3. Storm

THREE

STORM

S torm stared toward the playroom, sitting so still he was practically a statue. It was her. The one he wanted to scold yesterday for sleeping at her desk without locking the door. For staying up too late and not eating her lunch. He had suspected she could be Little, but there was no doubt about it now. The woman was fucking Little .

He hadn’t caught her name when Carlee introduced Molly to her. They had been on the other side of the room, and he had been too stunned about seeing her again to think about going to introduce himself.

“You okay, bud?” Steele, the club president and Storm’s best friend, asked.

Tearing his gaze away from the arched entrance to the room, Storm cleared his throat and nodded. “Fine. I should go.”

It was usually what he did whenever the girls had a party. He would head to his apartment for the night and watch a game or something.

As he rose from his seat, the swarm of girls stomped out of the playroom, hands on their hips. Except for the receptionist. She was standing behind them, her eyes shifting around nervously.

“You’re moving?” Ivy demanded, shooting daggers his way.

The entire room fell silent. Fuck. He hadn’t planned to tell everyone yet. Only a few select guys.

When he looked from Ivy to the adorable Little girl in the back, she mouthed, “ I’m so sorry. ”

Now he had another reason he wanted to scold her. More importantly, he wanted to know what else she had told the girls about him. He had a feeling when he’d left the real estate office the day before that she wasn’t all that impressed by him. Most women weren’t once he opened his mouth. He wasn’t the smoothest guy.

“Why would you want to move? Do you not like us?” Remi asked in a small voice that clutched his heart tightly.

“What?” he snapped. “Why would you think that?”

Seriously, what was the big deal? A lot of the men in the club had homes of their own.

Remi rolled her eyes. Something she excelled at. “Gee, I don’t know. Maybe because you’re always grumpy to us, and now you’re moving to get away from us.” Remi sounded heartbroken.

“Remi,” Kade said gently. “Don’t make him feel bad. He’s allowed to move if he wants to. He’ll still have his apartment here.”

Carlee sniffed, and Storm was pretty sure some waterworks were about to start. He felt like such an asshole.

“Listen,” he said, sharper than he meant, making a couple of the Littles startle. Yeah, a total asshole . “I’m not moving to get away from you. I’ll still be at the compound nearly every day for work and club stuff, so you’ll see me all the time.”

“Why didn’t you tell us? We could have had a meeting about it and voted for you to stay,” Eden told him, tears forming in her wide eyes.

The fact that these Littles were so upset about him leaving was surprising to him. He wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that. If anything, he thought they would have been happy to get rid of him.

Letting out a sigh, he ran a hand through his black slicked-back hair. Dealing with emotional shit wasn’t his thing. He wasn’t good at being vulnerable. The one time he’d let himself get attached, it had blown up in his face. It was better to keep messy things, like feelings, locked deep in the shell of his black heart.

“It’s not like I’m moving far. I just made the offer yesterday. I was going to wait to see if it’s accepted before I told everyone,” he explained.

“Girls,” Gabriel said. “Let’s not worry about this tonight. You’re all supposed to be having fun.”

Remi huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine. But this conversation isn’t over.”

And then, just like they stormed in, the Littles disappeared back to the playroom as dramatically.

He leaned back in his chair and dropped his head to look at the ceiling. “I don’t know why they’re upset.”

Steele stood, shaking his head. “Because whether you believe it or not, they love you, even though you’re a cranky asshole.”

“Fuck,” Storm muttered. “How can I fix this?”

Gabriel smirked. “You could start by staying for the entire party.”

Shit.

There went his plans.

At least there was one positive to staying.

He’d get to stare at the sweet ray of sunshine for the rest of the evening.

During the next hour, Storm couldn’t stop himself from glancing toward the playroom every so often. He wasn’t normally a curious person, but when he’d walked into the real estate office the day before, the receptionist had piqued his interest. She’d said she was tired because she’d stayed up late. Why was she up late, though? And why did he care or want to know? It didn’t matter what her reasons were. He didn’t know her; her life was none of his business.

So why did he have an urge to make it his business?

“Dinner’s ready,” Gabriel told the men.

Kade stood and crossed the room. “I’ll tell the girls to go wash their hands.”

As Gabriel brought several large dishes to the dining table, Faust set out plates for everyone while Doc filled sippy cups of watered-down juice for the girls. Smart guy. The last thing they needed was the Littles to get even more hopped-up on sugar. Storm was convinced they had a bag of candy hidden somewhere and had been eating it all afternoon. Not to mention the cake they would be eating later. He almost felt sorry for his club brothers who would have to deal with their Little girls at the end of the night when they had sugar crashes and became overly tired and unreasonable.

He continued to watch as his closest friends all working together to make sure everything was set up for dinner. It was their nightly routine. Storm had a tightness in his chest and something that felt like longing in the pit of his stomach. What would it be like to take care of someone again? Someone to protect and provide for. It’s been so long since he had that. He couldn’t really remember what it had been like.

One by one, the girls filed in with Kade trailing them, laughing at something Remi had said. The corners of Storm’s lips twitched as he watched the couple while Kade helped his girl into a chair and then pushed her in.

“Hey. I want to apologize.”

Turning toward the sweet voice, Storm met the eyes of the Little girl who ratted him out to everyone. “No need.”

She let out a deep breath and nodded, though she kept rubbing her fingers over her fuzzy sweater as if the softness was soothing her. “I didn’t realize they didn’t know. I guess I assumed, and I shouldn’t have. Anyway, I’m really sorry. I understand if you want to complain to my boss. I’m also sorry they got upset with you.”

Unable to let her continue, Storm reached out to wrap his hand around her dainty wrist and gently rub his thumb over her pulse point. “Look at me,” he commanded as gently as he could, which wasn’t great, but he couldn’t help it. “You don’t need to apologize. It was an accident. I should have told them, so it’s on me, okay? I don’t want you feeling bad about it.”

Her shoulders dropped, and he hated that she’d been so stressed about it. He could be a jerk, but he wasn’t a total asshole. Not usually, anyway.

“Okay,” she murmured, lowering her eyes from his. “Thank you.”

His heart raced. She was about to move away from him. Even if it was across the table, it was too far. Instead of letting her go, with his free hand, he pulled out the chair beside him. “Sit right here, Little girl.”

She looked at the open seat and then around the room where her friends were spread out around the table. He hated that she was hesitating, but she was sitting next to him whether she liked it or not. He would get a booster chair and strap her in if he had to.

Fuck. What was wrong with him?

When she finally sat on the chair, he nodded and pushed her in.

“What’s your name, sunshine?” he asked. “I didn’t catch it before.”

There was a pause before she tilted her head back and met his gaze. “Brook.”

Brook. That was cute. Just like her.

In the short amount of time he’d seen her here at the clubhouse, he’d noticed several things about her. The first was that she was much quieter than the other girls. Maybe because she was a guest, but he thought it might actually be how she was all the time. She was quiet and reserved in the real estate office as well. The other thing he’d noticed was that she looked even more tired than the day before. It bothered him that she wasn’t getting enough sleep.

“I’m Storm,” he replied.

Slowly, her lips curled up into a smile. “I know. I worked on your file yesterday.”

Right. Way to make her think he was a dumbass.

“Brook, do you want a hamburger, a piece of chicken, or a hot dog?” Atlas called from the end of the table.

Storm’s stomach clenched. He glared at his friend, barely biting his tongue from snapping that he would help Brook get dished up. Why did it matter if Atlas was helping her?

Atlas noticed the death stare from Storm and returned it with a smug smile.

“Um, chicken? Well, actually, maybe a hamburger. Those hot dogs look good, too.” She ducked her head, her cheeks turning bright red. “Sorry. I’m terribly indecisive. Chicken is fine.”

“Nothing wrong with being indecisive, sunshine,” Storm told her as he reached over and picked up her plate. “There’s also nothing wrong with having a little of everything.”

Then he looked pointedly at Atlas and raised a brow. “I got this.”

Carlee whispered something to Ivy, who leaned over and repeated whatever it was into Remi’s ear. When he shot them a stern look, the three of them smiled innocently. Why did he get the feeling the topic of their whispering was him?

When he had Brook’s plate filled with a bit of each dish, he set it in front of her. “Try a bite of everything, and if there’s something you don’t like, you don’t have to eat it.”

Brook stared up at him, her mouth open slightly. “Thank you. I could have gotten my own meal.”

Shaking his head, he reached for a hamburger for himself and then took the other half of the one he cut from hers. “Little girls don’t get their own food here. We have to make sure it’s not too hot and that it’s cut up so you don’t choke.”

As Storm tore into his dinner with hearty, voracious bites, Brook delicately nibbled at hers, savoring each small morsel with an elegance that seemed almost unconscious. While he devoured his plate in minutes, her meal remained mostly untouched, her fork hovering hesitantly as though she were lost in thought.

The room hummed with energy, the low rumble of deep voices mingling with the bubbly chatter and peals of laughter from the Littles. Despite the chaos, Storm felt an unexpected sense of satisfaction seeing how effortlessly everyone included Brook, treating her as though she’d always been a part of their close-knit clubhouse family. But his sharp eyes didn’t miss the moments when she quieted, her bright green eyes darting around the room, observing on the periphery rather than engaging. She didn’t seem uncomfortable, exactly—just quiet, soaking in her surroundings. Something Storm understood completely.

Every so often, out of the corner of his eye, he’d catch her peeking over at him. What was she thinking? Was she scared of him? He knew he was intimidating, even when he was trying not to be. Did she think he was attractive? He certainly found her to be beautiful.

Those shining green eyes of hers and her pillowy lips made it hard not to stare at her. Add in her wide hips and big tits and he was practically drooling. He shouldn’t assume she was single, but fuck, if she were his, she wouldn’t go anywhere without him. If she did have a man, Storm already hated the guy. She was too damn precious to be out and about on her own.

“I’ve never seen you here when I’ve come over before,” she said quietly.

Leaning back, he turned so his body was slightly angled toward her. For some reason, he wanted to give her his full attention. “I don’t socialize a lot. I like to keep to myself.”

Great. That wasn’t the right thing to say if he wanted her to like him. His words hung in the air like an awkward pause, and he inwardly cringed. He might as well have slapped a neon sign across his chest that read, I’m a grumpy recluse—proceed with caution. The mental image of himself standing there, arms crossed, and a scowl etched into his face, was enough to make him grimace. Perfect. Just the impression he wanted to leave. Smooth, Storm. Real smooth.

Brook held his gaze for a lingering moment, her emerald-green eyes shimmering with empathy, a soft smile curling at the corners of her pillowy lips. “I understand.” Her voice was a gentle melody that threaded between the hum of conversation around them. “I’m the same way, actually. I’m so introverted. I love coming to hang out with the girls, but afterward…” She paused, her smile deepening, a faint blush warming her cheeks. “I’m going to have to hibernate in my apartment for the rest of the weekend to recharge.” Her tone held a self-deprecating warmth, the kind of honesty that felt both vulnerable and endearing.

Ah. Now her quiet observing made sense.

Her eyes went wide, and she covered her mouth. “Sorry. That was probably TMI.”

For the first time in a long time, he chuckled. She was too fucking cute. “Not TMI, sunshine. Is that why you were so tired yesterday?”

Her cheeks turned bright pink again. Storm’s gaze lingered, captivated by the innocent beauty of her reaction. Would she blush like that in bed? The thought struck him hard, unbidden and intoxicating. He imagined those same cheeks glowing for an entirely different reason, her wide, green eyes alight with unrestrained passion. Sweet, so fucking sweet, and innocent, like temptation wrapped in an adorable little package. The vivid image sent a surge of heat through him, and his body responded instantly, tension coiling low in his belly. His cock ached, and he had to shift to make it more comfortable to sit.

“No, I was up reading late the night before. It’s sort of a bad habit of mine. I get lost in a book and can’t put it down until I can’t keep my eyes open any longer.”

He didn’t like that. Not one bit. How many hours of sleep was she getting each night? Not enough, based on the dark circles under her eyes that her concealer didn’t fully cover.

“Brook, do you want to come play a game with us?” Carlee called out.

Storm had to bite back a growl. He wasn’t done talking to Brook. For the first time in a very long time, he wanted to have a conversation with someone. She was here for the party, though, not for him, and he wouldn’t take away her chance to play with her friends.

“Coming!” Brook stood and then picked up her plate, but Storm stopped her and took it from her hands.

She was a tiny little thing compared to him. She had to tilt her head way back to look at him. And fuck if that didn’t turn him on.

“Go play. I’ll take care of this,” he said.

After a second of staring at him, she flashed him an adorable grin before she turned and skipped toward her friends.

“Be good,” he warned without thinking better of it.

When the girls were out of sight, he let out a breath and turned toward the kitchen. He froze, though, because all his brothers were grinning at him like they knew something he didn’t.

“What?” he demanded.

Kade looked toward Steele. “Are you going to tell him?”

Steele chuckled and shook his head. “Nah. We’ll wait for him to figure it out on his own. Just like we had to.”

Confused and annoyed, especially because he couldn’t see Brook any longer, Storm flipped them off and then stomped to the kitchen while his so-called friends burst into laughter.

And they called him an asshole.