“You better be looking at the blonde brother because the brunette is going to be mine,” he growled.
“Don’t touch unless you’re playing for keeps”, Gavel’s words played in my head. “Do you think Gavel–“
“Yeah, he knew,” Titan grumbled out.
“We could be jumping the gun here, brother. They could be the biggest bitches in the world.” As I was talking, I watched the blonde’s face. She had a dreamy look on her face and a soft smile. Whatever her dream was about, I wanted to be there with her. Slowly as I watched her for a few minutes, the smile faded and wrinkles appear between her brows. Whatever good she was dreaming, was turning bad fast. She whimpered and I made my way to her.
I reached out and slightly shook her. “Sweetheart,” the endearment slipped out so easy. I’ve never called a woman by an endearment other than baby or babe and frankly I didn’t like the fact that it came so easily with this woman. I gently shook her awake.
Her eyes fluttered and I got a glimpse of her eyes. Calling her eyes blue would have been an understatement. She looked at me still half asleep. I heard her whisper, “If I’m dreaming, I don’t want to wake up.” I couldn’t help but grin. She shook her head and looked at me again. Her cheeks turned pink when she realized she had spoken out loud. She nervously reached over and shook her friend, trying to wake her up. I laughed when the friend called her a bitch for trying to wake her.
Once they had both got up and introductions made between us all, they took us around the building, both highlighting what they wanted to see. It was a different concept, but one that I thought would work well and be welcome in the community. The building was actually really perfect for what they wanted.
“Well ladies, Titan or I will call you with the estimate tonight. Y’all have a good day.” I shook their hands, winked at Phoenix, and walked out without a backward look. I didn’t like that I called her something other than babe, and it bugged the hell out of me how much I wanted her. My cock stayed hard the whole damn tour.
I was on my bike, waiting, when Titan came back outside. He climbed on his bike without a word. We headed to Bedford and did what needed to be done. After doing the calculations, I gave him the figures and asked him to call her.
“We’ll split the crew into two. I’ll work on the restaurant side with Dozer and Chink. You can work on the bar side with Roper and Brick.” I had to squeeze my fists in order to pass the bar over to Titan. God, when she mentioned she wanted a pole in the middle of the dance floor… I barely stopped myself from groaning, imagining her gorgeous body working a pole for me and me alone.
Our club was unusual to other clubs. Whenever we’re on MC business, Titan is the boss, hands down, but when we are doing or working for any of the other businesses that are tied to the club, whomever runs that business is boss. Demon Contracting is mine; I pay the workers and I pay the club because they helped me start up the business. Once all the money I originally borrowed to start the business is paid back, it will work as though they are an investor in my company and they receive a monthly dividend.
“You coming back to the club or are you headed home tonight?” Titan asked me as we were about to head back toward Belle. I wanted to go home, but if I went home I knew what would happen. I would spend all night thinking about a blonde with intense blue eyes and plush lips. I’d be hard as stone and have to stroke myself and it still wouldn’t sate this fire she started in me.
“I’m headed to the club.” He didn’t say anything, but the way he looked at me told me he understood and he was in the same place.
“You up for doubling up tonight?”
“Yeah, man, sounds like we could both use it.” He nodded.
We were in a silent agreement. We wouldn’t touch Gavel’s girls no matter how much we wanted them. I had Titan call Phoenix, because I did not want to hear her sultry voice, which is a total lie. I wanted to hear her voice, so I knew calling her myself would be a mistake. Fuck this job was going to be way harder than I originally thought, figuratively and literally.
<<<<<>>>>>
The next day I called an order in to be delivered and then we headed to the job site. Phoenix’s truck was outside where it had been the other morning. The scene before Titan and me this morning was better than the day before. We followed the music upstairs and found Phoenix and Ember their backs were to us, but we could hear them over the music. I recognized the song immediately Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert were singing about something bad happening. Each of them picked up a part and if I wasn’t sure they hadn’t seen us, I would have thought they were performing for us, but I was sure they hadn’t. No, these girls were just having fun hanging out, dancing, and singing to the music.
Titan was just as wrapped up in their performance as I was. I saw his hand grip the door frame when Ember’s hips swayed and dropped. The song was wrapping up and at the sound of the last note, I clapped. They both jumped and turned around. The girls grinned, held hands, and took a bow. God she was cute. That’s why I’m working in the restaurant and Titan in the bar. “Off limits” I had to keep repeating it to myself. But dammit, that saying about forbidden things being more desirable is unfortunately true.
“We are ready to start working. The rest of the crew is downstairs.” I turned cold and hard before walking away. Clenching my jaw and my fists to keep from turning around and making her mine. I know I was an ass, but damn the woman made me want her just by breathing. She had no clue that I was hard as a rock and to top it off, unlike the women that are constantly demanding my attention, she isn’t. I wish I could fuck her out of my system, but Gavel would kill me. Erin and Kelly had joined Titan and me in bed last night. He and I were pounding our want and desire for these two women into them and this morning, we heard them giggling and talking about how wonderful it was to the other women, how mind blowing it had been. It had been more mind-numbing than anything to me.
When I walked back to the lower floor, the guys were standing around waiting. Titan and the girls came down after me. When Phoenix and Ember came into view, I wanted to rip my brother’s eyes out. Every single one of them raked their eyes hungrily over Phoenix and Ember. Titan wasn’t any happier with their appraisal. I stepped in front of Ember and Titan stepped in front of Phoenix, both of us basically growled at our brothers, giving them a look that said ‘Back the fuck off’. They got the picture loud and clear, even if the picture they received was crossed.
“Alright guys, we are splitting the load up, three of us will work on this side and three on the other. Titan will take one crew to the bar and I will have two of you over here with me. There are two women around. Phoenix and Ember, so behave yourselves. Let’s get to work.”
Titan took Roper and Brick next door. Phoenix followed not long after, but not before I caught her looking at me with confusion on her face at my cold aloofness that I turned on suddenly for her benefit. “Ember, this is Chink and Dozer.” Each guy shook her hand and then I turned to her. “I think it would be best if you and Phoenix either got out of here or went back upstairs. That way you two are out of the way and won’t get hurt.” I sincerely hoped they would leave.
“Yeah, sure. We have other business that needs attending to anyway. If you have any questions about what I want as far as the restaurant goes, give me a call.” She wrote down and handed me her number. “I’ll grab our stuff from upstairs and then head over to get Phoenix.”
I nodded my head, then got to work. She left about two minutes later and about a minute after that, I looked up to see the truck pulling away. With them gone, I could breathe again.
I worked hard that day, harder than I remember working in a long time. Not that my men were lazy, but I was doing the work of two of them trying to burn myself out into exhaustion. The following days went the same way for me. Over the weeks, Titan and I both started to get to know the other’s girl. Ember was a sweet girl and I felt protective of her like a brother. Titan said he felt the same for Phoenix. We were claiming them withou
t doing anything about it. It was fucked up on so many levels.
We were about two months into the renovation when I decided enough was enough. “Titan,” I called walking into the clubhouse toward the bar. He was talking to some of the other brothers, one of whom was getting a blowjob from Becky. “You got a minute, brother?”
“Yeah,” he said as he got up and headed toward me. I grabbed us a couple beers and we headed to the conference room where we held our club meetings. “What’s up, brother?”
“Tomorrow, we’re going to switch it up. I’m going to work in the bar and you with the crew in the restaurant. I want to be around her when they bring lunch in for us, and I want to be the one to go over the job with her.”
“So, you’ve made up your mind then?”
“No, but this avoiding her and this gut wrenching physical attraction I feel for her is not working for me. I’m hoping that I will get to know her and I’ll realize that she and I don’t mix well. We end up friends and I end up protective of her as I am of Ember, like an older brother.” I was spewing shit. I knew it, Titan sure as hell knew it, but fucked if I was going to admit any of it.
“I’ve got to say, man, I’m with Gavel on this one. You don’t touch her unless it’s something more to you. Phoenix has been hurt. I’m not sure how and I haven’t been able to get her information from anyone. Not Gavel, not Linda, and the property records are sealed up tight. She’s running from something or someone. I talked to Gavel about it and he assured me he is keeping a look out to make sure her past doesn’t come for her.” I sat back taking in this new information. There was no background on her to speak of since we had no name for her or Ember. I didn’t like it. Whatever was going on with her gave me a bad feeling. It was going to come back and bite us at some point. I just knew it.
“We need to get Gavel to let us in on what happened, either that or we have to get them to open up to us. My gut is telling me that something is coming that we need to be prepared for.”
“Are you sure it’s not just that she is a mystery that you need to figure out and that is the reason you want her so bad.”
I looked at my best friend, my brother, and contemplated his question. “That’s part of it I’m sure, but no, it’s more than that.” I finished off my beer. “I just wanted to tell you the plans for tomorrow and get your opinion.” I got up and headed for the door. “Oh and, Titan,” I said over my shoulder. “Same goes for Ember, you make sure before you make a move”
Chapter 5
Abby
Since that first day the crews started working, Mac and I made ourselves scarce. We took the guys’ lunch every day, but other than that we really just focused on tying up loose ends in New York. “I have a meeting with a potential buyer for the company in Amarillo later today, so I won’t be back until later tonight.”
“Who is it?”
“Philip Worthington from Worthington International. He was on Grams’ list and had a star by his name, so he’s the first one that I contacted. He’s flying in to Amarillo. We will meet at one for a late lunch.”
“Ok, I’ll take lunch to the guys and check on progress. I’ve already placed orders for equipment for the kitchen and I’m trying to decide on colors and whether I want to keep the dining experience casual or a slight step up from casual. Also, as far as drink ware goes, how much of what are you going to need? I can just order it with what I’ll need.” I estimate what I think I’ll need to start with, but knowing how things go in a bar, I tack on extra to pack away in storage.
This is pretty much our routine every day; we discuss what we are planning for the day, it’s been fun having my best friend back. “Alright. Well, I’m going to take a shower and get dressed before I head out. Oh and if it gets too late, I’ll crash in Amarillo and head back in the morning. I might go see a movie or something. The offer is still open, you can come with me.”
“Nah, too much to do here. Go have fun, I’m getting lunch together for the guys.”
I overslept a little, so I was rushing to get ready. I wanted to be on the road by eleven to make sure I had plenty of time. I fixed my hair, put light makeup on, and donned my black wrap dress. The sleeves cut off at the elbow and the skirt flared out and ended just at my knee. I decided to add to the ensemble with my red stilettos and silver jewelry. I looked good and felt good. It had been a while since I had dressed to impress someone. Nowadays, I was in jeans, a T-shirt, and sneakers or boots. It was nice to feel like a woman.
I was grabbing my purse and phone when I noticed the battery was dead. The charger cord was messed up and had been on its way out. I had just been too busy to get to the store for a new cord. Now, I was kicking myself for that. I hopped in the car with my duffle and my purse and headed to the restaurant.
I walked into the restaurant first and, as I expected, they were all standing around and Mac was handing them food. “Ember,” I drew attention to myself. I ignored the stares from the guys, though I felt Brice’s gaze on me as if he was touching me. “Hey, I need you to switch phones with me. Mine didn’t charge last night and is almost dead and I didn’t get a new cord from the store yet, mine has been acting crazy. Hey guys,” I said like it was an afterthought. I had to force myself to not look at Brice, however, I gave Titan a big smile.
“Where are you headed, baby girl?” he asked sending a sidelong glance at Brice.
“I’ve got a meeting up in Amarillo.” Ember brought me her phone from her purse and took mine from me. “I’ll stop and buy a charger that fits your phone when I get there. You got mine?”
She nodded and smiled. “Yeah. Drive safe and I’ll see you in the morning” Her grin looked a little too devilish for my liking, but I didn’t have time to worry about it. I had to get going.
“Bye,” I said, turning and heading back to the truck. I was climbing in when the passenger door was wrenched open. I looked up to see Brice climb in the cab.
“Um, Brice?” I questioned him not sure what he was doing.
“Let’s go, you have to get to your meeting” the way he said meeting was sarcastic, like he didn’t think for a moment that that was where I was going and what I was doing. It was almost an accusation.
“Brice, you can’t come with me.”
“The hell I can’t. You don’t need to drive any distance by yourself. What if you broke down on the side of the road? What if you get a flat tire?” He seemed angry for some reason, but I had no clue as to why.
“Look, Brice, I appreciate the offer, but–“, I cut off when I saw his face. His jaw was clenched tight and the fierceness in his eyes made him look like he was barely containing his anger. “Alright, you can ride with me, but you cannot attend my meeting. Deal?”
“Where’s your meeting at?” He asked. I told him the hotel and the restaurant, and I swear, for some reason, that seemed to make him even angrier “I won’t be at your table, but I’ll be in the same damn room.”
I sighed, this is the same guy who virtually fucked me with his eyes at our first meeting then proceeded to act like I don’t exist for the next few months. Now, after all this time, he has the nerve to- Wow! He’s jealous. He’s jealous and assuming that I’m going on a date. I don’t know whether to be flattered or highly annoyed at his behavior. What a jerk?
We were thirty minutes into the drive when he finally asked what I knew was driving him mad, “what kind of meeting do you have?”
“It’s a business meeting.” I was not going to give him the satisfaction of details.
“I thought the bar and grill were your business.”
I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, “its old business that needs to be dealt with, so I’m dealing with it.”
“What’s your name, Phoenix?”
I was not expecting that. I mean, I knew Titan was curious, he had been asking me for weeks about mine and Mac’s background. He was damn subtle about it, too. I caught myself a few times almost giving him too much information. He would get me talking about how Mac and I met and t
he stuff we used to do. It was like he was slowly trying to put a puzzle together. Brice went in guns blazing.
“Phoenix. I go by Phoenix”
He studied me, then nodded. “You don’t trust me yet, I get it, but you will and when you do, Phoenix, I will want it all.”
All of what? I thought. That statement could be taken so many ways. I was silent while I thought of what he meant by wanting it all. The tension in the cab could be cut with a knife. To try and ease it and relax before the meeting, I switched on the music. The sound of George Strait’s voice filled the space as he sang about men on steel horses. I softly sang along with the lyrics, clearing my head and relaxing my mind before this meeting that would decide what was going to happen with the company.
“You’ve got a decent voice.”
“Thank you. I love to sing. I know I’m ok and not the best, but I love to do it. That’s how Ember and I met, you know? We were in sixth grade and met in choir at school. We’ve been best friends ever since.” I was rambling a little. I knew it. Brice just put me on edge.
“She’s a great girl.”
‘So am I,’ I thought, ‘but you would know that if you wouldn’t pretend I didn’t exist.’ I wanted to say, but didn’t. It stung. For the first time in my life since the sixth grade, I was jealous of my best friend and it didn’t sit well with me. “Yeah, she’s the best,” I said instead, hoping my voice wasn’t as shaky as it sounded to my own ears. Brice must not have noticed, because he didn’t acknowledge it further.
Phoenix Bar: A Steel Demons MC Novel Page 4
