Ren

 

“You need to slow down.”

I glared at Jack and deliberately tipped the shot of whiskey down my throat.  It burned its way down my esophagus before joining the first two shots in my stomach.

He rolled his eyes and put his feet up on my worn coffee table before taking a drink of beer.  “Don’t give me that look.  Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit.  You’re supposed to be at work but you’re home, sitting in the dark and getting drunk.”

“I just wanted a night off.  What’s the big deal?”

“You never just take a night off.  Stop being a dick and tell me what the fuck is wrong.”

“How did you even know I was home and not at work?”

“Jesus, the whiskey is making you stupid.”  Jack took another drink of beer.  “Lily and I stopped in at the bar for a drink.  You weren’t there, I got worried.”

“Now who’s the bullshitter?”  I stared at the whiskey bottle, contemplating whether I should pour myself another shot.

“Fine.  That waitress, the one who’s fucking Jacob Marken, what’s her name again?”

“Madison.”

“Right.  She told me you and Rachel had a fight, and you didn’t come in to work.”

“I’m firing her for telling you that.”

Jack laughed.  “Yeah, right.  You’re so fucking soft-hearted, it makes me cringe.  How the fuck we’re even friends, I’ll never know.”

“You are an asshole.”

“Don’t I know it.” Jack raised his beer to me.  “But I’m the asshole who’s always had your back, so tell me what the fuck you fought with Rachel about.  And Jesus, have you even fucked her yet? Tell me you have or I’m taking your goddamn man card away.”

“We were together last night,” I admitted.

“So, what?  Your little pecker wasn’t enough for her and she got pissed?”  He gave me a good-spirited grin.  “Don’t feel bad.  Not everyone can have a monster dick like ‘ole Jack.”

He grabbed his crotch and despite how miserable I was, I couldn’t help but grin.  “You’re such an asshole.”

“Yep.”

I stared at the bottle of whiskey again.  “It was good.  Really good, you know?  She might have been a virgin, but she was so…she was incredible.”

Fuck, I sounded like an idiot, but I didn’t know how else to explain it.  After the third round of sex, Rachel had fallen sound asleep, but I had stayed awake like a love-struck fool and just stared at her.  I was falling for her, and falling goddam hard, and I had no idea how to stop it.

I didn’t want to stop it.

I wanted Rachel.  I loved Rachel.

I cleared my throat.  “Anyway, it was really good and the next morning I ran her a bath and cooked her breakfast and -”

Jack laughed and held out his beer bottle to me again.  “Pussy-whipped already.”

I glared at him, but he gave me another good-natured grin. “Hey, welcome to the club.  The other day, I fucking went clothes shopping with Lily.  Held her goddamn purse and everything.”

I laughed, and Jack shrugged.  “It feels good to do something for the woman you love.  Doesn’t it?”

I nodded.  “I love her, Jack.  I do.”

“Yeah, that’s been fucking obvious for the last three years.  So, what happened?”

“Her mother stopped by and told her I’d been in prison.”

“Shit.  How the fuck did she find out?”

I shrugged.  “I’m sure it wasn’t difficult.  There were articles in the newspaper and online about it.  The cops had been trying to bust Tony for a long time, so it was a big deal when they did.”

“You were pretty low down on the chain,” Jack said.  “For fuck’s sake, you only did four years.”

“Yeah, but I’m sure my name was mentioned in at least one article.”  I reached for the bottle of whiskey and poured a shot.  I stared at the amber liquid.  “Anyway, Rachel’s mother found out I was an ex-convict and she told Rachel.”

“What did Rachel say?”

“She wanted to know if it was true and I said yes.”

“Then what?”

“I left.”

“What?”

“I left.”  I studied Jack over the shot of whiskey. 

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why?  You really think Rachel’s gonna want to be with me after this?  The look on her face…”

“What about it?”

“She was shocked and upset.”

“Angry?”

I just shrugged.  Truthfully, I had no idea if she’d been angry or not.  My own anger at Rachel’s mother, my shame at Rachel finding out what a fuck-up I was, had made my memory of Rachel’s reaction a little fuzzy.

Or maybe that was the whiskey.

The doorbell rang as I lifted the shot to my lips.  Jack glanced at my front door.  “Expecting someone?”

I shook my head.  “Ignore it.”

“You don’t need that shot,” Jack said as he stood up.

Maybe I didn’t need it but I sure as fuck wanted it.  “Don’t answer it,” I said when the doorbell rang again.

Jack flipped me the bird and crossed the room to the door.  I pressed the glass to my lips and then spit whiskey all over the coffee table when Jack opened the door and I saw Rachel’s sweet face.  I wiped my mouth, jumping to my feet, as Jack grinned at her.

“Hey, Rachel.”

“Um, hi.”  She gave him a nervous look.  “You’re, uh, Jack, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I was looking for Ren.  Is he home?”

“He’s right here.  Come on in.”  Jack stepped back and grinned at me.  I swallowed as Rachel stepped into my house.  I had the immediate urge to pick her up and carry her directly to my bedroom.  How many times had I fantasized about this moment?  About having her in my bed, her scent in my sheets?

My cock hardened, and I wiped my mouth again as Rachel gave me a small smile.

“Hi, Ren.”

“Hey.”

She chewed on her bottom lip before glancing at Jack.  “I just stopped in to, um… that is, if you’re busy…”

“He’s not.  I was just leaving.”  Jack opened the door and before I could stop him, he was gone.

“Um, hi,” Rachel said.  She stared at my small living room.  “I like your place.”

“It’s not as nice as your place.”

“No, it’s nice.  Really nice.” 

I just shrugged and stared at the puddle of whiskey on my coffee table.  “You want something to drink?”

“No thank you.”

“Why aren’t you at work?”

“I worked until six and then asked Barb if I could leave early.  Why aren’t you at work?  Madison texted me and said you didn’t come in.”

“I didn’t feel like going in,” I said.

“May I sit down?”

I shrugged again.  “If you want.”

I expected her to sit in the armchair.  When she joined me on the small couch, sitting right next to me, the heat of her thigh against mine made me panic.  I tried to move away, and she put one hand on my thigh.

I groaned, I couldn’t help it.  Just being near her had me so fucking horny, I couldn’t think straight.

“Ren, look at me.”

I didn’t want to, but I forced my gaze to hers.  There was heat in it and my balls tightened when her hand rose higher on my thigh.  “Do you know why I’m here?”

I shook my head.  I was mesmerized by the curve of her lower lip, the tip of her tongue as it darted out to wet the upper one.

“I’m here because I never did get to thank you for making me breakfast this morning.  I’m here to suck your cock.”

“What?”  My voice was full of hoarse disbelief.  “What did you say?”

She smiled, showing her even white teeth before wetting her lower lip this time.  “Please let me suck your cock, Ren.”

Her soft hand covered my crotch and I hissed out a breath when she rubbed my erection.  She leaned in to kiss me and I pulled away, grabbing her hand and yanking it off my dick.  “Stop.”

“You don’t want me anymore?”

I hated the hurt I could hear in her voice. “No.  God, no, that’s not it.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

I stared at her in disbelief.  What the hell was happening?

“Let me suck your cock, Ren,” she repeated.  My cock surged against my jeans and I winced at the pressure.

“What are you doing, Rachel?”

“I think I’ve made it perfectly clear.”

“We can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because!”

“Because, why?”

Her voice was relentless.  Just like her hand sliding up toward my cock.

“Rachel, please.”

Something in my voice must have upset her, because she pulled her hand away and crossed her arms over her torso as she blinked back tears.  “I’m sorry about what happened with my mother.  I took back her key so that won’t happen again.  If you would give me another chance, I swear we won’t keep getting interrupted by her.  In fact, I’m not even talking -”

“Rach,” I took her arms and gave her a gentle shake, “this has nothing to do with your mother interrupting us and everything to do with the fact that I’m an ex-convict.”

“Oh thank God,” she said.

I blinked at her.  “Thank God?”

“I thought you were rejecting me because we keep getting interrupted by my mother, like I’m a stupid teenage girl, not because of the convict thing.”

“The convict thing?  Rachel, I was in prison.  Do you understand that?”

“Yes.”  She gave me a miffed look.  “I’m not an idiot, Ren.”

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“Why?  Because you’re an ex-convict?”

“Yes!”

She rolled her eyes.  “I don’t care about your past.”

“What?”

I knew my mouth had dropped open and I shut it with a snap when Rachel giggled and said, “Close your mouth, Ren, you’re gonna catch flies.”

She took my hand and squeezed it.  “That’s something my Dad used to say.  Honestly, I don’t remember him very well anymore.  I was eight when he left, but my mother burned all of his pictures and my memories of him have grown increasingly fuzzy over the years.  It makes me feel bad, you know?  That I can’t even remember his face.  Sometimes I remember the sound of his voice, but even that’s fading.”

She gave me a sad smile.  “I don’t care what my mother says, it isn’t my fault.”

“What isn’t your fault?”

“It doesn’t matter.  Just like your past doesn’t matter.”

She took my hands and tugged on them. “Come on.  Take me to your bedroom.”

“Rach, no, I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“I’m not good enough for you.”

“Bullshit.”  She squeezed my hands again.  “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Ren Parker, and I’m not letting you go this easy.  I don’t care that you’ve been in prison.  Do you care that I stole a tube of mascara from the Walgreens when I was fifteen?”

“It’s not the same.”

She just shrugged and now it was my turn to squeeze her hands.  “Don’t you even want to know what I did, or did your mother tell you?”

“She didn’t tell me.  She tried to, and I wouldn’t let her.”

“Why?”

“Because it isn’t any of my business.”

I studied her for a moment.  “I want you to know.”

“Then tell me,” she said simply.

I tried to pull my hands away and she shook her head.  “No.  Don’t pull away already.  Just tell me, honey.”

I took a deep breath and stared at her sweet face.  “I was raised by my aunt and uncle.  My mother was a single mom, and she got into drugs and died of an overdose when I was ten.  Her sister took me in, but her husband was a drunk.  He beat my aunt, my cousin, and me whenever he got drunk, which was often.”

“Oh honey.”  She leaned forward and hugged me before I could stop her.

I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face in her throat as she stroked my back.  After a few minutes, we broke apart but when she leaned against me, I didn’t stop her.  Her hair was braided, and I touched the thick plait as she wrapped her arm around my waist and rested her cheek against my chest.

“I ran away when I was sixteen.  Three weeks later, my uncle was drunk and downstairs in the basement.  My aunt and my cousin were upstairs in bed.  My uncle passed out while smoking and the house caught on fire.  They all died.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said again.

I kissed the top of her head.  “I lived on the streets until I was nineteen and got arrested for grand theft auto.”

She lifted her head and stared at me.  Feeling sick to my stomach, I said, “I was working for this guy named Tony, jacking cars and bringing them back to his shop.  I knew it was wrong, but I needed the money, and there was a part of me that didn’t care.  I was… angry and bitter at the world.”

“I’m not surprised,” she said before squeezing me.  “You didn’t have a good life, Ren.”

“Anyway, Tony ran the biggest car jacking ring in the city and the cops had been after him for a while.  Eventually, his time ran out and he, as well as a bunch of his employees, myself included, were arrested.  Because I was only nineteen, the judge was lenient.  I got four to seven years with the chance of parole.”

She petted my chest through my shirt.  “How horrible was it in prison?”

“It wasn’t great, but I got my GED while I was in there and stayed out of trouble.  After four years, I was granted parole.  My parole officer was, well, he was actually a pretty good guy, and he helped me out a lot.  He found me a place to stay and was okay with it when I got a job as a bouncer at a bar.  A lot of parole officers don’t like that shit.  They want you to get a job in an office or at a fucking car dealership or something.  Anyway, the owner of the bar liked me and after about three months, he stuck me behind the bar and taught me how to be a bartender.”

“Do you like being a bartender?”  She asked.

“I do.  I like owning my own bar.  Anyway, after a year, I wanted a fresh start, wanted to get out of the city, you know?  So, I talked to my parole officer and got his permission to move.  I moved here and worked construction for a few years before Jack helped me get the loan to open my bar.”

“Are you still on parole?”

I shook my head.  “No, it’s done.  Rach, I never did anything violent.  I swear.  I got in a few fights here and there, but I -”

She sat up and cupped my face.  “You’re a good man, Ren Parker.  That’s more than obvious.  I’m not afraid of you and I know you’re not violent.  You’re the sweetest man I know.”

“What about your mother?”

“I’m not talking to her anymore.”

“I can’t be the person who comes between you and your mom.  I won’t -”

“You’re not.  I don’t want to go into detail right now, but I promise to give you the whole sordid story soon,” she said.  “My Mom is…well, let’s just say I’m cutting her out of my life for me, not you.”

“Are you sure?”

“God, yes.”  She gave me a mock look of annoyance.  “It’s not all about you, Ren Parker.  I have my own baggage, you know.”

I smiled a little before sobering.  “I’m not good enough for you.”

Her forehead wrinkled, and her hands squeezed my face.  “Say that again to me and I swear I’ll make you eat my pussy a thousand times before I suck your dick once.”

I laughed, I couldn’t help it, and she beamed at me before standing up.  “C’mon, handsome.  Let’s go to your bedroom.”

“Rachel, we should talk some more.”

“No, we’ve done enough talking for now.  Come to your bedroom and let me suck your dick, Ren.”

I hesitated a moment longer and she tugged on my hands.  “Do I need to get on my knees and beg?”

A slow grin crossed my face.  “If you’re on your knees in front of me, sweetheart, your mouth will be too full to beg.”

“There you are.”  She gave me a cat-like look of satisfaction as I stood and took her hand.

 

* * *

 

“You are so fucking hot, sweetheart.  Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”

I smoothed Rachel’s hair back as she stared up at me.  I had unbraided her hair after we had undressed, and I gathered her long tresses in one hand as I stared down at her.  Fuck.  Rachel, naked and on her knees with my cock in her mouth was the most beautiful goddamn thing I’d ever seen.

“Good, sweetheart.  Suck a little harder.”

She sucked harder, staring up at me as I tugged lightly on her hair to guide her back and forth over my dick.  She had admitted to me that she’d never had a cock in her mouth when we got to the bedroom, but goddamn, her enthusiasm for sucking my dick was overshadowing any of her awkward, not-quite-certain-what-to-do moves.

“That’s good, sweetheart.  Do you like sucking on my cock?”

She nodded, and I made a harsh groan, my hips thrusting forward when she hummed, and her lips vibrated around my aching dick.  I pulled back and she grinned up at me as I wiped away a mixture of my cum and her saliva from her chin.

“I read about doing that in a book.  Did it feel good?”

“So good.”  I hauled her up into a standing position and she pouted at me.

“Why are you making me stop?”

“I need to fuck you right now.”

“Okay.”  She gave me a thumbs-up and hopped onto the bed.

I laughed and stretched out next to her as she studied my dick.  “Can I try being on top?”

I nodded, and she straddled me a bit clumsily.  I groaned when she rubbed her soaking wet pussy against my dick.

She made an unladylike grunt that did nothing to lessen my hard-on for her as she tried to push her pussy onto my dick.  “Ren, help me.  I can’t get it in.”

I winked at her before patting one smooth thigh.  “Lift up a bit.”

She braced her hands on my chest and lifted her lower body.  I grabbed my cock and rubbed the head of it against her clit.

“Oh!  Oh my gosh.  Maybe you should just keep doing that,” she moaned.

I ignored her and guided my dick to her wet, hot hole.  As I pushed the head in, she made a happy little squeal and sank down, taking all of my cock in one hot push.

“Oh!”

“You okay?”  I gave her a worried look and she nodded.

“Yes, you’re just really thick.  I need a minute.”

I tucked my hands under my head and smiled up at her.  “Take all the time you need, sweetheart.”

She traced her fingers over my chest and I bucked a little into her when she pinched my nipple.

“Ooh, that’s nice,” she said.

She braced her hands against my chest again before moving up and down in a slow rhythm.  I began to thrust up in time with her movements and she moaned happily before cupping her own breasts and pinching her nipples.

“Fuck!”  My hands came out from under my head in a hurry and I gripped her hips before fucking her hard and rough.

She squealed and rode my rough movements, squeezing her thighs around my waist like I was a bucking bronco.

“Touch yourself.”  I demanded.

She wet her lips before reaching down and rubbing her clit a bit hesitantly.

“Don’t be shy, sweetheart,” I said.  “Touch it like you want it.”

She giggled but began to rub her clit in a hard circular motion.

“Good,” I said.  I watched her rub her clit as I fucked her, and when after only a few minutes, she began to moan and toss her head back and forth, I didn’t stop her from cumming.  Watching Rachel cum all over my cock was something I would never tire of.  Her moans grew louder, and she shouted my name as her climax rushed through her.  Her body stiffened, her pussy tightened exquisitely around my cock and then milked it with hard, rhythmic pulses as she came.

I cursed and thrust in and out, Rachel’s squeezing wet pussy drawing my own orgasm from me in a hard, roaring rush that took my breath away and made my entire body shake.  I arched into her again and again until I collapsed on the bed, panting harshly.

Rachel rested her head on my chest and I petted her hair as she rubbed my arm.  After a few moments, she eased off of me.  I missed her soft warmth almost immediately and I pulled her close as she snuggled against my side.

“So good,” she whispered.

“Hmm.”

“It’s good for you, right?”  She stared up at me and I kissed her forehead.

“Sweetheart, you have no idea.  I can’t get enough of you.”

“Good.”  She rested against me again.

After a while, I shifted beneath her and she raised her head.  She studied my face and touched my jaw.  “What’s wrong?”

“Why do you want to be with me?”

“Because I love you.”

I sucked in a hard breath.  She had said she loved me in her kitchen, but I didn’t know if she had meant it or was just saying it to piss her mother off.

“Why do you look so surprised?”  She asked.  “I know you heard me say it earlier.”

“I didn’t know if you meant it.”

“Of course I meant it.  I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t.  I know you’re not there yet, and I’m not trying to freak you out or anything, I promise.  I just wanted you to know that I love you.”

“I love you too.”

She sat up and stared at me.  “Did you just say you loved me?”

“Yes.”

“For real?”

“Yes.”

“Like, you’re in love with me, want to be with me, will let me fuck you whenever I want to, love?”

“Yes, yes, and…yes.”

She laughed.  “I knew it.”

“You did not.”

“Did too.  You’re an open book when it comes to your feelings and I, Sir, am a librarian.  I read books for a living.”

I burst into laughter before pulling her down on top of me and kissing her hard on the mouth.  “God, I love you.”

“I love you too, Ren Parker.”

 

* * *

 

Please enjoy an excerpt of “The Welder”, Book Four in the Working Men Series.

 

The Welder is available for preorder .

 

The Welder

(Book Four)

Working Men Series

 

Copyright © 2018 Ramona Gray

 

Luna

 

Now’s your chance, girl.  You have to tell him.

I wanted to ignore my inner voice as the big man approached the counter.  It was strange to see him in the coffee shop at this time.  He always stopped by in the morning, and when I didn’t see him this morning, I had resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn’t see him at all today.

But now, just five minutes before my shift ended, he was walking through the doors.  He was wearing his usual t-shirt and jeans and I admired the broadness of his chest before peeking quickly at his crotch.  Not sure why I looked, but damn if I didn’t every time.  Apparently I was expecting, or maybe hoping, that he would just once have a noticeable woody.

Yeah, because he just can’t control his reaction to you.

I sighed.  Pretending that Asher Stokes was attracted to me was the stupidest thing ever, but damned if I hadn’t been pretending since high school.  He’d never shown a single lick of interest in me though, which made what I was about to tell him a thousand times harder.

You did it to yourself.  This is what you get for lying.

My inner voice wasn’t wrong but, man, did it have to sound so judgmental?

Of course, I didn’t have to tell Asher anything.  I could just admit the truth to my sister when she came to town in minus three days and counting. 

I could look her in the eye and say, “Lydia, I’ve been lying to you for the last eight months.  I am not, in fact, dating Asher Stokes.”

It sounded simple enough in my head, but my entire body cringed at the thought.  The look she would give me, the smug smile, the “Oh, Luna, I knew it all along.  If Asher didn’t want me, he’d never want you.”

She probably wasn’t wrong, but that didn’t mean I wanted to hear it.  I had spent my entire life living in my sister’s shadow, and it had felt so good to finally have something she’d always wanted, but never had.

The fact that it was one giant whopper of a lie that was three days and four hours away from unravelling around me, was small details.  Right?

The giant was standing in front of me now and my body started shaking, just like it always did when he was close.  Not from fear.  Oh no.  Even though he could have crushed me easily with one ham-sized hand, I’d never felt any fear around him. 

Bone-rattling, vein-throbbing, body-shaking, lust? 

Yeah, that I was familiar with.

“Hi, Asher.  Your usual?”  My voice was high-pitched.  I sounded like fucking Minnie Mouse.  Great.

“Hey.  Yeah, the usual.”

“Coming right up!”

His brows drew down and he studied me thoughtfully as he pulled a few bills from his wallet.

Oh fuck.  I was screwing this up royally.

Then don’t talk to him.  Just admit to your sister what you did and be done with it.

“No!”

“I’m sorry?”  Asher gave me another confused look as he held the bills out to me.

Oh God, I’d said it out loud.  I smoothed my shaking hands over my apron, wishing I hadn’t spilled that Frappuccino all over it after lunch.

“Um, nothing,” I said.  I took his money and rang it through before handing him back his change.  My fingers brushed against his rough palm and my shaking increased tenfold.  God, I needed to get control of my own damn body.

I turned away and poured his coffee, venti dark roast, and brought it to the other end of the counter where the man of my fucking dreams was waiting.  I’d left more room than I normally did but I’d had no choice with the way my body was vibrating.  As it was, I still spilled a bit of the hot liquid on his hand when I set the coffee down.

He made a soft hiss and I dabbed at his hand with my fingertips, trying to, I dunno, soak up the hot liquid with my own flesh because that made perfect sense.

“Oh God, I’m so sorry.  Are you okay?”

“Fine.”

I grabbed his hand and studied the top of it.  “Do you need a bandage?  We have a first-aid kit in the back and it has stuff for burns.”

He yanked his hand away.  “It’s fine.  I get burned all the time.”

I blinked at him.  “Oh, uh, right.  Sorry.”

Fuck, I was an idiot.  The man did welding for a living and his hands showed it.  They were marked with small scars from burns that would have hurt a lot worse than some hot coffee.

“Bye.”  He picked up his coffee and turned away.

Shit, he was leaving.  I had to do something, say something – “Asher?”

He turned around and studied me silently.

“Um, do you have a few minutes to talk?  I’m off, uh, now actually, and there’s something I wanted to discuss with you.”

I waited for him to say no, waited for him to make the decision for me about whether I was humiliated in front of my sister or humiliated in front of the man I’d wanted for most of my life.

“Okay.”

“I’m sorry?”  I blinked up at him, certain I had misheard him.  Okay sounded like no in some languages, right?

“I said okay.”  He repeated himself like I was slow and, honestly, I couldn’t blame him.

“Oh, great.  Okay, I just need ten minutes.  Do you mind waiting while I cash out?”

He shook his head and I stumbled back from the counter.  “Okay.  Great.  Okay, I’ll be right back.  Don’t go anywhere!”  I laughed like a drunk donkey having a stroke, and then tripped over the box of coffee that someone – me, it was me – had left by the counter.  I landed hard on my ass and popped back up immediately as my coworker Jeff rolled his eyes and kept on walking.

I resisted the urge to rub my butt as Asher stared at me.  “Sorry.  I’ll, uh, be right back.”

 

* * *

 

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