Biker's Virgin MC Box Set

by Claire Adams

  “I think you need to find yourself a girlfriend, Gregory,” I said, forcing my voice into a teasing tone. “It sounds like you’re hard up.”

  He laughed. “Maybe I am,” he said. “It’s been a few months since I last had sex.”

  “Really?”

  “Well, it’s been a few months since I had really, really good sex,” he clarified.

  “I’m sure you’ll find some really good brothels in the city,” I teased.

  Gregory shot me a look. “Please, I don’t need to pay for it. Women are more than willing to sleep with me for free.”

  “Are these women blind or just desperate?”

  “You can be an evil little shit; you know that?”

  I laughed, satisfied that he was looking at me now, rather than Molly. “I’ve been told.”

  “Was she always this beautiful?”

  “Who?” I asked, pretending as though I wasn’t still thinking of Molly.

  “Molly.”

  “Oh…uh… I’ve never noticed.”

  “Oh?” he asked, with a mocking smile that called my bluff.

  “She was fourteen when I first met her,” I said. “I was eighteen. That may not be much of an age difference now, but when you’re in your teens, it’s huge. She was just a child to me. She was sweet, polite, and helpful, but she was only ever a child to me.”

  Even as I said the words, I remembered that kiss we had shared too long ago. I was only half lying to Gregory. The truth was that at the beginning, I had really seen Molly as nothing more than a little girl. But over the years that had changed.

  I remember the moment our dynamic had shifted. Jason and I had just completed our sophomore year, and we were taking a road trip with a few friends. Since Jason’s parents’ house was on the way, we stopped over for a night to catch up with them.

  After a chat with his parents, Jason had gone upstairs to his room to shower, and I decided to take a walk in the Sinclairs’ massive garden that overlooked a cornfield. I was staring out at the cornfield, when I noticed a silhouette in the distance, in the perfect shape of a woman. As the woman approached, I saw the subtle yet gorgeous curves, the windfall of golden hair, the seductive blue eyes, and the ghost of a smile on her lips.

  “Hello, Tristan,” Molly greeted me as she approached.

  “Molly?” I had balked at how different she looked. In the past year alone, she had transformed from a skinny and awkward young girl into a classic beauty with all the grace of a woman.

  “It’s nice to see you again,” she said, without any trace of the shyness that I remembered about her. I had felt my body respond to hers when she came forward to hug me.

  Horrified at my reaction to her touch, I had excused myself quickly and headed to the guest bedroom. In the end, I was forced to take a cold shower in order to calm myself down. The whole time, I repeated the same refrain in my head. “She’s Jason’s sister. She’s Jason’s sister. She’s Jason’s sister.”

  After that one moment, however, I had never looked at Molly Sinclair in the same way again. She had become something different to me—the forbidden fruit that was forever out of my reach.

  Chapter 10

  Molly

  I was lying in bed, watching the storm rage on outside the resort. My view gave me maximum exposure, making me feel like I was in the thick of it, except that I remained warm, dry, and extremely comfortable. I could see the terrifying threads of lightning zigzag through the sky, and seconds later, great peals of thunder echoed across the ocean like some deadly creature from a mythical world.

  It was a strangely singular experience, and even though a part of me was already scared, I couldn’t stop watching the elements ravage the world outside. There was something feral and violent about Mother Nature that no one realized until she was pissed off. I was so absorbed in my philosophical thoughts that I almost didn’t notice my phone ringing.

  Thunder drowned out the sound, and the only reason I realized someone was calling was because of the flashing light next to me. I grabbed the phone and saw Jason’s number on the screen.

  “Hi, bro,” I said.

  “I heard there’s a storm in Oahu,” Jason said, cutting right to the chase.

  “Yup.”

  “Fuck, is that thunder?”

  “Yup.”

  “Fuck,” he said again. “Are you okay?”

  I laughed. “I’m stranded at a five-star resort with four world-class restaurants, two indoor pools, and a full entertainment unit in my very own suite, and you’re asking me if I’m okay?”

  “Ok, silly question. Let me rephrase,” he said. “How have you been?”

  I paused a little, as my mind flitted to Tristan for a moment. I had been on three more dates in the last week, and Tristan had barely looked my way on all three occasions. He had nodded at me from afar one time, but that was the extent of our interaction. I wasn’t sure why I was continuing with Alani’s plan since it obviously wasn’t working, but a part of me was hoping that Tristan really was getting jealous, and it was just that he was so good of an actor that he didn’t let on easily.

  Something told me that I couldn’t share all this with Jason, however. So instead, I kept the conversation predictable. “I’ve been great,” I said. “The resort is amazing. Tristan really did an amazing job.”

  “I wouldn’t expect anything else from him,” Jason said. “I wish I could have seen it myself.”

  “I’m sure you will one day,” I said.

  “Do you think you’ll consider a position there?”

  I paused. “Tristan hasn’t really mentioned anything,” I said. “Well…he did mention it once, the day I arrived but nothing after that. Maybe he’s reconsidered.”

  “If that we the case, he would have let me know,” Jason said. “Tristan’s a straight shooter.”

  “Even with his friends.”

  “Especially with his friends.”

  “If you say so,” I said. “The truth is, I’m leaning towards a no…that is if his offer is still on the table.”

  “Really?” Jason sounded disappointed.

  “I’ll admit, it would be a fantastic job,” I nodded. “But it would also mean moving to Hawaii.”

  “Which is most people’s dream.”

  “True,” I nodded. “But it also means working for Tristan.”

  “Which is a problem because…”

  “I don’t know,” I lied, deciding to be vague. “It’s weird.”

  “Oh okay, it’s weird,” Jason laughed. “That makes perfect sense.”

  “I thought there was no pressure,” I reminded him.

  “I’m sorry,” he laughed. “You’re right. This is totally your decision; no pressure, for real.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “So…have you spoken to Tristan lately?”

  “I tried calling him yesterday,” Jason admitted, “but I couldn’t get through. Maybe it was because of the storm.”

  “It’s more likely because he is so busy,” I said. “I’ve barely seen him since I arrived.”

  “He hasn’t spent any time with you?” He seemed surprised by that.

  “Why would he?” I asked, trying to sound casual. “We were never really friends.”

  “Aw, come on,” Jason said. “You guys got along so well.”

  “It was a different dynamic,” I reminded him. “You were always with us.”

  “What does that have to do with anything?” he demanded, and I realized that the possibility of a romantic entanglement between Tristan and myself had never even crossed his mind.

  “He’s just really busy,” I said, brushing off the topic. “I don’t blame him. And anyway, I’ve made friends.”

  “Have you?”

  “Alani is one of the managers here, and she’s really great,” I said.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re making friends and enjoying yourself a little.”

  “Me, too,” I agreed.

  “What are your plans for tonight?”

  “I don’t
know,” I said. “I might just watch a movie and head downstairs for a light dinner.”

  “Sounds perfect. I’m jealous.”

  I laughed. “Sounds like you need a break.”

  “I do,” he sighed. “One day.”

  I shook my head. “Talk later?”

  “Sure thing.”

  I left the bedroom and headed to my own personal living room where the entertainment unit was set up, complete with massive flat-screen TV and a built-in collection of movies and TV series for my viewing pleasure. I don’t know what made me do it, but I settled on horror. An hour into the movie, I was seriously regretting my decision. The roaring thunderstorm just outside didn’t help matters, either.

  I was starting to psyche myself out. I started to see eyes everywhere, watching me with deadly intent. I started to hear screams hidden underneath the thunder. I started to imagine people hidden in the dark corners of the suite, waiting for the perfect moment to attack me.

  Dad had always referred to my imagination as fanciful; Mom had called it overactive, while Jason maintained that I was simply dramatic. At the moment, I was forced to agree with all three assessments. And yet, I still hugged a pillow to my chest, unable to shake off the fear.

  I sat up straight when I heard a hard rapping at my door. “No,” I told myself firmly. “That was just your imagination. Stop being so silly.”

  The second time I heard the rapping, it was louder, and I was suddenly unsure. I turned off the movie, deciding that it was a silly move on a stormy and lonely night. Then suddenly, the phone rang, and I screamed in shock. With my heart thudding in my chest, I rolled my eyes at own silliness and picked up.

  “Hello?”

  “Molly?”

  “Alani?” I said, recognizing her voice.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Uh…sure,” I nodded. “Why?”

  “Because you’re not answering the door and I’m sure I just heard you scream a second ago.”

  I blushed with embarrassment. “Oops… That was you.”

  “Were you expecting someone else?”

  “An axe murderer,” I joked.

  “What?”

  “Never mind,” I said quickly. “Sorry, let me just hang up and let you in.”

  I hung up and rushed to the door. Alani was standing at the threshold with a slightly amused expression on her face. “You sure you’re okay?”

  “I was watching a horror movie,” I admitted. “And… I started over thinking.”

  She laughed and walked in. “Why on earth would you do that to yourself?”

  “I honestly don’t know,” I said, holding the door open to allow her through. “But ever since I was old enough to watch horror films, I just kept at it, despite the fact that they terrify the life out of me.”

  “Urgh,” she said, shuddering. “I hate the genre.”

  I laughed. “I think it’s just sentimental to me.”

  “Sentimental?”

  “Whenever Tristan and Jason came home for a visit, we’d inevitably end up watching a horror movie,” I explained. “It was sort of a bonding thing between them and I just sort of…became a part of it, too.”

  Alani nodded knowingly. “Any excuse to be near Tristan, huh?”

  “I suppose it was,” I admitted. “As thrilled as I am to see you, I can’t help but think there’s a reason for your visit.”

  “There is,” she nodded. “I’ve found you your next date.”

  I groaned and fell back onto my cushy off-white couch.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s not working,” I sighed. “Tristan couldn’t care less, and to be honest, sitting there night after night trying to manufacture chemistry with men I have nothing in common with… It’s starting to feel like work.”

  “Hang in there.”

  “To what end?” I asked. “It’s kind of pointless don’t you think?”

  “I don’t,” she said confidently. “I think the plan’s working beautifully.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Tristan is subtle about revealing how he feels, but I think he gives himself away each night he sees you with another man.”

  “Oh?” I said. “What am I missing?”

  “The amount of alcohol he drinks,” Alani said, as if that were concrete evidence. “And, he gets brusquer with the staff. Which is certainly out of the ordinary. Tristan has always been really great with the staff.”

  “You might be misreading his mood.”

  “Possibly,” she conceded. “But I don’t think so.”

  “Who’s this new guy?” I asked curiously.

  Her smile was slightly wicked. “He’s a rich businessman.”

  “Aren’t they all?” I interrupted unenthusiastically.

  She shot me a look. “Sorry,” I smiled. “Continue.”

  “He’s actually a friend of Tristan’s.”

  “He is?” I asked, in surprise.

  “He is,” Alani nodded. “He started asking questions about you, and I thought…perfect.”

  “Perfect?”

  “He’s your next date,” she said. “In fact, he wants to take you out to dinner tonight.”

  “What?” I said. “Right now?”

  “Right now,” Alani nodded. “He wants to speak to you beforehand, though.”

  “Uh…why?”

  “I think he’s hoping to charm you,” she smiled.

  “I’m not easily charmed.”

  “I told him,” she said. “So, what do you say?”

  I took a deep breath. “I suppose I’ve done this much…I might as well go the whole nine yards.”

  “That’s my girl,” Alani said, clapping her hands together.

  I shook my head at her. “You’re enjoying yourself way too much.”

  “Hey, even managing a resort like this can get boring sometimes,” she joked. “A little real-life soap opera every once in a while can’t really hurt.”

  “Especially if you’re choreographing the whole thing?”

  Alani winked at me and headed towards the door. “Wait,” I said. “He’s coming in right now?”

  “Yes.”

  Unsure of my appearance, I looked down. I was wearing sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt with a picture of Mickey Mouse on the front. “I look like an idiot.”

  “I like the look,” Alani said. “There’s something very confident about a woman who doesn’t give a shit about what she’s wearing or who sees her wearing it.”

  “That’s a good point,” I nodded. “Okay, let him in.”

  I heard Alani’s voice faintly from where I stood, and then a moment later a tall, dark-haired man entered. He was wearing dark pants and a blue blazer, and he looked both smart and cultured. He was quite obviously one of those men who seemed to get better looking with age. He gave me a confident smile that was also admiring.

  “Mickey was always my favorite, too,” he said.

  As far as pick-up lines went, it was one of the better ones. I couldn’t help smiling back at him. “He’s so underrated.”

  “I completely agree.”

  We made eye contact for a moment, and it was obvious we were sizing each other up in the silence. “I don’t know your name,” I said, breaking the silence.

  “Gregory,” he replied. “Gregory Winchester.”

  Chapter 11

  Tristan

  “Is there anything else I need to attend to before dinner?” I asked Ben.

  “Not that I can see,” he replied.

  I closed the files I had been looking at and stared off into the distance for a moment, contemplating the unusual situation I found myself in. I was afraid to have dinner at Albero’s nowadays, and that fear had everything to do with a certain Grace Kelly lookalike.

  “Something the matter?” Ben asked, breaking through my haze of self-pity.

  “No,” I said abruptly.

  One of his eyebrows rose slightly, and I noticed one corner of his mouth turn up, as well. “What?” I demanded, w
ith irritation.

  “You’ve been a bad mood this last week,” he observed, completely indifferent to how rude I was being. Instead of shaming me into behaving, it made me feel as though I had the license to do so.

  “I’m working around the clock,” I pointed out. “If you worked like I do, you would be, too.”

  Ben narrowed his eyes at me. “I do work like you do,” he said. “In fact, I would argue that some days, I work harder than you.”

  “Ha!” I said sarcastically.

  “Scoff all you want,” he said, with a shrug. “It’s true. And I’d like to point out that despite my work ethic, I don’t make the kind of money that you do. So logically you should be happy all the time.”

  “Not everything is about money, Benjamin,” I said, using his full name purely because I knew he hated it.

  Ben rolled his eyes at my childish attempts to get a rise out of him. “Then why are you working yourself to the bone?” he demanded. “If money isn’t everything, why are you chasing it?”

  “What are you?” I asked. “My shrink?”

  “I don’t mind taking on the job,” he said sheepishly. “Provided I get paid for it.”

  I cocked my head to the side and surveyed Ben carefully. “You’re an honest guy, aren’t you, Ben?”

  “I’d like to think so, yes,” he nodded.

  “Would you say that the two of us are friends?”

  I could tell immediately that the question caught him by surprise. He processed it for a moment before he spoke. “Honestly… I think it’s hard to maintain a friendship when one person is providing the other’s salary.”

  “Is that a no?” I asked bluntly.

  “Not necessarily.”

  I frowned. “Sounds like a no.”

  “There are different kinds of friendships,” he said. “I think ours is simply…non-traditional.”

  “Okay then, as my friend, I’m going to ask you a few questions,” I said. “And I expect you to answer them honestly and then keep my confidences.”