Page 19
N AVY
“Anyone else need a beer?” Sully asked as he walked toward the bar.
“This is it. I’m never going home. I’m going to live on the roof of your building for the rest of my life.”
“What’s wrong, Maple? You don’t like the weather in Maine?” Wyatt asked.
Maple, another Nomad who happened to be visiting some of our friends in Arizona and was easily convinced to ride to my rescue, scoffed before he looked at his phone and then held it up for us to see. “It’s 41 degrees at my house right now. In June.”
“You bitch about everything,” Goose complained. “When we were at my house, you were whining about . . .”
“It was 107 goddamn degrees in the shade! When you asked me to come visit, I didn’t know that the portal to hell was in your back yard.”
“He bitches every time he comes to see me too,” Ajax said before he lifted his hand and said, “Beer me, Sully!”
“While I was in New Orleans, I couldn’t get dry. I’d shower, put on clean clothes, walk outside, and get instant swamp ass. When I was riding here from Yuma, a bug flew into my mouth, and when I went to spit it out, there was just sand. No saliva at all.”
“If all you do is complain, I’m not gonna let you live on my roof.”
“The last time he came to see me, he bitched about the rain,” Oz chimed in. “If you let him stay here very long, I assure you he’ll find something to complain about.”
“Mostly just the company,” Maple muttered.
“Oh! Navy, I almost forgot to tell you something.”
“What?”
Ajax laughed before he said, “Maple’s in Arizona, and he’s coming with Goose, Wyatt, and Nada.”
“Thanks for the heads up,” I said sarcastically since those particular men were sitting around drinking my beer.
Ajax looked over at Sully and asked, “Didn’t Chewie and Donner come with you?”
“Chewie is spending the night with Dalisay’s aunts, and Donner is staying with her cousins.”
“Who is with your dad and Rafael?” Oz asked.
“Rafael has been staying at Dad’s since his last divorce. Dali and I were going to stay over there, but as I was walking up the sidewalk, I happened to spot a psycho smiling at me from the attic window and realized I wasn’t needed.”
“Does your dad know Lurk’s in his attic?”
“Yeah. He saw him, too, and asked, ‘How did that fucker get into my house again?’”
The men all laughed, well accustomed to Lurk’s mysterious ways. For such a large man, he could be scarily invisible when he wanted to, and while he was a true and loyal friend and club brother, he could also be a heartless killer when the situation called for it.
Needless to say, I felt safe leaving my dad and Rafael in the house with Lurk there. An armed militia would have issues getting to them while they were under Lurk’s protection, so a few asshole wannabe gangsters didn’t have a chance.
“And where is the beautiful ass kicker this evening?” Oz asked.
“She’s downstairs on the phone with her mom. When I left my apartment, she was having a heated discussion. I couldn’t understand a word either of them were saying, but I’m going to assume that her mom heard what happened at the car wash and the store and wants her to go somewhere safe.”
“Probably. Any chance she’d be willing to do that?” Ajax asked.
“Not a single one,” I said with a sigh of resignation. “Although, out of all the women I know, Dali is probably the best at taking care of herself.”
“She beat the shit out of Donner.” Sully laughed before he asked, “Did you guys get the pictures?”
The rest of the men joined in with jokes and laughter at our friend Donner’s expense, and Ajax took the opportunity to lean closer and ask, “Did everything go according to plan last night?”
“Absolutely.”
“I haven’t seen anything about it on the news yet.”
“Huh. I wonder if no one’s found him.”
“Wouldn’t hurt my feelings if he just rotted there, all alone in his cave.”
“I’d be okay with that, too, but I really like the thought of him living for a long time with the limitations I created for him.”
“You do realize you’re a complete psychopath, right?”
“Nah. Psychopaths are personable and easily able to fit into any situation. I don’t like people enough to even try.”
“There you go. Diagnosis made,” Ajax said sarcastically.
“How’s Sandi?”
“Perfect in every way,” Ajax answered a little too quickly.
“What did you do?” I asked.
“What makes you think I did something?”
“You’re you.”
“Fuck off.”
“So, what did you do?”
“Nothing! She just blows up over nothing!”
“Really?” Sully asked. “Nothing at all. You’re just minding your own business, and she suddenly snaps?”
“Yes!” Ajax insisted.
“What did you do?” Oz asked.
“Why in the fuck do you assume that I’m the one at fault here?” When we all just stared at him, he said, “She makes a big deal over nothing every goddamn time it happens.”
“How hard is it for you to put the seat down when you’re finished?” Maple asked. “If I can do it, so can you.”
“It has nothing to do with the bathroom. I’m not a caveman, Maple.” Ajax shook his head before he sighed and said, “It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Obviously, it is or you wouldn’t be sleeping in the doghouse,” Nada pointed out.
“Every time I make a sandwich, she gets pissy. It’s not like I asked her to make it for me! I can take care of myself.”
“Hmm,” Wyatt hummed. “Do you leave the condiments out?”
“Smear peanut butter on the counter?” I asked.
Goose added, “Leave your dirty knife out?”
“He must leave the bread open,” Oz said knowingly. “That would piss me off too.”
“It’s the fucking cheese wrapper! When I forget and leave it on the counter, she goes apeshit.”
“Seriously? My guess is that you do this all the time and probably leave it three feet from the damn trash. It wouldn’t kill you to just throw it away when you’re done.”
Ajax glared at me before he asked, “Have you been talking to Sandi?”
“Why would you think that? Because I sound like the voice of reason?”
“Because that’s exactly what she always says!”
“Always? How often do you do this? Can you not learn from your mistakes?” Sully asked.
“This was something she asked him to do, and he has refused to do it. Something simple can mean so much. Throw the fucking wrapper away and make peace,” Wyatt suggested.
“Fuck off. What happened to solidarity? Brotherhood? Where’s your goddamn loyalty?” Ajax asked in outrage.
“Our loyalty to you isn’t in question, but being part of a brotherhood means we call you out when you’re being stupid. At this rate, you are going to medal in the sport, my friend,” Nada said with a grimace. “And to think, most people believe you’re the brains of this operation.”
Ajax was stunned at the insult and wadded up a napkin one of us had left on the table before he threw it at Nada. It bounced off his shoulder, and Wyatt laughed as he got up from his chair and picked the napkin up off the ground.
“Okay, watch this, Ajax,” Wyatt said as he held the napkin in his outstretched hand.
He kept it there in front of him like a precious object as he slowly walked over to the trash bin and stepped on the pedal to flip the lid open.
He looked over at Ajax and asked, “You’re paying attention, right? Are you ready?”
As the napkin fell into the trash, Ajax lifted both middle fingers up as he yelled, “Fuck you, Wyatt!”
We roared with laughter and were still laughing when Dali stepped out onto the patio.
She smiled at me and then looked around, clearly surprised to see even more faces she didn’t recognize.
I stood up to meet her halfway, and when I pulled her into my arms, she asked, “What’s got you guys so cheerful? ”
“Wyatt was demonstrating problem-solving skills for Ajax, but he didn’t appreciate them at all.”
“It’s a fucking cheese wrapper!” Ajax bellowed.
“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the majority of your friends are completely unhinged,” Dali said as she leaned to the side and peered around my shoulder. She looked up at me before she asked, “You’re not nuts, are you?”
“I’m perfectly sane, Dali.”
The men behind me started laughing again, and Dali raised an eyebrow before she said, “If we’re going to be a thing, you’re gonna have to promise not to lie to me.”
“Where did that come from?” I asked.
“You just said that with a straight face, and everyone in a three-mile radius knows you’re nuttier than a fucking fruitcake!” Maple shouted.
“I think I need new friends.”
◆◆◆
DALI
“I love your friends,” I said while they hooted and hollered as Navy carried me toward the stairs. “They’re adorable.”
“They’re certifiable, and you’re drunk.”
“Not drunk, just tipsy,” I said as I smiled up at him. “Are you going to make a habit of carrying me around like this?”
“I could.”
“I kind of like it. Makes me feel like a princess.”
“You are a princess,” Navy insisted.
“You treat me like one. I like that too.”
“Good.”
“I think it’s sweet that you handle me as if I’m made of glass when you know I’m made of much sterner stuff.”
“You’ve got a spine of tungsten and a temper like a wildfire that could raze an entire mountainside, but you’re tender to me, and that’s what counts.”
“You say the sweetest things,” I teased as I reached out to open the door to his room.
Once we were inside, he kicked it shut behind him and then turned around and ordered, “Throw that lock there at the top.”
“You’re going to protect us from friendly intruders?”
“If they interrupt me while I’m making you scream or while we’re sleeping, I may not be able to force myself to say nice things about them at their funeral.”
I laughed as I engaged the lock and then squealed when Navy let go of my legs and spun me around before he set me on the floor.
“Hello, beautiful,” he murmured as he smiled down at me.
I tiptoed up to give him a peck on the lips before I said, “Hey, good lookin’. Got any plans tonight?”
“I’m gonna hook up with this hottie I knew back in the day.”
“Hook up, huh?”
“If I call it anything else, she may take off like her ass is on fire.”
“She probably won’t run quite as fast as you think.”
“I’m not willing to risk it.”
I all but climbed up his body so I could wrap my legs around his waist, and he grinned when I said, “I love how big you are.”
“I like how you fit in my hands,” he said as he squeezed my ass.
“I’ve been watching you all night.”
“Is that so?” Navy asked.
“That is so,” I told him before I gave him a lingering kiss. “I’ve been making plans.”
“Do tell.”
“Well, when I came downstairs to get into something more comfortable, I took off my panties,” I murmured against his ear. “Right now, the only thing between me and you is those shorts you . . .”
Somehow, Navy managed to pull his shorts down enough to free his cock, and before I could finish my sentence, he was pushing himself deep inside me.
I threw my head back with a moan and used the grip I had with my legs to move up and then back down again, ever so slowly to tease him.
I did it again and knew it was working when he growled low in his throat and squeezed my ass so hard I was sure I’d have bruises tomorrow.
I didn’t care, though. This position, one of the few we hadn’t tried last night, was perfect in the way that it molded our bodies together.
I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep the teasing up for much longer, but I slowly raised myself up again and then went back down until my clit bumped against him over and over.
I used my grip on his neck to pull myself up even higher and then squeezed with my legs as I dropped down harder and faster than before.
When my legs started shaking from the exertion, I asked, “Am I gonna have to do all the work here, or are you going to . . .”
Suddenly, my back hit the wall hard enough to rattle the picture frames hanging nearby, but I was almost too shocked to notice. Navy positioned himself so that my knees were resting over his arms and then slammed into me harder than he ever had before.
In just a few strokes, I was coming so hard that I could barely catch my breath between screaming his name and begging him not to stop.
And he didn’t. He didn’t even slow down.
Instead, he carried me toward the bed while flexing his arms as he lifted me up and down.
I did what I could to help, but my blissed-out state made it difficult to concentrate.
By the time we got to the bed and he covered me with his body, I was close again.
The second he let go of my leg and swirled the pad of his thumb over my clit, I went off like a rocket, writhing beneath him as I called his name over and over.
With a roar, he came deep inside me and then planted his elbows beside my shoulders as he collapsed on top of me.
“Fuck,” he muttered as my body squeezed him one more time, milking his cock and making him shudder with the last dregs of his own orgasm. He finally took a deep breath and shook his head before he rolled us over so I was sprawled on top of him.
I laid my head on his chest and sighed in contentment as my eyes fluttered closed. My body was sated and ready for sleep. I knew I should get up and clean myself, but I just couldn’t muster up the energy to move.
I was almost asleep when Navy kissed me on the forehead and whispered, “If you run, I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth.”
I lifted my head and kissed his lips before I whispered back, “I’m not going anywhere.”