Michelle Woods - Becoming Raven's Man (Red Devils MC #7)

by Unknown

  His hands slid beneath her shirt, pulling it off her. He’d already removed her shorts and his hands slid along her naked skin with wicked appreciation. It hadn’t been easy to persuade her brother to leave her here. It had actually been Raven who’d finally convinced him to leave her. She’d been tossing around on the bed in the throws of another nightmare. Marcus had been trying to soothe her by rubbing her back.

  Travis had barked at him to move. He’d done it reluctantly and Travis had lay behind her gathering her into his arms. She’d turned, grabbing at him and she’d whispered his name as her face had found its favorite resting place, his neck. She’d calmed in seconds, her arms around him holding him tightly. Her brother had met his eyes with his. Travis had seen the pain in the other man’s eyes and he’d felt bad for him. It had to hurt to know you couldn’t help the person you loved as much as Marcus loved his sister.

  Marcus had told him that if Travis hurt her he’d gut him and then turned on his heel leaving them alone. Travis was glad he’d seen reason. He took in her naked form lying across his satin sheets, pleased beyond all reason to have her there.

  “You’re so beautiful, Princess,” Travis whispered, just staring down at her, his hands running over the soft skin of her thighs.

  He let his fingers play in the wet curls that protected her hot core. Unable to wait, he stripped quickly before kissing her navel, licking around the tiny dip. He continued kissing down her stomach to her hip bones, his lips caressing her. She moaned, arching up as he left a little love bite near a nearly faded bruise. He hated every mark those bastards had left on her, both physical and mental.

  His lips moved to kiss her soft curls and she gasped as he neared her tight center. His mouth sucked her little clit and he was gratified to hear her moan loudly. He smiled against her before he pushed two fingers inside her wet opening, growling with pleasure when she gripped the sheets beside her.

  Raven was on fire. Travis was playing her like a flute. His fingers thrust inside her in counterpoint to his sucking on her clit and she was mindlessly tossing her head, trying not to lose her mind. She exploded into orgasm a minute later, moaning while gripping the sheets. He barely let her catch her breath before he was bringing her to another shattering peak. He did it two more times before he finally crawled up her body, his lips glistening and his hands hard on her hips as he positioned himself to enter her.

  He roughly thrust into her and she screamed as her body shattered again, her head thrashing from side to side. She wasn’t sure she could bear anymore. Her body was sore. She panted out a weak, “I can’t, I can’t.”

  “You will, Princess.” Then he was kissing her as his body slammed into hers with rough, sure strokes that made her tremble. She felt the delicious friction he created with every stroke and it was almost more than she could take. Moaning, she dug her nails into his hips.

  He groaned, “Fuck, Princess, so good.”

  She kissed his neck, her teeth sinking into his shoulder when the feel of his cock slamming inside her became heavy, almost painful. To her surprise, her body began to spiral into another orgasm. He grunted when her tight channel clamped down on him and he roared out his climax seconds after she screamed hers loud enough to wake the dead.

  Collapsing next to her on the bed, he felt like she’d just drained him. He pulled free and rolled with her in his arms. He settled her with her head resting on his shoulder.

  His hands slid over her back slowly easing her down from her mind-blowing orgasm. Raven couldn’t believe how good making love with him felt as she lay there wondering how the hell she’d ended up in his bed again. How did the man do that? she wondered. They lay that way for a long time with her head on his shoulder and his hand running up and down her spine gently.

  “Doc says you need to talk about what happened, Raven,” he finally said and Raven lifted her head, her eyes meeting his.

  “I can’t. It’s too embarrassing,” she said, burying her face in his shoulder.

  “Nothing they forced you to do against your will is your fault, Raven.”

  “You can’t know that it won’t change how you think of me,” she whispered.

  “I can, Princess. Nothing you did to survive could ever be held against you. Even if you had sex with them willingly to save yourself from being raped, I wouldn’t care. Neither would anyone else, including your brother. The men who took you, they did that. Whatever happened, it’s on them, not you.” Travis held her tighter, not wanting to think about what they’d done to her. What they’d forced her to do.

  “I didn’t have sex with them. I couldn’t have. I did things, other things,” she whispered brokenly, making his heart twist in his chest. His arm pulled her closer offering comfort.

  “I was afraid that he’d give me to Ghost.” Her voice was barely audible as she revealed that truth. Raven didn’t want to think about what she was saying. She didn’t want to talk about the things she’d done.

  “It’s okay. Just talk, I’ll listen. You’re safe here.”

  “They left me in that little room for days. I almost died. Burner gave me water that first day or I wouldn’t have survived. They left me there for three days and it was so hot. I was willing to do anything if they’d just give me some water.”

  “That’s okay. Whatever it was you had to do, it’s okay, Princess.” Travis’s hands were holding her to him tightly.

  “I didn’t let them touch me. They didn’t touch me,” she whispered brokenly and Travis felt his heart squeeze as she repeated that over and over, tears evident in her voice. He soothed her into sleep after she’d cried for almost an hour and when she was finally exhausted, he held her while she slept.

  When Raven woke the next morning, she felt refreshed in a way she hadn’t for a long time. Over the next few weeks she saw a different side of the man she loved. He was tender and he made her laugh. Raven was glad that he didn’t try to force her to talk about what had happened at the compound. She didn’t know if she’d have been able to talk about the days and nights she’d spent inside that house or the things they’d forced her to do or to watch.

  Even as she settled into a happy and seemingly perfect life with Travis, it was always at the back of her mind that she could just be a substitute for Charity. After all, he’d never told her that he loved her and she was constantly reminded by the other woman’s presence that she’d dated Travis several times before. She also heard stories of how mad he’d been when he’d punched Tick in the face when Charity chose him over Travis.

  She didn’t know what to think, but she was in love with the man so she’d take what she could get.

  Chapter 19

  Travis was standing in the middle of Tammy’s Diner talking to Charity about Raven. He’d come in to get a burger after handling a run for Bone. Raven was visiting Mia, so she wasn’t at home today or he’d already be home. Very likely by now he’d be curled contentedly around her in their bed.

  “So you’re asking her to wear your patch?” Charity asked, a huge grin on her face.

  He grinned back, his whole body lighting up at the thought of Raven’s reaction when he gave it to her. He couldn’t wait. Raven made him happy and he was glad that he hadn’t let her go. Even if she became high maintenance, he didn’t give a shit. It was worth it to have her in his life. She rounded him out in a way he hadn’t realized he’d needed and the past few weeks with her had been perfect.

  Although he still hadn’t gotten the whole story out of her, bits and pieces were slowly being poured from her soul and he was glad. Raven’s reactions to things were becoming less emotional and more like what he would imagine was more like who she really was.

  “Yeah, I am. Tonight actually.” Travis grinned answering her question.

  “Wow, that’s wonderful. I am so happy for you. I was worried about you all alone, you know,” Charity told him.

  “Yeah, Tick told me. I’m glad that Tick makes you happy. Raven was who I was meant to be with. She’s perfect.” Travis felt a rag
e fill him at the sudden remembrance of what she’d told him last night about the panic attack she’d had the night of the bonfire. She’d said that Viper had made her watch as he beat a woman half to death with a belt. He’d forced her to watch every single second by threatening to give her to Ghost for two hours if she didn’t. Ghost had scared her almost more than Viper did.

  “Travis,” Charity was saying, her hand resting on his arm suddenly startling him back from the memory, which haunted him. “Are you all right? You seemed a million miles away just then.”

  “Sorry, I was just thinking of something she’d told me that happened while she was with the Headhunters,” Travis told her, his eyes clouded with anger.

  “Oh, Mia said you were trying to get her to talk about it.”

  “She is. It’s helping,” Travis told her grimly.

  “I’m sure it is.” Charity’s face lit with another kind smile and her hand squeezed his arm where it rested. “What is it that you call her? I’m sure that helps too.”

  “Princess,” Travis told her grinning, his voice filled with the deep love and affection he felt for Raven.

  “I can imag— oh, Raven, hi. We were just talking about you,” Charity said, looking over his shoulder at the door.

  Raven followed Mia from the car headed to the diner. They were a few feet from the door when Greta, a mother of one of Mia’s students, stopped her. After listening for a few moments, Raven’s stomach growled. All three of them laughed at her protesting stomach. Raven excused herself to head into the diner to order some food.

  When she entered, the happy glow she’d felt over the past few weeks abandoned her at what she saw. She walked into the diner and stopped dead, mesmerized by the sight before her. Charity was standing facing a man and smiling brightly with her hand on his arm. The man was leaning down slightly and his eyes were obviously devouring the blonde beauty. Even though his back was to her, Raven knew it was Travis.

  She didn’t want to think of him being in love with Charity but she couldn’t help it. Deciding she was being silly, she took a few steps closer intending to speak when she heard Travis speak in a voice she’d always thought was one he only used when talking to her and said Princess. She felt her heart shatter in that moment. He’d called Charity princess in that tone. She had to get out of here, now, she thought desperately.

  Only before she could rush out the door, Charity looked at her and said, “Oh, hi Raven, we were just talking about you.” Travis turned then and he moved towards her, taking her in his arms, kissing her temple.

  “I missed you, Princess.”

  She didn’t know what to say to either of them. She wanted to ask the stupid jerk why he was pretending to be happy to see her when the woman he really wanted was the one standing behind him. She smiled instead and spoke like nothing was wrong. She wouldn’t embarrass herself by allowing anyone to see her pain.

  Travis turned with his arm around Raven’s waist, wondering what was causing that hurt look in her eyes. It made him crazy seeing her that way. He wanted to ask but he was afraid that it would cause her to start crying and that drove him bat-shit crazy. He hated when she cried because when she did, he felt like his heart was breaking too. Holding her tightly to his side, trying to offer her stiff form some comfort, he moved back to say goodbye to Charity.

  Raven moved with Travis, smiling wanly at Charity, trying not to let her pain show in her face.

  “Hi, Charity. What are you doing over this way?” she said with false brightness. She felt Travis tense a bit at her side and wondered if maybe she hadn’t laid it on bit thick.

  “Oh, I was visiting Trick. Tick’s out doing some errand for Bone so I wanted to take the opportunity to spend time with my brother while Max was off with Connor and Alex,” she said, talking about Tick’s son.

  “That’s good. You headed home now?” Raven asked politely.

  “Yeah, Maria said that they’d be home about six and I want to get back before then.” Charity looked at her watch, then leaned forward hugging her. Raven allowed it even though she didn’t feel much like hugging the woman at the moment.

  Travis had remained by her side and accepted Charity’s hug as well as she explained, “I’d better run. I only have about three hours before they get home and I wanted to make dinner.” She headed for the door with one last wave. “It was great to see you two! Hey Mia, bye Mia. I have to run. When you head back to the house let me know. I’m making dinner. See ya.” Then she disappeared out the door of the diner.

  “Princess, what’s wrong,” Travis asked, concern in his voice as his lips caressed her ear.

  “Nothing. I’m just a little out of sorts today. I’m going to have lunch with Mia before she heads back over to the farm. We can talk later,” she told him as she pulled away and walked over to Mia.

  Travis stared after her wondering what the hell was wrong. He didn’t like not knowing what was bothering her. She’d been fine when he’d left this morning, but something had happened since then and he was going to have to figure out how to fix it if he wanted to ask her to wear his patch tonight.

  He watched as she and Mia headed for a table. Mia glanced at him with narrowed eyes and he wondered what the hell her problem was. Shaking his head, unsure what to do, he decided to head home and make her dinner. She loved when he cooked for her and that might put her in a better mood.

  Walking to the table the women had sat down at, he leaned down taking Raven’s lips in a possessive kiss that she accepted but didn’t return, worrying him even more. His hand cupping her cheek, he stared into her eyes. “I’ll be at the house if you need me, okay. I’m making dinner so be home by seven.” He kissed her one more time quickly on the lips before pulling away. He was out the door a moment later, headed home to get everything ready for tonight.

  Raven pulled up to the house at five minutes before seven. She sat staring at the house debating whether or not she should go in. She didn’t want to be a bitch but she wasn’t in the mood to play nice with him tonight after having her heart stomped on today.

  She knew she was being unfair. He’d included her in his conversation with Charity despite her interruption and he’d been happy to see her even with Charity there, which made her feel important to him even if she was just a substitute for the woman he could never have. It was pure honest-to-goodness jealousy that made her want to punish him for being in love with another woman.

  She sighed, leaning her head down to rest on the steering wheel of the car. She was being petty and she needed to get over it. It wasn’t the man’s fault that he was in love with Charity. She knew that feelings for someone could bite you in the ass better than anyone. She’d thought she was on her way to being in love with Viper after all. That made her shiver with disgust. After meeting Travis and spending time with him, she now realized how stupid that thought had been. She hadn’t been in love with him so much as she’d been in love with the idea of being in love.

  She’d had a fantasy in her head as to what she was supposed to feel and she’d somehow pinned all that on Viper thinking he was her Prince Charming. Only the man was far from being that. So far away from a prince that she wondered how she’d managed to be blind to it.

  Shaking her head to dispel the thoughts of Viper, she knew she had to go inside and face the music. She opened the car door to get out, grabbed her purse from the back seat and headed inside.

  Raven entered the house and set her purse down on the coffee table, calling out “Travis?” She got no response.

  Entering the kitchen, she was surprised to see that he wasn’t there. She was about to walk out when she saw the rose petals on the floor. Wondering what the heck they were doing on the kitchen floor when he was obsessive about the kitchen being spotlessly clean even when the rest of the house was a mess, she walked over to stare at them.

  She saw that they led out onto the back patio. She nervously began following them out the door into the dark. She saw a candle a few feet outside the door surrounded by more ros
e petals and followed them towards the bend in the patio that wrapped around the side of the house. When she rounded the corner, she saw a table set up and Travis. He was wearing a tux. Seriously, a freaking tux, her brain asked, shocked.

  “Ah, home at last,” he smiled at her. “Come sit.”

  She moved to the table, which was lit by candles that hung around it from the rafters. She knew that he must have spent the last few hours doing this because they’d eaten breakfast out here this morning and none of the candles or the rose petals had been here. She was touched. He’d done all this for her and somehow that made her feel a little bit less heartbroken.

  Maybe he wasn’t in love with her, but he cared. Sitting down in the chair, she began laughing when she saw what they were having for dinner. She’d expected something fancy and overdone. She should have known better after seeing the tux, the roses and the candles that Travis was a closet romantic. Travis kissed her head and shook out a napkin in her lap before taking his seat across from her.

  She looked up with a sparkle in her eyes and asked, “Grilled cheese?”

  “Yes, I believe it is madam’s favorite, is it not?” Travis asked in a fake snooty accent.

  “It is. How do you even know that?” she asked, unsure how the heck he’d known. She’d never told him that this was something she loved and the only people who knew were Matt, her brother and Mia. He must have asked one of them.

  “I have my ways. Eat up or it will get cold.”

  They ate their grilled cheese and talked about the day. Raven was feeling relaxed and happy again when Travis stood, taking her hand. He pulled her to her feet and suddenly music was playing. Then she was being danced around in the moonlit and candlelit porch by the man she loved. She couldn’t remember a more perfect moment in all her life.