by Jade Kuzma
“Mia…”
He grunted hard suddenly. His body stopped for a split-second then began to jerk violently. A thick jet of cum splashed onto my tongue.
“Mmm…”
I moaned in satisfaction as his cock throbbed in my mouth. Every inch of his shaft vibrated with an intensity that shook my entire body.
I grabbed the sheets at the edge of the bed and held on tight while I sucked him off. Swallowing a man had never felt so satisfying.
Roman kept grunting until he emptied everything he could into me. His body started to sink into the mattress. His grip released from my hair. He stopped holding his breath and started to breathe harder.
I needed to breathe myself. But not before I swallowed as much of him as I could. I sealed my lips around his cock and pulled the last bit of cum out of him before finally separating my mouth from him.
My jaw dropped. The air rushed into my lungs. I blinked my eyes and tears leaked from the corners.
My senses returned to me and I found myself back in Roman’s dark apartment bedroom.
He was looking down at me. No smile. No smirk. No frown. Just a satisfied stare. It was just another reminder that I knew that this was real.
Arthur said it was hormones. My father would’ve probably looked at Roman and thought I only cared about his muscles. But looking at Roman for myself, I felt something inside of me. He was the man I wanted to be with, no matter what it took.
I knew that he felt the same way.
I moved onto the bed and sat down next to him. I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes.
“What are you going to do?” I asked.
Roman sighed a deep breath before he responded.
“I’ll deal with Burke. Tomorrow night. You just have to trust me.”
“…I trust you.”
Chapter 25
ROMAN
It was easy to hide in Old Town with how many of the buildings that were abandoned or condemned. It helped that Ivory PD didn’t give a shit about scouting the place. There were criminals in this town but not the kind of lowlifes who required constant surveillance. The cops intervened only when civilians were threatened directly.
There was a possibility that I was being followed. With all of the shit going down with Burke, he was as high-profile as anybody else there was.
None of that shit mattered. I had some business to settle with him. After spending last night with Mia, I knew that this would be the last time she’d have to worry about the engagement she’d finally decided to back out of. The question now was what Burke was planning on doing.
I sat on my ride in a parking lot between some buildings that had seen better days a long time ago. I closed my eyes and thought about her, trying to maintain my focus on what I was about to do.
Cars in the distance slowly started to get louder. A bright light illuminated the darkness and forced me to open my eyes. I watched as a black SUV rolled into the parking lot and came to a halt.
A few moments later, Burke stepped out with one of his security guards. The bastard was as cocky as he always was. He took a step toward me with a confident grin on his face. Underneath his business-like facade, I knew there was a motherfucker who would do anything it took to get what he wanted.
“Rock. You’ve picked a strange spot to have a meeting.”
“I wanted to make sure that this stays between us,” I said.
“Stays between us?” he raised an eyebrow at me. “You’re not planning on doing anything you regret, do you? You realize that my men are armed and there aren’t any cops in the vicinity to save you.”
“I don’t give a shit about the pigs.”
“No… Of course not…”
He stood a few meters in front of me and put his hands behind his back. He puffed his chest out and nodded.
“Where’s Mia?” he asked.
“You don’t already know? You’ve been following her ever since she came back to Ivory.”
“I was only monitoring her to see what she was up to. Now that I know she was looking to gallivant with you, I’m not keeping tabs on her. I trust you to keep her safe.”
“She is safe. She doesn’t need to be here right now.”
“Well, then… Let’s get to it. What is it you’re here to do, Rock?”
Burke was as confident as he always was. I guess when you had armed security, you never cared too much about what people were thinking because they probably didn’t have the guts to go through with it.
“I’m here to make you an offer,” I said.
“An offer? This should be interesting…”
“Mia’s made her decision. She doesn’t want to marry you.”
“You’ll forgive me if I’m a bit skeptical, seeing as how I’m not getting the word from her own mouth.”
“Mia trusts me. If you’re so inclined to hear from her, you can contact her yourself.”
“Mia doesn’t return any of my calls or messages. But… I’ll take your word for it.”
Burke sighed a deep breath through his nose and shook his head.
“It’s a shame what you did to her,” he said. “Manipulating her out of doing what’s best for her and her family.”
“What’s best for Mia is what she wants. And she doesn’t want to be with you.”
“I’m still not hearing an offer—”
“My offer is this. Break the engagement. With the deal you just made in Ivory, you’ve got enough money to live like royalty for the rest of your life.”
“Royalty.”
He scoffed at me.
“What’s a king without a queen?” he said.
“There are other women out there. You can afford to have any woman you want. Except for her.”
“I’m still not hearing an offer, Rock.”
“I just gave it to you. If you really care about Mia, you’ll make the right decision.”
Burke seemed disinterested like I expected him to be. Underneath his facade, Burke was holding back a frustration that was growing more apparent.
“I’ll make you an offer,” he said. “I’ll give you one million to stop this nonsense and leave Mia alone. Walk away and you can live like… a king.”
“All the money in the world isn’t enough to get me to walk away.”
“Of course,” he said, chuckling to himself like a spoiled child. “I expected you’d say as much. It appears that neither one of us have an offer the other likes. Our negotiations aren’t going very well now, are they—”
“You’re putting Mia in danger. She’s already been attacked twice because of the deal you’ve made. Everybody is trying to get to you through Mia. If you leave her alone, she’ll truly be safe.”
“Who do you think put Mia in danger?”
What?
I stared at Burke, confused by what the fuck he just said. But that stupid grin on his face just kept growing.
“I’m the one who told those men to try and abduct her,” he said. “I knew Palazzo would shut them up before they said anything.”
“Why? Why the fuck would you put her in danger like that?”
“I had to convince her father that she needed someone who could afford to protect her. Only someone like me could provide that kind of security—”
“Motherfucker!”
I didn’t wait.
Before the bastard could keep droning on, I swung at him in a fit of rage. I caught him right on the mouth and sent him down to the ground. The two guards he was with pulled their pieces from their jackets and pointed them at me. Burke popped up to his feet and put his hands up.
“Hold on,” he said. “Don’t shoot him.”
He dabbed at the blood on his lips with his fingers and smirked at me. His teeth were stained red, making his grin a little more disturbing than usual.
“It was all a trick,” I said.
“You don’t know what’s best for Mia. Being by my side will give her the comfort and security a woman like her deserves. I’ve just proven it.”
>
“I was the one who saved her.”
“Yes, and I hired you—”
I took another swing at his face and caught him right on the cheek. He stumbled a few steps back but managed to stay on his feet. His security took a step forward with their guns still aimed at me.
“Put your guns down,” he said. “Let the Devil have his fun.”
Burke wiped away the blood from his mouth. As he straightened his tie, some of the blood stained his collar red.
“Call the police,” he said. “Mr. Rock has proven his propensity for violence hasn’t gone away. I’m sure that’s a direct violation of his parole.”
One of his men pulled their phone out and started calling the police. I stood my ground, digging my heels in. I was fucking fuming.
“This was all some ploy,” I said. “Mia. Her father. Me. You used all of us to try and make some point. To try and trick everybody into thinking that you’re something you’re not.”
“Yes, well, sacrifices had to be made. I don’t see why you’re upset about it. Mia isn’t harmed. You had some good times with her, didn’t you? Don’t worry. When she and I are married, we’ll have a real good time—”
I shouted as I rushed at him. I tackled him to the ground, slamming him into the pavement. He let out a gasp as the air rushed out of his lungs. I got on top of him as he struggled underneath me.
It didn’t matter what I did now. The police were on their way. I had to make do with what little time I had.
I pinned him down and started hammering away at his face. Burke kept smiling back at me as his face started to bleed. If anything else, the motherfucker could take a punch.
But he wasn’t about to go down so easily.
He reached up with both hands and tried to push his thumbs into my eyes. I reared back and rolled off of him. As I got back to my feet, I watched as Burke struggled to do the same.
“All right, Rock. You’re angry. You want to kick my ass. I’m right here. Let the cops see just what kind of a man you really are.”
I rushed back at him and swung. This time he was ready though.
He moved away then caught me hard in the stomach.
Shit.
The air pushed out of my lungs and made it hard for me to breathe. Burke didn’t give me a chance to recover, cracking me right on the side of my head. I fell to a knee as the world started spinning around me.
“That’s the problem with bikers like you,” he said. “You get into bar brawls. You get into street fights. You’re so unrefined. So brutish. That’s not any way to fight.”
He kicked me hard in the stomach. I collapsed onto all fours, desperately trying to catch my breath.
Get up, motherfucker! Get up!
I shut my eyes and gritted my teeth, trying to make all of the pain go away. Burke kept yapping with an obnoxious glee in his voice.
“You hear that, Rock? Sirens. It’s the sound of inevitability.”
He took a knee down next to me and grabbed my hair. He forced me to look up at him. His eyes were cold. He didn’t have to hide who he really was behind his business-like facade any longer.
“You’re just an ex-con. A biker with no MC. You’re a blight on this town. You’re going back to the place where you belong. Someone like you doesn’t deserve to be with a woman like Mia.”
Mia…
The thought of her marrying this motherfucker reminded me of the fire that was burning inside in my gut. This wasn’t about me. Everything was for her. Everything was to keep her safe. Everything was to make her smile.
Her smile…
I remembered it. Even with my eyes open, I could still picture it in my thoughts. A beautiful young woman who’d come into my life when I least expected it.
My queen…
“You’re right, Burke. I don’t deserve to be with a woman like Mia.”
The grin on his face had never been so big.
“I’m glad you’re finally beginning to understand,” he said. “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of her. And when her old man dies, I’ll have her all to myself. As it should be.”
“You forgot one thing?”
“Oh, I did, did I? And what’s that?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at him. Despite everything, I still had to laugh at the motherfucker.
“You don’t deserve to be with her either.”
I clenched my fist so hard that my hand hurt. My hand balled, I forced it up against his chin as hard as I could. His head rocked back. I knew I caught him because of how quickly he dropped to the floor.
I pushed myself up back to my feet and pressed my palms into my knees. Burke laid on the asphalt in front of me. The bastard was sleeping like a baby.
The rest of my strength was used to straighten myself up. When I did, Burke’s personal security reminded me that they were armed. I couldn’t blame the motherfuckers for what they were about to do, considering what I just did to their boss.
But before they could even contemplate anything further, the police sirens grew so loud that I knew they were right by. Blue and red lights flashed in the abandoned parking lot.
“Freeze! Hands up!”
I lazily raised my hands in the air as police officers flooded into the area. I let them cuff me and throw me into the backseat of their car.
My thoughts were clouded with everything that just happened. I tried to reason with Burke. I gave him an option to get out. He refused. I’d done my part. There was nothing more that I could do.
Even though I was getting locked behind bars, I knew this wasn’t over.
“Yo,” I said to the cop in the front seat.
The pig looked at me then turned his eyes back to the road.
“What?” he muttered.
“I get a phone call, right?”
The cop rolled his eyes at me.
“I just need to talk to someone…” I said.
I looked out the window. I couldn’t help but smile.
“…Let them know I’ve done my part.”
Chapter 26
MIA
A few days later…
“Are you certain you know where you’re going?”
It was strange to see the uncertainty in Arthur’s eyes. Ever since I’d first met him, he’d always been so sure of himself. Spending a week around me without incident must have made him comfortable enough to lower his guard. At least around me, anyway.
“I’m not certain,” I said. “But there should be a place around here somewhere.”
“A place around here somewhere. That’s not putting me at ease.”
“I’m sure you’ll be just fine once we get there.”
He gave me a skeptical look, an eyebrow raised like he wasn’t sure what to make of everything. I gave him a smile to reassure him.
We were far enough away from Ivory that it felt like we were alone. The road on the hillside was bumpy and unpaved.
Almost there…
“Mia, I don’t think—”
“Here. This should be a good spot.”
“Thank goodness.”
He sighed a deep breath and brought the car to a halt.
“Mia—”
Before he could finish, I popped out of the car and moved over to the edge of the hillside. The cool night air blew against my face. The sky was clear with the moon full. I enjoyed the scenic view of the town down below.
Arthur’s footsteps filled my ears as he took his place next to me.
“Look at it,” I said.
“What am I looking at?”
“This. All of this.”
I held my hands out.
“Being up here… It makes you realize just how small Ivory is compared to the big city. Don’t you think it’s incredible? It feels like you can reach out and hold the entire town in the palm of your hands.”
Arthur chuckled softly to himself.
“I will hold the entire town in the palm of my hands… Eventually.”
I turned to him and saw that the uncertainty
that was there moments earlier was gone. The calm and confident Arthur I was so used to had returned.
“Business is booming more than I expected,” he said. “That hick of a sheriff has no clue what’s going on in his town. Or maybe he does and he doesn’t have the balls to do anything about it. In any case, it’s perfect for me.”
“Perfect for us, you mean. If I’m going to marry you, I should get everything you have, shouldn’t I?”
The smile still on his face, Arthur reached up and brushed a hand across my cheek.
Just relax… Not much longer…
“You’ll have everything and more,” he said.
“This town… There’s something about it. It makes me feel a way I can’t describe. I’m so comfortable around here.”
“Then you’ll have it. You’ll have this town for yourself. And then you’ll have the big city. And then… the world. You and I will have everything that’s coming to us.”
“We deserve it.”
“Yes. We deserve it. I can’t think of a more appropriate way to put it.”
He closed his eyes and leaned forward to kiss me. I swallowed and stood my ground. Arthur’s face neared mine. I did my best not to pull away too suddenly.
Come on… Where are you?
“Wait,” I said.
Arthur’s eyes shot open.
“What is it?” he said.
“I brought you out here for a reason.”
“I know. You wanted me to enjoy the view of Ivory down below.”
“No. It’s not just that. I… I wanted to be alone with you.”
“Oh?”
An eyebrow raised, he looked down at me with a knowing smirk on his lips. I swallowed to keep down all of the emotions beginning to swirl around in my stomach.
“Why did you want to be alone with me, Mia?”
“If we’re going to be married, I figured you’d want to do it the right way.”
“Do what the right way?”
“Propose to me.”
“Oh… Well…”
“I had dreams of getting married since I was a little girl. Romance. Passion. A man getting down on one knee.”
“Yes. Of course. Well… I don’t see the harm in that.”
