Ride Wild(36)

"Oh, yes, oh, please," she said, so close but hanging there on the edge.  Way off in the distance of her awareness, engines roared and fans  cheered and people walked out to their cars. But all Cora knew was  Slider's grip and his breath and his cock inside her.                       
       
           



       

"Taking me so good," he growled, his hips smacking hers.

"Please," she moaned as the friction wound her higher and higher.

"Please what?" he asked, sucking on her earlobe.

"Put your hand between my legs," she whispered, too desperate to feel  any self-consciousness about telling him exactly what she needed.

His fingers were there in a heartbeat, circling her clit and coating her with her own arousal. "That what you need?"

"Yes. God, Slider." Cora ground back against him as much as she could,  but he held her so deliciously tight that mostly she had to just take  him. And that was everything she wanted to do.

"Want you to come, Cora. 'Cause I'm gonna be right there with you."

The urgency in his voice was what did it. She hung on the knife's edge  for one more second, and then she was falling, flying, floating. Moaning  his name on the night air, her breath fogged the metal of the roof, an  apparition of ecstasy that disappeared way too soon.

"Fuuuck," Slider groaned, his jerking cock buried to the hilt inside  her. He withdrew most of the way and then filled her up again. And once  more. "Jesus, I'm still coming."

"Yeah, give me all of it." And, man, what she wouldn't give to be able  to feel the claiming mark of his come inside her, skin against skin . . .

But just then, she soaked in the pleasure they'd shared as his head fell  against hers. His grip turned into a warm embrace that felt like love  in a touch. For a long moment, they just were. Together.

Cora unleashed a long, satisfied exhale. "I love this car."

Slider chuckled so hard it turned into an outright laugh, and then she  was laughing too-at the ridiculousness of what she'd said and in delight  at his still too-rare laughter. They were still chuckling as they  righted their clothes, got in her red baby, and drove up the mountain to  the clubhouse.

The lot was already pretty full, but at least she wasn't too late. Five  after ten didn't seem bad for having had such an earth-shattering  orgasm.

Slider grasped her hand as she reached for her door, tugging her to him  for one last contact before they had to try to keep their hands to  themselves again. His kiss was a deep, lingering affair that made it  clear he was in no hurry to part from her. But more bikes pulled in, and  they resolved themselves to a few last hours of being good.

Cora didn't know if it was easier or harder after they'd just been so bad.

Inside, music, voices, and laughter greeted them as they wound through  the lounge and the mess hall to find Bunny, Haven, and Alexa in the  kitchen. All three looked up when Cora walked in, and then all three did  double takes as Slider came in immediately after her.

"Hey, how can I help?" Cora asked.

"Put me to work, too, if you want," Slider said, his voice quiet and a little reserved.

Cora could feel her friends' surprise-and almost hear the million  questions pinging around in their heads-but of course they didn't let on  a thing with Slider, and happily asked for his help to carry the heavy  Crock-Pots of meatballs and chili out to the mess hall tables. Race  night parties were always buffet style, as usually there were too many  people to try to seat them all.

Soon, beyond the immediate din of the music, the night went quieter, a  sign that the races had ended. Within fifteen minutes, the clubhouse was  rocking as race-goers filtered in, grabbed food, drank at the bar, and  generally raised hell.

Cora loved the atmosphere of this place, even its rowdier, grittier  side. Because it seemed so real. People who knew who they were and what  they valued and weren't afraid to live their lives by their own rules.

She got the appeal of the Raven Riders. She truly did. And that was to  say nothing of how much she admired the protective mission they'd  embraced on top of it all.

For the next hour, she and Slider parted as she hung with the girls and  he sought out the boys and his brothers. Laughing and talking and  teasing and joking, for the first time in her life, Cora felt normal.  Accepted. A part of something so much bigger than her-friendships, a  relationship, a community. She thought about pulling Haven aside to tell  her about Slider and what her dad had done, but tonight she just wanted  to be.

When Slider found her again, she was still with the girls drinking wine  around the kitchen table. "Hey Cora, can I steal you away for a minute?"

She didn't miss the way Haven's eyes bugged in a something's going on  and you'll be telling me ALL look that made Cora bite back a grin, and  then she was following Slider through the clubhouse and all the way to  Dare's office in the back hallway. "Is everything okay?"                       
       
           



       

"Yeah," he said. "But I wanted you to share what you witnessed earlier with some of the guys."

"Wow, do you think the Ravens can help find out something about this dogfighting?" she asked, hope snaking through her belly.

Slider stopped just before opening Dare's door. "Sweetheart, the Ravens  have got ears, eyes, and friends just about everywhere. Never forget  that."

"Good to know," she said.

He nodded and opened the door.





Chapter 18




Cora walked into a room full of the entire Ravens' board. Well, everyone except Jagger.

Dare, Maverick, Phoenix, and Caine waited for them as she and Slider  closed themselves inside Dare's small office. The guys were laid back  and totally friendly, but Cora didn't think she was imagining the  current of tension under the surface.

And then, of all people, Caine McKannon was the one to speak first.  "Cora, we need to know exactly what you saw and heard. Don't leave  anything out." This wasn't Cora's first interaction with the Ravens'  most intimidating member. He'd been her and Haven's point of contact for  creating their new identities when they'd at first thought they'd be  relocated away from the club. But with each new interaction, Caine never  seemed even a little more approachable or knowable. And it wasn't just  his pitch-black hair always covered in a black skullcap, or his  fathomless ice-blue eyes, or the gauges in his ears, or the miles of ink  that covered even his throat.

It was something untouchable inside him.

So she rushed to give him exactly what he asked for, starting with  hearing the barking dog, and ending with watching the men's blue truck  drive away and calling the shelter.

They let her speak without interrupting, Slider right by her side, a  silent wall of strength and support. And then Caine traded looks with  the other men that made her ask, "Do you know something about this  dogfighting ring or these men?"

Caine nodded. "There's a gang up north of the county. Worst of the  worst. I'd heard rumors the past few months that they'd gotten into it.  Earlier today, I confirmed it." He nodded to a sheet of paper on the  corner of Dare's desk, and Cora picked it up.

It was an invitation to something called the Crew's Cross. The details  were sparse. Just a town's name, a date, and a time for next Saturday  night. "How do you know this is for a dogfight?" she asked.

Dare gave a troubled sigh where he sat in the chair behind his cluttered  desk. "Because dogfights aren't widely publicized. No one just happens  upon one. You have to seek it out, earn the organizers' trust or be  referred, and then get invited. Sometimes they don't even share the  location information until the day of because they move around." Cora  guessed that's why no street address appeared on the sheet.

Caine nodded. "I found a guy who got me an in, plus two." No doubt there  was a very interesting story there, but in typical Caine style, that  was all he said.

"You mentioned hearing about this the past few months," Cora said,  musing out loud. "My director said the increased incidences of finding  these injured dogs has been the past few months, too."

"That's no coincidence," Slider said, and all the other men agreed.

"Cora," Caine said. "Slider said you took pictures. Can I see them?"

She handed over her phone. "I'm sorry they're not that great. I was . . .  kinda shaking." She felt a little pitiful admitting that in front of  all these big, tough guys. Slider put his hand on her lower back as if  to soothe her, and it worked.

Eyeing the images one by one, Caine didn't look up and he didn't miss a  beat. "Given that the Crew was involved, that just proves that your  fight-or-flight instincts were working."