Cobra picks up the dishes and puts them into the sink as I fill it with water and soap and get to washing them. “What’s up?”
“What do you mean?” I let on as if I haven’t noticed a change because I don’t want to get my hopes up, only to get let down again.
He glances at me skeptically and purses his lips outward. “Mouse, what’s going on with you?”
I let out a huff. “Who knows?”
He takes a plate from me and absentmindedly turns it within his hands under the running water. “Is there anything I can do?”
“I really don’t know, Jude.” There’s so much I want to say to him, but for whatever reason, I can’t bring myself to voice a single damn word. This isn’t how we usually are around each other. He and I both are more conservative than normal.
“This is about us, isn’t it?”
I nod and then shake my head in disagreement. There are so many emotions dancing in my body right now I don’t know if it really is about us anymore. Maybe I have clung to a memory so long that I should have let die years ago. Perhaps I’m in love with the memory of us instead of actually being in love with him. There comes a time in every person’s life when they need to face the truth.
“Have you given up on me, Quinn?”
“I wish I knew the answer to that,” I tell him the truth because I have no clue. If I didn’t know better, I would wonder if I were drunk. I’m over-biting my tongue to keep the peace. Ever since we were together a few weeks ago, it’s as if we have both been tiptoeing around one another, afraid the proverbial dam would burst again. Eventually, it always does. The past has shown us that much to be true.
“I’m going to make you believe me.”
“Why now?”
“Why now what?”
“Why is it so important to you that you change now after all these years?”
He takes the soapy dish from my hand and drops it back into the water. “It’s actually something Glas said. Well asked, technically. He asked if you forgave me, and I said I wouldn’t. I kept fucking up repeatedly because I didn’t think I deserved you anymore and still don’t, but I wanted to. Ya know?”
“Wanted to what?”
“Be a man you deserve. I know I’m a bastard and one of the worst ones. I’ve literally tortured people. Hell, I’ve killed them and not lost a night of sleep over it. Yet, hurting you over and over again. I hate myself for it. I thought if I couldn’t be good enough for you, I would make damn sure I’m not good enough for anyone.”
Tears form and burn my dry eyes. I’m so stunned by what he’s said that I guess I didn’t blink when I was supposed to. I don’t know where to begin. “Oh, Jude.”
“It’s true. I wake up every day and try to do as much damage as possible.” Leaning my head to one side, I give him a knowing look, propping my hand on my hip.
A wicked smile pulls at the corner of his mouth. “Well, I do that regardless. You’re right. But fuck, what I mean is, I don’t want any of those fucking clubwhores. Don’t you get that? I don’t know what else I can do to prove it to you, Mouse.”
“Keep doing it?”
7
Cobra
In a sense, tonight is the night that I prove to Mouse she’s the only old lady for me. The new MC in town rescheduled their big shindig to now, something about their clubhouse having a leaky pipe or some shit. In reality, I didn’t give a damn about the reason when the redhead from a couple months back told me about the new date. I only half-listened. She kept trying to convince me to go into the walk-in freezer for head. I would be a liar if I didn’t admit her offer to be tempting, knowing how good she was at it, but that was something the old me would do. Not the person who I am trying to be. I promptly shut her down and thanked her for the information, reporting it back to my brothers.
I had to hand it to them; their clubhouse is pretty damn nice, especially since they have not been in Blackwell as long as we have. I recognize some of the brothers who wore the Dogs patch from Glas’ club, The Den. A handful of them I even know by name. Perhaps this isn’t going to be as shitty as all of us Rebels predicted.
“Dad, this is Cobra,” the redhead purrs as her pointer finger lands on my bicep and playfully taps. I stop myself from physically gagging; she’s the type of woman I need alcohol to be around. Mindless and a waste of my time.
Mouse clears her throat in response.
“That is . . .”
“Mouse, this is Mouse.” I quickly introduce her to them, and she forces a smile onto her face.
“Damn.” He whistles, taking Mouse’s gorgeous body in, and basically eye-fucks her. “You’re a sight for these old eyes.” He admires. “Buy me a drink?” He nods toward the bar and holds his arm out for her to take, leading us into the clubhouse.
My blood boils, and I almost flatten his ass for it but notice his President patch. Mouse’s eyes flicker to mine, and after a slight nod of my head, she does as he asks. There’s one thing you don’t do in another man’s clubhouse, and that’s disrespect the President. Mouse holds a place in our club, but that isn’t always the case in others. A lot of clubs don’t tolerate women to be as liberal as Mouse can be inside ours. The CRMC only patches in men as official members. Judging by the lack of women wearing actual patches and not ‘property of’ ones, I’m guessing this club is the same.
The redhead whose patch reads “Baby Girl” winks at me, and I shake my head. This bitch is relentless and not to mention left out a key detail when telling me all about this party. Her dad is the president of the MC. If she would have told me, I’m betting I could have pried a fair amount of stuff out of her about the club. Doesn’t really matter now, though. We are here, and physically seeing what is going on behind their doors gives us Rebels the upper hand just in case we would ever need it. It’s hard to tell when one of them might get a hair sideways in their ass and try something stupid. It’s happened before, Memphis, Glas’ brother, is proof of that. The idiot got cocky and brought meth into our clubhouse without Bad’s permission, add that along with what he did to Scar, and I left that sack of shit without a pulse.
We four arrive at the bar and drop each of our happy asses on a barstool. I pull out a couple of fifties and hand them to the member serving us. “This should cover us for a little while,” I say in a low disinterested voice, folding my arms over one another on top of the sleek wood.
“What can I get you?”
Mouse and I exchange a knowing look. “We’ll have whatever he’s having.”
“Appreciate that,” the President says. “Not too many of these newer bikers have the respect you’re supposed to have for another club’s president anymore. When Baby Girl told me you were coming, I was wondering if you would wear your cut.”
“Don’t leave home without it,” I mumble, seeing now this night is going to be pretty damn uneventful. Hopefully, Mouse and I can kill a few drinks with this man and dip out as quick as possible. Judging by the death glare Mouse has on her face, I can already tell if we are here too long, she’s going to retaliate against Baby Girl for disrespecting her. I have to give Mouse mad respect, though. If the roles were in reversal, I would have laid Baby Girl’s ass out for touching me as soon as we got here.
“I hear ya. Me either.”
The squirrely looking fucker behind the bar gives us all silver beer cans, and after a quick lift of our cans, we all drink.
I’ve been off my game dealing with all the shit with Mouse. It hasn’t been too difficult to stay true to my word to her. I never particularly wanted to chase all the strange pussy, but it isn’t like I’m the one doing the chasing. The sweet asses do. Once I made it clear to all of them coming and going, I didn’t want anything to do with them, word spread pretty fast. Panhead is more than happy to take care of their needs. Fucker is the only person I know who has been treated for syphilis more than one time.
“It was all pretty damn boring,” I tell Bad over the speakerphone, pulling the shirt over my head and dropping onto the couc
h. “Wasn’t one of our parties, that’s for sure.”
“They say if they plan to put down roots or just here for a little while?”
“Way I took it is they’re here for good. Prez didn’t seem to be too bad of a guy, but there was something about him.”
“What was it?”
“Don’t know. Just don’t trust the fucker.”
“Good enough for me. We’ll keep a tail on them for a while. Gives the prospects something to do in their downtime.”
We both laugh. Those guys have been extra-busy recently, but none of them have really gotten their hands too dirty. We had been laying low since someone else got fingered for killing Memphis, Boss’ orders.
“Ten-four.”
I end the call, turning to catch Mouse’s hand within my palm as she stands to leave my house. “It’s late. Stay,” I say in a gruff voice.
She yawns. “I can drive home. It’s not that far.”
“Not the point.” I tug her backward onto my lap and smile. “You were amazing tonight.”
She huffs, “It took everything in me not to grab Baby Girl,” she makes air quotations with her fingers, “by her hair when she touched you.” She sheepishly admits and looks away from me.
My finger hooks under her chin and pulls her attention back to me. “I’m sorry, Mouse.” I apologize and mean it with everything I have inside me. Seeing her backtrack after saying she would do exactly what I know either of us would do in the situation guts me. I realize I have made too many excuses to count, but never once was I as sincere as I am now. I always put part of the blame onto Mouse, whether I did it on purpose or not. I guess somewhere in my mind, she’s the only thing stopping us from being together. I was wrong. It has been me all along. Only I have been too stupid to get out of our way and to see it.
“For what?” Her eyes search my face for an unspoken answer to the question.
“Everything, Quinn,” I admit, brushing a couple stray curls behind her ear and cupping her face within my hand. “You asked me to keep trying, and I’m only now understanding I never apologized and truly meant it. There has always been a but to follow. It was never as sincere as I am right now.” My heart pounds in my chest, and I pull a deep breath into my lungs in an attempt to steady its beating. “You have stuck around, even when I didn’t think I wanted you to.”
Her features soften, and I drink her beauty into my body, wanting to remember her like this. Truly, I don’t remember the last time she looked so at peace. Throughout our lives, neither of us has been easy on the other, particularly me to her. I carry frustration and aggression too easily because it’s part of who I am. It makes me one hell of a reaper for my club and simpler to take a life when it’s the thing I need to do. When we were younger, I could keep Quinn separate from those things, and I think maybe she fits so well into my life with the club that I forgot we had one outside of the Chained Rebels.
“I’m sorry, too, Jude.” Her posture straightens, and she wiggles her ass around on my legs until she’s comfortable.
“What the hell are you sorry for?”
“I haven’t been easy on you.” She shrugs. “I don’t know. Everything,” she rambles, and with a shake of her head, she quietens. “I have just missed you, okay?”
“I’ve just missed you, too.” I laugh. My fingers pull the laces loose from one of her boots and then do the same to the other, removing her feet from them as I go. “You’re staying tonight.” I don’t leave any room for her to argue the subject. Today has been a good day and having her here with me is the only thing I want right now.
My mouth crashes against hers, and I can’t get deep enough. I need to show her how I feel. I’m a simple man and expressing my emotions has never been my strong suit. This is the only way I know to show her how I feel. We have always used our bodies to say the words both of us were too damn stubborn to voice. She’s my safe place. My home. When I’m with her, the rest of the world doesn’t matter. It’s only the two of us.
My thumbs shove inside the seam of her jeans and circle around to her back, bringing her closer to me. She slides her legs open and straddles me. A thick moan bellows outward from my body, and I swallow, trying to calm myself. “You’re mine, Quinn.” I renew my claim to her and don’t add all the things I should say. It’s not how we work.
A fire blazes behind her eyes as they roam my body. She smiles. “And you are mine, Jude.”
“For better or worse.” I lick my lips and undo her jeans, promptly yanking them down, exposing her red thong as she lifts herself off me for better access. “We’ve been through the worst, so this will be the best,” I vow to her. “You’re not getting rid of me again.”
“I don’t want to,” she declares breathlessly and gasps as I curl my fingers around the thin lace running along her center and push two fingers inside of her warm slit. She rides my fingertips while her hands go to work unbuttoning my pants, and she pushes at them with a shake of her head. “A little help?”
Hooking my free arm around her body, I raise us off the couch cushion, and she shoves my pants and boxers down my legs, springing my cock free for her. I withdraw my fingers and fist her thong tightly, ripping it from her body. She bites her bottom lip as I sit her down on top of me and ease us back down to the couch. My fist steadies my shaft getting ready to take her onto it.
She hovers over the tip and moans as soon as our sensitive skin touches each other. Mouse makes slow circles as she moves downward on me, taking all of me into her. This is the best kind of torture, and if she’s the one doing it, I want to be tormented for the rest of my days.
Not able to go slow anymore, my hands snake around her body, and I clutch her plump ass cheeks into my hands and pull out, slamming back into her. Her lips land on mine with force, and she moans into my mouth. Her nails rake down my back, and she pushes her body against mine harder, needing more. Neither of us can get enough of the other as if we never had the other before. With every touch I give, I crave another of hers as if the fire I carry for her cannot be extinguished.
Our speed increases, and we’re both breathless. “Fuck,” I pant and come in her as she moans and unravels around me.
8
Quinn
“I have to go to the shop, fucking Greg can’t do shit by himself,” Cobra complains, rolling over as the alarm blares from his phone. I sit up to get ready to leave at the same time he does.
“Stay, Quinn,” Cobra requests, his eyes soft and heartfelt. “I won’t be a minute longer than I have to be as long as that fucker—”
“I’ll stay,” I interrupt him with a small smirk. “I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Some asshole keep you up?”
“Yeah, some asshole.” I laugh as he kisses my forehead and then cracks his neck, climbing from the bed. I didn’t think we would ever reach this place between us again. I have always felt safe with him. Even when we were not on speaking terms, I knew he wouldn’t let anything come my way I couldn’t manage. Now is different, though. I can say without any doubt that I trust him again.
He disappears for around fifteen minutes and is back in the room with me. The smell of leather and his fresh body wash swirls around in the air, and I take a deep breath inward, living in this moment, not sure how long it will last. “I’ll be back soon.” He gives me a quick peck on the cheek and is out the door as quickly as he entered.
A sudden pounding noise breaks through the quietness, and my eyelids bat. I must have fallen asleep. My eyes scan around the room, trying to focus on something. I turn my head to the side, but the sound is gone. Am I hearing things, or maybe I wasn’t fully awake? I question myself as my attention darts around the room, and I quickly get to my feet.
Again, it happens. Someone is at the door. No one knows I’m here except Cobra. He is the world’s worst about forgetting things. I wonder what he didn’t take with him to work. Probably something incredibly minuscule to the rest of us, but important enough to him for him to leave work to get it, and h
e wonders why Greg acts the way he does. An authentic smile overtakes my face, and I shake my head, walking to let him into the house. He must have left his door key here, too.
As soon as I open the door, I immediately regret doing so. “Fuck you!” I scream, whirling around as fast as I can and run in the opposite direction.
Two people dressed in black, one large, who I assume is a man and a smaller one, a woman, are here. Their faces are hidden behind ski masks. I look over my shoulder as I reach for the knob of the back door. The man cocks a rifle, and the woman swings a baseball bat at my head. As quick as I can, I duck, and her bat smashes against my hand on the knob. Horrific pain shoots up my right arm, and I cup it with my left, screaming out in pain. At the very least, a few of my fingers are broken. There’s no questioning that fact. I need to act fast now. Cracked bones are the least of my worries. Whoever these people are, they are making it clear they aren’t here to hang out. The reason they are here clearly isn’t a friendly one.
I stand strong and react quickly. Maybe they are thieves, and I caught them by surprise by being here. “Let me go get my purse, and I’ll give you my money,” I reason with them, lying straight through every one of my damn teeth. I haven’t carried a purse for years, but they don’t know that. If I can get back to Cobra’s room, I can get a weapon. There’s one huge advantage about being at his house versus my own, this place is packed to the brim with things to kill a person.
The man gruffly laughs as his head jerks backward. “We don’t want your fucking money.” He jabs the end of the rifle between my tits with force and knocks me back two or three paces.
“Then what do you want?” I square my shoulders and try to act as if he didn’t hurt my breastbone and my hand isn’t throbbing.
Twisted Steel: An MC Anthology: Second Edition Page 53
