From The Ashes (The Knights of Mayhem Book 3) (14 page)

“Thank you.”  I don’t have to turn my head to know that it’s Cowboy.  His deep southern drawl is unmistakable.

“There’s no need. The environment wasn’t the best, but I enjoyed every minute she was with me in that house.  It made me, and the place feel lighter and brighter.”  I smile at him.  “And thank you.”

“Hell, I didn’t do anything, at least nothing like Roman did.”  He falls silent, watching his family, and my hope to be family, laugh and talk in front of us.  “Sorry too about … ya know, blaming you.”

I shake my head, freeing it of all the negative thoughts I’ve ever had of these people.  I turn to him.  “Don’t be. I gave you no reason to think different.”  I nod my head in the direction of the table.  “Come on. I want to try these ribs I’ve been hearing so much about.”

I lead him over to the table where everyone else is and go to Roman.  He lifts his eyebrows and rocks back on his heels.  “So, how much trouble am I in?”  His baby blues turn innocent in an instant.

I rub his flat stomach with my hand, feeling it tense under my hand.  “If it were the old me, a lot.  But seeing as how I’ve turned over a new leaf, I can see you did it to help me, not to hurt me.”

He wraps his arms around me and kisses my nose.  “Know that I will never do anything to hurt you, ever.”

“I know.”  I nod and lean into him for another kiss.  He pulls out a chair for me and I take it.  Piper sits as far away from me as she can and at the moment, it’s definitely for the best.  She’s going to be the one who will hold out ‘til the end.

Roman

I take the stool at the bar to Leo’s right.  “Strange day, brother?”  he asks as I take the beer Eno sits in front of me.

“You have no fucking idea.”  I take a drink and look at my boys.

“We need to talk about what you think Markus might do and lay out a plan.”  Leo orders.

“Tomorrow morning?”  Leo asks.

“Yeah.”  We all agree and sit together and drink in silence.

~~~~~~ 

Dinner was great and the food was wonderful.  The atmosphere was better than I could have expected. Even Hollis seemed to have enjoyed herself.  We’d helped clean up then said our goodbyes.  Leo had offered me his truck, so I pulled my bike into the garage.

“What did Emily mean when she said she would see you at eight in the morning?”  I glance at her but for the first time tonight, I
really
see her.  Her skin is glowing and she hasn’t stopped smiling all night.

“Oh, she asked me to help her with her cleaning business.”  She looks at me.  “I got a job, Roman. A real, honest job where I don’t have to take my clothes off.”  I furrow my brow at her.  “Oh no, don’t look at me like that.”

“Do you not remember the conversation we had last night about Markus?”

“I do, but I won’t be alone, I’ll be with Emily.”

I take a deep breath and try to figure out the best way to approach this situation.  She’s glowing and I know she needs this, but I don’t like the two of them being alone all day.

“Please, Roman, don’t take this away from me.”  Her once happy face has turned into a desperate, pleading look.

“Damn, Hollis,”  I sigh.  “Okay, but listen. You give me a full day itinerary and call me every thirty minutes.” 

“What? Why?   If I have to call you that much, I won’t be able to get anything done.”  She’s turned her body in the seat so that she’s facing me.  “Plus, I don’t have a phone.”

“I’ll fix that tomorrow, but this is the way it is or you don’t go.”  I hope I’ve conveyed my point with my stern tone.  I meant what I said, she either agrees or she doesn’t step foot out of the house.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”  She asks a bit shocked.

“Hell yeah I’m serious. Take it or leave it.”  I can feel the muscle ticking in my jaw.

Her cheeks flush with anger.  “Look, Roman—”

I interrupt her.  “Don’t “look Roman” me.  You know what he’s capable of, and when, not if, he goes back to that house and finds it empty, you know what he’s going to do.”

“Yes, I do, but I’m sure you and the others will never be far away.  I feel safe with Emily … it’s weird, but I do.”

“I know you do, but you can never let your guard down with him out there.  We have no idea who he’ll have with him or where he’s at, and we both know he doesn’t discriminate against who he hurts.”

“I know better than anyone, Roman.”  She turns with a huff and slams her back into the seat.  “I’ve lived with the fact for six years.”

Now I feel like a jackass for bringing up something she thought was behind her.  “Sorry, Hollis. I just don’t want you or anyone else hurt.”

“And you think I do?” She turns quickly in her seat staring blankly out the windshield.

“God no … not now or ever.”  I slam on the brakes, squealing the tires and stopping in the middle of the road. 

She braces herself with her hands on the dash.  “Jesus, Roman.”

I jerk her arm from the dash, pulling her across the console so she’s straddling me.  I take her shocked face in both of my hands.  “Look at me. Don’t ever say that shit again, do you hear me?”  I’ve rendered her speechless with my actions.  “I didn’t want it then and I sure as hell don’t want it now, so forgive me if I seem a little pushy but you’ll just have to get the fuck over it.”  I shut up and let my words sink in.  “Nod if you get it.”

She nods and leans in, touching her sweet lips against mine.  Pulling away, her beautiful eyes are glassy as they grace the contours of my face. She raises her small hands and softly caresses my face.  “I understand, and I know that things being out of your control is not your style.  But sometimes you just have to let the chips fall where they may.”

“Are saying to give up and just let him do whatever the fuck he’s going to do?  Because that’s horse shit, Hollis.”

She shakes her head gently.  “No baby, I’m saying lets enjoy what we have now—live in the moment.  We’ll face whatever might come, when and if it gets here.”

“It’s called being prepared, it’s what I do.” 

“I know it is, but I’m so tired of looking over my shoulder—of being scared all the time.  I was given something tonight that I’ve wanted for six years and I don’t plan on letting anything take it away.  So, I’ve decided to relax and just be with you.”  The blue lights that come up beside us signals for me to roll down my window.

Hollis and I turn our head in the cars direction.  “Sheriff.”  I nod to the man eyeing Hollis, who’s still sitting in my lap.

“Roman, son, you can’t just stop in the middle of the road.”  He reaches to flip the lights off. 

“I know, but we had a pressing matter to talk about.”

“Can you discuss the matter on the shoulder? Don’t want a semi coming around that corner.”  He gestures with his head to the curve I’d just come out of before locking Leo’s truck up.

“Yes sir, we’re done.”  We say our goodbyes and I watch over Hollis’s shoulder as the car disappears around the curve ahead of us.  I palm her ass pulling her into me.  “I ain’t gonna lose you again, baby.”

She kisses me then slides back over to her seat, then reaches over and pats my leg.  “Get me home. I have to be at work in the morning.”

Chapter Twelve

Hollis

I let Roman lead me through the door into the house.  I drop his hand and start off in the direction of my assigned room.  “Where are you going?” he asks as the keys he drops clatters around in the dish on the table.

“To bed.”  I turn to him, bewildered by his question.

“I’m gonna get a beer and I’ll meet you up there in ten.”  He directs my attention to the stairs with a point of his index finger.  He kisses my cheek, giving my ass a squeeze before he heads to the kitchen.  I stand, not sure if I heard him right, so I go after him for clarification.  I lean into the door frame and watch his body move in the moonlight.  He is a sexy beast.  I love the way he can be forceful and gentle, all at the same time. 

“You want me to sleep with you?”  I lean my head against the frame, holding my breath.

He turns to me, leaning his butt against the counter and crossing his ankles.  “Yeah, why wouldn’t I?”

I’d thought everything happening at the cabin would stay at the cabin, and when we got back into town, things would fall right back in the pattern of him being an ass and me being an outcast.  But Emily had completely blew the outcast thing right out of the water.  “I don’t know … maybe because you said this morning you didn’t think it was a good idea.”

“Well now I do, so go and get ready for bed.  I told you I’ll be up in a minute.”  His tone isn’t sharp, but it has just enough edge to it to let me know he meant what he said. 

“Okay.”  I throw him a devilish smile, then turn to hurry up the steps to the bedroom.  Opening the double doors to the sanctuary of Roman Jefferys has my heart racing in my chest.  The anticipation of what’s to come and the things he could do to me makes my skin prickle with anticipation. 

I go to the shower, needing to wash off the day and linger a little bit, hoping to get a surprise visit like I did this morning.  But I end the shower alone.  I cut the water and open the door, looking for the towel I had hung on the arm.  It’s gone and I look around to find Roman standing at the bathroom door with it thrown over his shoulder.  “Looking for something?”

“Yeah, my towel,”  I point to the obvious.

“Come get it.”  He walks out the door, leaving me wet and shivering.

“Roman!”  I step out on the mat, smiling and hugging my arms around me to stave off the onslaught of cold from the cool air hitting my wet body.  I tiptoe into the room that’s lit with a single candle on the nightstand.

“Get on the bed.”  His deep voice cuts through the shadows.

“Excuse me?”  I’m slightly taken back by his tone.

“You heard me, Hollis. Get on the fucking bed.”

I slide a wet knee on, then follow it with the other.  “Lay on your back.”  I turn, lowering myself, not sure what’s going on.  This is a side I’ve never seen of him before.  I feel a slight tug on my ankles as he spreads my legs.  “Close your eyes and put your hands above your head, wrists together.”

“Why?”

I feel him lift my left hip and smack my ass hard.  The sound resonates through the silence of the room.  “Hands up, now.”

The sting he left on my ass has me raising my hands and closing my eyes to the sweet sounds of his footfalls coming around the bed.  It dips under his weight as he places one knee at my side and crosses my body, placing the other knee down.  I feel him tug my arms straight, placing my wrists in a set of handcuffs. He lifts them to an unseen hook, leaving them slightly suspended above my head.  Not uncomfortable, but I couldn’t imagine being in this position for any length of time.  “Roman?” 

I feel his lips at my ear.  “Keep those eyes closed.”  Then I wonder how’s going to know if I open them? It’s so dark in the room.  “Closed, Hollis.”  I feel his breath move down to the soft skin of my neck and then his lips lightly touch my collar bone.  My body shivers uncontrollably from the action.

My mind is on high alert.  I fight the urge to open my eyes and lift my head to watch his lips do their torturous dance across my skin.  He stops at my budded nipples, giving them each attention, making me moan my appreciation.  He sucks them up into his mouth, pinching them between his teeth.  A small fire has been ignited between my legs and with each lick, suck, or kiss, the flames grow.

I roll my hips in search of him.  “Roman?”  I have yet to open my eyes because the feeling of not knowing what he’s going to do outweighs the need to see him do it.  My body is his playground and I offer it up to him completely. 

“Shh, baby, let me love you,”  he whispers across the sensitive skin of my belly. 

“Oooooh.”  He licks across the skin, making it prickle in his wake. 

I feel as his finger makes its way up through the slick folds of my pussy, wetting it with my own juices.  “God, you’re so wet for me, baby.”  He mumbles into my skin as his lips go farther down my body.  The force of him sinking a finger into me has a gasp of air rushing from my lungs.

“Shit, Roman.”  My whole body vibrates as he pulls it out then agonizingly slow, pushes it back in. 

“Mmm, Hollis. Damn your pussy’s sweet.  I don’t think I can wait.”  With that I feel his head sink between my thighs.  His finger turns in me and I jump at the first feel of his tongue as he licks up to my clit.  I try to move my hands to run my fingers through his silken hair but the damned cuffs are keeping me from it. 

The urge to touch him has never been greater than it is in me right now.  My fingertips ache to feel him.  In this moment of pure unadulterated ecstasy, I know where I left my heart and the key to my body.  These feelings haven’t been elicited from me since him.  Roman could, and always has been able to bring my body to life like no other.
 
He makes it sing. And the fire erupting inside me is an inferno when I’m near him. He’s the only man who can fully satisfy me and tame the fire that burns within me.

I feel as his tongue makes my body tingle all over.  The surge of my impending explosion vibrates out to my limbs, then abruptly, he’s gone, leaving me panting for more and my body begging for release.  I fight the urge to open my eyes and search for him.  “Roman?”  It comes out more of a moan than a question.

“I’m here, darlin’.”  He reassures me. His voice is distant, but still in the room. I push my eyes together, afraid he’s tempting me to open them and find him.

The bed dips once more, yet this time from the bottom and I feel him crawl once more between my legs, his hips settling between them.

“I can’t take it anymore, Hollis. I’ve got to have you.” 

~~~~~~

I roll over and stretch, feeling the sting of pleasure left from last night.  I’m alone in the bed and it’s just before six in the morning.  The room is still bathed in black, but a small light oozes under the doors from the hall.  I roll back over, burying my face into his pillow and smile. 

“Shit, that man can fuck.”  I let slip out with my breath as I inhale him again.  The door opens and I feel the bed sink beside me.  A rough hand soothes the skin along my shoulder blade and traces down my spine.  I lie still, just feeling his touch.  He gets to the curve of my ass and stops, tugging up the sheet to cover it. Puzzled, I roll over.

“Good morning,”  I say matter of factly.

“I thought you were asleep.”  He looks a little guilty.

“And you wouldn’t have touched me had you known I was awake?”

There’s a devilish glint to his eyes.  “No, it would’ve been way different if I’d known you were awake.”  He stands up, taking his shirt off as he goes.  “Left you coffee in the pot and toast in the toaster.  You need to get started or you’re going to be late.”  He disappears into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

I salute the door.  “Sir, yes sir,”  I mumble as I slide from under the warm comforter and shiver when I get out into the cold crisp air of the room.  I jump back under the covers since I’m naked.  “Roman,”  I yell

“At the foot of the bed, Hollis.”  He shouts through the door.  I look to see his bathrobe laid across the foot of my side of the bed.  I smile and hurriedly slip it on before heading down to the kitchen in search of caffeine.  I hold the cup in my hands to my lips, letting the warmth remind me of our time last night.  It had been the first time I’ve been bound and I think I like it.

“What are you thinking about?”  He comes up to me, taking the fabric at my hips, pulling me to him.  He’s wearing only a towel and it’s hugging his hips. I watch as small beads of water drop from his hair to his chest.

“You and me, and what we did last night.”  No need to be coy about my dirty thoughts and memories of his body moving over mine.  I wrap my arms around him.  Just touching his bare skin has my body springing back to life.

“You liked it?”  He rests his nose on the crown of my head.  “I was afraid it might freak you out.”

“Oh no, by no means did you freak me out.”  I look up, finding his blues crystal clear and full of life.  He kisses me then pulls me up from the counter I was leaning against. 

“Come on. You have to get ready for work and if we stay down here, I might pick up on the unfinished business I have on the kitchen table.”  He takes me by the neck and leads me to the steps, helping me into the shower where he helps me to start my day off just right.

Roman

“Morning, Emily.”  I salute her with my coffee cup.

“Morning, grumpy,”  she says as she lays her bag down on the table.  “And what is your problem today?”  she asks as she pours herself a coffee and takes the seat opposite me. “Let me guess, you don’t want Hollis out and away from you?  Damn, Roman, you’re so transparent,”  she laughs.

I sit up and rest my elbows on the table.  “You know for once I wished one of you would take the shit you get us into serious.”

“The shit we get you into?”  Her eyes are wide and her mouth draws into a bow.  Oh shit. I’ve gone and done it now, pissing them right off.  Because let’s face it, when one’s mad, they’re all mad.

“Emily, that’s not what I meant.”  I try to backpedal.

“Oh no, you are not weaseling your way out of this one, Roman.” She stands to come around to me, leaning her hip against the table.  “You boys brought this home to us, and don’t ever forget it.  We just love you too much to keep reminding you of it or rubbing it in your faces.”  She leans in to whisper, “Don’t ever lay this on her, it will break her.”  I lean my head back from her.  “She still carries it and she will for a very long time.”  She salutes me with her coffee cup and moves back around to her seat before Hollis comes down, fully dressed.

“Okay, I’m ready.”  Hollis’s face is beaming with pride.  She stops at the door, picking up on the tension filling the room.  “What’s going on here?”

Emily stands with a sly smile on her face as she throws a glance in my direction.  “Nothing, doll face.”  She places her cup in the sink.   “Come on, let’s go. We have a lot to get done today.”  She walks out of the kitchen.

Hollis turns to follow Emily out but I clear my throat to get her attention.  “Is there something you’re forgetting?”

She looks down.  “Um, no, I don’t think so.”

I raise my eyebrows at her.  “Are you sure?”

“Oh.”  She smiles at me and hurries over to plant a mouthwatering kiss on me.  “Will that do ‘til I get home?”

I smack her ass as she walks away, making her high step a few times as she rubs at it.  “For now it will. See you later, babe.”  She walks out and I hear the door close behind her, leaving me feeling alone in my own house for the first time since I moved in.

I take a deep breath and look around my midsized kitchen.  It’s not fancy by any means, nothing like the elegance of Leo and Avery’s, but I can remember a lot of happy times we’ve had in this kitchen, me and my bunch. What a motley crew we are.  And now Hollis is part of it again and I can’t find the words to describe the feelings growing at a rapid pace in my soul for her.

I stand with a huff, needing to get my day started.  I have a full day at the office with three quotes and making sure Eno’s gotten the last system installed and ready.  The security system business has been picking up and I could not be more proud of my accomplishments away from the group. 

But first, I have to go by the phone store and get Hollis a phone so I can talk to her anytime I want.

Hollis

I sit in the passenger seat of Emily’s SUV, wringing my hands with the nerves somersaulting in my gut.

Seeing me in my state, Emily reaches over and lays her hand over my fidgeting ones.  “Calm down, Hollis, it’s just cleaning.”  She smiles at me. She’s probably the most kindhearted woman I’ve ever met.

“I know, but it’s the first job I’ve had in years and I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“Can you clean?”  She asks as she turns down a side street that leads to the swanky part of town.

“Yes, like Mr. Clean,”  I joke, hoping it will lighten my mood.

“Then you will do just fine.”  She passes through an iron gate and takes us up a winding drive, covered by the shade of canopy trees.

“Wow, the Hodges’ house.”  I gawk at the stately home tucked quietly behind the privacy trees.  “I always wanted to see what the inside of this house looked like.”  I can feel the old teenage jealousy creeping in.  The Hodges’, like the Jefferys’, were one of the more prominent families in our small town.