Rough & Rugged (Notorious Devils Book 3) (26 page)

“They seem nice,” I say as I start to gather my things out of my bag for a shower. After one of Johnny’s smoke breaks, he must have brought my bags up to his room, and I’m so grateful.

“They are nice. I went to high school with the both of them, but if you don’t want to go and hang with them, it’s cool, princess,” he mutters.

“Why wouldn’t I? They’re your friends, and they’re the wives of your friends,” I say as I stand from my bag, with all of my bathroom things in my arms.

“Because you might not like what you find out from them, okay?” he all but shouts.

“You’re going to need to explain that to me.”

“I fucked Brentlee back in the day, in high school,” he says as his eyes stay completely focused on me.

I nod, unsure of what to say. Am I supposed to be angry? I mean, I had sex with my boyfriends in high school, and he’s had sex with a lot of other women, why should this be upsetting?

“Do you still have feelings for her?” I ask curiously.

“Didn’t have feelings for her back in high school, and I still don’t.”

“Then why do I care that you had sex with her? Unless you’re going to be fantasizing about her or trying to get back with her, why does it matter?” I ask, looking straight into his eyes.

“Because you’ll be seeing her and maybe becoming friends,” he says. I nod slowly and think about his words before I speak.

“Does the fact that you had sex with Brentlee affect your relationship with her husband?” I ask.

“It did at one point, but not now,” he admits.

“If her husband is okay with it, then I think I can be, too. I mean, unless she’s going to go into detail about your dick and your skills, I think I can cope.”

Johnny stares at me for a second before he bursts out laughing and wraps his arms around me, pulling me into a hug.

“No, I don’t think she’ll go into detail about that. It’s been so long, she probably doesn’t even remember,” he murmurs into the top of my hair.

I roll my eyes but don’t respond.

Of course she remembers.

I imagine any woman who has had Johnny inside of her remembers
exactly
how it feels. I don’t say that, though. There’s no reason to beat a dead horse about it. So he had sex with her when they were in high school—it was years ago, and now he’s mine. Plus, she’s married and has two children. It’s not like she’s going to be knocking on his door looking for more. I’ve seen her husband. The man is scary frightening and gigantic. I venture to guess he’s got more than enough for her to handle that she’ll
never
have to go anywhere else.

Johnny walks me to the showers and I quickly wash my body and my hair of the sweat, sex, and grime of the past twenty-four hours. Once I’m clean, he walks me back to the bedroom and I change into a pair of leggings and an oversized sweatshirt.

“You cold?” Johnny asks as I throw my wet hair up in a messy bun before slipping my boots on.

“Freezing,” I admit. “I’m always cold,” I shrug.

“Let’s get you to the common room before I decide to warm you myself up here,” he grins. I laugh as he wraps his hand around my waist and pulls me into his side.

“Did I tell you how happy I am with you?” I ask as we begin to walk toward the kitchen.

“I’m happy, too, Hattie. For the first time ever,” he confesses.

I don’t get to delve any deeper into his statement before we’re at the kitchen door. Johnny leaves me with a kiss that only brushes my lips, and I watch him walk over to Brentlee and Kentlee’s husbands, who are sitting on a sofa with a few kids around them.

I watch as he bends down and picks up a little girl who looks to be around five, and I watch as she giggles before she wraps her tiny arms around his neck and gives him a tight hug. He looks so happy holding her.

“He needs one,” a voice behind me says. I turn around and see Kentlee peaking her head out of the kitchen doorway.

“A daughter?” I ask.

“A whole house full of them. You know I’ve only ever seen him truly smile when he’s around a baby and now you,” she says as her eyes stay glued to Johnny and the little girl.

“He told me he wanted children eventually,” I say as I turn from the beautiful sight of Johnny holding and laughing with a child.

“I don’t think he’ll wait too long, and you’re young,” she murmurs.

“I am,” I nod, unsure of what she’s getting at.

“Make sure he’s what you want, that a family is what you want, because once you’re completely his, he won’t let you go. And you’re so young, I wouldn’t want you to have any regrets,” she says.

I know that Kentlee is trying to be helpful. I
am
young. I’m not even twenty years old yet. But I also know what I want, what I’ve always wanted, and that’s Johnny. For years, I’ve lived my life but I haven’t been
living
, not fully. I’ve been searching and he’s always been in the back of my mind. Now that I have him, I’ll never let him go. I feel as though I’m finally alive. He does that to me, and for me—makes me feel and makes me happy.

“I’m not going anywhere, and when he wants a baby, then I’ll give that to him as long as I’m physically able to do so,” I say with a smile.

“I didn’t mean to offend you,” Kentlee says. I see the panic cross over her face.

“You haven’t offended me. I completely understand your concerns. Johnny is your friend and you have a right to be concerned. I’m only nineteen, but he’s the one for me. I’ve known it for three years now. I want to make him happy, and I already know that having a family is something he desires. We’ve talked about it,” I grin, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze.

“Okay, then. Good. Great,” she says with a nod.

“Let’s get these people fed,” Brentlee calls out.

I turn to her and see that she’s been in the room the entire time, but didn’t interject in our conversation. I need to let her know that I already know about her past with Johnny and that I’m okay with it. I make my way over to her and ask her if she needs help. She gives me a few tomatoes and I help slice them for the sandwich bar we’re making.

“I know, by the way,” I say quietly so that nobody else can hear. The room is now filled with a few other women.

“About?” she asks nervously.

“That you and Johnny were together in high school. He told me,” I admit as I slice the last tomato in my pile.

“It was so long ago, I hope that we can be friends,” she murmurs. I turn to her and give her a brief hug.

“Of course we can. High school wasn’t yesterday, and you’re obviously happily married,” I grin.

“It was only a few times with Johnny, and I was fifteen, and it was just a bad time in my life,” she says. I shake my head and tilt it to the side.

“No need to explain, Brentlee. It’s the past. If your husband can be friends with Johnny, then there’s no reason at all that we can’t be friends too.”

“You’re not like me when I was nineteen, that’s for sure,” she mutters.

“Why’s that?” I chuckle.

“You’re mature. I understand why Johnny is drawn to you. I mean, not that he’s Yoda or anything, but you aren’t like most nineteen-year-old girls. I don’t know, I just, I like you for him,” she says.

I don’t reply to her words because they don’t call for a response. Nevertheless, I think about them as I get back to helping with lunch. My entire life, I have been held to a standard by my family. Studying and school was so very important, and I spent most of my free time doing just that.

My only rebellion was being friends with Willa and whatever trouble she got us into. Then my
big
rebellion came when I refused college. Maybe that’s what makes me more mature than a regular nineteen-year-old. I didn’t buckle. I mean, I went back with my tail between my legs, but I wouldn’t have had I not lost my job.

I know how to take care of myself and how to live on my own. I think Johnny’s been doing that for a while, too. Though he won’t talk about his childhood, I know it had to have been horrible.

I stand by my earlier thoughts of wanting to make him happy. He’s willing to help me with my dessert bar; he’s even going as far as to say he’ll support it and support me. It means so much to me, and I want him to feel just as happy as I do.

I want to make him as happy as he’s making me.

Whatever it takes, whatever he wants, it’s his.

Maybe I’m being naïve. Maybe I’m being stupid and jumping into this with him far too quickly.

Maybe I don’t care and I just want this feeling to last.

Only time will tell.

“S
o is lockdown over?” Vault asks before the doors are even completely closed.

Church
.

I don’t want to be here, not when I can be inside of Hattie. I can still smell her on me, and it makes my dick twitch beneath my jeans.
Fuck
, I’m going to wear it out at this point. I don’t even give a shit. She’s so soft and warm, and when I’m inside her, the way she looks at me—fuck, it makes me
feel
. I don’t know if I like it or I hate it, but damn, I’ve never
felt
like I do when I’m buried inside of her.

“It all went down too easy,” Fury murmurs. The room fills with grunts of agreement and I nod.

“What’d the other fuckers say?” Vault asks, arching a brow.

“Nothing yet. We’re going to find out more after lunch,” Drifter grins.

“I say we stay on lockdown until we figure out exactly what the fuck we’re dealing with. I’m not about to send my Rosie back home without knowing she’s safe, one hundred percent,” Vault announces.

“I agree,” I add.

All eyes turn to me and every man in the room nods or lifts his chin in agreement. Church is on hold until we figure out exactly what’s happening, until we figure out what the fucking
Cartel
and the
Bastards
have planned.

Nobody is under any illusion that these were the only men involved. This is just the tip of the iceberg, and probably nothing but a distraction.

“Dirty,” Fury calls after the men file out of the room. I walk over to him and wait for him to continue.

“That cop brother of hers gonna be an issue?” he asks.

“Probably.”

“As soon as the lockdown is lifted, she’s out,” he warns.

I can feel the anger rising throughout my body at his order. Hattie can’t help who her brother is, who her family is. It’s not her fuckin’ fault, and I hate that he’s even mentioned it to me. But I tamp that shit down before I reply.

“Yeah, I’m gonna be getting us a house to rent and moving her there,” I say.

“Just making sure. I don’t need him breathin’ down our necks,” he murmurs.

“You think I don’t give a shit about the club? That I’d let that douchebag cause any problems on purpose?” I ask as the anger flows through me.

“No, I don’t think you’d do it on purpose, but I think that he’s already showed here once in uniform with his side-kicks. I don’t want it to happen again, and the longer she stays here, the higher the chance. We’ve got three guys fuckin’ hangin’ by hooks in our shed. How the fuck will we explain that shit if they start poking their noses around? Use your fuckin’ head and stop tryin’ to think with your dick,” Fury barks.

I plant my legs wide and put my fists on my hips.
Fuck, he’s right
. I hate it that he is, but he is.

“Let’s get the information we need from these assholes and then move the fuck on,” I suggest before I turn to walk away.

“Sounds good. And Dirty?” Fury says.

I stop and face him, curious as to what the hell else he can add.

“For what it’s worth, I still like her. I like her for you, and I like her as an addition to the circle of Old Ladies. It’s just her brother I don’t care for. Once the dust has settled, I think it’s all going to work out just fine,” he murmurs.

I don’t respond to his words. I believe them and take them at face value. It’s nothing against Hattie, but her brother does bring an element of possible trouble, especially since he fucking despises me. He’ll never like me, but hopefully he doesn’t try at every turn to get me locked up. If he thinks a cell will keep me from Hattie, he’s fucking mistaken. She’s mine, and I’ll bind her to me. I’ll breed her before he can fucking
blink
.

Once I’m in the common bar area, my eyes scan the people in search of Hattie. She’s standing next to Brentlee and she’s laughing. It’s not a fake smile that’s on her face; it’s real, and she’s holding her stomach in an effort to contain herself.