by Bella Rose
He took up his familiar seat and settled in. It felt different somehow. He shifted a bit, trying to find his usual spot. Then he realized that the twin grooves where he typically put his feet were off. Someone else had been up here.
The thought made him immediately start groping for the journal he kept in a fissure beneath the base of the rock. He nearly sighed with relief when his fingers brushed the familiar paper. Then he realized that it was different. The journal was rotated. Rocko always put it back the same way. This time, it was backwards. Someone else had been out here, and he had one guess as to who it was.
His brain was racing as he tried to put together a picture of what Lena had probably read and what she was likely to do with the information. One thing was certain. It no longer mattered that he’d promised she could leave the Road Rashers after thirty days.
If she knew the truth about his past, he couldn’t let her leave at all. Not unless it was in a pine box.
The thought was dismal.
He felt suddenly restless. Getting up from the rock, he began pacing circles around it. The outline of each trailer in the depression below was as familiar to him as the face he looked at in the mirror each morning. Not only did he have to deal with this bullshit involving Lena, he also had to worry about Officer Beau Barker’s visit the following morning.
Rocko stabbed his hands through his hair. If Barker was coming out to Rasher territory, they needed to make sure anything illegal was at least concealed and not sitting about in the open. Although the only thing that came immediately to mind were the few illegally obtained motorcycles scattered around the property and the firearms that were currently in the possession of known felons. Then there was the business with Lena. He needed her to see reason too.
Pretty fucking tall order if she’s read my journal.
But he couldn’t think about that. Frustration made him unable to sit or stand still any longer. He tromped back down the path toward his trailer. His first instinct was to find Lena and demand to hear what she knew and what she intended to do with the information. But that wasn’t a good plan, so he veered around his trailer and headed to the one next door.
Rocko took the steps two at a time and then banged on the door. Thomas answered so quickly that Rocko could have believed the man was standing at the door staring out the peephole.
“What’s up, Boss?” Thomas asked eagerly. He was a long time Rasher and one of Rocko’s most loyal—if not brightest—men.
“We’re getting a visit from Officer Beau Barker tomorrow. I need you to be in charge of making sure all of the bikes are under cover. They need to be in carports, sheds, and overhangs. Their license plates should be facing a wall, and anything that’s obviously illegal needs to be shut away entirely.”
“Of course, Boss!” Thomas eagerly bounced out of the trailer and headed next door.
Within moments Thomas was banging on doors, and Rocko was fairly confident that there wouldn’t be any glaring issues for Barker to harp on the following day.
Someone walked up beside him. Rocko didn’t need to look to know that it was Stone.
“Barker’s coming out, huh?” Stone murmured. “You should have known that bringing her here would do that.”
“I’m not afraid of Barker.” Rocko turned to look at Stone, arching one eyebrow in question. “Are you? Do you have something to hide?”
“There’s always something to hide from cops.” Stone narrowed his gaze on Rocko’s trailer. “And you’ve got a slave living in your trailer. I think that’d be red flag aplenty. Don’t you?”
“Not if she’s a willing prisoner,” Rocko argued. “Besides, Barker’s not looking for a woman. He just wants evidence of something he can string us up for. He’s trying to right what he feels are all of the injustices in his world.”
“You mean the fact that criminals make legal money?” Stone joked. “Yeah. He’s been trying to fix that for years.”
“Then how about we don’t do anything terminally stupid and give him what he wants?”
Rocko deliberately turned his back on Stone and walked back to his trailer. He was going to have to do something about this living situation soon. The gang would be wondering why there was no second in command. There had always been a second. Living in the other half of Rocko’s trailer was considered a pretty privileged thing. If Stone wasn’t enjoying that perk, then someone else was going to demand it. Unfortunately, Rocko didn’t really have any other likely contenders. Besides, he was still having difficulty imagining that the man he’d called friend for so many years was now his enemy.
“That’s right, Rocko,” Stone called. “Just walk away like you always do. Next time maybe you’ll have the balls to talk about what really matters.”
Rocko stopped walking and sighed. “Are you really that fucking stupid?”
“What? Like you?”
Rocko spun on his heels and stalked back toward Stone. The other man had opened his mouth once again, probably to say something stupid. Before Stone could speak, Rocko planted his fist in the other man’s lips. Stone’s head rocked back on his neck. Then before he could regain his equilibrium, Rocko used his left leg to swipe Stone’s feet right out from underneath him. The man went down like a ton of bricks.
Rocko stood over Stone. “Someday you’re going to learn when to keep your mouth shut.”
For some reason, Rocko felt like this situation called for a bit of goodwill. He reached down and grabbed Stone’s hand. Yanking the man up onto his feet, he helped him stand. Then Rocko smacked Stone on the shoulder and left the man standing there by himself with half a dozen other gang members looking on with amusement on their faces.
***
Lena peeked out through the trailer’s crooked blinds. She saw Stone go down. But then it looked like Rocko helped him up as though they were still friends or something. Men were so hard to figure out that way.
She was still trying to figure it out when she realized that Rocko was walking toward the trailer. Hastily putting the blinds back in place, she headed toward the kitchen. She didn’t really have anything to do in the kitchen. It just seemed like a likely place for her to look busy.
By the time she heard Rocko push the front door open, she was wiping down the countertops for the third time. She didn’t look up when he walked in. She didn’t know what to say or how to greet him or even how to acknowledge the weirdness of their earlier conversation—which she now totally regretted.
It turned out that the decision of topic or whether they were even going to have a conversation was completely out of her hands. Rocko marched over to the counter and put his palms flat on the scarred surface.
“I need to talk to you about something,” he announced.
She paused in wiping the already clean countertop. “Okay.”
“Apparently your father went to the police today to complain about us taking you as a slave against your will.” His tone was flat. He sounded more annoyed than concerned.
Lena felt both confused and gratified. “He really did that?” Why did she feel so flattered? Like it was such a big deal that her father cared enough about her to try and get the police involved in her “abduction.”
“That’s not a good thing,” Rocko pointed out. “Especially since you came willingly and—in point of fact—this was your idea.”
She couldn’t really argue with that. “Okay. Fine. So it’s not a good thing. What do you want me to do about it? I can’t control my father. You’re not even going to let me talk to him.”
“Correct.” There was a smug twist to Rocko’s lips. “But you can talk to the police.”
“Excuse me?” Was she hearing him right? That would be a disaster. Wouldn’t it? What was she supposed to say? “So I just tell him I agreed to have sex with you to offset my father’s debt? Somehow I don’t think that would be any better.”
Now Rocko looked annoyed. He pulled a face and pointed at her. “That wasn’t the agreement.”
“But that is the agreement.
We talked about that last night when I said I was ready to—” She searched for the right word. “—consummate our bargain. You said I had to have sex with you in order to keep your men from thinking they could come in here and pull a caveman move.”
“Caveman move?” He actually looked confused. Was he a total barbarian or what?
“You know,” she prompted. “Caveman move. Bash me over the head with their club and then drag me back to their respective trailers to ‘claim me.’” She used exaggerate air quotes on that last part to emphasize how silly she thought their rules were.
“Okay, so that’s part of the agreement,” he finally allowed. “But the actual agreement was that you would give me thirty days of labor to compensate me for the money your father owes me.”
“And that’s what you want me to tell the cops,” she guessed.
“Exactly.”
“And if I decide to be a little more forthcoming than you’d like?” She cocked her head to one side and folded her arms over her chest. She felt like she was facing off with him. She was sort of making a threat. Mostly because she wanted to see how he would handle it.
He snorted. “Then you can call a cab and leave right now.” He pointed to the door. “Or actually, I’ll take you home right this minute. Then tomorrow I’ll go down and start the eviction process. Your father will be homeless and storeless in less than those thirty days you could have used to save his business.”
She was shocked by his bold announcement. “You wouldn’t!” She pointed at him, wanting him to know that she saw right through him. “You’re the one who’s been preaching at me that my father is using me, that he’s not really taking care of my needs, and that you’re doing me a favor! You would just send me right back to that situation?”
Rocko narrowed his eyes to angry slits. “If you threaten my gang? Then yes. I’ll ship your ass back to Chester faster than you can walk it out that door.”
Why did that bother her so much? She felt like he was turning his back on her or something. Like it was a personal statement against her. It certainly didn’t feel good at all. The strangely vulnerable sensation made her pick up the rag and start cleaning once again. She couldn’t stay still. Not right now.
“So what’s it going to be?” Rocko demanded quietly.
She shrugged. “I’ll tell the cops what you want. I don’t have much choice. Do I?”
Chapter Twelve
Lena lay quietly in bed. She had started the night by trying to be as far to one side of the mattress as possible. She had thought that since Stone was gone, she could just take his room. But the idea of sleeping someplace with Stone’s scent all over it was horrible. So here she was in Rocko’s bed trying not to touch him.
It was cold in the room. But there was a delicious amount of heat coming from Rocko’s prone body. He slept on his back with one arm pillowed beneath his head. He sort of spread out all over.
Lena inched closer. Wonderful waves of warmth made her skin tingle. She tried to tell herself that this was just survival. But it was sort of hard not to notice how good he smelled.
She rolled carefully to her side and pushed her leg just a little closer to Rocko’s. What would it feel like to slide her calf right over his? Would the crisp hair on his legs tickle her? Would he wake up? What would happen then?
They hadn’t had sex before turning off the light and going to sleep. Lena didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed. After all, having sex with Rocko was keeping her away from the other gang members, right? It was all about that agreement between them. She was here to work off her father’s debt. She needed Rocko to get attached so he would forgive the entire amount. That meant she needed to make Rocko want her.
But that’s the only reason.
What she was thinking about had nothing to do with the ache between her legs. It was all business, and she needed to remember that. Business was acceptable. Anything else was—unwise. Yes. Unwise.
Lena’s heart began to pound. It was as if all of the blood in her body was moving so quickly that her skin was hypersensitive. The closer she moved to Rocko, the more her fingers began to tingle with the desire to touch him. And when she finally brushed her hand along his ribs, she had to bite back a little moan of pleasure.
His skin was so taut over the muscle and bone covering every inch of him. She let her hand slide lower. The softness of that vulnerable skin at his hips was delightful. She gently brushed the coarse hair at his groin. The nest of dark curls was fascinating to touch. Unable to resist, she combed her fingers lightly through the stuff.
That was when he put his hand on top of hers, flattening her palm against him. “What are you doing?”
“Touching you?” Ugh. Was she telling or asking? She felt like such a neophyte with this stuff.
He cleared his throat, his voice a rough and sleepy rumble. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I thought we were supposed to be having sex,” she reminded him. “You know, so your men will leave me alone.”
Rocko snorted. “You could just fake an orgasm and it would be plenty to keep yourself safe.”
“What?” She wasn’t sure what he was getting at.
“You know,” he prodded. “You just yell and scream and pretend I’ve brought you to the most incredible orgasm ever. It’s simple. These walls are thin, and the men are most certainly hanging about listening.”
“Really?” She was both fascinated and horrified by this thought. “Won’t they know if it’s fake?”
“So you think we should fuck for real just in case the men think we’re faking?” The obvious incredulity in his voice embarrassed her.
Lena moved onto her back and folded her hands primly over her middle. “Hey, if you don’t want to—fuck—then that’s fine. I’ll just fake it. I was only offering to—you know—because we have an agreement.”
She could just barely see his expression in the dim room. He looked skeptical at best. “I don’t have an agreement with you that forces you to have sex with me.”
He rolled onto his side and propped himself on one elbow.
“So if you want to have sex—” He cleared his throat. “—you know, just so you don’t get ravished by my men, you’re going to have to come and get it.”
“Excuse me?” She looked over at him, feeling both intrigued and horrified by this idea. “How would I do that?”
Rocko kicked the covers off the bed. This ripped the blankets off her as well. He was naked. She was wearing a T-shirt and panties. She was still freezing. He looked rather comfortable. Readjusting himself on his back, he stacked both hands beneath his head and stared at the ceiling.
“You’re just—” She tried to wrap her mind around this. “—you’re just going to lie there?”
“Yep.”
She should have told him that she wasn’t interested and gone back to sleep. Except she wasn’t just interested, she was so curious that her hands were itching to touch him. She watched television. She read books. She knew that women could very easily be on top. But the idea of throwing her leg over Rocko’s body and somehow managing to put his huge cock inside her body was a little intimidating.
“Chicken?” he taunted. “I get it. I won’t think less of you if you decide to just go ahead and fake it.”
Oh! The man was so arrogant that she could not back down. No. She would rub it in his face that she had taken the challenge and come out on top. Literally in this case. Of course, that meant she was going to have to be brave enough to take off her clothes and be naked.
Squirming a bit, she managed to get out of her T-shirt and panties. The air was cool on her heated skin, and she found that she was actually not so uncomfortable like this. It was dark enough that it wasn’t like he could see much anyway. She probably could have kept her shirt on and he wouldn’t have noticed.
***
The first glimpse of Lena’s bare body was enough to almost make Rocko lose his load right then and there. He was going to have to be careful with t
his crazy notion of letting Lena be on top. When it came time for him to come, he needed to be sure he could pull out. He could not let one woman’s curiosity be the cause of a lifetime of regrets.
She ran her hands down his sides and up over his belly. Rocko sucked in a quick breath of surprise. He had never been touched quite like this. This was honest curiosity and exploration. It was refreshing somehow.
He held his breath as her fingers got closer and closer to his cock. He was already hard. But the second she touched his shaft, he felt as though every ounce of blood in his body rushed to his groin. His cock throbbed, and it was almost painful to be touched even though he would not have stopped her for the world.
She wrapped her hand around his shaft and gave it a squeeze. He hissed in pleasure. She squeezed again and then ran the tip of her index finger lightly over the head of him. Precum leaked from the hole at the tip. She touched the silky stuff then spread it back down the length of his shaft toward his balls.
As soon as he realized that she was going to touch his tight sac, he groaned with need. She cupped him, experimentally feeling the twin spheres inside the thick skin. He moved restlessly on the bed, loving the feel of her soft hands. She seemed intent on being extra careful in that area, and he felt a twinge of appreciation for her obvious consideration. Lena wasn’t like any other woman he’d ever met.
Then she shifted on the bed and threw one leg over his hips. The move was awkward. It was obvious that she had never done it before, but that only made him more excited. The fact that she was doing this for him was intoxicating. She was a warm weight on his body. Her thighs were straddling his, and with her crotch spread open above him, he could sense the heat radiating from her pussy.
There was no doubt in his mind that she was wet. He could smell it. The scent made him ravenous for more. He had to fist his hands in the sheets to keep from grabbing her and forcing her to grind her open pussy against his shaft. This exploration was about Lena gaining confidence. At some point she was going to realize what a goddess she was, and then Rocko would get his reward for patience.
