Astrid Chapter #2
Mayhem shook his head. “Nope. It tastes terrible. As the enforcer, it’s my duty to protect you, so I’ll eat this so you don’t have to.”
This remark got the other guys booing and making threats if he didn’t share. I was back to laughing at their antics. They reminded me of some of the men and women I served with, and the fun we had during our downtime.
“Leave these nuts to fight and join us,” Haven insisted.
“Put that food in the kitchen, and if I catch any of you touching it before we eat, you won’t like what I’ll do,” Annie threatened.
I was surprised when they all complied, though there was soft grumbling.
“I’ll be right back. Let me put this in the kitchen. What would you like to drink?” Mayhem asked.
“I, uhm, a Coke if you have it. If not, anything with bubbles.”
“Coke it is. Save me a seat,” he said before breezing over to the kitchen door.
I followed Haven to a nearby table. Annie and Troian went with us. I was stunned when the men followed us. Some took seats at the table, while others grabbed chairs from nearby. The chair on my right stayed empty.
“We were so happy to hear you’re staying here from now on, Astrid. We want to get to know you. It’s been a while. How was your traveling?” Annie asked.
“It was good, but tiring. I finally decided that I’d had enough of living out of hotels and being a nomad. I liked Bristol so much that I was drawn to return here. I’m in the process of finding a place to live.”
“Where are you looking? Do you want an apartment or a house?” Troian asked.
Before I could answer, Mayhem set down an open Coke in front of me and then sat in the empty chair. I was distracted from answering her.
“There you go. Have you found any place you like?” Mayhem asked, showing that he’d heard our conversation.
“I’ve toured a few, but so far, none have hit me as home.
As for whether I want an apartment or a house, I’m undecided.
There are pros and cons to both. A part of me wants a house since I’ve never lived in one.
However, my sensible side says to rent, as that way the landlord is responsible for repairs and upkeep.
And houses for rent are few, it seems, around here. ”
“You should take a look at the houses here on the compound. We have a variety, and that might help you decide if you want a house and what kind,” Annie suggested.
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to tromp through your homes,” I protested.
“No one will care. We like showing our houses off. And with over half of us with houses, you have a good variety to check out,” Troian stated.
“Hey, those who have houses, do you care if Astrid has a look through so she can get ideas of what she wants in her home?” Annie shouted.
My mouth dropped, and a faint blush spread over my cheeks. However, those in the room were shouting, “Hell no, we don’t care,” and “Go for it.” Annie smiled smugly.
“See, I told you so. We love to show off our places. Later, we’ll arrange a tour.”
“I’ll take her around to see them, maybe after we swim and have something to eat. It’s hot today. What do you say to us going outside and getting into the pool? The kids have been chomping at the bit to get in,” Mayhem announced.
I was stunned at the club members’ easy acceptance of a stranger walking through their homes. I was somewhat taken aback that Mayhem offered to be my tour guide. I scrambled to say something halfway intelligent.
“I’d love to swim. As for the tour, thank you, but I don’t want to tie anyone up. It’s the weekend. You should be relaxing and having fun,” I told Mayhem.
He leaned closer and stared intently into my eyes. “I will be relaxing and having fun with you. It’s no burden, Astrid. If anyone feels like tagging along, that’s fine, or we can do it alone.”
“What about you having to manage all those keys and stuff?”
He chuckled. “First of all, we don’t regularly lock our doors.
That wall and razor wire deter most people from even thinking of breaking in here.
And if they did, they’d get the shock of their lives.
Secondly, if there was a need to lock them, every member gives a master key to Reaper in case of an emergency.
I’d simply ask to borrow the keyring for the day and then return it.
They know that no one will steal from them.
The security we have is one of the things I love most about living on the compound. ”
“I wouldn’t know how that feels. I grew up in places where you never left anything unlocked or lying around.
They weren’t the best neighborhoods. In the Navy, we had our footlocker space, and that was about it.
I always lived on the ship or in the barracks, rather than in housing, as that was reserved for married personnel.
Everyone for sure secured their belongings in berthing.
Since I got out, I’ve been staying mostly in hotels,” I admitted.
“Then you’ll enjoy seeing how it can be, if you’re in the right location. Of course, I wouldn’t ever recommend you leaving your home unlocked outside of these walls. A beautiful, single woman will attract enough attention as it is, without tempting someone to come into their home.”
There was a growl to Mayhem’s voice. I was stuck on the fact that he called me beautiful. It took effort to shake it off.
“What are we waiting for? Go get changed and let’s see how the water is,” Remus announced loudly.
His words caused excited babbling, especially out of the older kids. Mayhem rose and pulled my chair out so I could stand. As I did, I addressed everyone at the table.
“I’ll be back. I need to retrieve my bag with my suit inside from the car. I’ll meet you at the pool.”
Mayhem gripped my hand. “I’ll go with you. We’ll get it, and I’ll show you where you can change here.”
As he tugged on my hand, I let him lead me away.
I didn’t know what it was about him, but Mayhem easily had me complying with so many things that I usually wouldn’t do automatically.
I disliked being told what to do or having decisions made for me, but with him, his commanding presence didn’t trigger me to balk.
It took two minutes to retrieve my bag, and then we were back inside the clubhouse.
I was then taken down one of the hallways.
There were several doors scattered on each side. He stopped in front of one.
“This is a public bathroom. You can change in there. I’ll be right here.”
Mayhem knocked briskly on the door, then waited to see if anyone called out. When there was no response, he turned the doorknob and swung it open. The space was empty. His hand pushed gently on my back, and I went inside. I turned to thank him.
“Thank you. I’ll be quick.”
As Mayhem closed the door, his last words to me before it shut caused me to gasp. “If you need help getting anything on or off, just holler. I’ll gladly help.” His smirk was sexy.
When the door closed, I had to lean against it because my legs were shaky. Oh my God, had Mayhem just offered to undress me? Dress me? Whichever was the case, that expression he wore shouted that he wasn’t kidding.
I had to take several deep breaths before I moved to get changed.
I fumbled a couple of times. Eventually, I was in my bathing suit.
I’d never been a woman who flaunted her body by wearing minuscule bikinis.
The main reason was that I had more curves and meat than the majority of ladies who wore them.
The other was that I had things to hide.
That didn’t mean I wore old granny bathing suits.
I liked something that flattered my body and hinted at sexiness, not screamed it.
I bought this suit two years ago during my vacation in the Bahamas.
The design featured a front with U-rings that held it together.
There were three of them. One at my breasts, one just below my diaphragm, and the last one at my waist, exposing my belly button in the center of the ring.
My dangling diamond and pink sapphire belly ring caught the light and peeked out nicely.
The color of my suit was a bright fuchsia pink.
There were removable bra pads, which, combined with the adjustable spaghetti straps, supported my boobs.
The legs were cut higher, but not so high that they gave me a wedgie in the back.
I still had moderate coverage back there, which covered me from mid-back to my hips.
I wrapped and knotted a sheer, matching pink floral sarong cover-up around my hips.
I had a pair of slip-on sandals to complete the outfit.
I hastily pulled my hair into a messy bun on the top of my head.
It was down when I arrived. Putting my regular clothes back in the bag, I prepared myself to face Mayhem after his last remark.
I told myself he would’ve said the same thing to any woman.
Men like him undoubtedly flirted with women constantly.
Taking one last deep breath, I yanked the door open.
Mayhem was leaning against the wall across from the bathroom door. His eyes ran from the top of my head to my feet and slowly back up. As they did, he straightened and took three steps, bringing himself to stand right before me.
“I’m ready,” I stated the obvious since I had no idea what else to say. I waited for him to respond. It took a few moments.