by Sky Winters
Jake watched Michelle walk out of the room, glancing over her shoulder to check on him one last time. She closed the door behind herself and he knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that he wanted her to be his.
Chapter 8
Michelle sat stiffly on the couch, staring down the dark hallway that led to Jake’s room. She had known that Jake was too tired to fight, and look what happened! The stupid alpha males of the MC didn’t seem to realize that they had human limitations. If something would have happened to Jake, what would she tell his children? Her father had been busy lately. Would she apologize that her daddy had practically killed theirs? They would never be able to understand. And the loss would be devastating. They would be orphans.
If anything happens to me, take care of my kids.
Michelle shivered at the memory of Jake’s pained expression, the pure love that he had for his children. They were everything to him. She had never seen a man who was so loving and caring toward a child before. She hadn’t thought it was possible for such a brute biker to have any kind of a soft spot. In fact, she had pegged him as a particularly heartless man, for the most part.
And yet he continued to surprise her. First by the pure, unadulterated feeling that he still seemed to have for his wife and now the way he was with his children. Michelle’s father would have died before showing her that sort of affection. Her mother had died when she was young, far too young to remember, and it had just been Michelle and her father. Or more like, her father and the MC, where she was forced to find a place or suffer not seeing her father for weeks at a time.
What must it be like to have a man like Jake in your life, being young and scared and helpless? He seemed so capable, so strong and fierce. It was sure to be a comforting thing to a young child. And he was so handsome…
Michelle shook the thought away and sighed. There was no reason for her to be thinking this way. So a biker happened to be a good dad. Stranger things had happened. She would just see him through the night and go back to her life as if nothing happened.
“Fuck!”
Jake’s voice barked suddenly and echoed down the hallway, making Michelle’s heart hammer hard in her chest. She launched herself off the couch and ran down the hallway, half convinced that she would find Jake drowning in a pool of blood.
“Jake, are you-“
Michelle burst through the door and stopped suddenly, heat rising to her cheeks. Jake was standing in the middle of his bedroom floor in his boxers, trying to step through the pantleg of his pajamas. He glared up at her, embarrassed, before relaxing his gaze.
“Sorry, not used to visitors when I’m in my underwear,” he said, and then hesitated. “Okay, that’s not quite true. When you have kids they tend to pop in whenever they feel like it.”
“Are you okay?” Michelle asked, trying to keep her voice even and her eyes above Jake’s navel. The boxers were snug, and the sudden sight of the bulge of Jake’s manhood had been electrifying. She still wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself, although her instincts were torn between running away and walking closer to him.
“Yeah,” Jake said. “Sorry to alarm you. I just didn’t want to sleep in those damn dirty jeans, you know…it’s uncomfortable enough to wear them all day. Don’t need them in my bed, too.”
Michelle was surprised that a man like Jake even considered whether or not his clothes were dirty. Apparently there was a lot about him that she didn’t know. But she was beginning to want to find out.
“Well do you need any help?” she asked reluctantly.
“Thanks but no,” Jake said, attempting to bend over to pick up the waistband of his pajama pants. He hissed in pain and Michelle rushed to his side, her thoughts no longer anywhere close to the alarming sexual tension she had been starting to experience.
“Here, I’ll support you,” she said quietly, holding Jake’s shoulders in place so he could relax against her and reach the ground.
“Thanks,” he said quietly, his voice so near her ear that she could feel his hot breath against her skin. It gave her goosebumps and she closed her eyes, trying to fight the strange heat that was beginning to move its way through her.
“Sure,” Michelle said, clearing her throat. “You good now? Think you can relax for once in your life and get some rest?”
“Yeah, no problem doc,” Jake said with a wink. “Thanks. Good night.”
Michelle hesitated before heading to the doorway. For some reason, she was reluctant to leave his side. Was it because she was worried about him or was it something else?
But she couldn’t even begin to try and sort that out for herself right now. She couldn’t just invite herself to hang out in a man’s bedroom. He was twice her age!
“Good night,” Michelle said quietly. She left the door partly open, just in case he called out in the middle of the night.
She headed back to the couch and sank heavily down on it. The kids would wonder what she was still doing there in the morning. But it would turn out all right. As long as her dad didn’t think anything was strange about her staying all night at the vice president’s house. Her father’s suspicion was the last thing in the world that she needed. It would be best to try and sneak back as early as possible so that he didn’t know she had been out all night.
Michelle laid back on the couch, her eyes heavy with sleep. It was really pathetic that at her age, she still had to worry about what her dad thought. Maybe, someday, she would find a way out of that mess.
Chapter 9
Jake spent the next few days recuperating from his stab wound. He had a feeling that Michelle had something to do with the sudden break he was allowed to have, because he hadn’t told Kent anything about his injury. Michelle, however, had come over faithfully every day to cook and clean the house and make sure that the kids were staying out of Jake’s hair. It was nice, really, and he had allowed himself to enjoy the domesticity of the routine.
The truth was that he hadn’t felt much like having a woman around since his wife had passed away. But with Michelle, it seemed as if everything was as it should be. Maybe that was because he didn’t have to worry about his kids. Or maybe it was for some other reason. Perhaps Michelle had opened him up to the possibility of moving on from the death of his wife. A man couldn’t grieve forever, after all. Especially not when a little flame like Michelle was flickering in front of him, day in and day out.
“Looks like you’re starting to feel better,” Michelle said, clearing the table and smiling at Jake.
“Can I have more orange juice?” Mary asked.
“Of course, honey,” Michelle said absently, pouring juice with one hand and holding a stack of dirty plates in the other.
She smiled brightly at Mary and pushed the juice to Jake’s daughter, who beamed and exclaimed, “Thank you!”
“Yeah, I’ve felt worse. I got lucky. The stab wound was shallow and it missed anything vital. I have a feeling that son of a –“ Jake cut himself off, remembering that his children were within earshot. They were used to him swearing, but that didn’t mean he liked them to think he was just a huge potty mouth. “I think that he was just trying to hurt me. Why would they want to keep me alive?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they’re planning something,” Michelle said with a shrug. “You know how the Raptors can be.”
“Yeah,” Jake said. That was exactly what he was afraid of. The Raptors knew just how thin the ice was that Jake was treading in the MC. It would be easy to set him up for failure. Kent didn’t trust him as far as he could throw him, and it meant that it would take nothing for his suspicion to cost Jake his position in the MC.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” Michelle said. Jake looked into her eyes and couldn’t help but relax. There was something so serene about the oceanic color of Michelle’s eyes, and the sweet way she smiled. “I’m sure you just got lucky this time. But keep an eye out. And if you need some rest, just rest. All right?”
“No can do, hon,” Jake said, rising from
the table and stretching. He was still sore where the knife had sliced through his skin, but it felt good to be able to raise his arms over his head again. He had always been a fast healer. “I’ve got a lot of work to do. Now that I’m feeling better, I think I ought to pay your father a visit.”
“What do you want to see him for?” Michelle asked darkly. “He about got you killed.”
“He’s still my boss,” Jake said. “And listen, maybe not so much shop talk at the table, huh?”
He glanced meaningfully at his kids, who were chewing slowly and staring at the adults with wide eyes. Michelle got the point and clamped her mouth shut.
“Right,” she said, heading to the sink to wash the dishes. The room grew very quiet, all but the sound of running water and the clank of dishes, until Michelle turned toward the kids and smiled. “I was thinking we could go to the movies today, if it’s okay with your dad.”
The kids gasped and turned to Jake with hopeful eyes. They hadn’t been to the movies since long before their mother had passed away. How could Jake refuse them? It was a weekend, after all.
“Of course it’s all right with me. How much do you need for it?”
“Oh, it’s my treat, Mr. Desmond,” Michelle said.
Jake frowned. The way she said his name seemed oddly formal. It’s not like they said each other’s names that frequently, but after all this time, wouldn’t it be all right to call him Jake?
“Nobody calls me Mr. Desmond but the banker,” Jake said, raising his eyebrow at her. “And I can’t let you do that with your own money, though it’s mighty sweet of you to offer. Why don’t you take this and go take them out to eat afterward. Movies are pretty long these days.”
Jake fished a $100 bill from his wallet and offered it to Michelle.
“Please, don’t. I can afford it. You’ve been giving me way more than enough.”
“That’s because you need something that’s just yours,” Jake said, looking at her seriously. “If you were my daughter, I’d let you have that.”
Michelle gazed at him, an attractive pink flush coloring her cheeks. She looked away quickly.
“Thank you,” she said, moving forward and taking the money. “So what do you guys want to go see?”
Jake smiled to himself as his children chattered excitedly, listing all of the movies their friends at school had gone to see. It could be hard not to have a mother around and Jake never seemed to have any time to do anything fun with the kids. They needed that kind of thing, though. And it seemed that Michelle was just the person to give his family exactly what they needed, and right when they needed it.
“All right guys,” Jake said, smiling at his kids. They quieted down and ran to hug him. They knew he was leaving without him having to actually say so. It was kind of heart-breaking in a way. But he was a single parent now. That’s just the way it was going to be from now on. At least he made more money working with the MC than he ever would at a regular nine-to-five job. That was some consolation, right? Even if the hours were unpredictable and dangerous.
“I hope things go well,” Michelle said with quiet meaning in her voice. Jake was starting to get the feeling that things between Michelle and her father weren’t quite as great as they appeared to be on the outside. What kind of man would have a daughter like Michelle and neglect to take care of her? It didn’t seem fair. In fact, it made his blood boil to think about it.
“Thanks,” Jake said, smiling warmly at Michelle. “They’ll go as good as they can.”
***
“Jake! Glad to see you’re feeling better,” Kent said. “I hadn’t heard much from you in the past few days and I’ve been working you kind of hard so I thought I’d give you some time off. Michelle told me about your stab wound. How is that doing? You manage to avoid infection?”
“Yeah, thanks to Michelle. I didn’t know she was a good nurse,” Jake said.
“Well, you don’t get hurt very often so you wouldn’t, would you?” Kent said with a jovial grin. “You’re pretty solid. But the green guys in the club get pretty familiar with her.”
“I’m sure they do,” Jake said. What was that feeling? Jealousy? But that was ridiculous. What kind of father made his own daughter’s accomplishment sound so lewd? Jake could only pray he would turn out to be a better father than Kent was.
“Well anyway, are you up for a job today?”
“That’s what I’m here for,” Jake said, grinning. As much as he loved being at home with his kids, he always got an itch to get out of the house and get involved in MC affairs. He was the vice president, after all. The club was his passion.
“Great,” Kent said. “There’s something I need you to do that nobody else can. I want you to go undercover.”
“Undercover?” Jake asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Do you think it’s possible that we could stage a fight between the two of us so you can go to the Raptors and vow to take vengeance on me?”
“Vengeance? I don’t think they’d buy it, Kent. I can’t stand any of them and they all know it. They would see right through me.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Kent said thoughtfully. “Well in that case, maybe you should go out on a run to the docks and supervise some of the new kids. They don’t have the hang of the gig quite yet. I think you would be able to give them some valuable insights.”
“That’s kind of light work,” Jake growled. “You don’t fuckin’ trust me to do anything better than that?”
“Calm down,” Kent said, raising an eyebrow. “Michelle told me I need to take it easy on you until you feel better. And what kind of father would I be if I didn’t listen to my only child? At least once in a while.”
Kent snorted and Jake relaxed his hackles. He needed to relax a bit. Kent was just trying to look out for him. Jake was just being paranoid. That type of thing wouldn’t get him very far. All of the tension about his wife had really been getting to him lately. Kent said he forgave him. He would just have to try to believe that and do his best to work hard for the MC.
Not only that, but apparently Michelle was looking out for him when he wasn’t around. Jake felt so unbelievably lucky to have her in his life. She had made everything go from bleak and difficult to almost pleasurable. There hadn’t been one day since his wife passed away that he actually looked forward to getting out of bed in the morning. At least, not until Michelle started coming over. She was really something.
“So how has my daughter been working out for you?” Kent asked, almost as if he could read Jake’s mind.
“It’s going great. The kids love her. You made a good call, boss. Thanks.”
“She’s been coming and going in a taxi,” Kent said, his eyes hardening. “Was that your doing?”
“Yeah, I arranged for that. I pay the drivers.”
“Ah, I see,” Kent said, relaxing. “For a moment I was worried that Michelle had some other way of getting money. That wouldn’t be very good, would it?”
“Why wouldn’t it?” Jake asked, genuinely confused. If his daughter showed initiative and found a job, he would be proud of her.
“Well you know young women. They go out and make bad choices. You have a daughter, you must understand.”
“Sure,” Jake lied. To him, it just sounded like Kent was being a controlling asshole who was afraid of his daughter showing any independence. He felt more powerful if everybody needed him. That was probably how he had managed to make it to the top of the MC. Ruthless, controlling men like Kent were the kind of guys who got shit done in the organized crime world, right?
“I thought so,” Kent said, grinning widely. “She’s a good girl. She’s never even had a boyfriend.”
This thought startled Jake. A woman as beautiful as Michelle never dated? What was stopping her?
But when he looked again at the self-satisfied smirk on Kent’s face, Jake knew exactly what was going on there. Of course Michelle had dated. She just hadn’t let her father in on the men she had chosen. And why would she? He would o
bviously shit all over her relationship and probably end it before it had a chance to begin. The poor girl. If she was his…
His what? His daughter? His lover? Whichever, he would treat her better. That was a fact.
“The guys are heading out in about half an hour. Maybe you should go along with them and give them some pointers before they go in there and fuck everything up. It’s not super important stuff, but it’s still important that things get done right.”
“Of course,” Jake said, nodding at Kent in parting. “Thanks again, though, for letting me borrow Michelle.”
Kent grinned again, another cocky, self-satisfied smile that made Jake glower inwardly. They were talking about her like she was property, to be on loan whenever it suited them best. She deserved better than that. But for now, he was going to have to play along. If Kent had any suspicion of the way Jake was starting to feel about his daughter, then all hell was going to break loose. And hell was exactly what Jake was trying to escape from right now.
Chapter 10
“Do you guys want popcorn?” Michelle asked.
“Yeah!” JJ exclaimed. Mary bounced up and down, gripping Michelle’s leg excitedly.
“And pop!” she cried.
“Of course,” Michelle said, laughing. After hours of debate, they decided to go see one of the movies that were based off a show she had enjoyed watching herself when she was a kid. All three of them were happy with the choice, and they walked into the dark theater together, Michelle balancing the snacks in one hand gripping Mary’s hand with the other. They both followed JJ as he bounded up the steps to find good seats.
“Here!” JJ shouted.
“Shh!” someone in the audience hissed. JJ’s face fell.
“The movie isn’t even playing yet, dipshit!” Michelle growled into the darkness. A few people laughed and she stalked up the stairs after JJ, who had an adorable, crooked smile on his face.
“That was funny,” he said.
“That’ll teach them,” she whispered to him, bopping his shoulder with her fist.
