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Raven

T he guys have been elated since the warehouse blast, especially since the Bastards haven't retaliated. It seems they're licking their wounds after losing their largest drug and weapons hub. Reports say investigators found evidence of arson. They also found large amounts of illegal drugs, weapons, and tools to print counterfeit money.

The investigators seem to think the owners of the illegal goods are the ones who set the blaze, trying to hide their shady operation. They're more interested in finding those individuals than searching for other arson suspects for the time being. That means the Sons are in the clear so far.

I know even if they weren’t, though, they’d have no ties to the crime. They're pros at this kind of thing. Most of them have been doing it their whole lives. There isn’t a shred of evidence left behind that can link any of them to the arson. The only ones who know the truth are us and the Bastards, and they can’t talk without damning themselves in the process.

So, days have passed with no whisper of Dom or his guys making any moves. Eventually, other stories made headlines, and the warehouse explosion faded into the background. Viper started to loosen his chokehold on me and Nix, barely.

We're still heavily guarded by the club and can’t go anywhere without an escort, but the energy around the clubhouse seems to have shifted. It's too soon to think the war with the Bastards is over, but this win is huge. With one blaze, the guys have knocked them down several pegs. They’ve taken out the bulk of their operation, leaving them to scramble and regroup elsewhere while the Sons plan their next move.

Viper wants to destroy them, not just incapacitate them. So, he plans, and the MC awaits their marching orders while Nix and I try to adapt to our new normal.

I take another sip of my beer, listening to the music thumping through the living room. Some of the guys wanted to throw a party to unwind after the long days following the move on the warehouse. Viper gave the go-ahead before disappearing with Bear, Hammer, and Miguel. He still isn’t telling Nix and me shit about his plans, which pisses me off, but at least he loosened his leash.

Jesse and Reaper took me to the gym for the first time in ages today. I let loose some of my stress inside the ring but still felt restless even after two hours of working my muscles raw. I can still feel it now. Sitting here, watching as everyone else lets loose. I still feel edgy.

My eyes flit over to where Jesse and one of the sweetbutts are grinding on each other in a corner. I half expect my anxiety to spike at the sight, but nothing happens. It doesn’t affect me at all. If anything, I’m glad to see he’s moving on. Our friendship can stay intact, and I don’t have to feel bad about ending things before he got too deep in his feelings.

I take another long pull of my drink, draining the bottle. As I do, I feel eyes on me. When I turn, I see Reaper’s dark gaze directed at me. He has some brunette vying for his attention, but he’s giving her squat, keeping those dark orbs fixed on me even as he brings his bottle to his lips.

I don’t look away even when something in his gaze shifts, becoming more intense. We’ve always had this dynamic, a push and pull against one another, always fighting to be the one in charge. Neither of us is willing to give in. We both value winning too much, but what the hell is the prize anyway?

I have no idea.

The brunette slides her hand down his chest, begging for his attention, and something inside me cringes. He stops her with a grip on the wrist as she moves lower, edging toward his abdomen. The whole time, his eyes stay on me, daring me to react, but I won’t.

I can’t .

I’m not ready to face what it means if I did. Would it mean I lose the game we’re playing? I have no fucking clue. I don’t even know how this dance between us all started anyway.

Reaper hasn’t moved his hand or the girl’s any further. It’s still frozen in place on his chest as he stares me down, waiting for me to make my next move. My chest starts to tighten, and a foreign feeling invades my senses. Before I let it take hold, I look away, standing from my seat across the room.

I march toward the kitchen, needing another beer and an easy way to shut down whatever the fuck that was back there. Something in his gaze and the way he ignored the sweetbutt has me reeling. It’s almost like he—

No. No. Nope.

Not gonna go there.

I’m not going down that rabbit hole. Whatever game he’s playing, he can play by himself. I’m not getting sucked into the Reaper show. I can’t even stand him. He’s so . . .

Rude. Grouchy. Dickish.

The words are right there, blazing in my memory. Almost every encounter we’ve had has been fueled with hate and malice, but now, my sex-deprived brain is starting to lose it. Because right along with those words are a few new ones.

Sexy. Muscular. Rugged. Fuckable.

Goddamn it.

I need to get laid and not by him. It’s been so long since I last rolled in the sheets. That’s got to be why I’m panting at the thought of Reaper pinning me beneath him and fucking me stupid. That’s the only reason. If I'd had some good dick recently, those thoughts would never cross my mind.

Yeah, that’s got to be it. I shake my head as I pull another beer from the fridge. Leaning against a wall, I take a long sip, listening absently to the conversation at the table.

“I haven’t seen her in days,” one of the sweetbutts says.

“Me neither. Do you think she’s okay,” another replies.

“It’s not like she can come here anymore,” a third pipes up. “She got kicked. Maybe she found a new club to play with.”

The first girl bites her lip as she plays with the end of her braid. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Maybe Misty found a new guy to obsess over.”

At the sound of Misty’s name, I roll my eyes. Good riddance. That bitch was trouble. If I never have to see her face again the rest of my life it will be a gift from the universe.

I push away from the wall to wander through the house. I’m still restless, and there’s no way I’m going back to my spot in the living room. Not while Reaper is still there with his brunette bimbo. I sip my beer as I walk down the hall. I stop when I spot two figures pressed against the bathroom door.

No one else is around to witness Lace and Stitch twine around each other in a mess of lips, teeth, and limbs. The sounds coming from them send a wave of arousal through me. I can’t look away as they fumble for the doorknob. When they find it, they stumble backward into the bathroom, still glued together as one. Their moment of passion isn’t helping my situation at all.

Fuck, I need to get out of here.

I scramble toward the front door, ditching my beer on a table along the way. As I reach the stairs, I run into Nix and Raptor, who both look flushed and disheveled. It doesn’t take more than one look to know what those two were up to. Jesus, everyone’s getting laid but me.

My sister’s face breaks into a guilty smile when she sees me. “Raven. Hi, we were—uh—we were—” she stumbles over her words as Raptor pulls her close, wearing a purely male grin.

Holding up my hands, I stop her. I don’t need any more reminders that I’m one of the few wretches in this place who’s not getting dick tonight. “It’s fine, Nix. No need to explain.”

When her cheeks burn as bright as her hair, I scramble over my half-cocked plan of escape. “I was gonna run to the house real quick and grab a few things. You need anything while I’m there?”

Nix shakes her head, telling me she doesn’t need anything, but Raptor’s eyes narrow as he looks around. “Who’s going with you?” he asks, punching a hole right through my plan.

My mouth works faster than my brain as a strangled “Huh?” escapes my lips.

He eyes me suspiciously as he asks again, “Who’s going with you?”

“Uh—I, um—” I curse myself for not lying better.

Raptor’s stare is burning a hole right through me when a deep voice answers from behind me, “I am.”

My body jolts as I spin around to find the owner of that voice towering over me. Reaper is wearing his typical scowl laced with boredom as he steps closer to us.

Raptor’s face is as shocked as I am as he looks at his MC brother. “Just you?”

Reaper shrugs. “It won’t take long. Besides, everyone else is too drunk or busy getting their dick wet to drag along.”

I wait for Raptor to argue, to say we need to take someone else, but he doesn’t. After a few moments of silence, he nods. “Fine, but be quick. If Viper hears you two left without backup, he’ll have my ass.”

Reaper grunts in response, turning his eyes on me. I avoid his glare as Nix glances between us. “Okay, well, be careful,” she tells me.

I give her a quick smile as she and Raptor step out of the way, letting Reaper and me through. My pulse starts to race as I walk to the door. I hear Raptor say something else, but I can hardly hear over the blood rushing through my veins.

Great, now I’m stuck with him alone for the next half hour. That’ll help curb my raging hormones.

Fuck.

I’m so wound up that I hardly register Reaper mounting his bike. He stares at me expectantly as I approach. “Get the fuck on the bike, Princess. I don’t have all night.”

My temper spikes. That, that right there, is why I can’t stand him. His shitty attitude and that fucking nickname drive me insane. It instantly has my hackles rising. “I didn’t fucking ask for your help.”

His jaw ticks as he stares me down. “Who did you ask?” he challenges me.

I cross my arms, refusing to answer as I seethe at him, making him huff out a cruel chuckle. “That’s what I fuckin’ thought. Get on the damn bike.”

When I don’t move, his eyes flare. Before he can say another word, I argue, “I’ll go ask someone else. Anyone but you. ”

“They’re all too busy getting trashed or buried in pussy to take you. So, if you really want to go, you’re stuck with me,” he grinds out, leveling me with a sneer.

I choke back a laugh as my words come spewing out. “Maybe that’s what you should be doing. Go on. Go have your fun with that skanky brunette. I’ll find someone else to take me.”

His eyes narrow, and I can tell he’s getting pissed. “If I go back in there, you're gonna run off on your own, and I can’t have that. Viper would have my ass.”

I roll my eyes and start to back away. As I take one step, Reaper’s hand lashes out, grabbing hold of my wrist. With one strong tug, I lurch forward, stumbling into him. When he catches me, he leans close, caging me between his body and the handlebars on his bike.

I can feel his hot breath on my face as he growls, “Get on the goddamn bike, Raven.”

Something about hearing my name on his lips has my mind spinning. That or sharing his breath has deprived me of oxygen because the next thing I know, I’m sliding on behind him and wrapping my arms around his waist. It takes all I have to ignore the wave of arousal his dominant order sent through me. When he fires up the bike, I know I’m barely hanging by a thread.