“He does?”
“Yeah, him an’ Bella. They needed to settle somewhere permanently so they could adopt.”
Wow, that was news she didn’t remember hearing. It surprised her that a cop would live in a biker compound. “Did they?”
“Not yet.”
“Who else lives here? Who should I be worried about running into?”
“Like I said, Z an’ Sophie...”
“With their two kids. Zane and Zeke?”
“Yeah. D an’ Jewel.”
“And their two girls.” Jazz shook her head at the thought of D having two baby girls. “What’s their names?”
“Violet an’ Indigo.”
“I assume Jewel named them. I can’t imagine D coming up with those names.”
Crow’s lips twitched. “Also, Dawg an’ Emma. Dawg’s got three girls now. Caitlin, Lily and their baby Emmalee.”
“Damn. Three girls, and he runs a strip club.”
Crow shook his head. “No. Moose now runs it. Dawg took over the gun shop.”
“Because Pierce is gone.”
“An’ ‘cause of his girls. Dex an’ Brooke gotta place here. Jag an’ Ivy with their ‘lil spitfire Alexis. Lexi’s a redhead just like her momma. With the same flamin’ hot temper, too.”
“Poor Jag.”
Crow snorted. “Fuck. He loves it.”
Ivy swore up and down, inside and out, she’d never be a biker’s ol’ lady. Jazz had believed her, too. “He chased her forever. I never thought she’d give in. I was surprised when she did.”
“Everyone knew she’d give in. Jag was too fuckin’ determined an’ stubborn to give up.”
“Then everyone knew but Ivy. So, does no one live above church anymore?”
“Hell yes... Moose, Coop, Jester, an’ Rooster. Plus, a couple new prospects. Then you got the steadfast bachelors... Nash, Rig an’ Crash.”
“And you.”
“Yeah, but like I said, had enough of that shit. Mostly the younger generation’s livin’ above church. When I’m crawlin’ into bed at midnight after a long day of fuckin’ slingin’ ink, don’t wanna hear Rooster crowin’ as he’s stickin’ his dick into one of the sweet butts.”
“He probably doesn’t want to hear you do the same thing.”
He stared at her for a moment, his eyes intense, then his gaze slid to the side. “Right.”
Why did it bother her that he didn’t deny he took advantage of the women who made themselves freely available to any of the brothers?
Why would he be different from anyone else?
Because he was Crow, that’s why.
He dropped his hand and stepped back. “It’s late. Let’s get you upstairs an’ settled.”
“I can’t believe you live in a house that has an upstairs.”
He grinned. “Yeah, me neither.” He grabbed her bag off the island and jerked his chin. “Let’s go.”
Jazz’s heart thumped as she considered her options. She knew what she wanted. She knew what needed to happen, but she had to handle it carefully. Last thing she wanted was to make the approach and Crow not only shut her down but shut her out.
He paused at her guitar. “When d’you start playin’?” He picked it up and headed out of the kitchen.
“A few years ago,” she murmured to his back as she followed him down another hallway toward the front of the house, then up the polished wood steps to the second floor. From what she could see in the dim lighting, the house was full of real hardwood floors and the walls painted in rich earthy colors. That was fitting for the man she followed up the steps, as she reminded herself to watch where she was stepping and not his ass.
At the top of the stairs, he hooked a left and went to the far end of the house.
“How many bedrooms do you have?”
“Three.”
“So, plenty of room for guests,” she murmured, figuring he was going to set her up in a guest room.
And was surprised when he walked into what looked like the master, instead.
Maybe he was going to make this easier than she expected.
He tucked the guitar into a corner and tossed her bag on the king-sized bed. She didn’t know what to expect for decor since, though he was half Native American, he was also a badass biker.
His furniture was black and masculine, his bedspread a plain tan. He had a couple framed photos on the wall that looked like they were taken at a reservation somewhere with Native Americans in real headdresses and wearing authentic garb. She’d have to look at them closer later.
Besides that, he had a large dreamcatcher hanging on the wall over the headboard. It looked like it was authentic and not bought at some retail store. Real white and black feathers hung from it, colorful beads, real sinew and leather cording were weaved around a willow hoop. It was beautiful. Stunning, actually.
“Kachina,” Crow murmured behind her.
She tugged her gaze away and turned to him. “This is your room,” she said needlessly.
“Yeah, the other rooms are empty. Had no need to buy furniture or anythin’. This is the only bed.”
“We’re going to share a bed?” That thumping heart of hers went into overdrive.
His mouth opened, and she stared at his lips as one breath, then two escaped him. “You’re gonna sleep in here. I’m gonna sleep downstairs on the couch ‘til I can get another bed delivered.”
“I can sleep on the couch.”
“No, Kachina, you’re gonna sleep in my bed.”
Fuck. That’s what she was hoping she’d hear, but she’d also hoped he’d be in that bed, too.
“Got another set of sheets ‘round here somewhere.”
“No, it’s fine. If I’m going to be your house mouse, I can take care of that. But not tonight, since, like you said, it’s late.” Hell no, she wasn’t changing his sheets. She wanted to sleep in them just the way they were. “But, Crow, I don’t want to put you out.”
“You ain’t. Want you in my bed.”
Her pounding heart seized and then kick-started again. Her whole body began to tremble. She needed to sit the hell down before she collapsed into a puddle of goo at his feet.
He grabbed her elbow. “You okay?”
“Yes,” she squeaked.
His dark brows lowered. “You sure?”
She sucked in a ragged breath. “I’m fine. I—”
“Not gonna bother you up here. Promise. You’re safe.”
From who? She wanted to ask. From him?
“Never doubted that,” she whispered.
He gave her a nod and released her elbow. “First thing when I get to the shop tomorrow, gonna start designin’ your piece. Yeah?”
“Yeah,” she breathed. “I’ll make you breakfast in the morning and clean up around here tomorrow. The days you tattoo me, I’ll head in with you and help in the shop. Will that work?”
“Yeah.” He turned away from her. “See you in the mornin’.”
As he walked toward the door, she said, “Crow, wait!”
He stopped halfway to there and glanced at her over his shoulder.
“Thanks,” she said softly.
“Glad you’re home, Kachina. You’re where you belong.”
Jazz forced herself to take her next breath. Then the next.
He had no idea what those words meant to her.
None.
Chapter Three
Crow shoved the colorful handwoven blanket off his body and rolled off the couch. He adjusted his morning wood in his boxer briefs and ran a hand up over his bare chest, his bristly, unshaved jaw and then through his still loose hair. He never re-braided it last night before he tried to crash.
He normally slept naked but figured he’d better wear something since Jazz was in the house.
He brushed his fingers over his hard-on and pushed the thought of her in his bed out of his mind. That was the last thing she wanted or needed from him.
He shouldn’t even be thinking of her in that way, anyway.
Snagging his jeans from the floor, he yanked them on and, as he was fastening them, headed into the kitchen where he heard someone moving around.
He knew who it was because it happened all too often. The culprit had not only the key to his house, but the code to his alarm.
Stepping bare-footed onto the cold tile floor, he murmured, “Baby doll,” then cleared the morning roughness from his throat.
Diamond glanced over her shoulder, her blue eyes alert, her long dark hair tucked into a loose, messy knot at the top of her head. She was wearing a snug black camisole and what looked like cotton pajama shorts that showed off her shapely legs. Without a bit of makeup on her face, it reminded him that Jazz needed to cut that heavy shit out.
“Fuck, sorry. Was I too loud?”
“No, wasn’t sleepin’ anyway.” He hadn’t got a fucking minute of rest. Not because he was trying to sleep on the couch, but because of who was sleeping in his bed upstairs.
“You look like shit. What’s wrong?”
Crow glanced back toward the steps, hoping Jazz had slept better than him and remained in bed while Diamond was there. Especially since his house guest didn’t want anyone knowing she was back in town.
Yet, anyway. He was going to do his best to convince her otherwise.
“Nothin’s wrong. Things are gettin’ right.”
She tilted her head, her blue eyes studying him. “Meaning?”
He shook his head and went over to stare out of the glass sliders off his kitchen nook. His place was at the back of the neighborhood with his deck facing the woods. The hundred acres of woodlands Z and Kiki were now in negotiations to purchase. The early morning sun was beginning to peek over the tops of the trees.
Behind him he could hear Diamond digging through the fridge to make them breakfast.
“Where’s Slade? Why aren’t you makin’ him grub ‘stead of me?”
“For one reason, he had to get up at the ass crack of dawn to open the gym.”
He frowned. “What happened to the prospect who does that?”
“Apparently, according to labor laws, we occasionally have to give him actual time off.”
Crow snorted. “Yeah. An’ the second reason?”
“Because you don’t eat like you should. Ever since you moved out of church and no longer have access to Momma Bear’s cooking, you’ve been looking a bit thin.”
Right.
“He know you’re here?”
Diamond didn’t answer.
So, of course, he didn’t.
“C’mere.” He glanced over his shoulder to where she was fussing with some eggs. “Baby doll, c’mere,” he repeated more firmly.
With a nod, she left what she was working on and moved over to him. He pulled her in front of him, wrapping his arms around her waist, and turned her to face the glass doors. He spread his fingers wide and placed them on the rise of her belly.
“How is he?”
“Fine.”
“How ‘bout you?”
“Still scared as fuck,” she admitted.
“Gonna be fine. You guys went through a rough patch, but you’re strong. Made for each other. This baby will bind you two closer together.”
“I wasn’t ready,” she whispered.
“Know it,” he answered just as softly.
“I don’t think he was, either.”
“Slade’s gonna be a good father.”
“He’s afraid he won’t. This kid will have no grandfathers. None. Our fathers weren’t the best role models for either of us.”
“Yeah. But your pop was loyal as fuck. That’s why he’s where he is. You’re loyal as fuck, too, baby doll. You guys’ll do fine.”
Diamond leaned her head back against his shoulder and sighed. “He’d be questioning my loyalty right now if he saw you holding me. You know how many times he’s told me you aren’t supposed to touch me?”
Crow released a low chuckle but didn’t move his hands from Di’s stomach. Life grew in there. Life Diamond and Slade made together. He couldn’t help but be in awe of it.
The club was growing like crazy lately. The brothers settling down, making families of their own. Though he was a bit envious, he also liked the way his life was and wasn’t ready for that to change anytime soon.
His only regret was he was getting older and he might not get the chance to have babies of his own. But he also wasn’t sure he even wanted any.
“I should respect his fuckin’ wishes,” he finally said.
Diamond twisted her head enough so he could see her grin. “But you won’t. Why’s your hair down?” She reached up and swept a piece of it away from his cheek.
She was the only one, besides Bella, that he ever allowed to touch his hair. But usually only a touch. He didn’t allow them to braid it or unbraid it.
Not like he had let Jazz last night. Once his uncle had taught him how to braid it properly, no one touched it. Not even a barber. Sometimes he’d trim the ends himself but not often. He could go for years without a pair of scissors ever touching it.
“It needed to breathe.”
“I’d be the envy of the whole sisterhood if you let me wash it for you.”
He grinned and pressed his lips into her hair, murmuring, “Know that’s not gonna fuckin’ happen.”
“One day.”
“Right.”
A noise behind them had them both turning their heads in that direction.
“Jazz is home,” he murmured into Diamond’s ear, causing her to freeze in his arms.
Diamond released an audible breath as she stared at Jazz, who stood like a scared rabbit at the entrance to the kitchen, ready to run at the slightest movement.
Jazz’s gaze dropped to where his hands were, and something crossed her face.
“Go,” Crow murmured under his breath and released Diamond.
With a nod, she crossed the kitchen and grabbed Jazz, crushing the younger woman in her arms.
“Holy fuck,” Diamond sobbed. “Holy fuck. I almost didn’t recognize you with your hair.”
Jazz’s eyes met Crow’s over Diamond’s shoulder and he could see her nostrils flaring as she tried not to break down.
“Baby doll, don’t smother her to death.”
Diamond nodded again and stepped back. “Jesus, you’re a sight for sore eyes. Why didn’t we know you were coming?”
Crow stepped closer to the two of them. “She doesn’t want anyone to know she’s back yet. So, keep it to yourself for now.”
“I’m not here long,” Jazz said.
Diamond glanced from Jazz to Crow and back to Jazz. “Why here?”
He understood Diamond’s question, so he answered it. “Needs some ink. What she wants gonna take some time, though, so...”
“I’m going to help out here and the shop while it’s being done.”
Diamond arched a brow at Crow. “A house mouse?”
He sighed and moved over to the coffee maker he paid a small fortune for. It even ground the fucking beans, but the damn thing was worth every fucking penny. And right now he needed caffeine.
Jazz watched the muscles ripple along his back as he grabbed stuff to make coffee, then fiddled with the machine. Her eyes traced each line and curve of the club colors tattooed over his golden skin. The one just like the rest of the patched members had inked into their skin to show their loyalty and love of their “family.”
When she turned her attention back to Diamond, the other woman was watching her closely with what looked like surprise in her blue eyes.
“I live next door. I didn’t mean to intrude. Until you...” Di waved a hand around, “finish whatever you’re here for, I’ll leave you two be. When Slade’s not around for breakfast, I come over and make it for Crow so he at least eats a decent meal once in a while.”
“I eat,” Crow grumbled, keeping his back to them.
“Whatever,” Diamond said on a sigh. “Not worth arguing about.”
Her gaze landed on Di’s belly once again. “Cong
rats.”
Diamond pursed her lips for a moment, then said, “Thanks. We weren’t really trying. It kind of smacked us upside the head.”
“It’s the water at church,” Crow grumbled again as he pressed a couple of buttons and then turned to lean back into the counter, his hands planted on the edge behind him.
“I purposely didn’t drink the water at church,” Diamond muttered. She turned her attention back to Jazz. “You’re not going to stay a little while and then just up and leave, right? Everyone will want to see you.”
Jazz didn’t want to answer that, so instead she jerked her chin toward Diamond’s pregnant belly. “Slade’s, right?”
Crow made a choking sound.
“Yeah, he’s my ol’ man,” Diamond stated with a grin. “Like I said, we live next door, so if you need anything, just let me know.”
“Like I told you last night, Kachina, Slade rolled into town after... after you left. Diamond set her eyes on him an’ he had no choice but to pay attention. He was fuckin’ toast.”
Diamond’s grin widened. “It didn’t quite happen like that.”
Crow made a noise.
“I’m happy for you,” Jazz told her. “Sounds like the club’s expanding.”
Di laughed. “You have no idea. I mean, Diesel has two little girls now! Imagine that. And those babies had him wrapped around their fingers the second they popped out of Jewel.”
“Jewel’s so petite compared to D,” Jazz murmured, trying to imagine the DAMC sister bearing Diesel’s kids. It had to be like a chihuahua giving birth to pups whose sire was a Mastiff. Jazz winced.
“And he hardly lets them out of his sight because he’s so protective of them. He wants to make sure that the W—” Di shut up.
“I don’t blame him for being protective,” Jazz answered.
“Well, anyway, glad you’re home. Hope you’re here to stay. Kiki could use the help at the law firm. She and Jayde are as busy as all hell. And if she doesn’t need you, then Slade and I do at the gym. Our membership is growing like crazy.”
“Gym?”
“Yeah, Slade and I run a gym now. Shadow Valley Fitness in town. I teach kickboxing and he coaches boxers. We have all the rest of the normal gym equipment, too.” She placed a hand on her belly. “Though, I’m done teaching for now.”
Down & Dirty: Crow: Dirty Angels MC, book 10 Page 4