Page 11 of Crow
Directly below my treasurer patch was my Malta cross. It meant protection and bravery. When Tank had given it to me, he said that it was an acknowledgement of my courage in surviving everything that I had been through, and a promise that I would always have the protection of the Rebels. That was why I knew I had to do this, to present myself as a citizen and scout out the Freeway Kings’ territory until I knew where their asshole president, Ray, kept himself hidden.
The Blazing Rebels were my family, and I was going to protect them the way they promised to protect me, whether they wanted me to or not.
Chapter Six
Jade
It had been a couple of days since Crow and I had gotten drunk off our asses, and I hadn’t been able to get the memory of his body pressed against mine out of my head. I was still surprised that I had made it home in one piece. I wondered if he did too. He really shouldn’t have been on his bike with how drunk he was.
I huffed and continued flipping through the channels on the TV, never landing on a show that held my attention for more than a couple of seconds. I couldn’t focus, attention pulled this way and that by thoughts of Crow, fantasies of running my fingers through his mess of blond hair, and the sound of Ray and the rest of the Kings yelling over each other in the kitchen. No matter how loud I turned up the volume, their shouting still seemed to interrupt the TV. I was pretty sure they were still trying to plan some big hit on a rival club, the Rabble or the Rebels or something. He always spat their name out, like the word tasted bad, so I never really knew what it was he was saying. Even without knowing the name I knew that Ray had been complaining about them for as long as we had been together, saying that they kept getting in the way of Freeway operations and was costing them money.
But for all his whining, Ray didn’t actually reveal much. I didn’t really mind. I didn’t want to know. I mostly hung around the other old ladies and club whores, smoking and drinking and exchanging stories of Lab Rat being a fucking perv. I looked over at them, considering if I wanted to try and start a conversation, then remembered Jess wasn’t there. She had gone to Tease early to talk to someone about something, a costume change, maybe. I wasn’t sure; I’d been high when she told me. The other girls were dazed and glassy-eyed, in their own little worlds. Not very good conversational partners. I went back to channel surfing for a while before eventually giving up on trying to concentrate. I went into the kitchen, weaving between bodies to where Ray was sitting at the head of the table.
“—while they’re distracted. The Blazing Rebels’ll never know what hit them,” he was saying, a smug smirk on his face. The Rebels—I had been close with the name. I dropped into his lap, mouthing at his neck and slipping my fingers under the collar of his wife-beater.
“Knock it off, Jade,” he snapped, grabbing my wrists and pushing me away from him. It was so similar to what Crow had done that night at Tease, but where Crow’s grip had been gentle, I could feel the bones in my wrists grind together in Ray’s fists.
“But I’m bored,” I whined. He scoffed and snatched a plastic baggie off the table and flicked it toward me.
“Go entertain yourself, then,” he said, pushing me off his lap and turning back to the other men crammed into the tiny kitchen. I huffed but didn’t make much of a fuss. I returned to the sitting room, ignoring the lewd remarks that followed me and sidestepping Lab Rat as he tried to grab my ass. The other girls barely glanced at me, already stoned and in their own worlds, so I walked right past them and up the stairs and into the room I shared with Ray. It was small, even though it was the bigger of the two bedrooms, with mismatched furniture. I tapped out a line of the coke on the bedside table, holding my hair back as I bent over and breathed it in. Then I closed my eyes as the familiar burn and tingle spread through my body, falling back onto the bed to watch the lights spinning behind my eyelids.
I loved how the coke made everything feel twice as good. The sheets sliding against my skin, the lingering taste of nicotine, even the faint smell of apples from my hair were more intense. There was something I wanted to try while everything was heightened this way. I pulled my shirt up my stomach, gasping at the electric feeling of fabric scraping over my skin, and let my fingertips trail across my breasts and down my stomach. Goosebumps erupted in their wake, my nipples pebbling under the attention. I teased myself by tracing my nail lightly along the sensitive skin just below my waistband before sliding my hand below the fabric of my jeans. I frowned, disliking how little movement it allowed, and pulled my hand back out to fumble with the button on my jeans. I shoved them down my legs, along with my lace panties, and smoothed my hand back up my thigh, parting my legs as I went. I avoided the place I wanted to touch most for now, not wanting this to be over too soon, instead brushing over my hip and back up to my breasts to tweak my nipples and send sharp sparks of pleasure through my body.
I wondered what it would be like if it was someone else touching me instead. I wanted to know what callous-rough hands would feel like as they ran over my body, wanted to feel the hot puffs of air of someone panting above me, their weight pressing me into the mattress. I could almost feel it, the tickle of hair against my skin as he pressed kisses against my collar, then dipping lower to run his tongue over my nipple.
“Oh, Crow…” I moaned softly. It should bother me that it was him I was fantasizing about and not Ray, but all I could think about were the muscles I had felt under his shirt, and how it had felt to be pressed against his back as he sped through town on his bike. I pictured him settling between my legs and smirking down at me, and pretended that my pinching fingers were a trail of teasing nips he littered across my torso. My breathing quickened as I slid my hand down my stomach toward my pussy, and I arched into the touch. I slipped my fingers between my thighs, sighing as I felt how wet I was. I bit my lip, my hips rocking upward in a search for friction, and my clit was almost throbbing with need. I was done teasing myself.
I couldn’t hold back the moan as I finally touched my clit, my head falling back as my back arched. I rubbed small circles around the nub, the muscles in my thighs tensing as pleasure coiled in the pit of my stomach. I cupped my breast in my other hand.
“Fuck,” I panted quietly, hips rocking faster. “Fuck, Crow, fuck.” I stroked myself faster, harder, and it still wasn’t enough. I needed more. I dipped my fingers lower, teasing around my entrance before finally pushing in. I moaned again as I imagined it was Crow slowly entering me, Crow thrusting in and out, Crow who was making fireworks flash behind my eyes. My movements became jerky, losing all rhythm as I desperately searched for more sensation. I tightened my grip on my breast, thrust my fingers faster, deeper inside myself, until it was all too much. Shudders wracked my body as I fell over the edge; soft high moans fell from my lips as I fucked myself through one of the most intense orgasms of my life.
“Knew that was gonna be a good idea,” I panted as I slumped against the mattress, my arms falling limp at my sides. Soft aftershocks rocked through me as I caught my breath, my entire body relaxed. I knew that there was something wrong with what I had just done, something I should think about, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. The drug haze mixed with post-orgasm bliss made my mind foggy, my body heavy, and before I knew it I was drifting into dreamless sleep.
***
I wasn’t sure how long I had lain there when Ray’s crushing weight settled on me. Rough stubble scraped against my neck and collar as his teeth nipped at my skin. I opened my eyes, watching as his bleary silhouette solidified above me.
“What’re you doin’?” I mumbled, raising a hand to push weakly at his shoulders. He knocked it away easily, pinning it to the pillow next to my head.
“The boys’ve gone home,” he murmured into my throat. “Came upstairs to see you laid out naked and ready for me to fuck. I wanna fuck you now.”
I pulled a face, squirming and trying to dislodge him. The pleasant buzz from the drugs was wearing off, Ray’s weight drawing me out of the stupor. He was lying on my hair, limiting my ability to move away and sending ripples of sharp pain across my scalp.
“No, Ray, I’m not in the mood,” I mumbled. I knew instantly that it was the wrong thing to say. My eyes flew open as his hands bit into my hips, grip tightening painfully. That was definitely going to leave bruises. He reared back to scowl at me.
“The fuck you say, whore?”
“No, I just meant—” I tried to backtrack, reaching to pull him back down to me, but he shoved me away. My back hit the mattress, the impact knocking the breath from my lungs.
“So you’ll get naked for any old guy at that fuckin’ club of yours, but when your goddamn boyfriend wants some suddenly you’re a fuckin’ nun, huh? Too busy gettin’ your kicks elsewhere, right?”
“Of course not, Ray, don’t be stupid—”
“Stupid?”
“No, that’s not what I meant—” Panic built in my chest as his face darkened. He swiped the baggie with the remaining coke from the bedside table and waved it in my face.
“Well, if you’re gettin’ your fun somewhere else, you won’t be needin’ any ofmystuff anymore, right?” he growled. I looked between him and the baggie then schooled my expression into something flirty and demure. I started to unbuckle his jeans, looking up at him through my lashes.
