Chapter 10
Buying groceries with Rock has been a new experience I’ve never done with a guy. I feel so good when I’m with him and love the way he always looks at me like he’s ready to rip off my clothes and take me. It’s insane, but deep down I”d love him to. Honestly, I”ve never gotten the hype about having sex. Some say it”s great, some it relaxes you but don”t ever expect to orgasm when you do it because men just want to release themselves, so my expectations were so low. Then Rock happened and oh my God.
“Do you think your brothers will come tomorrow?” I try to erase those forbidden images from my head while feeling already flustered.
“Yeah, Princess. We”re not used to getting invited over for a party but we love them. Family time is always important, no matter if we work together.” He helps me with the groceries.
I”m still pondering how to tell him about Drew. Will he be mad at me? Should I not say anything to him? But then, would it be considered lying?
“What are you thinking about, Princess?” He leans his forehead on mine. His eyes on mine.
“I have something to confess…” I begin “the night at the ZBE.”
A smile appears on his face. “When did we meet?”
“No, when you fought for me.”
“Baby…” he sighs. “I won”t be sorry for what happened. He fucking deserved it and not only because he touched what’s mine but because you told him no.”
“It was my fault.” I admit even though his speech is so sweet.
“Your fault?”
“It was supposed to be my last night there.” I brace myself ready for his anger. “I didn”t know you were there, but I hoped you could see me. That”s why I”ve danced with so many guys and flirted with Drew. I just wanted to see if what happened between us meant nothing to you, but he pushed too far.”
“I was fuming up there watching you. You have no idea how many times I wished you”d pick up my calls. When you didn’t, I”d figured out you found out who I was and you just wanted not to hear from me anymore.”
“Why do you think being a biker would have made me change my mind?”
“Because people avoid us. Fear us.” He looks behind me and I follow his gaze. The woman who was in line behind us with his son moved to the other side eyeing him.
“They don”t know what you do for this town, that”s why.”
“They don”t have to.”
I’d like to scream. “Why?”
“Baby…” He stops and greets the clerk who packed all the groceries. I pull out my credit card and before he can pick it, Rock’s gives him his. The hell? I’m about to have a say but as if he knew what I’m about to do he cocks a brow at me, and I keep it to myself.
“Zane!” I can’t help but smile as he turns his head.
“Don’t even start, Ashley.” He spells my name for good but the sparkle in his eyes makes butterflies flutter in my stomach. “I won’t let you pay for all this stuff.”
I fan my hands over my hips. “But you should be my guest.” Truth is no one, other than Dad, of course, did for me.
After placing the bags in the trunk, he bends down to kiss me. “I can’t be my woman’s guest.” Then he opens the car door and makes me sit in the shotgun before taking place behind the steering wheel and pulls over the parking lot.
“I know what you guys are doing. Dad told me, Rock,” I say with a sigh while a whirlwind of emotions creeps in.
He snaps his head to me. “Does he know about us?”
“Not yet.” I wasn’t able to put a label on what we were, so I just avoided talking. “But I’m going to tell him Sunday.”
“He won”t agree.”
“Why?”
“Because of who I am and my age, Princess.”
I hold back a laugh. “Your age?”
“I”m way older than you, baby.”
I roll my eyes. “Bullshit.”
“I”m thirty-four, Princess.”
“And that means way older for you? Age is just a number. Nothing more, Rock. “
He pulls me into a hug and kisses my head. “Love you, baby.”
Hearing the bikes roar I relax. I saw them following us but I don’t understand why they are out of the gate. Maybe Rock told them to wait there. I shrug and help him with bringing in the groceries.
“Even if Dad won”t agree with…” what can I call it? I mean, he never said we were a couple, but he did say I’m his woman which kinda makes it clear right?
“Please tell me you”re not thinking at what I think you”re thinking.”
“What?” Why am I nervous? He can”t read my mind, can he?
“You and me, baby. You’re mine, did you get it?” He makes me sit on the island so we can be at the same height. I swallow the lump in my throat. “So say it because this,” he motions at us “this is a relationship.”
“Okay,” I sigh in relief. “I don”t need Dad to approve our relationship, it won”t affect what I feel for you.”
He leans in. “I don”t want you to choose between me and your dad. Actually he could get rid of me, so you won”t have to.”
“What?” chills run down my spine.
“I was kidding, baby. Do you want me to talk to him?” I shake my head as no.
“That means no other women in your bed.” I said it. Damn, I did it for real.
“I don”t need to, Princess. You”re the only one who slept in my bed.”
“Ever or in ages?”
He smiles waiting for me to breathe again.
“I never shared my bed with any other women I fucked. I”ve never been in a relationship since Caroline, Princess.”
The intensity in his eyes sends me on fire. “I don”t stand lies.”
“You”re slaying me, Princess. Some things are better to stay in my world and you do not need to worry about them.”
I cup his face and perk at his lips. “I want to know all about you, Zane. No matter how bad it can be.”
He kisses me back, taking my breath away. “I love hearing you calling me by my real name.”
“Don”t get used to it, I still love Rock.” He bursts out laughing, pulling me into a hug.
His phone rings and he checks it before kissing me again. “Have to go, baby.”
“Take care, okay?”
“I promise,” he takes his keys, while heading out the door. “See you later.”
Even though Raven hasn”t called, I”ve started to listen to some songs and found four I”d love to perform. I even watched some choreographies while taking notes. My phone rings and seeing Kelly”s name on the screen makes me smile. When she calls at late hours it means troubles.
“Hey, doll. What”s up?”
“Hey, Ash, are you busy?” Her voice sounds a little off.
“Nope, why?”
“Amanda called me asking if Blake could come tomorrow too. I told her I need to ask you first.”
“That”s okay for me. The more the merrier and Rock and our friends will join us too.”
“Rock, huh? Wait, you said both your friends? So you and him?”
“Apparently we’ve made it official.”
Her squeals make me jump, I almost lose the grip on my phone.
“Wait, I need some wine. You lucky, bitch! So?”
“What?”
“Did he taste the cookie?”
I shrug, not being sure what to tell her. “I don”t know if he likes them.”
“Did he soak the cookie?”
“Kelly, are you okay? I said I don”t know if he likes…”
“For fuck”s sake, Ash. Did he get your V card?”
“Yes,” I confess, waiting for her to scream again.
“Just that?”
“What do you mean by just that?”
“Details, I want details. How was it? I hope he didn”t hurt you.”
“No, Kelly, he was so sweet.”
“That”s good, then. Is he as good in bed as I imagined?”
“Stop fantasizing about my man.”
“Nah, he”s not my type, I meant to say, watching him, you imagine him as someone who wouldn’t make you walk for days after being with him. But I”m so happy for you.”
“Let’s just say we’re pretty close then and there”s something you don”t know about him, but it stays between us.”
“Okay.”
I pause to create a little suspense. “He”s a biker.”
“Holy fuck, for real?”
“Yep,” I find myself smiling. We spotted a few bikers a while ago and she told me they’re loyal to the bones and that’s one of the reasons she’ll marry one.
“Hmm, and does he have a single friend?”
“I think Mac or Brick are, not sure though, I met them this morning.”
“Better getting ready for tomorrow.”
“You”re such a slut.”
“A fantastic one,” she laughs. “I need a real man, Ash. I’m done with these stupid baby boys.”
“Was Trevor that bad?”
“Fuck me, I had to tell him where and how, Ash. I mean he was hot as fuck but come on dude, watch some porn and learn how to satisfy a girl.”
“Sorry, babe. You’ll find someone to worship you for good.”
“Fingers crossed, sweets.” she giggles.
Getting back to the Clubhouse wasn’t exactly how I thought it would end this evening, but we have work to be done, and as much as I love to spend time with Ashley, The Vipers in town are my priority.
The rumors in the meeting room stop as soon I get in there.
“Where’s your Princess?” asks Blue, loading up a video.
“She stays out of this.” I take my seat at the table and silence my phone.
“Rock…” Denise’s voice from the back of the room makes me sigh.
“No, Di, she doesn’t need to know about this shit.”
“But she’s your ‘ol lady.” complains Mac.
“She is, but I need to keep her safe, Mac. She has a lot to think about right now. Once all is done, I’ll be the one to tell her about them, since then you all better keep your mouth shut. Got it?”
“Yes, Prez.” They echo in chorus.
“Good, now, what do we have?”
“Last night was interesting.” Brick begins. “Drew left the town for a couple of hours so I could sneak into his house.”
“Perfect,” I lean in resting my elbows on the table. “found anything we can use?”
“Yes,” he shows us some pictures he took. The walls of one of his rooms are full of Ashley’s pictures. There are few even from her home, they’re pretty zoomed so that means he couldn’t get closer since she has a gate.
“Is that her house?” Blue asks, surprised.
“Yeah,” I murmur, getting close to the monitor.
“She’s his target, but why?”
“Because he thinks I”ll be focused on her. The target is not her but Harrison. They know we’re protecting them.”
“So how do we proceed?”
I have no idea. Not yet.
“Bring her here, we can keep her safe and one of us will go with her at her train sessions.” proposes Bonnie.
“We need an excuse, she’s wise.”
She shrugs. “I like skating, so I guess that’s my excuse.”
“That’d work.” Agrees Doc.
Clenching my fists I sit back. “I don’t know, I’ll talk to her.”
“And we have another problem,” adds Blue.
“I’m all ears.”
“The doc was pretty busy today. Drew’s friend was talking with Bones.”
“Bones is on our payroll, what does he say?”
“The Vipers think he’s corruptible, so they asked him to work for them.”
“You fucking kidding me?” What the hell is happening?
“I couldn’t believe it either when he called me. They need a place for their cargo from Canada.”
“Any clue what they will import?”
“Drugs or guns.”
“Call The Wolves and The Angels too. I need to meet them tonight.” The two charters can come in a hand especially when it took us a lot to get rid of those motherfuckers.
“Consider it done,” Brick leaves the room.
When we took Newtok I knew we’ll have a lot of troubles because of the doc. It’s easy to reach it and ship things out to Canada. It’s easier for us too but we’re the only ones to use it.
“That’s all we have?”
“They tried to rent a few warehouses too.” Doc nervously flicks his pen.
“Okay, find out from whom and what they need them for.” I exchange a look with Mac. “From now on we won’t ride alone. Make sure to inform the gate.”
“On it, Rock,” Blue says, leaving the room too.
“What do we need to do, Rock?”
“We’ll move here, I want to know you all are safe, tell Silky to move in here too.”
“I’ll prepare your room for the Princess.”
“Thank you,” I collect my phone and keys. “I”ll be at the ZBE tonight if you need me.”
Once in my office I try to focus on what we should do next but I can”t stop thinking of her so I pick up my phone and shoot her a text.
Me: Are you awake?
Princess: Yep, doing some research.
Me: I miss you.
Princess: Come over.
Me: I wish I could, I need to keep an eye on my businesses too.
Princess: Do you have more than one here?
Me: I’ll tell you about them later, baby. I have a meeting at the ZBE tonight.
Princess: I”d have loved to have you in my bed tonight.
Me: I know baby, I’d loved it too.
What Bonnie proposed is the right thing to keep her safe. I just need to figure out how to ask her to move to the clubhouse without lying to her.
“Hey, Rock, what”s up man?” asks The Angels’ president as soon as he walks into my office.
“Hey, Terror, thank you for coming. Do you want something to drink?”
“Rock, am I late?” Bullet, The Wolves’ president, joins us. “Terror, you”re here too.”
“Hey man.”
“So, what was the hurry?”
After shaking their hands, we take a seat. I’m not here to sweeten the pill. “Long story short, The Vipers are trying to move back to Newtok.”
Bullet widens his eyes. “Why? We kicked them out fifteen years ago.”
“They have a new president, and he didn’t get the memo.” But he’ll get it soon because Newtok is off limits for all the motherfuckers who think they can walk over my boundaries.
“If you need me, The Wolves are by your side.”
“Same goes for The Angels.” Terror firmly nods.
“We don”t know what they”re up to, but nothing is good when they are around.”
“Do you need more men to patrol the area?”
“Not for now, but I appreciate the offer, keep an eye open on your borders though.”
“Keep us posted. Things went great until now and I want them to continue that way.” Of course they want to. In all three areas the life quality improved, same goes for the economy and the criminal rate decreased. We made the State one of the safest and I’ll be damned if I’ll let them change it.
“Yeah, me too, Terror.” I haven”t seen them in a while, but I knew I could count on them, and the same goes for me.
After a few hours of planning a safety program I head downstairs with them. Opening the door I hear the crowd cheering up.
“The new bartender is the finest piece of art,” says Bullet, waving goodbye. The new what?
The music is silent and I try to see what”s going on but the customers are in my way. It seems all of them are gathered around the bar. What the fuck is happening?
I whistle, catching their attention “Move,” I snap seeing J, Victor and Ashley at the bar.
“What the hell is happening here?”
“We had a problem with the DJ, Rock,” says J.
“Why haven”t I been informed?”
“I did, several times but I had to keep them at bay.”
I pick up my cellphone as the music begins to play again and I recognize Ash’s friend at the DJ console. Ashley comes to hug me, and I bend down to kiss her.
“What are you doing here?”
“I couldn”t sleep, and I used it as an excuse to see you. Plus Luke came in hand since he loves music.” She shrugs with a sweet smile. “Is that a problem?”
“No, Princess. Why are you behind the bar?”
“Ehm, I was trying to help J.”
Hmm, why do I smell it as a lie?
I turn my gaze to J for the answer she won’t say. “She asked for an angel shot, Rock.”
“What the fuck?” I snap my head at her. “It was taken care of?”
“Yes, Rock.”
“What”s an angel shot? Never asked for one.”
“We call it so when someone is in danger or someone else bothers a customer.”
“I”m okay, Rock. J was so nice to make me stay here and actually I had fun juggling with the bottles.” She playfully winks.
“Don”t get used to it, baby. Come upstairs.” I nod a thank you to J.
“Are Fridays so busy here?”
“Yes, Princess, we”re closed on Mondays and Tuesdays but from Wednesday till Sundays we”re crowded.”
“Wow, you have the monopoly of the clubs here.”
“Kind of.” I chuckle while leading her upstairs.
“Any news from your coach?”
“Nothing yet, but it was great to dream a little.”
“They are fools not to list you.”
“That means no trip to Europe.” I can feel her sadness even if she pretends everything is okay. I pull her to me, making her sit on my lap.
“Are you sure it”s okay for me to stay here?”
“Yes, Princess. I”m happy to have you here.”
Her smile makes my heart melt.
“I told the guys to be at your place at four p.m.”
“That”s perfect, I”ve baked a lot for tomorrow.”
“Sounds sexy.”
“You find everything sexy, Rock.”
“Because you are.”
“I am scared of how insane it feels being in your arms.” She whispers, resting her head on my shoulder.
“I know, Princess. I want to spend all my time with you.”
“You”ll get sick of me.” She rolls her eyes, making me chuckle.
Her phone rings and seeing Raven”s name on the screen I get nervous. She picks up, turning the speakerphone on.
“Hello?”
“Hi Ash, were you sleeping?”
“Not at all, are you okay? You sound so pissed.”
“I should have called you hours ago, but my phone’s battery died and I couldn”t find a darn charger, can you believe it? So sorry for the late call.”
“That”s okay…” She starts fidgeting with the hem of her top. I kiss her shoulder, trying to comfort her. To make her feel I’m here for her even though I’m more nervous than her for sure.
“I know you”re dying to know if you were listed or not. So get ready, the next months will be like hell, Ash. You made it.”
“Are you talking about the Olympics?”
“Yes, make sure your passport is ready because in nine months we”ll be in St. Moritz.”
“F..f...for real?” She mumbles, making us laugh. She bites her bottom lip while some tears run down her cheeks.
“I”ll let you have a free weekend but from Monday you”ll be on a diet and a hellish training program.”
“Got it. Thank you, Raven.”
“See you on Monday.”
Silence. It seems she’s holding her breath.
I hug her tight, but she bursts into tears.
“Hey baby, come here.” I stroke her back “I”m so fucking proud of you, Princess. I knew it.”
“Thank you. It seems so surreal.”
Surreal but also it comes in handy for me.
“Indeed is all true, because you”re amazing.”
“I love you, Rock.”
“Then come stay with me.”
“What?”
“Move in with me. You”ll be so busy with your training, and I don”t want to waste time going back and forth. Having you at the Clubhouse will be amazing.”
“Isn”t it too soon? We barely know each other.”
“You”ll know me even more, living with me.”
“But why the Clubhouse? Why not my place or yours?”
“I spend all my time there, I barely go home, plus you”ll also have the girls there.”
“I don”t know what to say.”
“Say yes.”
She holds my gaze and seconds seem infinite. Come on baby, say yes.
“Okay,” she licks her lips, and I can’t help but kiss her. It”s for her safety but I”m too selfish to leave her alone. I need her. I couldn”t even sleep when she wasn’t with me. She”s the piece I was missing, and I”ll do anything to have her by my side.