Easy (18 page)

Daisy barely got off the bike before Tildy tackled her. Easy watched in amusement as the two women hugged each other fiercely.

“You didn’t answer your phone!” Tildy accused in between sobs.

“I got rid of my phone,” Daisy told her.

“Well, get another one!” Tildy cried. She took a step back and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

“You really missed me,” Daisy said grinning. “Either that or pregnancy hormones.”

“Both,” Tildy replied.

Hawk snorted. “Yep. Let’s blame the hormones,” he said wryly. Before Tildy could yell at him, he said, “Slick’s taken over our kitchen. Family dinner.”

Easy followed Daisy into Shooter’s old house. There were more hugs between the women, while the men set the table. Easy had met Sarah over Family dinner, one she made especially for him. She squeezed his arm as she passed by, and he wondered if she was remembering the same thing. He’d been a dick to her that night and on many other subsequent nights.

“Give me that,” he said, taking a serving bowl from her. He set it down on the table and picked a chair next to Daisy.

“Run into trouble?” Shooter asked, noting Easy’s bruised knuckles.

“None whatsoever,” he replied.

“There were three of them!” Daisy protested.

Hawk laughed. “Need more than that to take down a Ranger.”

After dinner, Easy helped clear the dishes into the dishwasher. As he stood up he heard Caleb say, “Daisy, can I talk to you?”

She bit her lower lip but nodded. Easy watched as he took her out the back door and onto the deck. His first instinct was to follow them,
if only to comfort her, but he decided if she wanted him there, she’d ask.

“He wants her to make a statement,” Shooter said quietly from beside him.

“She probably won’t.”

“She told you what happened?”

He grimaced and nodded.

“Bad?” Shooter asked.

“Bad enough,” he replied. “Broke, desperate girl and cop who took advantage of her, got rough with her.”

He fought the urge to go to her again. Shooter must have sensed it
, because he said, “He won’t push her.”

Easy sighed. “I know.”

“He just wants her to know he’ll go with her, back her up. If she ever wants to do anything about it.”

Caleb and Daisy talked for a while. She finally seemed to relax around him and even smiled a bit once in a while. When they were done, he opened the door for her
, and they came back inside.

Easy swept her into his arms and hugged her. “Okay?” he whispered.

She nodded into his chest. “I just want to forget about it,” she said quietly.

He squeezed her tightly in response then
took her by the hand and led her to the door. “We’re going home,” he told the group and did not miss the smiles of everyone watching them.

In the house, she didn’t waste any time. She walked straight to the bedroom
, and he followed her. He turned on the light for them, and she kissed him, tasting like sunshine and warmth. He would have pulled her closer, but she moved away, out of his reach. Her blue eyes sparkled, even in the dim light. “Are you ready?” she asked him.

He took a deep breath and nodded.

Daisy grasped the hem of her shirt and lifted it over her head, revealing smooth white skin and the silver glint of her belly button ring. She reached behind herself and unclasped her bra, letting it fall to his bedroom floor. Slowly, she unbuttoned her jeans and pushed them down, along with her panties.

She stood before him
, naked and gorgeous, and for a second he felt a sting of self-doubt, before he pulled his own shirt off over his head. This was the awkward part, and he hated doing it, but Daisy looked nothing but ready for him. He sat down on the edge of the bed and unlaced his boots. He pulled them off and tossed them aside. Hesitating only for a moment, he unbuttoned his jeans and slid them down over his hips.

His cock was already hard fr
om watching her undress for him; it lay heavily against his lower abdomen. He ignored it and pushed his jeans down over the black neoprene sleeve. Daisy watched silently as he disconnected the prosthetic and laid it carefully on the floor at the foot of the bed. He debated whether or not to stop there, but he was all in, he had to be. Stopping now would only insult her. She was here, and she wasn’t running away.

He gripped the tight material and rolled it down
, revealing the cotton comfort sock, which he also tugged away. Those he dropped on the floor. He knew he shouldn’t, but he still felt a little scared sitting there naked, his stump revealed, ragged and ugly.

Daisy moved forward and knelt down on the floor in front of him. She placed her hands on his thighs. He watched as she leaned forward and kissed his leg, just above the amputation line. Her warm breath tickled his skin. She dragged her lips higher until they reached the base of his cock. He sucked in a sharp breath as she licked him. His hands twisted in the sheets on either side of him as he got the first blowjob he’d had in over three years.

She was slow and methodical, alternating between licking and kissing his shaft as she worked her way to the head. A drop of pre-cum had already beaded and she glanced up at him holding him with her gaze as she extended the tip of her tongue to catch it. She licked her lips as though he was the best thing she’d ever tasted, before she opened her mouth and drew him in.

He would have closed his eyes, but he was fascinated watching her. Her ripe, full bottom lip ran along the underside of his cock
, and he groaned. She slid him in, nearly to the back of her throat, and then back out, making love to him with her mouth. As much as he loved it, if she didn’t stop soon, that would be the only part he made love to.

His hands threaded through her hair and he moved her away. “Daisy,” he rasped.

She rose to her feet and placed one knee on either side of him. With one hand on his chest, she pushed him down onto the bed. As she straddled him, she grasped his shaft and placed the head at her entrance. She took him into her by inches, so warm and wet.

Daisy rode him gently, placing his hands on her breasts and gazing down at him. He couldn’t help but feel it was deliberate, the way she looked at him, watching him. She’d seen everything
, and she still wanted him.

He felt his breath catch in his throat and he swallowed hard. “Daisy,” was all he could manage to get out.

“Come here.” She took hold of his arms and pulled him up until he was sitting. “Put your heart next to mine.”

She held him tightly, her chest pressed to his. “You’re mine,” she whispered in his ear.

He held her tightly, as close as he could. “Always,” he whispered in her ear.

Daisy woke in the morning light
, naked and tangled up in Easy’s sheets- their sheets, she supposed and smiled to herself. Her back was to him, and she felt his fingers tracing over her bare shoulder. She rolled over to face him. “Are you trying to decide where you want your mark on me?”

His gaze darkened, a look that always made her catch her breath. “Yes,” he admitted.

She grinned at him. “You first.”

“Done. Anything you want, anywhere you want it.”

“Oh you better be careful saying something like that. I might take advantage.”

He laughed. “Just don’t put any daisies on my ass.”

It was supposed to be funny, but she cupped his face with her hand. “Do you think I’d do anything to make you feel like less of a man?”

He hesitated then shook his head. “No.”

She pulled him to her and kissed him. “I could though,” she mused. “What about one that says Property of Daisy Cutter?”

He kissed her shoulder. “Daisy Turnbull.”

She froze and looked at him. “Was that a proposal?”

“No,” he told her. “Not yet. But I’m a forward thinking guy
, and let’s not do anything that’ll have to be fixed later.”

“Jimmy Turnbull! Is this...
optimism
I’m hearing from you?”

“Glass is half full,” he murmured
, while moving over her. “Speaking of being full...”

He thrust into her hard, burying himself inside her.

It wasn’t really a fucking quite yet, she decided, just a claiming. He didn’t move inside her, just held her and filled her up, as he’d said.

Daisy gasped and wrapped her legs around him. “Nice way to wake up.”

“Hmmm.”

“I know what I want,” she told him.

“Tell me slowly.” He swiveled his hips, grinding into her.

“I mean the tattoo,” she said before she lost her train of thought.

“Less exciting,” he replied, and the fucking began.

She dried her hair as he was putting on a shirt. He caught her gaze in the mirror and turned to her. “Really?” she asked, slightly irritated.

“What?”

“A stool? That’s what you’re so goddamn worried about? That’s the reason we can’t shower together?”

He blushed a little and looked away. “It’s not sexy,” he mumbled.

Daisy threw down the towel and put her hand on her hip. “What?! You’re actually standing there and telling me that you don’t remember the chair?”

Easy paused while reaching for his wallet on the top of the dresser. “Oh, God. The chair.” He could actually feel his dick twitching in his pants.

“You forgot about the chair.”

“Baby, I didn’t forget. I was just... I...”

She shook her head and held up one hand. “Don’t. Don’t even.”

“I’ll make it up to you.”

She paused and eyed him. “How?”

“I’ll think of something.”

She sighed and pulled a pair of shorts out of her backpack. “Fine. I’m going to Maria’s to apologize and see if she’ll hire me back.”

“She will,” Easy assured her.

“How do you know?”

“I already talked to her.”

Daisy bit her lip and looked at him. “What... what did you say?”

“No one told her the truth. When I decided to get you back, I just said that you’d had some personal problems come up and asked her to give you another chance. She doesn’t know.”

Daisy sat down on the edge of the bed and picked at the sheets. “I should tell her.”

“That’s up to you.”

“Is it always going to be like this?” she asked. “What if people find out? Do you want to be with-”

“I want to be with you. And I don’t give a fuck what anyone else thinks. If things don’t work out at Maria’s for some reason, Abby will hire you. Or Shooter. We’re getting enough business to get a receptionist.”

“Really?”

He crossed the room and pulled her to her feet. “We’re family, Daisy,” he reminded her. “And we take care of each other.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

She pulled the door to the bar open and stepped inside. Milo spotted her first. “Thank God!” he cried. As Daisy crossed the nearly empty bar, he turned on his stool. “I need help,” he told her. “I’ve got a date with Alma, and my hair’s not right. And I don’t know where to take her. And
she’s
no help,” he said, jerking his thumb at Maria.

“I’m not comfortable with the idea of him dating,” Maria replied. “He’s a horny teenager in an old man’s body. The visuals are killing my appetite.”

Daisy smiled. “We’ll get your haircut,” she told Milo. “And take her to a restaurant.”

“Not this place,” Maria warned. “I want nothing to do with this.”

Daisy looked at Maria while Milo grumbled. “Can we talk?” she asked, shoving her hands into her pockets.

Maria nodded and headed into the office.

Daisy sat in the empty chair facing the desk and took a deep breath to steady herself. “I’m sorry I bailed on you.”

“You’re not the first.”

“I guess Easy told you I had some... stuff going on.”

“Guess he did.”

“I didn’t,” Daisy said. “Have stuff. I
had
stuff. A while ago. And I thought it was behind me, but... ” She shrugged. “Maybe it never will be.”

Maria leaned against the desk. “Stuff like prostitution and resisting arrest.”

Daisy tensed.

“I finally caught up on my paperwork,” Maria told her. “Background checks and the like.”

“I’m sorry,” said Daisy. “I know what you think, and I don’t blame you. I shouldn’t have lied, but I needed a job, and I knew you wouldn’t hire me if you knew.”

“Well, nice to know that you know so much about me. Guess I don’t need to do my own thinking then, since you’re nice enough to do it for me.”

Daisy blushed from embarrassment. “I-”

“Can I tell you what I think?” Maria asked. “Or are you just going to keep telling me what I think?”

Daisy, wisely, shut her mouth.

Maria got up from the desk and moved to the chair. She pulled open the bottom drawer of her desk and brought out a bottle of scotch and two glasses. She poured one for Daisy and one for herself. Daisy thought it was a
little early in the day, but said nothing.

“When I was eighteen, I ran out of my mama’s place like my hair was fire,” she told Daisy. “No plan, no money, no God damn common sense, either. Thought I’d find me a motorcycle man. A fine ass man with a fine ass bike
, and I’d be his old lady.” She paused and took a sip of her drink. Daisy did the same and grimaced as it burned her throat on the way down.

“Well, I settled for two of the three. I e
nded up a house mouse for a one-percenter. On the good days, he smacked me around. On the bad days, he
passed
me around.”

“God,” Daisy whispered.

“But it was a place to stay,” Maria explained. “So... I stayed. I don’t know your story. You can tell me if you want to. But whatever you were before, you’re a smart girl now. Got a plan, got a good man to stand up for you. I got a second chance; I’ll give you one, too.”

Daisy stayed to help Maria do inventory, until Easy and everyone else showed up after work.

“Told you she’d hire you back,” he told her.

She grinned at him. “I start tomorrow officially.” She spotted the group taking over the largest table in the place and took a step toward them.

“Hang on,” Easy told her, snagging her arm.

“What?” she asked.

He grinned at her. “Figured out a way to make it up to you.” He took hold of her hand and pulled her in the opposite direction.

“Jimmy,” she said quietly. “We’re not going to the bathroom. I-”

“Nope. I would,” he told her, eyes glittering. “But it’s against Maria’s rules.”

“So what are-?”

He tugged her to the middle of the dance floor and stopped. “We can dance, though,” he said. “She won’t mind.”

He pulled her close and put his arms around her waist. She leaned into him and sighed contentedly.

“I meant it, you know,” she told him.

“What?”

“You’re mine.”

The End

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