by Jade Kuzma
“So, we’re just gonna let him dictate our terms?”
“Let me go after him,” Brawn spoke up.
Everybody turned toward the big man. The enforcer of the club commanded as much respect as anybody in the entire town. He was as big as any man I’d ever seen. When he said he’d go after someone, you knew he meant it.
“Just tell me where to find him,” Brawn said. “I’ll find him and his boys. I’ll get a little dirty but I’ll make sure the job gets done.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “It won’t be that easy. Michelle told me herself. Cross knows he’s in our scope. He’s ready, whether or not we do anything.”
“I can do it—”
“I’m not gonna risk you to settle this. Calm down, Brawn.”
Brawn let out a frustrated sigh and sank into his seat. Despite how intimidating he was, he was respectful enough to know his place.
“So, what happens if we let him in on the deal?” Petey asked. “Him and the Vultures do what? Two? Three trips?”
“They get their money and then they leave,” I said. “We’ll be done with them without putting the entire town in jeopardy.”
“And you believe him?” Needle said.
“Nobody at this table trusts Cross,” Ghost said. “But if it’s an option, we have to consider it.”
“Not a good option…” Needle sighed.
I looked at Ghost. He gave me a shrug and sighed just the same as Needle.
“What do you think?” I asked.
“Let’s put all the options out there,” Ghost said. “Option one, we let Cross and the Vultures in on the deal. We do our part to make sure he keeps his word. As soon as he gets his payment from the Triads after a few jobs, we escort him out of town and make sure he never comes back.
“Option two, we tell him to fuck off. We go to war. It’s been a long time since we’ve had to go at it with another club but you know we’re ready. The Vultures won’t be left standing.”
“That’s it?” Sully said. “Those are our options for dealing with him?”
I thought about what Michelle said for a moment. I couldn’t even believe I was considering it. She was always on my mind though. The way she looked at me was tattooed in my thoughts.
“Garnet.”
I blinked my eyes when I heard Ghost’s voice. I looked at him and realized that I’d been drifting off into space.
Everybody at table was waiting for me to say something.
“There’s one other option,” I said.
“There is?” Petey said.
“We back out. We back out completely.”
“What?” Needle exclaimed.
“We pull out of the deal with the Chinese for good. We don’t have to worry about the Triads. We don’t have to worry about the Vultures. We don’t have to worry about the feds or the cops.”
Needle widened his eyes at me.
“You can’t be serious,” he said.
“I’m serious,” I said. “We were the first ones to get into bed with the Triads. We’ve all made more than enough money to last us a long time.”
“That is a possibility,” Ghost said. “Dealing with the Chinese isn’t exactly the safest thing in the world. We can cash out now before the house gets its money back.”
“I can’t believe you’re even considering that,” Needle said. “You guys hearing this?”
He looked at Sully. The young patch looked away from Needle. Needle turned to Petey and Brawn on the other side of the table but they didn’t say anything either.
“This can’t be real,” Needle said. “Another club comes into town and we’re just gonna bend over for ‘em? You let them fuck up your ride. They fuck up your leg. They take your girl—”
“That’s enough,” I said.
“Nah!”
Needle got up from his seat.
“You’ve lost your fucking mind,” Needle said. “This is crazy.”
“Sit down!” Ghost barked.
Needle always talked too fucking much but I knew where he was coming from. He knew better than to let his emotions get the best of him though.
“All right,” he said as he put his hands in the air. “All right…”
He calmly sat back down in his seat.
“You should know what it’s like,” I said to Needle.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he replied.
“You’re engaged to a beautiful woman. You’ve got a beautiful baby girl. Those two people should be more important than anything to you—”
“They are. What’s your point?”
“My point is that the only thing that’s as important as them is the patch.”
“Are you questioning my loyalty?”
“No. I’m only saying that this deal with the Triads isn’t as important as you think it is. You can make money another way. You’ve already made your money. Another deal will come our way. The club has always found ways. The deal we have with the Triads is only important because of your family.”
“…Yeah. I get what you’re saying.”
He might’ve understood what I was getting at but he didn’t look happy about it. Nobody in the room was.
Needle looked off to the side of the room and stared into space. Everybody else was zoned out. The look in their eyes told me their minds were going a mile a minute.
The time for talking was over. Now we had to make a decision.
“Those are our options,” I said. “How do we deal with the Vultures and the Triads? Let’s put it to a vote.”
“I still say we cut him out,” Brawn said. “Take out Cross and the Vultures. We keep business going with the Triads. Nothing changes.”
I looked at Petey.
“Tell the Chinese to talk to Cross,” he said. “The Triads are already dealing with every other club in Ivory. What’s one more club? Especially if it means they leave when they’re done.”
“Shit…” Sully muttered.
Everybody turned toward him. He shook his head and sighed a deep breath of frustration.
“Sometimes when I’m out there on a job, I see my life flash before my eyes,” he said. “It doesn’t happen very often but there are times when I’m in real danger out there putting out fires.”
Sully was a volunteer at the fire station. Being a Black Reaper was already hard enough. The man was strong enough to handle the burden of being a firefighter, too. He was special. There was no doubt about that.
“When I come home, I see the concern in Gina’s eyes,” he continued. “I tell her it’s all right and there’s nothing to worry about but I can’t hide how exhausting it gets.”
He looked up at me and nodded.
“Money’s not a problem,” he said. “It sounds like the easiest way we wash our hands of this shit is to just let Cross in on the deal. If he doesn’t keep his word, we make him pay.”
“The easiest way would be just to take care of him,” Needle said. “My opinion hasn’t changed. We kill him. That’s it. You talk about Katrina but she understands. She knows what this life is like. She’s known it her whole fucking life. She understands.”
Sully and Petey wanted to let Cross in on the deal. Needle and Brawn were still insisting on shooting first and asking questions later.
“VP,” I said.
Ghost was staring down at the center of the table. The motherfucker looked as introspective as he always did.
“I know what it’s like,” he said. “After that shit that went down with the Corps, dealing with the Vultures isn’t something I’m too anxious about. I know we can handle them. Going to war with another club isn’t something I’m above. But then I think about Anna, too.”
“And what would Anna say?” I asked.
Ghost slowly shifted his eyes toward me.
“She’d tell me to do what I have to do. She knows that the only justice in Ivory is the justice we make with our own two hands. But I know she’d only be saying that because of what happened to her.”
“
So, what are you saying?” Needle said.
“…I’ll leave this up to the wisdom of the rest of the club,” he said. “And to you, President. I abstain.”
Everybody turned toward me.
“Two to two,” Petey said. “What’s it gonna be, President?”
I stared straight ahead and thought about it for just a second. I knew what I had to do.
Reaper: Chapter 14
MICHELLE
The Grindhouse was as busy as it was during weeknights. It never got as rowdy as some other bars in town. Most people who came to the clubhouse just wanted to relax and have a drink so they could forget whatever bullshit was going on in their life. There was always a friendly atmosphere in the air even though men had to settle their differences outside from time to time.
With Tony in town, The Grindhouse was the safest place for me to be.
I wished I could have a few drinks to calm my nerves. I headed into the room I had in the back to distract myself. I sat on the bed and looked out the window as everything that happened so far played back in my head. Ivory didn’t have much to look at but there was something peaceful about the night.
Right now, the only thing on my mind was Declan and the meeting he was having with the club. Tony’s fate was being decided along with the rest of the town.
The door opened suddenly. I didn’t have to look to know who it was. I listened to the door click closed and someone move right next to me.
“Where are the ladies?” he asked.
“Busy,” I said. “Katrina’s with her brother. Gina is working a late shift at the bakery.”
“Anna?”
“Anna’s at the shelter,” I sighed. “She’s always at the shelter.”
Declan put a hand on my shoulder. I put my hand on top of his and looked up at him.
“Ladies night can wait for another time,” I said. “The only person I need by my side right now is you.”
I stood up straight and pressed my head to his chest. He squeezed his arms around me. Feeling his tight embrace and hard muscles against me was like floating on a cloud. All of the weight that was on my shoulders had disappeared. I could’ve had the weight of the world but Declan could make it feel lighter than a feather.
“Did you talk to them?” I asked. “Did you put it to a vote?”
“We voted.”
“And what did they say?”
He didn’t respond immediately. I looked up into his eyes and he smiled softly at me. It was amazing that a man as intense as he was could still be so tender. His beard made him look ruggedly handsome. Maybe even a little bit intimidating. But his eyes always reminded me of why I felt so comfortable next to him.
“I love you,” he said. “You know I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy.”
“I know you do. I love you, too. Nothing can tear us apart.”
I reached my hands up and wrapped them around his neck. I stared into his eyes, trying to figure out what he was thinking but I couldn’t get anything out of him.
“What did they say?” I asked. “What are you going to do—”
“Let’s not talk about that right now. The only thing I wanna do is be with you. I don’t wanna think about anything else. I just wanna fuck you.”
Damn.
Just like that, he sparked a fire inside of my stomach. Everything I was thinking about just fell out of my head. Just the way he looked at me was enough to make my knees buckle.
He lowered his face to mine and kissed me deeply. His tongue darted into my mouth. The wet sound of our lips echoed through the room. The music from inside the bar vibrated through the walls in the distance.
“Then fuck me,” I whispered into his mouth. “Fuck me and give it to me.”
I gasped when he suddenly picked me up from the ground. I wrapped my arms and legs around him while he carried me over to the bed. Our lips remained tangled with one another in a sloppy union.
He tossed me on the mattress after the short trip. I pushed myself up and sat before him. I watched in anticipation as he took off his outfit.
Seeing a man like Declan in his leather kutte turned me on enough. What was underneath was even more exciting.
He zipped his vest down and dropped it to the side. Then he raised his shirt up over his head. Broad shoulders lead down to a tapered waist. A trail of hair underneath his navel made his six-pack that much more appetizing. The ink on his arms and chest highlighted his muscles to the point that it was hard to focus on just one part of his body. His entire physique was like a work of art.
“Shit…” I sighed.
I was so distracted that he caught me off guard when he put his face back to mine. His rough hands fumbled with the top of my jeans and undid the buttons. The metal teeth of my zipper went down. My jeans followed. The thong I wore followed after that.
He knelt down in front of me and grabbed my ankles in his firm grip. He forced me to spread my legs even though I was doing so willingly. One last look from him warned me of what was about to come.
“Oh… Fuck…”
My voice quivered when I felt his tongue on me. My head rocked back and my eyes shut. My back arched so that he could get every inch of me.
Declan’s tongue was soft and wet. He moistened my folds with his spit so that he could slide himself up and down with ease. The way he worked me made me feel like it was happening for the first time all over again.
You’d think that you’d get used to having a man go down on you. That wasn’t the case with Declan. No, he always knew just what to do. The way he licked my clit. The way he probed my entrance. The way he kissed my lips and sucked them between his teeth.
My legs trembled in his strong grip. My legs remained spread at his mercy. I was in a blissful agony, writhing on the bed uncontrollably from the pleasure burning inside of my body. The feeling swirled in my stomach and pulsed through the rest of me. My skin tingled with electricity.
My mouth opened but nothing came out. I was moaning so much that my throat started to dry. But I wasn’t about to tell him to stop.
I reached down and ran my hand through his hair. I squeezed a handful and pushed him down on me. My hips started to move on their own. I grinded myself against his face. He let me feel the entire length of his long tongue.
I was dripping at this point. His lips sucked and swallowed all of the fluids pouring out of me.
My eyes started to water and my vision started to blur. I was having trouble breathing. Any second now, he would push me over the edge with just his tongue.
“More…”
I moaned desperately to find my release. I grabbed his head and brought his tongue to my clit. I grinded against him rapidly, to find the orgasm that was there waiting for me. It was like being on top of a mountain, looking over the edge, and just waiting to fall.
But just when I thought I would find my release, Declan pulled away from me. He pulled his hands from my ankles and stood up straight. My body collapsed on the bed.
I blinked my eyes open just in time to see him peel his jeans down. His cock was hard and pulsing with a life. A drop of his precum dripped from his tip as he held it to me.
His tongue was satisfying but his cock was another experience. Only his dick could have me in even greater agony.
“Oh… Fuck!”
He always brought out the worst in me. Even with the loud music and conversations, I knew there were people in the clubhouse who could hear us. Declan fucked me so hard and filled me up so completely, it was like everything else inside of me just had to get out.
He pounded me relentlessly. Our bodies collided in a hard rhythm with the mattress squeaking beneath us. Every thrust pushed me back closer to the edge.
I reached out and wrapped my hands around his broad shoulders. My legs wrapped around his lower back, ensnaring him completely.
Our lips found each other but for only just a moment. It was too hard to focus on kissing him when it felt so good just to get fucked by him.
He pressed
his forehead to mine and looked me right in the eye.
“You like that, babe?” he grunted.
“Yeah… Yeah, I like it.”
“What do you like?”
“I like it… Oh, Damn… I like it when you… fuck me… Ahh…”
It was so hard to talk but he had me at his mercy.
His hard cock spread my insides. His hard muscles dripped with sweat and pressed against me. His masculine scent filled my nostrils. The taste of his lips lingered on my tongue. Everything about him consumed me.
More than anything, the look in his eyes made it more intense than it already was. He made it a point to make sure that I knew he was the man fucking me. Nobody could ever satisfy me the way he did.
“Shit… I’m gonna come, babe.”
“Come with me… Come with me while I come inside of you.”
“Yeah… Give it to me… Fill me… Fill me with your cum…”
It was getting harder to speak. I was desperate for him. My body was crying out for him.
I squeezed my legs around him. I dug my nails into his skin. I tightened myself around his cock. I used every last bit of strength I had and held my breath to get to the edge.
“Ahh… Fuck!”
I shouted it out loud enough for the entire fucking town to hear. My orgasm slammed into me and made my body jerk. My back arched. My toes curled. My heart pounded inside of my chest.
Declan let out something unintelligible. A masculine grunt that couldn’t be described with words. It was more a feeling than a saying. And I definitely felt it.
Thick throbs of his cock followed by wet splashes of cum against my insides made my own orgasm that much more satisfying. He kept pulsing while I shook underneath him. The two of us held one another tight while we succumbed to our climaxes.
I held on for as long as I could before the feeling slowly started to subside. The wonderful feeling of sex spread from my core. The heat flowed through my veins and kept me warm but the sweat on my skin cooled me down. I was hot and cold all at the same time.
Declan rested on top of me. The hard weight of his muscles pressing down on me was wonderful. Feeling his cock twitching inside of me only made it that much more satisfying.