by Brook Wilder
“This is different,” Della said.
“It’s exactly the same!” Kate exclaimed. She paused to take a couple deep breaths, steadying herself. When she continued, her voice was calmer, but there was still a slight tremble to her words. “Trevor was a good kid. Decent grades, star of the football team. He didn’t let it get to his head, though. He helped his mom around the house, always treated people with respect. Worst thing Trevor ever did was smoke some weed.”
“Okay,” Della said, humouring her. She didn’t really see the connection.
“Trevor didn’t involve himself directly in motorcycle club business, I’ll give you that,” Kate continued. “His dealer did. He went to his dealer in Bed-Stuy who tried to sell him something a little stronger than weed. Trevor refused, of course. He wasn’t into that shit. Problem was, his dealer was trying to push blow on club territory, and you better believe the local MC was not forgiving.”
“What happened?” Della asked, now fully invested in the story.
“They were waiting for a deal to go down the night Trevor was there,” Kate said. “As soon as the deal was complete, they shot both of them down. Drove away while Trevor and his stupid fucking dealer bled out on the street. It didn’t matter that Trevor hadn’t bought any blow, or that he was completely ignorant of club business. They exacted their form of justice without a second thought.”
Kate was near tears. Della wanted to reach out to her, but kept her hands to herself. This was personal, and Kate clearly wasn’t looking for pity.
“Trevor’s dad was long gone, and his mom was out of town. Next contact they found was me. They called me to identify his body. I had to stand there while they pulled back the sheet, showed me his face. His expression wasn’t sad or scared. He just looked a little surprised.”
Kate sipped at her own drink, then shook her head, falling silent.
“Kate, I had no idea,” Della said. “I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You would have thought I was using my cousin’s death to manipulate you,” Kate said. “I didn’t want to use Trevor that way, and I don’t like to remember him like that. I prefer to remember the happy-go-lucky football player.”
Their lunches arrived, but neither one of them made any move to eat. Kate stared at her plate for a moment. When she spoke again, she didn’t look at Della.
“I don’t want to see you lying on a table like that,” she said. “You can still get out. You can avoid Trevor’s fate.”
Della picked at her food. The logical part of her brain knew that Kate was right. Only time would tell if she could make her heart see reason.
___
After a long morning, Prescott came home to find Della sitting on the couch. It looked like she was waiting for him, because she was sitting in silence, staring into space. She looked up at him when he came through the door.
“Hey,” he said uncertainly. “Everything okay?”
“I had lunch with Kate today.”
“Oh. How is she?”
Della shrugged. “I don’t know if she’s ready to be my best friend again, but it was still nice seeing her. I didn’t realize how much I missed her.”
“I’m glad you two got to talk,” Prescott said, stepping closer.
He stopped dead when she actually got off the couch and moved away from him. She didn’t meet his gaze.
“What exactly did you and Kate talk about?” he asked, not liking this situation one bit.
“She told me about a cousin of hers who got into some trouble a while back.”
Prescott listened while Della told him the story of Kate’s cousin. He figured out pretty quickly where it was going, but he let her finish talking.
“Is that where this is going?” she asked once she’d finished, her voice thick with unshed tears. “Am I going to end up on some medical examiner’s table with a bullet in my chest?”
“I would never let that happen to you.”
“How can you be sure?” she asked as the first few tears finally spilled down her cheeks.
Prescott hated seeing her like this. Even worse, he knew that she was right. He’d known it from the beginning. Having her around was a bad idea. He was putting her in danger. Seeing her like this was his undoing. All he wanted to do was go to her, wrap her in his arms, hold her until her tears stopped. He didn’t want to let her go, but it would be selfish and irresponsible to ask her to stay.
“I guess I can’t be sure,” he said finally. “I can’t stop you if you want to leave. Do what you think is best.”
The words cut through him as he said them, but he stayed strong. This was the right thing to do.
“I should walk away,” she said, voicing his thoughts. “Kate thinks I should. After hearing what she had to say today, I know that it would be the smart thing to do. But like it or not, Prescott, I’m in this. You can try to deny it all you want, but I am a part of this. Truth be told, I spent the past couple hours trying to make myself hate you for that. For pulling me into club business.”
“Were you successful?” he asked, taking a step forward.
She didn’t move away from him this time. He was encouraged a little by that.
“I guess not,” she said. “No matter how hard I try, I can’t hate you. And I can’t leave you. Because I don’t want to. I don’t want to leave, Prescott. Please don’t make me.”
He closed the gap between them and took her hand, tugging her over to him and folding her into his embrace.
“I want you right here,” he whispered. “I’d never make you leave. I’m too selfish to try.”
She was crying and shuddering in his arms. He squeezed tighter while she buried her head in his chest. The sad thing was that she was right to be scared, and Prescott wished he was strong enough to push her away. It would be best for her. It would keep her safe.
His phone rang. She heard it, tried to pull away. He didn’t let her. Keeping one arm around her waist, he used his other hand to dig his phone out of his pocket. Shaft’s name appeared on the display. He took the call.
“Yeah?”
“Prescott…”
The tone of Shaft’s voice sent ice through Prescott’s veins. Whatever he was about to hear, it was not going to be good.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I got hold of the records like you asked,” Shaft said. “Found a couple that didn’t make sense. Your name and Charles weren’t in there. They were secret meetings or something. Al and the club leadership. They had a vote to… they voted on it… on Charles.”
“What are you saying?” Prescott asked.
He felt like his whole world was turning upside down. He heard Shaft’s response, but the sounds of the words were muffled, like he was listening to the phone through a sheet of fabric.
“They voted on Charles’ death,” Shaft said. “They didn’t just know Al killed Charles… they voted to have him do it.”
The phone slipped from Prescott’s grasp as his entire body went numb. He stumbled back and found himself sitting down hard on the arm of the couch.
It wasn’t possible.
This was a nightmare.
He wanted to wake up.
“What’s wrong?” Della asked. “Prescott?”
She took his face in her hands and looked him in the eye. Her expression was concerned and frightened.
Prescott didn’t have the strength in him to lie. Shaft’s words tumbled from his lips without any effort. He felt like he was on autopilot.
“My brothers. The men I trusted and grew up with. They killed my father.”
CHAPTER TEN
Whatever Della had been expecting to hear, it wasn’t that. Prescott’s face was a mask of disbelief. She saw more pain in his eyes than she thought any one human being could be capable of. It was too much to bear. All she wanted to do was wash that hurt away, but she couldn’t undo what had been done. The only thing she could do was be there for him.
She knelt down and picked his phone up off the floor. The
call had ended, and Shaft hadn’t tried to call back. He probably knew what was going on. Setting the phone aside, Della pulled Prescott’s head against her chest and ran her fingers through his hair. He wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her closer. She could feel him shuddering, his breathing chaotic. It was more than she could stand.
Della began placing gentle kisses on Prescott’s forehead and temples. She leaned down and kissed the corners of his eyes, wanting to soothe the pain out of them. Slowly, Prescott began to respond, lifting his lips to her so she could kiss him properly. She held his head in her hands and kissed him deeply.
“Is this too much?” she asked after a minute. “Do you want me to stop?”
“No,” he breathed. “Never stop.”
She resumed what she had been doing, this time massaging his chest and shoulders. Her hands moved downward, traveling over his waist and lower back, until they reached the fly of his jeans. She undid the zipper and released him into her hands. He was already growing hard. After one last kiss, she dropped to her knees in front of him. Keeping her eyes focused on his face, she leaned forward and guided his cock into her mouth. Prescott immediately went tense, sucking in a long breath. He got harder by the second as Della continued to tease him with her mouth.
Della listened to his breathing as she sucked on him, enjoying the feel of his velvety member in her mouth. He grunted with pleasure when she used her tongue to circle the tip of his cock, only to envelop him again a moment later, sucking him in all the way to the base. His hands were in her hair, and his eyes were closed. Della felt that she was doing an adequate job of distracting him. When he began thrusting gently against her, she knew that he was getting close. She teased him for a couple seconds longer, then pulled away.
They were both still fully clothed. Della quickly fixed that. First, she stripped in front of him while he watched. She took her time, removing one item of clothing at a time. Whenever he reached out to her, she danced away teasingly. He groaned with frustration, but he was enjoying the game.
After she was completely undressed, Della worked on Prescott. She removed his boots and his jeans. Then she carefully slipped his kutte off his shoulders. When she lifted his shirt over his head, he took advantage of the close proximity to capture one of her nipples in his mouth. She allowed him to suckle her for a moment, then pushed back on his shoulders. He got the idea quickly enough, and adjusted himself so he was lying on his back on the couch.
Della climbed over him, loving the way he was reacting to her. If this was the only way that she could soothe his hurt, then she was going to make it count.
Prescott held onto Della’s hips as she ground herself against him, taunting him even more. He could see that a fire had been lit within her, and he was happy to bask in its warmth. She was getting very wet for him as her fingers and body worked their magic. He felt ready to burst, but he didn’t want to end this too soon. He wanted to taste her the way she had tasted him.
With that thought forefront on his mind, he pulled her forward and turned her over, so she was straddling his chest with her core on full display for him. Della got the idea quickly, and leaned forward to take him back into her mouth. Prescott wasted no time burying his lips between her tender folds. She gasped around his cock as he sought to delve as deeply as possible with his tongue. He sucked and licked, loving the taste of her. She continued to give him pleasure with her mouth in return, and the sensations she brought on were almost too much to bear.
It wasn’t long before they reached an unspoken agreement that they needed to finish this. They were both panting and desperate for release. Della continued to take control as she turned back around, holding her body above his. Prescott watched her beautiful face as she guided his cock inside her. She moaned as he did it, her eyes fluttering closed.
When he was fully seated in her, Della began to move, riding him hard. Her breasts bounced enticingly before Prescott’s eyes as she worked her magic. He reached up to take hold of those perfect breasts, rubbing and squeezing, letting them overflow in his hands. She held his arms and quickened her pace until he heard and felt her reach climax. His name flew from her lips as her body rippled and shuddered around his.
Prescott quickly joined Della, finally allowing his body the release it had been seeking for some time now. It was intense and perfect, and he pulled her down so he could embrace her as he came. He felt the waves of pleasure hitting him, and loved that he could feel everything while Della’s body was draped over his.
“Thank you,” he murmured. “That was perfect.”
“Prescott…”
She pulled back, and he saw panic in her eyes.
“What is it, baby?” he asked, reaching up to cup her cheek in his hand. “Did I hurt you?”
“We weren’t… safe,” she said, her voice barely louder than a whisper. “We didn’t use protection.”
Her words hit Prescott in waves as realization settled in. In the heat of the moment, he’d completely forgotten. And so had Della, apparently. She’d always been so careful before that he’d come to rely on her for the reminder.
Della lifted herself off of him and he sat next to her on the couch. She looked pale. Mortified.
“I’m sorry,” he said finally. “I wasn’t thinking. We can… talk about this. There has to be something… maybe a pill…”
“No.”
He looked at her in surprise. She looked right back at him, something like determination on her face.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I mean… whatever happens, even if this one moment turns into something big like a positive pregnancy test… maybe it was a good thing. I… I would be happy to carry your child.”
She looked a little worried when he didn’t respond, but Prescott was too floored to say anything right away.
“Are you sure?” he asked finally.
“I am.”
She spoke confidently, but he could tell she was scared. Scared that he would reject her, reject the possibility of a child with her. He couldn’t let her have those thoughts for even a second longer. He embraced her tightly, breathing in her scent, which was mixed with his.
“I don’t deserve you,” he whispered.
“You should have thought of that before you made me fall in love with you,” she replied.
“I guess there’s nothing I can do but love you back. And I promise to do that, to the best of my ability. No matter what happens, you have my love.”
“More beautiful words were never spoken,” she said, tucking her head under his chin.
They sat together for a few minutes, neither one wanting to be the first to get up. Prescott nuzzled Della’s chin, placing kisses along her jaw, then found her lips again. She kissed back hungrily.
Despite what they had just done together, Prescott found himself wanting more from her. He would never have enough, it seemed. He got both arms under her and lifted her, carrying her into the bathroom.
“We should get cleaned up,” he said, setting her on the floor so he could start the water.
As soon as everything was ready, he pulled her into the shower with him. The hot water ran over their bodies as they resumed kissing. Prescott fumbled for the soap and lathered his hands. He began washing Della’s breasts thoroughly while she moaned and pushed herself into his touch. From there he moved downward, massaging soap into her hips, her thighs, and her rear. When his hands moved between her legs, she braced herself against the wall of the shower.
Prescott couldn’t stop thinking about all that Della had given him. He’d never expected to be this lucky, to have a woman in his life who was both beautiful and smart. He couldn’t begin to fathom why she would choose to be with him, or why she would smile in excitement when she spoke about carrying his child. But here she was. He was never going to let her go.
Della’s body was alight with sensations. From the cool shower wall, to the hot water, to the ripples of pleasure that Prescott was sending through her. She gripped
his shoulders to keep herself steady as he continued his assault. Considering how recently they had been with each other, she didn’t think she’d be able to find another orgasm. But find it she did. Prescott was relentless in his actions, and he pushed her until she was looking over that edge and nudged her until she was falling.
With all that he had done for her, Della wanted to return the favor. She wanted to show him how much he meant to her and how much she needed him. Sliding her body down his, she allowed the water to continue its assault as she took him into her mouth once more. This time she was going to drive him wild. She sucked and licked for all she was worth, breathing in his clean scent, and revelling in the grunts and moans she drew out of him. When he came, she drank him down, not shying away from it at all. His hands were tangled in her hair, his body shaking. This was such a perfect moment that she could almost forget what had precipitated it.
