Charlie: Northern Grizzlies (Book 4)

by M. Merin

  “Four times since she’s been here, Connal! It’s not fucking funny; what the hell is she going to do to me next week?” He yells, glaring at me.

  “Wait, the first time was intentional. You called me a stripper and tried to touch me.” Royce lets out another growl and Connal steps between us with a hand extended towards him.

  “Charles – back to work. Now. Royce, if you aren’t hurt, clean this shit up and get out of here; I’ll see you next week. Jake, just get the fuck out of here!” We all turn at his tone. It’s easy enough to realize when Connal is near his breaking point.

  Connal

  Jake waves his longest finger at me and heads out the back, I can still hear him laughing over the mumbling coming from Royce behind me. Charlie is on her creeper and sliding under a car. I head back to finish up the work on the Shelby and just pray for a couple hours of quiet.

  *

  Wiping down my work area when I finish up, I finally look around long enough to see that Charlie cleared the cars she needed to get to and is in the reception area with a child hanging off her back, another one around her leg and is holding car keys out, to whom I can only guess is the mother. The thought of her with our kids playing like that gets me fucking hard, so I stay standing with the Shelby between me and the picture window; while the mother helps to disengage her children.

  Jesus Christ. I’m still standing there moments later when she locks the door behind them.

  “Anything else tonight, Connal?” She asks from the doorway.

  “Nah, grab your things; I’ll give you a ride, Charles.” She smiles and nods, heading to my office. I secure the bay doors; stopping myself from following her back there.

  “There’s a meeting tonight at the clubhouse, so we can’t do dinner,” I explain as she’s walking towards my bike.

  “I know, Emma mentioned it earlier.” She smiles up at me.

  “How’d you like her?” I ask; hoping she’ll get on well with Riley, Bree, and Emma.

  “She was great. It’s been a while since I’ve had ‘girl time’ so I’m sure Jake was bored to death.” She blushes as she gets her helmet on. “Where are Royce and Jake heading anyway?”

  “Club business, Charles. Never gonna discuss that with you.” I reply, rubbing her leg as she gets on behind me; wanting to take the sting out of my words. “Don’t take it personally.”

  The ride is over to soon and as she’s getting off the bike, I bring up what I’m most worried about.

  “You set for dinner?”

  “I’m fine, Connal.” She snaps, quickly turning towards her room. I’m off my bike and behind her in a flash. Pinning her between me and the door, I lean down; my mouth against the shell of her ear.

  “Don’t be like that, Baby Girl. I just need to know you’ll get something to eat tonight, Charles.” I whisper, enjoying the feel of her as a shiver rolls through her body.

  Using a finger to turn her face back to me, her expression softens and she’s focusing on my lips.

  “I still have half the sandwich Jake got me.” She admits, then grins moving her eyes from my lips to my eyes. “You two have been stuffing me all week, so it’s been in the fridge.”

  “Better get used to that,” I grin down at her before pressing my lips into her hair. “I’ll be here in the morning, Charles.”

  As I walk back to my bike, I hear a quiet sigh from her and smile to myself. That’s enough for now.

  The bar of the clubhouse is packed when I get there. Everyone is taking it easy before Church, but most will turn that up a few notches afterwards. Nearly tripping over Diamond’s feet from where she’s giving Frank head, I push aside and growl at the probie who’s standing, enjoying the display and make my way back to where Gunner and Flint look decidedly pissed off.

  “What’s going on?” I grab a spare glass from the table and fill it from the pitcher.

  “Word is, Frank wants to make it official with Diamond,” Flint growls out. “But somehow the dickwad still thinks it acceptable to have her tits swinging out while he face fucks her in front of everyone.”

  “How the fuck did she wrangle that out of him?” I ask while angling away from the scene across the room.

  They both shrug, probably more concerned about how their Ol’ Ladies are going to take the news. While Betsy’s always toned it down around them and gone out of her way to be respectful; Diamond doesn’t know the meaning of toned down.

  “Flint, how long has that kid been a probie now?” I change the subject. “Madda? You gonna nominate him?”

  “Ain’t been a year yet, he’s solid though. Hell, he ain’t even eighteen for another week or two.” Flint flicks his eyes to the kid in question. “He did well on his GED exam and has been working with Wrench a bit. Seems to like technology. Huh, well at least once he got over Wrench’s complexion.”

  That gets a frown from all of us.

  “He’d never seen a black person before, if you can believe that. Emma figured that out when she was working on the test material with him.” Flint shrugs. “Once Wrench got him talking, he really took a liking to the kid so I just stayed out of it.”

  “Get back here. Clear out if you ain’t Patched.” Comes Vice’s call from the hallway. Gunner goes to stand near him as everyone files down the hall for the meeting. “Joey, you stay up here. Mick, head up to the gate.”

  The meeting covers what steps Gunner and Wrench are taking to find and plug the leak that caused Russian to get picked up and other local items. Gets interesting when Frank speaks up at the end.

  “Jasper, Brothers, I’ve been real fond of Diamond for a while now…”

  “Yeah, most of us are too!” Royce calls out, to laughs from the younger guys.

  “I want to make her my Ol’ Lady.” Frank continues, silencing the room.

  After a moment of silence, Jas finally speaks up. “You’re older than I am, but considering what you were just doing; I’m not sure you realize what that means.”

  “What the fuck?” Frank raises his voice, “She’s been blowing me out there since she stumbled in a few years back.”

  “Stupid Motherfucker.” Flint roars. “Was that meant to be a fun, little last hurrah before claiming her? Think I’d ever treat Bree that way? How about you Wrench, how many times did you have Amy swinging her titties out there as she put on a sword show?”

  “It’s fucked up, Frank.” Wrench quietly agrees; his dark eyes showing his disgust.

  “You want her as an Ol’ Lady?” Jasper jumps back in. “Show us that you and she can act like it. Go exclusive for a few months then bring it back to us.”

  “This is bullshit and you all know it,” Frank growls at Jasper.

  “You want a vote, Frank? I’ll give you exactly one try – if it comes out Nay, my trial period offer is revoked and we won’t consider it again.” Jasper calmly responds. “I’m giving you that much out of respect for your years as a Brother.”

  Frank looks around the room considering it. Apparently, he notices what I do; too many Brothers inspecting the table in front of them. He’ll never get the numbers.

  Chapter 7

  Connal

  I hang back as the meeting is adjourned, waiting to talk to Jake.

  “Charlie alright?” He asks by way of greeting.

  “Yeah, she got a lot done, then I got her home. She wasn’t pleased when I asked if she was set for dinner. How was the house?”

  “Perfect. Real close to Jas’ home and Gunner’s shop; so that’s a plus.” His smile makes an appearance. “There’s a huge old tire hung up as a swing in back. She loved it, had me pushing her on it. I’m meeting the inspector out there before I get on the road tomorrow.”

  “I got money saved up, Jake. I want to contribute to this also.”

  Jake

  “Your name will be on the title next to mine, Connal. But I got this.” I shrug. My Trust fund can cover the property a thousand times over. Not common knowledge that I have one, but I know Flint and Jasper are aware of it, hav
ing checked me out. Connal’s seen my parent’s home, so he knows more than most and hasn’t ever betrayed that confidence. “Why don’t you run by it this weekend, make sure you’re ok with it?”

  He nods and gets the agent’s number from me before heading up to his room. I head out to the bar to apologize to Vice.

  He sees me coming and smirks, “You just had to say it, man.”

  “We good?” I grunt back; that was easier than I thought.

  *

  The run over the next few days goes smoother than any of us expected. I decided to immediately head back, rather than stay over at that Club like probie and Royce will do.

  Happy to have the silence during the ride home, I push through the long drive instead of stopping; eager to be home to pick Charlie up for work the next morning. Finally pulling off the highway, my stomach drops as I see flames shooting up a couple miles down the road.

  “What’s up?” Connal answers, his voice fuzzy from sleep.

  “Motel’s on fire. Get here.” I pocket my phone and park the truck next to the perimeter the cops set up.

  Grabbing a cop’s arm, I pull him around to face me. “Short girl, long brown hair. Room 8, where is she?” I yell at the startled officer.

  Looking at his clipboard, he finally says, “Oh, Charlie Scott, right?” As I nod frantically, he simply points and I run in that direction.

  Cutting around a couple parked ambulances, I stop suddenly. She’s right in front of me, covered in soot with an old blanket wrapped around her, fighting the oxygen mask a paramedic is attempting to put on her.

  Seeing me, she reaches out her hand, the paramedic finally tells her to wear the mask before storming off. As Charlie stands, her blanket falls away and Holy. Fucking. Hell.

  I run towards her reaching for the blanket to wrap her back up.

  “Jake?” Her voice is rough but she has a little smile on her face until she realizes all I’m interested in right now is making sure the blanket is fully covering the front of her nightshirt. Her breasts are huge and the shirt does little to hide their shape or the outline of her nipples.

  “You ok, Baby?” I whisper, pulling her into my arms. She nods, but I look down and see tears in her eyes.

  “Baby, where you been hiding these?” I whisper in her ear, shifting my body to put emphasis on her breasts.

  “I lost my clothes, Jake. I just got my pack with pictures and papers before the bedspread caught fire.” She hiccups, holding tight to my cut. Keeping her close, the feel of her chest pressed into me causes my cock to harden. I adjust the blanket again and can see she just has a thin, long t-shirt, shorts, and her unlaced work boots on.

  “We’ll take care of that, don’t you worry,” I assure her; reaching behind her with a thought to get her to wear the oxygen mask. “Come on now; just catch your breath, Baby.”

  I gently get her to sit back down, kneeling in front of her.

  “I don’t need that, Jake,” She brushes the mask aside. “I had it on for like twenty minutes. I’m not hurt. I just couldn’t think of where to go.”

  “Charles!” Connal bellows from behind me. Shit, I forgot to call him back.

  He’s upon us and pulling her into his arms in seconds, but is just as suddenly holding her at arms’ length.

  “Charles?” Ok, so I’m not the only one who didn’t know about her generous boobs. He pulls open her blanket, takes in her bounty before looking at me like he’s pissed off. “How the fuck have you kept these hidden?”

  He might be asking her but he’s still looking at me, I shrug.

  “I’m not hurt at all, Connal, thanks so much for asking.” Charlie’s eyebrow is raised and she’s smirking at us both.

  I sit, pulling her onto my lap. “Baby, it’s just not something we expected so much of…” I flounder and look at Connal for help.

  He starts pulling her blanket over her chest and since he’s trying not to touch her chest, doesn’t do much better than I did. “He’s right, Charles, we didn’t realize you had so much, you know...” It’s when his eyes get cartoon character big that Charlie tries to get off my lap.

  “Enough.” She rolls her eyes. “I have boobs. Really big boobs. I get it. I keep them wrapped so I don’t have to deal with what you two are doing right now.”

  Both of our eyes snap up to hers, guiltily.

  “Sorry, Baby Girl,” Connal says, cupping her soot-stained cheek. “Doesn’t that hurt though?”

  “I was in the foster system when they…when they popped up.” She shrugs but has leaned back into my chest. “It was better keeping them under wraps, so to speak.”

  My arms tighten around her, angry for the years she wasn’t protected.

  “Come home with us?” I ask. Connal’s head shoots up and I know we’re going to be moving faster than we planned. “We have two rooms and our own bath at the clubhouse. I’m working on that house, Charlie; but will you come with us for now?”

  “I can stop and get you some clothes – maybe from Riley?” Connal adds, looking at me. “Then we’ll do some shopping in the morning. Let us take care of you, Baby Girl?”

  Charlie

  This past week has been a roller coaster like I’ve never imagined. I finished my course, moved across the state, met two men that interest me, another who thinks I’m trying to kill him, and while I’m nearly penniless even after Connal paying me in cash on Friday; now my motel room and my clothes are ash.

  “Charlie?” Jake whispers again.

  “I’ll be safe there?” I ask. If I hadn’t meet Emma last week, I’d be a lot more intimidated at the thought of them taking me to a Motorcycle Club’s headquarters.

  “We’ll always keep you safe,” Jake promises, and Connal quickly drops a kiss on my forehead.

  “Jake, get her back there; I’ll swing by Riley and Gunner’s to get some clothes for her.” Connal directs. “Riley’s about your height.” He explains when I look confused.

  “Um, my boobs.” I burst out awkwardly. “Can you get me an ace bandage to wrap them? I’m guessing my chest is larger than hers?”

  “Oh, man, is it ever.” Connal chuckles. “Don’t get mad at me! You brought them up!” He lifts his arms in surrender when I glare at him, dramatically backing away. Jake’s chest is also shaking behind me.

  “I think there’s a bandage in the First Aid kit at the clubhouse.” Jake grins down at me, carrying me to his truck. “You don’t wrap them at night, though do you?”

  He sounds appalled, so I just stay silent.

  “When’d you get back to town?” I ask next.

  “Just now, Charlie. Saw the motel the moment I turned off the interstate. Fucking scared ten years off my life. Called Connal as I was pulling over but I didn’t breathe again until I saw you.” He squeezes my hand and brings it to his mouth. “Then I saw your boobies and nearly had a heart attack!”

  I groan and playfully smack him for that comment.

  “Jake?” I pause, not sure how to continue.

  “Yeah, Baby?”

  “I’m confused. You and Connal are great…I just don’t understand…” I stutter, completely unable to voice what I want to ask.

  “Let’s wait till Connal is with us, ok? Don’t worry about anything, we’ll talk it out.” He whispers, reclaiming my hand.

  Shortly, we’re pulling through a gate and around a large T shaped building, until Jake parks near the door. I barely have time to pull my bag unto my lap before he’s opening the door and lifting me up.

  “I can walk!”

  “Hush now, Baby. Let me get you upstairs, alright?” He enters quickly and nearly runs up a flight of stairs. I hold him tightly until he’s opening another door and gently sets me down. The bedroom is sparsely furnished with just a bed, nightstand, and dresser. A large TV on one wall, but no personal items in sight. Much like how I’ve lived since my grandfather died.

  “Here are some towels, you go ahead into the shower,” He tugs my pack away, putting it on the dresser before giving me the towel
s. “You can sleep in this tonight,” He digs through the drawers for a black t-shirt and drawstring shorts.

  I head through the door he indicated and almost start crying again when I see myself in the mirror. I quickly remove the smelly, dirty clothes I’m in and jump in the shower; enjoying the cool water until it starts to heat up.

  Since there’s no conditioner, I shampoo my hair twice, hoping to get the smell of the fire out. Rolling up my ruined clothes, I shove them in the trash can before pulling on Jake’s clothes.

  Nervously, walking back into his room, Jake’s sitting on the end of his bed and Connal is leaning against the door. I walk over to check out the pile of woman’s clothes that Connal points to on the dresser, and while the t-shirts will be a little snug, the jeans are my exact size and taste.

  “Thank you,” I whisper, just staring at the clothes, not knowing what to do or where to look. Jake, reaches out and draws me towards him.

  “You feeling better?” He asks, settling me in between his legs; my waist is clasped in his hands. I nod, unsure of where to put my hands and very conscious of Connal watching us.

  Jake cups my cheek and very slowly pulls my face towards him; gently placing his warm lips against mine. A shudder goes through me and I sway into him. He pulls me tighter into our kiss and I run my hands through his hair until he slowly pulls back.

  “We won’t push you, Charlie.” He strokes my face. “We won’t hurt you and don’t want to scare you, but we do want you to consider us.”

  I’ve barely registered Connal crossing over to us until he is pulling my face towards his and leaning down. “Consider us, all together, Baby Girl.” He grounds out before kissing me. He is much more forceful than Jake; his tongue takes immediate possession of my mouth but I find myself returning his kiss without thought.

  Shock at their meaning flows through me, but I can no more pull away from Connal than I could from Jake. He finally pulls back from me.

  “I know we’re a lot to take, and like Jake said; we’ll keep this at your pace,” Connal caresses my cheek, as Jake rubs my back. “But will you try this with us?”