Tina

T ina helped Chasity pack her belongings, still not sure that letting her go to live with a perfect stranger was a good idea. Sure, Hurricane seemed nice enough, but he was a bar owner and a biker. She hadn't known many of them, but they all seemed to be bad news on the television shows she sometimes watched. If her brother knew that she was allowing his only child to go live with some big, gruff biker, he'd roll over in his grave.

They worked in silence as Chasity put her clothes into boxes that Hurricane had given to her from the bar. He was loading everything into his truck as they worked to pack everything up, and knew that sooner than she'd like, her niece would be gone, and she'd be all alone again. That was the hardest part of all this for her—being alone. Her brother was the last person she had left who cared about her and without him, she felt kind of lost. He was the only family she had—besides Chasity, and now, she was leaving too.

"Are you sure that this is what you want?" almost whispered. Her voice still sounded so loud in the room after working in silence for so long.

"I am," Chasity said. "I can't stay here." Hearing her say those words felt like a slap in the face.

"I know that things have been difficult, but do you really have to move out?" asked.

"I think that I do," her niece admitted. "I like Hurricane, and he doesn't boss me around." let out the breath that she had been holding. It was as though her niece liked picking fights with her.

"I don't boss you around, Chasity," insisted, "I ask you to help out around here, that's all. We both live here, and you need to pull your weight."

Chasity barked out her laugh and tossed her boots into a box. "I'm pulling my weight and yours since you started at your new job. I'm sick of having to do everything on my own." She was about to tell her niece that she had taken the new job to help pay the bills that had been piling up since she had moved in when Hurricane walked into the room. And from the scowl on his face, he had heard what Chasity said to her.

"Okay, I thought that we could wait to go over some rules until we got you unpacked at my place, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Sit," he said pointing at Chasity's bed.

"Me or her?" Chasity asked.

"You," Hurricane grumbled. "First rule is you don't talk to your aunt that way. I'm big on respect. I maintain it in my bar, and I'll expect it in my house. If grown-ass bikers can show each other a bit of respect, you can show your aunt some too."

"But," Chasity started.

Hurricane held up his big hand, effectively stopping her niece from continuing. "No buts," he insisted. "Can you follow this rule or not? I have time to bring your stuff back in before I head over to the club."

Chasity sighed and if wasn't mistaken, even rolled her eyes at Hurricane. That was a pretty bold move considering the guy was preaching respect. "Fine, I can respect my aunt," she agreed.

"You'll show everyone respect," he corrected, "but, especially your aunt."

"Fine, I'll respect the whole world," she sassed. Hurricane looked over at and she shrugged. That was the kid that she had become accustomed to and over time, it had gotten worse. Gone was the sweet little girl who always said that she wanted to grow up to be just like her Aunt and in her place was a teenager with a raging attitude and hormones to match.

"Next rule," he said, causing Chasity to groan out loud. "I know that you want to set the times that your aunt can visit, but I'm vetoing that. I'm officially inviting you over to have dinner with us every evening, ," Hurricane announced.

"Every night?" Chasity shouted. "That's so fucking not fair."

"Hey, third rule—no cursing," Hurricane said, pointing his finger in her niece's direction.

"You curse," Chasity challenged. "I've heard all the guys around your club curse."

"Well, that is going to change since you won't be hanging around the club while the guys are there. If you want to hang with me during the day, when you don't have school, that's fine. Hell, I'll even find you a job or two around the place to keep you busy. But no sneaking in anymore while the guys are there," he ordered.

"This is getting to be more than I signed up for," Chasity insisted.

"We can end this all right now if that's what you want. I'm sure that your aunt will even help you unpack," he said. could tell that Hurricane was bluffing, she just hoped that her niece didn't pick up on that.

"Does she really have to come over every night?" Chasity groaned. "That seems excessive."

"Gee, thanks," drawled. "You know what—it's fine. If she doesn't want me there, I don't have to come over that much."

"No," Hurricane said. "If you want to come over for dinner, you're welcome—every night." wasn't sure why he was making such a fuss over her having dinner with him and Chasity, but for some reason, it seemed important to him.

"All right, I appreciate that, Hurricane," she said.

"Great," he breathed picking up two of the last boxes and turning to take them downstairs. "We'll see you at six then. Come on, kid," he ordered.

"You mean six tonight?" asked.

"Yep—we said every night, right?" Hurricane said.

"Yeah," breathed.

"Okay then, see you at six," Hurricane repeated. She watched as Chasity followed the big, sexy biker out of her place. She wasn't sure what he was up to, or even if she was going to like it, but she was now curious to find out his plan.

spent the rest of the afternoon trying to decide if she should follow Hurricane's orders and actually show up for dinner. What good would it do if Chasity didn't want her there? Sure, she'd be able to hang out with the hunky biker, but that wasn't a part of the plan. Honestly, thinking or feeling anything for Hurricane was a huge mistake that might cost her the relationship that she had built with Chasity so far, and she couldn't risk that.

Showing up for dinner at Hurricane's house intrigued her enough to change her clothes and drive over to his place, no matter how desperate that made her seem or how much Chasity would hate her being there. She couldn't help herself really— there was something about a bossy man that she never thought that she'd like, but Hurricane was different.

She was never very savvy about men. In fact, she was quite naive, but there was something about Hurricane that didn't make her feel as though she was at a total loss for words every time they were in the same room together. She found herself chatting away and having no trouble telling him exactly how she felt about things.

By the time she worked up the courage to start the car and drive over to Hurricane's house, she was ten minutes late. Getting up the nerve to walk to his front door was decided for her when he opened the door and stepped onto the porch. sighed and cut the engine, grabbed her purse, and stepped out of the vehicle, ready to face whatever the sexy biker had planned for her.

"Hey," she breathed, not sure what else to say. She stood in the driveway and looked up at him like a loon.

"I honestly didn't think that you would show," Hurricane admitted.

"Oh, well, if you'd like for me to just go," she said, turning back to her car.

"I didn't say that," he growled. "I'm glad that you're here, . I think tonight will give us a bit of time to get to know each other better." She shivered at the idea of getting to know Hurricane better. was pretty sure that the guy would be fun to "Get to know," but she was also sure that he didn't mean it the way that she was thinking. At least, she hoped not because as of right now, she had no willpower when it came to telling Hurricane no apparently. Otherwise, she'd be sitting at home in her pajamas, eating the same takeout that she had the night before.

"Come on in," he said, nodding to the door. She realized that she hadn't made a move to the porch from the driveway. She quickly walked up the steps and followed Hurricane into his house.

looked around and whistled, "Wow, this place is great," she said.

"Thanks," Hurricane said. "I decided to buy it when I got the club. I'm originally from Queens and wasn't sure where I wanted to put down roots, but Yonkers felt right for me. I rented for a while to be sure, but I knew that sooner or later, I'd have to bite the bullet and get a bigger place."

"Why would you need a bigger place for just you?" she asked.

He shrugged and took her jacket and purse from her, hanging it neatly in his coat closet. She wasn't sure if she was shocked or impressed by his tidiness. "I thought that I might like to start a family someday, and well, this place has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and is perfect for something like that. The problem is, I haven't found anyone who I wanted to settle down with."

"Oh, come on," she said, "you can't tell me that there aren't a ton of women lining up at your club to go out with you," insisted.

"Not really," Hurricane admitted, "I mean, there are women who try to get my attention, but they are mostly bar flies—you know, trying to take a biker home for just a night?"

"Isn't that what most guys want?" she asked. From her experience, not too many men were into long-term anything. They wanted a good time, and then, they'd move on. Maybe that was why she never really gained any experience with the opposite sex.

"No clue what guys want," he said. "I just know that I'm not into the whole casual sex thing. Don't get me wrong, I was that guy in my twenties, but I'm thirty-five now and honestly, I'd like to have a family." Hearing Hurricane say that he wanted a family, and a long-term relationship had her thinking about things that she knew she shouldn't.

followed Hurricane into the kitchen and groaned. "Something smells fantastic," she admitted. She looked around the room and realized that the table had only been set for two people. "Um, where's Chasity?" she asked.

"I'm afraid that she's not here," Hurricane admitted.

"Shit," shouted, "why didn't you tell me sooner that she ran away?" He reached out and touched her arm as if trying to calm her.

"She didn't run away," he said. "She's hanging out with Yonkers and Wren from my club. Apparently, Wren and Chasity got to know each other when she was crashing on the sofa in my office. They just had a baby and they're having Chasity babysit for them while they have a stay-at-home date night. You know, to check her out to see how good she is with the kid. Does Chasity like to babysit?" he asked.

"Honestly, I have no clue," she admitted. "How bad does that make me sound? I don't even know what my teenage niece is into anymore. I used to know her when she was little. I always knew what toys she wanted, and I was the cool aunt—but not anymore. She didn't go over to your friend's house just to ditch me, did she?" asked. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer to that question, but the masochist in her needed to know.

His sheepish grin gave away his answer—Chasity had gone over to babysit to avoid having to see her. "If it makes you feel any better, she'll be home at about ten. How about you stick around to tell her goodnight when she comes home?" he asked.

"Oh, I couldn't do that," insisted. "I mean, I don't want to take up too much of your time. You should have just called me to cancel if tonight didn't work out for you."

"I think that it worked out just fine," he said, taking her hand into his. The simple touch had her feeling sparks that she shouldn't have. "As I said at the front door, I'd like to get to know you better, ." He almost whispered her name and damn it if her traitorous body didn't lean into his just a bit.

"I see," she whispered, "and how do you propose we get to know each other, Hurricane?" she asked. She could think of a few ways that she'd like to get to know him. His chuckle gave away that he could probably read her mind, and could feel the blush that had covered her cheeks. She hated how easily she got embarrassed, but he didn't seem to even notice.

"How about we have some dinner, and then, we can sit and talk until Chasity comes home," he offered. Yeah, that wasn't exactly what she was hoping for, but maybe it was for the best. usually read the situation wrong, but this time, she was on a whole other planet. Hurricane was right though, it would be good for them to get to know each other better if he was going to help her out with Chasity, and right now, she needed all the help she could get.