Page 8
BOND
I’m not sure if Rochelle thought that I’d push for sex that night, but as far as I was concerned, I wanted more from our relationship than her feeling that she somehow had to give me sex to keep me happy. I knew that this was learned behaviour from her marriage. But if our relationship was going to survive the ghost of her marriage, I’d have to show her how different it was going to be.
That didn’t mean that I wasn’t going to touch and tease her at every opportunity, because I would, so that she’d get used to receiving and not always giving. It was no hardship to me to show her how much she meant to me every chance I got. I’d come to love the little confused glances she’d give me after I’d kissed her senseless, leaving her wanting just that little more. I had a feeling when we eventually came together it would be explosive. This was the longest foreplay I’d ever indulged in, but I found myself enjoying it immensely.
We’d put off moving out of the hotel until the weekend when we all had a little more time because we’d been busy as hell over the last week, not only fortifying our businesses but also letting the tenants who hired shops from us know that we may be expecting trouble. Not that any of them seemed all that worried, having lived through us cleaning up the town. They knew that we could handle anything coming our way.
Rochelle had completely reorganised the parts shop, and I had to say it was working much better; this week she was going through the order book and calling customers to come and collect their parts. I was busy drilling holes to fit shutters that we could pull down over the windows of the shops every night should anyone decide to target the businesses. We’d done our tenants first, leaving ours for last. Screwing the last bolt in, I wiped the sweat from my forehead with my T-shirt, thinking I could really do with something cold to drink when a lightly tanned hand appeared in front of me holding a bottle of water.
“Thank you, baby,” I say to Rochelle, bending to press a light kiss on her lips, only to have her tug on my T-shirt when I go to lift my lips from hers. Wrapping my hand around her neck, I pull her closer, angling my head to deepen our kiss.
“Mmh,” I whisper when she whimpers slightly, “I’ve missed you today.”
Rochelle laughs softly, wrapping an arm around me in a light hug, sighing quietly as she nuzzles into my chest, replying, “I’ve been here all day.”
“Oh, I know, but I still missed you,” I tell her, pressing a kiss to her cheek before taking a long drink of water. Only when I’ve satisfied my thirst do I continue, “Did you need something?”
Letting me go, she moves slightly back so that she is able to see my face clearly, “Yeah, I did. I’ve found your discrepancy of missing money and how it was done. You’re not going to be happy because it’s going to cost quite a bit to fix it. I hope whoever you had running this place before is in prison for theft.”
“Fuck,” I say, rubbing a hand over my head, “yeah, he is. But I had a feeling there were still some discrepancies hidden. Can you show me?”
“Of course,” Roch replies, taking my hand and pulling me into the shop towards the warehouse. She’d taken a quiet corner of the warehouse and made it into an area for Daisy; we’d brought over a rug, a travel cot, as well as a table to change her on. Stopping at the cot, I lean over and, seeing Daisy awake, I scoop her up before following Rochelle down the aisle.
“You’re going to spoil her,” she chides. “She needs to get used to amusing herself.”
“And she will,” I assure Rochelle, “when she’s with you and you’re busy, but I have free hands right now and she’s awake, so my princess is going to keep us company.”
Rochelle smiles and shakes her head at me, reaching for a box on the shelf. “Here, read the part number first before you open it,” she informs me before handing the box to me.
Reading the part number, I then open the box, wondering where this is going. “Fuck,” I mutter harshly. In the box is a part, but it was no good to me as it is not only scrap, but it is also a completely different part.
“Yup,” Rochelle responds. “We’re going to have to do a whole new stock take and open every box except for the order that came with me and you the other night.”
“How many have you found so far, and how did you know?” I ask, closing the box and setting it on an empty shelf.
Rochelle bites her lip and looks at me, “I’ve found twenty boxes so far. How did I know?
“I’ve been working with parts since I was ten years old,” she says. “I know when the weight of a box is off. That’s how I figured it out.”
“From the weight!” I’m gobsmacked. I’d never have even thought about the weight difference.
“Yeah,” she answers, looking slightly worried. “I can show you,” she continued as if I didn’t believe her.
“You’re amazing, do you know that?” I praise her. “I would never have known the difference just by the weight. Can you imagine how pissed off a customer would be to find he’d bought the wrong part or a second-hand one.
“I’m just sorry it’s going to make so much more work for you. Let me call the guys and have them come and give us a hand,” I tell her, knowing we were going to have to open every box and check each part.
“I don’t mind,” Rochelle assures me, her cheeks slightly pink from my praise.
Wrapping my arm around her waist, I tug her towards me. “I know you don’t, baby,” I say, pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth, “but we’re a family, and we work together through all the highs and the lows. The guys won’t mind. In fact, I have a feeling most will turn up, including the kids, so we’ll have to get some toys out of the cupboard for them.”
“You have toys?” she asks, eyes wide.
“Of course, the kids know they are always welcome in our shops. We all have shit for them to do. I keep it in the cupboard over there,” I state, nodding towards the door next to the office.
“You lot are something else,” she mutters, taking Daisy’s hand and pressing a kiss to the palm. “We got lucky, baby girl.”
My heart clenches at her words. That she thinks this is amazing makes me remember how shit my childhood was, and I’m glad that most of the Crow kids won’t know what that’s like. Admittedly, some do, but not since they became ours.
“I’m the lucky one, sweetheart. I was just coasting along until you and Daisy came into my life. You both make me richer for having you in it.”
“Ugh,” Roche mutters tearfully, wiping at a tear on her cheek, “you’ve gone and made me cry. You are way too sweet for the likes of me, Bond. But I’m not giving you back, so I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.”
Chuckling, I reassure her, “I wouldn’t be stuck with anyone else, baby. You’re it for me; I’m never letting you go.”
We stood there grinning at each other and probably would have continued to grin stupidly if Daisy hadn’t let us know she was tired of waiting for attention.
Kissing the top of her head, I hand her to Rochelle, “Go to Mama, Princess. I’m going to get your uncles so we can get this sorted.
“I’ll be back soon, baby. Love you,” I comment offhandedly to Rochelle, ignoring her surprised, wide-eyed look as I hurried out of there. A smile breaks out on my lips when she shouts after me, “I love you too.”
I’m still smiling when I get to Cairo and Blaze and let them know about the stock situation.
“I thought you’d be pissed,” Cairo says in a puzzled tone.
“Oh, I am,” I state.
“Then why the manic smile?” Blaze asks.
“She told me she loves me,” I smirk, “well, she shouted it at me.”
“Ah,” Blaze claps me on the shoulder, “I’m happy for you, Bond.”
Cairo nods, “Me too, brother. Now come on, let’s let Bull and Rogue know and go and sort this out. I can’t believe she knew just from the weight of a part. That’s something all right.”
He’s not wrong. I’m just glad we found out before one of our customers bought something that wasn’t the correct part.
Reaching for my phone, I called Bull to let him know where we all are and why. He assured me that he and Rogue would be over shortly to give us a hand.
Twenty minutes later, we’re taking orders from Rochelle on who’s to do what. It makes sense as she’s the one with the most experience in this. I’m fucking proud of her; it’s been barely a week, and we can all already see the change in her. Not only is she standing straighter, but she’s finding her place with us, and I have a feeling she’s going to be a force to be reckoned with when she realises that she doesn’t have to hide her personality with us.
We worked well into the night; Julia, Noni, Josie, and the kids joined us, bringing supper with them. We broke for an hour before we continued. It’s when Rochelle lets Daisy go back to the hotel with Josie that I know she’s starting to feel comfortable with us. Up until now, she’s only left Daisy with me. She’s happy for anyone to hold her but only if she’s in the room.
“Thanks, Josie,” Rochelle says as she hands Daisy over. “I’ll be back in time for her next feed, but if you need me, call Bond’s phone and I’ll come back to the hotel.”
“No worries at all,” Josie reassures her. I held out our room key for Josie to take. “Me and your little princess are going to have a nice bath, get into our jammies, and watch a movie. Aren’t we, Daise?” Josie cooed.
I have a feeling that before long, she and Skinny would be thinking about having kids. Turning my head slightly, I caught Skinny looking at Josie with a soft look on his face. Yeah, I gave it a year and there’d be another little Adams joining us.
It’s another couple of hours when suddenly Rochelle lets out a whoop and ticks her clipboard. “We’re done,” she throws her hands up in the air. Her exuberance has us laughing.
“Thanks, guys, that would have taken me at least a week. Tomorrow I’ll update the ordering system and start calling clients to let them know we have their orders.”
“Good catch today, Rochelle,” Bull praises her. “You not only saved us some money because this would have been costly to put right if it had gone to a customer but also embarrassment. Proud of you.”
Rochelle blushed at his praise and was bright red by the time all the brothers had given her their thanks as they left.
Locking up, I take her hand, switching on my high-powered torch because the nights out here are pitch black with no streetlights, and the last thing we need is to step on a snake.
We walked along the covered veranda that covers all the shops towards the distant hotel lights. It’s so different from the UK; the night here is alive with the chirping of crickets and the noise of bullfrogs singing their songs. Every now and then, in the distance, you could hear a troop of baboons barking calls at each other and the hippos making sure we knew they were around, although the water was a bit too fast for them where we were, but farther down the river, there was a herd of them.
Sound carried here at night with it being so quiet.
“It’s so peaceful out here,” Rochelle hums with a happy sigh, resting her head against my shoulder. “Very different from the city.”
“It is,” I agree. “It’s completely different to the UK. It’s like night and day.”
“Do you miss it?” she asks.
“The UK?”
She nods, “Yeah, do you miss being in a first world?”
I think on it before I answer, “Some things but not everything. The weather here is better, and we live a freer, more laid-back life here. I suppose I miss the convenience of having stuff easily available and not having to travel miles to get it. I don’t think I’d be as happy living in a city. I much prefer it out here in the bush.”
“Me too,” she agrees, stepping up the first step of the hotel, “I prefer it here to the city. I feel like I can breathe here.”
“I’m glad, baby,” I respond, stopping her from walking farther up the steps as I tug her towards me. Bending my head, I kiss her, long, hard and deep, knowing that when we got to our room, I’d be sharing her attention, and selfishly, for just one moment, I want all of her to myself.
We’re tired and filthy, but somehow this moment on the top steps of the hotel veranda, the heavy scent of flowers permeating the air and the sounds of the African night surrounding us, is perfect, and I wouldn’t change a single moment of it.