Chapter Eight
The clubhouse was everything Grace was afraid of.
There were a lot of people, a lot of bikers, and it absolutely terrified her, which was why she stayed in Reaper’s bedroom ever since this morning.
Reaper had brought her to the club, introduced her to a load of people, most whose names she couldn’t remember.
There were so many of them. All dressed in some form of leather cut.
If her parents were still alive, she had a sneaking suspicion they would have cut her off by now. Maybe called her a traitor to her sister’s memory.
Life was getting so complicated, and she kept trying to think of a good reasonable excuse as to why a black SUV should be near her. It had to be a coincidence. Only, Grace knew there were not a lot of coincidences in her world. There was nothing more than nightmares.
She sat on the edge of Reaper’s bed. He brought her to his room and told her to get comfortable, settle herself in, as he needed to go and do something. He didn’t elaborate on what that was, and now she sat all alone, unsure what to do with herself. All the time, replaying that kiss.
She knew there had been tension between them. She hadn’t thought it was sexual tension, but the way he held her, the way he grabbed her, even now she couldn’t help but close her eyes, feeling so ... aroused. This was not what she wanted.
And yet, that was exactly what she wanted. She pressed the tips of her fingers against her lips, and it was like he was right there, in the room with her, which was crazy. She took a deep breath, and then felt a little sick.
There was a sudden knock on the door, and she stared at it, a little dumfounded and not sure what she should do. If she ignored it, that was rude. Maybe Reaper told someone she was staying in his room. Perhaps it was a woman trying to find Reaper.
She winced and pursed her lips, climbing off the bed to make her way to the door, which was just a few short steps. Reaper’s room wasn’t overly large, but still bigger than her tiny apartment. He did have that king-size bed he was talking about, and she had to admit it was amazing.
She gripped the handle, twisted, and looked around the door to see a smiling woman. Reaper had introduced her, but she couldn’t remember the woman’s name.
“Hi, I’m Ally, we met this morning when Reaper brought you around.”
“Ally, right, yes, hello,” she said.
“I just came to see if everything was okay, and if you were happy?” she asked, hands clasped together.
This was not how she imagined a club woman to be. Was Ally a sweet-butt?
“Uh, yeah, I’m fine. Are you looking for Reaper?” she asked, feeling that hint of jealousy sweep over her.
“No, I actually came to see you, and I just wanted to make sure you’re settling in okay. I know the club can be a little full-on, especially if you’re not used to the whole biker scene.” She let out a little giggle. “If you need anything, just call for me. I’m Lord’s old lady.”
“Old lady?”
“Yeah, I’m his wife. His woman.” She held her hand out, and it was like she had a dozen questions.
“You’re not a sweet-butt?” she asked, and felt incredibly rude asking.
“What? Ew, no, no, absolutely not. I belong to Lord, and trust me, no one wants to even go there with that.” She shook her hand and wrinkled her nose. “So gross. There are sweet-butts here, but Lord doesn’t use them. Neither does Brick or Tank.”
“What about Reaper?”
“I think that’s for Reaper to discuss, not me.” She smiled. “Anyway, you’re totally safe here, and you don’t have to stay in Reaper’s room. You can explore the clubhouse.” She laughed. “Within reason. Just ask someone to get me and I’ll take you where you need to be.”
She was really sweet, and not at all what she pictured an old lady being.
“Thank you. I mean it, thank you so much,” Grace said.
“No problem. I’m happy to help. I know it can be overwhelming at first, and although gruff, dangerous, and scary, they’ve all got good hearts.”
Again, there was another smile, Ally gave her another wave, and Grace watched a little dumbfounded as she turned away and left.
Grace stood at the main door, and then she closed it.
She looked at Reaper’s clean room, and it was nothing like her parents had described.
Her parents had been the ones to find her sister’s body.
They got her out of the clubhouse, but it had been too late.
She died on the way to the hospital. They described the clubhouse as filth, crawling with rats and bugs, and everything that was gross and vile in the world. It was a walking disaster.
This clubhouse was not dirty. It was clean.
And happy. She leaned against the door and realized her parents’ bias had certainly affected her in a negative way.
There was no need to freaking wonder, it was right there, in front of her.
Look at how she treated Reaper. Already judged him before she got the real chance to know him, and it frustrated her.
Reaper hadn’t done anything to her, yet she’d already made assumptions about him. What kind of person did that make her?
Reaper had been nothing but kind to her. When she called Gena, it was Reaper they relied on. Nobody else.
What the hell had she done?
****
Reaper arrived at the clubhouse after going to Gena and giving her an update on what he knew.
He’d extended the security within the shelter, but he had a sneaking suspicion all the evidence pointed toward Heidi’s abusive husband, who also happened to be a judge.
The same freaking judge that tried to get the rent on the building increased to push them all out.
He knew he needed to tread carefully with this one.
Judges were tricky, and Heidi’s husband did not have a history of dirty deeds.
There was nothing on the books, and no way of figuring out exactly how to take him down.
If he didn’t do this properly, this could cause a lot of headaches for the club, and he didn’t want that.
His job was to diffuse problems, not create them.
He parked his bike and wondered if Grace would give the rest of the guys a chance. He certainly hoped Ally, Lord’s old lady, might have taken her under her wing and showed her this club was nothing like the one her sister was associated with.
All bikers had reputations, and sure enough, Straight to Hell MC were not kids.
They didn’t play around. They were serious and dangerous, but they did not take drugs.
Drugs were not part of the MO. One of his duties was to keep tabs on the boys and make sure none of them fucked up in that area.
Anyone on drugs was dealt with. Lord liked to know he could rely on people, and those taking drugs were not reliable.
They were only interested in the next fix.
Stepping into the clubhouse, he looked around and although he wasn’t surprised, he was a little disappointed Grace was not there.
He wanted to break this barrier down between them, so she knew he wasn’t anyone to be afraid of.
This mattered to him. No woman had ever mattered to him like this.
That morning, when he kissed her, it hadn’t even been his intention to cross that line, but one touch, one look, it was like she stepped right out of a dream, and he wanted to keep delving into that dream with her. She called to every part of him.
“Reaper” Ally said, catching his attention and moving toward him. She had a big smile on her face.
He nodded at her, aware of Lord glaring at him. Lord was happy for him to do his women’s shelter stuff so long as it didn’t bring any trouble to the club. So far, he’d been able to keep that promise.
Lord was aware of the judge.
Now Lord was pissed, and with Grace living with them for her protection, it put the club on the map in a way Lord didn’t want.
“What’s up?” Reaper asked.
“I went to see Grace, like you asked. I offered to hang out with her and she seems nice, but she’s quite skittish. I took up some pizza for her, and she said thank you and asked about you.”
Ally tapped him on the arm, and then turned on her heel to leave.
He ran a hand down his face. Perhaps Grace was not going to settle in all that well.
He blew out a breath, and then made his way toward the main door that would lead to his room.
Several of the guys hadn’t even made it to their rooms and were having full-blown sex for all to see.
There was no way he was going to get Grace to see the good of the club like this.
He got to his room and knocked. “It’s just me,” he said.
Stepping into the room, he saw Grace standing there with her hands clasped together. “Hi,” she said.
“Hi.”
She still looked nervous.
“How are you doing?” he asked.
“It’s fine. Everything is fine. Actually, you know what, no, this is not fine. None of this is fine. I’m like, trying to ... I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for everything.”
He frowned and looked at her. “What?”
“The way I’ve treated you, it’s been appalling.
I took everything my parents said to heart and that’s not right, is it?
I mean, you’re supposed to listen to your parents, but you still have to have a mind of your own.
I’ve been such a horrible person to you.
You’re not like my sister’s ex-boyfriend.
You’ve never gotten anyone hooked on drugs, or forced them to take it.
You didn’t hurt any of the women at the shelter, and I’ve been a complete and total bitch to you.
You came when I needed you, and I’m so sorry. ” She took a step toward him.
“You haven’t left this room,” he said.
“I’m embarrassed. I don’t ... what if they hate me? I wasn’t exactly welcoming.” She groaned. “I suck at this.”
He laughed. “Stop it.” He closed that distance between them and reached out to cup her cheek. She looked so distraught.
“I’m so grateful for you coming to the tea shop.”
“Bubble tea shop.” He winked.
“And bringing me here when you didn’t have to. Also, for helping those women I’ve seen you bring to the shelter, and being nice to all the kids. You played ball with them and that was so cute, and I really liked it when you kissed me.”
Reaper looked at her and quickly checked to make sure no one had brought her alcohol.
“What is it?” she asked, looking behind her.
“I wondered if you were drunk.”
This made her laugh. She rolled her eyes. “No, I’m not drunk. I can be nice when I want to be.”
He laughed. “That’s good to know.”
There was silence between them, but this time, it didn’t feel awkward. He looked at her luscious lips, and he just wanted to kiss her again. He’d spent a lot of time hoping to kiss her again. Reaper had an extra jolt of energy all day from it. Nothing could bring him down.
“You enjoyed my kiss?” he asked, banding one arm around her back and pulling her in close so that she was flush against his chest.
She fell against him and let out a little giggle. “You heard that part?”
“I heard you apologize to me and tell me how much you liked my kiss.” He smirked. “Why didn’t you go downstairs?”
“I was scared.”
“With Ally, you’ve got nothing to be afraid of,” he said. “The guys are a pain in the ass, but they will protect you.”
“Okay.”
“Do you want to go downstairs now?” he asked.
“No.”
“What would you like?” he asked.
Again, silence, but he watched as she licked her lips, and then she moved up onto her tiptoes. “I’d like it if you would kiss me again,” she said.