5.

Chapter 5

Zane’s POV

I sat at the bar counter with a fresh whiskey in front of me and a cigar burning low between my fingers. The ash tray was full. Smoke curled up slowly. The bartender kept his distance. Good. I didn’t want to have a conversation. I just wanted the burn in my throat and a minute to sit in my own lane.

The curse never shut off. Heightened senses picked up every damn thing. Emotions rolled in like static on a bad radio. Right now the whole club fed me a mess of greed, lust, and desperation.

I took a long drag on the cigar and let the smoke sit in my lungs. Rule number one: do not intervene. People made their own shit. I had plenty.

But her signal cut through everything. Laila. That sharp spike of fear from earlier still lingered in my head. I tried to push it down. Drank more. Smoked harder. It didn’t fade.

The frequency only got louder. I stubbed out the cigar, stood up, and moved before I could stop myself. Boots hit the floor heavy down the back hallway. The storage room door was shut but I felt it all. Rico’s sick excitement. Her panic rose fast.

I pushed the door open. Rico had her pinned hard against the metal shelves. One hand twisted in her hair, the other up her skirt. She was struggling, small fists hitting his chest. I crossed the room in two steps. Grabbed him by the back of the neck and ripped him off her. He slammed into the concrete. I could have finished it.

Crushed his skull under my boot. Snapped his neck clean. My body wanted to. But I held back. Too many eyes in this place. Too much cleanup. I settled for driving my fist into his jaw once, twice, then a knee to the ribs. Bone gave way. He curled up coughing blood.

“Get out,” I told her. My voice stayed flat. She stared at me, chest heaving, eyes wide. I pulled the thick envelope from inside my jacket and held it out. Cash. Enough to breathe for a while.

Her fingers brushed mine when she took it.

The d******d hit like a freight train. No soft pictures. Just raw data slamming into my skull. Family debt crushing them. My father dead years ago. Mother wasting away from illness. Brothers gone or useless. Landlords threatening.

Collectors at the door every week. Fear that never slept. It all flooded in fast, disorienting, too much at once. I yanked my hand back. That was the real reason for the money. Not some soft heart. Her pain was too loud to tune out.

I turned and left her standing there. Rule broken again.

The edge in my blood needed out. Club fights earlier were useless. Those guys folded too easy. Punches landed soft. No real release. I drove across town to the strip club. Bass thumped through the walls. Lights low and red.

Girls moved on stage but none of them held my attention long. I took a seat in the back corner. One woman in blue caught my eye. Tall, dark hair, body built for sin. Our eyes met. No words. She gave a small nod and I tilted my head toward the private rooms. Arrangement made.

She led me down the short hall. Door shut behind us. The room was a small, black leather couch against one wall, mirror on the other. She pushed me down onto the couch.

Her hands moved quickly, unbuttoning my shirt and spreading it open. Nails scraped down my chest. I leaned back and watched her. She peeled her top off slow, full tits spilling out, dark nipples already hard. She straddled me, grinding her hips down against my lap. Heat built fast between us.

I gripped her waist hard, fingers digging into soft flesh. She moaned low and rocked harder. My cock thickened under her. She felt it and smiled, reaching down to rub me through my pants. I lifted my hips and she worked the zipper open, freeing me. Her hand wrapped around my shaft, stroking firm from base to tip. Pre-cum leaked already. She spread it with her thumb and kept pumping.

“Big,” she muttered.

I didn’t answer. Just pulled her closer and took one nipple in my mouth. Sucked hard. She arched, pushing more into me. My teeth grazed the stiff peak. She gasped. Her hand sped up on my cock. I switched to the other tit, sucking and biting while my free hand slid under her short skirt. No panties.

Wet already. I pushed two fingers inside her pussy. Tight and hot. She rode my hand, grinding down. Juices coated my fingers. I added a third, stretching her. She moaned louder, head falling back.

I needed more. Stood up, lifting her with me. Set her on the couch on her knees. Yanked the skirt up over her ass. Round and firm. I spread her cheeks and pushed my cock against her entrance.

One thrust and I buried deep. She cried out, walls clenching around me. Wet heat gripped every inch. I pulled back slowly then slammed in again. Hard. The sound of skin slapping filled the room. I set a rough rhythm, pounding into her. One hand fisted her hair, the other gripped her hip, pulling her back onto me with every stroke.

“Fuck,” she gasped. “Harder.”

I gave it to her. Thrusts deep and fast. Her pussy fluttered around my cock. Sweat slicked our skin. I reached around and rubbed her clit in tight circles. She shook, pushing back against me. I kept driving in, balls slapping her pussy with every thrust. The pressure built in my spine. Close.

I pulled out, flipped her onto her back. Spread her legs wide and drove back in. Her tits bounced with each slam. I leaned down, biting her neck while I fucked her deep. She wrapped her legs around me, heels digging into my back.

Nails raked down my shoulders. Her moans turned into sharp cries. I felt her tighten, pussy pulsing hard. She came first, soaking my cock, body shaking under me. I kept thrusting through it, chasing my own release.

Then Laila’s presence slammed into my senses.

Her signal cut through everything. Fear, anger, raw determination. She was right outside. My head turned toward the door before I saw her.

The door opened. There she stood in my oversized jacket, pink crocs on her feet, envelope clutched tight in her hand. She looked small and out of place in the red light. But her eyes burned. Locked right on me buried deep in the other woman.

“I told you to Stay away kiddo” I said. Voice low and controlled.

She didn’t back down. “I came to return this.” She lifted the envelope. Her voice shook but she kept going. “I don’t need your charity.”

The woman under me shifted, confused and pissed. “Who the fuck is this bitch?”

Laila stepped forward fast. Then she did something completely unhinged. She shoved the woman hard, knocking her off me and onto the floor. “Get away from him! She’s trying to kill you!”

The words hung stupid in the air. Impossible. But she said so much fear and sincerity.

Before I could grab Laila and get her out, Rook’s voice came through the door.

“Alpha….I mean Boss Zane! Rico’s back with twelve Delta boys behind him.”