Equilibrium: A Marauders Interlude

by Lina Andersson

  The main reason she hoped those things was that Eliza’s entire demeanor was completely different from when she was going on the date. Whoever was the reason she was asking, it was someone Eliza liked.

  And Eliza liked Roach.

  The only problem she could see might be that Roach didn’t see Eliza that way. Or didn’t dare to see her that way.

  Not even mentioning how Brick might react to it.

  Actually, when she thought about it, Brick was the biggest problem. He’d always been a problem when it came to Eliza and boys. She hoped he’d be smart about it this time, though. She hoped, but she didn’t have much faith.

  oOo

  Roach

  When Roach had first started ‘hanging out’ with Eliza, as they’d called their talks, the other Marauders had often told him things about her. Never big, personal things, but just small anecdotes about her when she was a kid. At first, he’d been confused and almost annoyed by it, but then he’d liked it. One thing that had been mentioned more than once was how cuddly she used to be, and now he knew what they meant. Eliza never sat next to him on the couch; she was usually half on top of him. Whenever she spoke to him, she had a hand on him, and he really liked that about her. And she really did ‘look’ at things with her hands. He’d seen that before, but it became more and more obvious—especially when she was ‘looking’ at him.

  “Mom said something today,” she said out of nowhere. “She said I needed to get to know my own body before I could help someone else understand it.”

  “She’s got a point.” A huge point, and a point Roach had been trying to make, but Eliza hadn’t really understood. As long as she got it, he wasn’t going to argue about who’d said it first.

  “Think you could help me?”

  “Babe, that’s kind of the opposite of what she said.”

  “No. Not really, but not help with your hands. Just looking at me. I like when you look at me; it makes me feel a lot sexier.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, because you look at me like I’m the hottest thing ever, and I like that.”

  Roach’s head was spinning, and he was rock hard. He tried to tell his dick that this might not actually mean what it thought it did, but it wasn’t really paying attention to him.

  “Um, so… how do you want to do this?”

  Fifteen minutes later, he almost regretted that he’d asked, but it was still pretty fucking awesome. Eliza was naked on his bed with her legs hanging over the side, and he was sitting in front of her on the floor. She had her hand between her legs, and he was doing his very fucking best to not just whip out his dick and jack off.

  He had suggested lying beside her, but she’d insisted on doing it this way. ‘I want you close, but I don’t want to feel you yet. And I want you to see me,’ she’d said.

  So, he watched her gently stroke the scars in the form of angry lines she had on her inner thighs. He knew she hated those, but she seemed oddly okay with them at the moment. She’d asked him to keep talking to her; she wanted to hear his voice, and he had some serious problem with being coherent.

  “They feel funny,” she mumbled. “Some are really sensitive and others completely numb.”

  “Yeah?” He wondered if that was something he could play with when she’d let him touch her again. “Keep going, babe.”

  When her fingers hesitantly reached her outer folds, Roach swallowed a groan.

  “Keep talking, Roach.”

  “Yeah… sorry. It’s just…” He swallowed the rest of the sentence when she quickly dipped her finger inside of her before gently circling her clit.

  “Just?”

  “Hot.” And that was a groan. “It’s really fucking hot.”

  “I’m hot?” she asked with a big smile.

  “Insanely hot, babe.”

  “Are you hard?”

  “I’m about to bust out of my pants for you.” Roach wasn’t sure why, but this was about the hottest thing he’d done in his entire life, and he wasn’t even touching the girl. He was dying to, but at the same time he didn’t want to. That was when he saw she was starting to get really wet. “Jesus Christ, you’re sexy.”

  “Hold my hand,” she mumbled, and reached out for him with her other hand. “I need some contact.”

  He took her hand, but to do that he had to move closer, and he was basically sitting right between her legs, about two feet from her crotch—he could smell her!

  “This is nice,” she said with a laugh and squeezed his hand. “Really nice. Keep talking.”

  “I’m not sure my brain is working,” he mumbled.

  “Do I look normal down there?” she whispered and her fingers stopped moving. Then she said something that made him understand why she’d wanted him to see her. “It’s not… weird or, like, broken?”

  That brought him right back, and he squeezed her hand. “No. It’s pink, very pretty, and looks fucking delicious.”

  “You wanna taste it?” she laughed.

  “That’s cheating this time, but I definitely wanna taste it.”

  “Just a little taste then.” She held out her fingers. “Lick my fingers.”

  “Oh, fuck. You’re killing me,” he muttered and leaned closer to suck them. Delicious. “I was right. Keep going now.”

  “Can I… I just need to feel you a little. Like, lean against my thigh, or something.”

  He did, and when he gently scratched his stubble against her, she moaned and moved her fingers a little faster. Roach wouldn’t have been able to stop watching her fingers even if a bomb went off behind him. How she was rubbing herself, only to now and then stretch out her fingers to get more slick from her opening. Her right leg was resting against his shoulder, and he kept it in place by leaning his cheek against the inside of her thigh. Now and then he gently stroked her with his beard, and every time, she arched her back slightly and moaned.

  When her movements started to get frantic and slightly twitching, he had to close his eyes, and he turned his face to bury his nose against the inside of her thigh. To hide what he was doing, he stretched out his tongue to lick her, and then pressed his mouth to the wet spot he’d just made.

  “Oh, fuck!” Eliza yelled, and her legs were trembling by then. “Again.”

  So he started to kiss and lick her scars, and it was not helping him to calm down at all, but it was hot. She held his hand in a death grip, panting and moaning as the other kept rubbing her, and Roach slowly realized that he might come in his pants.

  “Roach, I need… something.”

  “What do you need?”

  “I can’t… It’s not… I need help, please, just a little,” she whispered. “Just to push me over the edge. Please.”

  “Okay, what do you want?”

  “I don’t… Fuck! I don’t know.”

  “Licking or fingers?” he suggested.

  “Licking! No one has done that. I want that.”

  He leaned closer and kissed her fingers rubbing her clit, and she spread them so he could taste her. He’d definitely been right, she tasted amazing. He’d just barely started when she grabbed the back of his head and held him in place. He took that as a sign that she was just fine with what was going on, and started to go down on her properly.

  “Like that!” she yelled when he sucked on her clit. “Do more of that. Oh fucking hell, don’t stop.”

  She arched off the bed, and came with a cry, still holding on to the back of his head.

  Roach kissed the inside of her thigh and got up on the bed to lie beside her.

  “All good?” he asked, and smiled when she started laughing. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  She turned towards him and hugged him. “That was great.”

  “Yes it was.”

  “See, good things happen when you push me a little.”

  “Okay,” he said and gave her a kiss. “Not sure it’s the same, but I’ll keep it in mind.”

  “Can I touch it?” she asked. “Just to get used to you.”
>
  “Okay, but you can’t touch something you can’t name.”

  “Your dick,” she said with a big smile. “I wanna touch your dick.”

  “Oh, fuck.”

  “Just warn me before you… come. I don’t think I can deal with that, yet.”

  He was already about to fucking burst, and if she started touching him, it wouldn’t take long at all.

  “Please,” she added.

  “Okay, but… I think it’s best if I just… Fuck. I need to jerk off first, because I’m already really fucking close.”

  Eliza sat up and smiled. “Yeah? Just from looking at me.”

  “I didn’t just look,” he protested. “But that would’ve actually been enough.”

  “So licking me turns you on?”

  “Yes,” he said and sat up. “Want me to go spank the monkey so you can touch me?”

  “Yes,” she smiled, and she looked so pleased. “I’m, like, totally hot.”

  “Yes you are,” he laughed and gave her a kiss. “Give me about thirty seconds and then I’ll be back. That’s how hot you are.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  It’s Beautiful

  oOo

  ELIZA HAD DECIDED HER father was her hero when she wasn’t more than three or four years old, and it was one of her earliest memories. They’d been at a playground, and when Brick wasn’t watching, she’d climbed up a tower in a playhouse. Then she couldn’t go down. She’d started crying, and then he’d just been there, right below the tower, and he’d held out his arms.

  “Jump, Baby Girl, I’ll catch you.”

  She hadn’t been able to tell him that she didn’t dare, and it was possible she was too little to be able to speak well enough for him to understand. She’d just sat down at the corner of the tower, hid her face in her arms, and cried.

  The next thing she knew, a few of the planks on the wall next to her had been ripped away so he could squeeze inside, and he’d pulled her out of the house. He’d hugged her tightly and told her she was safe, that she had nothing to worry about—he’d always save her.

  She’d been upset that he’d destroyed the tower, but they’d watched as someone—probably some hang-around—fixed it again. But at the same time she’d known that if she really needed him, nothing would stop him.

  oOo

  Roach

  If he’d thought he was stupid about a girl before, it was nothing compared to how completely idiotic he was now. He should’ve come clean with Brick the second things changed, but he hadn’t. And he knew that the longer he waited, the worse it would get, but Eliza kept saying she wanted to wait. He wasn’t sure exactly what they were waiting for, though, and he had a nagging feeling that she expected it to end the second Brick found out. Which was what Roach thought, too. It would most likely be a one-way ticket back to New York.

  That morning they’d had a call from Niu, the woman who was now their contact in the cartel, and she’d said that it was a good idea that they buckled up for a few days. It had been almost a year since the attack, but not much had happened. Niu came by about once a month with updates, but it was generally just about how everyone was gearing up for it or was trying to find ‘friends.’ When she called this time, she said that this was it. They were going to kick start the war, and they wanted their friends to be safe until they knew where all their enemies were hiding. Whatever they were going to do, it was going to force their enemies to move so they could find them.

  Roach wasn’t sure what would happen after that, but according to Brick, who’d seen at least one cartel war previously, most of it would still be going on in Mexico where they could work in peace. Shooting on the streets in the US tended to cause them more problems than it was worth. Getting the Marauders to stay safe for a few days was simply a precaution.

  That didn’t help Eliza, though, and Roach knew she was scared. Terrified might have been a better word for it. She stayed close to Brick or Bull most of the time, and she smoked like a fucking chimney. He went to sit next to her for a while, and it was really damn hard for him to do that without touching her.

  “You need to eat something,” he said.

  “You told me you wouldn’t say shit like that to me,” she snapped.

  “Roach!” Brick yelled from the other end of the room before he had time to answer Eliza. “Need you for a second.”

  After a look at Eliza, he got up to see what it was about.

  “We’re keeping The Booty Bank open tonight, but we need extra guards, and I want you all to be packing. Don’t hesitate to kick people out if they’re trying something,” Brick said. “I’ll have Sandra talk to the girls to make sure they’re all extra safe.”

  “Are we going to look like guards?” Sisco asked as he picked up one of the guns. “As in: should we look scary as fuck, or just hang around?”

  “Just hang around, but try to keep your eyes off the tits,” Brick answered.

  Roach didn’t get another chance to talk to Eliza, since Brick put her in charge of the kids, and Roach had to get things ready at the strip club.

  The shift was just like any other. Whatever was happening was obviously not happening at The Booty Bank. Some of the girls were a bit uneasy at first, but when nothing really happened, the night continued as usual. The main difference was that a few of the members were going to stay behind while the place was being cleaned, and that all the girls were supposed to go back and stay the night at the clubhouse. Sapphire gave him some looks, as if she was waiting for him to invite her to his room, but he ignored her. Since the Sweetums incident, he’d barely talked to her other than specifically work-related things.

  “Get out of here,” Ahab said to him. “Looks like some of us will hang out here for a while, and I’m guessing you’re not interested.”

  Ahab knew Roach wasn’t much for public fucking.

  “I’d tell you to be careful with the furniture, but I know they’ve seen worse.”

  The clubhouse was quiet when he walked in through the back door, and after a shower he fell asleep almost immediately. He didn’t get to sleep long, though.

  “Roach,” Eliza whispered really close to his ear.

  “Hey. Hang on, how did you get in here?”

  “Master key,” she smiled. “I’m sorry about earlier.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said, and the next second her mouth was on his. “Hey, okay, babe, this is a really stupid idea.”

  “He’s sleeping, and no one saw me. Please. I just want to be close to you a little while.”

  “Okay, but I’m turning on the light because we’re not gonna fucking fall asleep.” He felt her crawl under the cover and realized something. “Fuck, are you naked?”

  “Maybe a little.”

  “How the hell are you ‘a little’ naked?” he asked.

  “I have a hairband,” she mumbled with her lips against his.

  “That doesn’t—” He was interrupted when her hand circled his dick. “Oh, shit.”

  “Touch me. I want your hands on me. I need to feel you.”

  So far it had usually been either him ‘helping’ her get off, or she who had been touching him while he tried to be still. She’d been on a ‘mission’ to find the best spot to touch on his body, and it had been absolutely awesome. But whenever she touched him, he left her alone, so this was new.

  “Yeah?” he asked.

  “All over,” she smiled, while she kept touching him. “It feels great when it’s growing in my hand.”

  He sat up to turn on the light, and she once again took him by surprise by straddling him. Even if they hadn’t had sex, they’d done some other things, and the only thing he knew for sure didn’t work was when he was on top of her. He’d done it once by mistake when lying next to her and reaching over her to get the remote from the coffee table. She’d panicked, but that was the only time it had been that bad. Other than avoiding that, he’d pretty much handed over the control to her. She led, and he followed. She’d said stop a few times, so he knew
she would if she needed to. It was partly because she, very frustrated, had yelled that if he asked her if she was sure one more time, she’d rip off his fucking face herself. So he decided to officially trust her; unofficially he kept a very close eye on her, which was the real reason why he wanted the light on.

  With one hand on his dick, and the other between her own legs, she kept kissing him. He put his arms around her and folded his legs to pull her closer. When he combed his hands through her hair, he smiled.

  “You don’t have a hairband.”

  “I lied. I’m totally naked. Do you mind?”

  “Not at all.”

  “You’re also totally naked. Do you always sleep naked?”

  “No, I had a shower before I went to bed.”

  He kept one hand around her waist, and with the other he gently stroked her breast. Eliza’s touching had made him appreciate how things felt in a completely different way. Like the soft outer curve of her breast, how it fit his cupped hand, or how her pebbled nipples tickled the soft part of his palms.

  “Roach,” she groaned. “Do you have a condom here?”

  He took a deep breath and leaned back. “Babe, you can rip my face off if you want to, but are you sure about this? I’m fine with waiting.”

  “I know, but I’m not. If we do it like this, like we’re sitting now, I think it’ll work.”

  “Okay, but if it doesn’t work, don’t push. Not this.” That was when he thought about something. “And I’m gonna have some serious problem with not coming if we do this.”

  “I know, but you’ll have a condom.”

  “Yeah, I just wanted to point it out.”

  He reached for a condom from the nightstand. He didn’t really think she’d do it, but then he’d been wrong about a lot of things so far. When he’d put on the condom, Eliza touched him.

  “It doesn’t feel as nice.”

  “We’re using a condom. I’m not gonna knock you up.”

  “I know. That’s not what I meant.” She kissed him and rose up slightly while still holding on to his dick. “Help me.”

  He did, and while aiming it right, he made sure she was wet enough, which she most definitely was. He kept his eyes on her as she sat down on him, and when she smiled, he closed his eyes with a groan. It was a relief that she sat perfectly still on him for a long time, because even if it was okay if he came, it should probably take more than a few seconds.