Black Falcon: Complete Series Collection (66 page)

I hook my arm through Zach’s and peer up at his face. “I can vouch for most women when I say tattoos are sexy.”

My brother shakes his head. “Let’s hope you’re right about that, sis, because he’s about to meet a woman who I’m pretty sure has a snooty-stick shoved so far up her ass she doesn’t find anything appealing, let alone sexy.”

I smack my brother’s arm. “Gross! Don’t ever say Mom and sexy in the same sentence ever again. Those two words are now forbidden for use together.”

Gabe laughs. “You know I never did like rules. We always had that in common, remember?”

I give Zach’s arm a gentle squeeze, thinking of how I’m breaking the rules right now by bringing this man home. “I do. Are Mom and The Judge home?”

“Yeah, they’re in there. They don’t know you’re coming do they? I mentioned you coming home this weekend and neither of them had no clue what I was talking about, so I left it alone. I figured you had your reasons.”

I shake my head. “No. I didn’t want to explain my unscheduled visit with them.”

Gabe’s eyes widen and instantly drop down to my stomach. “Holy shit! Are you pregnant?”

My hand flies to cover my belly. “God, no! “

“You’re getting married then, or you’ve already gotten married?” My brother grins while his eyes bounce back and forth between Zach and me. “I’m glad I decided to come home from school this weekend. This should be a damn good show.”

“You’re an idiot.” I sigh. “It’s neither of those things...” My eyes flick to Zach’s for a split second before I turn my attention back to my semi-annoying sibling. “At least not yet, anyway. But, there is something pressing I need to speak with them about.”

Gabe waves us towards the house. “Well, come on. Let’s get this show started. I have a court reserved in a bit with a hot, little blonde from the club. I’m hoping to crush her on and off the court, if you know what I mean.”

I roll my eyes. “What is it with you men and sex? Is that all you ever think about?”

Both men in my presence answer “yes” in unison, and then immediately laugh.

“I think you and I are going to get along just fine, Zach. Watch out for my old man, though. In this case the apple falls very far away from the tree.”

“Thanks for the tip, bro. I’ve heard some stories about The Judge,” Zach says.

“Most are probably true. Tread softly, man. The tattoos won’t help your case much, I’m afraid. He’s old school and correlates them with criminal activity.”

Zach shakes his head. “That’s so judgmental. Talk about stereotypical.”

My brother shrugs. “He is a judge. It’s his job to be judgmental.”

“Touché,” Zach laughs. “Let me grab our bags from the trunk.”

“I’ll help you,” Gabe says.

My heart warms instantly at the sight of the man I’m deeply in love with talking and laughing with my one and only sibling. More than anything in the world, I want Zach and my family to get along well. I know if they can see the way he loves me they’ll understand why I love him so much and why he’s the perfect man for me. Gabe’s right though. The tattoos won’t make the best first impression—neither will his occupation once they all find out who he is, but I hope they can get past that. I
need
them to get past that, because no matter if they approve or not, this is the man I’m going to spend the rest of my life with.

My brother takes my bag from the trunk and Zach closes the lid. “Anna nearly has dinner finished. You’re just in time to sit down to a traditional Sunday lunch with the family, Zach.”

Zach arches his pierced eyebrow. “Anna?”

“Our housekeeper,” I answer after retrieving my purse from the car. “My mother hasn’t cooked a meal herself since Dad’s career took off.”

“And that’s a blessing if you ask me. Anna is a much better cook than Mom.” Gabe states as we head towards the front door. “I prefer a little Latin flavor.”

I smirk at him, knowing he’s not just referring to food. “You mean you prefer Alandra, Anna’s daughter.”

Gabe stops at the door and grins while his free hand rests on the handle. “I haven’t seen Alandra since she went away for college on the East coast.” His eyes get lost, and almost have a dreamy appearance like he’s remembering some long lost dream. “I wonder what she’s up to? I bet she’s hot now.”

I shake my head and nudge his shoulder. “Come on, Romeo. Let us in.”

The heavy, wooden door swings open with ease as soon as Gabe turns the handle. The house is just as immaculate as always. The gleaming, white tiles in the foyer make the double, grand staircases stand out against the stark walls. The round mahogany table between them matches the wood throughout the house perfectly, while the bright yellow and pink flower arrangement resting on its surface gives the room a pop of color.

“Wow,” Zach says as he takes in the large space. “If
MTV
ever brings
Cribs
back and wants to come to my house, I’m bringing them here instead. This puts my place to shame.”

“I’m sure it doesn’t. I can’t wait to see your place,” I say.

A wide smile stretches across his face. “Soon.”

The sound of high heels clicking against the floor catches my immediate attention and I stiffen. “Good land of the living, is that my Aubrey I hear in here?”

Mom appears in the room in a pink knee-length skirt and matching blouse, her pearls on display around her neck. Her auburn hair hangs loose above her shoulders, and as always she looks very put together. I smile as I set my purse on the table and step into her outstretched arms. “Hi, Mom.”

She pats my back. “Darling, it’s so good to see you. Let me take a look at you.” She steps back and grabs each of my wrists, effectively spreading my arms away from my body for her once over. “Charles, dear, you must come greet our unexpected visitor!”

I freeze as my mom calls for my father to enter the room. In an instant, my father is there, dressed in his khaki pants and long-sleeved button down shirt—his typical casual Sunday outfit. His salt and pepper hair is neatly trimmed and styled like he’s stuck in the eighties.

The Judge smiles. “There’s my little princess. Why didn’t you tell us you were coming, honey?”

I cringe at him referring to me as his princess. It only solidifies what Zach was saying earlier about me being spoiled.

“It’s good to see you, Judge,” I step into my father’s awaiting hug.

“Dear, would you pay the poor cab driver so he can leave,” Mom says to Dad while clutching her pearls, and I instantly jerk away from the hug.

“Here you go, young fellow.” Dad reaches for his wallet and I shake my head placing my hand on his arm, stopping it mid-motion. “Don’t be silly, Aubrey. I’ll pay your fair.”

Without warning the Judge takes a couple steps toward Zach and stuffs a wad of cash in his hand. Zach’s eyebrows rise as he stares down at the money. My face heats up and I know it’s fifty shades of red as I feel embarrassed that my family is so close-minded to think my man is nothing but a hired hand. I want to crawl into a hole and die.

I reach over and touch my father’s shoulder. “No, Daddy. He isn’t the cab driver. This is Zach, my boyfriend.”

The Judge eyebrows pull together in confusion. “Boyfriend? Honey, I don’t understand. Have you seen this man? I thought your mother and I raised you better than that.”

“Daddy, please!” I scold my father while anger that he would treat the man I love this way boils inside me. I step to Zach’s side and wrap my arm around his waist while he throws his arm over my shoulders. “I love him and I would appreciate if you could all to treat him with the same respect you show me. Besides, he’s not some riff-raff off the street, he’s—”

Zach holds up the hand holding the money, cutting me off mid-sentence. “Let him think what he wants about me.” In a swift motion Zach stuffs my father’s money in the front pocket of his jeans and my heart thunders, knowing this is his way of telling my father to fuck off. “He is The Judge, after all.”

The Judge narrows his eyes and raises a pointed finger at Zach, ready to fire threats like he always does when he’s challenged. I grip my man’s side preparing for my father’s wrath.

I hear my mother gasp and my mouth hangs open just before her body goes limp and she collapses to the floor. She was never good with conflict, passing out at anything the slightest bit stressful.

“Honey?” My father lands on his knees next to my mother’s side holding her head up while my brother uses his medical training to assess her.

Zach and I stand in my family’s foyer wrapped together in a show of solidarity. No matter what they say, I’m going to be with him. Like he said earlier, it’s him and I against the world. If my parents don’t want to support that, I might have to make one of the most difficult choices I’ve ever had to face and cut them out of my life.

T
he third time her cell phone rings, Aubrey shuts is off and tosses it in her purse. She closes her eyes and leans her head back against the headrest. Her long auburn hair falls over her shoulders in full waves while her mouth pulls into a slight frown. Getting in the car with me and leaving her family behind wouldn’t have been easy for her. I can’t imagine telling some of the most important people in my life to fuck off because they don’t approve of the person I’m in love with, but I’m glad she did. It’s got to be the hardest thing in the world for her. I swallow hard as I think about how it’s possible she might hate me for the little stunt I pulled.

I reach over and thread my fingers through her delicate ones while I readjust my hand on the wheel. “It’s gonna be alright, babe. Give them time to adjust.”

She bites her bottom lip to try and keep it from quivering. “How can you say that after how they treated you? I hate them.”

I bring her knuckles to my mouth and kiss them gently. “No you don’t. You’re angry right now. I’m used to people treating me like that. Before I became ‘Riff’ days like today were what my life was like. People, especially ones with money, would watch me like a hawk, thinking in their head I was a thief and a low life.”

“Didn’t you hate that? Being treated like a criminal?”

I glance over at her beautiful questioning face. “It wasn’t exactly a fucking picnic, but I get that some people don’t understand rock culture and tattoos are just another outlet for us to express creativity.”

She looks down at her lap. “I’m sorry.”

I reach over and tap her chin up. “What are you sorry for, Kitten?”

Aubrey sighs. “For everything. For the shitty life you led, for the way people treated you and above all how
my
family treated you. I expected so much more from them. I thought they would at least have enough faith in me to trust
my
judgment and see you are a great person—someone I love.”

I pull into the first decent hotel I see and park the Fusion. I pivot in the seat and turn her face in my hands and force her to look at me. “No one has ever stood up for me like that before—chosen me over basically their entire world. It means a lot that you did that, but I also want you to know even if they treat me like shit, I always want you to have a relationship with your family.”

“Zach, I won’t have anything to do with them if they don’t accept you.”

I stare into her green eyes. “They don’t have to accept me, Aubrey. All that matters to me is that
you
do. You know my darkest secrets, and all the fucked up details that make me who I am, and you haven’t run for the hills screaming. I’ll do anything for you.
Anything
. I want you to be happy and I don’t want you to fight with your parents over me. I don’t want you to resent me one day.”

A tear leaks from her right eye. “I would never resent you. Ever.”

I brush away the fallen tears from her face with my thumbs and lean in to press my lips against hers. “I love you, Kitten. I’ll always treat you right.”

After I pay for a room at the front desk, we take the elevator up to the fifth floor and roll our luggage down the hall to our room. I swipe the room card and open the door, ushering my girl inside. It’s a typical king-sized bedroom, with neutral walls and white bedding.

Aubrey flops down on the bed and kicks off her shoes. Her bare legs dangle off the side, and the green dress she’s wearing rides up her thighs as she stretches her arms above her head. She’s fucking beautiful and perfect. There’s nothing about this girl that doesn’t turn me on. Instantly, the need to hold her in my arms overwhelms me and I can’t help but give in to it.

I remove the hat I’m wearing and toss it to the empty chair in the room before I crawl into bed next to her. On my side facing her, I prop my head up with my left hand and stare down at her. I trace the bare skin on her left shoulder before slipping my fingers under the spaghetti-strap holding up dress. It hooks with ease around my index finger and I slide it down, exposing the top of her left breast. A white lacey bra covers her nipple, but I pull my fingertips down the curve of her breast and feel its silky-softness. My cock jerks in my jeans from the simple contact and almost as if she knows how fucking turned on I’m getting she smiles the most perfect smile.

Aubrey opens her eyes and brings her hand up to my cheek, touching it softly, and I turn my face into it, kissing her wrist and inhaling the sweet scent of her perfume. Before her I was lost, constantly at war with myself. I didn’t believe I was worthy of a love so simple and pure. It’s something I still battle with, but with each passing day I grow a little more at ease with having something so great in my life. I fucking love this woman, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her. Aubrey and my band are all that matter to me in this fucked up world.

“What are you thinking?” she whispers as she stares into my eyes.

I lean down to kiss her lips, and the necklace I’m wearing rests on her chest. “About how lucky I am to have you.”

She bites her lip. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

“Liar,” I say and then kiss the tip of her nose.

She pulls my mouth back down to hers. “Let me prove it to you.”

“You’ll get no arguments from me, babe.”

Her leg swings around and hooks on my hip as she pushes her weight against me, throwing me back against the bed. Long strands of hair frame her face as she straddles me and shoves my shirt up in order to rake her nails down my abs.