Joshua
Once I was downstairs, I almost forgot about Jasmine and the amazing fuck we’d just had.
Key word: almost.
Her musky scent was still clinging to my lips and fingers as I made my way through the crowd, towards the bar. Mike and Will were sitting there and drinking as Jamie watched. The band was winding down and most everyone else had gone home for the night, but these guys were still there. Of course, they were.
“Hey,” Mike greeted me.
For a moment, there was no sign that anything was amiss. I felt a little guilty; it was already too easy to forget about Derrick. And I knew I'd have to worry about him on Saturday after we got him back. But I still had to make the call whether to kick him out of Venom Brothers, and that was going to take more energy than I had at the moment. It had been months since I'd been laid that good, and I just wanted to savor the moment. I may not be the type to cuddle after fucking, but something about Jasmine had really tired me out.
“Hey,” I said back in a laconic voice as I slid onto a neighboring stool. “I’ve been upstairs.”
“Yeah,” Mike said with a smirk. He pointed towards Jamie, and she winked in our direction. “She told me.” He laughed. “You get some pussy, man?”
I nodded. “Yeah.” I couldn’t help smirking, too. Jasmine was the hottest chick I’d ever banged, even if there was something familiar about her. I didn’t know if our paths would ever cross again, but I wouldn’t turn her down. Her pussy had been sweet and her body had been sweeter. I’d loved the way she’d cried out for more, the way she’d rubbed herself against me to get off. There were few things I loved more than making a woman come, but watching a woman get herself off during sex had to be one of them. I loved being with confident girls, the kind of girl who knew what it would take to make her orgasm. I’d slept with too many women who expected me to do all the damn work. Jasmine hadn’t been like that; she’d been eager from the very beginning.
“Congrats,” Mike said. He gave me a smug look as he downed a beer. “I wanna get laid, too, it’s been a few weeks. You up for passing your woman?”
“Ha,” I said. “No fuckin’ way. Get your own pussy, asshole.”
Will leaned in. “What’s this I hear about pussy?”
Rolling my eyes, I turned towards him. “Mike’s a lazy fuck who wants to bang my leftovers,” I said. “Why are you guys still up?”
Will shrugged. “Been thinking about Saturday,” he said darkly. “You sure we can pull this off?”
“Of course,” I said confidently. “Why? Is there a problem?”
Mike and Will exchanged glances. “Not really,” Mike said. “It’s just…” He trailed off, clearing his throat and downing a shot of whiskey that Jamie had artfully placed in front of us. “Well, some of the guys are freaking out about Derrick.”
I snorted. “Derrick is a fucking pussy who deserves to be punished,” I shot back. “That’s why I had to make sure it was him who went. Plus, I need you guys around. You two are my best guys, and I trust you the most in a fight. Derrick, on the other hand…” I trailed off, rolling my eyes towards the smoky wooden ceiling. “Derrick hasn’t done a lot for this club that I could really call solidarity, you know?”
Mike and Will looked at each other again. “Boss, we believe you,” Mike said. He was actually fidgeting. I wanted to slap him; real men didn’t fidget. “But the rest of the guys, well, they’re up in arms about the whole damn situation.”
“Yeah,” Will added. “Some of them are even calling for a new prez, or a new vote at least. Some of them don’t think you should be allowed to lead us since you turned in one of your own.”
I burst out laughing. “This is fucking ridiculous,” I said, taking my own shot of whiskey and tossing it down my throat. As I lifted my hands to my face, Jasmine’s scent washed over me and I felt my cock twitch in my jeans. Even though I was sated, part of me had a mind to walk back upstairs and fuck her wild again. “I care about you guys, you guys are my fucking family. But I had to let someone go with the Russians, and Derrick was the best option. He needed to be punished, and this is a good measure for him. He’ll be back; things will be fine, you got that?”
“It’s not us that thinks this way,” Mike said quickly. He held his hands up in front of him like a surrender. “But some of the other guys, well, they don’t quite understand.”
I scoffed. “Then they need to take it up with me,” I said sharply, reaching across the bar for a glass of beer and pouring some of the drink down my throat. “It ain’t your fucking problem if the men are too puss to talk to their own leader about it.”
Will’s eyes flashed with anger and I wondered what I’d said to piss him off. This whole thing was fucking strange. It was exactly like what I’d told Jasmine: the guys were out to break down the rules of a club, which defeated the whole fucking point of having a club in the first place.
“Listen, I get that,” Will said. “We’re just telling you to watch your back, okay?”
I laughed. “I’m not afraid of my own men,” I snapped. “And you shouldn’t be either. Both of you should be fucking rushing to my defense. And tell any of the guys who have a problem with me that they need to take it up with me, not y’all.”
Will nodded. “Got it,” he mumbled. “Thanks, boss.” He didn’t look like he got it, though. He looked like he was angrier at me than ever before.
“There’s one more thing,” Mike said. His voice was cautious and I spun around on the bar stool, feeling the alcohol slosh through my system like a gallon of water. “And that’s those Wild Witches. Those bitches are gonna be on the lookout for you,” he said, raising a glass to his lips. “You know one of them is hooked up with Derrick, right? Well, she’s hella pissed,” Mike added. He glanced at me. “I don’t know what they’re gonna try, but I wouldn’t trust those bitches as far as I could throw them.”
“Yeah,” Will added. Some of his energy seemed to come back before my eyes and he perked up on his stool. “Especially that big dyke one, Roni.”
Mike squinted. “Bitch needs to go.”
I burst out laughing and they both stared at me, their faces a blend of irritation and anger. “What?” I asked. “This is fucking hysterical. You guys are worried about your brothers, now you’re fucking worried about women? This isn’t fucking grade school, man,” I said, sliding off the bar stool and picking my mug of beer off the counter. It was almost empty, and on second thought I downed the rest of it in one swallow. Can always get another one for Jasmine, I thought. A mild drunkenness was coming over my senses, but it felt good, like salve on a wound. I just wanted to drink myself into a stupor, collapse on top of Jasmine and fuck all of my problems away. I hated this drama, it was more dangerous than a fucking plague.
Mike looked at me. He was so angry he was shaking. A small tremor of fear went through my body when I realized that I’d never seen him so angry before. “You don’t take us fucking seriously,” Mike hissed. “And this reflects poorly on the club, to have a leader who doesn’t give a shit what happens to his men. I don’t give a fuck if Derrick needed to be punished; turning him over to the Russians ain’t gonna fix shit.”
“It’s temporary!” I said, still laughing. “He’ll be back Saturday! Everything’s going to be fucking fine!”
Will shook his head. “You have some issues, man,” he said. “You don’t care about your own. You only care about yourself and the two of us, which makes you one hell of a bad leader. You ever think about it that way?”
His words stung. “That’s not true,” I shot back hotly. “I care about my men like you guys are my fucking brothers. You’re my family!” I yelled. “I’ve done everything for this club! Everything! And that still isn’t enough for you?”
Will stood up and walked off. If it had been any other night, I would have chased after him and tackled him to the ground. But admittedly, Jasmine was still the first thing on my mind. Shaking my head, I walked back through the crowd and up the stairs, beers in my hand. I couldn’t believe Will and Mike; the fucking nerve of them to accuse me of not caring about my own men! It was like something out of a goddamn Shakespeare play.
I shivered. Letting myself back in the room, I saw that it was dark. There was a Jasmine-shaped lump under the covers and when I poked her with my fingers, she didn't move. After a few seconds, I heard Jasmine's soft, rhythmic snoring.
The conversation from downstairs was still troubling me. I set the glasses of beer down on the floor and let myself out of the room as I pulled my phone out of my pocket and gazed at the screen. I’d never done anything like this before, but all of a sudden I was worried about what the guys would try to do. If they ousted me before Saturday, before the meet up with the Russians, I was fucked.
I dialed Leo and held the phone up to my ear. It rang four times before he answered, and his voice was deep and low.
"What do you want?" Leo sounded amused. "You have called to make a trade?"
“No,” I snapped. “I’ve called because I want to know how Derrick’s doing.”
Leo laughed, a soft, dangerous sound. “He is fine,” he said in his heavily accented English. “Do not call again unless you have money for me.”
“You’re bringing him on Saturday, right? Because somehow,” I said, sighing, “somehow, my guys are thinking that you’re out to fuck all of us. And I can’t let that happen, Leo. That would be one hell of a bad thing to do to my MC. You got that?”
Leo laughed again. “I do what I want,” he said slowly. “You don’t get to order me around, not when you owe me somewhere in the neighborhood of five hundred thousand dollars.”
I shook my head. “Fuck,” I muttered. Was it possible? Had Will and Mike been right? Was this whole thing a fucking setup? “Look,” I said sharply. “I’m dealing with the heat of two MCs right now, and I need you to promise me that Derrick’s going to come out of this alive. If he doesn’t, I’m fucked, and you won’t be getting your money. Deal?”
Leo was silent and for a moment, I thought he’d hung up the phone. “It doesn’t work like that,” he said softly. “You don’t get to bargain with me when I already have so much power over you. Don’t you realize that?”
My mouth and throat went dry. Suddenly, I knew that Mike and Will hadn’t been full of shit after all. They’d been trying to look out for me, trying to look out for their own goddamn skin. “Fine,” I snapped. “We’ll be there with six hundred thousand. See you on Saturday. Don’t forget to bring Derrick, or I’ll make this known to all the other motorcycle clubs around here,” I added, hoping that it wouldn’t come to that. While my threat wasn’t exactly empty, I knew I’d have bigger problems to deal with if Derrick got hurt.
"I don't think the other clubs would listen to a former, disgraced president," Leo said slowly. "You don't get to order me around, Joshua. I know everything about you, and I can ruin you in a second."
Rage filled my body and my hand clenched tightly around the phone until my knuckles were aching. Leo’s poisonous voice was putting some horrible thoughts in my head, and if I didn’t calm down, I knew that I was in danger of riding out tonight and finding that motherfucker, then strangling him with my bare hands.
“Saturday,” I said in a hard, unforgiving voice. “Saturday.” And then we’re never dealing with you fuckers ever again, I added in my head.
Leo hung up before I could say anything else. With a hard sigh, I let myself back into the bedroom. To my surprise, Jasmine was sitting up in bed. The soft light from the bedside table softened her features and made her look almost angelic, aside from that awful dyed black hair. Her blue eyes were cornflower in the low light and her skin looked like porcelain. My eyes strayed further down to the sweet curve of her tits under the sheet, and even further down to her perfect pussy. My mouth went dry.
“You okay?” Jasmine’s voice was a little ragged with sleep. She reached over and picked up one of the glasses of beer, tilting it back and taking a long, delicate swallow. “I heard you on the phone out there.”
I flopped down on the bed and stared straight up at the pockmarked ceiling. The bed smelled like sex and Jasmine; I closed my eyes, inhaling the smell. Jasmine lay next to me without moving. After a few seconds, I reached over and pulled her onto my chest. It had been years since I’d cuddled with a girl, but there was something about her warmth that comforted me. And right now, I fucking needed some comfort.
“Everything will be fine,” Jasmine said in a drowsy voice. “You’ll get it worked out. Your men respect you, and you know that.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know shit right now,” I said angrily, unable to keep the heat out of my voice. “Mike and Will sounded like they were about to walk. And I did it to protect both of them!” My voice had risen above normal tone but I didn’t even care. “And if you even knew that shit, Derrick, you’d completely understand why I did what I did,” I continued. “I don’t know what your girl Patti sees in him, but he’s a fucking scoundrel, and as soon as we get him back, I’m kicking him out of the club and cutting off his patches.”
Jasmine was silent as she lay next to me. The heat from her soft body radiated through my clothes, as relaxing as slipping into a warm bath. Her black hair was soft and fell on my shoulders and neck as she wrapped an arm around my chest and pulled me close. It was odd: we fit together perfectly. The curve of her body nestled against the side of mine, like we were imitating those Russian nesting dolls. Jasmine sighed and rolled onto her back, pulling away and leaving me cold. Her fingers found mine and squeezed. I hesitated, but after a moment I squeezed back.
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
“For what?” Jasmine’s voice was drowsy. She sounded content, happy. For a moment, I was reminded of what life could have been like if I hadn’t taken up with the Venom Brothers. Maybe this would be an every-night thing. Maybe I’d snuggle with my wife after sex while our children dozed in the next room. Maybe I’d stay up all night, worrying about work, and she’d calm me down with an amazing blowjob. Maybe, maybe, maybe.
“Just for being here,” I said. “I know that sounds stupid, but it means a lot to me.”
The tension between us came back as Jasmine sighed. “I had to talk to you,” she mumbled. “I mean; I couldn’t stay away. The sex was just an accident.”
I rolled onto my side and stared at her. On her back with her eyes closed, she almost looked like a sculpture of a dead saint. “What the fuck does that mean, an accident?”
Jasmine shrugged. “I don’t mean anything bad by it,” she said softly. She opened her blue eyes but didn’t turn to face me. “But I know it wasn’t planned. It’s not like you brought me up here to seduce me or anything. We just collided.”
I swallowed hard. We just collided. I thought about her words in my mind for a few minutes, turning them over in the deep recesses of my brain. “It was more than that,” I insisted. “Come on. You know it was.”
Jasmine sighed and rolled over onto her side. I was hypnotized by the curve of her hips and waist under the sheet. Lust came over me again and I reached over, stroking her lean body.
“Come here,” I said softly. “Come here and fuck me again. Then I’ll believe you.”
Jasmine didn’t budge, but she let out a little gasp of pleasure as I slipped my hand under the sheet. The cotton fell away from her back, exposing a birthmark.
My hand dropped to the bed and I let out a strangled cry. The birthmark—a round spot of skin, so smooth that it looked like a scar—was something I’d seen before.
It didn’t belong to Jasmine.
It belonged to Leslie.