Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Hornet

Iwas the dirtiest of dogs for fucking my nanny. She was too young for me, and I didn’t deserve her sweetness. I should have never touched her, but, dammit, when she begged, I couldn’t say no to her. I swear to God, that girl could ask me for any fucking thing in the entire world and I’d find a way to give it to her.

I took another long draw off my beer as her words echoed through my mind. I need you. Please. It’s been a long time for me. No man alive could resist that kind of plea. She told me that I was her something nice. Me. A battle worn warrior who almost got his ass blown to smithereens was her piece of nice.

Brook was too good for me, but I’d already decided that I was going to do my level best to keep her. What we did might have opened up a shit ton of complications, but I was ready for a Brook-shaped complication in my life. She was perfect for me, and I truly believed I could make her happy. I just had to convince her that I was the right man for her and not just a fun-filled afternoon.

My phone went off with a text from my mom, after I’d called my parents to let them know what our plans were, they’d offered to take Ariel back to theirs for a sleepover so we could stay out late without worrying about the time:

Mom: Have you swept her off her feet yet?

Me: No, Ma. We are just about to settle down to dinner.

Mom: Your father and I think you’re making a really good decision in asking Brook out.

Me: That means a lot to me.

Mom: You’re being sarcastic, aren’t you?

Me: How could you tell?

Mom:I’ll leave you two to it and go back to spoiling my granddaughter. Text me if things go well.

Me: You’ll be at the top of the list of people I call to talk about my date.

Mom: More sarcasm?

Me: I gotta go, they just called our table.

I slid my phone back into my pocket. I hated lying to my mother, but if I didn’t fudge around the edges with her, I’d lose my fucking mind. After our shower I’d left Brook in the suite to get ready, and I’d been sitting at the clubhouse bar waiting for her.

A slim body slipped onto the stool beside me. “Fucking hell, Evie. Didn’t Storm ban you from the clubhouse permanently? If he finds you here, shit is going to hit the fan, girl.”

“That’s old news. He lifted the ban, provided I behave myself and stop trying to hook up with the brothers.”

“And how’s that going for you?”

She gave a rueful smile. “First night back, so who knows? You up for celebrating, stranger? Seems like months since I’ve seen you hanging out here.”

“I was working in Vegas. Thanks for the offer sweetheart, but I’ve got plans. Maybe you should think about what Storm said and cool it with the brothers for a while. You’ve been through some shit. It’d do you good to get your mind in a good place. Don’t you think?”

“Yeah. I do get fixated on one of the brothers occasionally and it’s not mentally healthy for me.”

That was an understatement. Evie had a history of becoming obsessed to the point that she interfered with their relationships with their old ladies. But when it came to the club girls, Storm was a pushover. Rosie came over with an appletini for Evie and she took it eagerly.

“I really missed your drinks, Rosie.”

Rosie chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep them coming tonight in celebration of your first night back.”

I looked past Evie to see Brook coming down the stairs.

“Sorry, ladies. I gotta go. My soon-to-be old lady is here.”

I knew that was probably just wishful thinking on my part, but a guy could always dream.

Evie grinned and held up her glass in a gesture of goodwill. I thanked every god ever that Evie had never latched onto me the way she did some of the other brothers.

I met Brook at the bottom of the stairs, my eyes wide in surprise. “Fuck me! You scrub up well.” I guess after telling my mom we were going to a fancy restaurant, when one of the prospects turned up to collect some clothes for Brook, as well as packing jeans and a sweater, my mom had added a short, tight, black dress. I’d only ever seen her in casual clothing before and she was an absolute knockout.

She grinned and gave a twirl, “Never thought I’d get a chance to wear this. I’m not too overdressed, am I?”

I gave her a wolfish grin. “I like you better naked and under me, but that dress is perfect.”

Before any of my club brothers could get any ideas, I grabbed Brook’s hand and led her out to the back patio. She seemed enamored with the way Storm’s and Grit’s old ladies had decorated the patio. There were lights strung up around the top of the covered patio. A huge grill was overflowing with steak, chicken, and burgers. No sign of Forge tonight, so I guessed he’d taken a night off from cooking duties. That had been his role as a prospect, but even as a fully patched in member he was reluctant to relinquish control of the grill.

I loved everything about my club and the brotherhood it gave us. If Brook didn’t, that was okay. Her bastard ex wasn’t a member of an MC, but I know that seeing all these tatted up bikers might make her think of him. I’d love to have her support when it comes to the Dark Slayers. Maybe if I took things slow, she would warm up to the idea and realize that this club was different, and my club brothers were honorable men and not brainless thugs.

I guided her over an empty table off to the side where we could spend some one-on-one time together. I probably shouldn’t have told my mom that I was trying it on with her, but we were used to keeping each other in the loop. As forward as my mother was with me, she wouldn’t dare say a word to Brook about it for fear of messing this up for me. The only things I didn’t discuss with my parents were club-related things. That was just the way we rolled and always had.

Brook was all eyes, looking around at my club brothers and their old ladies. A few of them were younger like her. They seemed very much in love and dedicated to each other. Maybe I’d made too much of our age difference in my own mind. Brook was well past the age where being with me would be considered inappropriate. So, why not take a chance on love?

I signaled for two beers and a plate of food from our latest prospect, Mace, and he got busy making us what had recently been named The Mate’s Platter. It was a sampling of everything we have to offer and designed to be shared, because the old ladies came to the conclusion somewhere along the line that sharing was romantic, and newbies needed the option of trying everything. Our prospects made delicious food, so I wasn’t about to complain about it.

I let my gaze wander back to Brook. This woman had hit me in the feels right from the start. As the weeks rolled on, my interest had grown into a strong admiration. She was amazing in a lot of ways, strong, flirtatious, and could hold her own in all the ways that mattered to me. Now that I’d had a taste of her body and her passion, I was straight up obsessed.

“You’re staring at me,” she said quietly.

I blinked and realized that she was smiling up at me.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I guess I’m a little besotted after our afternoon together.”

Her face lit up. “You’re such a sweetie. Plus, you were staring at my face instead of my chest, so you get extra bonus points for that as well.”

I enjoyed her compliments a little too much, they made me feel like a straight up gentleman and not some sleazy sex-obsessed fucker. Though her words sparked flashbacks of licking my way up and down her entire body and how she had tasted. I laughed, “I guess all my years of clean living and going to Sunday school are finally paying off.”

Mace snorted as he set down a platter of food and two frosty mugs of beer.

“I don’t need to hear any comments from the peanut gallery.”

Mace pulled out the wrapped flatware and napkins from the front of his apron. “Far be it from me to blow your cover, sir.” Hesitating for a moment, he asked, “Did you want peanuts with the food? I might be able to find some in the pantry.”

“No, you nimrod. Peanut gallery is just a saying. It means onlooker.”

Brook chimed in, “An onlooker with limited means. It means the cheap seats at a show, usually in the very back.”

Mace nodded. “Well, that describes me perfectly. Every single person in my family is wealthy but me, and let me tell you, it sucks.”

Brook responded smoothly, “Well, I’m sure that won’t last long. You seem like a smart guy.”

I chimed in with my own unsolicited advice. “You just have to find the thing you’re good at and figure out how to turn it into a force multiplier.”

Mace just stared at me for a brief moment and then responded, “I’m going to pretend like I know what that means.”

“Military terminology. When you get patched in, figure out how to make it work, and if you need an investor, I’m your man,” I told him. I had a tidy little nest egg that could be used to help a brother out. Plus, several other of my club brothers were in a position to team up if the time came when he needed startup cash.

Mace’s expression changed to one of happiness. “It’s really great to have such positive support and encouragement. That’s what drew me to the Slayers.” Glancing from me to Brook and back again, he added, “Have a nice meal, and if you need anything else, just let me know.”

“Will do, and the food looks delicious,” I told him.

Tonight it was warm fuzzies all around, apparently. That was until Celt and Corey started going at it again over Celt’s daughter, Dusty.

Celt was stalking after Corey, complaining. “Don’t try to tell me that yer not the reason my lassie is turnin’ down admission to UCLA. She’s smart, and a degree from UCLA could take her far in life. She’s stayin’ in Griffinsford and going to community college because yer here.”

Corey made a dismissive gesture to the angry Irishman. “It’s like you don’t know her at all. Dusty doesn’t even want to go to college. She wants to be my old lady.” Following up that brazen comment with a poke to Celt’s chest, he added, “She’s only going to college to make you happy, so stop trying to make her to go to UCLA.”

Shit, that boy was pushing it. He might have been recuperating from serious injuries he’d gotten while protecting Forge’s wife, and was currently riding high on the club’s good wishes—but I suspected that questioning Celt’s fathering abilities was gonna get that kid hurt even worse.

Celt stopped dead in his tracks, staring over Corey’s shoulder. I watched Dusty step out of the shadows. Corey turned to see what Celt was looking at and cursed under his breath.

Dusty walked up to them. She looked like she’s been crying. When Corey took a step closer, she held up her hand. “You’re both right. I don’t particularly want to go to college, but I know I need an education if I’m going to make anything out of myself.”

Turning to Corey, she reached for him. He stepped closer and wrapped his arms loosely around her slim form. She gazed up at him with her tear-stained face. “I’ve been thinking. UCLA is almost too good an opportunity to turn down.”

“You really want to go off to college? That’s not what you told me before.”

When she didn’t immediately answer, he lowered his voice. “I want for you whatever you want for yourself. You have to be honest and trust that I’m going to support you every step of the way.”

Dusty took a deep breath. “I want to go to UCLA. I have a year of college credits under my belt already and I’m pretty sure I can finish the remaining three years in two.”

“You know there has never been anyone else for me, only you. I’ll be right here waiting on you when you get back and LA is only a few hours ride away.”

She shook her head. “I want you to come with me. We can get an apartment, I know you weren’t interested in going to college but why don’t you consider it? You’re still not fully recovered after the accident, so look on it as rehab with added learning. You got that insurance payout, so tuition wouldn’t be a problem. The way I see it, you are I are forever.”

The slow smile that spread over Corey’s face was proud, excited, and adoring. Neither of them noticed Celt growling and stalking off.

I had some empathy for my club brother. He’d had a rough time raising his headstrong daughter. “I hope I have more luck with Ariel, and she keeps away from men until she’s at least thirty.”

“You would be lucky if Ariel turned out to be so intelligent and assertive. Sounds like that young woman has her head screwed on, and her husband too.”

“Oh, they’re not married. Dusty just acts like they are.”

“That could be why her father seems so bent out of shape,” Brook replied in a hushed whisper.

I grinned. “Yeah, that’s a long story and I’d rather talk about us.”

Brook’s eyebrows shot up. “Us? There is no us. You made that abundantly clear when you said having sex changes nothing about our situation.”

“Well shit, I didn’t mean that.” I’d gone and stuck my size twelve in my mouth and now was getting blindsided by the predictable outcome of saying something so deranged.

Brook leaned over the table and looked me in the eyes. “It sounded like you meant it.”

“Yeah, though I think you agreed too, when I said it. Maybe we both need our heads examined.”

I picked up a chicken wing and shoved it into my mouth pulling the meat off and mulling over how to get myself back into her good graces. I liked Brook smiling and flirting, not pointing out how ridiculous I was. God knew I was the king of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

I hated thinking that I’d messed up my chances with her because of some words that fell from my lips when my mind was on other things. Hell knows, a man can change his mind once he’s pulled his pants back up. Mine had changed—except rather than still thinking it was a bad idea and we should treat it as afternoon delight, and return to being employer and employee—I could really see us together. That would be just my luck, fucking up my chances with the first woman I really wanted. I’d had my share of good times with the club girls. At first, it had been nice to have no string attached sex with an enthusiastic partner. Somewhere along the line, though, it had gotten old for me. I was not only ready for something more, I was craving it.

Maybe the way into her heart was helping her find out who was wreaking havoc in her life. “When you arrived at the clubhouse earlier, I had our IT guy run a background check on your ex. There were several men with the same name in California. We narrowed it down by cross-referencing your former addresses to find a match.”

She frowned. “It sounds like you ran a background check on me as well.”

“I already told you I’d run one when you applied for the position. Most childcare positions have some form of background check. We don’t need the police. Hacker does checks a hundred times more thoroughly. But don’t worry, your background check came back squeaky clean.

Brook took a deep breath and looked away. I saw her lips moving. It looked a lot like she was counting to ten. “Come on, kitten, don’t be pissy. I wasn’t going to hand over care of my daughter to a total stranger without doing some checks. Hacker used to be with military intelligence, so he’s more diligent about details than other security experts might be. I believe he just wanted to make sure nothing changed between the time I hired you and now, so he did a repeat check.”

Brook still refused to look at me. “It’s been, what, five or six weeks?”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak in case I stuck my foot in my mouth again.

“I’m at your house all day and night unless I’m shopping or having coffee with my mom. Exactly when did you think I would have time to dabble in a little crime on the side?”

“Now, Brook, don’t be that way. We were trying to help you find out who slashed your tire.”

“I’ve decided that maybe I don’t need your help. It was probably some random one-off thing.”

“We know that’s not true because of the other things that have happened. Taken together, it could mean you have a bigger problem.”

“Or it could be nothing but a coincidence and your paranoia. I can’t believe I let you fill my head with useless conspiracies. If my car is finished, I’d like to pay my bill and head back home. I have a job to do, and your parents shouldn’t be stuck picking up the slack because you wanted to fill their heads with a bunch of lies about us having a relationship as well.”

I jerked back, feeling like I’d just been slapped across the face. I was being a manipulative ass to my parents, but I’d figured a white lie wouldn’t hurt. I hadn’t counted on Brook being so upset about me pretending we were on a date. Though I guess I hadn’t thought things through. “Look, what’s this really about, I think I must have missed something. Is this about me doing a background check or is something else going on?”

Brook just stared at the table.

I stood and tried to make amends. “I’m sorry if I’ve been playing fast and loose with the facts. You’re right, I shouldn’t have done any of that. I’ll let my parents know that any date was a figment of my overactive imagination and that you’re totally not interested in me.”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to humiliate yourself in front of your parents. Let’s just let the idea fizzle out. I don’t want to be at odds with you, Hornet. Let’s just go back to the way things were before I decided to lure you into having sex with me.”

“We’re both adults. We each made our own decision. You were alluring, not luring me into doing something I didn’t want to do.”

She stared at me for a long, hard moment. “The sex was amazing. The problem is compatibility and core values. I don’t want a relationship where I have to worry about the other person continuously running background checks to make sure I haven’t turned into a criminal behind his back. My ex was controlling, and I don’t like to feel as if I’m not trusted.”

“It wasn’t my intention to be offensive. I honestly thought I was helping.”

“Maybe I overreacted, but it just seemed like you didn’t believe me.”

I nodded, clearly understanding the error of my ways. “I used poor judgement and I apologize. I honestly didn’t think you had done anything bad, the second check was to see if there was anyone in your life that might hold a grudge.”

What else could I say? Brook was a hundred percent right. It didn’t matter what I thought I was doing or what my intention had been. The bottom line was I was used to being in charge both at work and home and just assumed she would be fine with whatever I felt was necessary to unravel this situation. That idea now seemed absolutely ludicrous, I should have told her what we were doing.

I gestured to the back of the clubhouse. “If you follow me. I’ll get one of the prospects to bring out your car.”

She looked conflicted, and like she wanted to say something, but in the end, she gave me a curt nod.

We headed to the bar, and I texted the garage. Torch texted back saying the vehicle was ready and he would bring it around to the front of the building.

“They’re bringing it around now,” I said as we walked to the front entrance.

“How much do I owe for the tire?”

“I’ve already taken care of it.”

“I don’t want you paying my way. I earn decent money and can afford a freaking tire when I need one.”

“Look, Brook, if it’s that important to you to be independent, I’ll deduct the price of the tire from you next paycheck.”

“You aren’t firing me, then?”

My mouth fell open in shock. Did she actually think I would terminate her employment for not wanting to continue getting to know one another, or heaven forbid because she spoke up for herself? “Hell, the fuck no, that thought never even entered my mind. Jesus, Brook. You have the right to get mad and tell me off. I’m not some kind of monster who would penalize you for having thoughts and feelings of your own.”

Torch pulled up in her car, noticed our intense conversation, and jogged back the way he came.

Brook hopped up onto her toes and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for understanding. I still like you as a person, even when I’m irritated with your behavior. It’s been a weird day, the tire, us—my head’s all over the place, I’m sorry if I overreacted.”

I huffed out a relieved breath. “Thank God for small mercies. I don’t think I could stand to bear the brunt of your anger for very long.” Thumping my fist against my chest, I said, “It hurt here.”

“Well, we can’t have that. Take care of yourself and I’ll see you later, or in the morning if you come home late.”

“Okay. I’ll try my best to stop being a dumbass.”

She actually smiled at me. “Stop trying to get on my good side. I want to stay annoyed with you for a few days, or a few hours at least.”

That’s when I knew she actually liked me, felt it all the way down to my bones. I gazed down into her beautiful eyes and murmured, “I might be an old dog, but I can learn new tricks. Just give me a chance.”

Instead of answering, she reached out and gave my hand a little squeeze before turning and walking to her car. I watched her fasten her seatbelt, turn her engine and lights on, and then slowly turn around to leave the parking lot. I leaned over onto one of the posts and shoved my hands into my pockets as I watched her drive away. There was no way I was going to give up my claim on her so easily. No, I’d make this beautiful woman fall in love with me if it was the last thing I did on this earth.

I decided the best thing I could do in this moment was show some initiative by getting on my bike and heading home. But just as I was about to pull out, my cell phone went off with a text from Hacker about the lead he found on Brook’s ex.