Craving Rose (The Aces' Sons 5)

“You’re gonna have to use the drugstore crap,” I said, situating her under the spray as I ran my fingers through her hair. “You don’t have any of the fancy stuff here.”

“I don’t mind,” she replied, tipping her head back under the water.

We were silent as she washed her hair, but my hands roamed all over her. I couldn’t help myself. Rose’s skin was so soft, it didn’t seem real. There were no blemishes at all beyond a few stretch marks on her tits that had long since faded into tiny white lines. My mouth watered as I traced them with my finger.

“You have them, too,” Rose pointed out, opening her eyes. She reached out and traced the stretch marks where my chest met my shoulders.

“My shoulders grew too fast,” I said, looking down at them.

“So did my boobs,” Rose said with a shrug. “I’ve got a few on my hips, too.”

“I know,” I said with a dramatic sigh. “I love ’em.”

“What?” She laughed. “Why?”

“Just do.” My fingers found the marks she’d mentioned without hesitation. “You’ve got four on this side and five on this side.”

“It’s kind of weird that you know that,” she said, trading places with me so I could stand under the spray of water.

“I pay attention,” I replied, shrugging my shoulders. I groaned as the hot water poured over my skin. Rose shivered and I tugged her against my chest. “We need two shower heads in here.”

“And a bigger shower,” Rose joked. She reached for the soap. “I’m going to wash off and get out. I’m freezing.”

Without a word, I traded places with her again so she could warm up. She was right, the shower was pretty small for the two of us. Hell, it was small for me. My shoulders made contact with both the shower curtain and the wall when I stood sideways.

I couldn’t stop from staring as Rose washed methodically, working her way down her body. She wasn’t trying to be sexy, but she couldn’t really help it. Everything about her turned me on, from her smart mouth to the way she walked.

“I thought things were supposed to shrink when you’re cold?” Rose said, glancing down at my erection.

“Not when you’re standin’ there, soakin’ wet and naked,” I replied dryly.

She chuckled as she finished rinsing off, then wrapped her arms around my waist. “Your turn.”

“Go get in bed,” I said, pressing my lips to hers. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

As soon as she was out of the shower, I let the weekend’s events roll through my mind as I washed up and rinsed off. I was going to have to do something about Copper. Even if the brothers voted to take his patch, he was still going to be a problem. He was probably already back in Sacramento licking his wounds, but assholes like that didn’t give up. He’d be back at some point just to fuck with Rose. He wouldn’t be able to help himself.

From what Rose had said, Copper had never been violent with her. She’d been adamant about that. But in my experience, if a man was comfortable taking out his frustrations on his woman verbally, there wasn’t a whole lot he wouldn’t do if he thought he could get away with it. Situations like that escalated all the time.

I flexed my fingers as I toweled off. I’d hit that motherfucker hard. I could have easily killed him, probably just a few more blows after he’d gone down and it would’ve been lights out forever. The only thing that had stopped me was the fact that Rose was watching. She didn’t need to see that shit, not from me, not ever. If I had the chance again, though, I couldn’t be sure I’d let him live. I’d do whatever I had to in order to protect her.

Rose was still awake as I climbed into bed beside her.

“Sorry, I tried to dry my hair with a towel, but it’s still pretty wet,” she said, curling up against my side. “It’s going to be crazy in the morning.”

“I don’t mind,” I replied. I relaxed into the bed with a sigh. Jesus, I was beat.

“What’s happening this week?” Rose asked sleepily.

“Hopefully, absolutely nothin’,” I replied, closing my eyes. “Parents’ll probably come over for dinner at some point. Maybe have us to their place.”

“I’m working every night but Tuesday, but let me know and I’ll try to be there.”

She fell asleep before I could even reply.

I was tired as hell, but I couldn’t shut my brain off. Me and Rose just worked. Being with her was effortless. I didn’t have to worry about what I was going to say or act a certain way around her; we were comfortable together in a way that didn’t need any of that bullshit. If it weren’t for the stuff with Copper, our relationship would’ve been completely drama free. I hadn’t realized how important that was until I had it.