Chapter 15 Storm
Storm
As we drive through town, I reach over and place my hand on Dixie’s thigh. It’s so nice to be able to touch her and not worry about how she’s going to react or if I should be doing it.
I know I shouldn’t be. I should run in the opposite direction of her and keep the walls firmly standing around my heart when it comes to her. I wasn’t lying, Porter will lose it. I might get kicked out of the club. Honestly, he might kill me.
Yet, I can't seem to find the will to care.
The beautiful smile that stretched across her face when she was talking to Artie and realized why we were at the restaurant… I’ll remember that smile on my death bed. She was so happy knowing her dreams would come true.
“What are you thinking about?” Dixie places her hand over mine and strokes my skin gently.
“How long it will take before Porter finds out I kissed his little girl. I'm wondering if he’ll make it fast when he kills me or will he draw it out and torture me.”
“He won't kill you.” I glance over at her just in time to see her roll her eyes.
“I think you’re confused. I'm talking about Porter Reeves, the president of the Savage Wolves, of course he’d kill me. I’ve seen him kill men for less.”
Dixie is silent as she stares out the window. She’s nibbling on her bottom lip, something she does when she’s deep in thought.
“Sometimes it’s hard to remember he’s more than a dad. When I look at him, I don’t see someone who would harm anyone, but I'm not stupid. I know he’s killed in the past and I'm sure he will again in the future, but that’s not the man I know.”
“We’re not the good guys, Little Fox. You know that.”
“Do you ever hurt innocent people?” She asks softly, almost like she’s afraid of the answer.
I flip my hand over and intertwine my fingers with hers. I give her hand a gentle squeeze and try to give her some comfort.
“As far as I know, your dad hasn’t. I’d never be able to stomach hurting someone who’s innocent and neither would Chopper. The rest… I can't really speak for them.”
“What… What type of bad stuff is the club involved in?”
“You know I can't discuss that with you, Little Fox. You’re not in the club. You’re not even my old lady. I still couldn’t tell you everything if you were, but I could tell you a lot more.”
“And how does someone become an old lady?”
“Are you saying you’re interested in the position?” I arch a brow, pulling off the main road and onto a gravel drive that will lead us up to a bluff overlooking the town and the river running alongside it.
“I don’t know. I think I’d need to know the job duties and the salary, along with the benefits. I need to make sure it’s worth it.”
Without a word, I pull the SUV to a stop at the top of the bluff. I hop out of the car and rush around to her side. As soon as I have her door open, I'm lifting her out of the car and pinning her between me and the cold metal.
Dixie wraps her legs around my waist and her smile doesn’t hesitate to spread across her lips as she stares into my eyes.
“Your duties would be to take care of me. The salary is whatever you want because I'm pretty sure I’d do almost anything to make you mine. To see you with my property patch on. And the benefits? Little Fox,” I whisper her name as I chuckle and shake my head. “The benefits will blow your mind.”
“What are you willing to do with your hands?” There’s amusement and mischief swirling together in her honey eyes, making me hesitant to answer her question.
“Do you want me to show you right now?” I reach for her, but she stops me when her laughter breaks free.
“I'm wondering if you’ll upgrade the electrical at Little Fox Café for free.”
“Beautiful,” I breathe as I lean in close and cup her cheek. “I'm paying for every renovation. I'm giving you the restaurant of your dreams.”
She opens and closes her mouth several times before she finally finds her voice. “You don’t need to do that.”
“But I want to.” I press my mouth to hers in a needy kiss. I don’t want to argue about who’s going to pay for what, I want to get lost in her and nothing else.
Dixie’s chest rises and falls quickly as she deepens our kiss. She’s so quick to respond every time I touch her. She’s like a live wire and every time she kisses me, I get a shock to my system. I want more of her. I crave it like a junkie looking for their next fix.
She reaches for the hem of my shirt and tries to pull it over my head, but I stop her. It’s freezing out tonight and I know if I let her continue, we’ll end up doing something we shouldn’t be. I don’t want to explain how we both got sick in a few days either.
“Let’s go back to my place, Little Fox. We can continue this somewhere warm.”
Disappointment washes over her features, but she hides it quickly. I hate the feeling spreading through my chest. I don’t want to disappoint her. I'm trying to take care of her more than I would any other woman.
I don’t want to rush things between us. If nothing else, I'm going to prove to Dixie and the rest of the world that I'm in this for forever with her. She’s all I want and I won't stop until everyone knows that.
I don’t want her to feel like our relationship needs to progress physically because she owes me. I don’t want us to regret anything. I want our first time together to be memorable. I want her to be mine first.
My Wife.
My old lady.
My everything.
As soon as I'm parked in front of my place, I glance around to make sure there aren’t any men lurking around. I don’t want them to see Dixie going into my apartment. I'm not sure how I’d be able to explain this to anyone, least of all Porter.
Though most of the guys would have my back and wouldn’t say a word, you never know who might want to take my position with the Savage Wolves. Anyone who is trying to get in Porter’s good graces and will do anything to make that happen.
I don’t say a word as I usher Dixie through my door and shut it softly behind us. The less noise and attention on us the better.
Dixie walks around, taking in more details of the photos I have placed around the living room.
Her eyes linger on one of the two of us with Chopper and her sisters.
Chopper has his arms around Oakley and Roxy with a big smile on his face.
I’m solely focused on Dixie. An arm around her waist and I'm staring down at her like she’s my entire world.
She picks up the frame and brushes her fingers over the image. I don’t hesitate to wrap my arms around her and rest my chin on her shoulder.
“What are you thinking, Little Fox?” I murmur in her ear before pressing a soft kiss to the spot right behind it.
“I'm thinking about us. About all the forbidden romances I’ve read. I'm wondering if our story will turn out the way I want it to, or the way I think it will.”
“Are they the same?”
“No,” she whispers. “Not even close.”
Dixie leans her head back against my chest and lets out a sigh. I tighten my hold on her and squeeze my eyes shut.
I should tell her to go home. End this before it can really begin. So far, we’ve barely kissed, we can walk away from that, but if I get more of her…
“I don’t know what to do,” I whisper.
Dixie places the picture frame back on the end table and spins around to face me. She snakes her arms around my neck and her eyes search mine.
“What do you mean?”
“If we do what I want to do, there’s no going back. You’ll be mine. I’ll never let you go.”
“Ok.”
“But your dad…” I trail off, unsure of what else to say.
“My dad is more important.” She nods her head and tries to step away from me.
“Dixie,” I growl, tightening my hold on her.
“It’s ok, Storm. I knew where I stood with you long before the night at McHugh’s.
I just got caught up in things. I thought maybe it could be different.
” She holds her head high and refuses to let her emotions overtake her, but I can see the disappointment in her eyes.
I can feel the way her body sagged just a little bit before she straightened again.
“Screw it,” I growl as I sweep her into my arms and deposit her in the middle of my bed. I crawl over her body and hover above.
“What are you doing?” She squeals.
“Shhh, Little Fox. I don’t want anyone to hear you,” I murmur, peppering her neck with slow and lazy kisses.
“But what are you doing?” She groans. “I thought you just said-”
“I'm an idiot if I think I can walk away from you. No matter how many times I’ve tried to pretend I feel nothing for you, I can't convince myself to stay away from you. You’ve always been my end game, Dixie. I want you to be mine.”
“What about my dad?”
“I’ll deal with him. I just need some time to figure out how.”
“What about the club?” She asks slowly. Even though she’s not saying the words, I know she’s asking if she’s more important than the club
“Nothing is more important than my Little Fox,” I murmur as my kisses move down her neck.
“Are you sure about this, Storm?” The concern in her voice has me glancing up to meet her gaze. She brushes my long hair back, letting her fingers move through the locks needing to be cut.
“I'm not letting you go. Not when we’re on the same page.”
“You don’t care about how young I am?”
“Why does it feel like you’re looking for reasons we shouldn’t be together?” I arch a brow.
“Because I’ve been told my entire life to stay away from you. I’ve been told you were too old for me, too dangerous, too wild. I was told to stay away from the club and any members.”
“By who?”
“My mom.” She smiles softly. “I think she saw the way I always looked at you and knew it’d eventually be an issue. She wanted us to have lives outside of the club.”
“She didn’t like it?”
“She did, but she knew how dangerous it was. Not only for the members, but their families. There were more than a few threats on our lives when we were growing up.”
“What the heck? Why?”
“The club was mixed up in some bad business back then. Dad was only the vice president and the president, Riot, cared about how much money was being brought in and nothing else. He put his hands on Mom and Dad killed him. You know the rules, you don’t touch someone’s old lady.
Mom wasn’t the first old lady he touched, but none of the other guys had the balls to do anything to him because he was the president.
Dad didn’t know what was going on until he started going after Mom.
When Dad approached Riot, he threatened to hurt Oakley, Roxy, and I if Dad got in the way of whatever Riot wanted.
Dad wasn’t standing for that. He wasn’t letting anything happen to his wife or daughters. ”
“How did I not know that?” I blink in surprise.
“Because the club split after that. The ones who were loyal to Riot wanted nothing to do with staying with the Savage Wolves. They couldn’t go after Dad because they knew he didn’t do anything wrong, but they didn’t stay.
The only members who stayed with the Savage Wolves were the good guys.
The ones who value family and are loyal to the club.
Dad decided the split didn’t need to be discussed with new members.
He was trying to protect the women who were abused by Riot and didn’t want anyone mentioning anything in the clubhouse, where the old ladies might overhear it. He was looking out for everyone.”
“Man, I have even more respect for Porter now.”
“Which is why I should just go.” She tries to push me away from her, but I'm not having that. I'm done with disappointing my girl.
“Not a chance,” I growl as I capture her lips in another breathtaking kiss. “I told you, you’re mine.”
She gasps and I take the opportunity to taste her again. She’s so sweet and tastes like vanilla. I'm not sure how, but I love it. I'm addicted to it.
“Storm,” she mumbles against my lips. “I never thought this could happen.”
I pull back and stare down at her. She’s running her fingers over my tattoos like she’s memorizing each one.
“What do all of these mean? Is your entire torso covered too?”
I'm sure she’s seen me shirtless before, but now that I'm thinking about it, I'm not sure if she has. She’s acting like she hasn’t.
Without a word, I quickly strip my shirt over my head and lay down on the mattress next to her. She rolls on her side and takes in my exposed torso.
“Your body is magnificent,” she whispers as she reaches out to trace one of my tattoos. I smirk when it dawns on me what tattoo it is. “When did you get this?”
“About six years ago.”
“Why did you get it?” She blinks up at me with big innocent eyes. It’s still hard to believe someone like her could want me.
We’re polar opposites. She’s bright and happy. I'm dark and broody. She’s smart and driven, she knows exactly what she wants in life and isn't afraid to go after it. I’m… me.
“For the exact reason you think I did.” I lift her fingers to my lips and press a kiss to each knuckle.
“I want the words, Storm.”
“I tattooed a fox on my ribs because I didn’t think my Little Fox would ever be mine.”
“You’re so much sweeter than you let people see. They all think you’re this hard jerk, but you’re not. You’re a big teddy bear.”
“Only with you, Little Fox,” I growl as I tug her back into my arms.
And now, I'm never letting her go.
“Are you staying here tonight?” I murmur against her neck as I tuck her body closer to mine.
“I don’t know. I'm afraid Roxy and Oakley might notice if I do.”
“Would they tell your dad?”
“I’d love to say no, but it all depends on the day.
We’re all known to be petty at times and the easiest way to get back at each other is to tell Dad about something the other person doesn’t want him to know.
” She runs her fingers back and forth on my arm.
It’s so soothing I'm having a hard time staying awake.
“Which room is yours?”
I helped the girls move when they wanted their own place, but I put everything in the living room. They said they could handle it from there and I had things to do that weekend. I didn’t fight them.
“What?” Dixie looks up at me with a furrow between her brows.
“Which bedroom is yours? There are three in your apartment. Two on the left and one on the right. Which one is yours?”
“I'm the last room on the left. Why does it matter?”
“Because our closets are only separated by a thin wall.” I grin as I kiss her again.
“Ok…” She trails off, still not understanding what I'm saying.
“What do you think about me putting a door in our closets? Then you can come and go as you’d like and no one will ever know.”
“I think dating a man who’s good with his hands comes with its advantages.” She grins as she shoves me on my back and leans over me. “I'm thinking about how I can be lying in your arms and kissing you when I should be in my bedroom sleeping like a good little girl.”
“Let’s see what I can do.”