Doc: Tempest Elite Motorcycle Club Book # 2
Tempest Elite Motorcycle Club
Reagan Phillips
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue
Bear
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Also by Reagan Phillips
Chapter 1
Dawn
* * *
I've tried not to think about what I'm doing today. I've tried to detach myself from the side of me that’s about to ask Doc for a job. But neither my body nor my mind can stop reacting to the fear growing in my belly.
Doc is a senior member of the Tempest Elite Motorcycle Club. The same club I parted ways with a year ago when they exiled my then boyfriend, Gears, for stealing. I was too naive back then and believed every word of my ex's declaration of innocence.
I believed him again and again through failed jobs and his drinking. I took his side right until the moment he skipped town with my car and our rent money, leaving me homeless and broke with no one to turn to for help.
I have nowhere to go. No connections that Gears didn’t decimate with his lies and cheating. No family I can lean on for support.
The only place I know is Tempest Elite territory, and I'd love nothing more than to keep my distance from the club I know hates me. But according to the internet the only job in town I qualify for is the one Doc has posted at his storage warehouse.
Besides, glancing through the large front windows of his lobby, Doc's not that terrifying. He’s pushing forty, making him fifteen years my senior, and is all sleek, hard muscle covered in tats and a tan from working shirtless outside at the club. His face is chiseled from his anguler jaw to the cleft in the center of his chin.
He's a pinup poster for motorcycle clubs if such a thing existed and any members were willing to pose. But mostly I know him as the guy who followed me around, staring all the time, and who had a huge hatred for Gears.
Under all that hardness, he has the kindest eyes. The type that cuts through all the bullshit you've been through in your life and sees the potential. I know, because a year ago on the eve of Gears’ exile, Doc was the only member who looked out for me. Against orders from Bear, the president, he gave me a heads up and offered me shelter. He gave me a choice. One I should have taken. But back then I didn’t see things as clearly as I do now. I didn’t understand that when Doc offered to make me his, he was trying to save me.
I shake my head at the memory. How stupid did I have to be back then to not see what Doc saw in me? How stupid to not have taken the life raft when I was drowning in Gears’s lies.
It's getting late by the fading light and there is one bus left with a stop near my motel. It's now or never if I'm going to ask Doc for a second chance, even if my stomach is full of butterflies and regret.
The bell above the door jingles when I enter and Doc looks up from his work behind a small white counter in time to catch me take in a reassuring breath.
He's not pleased to see me if the hard line of his mouth and narrow eyes are any indication. I get it. The club is a family, and I walked away from his. Biggest fucking mistake of my life.
"Hey Doc," I squeak out even though I'm shaking enough for my throat to vibrate the words. "Long time no see."
He drops the pen he's writing with and stares at me. He's not going to make this easy for me, and again, I can't blame him.
"I saw your ad online for a front desk clerk and I thought I'd come apply in person."
He's still not talking, and the longer the silence goes on, the harder it is for me to stand my ground without running for the door. I've made a horrible mistake. Doc isn't going to forgive me.
No one at Tempest Elite will.
"Position’s been filled," he barks out before dropping his head back to his work.
"Oh," I whisper. I could run, but damn I really need this job and I really need the support and safety of the club right now. I have nothing to my name, and if Gears were to show back up and find me, there is no telling what he'd take from me next. I approach, keeping my steps short and the distance between me and the desk far.
"Look, Doc. I know we didn't end things well. I make a mistake. I know that now."
He doesn't even look up from his work.
"I've been with Gears since I was eighteen. He was the only person who'd ever taken care of me. You have to understand that's the only reason I trusted him when he said he was set up by someone in the club. I was too scared to stay."
"That's not the only reason." Doc finally stops working again and looks back up to me, but as soon as he sets his stormy grey eyes on mine, I wish I could look away. It's painful to see the hurt I caused him. The rejection. He'd not only offered me a place to stay and safety the night before Gears’s exile. He'd offered me his place to stay, and his safety against the prez’s orders.
And like a damn fool I'd turned it all down.
"Okay. I was more than scared. I was in love with him. He'd been my life for so long and up until that point he'd always taken care of me." It wasn't until it was too late that the mask came off and I witnessed the same ruthless liar everyone else did, but I don't dare say it out loud. "But he's not in my life now and I'm trying to make a fresh start. I moved back to town a few days ago and once I get a job and a place to stay, I can move forward and make amends."
Doc rounds the counter and leans one jean clad hip on the corner while he wraps his arms over his chest. His biceps are massive. Maybe even more so since the last time I saw him a year ago. Actually, to be honest, his entire body has changed. He's harder somehow. Larger and darker and where I used to see a kind man behind his rough exterior, I only see anger and annoyance.
"There are no fresh starts with the club, Dawn, and I think you know that. You'd been around long enough to see prospects exiled and you know better than most the club supported any girl who chose to leave their asses behind to become property of the club."
"I'm not anyone's property, Doc, and you know that." Maybe I would have stayed if I could have been an ol'lady. They belong to their men, but not the entire club, and they are treated with respect. But, as a unattached girl, I would have become a sweetbutt or a mama and the property of any member who wanted me for the night.
Doc doesn't mention the offer he made me. The one where he said I could be his and his alone and he'd keep me safe. Even if it was in name alone. I could have his room in the clubhouse and no one would ever lay a finger on me. It had been a tempting offer to take, but spending a lifetime tied to a man I didn't love or running away with the man I thought I did wasn't a hard decision to make, and Doc's still mad I didn't make the right choice.
"You're right," he says, pushing off the desk and closing the space between us. You didn't want to be anyone's property. You wanted to stand on your own two feet and fend for yourself." He steps even closer until he is towering over me. I'm five-ten and not a small girl by any standards, but when Doc stands this close, I am dwarfed by him. "Seems to me that you got your wish, Baby Girl."
Fuck. I'd been okay until he pulled out his old pet name for me. The rough sound in his voice as he says it makes my whole body hum in appreciation. I'm not sure where the alien feeling comes from, but it makes standing this close and attempting to stare him down that much more difficult.
"I fucked up. There's no way I can take my decision back. But I'm asking for a second chance. You can let me off the hook and help me, or you can say no and I'll be on my way. It's your choice and I won't have any hard feelings either way."
He runs his hand over his chin and gives me a once over that has my skin blazing ho
t. Doc's an attractive man. Actually, attractive doesn't do him justice. Part of the reason I turned him down was because I knew a few weeks with him and I'd fall for him. But I’d never be sure if he truly felt the same or was just playing a part for me. I couldn't live like that anymore than I could let him lie to his brothers about our relationship.
"I wish I could help you out, Dawn, but when you turned your back on the club, you sealed the deal. I can't let you work here."
His face is so stone hard and stoic I’m sure he had to work extra hard at giving that civil of an answer.
My eyes begin to burn and my lower lip quivers, but I force it all to stop as I look into his eyes. "I get it. I made my choice. I'll find something else. I just hope there are no hard feelings between us."
Doc grunts before he answers. "At least you figured him out and left his ass."
He turns and walks back to his desk before I can tell him I didn't. Gears left me. That's the big sorry joke in all of this. I stayed loyal, and he took off without me.
No matter now. I've dug my hole, and now I'm going to have to live in it. If I can't find work here soon, I'll have to move on to a new area, maybe even the Devil's territory and hope for the best.
I turn for the door when Doc doesn't acknowledge me further, and I push it open slowly, hoping there's a chance he'll change his mind before I walk out into the dark alone.
He doesn't, and that's when I know the Tempest Elite club is done with me and I have no hope of finding work or a place to stay without getting out of town.
I'm also a bit heartbroken. It's not until I'm standing at the bus stop on the corner waiting on the last bus of the night that the old feelings surface. I'd once thought of Doc as a savior. An almost immortal hero like those from Gears’s stupid comic books. Several times while waiting for Gears to come home from his nights of drinking away what little funds we had, I pictured Doc breaking down our apartment door and carrying me away.
As I take a seat on the bus and watch Doc's window disappear into the distance, my heart breaks knowing he's never going to come to my rescue and it's all because I didn’t choose him when I should have.
Doc
Fuck. I can't get Dawn out of my head. It has taken me the better part of the last year to put Dawn behind me, and now she's back. I have a stack of invoices I need to finish and get in the mail and two locked units I need to list for auction, but as soon as Dawn stepped out of my door, I became useless.
She still looks as good as she did the day she entered our clubhouse almost two years ago. The same day I found her sitting at the bar and mistook her for a sweet butt. I offered her a drink and had serious intentions of bringing her back to my room when her boyfriend showed up and explained he'd just become a prospect.
Club rules are that as a patched member, I could have shoved the little shit aside and claimed Dawn for my own, but that's not how I operate. I might like things rough, but I also like them to be continual. It was painfully obvious by the way Dawn watched me with her doe-wide eyes, I scared the shit out of her then.
I don't scare the shit out of her anymore. It took balls to walk in my door and ask for a job. More balls than a lot of men I know have. More than I ever gave her credit for.
But, if I took her back, the members would make her life hell until she left for good. I can't do that to Dawn, so I pushed her away.
I watch the city bus pull up and wait until she gets on. There's only one place the last bus of the night on that route stops that isn't a shopping center and that's the Moonglow Inn, a known haven for prostitutes and crack dealers. It's stationed just outside our boundaries, which is the reason we haven't fought to have the place shut down.
Dawn is staying in the Devil's area of town, and if she's desperate enough for a job and a place to stay, she'll be visiting them next.
I can't let her do that.
She's not my fucking responsibility, but I can't stomach Dawn out on the streets alone. So I make quick work of the paperwork I have left and close up shop early for the night. If anyone needs me, they know they can find me at the club or my cell.
My cage is out back since I've been hauling trash from delinquent units to the dump most of the day, but I'm hot and sweaty and need a breeze to cool off my temper. Besides, my bike will give me a better view of the street and hopefully I'll be able to find Dawn before she disappears for the night.
I don't even put on my helmet. I tell myself it's because I will be going slow, but I know the real reason.
I'm hoping someone else will need it.
The streets are dark, but the lights make it easy to see faces. The bus isn't too far ahead of me when I reach the block before the motel, and I pull into a space and watch Dawn step off and walk in the direction of the dilapidated building.
She seems fine. Her head is held high with her generous blonde curls stacked on top of her head like a fifties pinup model. She's wearing skintight black pants that end before her ankles and accent the ample curve of her ass while her fitted top amplifies her large breasts.
I'm a big guy and I like my women with enough to grab a hold of that I can pull them close and squeeze. Dawn has always been my type. I've imagined myself dominating her more than once, with my hands holding her hips and her curves pressed into my body.
Fuck, she glances behind her and I jerk back as if she won't see me in the shadow of the overhead streetlight. She doesn't seem to notice and keeps walking past a group of men sitting on the broken brick wall that surrounds the motel.
I tell myself I'm only going to wait to make sure she makes it inside safely when one of the guys whistles and stands. He better keep his fucking hands to himself if he doesn't want two black eyes and a set of broken ribs tonight.
Dawn speeds up her walk, but the man approaching her does the same.
I'm off my bike and stalking to the wall when the second guy decides he has a chance of joining in. I flash my blade as I pass and he sits back down on the wall.
He's smart.
Dawn is speaking when I approach. She hasn't seen me yet and she's blocking the guy with a hand raised to his chest.
"Dawn Marie."
Dawn stares over his shoulder and her eyes lock on mine. The fear in her face is enough to have me pulling the shithead away from her by grabbing a fistful of his shirt, and maybe some skin from underneath, and hauling him off his feet.
"What the hell, man," he starts until I hold my blade up again. His hands fly into the air and he backs away.
"You see this woman," I snarl the words in his face, holding the tip of my blade between us. "This woman is under the protection of the Tempest Elite. You ever approach her, touch her, fuck, even think of her again and I'll make sure this blade gets jammed down your throat all the way to your balls. Got it?"
"Got it," he squeaks, hands still raised in the air. "I was only going to open the door for her and—"
"Are you still standing here?” I grind out, twisting the blade in front of me.
He's gone quick and I can turn my attention to Dawn. She's pressed up against the wall and shaking, but she isn't hurt that I can tell. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"
She shakes her head. It seems to take an eternity for her, but she does so and then pushes herself off the wall and steps closer to me. She's wobbly and when she begins to lean too far over, I reach out and grab her. She's still shaking so hard, my arms vibrate holding her. I've fought off affection for as long as I can, but fuck, what the hell would have happened if I hadn't followed her to the motel? Where would he have taken her?
"You're safe now, Baby Girl." I pull her closer until her head is resting on my chest.
"Thanks, Doc," she whispers into my shirt. "I don't know what I would have done—"
"You shouldn't have to worry." I take her under my arm and begin walking to my bike. There was a reason I didn't wear my helmet. Somehow, I knew the night was going to end with Dawn on the back of my bike and the pair of us heading to the club house.
I have n
o idea how I'm going to get the patched members to accept her, but at the moment, I don't give a fuck. Dawn was once one of us once. That that has to stand for something.
I won’t give up on the fight until it does.
Chapter 2
Dawn
It's been a while since I've sat on the back of a bike. Doc hands me his helmet and when I argue that all of my belongings are still at the motel, he slips the helmet over my head and says he'd rather replace it all than send me back in there.
The night air is crisp even though summer is just around the corner, and I snuggle tight into Doc's broad back. He's massive and my arms have a hard time fitting all the way around his abs. I balance myself with the bike by gripping hard with my thighs, and I rest my weight along his back.
Most of the ride, I keep my eyes closed and I rest. It's been so long since I've been able to shut myself off if even for a few minutes. I've been on guard since Gears left me, really since we both left the club, and I'm exhausted.
Around the next curve, Doc taps my arm and when I look up, the clubhouse with its massive cement wall comes into view. There's a party tonight, judging by the number of bikes lined up just inside the fence, and two guards stand at the gate.
Doc slows to turn into the driveway and a prospect I don't recognize along with Scout, now patched, wave us in. They can't see me from the helmet which must have been Doc's plan all along.
Doc pulls into a space near the members’ bikes and cuts the engine. He turns to me before he dismounts and helps me with the helmet. I guess he's forgotten I'm as at home on the back of a bike as he is driving one, but it does feel good to be cared for, so I make no attempt to stop him.
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