Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
BIG RED
“ W hy didn’t you warn me, Red? I swear, muscles I didn’t even know existed ache right now,” Alice whines as I rub her body down.
She’s been training with Cara and Sara for over a week. The first few sessions, she thought they would get right into teaching her moves, but she was sadly mistaken.
They started off with exercising to build her upper and lower body strength. Those workouts were so intense I had to carry her home afterward. They had her doing everything from cardio to weightlifting. Cindy and Hannah's workouts weren’t as hard as Alice's, but they still did things that amazed me.
The way Cara and Sara have trained the girls, you would think they were raising them to be assassins. I find comfort in knowing that when my baby girl grows up, she will fully be able to protect herself. She won't ever end up like my mother.
Unbeknownst to the club, my mother was the sole reason I agreed to allow Cindy to start self-defense classes with Cara and Sara. When they first approached me and told me Cindy had caught them sparring and wanted to learn, I didn’t hesitate to approve.
Shaking my head, I concentrate on the task at hand. I work my fingers in circular motions, digging into Alice's back. She hums so low, like a little kitten. I feel her body relaxing under my touch.
“Mmm, that feels sooo good,” she purrs, sinking deeper into my mattress.
I move my hands lower and begin to massage her round ass. All she has on is a thong. She told me no funny business when I told her to strip for her massage, claiming her body was too sore. I respect it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get my feel on.
As soon as I give her cheeks a nice firm squeeze, she quickly slides from under me.
“Aht… aht… aht. Didn’t I tell you no hanky-panky?” She raises a brow while covering her naked breast with one arm.
I flatten her body against the mattress with mine and peck her lips. It quickly turns heated. I dipped my tongue into her mouth, causing her to moan. Alice places her hands on my shoulder, allowing me to devour her lips. I run my hands down her body and grab onto her thighs. Alice hisses and breaks the kiss.
“I told you I’m sore, babe. As much as I love having you inside me, there will be no hank?—”
“If you don’t stop saying that… I fuck you, make love to you, but I damn sure don’t hanky-panky,” I growled at her.
Alice stares at me with wide eyes and a slack jaw.
“What?” I ask her.
“Make love?” she whispers.
Fuck, I didn’t even realize I said that. I’m not a lie, though. I’m falling for Alice, and I can definitely see her being the one. It doesn’t matter how much time I spend with her, it's never enough. I love waking up next to her and that pretty smile. I love how, although she is naturally submissive, she isn’t afraid to speak up for herself. Her bond with my kids is what really sealed the deal. They still don’t know what’s going on between us, but they look forward to spending time with her just as much as I do.
“I mean, yeah. Doesn’t it feel that way?”
“Yeah, it does, but sometimes I feel like I don’t even really know you, Red.”
Frowning down at her, I sit up against the headboard before pulling her into my lap, making her straddle me. “How don’t you know me, kitten? We spend so much time together.”
“All I know is trivial things, Red. You never talk about your family, childhood, parents, or anything. Hell, I don’t even know if your parents are alive. You know everything about me, but whenever I ask about your past, you always change the subject. I figured you just didn’t want to talk to me about it, so I stopped asking.” She shrugs her shoulder before looking away.
I place my finger under her chin and bring her eyes back to mine. “It’s not that I didn’t want to tell you, baby. I just don’t talk about them. My childhood wasn’t a happy one.” I blow out a breath and pull her closer to me. “My father, Senior, was abusive. I can't remember a time when he wasn’t beating my mother. When I was younger, I would be so scared of him. One day, I tried to stop him, and he cracked two of my ribs.”
Alice kisses me lightly before resting her head on my chest. I wrap my arms around her waist and kiss her collarbone. “When we came back from the hospital, my mom begged me to never get involved again, and I was so angry. Here I was, her child with broken ribs, and all she could say was don’t get involved. I stayed out of the way as much as I could. As I got older, his beatings weren’t as frequent. But then, one night, he came home drunk and started beating her. I was seventeen and tired of watching my mom be beaten, so I beat his ass. The crazy part is I thought my mom would be so happy that I protected her. That she didn’t have to suffer by his hands anymore, but I was wrong. She yelled and screamed at me for hurting him. When Senior told me to get out of his house, she said nothing in my defense. Over the years, I’ve spoken to my mom here and there over the phone, but that’s it.”
Alice raises her head from my chest and wraps her arms around my neck. “I’m sorry you went through that. To have such a traumatic childhood, you turned out to be an amazing man. Can I ask you something?”
“Baby, from here on out, you can ask me anything, and I promise to always give you an answer.”
She smiled sweetly at me and kissed my lips. “Is that how you always know when Declan is affecting me in some kind of way?”
“Yeah. I know in an abusive relationship, you’re damn near programmed to eat, sleep, and breathe a certain way. When you do something, I want you to do it thinking of yourself and nobody else. For example, when we ate at the diner, you tried ordering that salad. You did that because that’s all he allowed. You didn’t even realize that you were still living like Declan had control over you.”
Alice sniffled and nodded her head. “You’re right. For so long, I didn’t have a voice. It was all about him. But with you, I feel in charge even when you're taking the lead. Does that make sense?”
“It does, kitten.”
We stare into each other’s eyes for a few moments in silence before attacking each other’s lips. I roll us over so I am on top and take her lips in a hungry kiss. Alice reaches down into my sweats and pulls out my hard rod. She jacks me a few times and breaks the kiss.
“I take it back. I think I can handle a little hanky-panky.”
I throw my head back, roaring with laughter, and proceed to fuck the word hanky-panky out of her vocabulary for the rest of the night.