“Would have thought you’d be the last person who wanted that since you raised your brother and sister,” he told me.
I shrugged. “I didn’t mind doing it. Besides, it’ll be different to have my own instead of raising siblings.”
“I guess. I used to want all that too. It’s what brought me to Cedar Falls in the first place.”
“What changed?”
“Bitch I couldn’t trust changed me. Now, I’ll take no strings, and fuck the big picture. Maybe if Poppy gets shy of that dickbag in Georgia she can finally have the kids she wants so bad and I can just spoil my little nieces and nephews.”
I smiled at the thought of seeing Chief being goofy with little versions of himself running around. I’d seen him with my nephew Brant and some of the other club kids. He’d make a spectacular father one day. Shame for him to give that up because of some lying, cheating woman he scraped off before it was too late.
I tipped my head up when I heard the sputtering of a motor heading our way. “Jesus, all this business they’re doing, you’d think those Florida boys could get some maintenance done on their vehicles.”
“Bite your tongue. We have to drive that shitshow all the way back home, and hope we make it.” Chief laughed, but I saw there was real concern in his eyes especially when the vehicle in question sputtered and wheezed as it was put in park and turned off.
Court got out of the passenger side laughing at the looks on our faces before he slammed his open palm down on the top of the van’s engine. “Aw, don’t give her that look, she’ll get temperamental on ya, just like a bitch.”
“Fuck sake,” Chief called out. “Can’t you guys upgrade that shit.”
Court shrugged his shoulders up and down once. “Why? This isn’t a long-haul gig. We only have a few more runs like this and we’re done.”
Chief shook his head back and forth. “We’ll get her some maintenance done if we manage to make it all the way back to Cedar Falls without…”
“No! Do not jinx yourselves. Last time someone badmouthed Betsy here, she stopped working for a solid month,” Diamond told us. He was one of the Florida boys, though we teased him often that he was really one of the Florida girls since he had a stripper name. He came by it as innocently as possible too. It was the fucker’s last name.
“Listen sparkle-dancer,” I called out to him. “We don’t have time for your salvage heap to break down on us, so from now on, let’s get a good clean bill of health before we do this thing, yeah?”
“Fuck you, Smoke!” Yeah, that shit always got under his skin. He hated being referred to as a stripper. Chief chuckled and then pulled his phone out of his pocket, looking down at a text that came in.
“Shit,” he proclaimed and then held his finger up, asking for a minute. “You got this?”
I gave him a chin tip and watched as he walked off a little way so whoever was on the other line couldn’t hear us. “What’s up with that?” Court asked as he came over and slapped the keys to Betsy in the palm of my hand while I traded out the box van keys to him.
“Don’t know. Might be his sister,” I told him and watched as he cringed a little.
“What?”
“Aw man, I was up there in Sierra High about a month ago. Walker was running through the whores like a dying man in the desert runs through water when he finds it.”
“Shit, that sounds a whole lot worse than anyone has let on to Chief,” I explained.
“If I had known he wasn’t aware, I would have fuckin’ given him a heads up. Met Poppy a few times. She’s a real sweet girl. The forever kind you don’t fuck shit up with, you know?”
“Yeah, well, hopefully that’s her calling her brother to come get her so she can start fresh somewhere else. He’s been distracted, worried about her.”
“From what I saw down there, that would be a good call. Everyone in that club knows what’s going down. Not a damn one trying to talk that idiot down from his insanity except Snake, and I don’t think he wants to see Walker stick it out with Poppy anyway.” I kicked an eyebrow up, a question in the gesture. “Yeah, I think it’s like that, but he ain’t acted on nothing yet, far as I could tell.”
“Well, maybe it would be best for Chief to get his ass there sooner than later. That would be a fucked situation to end up in for her.”
“No shit.”
Diamond interrupted any further discussion. “I’d like to enjoy soap opera hour, but we have precious cargo to get moved before the fates stop smiling on us.”
“Yeah, brother. Good to see you both again. Safe ride!”
Diamond gave Betsy a little slap on her bumper. “I had a little pep talk with our girl. She might just get you back home.”
“Fuckin’ hell,” I muttered before glancing over at Chief as Court and Diamond drove off. They had a tail of two more Aces High members on bikes, but they hadn’t gotten close enough for me to see who it was. Once they were gone, Chief hung up his cell and walked back over to me.
“Sorry about that,” he offered before stuffing his cell back into his pocket. “Looks like I finally got the call. Soon as we get back, I need to head out and go get Poppy.”
“Need someone with you?”
“Nah, man. You got work anyway. I’ll have it handled. Apparently, she has the family house packed up and on the fuckin’ market already,” he told me as a giant grin bloomed across his face. “Baby sister don’t play. That fucker never bothered to check on her once in the time since she kicked him out so she could have time to think. She managed to pack up the entire house. He finally shows up and sees all the boxes and lost his shit.”
“She okay?”
“Aside from having her life fall apart? Yeah. Snake was there too. Nothing physical went down. He says he has a truck coming in two days. I’ll be there to help load it and then I’ll be driving her up. You know of a place for rent?”
“Pretty sure Hop’s brother has a place just up the road from you. I’ll check in on it and see if we can get her set up.”
“It’s empty?”
“Yeah. I just helped him remodel a bit. We yanked carpets out and refinished the wood that was underneath them. Last renters had cats that marked the carpets up. Stunk to high heaven in there.”
Chief wrinkled his nose. “Maybe we need to look for something else,” he mentioned.
“Nah, I promise, it’s all good now. You’ll see.”
“Okay, if you could get that set up for me, I’d appreciate the fuck out of it.”
“Not a problem, brother. You just go worry about your sister.”
Chapter 3
I was about to drive on past the little cottage style house near the corner when I thought better of it. I knew this was the house Chief was setting his sister up in because I had arranged it for them while he went to collect her. The only vehicle in the drive now was an older, but obviously well cared for, Subaru Outback. Chief was gone since his bike was no longer there, and yet, I didn’t keep going down the block. Something made me stop. I’m not that curious of a guy, but for some reason I couldn’t pass by the house without meeting the sister I’d heard so much about over the past couple of weeks.
When Poppy’s marriage started falling to shit, word was sent up through the chain of bickering old hens I tend to call my brothers. They were giving Chief the heads up before his sister filled him in on her troubles. I didn’t really agree with him waiting on her to be forthcoming, but he knew her better than I did – which was not at all. Her man was up to no good down there in Georgia. Normally, I’d call a brother out for ratting out anyone in his MC, but in this case, it was a weird situation, and from Chief’s viewpoint forgivable.
The thing that intrigued me was that Snake, the man doing the ratting in this case, was willing to go against someone who Chief claimed was the man’s best friend, Poppy’s husband, in order to let the brother know she needed someone to be on her side. I wasn’t certain what type of woman could garner that much loyalty from a man over his brother, and ever
since then, I’d paid more attention to the stories filtering in about what was going down in the Sierra High Clubhouse. I wanted to know everything. Now, I had the opportunity to see for myself what all the fuss was about, and stupidly, I was parking my bike in her driveway, about to find out. Thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance, and I knew I was pushing my luck since a storm was supposed to be rolling through in just a bit. That didn’t matter. I felt compelled to be here, as strange as it sounded to admit that to myself.
I stepped up on the little front stoop and banged on the door just as a gust of wind tossed up a bit of dirt and debris from the yard. There wasn’t a peephole for her to be able to see, and the window was so far over, it would no doubt leave a blind spot. That concerned me, because it was something Chief should have seen to before she moved in. I had a sister too, and I’ll be damned if I’d leave her having to answer a door blind. It hadn’t occurred to me what the setup was like when I was here helping to fix the place up before.
I knocked once more, thinking that whoever was in there hadn’t heard me the first time, and that’s when the door flew open and there stood the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on. She looked almost nothing like her brother, who apparently had gotten all the Native American genes in the family while his sister looked straight off the boat from Ireland. Her auburn hair was a flaming mass on her head thanks to the streetlight’s odd colored glow. Her eyes pierced mine momentarily as she tried gulping in air, but that didn’t seem to be going well for her.
“You okay, honey?” I asked, taking in her heaving chest and the wild-eyed look she was throwing my way. At first, I thought she was startled by the sight of me. I wasn’t exactly unintimidating to look at, especially if you were a single woman and I just randomly showed up on your doorstep.
“Um,” she managed to get past her rapid breathing.
“I came by to see if Chief was still around,” I quickly spilled out, trying to help ease her mind with the knowledge that I was friend, not foe.
“He, um,” she started to say, words halted by her inability to catch her breath as she put a hand to her chest in a move that made it appear she was trying to hold herself together. I watched her a moment before sliding my phone out of my pocket, ready to call Chief and ream his ass for leaving his sister alone on her first night in a new house, new town, and new life. Surely, he knew better. From what I’d been hearing second-hand, the woman had been through enough already. The last thing she needed was to deal with this level of a freak out. Her other hand – the one not clutching her chest – shot out and waved at me though. I stopped with my phone held out in front of me, poised to text as she spoke again. “Sorry, you caught me at the start of an anxiety attack, I think.”
“This happen often?” I asked while keeping a wary eye on her. Granted, I was a fireman in my day job, but I also had to know the basics of first aid and CPR. I was ready to deal with her if she went down, and if she didn’t get her shit under control that might be happening sooner rather than later.
She shook her head at me instead of fainting though. “Nope, just when I move from the only home I’ve ever known to a new town, to look for a new job, while I’m in the middle of divorcing my cheating husband.” Each of her words stabbed out into the air with painful accusation. I felt them soul deep and had to fight to keep the murderous look off of my face. I wasn’t sure how Snake managed to maintain a friendship with the man who clearly destroyed this woman. I could suddenly understand why he stepped over the bounds of brotherhood where his friend was concerned in order to make sure Chief was there for his sister.
“Mind if I come in, check to make sure all is well while I’m here?” I asked her as she eyed my kutte suspiciously again. “Name’s Smoke. I’m a good friend of your brother’s, and he’s told me a bit about your situation already, but if you need to share more with someone who isn’t family, I’m all ears. Even if you don’t, might help to have someone around for a bit while you adjust. Not sure what Chief was thinking leaving you alone in a strange place your first night here.”
“I’m pretty sure he wasn’t thinking. He was tired; so, don’t hold his poor manners against him. It’s been a long couple of days.”
“I can imagine,” I tipped my chin toward the house again, wondering if she was going to turn me away or allow me inside. I couldn’t in good conscience walk away and leave her like this though. It was obvious she was having a tough time adjusting. “You gonna let me in, or I gotta call your tired brother and get his ass back over here? Whatever makes you the most comfortable, honey.”
She slowly slid out of the way while checking me out as she moved. I returned the favor, taking in her clothes. She obviously chose them for comfort since she and Chief had traveled all the way up from northern Georgia today and then unloaded a truck full of shit on top of that once they got here. Still, she managed to look damn good in the everyday comfort wear while tired and mid-panic attack. It made me wonder just how much more of a knockout she would be if I had run into her fully decked out somewhere. Suddenly, I wanted to keep her hidden away here where none of my other brothers would ever see her because she was too tantalizing as is.
We spent the next couple hours getting to know one another, talking about hockey of all things. I never thought it possible to meet a beautiful southern belle who knew her shit about hockey, knew who my brother was, and still only had eyes for me. Gorgeous green eyes that shined like precious gems and drew me in closer to her. The Captain Morgan Black Label I’d had a prospect deliver was nearly gone between the two of us, and it served its purpose. All the anxiety she had earlier when I arrived was gone, and in its place was just her laughter and the glorious sight of her getting passionate about the unnecessary penalties some of my brother’s teammates had taken recently.
“Oh Jeezzzzus, I’m a meth,” Poppy tried to say as we ended our latest discussion on my asshole father leaving us. She had just realized she’d been speaking with a bit of lisp for a while now. Instead, she started laughing at herself.
“She develops a speech impediment when she’s drinking heavy,” I spoke out loud, finding the situation funnier than I probably should. “Good to know,” I told her as I watched those eyes of hers work to hypnotize and pull me in once more. Poppy spoke, almost as if reading my mind.
“Mesmerizing,” she murmured, but I had to admit that I was too tuned into the puffy, rosy lips of hers to care about words anymore. I pulled her body into my mine as I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and cupped the back of Poppy’s neck. I continued to pull her hips closer until she was damn near on my lap. Our lips touched, setting off an inferno everywhere they touched. It only took a brief touch before she was parting her lips for me and letting me in. I didn’t hesitate. I dove right in and started to claim the woman who had me held in thrall all night. Hell, that was a lie. She had me in thrall long before I met in person. Every story I heard about her, despite her recent shitty circumstances, was one that painted a picture of the woman I’d been dreaming of calling my own all my life. Her silky tongue met and tangled with my own, and her sweet, beautiful moan had my hard as fuck cock twitching in my pants and begging for release. I knew in that moment I would do whatever it took to make her mine.
Our mouths were still locked in a heated kiss as I took the liberty of learning her body, the feel of her curves, and the smoothness of her skin. I ran my fingertips up and down her ribs, moving closer and closer to her breasts that were overflowing the bra she had on. It was one that was made for comfort, cotton instead of satin or lace like most women wore to impress. That wasn’t Poppy though. Not that my arrival hadn’t been a complete surprise for her anyway, but I had a feeling she was the type of woman who wore comfortable well, and made it seem hotter than any expensive lingerie could possibly look. The bra was unclasped, and I was dragging it down her arms before I could even put anymore thought into how sexy she might look in it. The garment no sooner hit the floor than her hands were on me, tugging at my shirt to get it off me
and join her clothing that already littered the floor of the living room.
“Please, tell me you have a bed set up?” I questioned as each word caused my lips to graze gently back over her own. She pointed and I took off to the little hallway that housed three doors. The one in the center was the bathroom which left two choices.
“Left or right, babe?”
“Left,” she hissed as I lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around my waist allowing me to carry her into the bedroom. Thank fuck, there was a bed. Not that the lack of one would have stopped me, but it would make what we were about to do a whole lot more comfortable.
I managed to put her down gently onto the bed while I tugged my jeans down and used my feet to pull the denim material free from my legs. I left them puddled there on the floor as she took in the view of my body standing over her. I kneeled on the edge of the bed and leaned in placing a quick kiss on her thigh, nipping gently with teeth as I moved further up. My hands were sliding slowly along her outer thighs until I managed to get her to spread her legs wider to accommodate my body between them. Once she was relaxed and open, I moved my hands in place on either side of her hips and slid the last bit of clothing keeping her from view. The white cotton panties she’d had on slid down her legs and I tugged to remove them from her feet before tossing them aside and quickly moving back into a position where I could take all of her in before I dove in with my shoulders sliding between her thighs, and breathed warm air all over her slickened flesh. Then I flattened my tongue and took a delicious swipe of her most intimate part before I made it up to the little bundle of nerves at the top that was begging to be sucked on. That was exactly what I did. I sucked it into my mouth and nipped gently with teeth causing her to whimper.
Some and the Flame Page 2
