In Ellsberg with Harlow, these people were a package deal. I couldn’t have her without them, so I made friends for the first time since high school.
The next few weeks, Harlow and I fell into a routine. We spent our mornings at the club gym. Sometimes, Nick would join us. Other times, Judd and Vaughn did. Later, Harlow spent time at her house with Jace or at Winnie’s place. While she enjoyed family time, I ran drills with Cooper and his main guys.
In Kirk’s day, hard and fast fighting worked fine. The world was changing though. Cooper was taking over in a time when low-level losers wielded high power weapons. Gangs from the West Coast now worked throughout the country, bringing assault weapons with them. The old ways of fighting might not be enough to keep Cooper on top.
I taught them the counter-insurgency techniques I’d learned over the years. Every day even in the rain, we trained in the woods around Kirk’s house. I showed the guys different weapons and explosives. Mostly, I wanted them to learn a soft touch when dealing with the enemy. Not everything was crashing through doors and wielding bats.
Tucker never caught on. He couldn’t do soft and had the loudest footsteps even on plush carpet. Cooper wasn’t much better, but I knew he’d practice until he had it figured out. Vaughn and Dylan showed a lot of potential, but Judd was the one I considered snagging from Cooper’s employment. The guy mimicked my every movement. He was like a ghost in the woods, silently disappearing only to reappear in attack mode. As much as I wanted to snatch him up, he was happy in Ellsberg.
The town never truly felt comfortable for me though. With my size and dark skin, I stood out among the lily-white residents. People learned my name, waving at me on the streets. Everyone seemed to know my story. I was Bob who was marrying Pastor Tad’s daughter. No, the older one. He’s a businessman from out of town, they’d tell each other while I stood nearby.
I missed being anonymous.
Harlow was worth any discomfort. With her, I slept better than I had in years. I felt lighter, yet stronger.
Every morning, Harlow awoke grumpy before remembering I was lying next to her. A smile soon slid across her face and she reached for me, wanting a sweaty morning wakeup.
She trusted me completely. I never saw a moment of fear in her eyes. Not even when I lost my temper with some asshole at a bar and nailed him in the throat. She stepped away from his falling body, but otherwise remained calm. Harlow understood me. I wasn’t a raging bull and I would never hurt her. She was always safe with me. I saw this understanding in her big beautiful eyes from the moment we woke up to the last second before she fell asleep at night.
Chapter Forty Three ~ Harlow
Cooper’s fondest memories growing up were the summers RVing with his family. A daughter of his own now, he wanted to start a tradition for Lily too, even if she was too little to remember it.
As the summer ended, the crew rented eight RVs while Kirk and Jodi drove their own. With so many babies coming along, we planned a short trip to Twin Knobs at Morehead. Nature, friends, family, and fun were how Tucker put it before adding beer to the list.
Rafael couldn’t hide how relieved he felt to get out of town. I both loved and hated the childlike excitement on his face as we left Ellsberg. All these weeks, he enjoyed hanging out with the crew. When not with our friends and my family, we tried dozens of restaurants and explored every nook of the small town. Through it all, he always seemed happy.
Yet Rafael needed more than Ellsberg offered.
As much as I loved my family, friends, and the town I called home, I needed Rafael to be truly happy.
We arrived at the campground around noon. Everyone spent the next few hours organizing supplies and taking care of babies. Rafael and I mainly fucked until I could barely move.
Propping up my ass for him, I rested my chest on a pillow while Rafael thrust hard into me, still hungry after hours with our bodies moving together. I smiled at his possessive eyes and the way he wrapped my hair around his hand. I was his and he’d kill to keep me.
Finally, Rafael relented. Though I sensed he wanted more, his body needed rest. Mine was absolutely exhausted.
When I rolled over and sat cross-legged, Rafael’s gaze focused on my naked body especially my still hard nipples
“I need a break,” I said, grinning.
“From me or my cock?”
“I hate hearing that word out loud. Can’t you call it your sword of pleasure?”
Rafael glanced down at his sword and nodded. “Sword, it is.”
“Shh,” I whispered. “You’ll wake it up and my vajayjay needs rest.”
“I’ll do what I can, but you and the sword have a special bond.”
Taking his hand, I grinned. “Let’s stop talking about your dick, okay?”
“If you think you can.”
I laughed despite needing to be serious. “I want to talk.”
“About feelings?” he asked, rolling to his side and giving me a different delicious angle to enjoy.