Page 8 of Crush's Fall

Not allowing herself to second guess her plan, she went for it. She leaned closer until her lips were a few inches from his. She lingered, letting the anticipation build, making him long for it. When she noticed that his breath was coming quicker, she nipped at his bottom lip. She released his lip, only to soothe it with a caress of her tongue, making him groan again. That’s when she dipped in and gave him one hell of a kiss, her tongue slipping in and tangling with his. Just when he was getting into it, his eyes closing, she straightened and returned to her pacing.

Pretending her heart wasn’t about to pound out of her chest from the overdose of pleasure that had coursed through her when their tongues touched, Crush asked, “Who were they dealing to?”

He was panting slightly, staring at her with blatant desire burning in his brown eyes. She also noticed a new determination there. She wasn’t sure what he was determined about, but that wasn’t important at the moment.

“They weren’t really dealing to anyone in Michigan or Canada. They were transporting. They were the middlemen. Leighton has set up shop in Toronto. He didn’t want his GR associates to know he was expanding.”

Crush knew he meant Grand Rapids, Michigan, and that Leighton was one of the leaders of a drug trafficking organization, and nodded for him to continue.

“They would want in. So, he was having HD Indiana transport to his soldier in Toronto, some guy with family connections to Leighton. I don’t know how exactly. Leighton wanted it stable and lucrative before he moved his headquarters there.”

“He was planning on leaving Michigan?”

“Not completely. His base of operations was going to move, but his Michigan business wouldn’t stop. But I guess you guys or the Howlers or whoever the fuck made that difficult when you ambushed our guys.”

“Were you there at the ambush?”

He raised an eyebrow. “I answered two questions.”

Giving a slight smile, Crush stepped up in front of him and bent down again. She didn’t tease him as much. She just pressed her lips to his and lingered. When she pulled back, he tried to follow, but the restraints stopped him.

“Damn it,” he growled, panting again. “Untie my hands, Babe.”

She chuckled. “Not happening,Babe. Were you involved in their drug business?”

He swallowed hard, his eyes flashing fire. “No. I was a prospect. I was good at being around and not being noticed. They didn’t guard their conversations the way they should have. I just learned shit from paying attention and not drawing any attention to myself.” He huffed out a breath. “Look. I don’t do drugs. I drink. I might hit a joint or bowl every now and again, but that’s it. When I found out about the drug business, I considered bowing out of prospecting, but things changed. They found out you had one of their girls. Pres and his brother, Digger, started recruiting to send a crew to get her back. Then you guys killed Digger… or the Howlers did. Whatever. I could understand rescuing a member’s woman. I understood wanting revenge for the death of a member. So, I didn’t leave. The drugs were shifted to the Ohio chapter. I was fine with that. Transport through Michigan wasn’t going to be HD Indiana’s responsibility. The mission became taking down the Howlers, taking over Michigan.”

“Christel wasn’t theirs. And Digger died because he was stupid and fucked with Howlers territory and put our families in danger. Pres died because he kidnapped and assaulted our family.”

“Fair enough.” He sighed. “I didn’t know all of that. I just knew what I heard. You can’t fault me for that shit. I was a prospect. I didn’t make decisions. I didn’t get a vote.”

She believed him, but she wasn’t sure if that was just wishful thinking. Was it just the part of her that desperately wanted her mate not to be a complete asshole? It was easier to believe he didn’t know the truth. Was that why she believed him?

CHAPTER FOUR

Crush

Crushpushedherdoubtsaside and asked, “Who are their allies, and what are they planning?”

“I answered your question. Where’s my kiss?” Lucifer’s smile wasn’t as intense as it was before, but there was somehow an intimacy to it. She didn’t examine that for too long.

Bending back down, she braced herself with her palms high on his thighs. His thighs were thicker than they looked, harder, stronger. Instead of kissing his lips again, she went for the gusto. She bent her head to the side and kissed a path across his jaw to his ear. After giving the lobe a nibble and a suck, she whispered, “Tell me everything I need to know to protect my club and my family — that includes the Howlers. If you do, and give me everything, I’ll straddle your lap and give you your next kiss from there.”

He turned his head and licked along the side of her neck. “You play hardball.”

She pulled back enough to look into his eyes. “You gonna tell me what I need to know?”

His attention dropped from her eyes to the generous view of cleavage she knew she was giving him. “If you sit there while I talk and promise a good, long kiss when I’m done, I’ll tell you everything I know.” His gaze returned to hers. “And I’ll be an open book to you and the Howlers. I have no interest in bringing the Howlers down. From what I’ve seen since you handcuffed me in that van, the Claws and the Howlers just seem like two clubs who just want to protect the people they care about. Sounds pretty kickass to me.”

Her heart skipped a beat at his words and the sincerity in his tone. She really hoped he wasn’t playing her.

Crush held his gaze as she shifted and took a seat on his lap, straddling him. She rested her palms on his shoulders and sighed. “Tell me everything, so I have a chance of saving your life. We’ll talk about what you’re going to do after.”

He didn’t ask what she meant by that. He just opened his mouth and gave what she asked for. The information made fear steadily grow in her chest. When he was done, she closed her eyes and shook her head.

They were in so much trouble. She didn’t know how she and Axle were going to fix things. The thought of going to war against that big of a group terrified her. Even being shifters, there were limits to the size of an army that they could take. What Lucifer was talking about was… more than she could comprehend.

“Tell me you have a habit of exaggeration,” she practically whispered. It was odd for her to be that vulnerable, but she was too stunned to rebuild her walls.

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