by J. C. Cliff
I swallow past the dry lump in my throat. “Yeah, I understand this…” I lie. The only thing I know is that I just had the best sex of my life and I haven’t had my fill.
Blade presses deeper, harder, and I clench around his still hard cock.
“You like this,” he declares.
“Yes.”
I love this.
Him.
Me.
The feel of us.
Despite how short-lived the tryst between us may be, I’d be insane not to love everything he’s evoked in me.
His soft, full lips brush over mine with a tenderness that belies the time we’ve spent together. “How did this happen?” he whispers.
“I groped you on the back of your bike,” I remind him, letting out a chuckle.
He laughs over my lips before he says, “You’re not at all what I had expected.” We both fall silent for a moment as his eyes grow more heated. Still buried inside of me, he thrusts his hips slightly and I stifle a moan.
God, he feels so perfect.
Pulling out of me, he peels off the spent condom and ties a knot at the top before flicking it into the tall grass. He leans back over me, wrapping his hand around his erection and strokes the crown of his cock through my wet folds. “Tell me you’re on the pill,” he demands.
Oh, sweet Jesus.
Swallowing hard, I shake my head and whisper, “No.”
“Fuck,” he growls, clearly unhappy with my answer. His cock leaves me and presses against my thigh as his eyes soften. I imagine a man like him doesn’t look at too many women like that. I shy away from his gaze, lifting my eyes to the clear sky above.
“Oh my gosh,” I say. “I’ve never seen so many stars before.”
“Yeah, I kinda have that effect on women,” he teases.
Unable to suppress the laugh, I mock swat his thick bicep and bring my eyes back to his. He winks at me before bending his head and capturing my lips between his. Kissing me softly, he pulls back and lifts his hand to my cheek as his gaze bores into mine. The playfulness fades from him and he draws in a deep breath.
“Tonight’s the first night I’ve felt alive in… hell, I don’t know how long,” he professes, his tone very sober.
I don’t know how to reply so I give him a smile and pat his shoulder. “You don’t have to say things like that.”
“Don’t,” he sternly snaps, cupping my chin. “Don’t cheapen what we just did.”
My eyebrows knit together as I try to decide if he’s angry with me.
“I just meant—”
Cutting me off, he presses his finger to my lips and silences me.
“I know what you meant, Ree, and I’ll say it again, don’t cheapen what this is between us. Now, spread your legs, I want to taste you.”
Not up for an argument, I grin and do as I’m told, and this time when I see stars, it’s because Blade put them in my eyes.
CHAPTER TEN
I’m about to get up so we can get dressed when the unmistakable sound of a fast-approaching vehicle draws near. It’s coming in hot, the wheels kicking up gravel. Typically, I’d scope out the situation, but seeing as my dick is swinging between my legs, I don’t spring into action. That, and my gut instinct is warning me to lay low and out of sight. Hiding ain’t my thing. I’m a Rider of Chaos—we don’t fucking hide from shit. If anything, people run in fear from us.
“What the—” Ree shrieks, squirming beneath me, trying to cover herself up, but I pin her back down.
“No one can see us, and right now I want us to stay down, got me?”
She stares up at me with wide, frightened eyes. Realizing I startled her with the harshness in my voice, I start to soothe her, but the words never make it past my lips. Suddenly, multiple car doors open and slam shut. If I had to guess by the intensity of the sound, I’d say the car was about thirty feet away from where we were hiding.
Intuition sets in, warning me something bad is about to go down and like so many times before, I’m sure my gut won’t disappoint. Trying to figure out what’s going on, I weigh the facts. If it were a bunch of drunk kids fucking around, they’d be laughing or making loud, obnoxious noises. Instead, whoever is out there remains quiet. Dread churns in the pit of belly as something familiar charges through the air.
It’s dark.
Dangerous.
Deadly.
I feel it deep in my bones.
The need to protect courses through me and I cover Ree’s body with mine.
“Don’t move and don’t make a sound,” I bite out the command so there’s no mistaking the seriousness of the matter. Lifting my head, I stare into her fearful eyes. Too spooked to nod, let alone speak, she remains perfectly still, obeying my order.
My ears strain as I tune out the sounds of the ocean and fight to focus on the distant muffled voices. It’s hard to tell how many men are out there, but I can clearly hear two different men as they make conversation. I can also detect that they each have an accent, one I can’t place. Try as I might, I can’t make out what they’re saying. Turning Ree’s head slowly to the side, I press my cheek to her ear and block her from overhearing anything. If I can manage to decipher bits and pieces of their conversation that means she can too and that’s the last thing I need. Especially if this shit goes bad and I’m forced to act.
I can hear the two men grunting and they’re not the kind of sounds a man makes when he’s twisting in the sand with a beautiful woman. No, they’re the guttural type a man makes when he’s straining to lift something heavy. Soon there is nothing surrounding us but silence. A strong waft of nicotine catches the breeze and fills the air around me.
“You fucked with the wrong men,” someone says in a gruff voice.
A muffled whimper sounds in response.
Awareness swallows me whole as I hold my breath and continue to listen.
“Go ahead and finish it. It’s past midnight and I still got shit to do.”
Sweat prickles my skin as realization washes over me. I don’t need to listen anymore to know what’s going to happen next. I’ve been the guy on the receiving end of those orders, the man with the loaded gun in his hand. The man who pulls the trigger with no remorse.
The script never changes, only the cast does.
Keeping my cheek pressed against Ree’s, I curse myself for leaving my gun in my saddlebag. All I have is my knife and that shit won’t help my bare ass now. It’s too risky for me to make a move and try to retrieve my gun so I remain still until the unmistakable sound of a gun being fired echoes through the night.
The motherfucker obviously used a silencer on his gun, otherwise the sound would’ve been more ear-piercing at this range, and Ree would’ve definitely heard it. As it is, she didn’t even flinch.
There’s more movement and I clench my jaw, cursing myself for putting us in a defenseless situation. Here I am, naked in the middle of nowhere, holding my dick in my hand like a giant pussy.
Fuck me.
I know better than this but I was too caught up with Ree to think straight.
I was thinking with my dick and now, I’m six degrees of fucked.
My body is wound tight with tension and I realize I’m holding Ree in a fierce grip. Loosening my hold on her, I lift some of my weight from her but freeze in my tracks.
“Hey,” one of the men calls out. “There’s a motorcycle over there.”
“So?”
“So? What if someone saw us pop the motherfucker?”
Every muscle in my body contracts as adrenaline pounds through me and I wish to God I was fully clothed. I wish I was fucking armed. I’m jarred from my thoughts as Ree trembles profusely beneath me.
She heard them and she’s freaking the fuck out. If she so much as whimpers, she’ll blow our cover, and this won’t end pretty for either of us. Doing my best to ease her fears, I stroke the crown of her head and lean in against her ear, and mouth, “Don’t make a fucking sound.” Every muscle in her body tenses as I reiterate my words, �
�Not a sound.”
Her body quivers as she sobs without making a peep. Her tears wet my cheek and I inch back. Dragging the back of my hand down her cheek, I whisper, “It’s going to be okay. Just keep still. We’re gonna be okay, I promise.”
Of course, I’m lying like a son of a bitch but telling her we’re fucked isn’t an option.
Someone sweeps a flashlight over our bodies, missing my bare ass by mere inches, causing me to grit my teeth so hard I wonder if it’s possible for a person to break their molars.
“Well, whoever owns this bike had a chick because she left her purse behind.”
Fucking hell.
“Probably a couple who are stoned out of their minds. Had to be if she was stupid enough to leave her purse laying out on the asphalt like that,” the other man says. “Regardless, we need to check it out. Here, take the purse and write down the license plate.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean why? What the fuck’s wrong with you?”
The light clicks off and I breathe a sigh of relief. A few more tense minutes go by before I hear the car doors slam, and then the engine revs back to life. The tires screech over the gravel and they peel away from the crime scene.
Processing everything that just took place, I continue to lay low until the sound of the car fades completely. Once I’m certain they’re gone, I slowly lift myself off Ree.
Her body trembles like a leaf and tears stream down her face as she stares back at me in shock. “Get dressed as quickly and quietly as you can without saying a word, yeah?”
She doesn’t reply, and I grasp a hold of her shoulders, forcing her to focus as I peer into her eyes.
“Ree, you with me, sugar?” I prompt when she doesn’t respond. Slowly, almost as if she was in a trance, she manages to nod. Realizing she’s not going to make this easy, I grab her clothes and shove them against her so she can get dressed.
“Need you to move quickly,” I tell her, reaching for my own clothes. Once I’m fully dressed, I turn to her and watch as she fumbles with her jeans.
Christ.
“Don’t move from this spot,” I command. “I’ll be right back.”
Knowing she’s too frightened to disobey, I don’t wait for a response and take off. Making my way toward my bike, the first thing I do is kneel before my side satchel. I fish for the false bottom of the pocket and unzip the hidden layer which houses my gun. Relief washes over me as my hand wraps around the cool metal.
Standing to my full height, I notice the broken limbs of the bushes a few feet ahead of me. I don’t have to look too closely to know that’s where a fresh kill lays. Ree can’t see this. I’ve got to get her out of here and fucking quickly too. Reaching into the bag again, I pull out the clip and load the nine millimeter, before sliding the safety into place and tucking the barrel into the waistband of my jeans. I pull out my phone and call Rush.
He picks up on the second ring.
“What the fuck do you want?” he growls into the phone. “Shouldn’t you be busy, kid?”
“Ran into some trouble. Gonna need a crew on Cedar Beach and bring the cage,” I grind out.
Once I tell him to bring the cage, he mutters a curse, knowing there’s something we’re transporting, and odds are it’s a fucking body. That’s just how it works in our world. We ride deep and wide until we need a van to move the evidence.
Omitting the details, I give him the location before dropping the next bomb.
“I’m also bringing the bitch back with me.”
Without waiting for his reply, I hang up and send a text to another number before slipping the phone back into my pocket. My eyes take one more sweep around the area as I make my way back to Ree. Pulling my t-shirt down, I draw the ends of my leather jacket closer together, concealing my weapon. My boots kick up sand as I finally find her folding the blanket, fully dressed.
Startled, she turns around and clutches the cover to her chest. Mascara streaks her pretty face as she stares at me with eyes full of unshed tears. My chest constricts, and I lift my hand between my pecs, rubbing at the dull ache caused by the presence of her tears.
I don’t know when the ice encapsulating my heart began to melt, but it did, and it happened within a matter of hours. I can’t have that shit happen. I can’t allow myself to become weak and distracted. Not now, not ever.
Just as my walls go back up, they come crashing back down as she runs into my arms. Drawing her trembling body into the crook of my arm, I smooth down her hair and drop a kiss to the top of her head.
“Fuck, baby.” My voice cracks. “It’s gonna be okay,” I promise.
Bending my knees, I cup her cheeks in the palms of my hands and search her eyes. “I need you to tell me what you heard. Can you do that for me?” Her eyes widen as she glances around. I don’t know if she’s taking in our surroundings or if she’s planning her escape. I can’t fucking get a read on what’s racing through her mind and it’s driving me insane.
Moving my hands to her shoulders, I shake her, hoping she’ll snap out of whatever trance she’s in. “Annmarie!” I shout out.
Hearing me say her full name causes her to slice her eyes back to mine. “I need to know what you heard,” I reiterate.
“I know enough,” she hisses. “I know someone got killed tonight, and I know they have my purse and your license plate.”
Shit.
Nodding, I press my lips to her forehead.
Against her skin, I murmur, “Don’t you worry ‘bout that, sugar. I’ve got everything covered,” I assure her as I lean back and level her with a stern look.
“I’m gonna need you to trust me, girl.”
“Yeah.” Her whisper is so low I almost don’t hear her.
“I’ve gotta take you back to my place,” I tell her.
“No. No…” she says, shaking her head. “I’ll be fine. Just take me to my car, okay?”
Clenching my jaw, I stare at her in disbelief.
“You’re fucking delusional if you think I’m gonna just drop you off in another parking lot. Those men have your personal information. Now, I promise you, you’re safe with me. You gotta let me handle this shit and you gotta let me do it my way.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ll go to my friend’s house tonight,” she argues.
“Not happening,” I growl, scooping her up and slinging her small frame over my shoulder. Surprising the shit out me she doesn’t put up much of a fight as I carry her toward the bike.
Passing a trail of fresh blood, I smack her ass and deliver another order.
“Close your eyes and when I set you down, keep them on me and only me.”
Again, she doesn’t respond and as we reach my bike, I carefully set her down on the seat. She does as she’s told, keeping those beautiful eyes pinned to me as I make quick work of securing our helmets. Once I have her situated, I peel back my jacket and point to the gun. Her eyes widen with apprehension all over again and she starts to object.
“The safety is on but I want you to be careful when you’re holdin’ onto me.”
“You have a gun,” she whispers.
“It’s for protection,” I explain, knowing she’s seconds away from having a full-blown panic attack. “You’re safe with me. All you gotta do is hang on like you did before and I’ll get us the fuck out of here. Can you do that?”
“Yeah,” she whispers, biting her lip.
Wasting no time, I make sure her helmet is secured properly and straddle my bike. The engine roars to life as Ree wraps her arms around my waist, careful not to touch the gun as she holds on for dear life.
For some reason, I’m struck with the possessive need to keep her safe and ease her fears. Maybe it’s because I still harbor guilt over not being able to keep my sister safe or maybe it’s because I feel responsible for Ree’s fragile state. If I had only been able to control myself, we wouldn’t have stopped and none of this shit would’ve happened.
Those cocksuckers wouldn’t have our information.
She wouldn’t be vulnerable and she sure as fuck wouldn’t be at risk.
Those men took her purse for security.
You see, guys like that, they’re not very different from me.
They’ll do anything to cover their tracks.
They’ll lie, cheat, steal…they’ll fucking kill just to remain anonymous.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
All I meant to do was take charge of my life. I only wanted to explore my newfound freedom and experience things I never thought possible. Somehow, I got more than I bargained for. Never in a million years did I anticipate my adventure would turn into such a catastrophic nightmare.
I just overheard someone be killed.
A murder!
Technically, I didn’t witness anything. I didn’t actually see the bullet pierce the victim’s body or watch him draw his final breath and I didn’t see them dispose of the body either. Still, that doesn’t make the situation any less traumatic.
When we first heard their voices and knew we weren’t alone, I panicked. But the shock and fear didn’t truly set in until I realized a lifeless victim lay only yards away from me. If that isn’t horrific, I don’t know what is.
I don’t remember Blade throwing my clothes at me and ordering me to dress. To be honest, I’m still not sure how I managed to put my clothes back on. I was so shaken up, I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience.
Thankfully, Blade remained calm and took control over the situation. Without him, I’m not sure I would’ve made it to his bike. Seeing the blood on the asphalt forced me to put my trust in him. My mind was spiraling out of control and I was on the brink of an anxiety attack. He knew when to console me and when to be firm.
Still, as much as he was helpful, I couldn’t wrap my head around how calm he was. How could someone hold it together like he did when a few feet away from us, a person was being murdered? The thought sobered me up and made me realize how little I knew of the man. Judging by the way he reacted, there is no doubt in my mind this isn’t the first time he’s been in a situation like this.