Chapter 4 Cinerator
Ifreely admit that I stalked Gwen. It wasn’t that difficult. Not after her scent invaded my brain and lodged there.
Except she didn’t go home like a good girl. She stopped at a diner and met up with a guy. And she got fucking friendly with him. Close. They hugged. Twice.
It fucking annoyed me.
Too bad she never looked outside because she might have seen me on my bike, smoking beneath the streetlight as I watched her inside the diner.
She still seemed sad, her expression betraying little glimpses of pain when her companion wasn’t looking, although she managed to smile at him a few times. I didn’t like that either.
My phone began ringing inside my cut, and I checked the screen, only answering because it was G.D. “Hey, Pres.”
“Where the hell did you go? Heard Omen losing his shit and howling like a goddamn banshee. We got trouble?”
“You’d know if we did,” I grumbled, growing irritated when the man across from Gwen reached for her hand and squeezed it like he was offering comfort. Fucker needed to back off.
“Is that a fucking no, asshole?”
Fuck. Who pissed him off?
“Yeah, we’re good.”
“Then why is Omen still howling? I can hear him from inside my office. He’s not letting up either.”
“Don’t know,” I admitted.
“Then get the fuck back here and figure it out.”
“Shit, Pres. I’m nowhere near Deathrock.”
“Christ, Cin.”
I could tell he was frustrated, but I wasn’t leaving Gwen. “Maybe call Fiend. Omen should calm down if he drops by.”
Gravedigger grumbled a reply and hung up. I’d hear about this later. Probably in church.
Since Gwen was still eating, I tapped Cyber’s name in my contacts and lifted the phone to my ear.
“Yo, what you need, brother?” He was the guy we all went to when we needed technical help or information.
I fucking hated computers. He was the one I always turned to when I had an issue.
Cyber’s skills included infiltrating the hidden places on the dark web.
He could find anyone. Anywhere. Locate whatever you needed with speed and efficiency that was almost scary.
“Got a license plate I want you to check out.”
“This for you or G.D.?”
“It’s personal. Just between us. I’m not fucking kidding, Cyber.”
“Yeah, yeah. I got you. Text it to me, and I’ll send you what I find.”
“Thanks.”
We ended the call, and I sent him the info, not surprised when he got back to me in less than five minutes with Gwen’s last name, address, and phone number. I didn’t plan to use it. . . yet. Saving it to my contacts list, I clicked off my cell, and shoved it into my cut.
I found her truck at the diner when I left the cemetery.
It wasn’t hard to spot since only a few places were open this late.
Couldn’t pass up stopping and watching her once I saw her truck in the lot.
Oddly enough, I noticed her scent first. That snared my attention, guiding me to ride down the road that led to the diner.
Took Gwen another half hour before she finally stood, ready to leave the diner.
I finished my third cigarette, flicking the butt across the asphalt.
The guy had his arm around her shoulders as they walked outdoors, and I cracked my knuckles, thinking I needed to find out where he lived and how he knew Gwen.
And I planned to ask, right after I broke into her apartment.
Thank you, Cyber.
Ignoring the guy as they parted, I decided to leave before she saw me and rode to her address.
I wanted to be there before she opened the door.
Once I parked my bike on the street, I began to climb the exterior stairs outside her building.
It was way too fucking easy to get inside her apartment from the fire escape, and that irritated me.
She didn’t expect me to be there when she entered, forgetting to turn on any lights, which worked for me. I sat on her couch in the dark, right beside the lamp. Startled the shit outta her when I flicked it on.
So easily frightened, Bambi.
But when I pinned her against the door, and her addictive scent invaded my brain again, I couldn’t think beyond the need to press my lips to her skin, to taste her, mark her.
The fuck?
And now, I sat in a chair across from her bed, watching her sleep. I didn’t do this shit. I never obsessed over a woman.
So why her?
I shoved up from the chair and approached the bed. Gwen looked peaceful. For the first time since I met her, she didn’t feel sad. Her grief wasn’t threatening to break her down again at any moment.
On her nightstand, I noticed a framed photo. Three people. Gwen, the guy from the diner, and a woman wearing military cammies. Marines, by the look of it.
When my gaze immediately focused on her again, reluctant to tear away, I grew antsy. The urge to touch her, to drag my fingers across her skin, became too much. I had to leave.
Just before I reached her window, she said my name.
“Cin?”
I didn’t turn around. “Yeah?”
“Are you leaving?”
“Gotta run. Club needs me.”
“Oh. Okay. Goodnight.” The soft, husky tone of her voice whipped at my composure.
In a rush, I exited her apartment the same way I entered, shutting the window and climbing down the fire escape ladder. Once I reached my bike, I started the engine. Before I rode away, I glanced up to Gwen’s bedroom window.
She stood with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, watching me with an intensity I didn’t understand. Did I make her curious? Probably. I sensed that emotion, along with a few others.
When I lifted my hand and motioned for her to lock the window, she understood. I watched her latch it with relief.
Neither of us moved for a full minute.
After she finally stepped back, I rode away from her building and back to Deathrock Cemetery. She occupied my thoughts the entire time. When I parked my bike outside the cemetery gates, I listened for Omen. No howling. No growling. He wasn’t hunting.
Fiend stood at the entrance like he’d been waiting for me.
G.D. probably ordered him to stick around and watch for Omen.
As a church grim, my pet, and I used the term loosely, prowled and hunted Deathrock as his ancestors had for hundreds of years.
But beasts like him only followed a chosen master, and they chose it without guidance or interference.
Omen chose me.
Fiend ticked his chin toward me as I approached. “Omen is quiet. Whatever got him riled up isn’t an issue anymore.”
“Good to know. Appreciate you coming by.”
“Not a big deal. G.D. seemed a bit on edge tonight. Figured I could sort this out for him.”
“A lot on edge,” I agreed. “I bet he brings it up in church.”
“He should. Club can’t have his back if he doesn’t let us in.”
Truth.
We’d find out soon enough.
I DIDN’T HAVE ANY EXPECTATIONS about what Gwen did for a living, but when I broke into her apartment the following night at three a.m., she was asleep.
This time, I got to explore while her calm, deep breathing settled something restless inside me.
Like knowing she was safe, resting, and within my immediate vicinity calmed the beast inside.
A few pieces of her art were scattered on a nearby desk.
Multiple cords, lights, a tripod, and other accessories were gathered in an open drawer.
She made little books with flowers, words, and shit I’d never be able to name correctly.
Gwen was an artist.
I glanced at the woman asleep in her bed, wondering what other secrets she kept close to her chest. She was a mystery to me, and I still wanted to know who she met at the diner.
To confirm that the guy who touched her was family.
A brother, probably. Maybe a cousin. It was tempting to wake her up and force her to answer my questions.
“Cin?”
Gwen’s husky, sleep-filled voice interrupted my thoughts as I lowered the book she’d made. I didn’t see any point in a book without a written story. This was nothing but random words surrounded by pretty things. Flowers and brief quotes. Nature photographs. Sparkles.
“You’re in my apartment again.”
I turned around, noting the tank top strap slipping over one shoulder and the loose strands of hair framing her face. “Is there a question, Bambi?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Why what?” I leaned against her desk, kicking out my feet while I got comfortable. “Be specific.”
“Why did you come to my apartment twice?”
“To see you.” Wasn’t that obvious?
“I don’t think that’s true.”
I shoved away from her desk and prowled forward, pouncing on her as I reached the mattress and shoved the blanket away. Pinning her arms above her head, I held her wrists in place as my knees bracketed her thighs. “Are you calling me a liar, little deer?”
“No.” She didn’t panic. No fear either. But her skittish pulse still betrayed her. Maybe I just excited her. “I just don’t think you came for one reason.”
She was too fucking smart. Observant little fawn.
“I saw you,” I answered, keeping my voice low.
“Saw me?” She blinked. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
“The diner,” I growled, betraying my annoyance. “With a guy.”
Her lips twitched. “You’re a guy. Why does that matter?”
My body lowered, pressing closer to hers as I sank into the cradle of her hips. Being this near to her was already testing my restraint. Her scent. Her rapid heartbeat. The flutter of her pulse in her neck. I grew achingly hard and couldn’t resist the roll of my hips. “It matters if I say it does.”
Fire sparked in her eyes with my words.
“You have a high opinion of yourself, Cin.”
Was she teasing me or testing me? Both?
The twinkle in her eyes, glittering in the dark thanks to the night light on the nearby wall, snared my attention.
“Your racing heart betrays you, Bambi.”
Her teeth nibbled her bottom lip, and I craved a single press of my lips to hers, nearly groaning with the thought of how sweet she’d taste.
And the idea of dropping lower, of driving my tongue into her wet pussy sent a shiver down my spine.
I could fucking smell her arousal. Her hidden need.
Never mind that the reciprocal feeling of desire seemed to radiate from her.
She was practically begging for my touch.
Gwen gasped as I rocked into her, lowering my head to pepper kisses across her jaw. Lightly nipping, I used my teeth to gently mark that fair, irresistible skin. I didn’t let up my assault, using my tongue and lips to lick, suck, and increase her arousal. To see how she reacted.
It worked without much effort. She responded to me like we’d done this a thousand times. Like she knew exactly how to tilt her head to give me the best angle. I released Gwen’s wrists. Her fingers grabbed my cut, and she fisted the leather, crying out when I lightly bit her neck.
“Tell me you don’t want this. That you want me to leave you alone,” I growled, giving her only one chance. Once this moment passed, I’d be in control. If Gwen wanted me to walk away, I would. But only tonight.
“I, uh,” she began, not quite giving me an answer.
“Gwen.”
Her gaze focused on me and cleared. “Stay.”
“Tell me who you met at the diner.” I had to know. It was driving me fucking crazy.
“My brother,” she revealed, a touch breathless. “Ethan.”
Her brother. It made sense. He didn’t seem to touch her with anything other than affection. And now that I thought about it, the resemblance was there.
My fingertips grazed the indentation of her waist, pushing up the material of her tank. She slept in only panties and the shirt. As I licked my lips, I could see her nipples hardening into points and pushing against the thin fabric.
Unable to resist, I lowered my head and sucked on the ribbed material. A soft cry left her lips as I tongued the pert peaks. Gwen’s head fell back, and she lifted her hips, trying to gain friction against me. But I wasn’t letting her get off on me. Not right now.
I wanted to drag this out, to make her so fucking wet for me that she couldn’t stand it before I finally gave her my mouth and cock. “Tsk, tsk,” I murmured. “Naughty girl.”
She shivered as I lightly blew on the fabric.
Sliding down her body, I paused at her center, gently pushing her thighs wide. With my broad shoulders between her legs, I was dangerously close to the wetness seeping into the fabric of her panties.
Fuck.
Would it hurt to steal one little taste? Just one swipe with my tongue? Would her response be as sweet and addictive as I imagined?
I pushed my nose into her damp, cloth-covered core and nuzzled it. For a few seconds, I just inhaled, fighting off the visceral reaction in my body. Every part of me was hard for her. My cock strained against my jeans, eager to be set free.
Then, without warning, I pushed away from Gwen. “Get some sleep.” I stood and adjusted my dick, knowing she could see what I did. This close to her, I knew the bulge showed her exactly how turned on she made me. “Dream of me.”
She screeched as I walked toward the window. “Cin!”
“Yeah, Bambi?”
“I have a front door.”
“I’m aware.”
Before she could ask why I didn’t use it, I slid out of her room and closed the window. I didn’t have to look back to know I left her a bit achy and in need. It made my cock harden further to think of her touching herself as my name tumbled from her lips.
I’d have to make that a reality soon.
Until then, I was going to enjoy this.