Okay, here's chapter 22. I thought i put it up yesterday but i guess i only uploaded it to the site, not the store. Ha...these are the things i do sometimes lol.

But anyway, enjoy it.


If you let me, I could
I'd show you how to build your fences
Set restrictions, separate from the world
'Fences' by Paramore
_

AGAIN

Lots of chatter, but none of it pertained to her. It was always that way, so at least she wasn't surprised.

Natalie would get the cursory greeting at the beginning of the evening as people commented on how much she'd grown and how much she looked like her mother. She would smile and agree, perhaps a little embarrassed but pleasantly all the same. Then they might ask how school was and if she was making her old man proud. Well, no, she probably wasn't these days, but she didn't tell them that; instead she assured inquisitors that she was doing fine but wasn't looking forward to finals. That undoubtedly got one of two responses: a solid reassurance that she'd do fine - she was Chris Shepherd's daughter, after all - or it would get a laugh of agreement and a short anecdote of how, they, too, and dreaded finals.

It wasn't that her parent's friends and coworkers didn't care or didn't like her; they were always nice, they just didn't know her well and they were just being polite. Natalie knew their children enough to mingle nicely, but for the most part wasn't close with most of them by now. Anymore, she only saw these people at get togethers like this or when they were at the house for barbeques, which she only stopped in on politely now that she was old enough to skip out. It was the same with everyone's kids now, though; parents couldn't set up "play dates" anymore to create a social group for their grown kids, so they'd all drifted away to their own real friends.

"I heard you get to leave early"

Natalie laughed when her cousin Amanda cornered her with an accusing sort of face.

"Yup," she smiled.

She didn't feel bad; it was every son/daughter for themselves when it came to weaseling out of unwanted social gatherings.

"Bitch…where are you going and can I come?" she tried to persuade; her parents would probably let her go if it was with Natalie…Natalie was Natalie after all - what harm could come of it?

"To a bar with some friends, and not tonight," Natalie shook her head; it would be awkward to bring a new face to Joe's welcome home.

Amanda rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her blonde hair.

"At least one of us will be having fun then"

"You're turning twenty-one, soon; I'll take you out"

"Really?" she perked up.

Natalie nodded affirmatively. Amana wasn't completely innocent but she'd stayed pretty darn sheltered even now that she was off to college. Natalie certainly wasn't planning to take her to The Four Roses but she and Paige would take Amanda somewhere to have a proper twenty first birthday…something most of the friends she hung out with probably wouldn't do.

"…or you could take me out now and sneak me drinks," Amanda tried her luck.

"Not tonight," Natalie laughed, though that would fly at the Roses any other time. "I'll see you soon, though, okay?"

"Sure, sure," Amanda sighed in resignation, giving Natalie a quick hug before heading off to mingle elsewhere since her usual fallback at these events was leaving.

The dinner had been over for quite some time now and Natalie had just been waiting for her dad to detach to another part of the room so she could say good-bye to her mom and "accidentally" miss her dad.

"Alright, mom, I'm heading out then," Natalie announced with a sweet smile, giving her a hug.

"Already," her mom sighed.

"Oh, our kids are just growing up and always leaving now, aren't they, Jennifer" Mrs. Hogan chuckled in a nostalgic kind of way.

"So sad but so true," her mom nodded with a half smile of her own. "Are you coming home after?"

"No, I'm probably going to Paige's cuz I'll be late," she shook her head.

She knew that her mom knew that now "Paige's" basically meant "Billy's" but Natalie didn't see a reason to rub it in her parents' faces, nor was it Olivia Hogan's business where she went at night. Actually, with Joe being home maybe she would be crashing at Paige's…she was interested to see how the dynamic of another resident of the apartment was going to work out. Billy, of course, insisted that she stay whenever they wanted but she didn't want to if it bothered Joe at all.

"Alright, have fun, be safe"

Natalie nodded and left after another quick hug and walked off to the sounds of Mrs. Hogan starting up with "Oh, isn't that all we can do? Hope they're smart and safe now that they're independent…."

She rolled her eyes and went to get her coat from the coat room.

"Uh-oh, making an escape, are we?"

Natalie jumped and turned as she shrugged on her coat, but she smiled to see her Uncle Dean in the doorway; her father's brother.

"Yeah, I heard Amanda didn't manage it tonight"

"Oh, I'll be weaseling her into staying at these things for as long as I can," he winked. "Karen's always complaining, saying you kids will all learn to like these kinds of things again when you're older….I say I like it when Amanda would rather be out with the girlies; at least you guys have got friends, right?"

"Exactly. Remind my dad about that if he complains, would you?" Natalie chuckled

"Ah, now he's a tough egg to crack," her uncle pretended to cringe. "Go on, have some fun, kiddo…don't do anything I wouldn't do back in my college days."

"So do whatever I want?" she grinned.

"…within reason," he amended, waving her off.

Natalie laughed and headed for the door; her uncle had definitely remained the more mellow of the Shepherd brothers. Her dad had really sobered up with the job, though she knew in college they'd both played as hard as they worked.

She shook away all the thoughts of her dad as she left the building and hurried to her car; the winter wind was uncomfortably cold against her bare legs.

Maybe it was silly and needless, but she was a little nervous to get to The Four Roses and finally meet Joe. What if they didn't along? Maybe they'd have clashing personalities or maybe they just wouldn't hit if off? This could be potentially very awkward…

So she drove a little slow, even though it seemed like a stupid thing to do.

When she did get there, she stepped in and shed her coat to shake some snow out of it. She heard a clear whistle from the back and spotted Paige sending her a wave and she hollered something Natalie didn't quite catch over the din of the place, but she assumed it was something dirty. Paige's noise caught Billy's attention and he turned, grinning slowly as he looked her over and got up to come over.

"Want a drink before ya go sit down?" Sammy offered, pulling her attention from Billy to the bar.

"Sure…something mixed, go ahead and surprise me," she trusted him.

"Yo, she gets served before me? I'm right here," someone at the bag complained.

"Looks like it, buddy," Sam shrugged.

"That's bullshit"

Billy was there by now and he slapped the man upside the head without giving him a second look, suggesting it was someone he knew.

"Well look at you," he smirked, ducking to kiss her deeply.

"Hello to you, too," Natalie smiled right back.

"If I knew you were dressin' like this, I'd tell you to do these hoity-toity dinners more often, damn…"

He looked her up and down approvingly. She was wearing a black strapless dress. It had a belt around the middle to offset its simplicity, but it fit her like a glove and stopped just above her knee.

"Thanks," she blushed slightly, tugging on his golden chain necklace to pull him down for another kiss.

"Hey, let's break it up; make room at the bar," Sammy joked, sliding Natalie's glass to them.

"Ah, fuck you…" Billy grinned. "Another round back there, yeah?"

Sammy nodded and Natalie grabbed her drink as Billy curled his arm around her neck and led her off.

"Ready to have a good time now that you're away from mommy and daddy?" he chuckled at his own little joke.

"Yup"

"Good, Joe's been waitin' on ya"

"Oh…I'm kindda nervous"

Billy scoffed at this; he saw nothing to be nervous about when it came to Joe. Natalie just pinched his side lightly, well aware his amusement was at her expense.

She could pick Joe out immediately. That was natural, as she knew all the other guys pretty well by now and he was the only stranger to her, but he also stuck out in the group. He was a little pale and he was smaller than the other guys….definitely Billy's little brother. He had a cigarette in his mouth and drinks in front of him, but even these things didn't age him enough to look like he fit in with this rough crowd. Something about his face was different than the others…it hovered towards hardness but some sort of boyishness still lingered in his features in some unidentified place.

He looked up when he saw they were coming back and a smile split his face immediately and he put down his cigarette in the ashtray.

"The infamous Natalie," he drawled, standing up to give him a one-armed hug.

Billy stepped back to let him do this, and as for Natalie she was a little taken aback….apparently Joe didn't require a long warming-up phase. She returned the friendly gesture anyway.

"Take it easy, Joe; she's nervous," Billy outted her, fetching a smoke from his pocket.

Joe laughed easily at this.

"So you dressed up all nice just for me then?" he teased, looking her over.

"Watch it," Billy ordered carelessly around the cigarette dangling between his lips.

"Kidding," Joe rolled his eyes. "Heard you were at some fancy dinner; thanks for skipping-out for me."

"Not a problem; I'm glad we finally get to meet"

"Me too; Billy talked about you enough when he visited," Joe dropped the dime on his brother, perhaps in retaliation for Billy doing the same to Natalie moments before.

"Alright, alright…drinks are here," Billy ended that conversation as the barmaid showed up with a tray of shots just in time to provide the perfect distraction.

"To Joe," Bodie threw up a toast, which they all drank to enthusiastically.

Billy sat back down in his chair and tugged Natalie to sit on his leg while Joe took the seat next to him where he'd been before.

"So, Nat, how's all of your other best friends?" Paige laughed.

"Oh, super," Natalie rolled her eyes in much the same tone as Paige.

"And how is Corey Larson?"

"Oh she's still rubbing it in that she goes to Harvard, that's for sure"

"Haha, I still say she wants you. She's not fooling me - she's into girls"

This got a couple the guys' attention, causing Paige to laugh more and Natalie to just roll her eyes.

"We know why she wishes you went there, so you can live with her. This chick's been wanting Natalie ever since they made out for a free drink on Natalie's 21st," Paige announced.

"Paige," Natalie groaned, trying to kick her under the table - she misjudged and kicked Baggy, not that he seemed to notice.

"She hot?" Baggy checked.

"Tall and blonde," Paige led on.

"So…like, are you two gonna make out?" he asked, eyes a little wide at the suggestion as he gestured between the two girls at the table.

"No," Paige laughed.

"Definitely not, and none of that's even true; Corey likes to rub it in that her school's more prestigious, that's all," Natalie clarified.

"…is it true you made out with her?" was all Baggy wanted to know.

"I wouldn't call it making out," Natalie sighed.

"It was making out," Baggy nodded. "Fucking hot…you do that, babe?" he asked Paige, focusing down on her now.

"You'll never know…" Paige teased.

Baggy looked to Natalie for information but she wasn't paying attention; she was more interested in Billy's hand sliding up the side of her skirt.

"Kissing girls, huh?" he smirked.

"…it seemed like a good idea at the time, yeah," she admitted.

"…alright, I like that," he continued to smirk at the thought.

"Perv"

"Was she honestly good looking?" Billy lifted an eyebrow at her.

"She's cute I guess…it's not like it did anything for me," Natalie rolled her eyes; she'd never understand guys digging anything and everything girl-on-girl.

"I can do somethin' for ya…"

She smiled but stopped his hand before it traveled too far.

"Not here you can't," she shook her head.

"Tonight," he told her simply - it was a promise.

"Should we if Joe's around," she asked quietly since Joe was fully distracted by whatever rowdy conversation the guys were having.

"I'm thinkin' Joe ain't gonna be around tonight…pretty sure he'll have some entertainment arranged elsewhere."

Natalie scrunched up her face.

"He's been in the clink, Nat; the boy needs somethin'," Billy laughed.

Natalie conceded to this, though she was still a little repulsed with the notion if Billy was implying Joe would be with a hooker. Billy seemed to see that but it only amused him further. She ignored what might've been him taking humor in her naivety and traced the crinkles at the corner of his eye caused by his mirth. She traced the lines of his face, and the fact that he indulged the tender touch in public was probably proof he'd had enough to drink by now to relax; plus, he was in a generally good mood over Joe's release.

She tilted him up for a kiss, which he responded to. His hand was now over her dress, rubbing his hand over her hip and side deftly. He was starting to wonder if he'd be able to get her to go in one of the back rooms with him, but immediately discredited the idea. Well, maybe if she was really drunk, but other wise he was waiting it out.

He broke the kiss to get back to his beer and distract himself from her dress. Maybe most guys wouldn't want their girl in a place like this wearing that dress, but for him It just made him a little cockier; guys might look a little more but he was Billy Darley so he was the only one touching. The way she looked was all for him and here in this bar, his place, everyone knew it.

"Yo, Billy; ya down to let me try to win my money back?" Tommy nodded to the pool table.

Billy agreed and patted Natalie's hip so she'd stand and let him up. He blew the smoke from his mouth before kissing her again quickly and straightening to join Tommy.

"Yo, Sammy!" Billy hollered for the head bartender's attention; when Sammy looked Billy motioned to Natalie's empty drink.

"You got it," he nodded.

With that, he was off to make some more money off his boy Tommy.

"Dunno why they bother, hardly anyone beats Billy in pool. He's been comin' here and shootin' around since he was, what, fifteen," Joe informed her, shaking his head at Tommy's persistence.

Natalie smiled at Joe's recollection. Fifteen seemed a little young but in Billy's case she wasn't surprised. She realized, then, that Joe's arrival on the scene would be giving her a lot of new insight on Billy. Not only was she going to get to see the dynamic of one of his closest relationships, but Joe had known Billy his whole life and would have more stories about him than anyone else.

"Wanna play some darts?" Joe nudged her to ask, nodding at the vacant board.

She agreed and they got up to go play where they'd be able to have an actual conversation.

"So you're the girl taming my big brother," Joe chuckled around his cigarette as he plucked darts from the board.

Natalie laughed a little. She wasn't sure how she like the word "tame," though, and told him so.

"Well, it's basically what you're doin'," he shrugged. "I mean, at least part of him. But it's cool, ya know. Billy's never been big about lettin' people in…likes to keep people are arm's length - less messy."

Natalie knew this.

"Wanna make a wager on this?" Joe propositioned.

"Like what?"

"Anything"

"Okay…how about dishes? Billy hardly ever does them and I don't want to"

"Sure…and I heard you moved back out. I don't mind you stayin', so it better not have had to do with me."

"Well thanks, but it wasn't really…we never agreed that I was really moving in"

"Uh-huh, well don't be a stranger on my account"

"M'kay….So what about you? You as arm's length as your brother?"

"Me?" he scoffed. "I've been lookin' for a nice girl who'll have me and that shit always blows up. Billy ain't never been interested in that and then you come along. You sure ya stumbled across the right brother?" he joked.

"Pretty sure. Sorry."

"Don't apologize, woman," Joe laughed. "Just don't go anywhere. I'm stoked Billy's got somebody - makes me worry a little less."

They'd thrown their first round of darts and Joe frowned deeply upon analyzing what he saw.

"Shit. Ya didn't tell me you were good"

"You didn't ask"

"…you're hustlin' me," Joe nodded knowingly.

"Me and my brother used to play a lot," she shrugged innocently.

"Damn, you've got a brother? Let me guess, he'd like to kill Billy, right?" Joe laughed, finding the concept very funny indeed.

"Well, no…"

"No?" Joe frowned.

"Well my brother died a couple years ago - it's okay, you didn't know," she assured him.

"Uh…how'd he die?" Joe asked, fiddling with a dart in his hand.

"He was in the military and he was killed."

"Shit…sorry"

"Me too…you gonna throw?" she changed the topic.

"Yeah, gotta redeem myself," he rolled his eyes.

"But to answer your question…Connor probably would want to kill Billy," Natalie decided, throwing one of her own after him.

Joe laughed.

"Probably a good brother then"

Billy watched his brother and his woman between shots. He was pleased to see them getting along, but not surprised. They were both social and easy going; despite Natalie's nerves, he hadn't been worried. So while they got to know each other he continued to shoot around with Tommy.

"Yo, Billy, hey," Baggy got his attention as he walked over.

"What?"

"I know we're cool with him now or whatever, just thought I'd give you a head's up…"

"The fuck are you talking about?"

Baggy nodded up front and Billy followed his gaze to Vince, who he hadn't seen in a couple days since that night at Natalie's. Natalie clamed she hadn't seen him either.

"Finish this," he directed, handing the pool stick to his friend before turning on his heel towards the dart board.

"Hey, guess who's winning," Natalie greeted him with a grin.

"That's my girl," he nodded, slinging his thick arm around her shoulders. "I want him gone," he told her plainly, using the hold on her to urn her to face the bar.

Natalie's smile faltered in confusion when she saw Vince, then she turned a worried eye to Billy.

"Hey, I'm behavin'. I ain't doin' anything, but I don't want to put up with him tonight. Whatever he wants needs to wait. Not tonight - go tell him that, yeah?"

She nodded and handed him her darts.

"You better win; dish duty is riding on that game."

He nodded and took them before propelling her forward with a soft nudge.

"What was that? Who's he?" Joe nodded, flustered over being out of the loop.

"Just a guy"

"What's he want?"

"Hell if I know. Keep an eye on it for me; make sure it stays kosher."

And he promptly turned his back on it lest he become further annoyed with Vince's presence.

"Hey Vince…what're you doing here?" Natalie decided to cut straight to the point.

"That's my greeting?" he chortled. "Look at you, all dressed up - que bonita."

"Thanks - he thinks it's cute to talk Spanish to girls," she informed Sammy with a laugh.

"I do it too," the bartender smirked before tending to someone.

"So have you been okay?" she asked, only getting a dismissing wave in return from her friend. "Okay, look…what're you really doing here again? It's not a good idea…"

"Aw, not happy to see me?" he pretended to be offended.

"You know I always am, but -"

"Relax, I don't plan to stay - see, I even still have my coat on; I just knew you'd be here cuz of little Darley over there being free."

"How'd you know that?"

"…do you know why I'm here?" he sighed.

"No, that's what I keep asking"

"I don't mean here here….but here in the city"

"Because…you're visiting? I don't know, it's what you do - you show up."

"That's true," he grinned with a laugh. "But not this time. I mean we're catching up and that's great…but I guess I'm kind of here to keep an eye on you. Your dad called me a few weeks ago about this Darley thing…"

"Uh, she don't look too happy, man," Joe spoke up after watching Natalie's smiling demeanor drop straight off of her face.

Billy forgot the throw he was aiming-up and turned to look. True enough, Natalie was now frowning deeply at Vince.

It pleased him in a way to see their interaction not as easy and natural as usual - that always irked him slightly, and if he explored the feeling he might find it had a tiny bit to do with some possible jealousy. On the other hand, she'd never looked that way at Vince, had never even spoke ill of him, so something was wrong.

"She was smiling a second ago…who is this cat?"

"An old friend," Billy simplified, now watching them closely.

"He what? So, what, now you're playing spy? I'm sure you know all about the PI…"

"I do. Saw the picture - it's how I knew about this place," he waved his hand around, ignoring that this piece of news made her look like she wanted to throttle him. "But I ain't reporting back to big Chris, alright. I'm sure he wants me to."

"I can't believe him…or you!"

"Hey, what? It was a good excuse for me to drag my ass home to see ya…couldn't not when I head what you're been up to…he's just worried, Nat."

"Yeah about me or himself? Geeze…I need my own place…"

Vince laughed at that.

"…look, I promise I am not giving him any sort of play-by-play. The whole reason I haven't been over for dinner is cuz I'm waiting on my face to heal," he gestured to the faded bruise. "Didn't want him guessing what happened and having a coronary…."

"Thanks," Natalie muttered, hand on her hips moodily.

"Don't get attitude with me, chica," he swiped her hand of her hip teasingly.

"You should've told me right away," she pointed a finger bossily at him - dang, maybe Billy really was rubbing off on her a little.

"…how old of a friend?" Joe asked, watching the man carelessly catch her finger and move it aside.

"…like a brother," Billy answered, though through slightly tight lips.

"I said lose the attitude…I just agreed to come make sure you're okay…I'm mildly convinced you are."

"Mildly?"

"He did manhandle you the last time I was here - him and Baggy….the fuck kindda name is that anyway?"

"I don't know, and they weren't manhandling me."

"Sure, sure…"

"You still haven't told me why you're here now"

"Well your dad called - hey! I said I'm not snitching so stop lookin at me that way," he told her firmly.

"Then why's my dad calling and giving orders that you're following?" she threw up her hands.

"Would you shut it for two seconds and let me tell you? Shit, girl - silencio."

Natalie rolled her eyes but complied.

"Bueno. I figured if he's gonna be tryin' to keep that good of a tab on you, I thought you should know. Originally I thought once I showed up he'd just be happy to, ya know, know someone was here who would really look after you; obviously he can't show up in a place like this. I thought we'd hang out, you'd never know, and it would never matter anyway. But now I had to have the "I am not your spy" conversation with him…."

"Bet he loved that…but why'd he call? How often does he do that?"

"Not since I've been here…but he knew something was going on so he wanted me to check and see you're alright."

"How'd he know that?"

"He's a judge. He knew Joey dearest was out and you left that dinner early…" Vince shrugged, letting her piece the information together the way her father had.

"Ugh, he's so paranoid…"

"Can you blame him? Look where you are?" Vince laughed. "I ain't judgin', but this is far from home, sista."

"Right," Natalie conceded.

"He just doesn't want you hurt or in trouble. I ain't another PI on your case…I'm just checking in on 'family.' No big thing…just thought you'd wanna know about Big Chris…we gotta fight the power together sometimes, right," he winked.

"I guess…"

"Problem here?"

Billy was at the bar now, though he didn't exactly intrude on them. He stood at the bar behind where Natalie was turned to face Vince. His hands were on the bar and his eyes forward to Sammy, but his comment was clearly for them.

"Another round for the table, a beer for me, and get Nat another of whatever she's been having."

"Nah, no problem. See you later, Nat; you both take care, hey?"

"Yeah, thanks"

Vince squeezed her elbow lightly and left.

Natalie watched him go before turning around to Billy and kissed his shoulder where he was still leaning forward against the bar waiting.

"The hell was that spat about?" he asked, looking down at her from the corner of his eye. "Don't roll your eyes at me."

"I'm not rolling them at you…Vince was just telling me how he only came to visit when he did because my dad called him and told him about us," she gestured between them.

"…and?" Billy rose an eyebrow; he could see this going a few different places.

"And…my dad, I guess, wanted him to basically be a personal little PI-"

Billy's eyes widened a little at that and he straightened, eyes darting to the door.

"Which he's not," she finished. "He's not like reporting back. He just thought it was interesting and came to make sure I was okay and to catch up."

Billy rolled his eyes now but relaxed.

"What made him decide to divulge that happy piece of information t'night?"

"It sounds like he started to feel a little guilty that my dad started to specifically call him to check on me certain times…like tonight after I left the dinner…"

"Your old man's a piece of work, huh?" Billy chuckled. "Ah, don't look so embarrassed about it; ain't your fault," he nudged her elbow.

"Mmhmm…so tell me you beat Joe at darts."

"Course I beat Joe," he scoffed.

"Good. I don't want to do your dishes anymore," she sighed.

She leaned against his arm for a moment but Sammy set their drinks down, letting Billy know drinks were coming to the table soon.

Back at the table and later into the night, the group had made their way through many more drinks.

"You sure you can drive?" Paige waved her hand at Billy.

"Perfect - you're the lush," he chuckled, watching her stumble.

She made a face and then gave Natalie a hug before Baggy led her out.

"You ready to go, Joey? Sounds like you're going to be having a good night," Natalie smiled, hooking her arm over Joe's neck. "Are you ready?"

"Damn straight…"

"Make sure you're safe," she reminded him with a wink.

"Alright, I think my baby brother knows how t' get with a girl. C'mon," Billy tugged her away from Joe.

"Aw, you just want to get home," she smirked up at him, sliding her arms around his middle.

She wouldn't really consider herself wasted, but she'd was definitely in a good mood…

He grinned and did nothing to negate this, steering her towards the door.

"We'll swing around and pick you up in front," Billy told Joe, who was saying farewell to he few guys who were still there and hadn't yet run off with a girl.

"Babe, he can't join," Natalie shook her head as they headed for the door.

"Fuckin' right he can't," Billy rolled his eyes. "We're dropping him off."

"Oh," she laughed.

Once they were outside, the winter air whipped around her and she tensed up and sobered up some.

"Oh, shit, my coat"

"Got it," Billy raised his hand that was hanging on his other side, handing it to her.

"Hmmm, I knew there was a reason I loved you," she joked, nestling it around her shoulders.

"Mmm, just one, huh?" he snorted, flicking away his cigarette and letting the cold air fill his lungs.

"No," she laughed, moving closer to his side to get warmer.

"That's what I thought…it won't take long to take Joe where he's gotta go," he assured her, stopping her in front of his car to slid his hands past her coat and duck to kiss her.

"Too cold," she shook her head, breaking the kiss before it went on too long,

Billy allowed this and unlocked the car so they could get in their respective doors. Natalie hopped in the back so Joe could get in and out quicker. Joe was talking to Heco in front of the bar so they had to idle for a few minutes. Natalie smiled to herself and squirmed down in her seat.

"…the fuck ya doin'?" Billy grunted when she hit his seat.

"Sorry," she giggled.

A moment later she leaned forward and draped her arms forward over the seat to run her hand over his chest.

"Here, this is for you," She whispered, just as Joe was circling the car.

She pushed something into his chest and he brought his hand up to it, frowning at the fabric until he straightened it to see that it was her panties…a black lace thong, to be more precise. He raised an eyebrow and looked back at her, glancing down at her lap, and a smirk quickly grew on his face.

Joe opened the door and he quickly stashed her underwear away in his coat pocket before his brother could get in and see. Natalie just laughed and leaned back in the seat.

It was a short drive to drop Joe off somewhere and he was in such a rush to get out that he forget to let Natalie up to the front but she didn't care; the last thing she needed was to struggle getting out in her skirt and flash him a peek. She did, however, want to see the girl Joe was talking to, so she leaned forward to look out the window, but she couldn't get a good look in the dark.

"What're you doin'?"

"I want to see - is she cute?"

"Hell if I know; it's some broad he kindda knows," he shrugged before taking off.

"Am I more than just some broad you know?" she asked coyly, sliding over to the seat directly behind him to lean forward and massage his shoulders slowly and kiss the side of his head.

"Ya know you are," he muttered back, tilting his head to give her access to his neck.

She accepted the offer and sucked on the nape of his neck, stroking his throat with one of her hands. She found his ear and sucked on the lobe before grazing the shell lightly with her teeth. Her lips worked their way slowly back down his neck, biting the skin just above his shirt collar. He grunted and curled his arm backwards to bury a hand in her dark hair. She snickered and continued to suck along the side of his neck and then onto his jaw.

"Mmm, eyes on the road babe," she whispered when he turned his head to try to kiss her.

She pulled away when he rounded into the parking lot and shrugged on her coat correctly. Billy quickly flipped his seat forward and helped pull her from the back and ushered her inside since he'd already heard about how cold her dress was in this weather. He would ask why she wore it if it was so cold, but she looked good and he wasn't about to question that.

"Ya know how much of a fuckin' tease ya are in that thing?" he complained, working his door open.

"Me?" she smiled innocently, shedding her coat slowly.

"Yeah you," his eyes raked over her.

He ripped off his own coat while she shut the door and then he was on her. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed her hungrily, finally groping her the way he wanted now that they were in privacy. She moaned softly as his hands squeezed her breasts and he pushed her against the closed door.

His mouth owned hers, working expertly. She wrapped her arms securely around his neck and he grabbed her waist, pulling her flush against him to grind his hips against her lower stomach so she could feel him ready for her.

"Somone's rough tonight," Natalie panted when he moved one hand up to her hair and gave it a good pull to tilt her head so he could latch onto her neck.

"Better fuckin' believe it," he growled. "You ready?… …ya feel ready," he smirked after he slid a hand up her skirt to feel her.

"I've been thinking about you all night," she smiled.

She was so innocent but damn if she wasn't a little temptress sometimes.

She kept her eyes on his and worked his belt open and then his jeans, letting them fall to the floor. He just kept that smug look on his face and pushed both of his hands up her thighs to hike the bottom of her dress up. Once it was over her hips he lifted her up so her legs were around him, heel-clad feet crossed behind him, and entered her smoothly. He pressed her back against the door to help keep her up and kissed her hard. Everything about it was hard and Natalie dug her fingers at his scalp, and when she found no purchase there she clung to his shoulders, fingers in his shirt.

Billy kept one arm under her and his other hand found her throat, circling it easily. It was a little something of his; he was into necks - well, her neck now. He applied pressure sometimes, but never enough that it scared her. She didn't really get the impression he was into the literal act of choking - she never had bruises…that would be hard to explain - but more the power of it. He had the power, he had the control. It had made her nervous when he first did it and she hadn't let him, but had since grown to trust him more and allowed it…hell, it even turned her on some more now. Natalie had tried to do it to him once, just to see if she could; to her surprise he'd let her, staring her intensely in the eye as she rode him. She never did it again but she enjoyed knowing she could have that power if she wanted.

"Ya like that?" he grunted, breath purposefully trailing behind her ear because he knew it gave her chills.

He knew she did but she squeezed her legs around him slightly just to show she did. He growled and gave her throat a squeeze as he continued to thrust into her forcefully. She moaned and dropped her head back, eyes half shut, and squeezed his shoulder; her nails were only a dull pressure though his shirt.

She was done for fairly soon, crying out and panting. Billy groaned at the feel of her and pressed her harder into the door. Damn but she felt good; apparently a night of watching her waltz around in the dress was well worth it because here he was, taking her all he wanted.

He knew they were in a relationship, and when he said he loved her he meant it; sure it was foreign to him but he really did love her. He wanted her, everything about her. He needed her, her presence, just….everything. Still, he couldn't deny how damn good it felt to just clam her, to physically make her his. He wouldn't use the word "owned" her, but he marked his claim pretty fucking well - to hell with it if it wasn't a PC kind of phrase. He was the only one who did this to her, she was his…which, consequently, made him hers - this was a fact that he'd quietly realized but had yet to really explore it. Billy Darley just didn't belong to anything/anyone but himself…but with her, with Natalie, it was alright…

He came hard, groaning loudly and shuddering. His legs felt weak for just a moment but he kept them where they were, leaned against the wall. He stayed there for a while, letting her run her hands over his scalp and rub his neck. Slowly, he straightened and circled his arms under her properly to pull away from the door.

They held each other's gaze and Natalie smiled, tilting her had in a thoughtful sort of way as she traced the scar on his chin. Billy had never been ashamed of his scars - they were his life story, times he's survived - so he had no qualms about letting her do so. She kept her eyes on his, though, as he walked to the bedroom. She was still smiling…always full of fucking smiles and little grins - she was starting to pull more little smiles out of him, too, besides his smirk. God, he loved seeing her face light and free like that.

Yeah…free. Pretty fucking free and innocent, she was. And that was the way she needed to be. He danced an intricate dance of getting her to conform to some things - mostly the kinds of things that he only meant to keep her safe now that she was spending a lot of time in his part of town - and yet not changing her from her. He just won't let himself change her completely even though he was confident he could…she needed to be like she was right now, with that free kind of look in her eye. He needed to know there was something in the world that he could not taint…he needed her to be something white in his dark, dark world. He liked her that way…she was something good he could try to consume himself in whenever he could so that he could get a taste of what it was like to be fucking normal.

They got to the bedroom and he dropped her lightly on the bed. She made quick work of his shirt and he slowly removed each of her heels, dropping them aside. Her dress took a little more work, fumbling with the belt and then the dress and then the bra, all while she did her best to distract him with her hands and mouth. She bit her lip to hide giggles at his impatience and he growled at her attempts to fight dirty, using her mouth to draw his attention from her belt.

Damn it, but it felt so normal and so, so good.

He got her clothes off, tossed them away heedlessly, and pinned her beneath him to continue their night. Good fuckin' party indeed.

Alrighty, hope you enjoyed =]