Page 12 of Crow
“Of course not, baby,” I purred. “There’s only you, you know that.”
“Yeah?” Ray grunted, looking pleased.
“Of course.” I unbuttoned his fly, stroking my fingers down his happy trail. “Why would I need anyone else, when I have all of this?”
“Damn straight.” He knotted his fingers in my hair and pulled me away from where I was pressing kisses to his hips. I winced at the sharp pain of my hair tugging at my scalp from where it was trapped between his fingers and beneath my own body. He tossed the baggie back onto the bedside table and crushed his mouth to mine.
***
A couple of hours later, I was coiling my hair into a bun and heading in for my shift at Tease, trying to stretch the aches from my body. The base of my spine twinged, and my hips throbbed in the way that I knew meant bruises were already forming. They were going to be a pain to cover up for work, and I made a mental note to pick up a new tube of full coverage concealer in the morning.
It was a long walk to Tease from Ray’s house, and I made a game out of balancing on the curb like it was a tightrope, arms out to the side. I hummed the tune that always played at circuses in the movies and pretended that I really was a gymnast, balanced high above a cheering crowd. I could hear the applause, the whoops and hoots, and they filled my chest with light.
Something solid collided with my shoulder, knocking me off-balance and pulling me from the fantasy. I winced as all the aches from Ray’s rough treatment earlier sparked back to life.
“Look where you’re going, bitch,” a gruff voice said, and I turned to see a hunched figure slumping down the sidewalk. I flipped him off, sticking my tongue out at his retreating back. Son of a bitch didn’t even pause.
“Hey, asshole!” Crow’s voice came from behind me, and I spun around so fast my head swam for a moment. He had his arms crossed, glaring at the man who had bumped into me. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size, huh?”
The man paused and turned, squaring his shoulders as he headed back toward us. I took a couple of steps back, biting my lip as fear made my throat close. The man’s stride spoke of violence. Panic swelled in my chest, and then I was staring at the expanse of Crow’s leather-clad back as he moved in front of me.
“You talkin’ to me?” the man growled. As he approached, it was clear that Crow was both taller and wider than him and knew how to stand to emphasize that.
“Yeah, I’m talking to you. Apologize to the lady.”
“Are you gonna make me?” The man had a repulsive grin, yellow in the light from the streetlamp, and I could see a cruel glint in his eye as he drew closer. He wasn’t backing down.
“Am I gonna have to?” Crow asked, tilting his head to the side. His tone was light, but what I could see of his face as I peered around him was very, very serious. The man was almost within spitting distance now, and finally seemed to take in how much larger Crow was. He faltered slightly, his face turning sour as he seemed to turn his options over in his head. There was a tense moment where I considered running away before a fight broke out, but then the man looked at his feet.
“Sorry,” he muttered.
“What was that?” Crow said. “I didn’t quite hear you.”
“Are you fuckin’ serious, man?” the man started but then Crow took a step forward and he backed off. “All right, shit, I’m sorry, okay?” he huffed, holding his hands up. “You fuckin’ happy now?”
Crow turned his head slightly so he could talk to me without taking his eyes off the man.
“What do you think?” he asked. “That good enough for you?”
“Yeah, it’s fine,” I said quickly.
“Then you can go,” Crow said, and the man took off down the street. Crow watched him go then turned to me.
“What’re you doing here?” I asked him, arms crossed. I looked around, expecting to see his motorcycle parked somewhere nearby, but the street was empty. When I looked back at him, Crow was smirking at me, blue eyes glinting.
“Join me for a drink?” he offered instead of answering. I hesitated, biting my lip at the thought of being late for my shift. Crow shrugged, turning to walk away from me, in the opposite direction than I would go for Tease. I knew I should go to work, but spending more time with Crow sounded really good, and as a bonus, his ass looked good in his jeans. I dithered a moment more then pulled my phone out of my pocket, texting Jess and asking her to cover for me before taking off after him. His ass lookedreallygood in those jeans.
“You know I’ve never seen you in the daylight?” I said as I caught up to him. “I’m beginning to think you’re a vampire or something.”
I couldn’t keep the smile off my face when he tilted his head back and barked a laugh.
Chapter Seven
Crow
I could tell something was up with Jade almost immediately. She still talked with the same confidence, but she didn’t gesture as much, like she didn’t want to make herself appear too big. Her long hair was tied in a knot on top of her head, wild strands hanging loose around her face, and I could see streaks of her makeup like it was hastily slapped on. It didn’t make sense. All the other times I’d seen her, she had looked flawless. Now it was like a layer of herself had been peeled back, revealing a softer and more vulnerable version of Jade to the world, and that put me on edge. In my experience, someone’s behavior didn’t shift like this without a reason, and that reason was usually bad. I was filled with the sudden urge to protect the woman next to me and barely held myself back from wrapping my arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. Instead, I asked her why she was acting so weird, but she just scowled, slapped my arm, and changed the subject.
“So where are we going anyway?” she asked. “You do know all the bars are in the other direction, right?”
