Chapter Seven
T hey rode down Las Vegas Boulevard and once more, Lorelei’s head swiveled back and forth. She’d never been somewhere so vibrant with life, and the bright lights of the casinos fascinated her. The further south they traveled the more glamorous the buildings. The complete opposite from the house they’d just been in.
Leaving the hustle and bustle of the Strip, he drove them to a hotel and parked in the designated spot for motorcycles. Lorelei didn’t even wait until he tapped her leg, dismounting immediately and taking off her helmet. Once more, he held out his hand and she didn’t hesitate to take it. The hotel seemed a lot nicer than the first one they stayed in, and it didn’t take Cross long to register them. He handed over a license that had a different name and paid in cash. The clerk gave him a blinding smile, not even bothering to acknowledge Lorelei. Jealousy hit her, although she knew she didn’t have a reason to feel like that. He didn’t bother giving the clerk a second glance.
They rode the elevator up to the third floor where they quickly found their room. Cross stuck the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door before locking it against the world. One bed again, but this time she didn’t mind. The thought of cuddling against Cross made nervous butterflies dance in her belly, but his presence made her feel safer. Lorelei tossed her duffel bag onto the bed then walked over to the large window and looked out, seeing the blazing decadence of Sin City.
A small swooshing sound had her turning, and her gaze fell upon the bed where Cross had tossed the envelope he’d gotten at the house. She looked up at him and cocked her head.
“I can’t believe that was still hidden under the floorboards. Or that the house was still standing. Go on, open it.”
Lorelei picked it up and looked inside, at a stack of twenties with a band that read “Five Thousand” wrapped around it. Shocked, she pulled it out.
“That, along with the ten grand your non-dad gave me will help us settle somewhere,” he said. “I left Vegas so quickly, I didn’t have time to get that money. In truth, I thought it more a sacrifice I had to make to get away from here. I hate this fucking city.”
She raised an eyebrow. What did he mean by us ? He wanted them to stay together? Like, stay stay together? As a couple? As lovers? She’d never even had a boyfriend. Back before she was sold to Costello Birsha, her and her friends would giggle over boys in P.E. class. Aera Cross would never consider himself a boy friend, that’s for sure. He’d probably been born a man and skipped the whole pimples and awkward puberty stage. For one moment, daydreams of them dating, holding hands, and living happily ever after filtered through her head.
Then ... reality came roaring back in screaming color.
She wasn’t a normal girl. She had issues several miles long, and trauma with a capital T. Plus, a pesky little superpower people would pay good money to possess.
Five years of her life, stolen. Five years as a cash cow to Costello Birsha and his henchmen.
Now that she was free, what could her life be like? If she left Cross, where could she go? What could she do? She had no skills. No money. No family. Would Cross respect her enough to let her go if that was what she wished to do, or would he become her next jailer?
“That place back there? That was the world I grew up in.” He rubbed a palm into one socket, as if staving off a headache. “I’m not a good person, Lorelei. This city didn’t allow me to be a decent human being. I had to fight for everything, including the right to breathe. Every bad thing you can think of, I probably did. I get that you don’t know me, and you have no reason to trust me, but I promise I will never hurt you.”
Tempestuous dark secrets lay in the jade depths of his eyes, and she wasn’t sure she should believe him or not. Lorelei laid the money on the credenza and approached, stopping in front to assess him. Cross held very still as he met her inquiring gaze. She grabbed the hotel stationery and pen, writing quickly. “What if I wanted to go my own way? Would you let me go?”
He folded his arms across his chest. “No.”
Something sank in her belly as fear sluiced through her.
“Those men in the first hotel,” he continued. “Them and Jessica proved you’re being hunted. I don’t think it’s wise for you to head out by yourself.”
His words gave a little comfort. “You’re right. I have no survivor skills.”
“I would disagree with that,” he said. “You got yourself out of Noble Vale. That takes guts. And even though I want to take care of you, Lorelei, I recognize that you can handle anything on your own.”
Was he mocking her? She searched for any sign of derision, but his clear gaze told her he believed what he said. He thought she was tough? It took her five years to grow a backbone and come up with a plan to escape Noble Vale. How could that be deemed as brave?
Cross cupped her face, staring at her intently. Searching for what, she didn’t know. Then, as if a match was lit, the bleak apathy in his eyes was gone in an instant. Replaced with heated fervor as he dragged her body into the curvature of his. One arm banded around her hips, dragging her upward to meet his mouth. He cupped the back of her head as his mouth claimed hers. So hot and potent, like a starving man finding a feast.
At first, Lorelei rested her hands on his shoulders, not knowing where to put them. Shocked that his mouth was on hers, as well as how she responded. He seduced her lips open, plunging his tongue inside, and her body lit up with wonder. Sexual sensation exploded her world, shattering any hesitation to bits. Sliding her hands up until they encircled his neck. She never knew it could be like that. From only a vague concept of a panty-melting kiss to a craving that burned through her.
When he finally lifted his mouth from hers to draw in oxygen, she stared at him in wide-eyed surprise. Sensual tingles caused her to touch her lips in wonderous surprise as her heart thundered so loudly, she was shocked he couldn’t hear it.
“Was I your first kiss?”
She nodded.
“How long were you in that sanatorium?”
Lorelei held up her hand then slowly raised one finger at a time, until all five were up.
“Fuck,” he muttered. “Five years?”
Again, she nodded.
He tenderly brushed a finger over the fading bruise on her cheek. Something undefinable crossed his face. Determination? Bloodlust?
“That’s all behind you now,” he stated firmly. “All the other assholes who took your freedom away. If you want them dead, just ask. I’ll burn this world down for you.”
Truth blazed in his eyes. His words were a vow, more potent than a marriage promise, and it scared her slightly. They’d only been together a handful of hours, didn’t really know each other well, but something told her he always got what he wanted. Did she have a choice to leave or stay? Did she want to leave?
“Ease your mind,” he said, cupping her face. “I’m not going to fuck you when you’re terrified. Since we’re both exhausted, let’s get a good night’s sleep. Why don’t you shower first?”
Nodding, she stepped into the bathroom and turned on the shower, adjusting the temperature to her liking. Stripping, she stepped under the spray, closing her eyes and relaxing under the heat. Suddenly, weariness crashed over her and all she wanted to do was sleep for a thousand years. Washing quickly, she finished her shower and grabbed her shirt to put back on, sans panties since she forgot them.
When she stepped out, Cross gave her a heated look before walking into the bathroom. He didn’t close the door and she couldn’t help but watch as he undressed. His body was beautiful. Shaded tattoos in black and grey ran up and down his sides and across his shoulders. A series of crisscross scars marred his muscled back, dissecting the art. It took her a moment to realize they were whipping marks, and no doubt they had to have been extremely painful. She couldn’t even imagine surviving such a horrible ordeal. Who was this man?
Suddenly, he glanced over his shoulder and winked before stepping under the spray.
Embarrassed to be caught ogling, she grabbed the doorknob and closed it, sealing his body from her view. She dug out clean panties from her duffel and put them on before sliding under the covers. Moments later, Cross came out in only a little towel hiding what looked to be a noticeable bulge, and heat flushed through her entire body. He was naked under that towel. This was the first time she was near a man who had no clothes on, and she was sure her cheeks were red. She looked away, but he was like a magnet causing her to sneak peeks at him. Without shame, he dropped the towel and grabbed a pair of black boxer briefs ... showing her everything. His—oh, God, she had a hard time just saying the word in her head—cock ... hung long and thick, slowly rising as it got hard. Why was it doing that now? Weren’t they only supposed to do that when they wanted sex?
Oh, no. Does he want sex with me tonight?
When he caught her, he gave a wicked little smirk. As if he knew all the sinful thoughts going through her mind, and it made her heart thump hard in her chest. Then he pulled on his underwear and headed toward the bed. Lorelei pulled the covers up to her chin, trembling a little. From fear or excitement, she couldn’t tell which. She rolled to her side, hoping he understood she didn’t want to have sex. She wasn’t ready. A moment later he slid in bed beside her, and an arm snaked around her waist to pull her into his muscular chest.
“Shh,” he whispered. “Close your eyes.”
She didn’t know if she could relax enough to fall asleep, so she listened to his own breathing, and when that leveled out, she finally retreated into dreamland.
****
“ Lorelei.”
Was that her... mom?
Lorelei spun in a circle, but the dark shadows made it impossible to see.
“Lorelei.”
“Mom? Where are you?”
Suddenly her mom was there, right in front of her face. Blood poured from the bullet hole between her eyes. Startled, Lorelei jerked back, but a skeleton clamped down on her wrist.
“Join us, Lorelei. We’re waiting for you.”
Lorelei sat up in bed with a strangled scream. Her heart thundered in her chest as she searched the bedroom for her mother, but the ghost wasn’t there. With a lingering sob, she flopped back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. She hated dreaming of her lost family.
With a sigh, she got out of bed and headed into the bathroom. After washing up, she dressed in another set of clean clothes that Cross had bought for her. This was the last set, so she had to find a laundromat soon. When she walked back into the bedroom, Cross was there, holding out a cup from a local coffee shop. It smelled heavenly, and her mouth watered. It had been a long time since she had coffee.
Thank you, she mouthed, and he winked at her.
Cross tossed onto the bed a new, folded-up map. “I thought we could figure out where we would like to live.”
This was rolling along quickly, she thought. Truthfully, she didn’t care. It wasn’t like she was ever going back to Denver. He unfolded the map and smoothed it out.
“Recently, I lived in Illinois,” he told her, pointing to the area. “I was president of the Heart of Darkness MC.”
His gaze defocused, and when he frowned, she realized he was locked in a memory. She recognized the look, having experienced that mental escape more times than she could count.
“I was so fucking stupid,” he continued. He picked up her pen and put an X through Illinois and Missouri. “I can’t go back there. I made a deal with this man named Patrick O’Shannon to hold Vivi in my clubhouse.”
That revelation rocked her foundation. He’d imprisoned a woman? Just like what happened to her? The fear he was going to lock her up, like Birsha had done, was front and center in her psyche. Lorelei stumbled back, and he automatically grabbed her arm to steady her. Instead of helping her, though, she felt shackled once more and fought to free herself.
“Lorelei? What’s wrong?”
She shook her head and tears welled up in her eyes as she tried to pry his fingers from her wrist.
“Oh, shit,” he groaned. “Stop please. That was a completely different me. Lorelei, listen. I know this looks bad. You’re comparing what I did to Vivi against what was done to you, and it doesn’t look good. I can’t erase what I’ve done in the past, and you probably think you can’t believe anything I say.”
Lorelei stopped fighting, although she balanced on the edge of full-blown panic.
“I told you Vivi has a power,” he continued. “She helped me. I have this static in my head. Pain, torment, and rage are all mixed together, and sometimes it gets so loud it fucking kills me. For a brief moment, she quieted it all down. Like a switch had been flipped. It was the closest I’ve ever gotten to peace.”
She cocked her head, listening, and no longer trying to escape.
“The club didn’t like how I sold out to O’Shannon and when I came back empty-handed, I was voted out. But to leave a club, you must walk the gauntlet. All the men lined up to form a pathway that I had to pass through while they beat the shit out of me. Some men don’t survive, but I did, and I agreed never to set foot in their territory again.”
Lorelei remembered the whip marks on his back.
“Sometimes I wonder why I fought to survive the gauntlet,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
For one moment, Cross looked like a desperate, defeated man. She knew a little about being held captive. Hers had been a cell. His was the past. Maybe she was an idiot, but her heart went out to him.
“I’d rather not go back to Colorado, where I’m from. It’s where I lost my parents. Where Costello Birsha discovered what I could do. When they were killed, he took me and sold my ability.”
“You must have been terrified,” he said softly. “But I’m not like Birsha. I’m not going sell you off piece by piece.”
“How can I trust you?”
“You trusted me enough to protect you from those men in the motel. You trusted me against Jessica. Why do you think you can’t trust me now? I’m your protector.”
He didn’t say the things she wanted to hear, but what did she expect? This wasn’t a fairy tale. Happily ever after was just a myth. People, she quickly learned, were assholes.
“Hey, do you like sharks?”
Lorelei blinked and cocked her head. That came out of left field. “What?”