by Jessie Cooke
“Just get her here, and I’ll take it from there. Stone and Skid will never know she was here. They don’t know Stacey and I’m not taking Nicole to the fucking party. Nobody’s using the cabin right now….”
“Fuck, this just gets worse and worse.” The cabin was an old, one-room wooden building that had been on clubhouse property since before the Invaders even existed. When Stone first founded the club, it was where he lived. Once the main clubhouse was built, the teenagers used that old building for their sexual trysts and to just hang out and get high. Hashtag once told Zack that he and Stone’s kid Jeff had even lived in it for a while. As far as Zack knew, the only part of it used now was the basement. Stone had several safes installed there, and that was where the club kept things they didn’t want discovered in the event of a raid. The cabin looked like an old, rotting building that no one would find anything in if they searched. The entrance to the basement was well-hidden and if you didn’t know it existed, you’d never find it. “Stone made that cabin off limits, unless we were specifically sent there to leave or pick something up, years ago. So, not only would my neck be on the fucking chopping block for bringing that woman here, but…”
“No one will know she’s here and no one will know I’m at that cabin and I swear to fucking God if there is any fallout from this at all…no one will know that you had any part in it. I know I’ve asked a fucking lot of you lately, and if you say no, absolutely, to this, I will understand. But I’m not going to stop trying to see her. So far nobody is stepping up to help with these charges I’m facing. The best deal they’ve offered is five years. If my ass is going away for five years, and I’m going to survive it, I have to see her…one more time.”
Hashtag shook his head and finally picked up the glass and drained his drink. When the club girl tried to refill it, he shooed her away and said, “What makes you think Nicole will go for this?”
“She won’t…easily…but I have faith that you and Stacey can come up with something to get her in that car,” Zack said with a grin.
“You’re a manipulative son of a bitch, you know that?” Hashtag said as he tried to suppress a grin of his own.
“Good genes,” Zack said. Being manipulative was not something he was proud of, but at a time like this when he felt like everything was riding on his ability to convince someone to do what he wanted them to do…he was almost thankful to Mona.
Nicole didn’t want to go out. She wanted her baby…and she wanted Zack. She knew that she couldn’t have the latter, but without Liam there to keep her occupied, her desire for Zack was even worse. She fought the impulse to call him daily and the urge to see him almost every minute of the day. Spider’s lawyer had wanted a provision in the paperwork that said she couldn’t see him at all, but the judge would only agree to barring Zack from being around Liam, and only as long as he was facing the drug and weapons charges. She told herself that there was nothing Spider could do to keep her from seeing him, but then the voice of reason would tell her that pissing Spider off was not a good idea. Until there was a custody arrangement written in stone and she was sure they couldn’t take her baby away for good, she’d have to make nice with him whether she liked it or not. Unfortunately for her broken heart, that meant keeping her distance from Zack. “You haven’t gone anywhere but to work in a month,” Stacey was saying.
“That’s not true. I go to the grocery store. I got my hair cut last week and Liam and I spent the day at the park just a few days ago.”
Stacey rolled her eyes and continued to hold dresses up to Nicole, sizing them and her up. She was obviously primed to not take no for an answer. “Errands and time with Liam don’t count, babe, you need some time for you.”
“I’m still adjusting to sharing Liam with Spider and that awful woman that calls herself Grandmama to my baby. He cried like his heart was broken last night when they took him. It’s been a month of weekends and he’s still not used to it. He doesn’t understand why I keep sending him away.”
Stacey sighed and put the blue dress she was holding down. Taking Nicole by the hand she led her over to the bed and made her sit. “Look, babe, I hate that Spider has rights to that baby too, but as unfortunate as it is, there is nothing either of us can do to change that. His mother is a bitch, I agree wholeheartedly with that. But, there is no reason to believe that she doesn’t take care of Liam when she has him. He is clean and happy every time they bring him back. We know that mansion is clean and filled with servants and maybe even a nanny to take good care of him. It sucks because I know you miss him and I do too, but we have to focus on the positive. Spider doesn’t have him at the clubhouse and I can’t imagine that if he gets wasted, his mother would be stupid enough to let him have Liam at all. She made a commitment to the court that she would supervise his visits. She has a reputation in this community and in all the years her son has been a piece of shit, she’s managed to hold onto it. Just keep focusing on that. Liam is safe and warm and fed, and for tonight there is nothing you can do but appreciate that.”
Nicole knew that Stacey was right – she was killing herself, stressing out over things she couldn’t change. It just hurt so badly to be away from Liam and to know that the people who had him were not capable of real love or warmth. She had to keep reminding herself to be thankful that they were at least capable of taking physical care of Liam and that she still had the opportunity to show him unconditional love. “Okay,” she said with a resigned sigh. “I’ll go out for a little while, not too late because I work tomorrow. Where are we going?”
“To a party.”
“A party where?”
“I’m not sure exactly where, my friend is picking us up. I’ll make sure we get you home at a decent time. I think the apricot color looks really great with your coloring.”
Stacey wasn’t looking her in the eye, and Nicole got the feeling her friend wasn’t telling her something. She was tired of arguing, however, so she said, “I like the apricot one.”
Stacey had a smile on her face when she turned and handed it to her. The dress was just a casual bohemian, but it was brightly colored and pretty, and Nicole was grateful that her friend hadn’t tried to get her to put on one of the dresses she wore to her club. Most of those were form-fitting and skin-revealing, and as cute as Nicole thought they looked on Stacey, she didn’t feel comfortable in them. Besides, the only person she wanted to show any skin to was off limits, at least in her mind.
She took the dress and both women finished getting ready. Nicole was tempted to ask Stacey more about who they were going with and where, but she didn’t, telling herself to trust her best friend. She had just finished putting on her brown leather, ankle-high boots when there was a knock at the door. “I’ll get it,” Stacey said. The nervous look on Stacey’s face was Nicole’s first clue that she had made a mistake agreeing to this night. Her second clue was the sight of Hashtag on their doorstep.
“What is this?”
Hash and Stacey looked at each other and Stacey said, “Don’t be mad, Nick. Zack wants to see you. You trust him, right?”
“I trusted you up until about ten seconds ago.”
“He’s got a plan,” Hashtag said, not looking too excited about it himself. “He’s worried they’re going to lock him up on Monday, Nicole. He really wants to see you, just in case.”
Nicole felt a pang in her chest, stronger than the one that had been there every time she thought about Zack for the past month. She’d been so wrapped up in her own problems that she’d almost forgotten about the charges he was facing. She’d been willing to stay away from him, for Liam…but her head couldn’t process that it might be forever. “Is that a real possibility?” she asked. “That he’ll do real time?”
“We haven’t been able to come up with a solution yet and so far, the best they’ve offered him in terms of a deal is five years. He has to plead on Monday. If he takes the deal and pleads guilty, they’ll take him away then and there.”
Five years was a long time, but
not forever. Nicole wondered if Zack might be smart to just take that deal even though she knew he wasn’t guilty. With his affiliation, the D.A. would be pushing for a lot more than that if he pled not guilty and went to trial, she was sure. The idea of him locked up for five years made her sick to her stomach even as she said, “If he doesn’t take the deal and pleads not guilty, what’s he looking at then?”
“Then it will go to trial and he could feasibly end up with ten years or more. He doesn’t want to complicate things for you, Nicole, he just wants to see you. If you feel uncomfortable at any time, I’ll give you my number; you can call me and I’ll get you out of there.”
“And you agreed to be a part of all this?” she asked, looking at Stacey. She was trying to process ten years in her head. It seemed like a lifetime. She’d pacified herself with the thought that sooner or later the custody battle would end and she and Zack could start over…but not if he was in prison.
“Yes, I did,” Stacey said, “and I’m not apologizing for it. Babe, you’re miserable without him. Even when you’re with Liam I can see it. Think how miserable you’ll be if he goes to prison and you passed up on a chance to see him one last time.”
Nicole’s good sense was screaming at her to tell them both to go fuck themselves, but her heart was quickly overriding it. She hadn’t been able to eat, or sleep, or sometimes even think in the past month without him. She told herself that maybe she just needed closure. Her good sense knew that was a lie. She didn’t want closure. She wanted Zack. She was rational enough to know that she couldn’t have him the way she wanted him…but maybe just a taste wouldn’t hurt…
“Okay,” she said, at last. “I’m trusting you…all of you.”
36
Nicole heard the van shut off and everything went dark before Hashtag said, “Okay, we’re here.” She sat up and pushed the blanket and boxes, which had hidden her when they went through the gates of the Invaders property, off to the side. It was pitch-black wherever they were and she couldn’t see a thing, other than a few stars and a crescent moon in the sky.
“Where is here?” she asked.
Hashtag opened his door and light flooded in. “It’s an old cabin on the property. No one will know you’re here and when you’re ready to go just call me, and Stacey and I will come back, okay?”
She nodded as butterflies flitted nervously around in her stomach. She had no idea what she was doing but there was no turning back now. The back door to the van suddenly slid open and there was Zack, in all his muscled-up, masculine glory. Her mouth went dry as she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. He smiled at her and made it all worse. Her body was suddenly in overdrive. “Hi, baby.”
“Hey,” she croaked out. He held out his hand to her and she took it, letting him help her out of the van. He let go of her long enough to close the door and pat the side of it, and she stood frozen to her spot as she watched Hashtag and Stacey pull away from the cabin. Once all but the taillights of the van had disappeared, Zack turned back to her and said:
“You look beautiful. I missed you.”
She had made silly promises to herself on the ride out. One of those promises was that she wasn’t going to get all teary-eyed as soon as she saw him and melt into his arms. It was the first one she broke. He opened his arms and she melted into his chest like butter left out in the sun. He felt so good, steady and strong. She could feel his heart beating against the side of her face and the familiar masculine scent of him went straight to her head. “I missed you too,” she whispered. He held her there in the dark for a while, running one hand through her hair while the other gently massaged her back. Finally, he said, “I have a lantern inside. It’s kind of a mess in there, but I cleaned it up as much as I could.” His voice sounded kind of shaky and nervous, and that was so out of character for him that it almost frightened her. It drove the reality of their situation home even further.
She nodded against his chest and then took his hand and followed him inside. She had to smile when she saw what he had done. There was a mason jar in the center of a table that looked like it was rotting away, and it was filled with sunflowers. Next to that was the lantern and to her left was an air mattress covered in a clean, white sheet. He saw her looking at it and he said, “I wasn’t assuming that you were going to have sex with me, or spend the night. There just wasn’t any clean, safe place to sit in here.” Nicole smiled at him and once again snuggled up against him. She felt him inhale her hair and brush his lips across the top of her head. He waited a few beats and then said, “Not that I’d be opposed to the sex thing.” Nicole laughed softly and looked up at him. His pretty blue eyes were sparkling and he had that grin on his face that had made her fall in love with him.
Nicole knew they needed to talk. She needed to explain to him why they couldn’t see each other in public. But he was so close and she wanted to feel him so badly… “How about we forget about everything else for right now and you just show me how not opposed to that sex thing you are?”
“Baby, I haven’t heard an idea that good in thirty years.”
Zack all but tossed her onto the air mattress and then dropped down next to her. He stared at her for a few minutes, almost like he couldn’t believe she was there, and then pulling her almost up into his lap, he kissed her. Their tongues danced feverishly, tangling up like they were trying to become a part of each other. As the kiss grew hotter, Nicole climbed up further into his lap and straddled him, deepening the kiss even more and feeling it in every fiber of her being. Zack tangled his fingers up in her hair and held her head in place while exploring every part of her mouth with his hot tongue. His kisses were so erotic that Nicole almost thought she didn’t need any more to have an earth-shattering orgasm. They were both gasping by the time he pulled out of the kiss and grinned at her. His blue eyes had the sparkle back in them, the one that made him look like a little boy about to stick his hand in the cookie jar.
Nicole let her hands slide up his waist, underneath his t-shirt, and she felt his hot, muscular flesh pulsing under her fingers and palms as she did. She pushed his shirt up until it was underneath his arms and she was exploring his pecs before he stopped her by taking her wrists in his hands. He gave her lips a soft peck and then slid his hands all the way up her arms and neck until he reached her hair again. Taking two fistfuls of it, he tipped her head back and in a husky voice he whispered, “I’m in charge tonight.” The tone of his voice and the look in his eyes was like a predator, and knowing she was the prey sent chills racing down her arms and spine. He suddenly flipped her off his lap and laid her on her back on the mattress. When he leaned forward to take off his boots, Nicole sat up and started to do the same. Zack stopped her again with a hand on her wrist. “I told you, I’m in charge. Lie down.” His voice was sexy and commanding, and she felt a rush of warm moisture soak her panties at the sound of it. She lay back and watched as he stood up and stripped off his t-shirt and jeans. The light of the lantern flickered across his body and Nicole knew that she was looking at the most perfect example of male flesh that she would ever see. Once he was stripped to nothing but his dark blue boxer shorts, he grinned down at her and picked up one of her feet by her boot. He unzipped the side of it and pulled it off, making it look so sexy that Nicole thought he could make a fortune in commissions or tips if he worked at a woman’s shoe store.
He held her naked foot in one hand and kissed along the side of it and then in the center of the ball of it underneath. Feet had never done anything for Nicole, so she was surprised at how sexy she found that. He ran his hands up her calf, gripping and massaging it until he reached her knee, and then he let them slowly run back down to her ankle before he laid that foot down on the bed and picked up the other one. That foot got the same erotic treatment, and Nicole’s panties were soaked through by the time he turned his attention to the dress she was wearing. He got up on the bed and straddled her legs, flipping the skirt of the dress up so that her thighs and panties were completely exposed. Bracing h
is hands on either side of her thighs, he leaned down and kissed from her knee all the way up to where her thigh met her hip on one side and then the opposite direction on the other. Nicole twisted her body slightly, trying to capture his lips across the aching center of her wet pussy. Zack used one hand to press gently against her stomach and hold her to the bed while he continued his exploration of her thighs and the outline of her little panties with his tongue. Nicole was writhing around on the mattress as he ran his tongue along the inner parts of her thighs, and then she let out a loud whimper when he licked across her wet crotch.
Zack tormented her like that for a while, causing her to buck her hips up off the bed and pull at his hair with her fingers like she was trying to pull it out by the roots. She was frustrated and breathing heavily when he sat up and his hands both went to the top button of her dress. She reached down and tried to grab the hem to pull it off, but Zack took her hands and put them up over her head. With another sexy grin, he said, “Leave them there.” She nodded, panting out another breath as he put his fingers back on that button and unfastened it. Once it was undone, he leaned down and pressed his hot lips to the small area of chest that he’d revealed. Once that was done, his fingers went to the next button and the spot underneath that got a kiss. It was sweet and sexy, but there were ten buttons on the dress and Nicole thought she might explode if he took that much time with each one.
“Jesus, Zack, you’re killing me.”
As he unbuttoned the third button he said, “You’re excited, baby?”
“God, yes.”
“You want me inside of you? You want to wrap that tight, sweet, hot, wet pussy around my throbbing cock?”
“So. Fucking. Bad.”
He chuckled softly and bent to plant another kiss on her chest. While his lips were still pressed against her he said, “Good, but you’re going to have to be patient.” His fingers went to button number four, the one right over her breasts. This time when he pressed his lips against her, into the mound of flesh that rose out of her bra, her body convulsed. She was torn between wanting the sensations he was producing in her to last forever, and aching to reach an orgasm that she was sure would take her to heights that she’d never seen before.