Beauty and the Biker
A Twisted Fairytales Novelette
Brittany Anne
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Beauty and the Biker.
First Edition. October 31, 2019.
Copyright © 2019 Brittany Anne. All Rights Reserved.
This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or social media post.
Written by Brittany Anne.
Cover Design by R.L. Kenderson
To my mom and grandma, both of whom adored the cartoon movie with me in my childhood, and both of whom will appreciate the R-rated version you’re about to read.
Beauty and the Biker
Brittany Anne
Chapter One
Isabella had come to the store to pick up a few things, not for men to attempt to pick her up. Yet there she was, holding a grocery basket filled with eggs and bread and sandwich meats, staring at the limited book options on the shelf before her, feeling the hot gaze of Gunner Foxx peeling away her clothes with his mind.
She took a deep breath, refusing to touch her hair or adjust her white tee-shirt, both nervous habits of hers and dead giveaways for Gunner to pounce on. Instead, she just continued browsing the bookshelf, knowing she’d already read every book there but refusing to leave the store without something to get lost in later.
She settled on a new copy of her favorite romance, with an updated cover and three bonus chapters for her to obsess over. Once she scooped it up and dropped it into her basket, she turned and walked from the beast of a man that had been eyeballing her.
The front of the store was in the opposite direction, but she didn’t want anything to do with that man. Eye contact meant he may say something to her, and she wouldn’t get involved. Everyone knew not to get involved when it came to Gunner Foxx, or any of the men he was associated with.
She’d just walk an aisle over and then skip over to the self-checkout, her best chance at escaping.
She neared the end of the aisle and let out a sigh of relief- she had escaped him. She turned into the next aisle and- a wall of flesh.
He was there.
She walked right into his hard body, jumping and nearly dropping all of her groceries on the tiled floor.
“Isabella,” he said. His voice was so low, too low. It sounded like he was growling at her instead of speaking.
She forced herself to make eye contact, and was taken aback by the depth of blue in his eyes. Somehow, she’d never seen them before. Well, when everyone warns you to avoid someone, of course you don’t stare long enough to know what color eyes they had…
“Mr. Foxx,” she answered easily. Isabella kept her back straight and her chin high, refusing to be intimidated by him.
He smirked. She didn’t want to admit it, but his smile did something to her… and suddenly, she had more reasons to be afraid of him than she did ten minutes prior.
She’d always known Gunner was attractive, any woman could see that. Tall, broad shoulders, muscles that would put Thor’s to shame, caramel-colored hair and a sexy beard to match… but there was something about that smile. Something else.
Isabella needed to be careful around him. And not just because he was a part of the biker gang that might as well have run their small town. No, she needed to be careful because if she spent too long looking into those eyes… well, she could see how easily a girl could get lost in them.
“Feeling jumpy?” She could hear the smile in his voice.
“Well, when somebody jumps out at you at the grocery store, that can happen,” she spat back.
“Darling, you’re the one who ran into me.” He smiled again, but this time, it didn’t look quite so wicked. He genuinely looked like he was amused by her.
“You- you- ugh!” She gave up her search for a witty comment and huffed out a breath in frustration.
Isabella was done with the conversation. She went to move around him, but he quickly stepped in her path. She moved again, and he did, too. The third time, she nearly ran, but he caught her with his arm.
She hated to admit that his touch felt like the lick of a flame… and not in a bad way.
“Where you running to?”
“Home.”
“I can give you a ride.” His voice had softened. Just barely, but it was enough for her to notice. She dared to look up at him, and his eyes were intense on her face. She swallowed.
“I like walking.”
He squinted at her. “It can be dangerous out there.”
She bit her tongue to hold in her laugh, but she was sure he could see it on her face. “It can be dangerous in here!” She nodded toward his arm, which was still on her.
He removed it. That was… surprising.
“Whenever you feel like taking a ride on the wild side, come find me. I’ll give you a ride that’ll make your toes curl.”
“I’ve seen your motorcycle, and it’s not even that-”
“I wasn’t talking about a ride on the bike.” He stared at her eyes while her brain processed, and then suddenly she understood. He winked.
She opened her mouth to tell him how vile he was, but his hand was on her face, thumb pressing against her lips. She was frozen. His thumb brushed over her bottom lip, and she sucked in a hard breath.
“Offer stands,” he shrugged, and then he dropped his hand and walked away. She felt frozen in place. “Oh, and Isabella?” She did not turn to look at him. “You stay safe. There’re some dangerous people out there.”
She shivered.
Then she ran to the front of the store, paid for her groceries, and got the hell out of there.
∞∞∞
Gunner walked out of the grocery store. He took his time as he made his way to his bike, which waited for him near the back of the lot.
It was a beautiful black motorcycle that he’d built from nothing but spare parts. It rode like a dream, and while it may not have been everyone’s cup of tea, it was one of a kind, and he appreciated the hell out of that.
He straddled the bike, and just as he did, he spotted little miss Isabella shuffling down the street, grocery bag in hand and eyes glued to the road ahead of her. He grinned.
He’d be seeing her soon. Very soon.
His cell buzzed in his pocket, and he quickly pulled it out, accepted the call, and held it to his ear. “Foxx,” he said into the phone.
“Gunner, it’s Jax. You get the money, yet?”
He grinned as he stared at Isabella’s beautiful backside just as it disappeared from his line of vision. “Heading over now.”
There was a pause on the line. “You still dating Alana?”
His mind drifted to his former flame. She was drop dead gorgeous, blonde hair, brown eyes, rockin body with stunning tattoos. Too bad the outside was the only stunning thing about her. “Hell no.” She wanted his money, his thrills, his connections. That was the extent of it.
“Dude. You’re running out of time.”
Fuck. “I know, I know.” He’d been putting off the deadline, pretending it didn’t matter because he had plenty of time. Well, not anymore. He had weeks. “I’m not going to take anybody I can get just because of a damn timeline.”
He heard his friend sigh on the other end of the phone. “I know. Just… keep looking, okay?”
“Gotcha. Shoot me a text when you’ve got it.”
Gunner clicked off the phone and shoved it back into his pocket. If he hurried, he’d make it just in time to avoid causing too much of a scene.
Assuming, of course, Isabella was a slow walker.
He revved his bike, then took off.
Chapter Two
Isabella needed to get home and bury her nose in a book. Luckily, she was nearly there.
The entire way home, her mind had been going places she didn’t want it to go, but it was nothing a good romance novel couldn’t fix. She’d get lost in the fantasy world of the book and rid her mind of the fantasies she was having about Gunner Foxx.
Gosh. She could not pick a worse man.
Criminal with a record? Check. Known member of a motorcycle club? Check. Son of the man who ran that aforementioned motorcycle club? Also check.
Tall, tatted, and sexy as all sin? Triple freaking check.
He was the forbidden fruit. The excitement she sought in her novels. In their boring little town, it made sense why she’d find herself all hot and bothered over someone like Gunner.
He was like the bad boy heroes of her books.
Except, there was one major difference. In her books, the bad guys somehow managed to become the good guys in the end. In real life, Gunner would destroy her.
And she couldn’t be having that.
No way, no how. The fantasies would stay in her head.
She turned onto her street, and her heart dropped. Right outside her house was Gunner’s bike, unmistakably his and parked against the curb. What was he doing there? Was he looking for her?
Isabella did all she could not to drop her groceries and sprinted toward the house. She was a fast runner, but every single step felt like it took an eternity. Her feet pounded against the pavement until she finally reached the side door.
She fumbled with her keys and shoved it open, dropping the grocery bag on the kitchen counter and rushing into the living room.
Gunner was standing over her father, hand at his throat. She screamed, and then she jumped on his back. She yanked and pulled and threw her fists at him, frantically trying to get him to separate from her father.
“He’s sick! Get off of him! He’s sick, damn it!”
He rolled his shoulders and she fell from his back, but his hands were at his sides. He’d let go of her father.
She wanted to sigh in relief, and then to punch Gunner’s face in. “What the hell are you doing?” She steadied herself on her feet and tucked her rustled hair behind her ears.
Gunner opened his mouth, then closed it. “You weren’t supposed to be here for this,” he said.
“For what? For you assaulting my father?” She shoved past him and grabbed for her dad, who stayed frozen on the couch where Gunner had been holding him. “Come on daddy, we’re calling the police.”
Her dad shook his head, but it was Gunner who spoke. “That’s not gonna work for me.”
She had never felt more violent rage than she did in that moment. “I’m calling the cops, and we will be pressing charges.”
Gunner stepped directly in front of her, and it quickly hit her just how giant he was. He towered over her by at least a foot. “No, actually, you won’t.” His voice was cold venom. She could feel the dangerous ice spreading throughout her body.
She wouldn’t let him know that she was terrified. “And why wouldn’t I? You broke into my house, assaulted my father, God knows what else you might’ve done.” Her heart shattered just thinking about it.
“Tell her, Isaac.” Gunner stared at her father, who had barely moved an inch since she’d walked in. “Go on, tell her.”
She spun to look at her dad. “Tell me what?” She could feel Gunner’s cold presence behind her, but she didn’t turn around.
Her dad shook his head, looked to the floor. His face was worn and tired, his dark hair heavily peppered with gray. He was robust, active, creative, and then her mother died… and he hadn’t been the same since. Her immortal-seeming father had aged decades in just a few short years.
That’s what happened when you started searching for happiness at the bottom of a bottle.
She spun to the jerk standing behind her. “Y’know, he doesn’t need to tell me anything. Not because you say so. So get the hell out right now because I am calling the police.” She poked her finger into his massive chest and took another step forward. “And don’t you dare come back here. Not ever again. Don’t even look in our direction.”
He smiled at her. A massive, full face grin that would’ve looked handsome on somebody else. On him, it just looked threatening. “Feisty.” His voice was low and lethal. He took a step forward and grabbed her arms, yanking her against his body and leaning down by her ear. “And what exactly are you going to do to make me leave? Hm?”
Her breath hitched as reality started setting in for her. “Let go of me.” She thrashed against his hold, but he didn’t release her. “Stop!”
His hold loosened. He stepped back.
“I borrowed money from him.” Her father’s voice broke through the sounds of her breathing and the pounding of her heart in her ear. “I borrowed a lot of money and I can’t pay it back.”
“You borrowed money? From him? Why?” Her father had been an artist, and a fairly successful one. He ran his own digital design company. They were doing well… they…
“I’ve been struggling lately. I dropped the ball, missed deadlines. We have payments I couldn’t make, plus the medical bills.” He’d been hospitalized twice in the past months. Both of his own doing. “I just… I needed money. I didn’t know what else to do.”
Her head was spinning. He should’ve come to her. She would’ve gotten full time work, would’ve helped him with the company, would’ve done something. “How much?” She had savings. Isabella knew she could figure something out.
Gunner’s voice rumbled behind her. “Thirty thousand dollars.”
Her brain short circuited. “Thirty thousand dollars?” No way. How? Nothing made sense. She definitely didn’t have thirty thousand dollars sitting around.
“I need that money, or we’re going to have a big problem.”
Thirty thousand dollars. How the hell am I supposed to come up with that? Her mind raced. There had to be something, some way…
“Can’t we have more time?”
“No.”
She bit her lip. “What if he trades you something? Artwork? His pieces, they go for a lot and-”
“I don’t think boss is interested in fancy paintings.”
Panic began to set in. There had to be a solution. She knew it. She could- “I’ll take that ride with you,” she blurted out before even giving herself time to think about what she was saying.
He raised an eyebrow at her. “In the store. Earlier. When I saw you, you asked me if I wanted a ride. I said no, but, if you give us more time, I’ll go for that ride with you.” She widened her eyes at him, hoping he’d understand just what she was offering. “One more month. Just give us one more month to pay you back.”
Her father could take on new jobs, she could start working full time and also help with his online business. They could make the money, pay the asshole back, and then move on with their lives. It would be difficult to come up with that much cash in just a month, but there were ways.
She could see the wheels turning in Gunner’s head. She didn’t like it.
But at least he was thinking about it.
“Better deal,” he said. “I forgive the debt completely and pretend it never happened. Give boss the money from elsewhere so that it’s dropped on all fronts.”
Her heart leapt in he
r chest. “Yes!” she nearly shouted. Then the reality set in; he wouldn’t willingly offer her better than what she wanted, unless he was asking something bigger in return. “How?” Her voice sounded small.
He took a step toward her again. “You marry me.”
∞∞∞
Isabella’s pretty mouth fell open. She stared.
“You have five seconds to say yes, or the offer’s off the table and we’re going to have a problem on our hands.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets and leaned back on his heels. “Five… four…”
“Isabella, don’t! You don’t have to do this.”
“Three…”
“Daddy, I-”
“Two…” Gunner was bluffing. He wasn’t planning on hurting the old man. But Isaac’s pretty daughter didn’t have to know that. “One…”
“Okay!” she snapped. Her hand rose to her chest, her neck. She looked at her father. “I’ll do it.”
“Bella, no.” Isaac reached out for her, but Gunner grabbed her wrist and pulled her to his body. She fit perfectly against him. Even if she did fight it.
“Great. We’re leaving.” He urged her toward the door.
“Wait,” she said as she fought against him. “My things. I can’t just leave everything and-”
“Yes, you can.” He pulled her forward. “If you stay, you’ll think up reasons to go back on the deal, and I don’t like people who screw me over. Just ask daddy.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but her feet moved with his. Isaac called after them, but he was too weak to do much, and they all knew that.
“Wait here,” he said to Isabella. “You move, deal’s off and I continue what I was doing before you rushed in and tried to tackle me.” Her eyes widened, but she nodded.
Gunner walked over to Isaac, who was wobbling on his feet. “Foxx, you can’t-”
“Yes, old man, I can. You fight it, and my boss comes to collect on your debt. He’s not as nice as I am.”
“This was my mistake. I took the money. She shouldn’t have to pay for it!”
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