by Debra Kayn
She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against him. "It's probably wine. I do work and live in a bar."
"Mm." He pulled her back out of the way of the door. "It was all you."
The door swung open. Raelyn jolted, pulling away from Mel. Unsteady, she smiled at the customers and invited them in and to sit down at any of the tables. When they were alone again, she turned around. The sight of him failed to calm her racing heart.
He looked good. Really good.
His finger combed hair, lust-filled eyes, and cocky grin knowing what he'd done to her made her want to skip work and take him upstairs. She lifted her chin. Nothing was settled between them, and if she kept falling for him every time he touched her, he'd get the wrong impression.
"I need to work," she said, stepping around him.
He tagged her hand, pulling her back to him. "Tonight, we're in the same bed."
"I can't—"
"You can and will." He kissed her hard and let her go. "Go work."
She nodded and walked away kicking herself for always agreeing with him when he got all dominating and wouldn't let her argue with him. Somehow today, she needed to find her dignity and stop letting him touch her and push his way into her life.
They had to figure out what they were going to do about his claiming her in front of the club. He was living in a different world than her if he believed because they wanted to have sex they needed to be in a permanent relationship.
Having been out of the dating scene since graduating high school and marrying Duke, she was out of the loop, but working in the bar, hanging around Ronacks clubhouse, she knew for a fact that Mel only held her accountable. None of the other women he'd slept with had to dedicate their life to him.
She walked away from him, pushing her problems out of her head, and went to work.
Between serving and running the cash register, it dawned on her that Mel had never hauled any of the other women he'd slept with over the years in front of the club and declared his love. In fact, over the last year, she couldn't even remember him hooking up with any of the women at the clubhouse during the parties or bringing someone to the bar.
Her first break came in the middle of the dinner crowd with the game tied on the television. She slipped the key for the cash register to Gia and headed toward the end of the counter to slip into the kitchen when Mel stopped her.
"Go ahead and go upstairs and see Dukie. I'll cover things down here," he said.
"Okay. I'll be back in ten minutes," she said
"Take your time." Mel pushed the swinging doors open for her. "I've got this covered."
"Remember to check the larger bills with the counterfeit marker." She walked backward. "Oh, and Table Number Two has two free drinks after their meal. It's Marie's birthday today, so they're on the house."
Mel raised his hand in acknowledgment. She hurried through the kitchen, down the hall, and unlocked the door to the upstairs. By the time she hit the apartment, she panted out of breath.
Dukie looked up from beside Allison and stumbled over the pile of Legos on the floor to get to Raelyn. "Mom, is it tomorrow?"
"No." Raelyn laughed walking with her son to the mess he'd created in the living room. "You don't have camp tomorrow, so you get to stay up a whole hour longer tonight, and I heard Grandma bought you a new movie yesterday."
"But when I wake up it'll be tomorrow." Dukie perched on the edge of the couch beside her.
"Yes. Tomorrow is tomorrow." She shared a smile with Allison.
Dukie bounced on the couch. "Uncle Mel is taking me biking."
"He's what?" Raelyn held her son still.
"I get to ride my bike in the best place ever." Dukie rolled his hands around and around in front of him. "I'm going to take my training wheels off."
"Whoa, mister." Raelyn hadn't heard anything about Mel's plans with her son. "You'll need to wait for Uncle Mel to ask you to go with him."
"He did." Duke slid down to his knees and picked up his Lego man, ready to go back to playing.
Raelyn sagged on the couch and let her knees fall apart. "Allison, have you ever managed a bar?"
"Nope." Allison pushed up from the floor and stood.
"Damn," she mumbled. "Cause I'd pay you a hundred dollars to go do my job for me the rest of the night and I could stay on this ugly, beat-up, but cushy couch."
Allison shook her head laughing. "I've seen your job. You'd be ripping me off. I much rather stay up here and get paid to play with the smartest five-year-old in Haugan."
"Me, too." Raelyn sighed and stretched her arms above her head. "I better go back down before the place burns to the ground."
"Don't worry about anything up here. It's almost bath time, and then I'll bring Dukie downstairs to tell you goodnight." Allison pushed the Lego pieces together and added them to Dukie's contraption he concentrated on building.
She heaved herself up from the couch. "Actually, don't bring him down tonight. Keep him upstairs."
"Is everything okay?" asked Allison frowning.
"Yeah." She shrugged. "It's busy downstairs with the guys watching the game. I don't need him around a rowdy crowd."
Raelyn swept her foot across the floor in front of her to make room for her to get closer to Dukie, then squatted beside her son. "Be good for Allison, and make sure you pick up your toys before your bath, okay?"
"Okay." Dukie leaned back, falling on his elbows.
She snuggled his neck and kissed him loudly on his cheek. "Love you to the moon and back."
"To infinity and beyond." Dukie giggled.
She swept his bangs off his sweaty forehead. "I'll wake you up for breakfast in the morning, and then we'll have the whole day together."
Dukie had already gone back to playing, done with their nightly ritual. One day, she hoped to spend more time with her son doing something basic like giving him a bath and putting him to bed before he was too old and rejected her help. She swallowed and gave a wave to Allison, then slipped out the door.
She leaned against the door and took a deep breath. Dukie's happiness came first, and he loved Allison babysitting him, his time with the Ronacks members, going to camp, hanging with her all day and night on Sundays and Mondays. He received more love than he knew what to do with at his age. She was a good mom. They just ran on a different schedule than most families.
She groaned. Families. Her mom. She'd totally forgotten.
She pushed off the door and stepped over to her mom's apartment and knocked. Her mom opened the door in her robe. "Hey, honey."
"Don't forget you need to be downstairs at eight thirty." Raelyn tugged the flaps of her mom's robe closed covering her bra and panties. "Wear something pretty. You get to keep all your tips on top of the amount we agreed to pay you."
"I'm nervous." Her mom crossed her arms. "I don't want to disappoint you."
Raelyn hugged her mom. "You can never disappoint me."
"Really?"
Raelyn shook her mom gently. "Well, not when you sing. Men are a different topic. Stay away from them. Do not bring any of them upstairs, and for God's sake, don't fall in love tonight. Let's get through your first night, and tomorrow we'll do something fun together as a family. It's been a long time since we've all been together."
Her mom's smile faded. "Can you talk to your brother?"
"About what?"
"Drugs. Sex. Girls. Whatever I talked to you about at his age," said her mom.
Raelyn snorted. "You never talked to me about girls, and you covered the sex talk by throwing two condoms in my purse and telling me to have a good time."
Her mom shook her head. "I'm worried about him. Carl's never around, and I can't get him to say two words to me lately."
"He wouldn't be doing drugs, would he?" The younger brother she knew would never do anything mind altering, much less alcohol. He'd seen too many loser boyfriends of their mom paraded around the house who smoked too much, never stopped drinking, and the experience never sat well with Carl.
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Her mom sagged against the doorframe. "I don't know anymore."
"Okay. I'll talk with him when I can pin him down for more than thirty seconds." She backed away. "Now, go get dressed to impress. Not slutty. Not librarian. Just nice. I'll see you downstairs."
She hurried down the steps, aware she'd exceeded her ten-minute break.
In the kitchen, she stopped at the sight of four men standing around the table. All of them stopped talking when she approached. She cleared her throat. "No customers are allowed in the kitchen. You'll have to leave."
Two of the men nodded, and all four left. She looked at Peggy, who shrugged. She'd known Peggy long enough to know if she refused to volunteer an answer, there was no use asking again. "Let's keep people from walking back here. The health inspector only wants the employees around the food."
"No problem, boss." Peggy picked up the head of lettuce and carried it to the sink.
Raelyn walked into the bar and found Mel mixing a drink. She stepped up beside him.
"Sorry, that took longer than I'd planned," she said.
"Dukie all settled?" He handed the glass to the customer standing by a stool.
She removed an empty tray from the counter. "Yes."
"Good." He put his hands on her hips and pulled her in front of him. "Seahawks won. Double the amount of drinks have gone out in celebration, and it looks like the crowd will stay for a while."
She tried to wiggle away. "I need to work."
"Everyone is served. The waitresses are doing their job." He tugged her until her breasts pressed against his chest. "Give me thirty seconds to touch you."
"Sh," she said. "You're broadcasting, and I'm working, and just no. Don't say things like that. Not until we get over this...thing you've done."
He growled. "We've got hours until we can go upstairs. I plan on using every minute while we work to get your pussy wet."
She stared at him, not sure she heard him right. He gave her a lopsided grin, validating her hearing. Her laughter burst out of her from somewhere deep inside of her that hadn't been tickled in a long, long time.
The comment seemed odd coming from Mel. He'd never talked to her like that before.
"You're crazy." She backed away from him and poked her finger in the air. "No more talk. And, don't go and promise my son that you're taking him bike riding tomorrow when that's one of the days I have off."
"You're going, too," he said.
"I'm not..." She lost her thought. He wasn't listening. He was looking. At her.
Mel gazed at the front of her shirt and raised his brows. A tingle so shocking and pleasant swept through her, she knew her nipples had hardened. She crossed her arms, huffed, and walked away before her body could give away any more of her feelings.
But, business came first, and she turned back around and returned to him. "There were men inside the kitchen when I came back downstairs. That's not allowed. The customers need to stay out of any areas where the food is prepared, not to mention I don't think Peggy needs surprise visitors when she's dealing with the break-ins at home, and she's walking around jumping at her own shadow. She doesn't want to admit it, but she's nervous."
"I'm aware of the rules." He lowered his voice. "Peggy is protected."
She narrowed her gaze. "You wanted the men in there?"
"I wanted to see why the men would walk in the kitchen instead of the bathroom across the hallway."
She touched his arm and whispered, "And?"
"You interrupted them before I could find out." He kissed her hard. "Now, babe, there are two customers wanting drinks. The faster we work, the sooner I can get you upstairs."
"Don't." She squeezed his arm, caught sight of her mom, and hurried away. After she was done mixing drinks, she found a spot at the end of the bar out of everyone's way and listened to her mom sing.
Dressed in a body-hugging black dress and a jean half-jacket that accented her breasts and toned her attire down to casual for the bar crowd, Raelyn's mom, strolled the back corner of the room singing Sentimental Lady. The song brought together the couples in the room, and Raelyn smiled. The times she remembered most from her childhood centered around music. Her mom singing. The radio loud. Her and Carl dancing, and even Grandma June tapping her toes. It was during those times that she had no worries. She could be a carefree child and forget about the responsibilities that fell on her shoulders.
She wanted Dukie to experience the same kind of freedom from a harsh world.
"That smile looks good on you," said Mel.
She looked over to where Mel sat at the counter. Feeling like she stood on a more even ground, she said, "Thank you again for bringing my family back here."
None of her mothering skills included carrying a tune, but with her mom here, Dukie could experience the good things she'd had growing up.
"Grandma June seems to be enjoying herself." Mel chuckled and motioned his chin toward the back table. "This is the longest those guys have gone without lifting their beer."
At the Ronacks table, Grandma June sat between Swiss and Rod with LeWorth and JayJay facing her. Raelyn's chest warmed, and she grinned. Out of her whole family, Grandma June would be the one who could go head to head with the bikers. She'd pay to see the day one of them tried to tell Grandma June she was wrong on whatever topic she brought into the conversation.
The changes Mel brought into her life and the way her family worked out being back under the same roof with her filled her with happiness. She leaned against the counter, raised to her tiptoes, and whispered, "You do make me hot."
Mel stood from the stool, reached across the counter and hooked her neck, bringing her lips forward and captured her mouth. She kissed him back deeply, taking the bottled up excitement inside of her and sharing. The possibility of having sex with him again never entered her mind. His claim to her failed to bother her. What would happen when she pulled away and had to deal with a bar full of customers would happen regardless if she kissed him or not.
That's how life with Mel affected her.
One second she had everything figured out and the next second she wanted to toss him her panties.
She pulled away gasping for breath.
His thumb caressed the side of her neck. "Two more hours."
She nodded and floated back to work. One hour, fifty-nine minutes, thirty seconds.
Chapter Fourteen
Mel shut the door to Raelyn's bedroom and plastered her against the wall. She clutched his chest, his shirt bunching in her hands, pulling him harder against her. By the time the bar had closed, she'd practically pushed the workers and the Ronacks members out the back door in her need to have Mel again.
He pressed his erection against her stomach. She arched toward him. Sometime during the last hour of work, she'd given up on finding an excuse to be with him.
Maybe it was his constant attention or the secretive looks coming from him all night long that only she understood. She nipped his lower lip before sucking on his tongue. The titillating way he'd followed her around the bar with his gaze definitely made her pussy wet.
He lifted her off the floor and nuzzled her neck. Pressed against the wall, she wrapped her legs around his hips. He thrust his cock against her mound to keep her planted in the perfect position. The added stimulation through her cutoffs brought sweet torture to her sensitive lower body.
All the struggle, discomfort, and confusion of what was happening between them melted away. A euphoria of acceptance of them spending the rest of the night together filled her senses. Mel was hers, and she wanted him all to herself before she woke up and once again had to be on mom-duty.
Mel licked the curve of her neck. She laid her head back against the sheetrock and closed her eyes. Her womb pulsed and her pussy was not only wet but warm and searching for him, pleading for him to touch her. Stroke her. Love her.
She seized Mel's head with her hands. Opening her eyes, she gazed into his. “Fuck me.”
He set his forehead on hers. His b
reath fanned her face. “I'm not going to take you roughly, up against a wall...yet.”
Her legs tightened around him. “I need this. You need this.”
Without letting her go, he carried her to the bed and sat down on the mattress. He situated her legs on one side of him and cradled her upper body in his embrace. But she was tense and needy, waiting for him to take the next step, hoping he’d hurry.
“I’ll take care of you.” He unbuttoned her shorts and pulled the zipper down, then slid his palm against the flat of her stomach. He skimmed light fingers from hip bone to hip bone. “So damn perfect for me.”
She lifted her hips off his lap. Digging her shoes into the mattress, she arched against his touch. The roughness and strength of his hands, possessive upon her skin, had her panting. “Yes. More.”
He slid his hand down farther and grazed his middle finger over her swollen clit. The quick explosion of tiny jolts pulsed deep inside of her and spread throughout her body. She fell back on his lap, lost in the pleasure flooding her body.
"Jesus, babe, you're everything," mumbled Mel.
He slid his finger lower and teased the opening of her pussy. In. Out. In. Out. He stretched, loosened, and relaxed her inner muscles. He swiped his tongue along the length of his bottom lip, then brought his hand back to her clit and rubbed in a circular motion.
The light, gentle pressure warmed her body. “Yes.”
Mel’s gaze softened, yet there was no doubting the intense control in the depth of his stare. His eyes darkened the more aroused he became, speaking to her soul, letting her know he'd take care of her immediate need. To trust, and let him take care of her afterward. There was a promise hanging in front of her. A promise that appealed to her.
She moaned, and the sound came from deep inside of her, strange to her ears, and yet familiar in concentration.
He captured her mouth and slipped his tongue between her lips. He growled against her mouth and urged her to open more. She greedily teased, sucked, explored, and kissed him back.
She grasped his wrist, holding him in place as she ground her pussy against his fingers, heightening her pleasure. Her pulse hummed.
