by Marla Monroe
“Out.” Rhodes didn’t elaborate as he wrote something on a piece of paper.
“Out, where?”
Vernon looked up. “Didn’t say. I figure they’re checking around to see if any of The Skulls are in the area.”
She scowled at the poor man. It wasn’t his fault they’d left her alone in a strange place. She frowned. Wait. She was here with Jessie, not them. They were brainwashing her. She gritted her teeth and stomped over to one of the chairs near the bar and plopped down in it—and winced. Damn plug! Damn men!
Chapter Ten
The common area surrounding the lodge had been cleared and was looking much better than when they’d first started working on it. Ajax welcomed the hard work that kept his mind off the fact that they hadn’t been able to locate any of The Skulls’ riders in the area over the last two days. Dom and Reece had groups of The Ghost Riders out combing the area at different times during the day and night with no results so far. It was as if they’d vanished.
He shook his head. They hadn’t gone anywhere. They were laying low, waiting for the right opportunity to strike. Whether Ginger was their ultimate goal or not, they were dangerous and had to be dealt with.
The one good thing was that Ginger seemed to be warming up more to them. He hoped it meant she was growing to accept them into her life on a permanent basis. The more time they spent with her, the less resistance she seemed to have when they talked about the future. It gave him hope.
“Let’s take a break and check on Ginger.” Murdock walked up, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm.
He grunted and turned to follow his friend inside. Just as they stepped up on the wide porch that circled the lodge, the object of their desire walked outside carrying a tray with a pitcher and glasses along with a plate of cookies on it. Murdock grabbed the heavy tray and set it down on a small table next to some chairs.
“I know you’d prefer beer, but this is better for you than beer while you’re still working. You can feed your beer requirements after you finish working.” Her sarcasm wasn’t lost on Ajax.
He watched as she poured tea into the three glasses then grabbed one for himself. He took a cautious sip and relaxed. Not too strong or too weak. Not everyone could make good iced tea as far as he was concerned. Someone at the clubhouse was lousy at it.
“The grounds are looking good. I’m making some headway with the kitchen in here. I think everything except the fridge will be fine to use for now. The fridge has to go, though. There’s no way I’d eat anything that had ever seen the inside of it.”
Ajax merely nodded and bit into the delicious sugar cookie. She’d obviously managed to get the stove clean if she’d cooked them. He’d wondered about the small cooler she’d brought along with them even though they had brought the larger cooler full of beer and water. Now he knew what had been in it.
“We appreciate you helping us work on this, babe.” Murdock poured more tea all around.
“I need to keep busy or I’ll go crazy sitting around doing nothing. Jessie is busy most of the time, and Raven is writing.” She shrugged and picked up another cookie.
“Before we get back to work, let’s go look at the cabin we’ve picked out as ours. It’s much larger than the other ones,” Murdock said.
“Why aren’t you working on it first?” she asked.
“We need to get as much of the main area cleaned up and presentable as possible to start using it as a staging area and to begin setting up some advertising shoots. It takes time to get quality advertising set up like you want it to appeal to the right people. While we work on the other cabins, we can put out some feelers using hints at a new venture coming up. It will get the right people interested, and by the time we’re ready to open for business, we should have quite a crowd waiting to see more.” Murdock spread his hands out to encompass the entire area.
“Sounds like a good plan in theory,” Ginger mused. “Do you have anyone lined up to cook, clean, and handle the general office duties yet? It’s going to take several people depending on how many guests you expect to have at a time.”
“We’re working on that. Several of the women at the clubhouse are interested as well as some of the guys. It will bring more revenue in to the MC and another business to support it.”
Ajax watched Murdock and Ginger as they discussed their plans. He liked seeing her interested since he planned that she would be a part of it. Of course, if she had her heart set on working at a hospital or something, he wouldn’t stop her as long as she came home to them every night. He wanted her to be happy, but it sure would be a lot easier to keep her safe if she were closer to where they would be.
“What do you think, Ajax?” Ginger was asking him.
“Sorry. Wasn’t paying attention.”
“Ginger thinks we need someone with first aid skills in case of accidents considering the type of experience we’re offering.” Murdock had a triumphant look in his eyes.
“That’s a pretty good point. Bound to be some accidents and injuries,” he agreed.
“Think you would be interested in being our first aid officer, babe?” Murdock asked.
“Oh! Um, I don’t know. You might want someone with more training than I have. I’m just a nurse’s aide.”
Ajax looked over at his partner. They’d talked about one of them taking an EMT course at one time. He bet Ginger would jump at the chance to do that. Hell, she could even go all the way and become a paramedic if she wanted.
“Would you be interested in taking more courses?” he asked.
“I’d love to, but I don’t have enough money saved yet.” She sighed and stood up, picking up the tray.
“If you were going to work here, the courses would be paid for.” Murdock took the tray from her as Ajax gathered the empty glasses.
He could see in her eyes that she was seriously thinking about the idea. Why hadn’t they already thought about it before now? This could be the break they needed to move her closer to their goal, making her their woman.
As they entered the kitchen, Ajax realized she’d been very busy. The room looked and smelled fresh and clean. Murdock set the tray with the nearly empty picture of tea down on the counter and pulled her into his arms.
“Babe, you’re amazing. I never would have believed the kitchen could look this good. Thanks.” He kissed her soundly on the mouth. “Let’s go look at the cabin and see what you think.”
Ajax grabbed her hand and pulled her beside him. He needed to touch her. She settled him inside when nothing else ever had. It pleased him when she looked up into his eyes and smiled. The turmoil inside of him that always seemed to be there retreated when he was near her. If he had his way, she would always be close by.
As they crossed the compound to follow the trail that led to the place he hoped to call home with her, doubts began surfacing that she wouldn’t like the place or that it wouldn’t be up to her standards. It needed work before they could move in, and she had already told them she didn’t want to live at the clubhouse. Why had they even entertained the idea that she would be satisfied living out there in the first place?
Now as they walked up to the front porch, he held back, not wanting to go in and see the disappointment on her face. He and Murdock had raked out the crap that had been inside and cleaned it so that it smelled better, but it was by no means in any shape to live in.
“Are you coming, Ajax?” Ginger asked.
“I’ll be there in a minute.” He let go of her hand and started around the side of the cabin.
Disgust with himself for thinking that they had a chance with Ginger threatened to suffocate him. He needed to settle down before he went inside. Letting her see him when he was upset wouldn’t be a good idea. If she never saw that side of him, Ajax would be thankful. It wasn’t lost to him that she’d been afraid of him at first. He never wanted to see fear or unease for him in her eyes.
Drawing in a deep breath, he walked up the back steps and opened the door leading in
to the kitchen. Murdock was bent over laughing so hard Ajax wondered if he’d pass out while Ginger stood on one of the kitchen counters cursing like a sailor.
* * * *
“Shut up, Murdock! I swear if you don’t stop laughing at me I’m going to shoot you when I find a gun.” Ginger stomped her foot then noticed that Ajax had walked in the back door. “Ajax, get me down from here.”
“Uh, what are you doing up there in the first place?” he asked.
“She saw the dragon draft stopper by the door and thought it was a snake,” Murdock finally managed to get out. “I swear she jumped up on the counter so fast it was like she had wings. I’m surprised you didn’t hear her scream.”
Ajax walked over and pulled Ginger down into his arms. When she started to pull away, he held her tighter against him. She figured he thought she would do bodily harm to Murdock if he let her go. The thought had occurred to her, but she decided she liked being in Ajax’s arms more at the moment.
“I can’t believe you’re laughing at me, you asshole!” She glared at him.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve never seen anyone move that fast.” Murdock slowly settled down.
Ginger could see the humor in it now that she knew it wasn’t a snake, but was still mad at Murdock for laughing at her. She leaned against Ajax, comfortable that he would continue to hold her until she wanted down.
“Okay, I’m finished laughing now. You still have the rest of the house to look at,” Murdock said.
Ajax kissed her softly on the lips before letting her slide down his body until her feet touched the floor. She couldn’t help but enjoy the way his hands felt on her body. Neither could she ignore the bulge of his cock as it pressed along her body. It reminded her of how good it felt inside of her. She had to close her eyes for a second and settle her body. She had no doubt her panties would be wet now as turned on as she was at that moment. It amazed her that something that innocent could affect her like that. Was it physical or was it because of who it was? Both men seemed to affect her that way just by touching her.
Ginger couldn’t ignore her feelings any longer. The more time she’d spent with the two bikers, the deeper her feelings had grown. She realized that for the first time in her life, she felt—settled around them. She wasn’t sure what that meant right then, but she needed to think about it some more. They weren’t part of her plans.
“Coming?” Murdock asked as he walked over to the door.
She grabbed Ajax’s hand and dragged him with her. Murdock led her back through the den area to what must have been the master bedroom. There were two walk-in closets and an enormous bathroom. The bathroom had a walk-in shower and a place for a large tub as well. The tub was missing.
“We’re going to put a whirlpool tub in. The one that was there was in bad shape,” Murdock said.
“The suite is really big. I’m surprised.” Ginger looked around the bedroom once more.
She was really impressed at how nice the place was. It didn’t strike her as having been a bachelor’s home out in the woods. There had to have been a woman living there with the walk-in closets and sexy bathroom. What little she’d seen of the kitchen appeared to have been designed by someone who liked to cook. The appliances were all missing, but the countertops were all granite and there was plenty of counter space to work on.
“There are two bedrooms and a bath upstairs as well as a half bath off the den for guests,” Murdock said.
“It has a lot of potential, but it will take a good bit of money to make it livable,” she pointed out.
“We have the money saved up to take care of the house and most of the cabins. We’ll probably only open three cabins to start with and then add one each season until we have all six of them open. With two people per cabin, six men will be a good start.” Murdock led the way back outside.
“How soon are you planning on opening for business?” Ginger thought they still had a lot of work to get done.
“Not till next spring. It will take us all summer to get things in working order then we have to set up the training areas and finalize the agenda.”
“Sure sounds like you’ll be busy.” It didn’t sound like they would have time to worry about her.
For some reason, that thought bothered her. Why when she didn’t want them as permanent boyfriends? They didn’t figure into her plans. Still, the thought of them with another woman living in that cabin turned her stomach.
“Time to get back to work.” Murdock started back down the path to the lodge.
Ginger followed him, still pondering how she felt about them. Ajax followed behind her making sure she kept up. They always seemed to do that, keep her in the middle as if protecting her. Maybe that really was what they were doing. She definitely felt safe between them like that. Being between them felt natural. That thought led to another, more intimate thought. Being between them in bed was proving to be one of her favorite places to be as well. She couldn’t help but wonder how much better it would be when they took her together. Just the thought sent shivers down her spine.
“Are you okay, baby girl?” Ajax asked right behind her.
Ginger hadn’t realized that she’d stopped walking and was just staring off into nothing. She nodded and started walking again. She didn’t trust her voice to say anything just then.
When they emerged into the clearing behind the lodge, Murdock was waiting on them with a question in his eyes. Ginger just ignored him and headed back into the building to start working on another room. She could hear them talking outside but couldn’t tell what they were discussing.
She decided to work on the bathrooms next. Evidently the guys had already done an initial clean-up of them since they weren’t nasty and disgusting like the kitchen had been. She got to work sanitizing them until she felt like they were as clean as they were going to get. Just as she finished cleaning up and putting away the supplies, she heard Murdock and Ajax walk inside, their boots echoing in the empty front room.
“Ginger! Are you about ready to go?” Murdock’s voice carried throughout the building.
She smiled, shaking her head and walked out of the kitchen carrying her cooler and backpack. Ajax quickly relieved her of the cooler and Murdock took her pack.
“I’m ready. I have a feeling I’m going to sleep well tonight.” She stretched her back.
“I’ll give you a back rub when we get ready for bed, babe,” Murdock said.
“I’ll massage your feet.” Ajax bumped her shoulder with his arm as they headed for the truck they’d borrowed to make the trip.
“I’m not turning down either one of you. My body is not used to that much hard work in one day.”
“You know we appreciate it, don’t you?” Murdock opened the back door and shoved her pack in then took the cooler from Ajax as well.
“I know. I enjoyed doing it.”
“Tomorrow we’re on scout duty, but you’re welcome to come back out with us the next day, baby girl.” Ajax helped her up in the cab before scooting in next to her and closing the door.
“Well, until I’m allowed to search for a job, I’m free to help.” She couldn’t help slipping that in.
Murdock scowled at her. “You don’t need a job. You’re going to EMT school as soon as we get The Skulls tended to. Then you can run the first aid area and maybe even do some classes for the guests. They’ll need to know basic first aid as well.”
Ginger didn’t let them know how much that actually appealed to her. She would wait until later to let them know she really was interested in that. The more they talked about it, the more it interested her. She’d always wanted to go back to school to be a nurse, but being an EMT and maybe even a paramedic would be great, too.
The only downside to doing that would be seeing them every day when she wasn’t with them. She already knew she wouldn’t like seeing them with another woman. They were two very handsome and virile men. They wouldn’t go without female companionship for long. Could she deal with them touching and kissing an
other woman? Even just the thought of it made her stomach hurt. How had she let them get under her skin so fast? Ginger had a feeling they’d managed to slip into something far more dangerous than just under her skin. She had a feeling they had a toehold on her heart as well.
Chapter Eleven
The week of being under Ajax and Murdock’s control was almost up. Between hanging around with Jessie and Raven and working with the guys at the camp, Ginger was having a difficult time remaining true to her goals. Those plans and goals she’d meticulously researched and created had helped her deal with the insanity she’d lived with while under her parent’s thumb and later when she had been working all those crap jobs while trying to get her certificate to be a nurse’s aide. Dropping them now seemed like a cop-out. How could she live with herself if she gave up on them?
The guys were out on patrol, canvasing the area for any signs of The Skulls still being around. That was another problem. How long could she wait before getting a job? If they never found them or if they couldn’t get them to leave her alone, where did that leave her? It looked like she needed to move again. That didn’t sit well with her either. She’d moved back to be around her friend. If she moved again, she’d be starting over from scratch and right now, Ginger wasn’t sure she had it in her to do that.
“Hey, Ginger. The guys are on their way back,” Turk, one of The Ghost Riders, called from the back.
She’d been sitting in the den talking to some of the other women while she waited on them. Raven was writing and Jessie was spending “quality time” with her men in their room. She knew what that meant. Depending on if they had any news or not, she figured Murdock and Ajax would want some “quality time” with her when they got inside.
She could admit that she’d missed them while they’d been gone. It was nearly six in the evening and they had been gone since before dawn. Although she hadn’t been waiting in the den all that time, she had been acutely aware that they weren’t around. It was another reason she figured she didn’t have any interest in moving again. She would miss them—seriously miss them.
