Derek

by Ashers, LeAnn

  Chapter Three

  Brittany

  This morning I have to admit I more than loved waking up in Derek’s arms, but I had to go home and get dressed.

  By the time I get to the club for the weekly family dinner, everyone is going to know. I am surprised my mother hasn’t called me yet, but I guess she is planning her assault, and don't get me started on Wilder and Dad.

  This is a true testament to Derek and how much he likes me. One guy I dated met my family—and, mind you, it wasn’t by choice—they just happened to show up at the same restaurant where we were. He ran out of the restaurant like his ass was on fire so, in the end, I just finished my meal with my family, and there was a look of pure enjoyment on their faces. They’re a sadistic bunch.

  I finish packing all my makeup supplies into my bag before I leave the wedding, which is in full swing, but it takes forever to clean up the mess I made. I drag my bag out to my car, and I drive straight to the clubhouse with butterflies swirling in my stomach because Derek will be there.

  Last night was way different from what I was expecting. I was expecting dinner and then I would be going straight back home. Derek is different than I thought; I honestly believed that he would barely speak. He didn’t talk much, but way more than I’d expected.

  There’s a prospect at the gate; he sees me and waves me in. Once everyone is here, he will lock it up. I know Lane is always worried about things that could happen when all of us are here; it would be the best time to attack.

  The Grim Sinners isn’t a club that deals in illegal things like drugs and prostitutes, but they have a shit ton of businesses, which means they’re all loaded. Especially if you’re tier two, as I call it, which means that you’re in Lane’s immediate circle—like my brother, my dad, the OGs, Aiden, Travis, Derek, and Locke—then you get the most pay. Tier one positions are lower down on the totem pole.

  My heel touches the ground first as I slide out of my cherry-red…I forgot what kind of car it is. One of the prospects is staring at me with his mouth open. He stumbles over a rock and I laugh.

  I step inside the huge warehouse, clubhouse, whatever you want to call it. It’s a huge open space with chairs, couches, and TVs everywhere, and in the back there are small apartments, but below us is where the fun is.

  Mom hops out of her seat and practically full-on sprints toward me. I try not to laugh at how ridiculous she looks, and I see Dad is trying to hide his laughter too. She finally reaches me, grinning ear to ear, and I try to control my facial features. “Hey, Mom,” I say simply, leaning forward to hug her.

  She hugs me back, and I can feel her shaking with excitement. “So,” she says and her eyes widen in anticipation.

  “So what?” I play it off like I have no clue what she is talking about.

  She wiggles her eyebrows and I laugh, unable to help myself. “Come on, you have to tell me!” She clutches my arm.

  “I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

  Her face falls and she looks at Locke, who is chilling across the room. His smile drops when he sees my mom glaring at him, but now I am pissed at him for being a big mouth. He looks from me to my mother, and he slides out of his seat and leaves the room. Yeah, you better run.

  I decide to plead the fifth. “Is it about my date last night?”

  She gasps way too dramatically. “You went out on a date last night?” she whispers, way too loudly for it to be considered a whisper.

  I nod slowly. She already knew, so I will just let her have her moment.

  She looks all around us before she moves in closer. “With Derek?”

  I nod and she clutches her chest, screaming. What I mean by screaming is that she is full-on screaming like a banshee.

  I roll my eyes, and I let her drag me across the room to Dad. She goes straight to his side, and he wraps his arm around her back.

  He is still so sweet to her, even after all of the years they’ve been together. They have a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love, but it seems that a lot of the MC guys have been blessed in that same way.

  I love my family. Each family is unique in its own way, but they really are special. “Did you hear? She had a date last night with Derek!” she screeches, and that causes Wilder to snap his head in our direction.

  Well, that is just great.

  He trots his ass over here ready to get into my business, because that is what brothers do, but I think they’re just assholes half of the time. That doesn’t mean I love him any less.

  Dad’s eyes narrow on me, and he looks around the room for Derek, but he is not here yet. I gulp at the thought of what will happen once he gets here.

  “What?” Wilder asks, butting his nose in.

  My mother is all too thrilled to inform him, “She went out on a date with Derek last night.”

  In her defense she has told me for a long time that Derek was into me and that one day he would come to his senses and ask me out. I guess she was kind of right, but we only went out on one date, so that doesn’t mean anything.

  “What?” Wilder repeats, and that dances right across my last nerve. I glare at him, and he glares right back at me.

  “When did this happen?”

  “Last night,” my mother pipes in oh-so-helpfully.

  Wilder looks at me and I glare at him even harder, daring him to say a word about it. He opens his mouth and I grin as I stomp my foot, using my heel to dig into his big toe.

  He curses and leans against the wall, holding his foot. “Oops,” I say, and Mom and Dad just laugh at us. They let us fight out our problems. We have always loved to fight with each other, like right now I know he was just going to say something to piss me off.

  The door to the clubhouse opens, and I know who it is before I even look at him. I can feel the goose bumps breaking out across my skin. He is wearing a long-sleeved red buffalo plaid shirt under his cut, light-blue jeans, and boots. He looks way too good.

  His eyes go to mine, and I get nervous all of a sudden. Is he going to come over to us?

  He walks straight over to me and wraps his arm around my middle, and he faces Wilder and my parents.

  My mom is smiling at him like the world begins and ends with him, my father is glaring, and Wilder is glaring at me because I hurt his toe. What a baby.

  “Hi Derek, how are you today?” Mom asks.

  He smiles at her, and her eyes get slightly glassy, so I know she is getting the full effect of Derek. “I’m good, how are you, Darla?” That country accent just glides across my body, and I try not to close my eyes and bask in the sound. He is so damn hot.

  She smiles shyly. “I’m good, Derek, how are you?” she says way too sweetly, and my dad glares at her then Derek. I cover my smile. The longer Mom’s eyes linger on Derek, the redder Dad’s face becomes.

  “I’m good.” He tightens his arm around my middle. In a way he is claiming me in front of everyone; it’s a big deal in the MC world. He is making a show in front of everyone that he is interested in me. I won’t lie and say that it doesn’t thrill me.

  “I am going to pay you back for that shit,” Wilder growls at me, and I roll my eyes. He acts like he is all bad, but deep down he is just a big baby. “Yeah, yeah.” I wave my hand.

  My dad tugs my mom away. “Come on.” They leave me and Derek alone.

  I look at him. “Hi,” I say like a doofus. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous.

  He smirks. “Hi, darlin’.” His beautiful eyes are staring straight down into my soul, and I have to fight the urge to look away.

  “How’s Princess?” I can’t get over how this badass man has a puppy named Princess.

  “She is good, she is looking forward to seeing you later,” he says so nonchalantly.

  I eye him. “What do you mean seeing me later?” I ask slowly.

  He gets this glint in his eye. “You heard me.”

  I can feel my eye twitching. “What makes you think I am going to be staying all night with you tonight?” I arch my eye
brow.

  He full-on grins. “Because your ass will be at my house tonight and in my bed.”

  Ohh he thinks so, does he? “Oh yeah? How much you want to bet?” I hiss, itching to stomp on his feet.

  “Every dime you got, baby.”

  Oh yeah, that’s how he’s going to play it? I don’t even bother answering him. I walk past him, stomping my feet as I go, making sure I dig my heel into the top of his foot.

  I look back and grin happily, but he is still standing there with that shit-eating grin on his face, not even fazed. I walk over to Shaylin, who is putting dishes out on the table. “I see you got yourself a man?” she teases.

  “I ain’t got shit,” I say loudly enough for Derek to hear, and he laughs loudly. I glare at him, because why does he have to be hot in a moment like this?

  “Good luck with that.” Shaylin laughs, and I walk to the recliners across the room. I don’t want to talk to any of them.

  Derek

  Shit, she is fucking adorable when she is mad. She is walking past me muttering under her breath about how much she wants to stab me with a fork.

  I knew telling her she is going to stay at my house tonight, without asking, would get her fired up, and that’s just the way I want her. Now her fucking heel in the top of my foot hurt like a bitch, but I sure wasn’t going to let her know that. I could feel every man in this building wince the second it made contact with my foot. Wilder is still holding his foot like a baby.

  I know exactly what I got myself into the second I decided she was mine; she may not know that, but she will soon.

  She plops down onto a recliner and turns on the TV loudly, drawing everyone’s attention to her, and I try not to laugh. She sighs loudly.

  One of the newer prospects walks up to me. I don't like him. A lot of guys beg to be let in and Lane, being a pussy, agrees—they usually don't make it a week before they turn around. A lot of them have heard stories of bitches and whores hanging around giving them unlimited pussy, but we don't do that shit here.

  “Hey, man.” He sweeps the ground, brushing dirt on my shoe. I look at my foot. “Sorry, brother.” He sweeps it off.

  “I am not your fucking brother. Did you serve in the military or a part of this MC?” I ask.

  He smiles at me like he doesn't have a care in the fucking world. “Nah, man, I am working on being a member. Military is for pussies.”

  Rage burns inside me. How the fuck is this bitch still breathing in here with that mouth of his? I clench my hands against my sides, ready to pummel him into the ground for disrespect.

  “So you’re dating Brittany?”

  Everything in me fucking freezes, and I stare at him, daring him to say anything about her.

  “Shit, she is one hot piece of ass. I have tried hitting that since I started prospecting, but that shit is locked up so tight.” He looks in her direction and licks his lips. “I’d love to bend her over.”

  That’s all he gets out before my fist is planted on his mouth. He stops talking and looks at me just like I kicked his puppy.

  He opens his mouth to speak, and I grip him by his throat and lift him straight off of his feet and onto the table in front of me. I press his neck hard into the table. “What is it you were saying, motherfucker?” I roar in his face. I can feel my insides shaking with rage.

  Wilder, Aiden, and Travis are at my back. “Go on, tell them how you would love to bend Brittany over this table?” I pick his head up off of the table and slam it back down, and his eyes roll back in his head.

  Once he is out, I let go of his throat and I shake out my hands. This fucker disgusts me.

  “I will gladly take him out of the club, and I think he still hasn’t learned his lesson.” Brittany’s dad drags him off the table, and he hits the ground with a thump. They take his arms and start dragging him out of the room. I hear the clack clack of heels hitting the ground. Brittany runs in front of me. “Wait for meeeeeeee,” she yells but stops dead in her tracks. “That was fucking hot, but I am still not coming home with you.”

  I can’t even try to stop the laughter, and everyone in the room joins me as she chases after the guys in her heels.

  * * *

  I snuck out of the clubhouse and left before Derek could find me. I laughed as I ran outside and into my car. When I get home, I take off my makeup and change into a pair of leggings and a baggy shirt that I am sure belonged to Wilder at one point.

  I was on my way to the kitchen when I heard what the prospect was spouting off about me, and what surprised me most of all was Derek’s reaction.

  He was livid.

  That was probably the hottest thing that I have ever seen, the way Derek picked him up and slammed him on the table. The prospect has been beyond aggravating, if I am being honest. He was always following me around the club. He would say crude things and I’d just let it roll off my back, but Karma bit him in the ass.

  I walk down the stairs and, to my utter shock, Derek is sitting on my couch, holding the remote in his hand.

  What the fuck?

  He looks me up and down. “About time you came down, you ready?”

  I do believe that he has lost all of his mind. “What are you talking about?” I ask him.

  He stands up and turns off the TV, takes my keys off the coffee table, and slips them into his pocket. He repeats himself. “You ready?” He takes a step toward me and I take one back. If he wants to play, I will play with him. Okay, that sounded dirty.

  He cocks his head to the side. Why do I feel like I am about to be in trouble?

  What do you do when you’re in doubt? Run! I turn around and run into the kitchen, and I grab the sprayer on the sink. I point it in his direction. “I will do it!” I yell.

  He doesn’t say anything; his face is completely serious.

  “I mean it,” I try again and he takes a step in my direction.

  I wasn’t lying. I turn it on and it sprays him right in the face. He stands completely still as I spray him.

  Well, that didn’t go as planned.

  I turn it off and his eyes open slowly before they lock on me. He splits the distance between us before I can even think, and he bends over and tosses me over his shoulder.

  “Hey!” I yell and smack his back.

  “Be fucking still.”

  Well, that is not going to work. I grip the back of his jeans and pull upwards with all of my might, hoping that I give him the world’s worst wedgie. He doesn’t make a peep. I guess I really have to go for it now. I stick my hand in the back of his jeans, grip the back of his underwear, and pull.

  He hisses and I grin. Well, that worked. “Whack!” His hand lands on my ass and my eyes widen in shock. “Be nice.”

  We are in my living room and I start to fight. I feel his hands moving up my legs until his fingers move between my thighs. His fingers dig in and I scream with laughter.

  “That is not fair!” I scream.

  He laughs and shuts my front door; then he takes my keys out of his pocket and locks it. He carries me to his truck and pushes me over to the passenger side.

  I grip the door handle, and I jump out of the truck into the grass. I am barefoot but I run across my yard toward Locke’s. I look back and Derek is walking behind me. Is he pulling some Jason shit? I am running, and he is walking way too close.

  I reach Locke’s, and as I start banging on the door, an arm bands around my waist and I am lifted off of the ground.

  “Come on darlin’, you ain’t going to win this shit.” He laughs and carries me across the road to my house. I huff and fold my arms across my chest. He puts me inside the truck again, but this time he doesn't let me go. He keeps a firm grip on my arm.

  He backs out of my driveway, and he raises his hand, palm up. “What are you doing?” I ask.

  “Pay up.”

  My mouth opens in shock.

  Well played, Derek.

  Chapter Four

  Brittany

  I am still pouting when we reach his house
, and I can see the amusement on his face. Judging from his demeanor, he is thoroughly pleased with himself.

  Honestly, when I dipped out and came home, I never thought that he would show up at my house, let alone kidnap me from my home. I am not going to admit that I thought it was fucking hot that he went all caveman alpha male like that. “I think I am going to call my dad, brother, and uncles,” I throw out and, much to my utter surprise, he laughs.

  I give him the side eye; is he missing a few bolts and screws? I assume he knows my family better than I do in that department.

  But do I know him?

  “Go ahead, baby.”

  Well, I guess that kind of answers my question, doesn’t it? If he isn’t scared of them, what is he scared of?

  Probably me. I would be scared of me.

  The second he pulls to a stop in his driveway, I decide to screw with him some more. I throw open my door and take off running around the back of his house.

  I spot an out-of-this-world hot tub. I hurry and strip out of my leggings and shirt, leaving only my underwear. Thank goodness I decided not to take off my sexy ones, because I’m sure granny panties wouldn’t be attractive.

  I step inside the hot tub and close my eyes.

  Derek

  I never expected her to take off fucking running again. I walk behind her, not even bothering to run, because there’s nowhere for her to go.

  I turn the corner and stop dead in my tracks. She is in my hot tub, her elbows behind her. My mouth waters as I take in her small waist, fanning out to her thick thighs, her hair surrounding her.

  She is fucking sin in the flesh, and she is right here in front of me, begging to be touched.

  As I lift my shirt over my head, her eyes go to my stomach, and I try not to smile at her heated look. I unbutton my pants, catching the change in her breathing. At least I am not the only one affected.