Campbell's Reaper: Soul Reapers #2 (10 page)

 
“
Jesus
Sunshine,
”
I
heard Tank yell as he pried my nails from his waistline, but I got what I
wanted as he started to pull onto the exit ramp.
Thank God.

The
bike was barely to a stop as I hopped off yanking up Tank
’
s
pants that I was wearing as I tore off into the gas station looking for a
bathroom.

Sweet
relief.
No woman should ever have to hold their bladder that
long as she rode the back of a bike that seemed to hit every bump in the road.
Once I was finished, I made my way over to the sink to wash up.
Dear Lord
Baby Jesus!
Half of my face resembled a bruised state-puffed marshmallow
man . . . woman.

“
Oh
my god,
”
I exclaimed as I started to
pull down the collar of Tank
’
s t-shirt to reveal bite
marks and hickeys from where Crazy Z went to town on my neck. The hickeys were
so red and irritated they looked like track marks all over the side of my neck.
“
What
was he, a fucking leech?
”
I asked my reflection as I examined the rest
of me. My wrists were even worse, bruised and puffy like the side of my face,
but turning a beautiful shade of purple. The reality of what happened was
starting to sink it.

Holy shit!
Can someone please explain to me the shit storm that just got dumped all over
my weekend?
I mean seriously!
What kind of fucked up shit was that? I go
from having a pity party about Tank leaving me for brother shit, in my pjs as I
ate
Phish Food
ice cream, to standing in the filthiest place that ever
resembled a bathroom bruised and battered wearing Tank
’
s
ten-sizes-too-big-for-me-clothes running away like the hounds of hell were
literally chasing us.
Maybe they are! Damn Hellhounds.

The more I replayed everything, the
more pissed off I became. Maybe I should be shitting my pants, or be scared,
but I was just fucking pissed. My resolve grew as I stared at my reflection.
No
more!
“
No
more,
”
I yelled at my reflection.
Crazy Z better stay away from Logan and me or I was going to show him just how
un-vanilla I could be. No more baby girl; it was now just straight up I
’
m-gonna-bust-your-ass
Campbell, or Sunshine for short.

“
Miss, you okay in there?
”
A
guy
’
s squeaky
voice
came through the door.

I pulled open the door, pushing past
him.
“
I
am now,
”
I said with a confidence I
felt all the way to my toes.

Tank

I
had just finished topping off the tank when I looked up and saw Sunshine
walking towards me. Her radiance still shone throughout even after everything
she just went through. Her strawberry blonde hair blew in the breeze and a
slight smile teased at her lips.
I am such a fucking pussy with this girl.
An
air of confidence and determination surrounded her that was not there when she
went into the bathroom. A glint in her eye said she had a secret that I knew I
would kill to keep if she gave it to me. All I wanted was to do was heave her
up against my body, her soft against my hard, and kiss her until she moaned my
name.

I
looked out on the road as if I were checking for something.
Anger, hold onto
it damn it.
I felt her warmth before she touched my arm, drawing my eyes
back to hers. Just one touch, one look, was all it took for that rage to
evaporate like dew in the summer sun.  Where was the wrath, the hatred, the
anger? Gone, like it never existed, all because of this stunning female before
me.

“
Ready?
”
I croaked before clearing
my throat.
“
You ready to get back?
”
Campbell rubbed her arms
with her hands. The temperature was dropping pretty quickly.
“
You
cold?
”
I asked, shrugging off my
cut and leather jacket that I was wearing.

“
No,
I
’
m
good,
”
Sunshine said as she
stepped into my space.
Damn it woman!

“
Wear
this anyway,
”
I
countered, draping my jacket on her shoulders. Once she slid her arms in, I put
my cut back on and took another step back.
“
Ready
now?
”

“
Absolutely.
I need a shower so bad,
”
she replied as she glided her fingers down
my arm lacing her fingers with mine. Images of her naked, in a shower, ran
through my mind.
Focus!

She
studied our entwined fingers for a moment before looking up at me. Her eyes
were so warm and filled with admiration and something akin to love.
“
Thank
you,
”
she said sincerely. Our
eyes stayed locked on each other. Hell, she probably wanted me to kiss her. My
mind screamed no as my cock hardened at the thought. Campbell closed the
distance between us.
“
I mean it,
”
she whispered as she ran
her fingers down the other arm locking her fingers with mine.
“
You
are amazing.
”

That
word alone brought me back to what needed to be done.
“
Stop,
”
was all I said before I
took a step back from her, breaking our contact and creating space. Her
closeness, her body, was just too much. I kept my head down as I made my way
over to the other side of my bike. My leg automatically swung over the saddle
as I handed her her helmet before putting on my own.
“
Get
on,
”
I commanded as I revved the
engine, not bothering to look at her. Campbell paused for only a second before
she fastened her helmet and got on.

“
We
need to stop at the clubhouse first to see what is going on before we go
anywhere else.
”
I
saw her nod out of the corner of my eye.
“
Alright,
let
’
s
do this.
”

Campbell
tightened her hold on me as I took off, almost as if she never wanted to let
go.
Fancy that!
Well I was about to see how far her new found confidence
and determination would last with me once we got home.

CHAPTER
EIGHT

Campbell

Our
little exchange at the gas station left me wanting more as we sped towards
home. All I wanted, no needed, was Tank to finally acknowledge that something
was going on between us, but he kept putting up road blocks. He obviously hated
the word amazing. 
Stupid man.
Did he not see how amazing he really was?

A
few hot-as-hell kisses and a couple of orgasms were no longer enough. This fire
burning between us needed to be acknowledged or it would explode causing us
both pain. I knew he felt it as much as I did. Yet, Tank was always the first
to pull away, to create distance between us yet his eyes always told the truth.
The longing never left them and what I thought was love, or at least the
beginnings of it. When I first met him his eyes were black, like a bottomless
pit, but every day we spent together his eyes lightened up revealing the most
unique amber-colored irises. The more his eyes lightened, the more I could read
them and what he was feeling, even if he did not say it out loud. But now? Why
was he starting to push me away again?

The
night provided the perfect cover as we sped towards the clubhouse. It was still
pitch black all around us, with the only light coming from the single headlight
from Tank
’
s bike. We were still hours from home and I
could feel the weight of the day catching up with me. I scooted closer to Tank
trying to block the wind with his broad shoulders, while my cheek came to rest
on the middle of his back. I snuggled into his warmth, breathing in his scent.
He was everywhere. I was so lost in Tank and the darkness surrounding us that
it took a minute for me to realize he was talking until I felt his chest rumble
again. The wind carried off his words so I straightened up and yelled over his
shoulder,
“
What?
”

The
impact to the bike came without warning. I screamed as my nails dug into Tank
’
s
waist trying desperately to cling to him.
“
Hold
on,
”
he shouted over his
shoulder. I felt the jerk of the bike as Tank picked up speed. I looked over my
shoulder to see a large, black SUV practically on top of us.
“
Faster,
”
I screamed as the SUV threw
on its headlights blinding me. I turned my head, squeezing my eyes shut as dots
floated across my eyelids. The deadly sound of tires screeching across the
pavement happened right as I felt the SUV hit the bike
’
s
back tire. It all happened so fast. My eyes popped open and I looked forward
right as Tank tried to counter steer against the push, jerking the bike back
and forth across the road.

“
Oh
my God,
”
I screeched as the balance
of the bike slipped out from under us. I felt Tank take my hand as he yelled,
“
Get
ready.
”
Get ready? Get ready
for what?
As the bike listed back to the left he literally flung
me into the air and off the bike onto the grass median. I hit the ground hard
and rolled as my momentum carried me across the grass. And then there was
darkness.

Tank

Fuck
me sideways.
Everything was masked in darkness as we
cruised down the highway. No streetlights, no movement, just the inky blackness
that accompanied riding at night. Even the moon conceded to the darkness as it
hid behind clouds; my headlight providing the only source of light.

Probably
out of gas or something I thought as we sped past a large, black SUV abandoned
on the side of the road. It was not until the moon peeked out that a reflection
of light in my side mirror drew my attention to that same damn SUV that was now
only 50 yards away from us and closing fast. I yelled to Campbell to hold on. I
heard her yell back in response right before the SUV bumped us. Campbell
wrapped her arms tighter around me as I picked up speed. The increased torque
jerked the bike as I tried putting more distance between us and them. Right as
I thought we were making headway I saw the SUV swerve as it threw on its
headlights basking us in a hollow light. The distance I tried to put between us
was not enough as the SUV clipped my back tire messing with the weight
distribution of the bike. I tried counter steering to right the bike but it was
too out of control. Campbell
’
s yell hit me in the gut as
all thoughts turned to her safety. I told her to get ready as we came close to
the grass median with every intention of jumping off with her but as I took her
hand and felt the bike vibrate uncontrollably under me I knew I needed to stay
on to steer it away from her. As we got closer to the median I heaved with all
my strength to get her up and over the bike and onto the median.

The
bike listed once again as the back tire gave way and I lost all control of it. 
It zoomed across the lanes slamming into the guard rail. I felt weightless as I
flew over the handlebars ducking my chin into my chest, curling my shoulders
into my body. I knew that I had to try and roll with the impact once I hit the
ground if I was still conscious. The ground approached faster than I was ready
in 3
–
2
–
1.

Campbell

I awoke as fast as I passed out. The
events from moments before slammed into me as I scrambled to my feet.
No
pain?
The adrenaline must have been pumping through my body as I stood
taking in the carnage. Tank
’
s bike looked as if it had
melted into the guard rail becoming a permanent part of it.

“
Tank,
”
I screamed as I raced
across the two lanes.
“
Where are you?
”
I looked around frantically
as I tried to see him but it was too dark. There was a steep decline on the
side of the road where Tank must have fallen. Everything was swallowed up by
the darkness. I could barely see what was right in front of me. Should I hop
the rail and look for Tank? Where did the SUV go?
“
Shit,
”
I hissed.
“
Tank,
”
I tried calling again.
“
Tank!
”
I said more forcefully. I
felt the tears trying to break free as reality started to set in.