by KC Kean
“You know, this is the first time I’ve been your car buddy, baby girl.”
His words catch me by surprise, and I swing my head back around to him. A soft smile plays on his lips, as I rack my brain to tell him he’s wrong, but I come up with nothing.
“Big mouth, I …”
His hand squeezes mine, cutting me off.
“Baby girl, we’re badass bikers. I love riding my Suzie, nearly as much as I like riding you,” he says with a wink. I smack his arm, but he just grins at me.
“You, and your big mouth,” I say, trying to get him again, except he catches my arm and pulls me closer.
“Baby girl, I like it when you’re feisty. How about you come kiss me? Give me a taste of that sweet gloss on your lips.”
I don’t have a chance to respond before his lips are on mine, devouring me. He doesn’t release my hands, holding me in place as he takes what he wants from me. His calloused fingers drag against my skin, as he increases the pressure of his lips against mine. When he sinks his teeth into my bottom lip, I’m a goner.
I feel like a true teenager in this moment, making out in the backseat of a car. I mean it’s a Rolls, so not your standard car for the classic teenage experience, but amazing all the same.
I expect him to eventually let go of me so he can touch my body, yet he doesn’t budge. Not until we hear a throat clearing, and the sun shining in through Oscar’s open door. Ian stands patiently waiting for us to step out, while we take a moment to gather ourselves. I hadn’t even realized the car had come to a stop.
“What is it with you Aceholes distracting me so easily?” I mutter to myself, but I don’t miss the grin on Oscar’s lips.
Oscar’s blue eyes are blown as he looks me over, likely seeing the same as me.
“Baby girl, I love your lips all puffy like this,” he murmurs, pressing his thumb against my swollen bottom lip. I nip at the pad of his thumb, making him groan. “Let’s go baby girl, before I have Ian drive us back.”
Oscar steps out of the car first, holding his hand out for mine. My hand feeling small and delicate in his, as I purposely brush up against him inhaling his scent as I do. He’s so intoxicating. Whatever he uses, it fucking works.
“You’re playing with fire, baby girl,” he whispers in my ear, pressing his erection into my hip and stepping back. Acehole.
Following him towards the others, he strokes his thumb lazily over my knuckles. I enjoy this tender side of him. He’s usually wearing his metaphorical armor, blocking everyone from seeing the guy underneath all the jokes.
“Are you ready for this weekend with Roman?” He asks, glancing down at me as we near the others.
“Yes, I’m a little nervous with how I’m supposed to convince a Special Agent to join Featherstone’s corrupt lifestyle, but whatever it takes right?” I say, using my own ‘fake it till you make it’ mantra.
“Whatever it takes,” he responds with a smile.
“What are you two muttering about?” Roman asks, throwing his arm over my shoulder from the other side as we come to stop in front of my guys.
“We were talking about you, not to you, Rome. You need to slow your roll,” Oscar answers, simply trying to get a rise out of him as always.
Roman goes to swing his arm at him around my back, but Oscar’s quick to release my hand and jump out of the way. Shaking my head at their crazy, I smile at Parker and Kai as we make our way inside, past the handful of students standing around. I like that Weaponry is a small group for the class, but it does make me wonder what West does the rest of the time.
Before we move much further, West is heading towards us, smiling as he approaches.
“Hey, Luna. Do you guys have a minute?” I slow my pace as we make our way towards him. Trying to embrace the peacefulness before he spills whatever news he has. Stopping in front of him, I nod for him to continue.
“I have a file for you to analyze regarding The Games. From people’s experiences, to unauthorized files and rumors currently circulating.” He holds out a small memory stick for me to take, but I indicate for him to give it to Kai, which he does. “It’s all on there. I wanted to mention that there seems to be a lot of hearsay this year. I’ve heard quite a few say that they’re trying to move The Games from December to early November. I don’t know how true that is, but it’s important you know.”
“Thanks, West. I really appreciate this.” Looking at my guys, I brace myself for some complaining over my next words. “Guys, can you just give me a minute? I’ll meet you inside once I’m done.”
Kai, Parker and Oscar nod in consent, and slowly head for the entryway, glancing back at me to be sure. Roman still stands with his arm over my shoulder, not moving a muscle. I look up to Roman, but he’s staring West down, who seems unfazed by Roman’s grizzly side.
“Don’t give me an excuse to bury you, West the Pest,” he grunts, finally stepping towards the others. He stops at the doors, arms crossed and stares us down. Other students are unable to step around him to get in the building, but he pays them no mind, his sole focus on me. I roll my eyes at his alpha beast coming through right now, yet a little part of me is turned on by it. Okay a large part of me. At least he gave me the space I asked for, progress.
“You okay, Moon?” West asks, running a hand through his short brown hair.
Glancing around us I take in our surroundings as I process what I actually want to say. The flowerbed to my left draws me in with the different colored flowers planted in it. The large oak tree behind it has us standing in the shade, with the cool breeze blowing around us. Separately these little things are inconsequential, but together they help ground me.
“Yes. I, err. I finally remembered Rafe is my father,” I murmur, watching the surprise take over his face.
“Luna, that’s brilliant,” he says, his voice full of enthusiasm. I can see he wants to reach out and hug me, but he refrains. “Does he know? He’ll probably have a breakdown over it.” I nod in response, and look into his deep brown eyes.
“He knows, we had an issue with Veronica this weekend, so he ended up here anyway.”
“Thank you for telling me,” he says with a heartwarming smile. He squeezes my shoulder, unable to stop himself from needing the contact.
“Rafe also told me his suspicions about Veronica and her connections.” I never asked if West knew, but my gut tells me he does. The nod he offers confirms I’m right. “If you hear anything at all, I need to know, West.”
“I swear Luna, whatever you need, remember?”
“Thanks.” I offer a small smile, feeling Roman’s eyes burning holes into the side of my face. A part of me wants to stand here longer just to piss him off, because I do what I want. The other part of me doesn’t want to add any unnecessary stress onto our plates right now.
With that in mind, I step back, making his hand drop from my shoulder and make my way towards the entry. He stays by my side every step, even when we get to Roman.
“I’ve set up a separate zone for you guys today. I managed to get my hands on some of the newest weapons on the market. I thought they might end up being useful for you all.”
“Thanks,” Roman grunts. I can see the relief in his eyes that West is following through on his word, and helping us like he said he would. With just as much surprise from West that Roman has manners. Patting his shoulder, West heads into the main space, while Roman guides me towards the changing rooms.
“Do you need any help getting undressed, princess?” Roman murmurs, pulling me in close against him.
“Not this time, baby, but soon. Real soon.” Placing a quick kiss to his lips, I step back and head inside. Wren is the only other girl who has this class, and she doesn’t seem to be here yet. Likely still back at the fountain pretending to be the Queen of Featherstone.
There are wooden benches around the changing room with clothes hooks lining the wall too, but I always store everything in one of the blue lockers in the corner. Throwing on my classic black tight shorts and
loose fitted black t-shirt, I choose to leave my hair in a bun today. Making quick work of getting changed and locking my stuff away, I get out of there before Wren does show up.
My brain is going into overdrive wondering what is on the flash drive he gave us, but for now, my goal is to get trigger happy with these new weapons. Maybe Wren would like to be my target for practice? A girl can dream.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
(Kai)
The guns West gave us are impressive. They are completely made of plastic, so they will pass through any security detectors. Overall, they are accurate soft shooting but hard-hitting pistols. We were all impressed with how they handle, and West was happy for us to keep them.
We aren’t keeping them in the secure lockers here or in the vaults. Instead, we’re going to keep them in our rooms so we can grab them at any time. No serial numbers are imprinted, which makes them the perfect ghost weapon.
Combat is extra brutal today with Maverick putting us through our paces, but it’ll be worth it to be in top form for when The Games come around. I sparred with Parker who is getting much better with his left hook, while Roman was the only one willing to brawl with our girl.
I couldn’t do it, spar with her. Yet the appreciation in her eyes when Roman does, shows how important that is to their dynamic. Oscar was running moves with some guy from Diamond, but it was just him showing off in front of Luna the whole time. Not that she didn’t enjoy it, because the way she watched his every move told me she did.
After a quick shower, I take a seat in the back of the Rolls with Roman, I definitely miss being the only one who got to ride with my Sakura.
“Do you want to go through these files together?” I ask, twirling the stick in my hand.
“Yes, will it be easy enough to do in Luna’s apartment or do we need to be in yours?”
“Luna’s will be fine. I’ll need to grab a few things from my room, but we should be good. Any reason why Luna’s room specifically?” I question curiously because it would usually always be Roman’s room we gathered in.
“No real reason, I just like being in her space. Besides she’s most comfortable in her own room and my princess has enough to deal with. So, she should be able to relax when she can.” He continues to stare out of the window as he says it out loud, but I’m impressed by his observation.
“I told her about Mia.”
That catches his attention, and has his head whipping around to meet my gaze.
“You told her about your sister? When?” Roman looks surprised, although he shouldn’t be. We’re all trusting in her more and more each day.
“When we were at the garden on Sunday, before Veronica showed up,” I sigh, frustrated by the families we are forced to deal with. I love my mother very much, but more for the person she was not the person she is now.
“Are you okay?” He asks, trying to soften his voice to offer me comfort, but it just makes me smile at his efforts.
“Yeah, the goal is to still takeover my father's place in The Ring so I can find Mia. I need to get through The Games so I can get on with it.”
“Did you tell her that part?” He asks, but I shake my head.
“No, Rafe was calling about Veronica, but she did say she would help me find her no matter what it takes. I believe her, besides we all know if we survive The Games this is what is expected of us, right? To continue running our bloodline’s specific skill sets, while holding a seat at the table for The Ring.” He’s quiet for a moment, as he considers my words.
“I’m not sure she does, Kai. You have to remember Luna wasn’t a part of this life for a long time, and when she was, she doesn’t remember anything from it. Plus, she was only a child then. I feel like we need to gauge how much she does know.” The car pulls to a stop outside of Ace, but before we climb out Roman continues, “Sooner rather than later though. I hate her not knowing how this place fucking works.”
I couldn’t agree more. Stepping out of the Rolls, only Parker and Luna are waiting for us. Roman throws his arm around her shoulders as we step inside.
“Where are the brats?” he asks, leading us to the elevator.
“Oscar walked Jess back to her room, she said she wasn’t feeling very well. To be honest, she did seem flustered all morning and her face was blotchy. I think we need to keep an eye on her,” Luna says, concern written on her face.
Stepping into the elevator, I press for my floor and Luna’s. “I’m just going to grab a few of my devices, and I’ll be up for us to go through this file West gave us, okay?”
“Thank you, handsome,” she murmurs offering me a soft smile. I love it when she calls me that. I hope this is what she feels like when I call her Sakura. Warm on the inside, like I’m actually living again. After Mia was taken, I completely shut down, numb to everything around me. Until now.
The elevator stops on my floor, and as I go to step out Oscar is there ready to step in.
“Perfect timing,” he says with a smile as we trade places.
“I’ll be up in a minute, guys,” I say over my shoulder as I rush to grab what I need.
Letting myself into my room I do a quick check of my security system. I have access to it from my phone, but I can’t help but double check the actual system every time I step in. I make sure the footage hasn’t stopped at any time and not been tampered with. When I’m satisfied everything is okay I step into my room, pulling a duffel bag from my walk-in wardrobe. I quickly grab my personal laptops and a few connectors so I can link everything up and I’m good to go.
Happy I have everything, I step outside just as Jess’ door slams shut. I consider knocking but decide against it if she doesn’t feel well.
Choosing to take the stairs up to the top floor, I knock on Luna’s door and Parker lets me in. The smell of coffee fills the air as I step in to see Roman has Luna wrapped in his arms in front of the floor length windows. I don’t know what they’re murmuring to each other, but they definitely need to fuck already.
Oscar walks in from the kitchen holding cups of coffee, and whistles cutting through the sexual tension growing around the pair by the window. The heat those two have is like a fireball surrounding them. Usually two people who are so alike would be awful for each other, but as much as they butt heads, there is a tenderness still between them. In the way she strokes his arm, and the sparkle that always appears in Roman’s eyes when she’s near.
“Okay, love birds let’s go through all this stuff relating to The Games shall we? You’ve got plenty of time for foreplay later.” Luna rolls her eyes at him as Roman glares.
“Before that I want to show you guys something,” I say, finally building up the courage to share something personal. When I start to undo my shirt, Luna instantly understands and smiles at me shyly.
“Yes, Kai. Any excuse to get naked and I’m involved,” Oscar nods enthusiastically, as he too starts to undo the buttons of his shirt.
He stops the instant he sees what I’m trying to show them. All of the guys drift towards me as they look at my new tattoo courtesy of Luna. She still hasn’t said anything about it, but I’m sure she will eventually.
“Holy shit, did Luna do this?” Roman asks, as he leans in close.
“Yeah. They are the moons from when I was born,” I say pointing to the one in the middle. “Mia’s moon, and Luna’s.” I point to the left and the right in time with my words and everyone continues to stare.
I lift my eyes back to Luna who has little pink rosy cheeks. I offer her a gentle smile, not wanting to throw everyone’s attention at her, but it seems she has it anyway.
“You did a brilliant job, angel,” Parker mutters, kissing her pink cheeks before he sits back down. The perfect response, seeing as she’s still not fully processed that it represents her.
I can see a cheeky glint in Oscar’s eyes, as he prepares to say something to her, but Roman must catch it too. He smacks him around the back of the head before anything can leave his mouth.
“Ow, Rome. Stop fucking
doing that,” he shouts, rubbing the marked spot.
I take a seat on the sofa, and start to set up my three laptops on the coffee table and download the file from West. The conversation ends there, and everyone is happy to sit in comfortable silence as I get to work, as they relax on the sofas around me. Luna presses a soft kiss to my temple, before sitting in between Oscar and Roman on the other sofa.
“Is it time for food yet? I’m starving,” Parker moans, flopping down beside me on the sofa.
“Why don’t we order something? It’ll take a little while for it to be brought up,” Luna offers.
“Pizza,” Oscar says, not a question but a statement. He pulls his phone out and walks into the kitchen to call it in.
“How’s everything looking?” Roman asks as I type away on my laptop.
“Good, just a second and it’ll be up,” I murmur, distracted by what I’m doing.
Parker leans in, trying to watch over my shoulder. His tech skills are good, but he’s always trying to be better.
“Pizza’s ordered. You suckers will get what you’re given,” Oscar calls walking back in, as Luna’s tv screen fills with the main file. Spreading my laptops out a little wider, I separate the file between all the screens so we can dissect this a little easier.
Splitting the files into categories, I send each one to a different device.
“Okay, we’ve got four sections: experiences, academic knowledge, unauthorized documents and rumors. We’ll get it done faster if we all focus on different categories, pull out the main points and then collate together.” I glance around at the others who all nod in agreement. “Perfect, I’ll take the unauthorized files, Parker can take the rumors and Luna the experiences. That leaves the academic files for Oscar and Roman, because there is a ridiculous amount.”
“Do you want me to get my laptop so we each have a device?” Luna questions, standing to her feet and swiping her hands down her skirt. “I could do with getting changed while I’m at it too.”