Page 46 of Crow
“Those’re the notes for the Ironhead Tavern two-point-oh,” Crow said casually, meaning I hadn’t been as subtle as I’d hoped. I looked up at him through my lashes, but he didn’t seem angry. “Nothing set in concrete just yet, we’re just spitballing.”
“Aren’t you afraid that Ray and the others will just come back and burn it down again?” I asked quietly.
“Ha! I’d like to see them try! Next time those sons of bitches get close enough, I’m gonna pummel them into the ground!” The man that Crow had called Claymore guffawed from across the room, a huge grin on his face. The smaller tattooed man next to him rolled his eyes.
“What my brother means is that we’ve sent messages to all the other Freeway King chapters across the country, and the other Rebel chapters too,” he explained in a dryer, more subdued tone. “People are looking for what’s left of Ray and his gang of thugs, and when they find them, they’ll make sure they aren’t capable of hurting us ever again.” He looked at me meaningfully. “Anyof us.”
Warmth spread through my chest, and I had to look away. I was beginning to realize that everything to do with the Rebels was going to be overwhelming, and while it was going to take some getting used to, I didn’t think it was necessarily a bad thing. I liked being a part of the group, not just caught alone in the eye of the storm.
“I think the new Tavern should have a stage with a stripper pole on it, don’t you think, Jade?” Vegas said from where he was sitting on the floor with a hopeful look on his face. “Some of your friends will come dance for us, right?”
“Hm… You know, I don’t think you could afford them,” I said, tapping my finger against my chin as I pretended to think. Maverick roared with laughter, slapping Vegas on the back as he pouted.
“I like her,” Tank said approvingly.
“It’s at least got to be a better idea than Archer’s, right?” Vegas appealed to the room, only to be met with a chorus of disagreement. I giggled as he slumped against the wall.
“Having secret compartments in the booths to store weapons is not that bad of an idea!” Archer protested.
“It’s fucking impractical, is what it is,” Tank disagreed, and just like that the group dissolved into bickering again. Crow held me in his lap, his thumb rubbing soothingly against my hip. Once again, I was struck by how different this was from when I was in the room when the Freeways were talking. This argument felt safe, friendly, evenfamilial, not like there was about to be a brawl or a shooting at any second. And it felt like I was being included in what was happening rather than just being a decoration or cock warmer.
“You could extend the bar to be able to serve more people at once,” I suggested. “Make more money while making people happy and drunk, and happy drunk people will spend even more money. It’s a win-win.”
Tank looked at me with interest as he added the idea to the notes. His acceptance made me feel braver, and I started offering more suggestions, like a larger area for pool and darts, or having fewer rooms with more floor space in the living area. Each time I spoke up, it sparked more ideas among the group, and the meeting carried on long into the night. Every so often, Evelyn got up to fetch snacks, refusing to let me do it when I offered, and the Rebels let me in on all their jokes as if I had always been there. I looked around at all of their faces as I was filled with warmth. This, I realized, felt good.
At one point, Crow tugged me back so he could murmur in my ear.
“I’m sorry about all this, and for how long it’s taking,” he said. “But I have to supervise them or else they’ll spend all the club’s fucking money on stupid crap like stripper poles. Fucking children.”
I laughed, turning slightly in his lap so I could see his face better.
“It’s okay,” I promised him in a low voice, smoothing out the worried crease between his eyebrows with my thumb. “Someone told me once that there was better out there for me. I was thinking that this kind of feels like it.” I shrugged one shoulder as his face lit up. He tugged me in for a kiss, hand cupping the back of my neck and tongue flicking against my lower lip, and didn’t let me go until Maverick ruined the moment.
“Get a room, you two!” he hooted. Crow pulled away to scowl at him.
“This is my room,” he said, gesturing around the living room. “You’re all in my fucking house!”
***
Archer and Rose were the last to leave. The sky was dark as I waved goodbye, promising Rose that we could meet up and go shopping later that week as she helped Archer limp down the driveway to the cab that was waiting to take them home. I shut the front door and then suddenly Crow was there, pressing himself along my back and caging me in. He dipped his head down to kiss behind my ear.
“Thank fuck,” he mumbled. “I thought they were never going to leave.”
“You liked having them here.” I laughed. He shrugged, pressing more kisses along my neck.
“Have I mentioned yet how fucking hot your new hair is?” he asked.
“A time or two.” I smiled, tilting my head to give him better access. “But you’re always welcome to tell me again.”
I felt him grin against the soft skin of my throat just before he bit it gently. Then his hands were on my hips and he was spinning me around to press me back against the door as his mouth devoured mine. I gasped into the kiss, reaching up to knot my fingers in his hair as he flicked his tongue against my lower lip.
“Been wanting to do that ever since you came downstairs,” he said when he broke away. I blinked up at him, dazed and wondering why he had stopped kissing me. I tightened my grip on his hair, bringing his mouth back to mine, tugging just hard enough to pull a groan from the back of his throat. His hands flexed on my hips as he pressed himself closer to me, and I moaned at the feel of all his hard muscle against my own soft curves. We were so close together that I could feel his cock beginning to harden in his jeans.
“I want you,” I mumbled, nails scraping gently along the back of his neck and leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake.
“Fuck,” he gasped. “Yes.” He lifted me from the floor with ease, and I felt my pussy throb at the effortless show of strength. I wrapped my legs around his waist, grinding against him and moaning with the friction.
“Christ,” he swore, breathless and stumbling on his way up the stairs. I latched on to where his shoulder met his neck, lightly running my tongue over the spot I knew was sensitive. His grip on me tightened enough that I knew I would have some delicious bruises. I ran my fingers across his chest and over his ribs, scratching lightly to hear him gasp. Finally, we reached his bedroom, and he tossed me onto the mattress before climbing on top of me, pressing kisses up and down my neck as I moaned.
