CHAPTER ONE
Lisa
Walking down the hall, I see one of the brothers and a club whore coming out of one of the back rooms. They’re both disheveled, hair mussed and clothes barely on. I look closely, trying to place the brother. A smile spreads across my face as soon as I realize who it is. Rocky’s home, finally fucking home. He’s been inside for nearly six years, serving time for his part in a drug run that went bad. His homecoming explains the extra kegs I saw delivered this morning. There will be one hell of a party tonight.
The club whore says something to him, but he’s ignoring her as his fingers button his jeans. When she tries pulling on his arms, he says something that has her taking a step back. Still, she tries to get his attention for a minute more before finally giving up and walking away. A laugh bubbles up in my throat as a look of relief washes over Rocky’s face.
Shaking my head, I state the obvious. “You’re home.”
His eyes jerk to me, and a smile spreads across his lips. He opens his arms, motioning for me to come closer. “I sure am.”
It only takes a second for me to reach him, and a second later, his arms are wrapped around me. “I see you’re still leaving a trail of broken hearts behind you.”
He looks to the retreating form of the club whore and laughs. “Nothing broken there but her pride. She honestly thought I’d be so relieved to get a taste of pussy that I’d keep her around for a while. She was wrong.”
“She’s new. She thinks every brother that takes her to bed is going to claim her.” I pull out of his arms, taking a step back. “The bitch is gagging to be an old lady.”
“The whores always want a cut,” he says, reaching up to cup my face. “The good ones, they refuse when one is offered to them.”
Before he went to prison, he had me half-convinced to wear his cut. The only thing that stopped me was my feelings for Round. At the time, I knew nothing could happen between him and me. Still, it wasn’t fair to pledge myself to Rocky while I was so infatuated with Round. I was afraid of what would happen if he and his old lady split up. Lucky for me, I held my ground. If not, I wouldn’t have been sharing my life with Round for the last few years. Instead, I would have been sitting around waiting for my man to get out of prison.
This time, I take another step back, seeing the same look in his eyes that I saw years ago. “That’s not true. You’ll find a good woman one of these days.”
“Only one woman I’ve ever wanted to claim, and she didn’t want me back,” he says, his voice dropping low as he looks into my eyes. “Now, I hear that she’s gone and shackled herself to a man that refuses to claim her.”
Fuck! I should have known this was coming. Rocky knew about my feelings for Round, long before Round had any idea. He didn’t like it then, said that it would lead to nothing but heartache for me, and it sounds like he likes it even less now. It doesn’t matter, though; this is between Round and me. Rocky doesn’t get an opinion.
I shake my head, avoiding his stare. “That’s none of your business.”
“Fuck that,” he growls, glaring at me. “You’re my friend. I don’t like seeing my friend hurting. You can lie all you want, but it’s gotta sting that you’re still not wearing his cut.”
If it was anyone else saying this shit, I would be pissed. They would probably be feeling the back of my hand by now. But from Rocky, it’s coming from a good place. It’s just a place I’m not comfortable visiting right now.
Taking in a deep breath, I try to explain. “I never asked him to claim me.”
“You shouldn’t have to ask, Lisa. The fucker should be begging you to be his,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest. “I heard about Lauren, and I know he’s out of excuses. He shouldn’t be treating you like a bed warmer. You are worth more than that. You know you are.”
His words are like a slap in the face, reminding me of my place in Round’s life. I should say, my lack of a true place in his life. For the first few years I was in his bed, I understood his reluctance to make anything official. At least, I tried to pretend to understand. He had an old lady and refused to leave her, even though they never shared a bed. Hell, they hardly even talked.
He said he didn’t want to put his kids through a divorce. It didn’t seem to matter that his kids were grown, and his old lady spent most of her time with her lover. Even as time passed, he never mentioned cutting Lauren loose. Nothing mattered but pretending all was good between the two of them.
When his daughter died, he gave up all pretense of a relationship with Lauren. He hardly ever went home, never even bothered checking in with her. Instead, he started talking about telling his other kids his marriage was over. Even though he never came right out and said it, I assumed he meant to take me as his old lady after cutting Lauren loose.
Then, before that could happened, his wife was in a car accident. She died instantly, and he quit talking about making me his old lady. I didn’t expect him to claim me right away; no way would he trash her memory like that. When he moved me in with him, I figured he would claim me soon after, but I was wrong. He never even mentioned it. Even after all these years, I am no closer to being his than I was the first time we made love.
“Please don’t, Rocky,” I whisper, trying to hide the pain from my voice. “I don’t want to talk about this right now. Just let me enjoy having my friend home.”
He’s quiet for a second, before nodding his head. “Okay, sweet thing. Let’s go grab a beer and catch up.”
I paste on a smile and wrap my arm around his waist. “Let’s skip the beer and grab a bottle of Jack instead.”
As soon as I turn around, my eyes land on Round’s son walking toward us. Smoke is staring at Rocky, a look I can’t quite name on his face. He stops a few feet from us, looking from Rocky to me then back again.
Rocky slings an arm over my shoulders and says, “Hey, VP. My friend and I are gonna go grab a drink. Wanna join us?”
Smoke shakes his head, his dark eyes resting on me. “No, I gotta talk to Dad.”
Feeling the weight of Rocky’s arm, guilt swamps me. I jerk away and mumble, “We were just catching up.”
The words have barely left my mouth, when Smoke’s eyes soften. “I know you were.”
A minute ago, having a drink alone with Rocky seemed completely innocent. Now, it feels totally wrong. It almost seems like I’m betraying Round in some way, like I would be cheating on him. It doesn’t matter that it will be nothing more than two friends catching up; it could look like two old lovers reconnecting.
“Are you sure you don’t want to join us?” I ask, chewing on my bottom lip. “Surely, you have time for a drink.”
“Maybe later.” Smoke shakes his head and smiles. “Go have some fun. You deserve it. When I get done with my shit, I may join you.”
“Are you sure?” I ask, still worrying my lip.
“I’m sure, Lisa.” With that, he walks away.
Before I can even process his words, Rocky grabs my arm and leads me down the hall. “You heard the VP. It’s time to have some fun.”