The hairs on my arms stood on end. “And what does that mean?”
“Means that people who poke the fucking bears are liable to get mauled to death and eaten. Maybe if they’re lucky, it happens in that order.”
My mouth opened and I wasn’t sure what was going to come out of it. But I didn’t get a chance to find out either. The sound of an engine growling out in defiance of the very air around it reached my ears at the same moment Tone looked over my head.
I turned, watching Rain round the bend and approach us on Suzanne. Thank God I wasn’t insecure, or I might have had a problem with him naming his bike. As it was, I simply made it a point to always roll my eyes whenever he brought it up.
My heart sent little jolts of happiness through my limbs as I watched him approach, looking like the badass he was. My badass fiancé. He wore mirrored shades that hid his eyes from view along with worn jeans and dark boots. There was a duffel bag on his back, the strap going across his chest. A cloud of dust followed in his wake and the only thing missing was a random explosion behind him to complete the effect.
That, and theme music.
He would fucking rock an entrance that came with theme music.
Rain stopped in front of us, long leg propping the kickstand in place. He stood to his full height and tossed the keys to Tone. “Don’t go anywhere with my second baby. I would hate to have to hunt you down.”
Laughing, Tone bumped his fist. “You really think I would be caught dead on that thing? You’ve got enough chrome to be seen from the space station.”
“Oh. Sorry. I forgot how much you hate to stand out. Despite doing exactly that with all those good deeds you pull out of thin air. You’re so full of shit.”
I went to stand at Rain’s shoulder, feeling my body warm at the proximity. “What he said.”
Tone pulled his phone from his pocket, brows pinching. His fingers started flying over the keys and he said, “I feel like I’m being ganged up on. Y’all are hurting my feelings. Next, you’ll be putting sugar in my tea when I’m not looking.”
Rain took his shades off and put them on the bike. “We would never do such a thing. Would we, Pixie?”
“Of course not. That would be some kind of cruel and unusual and hilarious punishment. There’s simply not a chance we would ever put someone we know through such a thing.”
Tone stopped typing long enough to glare at us. I only saw him from the corner of my vision because my eyes were locked on Rain’s while we grinned at each other.
“Gross,” Tone said, making us glance at him. Rain captured my hand in his and the Sinner’s attention drifted to our interlocking fingers. “I’m getting the hell out of here before I get a cavity from looking at this sweet shit. I’ll be back soon.”
I waited for Tone to climb into the Hummer he had brought me here in and take off. The one with tinted windows so dark they had hidden our destination until we arrived. “Your friend has a secret.”
Rain pulled me against him, dipping down to press a searing kiss to my lips. A kiss he broke much too soon. Or maybe right on time. My foot was about to kick up into the air all by itself except I had forgotten the grinning pilot watching this entire scene.
“They all have secrets.” He tugged me towards the perfectly good plane I wanted to be nowhere near. Threw the door open and hoisted me inside before stepping in after me and slamming it closed again. “People with squeaky, open-book-lives don’t usually become career criminals, magic girl.”
“You have a point.”
“No shit.” He smirked and I tapped my finger against his lip, following the curve. “I’m always right. That’s a fact.”
“Oh yeah? What else are you sure you’re right about?”
“I’m sure these are going to hold up during the dive. Seeing as how if they don’t, I made it very clear to the nice gentleman who did the custom fit that I was going to come back, dice up his balls and personally feed them to him one bite at a time. Possibly with hot sauce.”
While I was still frowning over that vivid bit of imagery, Rain pulled the duffel bag over his head and dropped it between his feet. He hunkered down. Unzipped it. Spread the fabric to reveal something shimmering in the sunlight spilling through the windows of the cramped space.
I squinted, trying to get a better look.
Please don’t be jewelry.
I was likely the first woman on the planet to think such a thing, but as much as I loved the engagement ring, I wasn’t the kind of girl who wanted to walk around wearing a mortgage payment on my person.
Of course, this man knew me better than anyone, so I had nothing to worry about. Rain reached into the bag carefully and pulled out the last thing I had expected.
He stood and offered me a pair of full-size pixie wings. I reached out for them automatically, fingers trailing across the glossy, thin fabric making up the lining of the wings. The arches were sturdier, with a surprising amount of spring to them. Without even turning around, I knew they would fit perfectly.
And I said the first thing that came to mind. “You’re such a fucking weirdo.”
Ignoring my jab, Rain stepped into my personal space. He was careful not to bend the wings he was holding as he leaned over me, so close my body buzzed with awareness.
Would being close to him ever stop feeling like I was holding onto a live wire?
Did I want it to?
No. No, I don't.
The sound of the propeller cutting through the air told me the plane was starting, and then I felt a shift as we began moving. I picked at my sleeves, watching the landscape around us move by the windows faster and faster.
Rain held onto a railing above us when the plane started bouncing down the runway, and I mimicked his actions. The difference being he wasn't biting into his lip as hard as I was. And if his stomach was trying to swim up his throat, he didn't show it.
The inside of this metal box seemed terribly loud and awfully small, and looking into storm-cloud eyes was my sole comfort. Yet when he whirled his finger in the air I turned immediately. Obediently. Offering my back.
My stomach lurched as the plane lifted into the sky, but strong hands kept me in place, moving around my back and shoulders as he secured a harness to me. I looked down, watching his pale fingers adjust the straps around my front before giving them a good tug. When he spun me around again, hands going to my waist, I finally chanced a look over my shoulders.
The wings were on, and gorgeous, and silly. Which described our relationship in a surprisingly accurate manner.
Rain tapped my chin and I glanced up at him. His eyes burned so hot that everything else disappeared. The anxiety. The plane. The snickering pilot who was totally going to get punched in the face when he was no longer keeping us aloft. “You trust me?”
I nodded. “With my life.”
Without looking away, Rain threw open the door we had entered through and the sound of rushing wind ripping into the compartment stole my breath and scattered my hair every which way it could go.
He maneuvered behind me, leaving as much room for the wings as he could while attached my harness to the one he was wearing. We were pressed together so tight I could feel the hard length of him against my ass.
“Really?” I raised my voice to be heard over the gusting wind, focusing on conveying my amusement instead of the treetops that seemed far, far below us. “You’re in the mood now?”
Lips caressing the shell of my ear, his soft laughter nuzzled around my brain. “Where you’re concerned? Always. Now stop focusing on my dick and fly with me, Pixie.”
He took a step, bringing us closer to the edge. I swallowed thickly but didn’t say anything when he took another, and then another. The view was breathtaking. But having the man I loved at my back completed the picture. Turning it into another memory I would save and cherish.
Rain didn’t rush me. In fact, he was almost perfectly still while he held onto either side of the plane’s open bay. But I knew he was waiting. And because
forming words seemed about as possible as finding a needle in the middle of the fucking ocean, I chose not to rely on verbal communication at all.
I glanced at him over my shoulder as best I could. Let him see the grin breaking free from my lips despite my heart pounding against my ribs like a terrified racehorse.
With a quick leap, we were out of the plane.
In the open air.
Staring at the world around us from a perspective I never thought I would see.
I laughed, bright and loud and free. Rain did too, although his was the laugh of a madman pushing back against the world. The sounds we made mingled in the air, spreading our love across the horizon while gravity belatedly realized it was being defied and grabbed a hold of us.
We fell, laughing all the while.
And spoiler alert?
When we landed, I followed through with my promise and choked him with my hug while kissing his stupid, handsome face off.
The End
Author’s Note
If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for reading! Should you have the time, reviews are always much appreciated, and I hope you enjoyed the story. From here, I’ll probably ramble for a bit so feel free to skip anything after this next period.
Still here? Cool. Let’s get into it.
Full disclosure, I was initially going to release this book as a novella in between Owned by a Sinner and Saved by a Sinner. Seeing as how Rain ended up being about 50k, that didn’t happen.
Was adding nearly thirty thousand words worth it? I don’t know for sure. Maybe you can tell me. But it certainly felt necessary.
While each book in the series can be read as a standalone, Rain and Kayla made their first appearance in the first book, Claimed by a Sinner. Except they were already together by that point. So, as much fun as I had writing a small snippet that included them, I couldn’t help feeling like I wanted to tell the rest of their story. I wanted them to fully exist as their own characters and not just Creed’s brother and Lizzy’s best friend.
Now they do. Hooray! That’s one less set of characters grumbling at me about writing them a book.
(You can get away with talking to the voices in your head as a writer…right?)
Moving on.
Curious about what’s next?
That’s a great question because skipping backwards in time confuses me as well. But assuming this gave you an urge to read Texas’ and Lizzy’s story, keep turning the page for chapter one of Claimed by a Sinner.
Already finished the rest of the series? Book four, (or is it five if I count this one?) Tempted by a Sinner, is complete and waiting to be edited. I’m shooting for an early 2020 release there so wish me luck!
Until next time.
Chapter 1 – Texas
Two years ago
I sighed through my nose and tapped my finger impatiently on my thigh as I waited for my captive to wake up. This was one of the things they never let on in movies. Once someone has been given a concussion, say with a chromed-out baseball bat, they weren’t guaranteed to wake up in a few minutes no worse for wear. Hell, sometimes they didn’t wake back up at all. Hopefully, that wasn’t the case here because I had some questions for this piece of shit.
It would be a real pain in the ass if I had to go back and tell Creed the interrogation failed because I killed the motherfucker with the first blow.
Thankfully, right as that last thought passed through my mind, I heard a pained moan from the other side of the dimly lit alley and Johnny Cocksucking Masters started rolling his head around as he came to, sitting on the ground across from me.
I stayed leaning on the faded brick wall, the right shoulder of my black, leather jacket the only thing making contact. We were in a shitty part of town, and I meant that in the most literal fucking sense possible. The alley was so full of piss and feces that the smell was practically congealing in my nose and I was going to have to wipe my fucking boots down before I got back on my bike. But it was the perfect place for what I needed.
Deserted.
Crime-ridden.
One of those black stains on the map of Oakdale, North Carolina that had such a bad rap that no one even looked twice when they heard a gunshot or when someone went missing.
One end of the alley had a fence that led to the lot of an abandoned chop shop and the other emptied out into a park that no one with any sense would venture into. Which meant we didn’t have a lick of company. Just the way I liked it.
Johnny moaned again and I curled my lip at the pathetic keening sound that started pouring from his lips. That wouldn’t do. I really would kill him if I had to listen to that for more than a few seconds.
I stepped forward quickly and I could tell when he realized something was moving in the shadows because his eyes went wide.
“What-” he started, but that was all he got out before the back of my gloved hand connected with the side of his face and the sound of impact cracked around us.
His head twisted to the side and blood sprayed some of the trash bags beside him as he started to fall. I watched in amusement as his shoulders jerked and I imagined he was trying to bring his hands around to catch himself. Too bad they were duct taped behind his back. So instead, he got a face full of someone’s split open garbage.
“Mmmfff!” His words were muffled but the desperation was still apparent.
I rolled my eyes and grabbed him by his scrawny neck like the dog he was, hauling him up and shoving him back hard against the bricks. Not too hard though. Concussions and all that. Serious business.
“Welcome back, Johnny-boy. I thought I lost ya for a sec there.”
He focused on me and his pockmarked face went white as a sheet. “T-t-t- Tex,” he stuttered. “How’d I get here man? I think somebody mighta jumped me.”
I nodded patiently. “Someone did jump you. That somebody was me. Right outside that fancy little apartment of yours. Pretty fucking expensive pad for a prospect.”
His eyes darted like a scared animal, looking up and down the alley for an escape. There wasn’t one. Creed, our club’s president, named me Sergeant at Arms for a good fucking reason. Motherfuckers fucked with the club, they fucked with me. And no one fucked with me and got away with it.
I was a natural born predator.
Top of the goddamn food chain and all that shit.
If it was possible, he went even whiter, looking like a ghost before I even made him one. “Tex, just give me a minute. That’s all I need. One little minute. I swear to God I can explain about the money. I was going to pay it back, I swear.” Jesus, a little tap upside the head and he was already admitting his guilt? After this, I needed to have a chat with whoever recruited this asswipe. “I just needed a little bit to get me over this hump I was in man. I would never actually steal from the club. You know that. Prez knows that. Everybody-”
“Jesus. Fucking. Christ,” I drawled, crouching until I was all up in his space. My six five, muscle packed frame took up every spare inch around him. “Stop talking. You’re gonna make my damn ears bleed.”
His mouth snapped shut so hard his teeth clicked.
“Now listen here.” He nodded his head a bit too fast and started looking green. I got up and stepped away as his eyes bulged and he vomited all over himself, the acrid scent burning the lining of my nose. “Well, that’s fucking disgusting. You couldn’t have turned your head at least?”
He whimpered. Gagged. I swear to God his eyes started tearing up and I looked to the sky for a second before pulling the matte black Glock from the back of my jeans and placing the barrel against his forehead.
That got his attention. He nearly went cross-eyed trying to look at me around the pistol.
“I got one question for ya, Johnny. And I’m only gonna ask once, so I-”
“The rest of the money is under my bed in a black duffel,” he blurted, and I felt the first stirrings of rage flicking heat through my veins. I hated to be interrupted and this was already dragging on longer than
it was supposed to. The Seven Sinners had a meeting tonight and a party right after it. I was already late getting underway and Johnny was officially wasting my fucking time.
He was still going on. Apologizing. Pleading. Full-on crying. I ignored all of it as I took a shallow breath, aimed at his thigh and pulled the trigger.
My ears rang but I saw the cords in his neck stand out as he screamed and started wriggling around like someone lit a fire beneath his ass. Except that would’ve been less painful than what he was going through. I knew. Anyone that claimed being shot didn’t hurt like a bitch was lying.
When I could hear his low, pained moans, I started speaking again. “As I was saying. One question. Answer with the truth before you start lookin’ like swiss cheese, feel me?”
He nodded frantically, tears streaming down his ugly mug.
I aimed at his other thigh and crouched low until I was staring into his red-rimmed eyes. “Who helped you?” There was no way a prospect could’ve gotten access to the kind of money he had stolen. Not without the help of a brother. Which meant somebody I thought I trusted—somebody I’ve probably had at my back, armed and ready—was a dirty, fucking traitor.
He whispered a name and I stared hard at him, waiting for a flinch or any kind of tell that would say he was lying. When nothing came, I nodded with a calm I didn’t feel. An inferno was blazing in my chest. Every cell in my body was firing signals that screamed for me to destroy everything in sight and bury the traitor in pieces. But it wouldn’t be that easy. As much as Creed trusted me. I knew this was something I couldn’t handle with a simple bullet.
I needed proof.
Almost as an afterthought, I stood and put a bullet in Johnny’s head. I tucked the gun at the back of my waist, my mind already spinning with options. Which is when I heard a metal trash can go clattering to the ground.
My head immediately swiveled to the fence at the end of the alley, and through the slats, I saw a shape moving in the night. Running. “Fuck,” I cursed and took off after them. The last damn thing I needed was a witness.
Rain Page 16
