In the Dark (23 page)

She hasn’t said a word. I made my big announcement and she’s gone mute. She allows me to lead her up the stairs and into the bedroom with absolutely no resistance. She stands by the bed and watches as I drag my T-shirt over my head. She’s shaking, and I know it’s not from fear.

“Take off your clothes.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“You’re the one with doubts, and I’m going to dick them right out of you.”

She gasps and then slowly removes her jacket. When it falls to the floor, she reaches for the strap of her dress.

“What? No objections?”

“I thought –”

“No.
I
thought you wanted to be with the boy, but here you are.”

Her hands fall limply to her sides and she perches on the bed, dropping her gaze to the floor.

“You were testing me.”

“I was merely helping you make the right decision. You know it’s right because you didn’t have to think about it.”

She sighs deeply, turns and blinks up at me as I sit next to her.

“You’re right. About everything. When you touch me, it’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I want you and it scares me.”

“Why? There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“You and me, it’s all physical. What happens after?”

“Doll, you worry too much. You need to relax. Just take each day as it comes,” I tell her.

“Okay, and in a couple of weeks, assuming you’re still around, you get what you want. What then?”

“What
I
want? You just said you want me, too.”

“Yes, but we won’t be friends. I won’t be your girlfriend. What will I be? Your little fuck toy?” she asks, cringing as she says the last words.

“Damn it, Raven! We have fun together and we have crazy chemistry. Why do you need to put a label on it?”

“Because I don’t wanna become Lonnie!”

“Oh, baby doll.”

I lace my fingers through her hair and then grab a handful, holding her steady so our gazes are locked.

“Let’s get this straight. No one’s touching you but me. Got it?”

“Gage –”

“
Do you understand
?” I ask forcefully.

“Yes.”

“Good.”

I place my hand on her knee and my thumb brushes against a jagged patch of skin. I look down and there’s a red line from a cut or scrape. I drop to my knees before her, rage building as I inspect her legs. That shit is all over.

“What the fuck?”

“Calm down,
Reaper
. I cut myself shaving.”

I look closer and decide it’s plausible. Then it hits me that I’m kneeling between her legs, her soft, supple flesh in my hands. I can’t resist. I trail my fingers lightly up her calf and pause at the back of her knee, making small circles with my fingers. Her sharp intake of breath urges me on, so I take her ankle and gently kiss my way up.

“Did you shave anywhere else?”

“Yes,” she says, her breaths coming hard and fast.

“Where?”

I sink my teeth into the flesh just above her knee and she gasps.

“My underarms.”

Little tease. With a smile, I do the same to the next leg. She curls her fingers into my hair with a moan.

“Anywhere else?”

“Mm hmm.”

I kiss my way farther up. Her legs tremble and she whimpers. I smell her. I’m so fucking close; I can almost taste her. Jesus Christ, a woman has never smelled this good to me before.

“Here?” I take a deep breath and lift my head before I do something I shouldn’t. She’s staring down at me, eyes hooded, lips parted, chest heaving. I feel like all the blood in my body has pooled into my dick and it’s about to explode. I slide my fingers into her hair and pull her closer until her lips are an inch from mine. “Well?”

“Yes,” she whispers.

Jesus.

“Bare?”

“Yes.”

Jesus Christ.

“You’re going to kill me, Raven.”

I kiss her softly, savoring her taste. Her lips part and I slip my tongue inside. She wraps her arms around my neck, whimpering as our tongues tangle. I leave her lips, kissing down her neck and sternum. She quivers, whispering my name. I swear, every time I touch her, she makes me feel like the biggest, baddest motherfucker on the planet. God, I can’t wait to sink my dick deep inside her. I rest my forehead on her chest and try to get my body back in check. Hard enough to do without her tits a breath away from my lips. I put some space between us, but she keeps her hands on my shoulders.

“Gage, will you hold me? Please?”

“Hold you?”

“You know, lie down, put your arms around me…
hold
me
.”

I guess I can do that.
I kick off my shoes and climb onto the bed. She does the same and snuggles up next to me, placing her head on my chest. I curl my arm around her shoulder and stare up at the ceiling. This is a new experience. Can’t say it’s unpleasant, though. Actually, it’s pretty nice.

***

A vibration in my pocket wakes me up. Shit, I fell asleep. So did she. Her head is still on my chest, her breath warm on my skin. Her arm is around my waist and her leg is thrown over mine. Waking up to her, also not unpleasant. As a matter of fact, I don’t want to move and risk waking her up.

“Your phone’s ringing.”

Too late. Instead of moving away, she yawns and burrows in closer. I fish the phone from my pocket and see two missed calls from E. As I’m about to call him back, he rings again.

“E.”

“You need to get to the Kitty right now, bro.”

“What’s going on?”

“Some shit’s going down. We need you.”

“I’m on my way.”

I try to move and she tightens her arm around me. I’ve never had a woman do that before. Never had a woman just wanting me to hold her, to be in my arms. Then again, I’ve never given any of them the opportunity. I hate to admit it, but I like it.

“I gotta go, doll.”

She groans in disappointment and loosens her hold. I pick up my Glock from the nightstand and tuck it into the back of my jeans. As I grab my shirt off the floor, she sits up, rubbing her eyes. Even half-asleep she’s gorgeous. I wouldn’t mind returning to find her in my bed.

“You wanna stay until I get back, or you wanna go home?”

“What time is it?”

“Almost one.”

“I should go. I can’t believe I fell asleep.”

“Me, neither.”

She slips on her sandals, picks up her jacket, and follows me out of the room and down the stairs. On the way down, I call Ron.

“Stay here. Ron’s coming to pick you up.”

“Okay.”

“Text me when you get home and I’ll call you tomorrow.”

Since when did I get so big on communication? Shit.

“’Kay.”

God, I can’t resist her, bed hair and all. I pull her into my arms and kiss her. The moment our lips touch, she moans. Her fingers curl into my shirt the way they always do. It’s as if she can’t get me close enough. As much as I want to stay right here, I can’t. I pull back and smile down at her.

“What?”

“Congratulations. You just became the very first woman I’ve ever slept with.”

I don’t know why that would please her, but she smiles.

“So I’m the first on your bike and the first you’ve slept with. Good to know.”

As I kiss her forehead, I just know there are going to be a lot of firsts between us. “See ya, doll.”

I head for the door but stop in my tracks when she calls after me.

“Be careful.”

It hits me right in the gut. She cares. I’ll decide later if that’s a good or bad thing. “I will.”

I walk to my car, feeling an overwhelming force trying to drag me back inside. I fight it, barely winning, and hop into the Beamer. Whatever’s going on at the club, it’s serious enough for E to call me. As soon as I drive through the gates of the quiet community, I floor the pedal, hoping I’m not too late.

I get there and there’s a long line of cars waiting to get out.
What the fuck is going on?
Inside, I find E pacing nervously. Razor, Motor, Crow, and Venom are standing around, looking worried.

“E.”

“Bro. Some chick came in with two guys with guns. They have Nita up in the office.”

“The fuck? They say what they want?”

“She’ll only talk to you. Had to tell everybody there was an electrical problem and shut it down. Comped all their bills.”

Fuck this shit. No one fucks with my family or my money.

“Crow, Razor, gimme your guns.”

They hand them over and I pass one to E. I stick it into the side of my jeans, making it obvious. E does the same. We head up to the office and I knock on the door.

“It’s Gage.”

The door cracks open and a huge, black guy points a Beretta in my face. E and I raise our hands and he slowly backs up, letting us in. Cassidy Martin. Stupid bitch. She’s standing there with a silly grin. Another giant of a man stands next to her, pointing a gun at Aunt Nita, who’s tied to a chair looking scared as hell.

“Toss the guns.”

I drop Crow’s gun, E drops Razor’s, and we kick them away. Idiots don’t even pat us down.

“You okay, Nita?” She nods and I turn to Martin. “What’s this about, Cassidy?”

She jerks her head toward the bathroom.

“Let’s talk.”

I take a cautious look back at my aunt and then walk to the bathroom. Cassidy follows and closes the door behind her. I turn to her, raising a curious brow.

“Hi,” she says, nervously tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Hi? You’ve got two guns trained on my aunt and you greet me with
hi
?”

“I was never going to hurt her. I just…why do you have to make me resort to drastic measures to get your attention?”

The bitch is a fucking psycho. At first she was an annoyance, but now she’s pissing me the fuck off.

“That’s what this is about? You want some dick?”

“Yes, I mean no. I want
you
. I can’t stop thinking about you, Gage.”

“Really? ‘Cause I haven’t thought about you once. Can’t even remember what your pussy felt like.”

And that’s the truth. I remember fucking her in her office, but that’s about it. She was hot – long, red hair, green eyes, and curves – the way I like my women. And she was throwing herself at me, so I caught her. But that was it. Pussy was forgettable.

She moves closer, her eyes dropping to my crotch.

“Maybe I should remind you then.”

“No, thanks.”

She freezes and stares at me in shock. “Wh…why? I don’t understand.”

“Look –”

I’m about to break it down for her when I hear Nita scream. I push past Cassidy and fling the door open. One of her goons is standing before Nita, who’s now crying and sporting a busted lip. I see red. All fucking shades of red. But mostly the deep, dark shade of blood.

“You put your hands on my aunt?”

“Bitch has a big fucking –”

I put a bullet between his eyes before he can finish the sentence. E reacts quickly, capping the next fucker before I can. Cassidy screams. I grab her neck and force her against the wall. Her eyes are wide in fear, tears beginning to form. She’s lucky she’s a woman.

“Listen, bitch. This ends now. I don’t want to hear from you or about you. Don’t call the club and harass Nita. Do
not
try to contact me for any fucking reason. If I even hear a whisper of your name, you end up like those two. Got it?”

She nods vigorously, the tears streaming down her cheeks.

“You mention anything about what happened tonight to anybody but God, you’re dead.”

“I won’t! I promise!”

I release her and she runs through the door, smashing into Crow. He grabs her and I nod to him so he knows it’s okay to let her go. E has untied Nita and she rushes over, throwing her arms around me. And then she smacks me.

“The fuck was that for?”

“I told you to keep it in your pants.”

She leaves the office in a huff and I shake my head. Maybe she’s right. It’s my dick that got us into this situation.

“Clean this shit up,” I tell the guys.

As I drive away from the club, I find myself wishing I’d left Raven in my bed. I’d be heading back to her now instead of an empty house. Fuck it. I’ll just head to the clubhouse and crash for a few hours.

I check my phone and see her message.

R: I’m home. Getting into bed. Wish I was still in yours…

Fuck me.