Rock (Dead Souls MC Book 4)

by Savannah Rylan

  “Moats are awesome. Can I have a moat?” he asked.

  “One day you can have anything you want,” I said. “And this moat guarded the wooden castle in the middle of the forest. For years and years, the bridge never came down. Those who were lucky enough to find the wooden castle never knew how to get in. They tried climbing the walls and swimming up to the entrance. But nothing ever worked.”

  “Why not?” Gavin asked.

  “Because inside was a very angry prince.”

  “Isn’t it supposed to be a princess?” he asked.

  “Nope. In this story, it’s a prince. And the prince was angry. And lonely. And hurt. He never let the bridge down for anyone, and he cursed whoever tried to climb his walls or swim his moat.”

  “Why was he angry?”

  “Because the prince had lost a lot in his life. His family. His friends. He didn’t have anyone to hang out with. To talk with. So, his anger grew and his loneliness grew and the hurt got worse. Until one day, a woman started yelling.”

  “Is it the princess?” he asked.

  “It was. She was a beautiful princess with a booming voice and a very stubborn attitude. She yelled and yelled until the prince came to the window, then she told him to let down the bridge because she needed a place to stay.”

  “What did the prince say!?”

  “He told her ‘no’. He didn’t have anywhere for her to stay, so she needed to leave. But the princess kept yelling and annoying him so much he finally let his drawbridge down so she could come into the castle.”

  “What happened when she got inside?”

  “She made herself at home. Picked out a room. Cooked her own meals. Talked with the prince whenever they crossed paths. And little by little, the prince began to like having her around. He liked having someone else roaming the halls of the castle. He liked having someone to eat with. He liked having someone to talk to, even though they mostly fought.”

  “That sounds like Mommy,” he said with a giggle.

  I grinned down into his gray eyes as he pulled the covers up to his chin. If he only knew the story I was telling him.

  “The prince and the princess spent weeks around one another. And soon, the two of them warmed up to each other. They went on adventures and spent nights together, and the prince found himself falling in love. For the first time in his life, the prince experienced something other than anger and loneliness.”

  “Did the princess love him too?” Gavin asked.

  “The prince wasn’t sure. Once the princess had gained her strength for her journey, she left.”

  “What!? This is a dumb story.”

  “She left, and the prince became even angrier. Even lonelier. Even more hurt. Until one day, several years later, the prince decided to strike out on his own. To rid himself of the wooden walls and the musty forest and venture out into the world. And when he got tired of traveling and needed a place to rest, he knocked on the first door he came to. And guess who was behind that door?”

  “The princess!” he exclaimed.

  “That’s right,” I said with a smile. “He had found the princess’s house without even knowing it. She welcomed him in, they caught up on their time lost, and she offered him a room to stay for the night.”

  “Do they fall in love and live happily ever after?” he asked.

  I smoothed my hand over his forehead before answering with the only ending I felt the story warranted.

  “The happiest of ever afters,” I said.

  “That wasn’t such a dumb story.”

  “I’m glad you liked it. But it’s time to go to sleep.”

  “Will you tell me it again tomorrow night?”

  I drew in a deep breath as my eyes danced between his.

  “I might not be here for it, but have your Momma call me. I’ll tell it to you over the phone. Okay?”

  “Okay,” he said.

  I bent down and kissed his forehead as my heart filled with love. The day I spent with him had been one of the best days of my life. I was beginning to realize how fun it was having a kid around. How great it was to play with them and laugh with them and experience the world through their eyes. I tucked him in tightly before I walked out of his room, then I shut the light off and closed his door.

  My eyes flickered over to Piper’s closed bedroom door and I debated going in and snuggling next to her. But I decided against it. She would be getting up shortly.

  My phone rang as I walked down the stairs, so I pulled it from my pocket. I saw Brewer was calling and my heart seized, worried that something might have happened. Things had been quiet on the home front lately, which meant a storm was brewing somewhere off in the distance.

  “Yep?” I asked. “What’s up?”

  “Wanted to let you know I got in touch with Diesel. We’re talking with him Monday,” Brewer said.

  “Sounds good to me. I’ll be there. Just make it in the afternoon or something, in case something pops up on my end.”

  “I take it the talk with Piper went well?” he asked.

  “Things are going okay for now. We’ll see what happens in a week when I fuck up for the first time.”

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Kids are a constant learning curve. I’m learning that with Ana.”

  “How are your women doing, by the way?”

  “Makenna’s finally stopped worrying so much. Especially since I’m now off that damn pain medication. Ana’s still upset we can’t play like we used to, but it’s getting there. I’ve got her into the habit of settling down with me and watching a movie ever night,” he said.

  “Sounds like a good tradition.”

  “How’s it going with Gavin?

  “He’s good,” I said as I sat down onto the couch. “We played and ran around out back. I got him some dinner and helped him get ready for bed. I just got done telling him a bedtime story.”

  “Daddy Rock. I never thought I’d see the day.”

  “You and me fucking both.”

  “How’s it feel?”

  “Still foreign, but I’m having a fucking blast.”

  “That’s good. That’s a good thing, Rock.”

  “All I have to do is keep this shitstorm away from them and it’ll be okay,” I said.

  “Don’t worry. Diesel will help you with that. You know, once you tell him. Because I sure as hell am not spilling that story to him.”

  “I’ll be there to talk Monday,” I said. “But right now? I need to fucking sleep.”

  “Yep. Sounds like a dad. I’ll see you then.”

  I hung up the phone and set an alarm for the next morning, then dozed off on the couch. I woke up to the sound of footsteps upstairs. I heard Piper humming to herself as it drifted through the ceiling, so I rolled over and kicked my feet up onto the couch to fall back asleep. After one solid day with Gavin, I was ready to sleep for a fucking week. And the idea that she had done this shit alone, from pregnancy to five years old, without so much as a fucking inkling of help had me stunned. I knew Piper was strong, but I had no idea how strong. It took a rock-solid human being to do what she was doing on a regular basis, and it only served to light a fire under my ass to help her in any way I could.

  She’d been doing this shit alone for too long. And it was time she had a break.

  My eyes didn’t fall back open until a little after eight in the morning. I heard Gavin bounding down the stairs before he wrapped around the couch and squealed. He threw himself onto me and I smiled, wrapping him up into my arms and rolling over onto my back. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me close, resting his tangled web of hair into the crook of my neck.

  “Morning, Rock,” he said sleepily.

  “Morning, buddy. Momma get in yet?” I asked.

  “No. I think she’s still at work.”

  “Then it looks like you and I are going to the park.”

  “Yay! Can we go now?” he asked.

  “Let’s get you some breakfast and get some clothes on, then yes. We’ll head
to the park.”

  I sent Gavin upstairs to get some clothes on before I peeked my head into the garage. There was a car sitting there, but it didn’t look like the car Piper drove. I turned on the light and took in the sight of the rust bucket sitting there taking up space.

  If I could find the keys, it meant I wouldn't have to hotwire the damn thing to get Gavin to the park. Because I didn't have anything other than my damn bike.

  I poured Gavin the cereal he pointed out for me before pouring a bowl myself. I wasn’t a cooker. Never had been. But he seemed to be okay with the sugary cereal and the milk that came as a byproduct. He looked over at me and smiled with that milk mustache of his, then promptly asked for another bowl.

  So, it gave me an excuse to have another one myself.

  After searching for a few minutes, I found a spare set of car keys I assumed went to the vehicle in the garage. I hoisted Gavin into the car seat in back and he buckled himself in. I opened the garage door and moved my bike out of the way, parking it in the garage so no one driving by would see it. I knew taking him to the park and being out in the open like that was a risk, so I left my leather cut hanging over my chair at the kitchen table.

  The less I could advertise my association with the guys, the less trouble Gavin would be in by being seen with me.

  I went back inside and grabbed my phone, checking to see if I had any messages from Piper. But the only one I had was ‘emergency at work. Park?’

  So, I typed her a message back before snapping a picture of a smiling Gavin in the backseat of the rusted-up car.

  I was taking my son to the park for the very first time in his life.

  Which meant I’d get to treat him to lunch before our time was up.

  Chapter 18

  Piper

  The second I opened my eyes I knew I’d slept too long. My twelve-hour shift had turned into a fourteen-hour one, and by the time I got home it was almost eleven o’clock in the morning. No one was in the house and Rock’s bike had replaced the beat-up car in my garage, so my only assumption was that he had taken it to take Gavin to the park and to get some lunch. And while I was hoping they would be home so I could check on the well-being of my son, I was too exhausted to think about anything besides going upstairs and falling asleep.

  So that was exactly what I did.

  When I opened my eyes and saw it was dark outside, I quickly shot up out of bed. I grabbed my cell phone and watched it light up, praying that it wasn’t as late as I thought it was. I sucked in a long breath when I saw it was almost eight o’clock in the evening.

  I had slept my entire day away.

  I pulled myself out of bed and reached for my robe. I had to go figure out where my son was. I slipped into my slippers and tied the robe around myself, then ventured quickly down the stairs. I needed coffee. I needed food. Hell, I could’ve used another nine hours of fucking sleep. I rounded the banister of the stairs and furrowed my brow at the sounds of soft snores coming from the living room.

  “Rock?” I asked. “You here?”

  I heard shifting coming from the couch, but I didn’t see anyone. Nothing except a massive leg thrown over the arm of the piece of furniture. I walked over and peeked around the top, trying to see what was going on. And the sight I found caused my heart to stop in my chest.

  Rock, with his massive form and his tight black shirt and his painted-on jeans, laid there with my son on his chest while the two of them slept.

  All I could see were longs limb tangled up in one another as Gavin slept soundly on Rock’s chest. I smiled down at the scene, taking in the beautiful moment. My son rested against his father, comfortable and safe, while not even knowing who Rock was to him. It was as if the two of them were tethered together by an invisible force that naturally existed between a father and a son. Rock’s hand splayed along his son’s back, protecting him in his most vulnerable state.

  I reached down to smooth some hair out of Gavin’s face before Rock’s free hand came up and wrapped around my wrist.

  He moved at lightning speed, and when I whipped my eyes over to his face I found him staring at me. Wide awake with the soul of an animal in his eyes.

  “It’s just me,” I said. “Rock. It’s Piper.”

  He drew in a deep breath before his eyes focused and his hand unraveled from my skin.

  “Wasn’t sure who you were,” he said. “Sorry.”

  “Never be sorry for something like that,” I said.

  Even in the dead of sleep, he was in protection mode. I saw him in yet another type of light I’d never looked at him with before.

  “What time is it?” Rock asked.

  “Time to put Gavin to bed,” I said.

  “I got it.”

  “I’ll get it. Then maybe I can make us some coffee,” I said.

  I walked around the couch as Rock sat up, his massive form creaking the pathetic wood of my couch. I gathered Gavin in my arms and put his head onto my shoulder, feeling Rock’s hands help his body to mine. I nuzzled my cheek into the top of my boy’s head, taking in his scent and holding him just for a second. I’d missed him so much at work. I hated when I had to be called in on a weekend. I loved those unadulterated moments with him where the hospital didn’t need me and errands didn’t have to be run.

  I took my time walking him up the stairs and tucking him into bed.

  “He was good today.”

  I walked out of Gavin’s room and closed the door as Rock finished walking up the steps.

  “I think he made a new friend at the park. Her name’s Abigail.”

  “Of course, it would be a girl,” I said with a snicker. “More like his father every single day. Where’d you guys go for lunch.”

  “He talked me into pizza.”

  “I’m sure that didn’t take a lot of convincing.”

  “Nope,” he said with a grin.

  “So, he didn’t give you much trouble last night?”

  “None at all. I helped him wash up, I told him a bedtime story, then I tucked him in. He didn’t make a peep all through the night.”

  “Where did you sleep?” I asked.

  “On the couch.”

  “You could’ve bunked in my bed.”

  “Didn’t want to make things weird,” he said with a shrug.

  “I’m pretty sure we blew past that line twenty miles ago,” I said with a smile.

  “But yeah, things were good,” Rock said. “He’s a good kid, Piper. You’ve done a great job with him.”

  “It’s been hard, but worth it. Thanks.”

  I leaned against the wall and took in the heat of his body. He filled the small space of my upstairs hallway. Any quarters with a man like Rock felt like close quarters. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to not let the words on the tip of my tongue slip off.

  But I couldn’t hold them back any longer.

  “If you want to spend more time with Gavin, I could use the help,” I said.

  I looked up into Rock’s gray eyes and found nothing but a stoic stare I couldn't read.

  “He really likes you. And it’s obvious he’s safe with you, what with that little reaction you had downstairs. I’m still not… fully comfortable with this idea. I think everything’s moving really, really fast. And we could have to talk with Gavin eventually. I won’t do that alone.”

  “You won’t do anything alone anymore. Not if you don’t want to,” he said.

  His words filled me with a warmth I couldn't deny.

  “Don’t say things like that if you don’t mean them. My heart can’t take it, Rock.”

  He stepped in front of me, blocking the small burst of moonlight pouring in through the one window in my hallway.

  “Look at me, Piper.”

  I rose my gaze up his body, taking in his throbbing muscles and his chiseled form before gazing up into his stern eyes.

  “I don’t ever say shit I don’t mean,” he said. “You know this.”

  I lost control of my faculties
then and there. My hand reached up to his shirt and fisted the fabric, pulling him down to my lips. Tears filled my eyes as they fluttered closed, and my lips immediately swelled against his. I felt Rock’s hands drop to the wall, pinning me between the surface and his granite-carved chest. I slid my hands around his neck, encompassing the whole of him as I pressed my body closer.

  Then I jumped and wrapped my legs around him as he stood upright.

  He walked me into my bedroom and kicked the door closed behind him, cloaking us in darkness. My lips were everywhere. His cheek. His neck. His forehead. His nose. He dropped me to my bed and my body bounced as the sounds of clothing hitting the floor filled my room. I scrambled to my knees and ripped everything off, tossing it off the edges of my bed. He rushed to me, crashing his naked body to mine as the two of us went falling to my bed.

  And I opened every part of myself to him.

  He licked and he sucked. He nipped and he caressed. He fisted the excess of my thighs and my hips while marking the peaks of my breasts. Sounds of panting and gasping and groaning filled my room. Echoed off the corners and sent electricity shivering through my veins. His face dipped between my thighs and brought me to heights only he could. His tongue raked across my clit until my back bowed and my toes curled. I poured my juices onto his lips as he pinned my body to the bed, muting my thrashing and trembling as his tongue buried itself into me.

  But it wasn’t until he picked me up and bent me over the edge of my bed that my own body unleashed.

  “Oh shit,” I said with a whisper. “Get inside me, Rock. Please.”

  He eased his thickened girth into my dripping pussy and I shook. I stood to my toes to meet his hips, pushing back into him as his balls connected with my clit. His hands massaged my ass cheeks after every smack he delivered. The pop echoed along the corridors of my home as he marked me in every way he could think of. His dick dove in and out of my body, his hips snapping against mine as my body jiggled for him.

  “Holy shit, Piper. I’ve missed this. Fuck. So perfect for me. That tight little pussy. Mmm.”

  His hand reached down and fisted my blonde locks. He wrenched my face from the bed as my muffled groans soon filled the room. My hands curled into the sheets of my bed as I pushed back into him, meeting Rock thrust for thrust as fire shot down my legs. My knees grew weak and my soul took flight. My heart fluttered heatedly in my chest as his cock pulsed against my walls. I climbed onto the bed, feeling him follow me as he knelt onto the side of the bed. My mattress rocked and my headboard slammed against the wall, beating out a rhythm Rock was intent on keeping up with.