
“You didn’t finish cleaning up.”
“The kitchen is clean. All the rest of this shit is yours.”
“You’re responsible for cleaning. It says so in the rule book, and you had it laminated, so that means it’s final. If you hadn’t gotten it laminated, there may have been some negotiations.”
She scowled at me and swung her legs over the edge of the couch, stomping them on the ground. “Listen, asshole. Just because you’re looking out for me, that doesn’t give you the right to shit all over me. I made your dinner and I clean up every single day. I even put your laundry in the washer. You can clean up after your kid.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” she snapped. I snatched her around the back of the neck and pulled her toward me. Damn, her mouth was enough to drive me insane. I slammed my mouth down on hers, and then I took her to the bedroom and fucked her until she knew who was in charge. It was dirty and fucking hot, but when I was done, I needed my space again. I knew I couldn’t give her even a minute of my time or I was fucked. I stood and grabbed my clothes, throwing them back on.
“You need to leave.”
“Excuse me?”
“We fucked and it’s over. Now it’s time for you to go.”
She stared at me for a minute. “I don’t think so. It’s a nice idea, but I think I’ll stick around.”
I growled in frustration, running a hand over my short hair. “That’s not the way this fucking works. Look, we fucked and it was good, but you’re not sticking around. It’s in the fucking rule book.”
“Yeah, see, there’s not really any way for you to enforce that. And your rules are shit, so just get in bed and get some fucking sleep.”
She snuggled under my covers and settled onto the pillow. I stared at her for a moment, trying to decide what to do, but I couldn’t think of a damn thing. It wasn’t like I could throw her out of my house. And telling her it was fun but it would never happen again would be counter-productive. If she was in my space, we were definitely going to be fucking. I had to decide just what I could deal with right now. Unfortunately, sleeping with her wasn’t an option for me. Slamming the door open against the wall, I cringed for just a moment as I listened for Evie. When she didn’t wake up, I went to the couch and laid down.
“This is fucking ridiculous. I’m being kicked out of my own bed.”
Well, that’s what I was telling myself. I tossed and turned for the better part of an hour, but the couch just wasn’t big enough for me. My feet were scrunched up, and I was already getting cramps in my knees from the way I was curled up. Still, there was no fucking way that I was going back to sleep in my bed, and there was no fucking way that I was sleeping in her bed with her scent wrapped all around me. Shoving my feet up over the end of the couch, I yanked the blanket off the back of the couch and settled in for one really long-ass night.
✯✯✯✯✯
I hobbled into work, hunched over and in excruciating pain. The couch had been a really bad idea. Now I had a really sore back and every time I tried to straighten up, streaks of pain shot across my back. It had taken me ten fucking tries to get my face straight for the facial scanner, and the whole fucking time, Rob was fucking laughing at me over the speakers.
“Whoa, what’s wrong, Granny?” Sinner asked as I hobbled past him.
“Bad night’s sleep.”
His eyebrows shot to the ceiling. “In your bed? That thing’s fucking magical. Did you get a new bed?”
“No.”
He looked at me quizzically. “Did you happen to break it during sex?”
I sighed. “No.”
His brows furrowed even deeper, and then he fucking grinned. “Was Brooke wrapped around you all night?”
“No,” I bit out.
“Then, I don’t get it. How is it possible to have a bad night’s sleep on your bed? Unless…” He raised an eyebrow at me. “Unless you weren’t sleeping in your bed…”
“Would you fucking leave it alone?”
“Oh, hell. You gotta tell me. Is that it? You didn’t sleep in your bed?”
“Just shut it.”
I hobbled past him, but he walked right behind me, hounding me the whole way. “The real question is ‘why weren’t you sleeping in your bed?’ Once I have the answer to that, we can strategize and-”
“I’m not fucking strategizing with you because there’s nothing to fucking talk about.”
“Which is code for I really fucked up and don’t know how to fix it. Don’t worry, man. We’ll figure this out and get you squared away with your woman in no time.”
“She’s not my woman,” I growled.
He slapped me on the back and I jolted forward. Pain shot through my back and I had to bite my lip to keep from groaning in agony.
“Sure, sure. I totally believe you, man. Okay, so, back to the problem at hand. Now, I get that you don’t want to talk about this, but really, the best way to get to the bottom of this is to purge those feelings.”
I stared at him, wondering what the fuck had happened to Sinner. He had been replaced by some pansy-assed motherfucker that now spouted about feelings and shit.
“So,” he continued. “Is she too much for you?”
“Excuse me?”
“You know, is she too…wild for you. Not that there’s anything wrong with it,” he said hurriedly. “Some men just can’t handle a woman that’s that crazy.”
“I can handle her just fine.”
“I’m just saying, I don’t want you to get down on yourself just because she’s too much for you.”
“She’s not too much for me.”
He held up his hands in acquiescence. “Alright, alright. I get ya.”
“What do you get?” I asked in confusion.
He glanced around quickly before leaning in to whisper, “That you don’t want to seem like less of a man. But trust me, when you finally give in, you won’t feel like less of a man.”
“I don’t feel like less of a man,” I said angrily. “I just don’t want her fucking sleeping in my bed.”
“Because she’s too much for you.”
“No!” I shouted, but he continued.
“Because it’s okay to let her sleep in your bed and take control every once in a while. I mean, you don’t have to be the man all the time. There’s nothing wrong with her taking the lead when you don’t feel comfortable.”
I scrubbed a hand down my face in frustration. “I am always the man.”
“I’m sure you are,” he said, gripping my shoulder and massaging it. It felt really fucking good and I relaxed into his touch. “You’re just so fucking tense. You’re a beast of a man, but you need to let those muscles relax. No wonder you hurt your back. Just let her be the man for once so that you can get some fucking rest.”
I smacked his hand away. “Why the fuck would I want her to be the man?”
“So that-”
“Because I have no problem being the man. I’m really fucking good at it.”
“I’m sure you are.”
“And I don’t need or want her to be the man,” I said angrily.
“Well, that’s not exactly what I was meaning.”
“And she’s not too fucking much for me. I can handle her just fine!”
“I’m sure you can,” he said placatingly, which just pissed me off.
“I’m fucking manlier than any of you fuckers. I don’t let women walk all
over me and I don’t let them turn me into a pussy, which is more than I can say for you fuckers!”
“I know, man. I’m just trying to help.”
“Well, I don’t need or want your help. I don’t need tips on how to be a man or how to let my woman be the man. Not that she is my woman, or that I want her to be. And it’s not like it matters anyway, because we’re just fucking.”
“I hear ya.”
“And for your information, I hurt my back sleeping on the fucking couch because she wouldn’t get out of my bed.”
“Don’t you have a spare room?” he asked in confusion.
“Of course I do, but she’s been sleeping in there-”
“And now it smells like her,” he said with a grin.
“And if I wanted to smell her, I would have slept in the same fucking bed as her.”
“But you don’t want to smell her.”
“No, because we’re just fucking!”
“Of course you are.”
“And it doesn’t matter anyway if I wanted more than fucking because she doesn’t fucking like kids!”
“Yeah, that’s a problem,” he said, scratching his chin in thought.
“That’s more than a fucking problem. That’s a fucking disaster waiting to happen.”
“Because if you fell for her, she’d end up breaking your heart.”
“Into a million fucking pieces,” I said scathingly.
“Because you’re already halfway in love with her, and you know that if you slept with her, you’d start wanting things that you can’t have.”
I sighed heavily. “And eventually I’d have to choose, and there really is no fucking choice when it comes to my daughter. I’d choose her every fucking time.”
“But it would kill you.”
“What the fuck am I going to do?”
“Well, for starters, don’t fucking sleep with her.”
I rolled my eyes. It was a little too late to give me that advice. “I’m going to get a massage.”
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