Storm MC Collection Books 1 - 4 (Motorcycle Club Romance)

by Nina Levine

  I was quick to reassure him because he really did look worried. “Nothing’s wrong. I just came to ask you something.”

  That seemed to placate him; the tension eased off his face and his shoulders relaxed a little. “Sure,” he said, and moved aside to let me into his office. Nodding at the guy, he said, “Thanks, Griff. Can you make sure Amy’s stocked the fridge at the bar?”

  Griff nodded slowly, his attention still on me. It was disconcerting; almost like he was sizing me up, trying to work out if I was the enemy. I had no idea what that was about. Finally, he made a move to leave. “Will do.”

  After he’d left, Scott turned to me. “Out with it, babe. What do you need?”

  “I need that job if it’s still going.” My tummy was full of butterflies and I wasn’t sure if I was nervous about asking for the job or whether just being around Scott was affecting me.

  “I thought you didn’t want to work in a strip club.”

  Moment of truth. I decided to be honest; I figured Scott was the type to appreciate full disclosure. “I’ll be honest, I don’t really want to. However, I need to; to help support my mother and I.”

  “Sit,” he ordered me, and pointed to a couch against the wall.

  I did as I was told, and he leant against his desk, crossing his feet. He wrapped one arm around his torso while the other one balanced on it, his hand supporting his chin.

  “Is your mother sick?”

  “No. She runs her own café and times have been tough. That’s why I moved back to Brisbane; to help her keep it afloat and help pay her mortgage. Things were looking up, and they still are, but one of her fridges died today and she needs a new one, which is going to cost her a fair bit of money.”

  He nodded. “Right. So now you need this job to help pay for that,” he stated, deep in thought.

  “Yes.”

  I waited while he continued to mull it over, although I wasn’t sure what he had to think about; either he had a job for me or he didn’t. Eventually he pushed off from the desk and walked around to the other side and sat. He picked up his phone and dialed a number. His eyes landed on me while he waited for the person to answer; they were serious, with no crinkle.

  The person finally answered, and he spoke, “Hey, brother, I need a fridge for a cafe. Not sure exactly what yet, but you able to help me out?”

  I struggled to maintain my composure. He was getting me a fridge? I just wanted a job.

  Scott continued to discuss fridges with the person on the other end of the phone and then he hung up. “That’s sorted, babe. Tomorrow I’ll call you to get the info on the fridge you need and it’ll be delivered tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Umm… I don’t think my Mum has the money to pay for it yet. The idea was for me to get this job and we’d save for a new fridge.”

  “You can’t run a café without a fridge. We’ll get that sorted first. You can have the job here and we can discuss you paying for the fridge later.” His tone was clear; this is how it would be, and don’t argue with me.

  “No, I’ll work here and save, and then get the fridge. We can’t ask that of you.”

  “You didn’t. But you’re getting it anyway.” Before I could argue anymore, another guy appeared at the door. Holy heck, did God rain hot, sexy men down into this club? This guy was smoking. Upon closer inspection, I realised it was Madison’s boyfriend, J. I’d met him at the barbeque but I hadn’t really paid much attention to him as I was focusing more on Scott.

  He had his phone in his hand and looked stressed. “Scott, Madison’s on the phone. She says the cat really wants that fucking collar off and won’t shut up about it. I’ve got shit I’m supposed to be taking care of and the last fucking thing I need is her on my ass about your cat.” He held his phone out to Scott. “Talk to her and sort this shit out, brother.”

  Scott scowled at him, but took the phone. “Jesus, Madison, it’s a fucking cat for Christ’s sake. Deal with it. I’ll be over in a couple of hours to get him.” He looked at me, and then said to her, “Hang on a minute.”

  Moving the phone away from his mouth, he asked me, “Can she take the collar off the cat?”

  I figured they were talking about Monty. “No, don’t take it off because he’ll scratch his wound and it could get infected. And then you’ll be up for more money.” I was a little confused as to why Madison had Monty.

  He mouthed thanks at me, and then moved the phone back in place, “Whatever you fucking do, don’t take that collar off the cat. He’s already cost me a fortune.”

  Ending his conversation, he hung up and gave the phone back to the guy, who took one last look at me and then left us alone.

  “Do you always talk to people like that? And why does Madison have Monty?” I asked.

  “Like what?”

  “You were so rude to her.”

  “Madison can be a pain in the ass.”

  I stood up, and smoothed my dress down, not failing to notice Scott checking out my legs. I could thank the running I did for that.

  “Where I come from, we would never talk to our sister that way.”

  “And where’s that?” he asked as he stood and walked around the desk.

  “Gympie.”

  “You’re straight up country, aren’t you?”

  “What does that mean?”

  He chuckled. “Just making an observation. It’s refreshing actually.”

  I had no idea what he meant by that so I ignored it. “You never answered me. Why does Madison have Monty?”

  “Couldn’t trust Michelle with him so I asked Madison to look after him for awhile. She loves cats.”

  As he said this, he moved so he was next to me and put his hand on my arm to guide me out of the office. Locking the door behind him, he then ushered me down the hall and back into the club. Being this close to him was intoxicating, and his touch sent a thrill through me. It was a good thing that he’d stopped talking to me because only gibberish would have come out of my mouth in reply.

  I followed him to the bar where he stopped and faced me.

  “You ever worked a bar before?”

  Nodding, I said, “Yeah, I know how to pour a beer.”

  “Thank fuck for that.” He motioned to the girl behind the bar to get her attention. I recognised her from the other night. “Amy, Harlow’s going to be starting tomorrow night. She’s got experience but I’ll need you to show her the ropes.”

  “Sure,” Amy agreed, and smiled at me.

  Scott turned to me. “That work for you?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  He gave me one short nod. “Good. I’ll leave you to chat with Amy about what to wear and when to arrive. I’ve got to go.”

  “Okay. And again, thank you for the job.”

  He’d already started to walk away, but he looked back at me and said, “Don’t forget to call me first thing in the morning with that fridge info.”

  “Right, will do.”

  He exited out the front door of the club, and I wondered just what I’d gotten myself into. Sure I’d done bar work before, but never in a strip club. And besides all that, I’d be working for Scott Cole, and I really wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

  10

  Scott

  What the fuck had I just agreed to?

  Harlow was sweet as fucking pie. I wasn’t sure she’d cut it at Indigo, and yet I’d said yes to her working there. Christ, I was thinking with my dick. And speaking of my dick, I really needed to get laid; it’d been over a week since I’d seen any pussy and that was a week too fucking long.

  “Scott, where the fuck have you been?”

  I eyed my father; my thoughts interrupted. He was sitting with Griff and J at a table in the corner of the clubhouse bar, waiting for me, and appeared to be irritated.

  I grabbed a chair and turned it around so that I was sitting with its back to my front. “Hiring staff for Indigo,” I snapped at him.

  “Good. That’s one headache gone. And it looks like the situation wi
th Blade and Bullet might have resolved itself too.”

  My skepticism kicked in. “Really?”

  Dad looked really pissed off with me now. “Why the fuck can’t you get past your issues with Blade?”

  “I don’t trust him. Not sure I ever will. So when you say that he’s suddenly agreed to pull back on his plans to move more coke, I don’t buy it.”

  “He’s given me his word.”

  I snorted. “His word means nothing to me. I think we need to still be on guard for shit to go down between him and Black Deeds.”

  Dad slammed his hand down on the table; he was wearing his anger. “Been the President of Storm for a long fucking time, son. I’m always on fucking guard so don’t tell me how to do that part of my job. It’s fucking insulting. As for Blade, I don’t want to hear another fucking word from you about him. He’s my son and when he gives me his word, I trust it.”

  I glared at him, seething at his words. My relationship with my father was completely fucked to the point that I hated him now; hated what he’d done to my mother and hated that he’d had a whole other family. What kind of man did that to his wife and kids? Obviously the kind of man that I didn’t know quite as well as I thought I did.

  “Griff, can I see you in my office? Got some paperwork I need you to look at,” he said and left with Griff.

  J blew out a breath. “I fucking hate your old man.”

  “You’re not the only one, brother,” I said as I shoved my hand through my hair.

  We sat in silence for a moment, contemplating that, but J was like me and hated going over and over shit so he moved on to another subject quickly. “Hey, what’s with the blonde you hired? Saw the way you looked at her.”

  “How the fuck did I look at her?”

  He smirked. “Hate to break it to you, but I’ve never seen you look at a woman that way before.”

  I leant forward and demanded, “What fucking way, J?”

  “Like you want to fuck her and not let her go, brother.”

  I shoved my chair back. Standing, I muttered, “Not fucking likely. Told you before, that shit’s not for me.”

  J laughed. “We’ll see.”

  I left him there, laughing to himself. He had me thinking about Harlow though. And that pissed me off because I had so many other things I should be thinking about. This was one reason why I didn’t want to settle down. I’d watched friends settle down; it fucking consumed them and I didn’t have the time or desire for that.

  The next morning, I still hadn’t heard from Harlow at eleven o’clock so I picked up the phone and called her.

  “Sorry, I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time to scratch myself,” she answered the phone in a flap. It brought a smile to my face; couldn’t tell you why, but it did.

  “All good. But I need the fridge details so I can get that organised for you.”

  “I’ve got a line that’s six customers deep. Can I text you the info once I get through them?”

  “Sure. And once I know what’s happening, I’ll let you know,” I said and hung up. I put the phone down and leant back in my seat thinking about her. I’d actually been thinking about her all last night and most of this morning. Fuck, I’d been waiting for her call. Not my finest moment; waiting for a woman to call me. I wasn’t sure what it was about Harlow that put her in my thoughts so often but I suspected it was how different she was to every other woman I’d ever met. Being VP of Storm, I’d had my share of women who just wanted in on the club. They were an easy lay; there was no challenge there. In fact, there was never any challenge from any of them. Harlow was the opposite; she’d questioned me repeatedly. It annoyed the shit out of me, and yet, at the same time, it turned me the fuck on. I wanted more of her sassy mouth.

  At three o’clock I parked my bike outside her café. I’d organised the fridge delivery and even though there was no need for me to be, I found myself here for it. I stood outside for a couple of minutes assessing the outside of the café. The outside needed some work; a lick of paint and some new signs wouldn’t go astray. I pushed through the front door and was hit by the country feel they had going on; red and white checkered tablecloths and other random country knick knacks were impossible to miss. It seemed out of place in the middle of Brisbane.

  My eyes landed on Harlow who was bending over sweeping dirt up. Fuck, she had an amazing ass and I couldn’t pull my gaze away. I planted my feet wide and crossed my arms across my chest, enjoying the view. She was wearing those tight jeans again and when she finally stood up straight and turned around, I sucked in a breath at the tight as sin red strapless top she had on. Christ, my dick jerked to attention at that.

  She was momentarily caught off guard by my presence but quickly recovered, throwing a smile in my direction. “What are you doing here?”

  “Came to make sure the fridge arrives okay.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate that.” She walked away from me, towards the counter, and my eyes were trained to her ass again.

  The sound of kids coming through the front door pulled me away from what I was doing. Harlow’s face lit up and she greeted the kids. “Hey, you two! Time for some red velvet cake?”

  Their mother laughed and nodded. “Yeah, they’ve been hanging out to come and see you and also to have some cake. But mostly to see you.”

  Harlow indicated to a seat in the front window. “Take a seat and I’ll bring cake and milkshakes for you.” She looked at me, her face flushed with delight, and said, “Do you want some cake while you wait?”

  Not what I’d been expecting but fuck, I never knocked cake back. “Sure, thanks.”

  She flashed me a brilliant smile and said, “Great! Grab a seat, I won’t be long.”

  I did what she said and waited for my cake while I watched her interact with the kids. She was a natural with them and I found myself wondering why Lisa couldn’t have been blessed with a mother like her; a woman who genuinely loved being with children and gave them her full attention. While I was waiting, an older woman came out from the back area. She looked so much like Harlow that I knew she had to be her mother.

  She came over to where I was sitting. “You must be Scott.” She smiled at me.

  “I am. What was the dead giveaway?”

  Now she laughed. “Could have been the tattoos, or the boots but it was probably the cut you’re wearing.” She winked at me. I liked this woman straight away and that was something that rarely happened.

  “Harlow hasn’t told me your name.”

  She extended her hand and shook mine. “I’m Cheryl. Nice to meet you. And thank you for what you’ve done for me with the fridge.”

  “Good to meet you too, Cheryl. As I said to Harlow, you can’t run a café without the right equipment. Happy to help where I can.”

  Harlow interrupted us at that moment when she called across the room. “Mum, can you get Scott some red velvet cake please?”

  Cheryl smiled and nodded. “Absolutely. You want a coffee too? Or another drink?”

  “Coffee would be good, thanks.”

  “Coming right up,” she promised and left to go and make it.

  I sat watching Harlow again after her mother left and didn’t realise that the time had passed when Cheryl came back to the table with cake and coffee. She actually had two coffees in her hand, and when she sat at the table with me, I realised she was settling in for a chat.

  “Why do I get the impression this is going to be a heart to heart?”

  “You’re a very intuitive man, Scott. And you’re a man who my daughter hasn’t stopped talking about for the past couple of days so I want to take this opportunity to find out why.”

  I raised my eyebrows. Fuck, this woman was direct; another thing I liked about her. “What do you want to know?”

  “The thing I want to know about you isn’t something I’m going to discover from a conversation over coffee. I just wanted to sit with you for a bit and get a feel for you.”

  “You don’t pull any punches do you?”<
br />
  “No, but especially not when it comes to Harlow. She’s been screwed over too many times in life and I don’t want to see that happen to her again.”

  “Fair enough. I have to tell you though, that there’s nothing between me and Harlow, so you can rest easy.”

  “See, I would have believed that if you hadn’t shown up here today. I would have believed it was all on Harlow’s end but you turning up to oversee a fridge delivery that didn’t need overseeing, that tells me a lot.” She drank some of her coffee and pointed at my cake. “Eat up, it’s good.”

  This woman had managed to do something that most people couldn’t do; she’d stunned me into silence. So, I ate cake. It was the safer option. And fuck, it was good cake.

  Smiling, she said, “Harlow’s a good cook. Would you agree?”

  “Did Harlow make this?”

  She nodded. “Yes, it’s her favourite cake.”

  Damn, it was now my favourite cake too. It was fucking delicious; the best cake I’d ever had. We sat in silence, eating cake and drinking coffee until Harlow joined us a couple of minutes later.

  “How was the cake?” she asked looking at my empty plate.

  “Was just about to tell your Mum that it’s the best cake I’ve ever had.”

  She fucking blushed. And then she gave me another of her mega watt smiles and I decided right then and fucking there that Harlow was a risk to my manhood. I wanted her in a way I’d never wanted a woman. I needed to get my shit together and get laid; that would fix the problem.

  Before she could open her mouth and do further damage the front door opened and two delivery guys walked in. I stood and tipped my chin to them. “You here with a fridge?”

  “Yeah, mate. Where do you want it?”

  I nodded at Cheryl. “Ask the boss.”

  I drowned out the noise of their conversation as they worked out where the fridge was going and instead focused on Harlow as she cleaned away the cake and coffee dishes. She went out the back somewhere and when she didn’t return, I wandered out there looking for her. She was loading the dishwasher in the kitchen and I leaned against the doorframe, watching her quietly.