“It was once, and I was drunk!” she protests.
“Ew, Molly,” Matilda groans. “Who did you streak with?”
She looks to Phoenix and Quinn.
“Oh, God, you’re practically brothers and sister.”
“But we’re not,” Molly points out. “Besides, we were like fifteen and drunk.”
Quinn and Phoenix chuckle, and my smile gets bigger.
“Okay, my turn,” Phoenix says, turning to Danny. “Have you ever fucked a chick up the ass?”
“God, dude, gross!” I scoff.
Danny crosses his arms and says nothing. I spin to him. “Danny, seriously, if you have done that, I’m disowning you.”
He says nothing.
“Oh my God, he has!” Quinn grins. “Up there, brother. Good for you.”
Skye looks to her hands, and I don’t miss the flash of pain that crosses her eyes. I change the subject quickly. “Danny, go, or you’ll miss your turn.”
He looks to Skye, notices her expression and stands. “Stupid fuckin’ game. I need a drink.”
Then he’s gone.
Oh boy.
Talk about tension.
CHAPTER THIRTY
“They’ve been gone a week!” Jaylah says, pacing the room.
“They’ll be okay,” Santana assures her.
“What if they’re hurt?”
“I spoke to Krypt this morning,” Ash says, touching her arm. “They’re okay.”
I’m sitting on the couch with Diesel who got out of hospital this morning, watching them worry about the guys. They’ve been gone a week, and I know my family are doing the same thing. Freaking out. Things are getting heated, and we’re all under constant protection. We’ve been taken out of lockdown because let’s face it, no one can handle that shit for as long as we have. We’ve pretty much been bundled into the club houses and are secured there.
I was getting a ride to see Diesel daily.
He’s home now and doing well. He’s less sore and seems to be on the road to recovery. Thank God.
“Let’s go to my room,” Diesel says, stepping up beside me and slowly taking my hand.
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Can’t listen to this anymore.”
I lead him down the hall and we get into his room, locking the door. We head over to his bed and lie on it, side by side. I roll towards him, looking down. “How’re you feeling?”
He shrugs. “Shit, but it gets better each day.”
“You got shot; it’ll take time.”
He reaches up and brings me down so our lips are close. “Have fucked my girl once. Thought I was only goin’ to have to wait a few days, but then I got shot . . .”
My cheeks flush. “How long until you can do that?”
“A few weeks, apparently.”
“But . . .” I hesitate, and look away before saying, “you can do other things.”
“Baby . . .”
I push up to my knees and move down the bed.
“Mercedes, what’re you doin’?”
“I’m doing other things.”
“Baby, seriously . . .”
“Don’t tell me you don’t want it.”
I grab for his belt, nerves fluttering in my belly. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing because I’ve never done this before, but I decide I’m going to give it a good go. My core swells and tightens as I unbuckle his belt. He’s watching me with hooded eyes, and his jaw is tight with anticipation. God. Yes. I pull his belt off and undo the top button of his pants before slowly working his jeans down.
He springs free immediately.
God. He’s hard. Yes.
I curl my hand around and squeeze softly. The thick, hard length pulses in my hand. It’s beautiful, just like him. I wonder how it’ll taste? I slowly lower down, touching my lips very lightly against the underside of his shaft. He hisses and mumbles my name.
“I don’t know how to do this,” I admit. “You might have to guide me.”
“Curl your hand around the base,” he says through gritted teeth. “Then put the head in your mouth and suck it like a lollypop, baby.”
I lick my lips and do as he says, curling my hand around the base and lowering my mouth, parting my lips and taking him in. His skin is soft, and yet he’s so incredibly hard. My heart rate picks up as I start to suck, slowly at first, but as I get the hang of it, my speed increases. I slide my head up and down and use my tongue to rub the underside of his cock, gently working it as I use my mouth to do this rest.
“Holy fuck,” he grunts. “Mercedes, baby, don’t stop.”
My skin prickles and I suck harder, deeper, until he’s arching up and growling my name. I love that sound. God, I love how it makes me feel. His cock swells in my mouth, and he frantically grabs for my head but I don’t move. I want to taste him. I want the whole experience. A second later, with a groan of pleasure, his warm release hits my tongue. I swallow it down, my eyes fluttering closed as I take in every beautiful second that he’s giving me.
His moans. His release. His body.
Just him.
I release him and sit up, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “That was really . . . cool,” I say softly.
His eyes are lusty. God, he looks like he wants to pounce on me and eat me alive. “Come here,” he growls, low, throaty.
“Where?”
“Get your panties off and sit on my face. Now.”
My cheeks flush. “No way,” I say.
“Mercedes, now, or I’ll hurt myself to make you. Don’t want that, do you?”
“Diesel, I can’t . . .”
“You can. You will. Panties off.”
He’s giving me no choice. My cheeks burn as I shimmy out of my shorts and panties.
“Get over here. Knees beside my head.”
“Diesel . . .”
He starts to get up, and I scurry forward. The last thing I want is for him to hurt himself, and he knows it. Damn him. He carefully helps me position myself so my knees are either side of his head. I’m burning with shame as he curls his arms around my legs. God, I’m right there in his face. I couldn’t possibly be more exposed.
“You’re so fuckin’ wet,” he murmurs, touching his tongue to my sex.
I groan.
“You taste so good.”
He runs his tongue from my entrance right up to my clit and I gasp, removing my hands from my eyes and pressing them to the headboard as he works his magic. It starts with small circles around my clit that increase in pressure. He then moves on to thrusting his tongue in and out of me, like he’s fucking me. I force back my whimpers so I’m not too loud, but he makes me feel incredible. So fucking incredible.
“Diesel,” I cry softly. “Oh God. Please.”
He slides his tongue from my depths and uses his teeth to gently nip my clit and rotate. I explode on his face, shuddering and gasping as the most incredible feeling gushes through my body. He holds onto me, his tongue working out every shudder. I carefully climb off him and flop down by his side.
“Wow,” I whisper.
“Plenty more where that came from,” he says, carefully pulling me closer. “You can sit on my face anytime.”
I giggle. “I don’t know about any time. I’m sure your family would not find it appropriate if I straddled your face at the dinner table.”
He chuckles. “They wouldn’t, but I would be just fine with it.”
“Animal.”
I snuggle into him, so grateful he’s here with me.
Now I simply need one more prayer answered.
I need our families to come home safe.
~*~*~*~
The rumbling sound of Harley-Davidsons jerks me from my sleep. It takes me a few minutes to clear my head, but when I do I realize they’re coming from outside. I look to my bedside table. It’s two a.m. The club members have been gone for more than ten days now, and we’ve been unable to make contact with them for the last four. Everyone has been beside themselves with worry. I haven’t been ab
le to go back to college, and neither has Diesel. We’ve just been waiting.
Worrying.
The sound of bikes has my heart fluttering with hope. I throw myself out of bed and run out of my room. Ava and Skye come out and are running too, no doubt thinking the same thing. We hit the bottom of the stairs and dash to the front door. I open it and cry out in happy relief as I see the club members all getting off their bikes. Our moms are already outside, their arms around our dads, crying happy tears. They let go and we charge in, Skye, Ava, and I running towards our fathers.
Skye hits Cade first and throws herself into his arms. He buries his face in her hair and hangs onto her. Ava collides next, launching at Jackson, her arms around his neck, tears on her face. I get to my dad last, my arms flying around his waist, shoving my face into his chest. There we all hang on, so grateful they’re alive. Nobody knew if they were safe and it was hell. Pure hell.
I pull back and smile up at Dad. “You’re okay.”
He smiles down at me. “I’m okay. It’s all over.”
“It is?”
He nods. “It is.”
“And Diesel’s family?”
“All safe, baby.”
“We were so scared,” Mom says, stepping back in and joining the hug. We all just hang onto each other, hugging, being thankful.
“Let’s get you inside,” Mom says, stepping back. “You’re probably hungry.”
Dad grins at her. “I’m hungry, but it ain’t for food.”
I let him go and step back too. “Ew, Dad.”
He grins at me, but captures Mom into his arms and walks inside with her. Gag. I turn to Cade and Jackson and smile. They grin at me, and relief floods my chest. They’re okay. Thank God. They’re okay.
And so are we.
My prayers were answered.
EPILOGUE
I pull the mask down over my face and step into the huge room packed with people. I look around, but wouldn’t recognize one person from the other because they’re all masked. I move through the crowd, my eyes finding the stage where a handsome-as-hell man in all black wearing a tattered black mask is standing, adjusting the microphone. My heart swells with pride as I move closer to the stage.
I’ve been at home for a couple of days and luckily for us the masquerade ball was pushed back a few days because of an organizational problem. It must have been Diesel’s lucky break, because he was sure he’d lost his chance to play. He hadn’t. And now I’m here ready to cheer him on. He notices me standing in my long red gown with my black mask. He helped me pick it.
He grins.
I grin.
God I love him.
I take a glass of champagne as a waiter passes me with a tray, and listen to the announcer welcome everyone to the ball. Taj comes up beside me and hooks an arm through mine. He’s dressed as Zorro, basically, and it suits him. “Your man looks super-fine up there tonight. There are going to be plenty of envious girls out there.”
“So long as they’re not named Maxine, I’m okay with that.”
He chuckles. “Whatever Diesel said to her, bitch has backed down.”
“Good.”
“Is he excited?”
I smile up at the stage. “He won’t admit it, but yeah. This is what he wants for his band.”
“Yeah, no doubt. You know, if he takes off, you’ll have to listen to practice and go on tour buses and shit.”
I chuckle. “Let’s climb one mountain at a time, shall we?”
He grins. “Fair call.”
The announcer welcomes Wrath to the stage and I watch, my heart racing, as Diesel takes the microphone. “Hey everyone. We’re Wrath, and we’d like to thank you all for having us here tonight.”
My smile gets so big my lips burn.
“I’d like to dedicate this song to the love of my life. This one is for you, Killer.”
My heart pounds as he starts singing “If Everyone Cared” by Nickelback. His soft voice fills the room, and I get lost in it. I forget everyone around me. I forget to breathe. I just watch and fall even deeper in love with the man on the stage. He sings, his eyes on mine, and I know that for the rest of my days, I don’t want to spend a second without him.
Not a single second.
He sings and sings the night away, and I dance my little heart out to his music. He takes a break halfway through and comes down off the stage, heading towards me. Girls swoon at him, but he has his eyes firmly fixed on mine. He stops in front of me and takes my arm. “Come with me.”
“Where are we going?” I ask, as he pulls me through the crowd.
“Been on the stage singin’ for the last two hours, watchin’ you give me those eyes. Now I’m goin’ to take you out the back and fuck it out of your system.”
“Fuck what?” I whisper.
“The lust burning in your depths.”
I don’t argue. I let him drag me out of the hall and into an empty room down the corridor. He shuts the door and locks it before pressing my back to it. His lips crush down on mine, and I kiss him with everything I have, groaning as our tongues tangle. There is no foreplay. No build-up. He wants to fuck, and I want to let him.
“Remember how I told you when we’d been together a while, I’d take you like this, spontaneous and against something?”
I nod.
“Hold tight, baby. I’m about to rock your world.”
I shiver and brace my hands on the wall behind me as he lowers down, lifting my dress and raising it up enough to get access to my panties. He wastes no time tearing them off. “Diesel,” I gasp, as he stuffs them into his pockets.
“We go back out there, you’ll know your panties are in my pocket, and you’re standin’ in the middle of a crowd that has no clue my cum is fresh in your cunt.”
My mouth drops open at his words. “What has gotten into you?”
He grins at me. “You, baby. Leg up. Heels stay on.”
He jerks his belt off and frees his cock. I lift my leg, and he hitches it around his waist, my heel pressing against the wall. God, this is hot. He reaches between us, running his fingers up my sex before positioning his cock and plunging inside me. I groan at the intense feeling of fullness that consumes my body. He feels incredible.
“Diesel,” I pant. “Oh God.”
“Hold on. I’m about to fuck you hard and fast.”
I hook one arm around his neck, and the other clutches his shirt, then I brace as he fucks me. He does it hard. He does it fast. He does it thorough. I’m screaming his name, I don’t give a crap, and he’s hissing mine as his cock drives into my body, filling me, consuming me, making me whole. I come before he does in a wicked rush. I throw my head back and cry out his name. He finds his release seconds later, bellowing loudly as he fills me.
He made good on his promise.
He leads me back out into that room with his cum still fresh inside me.
And I love it.
~*~*~*~
“Sing!” Ava cries, throwing her hands in the air. “It’ll be fun.”
“You sing,” I say to her, pointing to the stage.
“Come on, you bunch of babies.” Phoenix laughs. “Get up there and show us how it’s done.”
“You get up there, Phoenix,” Molly says, cocking her hip with sass. “I don’t see you showing your bravery.”
“You come with me, Molly bear, and I’ll do it,” he challenges.
“Why don’t we all go up?” Skye suggests.
“Ohhh, good idea!” Matilda laughs.
“No fuckin’ way,” Danny grumbles. “I’m not singing at a fuckin’ 50s café in front of a bunch of old people.”
I throw a fry at him. “Don’t insult the café. Not all of these guys are of legal age to drink. It’s a fair place to hang out.
He scowls at me, and I laugh.
Over the last two months, the kids from the Joker’s Wrath and us have become close. I guess going in lockdown for a few days does that to people. They’re funny and crazy just like us, and we’ve f
ound an even ground. The two clubs have gone back to minding each other’s business, but there is no malice and no concern for our friendship. They men have come to an agreement that they’ll keep out of each other’s way and stick to their own turf, and that should stop any future problems from arising.
I guess they knew they had no choice, considering we’re all getting along, like it or not.
“Come on. You can sit by yourself and cry like a big baby,” Skye taunts him. “We’re singing.”
“I’m in,” I yell, standing up.
“Me too!” Max says.
Everyone but Danny gets up beside us, and we all move to the karaoke machine at the front of the café. Skye picks the song—“Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira—and we all groan in protest, but she’s got it playing before we have the chance to fight her. She takes the microphone and belts out the lyrics. With laughter and snickers, we all join in, surrounding the microphone and chant it out.
Everyone in the café cheers, and we throw our arms around each other, singing harder. We do this through the entire song and at the end, the entire café stands and gives us applause. “Thank you, thank you,” Skye says, bowing.
“We’re here five days a week,” Quinn says, taking Skye’s hand and bowing with her.
The bell above the door goes and I notice Diesel enter the café. He had a late class so has only just arrived. My smile grows, and I launch off the little stage and run towards him, throwing myself into his arms.
“Hey, beautiful,” he says, pressing his lips to mine.
“You just missed an epic karaoke breakdown.”
He grunts. “I could hear it from down the street.”
I giggle.
He smiles.
“You wanna go up and sing, rock star?”
“Fuck no. I can’t even have a beer in this place; that’s torture enough.”
I laugh and curl an arm around his waist, walking him in. We sit down at the table and join everyone.
“Look at you two.” Molly grins. “So handsome together.”
“I’m the handsome one,” I point out. “He just looks good because of me.”
She giggles, and Diesel nudges me.
“You two look so happy. I’m jealous.” Skye sighs.
“You’ll find plenty of handsome strangers when you move here!”