by Levine, Nina
“You okay? Coping with today, without him here?” he asked, watching me intently.
“I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about me,” I said.
He slowly nodded, still watching me, taking it all in. He was an intense man. Sometimes I didn’t know what to make of it.
“Honey, can you help me with the soft drinks for the kids?” my mother called.
I nodded. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen in a minute.”
It was a club family barbeque. Storm had been through a lot over the year, and the day was a get together to help bring everyone back together, to help the healing process and strengthen club ties. The fallout from what I liked to call the ‘Mandy Incident’ was bad. A lot of the boys hadn’t supported Dad and Scott in their desire to back off on her, and there was some lingering resentment from that. It turned out that J wasn’t the only one who had wanted her dealt with.
Time was slowly healing the wounds, and I had no doubt the boys would work it out eventually. What I had some doubt about was letting Blade into the fold. He had been spending time at the clubhouse, meeting some of the boys. I hadn’t been so sure they would welcome him, but they had. Blade just seemed to have that effect on you.
I left him and wandered into the kitchen to find Mum. She seemed to be doing okay recently. She and Dad were working on their marriage. Well, I took her word for it because I hadn’t spent time with them together since discovering his infidelity and tendency to hit her. I hadn’t spent any time at all with my father, and I wasn’t sure when I would be able to bring myself to do that. I didn’t hate him, but I was still really angry at him. And I was pretty sure that would take a long time to go away.
“Hey, Mum.” I smiled at her as I entered the kitchen.
She looked up and smiled back. “Hey, honey. Are you having a nice time today?”
I nodded. “I miss him, though.” My word came out on a whisper, tears threatening.
“I know, sweetheart. But he wouldn’t want you to be sad that he’s not here.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, “you’re right. Come on, let’s get these drinks to the kids.” I needed to busy myself and keep my mind occupied. Otherwise, I would be thinking of J the whole time. Missing him.
We grabbed the large Esky that was full of drinks and carried it outside to the sheltered area where the kids were set up with party food.
A hush fell over the party and all eyes were on me. I looked at Mum, but she was just smiling at me.
And then I saw him. My face lit up and my heart beat faster in excitement.
J.
I ran to him, and he caught me in a huge hug.
“Fuck, baby, I’ve missed you,” he breathed into my ear.
“I’ve missed you too, so much. I’m never letting my father send you on a trip ever fucking again. Okay?”
After J had recovered from being shot, he had confronted my father over the whole ‘Mandy Incident’, and it had ended with them having a huge punch up. And when I say huge, I mean fucking gigantic. I’d never seen anyone take on my father like that before. They had both ended up with broken bones; it hadn’t been pretty. Dad was so angry at J afterwards that he had sent him on a two month road trip to sort out club stuff that needed sorting out. Really, I had no idea what club stuff needed sorting out, but J had gone and done his time. I think it was some sort of club bullshit where you just have to do what the President told you to do.
He chuckled. “Yeah, babe. You tell that to your father.”
“I fucking will,” I threatened.
“Shut up and kiss me, woman,” he ordered, and I willingly complied.
It was the most amazing kiss ever; full of the love and desire we had for each other. When we pulled apart, his gaze fixed on mine with an intensity I felt in my toes. “I love you, Madison Cole, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you.”
I cocked my head to the side. “I love you, too, J. But if that’s a marriage proposal, you’ve gotta do better than that.”
He threw back his head and laughed. God, it was good to hear that sound. When he finished laughing, his eyes met mine, and a thrill ran through me. “Mark my words, baby, we’re getting married. I’ll find a special way to ask you, but for now, you just need to know that my heart is yours. You’re the love of my life, and I’m never, ever letting you go.”
I sighed, content in the warmth of his love.
I loved this man with all my heart. He’d shown me that even though life could be a bitch, love could get us through any storm.
Thank you so much for reading J & Madison’s story.
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NEXT BOOK IN THE SERIES
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FIERCE
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She’s everything he’s never wanted. He’s everything she’s never known.
* * *
Scott Cole is a force to be reckoned with. As Vice President of the Storm Motorcycle Club he carries out his duties with a ruthless determination. He moves through life with a clear agenda - protect his club and his family at all costs.
* * *
He is intense.
* * *
He is loyal.
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He is fierce.
* * *
He doesn’t give his love easily, but when he does, he loves fiercely. Settling down, however, has never been part of his plan.
* * *
Harlow James is a country girl who has never met a biker in her life. She is also done with men. In her experience all they ever do is lie, cheat or steal. When she meets Scott Cole she knows he is heartbreak on legs.
* * *
He is confident.
* * *
He is sexy.
* * *
He is bossy.
* * *
She knows she must fight her growing attraction to this complex man in order to guard her heart. When his world crashes into hers and danger comes calling, Scott’s fierce desire to protect kicks in and Harlow realises that she might just have found a man worth taking a risk on.
* * *
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Chapter One of Fierce (Storm MC #2)
Scott
I pulled up outside my house and saw Lisa looking out for me behind the front curtain next door. It was my house that I rented to her mother and it needed some work. Yesterday I’d noticed that the yard needed mowing, and fuck if I’d ever seen Michelle behind a mower. That was something I always either did or got one of the boys to do. Today I noticed that the windows were caked in a layer of dirt. Another job for the boys.
She let the curtain go and I presumed was on her way outside with Monty. A minute later, I met her at her front gate. She passed me her cat and I noted how bad his face looked. Shit, I wished she’d come to me sooner because he didn’t look well. And looking at Lisa, I decided that she didn’t look too flash either. Christ, what the fuck was her mother feeding her because, damn, that kid was all skin and bones.
“Thanks, Scott. Mum wouldn’t take him to the vet,” she admitted reluctantly.
“Yeah, I bet,” I said, stopping myself from saying anymore. This kid knew deep in her soul what a crappy fucking hand she’d been dealt, with her mother; she didn’t need me pointing it out. “Okay, let’s go and get him fixed.”
The relief that washed over her face was clear but I didn’t ackno
wledge it. Lisa didn’t like attention and she didn’t like people stating the obvious. She was just trying to get through life with as little interruption from others as she could, and I for one, got that. So, I settled her and Monty in my car and we drove to the vet with little conversation passing between us. I think that’s why she and I had the kind of relationship that we did; she appreciated my lack of intrusion into her thoughts and I dug her lack of fucking melodramatics.
As we pushed through the door of the vets, she gave me a quick smile. Blink and I’d have missed it, but I didn’t. She needed reassurance so I gave it to her; I plastered a smile on my face that could have lit a fucking Christmas tree. And fuck me, she saw it and gave me one back. This kid never smiled. Jesus, someone needed to give her some love.
I took my attention off the kid and directed it to the vet’s front desk. My dick jerked when I took in the blonde behind it. Christ, she was a fucking knock out. Long, wavy blonde hair that covered her tits; and they were great tits from what I could tell. Problem was, they were covered up with a white tank top and a shitload of necklaces. And that tank wasn’t a low cut one like most of the chicks I met wore, so her assets weren’t completely on display. As she continued talking to her customer, I angled my head to try and get a better view. Oblivious to the world while I did this, I missed it when she finished up with him and sent her gaze my way.
“You want me to take it off?” she asked, mild irritation in her voice.
I smirked, “Sure. Go right ahead.”
She shook her head and sighed, looking at Lisa. “Because there are children around, I’ll refrain from saying what I want to say.” Then she turned her attention to the cat, “Oh, poor baby. Pass him here, honey,” she said to Lisa who was gripping onto Monty with all her might.
Lisa hesitated, so blondie walked around from behind the counter to come and stand next to her. She knelt down so they were eye to eye, and asked, “What’s happened to him?”
Jesus. This chick had my full attention now. Her legs were painted with the tightest jeans I think I’d ever seen someone wear. They rode low on her hips with her tank tucked in. She was rocking the country look with cowgirl boots and a cowgirl looking belt. Actually, she looked like she’d stepped straight out of fucking Nashville.
“Monty got in a fight the other day and now he’s sick,” Lisa said, in her soft little voice that I could hardly hear. She had her back to me so I couldn’t see her eyes, but I bet they were glued to the floor. She had no confidence and that shit me. How could her mother not see that? Not care enough to fucking fix it?
“His face doesn’t look too good, does it? If you give him to me I can take him out the back to the vet and we can get him better for you,” she said, coaxingly. Yeah, I bet Lisa would hand the cat over now; that voice could charm an alcoholic’s last drink from him.
Lisa gave up Monty, and blondie said, “I’ll be right back.” And with that, she stood and left us as she headed out the back where I guessed the vet was.
I moved to a seat to sit and wait; Lisa followed and sat quietly next to me. She seemed anxious, but then again, she was often like this. Our eyes were drawn to the front door as a guy and his kid came through with their dog. Up until that point we’d been the only ones in the surgery and it was fairly quiet. This guy was talking loudly on his phone, his kid was nagging him about something, trying to get his attention, and his dog was a bundle of energy; suddenly it felt crowded in the tiny waiting room.
He waited at the counter and rung the bell. Blondie didn’t come out and the guy was impatient; he hit the bell again. “Harlow!” he bellowed. His kid tugged his shirt repeatedly, muttering shit I didn’t understand, and the dog was traipsing around the fucking room because they’d let his leash go. I felt my temper fray at the edges; this guy was a deadset dickhead, and I was biting my tongue for once in my life. For Lisa’s sake.
He hit the bell again and then turned to me. “Where the fuck is Harlow?”
I stood up and was about to tell this asshole just what I thought of him when blondie made her way back to the counter.
She smiled at him. Fuck knows why, because he didn’t deserve it. “Rod, sorry to keep you waiting,” she said. Her voice was polite but I noticed that it was forced compared to the way she spoke to Lisa before. It was obvious that she knew him and that she didn’t really care for him.
“Yeah, well I’m in a fucking hurry, Harlow, so can we move this along? And just for the fucking record, I’m pissed that I had to bring my dog back. You idiots should have taken care of all this last time I was in.” he said.
My anger exploded out of me; I couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Hey, asshole,” I snapped, “Why don’t you give her a break? She’s busy, and doesn’t need dickheads like you speaking to her that way.”
His head whipped around and furious eyes landed on me. “This is none of your business so I suggest you stay the fuck out of it.”
I stepped into his space, backed him up against the counter, and leant real close. “Now would be the right time for you and your family to leave. I don’t like any of the shit that’s just gone down, so unless you want trouble between the two of us, leave now,” I threatened. When I saw him hesitate, I grabbed a handful of his shirt and snarled, “Did you not understand what I just said, motherfucker?” We glared at each other for a couple of moments before I let him go, shoving him hard against the counter in the process. Keeping my eyes trained on his, I slowly stepped back. Planting my legs wide, I crossed my arms in front of my chest and scowled at him.
Harlow opened her mouth to say something but I caught the movement and flicked my gaze to her for a second, giving her a clear message to stay out of it. She shut her mouth and glared back at me, her eyes widening in a ‘what the fuck’ type gesture. That shocked the shit out of me, and my concentration was diverted from the asshole to her. I’d never been given that look by a chick before; usually it was J or Nash who challenged me like that. I raised my eyebrows at her, and fuck me if she didn’t raise hers right fucking back.
I was snapped out of my distraction when the dickhead decided to listen to me. “Fuck you,” he muttered at me, and then jabbed a finger in Harlow’s direction, “And your boss will be hearing from me.” He grabbed his kid by the arm and his dog by the leash, and made a hasty exit. Not fucking soon enough, as far as I was concerned.
After he left, I looked at Lisa to make sure she was alright. She was looking at me wide eyed but didn’t say a word. “You okay?” I asked her.
She nodded. “He wasn’t very nice but I feel sorry for his dog; he didn’t get to see the vet,” she said.
I crouched down in front of her. “No, he wasn’t a nice person. There are lots of other vets he can go to though so you don’t need to worry about his dog,” I said, and waited a moment before saying, “Okay?”
“Okay,” she agreed.
I stood back up and turned to Harlow. She was standing with her arms folded across her chest and I struggled not to stare at her tits that were now pushed up by her arms. She had one of the best racks I’d ever seen; a man could die happy after getting an eyeful of that. My dick was in agreement with that. Shit, time to rein this in; there was a kid in the room.
I moved my eyes to hers and was greeted with that irritated look again. “Thanks for that,” she said, but I wasn’t entirely sure she meant it.
“You’d rather I’d stayed out of it?”
She dropped her arms and slowly shook her head. “Not necessarily, but it was a bit over the top really. I’m used to dealing with assholes like him, so I didn’t need you to threaten him like that.”
“You shouldn’t have to put up with that shit.”
She sighed. “No, I shouldn’t have to, but that’s the general public for you.”
“Well, if you have any more trouble from that guy, you call me. I’d be only too fuckin’ happy to sort him out for you.”
She took me in, and I mean, her eyes raked over me, and assessed me, before she muttered
, “I bet you would.”
At that moment, we were interrupted by a guy who came from the back room. He looked at me, and asked, “Is Monty your cat?”
Before I could reply, Lisa piped up, “Yes, is he okay?”
Directing his attention to Lisa, he replied, “Well, I need to keep him here overnight because I need to operate on him, but he will be okay. Would you like to come out the back and say goodbye to him?”
Lisa hesitated, looking to me for guidance. “Can I?” she asked me.
I nodded. “Yeah, I’ll wait here for you.”
She followed the vet, leaving Harlow and I alone. Harlow gave me a strange look and I waited to see what she was going to say. She opened her mouth but then shut it quickly, like she’d thought better of it. Instead, she reached under the counter and produced a sheet of paper. Sliding it, and a pen towards me, she said, “Please fill these details in for Monty. Just make sure you leave us the best number to contact you on in case of an emergency.”
“You think something’s going to happen to the cat?” I asked. Christ, Lisa would fucking lose it if that cat died.