Micaela Chapter 10

My first dates with the guys had all been very different but, in some ways, similar. They were all charming, treated me great, and took into consideration my happiness. That was apparent in the activities they planned. I would've never guessed three bikers would take me to a cooking class, a dance lesson, or a gallery. I'd enjoyed all three of them immensely, which was the problem.

Nothing they said or did had turned me off from any of them. They only made me want to get to know them better. As for my physical attraction to them, it was doubled for all three. God, what was I to do? I'd been up for hours last night trying to answer my question. The result was I still had no answer. Or one I was confident would be acceptable.

No matter how hard I worked not to think about it, the conversation with Ray, Missy, and Alex kept playing over and over in my mind. They were in a relationship like Raine, Bullet, and Phalanx. How different was it from that versus a reverse harem? I snorted at the name. I could picture my friend Shandy's face if I told her I had a harem. She'd come to drag me back to Florida and to the loony bin. I figured this response would be par for the course for most people. I didn't see my parents or brothers being happy about it either. They'd throw a fit.

But you've never let your family or friends dictate your life. They may give advice, but in the end, the only person who knows what will or won't make you happy is you , my heart argued with me.

Yeah, but what if your family can't accept it, and you lose them ? My brain countered. I thought I knew what a split-personality person felt like. No wonder they were driven to madness at times. It was the proverbial between a rock and a hard place.

I never wanted to lose my family. As much as Shandy was part of my life, if she chose to end our friendship, I'd be disappointed but able to live with it. The kicker I kept coming back to was, ultimately, that I deserved to be happy and loved. Should I throw away my chance at having a life, one like my parents', just because it wasn't traditional?

Groaning, I flopped back on my bed. I hadn't gotten the courage to leave my room yet today. I knew a reckoning was awaiting me. Daredevil would be lurking to catch me and call me out on the fact I'd been on Vicious' bike. Who knows, he may know about all three of my dates. How did I explain it to him in a way he wouldn't go seeking them? When it came to me, he tended to be the "hit-first-ask-questions-afterward" kind of guy.

What should I tell him? I knew, without a doubt, it could be nothing about the fact I was considering having a long-term relationship with all of them unless one suddenly came to the forefront as the one I was the most attracted to and who made me see him as my future. Maybe I should talk to Shain and get her thoughts. If I asked her not to say anything to Daredevil, she might keep it to herself. Damn it! Where was a sympathetic ear when you needed one?

Of course, there was the chance the guys wouldn't go for it. Just because Dragon didn't shoot the idea down when we were with the triad didn't mean he didn't hate the idea. It all came down to getting us on the same page or me determining an obvious winner. Jesus, saying the word winner sounded so bad, as if I was a prize. I needed to talk to the guys about this. After I knew their thoughts on the matter, then I'd be able to decide how to approach everyone else.

With this decision made, I sat up. I'd text them to see if they had time to meet with me. I would love to have this decided today. Was I rushing it? Maybe, but I was sure of one thing, which made me continue the headlong approach I was taking. I highly doubted I'd be able to eliminate one of them, let alone two. Did it make me a slut? Who knows? Probably, in most people's books, it did.

A hard knock on my bedroom door made me jump. My heart leaped. Before I was able to call out, my brother's terse voice called through it. "Mic, I need to talk to you. Meet me in my office."

I heard him walk off. He didn't even bother to wait for an answer. Oh shit. I dragged myself to the door like a prisoner going to her execution. For this, body armor might be in order. I wasn't afraid he'd physically hurt me. He would never touch me. I was worried about what he would say, and words hurt, especially if someone was angry. Daredevil did have the tendency to spew stuff if he was agitated. Opening the door, I forced myself to put one foot in front of the other.

I refused to face him, looking like a wayward child being called to task for doing anything wrong. I was a goddamn adult. I walked into his office briskly and pretended to be calm. He was seated behind the desk. He was frowning. I wandered over to one of the chairs on the other side of the desk from him. If he thought putting himself in the boss position would help him, he was wrong. I folded my hands on my lap after taking a seat.

"You wanted to see me?" I said pleasantly.

"Yeah, I did." was all he said before he paused.

"Are you going to say what about, or do you want me to guess?"

"You know what it's about. Don't play games with me, Mic."

"Daredevil, when it comes to you and all my brothers, I never assume I know what you're thinking from one moment to the next. Let's not play games. Tell me."

"I want to know what the hell you've been doing for the past three nights when you leave here. And don't tell me it's none of my business. It is. You've made it my business."

"How is where I've been going or what I've been doing your business?"

"It is when my sister is sneaking off with my club brothers! What do you think it looks like?" he asked loudly.

"Do tell. What does it look like, and to whom?" My ire was beginning to bubble. I wanted him to say it aloud. He better not, but vague insinuations wouldn't suffice. I needed blunt.

His fist came down on his desk hard. I forced myself not to jump. "It looks like my sister is behaving like a slut. People have to wonder if you're sneaking off with the single guys in my club. The only reason to do it is to hide the fact from me that you're screwing all three of them. Others have to be wondering who it'll be tonight. One of the three you've already been with, or will Colton and Cullen get a turn?"

I leaned forward in my chair. I was holding onto my temper by a thread. "Say the truth. It's not the club wondering all this, is it? It's you. You're calling me a whore," I snapped.

"Well, if you act like one, people will see you as one. We got rid of the bunnies for a reason. I never thought my sister would be acting like one of them or a hang around," he hollered.

I saw Shain standing in the doorway with her hand over her mouth. Her eyes were wide open in shock. I came to my feet, leaned over the desk, and I slapped him. I'd never done that to any of my brothers in my life. It was an automatic reaction to the pain rushing through me. Shock registered on his face.

"Fuck you, Rome. You have no right to call me names. Not after the number of women you've fucked over the years. You have no clue what's going on or where I've been. You can go to hell."

Turning my back to him, I walked out. He yelled for me to come back, but I ignored him. I went straight to my room and locked the door behind me. I heard Shain talking to him as I left. I ignored what they said. As soon as I was inside my bedroom, I went to the closet and got my bags. No way in hell I was staying in this house. If he really saw me that way, then forget it. I haphazardly began tossing my stuff in them. I wasn't more than halfway done when there was a knock at the door. I pretended not to hear it.

It came again, only this time it was accompanied by a voice. "Micaela, will you open the door, please? We need to talk."

It was Shain. The coward sent her. If he thought she'd get information for him or would settle me down, he was wrong. "Shain, stay out of this. If Daredevil wants to know something, he can ask. If he has something to say, he can be brave enough to say it himself."

"It's not for him. I want to say it."

Hoping I wasn't making a mistake, I unlocked the door and eased it open a crack. Shain was standing despondently there. I didn't see him. I made sure to keep the door closed far enough so she wouldn't be able to see my bags on the bed.

"Don't cry. Please. He's a hothead, you know that. He didn't mean it. He's just worried about you." she said first.

I opened my mouth to tell Shain that what she was saying was her take on it, but she held up her hand.

"I'll stop. What he just said to you wasn't fair or right. I can't believe he did it. I told him that and how damn disappointed I am in him. He's down there regretting it. Just give yourselves time to cool off, then sit down and talk about it calmly."

"He should've thought to do that before he came out and essentially called me a whore. He compared me to the bunnies, for God's sake. A bunny or hang around. I planned to explain what is going on when I'm ready."

"He shouldn't have implied you're like those women, but you shouldn't have slapped him, either. Both of you are emotional right now. He's worried. He doesn't want you to be hurt."

"Why would he assume I'll be hurt? He has no clue what's happening other than his assumption that I'm fucking my way through the single members of his club. Or does he think once I'm done with them, I'll go after the married ones, too?" I snarled.

"Of course not. And he knows you're not like the bunnies. He needed to choose his words better. You know he wants you to move here."

"Yeah, well, that's not happening. I was researching a way to do it, but you can forget about it now. At least Renzo, Marco, and Diego don't believe I'm a slut. Or maybe they do. However, how can someone who can count her number of lovers on one hand be one? I don't think I am. If anyone is, it's my brothers, but then it's acceptable for them to sleep around since they're men," I said with a sneer. The double standard had always infuriated me.

"Hey, I get it. I do. Overprotective men are our burden to bear. Moose is the same way with me. I think it struck Daredevil harder because he heard some of the club members talking about seeing you leave with all three of them over the past few evenings. He doesn't want them to hurt you or use you."

"They aren't using me or trying to hurt me. In fact, they've all been gentlemen. Yes, I went out on a date with each of them. I kissed all of them. Period. My reasons are between us. But even if I had slept with them, it's none of his goddamn business! Shain, I get it. He's your man. You owe it to him to be on his side. Just drop it. I need to consider my options."

"What options? Go home? Or to the clubhouse? Please don't go home. Stay. I know Sin can give you one of the trailers to stay in. There are extras. Stay and give it a couple of days, then talk to your brother. We both want you here and not just for a month. This can be worked out," she begged.

"Right now, I need to be away from him. I'm not sure yet if that means elsewhere on the compound or on a plane back to Florida. When I know, I'll let you know."

Her sigh was weary, and she gave me one more imploring glance before leaving. I locked the door again. I wouldn't put it past him to come barging in unannounced or invited. After a couple more minutes, I had my stuff all packed away. I sank down on the edge of my bed. Tears were leaking down my face. I rocked back and forth.

I don't know how long I sat there before I pulled myself together and cleaned my face. The longer I stayed, the more likely it was he'd come to talk. I wasn't ready. Like a wounded animal, all I wanted to do was hide and lick my wounds. What I did know was I couldn't risk seeing Ashes, Vicious, or Dragon. For one thing, I'd be ranting. Secondly, even as mad at Daredevil as I was, I didn't want to cause trouble between him and his club brothers. They'd probably be super pissed off at him. With this in mind, staying at the compound was a hard no. Taking out my phone, I sent a text. First, it went to Cullen, then to Colton. I had both their numbers in case I needed anything.

Me (to both): Are you available to take me into town?

Cullen: When?

Colton: Sure, what time?

Me (to both): As soon as possible.

Cullen: I can in an hour. Too late?

Colton: I can in five minutes. You at Daredevil's?

Me (to Cullen): Thanks anyway. Colton can do it. I need to go now.

Me (to Colton): Yes, at Daredevil's. Meet you out front. TY.

Not wanting to chance Colton coming inside the house, I undid the lock, got my door open, and then grabbed my luggage and purse. It was hard to make it down the stairs and to the front door, but I refused to ask for help. The house was deathly quiet. I had no idea where Shain and my brother were.

I made it to the end of the driveway. I looked intently up the street, which connected to the main road through the compound. In no time, I saw an SUV coming toward me. When it stopped, Colton got out. He appeared surprised to see my suitcases. He walked over slowly.

"I didn't know you were leaving today. I thought we were headed to town?"

"We are. I need you to take me to a hotel. Before you ask why, I don't want to talk about it. Does this change your answer whether you'll take me or not?"

"I'll take you wherever you want to go. I just hope Daredevil doesn't kick my ass for it."

"He won't. Please, I need to go now."

He wasted no more time. He loaded up my stuff while I got in, and then he took off for the gate. It was a quiet and tense ride into town. I knew he had no clue what to say, and I wasn't in the mood to talk. He stopped outside a hotel that was part of a prominent hotel chain. It would do. He insisted on carrying my things inside. At the desk, he touched my arm.

"I hope whatever made you leave gets resolved fast. In the meantime, if you need anything, call me. I'll come or ask Cullen to do it if I'm unavailable. Take care of yourself, Micaela."

I gave him a kiss on the cheek for being so sweet. "Thank you, I will. Go. I need to get some rest."

He nodded, then left. The clerk behind the desk was pretending not to have been listening to us. I couldn't give a shit. I told him I wanted a room and handed over my credit card. I had no idea how long I'd be here, so I asked for one night to start. Who knew, by tomorrow, I might be on a plane home.

When I got into the room, I flopped on the bed. God, what was I to do? A part of me wanted to get on a plane and leave. Another prodded me to wait. The most significant part of me shied away from leaving because if I did, I'd never know if Dragon, Ashes, or Vicious could've been the love of my life. My gut was telling me not to go, or I would regret it for the rest of eternity. Although, I still had no clue which one would end up being the one for me if that were the case. It still remained that I was attracted equally to all three. Groaning, I rolled over and closed my eyes. Maybe a nap would help on all accounts.

???

Groggily, I rolled over and cracked my eyes open. It took a couple of moments to figure out what had awakened me and where I was. The ringing of my phone snapped me more alert. I scrambled to my purse to find it. Yanking it out when I did, I glanced at the screen. I knew if it was Daredevil, I wasn't ready to talk to him. My breath caught when I saw it was Vicious. I wondered what he wanted. Surely, my brother hadn't gone and confronted them with his wild accusations. If he had, I swear I'd murder him.

I was wary of answering in case that was the reason he was calling me, but I did it anyway. "Hi, Axel," I said softly.

He asked me last night to use his real name when it was only us, and Dragon had done the same. His name was Jett, another unusual name like Axel. Scott was the only ordinary name, but I thought they all fit. I was rocked yet honored that all three had asked me to do it, especially this soon.

"Hi, Micaela. Are you busy?"

"No, why? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. Ashes, Dragon, and I wanted to see if you had time to talk to us. We have something important to discuss with you. If you have time, we can do it at one of our trailers or, I guess, at Daredevil's house. It's up to you."

The way he said it made me believe he hadn't spoken to my brother. He was too calm. I had a choice to make. Ask poor Colton to come get me and run me back and forth between town and the compound or ask them to come here. If I did the latter, I'd have to field their questions about why I was staying in a hotel and not at Daredevil's. Either way, it seemed I'd be doing something I wasn't happy with. My deciding factor was that I didn't want to take a chance on running into my oldest brother yet.

"I can meet you, but there's only one problem. You'll have to come to town to do it."

"We can wait until you get back from whatever you're doing."

"The thing is, I'm not coming back. I'm staying in town."

This response was met with total silence on his end. For a second, I thought I'd dropped the call, but my phone showed it was still active. "Babe, care to tell me why you're staying in town and not at the compound?" came his deep, growly demand.

"I'd rather do it in person. If you guys want to talk, you're welcome here. I'm in the big hotel on the main street in room two twenty-six."

"We'll be there as soon as we can." He responded immediately.

"See you soon. Ride safe and tell Ashes and Dragon to do the same."

"We will. Bye, Angel Lips."

I giggled. "Bye." It tickled me when he called me that name.

Not wanting to be a wreck when they got here, I got up and opened my bags to get out my toiletry bag. Carrying it to the bathroom, I set out to fix my face and hair. I splashed my face with cold water, then applied some tinted lip balm and a smidge of blush. I felt blah without it. I brushed my hair and pulled it up in a scrunchie on the top of my head. My clothes weren't too wrinkled from my nap, so I left them as is.

Back in the bedroom, I moved my suitcases into the closet. There was only one chair in the room, so we'd need to sit on the bed or go downstairs to the lounge to sit and talk. I found myself pacing the small room as I waited for them to get there. It wasn't a long drive from the compound, but they might have to do something first. Assuming they were at the compound. He hadn't said one way or the other. I got lost in my head, trying to figure out what they wanted to talk about and what I would tell them when they asked why I was in a hotel. I'd thought of and discarded several possibilities by the time there was a brisk knock at my door. Taking a deep breath, I went to answer it.

I peeked out the peephole just to be sure it was them. You had to be careful. Seeing the three of them standing there, I opened the door. The sight of such sexy, handsome, and dangerous men made my heart speed up, and my body come alive. They immediately crowded me, but not in a threatening manner. It made me feel safe for some odd reason. I stepped back to let them into my room. Ashes took the door out of my hand and secured it. The other two were staring at me. I gave them all a hesitant smile.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk here, or we can go down to the lounge if you want more room. If we do, we can get something to drink if you'd like, too. I don't have anything here. I'm sorry, I should've thought about getting us drinks."

"We don't need anything to drink, but if you do, one of us will get you one. We prefer to discuss this in private," Dragon stated.

"Alright, uhm, I'm good, but thanks. Have a seat. You're worrying me." Had they come to tell me that after our first dates, they weren't interested in pursuing this further? If so, it would be the icing on my shit cake of a day. I'd be on the next plane out of here for sure, never to return.

"It's nothing to worry about, Sunshine," Dragon assured me.

The other two were nodding in agreement. Some of the tension eased out of me. I took a seat on the bed with my back to the headboard. Vicious grabbed the one chair and dragged it to the side of the bed, which left Ashes and Dragon to sit on either corner at the bottom of the bed. They all faced me. Here went nothing.

"Who wants to start?" I asked.

"Why don't you start by telling us why you're in a hotel room instead of at your brother's house?" Ashes asked.

"No, I don't want to talk about that first. You guys tell me what you want to discuss. Then I'll tell you my story."

None of them were happy about it but refrained from pushing me.

"There's something we wanted to talk to you about now that we've all gotten a chance to take you out on a date. We're hoping it was enough for you to tell us what your feelings are for us. Is it still a case of you needing to get to know us more to decide on one guy to date? Or are you feeling the same as you were? Meaning you can't make a decision to pursue something with one of us over the others?" Dragon asked.

God, how did I tell them I was even more attracted to them, and no one was ahead of the others? What if, by telling them this, they reconsidered the whole thing? Or were they hoping not to have to tell me that one or more of them had changed their mind about wanting me?