“Count yourself lucky Ryker was with me, Roc, he thinks this is amusing. I do not.”

Rocky gave him a long, last glare then turned to Josie. “You know how I was telling you the other day that getting back together with Layne was like someone had answered my prayers?” she asked conversationally and Layne’s chest froze.

“Unh-hunh,” Josie answered on a mumble, her eyes darting back and forth between Rocky and Layne.

“Well, I take that back,” Rocky snapped.

Layne looked at his boots as Josie asked, “Do I need to take Rocky into protective custody?”

Layne looked at Josie. “It’d be smart but I’m not gonna let you do it.”

Josie studied Layne awhile then she grinned. “I expect punishment won’t be too harsh.”

She probably wasn’t wrong about that. Probably.

“Anyhoots!” Josie suddenly cried, “I gotta go.” She hitched her purse more firmly on her shoulder. “Even though the operation was a bust, it was fun anyway since The Brendel didn’t hire Chip to do their security and brought in a firm outside the ‘burg which is way uncool and meant I couldn’t have that trip to Hawaii I was planning after he put in his bid.” She started to the door but she did it with her torso twisted to Rocky. “See you at the game tomorrow?”

“Maybe,” Rocky replied. “I’ll want to see Tripp and Jas play but I won’t want to be anywhere near their father so I’m undecided as to my plans tomorrow night.”

Layne’s neck got tight but Josie smiled like she was trying not to laugh and replied, “Okay, see you at the game then.”

At any other time, Layne would have laughed. At that time, Layne didn’t laugh.

Josie had the door opened and was standing in it when she delivered her parting shot and she did it to Layne.

“She’s worried,” Josie stated quietly. “They’re young girls and she’s worried. Yeah?”

She finished on a question but didn’t wait for his answer; she knew she’d driven her point home. She just stepped through the door and closed it behind her.

Layne’s eyes cut to Rocky who was moving around the kitchen but she wasn’t ignoring him. He knew this when she spoke.

“I have things to do tonight. Go to the grocery store, grade papers, make some calls about the bachelor auction, stuff like that.” She pulled the coffeepot out of the coffeemaker and went to the sink to rinse it. “I’ll give your house a miss again.”

“Roc,” he called and she picked up some plastic thing filled with yellow dish liquid and swirled its sponge around the pot. What she didn’t do was respond.

“Roc,” he called again and she rinsed the soap out of the pot and upended it in the dish drainer.

Layne walked to the bar separating the kitchen from the living room.

“Sweetcheeks, eyes to me,” he ordered quietly.

She turned off the sink, leaned to the side, grabbed a dish towel and turned, drying her hands with the towel. Her eyes hit him and her brows went up.

Layne spoke. “Cosgrove got word from three colleges they wanted to talk to Jasper. He didn’t pass on those messages.”

Her brows lowered, her lips parted and she started to look concerned as she tossed the towel on the counter behind her.

Layne continued. “It’s time I started focusing on Rutledge again but I don’t have that time because I gotta work to pay my bills. I also gotta keep an eye on Stew and Gabby’s house. It’s likely that fuckwad is gone and Colt’s lookin’ into shit but she goes home tomorrow and my boys go back to her tomorrow so I can’t lose track of what’s goin’ on there. I gotta keep sharp about Cosgrove because he’s thrown down, fucked with Jas and he’s the kinda man who won’t see his shortcomings and understand he brought all this shit on himself, he’ll make someone pay. I reckon that’ll be Paige and Seth, Jasper or you. And I got nothin’ on Gaines except I know what he drives, I know where he went last night and I know he’s gotta be shut down. Both my boys are out there on this and somehow, Rutledge, a dirty cop who’s makin’ the Department look bad enough that pretty soon the Chief’s gonna get his head outta his ass and figure out what’s goin’ on, he’s gonna step in and he’s gonna fuck it all up because he got to be Chief not by bein’ a good cop but by bein’ good at playin’ politics. But my boys and my woman come first. You want Gaines and Tripp and Jas are seriously tied up in all this shit and I gotta have their backs.”

She stared at him and he knew she was no longer pissed but she wasn’t ready to let it go either.

So Layne went on, his voice soft. “I love you, baby, and part of why I love you is because you’re worried and you’d do something about it. Any other time this shit you pulled would be cute. Now it isn’t because I don’t have time to have your back and my boys’ and get the shit I need done, done. I was gonna run Gaines’s plates this afternoon but I couldn’t because I’m here.” Her face had changed completely, eyes half-mast, mouth soft and Layne knew he’d gotten to her. “So, help me out in a way that actually helps me out. Be there for me and be smart. Those are the only two things you gotta do, easy enough for you but they’d mean a lot to me.”

The instant he was done talking, Rocky spoke. “You love me?”

Layne’s head moved to the side. “What?”

“You said you love me,” she told him.

Layne stared at her and replied, “Well… yeah.”

“You love me,” she whispered, her eyes still hooded but they were intense and Layne felt his chest freeze again.

“Baby, what do you think we’re doin’ here?” he whispered back.

She shook her head.

“You ever fall out of love with me?” he asked softly.

“No,” she whispered and it sounded like she struggled to get that one word out but Layne didn’t care, that one word meant everything to him.

“That feeling is definitely mutual, honey.”

She held his gaze one beat, two, three then she sucked in breath, her eyes filled with tears and she looked down and to the side.

Layne moved around the bar, walked to her and pulled her into his arms. Rocky didn’t resist and slid her arms around his waist and held on, twisting her neck and pressing her cheek in his chest.

He dipped his chin and put his lips to her hair. “This,” he said there, “this right now answered more than just your prayers, Rocky.”

He heard her breath hitch as her body jolted with a fresh wave of tears and she held on tighter with her arms and pressed her body deep into his.

He lifted a hand and pulled her ponytail holder out of her hair then ran his fingers through its length and he kept doing it as he listened to her cry.

When her tears quieted, he whispered, “Ma’s making beef tenderloin tonight.”

Her head jerked back and his lifted up as she looked at him with wet eyes that apparently were ringed with lashes coated with waterproof mascara. They were spiky with wet but her cheeks weren’t streaming with black.

“Beef tenderloin?” she asked quietly, knowing exactly what that meant. Layne liked Vera’s beef tenderloin but Rocky loved it. She knew Vera wouldn’t make it if things weren’t good.

“We had a chat,” Layne answered, she melted even deeper into him, dropped her chin and rested her forehead against his chest.

“I like Vera’s tenderloin,” she whispered there.

“I’m bringin’ home cones and ice cream.”

Rocky’s head jerked back again, she looked startled a second then she let out a little giggle.

“You’re impossible.” She was still whispering and he grinned.

“Promise me you’re done with this shit, I’ll take watchin’ you eat a cone and then, later, watchin’ you wrap your hand around my cock and lickin’ it as payback for savin’ your ass instead of tannin’ it.” The softness went out of her face and she started to pull back but his hand went out of her hair and both his arms got tight around her. “Promise me, Rocky.”

She tried to go into stare down but he knew she didn’t have it in her when she muttered, “Oh, all right.”

“Is that a promise?” Layne pushed.

“Yes,” she snapped.

“All of it?”

Her head tipped to the side. “What?”

“No more stupid shit.”

She pulled her arms from around him and put her hands on his chest but she replied, “No more stupid shit.”

“And you eat dessert tonight,” he pressed.

“Fine,” she snapped.

“Then you eat me later.”

“Fine!” she repeated, still snapping and still not meaning it and he smiled.

“Don’t pretend you don’t like it as much as me, sweetcheeks.”

“Um, I think you like it more than me, Layne.”

She wasn’t wrong about that.

He didn’t confirm, he ordered, “Now kiss me good-bye, I gotta get back to the office and run those plates and you need to get your ass to my house so Ma can get a head start on makin’ amends.”

“You missed one more thing you need to do and that’s quit bossing me around.”

He kept smiling. “Baby, what in all that isn’t good for you?”

“The part where you boss me around, that’s the part not good for me.”

Layne still kept smiling. “Quit bitchin’ and kiss me.”

“Layne –”

“Sweetcheeks, kiss me.”

“If you’re so busy, maybe you should –”

Layne shut her up by kissing her.

Rocky was nursing a snit but still… she kissed him back.

* * *

Layne’s shoulders were to the headboard, his legs were spread, knees bent to the ceiling, his hands were in Rocky’s hair and his eyes were glued to her mouth working his cock.

Damn, but he liked her mouth.

But he didn’t want to come in her mouth, he wanted to come in her pussy.

“Baby, get up here,” he growled and her eyes went to him but her mouth stayed where it was, her fingers wrapped tight around him and he watched her swirl the tip with her tongue.

Fuck. Beautiful. Everything about it. Her hand, her tongue, her hair framing her face and all over his lap and her eyes telling him exactly how turned on she was.

“Get up here,” he repeated and she bent to him, taking him deep one last time and sucking hard as she slid back up.

Jesus. Fucking beautiful.

Layne closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

Rocky’s mouth released his cock, he opened his eyes and watched as she crawled up his body to straddling him and pressed her tits to his chest, her face to his neck and he felt her tongue there.

“Climb on, baby,” he grunted, needing to be inside her and she didn’t hesitate.

She reached between them, wrapped him again with her fist and guided him inside, sitting up and filling herself, her head dropping back, her back arching, her nails dragging his chest and she moaned.

Heaven.

One of his hands went to her hip, the other one cupped her breast as he ordered in a thick voice, “Ride me.”

She needed no coaxing, she moved, not slow – fast, hard. She was primed, so fucking hot, so wet, taking him deep as he rolled her nipple between his fingers and watched his woman drive herself down on his cock over and over.

When he was close and she was closer, he sat up, both his arms going around her and he demanded, “Mouth on mine, baby.”

She tipped her head down and did as she was told, moving on him and breathing into his mouth, “Layne, baby, you feel so good.”

“Faster, Rocky,” he urged and she did as he asked, the noises coming from her throat telling him where she was at.

One of his arms slid up her back and his fingers tangled in her hair, fisting, he held her mouth to his as his other arm moved and then he smacked her, hard, on the ass.

Her body jerked and her head jolted against his hold but he kept it stationary.

“You gonna be my good girl?” he whispered.

“Layne,” she breathed and he liked that, fuck, he liked that, it went straight to his cock.

He smacked her ass again, her body jerked again and then she started riding him harder. She liked this, his Rocky.

“You gonna be my good girl?” he repeated and smacked her ass again.

Rocky moaned into his mouth, her hand slid to his neck, fingers digging in, her other arm around his back and she started fucking him hot and hard and really fucking fast.

He smacked her ass again. “Rocky –”

“Yes,” she breathed into his mouth. “Yes, Layne, I’ll be your good girl.”

Then she slammed down on his cock, ground into him and her head shot back so fiercely it took his hand with it and she moaned deep as her pussy convulsed around him.