I gasp, I stop breathing, the tension escalating until, until… Waves of intense pleasure flood my body, going on and on, extended by his now gentle teasing until, somehow understanding I’m becoming sensitive, he moves away.
He stands, pulls my body even closer to the edge of the bed, and plunges his hard again cock straight inside me. His hands grasp my ankles and pull them up over my head, lifting my hips from the bed as he thrusts in, deeper than he’s been before. His eyes checking for signs of discomfort, but I’m feeling nothing but ecstasy knowing he’s as far inside me as he can go. Such an intimate connection.
Then he starts hammering in, touching that place inside me, making my muscles contract all over again.
“Come with me, Becca.”
I can’t disobey him, his words, his beautiful punishment of my body. It would be easier to stop a volcanic eruption than my impending orgasm. As my sheath clutches at him he groans when I go over the top and my muscles convulse against him. He roars and starts pumping erratically.
“Fuckin’ love this, Becca. Fuckin’ love takin’ you bare. Christ, you feel good.” Each statement is punctuated by little jerks as he empties everything he’s got inside me.
He lets my legs down, gently massaging them, then again, catches my eyes. “You okay, Becca?”
“Hmm.” It’s all the response I’m capable of as his fingers slide against my skin. It’s the little touches, his outward concern that makes him so different than Hawk.
Once my feet are back on the floor he falls onto the bed, pulling me up against him and tucking me under his arm. “I meant it, darlin’. Feels so good skin on skin. I’ve been meaning to ask. How long have you got left on your shot?”
Silently I work it out under my breath, then sit forward with a jerk. “Rock! Rock. Christ. What’s the date?”
“The twenty-fifth. Why?”
I’d lost track of time, no longer marking the days off. My hand covers my mouth. “It was my birthday on the eleventh. I’m so sorry. I’m a couple of weeks over already.” I place my head in my hands, feeling like a fool. I’d got so settled here I hadn’t given a thought to counting off the days. And I’d just got used to the idea I couldn’t get pregnant.
“Hey. Hey, Becca. Look at me, sweetheart.”
But I can’t. I don’t want him to hate me, to think that I’ve tricked him. “Look, I’ll talk to Sam about…”
Realising I’m not going to face him, he pulls me back down to his side. Then he gives me no choice, taking my hands in his and holding them over my head. “Look, let’s handle this in order of importance. You should have told me it was your fuckin’ birthday. Would have wanted to do something for that. We’ll have a late celebration, okay?”
I couldn’t care less about my birthday. It’s always passed without fanfare before.
While I’m still shaking my head he continues staring at me intently. “Could you be pregnant?” he demands.
Feeling tears prick at my eyes, again I move my head from side to side, but it’s not in a negative gesture. “I don’t know,” I tell him, honestly. “My parents arranged it a week before the wedding. I was so stupid, I didn’t know what was going on at the time. It’s only later Hawk told me, and that it would be effective for three years. I don’t know if the effectiveness wears off that quickly. But I’ll sort it. Sam can help me find somewhere to go…”
“Damn it, Becca. Let me speak. Look at me.” His voice, slightly harsh, pulls me up and stops my rambling. My bottom lip trembles. I know I’ve disappointed him, but I hadn’t misled him intentionally. He waits until I’m able to meet his eyes before he gently rubs his hand across my stomach. “Let me have my say, yeah?” After I manage a small nod he continues. “You got my baby growing in there? I’d be the happiest fucker alive. You don’t, and you want to keep trying? That’s fine with me. You want to wait and get another shot? Again, I’m content. But I give you fair warnin’ babe. One day, you’ll be carryin’ my children.”
My mouth opens and shuts in confusion. He wouldn’t mind? It takes more than a moment to process the idea. Hawk was adamant he didn’t want kids.
“Gotta give me something here, Becca. I’d like to know where you stand.” His brow is furrowed.
“I, I, er… I love you, Rock.”
“But?”
“There’s no but, Rock.” I swallow to get moisture into my mouth so I can grab my slice of nirvana. “I’d love to have your baby. Babies, Rock. I just never thought…”
He guesses the rest, leans his delicious body over me, taking his weight on his elbows which he rests either side of my head. “I didn’t want kids. Not until I met you. Now I know why not. I was waiting to find someone I wanted to spend my whole life with. Someone I could commit to. Someone I knew I loved and who I wanted riding up behind me. And that person I was waiting for is you, Becca. You complete me.” He leans down and gives me a soft kiss. “Never understood Wraith or Drum, Slick or Heart come to that. But now I do. When you find the right woman, you know it.” He gives a slight shake of his head as if bemused. “Even fuckin’ resented the kids on the compound. Now I want to add to them. That’s down to you, Becca. You’ve opened my eyes.”
I know my shortcomings. “I hope I can be the woman you need. But I’m not sure. I’m damaged. I know that…”
“You’re a fuckin’ long way from damaged, Becca.” He grins, “Dented perhaps. But nothing that can’t be made right.” He continues the earlier topic. “No condoms, no shots. Just my property patch. Hell, I might go the whole way and put a ring on your finger.”
It hits me like a strike from a fist. “But I’m still married.”
“Not in my eyes you’re not. And soon, not in the eyes of the law either. Doesn’t stop me giving you a patch. Just that the wedding will have to wait a bit longer.”
Rock’s making me picture a future when Hawk’s no longer in my life. I’m smiling just thinking about it.
He rolls onto his side, taking me with him. As his fingers gently run through my short hair, he asks, “Your church, tell me about it.” His abrupt change of subject takes me aback, and I need a moment to catch up with him.
“Why do you want to know?” I crinkle my nose, still reeling from the previous conversation, my thoughts swinging from elation to fear about how I could bring a child up. Focus, Becca. He asked about the church. “What information are you after?”
“What type of people attend it?”
“Upstanding citizens,” I scoff. “People who like hearing about hell, fire, and brimstone. How all the sinners will be punished. Then they go off and do what they want Monday to Saturday. I know for a fact there was at least one man who was quite happy committing adultery, and then turning up on the Sunday all smiles with his wife.”
“Hawk know?”
“Yeah. He used to laugh about turning a blind eye.”
“And you’ve said there’s no people of colour in your church?”
“God no,” I retort. “Whites only.”
“That down to Hawk?”
“He wasn’t very tolerant,” I admit, thinking back to some of the hateful things he would say. “I used to block out his rants. But all the country’s woes were down to Blacks, Hispanics, and any others who weren’t pure Ayrian descendants.”
Rock isn’t surprised, as though my answer was what he expected. “I know I’ve asked you this before, and you said no suspicious characters met with Hawk, or that you knew of. But a slightly different question. Hawk got any particular friends close to him? Anyone that was a member of the congregation he used to see more than others?”
My brow creases as I think back, examining Hawk’s behaviour through new eyes. “White. Him for certain.” Thinking of White joins the dots. “Rock? That man who was there the other night? Remember me saying I think he may have been to the house? Remembering White reminds me. That man was tight with him. I don’t know if they ever came to the house together. Whenever Hawk had visitors, while they were there, I was sent to my room.” I
sigh. “All the congregation loved Hawk. He could do no wrong in their eyes. They’d all have been proud to be his friend. But he kept people at a distance. It was only White that I can recall acting friendly. Why the questions, Rock?” Another sign of my progress that I dare to ask.
His answer surprises me. “Because we’re going tomorrow. Want to see what we’re up against. What support Hawk has still got…”
“Going to church?” My eyes go wide. “They won’t trust you.”
“We need to go, darlin’. Don’t know a church that doesn’t open its doors wide to strangers.”
“You don’t know my church,” I murmur. I think for a moment. “To be accepted you have to be one of their type. Scaler moved away. Not been heard of for a while. Might even be dead now. But he was the curate. Give them his name as a recommendation. Say that you worshipped at the All Saints Church, and you’ll be welcomed. They all hate the congregation there, bunch of do-gooders they say. If you tell them you want a religion with teeth, they’ll let you in.”
“Know anything about the pastor who took over from Hawk?”
“I don’t, sorry. He seemed okay when I met him. The other man with him the other night? I didn’t take to at all.”
“I don’t fuckin’ take to any man who has their hands on my woman,” Rock growls. “You’ve said enough, darlin’. Given us some hints to get accepted.”
I can only hope I’ve done enough.
Needing to change the subject, not liking being forced to think about the church and the people who went there, I let my hand wander across Rock’s chest, examining the tattoos that he’s had inked into his skin. My fingers linger on one. “Why the cards, Rock?”
“I like playing poker.”
I frown slightly. “You gamble?”
My question, for some reason, makes him laugh. His arm tightens around me. “I know my limits, darlin’. Never lose more than what I can afford. You don’t need to worry about that.” His eyes glaze over, my question has touched a nerve. “My hobby, if you want to call it that, was why Drummer asked me to go into the Chaos Riders. Time was short, he had to think of something fast. Everyone knows I love a good game of poker, would go into Tucson to play. It didn’t take much for them to believe I’d been on a losing streak.” He taps his chest. “If it wasn’t for the cards, babe, we might never have met.”
And I’d still be languishing in that cellar. Or dead.
One look at him and I see he’s thinking along the same lines. I try to lighten things up. “So, you could say our getting together was in the cards, then?”
“Could do.” He chuckles.
“Will you teach me to play sometime?” Cards, or any games for that matter, had been forbidden when I was growing up.
He pulls himself up on one elbow, his eyes now alight. “That’s an idea. Strip poker.”
“You ever think about anything but sex?”
He answers my primly put question with another rich chuckle which comes from deep in his chest. “With you around? Never.”
To prove his point, he kisses, first my mouth, then moves down to my breasts.
Chapter 35
Rock
“Yo.” I’m half asleep as I answer my phone. “Yeah, Prez?”
I listen to the reason he woke me much earlier than I expected. Then agree to get dressed and go straight to his office. Eight am. After the night I’d spent alternatively fucking and making love to Becca, I’d hoped to have a leisurely lie in. Knowing there might be a chance it could bear fruit, something had driven me to do what I could to put my baby inside her. As a result, I’m drained and exhausted. We’d planned to go to the evening service, which meant I’d expected to have hours before we had to leave.
I wet myself in the shower, just enough to get rid of the smell of sex, which personally I’d prefer to carry with me all day, dress, and am entering church within fifteen minutes. When I go through the door I find I’m not the only one to have received an early summons.
Drummer is sitting at the head of the table as normal, Wraith and Peg are in their usual positions, as is Blade. At the opposite end are Chaz and Bull.
I jerk my chin toward my brothers, a more respectful nod at the prez and VP of the Wretched Soulz, then sit beside Peg as invited.
“Now Rock’s here, let’s get started,” Drummer suggests.
Bull pulls out a pack of cigarettes and waves them toward us. Blade nods and catches the pack that’s slid down the table. No one else takes up the offer, so it’s only he and Bull who light up. Drum slides an ashtray down to them. Chaz grins up at a sign on the wall which suggests when the floor is full to use the receptacle provided, then a cloak of seriousness comes over him. He nods to Bull.
“I spoke to Stub this morning. You may be wondering about this early meeting. But there’s a few things we need to go through,” Bull starts, then pauses to take another drag. Smoke drifts up into the air. “Stub got to your man. Found a few things that are interesting.” Another drag, and I shift impatiently, wishing he’d finish the darn cigarette so there’d be no more interruptions. “Okay, this is how it stands. Hawk has his own organisation and is a tight-lipped motherfucker. Doesn’t trust anyone and runs it on a need to know basis. He took it over from the old pastor, who’s dead by the way. It was agreed he’d keep getting a cut when Hawk took his place, but Hawk doesn’t like to share. The old pastor had a convenient accident.”
“The gun running out of the church goes back a long way.” Drummer’s steely gaze fixes on the Soulz’s VP.
“Ever since it was built. As you said, few people knew about the basement. Very few.”
“But someone else knows?”
“Yeah, Drum.” Chaz takes over. “Two other people. Both very much breathing.”
“Then why haven’t they moved the fuckin’ guns?” Drum’s hand comes down over his beard.
Chaz shrugs. “They were waiting for their buyer to get ready. Then, now, of course, they’re lost without their pack mules. The two fuckers working for Hawk are waiting for his instructions as to who’s now going to move them.”
“So they leave millions of dollars worth of equipment just sitting there?”
“Hawk likes to be in control,” I butt in, thinking of Becca. “And I doubt he likes to be crossed. He’ll want to sort out someone he can trust. Anyone else he brings in will find out their set up, they’ll have to, to get that shit moved.”
“Exactly.” Chaz nods, a fleeting smile crossing his face. “As he got himself put in solitary when he heard about the Chaos Riders, he’s not had a chance to set anything up as yet.”
Bull leans forward. “Until now.”
This time, Chaz’s grin stays. “Stub managed to get some quality time with Hawk. Now there are two things that allowed him to get chummy.”
Bull takes over again. “You know what it’s like inside, especially if you’re looking at a long stretch.” He pauses, presses his lips together, and I imagine he’s remembering he’ll never see his brother on the outside again. “Wretched Soulz have a reputation, mostly untrue nowadays, but folks like Hawk believe we side with white supremacists. In the pen you need to have people behind you. Stub knew that, knew he was going inside, so had a swastika tatted on his neck before he went in. Didn’t bother him much, as he knew it would gain him some protection.”
“That’s how he was able to become Hawk’s best buddy?” Drummer looks interested.
“Yeah. That, and that he rides with us. Easy to persuade Hawk we were all on his side.”
“Just don’t tell Fagan.” Bull laughs.
Drum’s brow creases. “He’s Hispanic, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, and we’ve got a couple of black members. All good fuckin’ men.” Chaz grins again. “So,” he takes up Bull’s narrative, “Hawk’s used to working with an MC. Offered Stub a decent enough arrangement to move the guns over the border. Gave up his contacts and everything. The profit from the sale goes to fund white supremacist activities. Oh, and some of the guns go t
o a Nazi group too.”
“Fuck.” Drummer looks disgusted.
“The one thing he kept back was where the guns are hidden. But of course, thanks to the Devils, we already know that.” Chaz sits back looking satisfied, rapping his fingers on the table. “I’ll take your deal, Drummer. We get the guns, sell them to Hawk’s buyer. We’ll divert the extra and keep them well away from the Nazi crowd. We’ll keep all the money ourselves. At least it won’t be used as intended. Then we’ll help you get the Herreras off your back.”
One side of Drummer’s mouth turns up. “Can’t say fairer than that. But we do need to know who Hawk’s partners are. Can’t afford any blowback.”
“That’s what we’re after tonight. Avid churchgoers apparently. Men by the name of White and Butcher.”
“White!” Peg snorts. “Fuckin’ fittin’.”
“Becca mentioned White and another man as being particularly close to Hawk,” I butt in. “She think’s one of them was the man who was there with the pastor the other night.”
Bull glares at me, then continues as though he hadn’t been interrupted. “Stub got a password, well, passphrase, that we can use so they know we’ve got Hawk on our side.”
“Stub did fuckin’ well,” Peg observes.
“He did that,” Chaz acknowledges. “More than that.” He nods toward me. “You gonna take that girl as your ol’ lady?”
“I am.” I don’t hesitate to reply and have to suppress a smile at the thought she might already be incubating my baby. Fuck me, never thought I’d be happy at getting a girl knocked up.
“Well, you ain’t got anything standing in your way now. Hawk won’t be a problem anymore. He sort of met with an accident last night. Shanked himself, would you believe?”
I wouldn’t, and know it’s just one more thing we can thank Stub for. My only regret is that I was unable to get up close and personal with him and put him in the ground myself. He tortured my woman for years. But he is dead, and any of his claims on her died with him. Becca’s free. Now I do grin, then my face falls. “Stub get away with it?”
Rock Bottom Page 35
