Chapter 27 Bush
I step into the shower and twist the handle, letting the hot water pour down. Steam fills the small space almost instantly. I brace one hand on the tile and drop my head under the spray.
The heat pounds against my skull, rolling down my neck and shoulders. Some of the tension eases out of my muscles, loosening the tight knot that’s been sitting between my shoulder blades all damn day.
But the memories don’t wash away with the sweat and grime. They cling harder than the dirt.
Images flicker through my mind—the feel of the whip as I flick my wrist and leave a lash mark on Crystal’s once-perfect skin.
The scream she releases as the pain hits her pierces the air.
She’s begging me to stop while also throwing out curses.
Rather than take responsibility for her actions, she blames Zara, me, and the club.
I flick my wrist again, adding another lash.
Her stubbornness flees at the fifth lash. She’s begging for release. I ask her the questions that we need answered before I can end her pain.
“What are the Bushrangers planning?” I demand. “You warned them that we were coming for them. What else did you share with them? We know they’re coming for us. How do they expect to get the jump on us?”
“I don’t know,” she weeps. “They promised they would take me with them if I kept them informed of when you were moving on them. I was supposed to distract anyone watching them.”
“If you don’t tell me everything…” I warn, cracking the whip against the ground, causing her to jump.
“They plan to attack the clubhouse when everyone is guarding that bitch at her fashion show. They figure you’ll have everyone there to guard her, leaving only a few people behind. They want you and the bitch. They think the club will hand you both over if they take over the clubhouse.”
I frown at her statement. It’s a stupid plan. While I never considered Vandal to be one of life’s great thinkers, I can’t imagine that he believes he can take over the clubhouse with just six men.
“That doesn’t make sense,” I tell her. “They only have six men. What part were you going to play?”
“I was supposed to get the prospect to open the gate. That’s it. That’s all I know. Please, let me go. I’ll leave and never come back. I promise.”
“No. You won’t,” I tell her, picking up the gun and pulling the trigger. I jerk as the shower door opens behind me, sounding eerily like the sound of a gunshot. Before I can turn around, soft hands slide over my stomach and up my chest. Zara presses her body against my back.
I scrub a hand down my face and breathe out slowly before turning to face Zara.
“You look troubled,” she says, grabbing the soap and lathering it in her hands. After she puts the soap down, she runs her hands over my chest and along my shoulders.
“Just had to deal with some club business,” I tell her as she washes my arms. Too late, I realize I might have some flecks of blood on my skin, but she says nothing as she continues to wash me.
“You don’t have to tell me, but you have to let me take care of you,” she says, smiling when I smirk at her.
“I have to, huh?”
She bobs her head. “Yes.”
“Okay, then, take care of me,” I say, my voice husky.
She does.
After she’s covered me from head to toe in shampoo and soap, I back under the spray. This time, the hot water washes away my thoughts, too.
“My turn?” I ask her, frowning when she shakes her head.
“I was thinking we’d dirty ourselves up instead,” she says, wrapping her arms around my neck before doing the same with her legs.
I grab her ass so I can slide her wet core up and down my shaft. The rest of the world disappears as I focus on her heat, which is somehow hotter than the steam around us. I’m ready to slide into her when I realize I don’t have a condom.
“Damn,” I mutter.
“Looking for this?” she asks, holding up a foil.
Grinning, I shift to move her, but she shakes her head.
“I’ve got it.” She opens it with her teeth while keeping one arm around my neck. Somehow she maneuvers herself so she can sheathe my cock.
I groan when she squeezes me. Her touch is all I need to become instantly hard.
I align with her slit and slide in. We stare into each other’s eyes as I fill her velvety channel.
I lose myself in their blue depths as our bodies join.
We’re a perfect fit. I’ve never felt this connected to anyone before.
Spreading my legs, I lean her back against the tile and pound into her as if my life depends on reaching the pinnacle.
All the stress of the day evaporates as I lose myself in her.
Her scent fills the steamy air and wraps around me in a cloud.
The sounds she makes as she races for her release courses through me like a livewire.
I feel the familiar tingle at my spine as the pressure builds.
I’m close, so when her orgasm strikes, I follow.
“Wow,” she murmurs as she slides off me. She leans against me even when she plants her feet back on the tiles.
“Wow,” I agree with a chuckle. “You and I need to talk.”
She stiffens in my arms and pulls back to look at me. “What about?” I can feel her pulling away, but I stop her by tightening my arms around her.
“I’m afraid that I’m not going to be able to let you go,” I tell her. “We need to figure out how to make this work, because I refuse to lose you.”
I feel her melt against me as wariness turns to happiness. “Really?”
I nod. “Unless you don’t feel the same…”
She places her palm against my cheek. “I don’t want to leave you, either.”
“Good.”
I surprise her by lifting her into my arms before opening the shower door.
Outside, I grab a towel and dry her before drying myself.
Tossing the towel into the hamper, I have a small twinge of regret at the reminder of the former Kutte Bunny who used to fight with the others to do my laundry.
Shaking off the memory, I lead Zara into the bedroom and tuck her into bed.
Sliding behind her, I turn her so her face rests against my chest. Soon we’re both fast asleep.
I wake early and glance down at Zara, who hasn’t moved all night. Her beautiful face is restful in slumber. As much as I want to go back to sleep, I know I need to get up and check in with Chrome.
I find him in his office.
“You’re up early,” I say. “I was hoping to find you, but I didn’t expect it.”
“Cicely had an early shift,” Chrome says, studying me. “You look rested.”
“Zara took care of me,” I explain, understanding what he didn’t say. He expected me to lose sleep over killing Crystal.
Chrome nods. “That’s what having a woman gives men like us,” he says. “They smooth the rough edges. You’ll be smart to keep her.”
I smirk. “I’m working on it. Told Zara that I wanted to make this work, and she agreed. We need to discuss how, but I’m hoping to talk her into moving here.”
Chrome nods. “Good. We need women like her and Cicely. Now, do you understand why I want to make changes? The reason why I want the Kutte Bunnies out of the common room?”
I nod. “I get it. Especially after what happened with Crystal. She wouldn’t have been able to turn on us if she didn’t have access to information we should have kept private.”
“Did she give us anything?”
I told him what I learned from Crystal, which wasn’t much.
“You think the Bushrangers are going to attack the clubhouse?” Chrome asks.
I shrug. “I think it’s a stupid plan. The Vandal I know played it safe. This plan seems too out there.”
“Prison changes people,” he muses.
“It does, but I can’t see him convincing Menace to go this route. I think they fed that plan to Crystal in case we figured out what she was doing and questioned her. They can’t be stupid enough to think six men can take the clubhouse and hold it.”
“Possibly. What if they had a bigger army?”
“You talked to Third,” I surmise. “I talked with Marcus last night. He told me what the Bushrangers met with them about.”
“I did meet with him. He told me the Bushrangers were looking for guns and mercenaries. The Third made it clear that he wouldn’t give them either and that any move against us would be a move against the mob.”
“That should be enough to stop Vandal. He’s seen how many men we have. They’re already vastly outnumbered.”
“The mob isn’t the only gang they spoke with. They met with some of the inner-city gangs. I’ve got a few feelers out to see if they made any deals.”
“That means we need to split our forces between the clubhouse and the event today. Good thing we have Chill and the others. Speaking of the event, I want to grab some breakfast for Zara and surprise her with breakfast in bed.”
Chrome snorts. “Ever think you’d be that man?”