As I open the cupboard and grab the filters, the sound of heavy boots turns our heads. Jett appears from the hallway. “Thought I heard your voices. Sean, can I talk to you?”
I frown, “Sure,” handing Celia the box.
He waits for me, nods good morning to her as I pass him. “Ceels. How’re you feeling?”
“It’s going to take time, but I’ll be okay.”
Walking down the hall he informs me, “Let’s talk on the front porch.”
Saying nothing I drag my hand through my hair, chewing my cheek to pieces. The foyer is just as quiet as the first day I arrived, and for some reason that memory hits me. A chill slides down my spine as I glance back to check his face. Jett’s usually friendly with me these days, but his grey eyes have no life in them. He doesn’t even look like he knows me.
I open the door, kick it wider like I’ve seen him do so he can catch it and come outside without my holding it. This is the first time without sneakers and I like how my heavy boots make the porch creak. I like it too much. “Should I sit?”
“Nah, stand with me. This won’t take long.”
The sound of a car coming up the driveway makes me look over, narrow my eyes in surprise at a black sedan like the one that brought me here. My heart kicks in my chest as I lock eyes with the man I’ve come to look at as a father figure, the only one I’ve had since I was a boy. I don’t count Alan. He was okay, but he wasn’t Jett Cocker.
“Sean, I hate to have to tell you but this thing with you and Celia is crossing the line.”
“Oh shit,” I mutter, hooking my thumbs in my jeans pockets. “This is it, huh.”
Celia bursts out the door, eyeing the car as long strides bring her between me and Jett. “You can’t send him away!”
“Ceels.”
“No, Jett, you can’t! I love him!” She grabs my hand as my heart flips over. That statement combined with his is enough to kill me. “You can’t send him away now! I need him!”
We’re staring at the guy.
Our lives depend on his decision.
As the car parks it idles at the foot of the porch.
Jett rubs his stubble and drops the bomb, “Sean, look, we put it to a vote after you went to bed.”
“You did what? That’s not final though!” Celia slams her boot on the porch. “We didn’t vote on it! The elders don’t get the only say! It’s all of us now! Our voices count! Sofia and Luke and Atlas would vote for him. And I know Sage would! Probably my brother, too! Where is he? Tonk!”
From under his eyebrows Jett watches her tirade, not amused. “We didn’t need your vote this time. Another time maybe.”
She’s speechless. I take her hand, “Ceels, we knew it was a maybe.”
“No!”
Jett heads to the door where Honey Badger is now standing with my suitcase, gruffly announcing, “I’m here in case you try anything funny.”
Now I’m pissed. Laughing with sarcasm, I demand, “Oh yeah, what would I try to do? Run inside and hold onto the stair railing? Make you pull me outta here? I have pride you know! If you don’t want me here, that’s fine.” I yank Celia to me so fast her head swings back. Kissing her I rasp against her lips, “Maybe I’ll get a place by here. I love you.”
Lost and helpless she strokes my face, “I love you, too! Let me come with you!”
“Would you do that?”
“Yes!”
Torn I almost take her up on it, even make it so far as bringing her with me to get my suitcase. But through the screen door we can see the elders. Scythe and Denita. Melodi and Fuse. Meg, waiting for her husband. Luna, Carmen and Tonk Sr. None of the others. No support because they’re sleeping and Tonk Jr. slipped away to give us privacy. Has no idea this is happening.
Grimacing against my own selfishness I shake my head, grab her and rain kisses all over her face. “I can’t do that to you. This house is too great, Ceels. Your family, they’re amazing. They need you. Especially now. This is the time when you come together.”
“Sean,” she moans, “Please!”
“I’ll stay close. Find a place in town.”
“I’ll come to you every day! You better not be lying!”
“You trust me, right? You said you trusted me.”
She nods. “I trust you.”
I head down the step as she watches, snapping at them, “This isn’t fair! We didn’t get a vote!”
Jett shrugs, “Why’d we need your vote? We knew it was the same as ours. Hey Sean, where the fuck are you goin? Home’s this way.”
Gravel from the old driveway crunches under my heel as I turn, confused. Those grey eyes are lit up with a sly smile and Celia stares as the elders start grinning.
Honey Badger shouts, “Gotcha!”
We freak out. Celia runs down the steps and literally leaps into my arms. I spin her around, laughing with her, kissing her and laughing some more. The car window rolls down and the driver asks, “Can I go now? My boss thinks I’m on a real run.”
Jett calls out on a huge grin, “You did us a solid, Clyde!”
Clyde waves as the window closes on him.
Honey Badger unzips the suitcase on its side, and it falls open to reveal, “Empty. Oh man, we got you good.”
“Wow,” I whisper, stunned. “You guys are a real piece of work.”
Tonk says from where they’d planted themselves to watch the prank unfurl, “Really? I thought we’re so amazing!” He mocked my voice and I just shake my head.
“I changed my mind.”
“I love you, Celia,” Fuse sings. “I’ll get a place in town!”
“Okay,” I laugh, “Shut it!”
“Don’t leave me, Sean!” Scythe croons, which is even funnier because his voice is so deep he can’t make it go high.
Celia sighs through her smile as we walk into the house. “We can still leave.”
“Nope.”
She eyes me. “That’s so final.”
Jett shuts the front door and announces, “We need one more thing to make it final. Kids!”
Our friends come downstairs, fully dressed. Celia and I gape at them as we realize they were part of the prank.
Sofia points upstairs. “We had to listen from the windows. Thank God you didn’t look up!”
Of one mind the entire family heads into the big parlor, everyone standing and filling the room, all eyes on me. Like when I met them, they’re posed each in their own personal way. Some leaning on furniture, some arms crossed, some squatting, others with their hands in their pockets—back or front. It’s different than that first day though because this time Celia’s by my side, not by Atlas’s.
Carmen walks up to me, and it’s the first time she’s looked like she doesn’t want me gone. Her voice is gentle but firm, “Sean, I’m sorry I’ve been so mean to you.”
Smiling with relief I tell her, “We’re good.”
“When I saw you helping my daughter fight through her anger last night, I knew I’d been so wrong about you.” She pauses, glancing to Tonk Jr. “Was it transference?”
“Yes, that’s the word.”
“I don’t know all the reasons I held it against you that you weren’t our family, but I want you to know that I voted for you to stay. It was unanimous.”
Sage holds up the cat and shouts, “Even Tickles wants you here! See, he’s holding up his paw! I want Sean to stay!”
The room laughs. I glance to my left to see Jett with something behind his back. He whips his arm out and reveals a brand new Ciphers jacket.
My jaw drops. “No way!”
Tonk asks, “How the hell did you get that so quick?”
Jett shrugs one beefy shoulder. “Can’t lie. I was hoping the kid stayed. Had this ordered a month ago.” Returning to me he says with feeling, “You’ve earned this.”
I slide my arms in and shake it into place, running my hands down the leather, and reaching to touch the C on my left arm. “Not gonna lie. This feels pretty damn good.”
Jett beam
s with pride, and it’s that same pride that everyone has right now as I glance around and stand tall. He announces, “You deserve a new name, too, because Sean is way too fuckin’ soft for a biker like you!”
The parlor erupts in cheering. Celia laughs behind her hand and watches me fake disbelief. “What the hell is wrong with Sean, huh?!” They all boo, and I just grin. “You all suck.”
Sofia Sol shouts through cupped hands, “So what’s it gonna be?”
Suggestions fly, but none stick until Celia whistles through her fingers. “I got it!” She slides her arms around my waist, “Diesel.”
“I like the sound of that. Why Diesel?”
“I think it’s sexy.”
“That’s good enough reason for me.”
“And you’re not just any fuel. You’re the special kind you can’t find everywhere.”
The room erupts in groans and sappy sounds like they’re going to puke.
I glance around the club, eyebrow cocked. “I’m gonna kiss her like you’re not here. Turn around if you can’t handle it.”
Not one person looks away.
Never kissed anyone to cheering and hollering and stamping feet before. If someone ever asked me how it felt to have such an audience at the highest point in my life, I’d say, I highly recommend it.
CHAPTER 34
Thanksgiving Morning.
DIESEL
Waking up with Celia in my arms, I blink at her sleeping profile and wonder how I got this perfect life.
When we took this attic space over, she and I pushed the boxes into corners, emptied out some old dressers and a vanity, found some antique lights. We unraveled some dusty rugs and then decided to throw those fuckers out. Our clothes are here now. There’s an old bathroom just outside that nobody used for years. Plumbing was fucked up. My construction days came in handy. I brought it back into working order even though there’s not a bathtub or shower in it. Still, it does the job and we can brush our teeth and do our business in private without having to run to the lower levels of the plantation where everyone else lives.
We both think this attic is cool as fuck.
Under the blankets I slip my fingers between her legs and close my eyes as desire takes hold. She murmurs something in her dreams, hand stretching out to slide up my arm. Pressing sensual kisses into her clavicle, down her breast plate, and burrowing under the top of the blanket for the soft flesh above her nipples, I rasp, “Time to wake up so I can fuck you.”
She gives a throaty moan and opens her legs for me. Groaning with pleasure I stroke her folds, dip in for her clit and caress it in circles. My tongue teases her breasts, works them to feeling more sensitive by the second. Celia arches into my mouth and I give her a couple nibbles before slipping my finger into the wet pool of heat we’ve created.
I moan, “Your pussy, oh fuck, I love it,” eyes rolling back as she wraps warm fingers around my erection.
“Your cock belongs to me, so we’re even.”
“Say my name.”
“Diesel,” she smiles, rubbing my length on her muscular thigh. “After you got that bat out of here last night I should blow you.”
“Never need a reason to do that.”
She laughs and sinks under the blankets. I lay back, resting my head on my hands, the underbelly of my biceps exposed and cooled by the attic’s chilly air. That combined with the fire her lips are inspiring in my cock is the perfect way to wake me up. She licks me from base to tip, sucks me hard enough to make me writhe, and then uses her hand to pump while she takes her time sucking. Heat builds in my thighs, my groin, and my balls roll around and clench in anticipation. “I wanna try something,” she murmurs under the covers.
“Oh yeah?” I thickly ask, interested. Her fingernails scratch up and down my thighs as she licks me long and slow a few more times, then slides her body up mine, coming out of the blankets with her long dark hair a sexy mess over a seductive smile.
“Mmhmm,” is all she gives me as she climbs on top. I clamp my palms on her hips, dig my fingers in. Celia positions herself over me, then moves up a little so that her ass is over my cock instead. She starts sliding down and I groan as her breath hitches, yielding bit by bit.
“Hang on,” I grunt, flipping her over so that we’re missionary. I fall on top of her, guiding my cock into her anus again, this time with me in control. I chew on her jaw, dip to kiss her ear, bite it. “Ever do this with anyone?”
“Never!”
I get in deeper and see her enjoying it. “This means you’re mine. I’m branding you with a memory. You like it, don’t you?”
“Mmhmm,” she whimpers. “It’s almost too much.”
“I’m not gonna stop.”
Grinning, “I don’t want you to,” she wraps her hand around my head, pulls it to her and kisses me hard, making me even more erect. I can’t go all the way in. I’m too big, but I can get her off just like this. And there’s something about knowing I’m her first that has me near cumming. I start pumping in short bursts, watching her react, feeling her body loosen up for me. She gives this jagged sigh into my panting mouth. It’s so fucking sexy I start going deeper. Her nails tear into my skin but her face is all pleasure. I give her a few long strokes. “You love this!”
“It’s so fucking dirty,” she smirks, eyelashes hooded. “Oh my…ohhhhhh!” she moans as her body spasms. I slip my fingers between her legs, over her cleft and onto that tight little clit of hers that’s rock hard right now. “Yes,” she whispers, “Keep doing that!”
“Dirty little slut, you like me fuckin’ you up the ass while I make you cum like this.”
She winces, on the edge, moaning, “Yes!”
“My cock’s all yours, Ceels. Only yours. And you’re mine, every single hole is mine all mine.” On a few strokes I keep time with my fingers, strumming her clit while I stretch all those sensitive membranes she didn’t know she had. Heat pours into us as we lose ourselves to the burn. “I don’t have to pull out.”
“I know! I want to feel you explode inside me!”
Roaring I flip the fuck out without warning, switching into a primal beast who can’t stop pounding her harder as she bites back a moan and slices my arms up with her nails. She cums on my hand, asshole tightening in hard bursts, the contractions making my eyes roll back.
A pounding knock on the door stops us cold, and her father shouts, “I said I never wanted to hear you!”
Celia’s eyes go wide as she whispers, “Did you lock it?”
Laughing I murmur into her neck, “Of course I fuckin’ locked it. Are you kidding?”
She yells in a groggy voice, “What? He just had a bad dream, Dad! I was sleeping. We’re not having sex!”
Tonk Sr. waits a beat and says, “Oh, uh…sorry!” We hear his heavy footsteps ambling their way back down the old stairs.
She giggles, adds under her breath, “You should see your face.”
“It’s not nearly as beautiful as yours.” I press a kiss into her smile and she responds, arms wrapping around my neck. “I’m gonna have to wear my flannel to the party.”
“Why?”
“You tore up my shoulders!”
“It’s only because I love you.” At my raised eyebrows she adds, “And your cock is too huge for that.”
Grinning I kiss her. “I had a feeling you’d say that.”
“Well, I had to try it!”
“And you liked it, too.”
She sticks her tongue out for me to suck. I do, and then ride it all the way into a deep kiss where we mold each other’s lips and moan, our heads tilting to switch sides and explore all the reasons why this feels so fucking good. Breaking free I lock eyes with my Celia and rasp, “I love you.”
Her warm eyes flicker with happiness. “If Sofia and Luke hadn’t gone to Sedona…”
“Don’t even say that. I can’t go there.”
Her smile fades at the emotion in my voice. “A guy named Diesel is not allowed to cry.”
“Then let me
be Sean again for a second,” I whisper, burrowing into her neck and pressing kisses there to hide my liquid eyes.
“Show me those sapphires.”
“Those what?”
“I always call your eyes: sapphires.”
Rising up to look at her. “You do?”
She nods, tracing my stubble as her eyelashes drop to watch. “I’m not a girl who ever needed jewels, but your eyes changed my mind.”
Burrowing into her I take a few deep breaths. “You’re too good for me. It’s just…sometimes I think how I almost wasn’t here.”
“I almost wasn’t either,” she whispers.
“Guess someone upstairs was looking out for us.”
There’s a smile in her voice as she traces my arm. “Or a lot of people downstairs. Oh shit, I really did cut you up, didn’t I?”
CHAPTER 35
DIESEL
“Well, look who’s wearing his Ciphers jacket while sipping his java?” a booming voice calls out as the back screen door clatters.
I turn in my chair and see a large, dangerous looking man I don’t recognize, walking up to us. Celia and Sofia shout, “Tyler!” rising from their chairs to hug the guy.
Luke stays put in the chair on my left, but he raises his hand in a masculine wave. “Hey Ty.”
“Luke, you fuck, how’d you manage to hang onto Sofia Sol? I figured by now she’d have dropped your ass, and you’d have moved up to Montana to cry in my arms.”
The girls stay standing with him as I rise to shake his hand while Sofia explains, “Ty was in Sedona with us. He knew about our meeting with you. That’s why he knows who you are.”
“Ah,” I smile.
Celia goes on to say, “He’s in our Montana chapter.”
“Where Scratch and Mona live?”
“That’s right!” Tyler booms. “We live with the damn buffalo in our backyard. Mountains as far as the eye can see. You like mountains?”
“I lived in Sedona, remember?”
“But did you like it?”
I smirk, “Have to admit, I like it much better here.”
He eyes me like that’s the wrong answer, then breaks into a grin, slapping my back. “I’m fucking with ya! I can tell this place has rubbed off. Word up there is you and Celia are an item.”
Sean aka Diesel (Cocker Brothers Book 14) Page 16
