Draven Read online

  Without a word, I put my hands on either side of his face, making him look down at me. “I’m going to be okay.”

  “You better,” he said. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

  “You better be there to get me out of it,” I said. “You’re the one who got me into this mess in the first place.”

  He gave a soft scoff, and I leaned up to kiss him. It was the first time we shared a slow, soft, gentle kiss. It wasn’t our style to kiss each other that way, and the thrill of it sent another shock through my system. One that was different than the rest, but one that I still liked.

  We continued to kiss on the bed, the heat growing between us. I had been wet from the moment I climbed into the bed with him, and instead of letting him be the one to take me as we always had before, I was the one to climb on top of him, guiding his cock into my wet pussy with my hand as I did.

  He let out a moan as I took him inside me, then I put my hands on his pecs as I slid back and forth on his cock. He was rock hard and ready for me, and I was wet and needing him. Once more, we were made for each other. Each time we made love, I knew this was the man who was meant for me.

  This was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, and I didn’t want to think that that may be true if one of us were to die tomorrow. I wanted to make the most of the moment, I wanted to cherish every second I had with him. This was the most intense sex I’d ever had – sex that came from knowing I could die the next day.

  It was something I never thought I would experience, and something I never would want to trade for anything else. As I rode him, I looked down into Draven’s eyes, sliding back and forth, driving us both closer to orgasm. I knew we were going to cum at the same time. I could feel it in his body, and I was waiting to cum with him.

  I let him know with the breathing and gasps that were coming from my chest how close I was, and when he put his hands on my hips, I knew he was nearly there himself. He rocked back and forth with me on the bed, our bodies moving as though they had been created for each other.

  Then, with a final moment of holding each other tight, the release came. We both let out a loud cry of pleasure, not caring if anyone else in the house heard us. All that mattered was that moment – all that mattered was the two of us.

  We held each other, letting our orgasm wash over us and through us, connecting us in the moment. Right now, nothing else in the world mattered. Right now, it was just the two of us against the world.

  And right now, I knew this was worth every second of what I was going to go through. This was worth everything to me, because this man was worth everything to me. As his hands explored me, it felt like the first time all over again. I wasn’t sure what it was with Draven, but I knew he would forever satisfy me. I knew he was the one for me.

  I knew I wanted to be the one for him forever and always.

  And, I wanted to live the rest of my life with him. I wanted to do everything with him. I wanted to build a new life together. It all came down to the next day. It all came down to this moment.

  Nothing could take this from us. Nothing could erase what we were sharing right now, and I had to admit, I was willing to face nearly anything knowing that we had this to share between us.

  Draven was the man of my dreams, and I would fight to get through this hardship with him. I would fight for us.

  I didn’t care what danger I’d have to face.

  Chapter 20

  Draven

  Tension ran through my body, and I realized for the fifth time that morning I was clenching my jaw. It hurt my teeth, but I didn’t care. It was much like the feeling of my fingernails sinking into my palms.

  I hated that I couldn’t do anything for Jade. We had taken her nearly to the location, leaving her to walk the rest of the way on her own. She had the plan worked out in her mind, and we were all on the same page with what we had to do.

  But, that didn’t make the situation any better for me, that was for sure. I hated the thought of her going into that group of men unarmed, and I hated what could happen when all Hell broke loose.

  It was just a matter of time, and we all knew it. She had the signal worked out in her head, and as soon as she gave it, we were going to go rushing in with guns blazing. This wasn’t the first time we had come down on another MC, and I was sure it wasn’t going to be the last. But the fact that Jade was right there in the middle of it all was enough for me to want to call off the entire thing.

  I knew every man in the MC knew what they were doing, and I knew they were the best shots in the country. They weren’t going to miss. But, I also knew that a stray bullet could be the end of someone’s life.

  And, I knew more than anything I didn’t want to go on in life without Jade.

  She completed me. I never thought I would say that about a woman, but it was true when it came to Jade. She was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. She was the one I wanted to grow old with. She was the one for me.

  She was my old lady. I had never thought I was going to settle down with anyone and be able to give them that title, but it was true here. And now, she was going to risk her life for the good of the club. I knew she was doing it to free herself from this situation as well, but more than that, I knew she was going through with this for the rest of us, too.

  She wanted us to be able to be together. We had talked long into the night after making love to each other, and I knew how she felt. She didn’t want us to live our lives in fear. She didn’t want to live our lives looking over our shoulders and wondering if someone was going to shoot up our house.

  No, she wanted to put this in the past, and the way to do that was to face the men who were after us. As much as I hated it, I knew she was right. If we were going to put an end to this madness once and for all, we were going to have to face off with these men.

  I still didn’t know how they had figured it out. I didn’t know how they had managed to find her at the safe house, and I didn’t know how they were going to take our attack on them, but I knew one thing was for sure, and that was that we were going to stand together through it all.

  We had been able to take down bigger MCs in worse situations, and I knew we were all ready for the worst here. It wasn’t ideal that we were doing this in broad daylight, but I knew we were working with what we had.

  The rivals had made it clear they wanted her to come alone, and they wanted it done during the day. As much as I hated that, I knew why they were doing it. They didn’t want to be ambushed, and they knew it was a chance. But, we couldn’t go to the cops over this, either. We had to do this our way. I made it clear to Jett we were going to do things without the authorities getting involved and he agreed.

  It might be easier to go to the cops, but we couldn’t risk it. We couldn’t risk them finding out what we were doing with Jade or putting her on the line. She would get in more trouble than us if they found out what she had been doing with the pharmacy, and we weren’t going to do that with her.

  No, we were going to deal with this ourselves, and we were going to make sure she came out safe and sound on the other side. Of course, there was little doubt in my mind several of the other MC members were going to end up dead on the ground by the time we were done with this, but I wasn’t worried about that.

  If we played our cards right, we would be out of there before the cops showed up, and once more, this would be treated as gang violence. It was their favorite way of dealing with the wars we had with each other, and we were all fine with it to be honest.

  No one wanted to deal with the cops or their methods of dealing with justice. We had our own justice, and we did things our own way. We weren’t going to go to jail for the death of a rival, and we knew we had to be careful to make sure that didn’t happen.

  But today, I had to focus on getting Jade out of there. She was going to go in, but we were going to sweep down and get her out of there before the others had the chance to do any real damage. At least, that was the plan. I hop
ed against hope we would be fast enough to help her, and I knew I would go in earlier than the signal if need be.

  But, I was stuck in the hiding spot for the moment, watching as she walked toward the meeting place.

  The other men appeared seemingly out of thin air, stopping her before she got to the location entirely.

  “Are you wired?” one of them called out.

  “No!” Jade called back.

  “Prove it!” he said. Immediately, I felt the urge to do something. I didn’t want her lifting her shirt for them, and I knew part of the reason they were making her do it was to degrade her and for their own pleasure. They didn’t need to see her skin, and it wasn’t going to matter to them if she was wired or not.

  But, she obeyed, and Ryder put his hand on my arm to keep me calm as she did. Her beautiful, pale skin was bare for all to see, and the men took a long time deciding she was safe to proceed. I hated to think how that image was going to be used later, and I was ready to make heads roll as it was.

  But, I knew I had to stay with the plan. If any of us left our cover too soon, it would be over before it even started. The best way to make sure we all stayed safe was for everyone to be on the same page, and unless something happened with Jade that wasn’t part of the plan, we were going to need to wait for the signal.

  There was a part of me that wondered if they were trying to get a rise out of us, and that was the reason they made her lift her shirt for so long. But, I knew I wasn’t going to do any good for anyone if I dwelled on it for too long. No, I had to push it out of my mind and focus on the moment.

  She was talking to the leader of the group. I wasn’t sure if it was the president of Hell’s Crusaders or just one of the other committee members, but he was apologizing to Jade for shooting up the house the other day.

  “We were just showing you how powerful we were. You know, you seem to think that the Steel Wings are there for you, but do you realize we would squash them like a bug if we wanted to? The only reason they have this much territory is because we don’t want to deal with it ourselves,” he was saying.

  I tasted bile, and feeling the way Ryder’s hand gripped on my arm, I knew they were striking a chord with him, too. We all knew we were the stronger MC, and the whole reason we had the territory was because of the way we would drive them out over and over again.

  There was no denying that. He could say what he wanted to her, but the fact of the matter was that we were the top dogs in the area, and we all knew it to be true. We weren’t going to put up with any of their bullshit, and they knew it.

  I had a feeling Jade already knew he was blowing smoke, but she still had to play the part.

  “Well, as you know, they are the ones who came to me first, so I was working with them. I had to do what they said, just to make sure I was okay. I’ve not done anything like this before, and I wasn’t sure how it all worked,” she said.

  “That’s okay. You made the right choice coming over to our side,” the man said. “We’re going to take care of you, don’t you worry about that. Now, you said you had a deal you wanted to work out with us, and we have a few stipulations of our own, but I think if we work together on this, then we’re going to reach a mutual understanding, if you know what I mean.”

  “I was hoping you would say something like that,” Jade said. “The other MC was paying me well, and for me to o come to you guys, you’re going to have to sweeten the deal, if you know what I mean. I’m putting my neck on the line for this, and I don’t want to have to do it without right incentive.”

  “Don’t you worry about that,” the man said with a laugh. “Like I said, we are the bigger, better MC. We’re going to take care of you more than they ever did, and you’ll wonder what you ever saw in them in the first place.”

  “I’ll hold you to that,” Jade said. She slipped her hand in the back of her jean pocket, and I knew that was the signal. I wasn’t sure what she was waiting for or what she had seen, but that was what we were looking for.

  We had discussed it already. As soon as she gave that signal, we were going to move as one and come down hard on the rivals. By the time she had given it, I knew we were all more than a little pissed off at the speaker, whoever he was and whatever he meant to the other MC.

  He could say what he wanted, but he was about to feel the wrath of God come down on his ass. I was more than willing to put a few bullets into all the pricks standing there. I just had to make sure Jade was out of the way first.

  But, with the signal given, we all snapped into action. There was no holding back now, no time for second guessing. We were coming in hot, with all the power we had.

  I hardly felt a thing; I could barely hear a thing. All I could think about was getting Jade out of there and to safety. She had done her part, now it was time to take care of business ourselves.

  This is what I was born to do, and I wanted her to be part of it for a long time. I hardly heard myself scream her name as we came out from hiding, but she turned to look at me as we did, then she dove for cover.

  All I could do now was hope to God she stayed safe while the rest of us got down to business. This was going to be bloody, but it was going to get the point across, and I knew it was worth the fight.

  After all, Jade was the prize in this one, and I would do anything for her.

  Anything.

  Chapter 21

  Jade

  Everything happened so fast around me, it was hard for me to keep up with what was going on. One minute, I was talking to someone who would just as soon shoot me as he would have a conversation with me, then the next minute, I was giving a signal for all Hell to break loose around me.

  I had prepared myself for the gunfire, but I had to admit, I wasn’t ready for the fight to really break out, and when it did, I was scared. I heard Draven call out to me, telling me to get out of the way and find somewhere safe to hide, but I only acted on instinct from there.

  I dove to the ground, getting out of the way of the bullets that started whizzing through the air. I knew the members of the MC were good shots, but they didn’t wait for me to get out of the way before they opened fire on the others, and it was shocking that I was caught in the middle of a shootout.

  It was the second time in my life I’d been caught in gunfire, and I knew there was no way I wanted to keep doing this. I was going to have to talk to Draven when this was over, telling him that I was happy with him, but I wasn’t happy being shot at when we were together.

  I hid beside a parked car, hoping to God I wasn’t going to get hit. There were bullets flying everywhere, and I hardly dared watch what was going on. I wanted to see, I wanted to make sure Draven was okay, but there was a part of me that knew better than to look.

  When I had gotten up that morning, I was prepared to look death in the eye. I was prepared for the worst. But, at the time, I had thought that the worst would be one of the men shooting me. I was afraid they were going to try to kidnap me when I was talking to them, or they would try to hurt me to get back at the Steel Wings.

  But what I didn’t realize was that the worst thing that could happen wasn’t what they could do to me, it was what would happen if I lost Draven. I knew he knew what he was doing, but it still worried me to think that he could get shot out there. He was human, just like me, and a bullet going in the wrong direction could kill him.

  To think of life without him made me sick to my stomach. I didn’t want to even imagine it. The more I thought about it, the more I knew I couldn’t live without him. I was willing to do a lot. I could go through a lot, but no matter what, I didn’t think I could live without him.

  He was the love of my life, and with the bullets tearing up the air around me, it was hard for me to do anything but cover my ears and scream. I knew it would be a bad idea for me to draw more attention to myself. I had been the one to betray the MC to the Steel Wings.

  They might have suspected I would do something like that, or they might not have, but either way, I had. I had g
one right to them and had double crossed them, and if there was one thing I knew about MCs, it was that they hated betrayal.

  It was one of the worst things that could happen to them, and I knew they were after the people who did it with a vengeance. They didn’t stop to think about much but the fact someone had tried to trick them, and all Hell would break loose.

  I didn’t know if it would matter that I wasn’t really part of the Steel Wings. Sure, I was evidently Draven’s old lady, but did these men really think about that? Did they know that was going on with Draven? They seemed to know an awful lot about me, but at the same time, how?

  As if the universe had read my thoughts and wanted us all to have the answers, I suddenly heard voices shouting across the pavement. I was a good distance from the fight now, trying not to get caught in the crossfire. It would only take one stray bullet to do some serious damage, and I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of that, either.

  But, when they started shouting back and forth, I couldn’t help but listen in on what was being said.

  The man who had been speaking to me was now yelling to Jett, talking to him about me. “Funny you have a band of liars!” he shouted.

  At first, Jett didn’t listen. He didn’t care to be drawn into a petty argument with someone like that, but, as the man continued to taunt him, he had no choice but to hear him out.

  “You think that you have so many loyal people to you, but did you ever stop to wonder how I knew about that girl?” the man called out.

  “I assumed you sent in one of your own who managed to figure it out. I had to admit, I was a little impressed at the thought of it,” Jett called back. “Too bad your men can’t shoot like they snoop!”

  “I could say the same about yours,” he said with a laugh. He suddenly cried out, and then I heard another sound I wished I could erase from my mind. I realized that he was dying, and the sound was him choking on his own blood. But, he was determined to talk, even right to the end. He was so happy with the fact Jett had to hear about his own shortcomings, it didn’t matter to him that he was dying in the process.