“She’ll understand especially when she understands. She’s a good Mom, Layne, she’ll want to make sure her boys are safe from that.”
“She might eventually understand, Roc, but we got Jas and Tripp in the middle of this, and, like I said, I’m not her favorite person and she’s gonna be pissed in order to hide the hurt and humiliation and she’s gonna take it out on me. When she gets pissed at me, sweetcheeks, she doesn’t do it privately. Jas and Tripp are gonna hear it, see it and they’re not gonna like it. They’ll feel it, they’ll feel for her, Jas already knows I’m steppin’ up for his Mom, he’s glad I’m doin’ it. Tripp’ll feel the same so they’ll get caught in the middle and it’s my job to try to cushion them from that shit.”
Layne watched as she took in a deep breath and, while letting it out, she fell to her side, stretched out and settled with her head in her hand, elbow in the pillow, facing Layne.
“You think you can keep your part in this whole thing quiet?” she asked.
“I can try but Gabby’s got a way of finding shit out. Tripp’s not in the know about me workin’ this but he’s also not dumb, not to mention, he’s learnin’ cool but he’s got a ways to go so he can run his mouth. He loves his Mom, he loves his old man, he’ll be happy I’m lookin’ out for her and he won’t get it that she won’t be happy. Shit happens and I gotta plan accordingly.”
She studied him a moment before she said softly, “Then you’re going to have to suck it up, Layne.”
Layne’s brows knitted. “Come again?”
“Earlier tonight, you told me you fucked up with your boys. Now, Gabrielle has done it. Everyone knows Stew’s a jerk, she knows it too, deep down. She knows she’s fucked up, bringing Stew into her sons’ life not to mention bringing him into hers. I don’t want to sound like a bitch, but all this boils down to her and the decisions she’s made. She’s the kind of person who has to take that out on someone, even if it’s unreasonable because that someone was only trying to look out for her and their kids, then that someone, namely you, is going to have to suck it up.”
He grinned at her. “Not sure you got much of a flair for reassurance, sweetcheeks.”
Rocky grinned back. “Sorry, did I miss that part of my job description?”
“Skipped right by it, baby.”
“I’ll take time tomorrow to review it,” she told him.
“That’d be appreciated.”
The grin changed to the point he got the dimple and Layne gave himself a moment to enjoy lying in bed facing Rocky and her dimple before he said softly, “I watch Letterman, baby, you gonna be able to sleep through that?”
The dimple faded and her face changed, showing him a hint of fear before she got her shields up and nodded and, if she hadn’t changed, she wasn’t lying. She went to bed at ten but Layne didn’t so it was more accurate to say she went to sleep at ten because most of the time she was stretched out on the couch with Layne watching TV and she fell asleep while he kept watching it. If she was really out, he’d carry her to bed but most of the time, when he moved, she woke up enough to stumble to their room, pull off her clothes, tug on one of his tees, collapse into bed and fall straight back to sleep.
“Pass me the remote,” Layne ordered and she rolled, coming back to him, she handed him the remote.
Then she stayed where she was, head in hand but her eyes directed down her body toward the TV. Layne rolled to his back and sat up, lifting his legs, whipping the covers out from under him and settling back against the headboard.
Layne changed the channel finding a crime drama. He watched it then watched the News then watched Letterman.
Jas was home five minutes into the drama.
Tripp hit his bedroom fifteen minutes into it, Jasper following him half an hour later.
Rocky was asleep after ten minutes of the drama.
Layne fell asleep after trying to find it for half an hour after Letterman.
*
Now he was awake to find Rocky had moved during the night and she’d pinned him to the bed.
They’d both set a record. It took him one night to get used to it and it took her one night to break out of sleeping in her tight, guarded ball and sprawl.
He turned his head to the side to look at the clock and he saw that his dream Rocky had given him plenty of time.
So Layne turned into his real Rocky, wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her up his body. She released a sleepy mew and Layne lifted his head then buried his face in her neck.
He could smell a hint of her perfume.
He kissed her neck and then touched it with his tongue, sliding it up to right under her ear, liking the taste of her.
Her body started to come alert in his arms so he touched his tongue to her earlobe then moved his lips along her jaw then up, to her mouth.
Her head tipped back and her voice was drowsy when she whispered, “Layne?”
That was when Layne slanted his head and kissed her. He started soft until he felt her hands light on the skin of his chest. Then he touched his tongue to her lips and her hands slid up to curl on his shoulders. He touched his tongue to her lips again, her mouth opened, Layne slid his tongue inside and the tips of her fingers dug into his shoulders as she made another mew, this one not sleepy.
At the sound of it, the feel of it against his tongue, what it meant and what it was doing to his body, he rolled her to her back and then he kissed her.
Rocky tied herself up with him instantly, tangling her legs with his, winding her arms around his shoulders, one hand sifting in his hair, the other one drifting down his back and she let him kiss her, her back arching, her mouth unbelievably generous.
His hands moved, up her t-shirt and in, skin on skin, her body warm from his and being cocooned in his bed, her skin soft, she pressed up into him and moved one arm down, shoving it under his so she could reach more of his back and she did, her fingers trailing. Layne’s hand went down to her ass, cupping her and pulling her into his hard cock and her fingers trailing the skin of his back became nails dragging against it.