“And if I don’t?”
“You don’t really want to find out, do you?”
I rolled my eyes. “You don’t scare me.”
He leaned forward, close to my ear. “I don’t want to scare you, beautiful, but I’m not above making you beg.” I shivered, closing my eyes as his lips touched my cheek gently, then repeated, “Text me when you get home.”
I bit my lip and nodded.
“Your car’s here,” he said, and pushed opened the back door, walking us to our rideshare.
We climbed in and Everly turned to me as we drove away. “What was that?”
“No idea,” I whispered.
“He’s hot as fuck.”
I nodded, but couldn’t quite find my voice. I had never been affected by another human being the way Jasper affected me. I didn’t know what it meant, but shook off my interest because, really, where could it go?
The car approached Everly’s house and I heard her groan quietly.
“What?” I asked, glancing up from my phone.
“Um…” Everly hummed, and I looked up to see my dad leaning against my car.
“Shit,” I hissed.
“God, he’s so fucking hot.”
“Everly, stop,” I ordered.
“Just to be clear, you’d be pissed if I—”
“Oh my god, yes. You cannot have sex with my father. Or my brothers.”
“So, all three are definitely off the table, then.”
I groaned and Everly huffed quietly. The car pulled to a stop and my dad raised his head, meeting my eyes and holding that stare as I pushed open the door and slid out. Everly followed and we closed the distance between us and Dad.
“Violet will see you next week, Everly,” Dad said, continuing to stare me down.
“My stuff’s inside,” I said.
“I’ll send a recruit to pick it up tomorrow.”
“Dad—”
“Get in the truck, Letti.”
“What about my car?”
“Leave your keys with Everly,” Dad said. “Scrappy’ll pick it up tomorrow with your stuff.”
Scrappy was one of the club prospects who had to be close to earning his patch by now. Of course, I wasn’t privy to that information and probably wouldn’t find out until the patch on his cut changed.
“Dad—”
“Get your ass in the truck, Violet. Not gonna tell you again,” Dad growled.
I hugged Everly and stomped to Dad’s truck, climbing into the cab. He waited for Everly to close herself inside the house before climbing in beside me and starting the engine.
He didn’t say a word as we drove, and I started to panic the closer we got to home. Only, we didn’t go home.
“You’re joking.” He didn’t respond as he drove through the compound gates and I scowled at him. “You’re locking me down?”
He still didn’t say a word as he pulled up in front of the club cabin and climbed out of the truck. I huffed and climbed out myself, glaring at my father. “I’m not staying here. I have shit to do.”
I was one year away from graduating, earlier than expected, but that’s why I’d been busting my butt to get my zookeeper degree. I had been interning at the zoo for two years now, and I’d been promised a full-time position the second I graduated. However, I had to graduate to get it and not having my comfortable area to study and do homework would jeopardize that.
“Yeah? Scrappy or Orion will drive you where you need to go and pick you up. You have lost access to your car until I decide I’m not pissed off enough to hit something. You go to class, you come back here or home. Wherever I am.”
“Dad—”
“You’re on notice, Violet. Swear to Christ, I’m done with this shit.”
“I’m technically an adult!” I screeched as we walked into the great room. “You don’t get to ground me like an errant child.”
He crossed his gigantic, beefy arms and leaned in. “You wanna get into this now, Violet Morgan? Or would you rather wait until I’m calm…er? Because right now, I’m about to take your goddamn fucking phone away from you as well.”
I gasped. “You wouldn’t!”
“I sure as hell would.”
“You have no right.”
“I pay for it, Violet. I have all the fuckin’ rights.”
Well, he had a point.
“I just wanted to blow off some steam.”
“By illegally gaining entry to a nightclub where you had no protection? What if cops had raided and discovered you weren’t of age? We’re ready to take on a new recruit and you pull this shit? Do you have any idea what kind of heat that could have brought down on the club?”
“The club! That’s all you fucking care about,” I snapped. “I swear to god, I can’t wait to have nothing to do with this stupid place. Gonna find me a nice accountant and never darken the steps of this doorway again.”
I spun on my heel and stormed out of the great room, heading upstairs to my room and slamming the door for good measure.
I was done with bikers and their alpha ways.
Violet
I FLOPPED ONTO the compound bed and dragged my hands over my face. I was so frustrated, and I was sick and tired of being frustrated. I wanted out. I wanted something easier.
Just as I was ready to throw something, my phone buzzed. Glancing at the screen, I frowned. Before I could reply, my phone rang, and I let out a frustrated sigh and answered.
“You didn’t text me. You home okay?” Jasper asked.
“Sort of.”
“What does that mean?”
I don’t know why, but I info dumped the last hour of my life into Jasper’s lap. He didn’t interrupt, he just listened to me vent, and once it was out, I felt quite a bit better.
“Sounds like your dad’s lookin’ out for you.”
“Sounds like my dad’s smothering me,” I snapped.
He sighed. “Yeah, I can see how you’d feel that way.”
“Which means what exactly?”
“At the risk of ruining our burgeoning friendship, I know a little something about feeling the need to protect someone I love and not using the right words to express it.”
“My dad is… complicated.”
“We all are, sweetheart, but it doesn’t mean the love’s not there.”
“I just want out.”
“You don’t, Violet. Take it from me. You might want a break, but you don’t want out.”
“It would be so amazing if, just once, a man didn’t tell me what I wanted.”
“Fair,” he said.
“I’m gonna let you go.”
“Okay, Violet, I’ll—”
“Letti for fuck’s sake,” I breathed out. “Violet’s only used when someone’s pissed at me.”
He chuckled. “Got it. Text me if you want some sage wisdom. Or just want to talk.”
“Okay,” I said, and hung up.
I dropped my phone on the bed and sat up. I needed to get a few things from home, but I had a feeling Dad would object to me leaving the compound, so I dug through my purse to find a pad and paper. I was old school when it came to taking notes. I never put anything in my phone, rather, I always had some kind of notebook with me where I jotted things down.
Before I could click my pen, a knock came at the door. I sighed. “Who is it?”
“Me,” my brother, Orion, called.
“Come in.”
The door opened and my big brother stepped inside and closed it behind him. “Hey.”
“Hi.”
He crossed his arms and leaned against the door. “Where’d you get the ID?”
“I’m not going to tell you that.”
“Dad came pretty hard at you, huh?”
“When doesn’t he?”
He grimaced. Orion knew what I was going through because he and Dad butted heads constantly. Drake was the only one who seemed to be on his good side. Orion had Raquel now, though, and she was awesome. They’d fallen in love not long ago and I knew she was going to st
ick around forever.
“Need a hug?” he asked, and I nodded as I stood and walked into his arms.
“Do you think he’ll ever calm the fuck down?”
“Probably not,” he admitted, rubbing my back.
“He’s not going to let me go home, is he?”
“Nope. Drake and I have both got the order that if you get out of here somehow, we’re to alert the dogs, so to speak.”
I sighed. “Can I send you on an errand, then? I need a few things.”
“Why do you think I’m here?”
I pulled away and rolled my eyes. “You’re a mind reader now, huh?”
“Not my first rodeo.”
“Well, there is that.”
I scribbled down a few things and tore off the page, handing it to him. “I have a few clothing items here, so I really just need makeup stuff and my laptop.”
“Got it. I’ll probably be back in about an hour.”
“Thanks, Ori.”
He settled a hand on my shoulder. “Hang in there, sissy. He’s just trying to protect you.”
“Yeah. Sure.”
Orion grinned and pulled open the door, almost running into my dad. “Hey.”
My brother gave him a chin lift, then walked away. Dad leaned against the doorjamb and studied me. I stared him down. I refused to be the first to speak.
He smirked. “You have always been the most stubborn.”
“You said you liked that.”
“Baby girl, I love that. I love everything about you, but the truth is, you might look just like your mama, but you’re me in female form.”
I rolled my eyes. This was glaringly true.
“I need you to be safe, Letti. If anything ever happened to you, I’d lose my mind.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to me.”
“You say that because you’re twenty and full of confidence. You never think anything’s gonna happen to you when you’re young. Your mom didn’t think anything would happen to her either, but it did. And it’s my job to see all sides and make sure I stop the bad shit from touching you.”
“You can’t stop all of it,” I said. “You have to trust that I can look out for myself.”
“So, you looked out for yourself by getting a fake ID and heading to Nocturn for a night of underage drinking with your bestie?” he growled. “And what about Everly? I won’t insult you by telling you you’re banned from her presence, because I know… goddammit, I know… you’re the bad influence on her. What if her parents decide they don’t want her hangin’ with you?”
“They won’t do that. They’re cool.”
“Her father’s a religious man, Violet, and if he knew his daughter was out at a club, you better believe he won’t be cool anymore.”
“It’s not like Everly’s virginal, Dad. She’s got her own rebellious streak.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not responsible for her rebellious streak. Just yours. Jesus, you two have been a pain in my ass since kindergarten.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” I grumbled, but his smile showed he loved every second of it.
“Come here,” he demanded, and I went there.
The thing about me that most people knew was that I could never resist a hug from my dad. Even though we might butt heads, he was my favorite person on earth, and he’d stepped up in a major way after my mom had died.
“I love you,” he said, squeezing me gently. “You know that, right?”
“Yes,” I conceded. “I love you, too. Even if you’re a dictator.”
“I’m a benevolent one, though, baby girl.”
I leaned back and met his eyes. “You need to find a woman.”
“Got plenty of women.”
“No. You need a woman who’ll bring you to your knees.”
“Plenty of—”
“Nope. Don’t want to hear about my dad’s sex life,” I snapped, pulling away. “Too far, Dad. Way too far.”
He chuckled. “We good?”
“Am I allowed to leave?” I asked hopefully.
“Nope.”
“Then, we’re kinda good, but you’re dead to me for at least two days,” I sassed.
He shrugged. “I can live with that.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Go away. I have to get some sleep so I can study tomorrow. I have a semester final on Monday.”
“Sleep tight, baby girl. Love you.”
“Love you too, Daddy.”
He closed the door and I went through the drawers to see what I had to sleep in.
* * *
Monday morning Orion drove me to school, dropping me off with a promise to pick me up when I was ready. I headed into class, texting Jasper after I took my seat. I couldn’t help but be impressed by his concern for me the other night, but this still probably wasn’t a good idea. It didn’t stop me, but it still wasn’t a good idea. So much for staying away from him. Maybe I’d luck out and he’d be an accountant by day and a bouncer by night.
Me: Got plans in two hours?
Jasper: What do you have in mind?
Me: Lunch?
Jasper: I’m in. Tell me when and where.
I texted him the address to my school and then turned off my phone and slid it into my bag. I’d studied my ass off for this exam, but I still hoped there’d be no surprises.
Two hours later, I walked out of class feeling pretty happy with how the exam went, and buzzing with the excitement of seeing Jasper again. He’d texted the location of where he’d parked, and I made my way to the parking lot where I found him leaning against his grill, studying his phone.
“Hi,” I said, as I approached, and he looked up, grinning wide.
Oh, yeah, this man would be the perfect one to burn my vagina.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said, leaning down to kiss my cheek. “You hungry?”
“Starving. I just had the final from hell, so I need to eat my feelings.”
He chuckled, pulling the door open. “That bad, huh?”
I climbed up into the truck. “Oh, no, it was great, I think. Biology isn’t my strongest subject and I’m doubling with zoology, so now that it’s over, I’m panicking a little.”
“So, you called me?” He raised an eyebrow. “I’m flattered.”
I blushed. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah, it’s okay.” He grinned widely and closed the door, walking to his side of the truck and climbing inside. “Where to?”
“There’s a little taco place not far from here if you like Mexican.”
“I love Mexican,” he said, starting the engine, then we headed toward the best food on the planet.
“Are you an accountant, per chance. You know, during the day?”
He gave me a sideways glance. “Do I look like an accountant?”
“No,” I breathed out. “But one can hope.”
“You lost me.”
“Never mind. I’m just being weird.”
Parking in front of the tiny restaurant, we walked to the window, ordered, then sat at one of the picnic tables to wait for our food.
“Polly said you just moved here from Portland,” I said, settling my elbows on the table. “How long have you been here?”
“Two weeks.”
“No way, really?”
He nodded.
“You didn’t waste any time getting a job.”
“I know a guy,” he hedged.
“It’s good to know a guy.” I smiled. “What brought you here?”
“Demons,” he said. “But that’s a story for another day.”
I bit my lip. “Sorry, I’m being nosy.”
“Nosy’s not a problem, Letti. Just can’t share everything.”
“Okay.”
“Number twenty-two,” sounded over the loudspeaker and Jasper left the table to pick up the food.
For the next thirty minutes, we didn’t really talk about anything of significance as we ate. I couldn’t remember a time I’d felt so comfortable with someone. He was laid back, but there was an edge about h
im as well. I just had to figure out if that edge was something I could live with.
“You got plans tomorrow night?” Jasper asked as he gathered our trash.
“I’m locked down.”
“Yeah?”
“Yep. My father has swung the gavel and I am sentenced to the compound until further notice,” I said. “I have a break in between classes tomorrow, though. We could do lunch again.”
“Yeah, that works.”
He smiled slightly and it didn’t register for me to ask him why. I mean, why would it? I was blinded by his Viking hotness and the way he stared into my soul. I didn’t think to ask him what he knew that I didn’t.
Therefore, a date was set for lunch the next day, and Jasper drove me back to school. I was blissfully unaware that my life was going to implode in T-minus six days.
* * *
Saturday morning, I awoke feeling a lot better than I had the weekend before. It could have something to do with the fact that it was family night, so everyone I loved would be at the cabin, plus I’d finally get to meet this new prospect Dad had been talking about. Maybe if he had a new victim to inflict his grumpy wrath upon, he’d calm the fuck down and loosen the chains to my cell.
I slept in, then took a long shower and dressed in dark jeans, motorcycle boots and a Harley T-shirt. I left my long, blonde hair down and looped a scrunchy around my wrist in case it got in the way.
About an hour before everyone was due to arrive, I headed downstairs and into the kitchen. Mozart’s wife, Nellie, was already elbows deep in soapy water and I grinned, hugging her from behind because she couldn’t object. Mozart and Nellie were in their fifties, had two kids who were old enough to look after themselves, and were totally, completely into each other.
“Get off me you psycho,” she squealed. “I’m not above spraying you with this water.”
“You’re no fun.” I laughed, letting her go. “Do you need help?”
“Not yet.” She grinned. “You meet the new guy?”
“Is he here?”
“Yeah. He’s in the meeting room. It’s open. Go introduce yourself. He’s cute, babe. You’ll like him.”
“Stop trying to set me up,” I ordered.
“No promises.”
I rolled my eyes and walked out of the kitchen. Usually the meeting room was the holy of holies and no one but bikers were allowed entry, but on family nights, it was open to everyone.
Primal Hunger (Primal Howlers MC Book 4) Page 2
