by Faith Gibson
The way he talked about his family, hell the way he talked period, was different. His brother was likened to a king, and his friends were his brothers. It now made sense why they were all testosterone-laden men. Rocky was curious about Sin and this brotherhood, but he wasn’t going to divulge any information if this was merely the two of them getting together for sex every once in a while.
If she gave in to him, Rocky would be dropping the wall she had so carefully constructed around her heart. She was certainly curious about the top floor. If no one had ever seen it, no one had been deemed worthy. What did he see in her he deemed worthy? He doesn’t know the truth. The real you. Sin had agreed to tell her the truth about him and his family if she gave him the chance at a future, but what happened when she told him the truth about herself? Would he turn her away, or would he be mad as hell on her behalf? Time to find out.
“Before I give you an answer, I need to tell you more about my past. After you hear what happened, you might rescind your offer.”
“Nothing you say will change the way I feel about you.”
“You’ve known me less than ten hours. That’s hardly time to forge honest feelings about someone, especially when you don’t know all their sins.”
“Then confess your sins so I may offer absolution,” Sin said. “Tell me, Raquel; tell me the worst of your past.” In the soft glow of the twinkling lights, Sinclair was asking her to bare her soul. Asking her to put voice to words no one – not even Vivian – had heard.
Rocky took Sin’s hand and led him to a darker part of the garden. If she was going to do this, she didn’t want to be able to see the disdain on his face. She tried to pull her hand away, but Sin held on tighter. Rocky sighed and began, “I’ve already told you I went to live with my aunt when my father died. What I didn’t tell you was about my cousin, Tommy. He’s a few years older than me and as useless as ice cubes to an Eskimo. He’s one of those losers who lives in the basement of his mother’s home, watches porn all day, and steals money to go to strip clubs.” Rocky paused, gathering her nerves.
Sin squeezed her hand, so she continued. “The first time it happened, I was asleep. Aunt Linda was working late, and Tommy came to my room. I was only thirteen. He put duct tape over my mouth so I couldn’t scream. He tied my arms to the headboard. I kicked and kicked, but he was too strong.” Rocky was now whispering, but it was the only way she could get it out.
“You do not have to tell me the rest, Sweetheart. I can imagine what came next.” Sin was vibrating. Rocky could feel the way his body was shaking.
“I do have to. You need to know how bad it got so you’ll know I’m not worthy of someone like you. He ruined me, Sin. At first he used his body, and I stopped fighting him, hoping he would take what he wanted and leave me alone. When that made him mad, he began using items to do the job. He raped me with anything he could shove inside me, the worst being a broken off broom handle. He’s the reason I can’t have babies. I tried to tell Aunt Linda, but she called me a liar. I was fucking thirteen for Christ’s sake! When she found me in the bathtub bleeding, she said I was just having a bad period. When the bleeding wouldn’t stop, she still refused to take me to the hospital.”
Sin pulled away and stalked up the path until he was no longer in sight. An anguished cry ripped through the darkness, and Rocky dropped to her knees. She prayed his anger wasn’t aimed at her, because Rocky would never live through the rest of the story if it was. She wrapped her arms around her waist and rocked back and forth. Admitting what Tommy did to her was bringing the pain back to the surface. After several minutes had passed, Sin returned. He picked Rocky up off the ground and carried her into the house.
Sin bypassed the kitchen and took a staircase he hadn’t shown her. When he reached the top, he opened the door into his private bedroom and took her directly to the bed. Sin stretched out beside her and pulled her into his arms. He didn’t say a word, but he didn’t have to. The tears rolling down his face said it all. He rocked her in his arms and whispered, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Rocky had told him the worst of it. Sin now knew she was damaged goods, and he hadn’t kicked her out. Hadn’t told her how shameful she was or how dirty he found her. Her own tears blended with his, and they stayed wrapped in each other’s arms until she fell asleep.
Rocky woke up screaming. A large body was holding her down, and she knew Tommy had found her. “Shh, baby, it’s me, Sin. Shh,” he whispered against her ear. When she gained her bearings, she realized he wasn’t holding her down but simply holding her. She was fully dressed save her shoes, and Sin had been holding her all this time.
“Sorry,” she muttered.
“No need to apologize. Bad dream?”
“Sort of. I need to pee,” she said, and he loosened the hold he had around her. Rocky sat up on the side of the massive bed and looked around. There were several closed doors in the sparsely furnished room.
“The door to your left,” Sin offered.
“Thanks.” Rocky dropped to the floor and padded to the bathroom. She flipped on the light and paused as she took in the tile room that was almost as large as her apartment. Inside the bathroom were two doors, and she assumed one of them was hiding the toilet.
“The door to the right,” Sin called from the bed.
After she relieved her bladder, Rocky washed her hands and took in her appearance in the mirror. She cringed upon seeing the mascara she’d put on the day before had smeared under her eyes from the crying she’d done before she fell asleep. She found a washcloth and washed her face. When Rocky took stock of the items on the counter, she found that all the items were hers and not just the spare toothbrush she’d brought from home. The toiletries she’d had at Finley’s were lined up along the vanity.
“Sin? Where did my stuff come from?” she asked, looking around the bathroom door at him. Sin was stretched out on his back with his arm cradling his head.
Turning to look her way, he said, “I had Finley drop it off.”
“In the middle of the night?”
“He was out and about anyway.”
Finley’s house wasn’t close to Sin’s, so she hoped he hadn’t made a special trip just to bring her stuff. And in the middle of the night at that. Before returning to bed, Rocky brushed her teeth. Her hair was going to get messed up again, so she didn’t bother trying to fix it.
“What was he doing out so late?”
“Patrolling.”
“He’s a cop?” Even though she’d wondered, Rocky had never asked what kind of job he had.
“Of a fashion. Now, come here to me,” Sin said as he rolled over on his side. Rocky slid in beside him, and he snugged her closer to him. He teased her lips with his tongue, and she opened for him. Her body was ready, but it seemed to stay ready whenever he was around. Her panties were wet, and her nipples ached to be touched.
“Do you like my boobs?” she blurted.
Sin lifted her shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor. He urged her to lie on her back and focused on her breasts. When he met her gaze, he was honest. “I prefer real ones, but if you like yours the way they are, I’m not going to complain as long as I get to touch and taste them.” He proved his point by licking a nipple and sucking it into his mouth. Rocky’s body arched off the bed.
As Sin took turns tormenting each hard peak, Rocky asked, “So, it wouldn’t bother you if I had the implants removed?”
Sin nuzzled the side of a breast before kissing his way down her stomach. “Not at all. As a matter of fact, I will pay for it if you have it done.”
“That’s not why I was asking. I don’t want your money, Sin.”
“I know, but I am still willing to pay, because honestly? I would prefer if they were natural.”
So much for Blake’s theory all men liked big, fake tits.
“Sin?”
“Yes, beautiful girl?” he asked as he pushed her panties down her legs. She’d removed her jeans in the bathroom and left them there hoping he’d get the hint
she was ready to get naked.
“Will you fu… make love to me now?” Rocky was never going to get used to the fact Sinclair wanted to make love to her. Never once had he said he wanted to fuck her.
“After I get a taste of your sweet pussy.” Sin situated himself between her legs and took his time getting her off. Knowing how good it would be when he slid inside her, Rocky enjoyed the teasing and licking. Sin brought her to the edge over and over, and when she begged him to let her come, he didn’t hesitate to give her what she wanted. Like the day before, he didn’t wait for her to finish coming down before he was stripping his clothes off. Unlike the day before, Sin rolled to his back and lifted Rocky so she was straddling his waist. She took his cock in hand and directed it to her slick opening.
Rocky slowly lowered herself, knowing as large as he was, it would hurt if she went too fast. When she bottomed out, Sin grabbed her hips. He didn’t direct her movements, but he did squeeze her to get her attention. “Ride me, beautiful girl. Use me to make yourself feel good.” Placing her hands on his chest, Rocky did as he instructed and rode his cock just as slowly as he’d made love to her at his penthouse. She rocked back and forth, sliding his dick along her clit, enjoying the friction inside and out. Sin’s hands left her hips and found her breasts. He twisted her nipples, pulling them harder with each moan she released.
As her orgasm closed in on her, Rocky increased the pace, and Sin flipped her to her back, taking over. Rocky pressed her heels into the bed, meeting each thrust. Harder and harder, Sin sank his cock into her body. A low growl came from deep within Sin, reverberating throughout Rocky’s body. If she didn’t know better, she would have thought an animal was in the room. Sin’s eyes darkened, and he dropped down onto his forearms. Rocky’s body shuddered, and she once again arched her back as she spasmed inside. Calling out Sin’s name, Rocky almost blacked out. The intensity with which she came overtook her senses, and she gasped for breath. Sin yelled out as his release filled her up. It was the second time they’d gone without a condom. He now knew she couldn’t get pregnant, but she had to wonder if he’d used protection with Dana.
Before she could ponder that further, sharp teeth scraped along the skin at her neck. Her body jerked and another orgasm followed the first one. Or maybe it was the aftershock from the first just now reaching her core. Whatever it was had Rocky flying. She felt as if she could levitate above their bodies. When Sin’s cock stopped pulsing inside her pussy, he dropped his head and licked her shoulder. Again with the licking. That time hadn’t been to seduce her. It was more like he was cleaning her. Maybe he’d drawn blood with his teeth and was removing the evidence.
When Rocky teased, “My very own vampire,” Sin’s body tensed. She turned her face so she could see his, but he kept his head turned away from her.
“Vampires are a myth,” he muttered. Sin kissed her shoulder, but instead of snuggling like he’d done the day before, he rolled off the bed and headed to the bathroom, closing the door and shutting her out.
Sin retracted his fangs and prayed to the gods Rocky was so caught up in her orgasm she didn’t realize what he’d done. He licked the blood from her neck and got his beast under control. He’d been so close to biting her instead of merely scraping his teeth long her skin. He waited for his mate to freak out over what happened, but she teased him about being a vampire. If she only knew. Rocky tried to look at him, but he didn’t want her to see the dread. He slipped out of her body, and like a coward, rushed into the bathroom, closing the door. He stared at his reflection and was relieved to see he had returned to normal except for the drop of blood at the corner of his mouth. He licked the sweet nectar and savored the taste on his tongue. If Rocky ever agreed to the mate bond, Sin would have to be careful when he sank his fangs into her neck. She tasted too good.
Instead of hiding out, Sin wet a washcloth and returned to the bed. He sat down next to Rocky’s hip and wiped his essence from between her legs. “I am clean. I’ve never had sex without a condom until you.”
“What about with your wife?” she asked.
Sin couldn’t tell her the truth. Not yet. “No, I didn’t use protection with her, but like you, she couldn’t get pregnant.” It was only because she wasn’t his mate. Physically, she was in perfect health, unlike Rocky.
“And you were okay with that?”
“Raquel, I did not marry my wife so she would bear my children. I married her because I enjoyed the time we spent together. Besides, I was not ready for kids back then.”
“And now you are?”
Sin tossed the washcloth toward the bathroom and pulled Rocky into his arms. “Whether or not I have children is yet to be seen. If they are biologically mine or if they are adopted, I will still love them with everything I have. The fact you cannot have children doesn’t lessen the feelings growing inside of me. I am telling you, beautiful girl, I have no doubt you and I can have a wonderful future together. For now, let’s take it one day at a time, and if you get tired of me, you can leave whenever you like. All I ask is you give me – give us – a chance.”
“Why did Finley tell Vivian you aren’t the settling down type?”
“So neither she nor her friends would get the wrong idea about what it was we were doing in the bedroom.”
“But I was supposed to be the one to show up, not Dana.”
“As I already told you, all bets would have been off. There is something special about you, something I cannot get enough of. Something I refuse to let go of. I want nothing more than to settle down, but only with the right woman. You are that woman, Raquel. So, what do you say?”
“I still don’t understand it.”
“But?”
“But yes, I will give us a chance, against my better judgment.”
Sin scooted back so he was leaning against the headboard. Rocky draped her naked body across his, and he willed the beast to be quiet. When he left the bed earlier to call Finley, he had a heated discussion inside his head about why he couldn’t lock their mate away and fuck Rocky senseless for the next week.
Sin felt as though they’d crossed a major hurdle when Rocky told him the truth of her past. That was another reason he’d left her alone in his bed. Their bed. He called Banyan and told him to make Tommy Cartwright another priority. Sin was going to cut off the man’s dick and shove it down his throat. Then he was going to bury him in the desert right alongside Blake Stansbury. He reached deep inside and calmed his mood so Rocky would calm also. He’d noticed their link was strong even though they hadn’t completed the mate bond. When she was upset, he felt it as strongly as she did and vice versa. His breathing evened out, and Rocky’s breaths matched his, eventually allowing her to fall back to sleep.
Sin remained stone still during the night, holding his mate and watching her sleep in his arms. He had silenced his phone so it wouldn’t bother her, but the vibration of a message sounded against the night stand. When Sin saw it was Rafe, he blew out a sigh and read the text. He did not want to travel to Greece now he’d met Rocky, but it was his duty to his King and Clan to do whatever was needed. He would ask Banyan and Finley to keep an eye on Rocky while he was gone.
Keeping his ears open for when Rocky awoke, Sin packed his bags and called the two males to come over to his house. They were drinking coffee and talking about what dirt Banyan had uncovered on Blake Stansbury. The human had been close to bankruptcy around the same time he met Rocky, but soon after, he’d managed to bounce back. The club’s bank records showed an increase in income, and Banyan attributed it to Rocky dancing. “If you give those girls enough money, they’ll spill their guts. It took me several lap dances, but I found out Rocky was the star when she was on stage.”
Sin didn’t want to hear about his mate taking her clothes off for other males, but he needed to know the truth.
“Before Rocky, the club was practically empty, even on the weekends. Once she took to the stage, the seats began filling, and Stansbury was back in the black. When I asked about the
drugs, the girls all said it was a perk of working for Blake. None of them complained about the way they were treated. Since Rocky quit, things have declined once more. I’d say it’s why the man is targeting her again. If he can get her hooked, she’ll come crawling back to him for her next fix, and he can convince her to dance for him.”
“We all know that will never happen. What about her cousin? Anything on him yet?” Sin asked. Of the two males in Rocky’s life, Tommy Cartwright was the worse of the two evils since he’d forced himself on an innocent young girl.
“He frequents Stansbury’s club two or three times a week. His financials are almost non-existent. He still lives with his mother who works two jobs, so it would make sense he’s either taking money from his mother, or she’s enabling his habits, neither scenario good. He amasses an enormous Internet porn bill, but his mother pays that off at the end of each month. Either she’s that stupid, or he has something on her. I showed the girls Tommy’s picture, and they all knew him. His girlfriend has danced there on and off. I got her name and checked her out, but she’s as much of a loser as Tommy is. The one thing I wanted to bring to your attention is she used to work at RC’s. She was fired soon after Rocky took over the bar.”
“Do you happen to have a photo of the woman?” Sin had a sinking suspicion as to who she was.
“Yes.” Banyan flipped through the folder in front of him and pulled out a scanned photo of the woman’s driver’s license. “Shelby Billings.”
“Motherfucker. She was in the bar last night. She literally ran into Rocky as she was coming out of the restroom. Banyan, I’m beginning to think there is a connection between her, Tommy, and Blake. Rocky told me how her cousin lost his shit when the bar went to her instead of him. See if you can find the connection. How is Uri coming along with the weapons? If he is close to finished, I would like for him to take over training so you can concentrate on this.”