Wrecker shook his head. “Nah, I’m good. I got some shit to take care of outside of the clubhouse today. The guys hopefully shouldn’t blow up the place? while I’m gone.”
I chuckled and ran my fingers through my hair. “Gotta cut ‘em some slack. Brinks will keep them in line for the most part.”
Wrecker’s phone rang, and he shook his head when he saw who was calling. “I gotta take this. Check in tomorrow.” He put the phone to his ear and headed down the hallway. Something was going on with him, but he wasn’t talking.
Shit was going down at the clubhouse, and I wasn’t around to keep up with it. I loved having Nikki all to myself, but I was missing things around here that I shouldn’t be.
I was going to have to talk to Nikki and see where her head was. I know we had just started doing whatever the hell it was we were doing, but we were going to have a serious talk, and I had no idea how Nikki was going to take it.
*
Chapter 24
Nikki
“When he gets here, I’m telling him.”
I grabbed Bos’ arm and shook my head. “No, you are not. I will.”
“You had over a week to tell him, and you never did.”
“We were busy doing other things,” I hissed.
Bos took off his apron and tossed it on the counter. “He’s been done eating for over a half an hour, Nikki. Something ain’t right.”
“He’s probably just lonely, Bos. I don’t know why that makes him some creeper who wants to stuff me in his trunk.”
Lights flashed across the diner, and we both turned to see Pipe step out of a truck. Bos dashed out from behind the grill, bolted in front of me, and swept out the door before I could even move.
I watched from the window as Bos flailed his arms around and looked like he was yelling at Pipe.
Pipe’s eyes connected with mine through the window, and I knew Bos had told him.
Son of a gun.
Now he was going to be mad at me for not telling him about Richard. Even though I thought there wasn’t anything to tell him. I had seen Richard three times since some creep took my picture, and Richard didn’t act any different.
“Sugar,” Pipe called.
I rolled my eyes and leaned against the counter. “You’re a little early. Where is your bike?”
“I took care of the shit I needed to in Weston, and it’s too cold for the bike. Truck until March.”
“Hmm.” I was going to miss the bike. “Well, are you hungry? I still have forty-five minutes left of my shift.”
Pipe sat down at the counter. “I’ll take whatever the special is today, and then you can sit next to me while I eat. From what Bos says, you have a story to tell me.”
Bos walked back into the kitchen whistling under his breath, and I was half tempted to trip him to wipe that smug look off his face. “Special is pot roast with all the fixings.”
“Sounds good to me, sugar.”
I scribbled Pipe’s order on my notepad and stuck it in the window for Bos. “You want coffee or something else to drink?”
“Coffee.”
I set his cup down in front of me and looked over to where Richard was still sitting. “I need to go get him his change, and then I’ll be back.”
Pipe nodded. I felt him watching me the short walk over to Richard and glanced over my shoulder to see his eyes trained on me. If Richard tried anything except for paying for his dinner, he was going to have Pipe and Bos on his back.
“Can I get you another cup of coffee?” I asked.
Richard ducked his head and pushed the bill toward me. “No, all good.”
“Okay, let me just get you some change and I—”
Richard put his hand on mine and shook his head. “No change,” he muttered. “I was actually hoping that maybe we could figure out a day we could go on that date.”
I snatched my hand back and looked over at Pipe who was staring directly at me. I shook my head, hoping he would understand I didn’t need help, at least not yet. “Um, you know what? A guy I was seeing back in Weston showed up a few days ago, and we’re back on for the moment.”
Richard’s face fell. “Oh, well, nevermind.” He grabbed his coat, slid out from the booth, and almost ran out the door.
I shook my head and wondered if I should have told him what I did. I didn’t want to lead him on, but I also didn’t want to hurt his feelings.
“Nikki, get your ass over here right now.”
I rolled my eyes and finished clearing Richard’s table. “I’m still working. I don’t have to listen to where you tell me to get my ass for another thirty-five minutes.”
“Nikki, get your ass over to Pipe,” Bos called from the window. He dinged the bell, and added, “Order up.”
“It takes you ten minutes to make everyone else's meals, and suddenly Pipe wants dinner, and you have it done in two minutes.” I grabbed the plates out of the window and set them in front of Pipe.
“Now, sit your ass down.” Pipe pulled the plate to him and forked in a bite of the tender pot roast. “Shit, that’s good.”
“Best pot roast in a hundred mile radius,” Bos bragged.
I rolled my eyes and grabbed a damp rag to wipe down the counter. “I think I’ll just stand while you yell at me for no reason.”
“The fact you have some creep asking you out is a reason.”
“It’s nothing, Pipe.”
He took a sip of his coffee. “So the guy standing outside your house taking pictures is nothing too?”
“Which, by the way, is bullshit you didn’t tell me about,” Bos called. “After I drove you home and kept an eye on you the past month, you don’t tell me when you have a stalker.”
“I don’t have a stalker,” I insisted.
“The fact you aren’t taking this seriously is shit, sugar. This Richard guy may be harmless, but we won’t know that until I look into him. Bos said he’s been known to get a bit stalkerish with women, so what happened to you sounds like some shit he would pull.”
I tossed my rag on the counter. “Fine, check him out, but I think you two are wrong.”
Pipe leveled his gaze at me and smirked. “If I’m wrong, then it won’t hurt to check in on him.”
“You’re a bit of a dick, you know that?”
“And you’re stubborn as hell. You know that?”
I curled my lip and shook my head. “You like it.”
“That I do, sugar, that I do.”
Pipe finished his dinner, shootin’ the shit with Bos while I wiped down all the tables, and refilled any salt and pepper shakers that needed it.
“Ready to head home?” Pipe asked as I tossed my dirty apron in the hamper.
“If by home you mean my side of the duplex, then yeah. I’m not up for the roach motel tonight,” I laughed. Pipe had been staying with me every night and just going over to his place to grab clean clothes every morning. I still couldn’t believe my landlords had only remodeled half of the duplex and still rented out the hell hole side.
Pipe tossed a twenty on the counter, and I shoved it into the cash register. “You tip way too much,” I mumbled.
He shrugged. “You gotta afford those leggings somehow, sugar. I’m just doing my part.”
I rested my elbows on the counter and leaned in for a kiss. “Well, my legs thank you.”
Pipe wrapped his hand around my neck and pulled me close. “I missed you, woman,” he growled.
“You may have crossed my mind a couple of times,” I replied coyly.
“You playing hard to get with me?” he growled.
I stood up straight and tossed my rag into the hamper. “I would try to, but we both know I end up giving in after about a week.”
“Change of plans. We’re not going out with your girl. I think I need to show you just how much I missed you today.”
I rolled my eyes and pulled my phone from my pocket. “I guess that’s doable.” I sent off a quick message to Alice knowing she was going to be disappointed, but Pi
pe’s plans sounded much more appealing than a few hours at The Bar.
Bos peeked his head out from the kitchen. “You two can head out. Lock the door on your way out. I gotta prep shit for tomorrow so I’ll be another hour or so.”
Pipe led me out the door and to the truck after I locked the door. I ran my hands up and down my arms, shivering. “Jesus, it is getting cold out here.”
Pipe opened the door to the truck and helped me up. “Imagine being on the back of a bike in this.”
I shook my head and shivered. “No thanks,” I giggled. “I guess I’ll just have to deal with riding next to you instead of behind you.”
“Soon enough, sugar, we’ll be back on the bike.” He shut the door and rounded the front of the truck to the driver’s side.
“I have to say I like your truck, though.” It wasn’t brand new, but you could tell it was well taken care of.
“Gets me where I need to go,” he mumbled.
I yawned and rested my head against the window. “I do have to say, I can now fall asleep while you drive without worrying about the risk of road rash.”
Pipe laughed and turned onto our street. “Yeah, I’d have to say that is a perk of having the truck.”
“So, did you learn anything new in Weston today?”
Pipe pulled into the driveway and turned his head to look at me. “Some shit going on, but nothing we can’t handle.”
I scooted closer to him and rested my hand on his thigh. “Anything you wanna talk about?” I knew Pipe couldn’t tell me certain things about the club, but I wanted him to know I was there if he ever did actually want to talk.
“Let’s get in the house, and then we can talk.”
I nodded, surprised he actually wanted to tell me what was going on.
Pipe grabbed my hand, tugged me across the seat, and helped me down.
“Did you see Karmen at all?”
Pipe unlocked the front door and held it open for me. One of the changes that had happened the past week. Now he had a key to my place and could come and go whenever he wanted. A huge step for me, but it felt right.
“Pretty sure she was working. I only saw the guys today. Cora was tucked away in her room, like normal.”
I slipped my shoes off by the door and piled my hair up on top of my head with my hands. “Cut her some slack. She was dumped with you guys against her will. It can’t be easy to have barely any say over your life.”
Pipe chuckled. “Oh, she has some say. She talked Wrecker into letting her friend come stay with her at the clubhouse because she found herself some trouble.”
“What?’ I gasped. “What kind of trouble is she in?”
“I can’t go into details, sugar, but it isn’t anything we can’t take care of. Maniac is going to have to deal with her for the most part. Dumbass volunteered to keep an eye on her before thinking it through.” Pipe tossed his keys on the counter and bent over to unlace his boots. He toed them off and tucked them under the counter. “Pretty sure he’s going to have his hands full with her.”
I let go of my hair and moved to the fridge, trailing my fingers across Pipe’s chest as I walked past him. “So tell me more about her. What’s her name? You think she’ll get along with Karmen and me?” Assuming whoever this chick was had to be like Cora, and while Cora got along well with Karmen and me, I wondered if she would.
“All I know is her name is Wren, and I assume she’ll be at the clubhouse pretty quick. Wrecker didn’t paint her troubles as the kind that she can sit around and wait to move in.”
I grabbed the half-empty bottle of wine from the fridge and a bottle of beer for Pipe. “Wren, huh? That’s a bit of a different name you don’t hear often.”
Pipe shrugged and reached up in the cabinet for a glass. “Didn’t really think about it, sugar.” He set the wine glass down on the counter and grabbed the bottle of wine from me. “You can put the beer back. I’m gonna hit the shower and then bed.”
I stuck the beer back in the fridge and leaned against the counter as I watched him fill my glass. “Hmm, going to sleep pretty early tonight.”
He handed me the glass. “Who said anything about sleeping?” He grabbed my empty hand and pulled me into the bathroom.
He turned on the water and pulled his shirt over his head. “You’re either going to have to chug that or set it down because as soon as I get my clothes off, you’re coming in the shower with me, glass in your hand or not.”
I swirled my wine around in my glass. “I thought you said you wanted to talk?”
He shrugged and unbuttoned his pants. “There’s always time for talking later.”
I watched as he slowly dragged the zipper on his pants down and licked my lips.
“Ten seconds to chug and get your clothes off, sugar, or you’re coming in the way you are.”
“You’re insane,” I laughed. There was no way I was going in the shower in my uniform. “I think maybe you can shower by yourself, and I’ll meet you in bed.”
He shook his head and dropped his pants to the floor. “Five seconds,” he warned.
A shiver ran through my body when his hands went to the waistband of his boxers and he pulled them down.
I set my wine glass down, deciding wine could wait when you had a badass alpha waiting for you.
*
Chapter 25
Nikki
“You wanna go to Weston with me tomorrow?”
I kicked off my shoes and started taking off my uniform. I had just worked a six-day stretch at work and was ready for two days off. “I don’t care what we do tomorrow. It’s finally my day off so as long as it doesn’t involve going to the diner, I’m good.” I shimmied my skirt down my hips and stepped out of it as I pulled my shirt over my head. “Wren is there, right?”
Pipe wrapped me up in his arms and pressed me against the door. “I really can’t talk about shit when you’re standing there in nothing but your sexy as hell panties.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I would have thought you would have been sick of me by now.”
“That shit ain’t never going to happen, sugar. You can never get tired of an angel.”
“I am far from an angel, Pipe,” I laughed. “I’m pretty sure Bos was ready to fire me today after I dropped a full pot of coffee on the floor.”
“Bos can kick rocks for all I care.”
“Are you going to answer my question about Wren being at the clubhouse?” I asked.
“She got there two days ago. I haven’t seen her yet. I talked to Wrecker today, and he said things are going fine. He mentioned something about a party tomorrow night, and I thought we could head down there for the night.”
I tapped my chin, pretending to think about it. “Well, I guess we can go there. Alice did want us to come over and watch a movie with her tomorrow.”
“Fuck that,” Pipe scoffed. “If she wants to hang out with you, then she’s going to have to come to the clubhouse with us.”
“Really?” I asked, shocked.
“Yeah,” he muttered. “Wrap your legs around me,” he ordered. His hands went to my ass, he lifted me up, and my legs went around his waist.
“She can come with?”
“Sugar, didn’t I just say that she could?” Pipe walked backwards a few steps, turned around, and headed toward the kitchen. I thought for sure he was headed to the bedroom, but instead, he pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down. “You’re gonna ride me, right here.”
“Oh, well this is new,” I laughed.
“Lots of places to fuck you besides the bed, sugar. I thought we’d branch out tonight and try out the kitchen.”
“Can’t really argue with that, can I?”
“You sure fucking can’t,” he growled in my ear. He pressed searing kisses to my neck, traveling to my chin and down to my breasts. “How do you taste so good?”
“I’m pretty sure I smell like burnt toast and bacon right now, so I don’t know exactly what you’re tasting.”
His body shook under me, and a chuckle rumbled against my skin. “Such a smartass.”
I delved my fingers into his hair and pulled his head back. “So now I’m a smartass angel?”
“It works for you,” he laughed.
“You know what else works for me?”
“What’s that?”
“When you don’t have any pants on. It’s kind of hard to ride you through your jeans.”
He grabbed me around the waist, my feet slid to the floor, and I stood up. “Pants come off when I see your tits.”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re a dirty man?”
He shook his head, folded his arms over his head, and leaned back. “Only you, sugar, but I know you like it.”
“Sometimes,” I mumbled. I wasn’t exactly a fan of it when he picked me up two nights ago and proceeded to corner me in the kitchen while Bos was on his break. Pipe decided he needed to show me exactly why he liked my uniform so much. “Easy access,” he had grunted as he pounded into me from behind and I had to bite my lip as I tried to hold back the moaning or moans. The man was a menace.
“Thinking about the diner?” he asked, with a smirk spreading across his lips.
“It’s a good thing I like you because Alice gave me so much shit about that the next day. I can’t believe you couldn’t keep it in your pants until we got home.”
“You weren’t complaining then, sugar. If I recall correctly, I’m not the one who grabbed a washcloth and shoved it in their mouth to keep from screaming.”
I reached around, unhooked my bra, and let it fall down my arms. “Well, then I guess it’s payback tonight. I get to see what it takes to make you scream.”
He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it on the floor. “You’re welcome to try, sugar. But I have a feeling you’re the one who’s going to be screaming while your pussy grips my dick like a vise.”
“Promises, promises,” I chided. Slipping my panties over my thighs and let them drop to the ground. “I’m gonna need your pants off. Now.”
Pipe did as I asked, his pants and boxers gone in an instant. He sat back down, stroking his dick as his eyes roamed over my body. “You’re fucking beautiful, Nikki.”
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