Nina Levine - Fierce

“Yes, Scott gave me one.”

Of course he did.  “Pass it here and I’ll put my number in it.”

We swapped numbers, and then I said, “Lisa, the changes you’re going through are going to suck.  Well, for a little while anyway, while you get used to them.  If you need someone to talk to, I really want you to call me.  Okay?”

She agreed before scurrying off to her house to get ready for her day.  I waited until she was safely inside her house and then I turned and walked back to Scott’s.  As I entered his gate, I noticed a motorcycle pull up across the road.  I expected the guy to come across but he just sat on his bike and watched me.  Strange.  But then, what did I know about bikers and how they operated.  Maybe he was waiting for Scott and didn’t want to go inside.  I obviously had a lot to learn.

Scott

Harlow waltzed back into my house, her short dress teasing me.  Kissing her had unleashed something in me; something I wasn’t sure would be better leashed.  I fucking wanted her, more than I’d wanted any woman.  Actually, I’d never wanted anyone in this way. Hell, I’d now had two kisses and the need for more was overpowering.  I could only fucking imagine what a night with her in my bed would be like.

“I’ve given Lisa my phone number so she can call me if she needs to talk girl stuff.  I hope that’s okay with you,” she said.

“Thank you.”  Jesus, this woman was something else.

“What for?”  Confusion littered her face; she really had no fucking idea what that meant to me.

“Babe, you met the kid last night, you don’t know her at all, and yet you’ve shown her more fucking kindness than her own mother.  She’s not used to people like you but I bet you’ve touched her in ways you’ll never fucking know.  You want to give her your phone number?  Go right fucking ahead and if anyone’s got something to say about it, they’ll be answering to me.”

“Okay,” she whispered, nodding.

“Good.  Now, I’ve got a meeting to get to.  And, I want you to get your mother to give me a call later because I want to organise cakes for my restaurants.”

“Why do you want cakes for your restaurants?”

“So people can eat them for dessert.”

“Smartass,” she muttered, and I grinned at her.  “Why suddenly do you want them from my mother?”

“Let’s just say that someone we both know showed me the error of my ways by not buying my cakes from your mother.”  Madison had rung me yesterday and nagged me until I agreed.

“Madison,” she stated when the penny dropped.

“Yeah.  Madison.  Now, will you get your mum to call me?”

“Will do,” she promised and gathered up her things so we could leave.

As we walked down the front steps, I saw a Black Deeds member parked across the street.  What the fuck was he doing here?  I ushered Harlow to her car and saw her off before crossing the road to find out.

“Morning,” he greeted me with a lazy grin.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Bullet sent me over for a little recon.”

“And why the hell are you doing recon on me?”

“For when this shit with Blade goes south.  Bullet’s gathering info now so he’s ready if the time comes.  And can I just say, that’s some sweet ass you’ve got there in that blonde.”

Motherfucker.

My fist connected with his jaw before I even fully realised what was happening.  The crunch of his bones was the most satisfying fucking sound I’d heard in a long time.  “You so much as touch her and you’ll regret it,” I snarled.

I expected him to take a shot at me but he didn’t.  Holding his jaw he said, “Smart move, asshole.  She obviously means something to you.”

Fuck.

“Get the fuck out of here, and don’t come back.”

“See, that depends on whether you convince Blade to pull out of coke.”

I’d heard enough.  Turning my back on him, I made my way to my bike.  We had a meeting with Bullet tomorrow night, and it was not going to go well.

* * *

“I was just about to call you,” she answered her phone.

I smiled to myself; one, her voice was so goddamn sexy, and two, she sounded breathless and excited to hear from me.  Those two things turned me the fuck on.

“Need to speak to your Mum, babe.”

“Do you call all women babe?”

Where the fuck had that come from?  “No.  Why?”

“I’m not used to men I’ve just met calling me babe straight away.  You know, usually we have to be dating for a man to call me babe.”

“You want me to take you on a date?”  Shit, now where the fuck had that come from?

“Not necessarily, I just wanted to know if the babe thing was something special.”

“It is.”

“Okay,” she said softly.

“And babe?”

“Yeah?”

“Lunch, today.  I’m taking you on a date.  Be ready at twelve thirty.”

“Scott, you don’t have to take me on a date.  That was just an example.”

“I don’t make a habit out of doing things I don’t want to do; especially not with women.  So, when I say I’m taking you on a date, it’s because I want to take you on a date.”

“Okay.”  Soft again.  Christ, that hit the spot.

“Now, put your Mum on.”

Cheryl came on the phone and I placed my cake order and then hung up and sat back in my chair.  My dick was so fucking hard right now and my ability to concentrate was shot.  I had a shitload of work to do but I needed a break, to clear my head.  Leaving the office, I walked out into the bar area of the clubhouse, adjusting myself as I went.

Griff came through the door just after me.  “I think I’ve figured out who’s been hanging around Indigo lately and who might have tried to break the back lock,” he said.

I gave him my full attention.  “Who?”

“A couple of Bullet’s boys.”

“Shit.  What the fuck are they playing at?”

He shrugged.  “Your guess is as good as mine.”

“I’ve got a bad feeling about Bullet at the moment.  He sent one of his boys around to my place this morning with subtle threats.  I think he’s betting on Blade continuing his expansion so he’s putting a plan into place to come after us as well as Blade.”

Griff considered what I’d said.  “Sounds about right.  Might pay for us to up security at Indigo, plus I’ll check our other businesses to see if they’ve had any problems.”

“Good idea.  Let Dad know too.”

“Will do,” he replied, and went to leave, “I’m out for the rest of the afternoon, but I’ll be at Indigo tonight to work on that security upgrade.”

“Thanks,” I said, still contemplating what we’d just discussed about Bullet.  After what had happened with Nix, I thought that Bullet had been committed to fixing the relationship between our two clubs.  Seems I was wrong.

Harlow

Excitement was bubbling through me.  It was nearly time for Scott to arrive for our lunch date.  I’d been so surprised that he wanted to go on a date, and had to go home to get changed and do my makeup and hair.  I couldn’t go on a date without making sure I looked my best.  It was a warm day so I’d chosen a pair of denim shorts and a white sleeveless, scoop neck top that I’d paired with some turquoise cowgirl boots and a bunch of silver and turquoise necklaces.  I’d blow dried my hair and left my natural waves rather than straightening it like I usually did.  My makeup was simple and fairly natural; I wasn’t a fan of over the top makeup.

He arrived just before twelve thirty; I liked a man who ran on time so that put him in my good books.  Heck, who was I kidding?  Scott was so far into those good books now it wasn’t funny.

His eyes sought mine the minute he entered the café, and he hit me with a dazzling smile.  My legs almost turned to jelly and my heart rate picked up.  “You ready to go or have you got things still to do here?”

“I’m ready.  I’ll just grab my bag,” I replied and quickly went and got my bag from the back office.  I figured we were on a time schedule here and I didn’t want to miss a minute of it.

My mother was chatting with him by the time I made it back out to the front.  I watched their interaction; I’d learnt that my mother’s intuition when it came to men was pretty spot on.  I’d be hanging out to hear what she thought when I returned from the date.

Scott turned to me when he realised I was back.  I caught his gaze dropping to my chest and then back up to my face.  The sensations this caused in me were something I could get used to; Scott made me feel all woman.

“I was just thanking Scott for his cake order.  It’s our largest standing order for businesses,” my mother said, giving him one of her smiles that she only reserved for people she liked.  Holy shit, this was good news.  I couldn’t recall a boyfriend of mine that she’d ever really liked.  “Enjoy your lunch and don’t rush back,” she said.

Scott directed me to his car.  It was the black Charger he’d driven me home in twice now; I’d decided it was probably a 1970’s model.  I knew this because my father had a Charger when I was younger and I used to help him when he worked on it.  Dad’s was a 70’s model and very similar to this one.  Scott’s was in amazing condition.

As he opened my door for me, he leant close to my ear and said, “You look gorgeous, babe.  It’s a good thing I brought my car; couldn’t put you on the back of my bike wearing that.”

His words, combined with his breath on my neck and his musky smell shot heat through me and I wobbled a little on my heels as I got in his car.  I took a deep breath and tried to get myself under control while he walked around to his side.  It had been many years since I’d been on a first date and I’d never felt this level of anticipation and excitement before.  There was also a small amount of apprehension; I might have wanted to have sex with Scott but I knew deep down that this probably wasn’t going to go anywhere and I needed to guard my heart from breaking when it all ended.  He’d already told me that he didn’t take women home and I knew from Madison that he didn’t get close to them so I wasn’t going to fool myself into thinking that I would be any different.

“Do you like fish and chips?” he asked as he started the car.

“Not fish, but I love prawns and calamari.  Where are we going?”  His arms were distracting me as they steered the car and changed gears.  And that musk smell of his cologne; it was doing things to me that made it hard to concentrate.

“Thought we’d go down to Wynnum.  That okay with you?”

“I love Wynnum.  Do you go there much?”

“Not as much as I’d like.  But the salt air and water helps me process shit in my mind and I need that right about now.”

“You know, you keep surprising me.”

Glancing at me briefly with a serious look on his face, he said, “Yeah?  Well, you do the same to me.”

“Can I ask you something about your club?”

“Harlow, you can ask me anything.  Can’t guarantee I’ll answer it though.”

“Did you always want to join Storm or did you just do it because your Dad was the President?”

He was quiet for a moment and I figured this was going to be one of those questions he wouldn’t answer but then he replied, “I grew up knowing I’d join.  It’s in my blood.  But when I finished high school there was awhile there where I questioned it.  I did well in school because my Mum pushed me.  I look back now and wonder if she wanted me to have options other than the club.  She even made me apply to university and I got accepted into an engineering course.  Dad wanted me in the club though and I couldn’t fight what was in me.”

“Do you regret that choice?”

This time he was quick to answer.  “Never.  I love my club; they’re my family.”

I settled back in my seat, enjoying his openness.  “So, how does it all work?”

“How does what work?”

“Well, you work for the club right?  Do you just earn money from Indigo?”

“We don’t run illegal operations if that’s what you’re asking.  Our money comes from businesses that we own.”

“What kinds of businesses?”

He raised his eyebrows as he flicked a quick glance at me.  “What?  You don’t believe me?”

“Actually, I do believe you.  I’m just curious, that’s all.  I don’t know anything about bikers so I’m just trying to get my head around how it all works.”

“You sound like you don’t usually believe people.  Where’s that come from, babe?”  His tone was softer now; I could get used to that tone being directed at me.