“You’re going to have to take the chance. But before you leave you confront him and tell him you’re leaving because you can no longer carry on the way you have been. Tell him you love him and you’re putting space between the two of you because it hurts having to see him every day and do what you have to do while he has your heart. Then leave it up to the fates. And if they are kind to you he will finally end his non-existent marriage and come and find you.”
The look she gave me almost broke my heart. She looked hopeful and fearful at the same time.
“And if he doesn’t?”
“If he doesn’t then it wasn’t meant to be. Then you grab life with both hands and seriously start looking for a man who could fill the empty spot he left behind. You’re too young and beautiful to give up on having a good life.”
She was about to say something but I raised my hand and she closed her mouth and waited.
“I’m not saying what you had here wasn’t a good life. Obviously it was. But it isn’t a life that’s meant to last forever, it’s a little deviation on the road to your future. You have a good career use it to take you away from here. If it doesn’t work out you could always come back. I’m sure the club would welcome you back with open arms.”
“I’m scared, Sunny. Scared that I won’t be able to cope with life outside of the club.”
“You’re a strong woman, Sandy. You’ll be fine, and before you know it you’ll have a full life outside the club and wonder why the hell you never took the chance before. I’ve found that having a plan helps me to keep the focus on my goals. You should do the same.”
She nodded, no longer looking so despondent. There was a liveliness to her eyes that had been absent before.
“Thank you for talking to me and helping me with making a very difficult decision. I’m going to do what you said. I’m going to make a plan and then stick to it. It’s time I stood on my own two feet. Thank you, Sunny. And I’m sorry I was such a dick with Jagger.”
After a few more words she left and I sat on my bed wondering if I had done the right thing. I sort of interfered in what they called club business around here. But damn, I couldn’t have let that poor woman continue doing something she really didn’t want to do.
I didn’t hesitate to tell Jagger that I had spoken to her and that we had sorted it out between ourselves. There was no need for him to take it further. He wasn’t pleased but agreed to let it go.
The days had passed with no excitement or news. Ziggy brought me the phone every day so I could call Cherise to get an update.
“How are you coping with feeding Dayana? Is she behaving for you?” That was my biggest fear, that my cat would stop eating.
“She’s eating but she misses you. I’m being tolerated because I bring food.” Cherise laughed.
“That’s how I sometimes feel as well.” I grinned. “She’s a diva, a total diva. How’s Loek coping with you getting up close and personal with my kitty?”
Cherise snorted. “At first he was being a pain in the ass but he’s better now that he can see nothing is going to happen to me.”
“Has he told you that he loves you yet?”
Somehow I had shut Cherise up with my question. “Ooh, the silence means something happened. Come on, tell me.”
A sigh greeted my nosiness.
“We’re getting there. Loek will tell me when he’s ready and not a minute sooner. You know what he’s like.”
I did know what he was like. And then she turned the tables on me.
“Have you called your parents yet?”
Shit.
“No. I don’t want to scare them. I’ll call them when I’m up and about again and feeling more like myself. They’ll know something is wrong if a sound even just a tiny little bit off.”
“Don’t leave it too long. They need to know what’s going on with you.”
“I’ll call them soon, I promise.” And with that we came to the end of our time because Ziggy came to collect the phone.
I felt a bit useless knowing that they carried on without me and obviously didn’t need me to be there but I quickly shoved that useless thought down. It wasn’t the truth and I knew it. My team was well trained for this exact reason. If one of us wasn’t there for whatever reason the rest of the team would carry on the work until the team member returned. I missed my friends, my team and my cat baby.
I was healing well and Jagger took such good care of me. He slept beside me every night but that’s all. He hadn’t made a single move to take it further. If I hadn’t seen the state of his cock every single day I would have thought that he wasn’t interested. He was interested but he was giving me time to heal.
Grietjie was happy with the way my wounds had knitted and had reported that there was no sign of infection in any of them. I had even started some simple exercises because I didn’t want the muscles to stiffen up.
The big party the club was humming about was taking place tomorrow night and today was my last day at the clubhouse.
I refused to spend it in bed and got dressed the minute Jagger left to go to work. Before he left he had kissed me, and not on the forehead this time.
My lips still tingled and my skin felt warm where his beard had rubbed against me. A beard I had watched him take care of. He washed, conditioned, combed and trimmed it then oiled it to keep it soft and healthy. His beard oil was a part of the smell that was Jagger, a smell I found enticing and arousing.
And now he had finally kissed me like he meant it. But I was about to move out of the clubhouse which meant he would go back to his own house. Damn.
I was still wondering how to tell him I didn’t want to be alone at the new place when Tori and Penny stormed into my room without knocking. Penny was pulling a roller bag behind her.
“We didn’t think you would have a bag so we brought you one. Penny and I are so excited about having you come to stay. We’ll have to attend the party for an hour or so tomorrow night but you won’t be alone at the house. The girls will be there and Genna and Slim are babysitting. I don’t think you’ve met either of them yet. Genna is Ice’s baby sister and Slim is Buzz’s baby sister. The emphasis is on baby where both of those men are concerned. Genna doesn’t want to be at the club for the party because I think she’s still pining over Dive, Leo’s brother. But he lives in the US and she’s here. I don’t think Bulldog will be happy if she decided to go to the US to see if things might work out for them. Slim doesn’t want to be at the clubhouse watching her brother do nasty stuff with the club girls or hangarounds, so she’s happy with babysitting the kids for us and keeping you company.”
By the time Tori had run out of breath Penny had the bag up on the bed and unzipped. These women weren’t wasting any time at all.
“Jag called and asked us to pack his stuff as well as he’s stuck on the building site for the rest of the afternoon. We just have to leave out a change of clothes for him as he will have to have a shower after work. He did say he’ll be back in time to move you over to our house. We’re having a poker night and while the guys play poker us girls are going to have a movie night. It’s a pity you’re still on medications and won’t be able to have some wine with us. We’ll have a girls only movie night once you’re off the meds and can have a couple of glasses of wine.”
Penny smiled at me as she chatted and pulled open the drawers of the dresser and started taking out the clothes that had been appearing over the last couple of days. I now had several sets of silky pj’s and beautiful lace and satin underwear. There were several pairs of soft yoga pants and tee shirts. I even had several pairs of socks that I wore instead of shoes. My feet where still not healed enough to wear anything other than soft slip-on slippers.
“You can’t pack all my clothes as I’m going to have to change before we come over to your place.”
Both women shook their heads.
“Jag said to tell you that he will help you shower later tonight before you go to bed. Under no circumstances are we allowed to let yo
u get into the shower on your own. His lordships’ orders.” Tori made big eyes at me and I could only sigh.
After that first night when he had seen me almost falling on my ass he had refused to let me shower on my own. Every night I had to grit my teeth as the deliciously ripped man showered with me, washing me with such care that I was panting with arousal by the time he was finished.
And every night I stared at that big meaty cock of his and wished he would pick me up and settle me on it. So far no luck yet.
And then I realised what she had said. He would help me shower later tonight.
What did that mean? Was he coming with me?
“Is Jagger going to stay with me at your house?”
I held my breath while waiting for their answer.
“Yip.” Tori said as she waggled her eyebrows.
“You are in for such a good time.” Penny teased as she batted her eyelashes at me.
I couldn’t have stopped the wide smile even if I tried. It gave away exactly how happy I was that he would be coming with me.
“Pen, darling, I think we have two lovebirds on our hands.” Tori teased.
“I think you’re right my dear. We need to make sure our lovebirds have everything they might need to…how shall I put this delicately? Oh, I know. Everything they might need to fuck like bunnies.”
They both burst out laughing and I joined in. If I had my way that’s exactly what we would be doing. All I had to do was convince Jagger.
“At our house you never have to worry that someone is going to hear you getting down to business. Not only are the walls thick and the doors solid, we’re all on different levels. Beast and Tori is upstairs in the West wing and Rider and I are in the East wing. You and Jagger will be in the downstairs section of the West wing. So you’ll have total privacy.” Penny continued to lay it out for me.
I frowned. “How big is this house of yours?”
Tori threw her arms wide. “It’s enormous. Think about a mansion and that’s what it is. We have an indoor herb and veggie garden off the kitchen, a lounge, an office we hardly use, a family room, guest rooms and that’s just downstairs. Upstairs we have more than enough room for us and our kids and for future kiddos. What we don’t have is a pool and we’ve been begging for one but the men are adamant, no pool with little ones toddling about. Plus we have two at the clubhouse we can use any time we want.”
“Two? There are two pools here? Why?”
Tori held one finger up and leant out the open door. “Damon! Can you bring us some bevvies please?” She shouted down the passage.
Both of them stayed silent until the young guy ran in with three bottles of iced tea. He handed them off and silently disappeared again.
“Right.” Penny said. “So, I don’t think you know this but Jagger is our security specialist and the guy who handles all the construction work on the property. All the security around the compound and the club businesses are built and controlled by him and his team. Like the fence you ran into, that’s his idea and design as well, and he oversees the contractors to make sure it’s built to his specifications. He has two crews building cottages for the brothers who would like to move out of the clubhouse and those cottages, let me tell you, they are amazing. All eco-friendly, all built with the least impact on the environment. Not only does he build those, he built an eco-pool from scratch. It is the most amazing thing you will ever see. He doesn’t allow anyone to party around it, it’s strictly monitored and controlled but none of us blame him for being so anal about it.”
Tori picked up the thread of the story when Penny stopped talking to take a sip of her drink.
“Beast told me that he will have even more going on once they start developing the new lodge at the Flying Herons property. They are going to turn the property into a posh getaway for rich people with access to the Nature Reserve right next door.”
I raised a hand to stop them because I knew that name. My biological mum had mentioned it a few times a long time ago and I had to think hard to remember exactly what she had said.
“This Flying Herons property, is it owned by a bike club with the same name?” It would just be too much of an coincidence if it was.
Both women nodded and my mouth fell open in shock.
“I think I’m related to someone at that club. My biological mother’s cousin I think. They’re estranged because my maternal grandmother is an absolute flake and a hippie and kept my mother away from the rest of the family. I don’t even know her cousin’s name just her maiden name.”
“This is a total six degrees of separation moment right here.” Tori whispered with big eyes.
“You are so right. Who would have thought that you would find long lost family right here.” Penny rolled a hand for me to continue.
“My mother’s maiden name is Adams but my grandparents and her don’t use it at all. They just go by their hippie names.”
“This I have to hear. What are their names?” Penny leant towards me with wide eyes.
Grinning I shook my head and closed my eyes because I knew exactly what was going to happen next.
“My mother’s name is Raindrop Butterfly and my grandparents are Moonflower and Stormwind.”
Both stared at me with open mouths.
“And what do you call them when you see them?”
“Moon and Storm, they don’t believe in all that grandma and grandpa bullshit. Storm’s words the first time I tried to call them Granny and Granpa. To say it pissed my dad off is an understatement but eventually he had to let it go. They are who they are and as long as I didn’t get any ideas about joining them he ignored their weirdness.”
Both women looked a bit stunned as I explained but Penny quickly recovered.
“So this cousin of your mother’s, do you have any idea who she might be?”
“Not at all. I’ll have to mention it to Jagger tonight. He never spoke about the Flying Herons so I never made the connection. How very weird is this? I’m not being silly that I think it’s weird am I?”
Both women shook their heads. They agreed with me, it was very weird.
“I think we need to go see Hawk. We can’t wait until later tonight with this. What if it has something to do with what’s happened to you?” Tori asked quietly.
She didn’t wait for me to answer but continued talking.
“I’ve learned not to believe something is just pure coincidence and ignore it. It comes back to hurt you when you least expect it. So my vote is we go see if Hawk’s available for a quick word and get it off your chest.”
Put like that I was now feeling antsy about it and nodded my agreement.
We set off immediately and I finally got to see the office from which Hawk Walker ruled the club. It was very impressive.
Dark furniture, no windows and a beautiful biker painting over the leather couch that I wanted the minute I saw it. It would look beautiful where ever you chose to hang it.
Hawk sat in a huge chair behind his desk that was almost throne-like. A throne that his big body filled. He waved us closer with a frown of confusion.
“What can I do for you ladies?” His gold and amber eyes reminded me strongly of those of a predator and didn’t miss a single thing as we sat down in front of his desk.
“Sunny needs to tell you something. It might be important or it might be nothing, so we brought her to you right away.” Tori explained while Penny had suddenly become shy as she sat quietly in her chair.
“Talk to me.”
The man in charge gave an order and I jumped to comply. He was just that compelling.
“My biological mother is related to someone at the Flying Herons. I’ve never met them and have no idea who they are. All I know is that it’s a cousin of hers with the surname of Adams.”
By the time I finished explaining Hawk was frowning and barking orders at someone over the phone. He then threw the phone on the desk and pinned me in place with those penetrating eyes. But not for long. I had faced off with much bigger
and more dangerous predators than him. I think. I hope.
“Ziggy is going through the names of the members at the club and their immediate family. We’ll soon know who you’re related to.”
“That would be awesome. I don’t know anyone on my biological mother’s side of the family, only my grandparents.”
There was a knock on the door, it was opened without waiting for permission to enter and Ziggy came rushing in.
“Okay, so this might be nothing, but then again I don’t believe in coincidences. Breker’s mother’s maiden name is Adams. Her full names are Frieda Naomi Adams Malan. So it seems as if our girl here is related to Breker, she’s his second cousin in fact.”
Hawk took it all in with narrowed eyes and then he grinned, a very evil grin.
“That means our little vet over here is family. Breker helped to keep his cousin alive without even knowing they were related.”
He turned to Ziggy. “Call Jagger and Breker in. While we wait for them the ladies and I will have a chat over a mug of coffee.”
And just like that my afternoon was decided. We weren’t waiting long before Aunt Beryl walked in with a tray with a big French press of coffee, milk, sugar and mugs. And a large bowl filled with cookies.
We drank coffee and ate cookies while we waited on the men to get back to the clubhouse. Apparently Breker was working with Jagger on site today. It made it easier seeing as they would arrive together.
I had just put my empty mug back on the tray when there was a hard knock on the open door and Jagger walked in with a guy I didn’t know at all. Except for his eyes. He had my mother’s green eyes. The minute he saw me Jagger frowned heavily.
Before he could speak Hawk pointed at the extra chairs that had been drawn up to the desk and the two men sat without saying a word. Jagger sat down in the chair next to mine and by the look on his face I knew it wasn’t going to stay that way.
The man was virtually vibrating with the need to ask what I was doing in Hawk’s office.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Jagger
Listening to the shit that had been uncovered quite by chance Jagger wondered how it all fitted together.
A Touch Of Grey Page 18