Chapter 5
BISHOP
Three days after my kiss with Noelle, and I couldn’t get her out of my head. I thought about her when I worked out, then in the shower, which led to jacking off like my life depended on it.
Damn that woman and her incredible kiss.
Ash passed me in the hallway. “Need to prep. Storm’s coming in.”
He thumbed over his shoulder. “And not the metaphorical kind. Weather reports say the snow’s coming in harder than they thought. Could be a long one.”
I grunted that I’d heard and turned toward the storage closet. “Rafe planning on staying here?”
I indicated the clubhouse where we spent most of our time. The bar section in the front and the ‘hidden’ back rooms gave us plenty of space to run our operations.
It also gave us an excuse to be around town when and where we needed to be as Christmas approached.
“Yeah. He says there’s no need in leaving. Noelle’s sticking around too. Rafe wants her to finish her first article soon.” Ash ran a hand through his hair before setting his hand on his hip. “I’m not sure we’re taking the right approach here. We know nothing about her.”
“You sound like me.” I’d talked to Rafe about all the time Noelle had been spending in the clubhouse.
We hadn’t shown her our private rooms hidden behind the walls, but she had seen and heard more at the Christmas fundraiser than I thought appropriate for a stranger.
Even if she was a reporter who wanted to help us gain a good rapport with the locals.
Ash made a choking sound. “God, no. We can only tolerate one Bishop in the group.” He gave my back a heavy slap. “Good thing she’s open to the situation.”
I wasn’t as certain as Ash, but I kept my concerns to myself.
Talking to Ash was like riding a rollercoaster backward.
Just when you thought you had things figured out, he changed directions.
He’d been all about showing Noelle a good time with our strip tease, but then he turned off the sexual attention and commented that we didn’t know enough about Noelle to trust her with our secrets.
It was a line straight out of my playbook.
Then again, I hadn’t trusted anyone in years except for Rafe and Ash.
And that decision came after several years of working together.
They’d seen the worst of me, from my nightmares to the PTSD that sometimes shut me down entirely, and they never made me feel like I was less than because I had issues.
“Where is Noelle?” I straightened the bottles and cans on the storage shelves.
We kept enough supplies to last several weeks depending on how many people stayed.
Rafe had dismissed the club half an hour ago, telling them all to go home and prep for the storm.
We might be needed at any point to help out the less fortunate around town, though we’d not be welcome when we arrived.
“She’s upstairs working in one of the guest rooms. Rafe’s in his office.” Ash shook his head. “I’m headed up to see if they want to come down for dinner.”
Like me, Rafe had been avoiding Noelle, I suspected for the same reason.
Rafe distrusted the world, and the attraction I’d seen between him and Noelle created a conflict I understood since I felt the same way.
A roar whooshed on the other side of the metal door that led to the alley behind the club.
“What the hell?” Ash shoved past me and pushed open the door.
A wall of white blasted into the room.
“Fuck.” Ash pulled on the door, but the howling wind ripped it from his hands and sent it crashing backward.
I stalked into the swirling snow and grabbed the door with both hands.
The wind tore at my jacket and slammed icy particles into my face and neck.
I bared my teeth at the raging storm and backed into the storage room, slamming and locking the door.
“What happened?” Noelle’s soft voice reached me despite the angry wind outside.
I turned, my gaze finding her in an instant.
She wore black yoga pants and a long, red sweater that ended mid-thigh.
Her dark red curls fell around her shoulders, framing her beautiful round face.
Her lips pulled into a frown, and I had a sudden urge to kiss her again.
Ash handed me a towel and mimed wiping his face. “Storm’s here. Hope you weren’t planning on going anywhere.”
Rafe walked down the stairs behind Noelle.
He stopped near the windows and peered out. “Latest report says it could last several days.”
“Guess we’ll have to figure out a way to keep ourselves entertained.” Ash rubbed his palms together. “Noelle, how do you feel about poker?”
Her gaze flitted from Ash to me and back to Ash. “Poker? About the same as I do pool. I’ve never played.”
“Well that’s a tragedy.” Ash held out a hand. “Come on, I’ll teach you how to play. Everyone should at least understand the basics of the game.”
He cupped her elbow.
The two of them walked to the nearest high table.
Ash pulled a deck of cards from his back pocket, stuck a piece of candy in his mouth, and shuffled the cards while talking animatedly.
Noelle leaned in, cupping her chin in her palm with her elbow on the table.
She’d sat that way at the bar the night she arrived.
It made her approachable, and when she leaned in, I knew Ash felt like she hung onto his every word.
Maybe she did.
I’d watched her interview others in the club over the last few days.
Something about her put them at ease, and I distrusted anyone who made everyone feel seen and heard.
Call it a fatal flaw, but it had saved my life on a few occasions.
I ground my teeth and tried to concentrate on the storage closet.
If the storm turned into a blizzard, we might be stuck here for weeks.
I needed to know right now if we had enough provisions to keep us and the neighbors supplied.
That was my job.
Keeping people safe was why Rafe brought me in and why he kept me close.
We were stuck in the clubhouse with Noelle.
Why didn’t that bother me?
I eyed her and Ash from the side, taking in the curve of her shoulder.
My lips burned with the desire to taste her skin.
I suddenly understood Ash’s oral obsession.
Ash flipped the piece of candy across his tongue and placed his hand on the table, palm up.
Noelle threw her head back and laughed, her cheeks stained a dusty rose.
“Hey, Bishop, come join us.” Ash shuffled the cards a second time and flipped them across the table in a fan shape. “You too, Rafe. Noelle’s agreed to play strip poker with us.”
“I did not.” Noelle’s blush deepened.
She smacked the back of her hand against Ash’s shoulder. “I said there was no way I’d win against the four of you.”
“Which means we’ll get to see you naked sooner rather than later.” Ash flicked his tongue against his teeth. “Come on. You want our stories, this is what it takes for me to talk.”
“Sexual favors?” Her nose crinkled in a snarl. “What if I can’t be bought?”
“Then we have a little fun and no one's worse for the experience.” Ash chomped the candy and called out to Rafe. “You in?”
Rafe checked the front door, clicking the lock before he prowled toward the table where Noelle and Ash sat.
Noelle’s gaze followed him.
I shifted my weight, indecision warring between duty and desire. “I need to use the bathroom.”
She leaped up and raced for the back room.
“That doesn’t sound like agreement to me.” I scoffed at Ash.
“Oh, chill out for once, Bishop. It’s just a bit of fun.” Ash flicked one of the cards in my direction.
I snatched it from the air and sent it spinning back. “Don’t tell me what to do.”
Only Rafe did that.
Rafe dipped his head in a slow nod toward Noelle when she reappeared.
I understood the look.
She’d agreed to play as our old lady, but that didn’t mean we had any rights to her body without her full consent.
“What do you think, Noelle?” Ash shuffled the deck across his palms. “We’ll even give you a leg up.”
He tugged his shirt up over his head and tossed it aside. He reached for his pants. “How many layers do you want me to drop to convince you to play?”
“I don’t…” Noelle shifted in her seat and crossed her legs.
Tucking her hands between her thighs, she swallowed hard and glanced my way. “Isn’t there something else you’d rather do?”
“Hell no.” I slid onto the seat beside her.
I had other work to do, but I’d been hooked on Noelle since she walked into the club days ago.
This might be my only chance to act on my desire.
Noelle shifted again, her eyes brightening when Rafe sat across from her.
Her heel drummed up and down, and she chewed on her lower lip. “I’ve never done anything like this before. I’m just a reporter.”
“You can be anything you want.” Ash leaned across the table and kissed her cheek. “When you’re here with us, nothing is off limits.”
I knew what he was doing, and I wasn’t sure if I approved.
Ash hoped to lower her defenses, to get her to break and show why she was really here.
Maybe she really did plan on using our stories to give us a better standing in town.
And maybe she was like everyone else outside our club.
Ash dealt the cards.
I picked up my hand and examined it.
Crap cards.
Nothing worth keeping.
I could play this one of two ways.
I could bluff and hope to win so Noelle was forced to strip, or I could lose and play along.
Ash popped another candy into his mouth.
He started off easy, dropping a card and drawing another from the deck.
Noelle stared at her cards.
A divot appeared between her eyes, and she tapped the cards together. “What now?”
“Bet which article of clothing you’re willing to take off if you lose.” Ash grinned at her over his cards. “I bet my pants.”
“Same.” Rafe sat back with his arms folded. He’d not even looked at his cards.
I placed my cards face down on the table. “Me too.”
“I bet my…socks.” Noelle smirked and fanned her cards facedown on the table.
“All right. I call.” Ash flipped his cards over.
We all followed suit.
Noelle went last, grinning triumphantly at the full house in front of her. “I win, right?”
“In more ways than one.” Ash stood and dropped his pants.
Rafe and I did the same.
My shirt covered my boxers, but I didn’t bother hiding the erection growing with every passing second.
Noelle shifted from side to side, looking everywhere but at us.
She bit her lower lip, her breaths growing short and fast.
She lost the next round, and the one after that. And the one after that.
She’d taken off her socks first, but she’d bet her shirt on the last round.
Grimacing, she stood and hooked her thumbs in the hem of her sweater.
Heat swirled in my gut and spread as she wiggled the sweater up over her stomach and breasts.
She hesitated, then yanked it over her head and draped it over the back of her chair.
Her arms dropped to her stomach, and she locked them loosely over her abdomen.
The blush spread a crimson stain across her cheeks.
I leaned toward her, giving in to the urge to kiss her shoulder. “You’re beautiful.”