Around noon, the store was empty save for me and one of the other employees, who was staring at his phone. He looked around the room and caught my eyes.
“What?” He pushed his glasses up the rim of his nose. “Why are you staring at me?”
“It seems weird that the store gets so empty at this time of day,” I said. “Don’t you think it would be busier during lunch, when people are taking time from their jobs?”
The kid looked at me like I’d suggested that the Earth was flat. “Why do you think about this shit, man?” he asked with a groan. “God, just watch the parking lot, will you?”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, kid,” I told him. “I’m leaving in a few hours and then you’re on your own.”
He looked at me. Suddenly, an idea flashed through my mind. “Hey, kid,” I said. “You remember that hot chick who came in here, the redhead? Was she always alone, or did she bring someone with her?”
The kid got an excited look on his face when I mentioned Sarah and jealousy flared through me. I wanted to go over there and wipe that stupid little smirk off his face. Part of me hated that I was feeling jealous; jealousy was never a good sign. But I already knew that no matter what, I was feeling incredibly attracted to Sarah. Nothing could have pushed me away from her.
“She was alone,” he said finally, sobering up when he caught wind of my murderous look. “She never came in with anyone else. She used to flirt with one of the clerks.”
The streak of jealousy that had pulsed through me now threatened to turn on its head and I glared. “I’m sure,” I said smoothly. “That’s all,” I added. “You can go back to ignoring the store now. That’s what I’m here for.”
The kid rolled his eyes and I let my mind drift off and think of Sarah. Snap out of it, asshole, I told myself. She’s just a girl. She’s not anything permanent, and you both know it. But still, part of me couldn’t help but wonder what would happen now that this was all over. I imagined if Sarah wound up working for Red, I’d see her on a pretty regular basis. With any other woman, I would have dreaded the prospect, but I actually looked forward to seeing her around. I had a feeling that I would be calling and dropping by her apartment. Very, very often.
The day seemed to drag by. It was torturously slow. Tinder’s had never been exactly bustling, but normally a good crowd of people stuck their heads in. Today, I only counted ten people. “Are y’all not getting engaged anymore?” I joked as a young couple entered the store. “Seems like no one is today.”
The girl blushed. “We’re talking about it,” she said, looking down. “We’re going to look at promise rings.”
Her boyfriend looked away, clearly unhappy that his girl was talking to the big, hulking security guard. “Come on,” he said under his breath. “I have to be back at work by one.”
I rolled my eyes as he dragged her away over to the selection of silver and white gold promise rings. She was cute, but didn’t touch Sarah with a ten-foot pole. Stop comparing every other woman to Sarah, I ordered myself. You know she’s probably just a temporary fix
The hours crawled by. I felt my phone buzz a couple of times in my pocket. The first was Sarah, letting me know that she’d paid her rent. I thought about asking her for naked pictures as a “payment,” but then remembered the gross misstep that Roger had taken with the photos of her. I decided that asking her for nudes wouldn’t be a good idea. She asked me what I wanted for dinner and I told her that it didn’t matter, my mind was clearly on her and not whatever we were about to eat. Just texting with her made me grin from ear to ear. And I couldn’t wait to tell her about Red and the job offer, if it was still available. I felt like she’d be overjoyed. Maybe she’ll give me a special thank you, I thought, my cock chafing in my pants. Who knows?
Thinking of her all day had been torture. I was more than relieved when it was time to go home and shower. I hadn’t showered that morning and I could still catch a whiff of her trademark vanilla-chili scent on my skin if I moved quickly. She was on my mind the whole time I rode back to my apartment; I almost got hit by a car, twice. Even the cursing drivers didn’t put a damper on my mood. I couldn’t believe that I’d somehow found someone like Sarah. She was everything that I’d ever wanted, and possessing her was like magic.
I groaned as thoughts of her naked body filled my mind. Letting myself in, I walked back to the bedroom and collapsed, closing my eyes and falling into a dark sleep.
“Blake,” Sarah called in a teasing voice. “Blaaaaake, come back to bed!”
I growled and pounced on her naked body, sending her flying to the other side of the mattress. Delicious peals of laughter rang out from her mouth and as she looked at me, I felt my erection swell even more. “You’re crazy,” I growled at her. “Do you know what you’re doing to me? Look at this,” I pointed down. “You’re owning me, Sarah.”
She smiled coyly and lay on her back, spreading her legs so I could see every inch of her perfect pussy. My mouth went dry as she moaned and slipped her fingers down her belly, softly massaging her labia. Wetness leaked out of Sarah’s pussy onto the bed and I thought that I was going to go mad with lust. I growled as I watched her spread her labia with soft fingers and explore herself, twitching and moaning whenever her fingers rubbed over her clit. I moved closer but Sarah opened her jewel green eyes and stared at me.
“Stay there,” she said in a breathy voice. “You can’t touch me, you just have to watch.”
I twitched and a bolt of desire went through my body. Sarah closed her eyes and slid her other hand down her breasts, caressing and toying with herself. She moaned softly and spread her legs as wide as they could go, slipping her hand down her belly and rubbing her pussy with it. Moving closer, I crept between her legs and got to my knees. I leaned in until I was only a few inches away from her delicious body. The scent of Sarah’s arousal mixed with her sweat and vanilla perfume was enough to drive me mad. As she rubbed her clit in small circles with her thumb, she slipped her other fingers inside of herself, groaning with the added stimulation. I watched intently as her pale hands turned wet and shiny from her juices and leaned closer, licking at her fingers as she pleasured herself. Sarah gasped and pulled one hand away, letting me lap at her skin as she continued to rub her clit in slow circles. I licked the insides of her labia, savoring her taste, before plunging my tongue inside of her pussy and lavishing her with attention. Sarah’s cries grew louder and louder and her hand was moving fast and hard on her little clit. I could feel her juices gushing into my mouth and covering my face as she came. Her pussy twitched and clenched and spasmed around my tongue, and slowly she slipped her hand away from her swollen clit.
“That was incredible,” Sarah panted. “Thank you for watching me.”
She grinned and got to her hands and knees, crawling towards me and kissing me wetly. I gasped as her mouth sucked at my lips and tongue, licking her scent and fluids off of me. The kiss deepened and I slipped my tongue into her soft mouth, tasting her and loving it more than I ever had before.
Sarah gently broke the kiss and pulled away. “Now you can watch me do something else,” she teased. I watched as she placed her hands on my chest and gently pushed me backwards so I landed on my ass. My cock throbbed with arousal and Sarah eyed it slowly, crawling down on her elbows and sticking her perfect, heart-shaped ass into the air. I watched as she stuck her tongue out and swirled it around the head of my cock. Groaning, I shifted my weight onto my elbows and propped myself up on the bed so that I could watch her. Sarah opened her bright green eyes and locked them with mine as she licked and sucked at the head of my cock. I groaned loudly. She was torturing me!
“You’re killing me,” I groaned. “Oh my god, woman, what are you doing to me?”
Sarah didn’t answer; she only grinned and placed a hand around the base of my cock, gently stroking it up and down in time with her mouth. She kept her eyes open and on me for a long time as she moved her mouth up and down, swathing my cock in warm, wet, delicious moisture. I gr
unted with pleasure as she ran her tongue along the sensitive spot under the head. When I thought I was going to come, I leaned back and thrust upwards. But Sarah stopped. She looked at me, with my cock still in her mouth, and a trail of saliva dripped from her lips. I groaned loudly.
“Please,” I begged. “Please make me come, Sarah.”
She grinned at me. “Yes, Daddy,” she said softly before resuming her delicious ministrations. In no time, I was coming and she pulled away and let me bathe her face with my seed. When I had finished shaking, Sarah opened her eyes and looked at me.
“You taste so good,” she said, licking her lips. “I always want you, Blake. I need you.”
Another shiver of lust coursed through me and I reached for her, grabbing her and pulling her close. Sarah shrieked with delight and I growled, nuzzling into her neck and biting her again and again.
Suddenly, there was a loud thump and we both looked up. My bedroom door slammed open, so hard that it bounced off of the wall. I glared. “Who the fuck is that?” I cried out. There was no answer. Pulling a blanket over Sarah’s naked body, I climbed out of bed and tugged on a pair of shorts. “Hello?” I called out again. “Who’s there? Come and fight like a man, asshole!”
“Blake, I’m scared,” Sarah said from the bed. I looked over; she looked like a shivering little girl. It tugged at my heart but I knew that I had to keep us safe.
“Stay here,” I instructed her. “I’ll be right back.”
There was a loud crash from the living room just as I was tugging on my briefs. Grabbing a gun from my dresser, I tucked it into my waistband and grabbed the crowbar that I kept behind the door.
“Come on,” I called. “Don’t make me come get you, asshole.”
There was no reply, and I stepped further into the hallway. Sarah squeaked behind me and I turned around with a finger over my mouth. She nodded silently and I closed the bedroom door behind me. Stepping as silently as I could, I made my way into my living room. There was a masked figure staring at the wall with his back to me, and I called out, grabbing my gun and aiming it at him.
“Asshole, turn around!” I snarled. The figure didn’t move. Stepping closer, I laid a hand on his shoulder and grabbed his body. The man’s body was surprisingly cold and I jerked my hand away. He was wearing a ski mask but it was so dark in the room that I couldn’t see the color of his skin under the mask. His eyes were big and black, and they looked like they were all pupil. Fear coursed through me for the first time. There was something about him that didn’t seem natural.
“You’ve come to fight?” the man asked, sounding amused. He rocked back on the balls of his feet and stared at me. “And just what do you think that accomplishes, hm? Probably nothing, if I had to guess,” he added. “Don’t you know that I’ve been looking for you the whole time?”
Suddenly, my head felt like someone had poured ice water all over me. “What the fuck are you talking about?” I growled. “I think you have the wrong guy.”
The figured looked at me. “Blake Ward,” he said. “Is that your name? If so, I’m here for you. I’m here to kill you, Blake,” he added. The lips of the thing broke out into an evil grin—much too wide and white to be human. “I’m here to kill you,” it repeated. The sentence was followed by a bone-chilling laugh and I felt myself start to shake. Suddenly I knew that the thing was going to find me and hunt me down and kill me, and then kill Sarah. I knew that the gun in my hand or even the crowbar wasn’t going to do any damage.
As I took aim at the thing’s chest, I fired the gun. The figure staggered backwards and fell; I felt victory swelling in my chest before the mocking, cold laughter started again. I shivered. The figure straightened up with alarming speed and rushed towards me until it was inches away from my face.
“What do you want?” I hissed. “I’ll give you anything, just leave me alone. Just go away!”
The thing laughed cruelly. “I want your death, Blake,” it whispered in an ethereal whisper that filled the air around me. “I want your death, and I want the death of Sarah.”
“No,” I whispered. “Please. I’ll do anything. Kill me. But not her, don’t touch her!”
I felt a sharp stabbing pain in my side and looked down to see a gaping wound that was gushing blood and pus. As I tried to grip my flesh together, the thing laughed and touched me with a cold limb. I stumbled backwards and fired my gun a few more times at the apparition. With each shot, it stumbled but never fell, and when my gun was out of rounds, it laughed at me.
“You’re not going to save her,” it taunted me. “She’s going to be mine, forever!”
“No!” I yelled. Suddenly, the thing disappeared from my eyesight. Terrified and in intense pain, I whipped my head around the room and looked for it. There was nothing; only moonlight streaming in through the window.
There was a shriek from my bedroom and I sprinted down the hall as quickly as I could. I heard Sarah’s high voice screaming and it wrenched my heart.
“Blake! Help me!” she cried loudly, squealing and crying out. “I need you to help me, Blake! Please!”
“Sarah!” I screamed as I pounded on the door. There was something on the other side holding it shut, and just as I began to slam against the door with my full weight, I heard the high-pitched laughter of the thing. Sarah screamed again.
“Sarah!” I yelled loudly. “Hang on, Sarah! I’m coming!”
I kept pounding and pounding against the door but it was no use. The wound in my side was deepening with every passing second and I could feel my body getting cold. I was lightheaded, and no matter how much air I sucked in, I still felt more drained than ever.
“Sarah, I’m sorry,” I said as I slumped to the ground, clutching my chest. “I failed you. I’m so sorry,” I repeated. “I’m sorry.” It was all I could say as I felt life spill out of me and my body slipped into a deep, dark, place.
Chapter Eighteen
When I woke up, it took me more than a few seconds to shake off the bad dream. I was used to having nightmares, but there was something absurd about the quality of this one. It was like my subconscious was working against me, actively trying to make sure that I didn’t get too complacent in life. I shook my head but the images of that figure in black wouldn’t go away.
“Fuck,” I muttered out loud. The sun was going down and I knew that I had to be at the clubhouse soon. We were taking a vote today, and if I wasn’t there, they’d have done it without me. I was antsy that Devil’s Own was taking so long to vote on retaliation against the Aztecs. I felt like if we didn’t hurry up, we’d be left regretting it before too much longer.
Quickly, I showered and shaved, dressing in dark wash jeans and a black shirt. Sarah was at the back of my mind; the dream had made me uneasy. For some reason, I was starting to have a bad feeling, a feeling like I wouldn’t be able to protect her. That’s fucked, dude, I thought to myself. Of course you’ll be able to protect her. She’s just a woman.
By the time I left, the ugliest image from the dream—Sarah’s door locked while she cried out and I couldn’t save her—was beginning to slowly fade from my mind. The night was chilly and my bike felt like a live animal between my legs, thrumming and guiding me to all the dark places in the world. I loved being in the MC for the sway it held, and for my reputation, but most of the time I didn’t feel like I was living too dark of a life. Tonight was different; the air was malleable, changing. I could sense danger. The roads were quiet as I zipped along through downtown, then to the outskirts of town where our clubhouse was. I frowned when I saw how dark it looked from far away. Why weren’t any of the lights on?
When I pulled up in the parking lot, I took off my helmet and scratched my head. All of the windows were dark and it looked deserted. Checking my watch, I saw that I was a few minutes late. All of the guys should be here by now, but I didn’t even see their bikes in the lot.
“Hey, Jimmy,” I called out loudly. “Are y’all here?”
My voice echoed off the asphalt an
d stone. There was no reply, and I kicked some gravel aimlessly as I walked towards the door. It was locked; it was always locked, but we had keys, and I had to fumble in the dark before pulling my set out. There was a noise behind me and I turned around, expecting to see the guys coming out and laughing at me. But there was nothing there. My mouth went dry and I called out Jimmy’s name again.
“Abel? Red? Are y’all here? Stop fucking with me,” I growled. “This isn’t funny anymore.”
From across the parking lot, I heard the chain link fence clatter, then slam shut. My heart started thudding fast in my chest; there were no headlights to indicate that a car was there, and I didn’t hear footsteps. Sticking my hand in the back of my waistband, I grabbed a gun and aimed at the fence. When I stopped breathing, I could almost hear something.
By now, the night was fully dark. I had a shiver of fear when I remembered the thing in my dream. Buck up, Blake, I ordered myself. It was just a fucking dream. Everything’s gonna be fine, just don’t puss out right now.
Thief: Devil's Own MC Page 11
