by Blair Grey
DRAVEN: AN MC ROMANCE
The Steel Wings MC – Book #5
By Blair Grey
Copyright © 2019 by Blair Grey
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Chapter 1
Jade
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I stuck the sticker on the bottle, checking to make sure everything on the receipt was in the bag before sliding it down the rod toward the other bags on the rack. I was having major déjà vu over the order I’d just filled, and when I picked up the next prescription, I had to go back and make sure I wasn’t doubling up.
There had been a lot of the exact same prescription going out the doors the past couple days, and since I was the one primarily responsible for filling them, there were times when it was hard for me to remember if I had already done a prescription or not.
Well, that was the problem when I kept filling the same one over and over again.
I had to be careful of the medication I put in the bottles before handing them to the customers. I had to make sure they were the right pills, the right dosage, and the right amount.
While it seemed simple enough in theory, there was a lot more to it than just putting the pills in the bottles and sending them out the door. If I put the wrong pills in the bottle, there could be dire consequences. Or, just as bad, I could give someone too much and tempt them to distribute the extra.
Sure, there were plenty of people who came through the pharmacy who didn’t abuse and never would, but there were always those I wondered about. I tried not to judge anyone, but I had a feeling if they were given the chance, some would go for it.
Not that it meant a lot to me whether pills were distributed after they left the pharmacy, but I didn’t want to deal with the authorities if our pills were discovered on the streets, and I knew it was inevitable that it would come back to haunt me.
“Jade! I want you to finish with all the prescriptions from Friday before you go to lunch!” Drew, my boss, called out.
“I’m nearly done!” I called back. But, with my back turned to him, I felt free to roll my eyes. There weren’t any customers in the room to see me do it, and I wasn’t afraid of him seeing me on the security camera, either.
Drew was a strict man, and it had taken a long time to convince him to let me be the one taking care of most of the prescription fills. I was proud of the job I did, and I didn’t want to lose it. So, I was careful, and I took my time – most of the time. And, for the most part, I managed to keep up with the prescriptions as they were needed.
But, that didn’t mean I didn’t fall behind every now and then, and he did have a point. There was a nice pile of prescriptions still needing to be filled from the previous week. I had gotten behind for more reason than one, and I had been working feverishly all morning to catch back up again.
Truth be told, I had a lot on my mind. Way more than I would let Drew ever know, really. And, he was just going to have to deal with the fact some of the customers were going to have to wait a little longer to get their prescriptions.
For the most part, the people who came through understood of the fact I was the only one who tended to the prescriptions, and as such they were more than happy to wait a little while longer for me to get it done. Of course, Drew wanted to pride himself on being the fastest pharmacy in town, so he wasn’t ever happy with the speed at which I produced the bagged prescriptions.
But, with only one other pharmacy in town, I knew it wasn’t hard for us to hold our line of customers, and I liked having the relationships with them that I did. I knew most of them by their first names, and I was more than happy to carry on a friendly conversation while I set about my work.
I might not be able to talk to them directly when I was in the back with the medication, but that was brief considering the amount of time I talked to them when running the register. This was a smaller operation overall, there wasn’t any denying that, and I tended to do more than one task during the day.
It wasn’t as bad when we had someone else on the register, but since Drew had been spending most of this time back in his office lately, I happened to be the one who had to take care of most of the work up front. It wasn’t too overwhelming, but it did slow me down even more than I already was.
The buzzer for the front door sounded, and I looked around the counter to see Mrs. Marsh, one of the older women who frequented the pharmacy, come shuffling in.
“Do you have my pills ready for me, dearie?” she asked.
“I’m working on it,” I told her.
“What?” she put her hand up to her ear.
“I’m working on it!” I called a little louder.
“What?” she nearly shouted at me.
“I SAID I’M-”
“Please get back to what you’re doing,” Drew stepped out from his office to talk to Mrs. Marsh, but he addressed me as he did so. “I’ll take care of her. I would like you to pick up the pace a bit more, Jade. You know I’ve got a business to run, and I can’t do it with you spending all your time staring off into space. You wanted the job, now prove to me I was right to give it to you.”
He didn’t give me the chance to respond. Of course, that wasn’t anything new. He rarely stopped to listen to what I had to say after he gave me his opinion, but I just brushed it off. I was used to him treating me like that, and I wasn’t going to get upset about it now.
I would have preferred filling the prescription to trying to get Mrs. Marsh to hear me, so if he wanted to go up front and talk to her about how her cats were doing, that was fine.
Of course, he was going to have to endure the talk with her to find out how her cats were doing in the first place. After all, he wasn’t the one who spent his time building the relationships with the people who came through, was he? I thought.
No, that was me, between filling the orders and getting through my own issues during the day.
Overall, it wasn’t that bad. I spent most of the time down at the pharmacy; The Apothecary, as it was called. And, the rest of my time was spent at home taking care of my father.
Although I had to admit my story was pretty familiar – a young couple in love has a child they can barely afford to have, then the mom tragically passes – I refused to be the pitied girl with that sob story. I was determined to rise above the hardship in my past and make something out of my life. I was determined to do so much, and slowly but surely, I was making that dream a reality.
Well, I told myself I was, anyway.
My father all but raised me on his own. He never really got back into the dating scene, and though there was a woman here and there every now and then, for the most part, it was him and me against the world.
He worked hard, saving every penny he could so he could send me to school to get an education. I’d never forget the look on his face when I finally got a degree and became the pharmacist I’d spent my life working toward being.
He was even happier when I moved back home to work at the little pharmacy in Fallen Hills, giving me the freedom to follow my dream while I still got to take care of him like I insisted.
Dad was sick, and the news was only going from bad to worse. Not only was he on medication that was very expensive as it was, but he needed more of it, and the insurance company was already throwing a fit when we gave them the news.
I knew they weren’t going to cover his new script, and I hated to think about what that would mean. I knew there were a lot of people who came through the pharmacy who were unable to pay for one reason or another, and because of that, they often didn’t get the care they
needed.
They would do anything they could to get their pills, often having to give up on taking them eventually because of the plain and simple fact they couldn’t afford them. It made me sick to my stomach to think that we were on that same track with Dad and what would happen when he wasn’t able to get his meds.
I’d already gone through the pain and suffering of losing my mother. I didn’t want to know what it would be like to lose my father, too. That would make me an orphan, and I would be alone in the world. He was the only family I had, and I couldn’t imagine living my life without him.
The thought alone was not only distracting, but it was downright traumatizing, making me work slower and barely able to get through the day. I hated the powerless feeling I had when it came to what was going to happen, and I knew I was going to have to face the facts sooner or later.
But, there was one thing that brought a glimmer of light to my life, and when the buzz over the door sounded again and I looked up from my work, my fantasy became a reality once more.
There were a number of people who came through the pharmacy daily, but there were certainly some who were more attractive than others – and a lot could be said for Draven.
I didn’t know much about the man except for the fact he was close to my age, he was hot as Hell, and he was mysterious as sin. He was tall, built, covered in tattoos, and had a smile that could melt butter.
Everything about him exuded sex, and it was nearly impossible for me to look at him without my mouth watering.
I couldn’t take my eyes off him and had been crushing on him since the day we met. He came through often, always browsing our pharmacy for the usual goods he’d buy.
Though I was busy today, I couldn’t help but take my work to the side of the counter that faced the lobby. Draven was browsing the shelves of his normal aisles, not paying attention to me, at all. But, I was staring at him every chance I could, making sure to keep it on the sly.
I didn’t need my boss seeing how I was looking at a customer or yelling at me for working too slow in front of the one who had haunted my dreams.
I could focus on both. Sure, I wasn’t moving as quickly as I wanted to be, but I could still do both. I wasn’t going to miss the chance to admire such a fine specimen on account of some pills, and I hoped he’d take his time browsing.
Not only did I want the chance to watch him as long as I could, but if I played my cards right, Drew would still be with Mrs. Marsh by the time Draven was ready to checkout.
And damn, was I more than ready to check him out.
Chapter 2
Draven
I sauntered from aisle to aisle in the small pharmacy, taking my time looking over the shelves. It wasn’t like I didn’t already know what I was looking for or exactly where to find it. I had been in the pharmacy several times per week for as long as I could remember.
Ever since I had taken on the position of treasurer in the Steel Wings MC, it had fallen to me to make these sorts of runs. There were times when I felt like I did it all. The main purpose of my job, though, was to take care of the finances for the club.
I was the one who knew the money that was coming in and the money that was going out. Anything we bought or sold officially passed through my hands before it went anywhere else, and I was the one responsible for counting every single penny we handled.
I kept report after report and maintained all the receipts for the purchases, as well as the sales. It was my job to figure out a budget that worked for the club and how we were going to utilize that budget to make the most out of the money we dealt with every week.
On top of that, I was the one who took care of making these runs to the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions and other things the club needed. I didn’t mind doing that part. I had the time to come down to the pharmacy and wait in line if they were busy, and I didn’t mind taking the prescriptions that I did pick up to the various safe houses and normal residencies of the men who were in the club.
As long as everyone paid their fees and dues, then I was more than happy to do my part in making sure the club ran smoothly. There were a lot of men who were part of the Steel Wings, and we all had to work together if we were going to stay strong.
Jett, our president, had worked hard to build us up. He wanted all the club members to operate together as one unit, making the most of our time and energy. If there was an efficient way to do something, that’s how it was done.
He didn’t care if it was technically one person’s job to do something or not, as long as we were meeting the end goal, then he was happy. And, I had to admit, so were the rest of us.
We operated as one. We worked together to make sure all of us made it – both within the club and in life itself. I enjoyed it.
I knew a thing or two about MCs before I joined the Steel Wings, but before these men, I didn’t know what it was like to really have a family. I came from a dark past, drifting in and out of the foster care system, not ever really feeling like I belonged anywhere.
I had dropped out of high school as soon as I could, only going back to get a GED to make something of myself in the long run. But even then, there were times when I wondered if I really had to go that route, either.
I was happy within the club, and I never planned on leaving.
Jett required everyone who joined to swear themselves to the club, and he expected us all to be willing to give our lives to the cause. Of course, I was more than happy to do that. I didn’t have anything to live for before I met these men, and I was proud to be with them now that I was with them.
I was part of something when I was with them, and I was proud of that fact.
And, I had to admit, there were more benefits that came with running these errands at the pharmacy. One of those benefits came in the form of the beautiful woman who was currently filling prescriptions on the other side of the counter.
She kept glancing over in my direction, making the primal need to take her wash over me. I knew she didn’t understand what she was getting herself in to when it came to me, and that only made it all the harder to keep myself under control. The things I wanted to do to her were so intense – so dirty – I couldn’t help but smile to myself as I imagined having her in my bed.
But, there was something about her that told me to keep myself at arm’s length. It wasn’t just the way she spoke to me. It wasn’t just the way she was so sweet when she took care of the order for me. Hell, it wasn’t even the way she stared at me with those bright, beautifully brown eyes.
No, it was the way she practically threw herself in my direction. Sure, it was subtle. Hell, it was so subtle, it was almost as though she wasn’t doing it in the first place.
But, she was.
There wasn’t any denying the way she moved when I was around. She was always in my line of vision, and she was always working in a way that allowed her to glance up at me from time to time, even though she was trying to be as sly about it as possible.
It was clear to me she didn’t have a lot of experience. That was obvious from the way her cheeks would flush that crimson red when I glanced back in her direction. The few times when our eyes would meet and she would blush made adrenaline surge through me, but it told me all I needed to know about her.
She wasn’t like the sheep of the MC. Those women lived to have sex with anyone who rode a Harley into our bar. Those were the kinds of women I was used to. They didn’t have much going for them in life, and they often lived off the surplus of the men in the MC.
Most of the men who were members had their fair share of cash, and most of them didn’t have the time of day to settle down with anyone long term. We’d have our flings every now and then, but as far as taking an old lady? Well, that just wasn’t something that happened very often.
Sure, several of the more prominent members in the MC had recently settled down for good, but that was nothing. There were still dozens of us who had no intention of settling down with anyone any time soon, and I was one of those
men.
I enjoyed the freedom I had to live my life, and I intended to live it to the fullest – without being tied down to any one woman in particular. But, that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to stop in and see Jade as often as possible.
Everything about her was so inviting. Even the fact I knew it wouldn’t be hard to convince her to let me take her to bed. She often wore tight clothes under her lab coat, and there were times when I was lucky enough to get a glimpse of the action going on underneath.
Of course, she couldn’t show a lot when she was on the clock. I knew Drew well enough to know he kept a tight ship when it came to his employees. In fact, there was a rumor running through town saying that the last girl who worked for him wound up fired for flirting too much with one of the customers.
I wasn’t sure how much truth there was to that statement, but I didn’t have the time to find out, either. When Jade started working at the pharmacy, all thoughts of any other woman fled from my brain. All I could think about was her. Even when I had taken one of the sheep home with me for the night, I couldn’t bring myself to think about anyone but Jade as I fucked the woman in my bed.
I grabbed the last of what I needed and headed for the counter, half hoping Jade would be the one to come over and ring up the things I was buying. But, Drew was the one to dive in, as though he could sense she was the person I wanted to talk to.
“Is that everything?” he asked as he looked me over from head to toe. It didn’t matter how many times I had been in the pharmacy or how many times I had been honest with him in all our dealings. He didn’t trust the MC, and no matter how many of us filled our prescriptions with The Apothecary, he wasn’t going change his mind.
He felt we were all thieves and liars and would do anything to benefit ourselves in any situation. Of course, to an extent, he was right. But, there was a lot more to us than that.
I didn’t take his opinion too seriously, of course. I had better things to do with my time. Still, I kept the interaction short and sweet, making a point to keep my eyes on the products I was buying and grabbing the prescriptions for the men I was helping out.
