by Sky Winters
“No, I think I have the perfect solution for you. What if we got you kind of like a live-in housekeeper. Or someone from the MC who knew exactly what was going on and when to leave so your kids wouldn’t be alone ever again.”
“How would we ever possibly arrange that?” Jake grumbled. “You think I want a bunch of wily bikers watching my fuckin’ kids? Really?”
“Well what if it wasn’t a wily biker? What if it was Michelle?”
“What?!” Michelle exclaimed. “What makes you think I’d be any good with kids?”
“Oh please, honey. I’ve seen you with your little cousins. You’re a natural. You’d be willing to help Jake out here, wouldn’t you? What do you think Jake? Would you trust my kid with yours?”
Jake was quiet for a moment, staring darkly at the coffee pot in front of Michelle. She felt heat rise to her cheeks. She couldn’t imagine herself in this man’s house, let alone near his children. What the hell was her father thinking?
“I’m not going to force you to do something you don’t want to do,” Jake said, not answering whether or not he trusted Michelle. It was a relief to hear him say it, but it didn’t make the situation any better. She knew her father would keep pressing her until she caved. If she ever defied him, there would be no way he’d help her pay for college. If she tried to leave on her own, he would just send his men to bring her back. She was as good as his prisoner.
“No,” Michelle said carefully. She had to watch herself around her father. He didn’t become president of the MC for no reason. He could be incredibly ruthless. “I guess we can try it. I couldn’t do a worse job than Janie when she was high.”
Jake’s face flashed in pain and Michelle clamped her mouth shut. No matter how frustrating her situation was, she shouldn’t have let her inner bitch out like that. Especially by mentioning Jake’s late wife. It was a sore spot, not only for Jake but for the whole MC. They tried not to get involved in the heroin trade unless times were tight, and Janie had betrayed them by going behind their backs and dealing with the Raptors. It was a mistake that had killed her and nearly lost Jake his position as the vice president. As far as Michelle was concerned, her father should have gotten rid of Jake when he had the chance.
“Sorry,” Michelle mumbled.
“No, you’re right,” Jake said, glowering. “I’m sure you’ll do a better job.”
“Maybe. If nothing else we could just spend all day at the park, right?” Michelle said, recoiling at the thought of sharing Jake’s personal space. Although he seemed well-groomed enough for a biker, that was no indication of what his home would be like. Hopefully he wouldn’t start expecting her to act like a housekeeper on top of keeping an eye on his kids, too.
“I think that’s a great idea. Thanks, honey. So it’s settled then?”
Jake looked up at Kent, his eyes flashing. He nodded but said nothing.
“All right. I’ll tell Michelle to head over to your place before I even call you. How’s that? Then there won’t be any time at all that your kids are left to their own devices. We can expect to have a lot less broken bones that way. Shake on it?”
Michelle thought her father was going to shake hands with Jake, but Kent raised his eyebrows at her meaningfully. Jake proffered his hand, and the Michelle was surprised by the electric charge of Jake’s strong fingers gripping her hand. She pulled her hand away quickly after a single pump in the air, and turned away. She could feel the men’s eyes on her as she left the room. She sighed inwardly. This was going to be interesting.
Chapter 3
“Yeah?”
Jake gripped the phone, keeping an eye on Mary, who was carefully pouring herself a bowl of cereal.
“We need you down at the docks. Code blue.”
“Now?” Jake asked, trying to hide his irritation at the sound of Kent’s voice. As much as he loved his job, there were days he just wished he could stay at home with his kids. Like today.
“Yes, now! Michelle should be there any second.”
“Okay,” Jake said, hanging the phone up.
“Oh no!” Mary exclaimed.
Jake turned around to see Mary’s little face beet red, and a puddle of milk spilling all over the counter and dripping onto the floor. She met Jake’s eyes timidly, her big blue eyes as sincere as the day she was born and filling with tears.
“I’m sorry, daddy!”
“It’s all right, honey,” Jake said, lifting her from the stool she had been perching on. “We’ll clean it up.”
The doorbell rang suddenly and Jake cursed under his breath. He jogged to open it and greeted Michelle, who was standing awkwardly on the stoop.
“Hi, can you just give me a minute? We had a little accident and-“
“I spilled the milk!” Mary wailed, tears streaming down her face.
“I told you it’s all right, honey,” Jake said, anxiety mounting in his chest. A code blue was urgent. If anything happened because he wasn’t on the way faster, he might lose his rank in the MC. It had been hard enough to keep it after what happened with his wife.
“You spilled the milk?” Michelle asked, her face serious but her voice soft and soothing.
Mary’s lip quivered and she nodded, holding Michelle’s gaze.
“Well I know a secret to cleaning up messes, do you wanna see?”
Mary nodded eagerly and reached out to Michelle.
Jake was shocked when Michelle lifted his daughter and headed toward the kitchen, soothing her gently.
“Do you mind if I teach you my trick while your daddy goes to work?”
“No! Bye daddy!”
“Bye,” Jake said, feeling a mixture of relief and jealousy as Michelle easily won her way into Mary’s heart. Mary had always been a daddy’s girl. She had never gone to other people when she was a baby, and rarely did so even now. The fact that she had so quickly accepted Michelle was frankly bizarre.
But he would have to think more about it later. His job was to get to the docks as quickly as he could. A group of Raptors had been spotted, and if the merchandise and his fellow bikers were going to stay safe, they would need back up.
“Later JJ!” Jake shouted up the stairs. “Remember I told you about Michelle? She’s here now if you need anything.”
“Okay!” JJ shouted back. “Bye!”
His son’s elbow was in a cast now, so it had been very difficult for him over the past few days. Jake could only imagine what it felt like to have independence taken away from you. He had been shot in the shoulder before, so he had some idea, but for a kid as energetic and curious as JJ was, it seemed like it would be a prison sentence. He had been moody and irritable, but Jake couldn’t blame him. Who wasn’t when they were in pain?
It was strange to think that he didn’t have to fight to arrange somebody to watch the kids for him, and Jake mounted his motorcycle, tearing out of the driveway and toward the docks. Maybe this arrangement was going to work out all right after all.
***
“I’m back!” Jake bellowed, limping into the foyer of his house. The Raptors had put up quite a fight, and it had nearly lost them a good man. Thankfully Jake had arrived just in time to take out the guy who had the advantage, and they brawled a good one until finally the other man couldn’t move any longer.
He was hurt but it was nothing serious. It wasn’t as if he had broken a rib or anything. Thank Christ for small miracles.
“Kids?”
“Quiet!” Mary shouted from the living room. “Michelle’s telling us a story!”
Jake raised his eyebrow and moved slowly to the living room, leaning against the doorway to watch as Mary, who was snuggled in Michelle’s lap, turned the pages of a book Jake had bought ages ago that the kids hadn’t shown even the slightest interest in.
Michelle glanced up at Jake, her voice wavering self-consciously from being watched. It was kind of cute, really, how she turned her eyes away from him and started reading faster, hoping to get the painful process over with sooner.
“Don’t mind me,” he said, hoping to put her at ease. “I’m going to have some coffee. Come meet me when you’re done, I’ll pay you.”
He retreated from the room and sat down gingerly in one of his comfortable kitchen chairs. A few minutes later, Michelle walked in. He couldn’t help but notice that she smelled nice, kind of fresh, almost like the beach or something. It was his favorite place to ride.
“You know you don’t have to pay me, my father said – you’re hurt!”
Jake smiled wryly at her and shook his head.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” he said. “And I don’t care what your father said. I’m going to pay you what your time is worth. You can put it away somewhere safe.”
Jake grunted in pain as he dug his wallet from the snug back pocket of his jeans.
“Really, don’t trouble yourself,” Michelle said awkwardly. “I had fun with them.”
“And apparently, they had fun with you, too,” Jake said with a low laugh. “How was JJ? He’s been kind of a pain since he hurt his elbow. Can’t blame the kid though. Did that go all right?”
“Yeah, he was perfect. I showed him some fun things he can do with one hand. I had to wear a cast when I was a kid, too. I fell off my dad’s bike.”
“Yeah, he told me about that,” Jake said, grinning.
“It’s not funny!” Michelle exclaimed, her cheeks flushed a deep red. Jake gazed at her for a moment. Even when she was angry she was sexy.
“Well, maybe if the story was about somebody else you would think it was,” Jake pointed out. “You know kids do some stupid shit sometimes.”
“Well anyway, your son was fine. And your daughter doesn’t want me to go.”
Jake raised his eyebrow. “You sure won her over fast.”
“She’s a sweetheart,” Michelle said, genuine adoration in her voice. Jake’s heart hammered, and he had to tear his eyes away from her and fish out the money from his wallet before he was caught staring.
“Here,” he said. “Don’t have to tell your dad about it if you don’t want to. I’m sure there are things you’d like to do that he’s not involved in. Kids deserve some privacy.”
Michelle gaped at the money in her hand. “This is too much!”
“No, not for the relief you gave me. And look, the milk is cleaned up. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Well, your daughter was really upset about it…”
Jake smiled gently at her, and they held each other’s gaze for a little bit longer than he had meant to. “Thank you.”
“Sure,” Michelle said, a little too cheerfully. “It’s my job, I guess.”
She forced herself to smile at him before heading out the door.
Jake stared after her, willing his eyes to do anything but roam the sensual curves of her body – her ass was snug in those jeans. But he couldn’t help himself, he was a man after all and Michelle had been on his mind for weeks now.
He would have to do his best to keep himself in check. She was the president’s daughter, after all. There would be nothing more taboo than getting involved with her like that. The rest of the Pythons would kick his ass.
Chapter 4
“You’re babysitting for Jake Desmond?!” Callie exclaimed, bouncing beside Michelle on her bed. Michelle rolled her eyes. Why did everybody think that Jake was such hot stuff? Just because he was big and brutal didn’t mean that he was automatically breeding material. Her friends had such low standards.
“It’s really no big deal,” Michelle said, pursing her lips. “It’s not like I see him that much or anything. I just watch his kids when he has stuff to do for my dad.”
“Still, that’s kind of romantic, right? You get to spend time in his house, with his children…”
“Dude, you’re grossing me out,” Michelle said, frowning down at the bed. “He’s just some guy. Besides, he’s old enough to be my dad. Or your dad!”
“That’s still sexy,” Callie said. “I like older men.”
“Well I have my own ideas about how I want to spend my future,” Michelle said, glowering. “And it’s not as Jake Desmond’s housewife. That’s for sure.”
“Whatever,” Callie said with a giggle. “I know you’re into him!”
A deep flush reddened Michelle’s cheeks. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’ve seen the way you look at him! Whether you like it or not you’ve got it bad!”
“Oh my god,” Michelle said, shaking her head. But there was nothing to do but laugh about it. “You’re too obsessed with boys. That’s all you see. What if I’m just zoning out thinking about when I’ll be able to get the hell out of the Pythons and start my own life? Did you ever think of that?”
“Why would you want out of the MC?” Callie asked, her face puzzled. “It’s great here.”
“It’s great if you’re not the president’s daughter,” Michelle grumbled. “The only quality time I get with my dad is listening to how many people he’s had killed that week. It kind of puts a damper on things.”
“Oh come on, power is a good thing,” Callie said, nudging Michelle playfully. “Especially in the bedroom.”
“Please stop!” Michelle exclaimed. “Before I make you stop!”
“Is that a threat?” Callie said, raising an eyebrow and grinning.
“You know I could take you in a second,” Michelle said, shoving Callie’s shoulder. Callie laughed.
“See? Power can be good.”
“If you say so…”
Callie grinned and buried her nose back in her phone. Michelle gazed out the window. What would give Callie the impression that she liked Jake? There was nothing good about the bikers. She knew it. She would never let herself fall for a guy like her dad. Would she?
Michelle shivered as the memory of the gentle smile Jake had given her the night he came home wounded from the docks. Was it possible there was more to him than met the eye?
“Oh my god!” Callie exclaimed. “Jake just beat the shit out of Horace!”
“What? Why?” Violence between the bikers wasn’t uncommon, but it was still surprising. The Vice President usually wasn’t one to get violent with members of his own club.
“He was talking shit about Janie,” Callie said, a huge grin on her face. “That’s hilarious.”
Michelle cringed at the memory of Jake’s eyes narrowing in pain when she had thrown his wife’s name out carelessly. He hadn’t defended her, exactly, but it was clear that the wound was still deep.
“It’s immature,” Michelle said. “How could I ever like a biker? They’re just little kids who never grow up.”
Callie shrugged and Michelle sighed to herself. Her friend had somehow gotten the wrong impression. But that didn’t matter. She would never love a man like Jake.
Chapter 5
“I don’t know why you bother getting involved, Jake,” Kent said sternly.
Jake glowered. “He was talking about Janie.”
“Everybody talks about Janie, Jake! She was a traitor! It’s not your place to get involved. Especially when you know you’re going to win the fight. Everybody knows it. That’s why you have to be the bigger man and let shit go!”
“If everybody knows that I’m going to win the fight then they should watch their fucking mouths when they talk about my wife. Yeah, she made a mistake. Some big mistakes, in fact. But you know what? They say that addiction is a disease. It’s not like she meant to hurt anybody but herself.”
Kent’s face remained hard. He wasn’t the type to forgive any mistakes. In fact, it had crossed Jake’s mind when he was going crazy with grief that Kent had set up the overdose himself, just to teach her a lesson for going behind his back and giving money to the Raptors.
“I don’t like this side of you, Jake. It’s weak. You’re letting your emotions take control of your logic. Your skin is way too thin. Do you want someone else to sit in the vice president’s chair? Or do you want to take my advice into consideration and come back when you’ve coole
d down a bit?”
Jake gritted his teeth. He knew that there was no way Kent would see reason about this.
“You know I want to keep my chair, Kent. I just never took disrespect like that lying down. It’s an old habit. I’m used to defending my wife.”
“I understand,” Kent said, false sympathy dripping in his voice. “Old habits die hard. But that’s exactly where your traitor wife is right now. She’s dead. And that’s got to be the end of it with you. Unless you’d rather VP for the Raptors?”
“Why would you even say that?” Jake growled. “I hate those bastards more than I’ve ever hated anyone on this earth!”
“And that’s exactly why you’re still the vice president. Now start acting like one before I change my mind about that.”
“You got it, boss,” Jake said, still prickling. He stormed out of Kent’s office and mounted his bike. There was nothing left for him to do there. He might as well be at home when his kids got back from school. They were the best thing he and his wife had ever done together, and nothing sounded better than seeing their faces. Especially after being lectured for defending the woman all of them mourned privately and deeply every single day.
***
“Michelle?”
Jake stopped his motorcycle and squinted at the porch where Michelle was standing awkwardly. He turned the loud rumble of his engine off and headed toward her.
“My father told me to come. I hope you don’t mind…”
“He did, huh? Well all he wanted to do was tell me off for beating up one of the MC slime balls. I can take it from here.”
“Oh,” Michelle said, casting her eyes to the porch. Something was wrong.
“What’s the matter?” Jake asked.
“I just don’t have a ride back. The bus doesn’t run this way again for another twenty minutes.”
“You have to take the bus out here?” Jake asked incredulously. “Can’t you drive?”
“Nah,” Michelle said, her beautiful, clear eyes boring into Jake’s. He was lost in them for a moment and nearly forgot his own question. “My dad’s afraid if I drive I will take off.”
“Why would he think that?” Jake asked, still stunned by the way she made him feel.
