Gray Skies (WeHo Book 8)

by Sherryl Hancock

  “I can’t, I’m only eighteen,” she said, shaking her head.

  “I won’t tell,” Dakota said, grinning.

  “Okay,” the girl said. She took a drink and handed the bottle back.

  Dakota looked at her for a long minute. “Do you like your hair like that?”

  “Like what?” the girl asked.

  “In that thing,” Dakota said, gesturing to the ponytail and ribbon.

  “It’s looks stupid, I know, but my mother…”

  “Fuck your mother,” Dakota said, reaching over and undoing the ponytail, tossing the ribbon away from her as if it was offensive.

  The girl reached up shaking her hair out.

  “That’s hot…” Dakota said, grinning.

  The girl looked at her for a long moment. “Are you a lesbian?”

  “Yes, I am,” Dakota said proudly.

  “I’ve never been with a girl before,” the girl said.

  “I can fix that,” Dakota said, moving to kiss the girl’s lips.

  Ten minutes later, she had her naked and screaming on the bags of flour. It turned out to be a better evening than she’d expected.

  Later, on the way home in the reclaimed Bugatti, Cassandra looked over at Dakota who was driving.

  “So where’d you get off to in there?” she asked, her tone slightly accusatory.

  Dakota had to fight the urge to say, I wasn’t the one getting off, but thanks for asking but instead she grinned. “Just wandered around looking at the boring shit.”

  “Boring shit?” Cassandra repeated, even as she reached over and brushed a white powder off Dakota’s sleeve.

  Dakota grinned, but didn’t answer. She wasn’t in the mood to banter with Cassandra.

  When it was obvious Cassandra was awaiting an answer, however, she felt the need to add.

  “You know, while you were jerking off that artist guy,” she said, with a sly grin.

  “Good Lord, Dakota, must you be so crass?” Cassandra asked.

  Dakota looked over at her. “You like that I’m crass, babe, you like that I fuck you whenever and however you want. Let’s not pretend that isn’t why you’re with me, okay?”

  Cassandra stared back at her, attempting to look shocked, but Dakota could see that what she’d just said had made Cassandra hot. To prove it, to herself and to Cassandra, she reached across the console, pushed Cassandra’s dress up, and, noting that she wore no underwear, slid her finger inside her immediately. Cassandra gasped, but moaned a moment later and was coming moments after that.

  As Cassandra leaned back against the expensive leather racing seats, Dakota held her finger, still glistening, to Cassandra.

  “This is why you’re with me,” Dakota said, “don’t fucking forget it.”

  Cassandra said nothing, but nodded as she continued to try to catch her breath. Back at the house, however, she’d gotten her balls back. They had a very loud and raucous round of sex, things were broken, clothes were ripped; it was very physical.

  Afterwards, lying in bed, Dakota reached up and touched blood on her neck. Cassandra had bitten her in her heated state. Great another scar, Dakota thought to herself as she drifted to sleep. She knew it was Cassandra marking her territory on her, but she was too tired to care at that point.

  Later that week, Cody walked out of the building at DOJ and saw Dakota sitting on an insanely expensive sports car. She was smoking, clearly waiting for her.

  “What are you doing here?” Cody asked.

  “Wanna take a ride?” Dakota asked, her grin wide.

  Cody grinned too.

  In the car, Dakota got on the freeway, got clear of other traffic, and punched it. Breaking Benjamin was on, and Cody could see that Dakota liked the song that was on by the way she cranked it. The song was called “Follow.” The lyrics were harsh and angry.

  “So what’s up, Dak?” Cody asked when the song ended and Dakota turned it down.

  Dakota glanced over at Cody. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I don’t want you pissed at me.”

  “Dak, you can’t just do shit like that,” Cody said, shaking her head. “These are people’s lives you’re fucking with.”

  “I know, I’m sorry, I really didn’t… I didn’t think, I just… I’m so used to doing what I want, taking what I want… I didn’t think, and I’m sorry.”

  Cody looked over at Dakota and she could see that Dakota was really trying to apologize. She didn’t feel like she was just saying it.

  “It isn’t like I don’t get it, Dak, I do,” Cody said. “Before I got together with McKenna, I’d go through two or three women in one night too. But Natalia isn’t some random chick at the bar. She’s in a relationship with someone, and no matter what’s going on with them that let her make such a huge mistake… sorry,” she said when Dakota gave her a sharp look. “But screwing someone outside of your relationship is a pretty big mistake, Dak. Anyway, no matter what, you shouldn’t have been the one that happened with, okay?”

  Dakota nodded. “I get it.”

  Cody nodded too. “Good.”

  Two days later, things went from bad to worse. Natalia’s class was going on, and for once Raine had made it in time. Cody was there, as were most of the girls and a lot of the bois. Dakota walked into the gym as the class was in full swing. She had a meeting with Jazmine afterwards. Jazmine had made the meeting time, and was just going to grab Natalia for the meeting after class. She had no idea what had happened between Natalia and Dakota.

  Cody saw Dakota first, but as soon as she had, she looked over and saw that Natalia had spotted her as well. Natalia froze for a moment, shock written all over her face, which was quickly replaced with embarrassment. Raine too had watched as Dakota walked into the gym. She frowned as she caught Natalia’s reaction, then followed her line of sight to Dakota.

  “Fuck…” Cody muttered under her breath.

  Natalia had gotten her focus back by that time, but even so, Cody waited until she came by and reached out to touch her shoulder.

  “She knows,” Cody told her, nodding toward Raine.

  “What?” Natalia asked looking shocked.

  Cody shook her head slowly. “She’s a cop, we read people, she knows, trust me.”

  “How?” Natalia looked askance at Cody, unsure of how Cody knew.

  “Doesn’t matter, does it?” Cody asked.

  Natalia shook her head and moved on with the class. During the quick water break, Raine made her way toward Quinn who was standing nearby on the other side of the half wall.

  “Hey, Quinn,” Raine said.

  “Yeah?” Quinn answered.

  “Wanna go a round after?” Raine asked.

  Quinn shrugged, looking a little puzzled, but nodded. “Sure.”

  Cody watched the exchange and shook her head, thinking Great! As everyone headed back to the floor, Cody strode over to Dakota.

  “You need to get out of here,” Cody told her.

  “What?” Dakota said, looking surprised.

  “Raine knows…” Cody said.

  “So maybe I should just let her take her shot then,” Dakota said, shrugging.

  “Don’t underestimate her,” Cody said, “she’s a helluva lot tougher than she looks. She’ll kill you in the mood she looks like she’s in.”

  Dakota glanced over at Raine and saw that the other woman was watching her. She didn’t look away. Raine’s eyes narrowed slightly, then she looked away.

  “Dak, just leave,” Cody told her.

  “Nope,” Dakota said, crossing her arms over her chest, and leaning back against the wall.

  Cody went back to the class then, but warned Natalia that Raine had challenged Quinn. The next time she got to the half wall, Natalia looked seriously at Quinn.

  “If you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”

  Quinn raised an eyebrow at Natalia. “And if she hurts me?”

  “Then Xandy will feel sorry for you,” Natalia said, her tone conciliatory.

  Quinn chuckled, shaking her head. Natal
ia moved away then and continued the class. She tried over and over to get Raine to look at her, but Raine wasn’t having it. Natalia could see from the look on her face that she was controlling her anger and channeling it into her movements. Natalia had a rough time finishing the class. Raine left as soon as the last song ended, and before they stretched. Natalia rushed the stretching and ran straight into the other part of the gym, to the ring where most of the bois did MMA fighting.

  Quinn and Raine were in the middle of a skirmish when she got into the room. Quinn had Raine in a hug from behind; it looked like the match was going to go to Quinn, but then Raine shocked everyone by giving a yell of pure fury. She broke Quinn’s hold, and jammed her elbow back, making Quinn jump back or take the chance of getting a cracked rib. Raine turned and rushed Quinn, who rallied back, but Raine just kept pushing forward, even when Quinn landed a blow to her shoulder. Raine just dug in and kept moving forward, kicking out, making Quinn jump back, and block her. When they reached the edge of the ring, Raine gave another yell and drove her fist forward. Quinn ducked and Raine’s fist slammed into the cushioned side. She stood breathing hard. Quinn stood looking at Raine, wondering what had sparked all that rage.

  Raine turned and climbed out of the ring, stripping off her gloves. Natalia intercepted her as she turned to walk out of the room. Raine’s hands went up defensively and she pulled her head back when Natalia tried to touch her face.

  “Raine!” Natalia exclaimed.

  “Get away from me,” Raine said, her tone even and low.

  Natalia was stunned. She stepped back and Raine strode past her. As Raine went through the doors Natalia looked over at the group, her look alarmed.

  “I’ll go,” Jet said.

  “Me too,” Cody said. They’d both watched the exchange and knew something was seriously wrong.

  Both women strode after Raine, knowing she was heading for her motorcycle, and since both of them rode bikes that morning, they knew they were the only ones that were likely able to catch up to her.

  Raine ran them at breakneck speeds for half an hour. Finally, they managed to corral her and slow her down, getting her to pull off on an exit. Raine turned off her bike, climbed off, and yanked off her helmet before heading straight for Cody.

  “What the fuck did your friend do to Natalia!” she yelled, her eyes blazing in fury.

  Cody held her hands up. “Raine, I had nothing to do with that,” she said shaking her head.

  Raine stared at her, her jaw jumping as she gritted her teeth. Finally, she turned on her heel and got back on her bike. She jammed her helmet on then she took off, this time at a more reasonable speed.

  “That went well,” Jet said, her tone wry.

  Cody gave Jet a dirty look.

  Jet grinned. “Lesbians, ya gotta love ’em.”

  Chapter 3

  Dating while in the military on a base in the middle of the Iraqi desert had its challenges. Rayden and Grayson ended up at the officers’ club, which due to its military clientele meant they could do little more than talk.

  “So where did you grow up?” Grayson asked Rayden, lifting a beer to her lips.

  “In North Carolina, near the Smoky Mountains. On the res,” Rayden said.

  “Really?” Grayson said, surprised. “I didn’t think people still lived on reservations anymore.”

  “Well, they do,” Rayden said, grinning. “What about you?”

  “I grew up in Boston,” Grayson said. “My dad’s a doctor, my mom is a professor.”

  “So how did you come to be in the Air Force?” Rayden asked.

  “I wanted to do something else,” she said, grinning. “And being a pilot sounded really cool.”

  “And is it cool?” Rayden asked.

  “It’s awesome,” Grayson said, beaming.

  “How long have you been one?”

  “About a year,” Grayson said, grinning. “I’m pretty new.”

  Rayden nodded.

  “And how did you become a Navy SEAL?” Grayson said.

  “Wanted to get off the res and figured I’d see the world while I was at it. I joined the Navy, the SEALs was an afterthought.”

  “Yeah, ’cause pretty much everyone in the Navy does that, right?” Grayson said, her slate-blue eyes sparkling humorously.

  Rayden gave her a narrowed look. “No smart-ass, it was actually because some stupid Sergeant told me there was no way I could do it.”

  “So you proved him wrong,” Grayson said, smiling.

  “Yep,” Rayden said.

  “And how often do you go about rescuing damsels in distress?” Grayson asked then.

  “Any time I need a date,” Rayden said, winking at her.

  “Well, if that’s the case you’re doing it wrong,” Grayson said, smiling.

  “I am?” Rayden asked.

  “Yeah, you’re supposed to hang around for said rescued female to thank you profusely.”

  “Awww,” Rayden said, nodding. “I can see where I’m going wrong now, yes, I see.”

  “Now who’s the smart-ass?” Grayson said, grinning.

  Two guys nearby were getting loud, yelling at each other.

  Rayden watched for a few moments, then looked over at Grayson. “Wanna get out of here?”

  “Sure,” Grayson said, moving to stand.

  They walked out into the chill of the desert night, and Grayson shivered. Rayden took her jacket off and put it around Grayson’s shoulders. Grayson smiled at the gesture and put her arms into the arms of the jacket.

  They walked along the perimeter of the camp, ending up out to the flight line.

  “Which one is yours?” Rayden asked.

  “Over there,” Grayson said, pointing down the flight line.

  “Show me,” Rayden said, smiling.

  “Okay,” Grayson said, smiling.

  She led Rayden down the flight line, stopping at her aircraft. She pointed out various things on the aircraft and Rayden watched as she talked. Grayson noticed the smile on Rayden’s face and stopped talking for a minute.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Nothing,” Rayden said, her eyes sparkling.

  “Bullshit, what?” Grayson said.

  Rayden chuckled, moving closer to Grayson, putting her hand up on the underside of the wing they stood under.

  “You light up when you talk about your plane,” Rayden said.

  “I do?” Grayson asked happily.

  Rayden nodded, smiling. “Yeah you do,” she said, “it’s kinda sexy…”

  “It is huh?” Grayson said, biting her lip as her eyes sparkled.

  “Uh-huh,” Rayden said, leaning down to put her lips next to Grayson’s ear. “Very sexy actually,” she said her voice husky.

  Grayson drew in her breath at the thrill of desire that ran through her. She turned her head and Rayden’s lips captured hers in a long kiss. Grayson slid her hands up Rayden’s chest, wrapping her arms around her neck, deepening the kiss as she moved closer.

  Rayden moaned against her lips, her hands sliding around Grayson’s waist, pulling her body closer. Grayson happily pressed closer. They kissed until they were both breathless.

  “Wait, wait…” Rayden said, as Grayson’s hands reached up to unbutton her over shirt.

  “What?” Grayson said, her voice breathless.

  “Not here…” Rayden said, gesturing around them.

  “Where?” Grayson asked, putting her forehead against Rayden’s chest.

  “I don’t know, somewhere… proper,” Rayden said, not believing she was saying this and trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with her. She’d had sex with women in more conspicuous places before.

  “Proper?” Grayson queried, lifting her head to look up at Rayden. “We’re in the middle of a desert, Ray,” she said, her tone amused now.

  “I know that,” Rayden said, her look narrowed. “But… Fuck, I don’t know…” she said, shaking her head.

  Grayson did her best to subdue her smile. She thought it
was really cute that Rayden seemed so old-fashioned. Little did she know Rayden was far from old-fashioned. She actually found out a few weeks later. A nurse passing through happened to hear Grayson tell someone else that she had a date with Rayden later.

  “Rayden Black Wolf?” the nurse queried.

  “Yeah, why?” Grayson asked, surprised by the woman’s interest.

  “Oh, she’s hot…” the nurse said, smiling.

  “Really?” Grayson queried. “And you know this how?”

  “Well, no offense honey, but she’s not exactly a nun,” the nurse said.

  “Oh, do tell…” Grayson said.

  By the time she got to the date with Rayden that evening, she had a thing or two to discuss with the woman who’d been holding out on her.

  “I met someone today…” Grayson told her as they sat out on the flight line. Rayden’s back was against the flight gear of Grayson’s Raptor and Grayson sat with her back leaning against Rayden’s chest.

  “Okay…” Rayden said, lifting her beer to her lips. “I assume there’s more to that story.”

  “Oh yeah,” Grayson said.

  Her tone should have warned Rayden, but she didn’t catch it.

  “So, do you remember a nurse named Marcie?” Grayson asked.

  Rayden immediately choked on her beer. She coughed as she did her best to clear her lungs.

  “Um,” Rayden stammered, “yeah?”

  “Uh-huh,” Grayson said, half turning to look back at Rayden. “Yeah… Marcie told me a thing or two about you, E5 Black Wolf…”

  “Oh, this doesn’t sound good…” Rayden said, rolling her eyes heavenward.

  “You had sex with her in the main ward?” Grayson asked, her look pointed.

  “To be fair, there were screens…”

  “Oh my god!” Grayson said, turning to face Rayden. “You really did that, but you won’t have sex with me out here?”

  Rayden looked back at her for a long moment considering the question, then she shook her head. “No,” she said simply.

  “Why!” Grayson cried.

  “Because you’re not some nurse,” Rayden said, her look softening.

  “I’m some pilot, so?” Grayson asked her look puzzled.