Chapter One
Chas
Chas woke to the soft rattle of the wind against the bedroom windows. From the dimness of the outside light, he figured it would be another gray, wintry day. He draped his arm around Addie as she slept and pressed himself closer to her back. His dick was hard and his hand slipped easily under her fleece nightshirt. Visions of them kissing, touching, and loving each other the night before made his dick ache more.
“Are you asleep?” he asked as he flicked his fingertip over her nipple, satisfaction coursing through him as it hardened under his touch.
“Mmmm… I was,” she said in a sleepy voice.
“I need you, precious,” he murmured against her neck as he nipped at it.
“What time is it?”
“Early. We got time before the kids wake up.” He ran his hand down past her belly. “Open your legs.”
She reached behind her and curled her fingers around his hardness. With a smile in her voice, she said, “You’re always ready.”
“That’s because you drive me crazy all the time.” He raised her top leg, then shifted his lower body into a half-kneeling position, entering her from behind. As he moved he played with her tits and nipples, then slipped his hand down to rub her nub while he buried his cock deeper into her. As he held her tighter, he kept his hands busy, touching and caressing her, and when she reached behind and fondled his balls, he thought he would lose it.
“That feels real good, babe,” he said hoarsely as he plunged deep into her, hitting her in the spot she loved the most.
“Oh shit. Don’t stop. Keep doing what you’re doing,” she said between pants.
As he thrust harder, she moved her hand to his ass and dug her nails into his cheek. “Yes, that feels so good,” she groaned. Then she gasped and her hand flew to her mouth as if to stifle her scream. Low, guttural sounds came from her throat, making the pressure that had been building deep inside him explode and rush to a single point of exit. Grunting as he filled her, he squeezed her tits and then fell back with his arms wrapped snugly around her. She placed her hands on top of his and he drifted off to sleep.
A soft rapping on the door woke him up, and before he could say anything, Jack opened it.
“I don’t feel so good,” he said as he walked into the bedroom.
Pulling away from Chas, Addie got out of bed and went over to him. “What’s wrong, honey?” she asked as she placed her hand on his forehead. “You don’t feel warm.”
“So what? I still don’t feel good.”
“Hey, watch your mouth,” Chas said as he grabbed a long-sleeved T-shirt from the nightstand drawer and slipped it over his head.
“Are you sure you’re not feeling well, or you just don’t want to go to school?” Addie put her arm around Jack’s shoulder but he shrugged it off.
“I’m sick! Why’re you giving me the fucking third degree?” Jack stormed out of the room and Addie stood still, her hand over her mouth.
“Get your butt back in here and apologize to your mom!” Chas’s blood pressure spiked as he quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and started after Jack, but Addie pulled him back. “What the fuck? I’m not letting him get away with talking to you that way.”
Addie shook her head. “Listen to the way you cuss. He’s learning from you. Besides, I think something’s bothering him.”
“I can tell you that I never spoke to my mom the way he just did to you, and my dad cussed up a storm when I was growing up. Respect dictates the way you speak to your parents. We aren’t his goddamn friends. I’m not letting him get away with that.”
“Chas, wait. I think he’s having a problem at school. This is the fourth time in two weeks he’s said he’s too sick to go.”
Chas stopped dead in his tracks and his body tensed as his mouth went dry. Someone’s messin’ with Jack. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
Addie placed two hands on his shoulders and softly kissed the side of his face. “I wasn’t sure if it was a problem or not. There’s been a lot of colds and flu going around the school.”
“This doesn’t have anything to do with that. I’m gonna talk to him.”
“Be gentle. Jack’s a sensitive boy. I better get Hope ready for school. I can only imagine what she’s picked out to wear.” Addie laughed and went into her room just as Chas rapped on Jack’s door.
“I’m trying to rest,” Jack said through the door.
“Open the door or I’ll break it down,” Chas answered. In less than ten seconds, he heard the door unlock. He turned the knob and walked into Jack’s room, making sure to close the door behind him.
“I know I was rude to Mom. I’ll go and apologize,” he mumbled as he sat on the edge of the bed with his head down.
“Yeah, you were. I don’t ever wanna hear you speak to your mom like that again. I don’t give a damn if you’re fifty years old, you’ll always be respectful to your mom. You got that?”
Jack nodded but his gaze was still focused on the floor. Chas sat next to him on the bed. “You wanna tell me what’s going on with you and school?”
Jack wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “Nothing.”
“Then why have you been BSing about not feeling good the last couple of weeks?”
His thin shoulders went up and down. “I guess ’cause I don’t.”
“Do you need to go to the doctor?”
“Maybe.”
“Is someone messin’ with you at school?”
Jack whipped his head up and stared into Chas’s eyes. “No. Why did you ask me that?”
“Just got a vibe that may be the problem. You can tell me.”
Shaking his head vigorously, Jack pushed up from the bed and went to the window. “It’s not that. I just don’t feel good. My stomach’s queasy and I feel kinda dizzy.”
Chas stared at his back, his insides twisting. He saw Jack was afraid, so he didn’t want to push him. Some punk is making his life miserable. The urge to go to school, find out who it was, and teach the brat a lesson was strong, but he wouldn’t do it. Jack had to learn to fight his own battles, but he could help his son be better prepared for the assholes who were going to be a constant in his life.
Jack looked over his shoulder, the color drained out of his face. “Are you gonna make me go to school?”
Chas’s heart lurched, and he slowly shook his head. “No. If you don’t feel good, then you shouldn’t be at school.” The relief that spread over his twelve-year-old son’s face pained him. “When you get to feeling better, what would you say to me teaching you how to fight? You’re at the age where you should know this stuff.”
Jack’s eyes widened. “Would you? That’d be real cool, Dad.”
“If you’re better by the weekend, I’ll show you some moves.”
The color returned to Jack’s face as he pulled out a chair and plopped down on it. “I’m sure I’ll be better by the weekend.”
“Good. Take it easy today. I’m gonna take your sister to school. Be good to your mom. I don’t want her to tell me you were rude to her. And make sure you tell her you’re sorry. She was hurt by what you said to her.”
“I didn’t mean it. Honest.”
Chas stood up. “I know, but words can really hurt, so you gotta be sure you watch what you say. And no video games for the rest of the week.”
“Come on, Dad.”
“If you argue about it, I’ll make it two weeks. It’s your call.”
Jack grumbled something under his breath as Chas picked up a basket full of controllers. “You want some breakfast?” Jack shook his head without looking at him. “Okay. Probably a good decision since your stomach’s hurting. But if you start feeling better, let your mom know and she’ll fix you something. I gotta go.” With the basket in his hands, he walked out of the room just as Hope came dashing down the hall.
“Daddy!” she said, then giggled as he swooped her up with one arm.
“Where’re you going dressed so pretty?”
“School. You know that.” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “You smell good.”
He laughed. “I’ll take her to school. Jack may want something to eat after I leave,” he said to Addie as he handed her the controllers. “I took away video games for the next four days.”
“Don’t you think that’s too harsh?”
“Hell no. If I would’ve spoken to my mom like that, my dad would’ve grounded me for two weeks and had me on pots and pans duty for a month, so he got off pretty easy.”
“Well, I think a couple of days would’ve been enough. With a huge snowstorm in the forecast, it’s going to be a long weekend for him,” Addie said as she grabbed the basket from his hand.
“I’ll keep him busy. Besides, he doesn’t have to be in front of a screen all day. There’s plenty to do.”
“Maybe we can ask Banger to bring Ethan over for the weekend.”
Chas shook his head and then pressed his lips on hers. “Sort of fucks up the punishment if he gets a sleepover, precious,” he said against her mouth. Hope squirmed in his arm and he pulled away. “Is cereal good for her breakfast?”
“Yes. The Cream of Wheat’s on the stove. Just give her half a cup with a splash of milk and a little bit of banana in it. I’ll be down in a minute.”
After Hope ate a few bites of her hot cereal and drank some of her juice, she was ready to go to school. As he was putting on her jacket, his phone rang. Glancing down, he saw Banger’s name light up on the screen.
“Hold on, honey.” He placed the phone to his ear. “What’s up?” he asked.
“I’m just letting everyone know that we have an emergency church this morning at ten thirty.”
“I’ll be there. I just need to drop Hope off at preschool, and then I’ll come to the club and hang until church. Uh… has Ethan mentioned anything about Jack getting picked on at school?”
“No, but that don’t mean shit with kids. So your boy’s getting bullied?”
“I think so. I mean, the signs are there, especially making excuses not to go to school. I just wondered if Ethan said anything. Can you ask him?”
“I’ll talk to him and let you know. What’re you going to do about it?”
“Teach Jack to beat the shit out of the brat.”
Banger’s laugh rumbled through the phone. “Sounds like the best plan. They gotta learn now so they can hold their own later in life. I taught Ethan some stuff and it made him feel a whole lot more confident. It’s about time your boy learned to defend himself.”
“My thinking exactly, although I know Addie would fuckin’ freak out if she knew about it.”
“Women are like that. They don’t need to know everything that goes on. I’ll see you later at church.”
Chas slipped the phone into his pocket and shrugged on his leather jacket. “Come on, Hope, we gotta get going.” Hope walked behind him as he made his way to the garage.
“Who were you talking to?” Addie asked as she came into the kitchen.
“Banger. The club’s got an emergency church this morning.”
“Sounds serious. What do you think it’s about?”
He stopped and kissed her on the cheek. “Good one, but I’m not divulging shit.” Hope tilted her chin up when Addie bent down to kiss her goodbye. “I’ll see you later tonight.” He grasped Hope’s hand and went into the garage.
In less than thirty minutes, he walked into the clubhouse, greeting the brothers as he took a seat at one of the tables. After he’d dropped Hope off at school, he thought about Jack the whole time he drove to the club. Just the thought of someone hitting his kid made his blood boil. He’d spend the weekend teaching Jack to defend himself, and if that didn’t solve the problem, then he’d intervene.
There was no way in hell he was allowing this shit to continue. The faculty at the school seemed to be turning a blind eye to the problem, so he’d have to take matters into his own hands.
This shit stops now.