Gray Skies (WeHo Book 8)

by Sherryl Hancock

  “You aren’t very old, Dakota, it’s not like you can’t find love someday too,” Jazmine said.

  Dakota laughed. “Yeah, no…” she said, shaking her head.

  “What do you mean ‘no’?” Jazmine asked.

  “I mean, that’s not for me, I’m not looking for that.” Jazmine narrowed her eyes, it was obvious that Dakota was in some serious denial, but she didn’t think that she should push at this point.

  “Maybe you’ve got the right of it though,” Jazmine said, sighing.

  “Uh-oh,” Dakota said, grinning, “what’s going on there?”

  Jazmine shook her head. “Just thinking in terms of Ray.”

  “Are you in love with Rayden?” Dakota asked, surprising herself with the question.

  Jazmine sighed. “I don’t want to be.”

  Dakota glanced over at her. “What does that mean?”

  “Rayden is still in love with her wife,” Jazmine said.

  Dakota looked shocked. “Rayden’s married?”

  “Her wife died a year ago,” Jazmine said, “but she’s still in love with her and probably always will be.”

  “That does kind of suck,” Dakota said, nodding.

  “I should have learned last time,” Jazmine said, shaking her head.

  “Last time?” Dakota asked.

  Jazmine rolled her eyes. “Ray and I dated ten years ago.”

  “Well, alright…” Dakota said.

  “Yeah, well, she took off on me that time, so I should have learned then.”

  “There are plenty of women in the sea, Jaz,” Dakota said.

  Jazmine laughed. “Yeah, that’s funny,” she said, shaking her head. “Rayden’s the only woman I’ve ever been with.”

  “Huh?” Dakota said, looking dumbfounded. “But you said ten years ago…”

  “I’ve only dated men since then,” Jazmine said.

  “Why?” Dakota asked, sounding disgusted by the idea.

  Jazmine laughed at the look on her face. “That’s all I’ve ever dated, but I seem to be a disaster in relationships no matter who I date.”

  “How so?”

  “Every man I date either treats me like shit or gets violent with me. The last guy basically tried to kill me,” Jazmine said, rolling her eyes. “And then there’s Rayden.”

  “Did you love any of the guys you’ve dated?”

  “No,” Jazmine said.

  “Let me get this straight,” Dakota said, grinning. “Pardon the pun, but you’re looking for love, and you think you love Rayden, the only woman you’ve ever been with, and have never loved the men you’ve been with?”

  “Well, when you say it that way…” Jazmine said, grinning.

  “I think you need to try out some more women,” Dakota said.

  Jazmine chuckled, shaking her head. “Rayden said the exact same thing.”

  “See? She’s a smart woman,” Dakota said, grinning.

  “Well, she also said I should sleep with you, so…” Jazmine said with a cheeky smile.

  “Now I really like her…” Dakota said, laughing.

  “Oh my God!” Jazmine said, shaking her head.

  Dakota just chuckled.

  By this time they’d finally reached an area where the freeway was wide open. Dakota looked over at her and waggled her eyebrows. “Hold on…” Jazmine widened her eyes as Dakota shifted gears and put her foot to the floor. The Bugatti leapt forward in response. They went screaming down the freeway, and Jazmine could see the elation on Dakota’s face. Before long they’d gone a long distance. They passed a sign that read “Las Vegas - 200 miles.” Dakota looked over at Jazmine with a wide grin, her blue eyes sparkling at her over the rim of her sunglasses.

  “You up for it?” she asked, her tone challenging.

  “What?” Jazmine asked, starting to smile. “Vegas?”

  “Yeah…” Dakota said, grinning.

  “Are you crazy?”

  “Sometimes,” Dakota said, grinning. “Are you in?”

  Jazmine stared back at Dakota for a long moment, and finally nodded. “I’m in.”

  “Yes!” Dakota said, punching the gas again.

  Jazmine pulled out her phone so she could text Rayden to let her know.

  “Texting Ray?” Dakota asked, glancing over at her.

  “I don’t want her to worry,” Jazmine said. “What about Cassandra?”

  “She doesn’t worry,” Dakota said, grinning.

  Jazmine looked over at Dakota, and that’s when she noticed her arm.

  “Is that what was under that bandage?” she asked, reaching over to touch the healing cut.

  Dakota nodded.

  “Did Cassandra do that?” Jazmine asked.

  Dakota hesitated, but then nodded, her look chagrinned.

  “So the scratches and your lip that day, those were her too?”

  Dakota nodded.

  “Did she mean to do it?” Jazmine asked looking worried.

  Dakota drew in a breath, nodding. “Yeah, she did.”

  “Did you want her to?”

  Dakota gave a short sarcastic bark of laughter. “No.”

  “Does she do that kind of thing a lot?”

  “No, this the first time she got that crazy,” Dakota said.

  “Why would you let her do that to you?” Jazmine asked, her tone troubled.

  “It’s a trade off,” Dakota said, shrugging.

  “A trade off?” Jazmine asked in disbelief.

  “You think three point four million dollar cars are given for free?” Dakota asked raising an eyebrow.

  “So it’s the price you pay?” Jazmine asked her look dubious.

  “Pretty much,” Dakota said.

  “So when is the price too high, Dakota?”

  Dakota didn’t answer, she just shrugged.

  “Is it worth your life?” Jazmine asked.

  “I’m still alive.”

  “This time,” Jazmine said, her look pained.

  Dakota glanced over at Jazmine and saw the look on her face. She blinked a couple of times, surprised by her being so concerned. She turned her face back to the windshield and kept driving.

  After a few minutes, they started talking about various topics. The trip went by quickly, and before Jazmine knew it, they were driving into Las Vegas.

  “Pick a hotel,” Dakota said, smiling.

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yep,” Dakota said, grinning.

  “Ummm…. Okay, how about the Bellagio.”

  “You got it,” Dakota said, speeding down the Strip and turning into the Bellagio.

  A half an hour later they were escorted into the Presidential Suite. An incredibly luxurious suite with its own stocked bar, two master suite rooms, fireplaces in both rooms, fifty-five inch flat screen TVs and 24/7 butler service.

  “You’re crazy!” Jazmine told Dakota, who’d used Cassandra’s credit card to reserve the outrageously expensive room.

  “Sometimes,” Dakota said, winking at Jazmine.

  A little while later, they left the hotel and went across the way to Caesar’s Palace.

  “Now we need clothes,” Dakota said.

  “Dakota…” Jazmine said, shaking her head.

  But Dakota simply shook her head and smiled.

  They went first to Diesel where Dakota bought herself jeans, dress boots, a black denim button up shirt, a new black leather jacket with metal studs and buckles at the bottom, a thick banded black leather metal studded watch, a set of metal denim covered dog tags, and a leather bracelet.

  “Now…” Dakota said, as she signed the credit card slip for over $1500. “We need to shop for you…” she said, her voice trailing off as she grinned.

  “Oh, no… I’m fine…” Jazmine said, holding up her hands.

  Dakota grabbed one of her hands and led her down the way, stopping at Versace. She looked inside and nodded.

  “Yep, let’s go,” Dakota said, leading the way.

  “Dakota!” Jazmine exclaimed, tryin
g to stop her.

  Nothing stopped Dakota. Four stores and what had to be at least eight thousand dollars later, Jazmine had an outfit for the evening. They’d been to Versace, La Perla, Jimmy Choo, and the Mac store for makeup. They had lunch before they went back to the room. To Jazmine’s surprise, Dakota didn’t make a pass at her even once. She wasn’t sure if she should be insulted, or impressed.

  In the room they watched movies and talked, getting into a rousing discussion of where was the most public place they’d ever had sex.

  Dakota won hands down when she admitted that she’d had sex in a church in a confessional.

  “You’re going to Hell for that, you know,” Jazmine told her, winking at her.

  “If I believed in Hell, I’d probably be worried,” Dakota responded, lifting her third beer to her lips.

  Jazmine shook her head. “You don’t believe in Hell… do you believe in Heaven or God?”

  “Nope,” Dakota said with a shake of her head. “I never saw any evidence of divine intervention, not even when I needed it most… so God and all the rest of them can go fuck themselves.”

  Jazmine widened her eyes, sensing she was getting very close to the surface at this point.

  “When did you need it most?” Jazmine asked softly.

  “Which time?” Dakota asked, grinning, the look in her eyes guarded.

  “Any time…” Jazmine asked, really curious to find what made Dakota tick.

  “Well, could have been pretty much anytime from when I was about two until recently,” she answered.

  “What happened when you were two?”

  “Well…” Dakota said. She got up off the couch and walked over to the bar. She picked up a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and sat back down on the couch. “As near as I can figure, that was the first time my mother sold me to the highest bidder to score some crack.”

  Jazmine looked back at Dakota, her mouth open, part of her praying that Dakota would laugh and tell her she was kidding. She didn’t. Jazmine shook her head, tears in her eyes.

  Dakota gave a short laugh, opened the bottle, and took a big swig.

  “How long were you with your mother?” Jazmine asked, hoping it wasn’t long and that some authority had intervened.

  “Well, when I was twelve I decided that since I wasn’t seeing any of the profits of my labors,” she said, grinning sardonically and taking another drink. “I ran away and started doing my own thing, my own way.”

  Jazmine moved to sit closer to Dakota, taking the bottle out of her hands and taking a swing herself. She winced as the alcohol burned her throat.

  Dakota grinned, taking the bottle back and taking another long drink. Then she stood up, glancing at the clock on the wall. She stretched and said, “I’m going to go take a shower. I’m thinking we need to hit the strip here in an hour or so, what do you say?”

  Jazmine grinned, nodding. “Whatever you say.”

  Dakota went still for a moment, a slow grin starting on her lips. “You might want to be careful saying that to me,” she said, with a wink. With that she walked off, taking the bottle of Jack Daniel’s with her.

  An hour later you could have knocked Dakota over with a feather when Jazmine walked out in the outfit they’d bought her. She wore a Versace leather mini skirt with a fitted zip up jacket, under which she wore a La Perla tulle and lace bra that could be seen through the opening in the jacket. She wore Jimmy Choo leather pumps with laser cut leather around the ankle and down the front. With the heels, she was only two inches shorter than Dakota was in her two-inch heels.

  Dakota looked like the hot biker chick she usually did, but with a different edge. Jazmine wasn’t sure what it was, but she was seeing Dakota differently now. For the first time she wasn’t seeing her as just the troublemaker, she was a real person who’d had a shit life.

  “Holy hell…” Dakota said, as she took in every inch of exposed skin, practically drooling. “Maybe we should just stay here…” she said, grinning slowly.

  “Come on!” Jazmine said, grabbing Dakota’s arm and walking her toward the door.

  Dakota grinned and let herself be led out the door. Down in the casino Dakota sat down at a high stakes poker table. Jazmine stood behind her chair, just watching. At one point, a couple who appeared to be from the Midwest joined the game and sat next to Dakota. Before long, Jazmine started to hear comments from the couple. At first, she wasn’t sure she was hearing correctly, but then she heard the woman say something about disgusting lesbian trash in such a nice establishment.

  Jazmine could see that Dakota heard it too by the way her jaw jumped, like she was gritting her teeth. It made Jazmine mad, how dare they judge Dakota, they didn’t even know her. They had no idea what she’d been through, nothing, all they saw was the outside. The man had smiled at Jazmine, as had the woman. She heard the woman say, “Such a beautiful girl…”

  Jazmine made a point of leaning close to Dakota as she whispered in her ear. “Just go with it…”

  Dakota looked up at her, her blue eyes narrowing slightly. Jazmine unzipped the jacket exposing a very nice expanse of bare midriff, her smooth, tanned skin with the slightest amount of definition, just enough. She leaned over and slid her arm across the back of Dakota’s shoulder, her long red hair falling over Dakota’s shoulder in the process.

  “Oh honey, you’re doing so good…” Jazmine purred, sliding her hand down the front of Dakota’s shirt seductively.

  Dakota finished a hand and won a fairly nice size pot.

  “Yay!” Jazmine exclaimed, and she unzipped the mini skirt a little so she could slide it up more on her hips and straddle Dakota’s lap facing her.

  She looked over at the couple who were watching them with wide eyes. Then she leaned in, and captured Dakota’s lips with hers. Her hands slid up Dakota’s chest and she deepened the kiss to improve the show. Dakota’s hands slid up the outside of her thighs, gripping them when Jazmine deepened the kiss.

  Jazmine realized she’d outsmarted herself this time, because kissing Dakota was every bit as exciting as kissing Rayden was. In fact, Dakota’s hands on her thighs caused electrical currents to rush straight to her very core. She moaned softly against Dakota’s lips and immediately felt Dakota’s hands pressing her down against her body.

  Dakota pulled her lips from Jazmine’s long enough to tell the dealer to cash her out and credit it to the room. She then slid her hands under Jazmine’s thighs, lifting her up so she could stand. Her lips reclaimed Jazmine’s as she set her down on her feet. Then she took Jazmine’s hand, and strode toward the elevators. Inside the elevator, she pressed Jazmine back against the wall, kissing deeply and pressing her body against Jazmine.

  They made it inside the room and got the door closed just as Dakota’s hand slid up the skirt and past the crotch of the La Perla underwear, touching Jazmine’s wetness and heat. Jazmine came immediately grasping at Dakota’s shoulders and exclaiming loudly. Dakota picked her up, pressing her against the door, her lips on her again. Jazmine wrapped her legs around Dakota’s waist and Dakota carried her to one of the master bedrooms. She laid her down, kicked off her boots, and tossed aside her jacket. She then removed Jazmine’s shoes and clothes, leaving the matching bra and panties on her, because they looked so damned hot.

  Dakota made her come three times, before Jazmine moved to push Dakota over onto her back. It was obvious from the way that Dakota reacted, that she was very surprised by Jazmine’s action. Jazmine unbuttoned Dakota’s jeans and shirt, pulled off the jeans, and slid the shirt off as fast as her hands would go. She slid her hand up Dakota’s bare chest, making her shudder and gasp, and pull at Jazmine.

  “Come here…” Dakota murmured, pulling at Jazmine.

  “No,” Jazmine said, kissing down Dakota’s flat stomach.

  One hand was in Jazmine’s hair, with the other still pulling at her, trying to get her to move back up to her lips. Jazmine moved lower, and Dakota shifted, trying to get away from her. Jazmine’s hands held her fast, as
she looked up at her. Dakota stared down at Jazmine, her sparkling green eyes making her groan.

  “Come here…” Dakota said, her tone stronger, her hands pulling at Jazmine in earnest.

  Jazmine finally relented, moving her body up over Dakota’s, sliding skin against skin, her mouth moving to Dakota’s lips again, her hands roaming over bare skin. Dakota’s lips on her were hungry and Dakota started to move over her again, but Jazmine stopped her, moving over Dakota instead. Jazmine pulled off Dakota’s bra and pushed her panties off as well while Dakota did her best to keep that from happening, but Jazmine’s hands on her kept distracting her.

  When they were both naked, Jazmine pressed her body between Dakota’s legs, leaning down to slide her mouth over very hard nipples. Dakota’s breathing was becoming ragged, and she was grasping at Jazmine’s hips, but Jazmine could tell she was still resisting her.

  She lowered her head and put her lips next to Dakota’s ear. “Come for me, Dakota… come…” she whispered, her voice ragged with heat and desire.

  It was all Dakota could take, and she came with a loud shout that extended into a long throaty yell. Jazmine’s scream joined hers as she came too. Afterwards, Jazmine lay over her, both of them panting.

  “Holy hell…” Dakota said breathlessly.

  “What?” Jazmine asked, her voice barely audible, as she glanced down at Dakota.

  “That’s… that hasn’t happened in years…” Dakota said.

  “What hasn’t?”

  “A woman making me come,” Dakota said surprised.

  “Really?” Jazmine asked, shocked. “As often as you have sex?” She was in disbelief.

  “They get off, I don’t. At least not with them,” Dakota said.

  “So you take care of that yourself?” Jazmine asked.

  “Yeah, alone,” Dakota said. Though she wasn’t sure why she was admitting this to Jazmine. She figured it was post orgasm afterglow talking.

  “Well, if we do this again,” Jazmine said, grinning. “I don’t go in for that, you’ll get off with me, or no one’s getting off.”

  Dakota widened her eyes, grinning. “Really now?”

  “Believe it,” Jazmine said her tone strong.

  Jazmine moved to lie on her back blowing her breath out. Dakota found that she wanted to keep her close. Turning on her side, Dakota put her arm over Jazmine’s stomach, her hand grasping Jazmine’s waist gently. Jazmine turned her head, looking at Dakota, her eyes half-lidded and looking sleepy. Dakota closed her eyes, feeling quite sated and for once not feeling the need to escape. She attributed it to the orgasm and that because of it she was too lazy to move. They fell asleep that way. During the course of the night, Dakota moved closer to Jazmine, putting her left leg between Jazmine’s and her arm across Jazmine’s upper torso.