Nickel (Fallen Lords M.C. Book 1)

by Winter Travers

  The bed shifted as Nickel climbed back in and gathered me in his arms. “Baby girl, where the hell did you get your ideas about bikers?”

  “You know, around.” I rested my head on his shoulder and trailed my fingers up and down his chest. “But you seem to be smashing all my preconceived notions lately.”

  “Is that why you ran scared every time I tried to talk to you before?”

  I slightly nodded my head and instantly regretted it. “Yeah,” I winced.

  A rumble rolled from Nickel’s chest, and he gave me a quick squeeze. “I had planned on having my way with you tonight, but obviously, the motion of the ocean might be too much for you.”

  I groaned at his corny pun. “Only I get to make lame jokes in this relationship. You handle the badassness.”

  “What the hell am I going to do with you?”

  “Let me sleep. Sleep sounds perfect right now.” I snuggled into him and pressed a kiss to his bare chest.

  “Sleep now, we talk in the morning,” he grunted.

  Ugh, something to look forward to.

  I slowly drifted off to sleep tucked into Nickel’s side, hoping and praying he would forget every word I said tonight.

  **********

  Nickel

  She was out in minutes, and her body relaxed into me.

  How the hell did I get to be such a lucky bastard?

  This rum drunk pirate had told me she was falling in love with me and agreed to have my babies.

  If I wasn’t already in love with her, you could damn well guarantee I was now.

  **********

  Karmen

  Ugh.

  I rolled over and reached for Nickel but found his side of the bed empty.

  Double ugh.

  Not only was I hungover, but Nickel was gone, and I wasn’t up to doing more than rolling over and going back to sleep.

  “Scale of one to ten, how miserable do you feel?”

  Nickel was sitting on a recliner in the corner, holding a coffee cup in one hand. “I’d be way better if you let me have your cup of coffee.”

  “Something wrong with the one I have sitting next to you?”

  I looked toward the nightstand and smiled. “You’re a god,” I mumbled. I reached out, and half sat up, leaned against the headboard, and took a hesitant sip. I felt like ass, but not to the point of puking. Thankfully, after I had passed out, I slept the whole night and didn’t toss my rum and cookies.

  “I figured Captain Karmen would need her coffee this morning.”

  Gah. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?” Most of last night was a blur, but I did remember trying to be a pirate.

  Nickel chuckled and shook his head. “Doubtful. Pipe and Boink asked me how the Captain was doing when I got your coffee.”

  “Jesus.” Yup, never going to hear the end of this. “I bet all you did was laugh and didn’t even defend my honor.”

  “Baby girl, your honor wasn’t on the line. You somehow managed to get a road name without even being in the club.” He held up his cup to me. “You just became the first ol’ lady of the Weston Chapter, Captain.”

  “Does this mean I get a tiara?” I could so rock a tiara. Or I would even settle for a sash.

  Nickel stood up and walked over to the bed. He gazed down and me with a sexy smirk on his face. Would I ever get used to the way this man looked?

  “I don’t think a tiara would stay on when you’re riding my bike.”

  “I’ll settle for a sash. I’d like it to be pink and say ‘Badass Ol’ Lady.’”

  “How about a cut that says, ‘Property of Nickel’ on the back.”

  I gulped. “Uh, that’s kind of a big deal, isn’t it?”

  “It means you’re mine.”

  Oh shit. “Um, can I get back to you on that when I’m not hungover?”

  A smile spread across his lips. “Okay, Captain, but we both know it’s a forgone conclusion.”

  Ha, maybe to him it was. I didn’t know how I was going to fit into his life when he was wild and reckless while I wanted to stay in my own quiet, little world.

  “We need to talk. You wanna do that in bed, or do you want to get dressed?”

  Err, I didn’t want to do either, because I knew we were going to talk about what happened last, and I really didn’t want to hear what my father had done to warrant me to have to quickly leave my apartment and stay at the clubhouse.

  “Um, can you take me home and then we can talk?”

  “Not happening, at least not yet.”

  Double crap. “Shower, breakfast, and then we talk?” I was going to push this off as long as I could.

  “Shower and then we talk.”

  “I really think I’m going to need to eat. Help soak up the leftover rum.”

  Nickel grabbed my cup from my hand and set in on the nightstand. “You have thirty seconds to get your ass out of bed, or I’m joining you in there, and you won’t be out of it all day.”

  Hmm, that really didn’t sound all that bad. I could distract him and avoid the talk altogether. “Does that mean we won’t talk?”

  “Oh, there will be talking, Captain, but there will also be communicating in other ways.”

  I scrambled out of bed and glared at Nickel. “You seriously don’t play fair, Outlaw. Do you have no sympathy for someone hungover?”

  He shook his head and pointed behind me. “Bathroom there, and I put all of your clothes in the closet and dresser. I’ll be back in half an hour with breakfast, and then we talk.” Nickel walked out of the room without a glance at me and shut the door.

  Alrightythen. Nickel had put my clothes away. Commence freaking out in five…four…three…

  A knock sounded at the door, and I figured Nickel had come back to freak me out even more.

  I wrenched open the door, and my sassy retort died in my throat when I saw a tall, slender, redhead standing where I thought Nickel would be. “Uh, hi,” I mumbled. Whoever this was, she was gorgeous. It was like a model had walked out of the pages of a fashion magazine, and they had come knocking at Nickel’s door. This was the type of woman who should be with Nickel.

  “Hey, I’m Cora.”

  Oh hell. This was Cora? Sweet Jesus. I looked down my body, realizing I didn’t have any pants on. Damn Nickel. “Uh, hey?”

  “I don’t mean to bother you, and I was kind of waiting for Nickel to leave.”

  She didn’t want to talk to Nickel? I figured most women under the age of one hundred wanted to talk to Nickel and just be in his presence. “Oh, well, he’s gone.” Duh, Karmen.

  “I left a couple of things in here before I moved out last night, and I was wondering if I could just grab them quick.”

  I stood there staring at her, wondering how Nickel had managed to take one look at her and think that he wanted to be with me. She was wearing tight, ripped blue jeans, knee-high black boots, and a purple, flowy top. She was biker chic. Her red hair flowed around her shoulders, and I wondered if it was as soft as it looked. I shook my head and ran my fingers through my rat’s nest hair.

  Again, I was never getting pirate drunk again.

  “Is it okay?”

  I pushed open the door and swept my arm. “Yeah, of course. Sorry, I’m a bit out of it. Pipe and Boink tried to make me a pirate last night.”

  Cora smiled and walked in the room. “I’ve met Pipe, but not Boink. Lord knows how he got that name.”

  I nervously giggled and stood back as she walked over to a pile of books in the corner. I’m sure if I had been sober last night when I came in the room, I would have noticed right away that a pile of books didn’t belong in Nickel’s room. “You like to read?”

  Cora crouched down by the books and smiled at me over her shoulder. “Yeah, it’s my escape.”

  I could understand that. When I was growing up, I always had my nose in a book. When I had gone to college, the romance novels I normally read turned into textbooks, and now, I couldn’t remember the last time I had read a book for pleasure.
“Um, are you okay with where they moved you?” I was the first ol’ lady of the Weston chapter. I needed to make sure Cora was being treated right.

  She laughed and gathered the books in her arms. “Yeah, basically the same set up no matter what clubhouse you’re in. Once the door shuts, it feels like I’m back in River Valley.”

  I didn’t know anything about Cora. Hell, basically all I knew was her name. “You were in a different chapter?” I had no idea women were allowed to be member. I figured it was one big boy's club.

  Cora scoffed and stood up. “That would be a big, fat no. My brother is the president of the River Valley chapter. I had to come to Weston because he said so.”

  “He didn’t tell you why?” Jesus, it sounded like her brother and Nickel would get along real well.

  “Yeah, you’ll get used to that. Especially if you’re with Nickel or any of the guys. They have the best of intentions, but it would be awesome if they could share those intentions sometimes.”

  This woman was preaching to the choir. Although, Nickel was trying to talk to me about what happened last night, and I was avoiding it like the plague. “I’m right there with you, sister.”

  “I’m sorry I was staying in Nickel’s room. I was kind of thrown at him. He didn’t stay with me in the room at all. He just followed behind Pipe and me, and then he was gone,” Cora explained. “I can guarantee you that I am not here to catch me a Fallen Lord from the Weston chapter. If I had it my way, I would have run away to Hawaii and waited out whatever shit Jenkins had stirred up.”

  “Jenkins is your brother?”

  She nodded her head, juggled her books into one arm, and held out the other to me. “Cora Jenkins,” she said with a smile as she shook my hand.

  “Karmen Handel. I wasn’t expecting your last name to be the same as your brother’s.” Of course, they had the same last name, Karmen. “I mean, I didn’t expect his road name to actually be his name.”

  Cora laughed. “He has a road name, but he absolutely hates it. If anyone calls him it, he punches them in the face.”

  “Well, he sounds lovely. I’d ask what his road name is, but with my luck, if I ever meet him, I’d probably call him that and then I would have a black eye.”

  “Let’s just say it’s worse than Boink.”

  And here I thought Boink was pretty embarrassing. Although, he seemed to carry the name well. “So, do you at least know how long you will be here?”

  “No, but Jenkins had said in passing that I should think of it as a place to start my life over.”

  Wow. Something bad must be happening for her brother to say that. “Are you looking for a job? Do you have to live here? Can you get your own place?” I had about ten other questions, but I didn’t want to bombard her.

  “I’d like to get a job, but I have no idea if I can. I haven’t really talked to anyone here because I’m so mad at Jenkins. I know none of these guys have anything to do with me being here, but I can’t help but be a little bit salty towards them.”

  I could understand how she felt that way. She didn’t want to be here, and she was being watched over by a bunch of guys she didn’t know. “Do you want to hang out later? I need to grab a shower, and then Nickel wants to have a talk, but after that, I’m free.” It was my day off, and Nickel was just going to have to deal with Cora and me getting to know each other. I could even see if Nikki wanted to come over. She would be in biker heaven if she came to the clubhouse.

  “Sure,” she agreed. “That sounds like fun. Just knock on my door when you’re ready. I know what it means to have a talk with one of these guys. You could be talking for a while.” She winked at me and moved toward the door. “Thank you for being so nice. It’s always hard for me to make friends once people find out who my brother it. He’s not exactly the nicest guy, and his reputation always precedes him.”

  “Well, I’m not afraid of him.” I’m sure if I were to actually meet the guy, I might think differently, but for now, I wasn’t scared. “Just give me a couple of hours, and then I’ll find you. Nickel still needs to give me a tour, so I don’t get lost.”

  “Sounds good. It was nice to meet you,” Cora called as she walked out of the room.

  I shut the door behind her and leaned against it. That was much less painful than I thought it was going to be. Cora definitely seemed like someone I could talk to and hang out with. And it was also a good thing that she wasn’t after Nickel. I was already doubtful enough about dating him, if I had to fight for him against Cora, I knew I would be out in no time.

  The clock on the nightstand said it was already half past eleven, and I knew I didn’t have much time before Nickel came back with breakfast, and our talk would start. I doubted the man would let me eat breakfast before he started talking and telling me how things would go.

  I entered the bathroom he had pointed out and immediately searched to see if there was a window big enough for me to jump out of. My hopes of an escape died when the only window I saw was a teeny tiny one above the sink that only one of my legs would fit through.

  Just like the sparse bedroom, the bathroom wasn’t anything to write home about. A shower stall in one corner, a sink next to it, and then the toilet on the wall next to the sink. Minimal, but everything you needed. It definitely needed a woman’s touch to jazz it up a bit. Nickel was going to regret bringing me here once I started asking to decorate.

  After I hopped in the shower and rinsed off my night of pirate antics, I stepped out and wrapped a towel around my head and one around my body.

  “You just getting out of the shower?” Nickel called.

  I opened the door and stepped into the bedroom to see Nickel set a plate piled high with eggs, bacon, and toast on the coffee table he had in front of the TV. “Um, Cora stopped by. I didn’t get to hop in the shower right away.” Plus, I hadn’t exactly been quick in the shower. I had spent the time lathering my hair to think about what other than my father Nickel and I had to talk about. I think I might have told him that I loved him last night, but I wasn’t sure. I was falling in love with him, but I didn’t want him to know that.

  He wasn’t acting any differently, and you can bet your ass I wasn’t going to ask him if I had said it.

  “Oh, how did that go?” He looked at me concerned that I was about to freak out.

  I tightened the towel around my chest and moved to the dresser. “She seemed really nice. She came to get a stack of books that she had left in here. I told her we could hang out together later since we are both prisoners for the time being.”

  Nickel chuckled and shook his head. “You are far from a prisoner, baby girl. I don’t know how many prisoners have access to all the rum they can drink, and a warm, comfy bed to sleep at night.”

  “Good point,” I mumbled. “It’s more that we’re here and we might as well make the best of it and hang out. You think I can invite Nikki over? She would freak out if she got to see the clubhouse and the guys.”

  “I don’t really care. I can have one of the guys pick her up after we talk.”

  I tugged open the top drawer on the dresser and pulled out panties and a bra. I managed to shimmy the panties up my legs under the towel but had to drop the towel to hook my bra. “A ride on the back of a bike? Nikki will love me for life.”

  Nickel’s eyes heated as he watched me hook the bra and pull the straps over my shoulders. “That was pointless to put on. I’m just going to take it off after our talk.”

  “That’s what you think, Outlaw. Maybe our talk isn’t going to go the way you hope.” I snagged one of Nickel’s Fallen Lords shirts out of his drawer and pulled it over my head.

  “Now, that right there is sexy as hell.” Nickel reached out, tagged me around the waist and pulled me flush against his chest. “Never seen the Fallen Lords look sexier than they do right now.”

  I smacked him on the chest. “We might need to get your eyes checked, Outlaw.” I pointed over his shoulder at the mound of food he brought in. “Is that for me?”

/>   “That is for both of us, baby girl. We can eat while we talk.”

  I pulled out of his arms and collapsed onto the couch he had along the wall opposite of the TV. “You sure are hell-bent on having this talk, aren’t you?”

  Nickel grabbed the plate of food and sat down next to me. “You need to know what’s going on with your dad.” He scooped up a pile of eggs and held it to my lips.

  My stomach growled. I was apparently over being hungover and was now needing sustenance. “We’re only going to talk about my dad?” Nickel stuck the fork into my mouth, and I moaned around the delicious tasting eggs. “Did you make this?”

  Nickel shook his head. “Nah. Brinks was making breakfast, and I snagged his plate when he wasn’t looking.” Nickel shoveled in a pile of eggs into his mouth and smirked.

  “So, we’re eating stolen breakfast? You really are an outlaw when it comes to everything, aren’t you?”

  He shrugged and offered me a piece of bacon. “My woman needed to eat, and I’m shit in the kitchen. Brinks always makes too much anyway, so he’ll be fine.”

  “Brinks is the one who sits in the corner and grumbles at everyone.”

  “That would be him,” Nickel laughed.

  “Charming,” I muttered. I nibbled on the piece of bacon and watched Nickel devour half of the eggs in four bites. He handed me the plate and grabbed both of our cups from the night stand. “Eat and listen.” He set my cup in front of me and sprawled out in the corner of the couch with his coffee cup in one hand.

  Maybe I could just listen and not have to be active on our talk. At least, that was what I was hoping for.

  “Pipe and Wrecker were able to get a man to your dad and find out what is going on. He got thrown into solitary by a crooked-ass guard.”

  “But why?” Whoops, there went my plan of just listening.

  “You know the last name of the people your dad smashed into?”

  I had heard it when I was younger, but I couldn’t think of it now. “I know it starts with a ‘M’ but that’s all I remember.”

  “Morski.”

  Yup, that was it. But why would Nickel know that?