“He’s our landlord, Dad.”
“Thought your landlord was a landlady?”
“Yes, that’s right. But the property recently changed hands from hers to his. I don’t know the specifics.”
“So does he have a last name?” Bruno asked. “This landlord named after a bird, with the tattoos and the van and the motorcycle?”
“It’s Mathison,” Jett interrupted cheerfully. “And he’s not just our landlord, Nonno, he’s our friend. Mom, how come your ears just turned all red?”
“Did they?” Melissa couldn’t hide her horror.
“Bright red.” Jett stared at Melissa’s ears then at the screen. “Can you see that, Nonno? How red Mom’s ears just got?”
Bruno eyed her with speculation. “Must be getting hot in that kitchen.”
***
Now Melissa and Jett sat together at the kitchen table making out the invitations for the party. Jett sat next to Melissa, with crayon in hand, printing a classmate's name on each invitation.
“How do you spell Crow?” he asked.
“Jett, I heard you tell Nonno you wanted to invite him, but it’s not a good idea, honey.” Melissa forced herself to remain calm.
“Why not? Why can’t I?” Jett paused with the crayon in his hand and looked at her.
Because this hero worship thing you have going on for this man is seriously misplaced. And besides that, I don’t know how I am ever going to face him again….
“I’ll think about it,” Melissa stalled.
“Well, can you think about it out loud?” Jett asked.
Absolutely not.
“Honey, he’s a busy man. Keep putting your name on those,” she said and pointed to the invitations.”
“He's not too busy to come to a party, Mom.”
“I’m sure he is.” Melissa kept writing.
“He isn’t,” Jett persisted.
“I said no.” Melissa paused and looked at him.
“Mom! I already asked him.”
The pencil Melissa was holding snapped in half. A sharp pain lit across her temple.
“Jett, why would you do that without asking me first?”
“Because I think he’d like to come. I think he’s lonely. Even with all those tattoos,” Jett explained fervently.
“Honey, men like Crow don’t get lonely.”
Understatement, Melissa thought to herself.
“What do you mean, Mom? You said everyone gets lonely sometimes. Remember you said that?”
“Yeah, honey. I remember.”
“He's nice to me. He promised to teach me how to use a screwdriver next.”
Dear God.
Melissa looked at her son with a measure of alarm and fleeting pain.
“Mom?” Her son was standing next to her now. Crayon abandoned on the table, his little arm wrapped around her shoulder.
“Yes, Jett?” She pulled him close to her.
“If you don’t want me to like him, I won’t.”
Melissa groaned inwardly. “It’s not that I don’t want you to like him. I am glad he’s nice to you.”
“I think he wants to be nice to you too, Mom. You just have to let him.” Jett smiled at her.
Chapter 20
Melissa put Jett to bed and had just showered when she heard the familiar rumble of pipes in the driveway. She felt the blood drain from her face. His message had said a few days. Two was not a few. A few was three, or maybe even four, wasn’t it?
Two was not enough days. Definitely not enough.
Melissa pressed her hand against her stomach where her nerves jumped and fluttered. She had really messed up. Going at it with him like that made her seem like a sex-starved widow.
Which is exactly what you are! A voice nagged at her from the corners of her mind.
What she had done was stupid and impulsive—a moment of sheer madness, pure lust, and weakness. She should have never given in to it. There was absolutely no one to blame but herself. Though even as Melissa berated herself, a fresh wave of desire rolled through her. She thought of the way Crow's tongue and fingers had worked their magic. The way his hard body had felt when he had pulled her against him…
Groaning, Melissa sat on the side of her bed and buried her face in her hands.
She definitely wasn’t ready to deal with Crow. Why was he back so soon? She got up and paced around the bedroom trying to gather her thoughts. There was only one thing she could do. She would avoid him. She had done it before; she could do it again.
Melissa busied herself by tugging the sheets off the bed and stuffing them into the wicker hamper. Then she moved to the small closet and pulled out a set of clean linens. The soft, worn fabric felt cool under her hand as she smoothed out the wrinkles and tucked in the ends. Jesse had taught her how to make military corners and Melissa took her time now and made up the bed with the precision of a five-star general.
After she had finished with the linens, Melissa breathed deep, stood back and admired her handiwork. She could bounce a quarter in the middle of that bed. Just looking at the tightly sheeted mattress brought her sense of control back. Crow was home and she would be able to avoid him. If she stayed away from Crow Mathison, her peace of mind would be restored. It was that simple.
But that peace of mind lasted about a minute.
Right up until the kitchen door creaked as it opened, followed by the soft thud of footsteps on the staircase. The unmistakable scent of fresh wind, strong tobacco and leather all surged towards her.
Melissa almost choked on the beating of her own heart when she turned to find Crow leaning against the frame of her bedroom door just a few feet away from her. His big arms sat casually on his hips and his leather-clad legs were crossed. He looked deceptively calm, but Melissa could see from the way a muscle jumped in his jaw that he was anything but relaxed.
“Crow? I…” Melissa’s voice trailed off as she saw him push off the frame and step into the room. His foot moved back to kick the door shut behind him. Melissa felt her heart race, her knees weaken and her insides go hot and moist.
Crow looked as if he had ridden hard. Dust covered the bandana on his forehead. He had two days of stubble on his chin and his leather riding pants were splattered with mud. And he wore his cut. Perhaps it was just the mark of his outlaw band of brothers, but when he looked at her, the usual teasing in his eyes was replaced by something primal and predatory.
Crow moved to her with the grace of a panther and Melissa instinctively shrunk back. In less than two beats of a heart, her back hit the wall and his hands caged her in. She took a deep breath and the pure masculine scent of him made her weak with want. As he leaned into her, one of his knees pressed against hers and nudged open the edge of her short robe.
“Why are you here?” she asked weakly.
“You know why.”
“No, I don’t,” she replied.
“I think you do,” he murmured.
“I don’t.”
“Melissa, we’re not going to pretend it didn’t happen.” Crow nuzzled her neck.
“What didn’t happen?” Melissa moaned.
“Need a reminder?” he whispered into her ear.
Melissa’s knees buckled as her mind waged war with her senses. Every nerve ending in her body craved his touch, while her instincts screamed at her to run for her life. And there she stood wedged between the wall and Crow—between logic and lust. Caught in a spider’s web of need and confusion and heat.
“I think we better stop,” she breathed out.
“Baby, I’m not stopping. But I promise to go real slow.” Crow ran his tongue along the sensitive spot just under Melissa’s ear.
Crow's arms snaked around her and settled against the small of her back. He anchored her firmly against him as his other hand teased opened her robe. The back of his hand slid up and down the warm skin of her stomach just above her panties in a slow sensuous movement that created a deep ache in her. Melissa felt the clench and release of intimate muscles as they
moistened the soft silk of her panties. Her traitorous legs parted in welcome when his erection strained against the soft leather of his pants and possessively pushed against her heat.
The slow, soft kiss became deeper and more demanding and she met each thrust of his tongue with a need of her own. Her last semblance of control and thoughts of self-denial melted away in a long sigh. When he tweaked her swollen nipple she arched her back and pushed her breast against him. Her hands moved to the smooth silk of his long hair and she buried her hands in it while pressing soft kisses along his jaw line down his neck and across his chest. She felt his erection swell and push deeper against her. He shifted her slightly and settled in deeply between her legs.
“What do you want from me?” She groaned in a heat of confusion.
“More. I want more. I want it all, Melissa,” he answered without hesitation. “I want everything.”
The creaky sound of a doorknob turning reached both of them at the same time. Crow pulled Melissa's robe closed before he quickly stepped away from her. Melissa did not miss the painful grimace as he adjusted the crotch of his pants.
Five seconds later her son was standing in the open door.
Five seconds.
Jett looked from his mother to Crow.
“Hi, Crow. Did mom tell you about my birthday party? It's not ‘til after school gets out in the summer, but mom said I can send the invitations early. She said maybe you can come too.” A sleepy smile split his face.
Melissa looked from Crow to Jett and back again. She found that she was utterly incapable of speech.
Her mouth opened and closed.
Opened and closed. Like a fish gulping for air.
Melissa looked on horrified as Crow and Jett proceeded to have the most natural conversation in the world. Jett did not seem to care one bit that Crow was in his mother’s room long after he had been put to bed and Crow appeared to be totally okay with being found there.
“Yeah, little warrior, she did. That's why I'm here. I got something for you, but I didn't have any wrapping paper. Thought your mom might help me out.” Crow knelt down to Jett's level.
“She keeps the wrapping paper in her closet over there. But you didn’t need to get me anything. My birthday’s not here yet. What is it?” Jett asked all at one time.
Melissa groaned inwardly.
Busted on so many levels. But her groan quickly turned to a small gasp of surprise when she saw that Crow had reached in and pulled a crinkled brown bag out of the inside of his leather vest. Wide awake now Jett turned to his mother for permission to open it. Melissa could only nod.
“Thank you.” Jett smiled at the big man.
“You don’t know what it is yet.” Crow grinned back.
“Don’t matter. If it’s from you, I like it already.” Jett tore into the paper bag.
Then silence.
Complete and utter silence.
Jett turned the gift over and over again in his hands. He touched it reverently, as if the suede work belt were spun out of gold. With care, Jett removed each small metal tool to examine it further. Then, with only slight hesitation, Jett leaned in and placed his arms around Crow's neck in a tight hug.
“Now I’m just like you,” Jett whispered to Crow loud enough for Melissa to hear.
Chapter 21
“Bambi’s pregnant,” Jules said without preamble.
Crow sputtered, coughed and began to choke on his beer. Jules chuckled and hit his brother hard on the back. Twice.
“You haven’t even been here five minutes and you’re gonna lead with that? No glove, no love, Brother. What’s the matter with you?” Crow managed to swallow and used the back of his hand to wipe his eyes.
“You the poster child for Planned Parenthood now?” Jules leaned back in the chair and relaxed his heels in the sawdust of Crow’s newly gutted living room.
Crow held his hands up in surrender and conceded. “There’s been a time or two I wasn’t as careful as I shoulda been. But Bambi? Jesus. Just for disease control alone, man, you should've double wrapped. That bitch has been itching to be owned since forever. The kid could be anybody's.”
“Yeah. My fucking thoughts exactly. She swore it was mine though, so I sent her on up to see Doc Gideon. Then I showed up at the appointment. The woman almost lost her lunch when she saw me. That's when I knew. Due date doesn’t line up. She lied about how many months pregnant she is. Kid ain’t mine. I had to get away before I killed her for pulling that shit.” Jules took another hit of the beer.
“Dodged a bullet, Brother.” Crow got up to grab two more beers.
Jules grunted and Crow turned around to look sharply at him. Jules was Viking-blond, built like a killing machine and had a badass scar that cut is face at an angle that the chicks seemed to dig.
“Don’t even tell me you got a thing for Bambi, man.”
“Fuck no.” Jules shuddered.
“Didn’t mind the idea of having a kid so much, though,” he added after a pause.
“No shit?” Crow arched an eyebrow.
“No shit. Surprised the fuck out of me too. But yeah, I wouldn’t mind leaving something behind to carry on. Know what I’m saying?” Jules answered.
“Yeah. I get it.” Crow thought about the little boy next door. Then he paused and gave Jules a sidelong look. “How much longer is Glory gonna be in Maryland?” Crow tried to sound as if he’d only just thought of it.
“Who the fuck knows?” Jules shot back.
Crow knew that he had to tread lightly with the subject of Glory Thomas. Jules was not a kiss-and-tell kind of guy—Crow was never sure what had happened between them. But Crow knew that Glory’s leaving had changed Jules. A lot. And not for the better.
Glory had left town over a year ago after a Marine notification team had shown up at the compound with word that her brother Hal had been severely wounded. Once the news reached her, Glory had left immediately to join her brother at the military medical facility in Germany. Crow didn’t think anyone was quite sure of all the details, but he knew that Hal hadn’t been expected to survive the roadside bomb. When her brother was eventually moved to Walter Reed, Glory moved there to be with him. As far as Crow knew, no one had seen her since.
For a while, Jules and Glory had what seemed to be a pretty good thing going on. But that good thing had fallen apart a few weeks before the shit went down with Glory’s brother. To hear Jules tell it, the woman woke up one morning and left Jules without a backward glance. Crow had always liked Glory and figured there was more to the story than that. He thought it might be time to take another shot at making his friend see reason.
“That’s gotta suck for her. Hal stuck at Walter Reed and Glory stuck out there with him. Can’t be easy being alone and dealing with that shit,” Crow said.
“Yeah well, she made her choice to be alone. Anyway, she's thinking of coming back. Prosper, without fucking consulting me, offered them the place at the lake once Hal is done with Reed,” Jules ground out.
“Last time I checked, Brother, the boss don’t need to consult with anybody,” Crow observed.
“Not my point. In this fucking case…”
“So you got a problem with Glory and Hal coming back?” Crow lit up a smoke.
“Well, safe to say I don't spend a lot of my time exploring feelings for the bitch who left me. And when it comes right down to it, Hal's not a bad motherfucker. The shit he's been through? I wouldn't wish it on my worst. This club goes deep with me just like it does with you. But I was a Marine first and that makes Hal my brother, too. So yeah. I'm okay with him coming back and doing his rehab at the lake. I don't give a fuck if she comes along,” Jules snorted.
Then he gave Crow a sudden grin.
“Remember that goddamn night? Five guns pointed at the motherfucker and he didn’t even break a sweat. Almost snapped my neck. Got my own back, though. Sent him back to base with at least two cracked ribs.”
“Yeah. Hal’s definitely a cocky bastard. I’m still scratching
my head trying to figure out how nobody died that night. I was itching to put a bullet in that motherfucker myself. Then out of nowhere comes Glory announcing in that damn come-fuck-me voice of hers that Hal was her brother. Can't make that shit up.”
“Yeah, that sure as hell was some strange. The woman had steel balls standing between those nine millimeters and her blood. Never met anyone like her. Damn voice still haunts me.” Jules's eyes softened.
“You gonna reach out?” Crow asked him.
“Not even a question, Brother. Glory closed the door on that the day she walked away from me without a backward fucking glance.” His eyes turned hard now.
Jesus. This again.
“That how you still see it?” Crow asked.
“That’s how it was,” Jules answered.
Crow raised an eyebrow.
“What?” Jules looked at that eyebrow. “How. It. Fucking. Was.”
“Just sayin’ Brother. You not feelin’ Glory working for Gianni’s crew, then cock-slamming Bambi right under her nose. How many choices do you think that left your woman?” Crow asked reasonably.
“Yeah, well, maybe we could have worked all that out. And none of that bullshit changes the fact that she left.” Jules’s face twisted with a thousand angry thoughts.
“Brother, she was escorted out by a two-man Marine notification team,” Crow pointed out.
“Yeah, I know. I was fucking there. And she made the choice to face that alone,” Jules repeated stubbornly.
Resolute stupid bastard.
“So you gonna give Prosper shit about offering up the lake house to them?”
“Naw. Like I said bitch comes back, she comes back. That has nothing to do with me.”
Jules said it like he meant it, and Crow decided to leave it alone.
“So another girl for D and Raine?”
“Yeah. It’s all good, man. Prosper tell you what Raine named the baby? Patience. Ironic, ain’t it? Hearing that roll off Diego’s tongue through the years is gonna be damn pretty. You think Raine is getting back some of her own for the hell the intolerant fuck puts her through?” Jules grinned.
“Payback. Definitely payback.” Crow grinned back.
Taming Crow (Hells Saints Motorcycle Club) Page 12
