by Jayne Blue
Brax
Great Wolves M.C. - Book Six
By
Jayne Blue
Copyright © 2016 by Jayne Blue
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author or publisher, except where permitted by law or for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
A Message from Jayne Blue
Books by Jayne Blue
Chapter One
Brax
It’s dangerous to owe me something. Most people know that. And I always collect. For over a decade, that’s what my club depended on me for and I was glad to provide it. I did the things no one wants to hear about. Deadly force and bloody hands were just another Tuesday in my world. I’m not sorry. I’m not on some quest for redemption. Fuck that shit. You might not like me, but you sure as hell need me. Call me the lesser of two evils if you want. As long as you don’t have to see what I see or know what I know. And that’s just fine with me.
Now we live in a different world. My club has a legitimate business and flush bank accounts. I like it. I was starting to get too old for the other shit, anyway. But that doesn’t mean I won’t be ready when the day comes the Great Wolves M.C. needs their enforcer. And I know that day will come. It always does.
“Brax!”
I ducked just as an empty beer bottle flew at my head. I raised my hand and caught it before it would have hit the far wall. Setting it down I thrust my middle finger up at Tate across the table. I sat in one of the back offices of the bar going over plans we had for an expansion later in the year. The Wolf Den used to just be our clubhouse. A place for only patched members to hang out. But two years ago things changed for the better. New leadership came in and now we run a cash business out of here. The Den has turned into a local hot spot with a cover charge, weekend band, and lines of customers wrapped around the parking lot. In some ways, I have the same job as always. The Enforcer. Except now I serve as general contractor, wrangling carpenters, plumbers, and other subs while we take things even bigger and better.
“What the fuck, man?”
Tate smiled. “I’ve been calling you for five minutes. There’s someone downstairs asking for you. You ready to take a meeting?”
I carved a hand through my hair, pulling it out from under the collar of my leather cut in the back. “Who the hell wants a meeting? It’s Saturday.”
Tate pointed to the security monitors against the wall behind me. We have hidden cameras downstairs on the main floor, behind the bar and in the kitchen. My eyes widened as I turned and looked. I expected to see some beefy-fingered electrician chatting up one of the waitresses while he waited for me with a handout for work that wasn’t quite finished. I sure as shit didn’t expect to see her.
She perched rod straight on one of the bar stools with a little black purse in her lap like the Queen of England. She was a fucking bombshell with long blonde hair, a short skirt, and tits that strained a little against the buttons of her white cotton blouse. Clean, classy. But with a little bit of dirty mixed in. I could see the outlines of a black lace bra beneath that shirt and mouthed a thank you that I spent a little extra cash and went for high-def. Her black, high heeled shoes with crisscrossed laces screamed, fuck me. Though I can admit that might have just been me. She cocked her head to the side and reached next to her to grab some fruity little drink. A Sea Breeze, probably.
“She says you know her?” Tate said.
“The fuck? Does she look like my type?” The second I said it, the words hell, yeah flared in my mind. Yeah. Even Tate wasn’t buying it. He leaned against the door jamb, one hand shoved into his jeans pocket and the biggest shit-eating grin on his face.
“She says her name’s Nicole Ridley. Mean anything to you? She wouldn’t tell me what she wants. Just said she needs ten minutes of your time. Now I was about to say, don’t sell yourself short, but I kinda got the impression maybe she was a little classier than your usual.”
Heat scorched through me at the mention of her name and settled right between my legs. I looked at the monitor again. The fuck if it wasn’t. She’d changed. More curves. More money, probably. She downed the last of her drink and took a breath. She’d done it for courage. God. Just like the last time. Fifteen years melted away in my head and I saw her as she was then. She met me under the bleachers. I thought it was a little obvious, but it had been her choice. I leaned against my bike as she walked toward me, unsteady. Cheeks flushed. Man, that little blue-and-gray polyester dress with the slit up the side and the big felt “L” across her chest. She’d set her pompoms on the seat of my bike then she took a swig from the flask I carried and I watched her nose crinkle as the whiskey went down. She wasn’t used to anything that hard. A bead of amber liquid had moistened her bottom lip and she’d licked it away as her eyes flashed.
“The fuck? Brax. You want me to send her back or not?”
“Yeah. Why not?” I tapped my fingers against the table. “But send her to Colt’s office. I’ll meet her there.”
Tate nodded and backed out of the door. Colt was our club prez. He and our V.P. Kellan were away for a few weeks down south, leaving me in charge. I moved to the room next door and sat behind Colt’s desk, the big red-and-black wolf logo above my head. Though we’d left the one percenter shit behind, anyone in this town knew who the Great Wolves M.C. were and what we were capable of. Which left me curious as hell why someone like Nicole Ridley would voluntarily walk back into my life.
She did though. Tate opened the door. She paused in the doorway, looking from him to me and back again, unsure. I gave her a sly smile and gestured toward the chairs in front of Colt’s desk. She clutched that purse tight to her chest and gave an unsteady smile to Tate as he nodded and closed the door behind him.
Yeah. I’m a dick. I could have put her at ease right away with a genuine smile and maybe a quick hug. But man, she stirred something in me. Standing there with that tiny pulse beating just above her breast. God, close up, she really did look just the same. She had dark brows that slashed in a straight line above those flinty gray eyes. That pouty bottom lip she liked to catch between her teeth. I remember wanting to know what it tasted like and getting the chance to find out all those years ago.
“Hello,” she finally said, her voice sexy and
low, just like I remembered. “Thank you for seeing me. I wasn’t sure if you remembered who I was.”
I let her off the hook a little. She sighed and smiled when I stood up and offered her my hand. “Sit down, Nicole. It’s good to see an old friend. You looking for a donation to the class reunion?” I meant the last part as a joke and she laughed a little, but she was nervous still.
She took a seat and I couldn’t help watching as she crossed her legs. I got a flash of pink cotton panties and thighs that didn’t quit. I should know. I remembered that too. She’d been timid at first or wanted me to believe that she was. But once we got started, it had been all her. She’d leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed me, threading her hands through my hair. She said she loved it long, called it Viking blond. I still wore it like that and I caught her looking at it now and wondered what part of that night flashed in her memory. God, for me it was her delicate hands loosening my belt buckle, her nails painted alternating blue and silver to match the school colors.
“I’m good, Brax. And it’s good to see you. This place.” She spread her hands and gestured like a runway grounds crewman. She folded them quickly in her lap again but not before I saw the little tremble. “Your club has done amazing things down here. I never thought I’d live to see the day downtown Lincolnshire would be so vibrant.”
I nodded. “It’s been hard fought. But yeah. We’re moving in the right direction. What’s up, Nic?”
Her eyelids fluttered at the nickname. I guessed maybe no one since high school had called her that. Certainly nobody like me should have even then. It was too familiar. I was rough, dangerous, nothing but a thug. But none of them knew what I knew about her. That one night, after the last game of the season, the Homecoming Queen, the captain of the cheerleading squad needed something she thought only I could give her.
“I . . . I didn’t know who else to turn to. I probably drove by this place a dozen times, afraid to get out. Afraid of what you might think of me if I came in here asking you for what I need.”
Her cheeks colored with a rosy blush that spread down to her chest. It took everything I had not to stare at her there. God. She was even sexier now than she’d been under the bleachers that night. Older, with curvy hips and lines of wisdom near her eyes. It looked like she’d earned them all.
I reached across the desk and caught her hands where she fidgeted with her purse strap. I couldn’t stand it. As much as I liked watching her like this, it wasn’t fair to her. “Nic, what is it? What can I do to help you? I seem to remember telling you once a long time ago that if you ever needed anything, all you had to do was find me.”
She smiled and it damn near melted me. Her shoulders dropped and her lashes fluttered like birds’ wings as her eyes glistened. Then her story came gushing forth. “It’s my kid brother. I don’t know if you remember him. Doug? He was five years behind us.”
I sat back in my chair and nodded, even though I had no idea who the hell the kid was. Why would I? People like Nicole Ridley usually steered way the hell clear of me back then and still do now.
“What’s he done?” I let out a sigh. I’d heard this shit a thousand times. Messed up with dealers probably. If she’d said it was her sister, I could have predicted the problem there too. Caught up with some douche who liked to use her as a punching bag maybe? Yeah. Not my scene. Not back in the day. Not now. I didn’t get involved in other people’s shit. Club business kept me busy enough. Good as it was to see her, this conversation was about to be over quick.
“It’s a long story,” she said. Yep. They always were. Except they always ended the same way. “Doug’s in trouble. The bad kind. He’s a good guy who’s made a lot of mistakes. Look, Brax. I swear to you. I wouldn’t have come here if I had anywhere else to go.”
“Scraping the bottom of the barrel, are you?” It was a dick thing to say. I know that. I was about to tell her to go to the cops and leave me out of whatever the hell little Dougie got himself into. But the way she glared at me and got her back straight. In that instant, I could see what this cost her. She expected me to say something like that and she was ready for it.
“I can pay you.” She fumbled in her purse, pulled out a thick wad of hundreds and set it on the desk. It was a bit of an insult.
I shook my head. “Nicole, look around. That’s not the racket I run anymore. I don’t need your money or the headache of what your brother has probably gotten himself into. It’s been my experience if it’s the bad kind of trouble like you say, he’ll only end up right back there in less than a year.”
She crumbled a little; her lip quivered. But her eyes flashed steel and she took a breath and straightened her back again, ready to fire at me with both barrels. I wasn’t dealing with a sweet little cheerleader anymore looking for a walk on the wild side. This right here was a grown woman filled with fire and fury. And she wasn’t done with me.
“You were right. I do remember what you told me all those years ago. And I do need something. I wish to God I didn’t. I’ve heard a lot of things about you over the years, Brax. But no one’s ever said you weren’t a man of your word. I need something from you. I need help. And I’m not stupid. I know you don’t give anything away for free. If you don’t want money, maybe there’s something else you do want.”
She licked her lips. That little blush spread across her chest and deepened to red. Her breasts heaved as her breath hitched. Nicole Ridley might be a lot of things, but like she said, stupid wasn’t one of them. She uncrossed her legs and recrossed them. It wasn’t a blatant invitation. No. But with the subtle shift in her posture and the glint in her eyes, her meaning was clear. Whatever my price, she was willing to pay it. Slowly, with steady fingers, she opened another button on her blouse. I got a flash of silk, lace, and the snow-white slope of flesh and tan lines.
“Baby, you sure you want to be in a position to owe me that much?”
She kept her eyes locked with mine and didn’t move. I’d issued a challenge and she wasn’t afraid to rise to it. Fuck, if I didn’t feel my own need rising against my jeans. I couldn’t help it.
Was I still the kind of guy who could take it from her like that? Again, my mind flashed to that single night. Nicole had been wild, reckless, and I still remembered the sound of my name on her lips as she cried out and begged me not to stop.
Yeah. I could be that guy.
This wasn’t fifteen years ago. Back then, we could both afford to be a little reckless. Now, though? We were grown-ups. I didn’t know her story anymore. She’d been Daddy’s little princess. Got all the good grades and the scholarships. Nothing bad ever happened to people like Nicole Ridley. I was the baddest thing she’d ever tangled with. Neither of us had lived long enough to have strings attached yet. Now we did.
Was it worth it to see how far she meant to go with this? I didn’t see a ring on her finger, but that didn’t mean shit. She could have all kinds of baggage besides an old man who didn’t pay attention to her enough. I rose slowly and stepped around the desk, perching myself on the edge of it. From this angle, I towered over her. She craned her neck far back to keep eye contact with me. A tiny pulse in her throat quickened.
I reached out and slid my hand to the nape of her neck, letting my thumb trail along her bottom lip. She parted them for me; her eyelids grew heavy and her breath caught. No matter what else went on in her mind, some switch turned on inside of her. I think her memory flashed like mine did. I’d given her something that night and she hadn’t forgotten it. Neither had I.
I leaned down and tasted her. She was bolder than me, darting her quick little tongue along my lower lip. I think it startled her how fast she responded to me. The pulse in her neck beat even faster. God, I wanted to slide my hands beneath her thin blouse and feel her swelling breast beneath my palm. Roll her pert little nipple under my thumb and see how hard I could make it.
I kept one hand on the desk though. I didn’t know what this was for sure. As far as I knew, this was all some game she played. That suited m
e fine, but I’d make the rules, not her.
Nicole’s purse dropped to the floor as she brought her hands up and threaded them through my hair. Fuck. She’d done that under the bleachers too. Right before she turned and lifted that cheerleader skirt and I got to see how ready she really was for me.
She brought a hand up, running it along my thigh; her fingers played at the bulge between my legs. I was hot and hard and I wasn’t playing. It was time to see whether she was. Returning the favor, I slid my hand beneath her tight black pencil skirt. Her thighs quivered as she parted them for me, almost on instinct.
“Brax.” She gasped my name, bringing back a flood of remembered sensations. She’d been so tight and wet. Her mouth had been eager as she wrapped it around the length of me. My fingers reached the thin patch of cotton at the vee of her legs. She was soaked through.
Fuck.
I slid a finger beneath the fabric and found her slick heat. She shuddered and opened for me. When I circled the pad of my thumb around that taut little button of flesh, Nicole arched her back in the chair, pulled away at first, then sank her head on my shoulder, struggling to get control of herself.
When she looked back up at me, her eyes flashed. Tiny beads of sweat formed above her brow and every inch of her creamy white skin had flushed pink for me. I knew what it took for her to do what she did next. I held the proof of her burning need beneath my thumb.
But Nicole closed her legs and pulled her skirt back into place. I slid my hand away from her and straightened my own shirt, keeping my hands steady.
“You haven’t agreed to help me yet,” she said, her voice ragged.
I ran a hand through my hair and looked toward the ceiling. Baseball. Business expenses. Shipping invoices. I forced my mind away from that hot little space between her legs. Smiling, I looked back at her.
“You’re right.”
She leaned down and picked up her purse, giving me a flash of those perfect, round tits where they strained against her bra. Then she rose on unsteady legs and unzipped the purse. She pulled out a folded stack of papers and a photograph, handing them out to me with trembling fingers.
