by Colbie Kay
When I don’t hand one to Tinsley, her brows knit. "Wait, I don’t get my own room?"
"Nope. It's you and me, roomie." I throw my arm over her shoulders, and she grumbles. I laugh at the way she acts so put out about having to stay in the same room with me, but we both know she’s as happy as I am. I love the way we banter and flirt. She makes me feel like a teenager again.
We grab our bags out of the van and search for our rooms. Finally finding them all on the same floor, Demon and Chayser go to theirs, Bam Bam and Pretty Boy enter theirs, and I open the door to our room.
"It's one bed?" Tinsley squeaks.
Scratching my head, I smirk and ask, "Did I leave that part out?"
She slowly nods with her mouth hanging slightly open. "Yeah, you did."
I shrug nonchalantly. "Well, as long as we stay on our own sides, it should be fine, right?" No, it’s not going to be fine, it’s going to be hard enough having her body next to mine and not touching her, let alone controlling my cock from wanting to come out and play. I keep those thoughts to myself as I have with the million others I’ve had about her since the day I met her.
"Right. So, umm, I need food." She throws her bag onto the bed.
I nod in agreement. "I think we all do. Let's go find somewhere to eat."
She follows me out the door. "Okay. I heard that Santa Rosa has a blue hole that has the clearest water you've ever seen."
I gaze at her teasingly. "You wanna check out a hole?"
"Shut up." She laughs and slaps at my arm. I jump out of her reach but laugh at her attempt. "Don't make fun of me. If we're here, we might as well take advantage of it. Besides, it'll keep my mind off the situation we're walking into."
I smirk. "Well then, for you, we'll go check out the hole."
We aren't the only ones who are hungry. By the time we reach the other rooms, the guys are grumbling along with their stomachs. Finding a quiet diner close to the hotel, we each order a burger with fries. Dinner is peaceful with most of us on our phones, it doesn’t take long to clear our plates.
The waitress brings the check over, and Bam Bam pulls his wallet out. He drops enough bills to cover the check and asks, “Now what?”
“Tinsley wants to go check out a hole.” I pull my lips in to keep from laughing.
Chayser spits his drink out and busts out laughing. “A hole, T?”
Her cheeks begin to turn pink. “You guys are a bunch of immature idiots. It’s a swimming hole.”
“Let’s go swimming.” Demon declares. Each of us stares at him with straight faces. His eyes travel to each of us. “What?”
“You wanna go swimming, Demon?” Pretty Boy’s brow arches with the question I’m sure all of us were thinking. I get a glimpse of Tinsley’s wide smile out of the corner of my eye.
“We were ready to kill her yesterday. I think the least we can do is go fucking swimming for her.”
Chayser laughs. “Demon, brother, you never cease to amaze me.”
“Man’s got a point.” Bam Bam shrugs.
“Aww. You guys are the best,” Tinsley gushes. “I forgive you for yesterday.” She squints her eyes and points to each of us. “Don’t let it happen again.” Her smile is infectious.
“I think we learned our lesson.” I stand from our table and hold my hand out. “C’mon.” She takes my outstretched hand and lets me help her up.
The sun is just beginning to set when we pull into the parking lot. We step onto the sidewalk, but my phone is pinging like crazy in my pocket. I pull it out and continue moving while she looks at the water.
As I'm replying to messages from Hanger, I hear her huff loudly. When I glance up, she has her hands on her hips, and she's glaring at me.
"What?" I ask confused.
"All you did at dinner was have your nose in that phone.” She steps closer to me. “All you've done here is have your nose in that phone.” She shuffles even closer.
My brow cocks and a grin forms. "You want me to put my phone away?"
She mischievously smirks and bites her bottom lip. Before I even realize what's happening, she snatches my phone out of my hands. "Tin, give me my phone back," I sternly demand.
"And if I don't?" She taunts while holding it above her head.
"Give me my phone." I hold my hand out and roll my eyes at her ridiculousness.
Her hand rears back, and she throws my phone in the water. "Oops."
"Oops?!" My eyes widen in shock. "I can't believe you did that! I have to have my phone! The fuck am I supposed to do now?" I can’t miss the sounds of the guys behind us, cackling like teenagers.
She shrugs innocently. "I guess you should go get it then." With all of her strength, she pushes me, and I lose my footing as I fall into the water, but not before grabbing her arm and pulling her in right along with me.
Both of us are going under, and when we come up, she's laughing harder than I've ever heard, and it's a beautiful sound. I start laughing with her, lifting my arms to dunk her again.
When she comes back up, I tug her close to me, our eyes searching one another’s as our laughter dies. Without even thinking, my lips smash against hers. I pull her even closer, her chest molding to mine as my cock begins to harden.
Tinsley throws her arms around my neck as our kiss deepens. Everything, everyone, evaporates as I’m enraptured by her taste, her touch…her. My tongue slides along hers, tasting her sweet mouth, and my hands roam down until I'm cupping her ass cheeks and grinding my hard cock against her jean covered pussy. It begs to be free, and oh, I fucking wish I could be inside her. I swallow the hushed moans that slip from her delicious mouth, and it takes all the strength I have not to rip her clothes off right fucking now just to feel her flesh against mine.
"Yo, Romeo, you gonna give us all a show or what?" Bam's playful tone brings me back to my senses.
Pulling away, I stare into her eyes once more. "We should get back to the hotel.” I suck my bottom lip into my mouth for one last taste.
She nods and dips her head. "Yeah, we should."
Neither of us says another word as we climb out of the water, or as we ride back to the hotel. It’s still silent as we settle into bed next to each other, and we make sure not to touch, staying on our own separate sides. Let's see how much sleep I get with my cock raging and my mind spinning.
I don't know how long we've been lying here in awkward silence, but she's the first to speak. Her voice is quiet in the dark room. "Do you regret kissing me?"
My head snaps in her direction. "No. Do you regret it?"
Her gaze locks with mine. "No. I think I liked it way more than I should."
"Me too." I nod and find myself wanting to kiss her more than anything right now.
"Will you kiss me again?" Her tone is shy, yet hopeful.
"I don't know if we should..." I pause for a moment, “But...I really fucking want to.”
She releases a deep breath. "I think we definitely should." She climbs over me, onto my lap, and straddles my hips. Her lips press against mine, and the softness from before is replaced with a hungry need, a craving both of us have wanted to quench for so long. We are desperate to get closer, but neither make the move to go any further. We devour each other’s mouths as her hips begin to move. Her pussy is only covered by her panties, and my cock is only covered by the thin material of my boxer briefs. She grinds against my length as electrical currents shoot through my body. Fuck! I’ve never felt anything close to this before. As much as I’d like to be inside her sweet cunt, making out like teenagers and having her dry hump the fuck outta me is somehow fucking perfect. Her quiet moans deepen, as do my groans and pleasure.
“Romeo!” She cries as her body begins to shake.
“Fuck, Tin!” I call out right behind her as we both ride the wave of our orgasms. We laugh as we cling to each other. “You’re gonna be the fucking death of me.”
“Hmm,” She mewls against my neck. I don’t know what this woman is doing to me, but I don’t want it to stop.
The sun shines through a gap in the curtains of our hotel room window. My body is surrounded by Romeo's, it’s so freaking hot my hair is sticking to my face. I blow air, trying to get some strands out of my eyes, but it doesn’t work. “Romeo, wake up.” I nudge him with my butt, trying to break free as I watch him over my shoulder.
“Huh?” His eyes flutter open. I never realized how long his lashes are. Women would kill to have them.
“I need air!” I gasp and squirm in his hold. “You’re like a furnace.”
“Nah, you just get overheated being this close to me.” He laughs at his own joke but rolls over. He’s not wrong, last night was intense, and my lips curve up as I remember our very hot makeout session. His lips were very soft against mine, and yet, hungry and desperate at the same time. As his tongue danced along mine, it made my body react in ways I've never felt before. It's like electricity and butterflies were zinging through my body. Every part of me came alive, my flesh ignited, craving his touch, and my pussy throbbed, wanting him to be inside of me more than anything else during our moment of passion. When I moved against him, the way his hands guided my hips along his hard erection, the most intense feelings rushed through me. We came at the same time as if we were teenagers without an ounce of shame. I found myself liking it a lot…liking him more than I should, more than I already did.
"Morning, Tin," Romeo's deep voice whispers before he kisses the shell of my ear and the line of my neck. “What’s going through that head of yours?”
"Morning." I face him with a bright smile. “Just thinking about last night,” I tell him honestly. Our lips touch in a chaste kiss.
“Mmhm. And what are you thinking?” He tries to lay me down, but we need to get on the road.
Pulling away, I jump out of the bed to prevent him from distracting me further. "I need to brush my teeth."
He sighs heavily and falls back onto the mattress. "We need to head out soon, but we need to find a phone store first."
"Okay," I mumble with a mouth full of toothpaste, and still, I have no regrets about ruining his phone.
After both of us are ready, and we have all of our belongings back in our bags, we check out and meet the guys in the parking lot. We go to the same diner for breakfast, and when we’re done, we find a phone store for Romeo.
Being back in Arizona makes me edge and emotional. It's been two years since I've been home, but this doesn't feel like home anymore. It feels painful, hurtful. I’m angry being here and have a sadness in my heart. It’s everything except what it should be–happiness, excitement, and elation for being back in the place I grew up.
We ride until we’re in front of a gate, and when I scan our surroundings, it reminds me a lot of the Satan's Sinners’ and the Cobras' compounds. Pretty Boy talks to the man in charge of the gate from the driver’s side window of the van, and in no time, the guard lets us through. Once the bikes are parked, I climb off Romeo's and remove my helmet. "Where are we?" I glance at the brick building with the grim reaper painted tall and wide with a scythe in his skeletal hand.
"It’s another club. Doc knows the president, and we're hoping they might be able to help if we need it."
"Are we staying here?"
"Yeah, it'll be a hell of a lot cheaper than staying hotels ‘til we leave."
"How long do you think we'll be here?"
"As long as it takes, Tin." Romeo laces his finger with mine. "You okay?"
My heart pounds nervously. "I don't know. I want this done as soon as possible. I wanna go home."
His gazes at me quizzically. "Home?"
"Yeah, back to Kansas. Arizona isn't my home anymore."
"I like to fuckin' hear that." His lips smash against mine, and his hand tangles in my hair as he grabs a fistful, keeping me close to him in a possessive way. He's such a good kisser, the best actually. He sucks my bottom lip into his mouth and bites gently before releasing me. I wish we could spend every moment we have kissing, but it's time we start getting answers.
Pushing against his chest, I tell him, "Let's head inside."
"I swear once y’all fuck, you’re gonna be going at it like goddamn rabbits." Chayser approaches us and slaps Romeo on the shoulder.
"Shut the fuck up." Romeo shakes his head but laughs at his brother.
"Hey, Chayser?" I call out, and Romeo turns back to look at me. "You jealous?" I tease with a hand on my hip.
"Any man would be jealous to get a bitch like you." He grins and winks. "You’re tough, little girl, and you got heart. My brother’s a lucky fuckin' man. Let me know if he fucks up." His grin widens, and he adds, “But right now, I’m happy to be balls deep in all the club whores my little black heart desires.”
"Asshole," Romeo yells jokingly at Chayser's back. "He's right about you, ya’ know." He bumps me with his shoulder.
"Let’s hope you don't fuck it up." I laugh and bump him back with my shoulder. “I kind of like those dreads of his.”
“Tin,” Romeo growls, and I giggle.
We get inside, and a huge hulk of a man is standing there. He has this commanding aura. He's very intimidating, not only because of his size, but due to the roughness of his appearance, and the thick slash across his cheek. It makes me wonder what happened to him–nothing good, I assume. He makes me want to hide behind Romeo, but I can't show weakness, not when I've held my own for so long. "I'm Gritt. Welcome to my club.” I survey the room. It’s a lot like the other compounds, with naked women walking around, men in leather sitting and talking amongst themselves, bottles held tightly in their grasps. Thick clouds of smoke roll in the air, but the stench isn’t just from cigarettes. The music is loud. But I focus back on the man welcoming us. “You can stay as long as you have to, and if you need any help, we'll do what we can."
Each of the Sinners introduces themselves, and then I hold my hand out. "Nice to meet you, Gritt. I'm Tinsley."
"Good to meet ya’." Gritt whistles loudly over the music and gains the attention of the whole club. "Show 'em outside to the rooms."
A few men come over to us, and we follow behind as they lead us back outside. I begin to wonder where they’re taking us until we round the corner of the clubhouse. It's like an old motel, so I’m not expecting much, maybe a tiny room with a bed and a bathroom, but as Romeo and I enter ours, my mouth drops open in surprise.
The inside has been completely redone and is set up like a studio apartment. The bed has clean sheets and a fresh comforter. The couch also looks almost brand new. We even have our own little kitchen. I walk into the bathroom, which is bigger than I expected, and it has a separate shower and tub. “Oh my God! It has a bathtub!” I haven't had a bath in forever. At the Sinners’ and Cobras’ clubhouses, they only had showers, and so did the hotel we stayed at. I'll definitely be taking advantage of that.
Romeo laughs. “If I knew a bathtub would make you this happy, I would have built you one myself,” He tells me, watching me dance around.
I stop and beam at him. “What can I say? The small things make me ecstatic.”
Once again Romeo and I are sharing a bed. I could get used to waking up with him every morning, but is this only because we have no other choice except to share? What’s going to happen when we go home? Will it continue? Will we continue with whatever this is between us, or will he go back to keeping his distance? I think a part of him stayed away because Chatty’s my cousin, but she would want me to be happy–unless she thought he would hurt me. Maybe that's what he's been scared of? It is a possibility that he could hurt me, and I would have to deal with that when the time came, but I really like how close we're getting. I just need to keep my heart out of it…if I can.
"So..." I sit down on the edge of the bed, trying to escape my roaming thoughts. "Where do we start?"
"We don't start anywhere. This is where you stay here and let us handle it."
I gape at him as if he’s grown two heads. Does he really think he can just leave me here twiddling my thumbs while my daughter is potenti
ally out there somewhere? I came here to find her; no way am I staying here. "I can't just sit here and do nothing."
"You're gonna have to, Tin." He sighs heavily. "I have to protect you, and not knowing what we're stepping into, I can't let you go in blindly with me."
"But—"
He kneels down in front of me, entwining our fingers together. His eyes are boring into mine. "I promise to tell you everything, but I need you to stay here. If I know you're here, I can have a clear head and focus on the situation."
“But, Romeo, this is what I came for. It’s my vendetta, my daughter, my problem.” I frown at him. “I don’t want to just stay here while you’re out there.”
He rests his forehead against mine. “I know you don’t, but let me handle this for you.”
"You promise to tell me everything?" I demand that he repeat his pledge to me.
His eyes close. "I promise."
"What am I supposed to do here?"
He pulls back and meets my gaze. "Just relax. Stay out of the club though, and don't talk to any of the guys."
I grin. "You worried?"
"Only that one of them would make the same mistake I did in thinking you were a club girl. Then I'd have to kick their ass." He pulls his bottom lip in and releases it. My core tightens at the sexiness of it.
“You know I love when you do that.” I run my finger across his plump lips.
“Yeah?” He smirks, moving in closer.
“Mmhm.” I nod and close my eyes as his lips softly meet mine.
He breaks free much too soon. "I gotta meet the guys, but I'll be back as soon as I can."
I nod. "Okay. I think I'll try to get some rest." I’m suddenly feeling exhausted. Maybe the long trip is catching up to me, or maybe it’s all the battling against Romeo about fighting my own battles and losing. It could also be the rush of emotions that are emerging inside of me from being back here.
"Good girl." He kisses my forehead before standing and walking out the door.
Laying back on the bed, I stare at the ceiling, thinking about Hope. I wonder what she looks like, I wonder where she is, and most of all, I wonder if she's even alive at all. A single tear trails down my cheek. I guess I'll have my answers soon enough.