Deadly Sins Ch. 05: Lust

When the werewolves caught Rayn, and Adriana had little doubt they would, hopefully they wouldn't kill her right away. That way she could pay her fellow sin a visit. Link up thoughts. And escape plans.

*****

"You've been calling me all day, so where the hell are you now that I'm calling you back, Nik?" Rayn spoke worriedly into her sister's voicemail. It was the fifth message she'd left. "I can't reach either you or Alexis and I...I just want to make sure you guys are okay. Call me back as soon as you get this message. And...and be careful if Cullen comes around. Tell Alexis the same about her guy. I got into something weird with their friend this morning." She paused, then added for the first time, "Something involving Dominic."

Rayn pressed the end button and laid the phone in her lap. The next sign she passed let her know she was back in Columbus. At last. And, as far as she could tell, she hadn't been followed.

But where to now? Couldn't go back to her place. Or Nicki's. Or even Alexis's. All too obvious. All places Thane would be sure to check.

That left Shianne. Rayn tried to reach the girl by phone, then decided it was time to drop by and pay cousin dearest a long overdue visit when she didn't receive an answer.

Pulling up to her cousin's last known address, Rayn hoped the girl still lived there. They didn't keep in touch nearly as much as they should and Shianne tended to change houses with the same frequency she changed clothes. She laid her head down at the address of the most current fling.

And, if memory served correctly, the latest fling was a total dick. Thus the reason a rift had formed between the cousins.

Rayn hated her cousin's life for her. But the only other alternative Shianne was willing to consider was far worse than an asshole boyfriend. Life with a crack addicted mother was not peaches and cream. More like needles and highs. And horrific memories of molestation and child abuse.

Numerous times, Rayn had tried to entice her cousin into moving in with her. But she'd let it be known there would be rules. The three Cs: curfew, college, career. Her requirements had quickly landed her on the not an alternative list.

Ironic, really, she now ran to Shianne for shelter.

With a sinking feeling, Rayn approached the door of the dark dilapidated ranch style house. She rang the doorbell, but when she didn't hear its chime she jerked open the rotted storm door, surprised it didn't come off in her hands, to knock on the steel security door behind.

Pausing, she listened for signs of life from the interior...but there was nothing. No stirring.

Defeated, Rayn was halfway back to the car when the security door finally opened with a loud creak of un-oiled hinges.

"Who you looking for?"

Not you, Rayn thought, turning to face her cousin's boyfriend. And thinking of him as such was a stretch. So much more accurate to think of him as Dickwad, Douche Bag or The Tool. "Shianne. She home?"

"Depends," Dickwad responded. Either high, drunk, or at some happy medium in between, he used the door frame to hold himself upright. His shoulder length hair was greasy and some color nondescript color, hanging limply around his shoulders. His chest was bare, feet bare, the only piece of clothing he wore being a pair of raggedy unwashed jeans slung low on his narrow hips. "On who the fuck you are."

Too good for you. As is my cousin. With no small amount of effort, Rayn stopped herself from wrinkling her nose in disgust. "No one. Forget I even came."

As she started to turn away, he said, "Hold up, I think I remember you. Shianne's family, right? The one who lives out east. Rae, Rea, Ran..."

"Rayn."

"Yeah, that's it...Rayn." Flicking on the stoop light, he leered at her through watery, washed out eyes the same nondescript color as his hair. "Oh, yeah, I remember you all right. Always thought you was pretty, if a little heavy for my taste. That sister of yours, though, she had you beat by a mile. Had Shianne beat, too. But now...now I'm not so sure about that anymore."

Eager to end the meeting so she could take the much needed bath an encounter with Douche Bag required, Rayn asked, "Shianne...she in there?"

"Nah, Shy ain't here right now. But if you wanna wait inside for her to return, you're more than welcome to. We can have a few beers, get reacquainted, and all that good shit."

Rayn's immediate response was no way in hell, but then she found herself wondering with the same clinical interest she'd felt earlier with Nick...hell no. Revolting. "If you know where she went, I'm more than happy to just go meet her there."

"Damn, there is something so different about you." He stepped down onto the top most step, pale, skeletal chest gleaming in the yellow light. "You're seriously something sexy now. You do the Jenny Craig thing or some shit?"

"Some shit. Shianne...?"

He dragged a hand through his greasy locks. "Bitch said she was going to that new club up on 161. Like I said though, you can come in here and-"

But Rayn was already in her car and down the street before The Tool could fully voice his lecherous offer again. She knew what club he was talking about...she'd been there the weekend before with her sister and Alexis.

Thank God for their incessant need to club hop. And the need they felt to drag her along when they went.

Ten minutes later found her entering Dexters. Completely different environment from Thane's club.

Bass from a Little Wayne song blasted out of the speakers so loud Rayn feared she was going to suffer an eardrum rupture. And the place was packed to the gills, like the Fire Marshall's code was scoffed at, not adhered to. The entrance of the club was thronged with hot, suffocating bodies surrounding the pool tables and the bar situated there.

If she wasn't on a mission, she would've turned right back around and left.

After being pushed this way and that, suffering several guys pulling on her hand to get her attention, two more tap her shoulder and one bold soul palm her bottom (which Rayn would normally feel offended about, but strangely didn't), she found the dance floor. She decided to search through the tables circling its outer edges first before going any further.

Thankfully her search ended as soon as it began. Shianne sat at a table full of girls, just to the right of the dance floor's entrance.

On seeing Rayn approach, she flashed a guilty grin. "Long time no see, cuz!"

Rayn bent at the waist to embrace her seated cousin. After some shuffling around, the seat next to Shianne was freed for her. "Same to you, Shy. Now imagine my shock on seeing my nineteen year old cousin in a twenty-one and up club."

"Pfft, I've been getting in twenty-one and up clubs longer than you, Rayn."

Sadly, Rayn knew she spoke the truth. "Still doesn't mean you should be here."

But before Rayn could chastise her cousin any further, a hand clamped firmly on her shoulder and a seductively smooth voice said from behind her, "So this is the thing you had to attend to."

Rayn span in her seat to discover Nick standing behind her, smiling widely. He'd divested his coat she couldn't help but notice; his broad Ed Hardy covered shoulders screamed out for admiration. The hat was still on his head, however, the colors of the t-shirt coordinating with it perfectly.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, fully aware the question sounded like an accusation.

"Damn, don't sound so happy to see me."

"No, it's not like that," Rayn began. "It's just that...I thought you guys were going..." Weakly, she finished, "...somewhere else."

"Change of plans," he offered. His smile faded in fast increments. "It happens."

"You are getting me all wrong."

"Am I?" he challenged. "How about a dance why you tell me all about how to get you right?"

"That's not what I, uh, exactly came here for."

"You came to a club not to dance?" Chocolate browns narrowed with suspicion. "Or is it that you just don't want to dance with me?"

Rayn sighed loudly. "I'm not going to continue with this conversation if you persist in twisting everything I say."

"Then grant me one dance and I'll leave you alone." He looked around the table at Shianne and her friends. He lifted his voice to ask, "Ladies, you don't mind if I steal your girl for a minute, do you?"

"She's all yours." Shianne grabbed one of Rayn's hands and jumped to her feet.

Rayn let herself be dragged out of her seat. It was that, or resist and topple to the floor, bringing Shianne down on top of her. "Yeah, not happening, Nick. I don't like this kind of-"

"Come on, ma." Nick splayed his hands wide, the expression on his face reflecting annoyed desperation. "You almost run me off the road and now you damn near got me beggin' and shit just to get a dance. Don't you think a dance is the least you owe me?"

"I just-"

"You still trying to tell me no? Damn, what I gotta do? Get down on one knee and then beg? Grovel? Cause I will." He started descending.

Placing a hand on his arm, Rayn stopped him before he hit the floor. With a laugh, she said, "One dance, Nick. That's all."

His eyes twinkled mischievously. "One is all I need."

The girlish giggles from the table reminded Rayn she had an audience to this drama. She swept a glare around the table at her cousin and her friends. Which just made them giggle all the harder.

"You got a real keeper here, Rayn," Shianne said. "Sexy, determined and he looks like Columbus Short? You better go dance with him...or one of us will."

"Determined doesn't even begin to cover it," Nick said, speaking low so only Rayn could hear him.

Rayn placed her hand in his, hoping he'd be satisfied taking his dance on the edge of the dance floor. She really didn't want to be in the thick of it all.

So of course he dragged right into the middle.

As soon as he stopped walking, the music stopped playing. Mid-lyric. The people around them started to grouse over the unexpected interruption, but Nick didn't seem to notice. Or care.

Staring into her eyes, he asked, "What type of music you like, ma?"

"Whatever they play." She just wanted to get the dance over and done with. So she could sit back down. And figure out where she was staying the night.

Inwardly she groaned, knowing she'd probably end up on The Tool's too lumpy to sit on much less sleep on couch.

"They ain't gonna play shit until I give the word so what's it gonna be?"

"Anything, Nick, really."

"All these people 'bout to be good and pissed at you," he threatened, with a sweep of his hand toward the crowd. "Unless you tell me what type of music you like." When Rayn still didn't answer, he said, "Okay, don't say I didn't warn you." Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted, "Hey, ya'll, it's all her-"

"Michael Jackson," Rayn answered in a low rush. Angry people were starting to turn their attention to them. "Anthony Hamilton. Raheem Devaugh. Jill Scott. I don't care if they play Cher. Just make them play something. Anything. Please."

"Cher?" he asked with a grin.

"Cher," she agreed firmly.

He nodded his head and, sure enough, the music started to play again, lyrics beginning immediately. Humming through the first few bars, he sang the chorus to her, "Cause girl you got me loving you, wanting you, needing to be pleasing you, touching you, holding you, there's nothing that I'd rather do."

Stiff, Rayn swayed with him, decidedly uncomfortable. "This is not Cher."

"No, it ain't, ma. This is Donnell Jones. And, damn, baby girl, loosen up." He chuckled. "Feels like I'm dancing with a steel pole."

"I-I don't do this very often," Rayn admitted, embarrassed. She ducked her head against his chest. "I'm ashamed to admit my naturally blond, very white best friend, who looks like she should be named Becky, probably has more rhythm than I do."

"Bet she ain't sexier than you though."

"I'm sure there are plenty of guys who would challenge that statement."

"If she looks like she should be named Becky, I'm sure there aren't."

"Okay, maybe I exaggerated a little with the whole Becky description. She's actually more of a Lola."

"Lola, huh?" Nick teased with an interested gleam in his eye. "Never been with a Lola before."

Rayn smacked his chest lightly. "And you won't be with this one."

She didn't know why the thought bothered her, but it did. The whole infidelity scene with him cast as the star actor just felt too familiar...which was ridiculous considering she'd just met him.

"Just kidding you, baby girl. I don't care if her name is Lola, Raquel or Shakira, in my eyes she still ain't got shit on you." Nick twirled her around so her back was flush with his chest and she faced their paired off counterparts. "Close your eyes, Rayn."

Dutifully, she shut them. The better to block the derisive stares of the girls all around, she reasoned. She was painfully aware she was off-beat...and that they weren't.

"Breath in and out deeply and just feel, baby," he whispered in her ear. "I want you to feel the music. Feel the beat. And follow my lead."

Rayn exhaled and her discomfort held on for one more long stubborn moment before melting away. They stayed that way for a long while, swaying back and forth, Nick singing softly in her ear. Occasionally he would add in a convoluted swivel of his hips and Rayn was ecstatic when she kept beat with him. A trill laugh escaped her throat on the third occasion.

"That's right, ma. See? You're doing it. This dance is just a conversation between your body and mine." He nuzzled the back of her neck. "You know what your body is telling me, Rayn? It's telling me you're sexy, the sexiest damn thing up in this club. Now open your eyes and see for yourself. See how sexy you are."

Slowly, Rayn's lids fluttered up. She looked down at her body. She saw her chest heaving up and down with exertion, a thin film of sweat there in the v of her sweater. And she saw Nick's hands stationed firmly on her hips. Leading her, guiding her.

"Now look at everybody else. See how sexy they think you are." One hand left her hip and he chucked her chin up with the tips of his fingers.

Rayn gasped. Everyone watched them. Her. All eyes were focused on her as everyone around them danced, groped and fondled one another. They were all a huge mass of constantly undulating, gyrating body parts, all moving in sync. All moving towards one goal. Pleasure.

It was the most erotic thing she'd ever seen.

Nick's fingers skimmed down the column of her throat, over a nipple, which hardened immediately. He tweaked the bud and dropped a kiss to her throat. Rayn threw her head back, giving him complete access.

"That's it, ma. You see it, don't you." His tongue lapped at her neck as he turned her in a slow circle so she could see everyone through her half closed eyes. "That's all because of you, baby. You did that. That's the kind of power you possess."

Men. Women. Strangers. Shianne. Shianne's friends. Nicki. Alexis. They were all under her power. They all wanted each other. They all wanted her.

And it was all because of her.

But, Nicki and Alexis weren't supposed to be here. Were they? Had she come here with them? Alarmed, Rayn's brain tried to break through the thick fog which muddled it.

Nick rotated her another half circle. And Rayn now stared at the man she wanted more than anything in the world.

The blast of lust was crippling.

*****

What. The. Fuck.

Already pissed he'd been reduced to engaging in a bit of stealthy stalking of Rayn's sister like a lunatic creeper after Rayn had managed to disappear from the clearing before he'd arrived, the sight which met Thane's eyes did not help his disposition in the least. Quite the opposite, it almost sent him to a whole other level of fury he'd never before experienced.

There was another motherfucking wolf touching his mate. The very same wolf who's scent he'd picked up in the clearing mingled with lilacs.

Thane ripped the cub's hands off Rayn. With an elbow to the nose, he sent the male to his knees.

And his mouth had been on her neck.

A well aimed kick to the ribs resulted in a gratifying crack. And in the pup falling to the ground at Thane's feet, his hat landing near Cael's.

And he had been enjoying-encouraging-all this lewd chaos.

Thane was ready to rain down more violence, was just waiting for the boy to roll over and look at him with anything akin to a challenge, but he suddenly found himself forcefully shoved several feet away. With a growl, Thane turned his attention towards whoever had dared to interfere. Dead man walking.

Only to find himself faced with the head of security, a truly dead man who walked. The Hispanic male vampire met his gaze head on. No fear. "You'll have to finish this later, Thane."

Fuck. That. "I'm going to finish this now."

"Not when there are hundreds of people here." The guard was a solid barrier of not happening between Thane and the object of his vexation. "Way too many witnesses, feel me."

Thane pointed at a couple going at it doggie style, then at another working their way towards doing it missionary. "I'm really thinking they're not going to care."

"Ryker will."

"Fuck!" But the name of the vampire cooled Thane's rage down to rational thinking. Ryker was one screwed up individual he'd rather keep on the friendly side. And disrespecting his establishment by killing a werewolf pup probably wouldn't be received too well.

He locked a hand around Rayn's upper arm, barking to Cael, "Get the pup outta here. And make sure you round up his whole fucking posse."

With Cael's assistance, the pup raised up off the floor. He swiped a hand under his spurting nose, wiping away a copious amount of blood. "You must be the great and mighty Thane Wulff. Exactly the man I'm in town to see."

"Yo, Vacuous-lante, it's in your best interest to shut it," Cael stated coldly.

Instead of heeding the advice, the boy sneered, "Me and my crew came all the way from West V to see boss man here and you telling me he can't give us a few minutes of his time?"

Cael kicked the kid's hat up off the floor. He caught the cap one-handedly, jabbed it onto the youngster's head, then smacked the top of it down hard. And Thane was sure his action wasn't to ensure the cap was securely in place. "You already got a few seconds, dumb ass. Sure you want a few minutes?"

"Cause I'm more than happy to give them to you," Thane vowed. "That way, when I knock out all your fucking teeth, all I have do is tell Javier your disrespectful ass asked for it."

But the pup didn't flinch at the threat of further bodily harm. Or at the mention of his Alpha. "You know something, Thane, it was frigid the night I was born. A night not unlike tonight. Good thing I had my fur to keep me warm, huh." With a sly look, he added, "Heard you Kensingtons got a big ass, nice territory down south. Maybe I'll get to see it one day."

"You'll get to see it tonight, pup," Thane reassured.

If Javier knew what was good for him, he would expel this little shit from his pack asap...else this ladder climber was going to be gunning for his position soon. Thane would hate to see that happen. Because Javier was old and would be easily bested.

And Thane would hate to lose the Harveys as an ally.

"Can't guarantee you'll enjoy your stay, however, short as it'll be."

"I-" But the pup's next words were cut off by a meaty fist to the teeth.

Thane's eyes shifted to the security guard. Who unclenched his right fist. "That one was on the house. Showy fucker tried to tip the DJ a c-note to stop and restart the music on his cue. When the girl refused he resorted to threats. And I don't kindly to having the human employees threatened."