Page 46 of Cutter's Hope

No matter how ballsy, how tough, Hope was… none of us liked seeing a woman dragged down to this. Into the seedy dirt alongside us. The light turned green, I gave Hope’s hand a little squeeze, a reassuring shake and let go. Yeah, sure, the views of me and mine were sexist as fuck, but women of quality, women like Hope… man… she deserved better than this.

I think this was the realization, the conclusion, my boys had reached after seeing how she handled herself against Rusty. After she’d gone to talk with her detective friend, all conversation had turned to how to best help her after she’d rode off. Suddenly it was all about how to get her out of this city and back to Ft. Royal the fastest. It was one of those times that I realized that my brothers, each and every one of them, had my back and I was so damn grateful for that. That they had my back and because Hope was becoming important to me, they had hers by default.

We rode back to the Voodoo Bastard’s house and Pyro met us outside the front door. As soon as we were off the bikes he reported, I liked that about my best friend, he never kept me waiting, be it club business or business back home with the maritime salvage.

“Got eight rooms rented at that fleabag Motel; just like you wanted, Captain. Some of us is gonna have to double up,” he shot a quick glance between me and Hope, “But I don’t think that’s gonna be a hardship. Trike moved our gear along with Lightning, here’s your key. You’re room six.” I took the key and shoved it down into my jeans pocket. Hope looked me over and lifted her shoulder in a shrug.

“Can’t do shit else until tomorrow night and this drop happens,” she said.

“True enough, Sweetheart. Gotta sleep sometime, right now, we need to eat.”

She nodded and I dispatched Beast and Atlas to go scare us up some grub through any ‘ol drive through. They took off and would bring it back to us here. The party was in full swing inside the club house. Drinking, some whoring, and a game of pool between Marlin and one of the Voodoo Bastards. Felt sorry for that fucker. Marlin was a shark.

I pulled Hope into my lap and palmed the inside of her thigh. Not missing a beat, .she dipped her head and crushed her mouth to mine in a heated kiss. Fuck that girl could kiss. I felt my jeans begin to tent from the careful attentions of her mouth and just about lost my shit completely when the vibration of her moan trilled across my tongue where it wrapped around hers.

We took the opportunity to unwind and forget the nasty shit we left behind by just losing ourselves in each other’s mouths. Kissing, making out like teenagers, until the fucking food arrived.

I was halfway through my second burger when Ruth walked in with La Croix behind him. He winked in mine and Hope’s direction and shouted, “Sherelle! Where you at girl?”

A tiny slip of a girl in platform heels and a shiny silver mini-dress sashayed into sight. Her dark hair was pulled up into a French twist and though she wore a bit much in the way of eyeliner, she was a pretty little thing… My mind flashed back onto Li’l Bit for a second and I was surprised to find that the memory didn’t hold as much bite, or sting as it once did. Not with Hope sitting beside me, looking at me curiously.

“She reminds you of the picture of the girl, the one in your bunk on your boat, doesn’t she?” she asked.

Fucking insightful bitch. I chewed more slowly and considered her. She smirked.

“It’s okay, I’m not jealous or anything crazy,” she said, I opened my mouth to say something but we were both interrupted by a squeal and the crack of Ruth’s hand on his girl’s ass. He had her bent over the pool table, her dress riding high around her waist.

“Oh, gonna make you cry for me, Darlin’,” he said with a savage grin and shoved into her ass dry. Sherelle writhed under him and gave a little broken sob. Her eyes watered and her mascara streaked and she closed her eyes as Ruth pumped in and out of her ass. My burger went forgotten in my hand.

“Wow,” Hope remarked dryly.

“Boss always gets like that after a kill,” Hex commented, “Sherelle lives for this shit; she knows her safe word. No worries, she’s safe as can be.”

Ruth’s man pushed off from the armchair next to ours and joined the ring of spectators around the pool table, Marlin was putting up his cue stick shaking his head while Ruth ass-fucked the girl with no mercy. He certainly lived up to his name.

“We should come back tomorrow,” Hope said judiciously.

“Right I’m with you, Babe.” I gave her a little nudge and she stood up without much urging.

“Kraken!” I shouted over the din, “Return to base!” which for us was our hotel.

“See you tomorrow around noon!” Ruth hollered and I gave him a nod. His guys were laughing at us and I’m sure some of ‘em were calling us pussies behind our backs but this shit just wasn’t our scene, not with a lady present, which Hopewas, despite her badassery.

She pulled another moment of it out when she called out to Ruth, “Hey Ruth! It all right if I leave my bike? Anybody fuck with it?”

“Go right ahead, Darlin’! Nobody better touch it or I’ll. Have. Their. Ass!” he punctuated each of the last words of his declaration by reaming into his girl’s ass with some particularly rough thrusts. She wailed and the sound was more pleasure than pain to me. I shook my head, to each their own, and raised my eyebrows.

“Come on,” Hope said and we left out the front. She put her helmet on and got on behind me, without so much as a word, twining her arms around me, getting snug up against my back. I put my hand briefly over hers before riding out. Following the hand signals in my rearview to take me and mine to our home away from home.

I bid the guys goodnight and without a word, Hope ghosted along with me up to number six’s door. I keyed it open and let her go first. She set her helmet on a table just inside the door. I flipped the switch on the wall, just inside and the bedside lamp came on and with a gentle shove, I sent the door swinging shut, closing out the outside world. It was just me and her and no one else… finally.

She looked at me, face expressionless which bled into somber and her eyes closed. A wave of exhaustion overtaking her.

“Can I ask you a favor?” she asked quietly.

“You can ask me anything, Sweetheart,” I kept my voice pitched low, soothing and it did something to her. Her face screwed up, anguished, and she pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a broken little gasp. I shrugged out of my jacket and cut and tossed it onto the table and I went to her, pulling her gently into my arms. I tucked her head beneath my chin and held her close as she fell apart against me, petting her silken hair and making shushing noises above her head.

“I’m sorry,” she warbled and I chuckled.

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