Chapter 7
Everything I’ve done has always been to try and keep Cherry safe. Even from herself. I’m going to hell for sure, but I won’t drag her down with me.
The things she did that night stained her soul. It makes me so angry. I could strangle her to death just to show her the consequences of her reckless actions.
I wash my hands in the kitchen sink, scrubbing until I get all of my cum off. I run the water hot, scalding my skin as punishment for even thinking what it would feel like to unload inside her sweet pussy.
“You okay?” Omen asks.
I nod. “Fine. How much money did we make?”
He arches an eyebrow, not thrilled that I’m dismissing his question. “With the buy-in fees, our cut from the bets, liquor revenue, minus the bonuses for the Diva Dealers, and what we have to put back in the till for Cherry…” He rapidly taps on his phone. “We’re pocketing about thirty grand.”
Scarrow lets out a low whistle from the couch. “Not bad for our first party back in Crimson Valley.” He’s sprawled against the cushions, shirtless and barefoot and sipping on something clear. Probably tequila. Most likely the good shit. He won’t put anything in his body that’s not top shelf.
I dry my hands with one of her black and white checkered towels. “Good. That’s a start. We need to find another spot though. I don’t want these degenerates getting any wrong ideas about Cherry. She’s off limits. Only us.”
Omen snickers. “I’m good. That chick is a fucking annoyance. I wouldn’t touch her with your dick.”
That’s why your cock tents your fancy designer pants every time she’s in the room. But I keep these thoughts to myself. He’ll learn what it’s like to have Cherinne Bradley’s hooks in you soon enough. Once they dig in, forget trying to pry them out.
Scarrow pops up from the couch. “Oh, I think I will partake. She’s been drooling over my tats for days. If she behaves, I’ll let her lick one.”
Omen huffs. “Yeah, you have fun with that.”
Scarrow shrugs, but he can’t keep that smug grin off his face. I’ve seen the way Cherry looks at both of them. Scarrow’s easy, but Omen will be a challenge.
And I’ll get my fill like I always do when I watch.
She’ll do it for me. My little live wire always performs for her keeper.
She’s the match and I’m the gasoline. Yeah, I’ve kept her all these years like a delicate flower.
I hover close enough to breathe her in but never touch.
If I did, I’d crush her petals. I wouldn’t be able to stop until she was bruised and swollen and weeping for more.
And that would send us both straight to hell.
Omen eyes me warily again. “You sure you’re good, man? You’ve been acting off since she walked through that door.”
“Just settling back in. Don’t fucking ask me again, Om.
I already had a momma once and you ain’t as pretty or as smart as she was.
” They are the closest things to best friends a man like me will ever get.
But they aren’t gonna know my soul like Cherry does.
They can’t see the filthy despicable things I do to her in my mind.
I forget that they’ve never seen me around her. I met these two in prison and kept them away from Preacher’s house at first, only bringing them with me to church so he could get used to them hanging around.
But I wasn’t ready for them to meet Cherry. I knew they’d want her and she’d want them. I was still hoarding her for myself back then. But now… I know she needs more than I can give her. So I’ll let them play with her too.
“Hey, Scar, why don’t you check on Cherry? See if she needs anything.” I can’t keep the ache out of my voice.
A blush sweeps across his face. “You sure?”
I nod. “Yeah. I’ll be right behind you.”
Omen shakes his head. “I’m gonna grab a bed in one of the guest rooms. I’m fucking beat, man.”
I wait a few minutes before stalking down the hallway. As I get closer to her room, I hear that feisty voice of hers, followed by Scarrow’s laughter.
I wait outside the door, my heart racing, listening.
“Let me make it up to you, Cherry,” Scarrow pleads on the other side of the door. “I can make you feel so fucking good.”
“I’m tired, Scar.” Her resolve is fading, her resistance down. I can hear it in her voice. I got her worked up earlier, so now she’s fucking desperate to be touched. She just needs another little push…
I open the door and lean against the frame. My pulse ticks up a notch when I see Scar straddling her, boxing her in against the mattress.
Her breath hitches when we lock eyes. “Is this what you want?” she asks on a wispy breath.
I return to the chair that still sits at the foot of her bed. Where I watched her sleep earlier. Now I want to watch her do something else. “Stop being so stubborn. You know you want him to make you cum.”
Scarrow slides his hands down her belly. “Pretty please,” he begs.
She nods but never takes her eyes off me. “Okay. Yes, I mean. You can eat my pussy.”
Scarrow lets out a little whimper of approval as he peels her panties off. He spreads her legs and blows on her pussy first.
Her eyes widen as she arches her back. “Ohhh. Okay. Fuck. Mmm.”
My cock stirs when I see how she glistens for him. For me.
“Relax, darlin’,” Scarrow coos. He drags the tip of his tongue up the length of her slit. She rolls her hips up, matching his rhythm.
“Yeah, just like that,” she urges.
The sight of her squirming and twitching underneath him while he licks her thoroughly is enough to make me cum hard and hot real fucking quick.
“Spread her lips back,” I murmur. “She likes that.”
Scarrow moans and follows my suggestion, peeling her open like a delicate flower. He licks the inside of one of her pussy lips.
She bucks and screams while fisting the sheets. “Oh, fuck. What are you… fuck. Yeah. Please don’t fucking stop.”
He chuckles knowingly as he slides the entire length of his tongue inside her and goes to town. He wraps his lips around her clit, humming as she grinds against his whole face.
And my restraint slips ever so slightly. I free my cock and quickly cum into my palm. I grunt in short bursts, careful not to erupt into a roar. I like to keep my release quiet so as not to distract them from theirs.
But when my gaze flits to her face, I find her looking at me. She keeps her eyes locked on mine while she cums hard in his mouth.
The screams between them are deafening. Strange and gurgled and primitive. He laps at her juices, alternating between licking and grinding his nose against her clit. This man has never tasted anything better. I can hear it, see it, feel it.
He licks her thighs and places gentle kisses on the edges of her pussy lips. He blows quivering breaths against her, tempting her into another orgasm. I can see by the way her legs shake, her hips arching up.
“Yes, don’t stop what you’re doing. Please, Scar.” She threads her fingers through the tuft of hair that knots on the top of his inked head.
“I told you I’d make it up to you,” he purrs in between licking, sucking, and blowing.
After wiping myself off, I tuck in my cock and get up from the chair. I pause at the foot of the bed, locking eyes with her one more time. A lifetime of anguish and lust and vile thoughts fill the space between us.
“Make her cum again, Scar. Then let her sleep,” I rasp.
I stalk out of the room before either can respond. I’m two steps down the hall when I hear her moans turn into screams. I smile at Omen who is in an even fouler mood than usual.
“I thought you were heading to bed,” I quip.
“Kind of hard to sleep with all that fucking moaning.”
I shrug. “Come watch next time.”
“You two have a weird fucking thing between you. You know that, right?” Omen growls.
“Don’t worry, Om. Soon, the two of you will too.” I’d bet that entire thirty grand on it.
I rub the sleep out of my eyes and lean back against the cracked leather chair.
My third cup of coffee sits untouched on the desk.
The first two didn’t do shit, so why bother?
Event nights always take a lot out of me but this time is different.
The crux of my exhaustion stems from the emotional and physical roller coaster known as Cherry Bradley.
This makes me even more pissed as I glare at the photograph that Scarrow sets in front of me. He was able to scrape the blurred image from our security footage.
“Either he’s got help, or we’ve hired the most useless muscle in the history of organized crime,” I bark over the cup, finally succumbing to the ineffective liquid.
Scarrow rubs his temples. He didn’t get much sleep either.
Not with his tongue lodged inside Cherry’s cunt for most of the night.
“This feels personal, Hawk. Nothing was taken. But this fucker broke three windows and slashed the tires on all our fucking trucks. We can’t roll a shipment out this week now. ”
I slam my fists down and send the cold coffee toppling over. It streams over the photograph and off the edge of the desk. “Shut it down. All of it. Send everyone home for the night. Then we’ll reconvene tomorrow at the bar. We’re going old school.”
“How do you mean?”
“Word of mouth, no phones, and no wires. Everyone gets patted down. We give them each a small delivery, and they have to use their own vehicles. Once a drop is done, they call into the bar and we reveal the location for payment.”
Scarrow smirks, his eyes lighting up. “Ahh so if someone doesn’t show, they’re either our fucking mole or our little vandal. Or dead.”
I nod. “Bingo. And if someone doesn’t like it, we get rid of them. Permanently… We keep the guns at the shed and the drugs in the fridge at Level Up. This fucking warehouse is compromised.”
“That sounds messy, but I agree it’s the best option for now. I’ll fill Omen in too. He’s downstairs beating the shit out of Rodney for the break in. He was the last to leave. And someone’s gotta fucking take the heat. Show the rest of them that we ain’t playing.”
I nod. “Good. I wanna take a little trip out to Lavender Heights in the next week or so. Look into hiring some new blood out there.”
Scarrow raises an eyebrow. “That’s gonna cost a bit more. Crimson Valley isn’t exactly a dream job destination.”
“Yep. But one winning racehorse is worth three losing ones. If we want to grow our empire, we gotta start acting like kings.” I’m sick of this petty small-town shit.
I stay in Crimson Valley because it’s my territory. I’ve worked too hard to let it go. And I’m not ready to go to war with the head of Lavender Heights. His time will come though.
“I’ll put in a call to Canyon’s crew and make sure they know we’re coming. See if they can spare a couple guys.” Scarrow types into his phone, his brow still sweating out the tequila from last night.
“That’s what I like to hear. Send Omen up when you see him.”
Tap. Tap. He knocks against the doorframe. “No need. I’m right here, bro. What’s up?”
Scarrow pats him on the back before scurrying past him. He gives him a nod.
“Hey. About last night…” I start, not sure how to explain the chaos between me and Cherry.
Omen shakes his head and holds up his hand. “Nah, it’s all good. It was the liquor and the lack of sleep talking. Don’t even sweat it.”
It’s not his fault that he doesn’t yet understand the hold she has on me. “Appreciate you. If you don’t want to fuck with her like that, I’m not going to guilt you into it.”
He sighs. “Look, I know you got history and feelings and shit with her, Hawk. But that woman is the fucking devil. I promise you that. El fucking diabla in the flesh. No matter how alluring that flesh may be, you gotta resist it. She’ll eat you alive… or put you back in fucking prison.”
“I chose to take the fall for her, Om. I don’t expect you to understand. She’s not as evil as you think. She’s had a hard fucking life.”
He snickers. “We all have, bro. She ain’t special. Remember that next time she leaves you hanging.”
When this motherfucker cracks, it’s not going to be pretty.
His awakening will be vile and messy and deranged.
And beautiful. I can’t wait to watch it.
“That’s not going to happen this time, my friend.
She owes me too fucking much. Trust me. There are plenty of little punks who drool over her.
She walks all over them and leaves stiletto marks on their fucking souls.
But I ain’t one of those chumps, Om. Don’t get it twisted. ”
He nods. “That’s your business. I’m just saying, I will put that woman in her fucking place if she tries that shit with me. And I will get what’s owed to me too.”
I cross my arms over my chest and lean back. “No sex. No money. What do you want from her, Omen?”
He licks his lips, his eyes darkening. “Pain and suffering.”
I can’t help but smirk. He has no fucking idea that underneath that demand is the very thing he thinks he hates. It’s only a matter of time before it’s his head I find between her thighs.