by Sam Crescent
“This, I’ve not been this relaxed in a long time. I’m enjoying myself.”
“Well, you’re the cheapest woman I know to get to enjoy herself. Most of them I know demand jewelry, fine wine, dinner, good sex.”
She could tell he was teasing. The club whores didn’t need anything other than sex. “Thank you for this.”
“You don’t need to thank me.” He offered her some more cheesy chips. “Regardless of what people think, I actually like doing boring shit, too.”
Brianna stared down at the chip in her hand before popping it into her mouth. “You watched a movie with any of the other women?”
Death stared at her. “Feeling a little jealous there?”
“No.” The lie came out a lot easier than she thought possible.
He chuckled. “The sweet-butts or club whores don’t stick around to watch a movie. They’re interested in one thing and that’s getting cock. No, I’ve never watched a movie with anyone else.” He frowned. “Actually, I have. I watched them with Ashley and Pussy, but that doesn’t count.”
“I’ve heard about Ashley. She’s a woman you all lost to Gonzalez?”
“Yeah, her death hit us all hard. We couldn’t protect her. There was no way to warn her of what was happening.” He stared ahead of him without seeing anything. She knew what that was like, remembering family and friends from the past.
“She sounded like a great woman.”
“Ashley, she was different. Yeah, she liked to fuck like most of the club whores, but she was loyal with it. She didn’t try for the men who were already taken. June is a little like her, only not as loyal. Ashley, she meant something to the club. She put other’s needs before her own.”
“You sound a little in love with her,” Brianna said, feeling torn by his obvious feelings for the other woman.
Death burst out laughing. “No, I didn’t love Ashley. I cared about her like a friend, not like a lover. Make no mistake, I fucked her. Most of the men here did, but it wasn’t that kind of love. You’d have liked her. She had a rough start in life. It shouldn’t have ended for her like it did.” He shrugged. “There’s not a lot to do to change what happened. We’re all different now.”
She took some candy, popping it into her mouth. Ashley had meant so much to all of them. Even Lexie and the other old ladies were fond of her.
“You’re the first woman I’ve done this with in my room. When I watched a movie with Ashley and Pussy, we were down in the main room. This, this is much better.” He took a drink of soda, leaning back. “I like that you’re jealous, but you don’t need to be. I’m not going to be fucking any other woman but you.”
“You had a sweet-butt sucking your dick the other day.” She recalled the blonde he’d had between his legs, sucking his length. The jealousy had surprised her at seeing him take pleasure in another woman.
Death chuckled. “It’s good to know I finally got your attention.”
“What?”
“It was a hard day. I wanted you, but I couldn’t have you. You showed no signs of wanting me. I needed some release, and she was there. Believe me, Brianna, it wasn’t her that I wanted. It was you.”
“Are you going to go with other women?” She knew he said he wouldn’t, but men as well as women, lied to get what they wanted.
“No. I told you I’m not interested in other women. You’re the only one that I want.”
She was silent as the movie came to an end. Finishing off her soda, she climbed out of bed going to the bathroom. There was an extra toothbrush waiting in the holder. She gave it a wash before brushing her teeth. Death joined her, naked, as she brushed her teeth.
It was hard for her to not stare at him. He was so much larger than she was that he made her feel small in comparison to him. Death moved around her, not pushing her out of the way as he brushed his own teeth. Brianna gave up the fight of trying not to watch him. He stared back at her in the mirror as she watched him.
When she finished, she cleaned her brush and walked back into the room. The snacks had been moved off the bed. She was surprised to see the bed freshly made without a crumb in sight.
Climbing into the warm bed, she faced the bathroom, watching him walk out. Heat filled her cheeks as she saw the evidence of his arousal. He was rock hard again.
Heat spilled between her thighs at the sight of him.
The bed dipped, and the light went out. She rested on her side of the bed as he settled down.
For the longest time Brianna stared ahead of her in the darkness.
“You can relax. I don’t bite.”
She couldn’t help but smile. Forcing herself to relax was the hardest thing. The night wore on, and she found herself closing her eyes.
In no time at all, she fell asleep.
Chapter Seven
Death woke first to Brianna in his arms. She was fast asleep curled up against him. Her hands lay underneath her head, and she was looking up at him. She looked so peaceful that for several minutes he didn’t move. One of his arms was underneath a pillow and the other lay over her body.
When she had fallen asleep last night, he had pulled her into his arms. He liked having her in his bed, close to him. There was no worry of him waking up to find that she’d left the clubhouse completely.
She’s all yours.
He needed to talk with Devil and the rest of the club. Also, his bladder was begging for attention. He pulled his arm out from under her head first, the eased out of bed. At first, he stopped to wait for her to get comfortable. When he was sure she was going to continue sleeping, he left the room, going to the bathroom. He went to the toilet, washed his hands, brushed his teeth, then gathered his clothes, getting dressed.
Death watched her as he dressed. She looked totally different without the stress of the day plaguing her.
He went to his closet pulling out a pair of jeans and a green shirt he’d bought especially for her. Death put the underwear on top before leaving the room. Making his way out of the room, he saw the rest of the clubhouse was only just waking up. It was cold, and the first thing he did was put the heating on as he made his way into the kitchen.
“You look way too perky,” Pussy said, sitting down at the table. He ran a hand over his face after opening the back door. Sasha’s dog scrambled out of the door to go do her business.
“I’ll start the coffee.”
“It’s a surprise Brianna isn’t up. She usually takes care of the coffee, the heating, the dog, all of it.” Pussy yawned, closing the door, and sitting at the table.
“She’s in my bed,” Death said, filling the coffee pot up.
“You finally got her in your bed?” Pussy asked.
“She was in my room last night when I got there.”
“You’re claiming her?”
“Yeah. She doesn’t want to screw any of you ugly bastards, and I don’t want her to.”
Pussy gave him the finger, getting to his feet as his woman’s dog started to scratch at the door. “Sasha’s still in bed. She’s coming down with the flu I think. It’s the bad weather we’re having. Her mom should be due home any day now. I still don’t like her being near her mother.”
“It was her stepfather’s fault.”
“If her bitch of a mother hadn’t been high on drugs and booze, Sasha would still be able to see.”
“You don’t know that. Nothing could have stopped what happened.”
Pussy shrugged.
“I thought you didn’t mind her blindness.” Death turned to look at his brother. Pussy was petting the dog in front of him.
“I don’t. I love Sasha with all of my heart. I’d never let anything happen to her. I’d die for her, that’s how much I fucking love her. Christmas, the tree, all of it, it makes me so fucking angry.”
“Why?”
“She can’t see any of it. Yeah, she can feel shit, know what’s going on, but she can’t see it. I leave my boots in the room and I don’t tell her where they are she tumbles, bangs her head. God, I
love her, and it’s because I love her so damn much that I’m terrified. I hate what she can’t have. I can’t give her back her eyesight. I can’t give her fuck all really.”
When they’d put the tree up, he was sure he’d seen the sadness inside Pussy’s eyes. This just confirmed it to Death.
“You’ve given her a hell of a lot, Pussy.”
“Yeah? What?”
Death poured them both a hot cup of coffee, taking a seat beside his friend.
“Well, besides the obvious in a dog and stability, you’ve given her, you.” Death took a sip of his coffee. “You’ve given her a family. All of us will take care of her. Yeah, Devil’s not a big fan, but he won’t let shit happen to her.”
“I can’t give her back the one thing she needs.”
“She doesn’t need it, Pussy. Sasha has got you. It’s not your responsibility to give her everything. You love her regardless, right?”
“Of course I do. She means everything to me.”
“Then what’s the worry? Sasha doesn’t need her eyesight. If you were to ask her if she could spend the rest of her life with you or get her eyesight, I know she’d pick you.” The whole club knew she’d pick Pussy. She was completely in love with him. There was no room for doubt when it came to her feelings.
“Shit, I’m sorry, man. I shouldn’t have unloaded on you like that.”
Death shrugged. “I don’t mind. Sasha’s a great woman.”
The dog barked like he was agreeing.
Pussy chuckled. “Come on. Let’s go and wake her up. Thanks for the pep talk.”
He walked out of the kitchen, taking his coffee with him.
“That was a good talk you gave him,” Mia said, entering the room.
“I’d not seen you wake up.”
“Curse is being a lazy ass. It’s my turn to fetch coffee. Anyone would think you’re all bears with the way you stay camped out in bed.” Mia walked over to the coffee pot, pouring out two mugs full. He watched her put plenty of sugar in one and none in the other. “I’m happy you’re taking Brianna.”
Death nodded. What else was he supposed to say? Out of all of the women Mia was the one he rarely spoke to. When all the shit kicked off with Gonzalez, he’d blamed Mia. If it wasn’t for that fucker who attacked her, Curse would never have killed the bastard, and Gonzalez would never have entered their lives.
Lexie, Devil, and the kids entered, stopping him from having to talk to the woman. Mia took her coffee, leaving the room.
“I’m fine, Devil. Stop fussing,” Lexie said, pressing the back of her hand to her face. “What is it?” Death asked.
“She doesn’t like the smell of coffee. It’s always the same with pregnancy. I’m getting the fucking snip after this one.” Devil put Elizabeth to the table while Lexie dealt with their youngest son. Simon climbed up onto the table. In his hands was a video game. The sound was turned down, but there was no way anyone was getting that boy’s attention away from the tiny device.
“Where’s Brianna?” Lexie asked, opening cupboards.
“She’s in bed. My bed,” he said.
Both Lexie and Devil turned to look at him.
“You claiming her?” Devil asked.
“I’m claiming Tabitha,” Simon said, shouting at the top of his lungs. He looked over the top of his game to smile at his father.
“Lex!”
“Leave it, Devil. He’s just a boy.”
Simon was just a boy, but he certainly knew what he wanted.
“Tabitha’s going to be all mine.”
Devil shook his head, looking up to the ceiling. “Going to be the death of me.”
Death heard the mutter from Devil.
Sipping at his coffee, Death watched the happy family working around the kitchen. “Yeah, I’m going to be claiming Brianna as my old lady.”
“Are you sure she’s ready for that?” Lexie asked.
“Doesn’t have much of a choice. I’m going to give her time, but she’s going to be mine.”
Lexie and Devil shared a look.
“If that’s what you want,” Devil said. “I’m not going to step in the way.”
“It’s what I want. I’m taking her out today. I was going to ask what shopping you needed. The roads are not the best, and it’s getting harder to ride on them. I’m taking the car so I can pick up any shopping you need.”
“Oh, I’ve got a list.” Lexie moved out of the room leaving Devil to tend to their breakfast.
Death watched as his president dumped cereal in a bowl for all of them. Simon didn’t look down from his game. The little boy reached out, taking the spoon and started to eat his food.
Shaking his head, Death was still chuckling as Lexie walked back in the room carrying a long list. Behind him, he saw Brianna waiting. She was dressed in the jeans and shirt he’d left out for her.
“Hey,” she said, smiling at him. “I, erm, I found these when I woke up.”
His dick went from flaccid to hard in a second. “I left them for you.” Aware of the gazes on them, Death walked out of the room, grabbing her arm as they walked out of the clubhouse. They were met by freezing cold air.
He cursed as she gasped at the sudden chill.
Neither of them was wearing coats. When they were in the truck, he turned the ignition over heating up the small vehicle.
“It’s freezing. What’s the rush?” she asked, rubbing at her arms.
The clothes he’d put out were not the best for this weather.
“I’m sorry. I just wanted us to have some alone time. Devil and Lexie are not alone time.”
He pulled out of the clubhouse, handing over the list of shit Lexie wanted. “Here, have a look through this.”
“Turkey, ham, beef, chicken, tomatoes,” Brianna said, going silent as she looked over to him. “We’re food shopping?”
“It would seem that way. We’ll stop off at the diner in the town. It’s a good place, and you’ll love the food. Mia used to work there. Curse put an end to that.”
“Pussy, Curse, Devil, Death, you’ve all got strange names. Is it your real name?”
Death chuckled. “No, not even close.”
“What’s your real name?”
“Benjamin. You use that name and I swear I’ll torture you with orgasms,” he said, shooting a wink her way.
She started to laugh along with him. He loved the sound of her laughing. Death wanted to keep her laughing.
“They’re our road names. We’ve earned our names.”
“Do I even want to know how Pussy earned his name?”
Death smiled. “There were a lot of women in Pussy’s life. It took him a long time to get the name.”
“How?”
“He eats pussy. Pussy loves pussy. It’s how he got his name.”
“Okay, I really didn’t need to know that.”
“You ever had you pussy eaten?”
“No.”
He looked over at her. “When you’re ready to remedy that little fact, I’ll show you how damn good it can be to have your pussy licked and sucked.”
Her cheeks were flushed once again. A quick glance down and he saw her nipples were budded against the shirt. Part of it could be down to how cold it was while another could be down to arousal. He was going to go with arousal more than the cold. The heating was on in the car.
“Okay, Curse?”
“He was fucking cursed. We went on a run, and whatever could go wrong with him, did. The man was fucking cursed. The name stuck.” Death slowed down the car as they were entering town. This early in the morning kids would be crossing the road without looking, which always pissed him off.
“Butler?”
“Before the drink and drugs took over there was a time when Butler acted like that. He lived to serve. He was also in the army for a long time, served his country. When he got out, it fucked with his head. Since Devil ordered the club to be clean, Butler has started to look normal again.”
“Should you be telling me all this
?” she asked.
“Why?”
“Some kind of loyalty or code or something.”
“You’re my woman, Brianna. Your loyalty is to me and the club.”
****
Brianna liked that. There was no way she’d ever do anything to put Chaos Bleeds in danger. She owed them her life. If they’d not come into the strip club when they had, she’d have been servicing men by the hour. She shuddered at the thought. Since the crew had entered her life, she’d changed. Waking up that morning surrounded by Death’s scent, she’d felt happy, safe. It was nice to finally feel like herself again.
When she saw the clothes out waiting for her, she’d been touched. Had they belonged to someone else?
Death hadn’t removed the tag from inside the jeans. They were brand new jeans. Had he brought them for her?
She didn’t know, and right now she wasn’t ready to have the answer to her own questions.
He pulled up in the parking lot in the town. She’d not seen much of Piston County, and with the snow, it was hazardous to be moving around. Brianna took the hand he offered, following him inside into the diner. He took the booth near the door.
“Here.” Death passed her a menu, which she looked over while he ordered coffees.
Brianna picked what she wanted, holding the warm mug between her cold hands.
“We should have picked up our jackets.”
“Tell me about it. I’m freezing my nuts off.” Death held the cup, twirling the menu around for him to have a look. “You decided what you want?”
“Eggs benedict. My mom used to make them for me.” Brianna smiled, recalling the love and affection that used to embrace her.
“I’m sorry you lost your family. Ending up with Ronald was the worst fucking thing for any woman.”
She stared down at the coffee in her cup. Brianna hated coffee. The smell, the taste, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop drinking it. Unlike most people she’d never acquired a taste for the bitter liquid. She preferred a sweet tea.
“What’s going on in your head?” he asked.
“It’s nothing.”
“If you don’t want the coffee I can order something else for you,” he said.
“What makes you think I don’t want the coffee?”