by Faith Gibson
Finley spoke up. “He mentioned last night while we were patrolling that he was on the final batch. He should be finished by the end of today.”
“Did he mention going back home afterwards? Because we could really use his help for a few more days. At least until I can get back from Greece.”
“He did, actually. He was planning on flying home Sunday.”
Sin didn’t miss the change in Banyan’s demeanor at the news Urijah was leaving. “I will call him and request he stay. Finley, since Rocky is familiar with you, I would ask you allow her to stay at your home until my return. I would appreciate if Vivian is there as well. Banyan, you can help keep an eye on her by requesting she assist you with the bar. I want someone with her around the clock until we figure out Stansbury’s angle.”
“Are you going to be the one to tell her she will have constant babysitters?” Finley asked.
“Of course, but I will put it a little more delicately than that. Now, I am going to call Urijah, and then I am going to wake my mate so we can… talk.”
Both Banyan and Finley laughed, but they didn’t make any smartass remarks. Sin left them in the kitchen, and he stepped outside onto the patio to call Uri. Once he heard Sin’s reasoning, he readily agreed to remain on the West Coast until Sin could return from Greece. As soon as he hung up, Sin headed upstairs to wake Rocky. He was going to use their mate bond to get her to agree with constant protection. He was also going to make love to her right up until the time he had to leave for the airport.
Chapter Eighteen
“Where’s all your stuff?” Rocky asked while Sinclair wrapped her in a fluffy black towel. He had woken her up when he slid his cock home and made love to her. After he’d made sure they both were sated, he’d picked her up and carried her to the shower where they had sex against the tile wall. Rocky didn’t weigh much more than a hundred pounds, but Sin held her up as if she were weightless. Where he’d been slow and gentle in the bed, Sin had taken her hard and fast in the shower. It was almost urgent. Ever since he’d woken her, he’d seemed different. A little distant. Not with her, but about something else.
“What stuff?” Sin asked when he grabbed his own towel off the shelf.
“Your personal things. I would never have known this was your bedroom if you hadn’t told me it was.”
“I have a room downstairs I use if I want to sleep. Rarely do I come up here.”
“Why not?” Rocky was pushing, but if she was going to learn anything about this man, she was going to have to ask. He was forthcoming with some information, but Rocky felt he was keeping so much from her. He’d said he would tell her everything, but only if they had a future.
“I’ve reserved this room for my partner. As I told you before, nobody has been up here since my wife died. If and when you decide to join me as a life partner, this will be our bedroom, and you will decorate it however you wish. Until then, it will remain as it is. Decorations do not interest me with regards to this room; it is what happens in here I am more concerned about.”
Rocky began combing the tangles out of her damp hair while Sin brushed his teeth. Never had she shared a bathroom with a man, and this little bit of domestication had her heart pumping and her brain taking a step back. She wanted to believe that even after the truth of her past was out in the open someone could still find something about her redeemable, but Rocky was a realist. If the only two men in her past had taught her anything, it was that she had nothing to offer other than her body.
She had made good grades in high school, but that was because she spent as much time after school in the library as possible so she wouldn’t have to go home and face Tommy. At the time, she thought her grades would allow her to go to college, but when she graduated high school, her aunt refused to give Rocky any money for tuition. Rocky didn’t think to tell her uncle what was going on, so she went to work at the bar, trying to work and save money so she could eventually move out on her own.
Sin caught Rocky’s reflection in the mirror and winked at her, dragging her away from her maudlin thoughts. If this wasn’t where he normally took a shower, at some point he’d brought his toiletries upstairs. Everything he did was with such intensity, and she couldn’t keep her eyes off him. After he spit the foam from his mouth and rinsed, Sin opened a drawer and pulled out a can of shaving cream and a razor.
“What are you doing?” Rocky asked, grabbing his hand. “You’re not really going to shave your beard, are you?”
“For now, yes. On this trip, I will be impersonating my brother, and he doesn’t have a beard. I will grow it back as soon as I return.”
“When are you leaving?” Rocky knew it was soon, but his answer was unexpected.
“In half an hour.” Sinclair used an electric trimmer to remove the whiskers she couldn’t keep her fingers out of. She watched sadly as the dark hair fell into the sink. Rocky picked up some of it and rubbed it between her thumb and fingers. When all that was left was a thin layer of stubble, Sin added shaving cream to his face and began swiping it with a razor. “I hate to leave you like this, Raquel, but it is only for a couple of days. Three at the most. While I am gone, I want you to stay close to Banyan while at the bar and Finley afterwards. I need to know you are safe, or I won’t be able to concentrate on finding my mother. I will be worried about you. Will you do that for me, beautiful girl?” he implored.
Sin’s face became smoother with each swipe of the razor. He rinsed the blade under the water and stroked downward. Swipe, rinse, repeat. In less than two minutes, the beard she loved so much was gone, but the face reflecting back from the mirror took her breath away. “Rocky… baby?” Sin said to her in the mirror.
“Huh? Yeah, sure. Stay with my babysitters. Got it.”
“Try to think of them as your security detail. In essence, I am the vice president to Rafael’s president, and therefore you would be the second lady with Kaya being first. For all intents and purposes, you are my partner; therefore, you are as important to our family as any other female. We take our family seriously, Raquel, and every one of my Brothers will protect you with their life. That’s how important you are, whether you realize it or not.”
“Wow,” Rocky whispered. This shit was crazy. Second lady? Rocky Cartwright, former junky stripper, was now considered somebody. “Huh,” she muttered. She would never be able to wrap her head around that, especially since she’d only met Sinclair the day before. A few days ago, she was supposed to visit his home with her best friend to fuck him. Now, she’d bypassed the fucking and gone to practically being engaged. Sinclair hadn’t mentioned marriage, but he was asking her to be his life partner, so they might as well be.
“Rocky?” Sin had wiped the shaving cream from his face. Rocky reached up and ran both her hands along his smooth skin. The stubble underneath the surface was so dark she knew he’d have to shave constantly to keep the sexy shadow from reappearing. Instead of answering him, Rocky pulled his face down to hers so she could kiss him. Sinclair had the sweetest kisses when he wanted, but he also had ones that would incinerate her panties without even using tongue. The man did things to her body she couldn’t comprehend.
“I promise to stay safe, but can’t I go with you?” Rocky didn’t know if they were to a point in their relationship, however quickly it had started, that she should be asking for such things, but she wouldn’t mind going overseas.
“It is going to be dangerous, and like I said, I need to focus on my mother.”
“Are you the mob? I mean, the way you speak of family and the brotherhood, it sounds like it. Your older brother is like a king, and your mother’s been kidnapped. I think I saw this in a mafia movie.”
Sin pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her waist, laughing. “No, we aren’t the mob. I promise I will explain everything soon. For now, I need you to trust me.”
“I guess.” Rocky didn’t have a choice. While he was gone, she would ask Banyan questions while she was at the bar with him. She’d drill Finley, too. And wi
th Sin out of the country, Rocky would have time away from him to breathe. And think. She could really think about the last twenty-four hours and decide if she was ready to commit to someone after such a short time. “Can I stay here instead of spending the night at Finley’s? Isn’t it safe here?”
“If you would prefer to stay here, I can ask Finley to stay here with you while I am away. You and Ingrid could get to know one another. Wait, on second thought, she would probably tell you too many stories about me.”
“In that case, I definitely want to stay here,” Rocky teased. Who better to know this man’s secrets than his housekeeper who’d been with him over the last several years?
Sin kissed her again. “Whatever you wish, beautiful girl, I will make it happen. Would you like to drive me to the airport?”
“I thought I couldn’t be unsupervised?”
“Finley will be following you, but I thought you might like to have a little freedom in the Lambo.”
“You’d trust me with your car?” Rocky knew she was dreaming, because there was no way in hell a normal man would allow his girlfriend to drive a dream car.
“You are a good driver, baby. Just don’t wreck. I need you safe, not in the hospital with a concussion. Or worse.”
“What about luggage? The trunk is teeny in that thing.”
“It will hold a small bag, and that is all I am going to need. I refuse to stay away from you that long. I am going to get in, find my mother, and get out.”
Rocky knew at any moment she was going to wake up from this craziness, and she’d be back in her normal, shitty life. Sin left the bathroom and put on some clothes he must have gotten while he was downstairs, because the closet attached to his bedroom was empty. He’d said she could decorate the room however she wanted if they became partners. After living in her small apartment for the last three years and the tiny bedroom at Aunt Linda’s ten years before that, she couldn’t imagine something as magnificent as Sin’s home being hers. Technically, it wouldn’t be hers, but she’d have all the amenities at her disposal. The walk-in closet. A swimming pool and garden to relax in. A gate with a state-of-the-art security system. Ingrid to cook her meals and clean up after her. Nope, that’s where she drew the line. She couldn’t allow someone to clean for her.
“I can’t put this off any longer, beautiful girl. I have to go.” Sin held out his hand, and Rocky took it, allowing him to lead her downstairs. When they reached the kitchen, Finley and Banyan were standing over Ingrid, who was cooking something on the stove.
“Sin, you better give Ingrid a raise, or I’m going to take her home with me,” Finley joked. “Have you tasted this sauce?” He made a show of licking his lips. Sin rolled his eyes, and Ingrid beamed.
“I will make a deal with you. If you stay here with Rocky while I am out of town, I will make sure you have all the sauce your heart desires.”
Finley’s face fell immediately. “Stay here. With Rocky.” He backed up a few steps and crossed his arms over his chest. “Brother…”
“It is what Rocky wants,” Sinclair interrupted.
“If it’s a problem, I can stay at Finley’s,” she said, hoping to diffuse the situation, whatever it was. There was some undercurrent, and even though it was unspoken, Rocky felt it all the same.
“No, it’s no problem, if Sinclair’s quite positive.”
Banyan, who’d been quiet until then, said, “She’ll be with me most of the evening at the bar anyway, so between the two of us, she’ll be quite safe.”
Ingrid had returned to stirring the sauce. If she thought the conversation odd, she didn’t let on. If she’d been in Sinclair’s employ long, she was probably used to these types of things.
“I am quite positive. Now, if you will follow us to the airport, Rocky’s going to drive me there and then return here until it is time for her and Banyan to go to RC’s.”
“Okay then,” Finley said, not meeting her eyes.
Rocky wasn’t ready for Sin to go, but she was eager to drive her man to the airport. Not your man. Not yet. Finley followed behind as Rocky navigated the way to the smaller airport in New Burbank. It never dawned on Rocky that Sin would be taking a private jet, so when he directed her away from the commercial departure lane, she was surprised. “The family has its own jet. We have the need to fly often, so it is cheaper to have our own than fly commercial. When you and I go on vacation, we will have all the privacy we need when flying.”
Rocky had to admit she was excited about the prospect of going on a vacation. And in an airplane? Maybe he’d take her somewhere exotic. Someplace she’d only ever seen on television. Maybe when he found his mother, he would return to Greece and take Rocky with him so she could see the crystal waters and amazing architecture. Slow your roll, Rocky girl. You aren’t a couple yet.
Saying goodbye took a few minutes, but the pilot informed Sin they needed to get a move on so they didn’t lose their place in the take-off schedule. Rocky got back in the car, but she waited until the smaller plane was in the air before she drove away. Right as she pushed the button to start the engine, her phone pinged with an incoming text. When she saw it was from Sinclair, a grin spread across her face.
Miss you already, beautiful girl.
Rocky missed him too, but instead of responding in kind, she typed out Be safe and hurry home.
Once back on the road, she was nervous about driving a high-dollar car without the owner beside her. Sin had let her drive on the freeway on the way to the airport, and it was actually less exciting than taking the curvier backroads. Still, she took the path of least resistance back to Sin’s home. Finley remained behind her, but never crowded her. When they reached the driveway, Rocky pulled up to the security box, but Sin hadn’t given her a password. She rolled the window down and stuck her head out. “What’s the passcode?” she asked Finley.
He jumped out of his vehicle and jogged up to where she was idling. He grinned at her and said, “Sin is one lucky motherfucker.” The gate began opening, and Finley returned to his car. She parked the Lambo in the garage where it had been before they left. By the time she was out of the car, Finley was waiting for her.
“Would you care to explain the passcode?” she asked as he opened the door for her.
“It’s voice activated. I could have said ‘Rocky is a beautiful woman’ and it would have opened all the same.”
Rocky wanted to talk to Finley alone, but he continued on in the house and headed for the kitchen where Banyan was sitting in front of a laptop. He glanced up, bowed his head to Rocky, and said, “Ingrid left a tasty meal in the oven heating. If you’re hungry, I can fix you a plate.”
Rocky looked behind her, but Finley had his head in the refrigerator.
“I am hungry, but I’ll be glad to serve myself. Just tell me where the plates are.”
Banyan stood and said, “They’re in the cabinet on the far side of the stove.”
While she was looking for a plate, she asked, “Are either of you going to join me?”
Banyan said, “I’ve already eaten. Fin, you hungry, Brother?”
“I’m always hungry. Rocky, what would you like to drink? There’s water, juice, and beer, but I’m going to have some of Ingrid’s sweet tea.”
“I’ll try some, please.”
“You won’t be disappointed. One day when I mentioned how much I missed having sweetened iced tea, Ingrid called Priscilla and got the recipe. Now she makes it all the time,” he said.
“Who’s Priscilla?” she asked, trying to ignore the fact that these men were offering to wait on her.
“Rafael’s housekeeper. Man, can she cook. Don’t get me wrong; Ingrid’s a wonderful cook, but Priscilla would put out a spread every Sunday at family day. As the males began finding their ma… their significant others, the family grew, and so did the feast she would put together. I’ve thought about flying back just to eat her cookies.” Finley had a jug of tea in one hand and a smile on his face. He poured a tall glassful and set it in front of
where Rocky was still standing. “Banyan?”
“Absolutely. I got used to drinking it sweet when I lived in New Orleans. Now I can’t drink it any other way.”
Rocky had heard of the legendary sweet tea in books and on television, but she’d never tried it. She usually drank water since it was free. She took a sip and moaned. Both men jerked their heads to her, and she apologized. “Sorry, but this stuff’s good.”
She put the tea on the table and returned to the stove. Rocky wasn’t sure what she was putting on her plate. It was some kind of chicken dish, but it smelled heavenly. She scooped out a serving and handed it to Finley. Instead of joining Rocky and Banyan at the table, he leaned his butt against the counter, eating standing up. Between bites, he asked Banyan, “Did you find anything else while we were gone?”
Banyan shook his head. “Not much. I’m going to have to do some recon later. Rocky, do you need to run any errands before we head to the bar? I’d like to get over there before the employees arrive so you can show me around uninterrupted.”
“No, I’m good. Everything I need is here.”
“Take your time eating. I need to make a couple of phone calls.” Banyan stood and closed his laptop. He stretched, and his shirt rode up his stomach, showing the V which pointed to where she was sure a nice cock would be. Not that she was thinking about Banyan’s dick, but she was pretty sure all the “brothers” in Sin’s family were genetically enhanced somehow.
“I meant to ask Sin, but I forgot. Is Remy Doucet down at the gym in your little brotherhood?”
Finley and Banyan looked at each other, but it was Fin who answered. “He is. Why? Did he bother you?”
“On the contrary. He was an absolute gentleman. Walked me to my car and everything.”