“Yeah, you’re probably right,” he agreed. “But I’d be sure to call you up if the net got loose.”
“Or to fix your pansy ass racket,” Bentley added.
“Boys…boys…boys,” I said. “I’m so glad to see you’re in good spirits.”
“Damn right we are,” Connor said. “Heard you and Pike are an item now. That means he can stay the hell away from Lauren.”
Bentley shot Connor an upset glance. It wasn’t meant for me to see but I’m not as young and naïve as they thought. Bentley was sweet for not wanting me to be reminded that my new husband had been busy trying to steal their wife a short time ago.
“I think I’ll wait for a third husband,” I told them, mostly to see their expressions. “No need to rush into it.”
I wondered if they weren’t tied down if either of them would’ve been interested in vying for that third slot.
“Well I get the feeling you won’t be able to wait too long,” Bentley said. “These young men around here will be chomping at the bit to get to you.”
I grinned and I knew my smile was from ear to ear. I didn’t want my pleasure at his comment to be too obvious so I looked down at his feet, which, in the end probably only intensified my blushing.
In truth, the third slot was already taken. I’d promised it to Kent but nobody else knew that.
“Might have to put a muzzle on some of these dogs,” Connor said.
“So Lauren’s inside?” I asked.
“All morning. The biker chick too.” Bentley said.
“The outsider?” I asked.
“Yup,” he replied.
The Seven were gathered inside the chapel, just them, with a few members of security and the new girl. I peeked through the front door and quietly made my way in. I sat quietly in one of the pews at the back of the chapel. Lauren noticed me and put a finger to her lips to make sure I remained quiet.
Yes, Mom.
I wasn’t surprised it was just the woman present. I supposed the man was still laid up in bed somewhere, probably stitched up and bandaged. After all, he’d had a bullet pass through his chest. Now that the woman wasn’t slamming fists against Pike’s back and she’d had the chance to clean up, I could see how pretty she was. She looked so much younger than I’d originally thought. Her makeup was fixed and she wore clean jeans and a black top, probably given to her by one of the seven.
She looked back and watched me as I sat. Our eyes met once and she lowered her gaze. I couldn’t tell if she was ashamed, disappointed, or conniving. She was either confused about her emotions or knew exactly what hand she was playing. One thing’s for sure. I didn’t like her. My previous thought about hoping she could forgive me went right out the fucking window. I didn’t like this chick.
I couldn’t hear the question asked but the woman answered.
“Yes, my name’s Gwenneth. I’m from a copycat community in Dallas. We heard all about you and tried to start our own branch. I’m a Dove where we’re from.”
I’d heard of one other Dove community but that was it. It didn’t surprise me that others had followed suit. We had a great thing going. We were a peaceful folk in a land of maniacs. We were the eye in the storm.
Word traveled fast. Some of our community members found us that way, including Pike. Over the years we’d occasionally needed to use outside maintenance men, electricians, and other workers. Of course they talked about what they saw up here. So people knew we existed and I guess some of them liked the idea enough to try it themselves.
The Seven seemed amused. I couldn’t tell whether or not they believed the woman but they seemed to be open to the idea.
“And the man who came with you?” Bethany, one of the Seven, asked.
“My fellow, Roscoe,” she said. “He’s…he’s the only one I have left. I’m afraid my other husband was killed and so was my other potential fellow.”
Sienna smiled. The others did too or were busy whispering to each other. Lauren returned her attention to me. As our eyes met I shook my head “no.” I don’t know why I did it but I didn’t trust the two newcomers. Taking a bullet didn’t necessarily translate to “good guy.”
“So what brings you here to our community?” Jewels asked.
She was always known for cutting to the chase. She usually sat quiet but when she spoke, the words carried weight.
“Three days ago. In the morning, right after dawn, we were attacked. Viciously attacked,” Gwenneth said. “Everyone…my baby boy…”
She put a hand to her face and sobbed. She was too weak to be a Dove. I didn’t buy it. Why weren’t they seeing what I was seeing?
Now, I’ll admit, I was being quite judgmental, especially for a woman who’d broken down all alone in the dark the previous night, but I was young and new to this Dove thing. This bitch should have had tougher skin. If she’d lost a daughter, sure, cry about it. But a son?
Would I cry for a son? Shit, maybe I would. I probably would I suppose.
“I’m sorry,” Bethany said. “Take your time. Sit down if you need to. Jessica, can you please get her some water?
Are you fucking kidding me? Now I’m a servant, bringing drinks to this outsider? The same tramp I’d wanted to kill yesterday?
I looked at Lauren who simply nodded her head. I didn’t want to do it but when the Seven said to do something it was wise to listen.
Lauren. Of course it would be Lauren telling me what to do. I hated her but I loved her just the same. I envied her was perhaps the best word and envy is a heavy weight to carry on your shoulders.
I returned with the water shortly after, on time to catch the end of her story. Gwenneth was sitting in the front row and had her head down on the prayer bar, crying, when I walked over and handed her the glass of water.
When she looked up at me, I let my gaze linger on hers, and I squinted my eyes a little, trying to warn her that I wasn’t buying her bullshit. I swore I caught a small smirk but nothing substantial enough to call her out on.
I almost told her I’d spit in her water but I wanted to enjoy the satisfaction of watching her sip it up.
I’m not evil. I’m not. I love hard but I hate hard too, and my trust doesn’t come easy.
“When the Venenum attacked,” Lauren said. “Did they take anyone with them?”
Gwenneth nodded and wiped at her tears.
“They took some of the women, the ones who didn’t get raped too badly or killed during the fighting.”
Women? You mean Doves you stupid dunce.
“Can I say something?” I blurted out.
Everyone was quiet and staring at me. Gwenneth turned in her seat.
I had to be careful. I couldn’t challenge the Seven, especially in front of an outsider. I honestly didn’t know what to say. My plan had been to shout out, “She’s a fucking liar!” But that wasn’t exactly the best way to get my point across. As much as I hated her for it at the time, Jewels saved me by belittling me at the same time.
“Jessica,” Jewels called out. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart, but this is a matter for the Original Seven. We’ll bring you and all the other Doves up to speed once we’ve sorted this all out.”
Perfect. Make me look like a child. Nice.
I stood from my seat and turned toward the exit.
I nearly ran right into Pike as I burst through the door and screamed inside my mouth. I kicked at the gravel driveway, and launched a stone that sailed right at Pike’s knee. It hit him and he winced and sucked in a breath as he raised his leg to rub at it.
“Show them rocks hell,” he said.
“Not funny. Not fucking funny at all.”
“What’s going on in there?”
“Private matters.”
“Private for me?” he asked. “Or private period.”
“Private as in I was politely asked to leave, private.”
“Who are they?”
I bit my tongue and tried to keep the secret. Was it a secret? No one had told me not to say anything abo
ut what I’d heard. And Pike was my husband. I took a deep breath and rolled my eyes.
Pike wrapped his arms around me and put his hands in the back pockets of my jeans.
“I beg your pardon,” I said.
“Shh,” he replied.
He kissed me and I thought I might melt in his mouth. It was unbelievably welcoming. Pike always seemed like he wanted me. Not like he thought I was a beautiful creature the way Dominic did, but like he really wanted me.
“Now tell me,” he said as he pulled his face back. “Who are they?”
He led me around to the back of the chapel where we could talk. I told him what I knew. It was his turn to kick rocks.
“And they’re buying it?” he asked.
“Seems that way. Maybe not Lauren…”
For crying out loud, why did I say her name?
We both sensed the awkwardness of her name on the wind. It seemed to float around us. It danced near his ear, slapped it, dodged right, and then made its way over to mine. Lauren. A name that meant only sweet things to me not so long ago. Now it carried a slight sting, like the sizzle butter makes when it hits a hot pan, then it burns away, as if never there in the first place.
Lauren…the acid rain of the Dove. My acid rain anyway.
It never seemed to faze Pike enough. I kind of wished he would flip out and say he was sick of hearing her name or having to deal with all that happened in the past. That would’ve been great because at least I would’ve known he wasn’t immune to feeling like shit.
But, no, apparently he was Thor, the thunder god of horse shit, and I realized I was mad at him all over again.
“The big guy,” Pike said. “They wouldn’t let me see him. He’s recovering at the doc’s. I wanted to see if…if I knew him. Yesterday, face to face, I thought he looked kinda familiar.”
“I guess we just need to keep our eyes and ears open,” I said.
Pike wrapped me up in his arms again. I looked down at his big bicep pinning my arm to my side and traced the edges of one of his tattoos. The spider chewing on a bullet made me wonder about Pike’s past. I didn’t know as much about him as I wanted to. Maybe he did know the big biker. But how?
Had they downed a couple of beers at an old gang get together? Had they exchanged words in a heated argument? Had they pillaged through neighborhoods searching for females to kidnap and fuck?
Pike squeezed me a little and when I looked into his eyes I felt bad for my momentary discrimination. Just because he’d been on the road back in the day didn’t make him a heathen. Pike smiled and passed me a wink.
“I’ll feel a lot better once I move all my shit into your house,” he said.
“All your stuff?” I asked.
“Yeah, that’s what I said.”
“All your shit you said. You have a filthy mouth.”
He buried his mouth in my neck and nibbled on it while I squealed.
“I didn’t hear you complaining about my filthy mouth last night,” he said with a muffled voice as his lips vibrated against my flesh.
“Oh I adore you,” I said.
He kissed me on my lips.
“Wanna help me go grab some of my shi…stuff?”
“Yes, let’s.”
***
The first night with Pike in the house was quite awkward. He moved all of his stuff in and took one of the bedrooms for himself. Dominic had one and I had my own, of course, which meant there was one left for Kent.
Dominic was pleasant when Pike showed up. He wasn’t rude but he wasn’t overly nice. They shook hands, which seemed normal. I wasn’t sure what was supposed to go down. How was a man supposed to greet the second love of his wife? Were they supposed to bump chests like basketball teammates or something? Slap each other on the ass like frisky cheerleaders? No, a handshake would be fine.
Where Dominic had his room decorated with old books and framed art reproductions, Pike had old motorcycle magazines and classic rock records. Yes, he actually had a record player. He told me once that music sounded better on vinyl. He proved it once as he invited me to dance with him to a song called Love Hurts by some group called Nazareth. An odd choice of song for a romantic dance but he pinned me up against the wall and fucked me so good after that I couldn’t complain.
It was like that with Pike. It was always spontaneous and usually quite rough. Dominic was a little more romantic and sex was usually the dessert that followed dinner and, well, dessert. I loved that beautiful, soft side of things with Dominic, and when I spanked him it drove me wild. That was the only time I got to see his aggressive side. Through clenched teeth and squinted eyes, he’d tell me to hit him harder, please.
Dominic knew to always say please with me. Always. Whenever he forgot it, it was time to switch from the soft whip to the horse crop. I loved that fucking horse crop.
Pike was into the rough play too but he was having a much harder time accepting the submissive role. In fact, with him, we often found ourselves in role reversals. One night, when I greeted him with a surprise ball gag, he laughed and said, “My Dove, I’m ‘bout to fuck you so hard you’re gonna need that covering your mouth so the rest of the town don’t hear ya scream.” And he did. The next day I could barely move my jaw. It was so sore and my ass was twice as tender.
Gwenneth and Roscoe stayed quiet, flying under the radar, and eventually seemed to be accepted by the community. They were given a temporary housing unit to stay in until a better home could be built. Bentley was in charge of putting a normal Dove home together for them. Just like when Pike first entered the community, the two were put through training, to make sure they understood the history and ways of the Dove compound. Sure, they were from a Dove community of their own but who knew exactly what that meant? What rules had they followed? What were their beliefs?
I’d always been a bit of a peeping Tom. I’ve mentioned before how I used to watch Lauren and her husbands fuck. Don’t judge me. I know it’s wrong but you have no idea how much of a turn on it is to see a beautiful woman get fucked by three different guys. I guess, in some ways, it was like watching pornography, or so I’ve heard.
Where was I? Oh yeah, peeping on my neighbors. So, I was suspicious of Gwenneth and her fellow until I spied on them one evening. I peered in through their blinds and saw Gwenneth bent over the edge of the bed. She was gripping the blanket tight in both fists. Roscoe was behind her, his huge, barbarian-like frame hulking over her, as he fucked her from behind. Her tits shook with each thrust and the look on her face was so…so…so fucking arousing.
She was into it. She loved him. This was definitely a Dove getting pleased. And I was so fucking wet watching them. My eyes were glued on them.
“My Dove,” he said as he clutched the bandage on his chest. “I’m sorry but I feel a little weak.”
Gwenneth helped him lie down on his back. His cock was humongous. Bigger than Dominic’s and Pike’s. Bigger than both of Laruen’s current husbands and even bigger than Alé’s. It stood upright and stiff.
“Can you handle it like this?” Gwenneth asked.
“Yes, my Dove, please fuck me,” Roscoe said.
My pussy was so wet as I watched them that I felt myself running down my leg. She took hold of his cock, and wasted no time burying it in her snatch. Her cries of ecstasy made me blush. And I rarely blush.
I went home that night to Dominic, it was his night, threw him down onto the bed and rode the shit out of him. His chest was covered in bloody scratch marks when we were finished but he loved it. He held me in his arms as we drifted off to sleep.
Everything was going great. I had two husbands eager to please me. I was happy or at least happier than I’d ever been before. Things changed on my day off. My day, a day meant for me to relax and heal between nights with my husbands. No one would bother me on my day. That was until I heard the tap on my window.
Kent crawled through the opening the same way he had on the day I turned eighteen. He was so good looking, that boyish charm winning me over t
he way it always had. For a second, I forgot I had two men somewhere in the house, two men who’d beat the living shit out of Kent if they knew he was alone with me in my room.
“My Dove,” Kent said as he kissed me quickly on the lips.
I pulled away and put a hand between our mouths. He pursed his lips and his eyes welled up with tears.
“I knew it,” he said. “I knew you’d change. You promised you’d keep a space for me.”
“And I have,” I said. “I haven’t changed, Kent. I’m just…I’ve got a lot on my plate right now.”
The Trouble with Virgins (A Dystopian Romance Novella): Daughters of Venus Book 2 Page 9