Chapter 6
Maddy
I had my rotation at the vet clinic I volunteered at that next morning. German was waiting for me in the car as soon as I was ready. It would seem, as long as he was my bodyguard, I was never going to be able to drive again. And I liked to drive. Especially given the cars my father liked to buy me.
The moment I slipped into the passenger side seat, I thought about my fantasy of German in the tub last night. Needing to hide my embarrassment, I cleared my throat and said, “You don’t have to hang around the clinic while I’m working, you know. Feel free to take the car and do some errands while I’m there.”
German gave me a look which said that wasn’t happening. Sighing, I reached into my purse for my new phone. I hadn’t had a chance to look it over since he’d given it to me. It was just a basic throwaway a tourist might use when they were on vacation and had lost theirs. It was good for making and receiving calls, and had the internet, though it boasted no preinstalled apps for any type of entertainment I usually enjoyed.
Attempting to be civil, I kept up the one-sided conversation. “I’m going to need your number in case I have to work late. I’ll let you know when my shift is over and you can come pick me up.”
“I already programmed my number in your phone before I gave it to you. And you won’t have to call me because I’m going to be here when you’re done,” German returned, squashing any hope I had of avoiding all the questioning looks and awkward conversations about why this bad-ass bodyguard was accompanying me wherever I went.
My brow arched. “You can’t be serious. You’re going to sit outside of the clinic for two hours?” Usually, it would be a four-hour shift. But this was a favor I was doing for one of the receptionists who had an early doctor’s appointment for her kid.
“That’s the idea, yes,” German dryly returned, giving me one of his trademark hard stares.
I know he was here to help me, but this was starting to feel ridiculous. This wasn’t some dark parking garage I was walking through. Nobody was going to attack me in broad daylight at a veterinary clinic!
Realizing I wasn’t going to change his mind though, I shrugged and tossed my cell back into my bag. “Suit yourself. Just remember to crack a window so you don’t get heat stroke while I’m gone.”
Not pleased with my insinuation that he was my pet waiting outside in my car, German grunted. “I’m not waiting here the whole time, Maddy. I need to come inside and see where you work.”
“Why?” I asked, truly confused.
“I’m not sure you realize how serious what happened to your dad’s secretary was,” German lectured. “If it had been you in that parking lot, things would have gone down a lot differently, and not for the better.”
I swallowed down the guilty lump in my throat. “I know,” I said, contrite. “I feel awful about what happened to Christine. I’ll never be able to make it up to her.”
Frowning, German’s eyes softened a few degrees. “I didn’t mean it like that. You’re not to blame for what happened to the woman, Maddy. I just meant that if they had found you, I’m sure the stakes would have been even higher.”
I slowly absorbed what he said and mulled it over. “Do you think they would have killed me? The men that hurt Christine?” A fissure of fear opened wide in my chest and ripped down my spine. That thought was a sobering one.
“We’re never going to have to find out,” German told me, pulling into the parking lot of Bay Street Vet Clinic. “Now that your father reached out to the Devil’s Riders to protect you, nobody’s going to touch a goddamned hair on your head! That I can guarantee you.”
This might sound crazy, but I believed him when he told me that. “Thank you, German.” My voice was low and a bit choked up when I spoke.
I might have been raised with a silver spoon in my mouth, but I wasn’t a brat. Not about stuff like this. I appreciated my father had reached out to someone to protect me while he was out of town, and I wasn’t trying to make the man’s job more difficult and dangerous than it already was.
German didn’t respond, only cut the engine and pocketed the key fob. “When we get back to your dad’s house later, I want you to make a list of people you don’t get along with. Even if you think the feud isn’t noteworthy. Sometimes it’s the small things that set a person off.”
Nodding, I opened my door and stepped outside. “I made one for the detective who came to our house after Christine was injured. Until you arrived, he was parked outside of our house most days. Now it seems he’s found better things to do with his time.”
“He’s still around,” German informed me. “He’s just trying to camouflage himself better since I showed up.”
That surprised me. “Why would he hide from you?”
German smiled. “Cops and my Club don’t always get along so well, Maddy.”
I guess that made sense. I’d seen Sons of Anarchy . Law enforcement and bikers seemed to be natural enemies given their opposing agendas. Still, that the detective would go out of his way to hide from German was wild to me.
We entered the building and I pointed toward the waiting area. “You can have a seat and wait for me there. I’ll let everyone know you’re not a client and you’re my ride home.”
Since the gym, I’d been racking my brain for a reason to give people why this six-foot-plus, muscular, leather-clad biker was shadowing me. Try as I might, there weren’t many good options that quickly came to mind. In the end, I decided to tell them he was a friend of the family visiting for a few weeks and we were going out after work. It might be a little weird, but at least it was plausible.
German took a seat and pulled out his phone. As he scrolled, he peered around, taking in all the entrances and exits available in the office. Carol, a coworker who’d been at the clinic for years, gave me a raised eyebrow when I took a seat beside her at the front desk.
“What’s with the hunk?” the forty-something-year-old woman inquired with a naughty smile.
I blushed a little as I stored my purse under the counter. “He’s a friend of the family,” I hastily explained. “We’re going out after work to meet up with my aunt, so he decided to tag along and check out the clinic.”
“Wouldn’t mind if he was my friend,” Carol teased good-naturedly, as her eyes openly appraised him now.
I gave the pretty brunette a genuine smile. “Has it been busy today?”
Carol sighed. “We’ve been absolutely slammed! Between the endless phone calls, last-minute schedule changes, and walk-ins, we haven’t had a moment to ourselves all morning.”
This place was a zoo. It was hopping more than any club I’d ever been to. I guess people loved their pets. And I couldn’t blame them. I loved Mr. Jingles more than anyone had a right to love a four-legged rage machine. That old man had my heart in ways that should be outlawed in all fifty states.
“Coffee is on in the back if you want a cup,” Carol told me, our conversation interrupted by yet another phone call.
As Carol dealt with a distraught pet owner whose golden retriever had eaten a pack of sugar-free gum that contained Xenatol, I began checking the schedule log for the day. Deep into my work, I didn’t see Tish walk up to the reception desk.
“Who’s the gorgeous man in the leather?” she demanded in a loud whisper, as she leaned in over the counter, her bright blue eyes shining with mischief.
Reading through the text portal about a cat that had an ongoing UTI, I was startled by the sudden interruption. “What?” It took a second for her words to sink in. “Oh, that’s just a friend of my family’s.”
While I didn’t hate Tish, I’d never been too fond of her either. She was flighty, called out of work often, and was generally too immature for my liking. The last thing I wanted to do was set her up with German. Not wishing to ask myself why that was, I simply wrote it off as too complicated an issue to navigate. Yup. I was sticking with that answer.
Her brow rose as though she were waiting for more information. “And his name would be?”
“German,” I reluctantly provided, when I couldn’t come up with a legitimate reason not to.
Tish squished up her pretty, tanned face. “Is that a last name or a first name?”
Oh God! I didn’t know. Not able to say that without appearing like my whole story was a ruse, I did the logical thing and lied. “Um, it’s his last name.”
She looked at me as though she thought I was slow. “So what’s his first name?”
Fuck! Now I was stuck. “Clark.”
I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking. Clark was the name of our mailman. He’d dropped off a package two days ago for my father and I’d had to sign for it when Gretchen was at lunch.
“He doesn’t look like a Clark,” Tish surmised. “German definitely fits him better.”
“Yeah, I guess that’s why he chooses to go by the nickname instead of his family name,” I lamely explained.
“Introduce me,” Tish demanded then.
I really didn’t want to. “Why?”
Blue eyes wide open with disbelief, Tish gaped like a fish out of water. “Because I want a chance to get him into my bed, silly! He’s fucking gorgeous!”
Not sure she’d buy he was gay, I swallowed down my reluctance and tried to hold her off. “Maybe later. I have to finish reading over these texts from patients first.”
“I might not have a chance later. We’ve been busy all morning. I’ll just go over there and introduce myself,” Tish stubbornly stated.
Seeing my story fall apart quicker than a homemade Halloween costume, I said, “I can take a quick break now,” and reluctantly led her over to German.
Clocking our arrival, German looked up from his phone and waited to hear what we wanted.
“Hey,” Tish eagerly greeted before I even had a chance to say anything. So much for introductions. “I’m Tish.”
“Tish,” I said before German could speak, “this is my friend Clark.” The confused expression on German’s face was almost comical. “But he goes by the name German to his friends.”
“Nice to meet you, German,” Tish said, practically devouring the man with her eager eyes. “I hope you don’t mind me calling you that. I just think we’d make great friends.”
I think I’d just thrown up a little in my own mouth. However, German didn’t seem to have the same aversion to the girl’s direct approach. Rather, he seemed to enjoy it.
“Nice to meet you, Tish.” His gaze swept over the girl’s trim figure. When it hit her toes, it bounced back up to her face.
Tish smiled even wider at his open inspection. “So, I hear you're in town visiting. Do you need a tour guide to see the sights? I know all the best spots.”
Jesus! Tish didn’t play. She came to win and she went in hard for the kill each and every time. I almost had to admire her pit bull approach. If I’d been braver, I wouldn’t have waited ten years for Nathan to notice my foolish ass! Maybe then I wouldn’t be single and sitting around with my thumb up my ass waiting for him to finally ask me out.
“I wouldn’t mind that,” German said with a slow grin, his long legs splayed out in front of him. “What’s your number?”
What the fuck was I watching? I felt like the most pathetic third wheel that ever had the misfortune to exist. Tish rattled off her digits as German popped them into his phone.
“I’m free this weekend if you want to hang out,” she tossed in for good measure.
My phone rang then and I had to rush back to my desk. It was for the best. I didn’t want to witness any more of the National Geographic mating ritual unfolding in front of me. As I took down the information of my caller, I forbade my eyes to travel over to the flirting duo. Try as I might, I failed each and every time Tish’s shrill laughter broke through my concentration.
Thankfully, I was mercifully put out of my misery when one of the doctors told Tish he was ready for her assistance in observation room number four. “I’ll be right there,” she called over to the doctor, before finishing up her conversation with German. As she walked away backwards, she said, “That sounds good,” though I didn’t know what she was referring to, and, “Call me,” before spinning around and heading over to exam room four.
German’s smile was wide as he looked back at me. Hating that smug expression on his face, I quickly trained my eyes on the empty screen in front of me. I could hear the asshole chuckle as he went back to his phone and began scrolling again with a self-satisfied grin still frozen in place. Trying not to implode with anger, I began logging back into the computer that had timed out while I’d been rage-watching this ugly scene.
“You okay, kid?” Carol asked, having witnessed the interplay between all three of us like some low-budget Shakespearean drama.
“Yeah,” I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “It’s just been a long week, is all.”
Carol nodded with understanding. “You want some free advice?” she posed, not forcing it on me if I wasn’t in the mood to hear it.
Pursing my lips, I said, “Sure.”
“Tish doesn’t want him. Well, not really. That girl is only ever looking for her next adventure and a little fun,” she clarified. “If you want more than that, tell him now before he takes her up on her tempting offer.”
Shocked she’d read the situation so accurately, I blustered and fumbled my words. “It’s not like that,” I denied, though it was clear I wasn’t being altogether truthful.
“My mistake,” Carol replied gracefully before answering the next ringing phone.
* * *
When my shift ended, I grabbed my bag and said goodbye to Carol. Somewhat of a bad sport, I ignored Tish, who was busy stocking bags of dog food in the main display, and headed outside for my car. As I double-timed it out to the parking lot, I also ignored the tall, imposing figure trailing behind me.
“Keys,” I demanded without looking up, as soon as we reached my convertible. It was my car. I was driving. End of story.
“They’re in my pocket, unless you want to come over here and fish them out?” he teased, daring me to do just that.
I wasn’t in the mood. “Toss them over. I’m driving home.”
German snorted as he reached into his pocket and clicked the fob to unlock the doors. “No, you’re not.”
Like always, I found my emotions totally out of whack whenever I was dealing with the hard-headed biker. “It’s my car,” I spat back, “and I want to drive it!”
He shrugged. “We’ll take my bike next time then.”
I hadn’t realized he’d ridden a motorcycle when he’d come to stay with us. I guess I’d never even thought about it. He’d just showed up out of nowhere and his larger-than-life presence just kind of overshadowed everything else.
The image of him on a bike swam into my mind’s eye then. Angry or not, I had to admit, the mental picture was a good one. Sexy. Dark. And fantasy fodder for later tonight if my already wet pussy had anything to say about it. But right now, I wasn’t going to let that shameless hussy drive me. Right now, my righteous indignation was in the driver’s seat.
Hands-on my hips, I tilted my head to the side. “Sure, whatever you say. But I am driving my car home today.”
That smug smile tugged at the corners of his full mouth. “You pissed about something, Babe?”
I hated his pet names for me. And I loved them. Never say the female mind was a simple thing. “Nope. I just want to drive my car, is all.”
“Tough shit,” he returned, coming around to the passenger side and swinging open my door. “When you’re with me, I drive. Get in.”
His stern words made my clit throb with need. “You’re a Neanderthal, you know that?”
“I do,” he returned without shame. “It’s half my charm.”
“Only half?” I said sarcastically. “I can’t wait to find out what the other half entails!”
His dark smile told me I wasn’t ready to see that side of him yet. “All in good time, Maddy,” he answered, his eyes telegraphing his twisted thoughts. “Now get in the car.”
Not wanting to make a scene at work, I walked around the hood of my car and reluctantly climbed into the passenger seat. German leaned in so close I could smell his aftershave mingled with his cologne. It was a rich, complex scent that made my stomach flip-flop and my breath stutter in my chest. Like the man was cobbled together from equal parts steel, leather, and pheromones, my body responded slavishly to his. Feeling light-headed and drugged, I sat there passively as he buckled me in like a child. Given our size difference, that analogy didn’t feel too far off.
As he lithely slipped back out of the car, his big hands grazed my thigh and I thought I actually might come on the spot. Jesus! What was wrong with me? I was acting like I’d been recently released from prison and he was the first male I’d seen in years!
Needing a distraction, I flicked on the radio and searched blindly for a station that fit my mood. When nothing met my standards, I turned the damn thing off altogether and decided to just stew in silence. Digging through my purse, I found the phone he gave me and began looking up apps to install so that I could ignore him properly the next time the need arose.
“Bad day at work?” he asked then, a twinkle in his whiskey-toned eyes.
I didn’t want to take the bait. I really didn’t, but he was just so… infuriating! I couldn’t help myself. “Something like that.”
“My day wasn’t so bad,” he persisted with a grin.
“I noticed,” I ground out, not wanting to talk about it. But also, wanting to talk about it so bad it hurt. I wanted to hear every detail that happened between Tish the tramp and him when I was out of earshot.
German smoothly passed the car on his right as he changed lanes. “That’s how it works, you know.”
Dropping my phone into my lap, I gave him my full attention. “How what works?”
“When somebody’s interested. They don’t wait months to ask you out. They just sack up and do it!”
So this was about Nathan? Was this asshole teaching me a lesson about dating? Well, I wasn’t interested in his lessons. Not this kind, anyway. There were a few others I’d be open to. But I wouldn’t let my mind linger too long on those erotic fantasies if I knew what was good for me.
“Thanks,” I groused, shooting icy daggers at him. “You’ve properly schooled me on how I’m a loser and can’t get a date. I hope that makes you feel better about yourself, Obi-Wan.”
German snorted. “That’s not what I said. Absolutely no one on planet Earth thinks you’re a loser, Maddy.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. He didn’t go to high school with a bunch of rich kids who simply couldn’t let a single day go by without reminding me I was the pale, redheaded kid who they lovingly called “fire crotch” whenever they wanted to bring me low. So yeah, I had my doubts about how cool I was.
“Whatever,” I returned, willing my frustration away before it led to tears.
“And why the hell did you tell that woman my name is Clark?” German unexpectedly asked then. “Do I look like a fucking Clark to you?”
That broke the tension and I actually burst out laughing. “That isn’t my fault!” I said between giggles. “You’ve never actually told me your name!”
“You know my name,” he argued, a small smile on his lips that let me know he found this somewhat humorous himself.
“I don’t actually. Not your full name. Just your road name,” I told him.
German tossed me a dubious look. “What do you know about road names?”
“Not much. Just what I’ve seen on TV shows like Sons of Anarchy,” I explained.
German scoffed. “That’s TV, Babe. Not real life.”
“Maybe, but I know road names are like nicknames the Club gives you when you’re pledging,” I said, for the lack of a better word.
“It’s called being a Prospect,” he explained, supplying the term I couldn’t remember. “And yes, that’s pretty much what happens.”
“So why are you called German?” I asked, curious about his origin story.
“That’s a conversation for another day,” he deflected, turning down my street. “But it’s actually my last name.”
Not deterred, I plowed onward with my questions. “What’s your first name then? If you don’t tell me, I’m just going to start calling you Clark whenever we argue.”
German snorted. “You will not!”
“I will. You know I will,” I threatened, meaning it, too.
With a deep sigh, German finally caved. “Christopher.”
My jaw dropped and I had to remind myself to close it before I started catching flies. “Christopher,” I repeated, liking the sound of it, despite how foreign it was on my tongue. “Christopher German. You know, it actually suits you.”
“Thanks,” he gruffly returned, punching the code in at the gate.
We drove into the garage and I gave him an overexaggerated smile. “Thanks for the ride, Chris. However, next time, I’m driving.”
German shook his head in disappointment, but I could tell he was enjoying the teasing as much as I was. “You give a woman a little bit of power, and it goes straight to her head!”
“Serves you right for macking on the women I work with,” I reprimanded, stepping out of the car.
German threw his hands up heavenward as I tapped in the code to enter the house. “Get your head checked, Maddy. I didn’t ask that woman out. She asked me out. I can’t help it if I’m popular with the ladies. It’s the leather and the bike. Women practically cream themselves over that shit!”
Rolling my eyes, I dropped my bag on the foyer table. “First off, gross! And secondly, I distinctly remember you asking Tish for her number! If you’ve forgotten that little detail, maybe you should get your head checked out, Christopher!”
Climbing the stairs, I listened to German follow behind me and grumble about women and their “selective memories”.
When I got to my room, I said, “I’ve got to change but I’m going to the gym in about an hour. Try not to hit on Gretchen when I’m gone!”
Flipping me the bird, German went into his room and closed the door as I went into mine. Stripping down to get changed, I slipped on my silk robe and perused my walk-in closet for gym clothes. Deciding on a pair of pastel green spandex pants and a matching bra top, I went over to my underwear drawer and pulled out a nude pair of panties so there’d be absolutely no chance of a wardrobe malfunction when I was doing squats.
About to close it, I remembered my cell phone was still stuffed at the bottom. Unearthing the beloved electronic, I flopped down onto my bed to check my messages. After all, German had said I couldn’t take it out of the house. Not that I couldn’t be on it when I was at home. You gotta’ love loopholes, right?
I scanned through the handful of texts I had and quickly sent off replies as I read each one. When I got to the last, I shot to my feet and actually screamed.
German burst through my bedroom door, which I never locked, gun in hand. “What’s wrong?” he demanded, his eyes searching my room for any signs of danger.
In total shock over his presence, and the rather terrifying weapon he’d drawn, it took me a second to speak. “Nothing,” I eked out, trying to keep the closure of my robe from exposing my large breasts which threatened to spill out of the skimpy material.
German’s face relaxed until he noticed what I was wearing. The robe was short. Only reaching an inch or two beyond my rear end, but I only wore it in my room when I was alone so it usually didn’t matter.
His dark gaze noted the scandalous length, then bounced up to where my hands were trying to discreetly fiddle with the bodice which had a tendency to gape. It must have been a trick of the light because his eyes went from brown to black in a matter of an instant.
Licking his lips, German asked, “What happened? Why were you screaming?”
Trying to dispel the tension in the room, I gave a high-pitched, breathy laugh. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I received an unexpected text and got a little over-excited, is all.”
Lowering his weapon, German tucked it behind his back where he must have hidden a holster. “You screamed over a text message?”
Recalling why I’d been so stoked, I read the message verbatim to him. “Hey, Maddy. It’s Nathan. I got your number from our mutual friend Natalie and wanted to know if you wanted to go out sometime? I’m free this Friday night if you’re available. What do you say?”
German’s face didn’t move a muscle when I looked up at him. He just stood there, arms folded as he listened passively to the text.
“You were right!” I practically squealed. “If a man wants to get to know you, he will find a way to make it happen.”
“You can’t go,” German said then, squashing my dreams of blonde children and a house in the hills in one careless sentence.
Perplexed, I asked, “Why not?”
“It’s not safe,” he flatly returned.
“But Daddy lets me go to the gym and work. Why can’t I go to a public restaurant with Nathan? I don’t care where we go, just so long as we do,” I compromised.
Wanting to be agreeable, I moved closer and begged, “Please German! It’s just dinner. A girl’s gotta eat, right?”
I could see a war of epic proportions being waged across German’s handsome face. “It’s not safe.”
Sensing he was bending despite his objections on the contrary, I teased, “Please, Daddy! I’ll be a good girl and do whatever you want if you just let me go!”
There was a moment there when the air got heavy and crackled with electricity. Had I pushed the man too hard? Swallowing back my fear, I noticed the intense expression on his face and shifted nervously in place.
When his gaze scanned down my body, my nipples hardened and my core became drenched. My thighs pulsed together to alleviate the growing throb between my legs and I stifled the urge to touch myself to alleviate the building tension there.
Nostrils and pupils flaring in tandem, German turned and walked toward the door. Standing on the threshold of my room, he muttered, “Fine. Dinner. You get one hour and then I’m bringing you home.”
“Two!” I shouted at his retreating form, as I began to excitedly respond to Nathan’s text, pointedly ignoring the way my body felt alive in a way I’d never experienced before.