Cyndi - Writes Sappy Things ✿

Hold Me Gently ▹ an ongoing connected universe

▹ read chronological order HERE ⬪˙ publication order ▽

⬦ “I am now”

⬦ Be My Shoulder to Cry On

⬦ We’re Just Two Ghosts - Rhea/Dom

⬦ Hold Me Gently ⁀➷ follow up to ▲

⬦ Welcome Back, Handsome ;)

⬦ “Please don’t leave me behind”

⬦ You’re My Right Decision

⬦ The Paper Ring ⁀➷ companion to ▲

⬦ The Romcom Incident

⬦ I Want: This, You, Me, Us

⬦ We Should Kiss

⬦“So, you and my brother, huh?”

note⁀➷ Hold Me Gently is marked with 🌴 and is a nonlinear canon/fiction (Jhea) universe, closely following the TV/PLE shows

Just the Three of Us ▹ multi-chapter Jhea pregnancy fic

One | Two | Three | Interlude | Four | Five (coming soon)

note⁀➷ this series launched from the same-named drabble (HERE), and chronologically leads to said drabble and after it ♥︎

They Never Saw Her Coming ▹multi-part Jhea mystery/suspense series featuring Rhea’s determination to infiltrate and then tear apart Roman’s Empire. Will Jey Uso stand in her way?

One | Two | Three (coming soon)

The What-ifs ▹ possible three-part series!

♡ Your Lips Taste Like What-ifs

The Rhea is Bluey Series ▹ Rhea vs blue mist 0-2

❦︎ They Can’t Take Us Anywhere

❦︎ Why You So Blue? ⁀➷ part two ▲

Drabbles ▹ Stand-alones ▹ Mini fics

❀ You’re My Airbender

❀ “When did you…?”

❀ Then Come Home

❀ Just the Three of Us

❀ Only Your Smile Can

❀ And Now Forever Begins

❀ “Can we edit that out?”

❀ Let Me Carry Your Sorrow

❀ I Ain’t See No Diamond

Anything to stop the gunshots from ringing in his ears, the echoing of dead weight meeting pavement.

Tomorrow’s problems were tomorrow’s to reckon with. He welcomed the thought of waking up with cotton in his mouth, head booming, his secrets streaming out in the toilet with the acid from his stomach. Flushed, forgotten, unforgiven.

Jey nodded his thanks when another cold beer was placed in front of him on the tacky bartop. His bare arms flexed on their own, bronzed skin and ink, perfectly displayed under the dim lights. He tapped out an offbeat rhythm, fingers too jittery to calm down.

This morning was a disaster. A deal gone wrong by the docks. All it had taken was one dumb bastard thinking he was hot shit, trying to jump the line and act like the damn Tribal Chief. Even Jey wasn’t that naïve. Never had been. Sure, he lipped off, overstepped more than he should, but he always knew his damn place, never botched a deal so badly his chest was shot up with bullet holes.

Hell no.

Strays off the street, begging like chumps for gold around their skinny wrists weren’t even close to being in The Bloodline. Outsiders earned rank when they fell in line. They earned the chance to have an opinion.

Roman took in recruits, put them through bootcamp, tested their loyalty and dedication. If they passed those steps, their asses gained basement access, got paired with a family member and watched like a damn hawk on every monitor in the main office. The Bloodline ran an elite empire, operating on a strict schedule by members appointed by birthright.

Some punk crawling in the gutter wasn’t going to get high favors by stroking his own ego, speaking out of turn and cosplaying as the mouthpiece to the empire.

Nah.

Jey’d warned the kid to zip it or lose it. Over and over he’d shoved him by the shoulders, yelling and shaking the rules into his damn skull. Why Roman wouldn’t just weed this one out drove Jey mad. He’d repeatedly reminded the Tribal Chief picking up hotheads would cost them everything. It took a reformed one to know.

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“Jealous he might take your place?”

“You sayin’ I’m replaceable?”

Roman sat back in his chair, hands clasping over his chest. He eyed Jey, unimpressed. “When was the last time you made the right call?”

Yesterday, you piece of shit. Jey wanted to reply. Instead, he bowed his head, jaw working, nostrils flaring. “Remind me, sir.”

“Jey, Jey, Jey.” Roman laughed, not even a real one. “I made you my right hand as a favor to your daddy. Don’t make any mistakes about why you and your brothers are in my family business.”

Jey nodded, swallowing any argument.

“Now,” Roman said as he stood from his self-appointed throne at the head of the table. “Get out of my sight and keep the leash on the newbie. He’s your responsibility.”

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“Keep your mouth zipped, ya here? Watch and observe,” Jey gritted through frustrated teeth as Sami turned the engine off.

Jimmy shook his head in the backseat, already at his max with the new recruit. “Show your eyes when they ask. Other than that? Everyone wants out A.S.A.P.”

It was supposed to be a routine transaction, money for goods— easy. And then the pussy had stepped in front of Jey, a poser laugh filling the air, trying to negotiate for more money. Jey’s hand didn't even have enough time to reach under his hoodie before the deal was over.

In less than sixty seconds, they’d lost four million dollars, all credibility, and the kid’d gotten his ass popped three times and his brains splattered all over the walkway.

If it wasn’t for Jimmy dragging him down the sidewalk, and Sami’s quick thinking, their asses would be behind bars. By the time sirens had begun bouncing off of the downtown buildings, their tinted Tahoe was idling in front of a busy 7-11, Jey and Jimmy hurriedly discarding their black sweaters and face hoods in their duffles. One close to throwing up, the other praying he still got to see his wife later that night.

When they’d first joined the family business, the twins never got caught because “not one damn soul would blow their cover.” The Bloodline ran these streets, and had been since Roman’s daddy stepped up to the call (before they were even born) and filled his pockets with enough blackmail every politician had no choice but to turn a blind eye.

Since Roman took over three years ago, The Bloodline had been getting its first push back. Seth Rollins ran a dirty campaign, getting himself elected mayor and then lieutenant governor just to spite his old rival. His hatred for Roman ran thicker than his love for his own wife. Seth worked tirelessly to be a cackling roadblock, paying off cops, hiring bogus security to patrol The Bloodline’s meeting spots.

That’s where Jey had come in handy. It took a man close to the brink of the looney bin to play mind games with Seth. Jey’s careful manipulation had bought him and his brothers time, bought him extra Benjamin’s to bribe the bribed. And, despite Roman’s shaky stand, the streets knew Jey… knew he remembered every damn face he encountered and held a lifetime’s worth of grudges.

That asshole kid had been too cocky, too ambitious, ready to show off and take Jey’s place. Now, his mamma was out there weeping over a little shit she’d never see again. Soon, an anonymous bouquet of flowers would arrive at her doorstep, accompanied with a box of her son’s belongings and an envelope of cash.

A warning: The Bloodline wasn’t a joke, and they sure as hell didn’t mourn outsiders. They used them and then spit their picked over bones out.

Tipping his head back, Jey finished off the second beer, not even close to feeling drunk. His fingers continued to tap on the bartop, his gold watch scratching against the aged wood. “Shit, man.”

Roman was going to go ballistic when he got them alone tomorrow. If Jey’s body was numbed from a hangover, maybe he wouldn’t feel the lessons as they were pounded into his flesh. He’d be the example while Jimmy and the boys held their breath, eyes forced to watch. Roman would take a belt to Jey’s ass for moving the family ten steps back, not predicting the kid’s movement— not knowing the deal had long been sour. Something the Head of the damn Table should’ve already known, and yet Roman would blame Jey.

Never again. Jey’s guard would never be lowered enough he’d get caught with his draws down, bare cheeks exposed to disasters and vulnerability.

“Think we needs to switch to Jameson.”

“Already? Damn.” Jimmy finished his beer, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He glanced around the busy bar, his nerves on standby.

If Seth had the heads up, they wouldn’t be sitting at the corner bar, Uber already scheduled for later.

He wasn’t planning on getting drunk, just buzzed enough to feel something other than the kid’s hand on his leg as he’d fallen to the ground.

Waving the bartender over, Jimmy pointed at the wall of alcohol. “Two shot glasses and a bottle of Jameson. Add it to the tab.”

“Sure thing.”

Jimmy wanted to be home, his head buried in his wife’s chest, and yet he couldn’t leave Jey alone. His brother was likely to get hammered and end up paying for company he didn’t want. None of them needed more ammo for Roman. As it was, they were all on thin ice.

Jey gulped down his third beer, belching again.

“Manners, punk.”

He huffed a short laugh. “Untwist your briefs, man.”

His twin playfully punched him in the side, something he’d done since their time in the womb.

Jey wasn’t wasted enough to justify getting sappy. He was a grown man at a damn bar, not some loser crying over poor life decisions and missing his childhood. “Damn it all,” he sniffed, staring a hole into the old wood.

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“Hot dayumm,” Jimmy whispered a while later, nudging Jey with his elbow. “Baddie incoming.”

Jey spun around on the stool, his back brushing against the bar, mouth opening in surprise.

Leather, pale skin, and tattoos filled his space. His eyes swept over the very little skin covered up, long legs highlighted by black platform boots, black leather skirt that had to have been a dress at some point. He quietly choked on air, gaze tracing the black panties exposed, over milky skin to the leather and studded halter bra barely holding her ample breasts in.

“Pinch me,” he murmured, ready to pull her in by her necklaces and sink his teeth into the slender neck barely disguised by the oversized jacket.

She stopped directly in front of him, tucking long black hair behind heavily pierced ears. “Hi,” she greeted, voice like hardened velvet.

His reply was swallowed by plump lips and the weight of slender fingers gripping his biceps.

“Mmmph,” he grunted, adjusting himself on the stool, then promptly giving up when a wet tongue tentatively licked into his mouth. “Shit, baby.”

“Shh,” she hummed, clamping her teeth onto his tongue, her lips acting like a suction to hold him in place. He let out a moan loud enough that several patrons heard over the music and talking. She didn’t care. Not when his hands dropped so low on her hips he was half gripping her leatherclad backside. “Lower… lower.”

“Hello?” Jimmy asked, face both shocked and disgusted. He dared glancing up and caught the puzzled look of the bartender. “Uhhh…” Yeah. Shrugging, he downed his and Jey’s shots, then turned his back on whatever fever dream was happening next to him. Fa la la la la… la… la… la… la.

Jey ignored Jimmy and the catcalls and whistles around them, instead moaning again when the mystery baddie squeezed his arms, her mouth doing something filthy with his. “Gotdamn, honey. C’mere.”

She hushed him again and again and again, her kisses and licks sparking wildfires in their wake. Her nails danced along his muscles, eliciting an animal sound from deep in his chest. She paused, lips swollen and wet on his. He protested, stealing two more pecks.

Regretfully, he pulled back to catch his breath, his eyes glazing over as her chest rose and fell, her mounds jiggling slightly. He wiggled on the stool as discreetly as possible, hands slipping down to cup her butt. “C’mere,” he repeated, spreading his legs for her to slot herself closer.

She blushed, her neck an inferno under the collar. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Gently, Jey nudged her bottom until she stepped forward, leaving only a breath between their bodies. This close to her, he was consumed with the sweet scent of dark cherries and bitter almonds. His eyes shut on their own. “You smell like a fantasy, sweetheart.”

In lieu of answering, she leant in, brushing her lips over his until he kissed her back. This time slower, his mouth adding just enough pressure to tease her. She didn’t even know him but now she needed more.

Jey swept his hands up and down her skirt, squeezing every other pass, the leather under his fingers fueling his desire. “For what?”

She pecked him again, then straightened. “Assaulting you.”

He chuckled. “Baby, I sure as hell ain’t pressing charges. Fars I’m concerned, this is every damn dream of mine comin’ true.” Jey slowly smirked as his mystery woman bashfully tucked hair behind her ears. He lifted one of his hands to help her. “You do this often?”

Blushing even more, she shook her head. “My ex walked in with his crazy new chick and I…” She shrugged, letting him fill in the rest. His smirk turned softer, and a long-forgotten butterfly fluttered in her chest.

He was gorgeous. Salt and pepper beard, skin smooth with the beginning of fine lines. She wanted to kiss the stud pierced into his left nostril, so she did, her body turning molten. “Sorry.”

Jey leaned back, tipping his head to see her better. His nose was burning where her lips had just been.

“Damn.” And because fair was fair, he motioned her forward, his chest waking up when she automatically complied, her bright blue eyes curious. “My turn.”

Her “for what?” was answered the second his teeth hooked around the hoop ring in her nose. He didn’t hesitate sitting up and wrapping his arms around her back, kissing her nose and then trailing a slick path from one cheek to the other.

“Besos…” More. “Besos.”

“So damn sexy.” Jey nuzzled his nose near her ear, breathing in her tantalizing scent. “Where’d you come from, sweetheart?”

“Here, there, everywhere.” His answering laugh was warm on her skin, endearing in an unexpected way.

Bravely, she brought her hands up to cup the back of his neck, sinking her fingers into his mullet.

Jey sighed, his shoulders slumping. Her sharp nails teased his curls like she’d done it for years instead of a minute. He wanted to ask where she’d come from again, why their paths had never crossed… but stopped himself. Someone so beautiful didn’t dwell in the places he did. He’d never seen her before because she wasn’t a monster with blood on her hands.

She eased his head back, unprepared for his deep brown eyes and the unmistakable anguish embedded in them. Her heart nearly stopped beating.

He tried to pull the cover up, but it was too late. Her intense blue eyes, the color of pure untainted waves, held him in a vice. Ten, twenty, thirty seconds ticked by, his words trapped in barbed wires and years of regret.

“Are you okay?”

“With you in my arms?” Cover now in place. Jey grinned at her, his hands sneaking in a handful of her blessed ass.

Rolling her eyes, she tugged on his hair, then abruptly took a few steps back, breaking the connection. He pouted at her, moving his arms to cross over his chest. She stayed strong, pushing away the invisible string trying to lure her back.

Jey congratulated himself when her gaze followed the shape of his arms, her cute little tongue flicking the corner of her lips. “Why me?”

“What?” She asked, embarrassed at getting caught.

“This whole damn bar, baby. Why me?”

“You aren’t wearing a ring.”

Unabashedly, he checked her out, lingering on her creamy thighs, his blood pressure spiking again. “I ain’t see no diamond on your finger, honey.”

“No.” Blowing out a steading breath, she pierced him with a final heated look. “Not yet.” With that, she gracefully spun around and made her way across the bar where her brother and his girlfriend waited in the booth.

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One hour later

Jimmy nursed a mug of black coffee, having lost the appetite for beer and Jameson. His twin had gone noticeably quiet after his impromptu make-out orgy with the leather-draped baddie, vacillating between contemplating his hands to sneaking obvious looks across the bar.

The bottle of whiskey sat a quarter ways empty between them, the appeal long gone to get drunk.

“Mans, jus’ go ask for her number.”

Jey jerked, accidentally jamming his thumbnail into the wood. He glared at Jimmy, hissing in pain. “What for?”

“You gotta be kiddin’ me?”

“Do I look like I’m in a kiddin’ mood?”

Jimmy swiveled on the stool and kicked his foot into Jey’s. He was willing to cut the asshole some slack for the awful day and tomorrow’s impending nightmare, but the foul moods one after the other were starting to grate on him. “A goddess dressed in leather, covered in tattoos, walked that fine ahh over here and stuck her tongue all the way down your stanky ass throat, and you don’t want her number?”

“Ain’t you married? Don’t talk bout’ my girl like that.”

“Hell yeah I’m married.” Jimmy’s brows waggled. “Doesn’t mean I don’t have eyes, or ears… thanks for that by the way.”

Jey blushed, the feeling of her lips on his and her low hums of pleasure looped in his mind again. “I can’t, man,” he said after collecting his thoughts.

Jimmy’s face clouded with confusion. “Why not?”

“Jim, she’s green.”

“Green?” Jimmy chortled in disbelief. “Where? That girl would easily beat my ass in a dark alley and yank my chains off.”

He smiled at the image, unable to stop himself from stealing another look in her direction. Her back was to him, but the strength of her arms, the power of her presence, radiated across the room. “No doubt.”

“So?”

Jey tore his eyes away. “She’s not from our life, Jimmy. She may walk our streets, but she ain’t got nothing to do with them or us. She’s too good.”

“For me,” dangled silently like a noose between them.

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Later

Jey paced outside of the bar, his mind all over the damn place. He’d given up the notion of getting hammered once her body had awakened something different in him.

Every dark thought had been kissed away, only a glossy balm coated his skin in her absence. He wanted and then he remembered why he shouldn’t.

Jimmy had argued “miracles” like her landing in his lap didn’t just happen for coincidence’s sake. Jey argued back that terrible people like him didn’t get to have nice things, or a woman so stunningly beautiful stare right into his corrupted soul and ask if he’s okay.

She shouldn't care.

He shouldn’t be craving it again.

Jey wanted and he was terrified he’d want more and more and more and then have it all ripped from him.

“Shit.” He kicked at the concrete, stopping to stare up at the night sky. “What do I do, huh?”

His twin would tell him to take a chance. His conscience doubled over laughing in his damn ears.

The stars tried blinking through the drifting clouds. Jey blinked for them, pondering if he should call for an Uber, pretending he didn’t waste two hours after Jimmy left him alone, confident his little brother wasn’t going to make even worse decisions.

Man, whatever, Jey scoffed to himself. He was seconds from laughing out loud in front of a busy intersection. All he needed was a concerned citizen calling for a wellness check.

No one would see him again.

“After you.”

Jey jumped, his heartbeat thundering in his ears.

Across from him a tall man held the bar’s door open as black platform boots, carrying pale legs covered in tattoos, stepped onto the sidewalk.

Everything halted.

Every sound quieted.

Blue eyes met his and he knew Jimmy was right. He couldn’t live with himself if didn’t try. Jey didn’t want the bitter taste of what-ifs haunting his lips. Not if she was the miracle he’d always prayed for.

“Hi,” she beamed at him, looking away only to reassure her friends she was safe. Her eyes found him again, and another excited “hi” traveled the short distance between them.

“Hey.”