Chapter 23
Rafe
When it comes to war, it’s not always about who’s stronger, who’s smarter, or who has the upper hand. It’s about timing. It’ll trump every fucking card you have in your hand. Stark thought he had us. He thought all his planning and conniving would enable him to come into our city, our territory, and finish what Polito started. He’d bought Crockett’s and established it as his base of operations. Menace had read through the police reports and discovered Stark had brought in enough artillery to take out half the east side. The asshole actually thought he had us. He was wrong. We were the ones with the right timing, and with one mighty blow, we ended Stark and any chance he had of taking over our territory.
After ensuring the club was no longer in any danger, Viper removed the club’s lockdown, and the brothers were free to go about business as usual. I’d hoped I would be able to make up for lost time with Marlowe, but that didn’t happen—not with Kate underfoot. Anytime I got close to getting intimate with Marlowe, Kate would either call for her, pleading that she didn’t want to be alone, or she’d just barge into the room, acting completely clueless about the fact she’d just interrupted something. I just didn’t get it. You’d think the girl had some kind of fucking radar that would kick in whenever I was around.
Needless to say, we were both relieved when Marlowe’s folks came to get her. I thought Marlowe would’ve been ecstatic to see them go, but from the moment they left, she’d been sitting in the living room staring at an envelope her mother had given her. Curious to know what had her so upset, I sat down next to her and asked, “Bad news?”
“I don’t know.” She lifted it up to show me. “I haven’t opened it yet.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. There was something about the look on Mom’s face that gave me a weird feeling about it.” She looked down at the envelope and mumbled, “I don’t know if I can take any more bad news.”
“Then, toss it.”
“But it could be good news.” She studied the envelope a moment longer, then took it and slapped it against my chest. “You read it. If it’s bad news, then you can just burn it and we’ll forget she ever gave it to me. If it’s good news, then we forget about what a spaz I’m being about all this, and we celebrate.”
“You sure?”
“Yep, now read it before I chicken out.”
She dropped her head in her hands, shielding her eyes. “What are you doing?”
“I don’t want to watch. I’ll know by the look on your face if it’s bad news.”
“Hold up...I’ve got a poker face.”
“Ummm, no. You don’t.” Still shielding her eyes, she shook her head back and forth. “I can always tell what you’re thinking.”
“No way.”
She looked up just long enough to ask, “Have you ever actually won a game of poker?”
“No, but that...”
“Point made.” She returned her head to her hands as she mumbled, “Now, read.”
Even though I felt certain she was wrong, very wrong, I didn’t bother arguing. I knew she was eager to know what was in the envelope, so I carefully opened it and pulled out the letter inside. I looked down at the piece of paper, and I couldn’t believe what I was reading. These past few days, Marlowe had been hit with so much about her past. It seemed as if all her family secrets had been revealed except for one, and I held it in my hand. I was still sitting there staring at it when Marlowe asked, “Well?”
“Yeah.” I handed her the letter, I said, “You’re going to want to read this.”
“Is it bad?”
“Only you can answer that.” I gave her a little nudge. “Go on. Read it.”
Marlowe let out a sigh, then looked down at the letter. I watched as her eyes widened with surprise. When she finally finished going over every line, she looked up at me and said, “I don’t believe it. The whole time I was growing up, she was just two cities away from me.”
“No way you could’ve known. Your parents never told you that you were adopted.”
“I still don’t get why they kept it from me.”
“I’m sure they knew who your father was.”
Her eyes narrowed as she replied, “But he was just a kid.”
“I’m sure it was his family they were concerned about.”
“If that’s so, it would explain so much.” She glanced down at the letter once more as she muttered, “Marie Sanchez. 26 Chapel Drive, Bandera, Texas.”
After several moments, I asked, “So, are you glad you looked?”
“I think so.” She looked back down at the paper as she said, “I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do with this.”
“Do you want to meet her?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I mean, she is my biological mother. It would be nice to actually meet her.”
“Then, reach out to her. Let her know you’re interested.”
“But what if she doesn’t want to meet me?”
“You won’t know unless you try.”
“I guess you’re right.” She looked up at me and smiled as she said, “Thank you ... for everything. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you these past couple of days.”
“Anything for you, babe.” I chuckled as I teased. “I’ll even deal with your snoring.”
“I already told you, mister!” Her eyes narrowed. “I do not snore!”
I reached over and grabbed her, pulling her into my lap as I taunted, “Sorry, babe, but you do. Don’t worry. I don’t mind. In fact, I kind of like it. You’re my own personal sound machine.”
“Rafe! Stop!” Marlowe looked absolutely adorable as she gave me a light shove and pouted. “I might rattle a little, but it’s not as bad as all that.”
“You know what?”
“What?”
“I like you just the way you are...snore and all.”
“I like you, too, even when you’re making up wicked lies about me.”
“Wicked?” I lowered my mouth to her shoulder and started trailing kisses along the curve of her neck. “Baby, you haven’t seen wicked yet.”
My mouth met hers, and as soon as her lips touched mine, I was done. Like every time I was close to her, I found it impossible to restrain myself. My hands had a mind of their own, and it wasn’t long before they started drifting over her body. Marlowe moaned with pleasure as her fingers raked through my hair and down the back of my neck. Her hips rocked against me, making the blood rush to my cock, and I couldn’t take it a moment longer. I had to have her.
Without any warning, I stood, lifting her up along with me and started out of the living room. Her legs instinctively wrapped around my waist as I carried her to the bedroom. As soon as I dropped her down onto the bed, she reached for her jeans and began shimmying them down over her hips. When she got them to her ankles, I grabbed them and gave them a quick tug. As I tossed them on the floor, I was growing more impatient to be inside her. My cock was practically prying against the zipper of my jeans as I pulled my t-shirt over my head and dropped it. I made quick work of my jeans, kicking them onto the floor beside hers. As I reached for my boxer briefs, Marlowe bit down on her bottom lip. Her eyes were fixed on my cock as I removed my boxers and quickly slipped on a condom.