“Cheers,” she said to herself with a little smile as she raised it into the air. “To your new home, and to a new beginning.”
She took a sip and felt the warmth spread right through her. Around her was complete silence, something she hadn’t experienced for a long time after living in her terrible old neighborhood and underneath the neighbors from hell.
“I wonder if they’ll still be arguing tonight,” she mused as she took another sip. “Or will they have kissed and made up, especially seeing as they will no longer have a witness.”
Star shook her head. She felt sorry for whoever was going to get stuck with them once they moved into her old place, but she had paid her dues and she was more than ready to forget all about it.
She pulled out a plate and used it for a chopping board as she sliced up tomatoes, onions, lettuce and peppers, threw them into a big bowl and mixed them together. She then checked the oven to see how long she had to wait. The bread was still soft, so she grabbed her wine and wandered back through to the front room where she bit her bottom lip and stared at the TV on the floor and the tangle of wires around it.
“Urgh,” she groaned.
She had never been good with technology, but she was going to have to give it a try and see if she could get the thing working.
She knelt on the floor and lifted the TV up onto the stand before she slid it back against the wall and looked at the mess of wires.
She blew on them to get out any lingering dust and started to plug them into the sockets at the back before she flicked the switch and was met with…
Nothing.
“Oh, come on,” she groaned as she knelt back down and started to unplug them and switch them around. She was wrestling with the TV and the wires, getting hot and working herself up into anger when suddenly there was a loud knock at the door, causing her jump.
She sat back on her heels and felt her heart pounding out of her chest. She got to her feet and crept towards the door, peering out of the window to the side as she approached.
She could make out a large, tall figure but she didn’t in anyway recognize him. When she reached the doorway, she adjusted the cardigan she was wearing and brushed the hair back that was dangling all over her face. She took a breath before she turned the key and opened the door wide.
She didn’t know who or what might be behind Door Number One, but it wasn’t who greeted her when her eyes began to register on the figure in front of her. She didn’t know him, but she sure did recognize him. She felt her mouth sag open and her mind swam with confusion.
“Hi?” she offered, as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Erm… hello?” He raised his eyebrows and looked past her, over her shoulder.
It was him. The guy from the previous night at the club. The new blood.
He took a step backwards and looked up at the house and then he peered inside again. Star was trying not to feel offended, or allow herself to ask him what the hell he thought he was doing, but she could tell that he was as confused as she was.
“You?” He laughed a little and raised his hand and pointed at her. “You live here?” he asked.
“As of today I do, yeah,” she said with an embarrassed smile. “Can I help you? You’re new at the club, right?”
She cocked her head to the side and watched his face open out in a brief flash of understanding, but also caution.
“You’re affiliated with the club?” he asked her.
“I work in Tanner’s,” she acquiesced. “I recognize you from last night, I was there when you came in.”
His eyes bore into her and she felt herself blush a little.
“Yeah,” he said as he took another step back and looked around the front door. “I think I must have got the wrong place. Unless they’ve directed me to the wrong house.”
“They?” she asked with amusement.
“The boys,” he said. “The clubhouse is overrun, so they told me I could crash at one of the houses on this street. I was told number five, which is…” he held out his hands and presented Star and her new front door.
“Sorry,” she said. “I don’t know what to tell you. There must be some kind of misunderstanding.” She chewed her bottom lip and tried not to look uncomfortable. Maybe Ax had taken her to the wrong house and now the new guy was going to have nowhere to go.
I knew this was all too good to be true, she bemoaned internally. I can’t believe I actually thought this place was going to be mine.
He scratched the back of his neck and Star had to avert her eyes. If she stared at him for too long, his features became even more prominent and it was making her nervous. He was far too good-looking to be a Forsaken Rider. Those men were like a different breed; they were big and brutish and completely wild. This guy, well, he had all of those qualities and more, but they were more refined, more sophisticated. More real, almost.
She swallowed and moved uneasily to her other foot before she sipped her wine.
She could see past him and at the end of her driveway was a big glistening bike. He had a large bag slung over his shoulder.
“Do you want to come inside?” she asked uneasily, not sure of what else to say. “We can call Ax if you like? He brought me here today. There must have been a mix up.”
He studied her as if he were trying to figure her out and then he nodded slowly and waited for her to step back before he came in.
He didn’t close the door behind him. She watched as he looked around the front room and up at the large staircase in the middle of the hallways that joined the front half of the house together.
“Nice,” he said. “I bet you could kill me right now for turning up here,” He said with an easy grin as he dropped his bag down on the floor.
Star smiled shyly as she dug into her back pocket and reached for her phone. She scrolled through the names until she reached Ax and then she handed him the phone.
He held it to his ear and stayed silent until there was an answer on the other end.
“Hey man, it’s Chains,” he said.
Chains. A crazy name for a no doubt crazy guy. All of the bikers were insane in their own way. Insanely hot, insanely dangerous, insanely sexy. Star had to tear her eyes away from him again.
“I just got to the house and there’s some girl here, she says she works at the club.”
Star narrowed her eyes as she watched him and then she felt the need to correct him.
“My name is Star, Ax knows who I am.” she rolled her eyes.
“Okay.” Chains sighed as she looked up and locked his eyes in on hers. They were so intense and deep, they were like nothing she had ever seen before. It was almost as if all the color in the world had been saved just for them. They were as blue as the Pacific Ocean and intoxicating.
“So, what do I do? Wait it out or what?” he asked Ax. Star cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brow.
“Thanks, man,” Chains laughed. “I appreciate it.”
He hung up the phone and handed it back to her. She sipped her wine and waited for him to explain. He stayed silent as he looked over into the corner and stared at the mess of the TV.
“Do you need a hand with that?” he asked her as his eyes locked in on hers again.
“Are you going to tell me what Ax said?” she asked, trying not to sound angry.
“He’s put you in my house,” he said with a sigh. “But he said not to worry, I can have another one across the street, so I guess it looks like we’re neighbors.”
Star felt a little grip in her chest.
“This place was supposed to be yours?” She scrunched up her nose and rubbed her forehead. “Well, now I feel terrible.”
“Don’t.” He laughed as he shook his head. “I can live pretty much anywhere.” He shrugged and lifted his bag back up onto his shoulder.
At the moment he did it, suddenly a fire alarm blared out from behind them in the kitchen, and Star’s eyes opened wide as she remembered that she had forgotten the bread.
“Shit!” she said as she placed the wine glass down on the window ledge and raced back towards the hallway.
She pushed open the door to the kitchen and groaned when she saw the smoke rising from the oven.
“Oh no, oh no, oh no,” she said as she opened the door wide and saw the black billow of smoke rush out that hit her square in the face.
She coughed as she fanned it away and Chains was right behind her, reaching up with his long arm to push the button on the smoke alarm. He then opened up the windows to get some air inside and the smoke outside.
Star clattered the tray with the burned bread on down onto the counter and sighed. “I forgot it was in there.”
When she looked up at him he he raised his eyebrows.
“Don’t tell Ax,” she said with mock panic, and he crossed his arms over his chest.
“He’ll be here any second with a key to my house,” he said with a wry smile, “so you may need to bribe me.”
Star narrowed her eyes and felt a flash of irritation. Who did this guy think he was?
She popped her hip out to the side and grinned at him sweetly. “I’ll bribe you with my delicious homemade bread,” she said as she tried not to laugh. “It’s a moving in present, neighbor to neighbor.”
He threw his head back and laughed and then he shook his head.
“Thanks, but I think I’ll pass.”
He winked at her, turned on his heel and headed back out toward the hall. Star found herself following him, even though she didn’t have a clue what she wanted to say. The whole encounter had been so bizarre and unexpected. It was like she was in shock.
When Chains reached the front door, he stopped and looked back over his shoulder and pointed to the TV in the corner.
“If you need any help with that,” he said. “I’ll be across the street in number eight.”
Star bit her bottom lip and took him all in again. The leather, the muscles, the lean and toned physique, the way his features were so dark and brutal, but also so perfectly woven together, they created something exotic and special and quite unlike anything she had ever seen before.
“I’ll bare you in mind,” she said, deliberately flirty.
He gave her a wry smile and then he headed out the door, leaving it open behind him.
She wandered to the doorway and watched him climb onto the back of his bike and rev the engine. He didn’t look back at her, but she couldn’t make herself look away from him.
She watched as he pulled off her driveway and swerved the bike around in a big curve and went down to the other side of the street and a few houses down.
“The new blood is my new neighbor,” she whispered to herself as she tried to stop herself from grinning.
She closed the door and turned the key in the lock, picked up her wine and went back to tackle the mess she had made in the kitchen.
It had been a bizarre first night in her new home, but one that had certainly thrown up many new possibilities.
“I have the feeling you’re going to like living here,” she said to herself with a small sigh.
5.
The next day flew by as Star unpacked the rest of her things. She called her old landlord and told him that she wouldn’t be staying another month in that hell hole, then left to shop around Main Street for as many new bits of furniture as she could find.
She had made it back to the house around two in the afternoon. She was so exhausted she flopped down on the couch and put her feet up.
She had slept soundly the night before and had woken early with the feeling of now knowing where she was and wanting to explore. There was so much space around her that it felt almost like a crime to not really dig around in every room and memorize each nook and cranny, even if there wasn’t any furniture in the rooms.
She had thought of Chains when she had woken up too. He had been such a surprise the night before that it had left an impression. She had vowed to never get romantically involved with any of the bikers, but there was something about Chains that had caught her attention. He seemed different and interesting. He was dark and brooding, while also seeming to have a good sense of humor. And, he had offered to help her too.
The offer had been playing on her mind. She had debated all day whether she should cross the street to number eight and see if it was still on the table, but she didn’t want to hassle him.
She had never known The Forsaken Riders to bring in a newbie. So it seemed a little strange to her for Chains to suddenly be on the scene. She couldn’t help but wonder who he was, where he came from, and what he had done to secure himself a spot in one of the most notorious bike gangs in the West.
As she sat on the end of her bed and started to get ready for work that night, she kept finding herself looking over to the window to try and catch a glimpse of him. She hadn’t seen him all day. The bike was nowhere in sight, and there were no other vehicles on his driveway. As the sun started to go down, she looked out for lights on behind one of his windows but everything stayed dark, so she eventually gave up and concentrated on picking her outfit for the night ahead.
She chose a black bikini and a silk robe which she could wander around the club in and give the customers something to think about. She packed it into her bag and then pulled on a pair of jeans, t-shirt and cap before she headed out. It felt good to know that only had half the distance to travel. As she wandered down her street, she allowed herself the luxury of glancing up at Chains’ new home.
“No one is inside,” she whispered to herself as she looked down at the road and kept on walking. “So maybe he’s in the club.”
She bit her lip to try to hide her grin and picked up her pace. For what exactly, she wasn’t sure.
As she walked past the diner and approached Tanner’s, she could see that the parking lot was quiet and felt a rush of relief. After having the majority of the weekend free and being sent home early on Friday, she had been dreading walking back into a hot, sweaty, packed club was full of horny truckers.
All she wanted was an easy night, a chance to catch up with Jill and Renee, and the opportunity to fill them in on her new bachelorette pad, along with potentially finding out as much as she could about the latest addition to The Forsaken Riders.
She walked around the back of the club and went inside. The hallway was dark as ever, but the bright lights shone out from underneath the door of the changing rooms. She headed inside and saw Renee sitting at her mirror, curling her hair with tongs and chatting away to Candy who was dancing around in the corner.
“Hey.” Star grinned when she saw them.
“Hey doll.” Renee smiled. “Long time, no see.”
“I know,” Star agreed. “You won’t believe the couple of days I’ve had.”
“Oh, we’ve heard,” Candy chipped in as she bent over and started to slip her feet into her high, Perspex shoes. “Jill told us you’ve moved?”
“Yep,” Star said, beaming. “I’m finally out of the hellhole that was the apartment.”
“Good for you,” Renee said to her, watching her via the mirror. “I’m glad you’re out of there, it sounded like the worst.”
“It really was,” Star agreed. “And now I’m in one of the biker’s places. I’m renting from my employer, which sounds like a nightmare, but Ax has sorted me out with a really good deal, so I can’t complain.”
“Nah, they’ll look after you.” Candy smiled. “They prefer to have people in their properties who they know.”
Star nodded.
“So, no sign of a new girl I hear.” Renee raised her eyebrows. “Word around the club is it’s a new biker who’s come to shake things up?”
Star nodded slowly, unsure of how much they knew.
“Did you see him the other night?” Candy asked. “He hasn’t been around here since.”
“He was here,” Star confirmed. “But I didn’t speak with him. Not then, anyway.”
“When did you speak to him?” Renee laughed, not missing a beat.
Star tried not to grin from ear to ear.
“When he turned up on my doorstep last night,” Star finally said after she had left them in suspense long enough. “Turns out we’re going to be neighbors. Can you believe it?”
Candy and Renee looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“Oh, this is too good, you move to get some peace and quiet and then a Forsaken Rider moves in next door.” Renee cackled. “The irony!”
Star rolled her eyes, but she nodded her head in agreement.
“Just my luck, huh?” she shrugged as she turned around and placed her bag down.
She hadn’t thought of it like that, which surprised her, in fact, it surprised her in general that she didn’t mind that he was there at all.
Candy sighed as she fluffed up her bouncy blonde hair and pursed her glossy lips in the mirror. “Right. Well, I better get out there. I have a room to work, drinks to sell, and men to exploit. You know the drill.” She winked at Star before she disappeared out into the hallway, and the door closed quietly behind her.
“So, spill the beans then,” Renee wiggled her eyebrows. “What’s he like?”
“The new guy?” Star asked coyly.
“Yes, the new guy! You’re the only person I can ask who’s actually had a conversation with him. Jill said he’s hella handsome.”
Star thought back to when she had first saw him walk into the club and the impression he had made on her. Sure, he was ridiculously good-looking, but that wasn’t enough. Now she’d spoken to him and knew he had a sense of humor, she was beginning to see something much more in him. She wasn’t sure she wanted to admit it.
“He seems… you know, just a normal guy.”
“None of these fucking bikers are normal, doll.” Renee laughed. “He’s got to have something going on with him, one way or another.”
She raised her eyebrows and began to line her lips with thick, plum lipliner. Star began to get undressed and change into her working outfit.
CHAINS (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 18) Page 4
