Maria slipped out of bed too early for me this morning. I’m no good to anyone until my usual gallon of coffee hits my system. I don’t like that sweet and sugary shit, the bitter the better in my opinion. I look over to the bedside table and grab my phone, seeing that it’s past twelve. Fuck. I should’ve been up hours ago. Quickly I scramble, taking a brisk shower and then changing into a pair of jeans that don’t stink and a black tank top. The temperature’s dipped below freezing, but Even though it’s freezing out, I don’t find that I’m too cold. I slide my cut over my tank as I step out into the cold. Minutes late, I walk into the club, scanning for one woman in particular.

She may think that she’s the greatest at hiding things, but she isn’t. I don’t press her, though. Every one of us has our own demons and I firmly believe that in our own time we’ll talk about our shit. Maria’s told me a bit, and I get the gist of it all, but I don’t ask questions. She’ll tell me, if she wants to tell me, whenever the hell she’s ready. I was pushed way too much as a kid to talk about shit and a lot of good that did me. It only made me quieter, more reserved. Hell, maybe it even turned me into the notorious asshole I am today gives a damn.

“Chaos,” Maria greets, with the faintest hint of wickedness in her tone.

She is seated on the bar. Not at the bar, on it. I shake my head and chuckle, never quite understanding why she loves to sit on counters. Maybe it’s a chick thing, or maybe it’s just her nature. She’s stuffing a sandwich in her mouth as I walk over to her, and wrap my arms securely around her.

“Taquita” I respond back, pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth before grabbing a quick bite of her sandwich.

“Hey! That was mine.” Her eyes narrow with feigned anger.  

“Sharing is caring, baby. I haven’t eaten all day. Don’t want me getting all faint and passing out, do ya?”

Maria places her finger on her chin and taps like she’s thinking about it, “Well, if you pass out then you can’t be a pain in my ass, so maybe it’s better that we don’t feed you.”

I give her a firm spank on the ass, causing her to jolt in my arms. “Dios Mio, why is it always so hot when you do that?” she hums into my ear. I take a glance around the room and see that no one is here. Even if they were it wouldn’t stop me from what I’m about to do.

I unzip my jeans and free my cock, rubbing myself along Maria’s leggings. She spits into her hand and wraps her hand around me, gripping me tight.  as fuck in that way she only knows how to do. I’ve had a lot of hand jobs in my life, but the way Maria handles my cock is unlike anyone before her. Bitch owns every inch of me, and damn well knows it. I hook my thumbs under her leggings and free her trapped pussy from its confines, lining her wet lips up with my cock I plunge myself inside her, reveling in the sound when she screams for me.

If she thought I was gonna go slow today, it isn’t gonna happen. Pain is the soft and sensual bastard, not me. with every thrust and grind I make sure Maria knows who she belongs to and that this perfect body of hers is all mine. I simply share her with Pain, and that might be something I’m reconsidering as I watch her expression soften into a lust-induced haze. She bites her bottom lip as she wraps her hand around my neck and squeezes, both of us wheezing for different reasons.

“Oh fuck!” She screams out, tilting her hips up higher, begging me for more. I slow my pace, teasing her spoiled little pussy, waiting for her to ask like a nice little girl. She rubs her thumb over my Adam’s apple, furrowing her brows together and I know just how close she is to coming undone before my eyes.

“Beg me for it” I direct her, staring into those sinfully dark eyes.

“I don’t beg a man for anything,” she snarls, shifting her hips. Now her eyes aren’t only filled with lust; I can see that she’s pissed off. All the better for me. She’s going to lose her damn mind when I finally let her cum.

The front door to the club opens and I don’t take my eyes off of her, even though she’s looked to see who’s come in. I truly don’t give a damn cause it won’t stop what we’re doing.

I move my right hand to her shoulder, forcing her body to come closer to me. Thrusting myself as hard as I can inside her, I pull myself out of her and do it again, and again until she’s right on the edge, whimpering like my girl should be. I taunt and I tease that pussy of hers until I feel like she’s had enough, and the second her snugness traps my cock I’m releasing at the exact same time she is.

She’s trying to hold back those moans, but she won’t take that away from me. I know her too well, Maria is a creature of habit. Every time she cums she looks right at me, almost like she knows that I silently command it from her. I look at her, and I see every way her beautiful face twists at the pleasure she’s feeling. When I think she’s on the end of it, I place my lips over hers and pound my cock into her a few more times for good measure. She takes her hand from my neck and grabs ahold of my cut, pulling me closer to her. I bring her against me, tapping her legs so she wraps her legs around my torso. She buries her head against my chest and I finally look up to see whoever it is that walked into the club. Trick is smirking like a devil. I’m sure he’s glad to be back home.

Ignoring Trick’s devilish grin, I rise up and take Maria back to the bedroom, slipping underneath the covers with her securely in my arms. I know I have shit to do, but fuck it all. The only place I need to be right now is nestled with her, holding her against me, showing her that she’s safe.

A few hours pass while we lay like this, Maria’s arm snug across my torso, her body pressed up against me. “Why didn’t he think it was important to tell me what’s going on?” It’s barely a whisper, but I hear it clear as day.

“You want honesty, or for me to just tell you something that might or might not make you feel better?”

She slams me with a pillow. Honesty it is.

“If any of us had said a thing to you...you would’ve reacted immediately. We all know you would have. I know you better than your anger, Taquita. Not only would you have been furious and maybe done something stupid but you sure as hell would’ve been terrified too. I just like seeing you happy and didn’t wanna take that shit away from you”

“I needed to know about all of this, do none of you see that?” Her words hit home with me. I get why she thinks that she needed to know, but we were handling it. We are handling it. There was no sense in Kyle blowing shit up the way he did. “I feel like I will never be in control of my own life, no matter the fact that my past is behind me. I won’t ever truly be rid of the Cartel or the things they have done”

“You will, baby. We just gotta take it one day at a time. You’ve been free since the moment you were here. Don’t you see that?”

“Free is an interesting word. Free, yet trapped. Free, yet not being allowed to do most of the things you want. And now I truly understand why I’ve seen so many brothers around me these last few weeks. They all knew, didn’t they?”

I nod, running my hand along her side, trying to soothe her as much as I can.

“I miss my family,” she admits quietly, her eyes filling with tears. “I miss my Padre and Camila. I miss them so much, Chaos. All of the time, I just miss them and wonder if it will ever stop. Will I ever stop hurting?”

Fuck. I know that I’m not supposed to say a thing about Camila. Reed told me I couldn’t. But He doesn’t see the pain in her eyes, or the way she cries in the middle of the night. He doesn’t have a front row seat to the nightmares that make her thrash in the sheets, or a seat beside her when she drowns her pain in the bottle.

Fuck what Reed said.

“Camila is safe, and I’ll find a way for you to talk to her. I promise”