Surviving Storm (Kings Reapers MC Book 7)

by Nicola Jane

  Storm: Answer the phone, Charlotte. It’s not as bad as you think.

  I send him a text telling him I’ll make my own way to the clubhouse. I need some time to let it sink in, but the second I step out of the park, I see him standing by his bike with his strong arms folded across his chest. “You think you can just walk home alone?” he asks, shoving my helmet towards me. “Not happening.”

  “I just needed some space,” I snap. “When were you going to tell me they’re investigating a disappearance?” I hiss.

  “I didn’t want you to worry,” he mutters, getting on the bike.

  “What if they charge you? What if you go to prison?” I growl. “You’ll be inside for years.”

  “They haven’t got any evidence. It’s Laura stirring up shit. I never even met her brother.”

  “Her brother?” she snaps, placing her hands on her hips. “Sounds a lot like this is club business, so you wouldn’t tell me even if you have made this guy disappear. And honestly, I don’t give a crap. But if you go inside for this, what will happen to me?”

  He stares at me for a long minute before turning away. “Get on the bike, Lottie.”

  We get back to the club, and Seb rushes over with Bently’s leash. I smile sadly. How will Seb cope without his dad? “Okay,” I say, taking the leash.

  “Lottie, we gotta talk,” snaps Storm.

  “There’s nothing to say. You didn’t want to talk until I caught you out, so why bother now?”

  “Don’t be like that,” he mutters. “I didn’t want to worry you.”

  “Well, I am worried, and now I know you keep the truth from me, it makes it worse. That huge secret will affect me. You should have told me, so I knew what I was getting into.”

  We walk Bently with Storm following a few feet behind. “Are you mad at my dad?” whispers Seb.

  I grin down at his cheeky little face. “Maybe a little.”

  “Shall I have a talk with him?” he asks, his expression serious.

  “What will you say?” I ask, playing along.

  “That he’s got to be really nice to you from now on because I don’t want you to take Bently away.”

  My heart melts. I stop walking and lower to his level. “Seb, don’t ever worry about that. I won’t take Bently away from you, I promise.” He smiles, a look of relief on his face before he darts off after the dog.

  “What was that about?” comes Storm’s gruff voice.

  I turn to look him in the eye. “I’m mad because the thought of losing you when I’ve only just found you, scares the shit outta me,” I confess.

  He hooks his fingers in mine and tugs me towards him. “I ain’t going nowhere,” he mutters. “I promise.”

  STORM

  My mobile rings and I snatch it up when I spot Laura’s name. Lottie is asleep, and I don’t want the ringing to wake her, so I rush out of the room. “Yeah?” I answer.

  “Were you ever going to tell me the truth?” spits Laura.

  “What about?” I head down to Riggs’ office where he’s working away and mouth her name to him before hitting speakerphone.

  “About my fucking brother, you arsehole,” she yells.

  “Have you had a drink?” I ask. She always yells when she’s had too much wine.

  “It’s what you’ve driven me to,” she mutters.

  “I don’t know anything about your brother, Laura. I don’t know why you think I do.”

  “I know it was you,” she screams, ending her words with a sob.

  “Who told you that?”

  “It doesn’t matter. What did you do with him? Where’s his body? You at least owe me that much.”

  “Sweetheart, I don’t even know your brother. I haven’t met him. When we met, you told me he was missing.”

  “And you knew all along where he was. You let me cry on your shoulder when you knew he was dead.”

  “I didn’t.”

  “Tommy paid a private investigator. He’s got evidence,” she snaps.

  I lock eyes with Riggs. This is fucking news to me. “Why’s Tommy wasting his money when you two aren’t together?”

  “He hired him before we split up.”

  “You know those guys rip you off, right? He’ll have nothing because there’s nothing.”

  “Photographs of you and my brother together.”

  “Laura, that’s bullshit. I never met your brother.”

  “We’ll soon see. I’ve sent everything to the police. They’ll be arresting you again soon, and hopefully now, they’ll charge you.”

  She disconnects, and I stare at Riggs. “Sounds more complicated than we thought,” he mutters.

  “Before that night, I never met her brother. Where the hell would this guy have photographs from?”

  “Try not to worry about it. I’ll call the solicitor first thing tomorrow and see what they can find out. I’m sure it’s nothing. Like you said, you never met him until that night. And now we know what they’ve got on you, we’ll prepare.”

  “It’d be simpler to take Laura out,” I mutter.

  “Don’t do that, brother. You know the rules—we don’t hurt women or kids. She’s a grieving woman trying to get justice. There’s nothing tying you to him. Besides, the cops would have been banging down the door by now if they had anything solid.”

  “I don’t know what it’ll do to Taya and Seb if I go down over this, Pres. And then there’s Lottie.”

  “Let’s make sure it don’t happen then. Anna wants to organise a party tomorrow night to celebrate you and Lottie. I said no, but maybe it’s what we all need, some light relief.”

  I nod. “It’ll cheer Lottie up,” I agree. “I’ll book us in for the tattoos ASAP.”

  Lottie remains on the bike, and I stare at her, confused. “What?” I ask.

  She stares, eyes wide, at the tattoo shop door. “I can’t go in there.”

  “Why?”

  “Tattoos hurt.”

  I laugh, like really laugh. “Butterfly, are you scared of needles?” She nods, and I laugh some more, holding my sides. “But you . . . oh God, I can’t take it. You cut yourself all the time.”

  “I know,” she mutters. “That’s different.”

  “How?” I scoff.

  “I don’t know, it just is.”

  I lift her from the bike. “Baby, it’s tradition. You’re my ol’ lady, and I want that mark on your skin, so pass out, sleep, whatever makes it bearable.”

  Inside, she watches warily as I get her name on my arm. The cursive writing is large, taking up most of the space on my forearm. I went with Lottie and underneath, in smaller writing, the word ‘Butterfly’.

  When I’m done, she backs towards the door. I catch her arm and pull her back into the room. “Close your eyes,” I say. “It’ll be okay.” She wraps her arms around my neck and nuzzles into me, then she wraps her legs around my waist tightly. “Baby, you gotta let go,” I snigger, kissing her neck.

  “You want me to do this, then I’m staying like this. Mr. Stabby over there will have to work with it.”

  “Mr. Stabby,” Ink, the club’s best tattooist, laughs, “never heard that one before. Lower back?” he asks me, and I nod. I sit in the seat with Lottie wrapped around me like a baby monkey. I lift her shirt up, giving Ink enough room to work. Lottie hisses when the needle first hits her skin, and I smirk, wondering how the fuck she cuts herself with blades but doesn’t like needles. After a few minutes, she begins to kiss my neck gently.

  “Butterfly,” I whisper-hiss. “Not now.” My erection stands to attention the second her teeth nip at my skin, and I feel her chest shake against my own when she laughs. Her hand slips between us, and she grips my length through my jeans. “I’m warning you, baby. Don’t tease me.”

  “It’s punishment for making me go through with this.”

  I grin. She doesn’t know punishment . . . not yet.

  Ink stands back to admire his work. Lottie twists so she can look at it in the full-length mirror and grins. “I love
it.”

  The delicate butterfly sits on her lower back with ‘Storm’ written below it. It’s perfect, and seeing my name on her skin gets me all kinds of turned-on. I practically drag her from the shop and onto the bike, then I head straight for the caravan. I haven’t been there for over a week. I haven’t needed the quiet time since being with Lottie.

  I pull off my helmet but stay seated on the bike. Lottie gets off. “Why are we here?”

  “Lose the jeans,” I order.

  She smirks, looking around. “Here?” I nod, and she doesn’t make me ask twice. She kicks off her boots and slips off her jeans, then I wrap my hand around the back of her neck and pull her in for a kiss. She melts against me, and I lift her, sitting her over the bike. She wraps her legs around me and her arms around my neck.

  “You’re a tease,” I whisper, tugging the lace material of her panties until it gives and falls away from her. I unfasten my jeans and release my cock. “Now, you better make up for it.”

  She grips me, rubbing the head of my erection through her folds. When she’s wet enough, she lines me up and sinks down on my cock, throwing her head back and moaning aloud. I lift her shirt over her head, careful not to catch her new tattoo. Having her naked out in the open and on my bike is like a fucking wet dream come true. Lottie lifts herself and slams back down. I rub her nipples, and she moves faster until I still her, squeezing her thighs for her to stop.

  “I wanna see my name on your skin when I come,” I say, lifting her from me and standing her beside the bike. Bending her over, I place her hands on the leather seat. “You’re officially mine,” I growl, staring at the tattoo as I fuck her.

  “And you’re mine,” she pants.

  Damn straight, I am.

  Chapter Thirteen

  LOTTIE

  Turns out the tattoo is a bigger deal than I thought. Everyone wants to see it when we finally arrive back at the club. I’m distracted from the fact the women have decorated the clubhouse bar with balloons and banners. “We don’t usually go all out for this sort of thing,” I say to Anna.

  “We need a celebration,” she says, shrugging. “Everyone seems a little down lately, so it’ll do the club good to celebrate. Leia’s got an outfit ready for you upstairs. She’s in your room.”

  When I get upstairs, Leia is waiting to pounce with makeup and curlers. It’s not long before Anna and Eva join us with wine. I let them pamper me, and when I finally look in the mirror, I hardly recognise myself. “Now for the outfit,” says Leia. “I wanted to go girly with a summer dress, but Anna wouldn’t let me. She said you hate showing too much skin.” I smile gratefully at Anna. I could cover my scars with makeup, but the girls would see them first and that’d put a damper on this whole makeover experience. “Which I find really odd for a stripper,” she adds.

  “Dancer,” corrects Eva sharply.

  “Same thing,” says Leia. “Anyway, she forced me to go with this, but I still love it so . . .” Leia holds up a tight-fitting, short minidress with long, off-the-shoulder sleeves. There’s no back to it, so it’ll show off my tattoo, which will please Storm as he’s obsessed with it. I head for the bathroom to slip into it. When I return, their smiles tell me I look good. “Storm is gonna go wild when he sees you in that,” says Leia.

  When the rest of the girls are changed and we’ve helped Malia and Molly into their dresses, we head downstairs. I wasn’t keen on this party, but now it’s here, and I feel like a princess, I’m excited.

  The second I enter the room, Storm’s eyes find me. It’s full of bikers and it’s noisy as hell, but it’s like he sensed me coming. He’s standing in front of me within a few seconds. He cups my face in his hands and kisses me so hard, I stumble back a couple steps. “Butterfly, you look fuckin’ stunning.”

  “It’s just something I threw on,” I say, twirling.

  He grips my arm and turns my back to him. “Jesus, where’s the back of the dress?” he hisses.

  “You like it?” I ask, looking over my shoulder and smirking at his shocked expression.

  “How the hell am I not supposed to kill every man in here tonight?” he growls, hooking his finger in the material just above my ass and peering down my dress. His eyes bug out of his head when he sees the string of my thong. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

  “It’s all for you, baby,” I whisper, turning and kissing him gently. “Only you.”

  “You wanna wear my kutte?” he asks, placing his hand over my lower back. “It’s pretty cold in here.”

  I smile. “I’m good.”

  “I can’t get it out of my mind,” he murmurs close to my ear. “I’m not gonna last long in a room full of people when all I wanna do is—”

  “Lottie, you look amazing,” says Riggs, cutting Storm off mid-sentence. “Storm tells me you got your tattoo?”

  “Yeah, it was totally worth the pain,” I say, trying to turn around to show him. Storm pulls me against his side tightly so I can’t move. I frown at him, but he stares at Riggs like nothing’s wrong. “Erm, maybe I’ll show you another time,” I say, shrugging.

  Riggs grins, giving Storm a knowing smile. “You wanna offer her your jacket, brother? It’s pretty cold down here.” Chuckling, he heads off to speak to Leia.

  “That’s it, put on my kutte,” he mutters, shrugging out of it and slipping it over my shoulders.

  “What difference does it make if I show him now or tomorrow? It’s not moving from my lower back.”

  “You turn in that dress that barely covers your arse and every man in here will be taking a mental photograph.”

  I roll my eyes. “You’re acting crazy.”

  I’m relaxed. The wine’s flowing, and the girls are making me howl with laughter at some of their stories. For once, I feel like I belong. I add a layer of gloss to my lips and take a step back from the mirror to check I’m presentable. The toilet door opens, and Storm fills the doorway looking charged and ready for action. I smirk. “This is the ladies’,” I remind him.

  “Shut up and bend over the sink,” he growls.

  I laugh, shrugging out of his kutte and holding it out for him. “You need it back?”

  “Bend over,” he repeats, snatching the jacket and hanging it over the stall door. He unfastens his belt, keeping his eyes on me like a predator about to pounce.

  I laugh, turning to face the mirror again, lifting my dress, and leaning over the sink seductively. “Like this?” I purr, and he slaps my ass, making me flinch.

  He roughly runs a finger over my opening before lining his erection up and easing into me. I bow my head as he fills me. “It’s all I can think about,” he growls. “Your fucking pussy.”

  “Good.”

  “Seeing all my brothers drinking and knowing I can’t is making it harder.”

  I hadn’t even considered he might struggle around everyone. He wraps his hand around my neck and adds some pressure as he slams into me, grunting with exertion. It’s fast and hard, and we come together in minutes. He pulls my thong into place and straightens my dress. “Don’t you feel able to have a couple drinks?” I ask. He told me he wasn’t an alcoholic, and Taya confirmed that.

  He shakes his head. “One leads to two, and before you know it, I’m passed out. It’s best if I avoid it.”

  I kiss him slowly, standing on my tiptoes. “I’m proud of you.”

  He looks thoughtful for a second. “No one ever said that to me before,” he admits.

  My heart aches for him. “Well, they should have.”

  We head back inside, and I excuse myself for ten minutes so I can sneak off upstairs to clean myself. Storm tells me he’s had the brothers move my things into his bedroom. There really wasn’t a lot, just a few clothes and some books.

  I go into the en-suite bathroom and smile at the sight of my things just dumped beside the sink. I put my shampoo by the shower and my makeup bag under the sink. I open the medicine cabinet and freeze when I spot my tin. My hand hovers over it for a moment. I don�
��t need it, but I feel safer having it, and Storm has probably forgotten about it anyway, so I don’t see any harm in keeping it at the back of the drawer in the bedside cabinet. Cleaning myself up, I run a brush through my hair and head back down to the party.

  STORM

  The party was a good idea. Everyone seems more relaxed when we join them for breakfast the following morning. “Why don’t we take Seb to the park today?” Lottie suggests, and my heart swells even more for this woman. She’s fucking amazing, and I feel her light slowly warming my heart. Glancing around the busy table, Taya’s nowhere to be seen, which is unusual.

  “If you’re looking for Taya, I think she got lucky last night,” says Lottie with a wink.

  I frown. “What are you talking about?”

  “Someone spotted her and Hannah looking cosy. Leia reckons they fancy each other.”

  “Means nothing,” I snap. “You shouldn’t be gossiping about my sister.”

  Lottie narrows her eyes. “Can we have one day where we don’t argue?” she mutters. “Hannah’s really nice and she deserves some happiness. She lost her previous partner. Anna told me she was a cop. You want Taya to be happy, don’t you?”

  “I want people to stop talking about my sister,” I mutter. “I’ve got a job on for Riggs. I’ll probably be gone most of the day. Don’t forget we have to see Doctor Chapman tomorrow.” I kiss her on the head and leave her to eat breakfast. She looks pissed as hell,

  but I have to find Laura today and speak to her about her brother.

  I press the buzzer to Laura’s flat. It’s the only address I have for her since she left the club, and I’m praying she’s still here. “Hello?” her voice crackles through the intercom.