Page 40 of Daughters of Chaos

Nix and Raptor pace back toward her room, following suit, bidding everyone a quick goodnight as they disappear. Jesse notices right away and calls out with a smirk, "Careful messin' with Prez's daughter, man. You fuck it up, and he'll have your balls."

Raptor flips him the bird before closing the door to Phoenix's room, earning a snicker from Jesse. When he turns back around, he sees Reaper's unamused glare. "What? Just stating facts. Viper gave me the run-around for a week after I had myarmaround Rae when we got back from New Mexico. Imagine what he'd do if he found out his treasurer was banging little Red in there."

"What the fuck did he do to you after New Mexico?" I ask, now irritated as fuck.

Jesse slings an arm around my shoulders and leans in. "Nothin' I couldn't handle, babe. A bunch of extra grunt work." He throws me a flirty smile, adding, "But it was worth it."

An annoyed huff sounds from where Reaper is sitting. I ignore him and tell Jesse, "Well, Viper doesn't get to tell me who I can and can't hang out with." With a surge of defiance aimed at my father, I smile up at him. "Where are you sleeping tonight, Jes?"

Looking around the living room at our single couch and oversized chair, Jesse replies, "Unless someone takes pity on me, it looks like I'm cuddling Reaper on the couch."

The visual makes me chuckle as I shake my head. "How about you stay with me? Ya know, keep the bad guys away and all that."

A heated look flashes in his eyes as he licks his lips. "Well, that would be the safe thing to do." I see his fiery gaze slowly trail down my body, making my nipples peak.Maybe sleep can wait a little longer tonight.

I send him a seductive smile as I tug him toward my room. The sneer Reaper plasters us with is hard to miss as he watches us disappear behind my door.Disapproving, grouchy asshole.

All thoughts of the irritable mountain man in my living room disappear as Jesse's lips crash into mine. We collapse onto my bed in a heap of limbs, tongues wagging, hands searching. Our mouths meld together as his erection comes to life behind his zipper.

I don't want to think about anything that's happened over the last twenty-four hours or about what might happen next. All I want is to feel something other than fear and anxiety. And Jesse is more than capable of providing the right kind of distraction.

23

Raven

Opening the bar was usually great. It was quiet, and no thirsty patrons were begging for another round while openly staring at my chest. It was a shift I'd generally be thrilled to have, but today, the quiet bothered me. It taunted me like a villain in a movie, the silence giving me too much room to think, to worry, not that I'd admit that to anyone.

It was hard enough convincing Viper to let me keep working and let Nix continue going to campus for classes. Though, even I was uneasy with the latter after everything that had happened. But telling Nix she had to sit back and put her life on hold while I fought to keep my independence seemed hypocritical.

So, Nix was still going to class with the stipulation that she had at least two of the Sons with her at all times. Bones and Archie shadowed her, blending into the background with their baby faces. Raptor didn't like it, but he'd stick out like a sore thumb on campus, and Viper had other jobs for him. I know when he wasn't busy with Viper's dirty work, he stayed as close as he could to Nix, unwilling to let anything happen to her.

If it bothered her to have an entourage, she didn't show it. Nix took everything in stride, refusing to let what happened to Tweak dull her ever-hopeful spirit. I'm proud and the slightest bit jealous of her ability to bounce back with unyielding optimism after the bombshells everyone dropped on her.

Meanwhile, here I am, waiting for the next shoe to drop as I stock the beer coolers. It's been a week, and nothing else has happened between the Sons of Sorrow and the Desert Bastards. Dom's crew has been MIA since the stabbing and the Sons' retaliation. I still don't know what they did as payback for what happened to Tweak, but it must have been bad since Dom and his guys have backed off.

For now.

The annoying voice inside my head keeps reminding me that peace is only temporary. Sooner or later, one of the crews will end up pushing the other into action. When that time comes, I'm not so sure I want to be around to witness it.

The door to the bar swings open, and my bodyguard trudges inside. Reaper has somehow grown even more crabby since Viper upped Nix's and my protection detail. All week, Raptor, Reaper, and Jesse have been assigned overnight guard duty at the house, much to Reaper's immense displeasure. Jesse and Raptor seem to enjoy it, though. As does my sister.

It means she and Raptor can spend all night wrapped up in each other without worrying about what Daddy Dearest will think. Part of me still thinks she's getting attached too quickly,but with everything else going on, I'm not going to deny her anything that keeps her mind off Dom and his boys.

The door swings open again, and Jesse's smiling face greets me.At least there's something positive coming out of this situation for me.

He sends a quick greeting to his dad in the kitchen before meeting me behind the bar. Soft lips meet my cheek as a strong hand curves around my hip. "Morning, sexy."

I couldn't stop my lips from curling if I wanted to. Jesse's a likable guy, and ever since the first night he stayed over, things between us have grown more heated. We didn't have sex that first night, but I had a front-row seat to what the man's hands and mouth were capable of.

Since then, we've rounded the bases quickly. One night, we wound up pressing each other against the storeroom wall for a quickie after closing. It was hot, hard, and fast, giving us a much-needed boost of serotonin. It's made work flirting even more enjoyable. Every heated look now holds the promise of late-night orgasms. Plural.

The man is generous in the bedroom. And the shower. And the storeroom.

If I were one for commitment, Jesse would definitely be a contender, but since neither of us is looking for forever, we've agreed to let things play out until we get bored. It's a hot distraction from what happened, from what else may still happen.

Everyone was shaken after Tweak's attack, even if they refused to let it show. Viper thinks his guard detail will prevent anything from happening to us, but physical protection only does so much. It's the mental damage that's so much more dangerous. That's the shit that will eat away at you slowly, driving you to insanity and paranoia. The thought that someone may beplotting against you or the ones you care about—that's the real foundation of nightmares.

So, for now, I'll do what I can to keep my mind from spiraling into the deep, dark confines of despair. I'm always keenly aware that something terrible can happen at any moment, but running all day every day on that kind of energy isn't good for anyone.That's where Jes comes in.

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