Hawthornes Calm Manuscript

by DeOlmos, M. A.

  A hand stroked my jaw and my eyes flew open.

  Ocean's eyes bore into mine with an intensity that had me quivering in his arms. "Kiss me baby."

  Hell yes!

  I stretch my neck, allowing my lips to desperately search for his but he only taunts me. Rich and sultry laughter kisses my ear before his lips claim my earlobe. I shudder in response, feeling the heaviness in my extremely full womb grow in intensity.

  "Liv, I don't want you to worry about me or Law while we're gone. Do you understand me?"

  "Mmmhmm…"I licked my dry lips repeatedly.

  "I need you to take care of my precious babies inside this beautiful and absolutely perfect body that belongs to me. Can you do that for me baby?" Ocean's hand wrapped around my neck, turning my head; now perfectly angled towards his lips but he still pulled back. "I need to hear you Livie."

  "Yes. Yes Ocean, I'll take care of myself and our babies just please tell me you'll be okay. Tell me you can do this."

  "For you…my wife, my love, and my world. I can do anything. Now fucking kiss me." He finally let me close the gap between our lips, granting me full access to his masculine taste.

  I melted beyond anything I've ever felt before. We kissed until everything slowed down and the last I remember before closing my eyes is Ocean holding me in his arms in our bed.

  So peaceful; so perfect.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Lawrence

  It was finally Wednesday; the day Ocean and I needed to head out to Vegas for the fights. So far, everyone was okay with the pending trip.

  Blue, as expected, was being extremely supportive and a little bitchier lately...more than usual, but that's what I counted on to keep me grounded. Sunshine would get emotional every once in a while and end up blaming it solely on hormones. Other than that, she was doing great. Even Ocean had his shit together-I think. Me, well honestly, I was a mess.

  "Plane vouchers, plane tickets. Where the hell did they go?"

  "Looking for these?"

  I whirled around the open bedroom. Blue stood at the foot of the bed, freshly bathed and in nothing but her towel. My plane ticket in her hand.

  "Where the hell you'd come from? I didn't hear the shower going."

  Blue's cheeks flushed a light shade of angry red. "I came from the shower, estupido! And if you ask me, you haven't really been paying attention to anything lately." She flung my ticket to me in one angry flick of her wrist.

  I should back down; probably even apologize, but I was too wound up. So instead, I fed the building fire. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean? What have I been missing exactly?"

  My sexy vixen’s eyebrows rose. “It means that you need to calm down, relax, take a deep breath, and stop freaking out! You can’t control everything that happens in life Law. I know you mean well, but you’re going to give yourself an ulcer or worse! And I think you’ve already got the ulcer so right now you’re approaching the, or worse, line.”

  The little fox in front of me was all fire. She was right in a way, but I can’t help that part of me; the one that desperately needs to fix something. Maybe I did need to go to some sort of therapy, but I wasn’t ready to admit it to her-or myself. Not just yet.

  ”That’s where you’re wrong, wife. I have control over a lot of things in life. One of those things just so happens to be you. So, you can either bring your wicked little ass over hear, pick up my ticket, and hand it to me…” I stepped closer. “Or you can climb on that bed behind you and get ready for me. You know you want me Blue.”

  Her spiteful laughter fills the room as she narrows her eyes at me. “Eso es lo que tu cres-that is what you think-? That you have control of me?”

  Shit! Not how I planned this battle to play out. I didn’t mean it like that…or had I?

  Not wanting to dig my grave any deeper I simply shrugged my shoulders, fighting like hell not to drop my gaze. Even though all I wanted to do right now was drop my eyes and beg her to forgive me.

  “You. Come here. Now.” Her words were laced with intent and anger.

  “Blue. Baby I’m sorry, okay. I didn’t mean it like that. You know I would never..."

  “I said. Come here. Ahora carajo!”

  Four long strides closed the distance between us and the heat from her body slammed into me like a stray comet heading straight for the exact spot I had been standing.

  Slowly, she reached up untying the knot of her towel. Sending it gliding down her naked body, crumpling to the ground at her feet.

  “You. On your knees. One word and I’ll knee you in your perfect nose. Then you can tell me how you like having your nose broken by a woman. You know, the one you have control over and all that jazz."

  Biting on my lower lip, I did as she asked. In silence, I kneeled down in front of her sensual curvy body. My dick was hard, my breathing was hard, and trying to keep my hands off of her was fucking hard!

  “How does it feel, papi?”

  I let my frustration slip. “No clue! I can’t touch you!”

  “With that attitude, you won’t but your mouth will.” She hiked her right leg over my left shoulder.

  I shuddered at the assault. My eyes zeroed in on her pussy; my pussy. She was perfect. No hair in sight; just smooth crème colored flesh taunting me. Her pink folds were parted enough for me to see the wetness slipping and sliding against her and her scent.

  God I was experiencing a sugar high and I haven’t even tasted her yet!

  “Go ahead, papi. You know you want it…me.”

  “Damn right!”

  Like a starved man at the mercy of the world’s most renown chef. No need to taunt and tease her; not after what she started.

  I went straight for her pulsing clit and sucked it into my salivating mouth. Nails dug into the skin of my shoulders, but I didn’t care. This is how we do things…rough.

  Gasps and moans battled each other within her mouth as I continue to devour her. When I slide my tongue inside her, fucking her with it, the protests come in rapid fire.

  “Dammit! Stop! Mmmm, papi please! Stop! Sorry! Mmmm, oh my God!"

  “Shut up.” I hiss into her in between laps and sucks, but it wasn’t enough.

  Wrapping my hand around the thigh she bravely had propped over my shoulder I braced her back as I stood, pushing her roughly onto the bed.

  Blue’s eyes went wide and pleading, but not for me to stop; oh no, never for me to stop!

  “You want me to lose control and give it to someone else…you? Here it is baby. Handle it!”

  ҉҉҉҉

  Ocean

  "How long is this flight?" I know I've asked like eight times already and I wouldn't blame him if he simply got up and sat somewhere else by now.

  "Well, let's see Ocean…" Looking at his watch, he smirks. "Exactly ten minutes ago, we had roughly two hours and thirty eight minutes left. I'll let you do the math so you can get your mind off whatever's bothering you."

  What the hell?!

  I know he's not talking like he has his half a mentally stable mind together. As pale as he looks, the man is seconds away from passing out.

  "Please. Save it. I can't help it that I'm worried about Liv. She's pregnant! And if you open those fat lips of yours to say there's nothing to worry about, I'll fucking deck you."

  Unbuckling his belt he turned to me, staring at me like I'd just insulated his mother; my aunt. "Fine asshole! There's a whole lot a shit to worry about, but I'm not going to sit next to your sorry ass to talk about it. Livie and Dulce will be fine!"

  Getting up he, took an empty seat closer to the front of the plane. I felt my legs shuffling to get up and go after him, but then the conversation we just had replayed in my mind. Never in the history of ever has he called Liv or Dulce by their birth names. He obviously needed his space and yeah, I wasn't being much company with all my worries.

  With an irritated growl I slammed my back into my seat and closed my eyes.

  ҉҉҉҉

  Livie

&nbs
p; Two hours past Ocean and Law's departure, I was holding myself together pretty well. I mean, that's if you ignored the death grip I had on my cell phone.

  "So where to my pregnant passenger?" Dulce was so enjoying looking out for me.

  There was a soft glow to her smile and a pep to her step. She also made driving Law's monster truck look bad ass. "Hmm, how about brunch, a movie I really want to see that Divergent one, annnddddd baby shopping."

  With a loud squeal, Dulce jumps up and down in her seat, "Por fin! Finally!"

  Halfway through demolishing my Moe’s Homewrecker Burrito, my phone vibrates and I nearly knock over our drinks at the table to answer it.

  "Hello!" I wince at how loud, my voice rings out around me.

  "Damn baby. It's so good to hear your voice." A caress of relief touches my ear through the phone and my body automatically slinks back in total relaxation.

  "Safe landing?"

  "Yeah. No delays. Just un-boarded the plane and heading towards the magical land of baggage claim." The sarcasm in his rough and tumble voice is like music to my ears.

  Dulce's phone rings and she fishes it out if her purse. Immediately, she gives Law one hell-of-a greeting for taking so long to call her; they are too much alike.

  "Oh…Ocean, just play nice. I'm sure it's not all that bad. Do you know where you guys are staying? Is it far from the venue? Have you caught up with Santi, Trell, and Jahyel yet?"

  "Baby slow down. I'll text you the information to my hotel once I check in. The rest of the guys are safe. Right behind us, actually. We'll all be staying on the same floor so no need to worry mom."

  "Very funny! But really, do you need me to do anything for you? Send you any info or anything you forgot?"

  "Babe. I'm okay. I just need you to do what you promised me. It's only three days. I'll be back in no time. It's going to be crazy here for the first two days, but I'll try to call every chance I get. I gotta go baby. I love you, Liv. Don't be afraid to call if something happens. I don't care how busy I am, you always come first. Okay?"

  "Kay Ocean. I love you too."

  The line cuts off and I feel...okay.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Ocean

  Hanging up with Liv satisfied with hearing the nervous excitement in her voice, I push forward through the throng of Las Vegas comers and goers. I make my way to my flights luggage merry-go-round and before I can move further to spot my suitcase, Law dives in and yanks it off the conveyer belt.

  In the spot where I stand, déjà vu kicks me in the face. There was just always something about these events that put us at odds with each other. Right now, I wasn't sure if it was our competitive natures already trying to clash or something else entirely.

  Either way, we stick together. We ride out the emotional storm and in the end, we always come out on top and closer than before. It's just the way we did things. No matter how pissed, how dysfunctional or how angry we got; underneath all that shit, we always had each other's backs. And in this business, you'd be fucking lucky if you could trust the next man standing next to you; opponents included.

  The fights that Trell and Santi are going to be in we're scheduled for tonight. Jahyel, Law's fighter, is scheduled for tomorrow night. Both fights are going to be held at one of the larger casinos so it's safe to say this is going to be a huge event. Red carpet, celebrity appearances, and drugs out the ass!

  For the first time in a long, long time I feel the pull of that world call to me. It whispered to me within the dry winds of Vegas as the dry air smothered me. There was a steady building pulse of excitement and anticipation replacing my uneasiness and fears of being back on the scene. It was…welcomed.

  Oddly, I felt like I was at a home away from home. I smiled, shocked that I would feel this way after three years.

  As soon as we got settled in our rooms, I got to work with Trell and Santi. Nothing too vigorous, but going over techniques and mock moves wouldn't hurt them a damn bit.

  I cut them loose only after two hours later. They left with three strict rules to follow by me. One, no women. Two, no alcohol. Three, no drugs! Break any of those and I promised them a slow and painful death. You know tough love and all that shit. Something I wish I had from my own trainer when I was knee deep in this shit.

  After getting my own workout in, I finished up and decided I better get back to my room. There were only five or so hours until the fights and there was definitely a lot of shit to do before go time.

  I knew better than to stroll my ass through the polished lobby of The Venetian Hotel, but I couldn't help slowing down a bit. This place, despite the sick people that you can pretty much could count on finding anywhere in the country, was beautiful.

  In this moment, I wished my wife and my babies were here with me. On instinct, I reached for my pocket but came up empty because I was in my basketball shorts. Snapping out of it, I picked up my pace towards the elevator when my name was rang out like an icy atomic blast.

  "Ocean? Ocean Hawthorne? Is that you?"

  Somehow, the thick Australian accent penetrated my thick and heavy thoughts of Livie. My mind was foggy with indecision on whether I should keep my ass moving or turn around to acknowledge the voice closing in on me.

  Unfortunately for me, my body found some sort of familiarity in the voice. So, I spun around to nearly collide chin to forehead of a redhead. The smooth pale face of the woman in front of me looked up at me with an adoring smile.

  Shit!

  No name to go with the face, but the face I was staring down at definitely had an imprint in my memory bank. She looked familiar, too familiar, as in at one time I fucked her and the fact that I could remember that I'd fucked this girl terrified me. That could only mean one thing…she wasn't just a one-time fuck; she was someone I devoured on a regular.

  FUCKING UNBELIEVABLE!

  "Ocean, it is you. Oh my goodness. I thought I'd never see you again."

  I stood and stared at…

  Damn, I still couldn't remember her name; but I more than remembered everything else.

  I stepped back in error, allowing myself to eye her from the red hair on her scalp to the ankle cut boots. "I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are."

  Lie number one. Though I couldn't place her name, my mind had already placed everything else about her.

  Her naturally fire red hair was up in a familiar high and messy ponytail. The cluster of freckles that danced on her cheeks and around her dark green eyes also sparked a sense of recognition. Then there was her extremely straight and pointed nose sitting perfectly above her...lips…those cherry red lips sent a fire of warning.

  Back the hell away and high tail it back to my room-panic through me!

  I took two steps back. She must have accepted that as some sort of invitation because she ate my two steps, coming towards me again.

  "I know it's been a while, well, more like years but seriously you don't even remember my name? I thought for sure with our history you'd remember something about me?"

  I did, you stupid bitch! I remember sex, fights, coke, and you all wrapped up in the center of all that shit like a motherfucking Tootsie Pop!

  "It's me Ocean, Katia."

  Her hand strokes my bicep and my stomach lurches forward in disgust. Oh, how I wish Livie was here with me pre-pregnancy so she could mop the shiny floors with this bitch.

  I removed her hand with the back of mine, but she twisted her small wrist and interlocking our fingers.

  "You do remember me, don't you? You must be here for the fights. Are you fighting?"

  Just then, the elevator doors opened.

  "The fuck?! Hold on Sunshine." Law's eyes slammed into mine with pure rage, not hiding the fact that it was all for me; he smacked his cell phone back to his ear. "Sunshine, give me about ten minutes. I just ran into some garbage I need to take out. Call you right back. I promise. Oh, and Ocean was on his way up to his room from the gym so he'll probably call you before I do. He's been really worried about you and the
babies. Love you Sunshine. Call you in a few."

  Katia's eyes narrowed at Law. They had history too; only their history was full of hate. Law blamed her for introducing me to drugs and everything else that I allowed to corrupt my mind, body, and soul. In all honestly, he was absolutely right.

  Law shoved his phone into his back pocket and glancing at it one more time, no doubt making sure he'd disconnected the call.

  "Ocean?" His eyes zeroed in on my hand, still entwined with Katia's.

  I cursed, shoving her hand away.

  FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!

  "Hi Law." Katia grated through her teeth.

  Law completely ignored her.

  "We're back not even twelve hours and the garbage of the city has already found it's way back to you. Please tell me what I saw was how do they say it…it's not what you think."

  I was stuck. My tongue was numb; not because I didn't know what I should be saying in my defense, but because already I'd let my wife-who was hundreds of miles away and pregnant with my twins-down.

  "Fucking incredible man. Call your wife man, she's been trying to call you for the last hour. You." He pointed to Katia's reddened face. "Can back the hell up and forget you even saw him!"

  "Whatever! Second place asshole!" Katia stormed off in the opposite direction, freeing all my senses from the fog I'd been in for the past twenty minutes or so.

  I turned to Law to speak.

  "No. I’m not the one you need to be explaining shit to and honestly, I don't give a shit what was happening or not happening. You're welcome! But that was the first and last time I'm going to save your delusional ass on this trip. Fucking idiot!"

  Law stormed off towards the lobby. I punched the elevator call button inwardly, banging my face into the granite frame of the elevator.

  Slamming my suite door behind me, I ran to my duffle bag where I'd stuffed my cell phone. Unlocking the screen with Liv's beautiful sleeping face on it, seven missed calls flashed on the screen.

  DAMMIT!

  My thumb punched the option to call her back and on the very first ring, Liv answered.