Until July

by Aurora Rose Reynolds

  “It’s Fifty Shades of Grey, not a chick flick, and you may think Sage’s the unlucky one, but I hear there’s a lot of boobs,” I inform him.

  “I don’t need to watch a movie with boobs, baby. I have the best tits I’ve seen in my life at my disposal twenty-four hours a day.”

  “Awww, you say the sweetest things.” I laugh, tying my shoes.

  He pulls me up off the bed, slapping my ass once before pushing me towards the door, muttering, “Smartass,” as the bell goes off.

  “Hey, man,” he greets Sage when he opens the front door.

  “What’s good?” my cousin replies, stepping into the house, doing that guy handshake thing with Wes before pulling me into a hug and lifting me up off my feet.

  My cousin Sage is mixed. His dad is black and his mom is white. Uncle Nico and Aunt Sophie adopted him and his twin sister when they were three. He’s handsome in a way that my aunt asked Uncle Nico to buy her a gun to keep the girls away when he turned sixteen. He’s really tall at almost six, six, and his skin is a few shades darker than mine is in the summer. His hair is curly and low to his head, and his eyes are a light hazel that stands out against his complexion.

  Even though he’s not my aunt and uncle’s biological kid, you can see them in him. He’s sweet and soft-spoken like Aunt Sophie, yet a badass to the core like Uncle Nico, which is why he works with Jax.

  As soon as my feet touch the ground, Wes pulls me to him. “Be good,” he says against my mouth. I don’t say anything; after all, it’s only a lie if you acknowledge it, and if Wes never finds out what I’m doing, he will have no reason to be mad.

  “All right, let’s go,” Sage says, holding the door open. I grab my bag from the table and wave goodbye to Wes as he pulls away from the house on his bike.

  “Kayan is meeting us at the theater. Z said he would follow her there and wait for us,” I tell Sage as we get into his truck.

  “Cool,” he mutters, getting behind the wheel.

  “I wish Nalia was here,” I say, and Sage’s eyes come to me for a moment before going back to the road.

  “She’ll be home soon,” he says, but I can also hear the doubt in his words. When Sage and Nalia turned eighteen, they were able to talk to their biological parents. Sage wanted nothing to do with them, but Nalia got close with their mom and moved to Colorado to be nearer to her. I understand her reasoning, but I know it’s hard on my aunt and uncle and her brother. I just pray she finds whatever it is she’s looking for.

  “Well, I’m happy she’ll be home for Christmas.”

  “Me too. I just hope she’ll decide to stay home after that,” he says.

  “Maybe.” I shrug. I know Aunt Sophie has been torn up about her being gone. She feels like she did something wrong, but I also know that sometimes you have to do stuff for yourself, even if it’s hard on the people you love.

  When we pull into the parking lot of the movie theater, I see Z and Kayan standing near his bike. I look around for her car and sigh in relief when I see it parked over on the side of the building.

  “Hey, Z, are you sure you don’t want to watch the movie with us?” I ask, hopping out of Sage’s truck and walking toward Z’s bike.

  “Thanks, but no, thanks.” He smiles then turns and kisses Kayan, then whispers something to her before letting her go mussing my hair and getting on his bike starting it up and pulling out of the parking lot.

  “Ready?” Kayan asks, wrapping my arm around hers and heading into the theater, with Sage following close behind us.

  “Ready.” I mummer wondering if there is a way that I can talk her out of this then I look over my shoulder at my cousin and ask “Are you sure you don’t want to come in?”

  “Nah, I’ll wait here,” he says, and we pay for our tickets and stop to get popcorn and candy, giving Sage a wave before heading into the movie.

  “What’s the plan?” Kayan asks as we head into the theater.

  “This is your idea.” I remind her.

  “Yeah but you’re the planner.” She smiles and I roll my eyes and lead her towards the front of the theater, where I push through the door marked Exit. The moment we clear the door, I head towards the parking lot.

  “What are you doing?” She shrieks as I start to toss the food we got into the garbage that is on the corner of the building. “You cannot throw that out,” she pulls the popcorn from my hand, causing half of it to land on the ground, “or this.” She hands me the keys to her car and takes the soda from me.

  “Are you good now?” I ask. She shrugs shoving a hand full of popcorn into her mouth after making it to her car. I make sure Sage isn’t anywhere around, start up the car and head out of the parking lot towards the compound.

  “So much for this plan,” Kayan says through a mouthful of popcorn as we pull up in front of the compound fifteen minutes later.

  “Yeah,” I agree then shove her head down and duck as well when I see a bike pull up. The moment the roar of pipes dies, I lift my head and watch as Harlen swings off his bike and heads inside, coming back a few minutes later carrying an envelope.

  “We need to follow him. He’ll be with Z.” She says from her still bent position then takes a drink of her soda.

  I look at her for a long moment then shake my head and take off after him following him for about ten minutes down some back roads. When he pulls into a parking lot, I park a block away and watch as he rides right to where the rest of the guys are waiting including my cousin Jax. When Harlen gets off his bike, he says something to Wes then hands him the envelope. Even from this distance, I see Wes’ jaw go tight and I wonder why he’s pissed. Then he puts his phone to his ear, and I watch his mouth work and wonder what he’s saying.

  “I wonder what they’re talking about.”

  “I don’t know,” I say, watching Wes go to Z and say something. When Z’s body goes tight, a ball of anxiety forms in my chest.

  “We’re busted,” Kayan whispers. I look at her, put the car in drive, and take off. The moment I hit the road, the sound of pipes fills the air. My hands start to sweat and my heart starts to pound. “Oh, my God. Z is going to kill me.”

  “Maybe we can get back to the theater,” I say, not believing it for a second.

  “Yeah, maybe,” she agrees, and I push down on the gas and take every back road I can until I reach the parking lot of the theater. The moment I turn off the car, we get out and rush toward the door of the theater we left out of, then stop dead when we come face-to-face with a very pissed-off Sage.

  “Hey, what are you doing out here?” I ask, and his eyes turn even angrier.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  “What? I came out to smoke. You know…the scenes were so hot I needed a cigarette,” I say and hear someone chuckle. I turn to look over my shoulder as Mic, Wes, Z, and Jax walk up to where we’re standing.

  “This shit’s not funny,” Wes growls, looking at Mic, who holds up a hand in front of him.

  When Wes’ eyes come back to me, they do one sweep then he looks at Sage.

  “You mind taking the girls home? We’ll be there in an hour.”

  “No problem, man,” Sage says, and Wes lifts his chin then his eyes drop to me.

  “Do not fucking leave the house.” He points at me, and my heart skids in my chest from the amount of anger I see on his face.

  “Give me your keys,” Z tells Kayan. She grabs my hand and I turn to look at her, seeing tears in her eyes. I hand over the keys and watch as Z storms off towards the parking lot.

  “We—”

  “Do not fucking talk,” Wes says, and my mouth slams shut. “I’ll deal with your ass when I get home.” Okay, I knew he was mad and had a reason to be, but this was a little too much. My hand not holding my friend’s balls into a fist at my side. It takes everything in me not to flip out.

  “Let’s go.” Sage tugs my elbow and leads us away from the guys and towards his truck.

  “Sorry about leaving,” I mumble, looking out the window, trying t
o catch a glimpse of the Wes.

  “You know we wouldn’t be watching you guys if there wasn’t some fucked-up shit going on,” Sage says, and I can hear the anger and concern in his voice. The moment we arrive at my house, Sage shuts down the truck and follows us inside. “Both of you, sit here,” he growls, pointing at the couch when I start to lead a still crying Kayan back to the bathroom.

  “First, we’re not going to leave again, and second, I’m older than you and this is my house. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to take my friend back to the bathroom so she can splash some cold water on her face!” I reply and tug Kayan with me to the hall bathroom.

  “Sit here,” I tell her, closing the lid on the toilet so she can take a seat, and then I gab a washcloth and run it under cold water before handing it to her.

  “Thanks,” she murmurs, pressing it to her face.

  “He’s not cheating,” I remind her, and she nods but doesn’t say anything, making me feel worse than I already do. When we go back out to the living room, Sage is watching television. His eyes come to us and go soft.

  “The guys are on their way back.”

  “Great,” I mumble as the ball of stress in my stomach expands. When the sound of pipes rumbles the house, I close my eyes, trying to get myself under control. Having both Wes and me mad isn’t going to fix anything.

  The front door flies open, making me jump. I turn my head, expecting it to be Wes storming into the house, so I’m surprised when it’s Z. “How the fuck do you think it’s okay to take a pregnant woman on one of your crazy-ass adventures?” he roars at me, and I sit back on the couch, surprised by his words. I have no idea what he’s talking about. I look at my friend, the girl I have been best friends with since our first day of kindergarten, and my mouth drops open when I see the truth in her eyes.

  “You’re pregnant?” I whisper in shock. “How did that happen? I mean…when, shit…I mean, why didn’t you tell me?” I shake my head, completely flabbergasted.

  “I don’t know. I’m sorry; you know I love you,” she says then looks up at Z. “And you had no right to tell her, you big, fat jerk. I’m pregnant, not incapable of making my own fucking decisions.” She stands up and pushes past Z, whose glare has softened. “Fuck!” she screams when she gets to the front door, and I stand when I see her chest heaving up and down. “You have my keys. Either give them to me, or take me the fuck home.”

  I look from her to Z and blink, because I have never seen my friend like this, and Z doesn’t even look a little bit fazed by her outburst.

  “I’m gonna head out,” Sage says, and I nod absently, my eyes still on my best friend.

  “Are you coming, or am I walking?” She raises a brow, and I look at Z and hear him mumble something about his kitten having claws before he moves to the door. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” she says, looking at me before disappearing through the door.

  I flop down on the couch and close my eyes, wondering what the hell just happened. Suddenly, the door slams so hard that the walls shake and I jump, my eyes flying open as I look towards the entryway and my eyes lock with Wes’ angry ones.

  “You wanna tell me what the fuck you were thinking tonight?” Wes roars. My brain is screaming to say, ‘Not really,’ but judging by the look in his eyes, I don’t think he would find me funny. “Jesus!” His fist clenches then he picks up an empty glass from the side table and pulls his hand back, throwing it full force at the wall across the room, causing glass to explode everywhere. My pulse speeds up and I press back into the couch. “This is not some fucking game. People’s lives are on the line,” he thunders, coming to stand in front of me.

  He pulls out his phone, and I wonder what he’s doing until he shoves the phone into my face and an image of a woman not much older than me is on his screen. She’s tied up. Her nose is bleeding, one eye is swollen shut and black and blue, and her hair looks like it hasn’t been washed in a few days. Her clothes are dirty, and there are bruises on her arms in the shape of handprints.

  “This is Mellissa Hornel. She’s twenty-five and a college graduate. She went missing three weeks ago. She had a date with a guy she met online. She never made it home.” He flips to another picture, this girl younger than the pervious one. Her blonde hair is tied back in a ponytail, her lip is swollen, and you can tell they tried to use makeup to cover the bruise under her eye.

  “This is Stacy, Landon’s sister the kid that dropped the dogs to you. Tonight, I was going to go help him by getting her away from the slimeballs that have been keeping her and Mellissa” he says, and my eyes fly up to meet his and my chest starts to heave with anxiety. “Baby, I love you. I love that you’re crazy, I love that you’re fucking wild and untamable, but if I say or do something, it’s for a reason. I—”

  “We have to go get her,” I say, cutting him off as tears cloud my vision. “We need to go help them.” I stand up, but he pushes me back down onto the couch.

  “Your uncle was able to get all the girls out before they moved them again.”

  “Oh, God,” I sob, covering my face in relief.

  “No more bullshit, baby. No more crazy antics. No more doing shit, just ’cause you feel like causing me headaches.”

  “No more,” I agree, leaving out the part that this was all my crazy best friend’s fault. The idea of those women being stuck in that situation will haunt me for a long time. I knew there were evil people in the world, but what was happening to them is sickening.

  “I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do with you.”

  “I don’t know, either,” I breathe, crawling into his lap where he holds me until I stop crying.

  “Go on to bed. I need to make a few calls,” he orders on a squeeze.

  I place a kiss on the underside of his jaw then head to the room, where I strip down quickly before getting into bed. I lay there for a long time thinking about what Wes said. The kid that was bringing me the dogs name is Landon and he had a sister, obviously the people that had her were using her as leverage over him and probably his dad. I couldn’t imagine what they have been going through, what she was going through. Then I thought about the fact that Wes was helping rescue them and that brought more questions then I couldn’t think any more because I fell asleep.

  “Wes?” I question as I’m flipped to my stomach and long fingers run over my clit.

  “Up on your knees, baby.” The sound of his voice causes a shiver to run down my spine as he wraps his arm around my stomach and lifts me up on my hands and knees.

  “Please,” I beg, grabbing onto the sheets in front of me while pressing back into his hand.

  “You’ll get what I give you. Get your shirt off.”

  I whimper in distress and feel myself soaking his hand as his fingers bring me closer to the edge while I struggle with my sleep shirt until I’m able to slide it off over my head.

  “The idea of someone taking this from me makes me fucking furious,” he growls, removing his fingers, lining up his cock, and then slamming deep while simultaneously smacking one cheek of my ass hard. My head lowers to the bed and I whimper, feeling myself tightening around him.

  “I would kill for you, fucking die for you,” he snarls, smacking the other cheek even harder than the first one, and a ball starts to coil in my lower stomach. “You belong to me. You are not allowed to risk what is mine.” He pulls me up with an arm under my breasts. “Whose pussy is this?” he asks while holding his hips still, impaling me on his cock.

  My breath hitches as my body tries to adjust to his length and girth.

  “Who does this body…” His hands slide up my sides, over my stomach, then up, cupping my breasts where he tugs hard on my nipples, making my back arch and causing him to slide impossibly deeper, “…belong to?”

  “Please.”

  “I’ll give you what you want, but tell me who you belong to.”

  “You,” I hiss.

  “Yeah, baby, this body and this pussy are mine, and if you jeopardize my goods, you will be
punished.” He pushes me back down in front of him and smacks my ass hard, over and over, in rapid succession, each smack bringing me closer to orgasm. Then he pulls me back up and I turn my head just in time for his tongue to slide into my mouth as his hand slides down my stomach and over my clit, where he circles.

  “I’m going to come,” I say on a hitched breath.

  “Give it to me, baby.” He kisses down my neck, working slowly in and out of me as his hands slide over my body, like he’s memorizing each exposed inch of flesh.

  “Jesus, I love you,” he says like he’s talking to himself. “Come for me,” he demands, rotating his hips on each upward thrust. His hands wrap around my hips and I slide my fingers between my legs, first feeling our connection then rolling one over my clit in fast circles.

  My orgasm hits quickly; the top half of my body drops to the bed, Wes being the only thing keeping me up as he takes three more strokes before planting himself deep. My breath pauses and the walls of my core tighten around him. He stays rooted like that for long moments until he rolls us to the side, him still deep inside me.

  Moving the hair off my neck, he kisses the skin behind my ear and wraps his arms tighter around me. There is no place I would rather be than with him just like this, sweaty and breathing hard from amazing sex while being safe in his arms.

  “Love you, baby.” He slides out of me rolls me to my back, kisses down my stomach, and then climbs out of bed. I listen absently as the water comes on in the bathroom. Seconds later, he comes back, sliding a warm cloth between my legs, then dries me off before coming to lay half-on me again. His thigh lays over both of mine, his arm is under my breasts, and his lips rest close to my ear, where I listen to his breath even out, and I let my body do the same, so I can follow him off to sleep.

  Chapter 13

  I pull off my shirt and put my phone back to my ear. Then I reach behind my back with one hand and unhook my bra.

  “Babe,” Wes answers on the second ring, and a smile forms on my lips.