Rome

CHAPTER 12

Rome

I dusted my hands off on the back of my Carhartts and looked around the liquor room. The new shelving I had built looked awesome, the place was spotless and organized, and not a bottle or keg was out of place. It was the last task I had on the list Brite had given me all those months ago. The rest of the bar was done. Polished, primed, and looking entirely new and ready to be part of this generation. The regulars were still posted up at their favorite spots all day long, but there was a whole new crowd and influx of younger blood wandering in. I didn’t ask Brite about the change in revenue because he had been quiet and a lot harder to pin down lately. Ever since the robbery, he had been skipping out before it got busy at night, leaving me and Asa to run the show. I didn’t mind, but I thought it was weird that he didn’t seem more excited about all the improvements.

I was putting the tools away in the toolbox when the door opened. It wasn’t a huge storage space, so between my massiveness and Brite’s, there wasn’t a lot of room to maneuver. I frowned a little at him when he took a seat on the top of an empty Fat Tire keg and motioned for me to do the same thing.

“You all done?”

I pulled the bill of my ball cap lower over my forehead and nodded solemnly. I was proud of the work I had done. I felt like I brought the place back to life for him, but I was going to be bummed to move on and not just because I didn’t really have anywhere else to go.

“I think so.”

He nodded and clapped a heavy hand on my shoulder. I tried not to grunt under the pressure.

“The place looks great, son. You did an amazing job. I would have been honored to follow someone like you into battle, Rome. I hope you know that.”

I just stared at him. That was a pretty serious compliment from one soldier to another.

“Thank you. I’m not real sure what would have happened to me if I hadn’t stumbled in here on the Fourth.”

He snorted and pulled back to stroke his beard. “You would’ve been fine, kiddo. A man like you … the universe looks out for the good ones, Rome.”

I didn’t know if I agreed with that, but I was grateful that he saw it in me. I was going to ask him what this little heart-to-heart was about, but he surprised me by asking me:

“Hey, you got a hundred bucks on you?”

I blinked at him and dug my wallet out of my back pocket.

“Yeah, why?”

He waited until I handed over the bill and then climbed to his feet. I followed suit since I was confused as to what was going on. There was a strange undercurrent flowing between us that I couldn’t put my finger on. My anxiety ratcheted up a notch when Brite stuck his hand out like he was saying good-bye.

“Rome, there are not enough good men in this world. Men that fight for what they believe in. Men that are more than willing to sacrifice for the greater good. I watched you this summer, saw how you handled the vets’ and your own demons that chased you back stateside. You faltered here and there, but you’re a rock-solid young man and there is no one else in the world that I would trust with my bar and my customers. You put your heart and your soul into this place this summer. You earned it.”

I just stared at him because I still wasn’t sure what he was saying. I crossed my arms over my chest and watched him steadily. He held up the hundred-dollar bill and made a big production of folding it up and putting it in his own wallet. His steely gaze held me in place and his face was marked with unwavering determination.

“You just bought the Bar. Congratulations. I’ll have the paperwork to you by the end of the week.”

I swore and reached out to grab him as he went to walk out the door like that was the end of the conversation.

“What. The. Fuck.”

He sighed and turned back around to face me.

“I’m too old. My family is fractured, I’ve served my purpose here. When I was a couple years younger than you, I wandered into this bar after a serious string of bad days. The guy behind the bar kicked my ass, cleaned me up, had me work my ass off to get the place cleaned up and back in the current century. He was a retired air-force colonel and he didn’t take any shit from me. When I had put everything I had left in me into the bar, he asked me for twenty bucks. The next thing I knew, I owned a bar. I didn’t have to figure out what I was going to do, where I was going to go. This place was my home. I trust you to take care of it and honor it, son.”

I just stared at him because he had to be joking. I didn’t know what to say to any of it.

“Keep Asa around. That boy has something good going on behind the bar. Keep Darce in the kitchen, she knows what she’s doing. Don’t worry about the robbery. I talked to Torch, the prez of the SoS and he’s aware that he has a problem on his hands. Biker justice makes the long arm of the law look like preschool.”

I shook my head and shoved my hands in the back of my pockets.

“The guy that smashed my head in with a bottle? He’s the one you think robbed the place?”

“Yeah, and I don’t think he’s done. Losing your shot to get in an MC is a pretty big deal. You can handle whatever comes your way, Rome. The bar, the baby, that little spitfire you’re all wrapped up in, these are the rewards for living a life of sacrifice. You gave all you had for other people, this is the universe’s way of paying you back. You earned it all, son, so stop feeling guilty about it and goddamn enjoy it.”

I was speechless. I lowered my head and let out a breath that felt like it held my entire life in it.

“Brite …”

“No, son. There doesn’t need to be a thank-you. I don’t want your gratitude just like I don’t want your money. This is the right thing, the only thing that can happen for you and for this bar. You needed each other, son.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Good, because half the time when you open your mouth, I wanna punch you. I’ll be around, kiddo, not that I think you’re going to need me.”

I followed him out of the storage room still reeling. I was going to try to express my gratitude, my overwhelming appreciation, but Asa suddenly stuck his head around the corner and said my name.

“Rome, you need to go outside.”

I jerked my attention to him and scowled. “What?”

He lifted a blond brow at me and frowned.

“You need to go to the parking lot and take a look at your truck.”

Brite and I exchanged a look and headed out the back door. It was easy to see as soon as my boots hit asphalt what Asa had been talking about.

The big 4×4 was listing to its side, the windshield was shattered, all the headlights and taillights were busted out, and it looked like someone had taken a baseball bat to the entire body. It looked like an expensive but mangled red tuna can.

Brite swore while I just stood there in stunned silence.

“You want me to call the cops?”

Asa’s drawl was more pronounced than normal. I hadn’t even heard him come up behind me.

“Naw. Pretty sure it was the same guy that held you up the other day. He’s pissed at me and trying to send a message.”

“Pretty hard message to misinterpret, Rome.”

I nodded in agreement. “You aren’t kidding.” I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. “By the way, you just got promoted to bar manager.”

Asa reeled back a little and Brite burst out laughing.

“What?”

“Apparently I own the Bar now but I also have a kid on the way, so that means I can’t be here all the time. I need someone to have my back, and I pick you.”

Those amber eyes narrowed and I could tell he was trying to judge the validity of my statement.

“You trust me to do that?”

I shrugged a shoulder and fished my phone out of my pocket to call a tow truck. “I trust you until you give me a reason not to, Asa. If you are so inclined to fuck me over, you might want to remember all the ways in which I know how to kill a man.”

I saw him gulp, and he turned around to head back into the bar. “Thanks, Rome. No one has ever really given me the benefit of the doubt before.”

Brite motioned to the truck. “Want me to call the boys in the club?”

“Yeah, but you might want to pass along if I get my hands on that little shit first, there isn’t going to be much left for them to regulate on.”

We shared a laugh and he stuck out his hand for me to shake.

“Thanks, Brite.”

“You are more than welcome, son. Need a ride home?”

I took him up on the offer to avoid the indignity of shoving myself into the Cooper. I had him drop me off at Cora’s and he refused to talk about handing over the bar. Apparently it was a done deal in his mind, even though it was still life-changing to me. Having something to do, something to invest my time and future in, had been my biggest fear since getting back home. In that single, selfless gesture, Brite had knocked it all down. It was amazing, and even though he said it more than once, I still wasn’t sure I really deserved it.

I let myself into Cora’s house. It was always so sunny, so cheerful, just like her. I didn’t see Jet or Ayden, but my girl was in the kitchen singing along to something that might have been music if it hadn’t had a chick screaming at the top of her lungs.

I propped myself up on the long bar of the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room and just watched her as she danced around between the stove and the sink. Her short hair was slicked down to her head today. She had on a short red skirt that was ruffly and fluffy that made her look like the princess in a punk-rock fairy tale. Her top was loose and flow-y over a belly that was just starting to round out in the barest hint of baby belly. The flowers on her arm, and the water and fire on her leg, looked vivid and exotic and I couldn’t imagine ever coming home to anyone that wasn’t her. I was in love with her. Plain and simple.

“What are you doing?”

She gave a little shriek and spun around to face me. Her eyes were big in her face and she put a hand to her chest.

“You scared me. What does it look like I’m doing? Gymnastics? I’m cooking dinner.”

I walked up behind her and put my arms around her waist. I flattened the palm of one hand on her stomach and spread my fingers wide. She put one of her much smaller ones over the top of it and ran her thumb over the scar that decorated my knuckles.

“I didn’t know you could cook.”

She snorted and turned in my arms to put her arms up around my neck. I liked that she was so short that she had to get on her tiptoes to get ahold of me. It made her skirt ride up higher and her curves press against me.

“It’s not haute cuisine but it won’t kill us either. I didn’t hear the bike or the truck. How did you get here?”

“Brite dropped me off.” I walked her backward until her back touched the counter. “I had a little car trouble.”

She dropped her pale brows and squealed a little when I picked her up by her waist and set her on the flat top of the counter. Her legs parted immediately and I stepped between them. Her eyes were laughing up at me but got serious real quick when I ran my thumb along the curve of her delicate jaw.

“Cora.”

She curled her hands around the back of my neck and swung her legs so that her ankles were locked around my waist.

“Rome.”

“Brite sold me the Bar today and I’m in love with you.” That was my future in a nutshell; nothing else mattered.

Her eyes got huge in her pretty face and her mouth dropped open in a little O. Her legs tensed around me, but that could have had more to do with the fact I was working my hands under her poufy skirt with every intention of getting into her panties than it did with the L-bomb.

“WHAT?!”

I dropped a kiss on her mouth and nudged her with my hips so that I had enough room to hook a finger under the lace trim and work her panties down over her hips and decorated thighs. She was always so soft and smooth, which was such a contrast to her prickly and sharp-witted personality. I tucked the lace in my back pocket and kissed her on the shoulder where the neck of her shirt dipped down. She always tasted so sweet.

“I own a bar and I want you forever.”

“Rome.” She was breathless and I could hear the undercurrent of fear working in her voice. I knew she wasn’t there yet. She still had reservations having to do with that douche from when she was younger, and because of my dumb-ass freak-out, she wasn’t sold on the idea that I would never do that to her again, but she would get there. I had no doubt. Besides there was no other option. She was it for me.

I shook my head at her and flipped the edge of her skirt over my wrists and grinned down at her.

“You don’t have to say anything, Half-Pint. I just want you to know what this is for me, that I’m not going anywhere ever again. I promise you that, and I’ll prove it to you no matter how long it takes.”

Her eyes were luminous as she stared up at me. I could see a million and one questions chasing across the light to the dark, but she didn’t push me away when I bent down to kiss her like I meant it. Her fingers tightened in the hair on the back of my head and she pulled me closer with her legs. I wanted to sink into her, to remember this moment, the look on her face, forever. Whatever my future looked like, as long as she was at the center of it, I knew I could handle it, even the unknown.

I was really getting into the kiss. I had my tongue in her mouth, one hand up her shirt and under her bra, and the other working on my belt buckle while she wiggled and squirmed on the counter in front of me when the timer on the oven dinged loudly and had her jerking her head away and panting to catch her breath. Her eyes were dazed and swirling with a heat that I was sure matched my own.

“It’ll burn. I have to take it out.”

I leered at her. “I have something hotter you need to take out.”

I adjusted the bulge in the front of my pants for emphasis, which made her laugh like crazy. When she bent over to pull the concoction out of the stove, it was all I could do not to grab her and throw her on the kitchen floor and have at that little peek of her bare ass under all that scarlet material. I would never, ever get tired of this girl; I knew it to the bottom of my soul.

She plopped the glass dish on the stovetop and cranked the dials off. She tossed the oven mitt off to the side and whirled around so that she was facing me. I grunted in surprise when she launched herself at me. I caught her with a hand under her naked butt and hefted her up so that we were eye to eye.

“As hot as the idea of you devouring me in the kitchen looking all handyman hot in your work pants and boots is, Ayden could walk in the door at any minute. And while I may have caught her and Jet in a compromising position on more than one occasion, it is not something I care to relive. Take me to bed, big guy.”

I carried her to the back of the house toward her room. When I put her on the bed I hovered over her with my hands on either side of her head. We were almost nose to nose and she was smiling up at me. Right in that moment I knew that all was right in my world.

“We need to find our own place.”

“Excuse me?”

I reached up over my head and pulled my shirt off with one hand.

“If I want to take it to you in the kitchen, on the couch, in the middle of the goddamn living room, I don’t want to worry about being interrupted. This is it for me, Cora. We need our own place.”

She might not be quite ready to tell me she loved me back, but the idea of being stuck with me for the long haul must not have been all that frightening because she lifted her hips when I tugged the skirt off and pulled her shirt off over her head. I kissed the slight swell of her belly and she tangled her fingers in my dark hair. I felt her sigh against my lips while I licked across the delicate skin covering our baby.

“Okay, Rome. We need our own place.”

I wanted to cheer in victory, but now my attention was focused on all that pretty pink skin nestled between her legs. I licked across the fire inked on her thigh and felt her tremble against my mouth. Going down on a girl wasn’t something that ever really took much effort. It was a surefire way to get them off so that I could take care of business and not feel like a jerk for not being more attentive to their needs. It wasn’t ever like that with Cora. Maybe because she always took such good care of me, maybe because I cared more about her than I had any of the others, maybe it was the contrast of soft, giving flesh and hard metal that always made rolling her across my tongue a total treat.

I vaguely heard her gasp my name and felt her hands get more impatient in my hair. I flicked that hoop with the flat of my tongue and got the edge of her clit with my teeth. She swore and I had to hold her hips down as she bucked up against my face. She was all warm liquid and quivering flesh. She was shifting her legs restlessly against me and I had to move out of the way so she didn’t get me in the junk. I laughed against her and swirled my tongue around inside of her while tugging ruthlessly on that piercing I decided I couldn’t live without. It only took a minute to bring her to the edge, and when she went over I swore it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. She looked less like a pixie and more like a woman thoroughly worked over and very satisfied by her lover.

I pushed up so that I could get my Carhartts off and ditch my boots. I had every intention of just crawling over her and sinking down into her, but she urged me over onto my back and got on top of me. She looked at home up there. She put a hand on the base of my dick to hold it where she wanted it then sank all the way down. Her ready and willing slide had my breath catching in my throat. I crossed my arms under my head and settled in to watch her have her way with me. She traced the dividing lines between each of my abs and curved her hands over the dip on each side of my hipbones. She gave me a saucy grin and lifted herself up only to slide back down excruciatingly slow.

“You know you’re going to have to work twice as hard when that hood piercing comes out.”

I grunted my response because she was squeezing me with delicate flutters all along the inside. If it was possible, my cock got even harder and throbbed even more violently. I curved a hand over one of her breasts and tapped the puckered nipple none too gently with my thumb. I saw her suck in a breath and her pace picked up as she rocked back and forth on top of me.

“You can put it back in later, though, can’t you?” I swore loudly because she worked a hand between us and raked her nails lightly across my balls. Like I needed any more stimulation. I threaded my fingers in her hair and pulled her down so I could suck her bottom lip into my mouth.

“Like it, do you?” She whispered the words against my mouth and I chuckled back at her. Every guy should be able to find a girl who made him this happy in bed and out.

“I like everything about you.”

She arched her back and put her hands over mine where they were kneading the tender mounds of her breasts. She threw back her head and gasped my name, which turned into a moan as I moved my legs a little farther apart, stretching her out and giving her movements more friction. Sometimes the difference in our size totally worked to my advantage. Pulling her apart, filling her up, made it all the better for me and I could tell by the cloudy haze of desire in her eyes that it totally worked for her, too.

The drag and pull of soft and hard, the rubbing of her ring against turgid flesh, the flash of her flowers against my scarred skin was too much to hold out against and we both broke over the pinnacle together. I wanted to scream that I loved her, to tell her that she was the best thing to ever happen to me, but I didn’t want to scare her any more than I already had today. She collapsed on top of me and kissed the place on my chest where my heart was starting to settle into a steady rhythm. I rubbed a hand up and down her spine and felt her quiver along me.

“You’re trouble.” The laughter in her tone was contagious and I chuckled, which made both of us suck in a breath since we were still joined intimately together.

“I’m worth it.”

Her eyes flashed all those colors at me when she looked up at me. She dropped a bunch of little kisses along my jaw and hooked her pinkie finger in mine.

“It’s about time you realized it. Now tell exactly how you ended up owning the Bar.”

We stayed naked and sprawled together while I tried to explain Brite’s madness and my good fortune to have so many people determined to save me from myself. By the time we got around to dinner, it was ice cold but it was still the best thing I ever ate because she made it and because soon I was going to have her all to myself in a place all our own. Happiness wasn’t something I remembered bright and clear, but this feeling, it was powerful enough that I understood why men went to war over it, fought to the death for it.