Crash & Burn

by Jessica Coulter Smith

  She blanched again, but nodded. “Is a shower and change of clothes possible?”

  Crash scratched his jaw. “A shower is doable, and you can wear something of ours for now, but we’ll have to work on getting you some clothes that fit. If you’ll give us your sizes from the skin out, shoes too, then we’ll see you have a few things to get you by until you can shop for your own things.”

  Willow stood. “Then by all means, show me to the shower. The Double Deuces

  hadn’t let me shower for the last two days so I would imagine I stink under the smoke smell. The smoke is definitely an improvement.”

  Crash didn’t agree with that assessment, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

  With a nod to Blitz, he led Willow to their room, with Burn following close behind.

  Their room wasn’t much to look at, just a large California King bed, dresser, and a small desk and chair. There was a TV on the dresser, but as Crash looked around the place, he realized that with them claiming a mate, they were going to need more space. Time to go house hunting! Well, if they could convince Willow to be theirs.

  Burn grabbed some paper and a pen while Crash dug through the dresser for

  shorts and a tee. Burn motioned for Willow to sit on the bed, but she shook her head.

  “I’ll make the bedding smell like smoke. It’s best if I stand until I’ve had a shower.”

  “Tell me your sizes, or…” Burn held out the paper and pen. “You can write them down. Your handwriting is probably more legible than mine anyway.”

  Willow wrote everything down for them and then handed the paper back to

  Burn who pocketed it. Crash handed her a tee and some shorts with a drawstring waist.

  He knew they would swallow her, but maybe she’d be comfortable until Burn returned with some clothing for her own.

  “You shower,” Burn said. “And I’ll go get some things for you. Doubt I’ll be back before you’re done though. Our clothes are going to swallow you, but they’ll have to do for about an hour. I should be back by then.”

  “Uh, Burn…maybe you should ask Blaze if his mate can go with you? I have a

  feeling what we like on a woman, and what a woman likes to wear, are probably two different things.” Crash smiled. “Might as well make sure she’s comfortable.”

  “Right.” Burn looked at Willow. “Would that make you feel better? If I had a female’s help? Blaze is newly mated, but Luna is sweet. She’s the town librarian.”

  “Librarian? I have a feeling she dresses different from what I’m used to. You have to remember, I was raised by bikers. Just get me some jeans, tanks, and boots. I can pick out the rest later. You did say I could go shopping?”

  Burn nodded. “We’ll both take you either tomorrow or day after, depending on what’s going on around here.”

  “Then yeah, two tanks, the kind with a built in bra, and some jeans. Also, I’ll just need undies and I can wait on bras until I can try them on.”

  Burn nodded, gave Crash a salute, and headed out, closing the door behind him.

  Crash walked over to the bathroom, flipped on the light and pulled a towel off the shelf on the wall. He realized belatedly that their soaps would be too harsh for her.

  “Wait just one minute and I’ll be right back.”

  Crash ran into the hall, hoping he could catch Blaze before the grizzly went home to his mate. He caught the bear just as he was walking out the door.

  “Blaze, I need a favor.”

  “What is it? I want to get home to Luna.”

  “Did Luna leave any bath products in your shower? Maybe some shampoo and

  shower gel?”

  Blaze frowned. “I think there’s a little left in there. What do you need with it?”

  “Willow. I was about to let her take a shower and realized we only had manly smelling things in the shower. I thought, if you didn’t think Luna would mind, that maybe we could have what was in your bathroom and we’d replace it tomorrow when we take Willow shopping.”

  Blaze nodded. “All right. Let’s get it so I can go home. And you don’t have to replace it. I’m sure Luna would love an excuse to shop.”

  Blaze opened his room, got the shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel out of the bathroom and handed it all off to Crash. The tiger thanked him once more before running back to his room with his meager offering to Willow. When she saw what he held, a smile blossomed across her face. She eagerly reached for the items.

  “I haven’t had feminine things… Well, ever.”

  “There’s not much left in them, but we’ll let you buy some bath products, and whatever else you need, when we take you shopping tomorrow.”

  “Thank you, Crash.” Her eyes teared, but before he could say anything, she

  snatched the clothes off the bed and locked herself in the bathroom.

  Chapter Two

  Burn had managed to get the things Willow had asked for, but when it came to women’s shoes, he was at a loss. Most of the boots had sky high heels and he wasn’t sure she would want those, not if she was going to ride on the back of his bike—or Crash’s. He kept looking, but nothing seemed right. Finally, he gave up and checked out with the clothing items. He’d just have to go to an actual shoe store for what he wanted, or rather, what he thought Willow needed.

  Once he had the bags stashed on the floorboard of the truck he’d borrowed, he drove to the only shoe store he knew of in town. What he really needed was the Harley-Davidson shop two towns over, but it was so late there was no way they’d be open when he got there. But now that he knew what size Willow wore, he could surprise her with a pair at any time. Maybe even a Harley tee.

  At the shoe store, he told the sales associate what he was looking for and the woman was happy to help. Perhaps a little too happy, with her light touches and flirtatious smile. He finally had to mention a girlfriend to get her to back off. He bought the boots, then hauled ass back to the clubhouse, anxious to check on Willow. Not that he thought anything would happen to her while Crash was watching over her. He trusted his twin completely to keep their woman safe.

  Burn parked the truck, gathered the sacks, and then entered the clubhouse, tossing the truck keys to the Prospect behind the bar. The door to their room was shut and he cautiously opened it, not wanting his M.C. brothers to get an eyeful of their woman. He only saw Crash, sitting on the end of the bed watching TV, until he moved further into the room. As he shut the door, he turned and got an eyeful of Willow sleeping in the middle of the bed. She’d either never pulled up the covers or had kicked them off and her long, bare legs were something to behold.

  “She been out long?” Burn asked.

  “About twenty minutes. I was going to feed her before she went to sleep, but I guess she was too exhausted. I can’t even imagine what she’s been through today. The fire had to drag her down. Hell, we probably should have called doc to listen to her lungs and make sure she was okay.”

  “If she’s coughing tomorrow, we’ll give him a call. Something tells me she won’t want someone poking and prodding at her right now. Not after everything she’s been through. Hell, just thinking about what those assholes did to her makes me want to hunt down the ones who escaped and torture the shit out of them.”

  “At least they didn’t molest her.”

  Burn snorted. “That she’s admitted. For all we know, they were all hands with her. I believe her though when she says she wasn’t raped. I just don’t believe for one minute that they never copped a feel.”

  Crash turned to watch her. “Well, all that’s over now. She’s ours, even if she doesn’t realize it yet. I know she may need some time to sort things out in her mind, but really, what other choice does she have? You heard Blitz. She can’t roam free, and if she’s in the club, and she doesn’t belong to anyone, that makes her fair game for everyone. I don’t see her choosing that option.”

  “Me neither. Let’s just show her that she can trust us, that we’re going to put her first, and see where thi
ngs go. I know we haven’t been actively seeking a mate, but I think she’s definitely the one.”

  “You felt the spark too?”

  Burn nodded.

  “I guess we’ll just have to be very persuasive.” Crash grinned. “Just imagine…

  she’s never been kissed, never been held. Hell, I have a feeling she’s never had an orgasm, because I doubt she was left alone where she could pleasure herself.”

  “Well,” Burn looked at her, “we could start with the holding part. Why don’t you switch off the TV and we’ll climb into bed. If we cuddle her between us; do you think she’ll scream when she wakes up?”

  “I think she trusts us enough not to, unless she doesn’t remember where she is when she wakes, which is a possibility.”

  Burn tucked the shopping bags under the desk and began stripping. When he’d gotten down to his underwear, he paused. “Maybe we should wear those pajama pants Ma sent for Christmas. Think she saw this coming and knew we might need them?”

  “With Ma, anything is possible. But yeah, I think those pants would be a good idea. I don’t want to move too fast with Willow, but I don’t want to move at a snail’s pace either. We need to find a way to gain more of her trust and get her to understand that her best shot at survival, and a happy life, is to choose us.”

  “We’ll work on that tomorrow.” Burn pulled out the two pairs of pajama pants and tossed one to Crash. “I don’t know about you, but I’m kind of psyched that this is our first night with our mate.”

  Crash smiled. “She’s perfect, isn’t she?”

  They both looked at Willow. Her hair fanned across Burn’s pillow and her hands were tucked under her chin as she curled onto her side, facing Crash’s side of the bed.

  She looked so damn sweet and innocent lying there, and despite the fact she’d lived her life around M.C.’s, she really was sweet and innocent. She’d never had a childhood to speak of and hadn’t been allowed to fully change into an adult. She was stuck somewhere in between.

  Burn finished changing first and slid into bed, lying on his side and pulling Willow back against his chest. Crash turned off the TV and shut off the light, then claimed the other side of the bed. Crash smoothed her hair back from her face and lightly kissed her cheek before lying on the pillow next to her. Crash placed his hand on her hip and Burn wrapped an arm around her waist. With their mate secure between them, Burn felt the tension ease from his shoulders, his muscles relax along his spine, and for the first time in his life, he was truly content.

  Hell, he knew things could blow up in their faces, and she could opt not to be their mate, but deep down he knew she belonged to them. It wasn’t just her touch, but her scent. Even under the smoky smell, he’d been enthralled with her scent, had wanted to bury his face against her neck and just inhale. He remembered watching their father do that to their mother, and figured it was just a tiger shifter thing.

  “Hey, Burn?”

  “Yeah, Crash?”

  “Think she’ll let us keep her?”

  Burn smiled. “I’m sure as hell hoping so. She feels pretty damn perfect lying here between us, doesn’t she?”

  “Yeah. You get the feeling that everything is right in our world?”

  “You mean that relaxed, contented feeling? Yeah, I’m feeling it. Hell. If she turns us away, I don’t know what we’ll do. I can tell by your tone that you’re already getting attached, and so am I. I think I may have bonded to her the moment I smelled her.”

  “It felt pretty incredible to have her on the back of my bike tonight. I know she was scared, and she probably still is, but I don’t think I can let her go.”

  “Then we won’t. When it comes time for her to make a decision, we won’t take no for an answer. Hell, we’re shifters and bikers, since when do we wait and see what someone else wants? We don’t! We take what we want and to hell with everyone else.”

  Crash chuckled.

  “Get some sleep, bro. I have a feeling tomorrow will be intense. Blitz is going to want to go after those creeps that escaped tonight. And I’m with him. I don’t want them coming after Willow.”

  “Me neither. Maybe one of us should volunteer to ride with him and the other stay to guard Willow.”

  Burn snorted. “Do you honestly think Blitz is going to let us do that? No. He’s going to want both our asses on the hunt. He’ll probably assign Prospects to watch over her, which I’m not too thrilled about. Maybe we can at least get him to leave someone behind. Hell, if Blaze will bring Luna here for safe keeping, then I know Blitz will assign someone to guard duty.”

  “We’ll discuss it with him tomorrow. Night, Burn.”

  “Night, Crash.”

  Burn buried his nose in Willow’s hair and sniffed. Damn, but she smelt good!

  Whatever she’d washed with only seemed to enhance that delicious scent that rolled off her. Her scent reminded him of Christmas: sugar cookies, peppermint, and pine. It figured his mate would remind him of his favorite holiday. He wondered if Crash smelled the same thing, or if she reminded him of something else.

  Closing his eyes, he forced his mind to slow so that he could get some rest. Even as he relaxed more, he was hyper-aware of Willow lying in his arms. He hoped like hell they got to fall asleep like this every night for the rest of their lives. He’d never wanted a mate so much before, but Willow was worth the life sentence to one woman.

  Chapter Three

  Willow stretched and frowned when she felt pinned down. She was used to

  being tied to a chair at night, but for some reason, she was in a bed. Her eyes slowly opened and stared hard at the man lying next to her. His hand was on her waist and one of this thighs was wedged between her legs. As she took in the strong lines of his face and his dark hair, bits and pieces of the previous day came back to her.

  She was no longer with the Double Deuces. There had been a fire, and she

  remembered a tiger coming to her rescue…no, not a tiger. The man lying next to her. A shapeshifter. She studied him while he slept, then remembered there were two of them.

  A glance behind her, showed the bed was empty except for the two of them. If Burn had slept with them last night, then he was already gone for the day.

  It was nice, being this close to him. Comforting. He didn’t terrify her like the others had. While he was part of an M.C., he seemed…gentle. At least, he was with her.

  He’d been very polite and had seemed genuinely concerned about her last night. When he’d noticed her swaying on her feet, he’d tucked her into bed and asked if she needed anything else. While her stomach had rumbled from lack of food, she had been too damn tired to eat, so she’d closed her eyes and within minutes she’d been out.

  Now that it was morning, her stomach was reminding her that it had been

  almost twenty-four hours since she’d had a bite. Feeding her hadn’t been high on the Double Deuces’ list. She didn’t want to wake Crash, but she had a feeling the President of the Steel Riders didn’t want her poking around without an escort either, at least until she made a decision.

  Hell. Crash and Burn wanted to mate her. Marriage to two shifters. All right, marriage to two sexy-as-hell shifters who made her tingle in all the right places, despite the awkward circumstances. She’d never reacted to a man before last night. Even though she’d been exhausted and emotionally worn out, she couldn’t deny the pull she’d felt toward them. After not having the opportunity to pursue a relationship with anyone, she wasn’t certain she was equipped to take on two tigers at once. One would be daunting enough with her lack of experience, but they seemed determined to share her. And she had to admit, secretly, that gave her a thrill. Before the Double Deuces, she’d been allowed to read and had devoured romances. In some of them, there had been two men with the heroine, and Willow had always been curious about how it worked. Didn’t one man ever get jealous over the other?

  The door opened and she tensed, watching and waiting to see who was coming.

  Would they tak
e her away? Had they lulled her into a sense of security only to turn the tables and enslave her the way the other M.C.s had done?

  Burn came through the door carrying two trays, then kicked the door shut. When he saw her watching him, he smiled broadly.

  “Morning, sunshine. I hope you’re hungry because this breakfast is going to get cold if you don’t eat it soon.”

  Her stomach rumbled.

  Burn laughed. “Good. You are hungry.”

  He set the trays down then kicked the side of the bed. “Hey, butt face. Wake up.”

  Willow snorted a laugh, but stifled it quickly, not certain if laughter would be allowed. She’d learned early on to keep her amusement and other feelings to herself.

  Saying or doing anything without permission never ended well for her.

  “It’s all right, you know,” Burn said softly. “You can laugh. Hell, I laugh at Crash all the time.”

  She smiled, the first genuine smile she’d had in a long while.

  Crash groaned, pulled her tighter against him, and then rolled onto his back.

  “What time is it?”

  “Eight o’clock,” Burn said. “Brought breakfast. Figured the three of us could eat together, then we could figure out a shower schedule and get ready to face the day and see what Blitz has planned. You know that ornery cuss has been up all night plotting revenge.”

  Crash sighed and pushed himself up, leaning against the headboard. He glanced her way and smiled, wrapping his hand around hers. “Morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep okay?”

  Willow nodded.

  “Good. All right, Burn. Feed me.”

  “You’re not a man eating plant,” Burn said, biting into a piece a bacon as he handed a plate to Willow, then another to Crash.

  Man eating plant? She didn’t understand, but then, there was a lot she didn’t understand. She could only watch TV when her captors did, and they favored mostly toward motorcycle shows and gory horror flicks. She could watch as someone’s brains were dug out of their skulls and their intestines were spilled while she ate a plate of spaghetti, but she couldn’t tell you what was fashionable at the moment.