Chapter 4 #2
She wanted to respond with, “Why would I need that when I have you? A man who calls himself Rage. A man who would protect his family and friends with the ferocity of a cornered grizzly bear.”
She didn’t. Because she would never want to be one of those women who relied solely on a man. The women in the DAMC were strong, intelligent, and independent. They could fight their own battles.
But she understood his concern and why he was asking.
“We don’t even know who they were, Ash.” She tipped her head to the side and watched his expression carefully when she said, “Unless you do and are keeping it from us.”
No matter who it was, they had approached the Angels of Fury formation from behind. It was basically a hit and run. When they hit Piper, it knocked her and her sled into both Lyric and Bri.
The brush burns on her arms were starting to heal, but she still took pain medication for her left shoulder. Her Harley was also in the shop being repaired. Luckily, it wasn’t totaled and she hoped to have it back soon as good as new.
He brushed his knuckles over the one of the skinned areas that was no longer raw but still a bit red. “How you feelin’?”
She frowned. “Nice deflection. Will you tell us who it is if you find out?”
“Know who it is, Lyric, but don’t want you girls goin’ all vigilante on them.”
“We’re not girls.”
“Women,” he corrected. “We warned you and your club sisters that the Twisted Souls were takin’ over the Demons’ old territory.”
“But why would they see us as a threat? When I say ‘us,’ I not only mean the Angels of Fury, but the DAMC.”
Clearly, he didn’t want to tell her. Most likely because it was considered “club business”, and to the men, club business wasn’t the women’s business.
“Are they trying to take over the club’s territory?”
“Don’t know that, baby, but that’s always a risk.”
Her heart skipped a beat. Ashton tended to be gruff. He grumbled and growled a lot, but whenever he called her baby, his tone changed. It softened, and so did his expression.
She figured it was the age difference between them that stopped him from pursuing her. If so, he was ignoring the fact that Lyric’s mother was twelve years younger than her father and her parents were still madly in love and were true soulmates.
She grew up being told that age was only a number and love was timeless.
She believed that.
The seven years between her and Ash were nothing.
It could be that it wasn’t her age at all and it was something else.
Maybe he was sweet to her solely due to her being a part of the DAMC family and he might think of her as a sister.
On the other hand, Ash respected her father a lot.
All of the DAMC brothers did, past and present.
He could be worried Crow would discourage anything more than friendship between them.
After all, she was her father’s “baby girl.”
Growing up in a motorcycle club, she was used to the men being overprotective. Her father, and now her brother, were no exception.
She finished doing touchups on a few different pieces, cleaned up the areas, and applied a protective ointment. Since a tattoo was technically an open wound, it could get infected if not taken care of properly.
With as much ink as Ash had, he was now a pro at taking care of any new or touched up work so she didn’t have to lecture him, or even give him pointers like she had to with so many other clients.
“Do you want to hang out here while I find a hawk? I’d do the tattoo today if I didn’t have another appointment coming in right after you and I want to take my time with it.”
“I can wait. Next client’s gonna actually give you scratch and that’s a fuckuva lot more important than my freebie.”
She tattooed anyone in the DAMC family for no charge. Especially since a lot had let her practice on them when she was new. Members of the Blood Fury, the Dark Knights, and even the Blue Avengers got a deep discount.
It was a tradition her father started decades ago. It was also one reason so many of them were heavily tattooed. If Ash had to pay for his, he would’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars over the years.
But everyone under the DAMC umbrella got free services from any club business.
Memberships at Shadow Valley Fitness were free for all of them.
So was the gun range. Had an urge for something sweet?
Simply stop in at Sophie’s Sweet Treats for a latte and cupcake.
Need something stronger? The Iron Horse Roadhouse or the private club bar had them covered.
She didn’t have to worry about her insurance rate going up since the repairs for her sled would be done for free through Shadow Valley Body Works.
The DAMC was a close community. All of them benefitted in plenty of ways.
She went over to the area where she and her employees drew their designs and opened up her laptop. A quick search brought up photos of different types of hawks and she used those as a guide to sketch one by hand.
Ash came up behind her, placed both hands on the back of her chair, and leaned over to watch her work.
Of course, his searing heat, his familiar scent, and simply his close presence distracted her. Her racing heart caused her hands to tremble slightly. She dropped them in her lap, squeezed them together, and willed them to stop.
“Yeah,” he murmured near her ear as he studied one of the photos she had pulled up. “Like how its wings are extended like that. Like it’s chasin’ prey.”
Why did she feel like the nervous little rabbit the hawk was pursuing?
She could finally breathe normally again when he straightened and dared a glance over her shoulder when she heard the heavy thud of his boots heading away from her.
Her eyes slid over his broad back and the first tattoo he ever got from Crow.
His colors.
She had touched them up for him last year, so the lines were dark and distinct.
Disappointment flowed through her when he pulled on his T-shirt and cut.
She wished he thought of her as more than a club sister. But the hell if she was going to make the first move, only to be embarrassed if he shot her down.
You’re too young.
You’re like a sister to me.
You’re not my type.
Don’t want to disrespect your father.
Not only would she be disappointed to hear those excuses, she’d never be able to look him in the eye again after being rejected.
It was safer to simply spend time with him when she could.
And be satisfied with that.
Except she was just about to turn twenty-four and she’d never met another man she wanted as much as Ashton Dougherty.
If nothing changed, she might be doomed to a lifetime of being single.
As well as a virgin.