Black

by T. L Smith

  “I don’t need saving.”

  “You do, fuck me, you do.” He shakes his head and picks up the bottle, downing the rest of it. He goes to the door when Liam stops him.

  “Promise me something?” Jake’s hand clenches on the doorway waiting for what he has to say. “Promise me you will get her somewhere safe when it happens.”

  “I can’t promise that.”

  “You can, Jake.” Silence fills the room. I stand there not saying a word, not knowing what to say or do.

  “I will… for you.” Then he punches the door and walks out. Liam stands there looking at the spot he just left.

  Liam walks out after him, leaving me standing there thinking the worst. When the worst is not what I want to feel. How do we shut down emotions so strong? I want to turn it all off. Nothing has happened, but the feeling that something is coming is torturing me inside.

  I’m sitting on the couch when Liam walks back inside. He pulls at his beard, stress coating his handsome face. He doesn’t notice me as he sits, resting his hands on his bench and bends over. I sneak up behind him and wrap my hands around his waist. He turns fast and pulls me to him, hugging me for dear life. I remove myself and grab hold of his hand, pulling him to his room. The one place I’ve never been.

  I stand at his door, and he looks at it like he’s contemplating something before he reaches over and opens it. I see him inside, he takes a step forward walking in front of me then pulling me in with him. He shuts the door behind us and we’re encased in nothing but Black. I can’t see anything, not even my hands. Liam doesn’t seem to care as he pulls me in the direction he needs me in. He pulls me down to the bed and I land on him. My legs straddle him, his hands roaming my body.

  “They say I bring nothing but black, darkness. Though, when I’m with you, all I see is color, and fuck, it’s the best thing I’ve ever seen, Rose,” he says from between my breasts. I reach for my shirt and pull it free, then unclasp my bra. His head lifts while I do this, then he lays right back between them. His breath is heavy and hot on my nipple.

  My body shakes, excitement fills me. He does this to me, puts all the right emotions back into me. How could someone with what they say is a black soul do such things to another human being? He isn’t what they say, not when he’s with me. He’s nothing but good, caring, and even loveable when he’s with me.

  “I’m going to claim you, Rose,” he whispers and his mouth touches my nipple softly, making me squirm. He licks it, then kisses it, then bites it hard. Pulling it between his teeth.

  “Why?” I ask, gripping his hair tight.

  “Because I will make you never forget me.”

  “I could never forget you.”

  “You did once.”

  “I didn’t.” He goes to my other nipple, then pulls at my pants. “You’re unforgettable, Liam Black.”

  He picks me up, flips me onto my back, then pulls my pants down in one swoop. I hear him taking his off. Then he’s kissing me, making his way up my legs, then my thighs. Slow sensual kisses until he reaches my pussy, spreading my legs wide over his shoulders. He pulls me to him. His breath is hot, his tongue is warm, and he licks. Then he kisses before he licks in that perfect spot, making my toes curl. I reach down to grab his hair, gripping it with my hands, my nails scraping his scalp as he tortures me with pleasure.

  He inserts a finger, his tongue still massaging my clit. Then another. I quiver, shake, and pull hair from his scalp as I try to contain the feelings engrossing my body right now. He kisses me one last time, it’s sensitive and I flinch before he’s off of me. I feel his hands grip the back of my legs. He pulls me so my ass is hanging off the edge of the bed. His cock at my entrance and he’s bare. I can feel his piercing. It's teasing me. I inch forward, wanting it. My need has skyrocketed, but he doesn’t give in. He plays, he inserts the tip in, then out, his thumb touching my clit. His cock is teasing my pussy. It's almost too much, too much to take. He does it again, and this time I can’t handle it.

  I push backward, removing myself from him. I stand on the bed, walking to him. I can’t see, I can only hear him. He’s close, so I touch his shoulders then wrap my legs around his waist, then reach down and position him. He laughs in my ear.

  Then holy mother of all God he’s inside of me. That feeling, I don’t move. He has other ideas. He wants me to move. He grabs my ass, slapping it hard as he does. Then he lifts me up and down. I’m almost too shocked to move with the sudden force of it all. It’s so much. He doesn’t care though, he does it again, lifts me then slams me back down. My head drops backward. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hold on. It’s so much—the friction on my clit, the piercing of his cock, and the force of his fucking. It’s like I’ve left my body.

  Pleasure, so much pleasure. He slaps me again, and I can’t hold on any longer. One of his hands reaches up and wraps around my torso, holding me to him. The other stays on my ass, lifting me up and down.

  I come again, then I go limp. My body is now a dead weight in his arms. He drops me softly to the bed, then pulls the covers over me and flicks the light on. I see him walk naked, and I also see that his room is completely black, including the bed. His walls are covered with different guns and knives. It’s like an ammunition room. He doesn’t seem to care as he walks past a gun that look like a sniper rifle and walks to his closet.

  “Is it wrong to love you?” I ask from under the covers, my eyes feeling droopy. He turns and looks at me.

  “It would only cause you pain,” he pauses and steps closer, dropping his head to my ear. “People don’t love me, they run from me.” And I believe him, but I could never do that.

  She begged me to go for a dinner, a dinner with people. I don’t socialize with people, no matter who they are. I go to parties to fuck, not talk. Her big blue eyes begged me, then begged me some more, then promised me dirty things afterward. I didn’t say no then.

  She’s nervous. She keeps walking fast, checking herself in the mirror, then checking Hayden. We came to her house yesterday, and Hayden’s now living here. She wants people to meet him, to love him. She spent her entire paycheck today buying him all the things he could ever need. He cried because he didn’t want it. He didn’t know how to accept such things. He’s never been anything given to him in his life. Now, when he looks at her, it’s different. It’s with admiration. He has the ‘Rose sting.’

  “Best behavior,” Rose says as we pull up to her friend Casey’s house. I don’t know if she’s talking to Hayden or me, though I suspect she’s talking to herself more.

  Hayden runs from the car and stands by her side. She smiles at him and places her hand on his shoulder. I follow close behind and watch as a pregnant woman waddles out the door. She wasn’t that big last time I saw her.

  “Is she here yet?” Rose asks, walking up to her rubbing her belly. Sax walks out and nods his head to me.

  “Yes,” Casey says. Rose looks back to me and I walk up to her. She takes my hand, intertwining our fingers.

  “I can do this,” she whispers to herself.

  We follow them in and older lady smiles softly at Rose. Then looks to me and Hayden. Her smile is kind and a lot like Rose’s.

  “Mother…” Rose says on a shaky breath.

  “I’m so happy you invited me.”

  “This is Liam and Hayden.” She smiles at us and hands Hayden a present. He looks at it and doesn’t take it. He isn’t used to this kind of thing. He clings to Rose, so unsure of himself. She leans down and whispers in his ear, telling him it’s okay.

  “Thank you, miss.”

  “Want a beer?” Sax says, coming up behind me, I nod my head and follow him out back. Casey is in the kitchen cooking and waves a spatula at me when I walk past.

  “You two doing good?” he asks, nodding his head to the side.

  “As good as can be expected.”

  “She told Casey, I overheard.”

  “Told her what?”

  “Don’t play dumb with me. I have a c
amera on her house now. She’s scared, Black.”

  “She should be.”

  “What do you plan to do?”

  “I plan to kill them all… except one…”

  “Call me when you need me. I have resources you may need.”

  “You don’t want this lifestyle,” I reply dryly. After all, he has a baby on the way.

  “I don’t, but I also don’t want that for Rose. Call me when I’m needed. You know I’m good.” I nod my head. He’s right, he is good. A good asset to have in case it doesn’t work out correctly. Someone who’ll get her to safety if need be.

  “So you’re a father now?” His face comes up in a smirk.

  “Fuck off,” I tell him, walking back inside.

  Hayden is on the floor playing with a car, the wrapping paper next to him. That’s what Rose’s mother must have gotten for him. Rose holds her hand out for me when I enter, but doesn’t look up as she speaks to her mother. I go to her and she encloses our hands together as pulls me down to sit next to her.

  “Liam, you sure have made her happy,” her mother says. “Sorry, it’s Becca,” she says, giving me her name. I don’t answer her and stare at Hayden playing. He hasn’t smiled this much since I’ve known him.

  “You just meet?” Becca says, interrupting my thoughts.

  “No,” Rose says leaning her head on my shoulder. “We met when we were sixteen. He was at my school.” Her mother looks shocked.

  “What’s your last name? I may know your parents.”

  “Black,” I say. She looks shocked, her eyes going wide. Then she looks to Rose.

  “I remember your mother and your stepfather.” Her head shakes. My body tenses. Not what I want to hear. I don’t answer her again and her smile drops. She turns to Rose.

  “When will you have Isabelle again? I would love to see her.” Rose strokes my hand with her thumb and talks to her mother. I sit there anxious, anxious to do a job I should be doing now. Except I have a message sitting on my phone that I haven’t replied to in days. Because of Rose. She doesn’t approve of what I do, but it’s what I do.

  Just as I’m thinking about it, the phone beeps again and Rose looks over to read the message. She won’t understand it. I look at her and see her face scrunched up, trying to decipher what she’s reading.

  “Who’s that?” she asks, ignoring her mother now.

  “Work.” Her eyes go big. “I have to go,” I say, standing. She pulls my hand and won’t release it. “I have to work, Rose.” She releases me and lets me walk out the front door. I’m at the car when she stops me with her voice.

  “Don’t do it, Liam Black,” she warns.

  I turn to her. “I have to.”

  “You don’t,” she says, walking closer to me.

  “I do, it’s who I am. I kill people, Rose, and I plan to do that when those people come for you. I… will… kill… for... you,” I say, emphasizing each word.

  “I don’t want you to. It can’t be good, it can’t be good for you.”

  “It is, it’s what I’m good at.” I kiss her cheek and climb into my car and drive off. My hands are itching to pull the trigger.

  It’s quiet when I reach the address. I can’t see anybody around. I have a photo of the hit, but can’t seem to locate him anywhere. He’s not at the address provided. I’m about to walk away when I hear the roar of motorbikes. My phone starts ringing. I look at it and see it’s Jake, the bikes now coming into view.

  “They’re coming for you,” he says before I hang up. I raise my gun, aiming for the first bike, they also notice me at that exact same time. But they are too slow to move away from the first bullet that exits my piece. It hits one of their bikes, knocking one to the ground, the bike skidding along the path and the man smashing into the ground.

  The other one stops and climbs off with is hands raised. He removes his helmet and smiles. I recognize him straight away—Sergeant at Arms for the Coffin Soldier MC.

  “Black,” he says, smiling.

  “Zadist,” I reply. He looks to his friend who’s barely moving on the ground.

  “You know why we are here?” he asks, holding his helmet in his hands.

  “Yes! Do you know who I am? What I’m about to do to you?” I reply.

  “Black… Black… I know what you do. But do you think you can keep everyone safe? You’re evil, not a God.”

  “You threatening me, Zadist?”

  He laughs at me. “I didn’t want to be the one to do this. Jake asked for me to not. But Pres is the boss, and I do as he says. And when he says to kill someone, it’s what I do.” He shrugs his shoulders.

  “I didn’t want to either, Zadist, but it’s what I do.” I shrug back and shoot him straight in the leg. His gun is raised, but he’s too slow. The bullet whizzes straight past me, barely missing my legs. He doesn’t scream as he hits the floor, he just grabs hold of his leg, gripping it tight. I walk to him and pass another member on the ground, now trying to crawl back to his bike. I shoot him in the back and he stops moving.

  Zadist looks to him and starts laughing, then shakes his head.

  “They will hang her in front of you. Fuck her in front of you. Then kill her in front of you, Black.”

  “I know,” I whisper, I know how they work. I used to do their dirty work. He closes his eyes and I shoot him in the head, right between the eyes.

  I don’t bother calling my clean-up crew, they can be found. With my card on their bodies, I let them know they’re next.

  When he walks in, he stops in his tracks. A gun is in his hand and I notice it straight away and take a step back. He looks to me and then at the gun. He places it in the back of his pants and shows me his hands. It’s a sign that he won’t hurt me. I know he would never, but what that gun probably did tonight is hurt someone. He takes a step closer to me and I take a step back. He drops his hands to his side, tiredness showing in his features as he rakes his fingers through his hair.

  “Did you… did you kill someone?” I ask, my hands twitching beside me.

  “Do you want the honest answer?”

  “Yes,” I say, trying to stand taller.

  “Yes,” he replies. I sag a bit, the hope leaving me that he didn’t, but he did.

  “How could you?” I don’t understand it, why he does it. It will never make sense to me, no matter how hard I try to wrap my head around it.

  “They were going to kill me,” he says, and my head springs up in surprise. I thought it was a hit.

  “Who?”

  “The people that want what they paid for back.”

  “Me?”

  “Yes, you.”

  “It’s going to get worse now, isn’t it? They’re definitely coming now?”

  “They are.” I start to shake. I don’t know what to do. I won’t go back there, I won’t turn into that person again. He notices, his hand reaches up and touches me on the arm. I jump backward. His face changes to hurt.

  “I won’t hurt you, Rose.” He takes another step back.

  “I know,” is all I can say. I want to assure him that I feel safe when I’m with him. The words won’t leave my mouth, though.

  “I think it’s time you leave, and go as far as you can.” I shake my head, I can’t do that. I can’t leave Isabelle. “I can’t protect you and kill them at the same time, Rose. Please leave. Get your things and go as far away as you can.”

  My head keeps slowly shaking no. “I can’t do that, Liam, I won’t.”

  “Rose, they want to kill you.” A whimper leaves me. They don’t want me for the reasons I thought. Worse, they want to kill me.

  “You will save me won’t you? Won’t you, Liam?” I ask, hope sounding in my voice. He looks down to the ground, and I immediately feel bad asking those words. He shouldn’t have to save me, I should be saving myself.

  “With my life,” he whispers, and I believe him. He would, he would give up his life for me. He thinks I’m more deserving of a life than him. I disagree, people might not realize it, but
he is needed. He is needed so much.

  “I want your life, Liam, just me.”

  “It’s already yours,” he says, wrapping me in his arms.

  After last night I hardly slept. Even in his arms I couldn’t sleep. I dropped Hayden off at school, and now I stand outside of Isabelle’s, waiting for her to come out. I stand there waiting for what feels like a lifetime when she finally comes out. She spots me straight away and runs to me screaming my name. The teacher sees me and waves. They aren’t fans of Roger, which I’m thankful for.

  “I missed you so much, Mommy,” she says, wrapping her hands around my neck. I squeeze her to me, soaking up her smell and her smile. The dark thoughts ease when she releases me. Will I see her again? Is it smart if I stay?

  “When can I come over next?” she asks me.

  “Maybe next week, baby,” I say. The teacher calls her back. She hugs me tightly before she runs away.

  Casey is there when I walk back to work. She’s standing at the entrance of my work, holding her belly. She’s about to drop, and she does not like being pregnant.

  “Is he it?” she asks as we reach the elevator. I know she’s talking about Liam. She likes him but doesn’t like what he represents.

  “Yes,” I say without hesitation.

  “And he makes your girlie bits sing?” She winks at me.

  “None of your business, but yes.”

  “I’m so horny, like all the time. Sax has started working late. I think I have oversexed him,” she complains.

  “Oversexed him?” I question her, holding in my laugh.

  “Yes, on top of being horny as all hell, they say it helps induce labor. And I tell you now, I’m over being pregnant and having a fat vagina.”

  “Oh God, Casey, please don’t say that to me again.” I cover my face with my hands and she just laughs at me.

  “How did it go with your mother?”

  “Good, I think she’s trying harder now.”

  “I think she is too.”

  “Hey, can Hayden stay at your house tonight? I have to get up early for work, and I don’t want to wake him.” She nods her head and kisses me goodbye. If I knew what’s about to come, I would have hugged her longer.