CRASH: An Evil Dead MC Story (The Outlaw Series) (23 page)

She
nodded.

“I’ve
got you. No matter what, I’ve got you. You’re safe. You’ll always be safe here
in my arms.”

“Don’t
let go.”

“I
won’t, baby.”

“I
don’t want you to ever let go.” She knew he couldn’t promise her that. She
knew. But it still hurt when he didn’t.

Crash
held her for a long time. Until long after her trembling had stopped, until
long after all he could think about was the feel of her soft body that fit so
well against his.
He wanted to turn the mood around and bring her out of the dark place
he’d forced her to revisit. He knew it wasn’t the time for joking, but he
thought maybe there was something else he could try. He started rocking, his
hips moving from side to side. He felt her tense a moment before she relaxed
back into him, moving with him.

“Crash?” He could hear the smile in her voice.

“Hmm?” The sound vibrated through his chest under her ear as her head
pressed against him.

“Are we…dancing?” she asked hesitantly.

“Um hmm. Dancing in the moonlight. Isn’t there a song about that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

He continued swaying.

“Crash?”

“Hmm?”

“There’s no music.”

“There will be if you sing to me.”

She smiled. “I can’t sing.”

His hand slid into his pocket, and he pulled out his phone. She pulled
back and watched his thumb move over the screen as he pulled up his playlist.
When the song began, he laid the phone down on the ledge, and he pulled her
back into his arms, bringing her soft body up against him as he rocked her
slowly.

“This is nice,” she whispered.

“Yeah, baby. It is.”

Several
songs later, he put her to bed and tucked her in. Leaning down, he’d kissed her
forehead. Afraid to do more. Afraid that the thin hold he had on his control
would break. He brushed the hair back from her forehead, smiling down at her.
“Sleep, sweetheart. You’re safe.”

Her
big, gorgeous eyes stared back up at him, the blue turned silvery in the
moonlight. “Goodnight, Crash.”

He
walked to the kitchen, pulled a bottle of bourbon down and poured himself a
shot. Downing it, he set the shot glass down, and stood with his palms on the
counter, staring at the granite.

Shit.

For
the first time in all of this, he wasn’t sure he could help her. Keep her safe?
Yes. But this? What she was suffering? He wasn’t sure.

*****

An
installer from the cable company showed up at the loft two days later. Crash
let him in. Shannon, who was curled up on the sectional with a magazine, the
kitten next to her, looked at Crash with a questioning frown, but didn’t say
anything until the man had finished his job and left.

After
he was gone, Shannon caught Crash’s eye, her brow raised.

He
turned to her from where he stood by the island, his hands landing on his hips.
“What?”

She
grinned huge. “You got me cable.”

He
grumbled, “Don’t be so happy about it,
you
paid for it.”

He
couldn’t just be nice about it, she thought. No, he had to rub it in about the
five thousand dollars she’d had to turn over to him. The loss of control of her
own money had been one of the things that had irked her the most. Consequently,
she took it out on him. Tossing the magazine to the side, she snapped back at
him, “Well, at least I got
something
for my money!”

His
hands dropped from his hips, and he advanced on her. “What’s the matter, Princess?
You ain’t gettin’ enough for your money? Huh? I need to add a service to this
job?”

Her
eyes dropped to where his hands had raised to his belt buckle. She watched
stunned as he began unbuckling the belt. Her hand came up, as if to ward him
off, and her eyes lifted to his as he stood over her, stopping just in front of
where she sat on the couch. “Crash, wait. I didn’t mean anything, I…”

“You
just say the word, Princess, and I’ll be glad to service any needs you feel
I’ve neglected. Wouldn’t want you thinkin’ you weren’t getting’ your money’s
worth.”

She
looked up at him, seeing the determined, uncompromising, hard line of his
features. He stood over her. Powerful. Commanding. Intimidating. “I’m sorry,”
she whispered. “I didn’t mean it, Crash.”

He
leaned over her, his palm landing on the back of the sofa. His nearness
pressing her backward against the cushion, his face in hers. And all she could
do was swallow and look up at him, her back pressed as deep into the sofa as
she could get.

His
eyes bore into hers. “You want your five grand back? You want to end this
arrangement?”

She
shook her head. “No, Crash.” He stared at her a long moment, and then she
watched his eyes drop to her mouth. He seemed to struggle with something, and
then he pulled back with a violent shove against the back of the couch,
flinging himself up. He stalked across the loft, slamming the door as he went
up on the roof.

*****

Three
days later, Crash stood in the shower, the hot water beating over his skin,
steam filling the bathroom. He thought of Shannon. For the last three days
they’d barely spoken. Crash knew he should make an overture toward her, toward
fixing things, but he couldn’t. It was better they were barely speaking. It
helped him keep his distance from her. And that was becoming more difficult by
the hour. There was a heightened sexual tension that had developed between them,
which had the very air around them practically crackling. He was really starting
to struggle with the fact that there was a woman staying at his place, sleeping
in his bed and he wasn’t fucking her. Her things were everywhere, her scent was
everywhere. It was beginning to drive him crazy. His nerves were strung so
tight, and the hunger for her was so strong, it was becoming like a fire that
burned day and night. One he was afraid he either had to completely extinguish
or it would consume him.

And
now it was Friday, and he knew he had to take her to that damn party tonight.
He cursed Mack for pulling this bullshit. It served no purposed but to yank his
chain. And make his job of looking out for Shannon that much harder.

Cursing,
he slammed his left palm against the tile wall.

Angel
was supposed to be coming over tonight to help her get ready. God only knew
what outfit she’d come up with
this
time. She seemed determined to push them together, at least to drive him crazy.
His mind drifted to those short shorts Shannon had worn to the BBQ and how
they’d made her legs and ass look. Then his thoughts turned to what it had felt
like to kiss her when he’d dragged her into the hallway to talk. Her sweet
mouth had opened so gently and hesitantly at first, and it had only enflamed
him higher, and then when he’d pressed his way in, her fiery response had
thrilled him. His tongue had stroked hers, and she’d matched him stroke for
stroke, her head tilting back, inviting him to drink his fill.

His
right hand unconsciously closed over his dick, and he began stroking, thinking
of how she had looked in his bed in that damn silk pajama set. Her honeyed skin
luminous in the moonlight. He thought about how he imagined she’d look naked,
sprawled in his bed, or naked in this shower pushed up against this tile wall,
her skin glistening wet.

He
groaned, stroking harder, his head bent, the water sluicing over him. As
sexually charged as he was, it wasn’t long before he’d stroked himself into a
grunting, clenching release.

True
to her word, Angel showed up a few hours later to help Shannon get ready. It
was a good thing too, because by that time Shannon had worked herself up into
some kind of a state. Crash knew she was nervous about going tonight. He’d
tried to reassure her that it was going to be okay. But fear of the unknown was
clawing at her.

Angel
had stepped out of the elevator with a bag of stuff in one hand, and a FedEx
shipping box in the other. Crash had frowned, thinking that was odd, but afraid
to ask. Angel then proceeded to hustle him out of the place, insisting he go on
to Church, the club’s meeting, and she’d drop Shannon off later for the party.

With
a quick look at Shannon, he’d nodded and left.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Angel
pulled her car down the road that dead-ended at the Evil Dead clubhouse parking
lot. Shannon looked over at her from the passenger seat, her stomach in knots.

Angel
looked over at her and smiled. “Quit worrying. You’ll be fine. Crash will watch
out for you.”

“You
sure this outfit isn’t going to piss him off?”

Angel
grinned a sly grin. “Maybe,” she confessed. “But it’s guaranteed to keep him
stuck to you like glue all night.”

Shannon
took a deep breath.

Angel
looked at her with a worried expression. “Shannon, you’ve been to society
functions, right? Filled with a lot of rich, intimidating people?”

“Of
course.”

“Same
here. Just go in with your head up, and don’t let them intimidate you.”

Shannon
nodded. “All right.”

“By
that, I
don’t
mean be a stuck-up
bitch,” Angel elaborated.

“Right.”

“Right.”

They
turned onto the lot, and Angel stopped near the door. Shannon looked over at it.
Wolf was standing outside talking on his cell phone. She looked back at Angel,
reaching for the door handle. “Wish me luck.”

“Have
fun. Remember, we’re having girl’s night Tuesday!”

“Right.
Goodnight, Angel.” She got out of the car, shut the door and immediately
turned, leaning in the window. “Thank you for everything.”

“You’re
welcome. Now, own it, girl!”

Shannon
straightened and turned to see Wolf pulling the cell phone from his ear and
snapping it closed, a stunned expression on his face as his eyes swept over
her. She walked to him. “Hello, Wolf.”

He
whistled low and sweet. “Goddamn, girl. Crash is gonna flip when he sees you.”

“Is
he in there?” she asked, trying to keep the nervous butterflies at bay.

“Yup.
He’s playin’ a game of pool with Cole. Party hasn’t really started. It’s early
yet. Things will heat up in a couple hours.” He reached out and grabbed the
door, holding it open for her. “After you, sweetheart.”

Taking
a deep breath, she raised her chin and walked in. Pausing a few steps in, she
glanced around the room, taking it all in.

The
party may not have started yet, but the music was blasting a hard rock driving
beat. The room was dim, but not too dark. There were a lot of people already
there, a smattering of women, but mostly men. She looked around, searching for
Crash and felt Wolf move in close behind her. She turned to look over her
shoulder at him and saw him nod in the direction of one of the pool tables in
back. Turning, she followed the direction of his gaze, and then she saw him.

Crash
stood by the pool table, his cue clenched in both hands, its butt resting on
the floor. He studied the table and the crappy shots that Cole had just left
him. Cole straightened, having just finished his shot. He smiled at Crash with
a shit-eating grin. “Get out of that, motherfucker.”

Crash
shook his head, squatting down to study the angle of a shot. “Asshole.”

“Crash,
you ever see the movie,
Grease
?” Cole
asked him out of the blue.

“Yeah,
why?” Crash leaned to study another shot.

“Remember
that part where ‘good’ Sandy goes ‘bad’?”

Crash
stood, frowning at him. “You mean when she dresses in that hot black outfit? Yeah,
I’m a red-blooded man. That was the best part of the whole damn movie. Why?”

Cole
nudged him and nodded his head toward the door. Crash twisted his head to look.
What filled his eyes had his breath leaving him and the rest of the room fading
into oblivion. “Holy shit,” he managed to whisper.

There,
standing near the door was Shannon, but she sure as hell wasn’t the Shannon he
knew. This hot little number was something straight out of a biker’s wet dream.
His eyes swept over her, taking in the decadent outfit. She was wearing a pair
of low-rider black leather pants that hit a couple inches below her
belly-button. They fit her like a glove, showing off the alluring curve of her
hips, the endless length of her legs and flaring in a boot-cut that covered
what looked like a sparkly pair of spike heeled sandals. His eyes trailed back
up over the vast expanse of exposed belly, and what a gorgeous stomach it was.
All smooth flat golden skin.

Something
sparkled, and his eyes zeroed in on it. Good God, she had her belly button
pierced. This was the first time her belly had been laid bare to him. Crash had
a thing for piercings there, they really did it for him. He sucked in a breath,
his eyes continuing their track up her body.

Her
breasts were contained in a leather halter top that plunged to the bottom of
her breasts, and then covered a couple of inches below the band under her
breasts. A zipper ran up the front. The soft supple leather gleamed in the dim
lighting as it hugged the round fullness of her tits.
Her toned arms
bared and free of ink, a rarity among the women here.
To top it all off, her hair was
left down to fall in silken waves over her shoulders and back.

Jesus
H. Christ.

She had a way of making black leather pants look smokin’ hot
and
classy. The combination suited him
just fine. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one who’d noticed. The crowd’s
attention had shifted to her as well.

Shannon watched as he turned and spotted her. A split-second later, he
was walking toward her.
From the roll of his broad shoulders to the rock of his hips, he had the
sexiest walk she’d ever seen. Self-confidence emanated from him in waves. He
stopped two feet in front of her, his eyes capturing hers in a penetrating
stare that lasted several heartbeats before he finally spoke.

“Hey
trouble.”

She’d
been holding her breath, waiting for his reaction, but his casual teasing set
her at ease. She let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding, and then she
rolled her eyes at the nickname.

“That’s
some outfit. It’s about as much as I can take.” His eyes skated down her body.
“That’s one gorgeous package, right down to your pretty painted toes, Princess.

She
lifted her chin.

“I
wasn’t sure you’d show up,” Crash admitted.

“Then
maybe you don’t know me very well,” she responded.

“Uh-huh.
We’ll see.” He stepped closer, his hand reaching up to brush a strand of hair
back. Scrutinizing her a moment, he said in a voice that was quiet but firm,
“Look, I know you don’t like this. I don’t either. But you’ll be fine. Relax.”

She
nodded.

“Come
on, pretty girl.” He took her by the hand and turning, pulled her after him.
They moved through the crowd. Shannon could hear comments being made about her
from several of the men they passed.

“How many drinks you think it’d take for her to leave with me?”

“Damn, I want to get me some of that.”

Shannon
wasn’t sure if Crash heard them, if he did, he chose to ignore them. That is
until a man stepped in front of them, blocking their path through the crowd and
asked, “Crash, she one of Sonny’s girls?”

The
guy next to him asked, “Yeah, you gonna dance for us, darlin’?”

Without
even slowing down, Crash slammed his palm in the center of the first man’s
chest, propelling him backwards over one of the pool tables. Crash’s boot
hooked the second man under the legs, while his arm knocked him off balance,
shoving him down to the floor.

He
continued on, pulling a stunned Shannon behind him. They stopped at a table in
the back where Cole now sat with Red Dog.

Red
Dog spoke to Cole, his eyes running between Crash and Shannon. “He’s feelin’ a
bit bloody tonight, ain’t he?

Cole
nodded, grinning. “He’s about to get his pissed-off on.”

“Shut
it, Cole,” Crash snapped as he pulled out a chair for Shannon and took a seat
next to her.

Cole
smiled, and then turned his attention to Shannon. “Hey, darlin’. You’re looking
beautiful tonight. But then, you always do.”

She
smiled. “Thank you. Do you think you could keep Crash from killing someone
while I’m here?”

He
chuckled. “I’ll see what I can do.” Then he turned to Crash. “Hear that, Romeo?

Crash
grunted noncommittally.

Cole winked at her.
“Dog, grab us a couple more glasses.” Red Dog moved off to the bar, returning a
moment later with two short tumblers. He set them on the table and sat back
down. Cole picked up the bottle of bourbon already sitting on the table and
poured them all another shot. He picked one up and handed it to Shannon.
“Bottoms up, darlin’.”

They
all drank. The men all downed theirs in one swallow. Shannon sipped hers. Cole
tipped the bottle up again, filling their glasses. Shannon continued to sip her
first drink.

“You’re
not keepin’ up, girl.”

She
smiled. “Sorry, I’m not much of a drinker. I’ll never keep up with you boys.”

“Well,
at least finish that one,” Cole lifted his chin toward her glass.

Shannon
took another sip and looked over at Crash. His eyes were scanning the room over
his shoulder. Then they came back to her. “What are you looking for?” she
asked.

The
corner of his mouth pulled up. “Lookin’ at you, Princess, and every guy here’s
doing the same.”
 
Crash settled his arm
across the back of her chair, a predator openly marking territory. She was his.

Green
walked up and bumped Crash’s shoulder with his hip. Crash turned, startled, and
his eyes came in direct line with Green’s crotch. He elbowed him. Hard.

Green doubled over in pain and wheezed, “Christ, man. What the hell?”

“Well, get your junk out of my face, motherfucker!”

Cole and Red Dog collapsed into hysterics.

Crash turned back to Shannon, his arm draping around the back of her
chair. “Sorry, babe. Couldn’t help myself.”

Shannon rolled her eyes. “How long do we have to be here?”

At her comment, Cole and Dog burst out laughing again.

Crash picked up the bottle and topped off her glass. “Here, have another
drink.”

“I don’t think it will help.”

“Yeah, well, do it for me. We may be here awhile.”

“I thought you said I only had to have one,” Shannon reminded him.

“Didn’t your daddy ever tell you—never trust guys. We lie. Big time,”
Cole teased her with a waggle of his brows.

Crash’s eyes met hers, and he changed the subject. “So, you pick this
outfit out all by yourself?”

She lifted her chin. “Of course.”

“Really? Where’d you get the money for it?”

She faltered. “I, um, stole it out of your wallet.”

“I know you didn’t pay for it, so don’t even try that,” Crash called her
on it.

Cole tried to stifle a grin. He shook his head at her. “Shannon,
Shannon, Shannon. You’re sitting next to two of the best damn liars in the free
world. Don’t embarrass yourself.”

“Okay, fine. Your
wife
paid
for it. With
your
credit card.”

That shut him up. Momentarily.

“My wife did
what?”

Crash couldn’t help but grin. “You do something to piss her off?”

“Apparently.”

“Maybe she was just trying to be nice,” Shannon suggested.

Cole grinned at her. “Don’t worry, darlin’. I’m sure I’ll think of a way
she can pay me back when I get home tonight.”

Shannon gave him a saucy grin back. “Yes, she told me Friday nights were
her favorite night of the week.”

Cole’s grin got bigger. “She did, did she?”

“Um hmm. And I’m sure whatever payback you come up with will be happily
paid.”

Cole burst out laughing. “Glad to hear it.”

Cajun walked up, obviously already shit-faced drunk, he threw his arm
around Green and gave him a big kiss on the cheek saying, “I love you, man.”

Green grinned back at him. “I love you, too, you drunk-ass
motherfucker.”

Red Dog suggested, “Why don’t you two run outside and carve your
initials into a tree.”

The guys burst out laughing, and Green shoved Cajun off him.

Shannon took another sip of her drink, her eyes scanning the room, until
they landed on a jukebox against the far wall. It was currently blaring some
heavy metal. Crash must have noticed, because the next thing she knew, he was
pulling out a five dollar bill and handing it to her. He nodded toward the
jukebox. “Go play something.”

She took the money and got up.

He watched her stroll through the room toward the jukebox. Her ass
swaying as she moved languidly, and he longed to put his hands on those hips
and ass. Hell, he longed to do a lot more than that. She was going to be the
death of him.