Shifting Life (Skull Shifters MC Book 1)

by Tricia Wagner

  I woke feeling extra warm. The sun was shining through the windows and I felt something over my waist. I started to move and the thing on my waist got tighter and that was when everything came rushing back to me. The club, the shooting, Brantley at my door, the bath, the dream, the bed. Oh God. The bed. I try again to get out of his vice grip when I heard a rumble that sounded like a bike. Then I heard my driveway beeper go off. That’s when I heard a different kind of rumble. “Babe, get dressed I’ll get the gate.” I go to roll again as I say, “No, it’s ok. I got it.” Or you could just go altogether. That might be nice. I plead temporary insanity for last night. What was I thinking? “Babe, get dressed, it’s one of my guys I’ll let him in. He is definitely not seein you like that.” He had a point so I nodded and walked to the closet.

  I did what I could with my hair and leftover makeup from last night that I hadn’t taken the time to take off. Woops. I throw on a pair of old holey jeans, with a plain black Tee with sparkles all around the pocket over my left ta-ta. I head out to the main room and hear voices from the kitchen. This is when I heard, “What did you find?” A voice I didn’t recognize says, “Man, not good I can tell you that. It’s definitely Jack. He is pissed way the hell off that you interrupted him on the dance floor last night. Said that he would get your bitch and she would stay with him whether she wanted to or not. Not to mention that you claimed her as yours before she even knew your name. I get it man, she’s a fine piece, but…” He didn’t finish the sentence and it sounded like he was being thrown up against the wall in my kitchen. “You will NEVER refer to her as a piece of ANYTHING. EVER AGAIN. Do you understand me?” Whoa. “Yeah, man I got you. Sorry. I didn’t realize it was more than that.” I can hear Brantley calming down as he says, “Well, it is. So spread that shit wide. Melanie is OFF LIMITS. Got me?” Instantly the other man says, “Got you. I’ll let Jason know.” “Yeah, and Trance. Swear to Christ you better get me.” Oh it’s Trance. “I do. Consider that shit spread.” What the hell?

  I stomp my feet to make sure they hear me coming and I head into the kitchen to see the guy he introduced me to last night as his “Sargent in arms.” The muscle of the club maybe? He definitely has the muscles for it. And Brantley just had him up against a wall. In my kitchen. Defending my honor. “Hello boys, want some breakfast?” Yes, I decided the nice tactic was the way to go. “Thanks babe, but no. I got shit to do.” I nod at Trance. “Anything for the road?” He smiles. What a smile. “Nah, I’m good. Next time you’re around could you introduce me to your friends. Jason and I were hopin for an intro last night. Lugnut over here was in too much of a hurry to get you outta there.” Ha. Lugnut. That’s funny. “Sure, I’m sure they would love that.” He nods and heads out. “Oh, before I forget. Your gate will be updated by end of today.” Um. What. I decide not to ask him questions since I know he is just following orders. So instead I nod and turn to Brantley. “Another way you’re going to try and take over my life? I had that under control.” I hear Trance leave as Brantley replies. “Told ya babe. I take care of what is mine.” Enough of this. “Yeah, maybe we should skip breakfast and jump right into the conversation that we clearly need to have.” He points to the stove, “Breakfast first, babe. You want pancakes?” Oh boy did that sound good. I instantly nod my head and that earned me a full on smile from Brantley. “So I’m gonna go out on a limb here and guess, but you knew that guy from the dance floor last night? Rival motorcycle gang or something?” “Club babe. We’re a motorcycle club. And no not a rival club. Just someone who couldn’t make the cut.” Great. Biker lingo lesson number one at 8:30 in the morning. “I need coffee.” I muttered this as I stood off the stool and headed for my Keurig. “Do you drink coffee?” I look to him as he says, “Yeah babe, black please.” I nod. Of course. I make us both coffee and add some sugar and cream into mine. “Thanks, baby.” I nod and head back to my stool.

  Apparently, Brantley was completely fine with making himself at home in my home. He dug right in and made me pancakes. We ate in silence while I tried to sort out my thoughts. I wasn’t sure where this was going to lead, but I knew without a doubt that I needed to stay away from Brantley. This is how I decided to start this conversation. “I am a business woman. I am not a biker babe. I take care of myself and I don’t need a man to do it. I have always been independent. I don’t need you waltzing in here on your noble steed or Harley and trying to take over my life. I have a life. A damn good one. I have built this life by myself. I don’t need to add drive-by shootings and kidnapping threats to excite my life. My life is exciting enough.” I paused, but didn’t get to continue. He was up and in front of me. “Baby, I know that isn’t true. I know you felt it.” I start shaking my head back and forth rather fast deciding I needed to make my point. It wasn’t working because his hands wrapped around my neck and his fingers went into my hair. He bent lower to my level and went in for the kill. I mean kiss. He might as well have shot me dead. I stopped fighting almost instantly and started making out with Brantley. There is only one other time in my life when I felt more pleasure and unfortunately that was last night with Brantley tongue between my thighs. Wow. I really am a slut.

  With that thought he broke the kiss and we were both breathing heavy. “Now you were saying about no chemistry?” I try to clarify, “That wasn’t chemistry. I write this all off as temporary insanity. It’s not every day that you get shot at.” “That was yesterday. This is today. Melanie. Please tell me you’re gonna ride this out with me?” I don’t think so. “No. Negative. Not going to happen.” He shakes his head, “You’re wrong baby. It would’ve just been easier if you were comin along willingly.” Ha. “Oh so now you’re going to keep me against my will?” He smirks, “Oh, trust me baby. Wherever I take you…you’ll wanna be there.” I’m so sure. “Arrogant.” “Oblivious.” WHAT? I don’t get to respond because he keeps talking. “Livin in a world with all this goin on around you and you can’t even see two feet in front of you. I want this. I told you before I get what I want. I will win you Melanie.” Seriously? “I’m not a prize you win, Brantley. I’m a human being with feelings of my own. What if my feelings don’t match yours?” I lied. They totally do. And that scared the ever loving crap out of me. It’s like he read my mind, “What are you scared of Melanie? What is it you are so terrified is going to happen if you get on this ride with me.” Him getting off the ride halfway through. Guys never stay. They take what they want and use me for what they can. Then they’re gone. Here one day the next day gone. I didn’t say any of this instead I lied again “I’m not scared. I just don’t want this Brant. Why can’t you see that?” Oddly he says, “You just gave me a nickname.” I probably have an odd look on my face as I say, “What?” “You called me Brant. And you want to sit there and tell me that you don’t feel what I feel. I know you feel it. I’ll kiss you again to prove it.” I throw my arms up in between us, “NO! No more kissing. I need to get my head together. Please. Just go.” He shakes his head, “I’m not goin anywhere until we are on the same page. And not for nothin I want to spend the day with you. So that’s what we’re gonna do. You’re gonna get to know the real me. I want to know everything about you. In doin that I will get down to the bottom of why you are so scared to take this leap with me.” I roll my eyes. What is it with this guy? “We are not spending the day together. I have a full day.” He laughs, “You do not. You said you took the day off. I heard you. So you don’t have anything planned.” Ugh. What do I do now? “No, but I need to talk to my security team. Let them know what’s going on.” His finger goes to my mouth again, “Already taken care of babe.” He’s joking. That has to be a joke. “What? You couldn’t possibly have had a meeting with them without me.” He smirks, “No, I didn’t. Jason did. On my behalf of your behalf.” Did that make sense? “Um. I am not comfortable with this.” “You’ll get used to it babe. I promise. I’m not goin anywhere. I wanna ride this out. For however long that may be.” Yeah. There it is. However long that may be. “If it has an end date wh
y put in the time? I know how this will end for me. You’ll get to move forward like it never happened and I will be ruined for all other men.” His hand squeezes my side, “Listen babe. I can’t tell the future. I am not one to try and make predictions. We don’t know each other that well yet. I can’t say that there isn’t gonna be stuff about me that will drive you nuts. And vice versa. I am willing to put in the time though to make it work. I have told you before and I’ll say it again, I want something I get it.” I mutter, “I bet you were well liked on the playground as a kid.” It was then that he threw his head back laughing. I stopped and stared. I had never seen anything so beautiful. He had a great laugh. This beautiful specimen of a man.

  I realized then that it didn’t matter if I chased him away. I was already done for. CRAP. What was I going to do now? How did I let this happen? He tagged the back of my head and pulled me in for a hug. “Babe, whattaya say?” I sigh heavily. Unsure of what to do, I went with my gut. “You have the day…BUT…you have to promise me that at the end of the day I get to decide which way I go. If I decide to go my own way then you agree to leave me to it...AND to make sure that this threat is gone. I want a clean break once I decide that you and I won’t work.” Instantly he says, “Agreed. Up until you said your last sentence. You have to go into today with an open mind. No already assuming that you and I aren’t gonna work.” Whatever. “Find. Agreed.” He nods his head as a slow smile spreads across his face. Great. Looks like he has a plan. “Do I have-“ He interrupts, “You have to agree to be with me today on MY terms.” Could I do that? I am always in control. I told you. Everything calculated. “Babe, it’ll be fun I promise. I don’t want you scared off. I promise with me you’re safe.” I nod. I guess that was the reassurance I needed. “Ok. I’m in.” He smiles again picks me up off the ground and spins me around as I laugh. He kisses me quickly. Says “You won’t be disappointed.” Well. I don’t know about that, but I do know one thing. “No. But you might be.” With that he stops smiling and looks deep into my eyes. I don’t know why I said that out loud but I felt that he needed to know. “Baby, look at me. I don’t think there is anything you could do to disappoint me. You have continued to surprise me and so far I like everything I have seen.” Ha! “Yeah, well I’m not normally this interesting. So fair warning.” He shook his head like he couldn’t believe that I was saying that. “Babe, so far I have saved you from a guy that wouldn’t leave you alone, rescued from your girls, fought with you over just about everything, and then on top of that watched you get shot at and take it like it was an everyday occurrence. You then had a stranger show up at your doorstep and invited him in. Treated him, mostly, kind. I have also seen the attitude come out in you babe. That I gotta say is probably my favorite. So if that is you not bein interestin, then I would like to see you tryin to be interestin.” I had to kind of smile at that. He just described someone who isn’t me. Or at least not the “me” that I was before yesterday. This was the “me” that I always wanted to be. Not the attitude part of course. I’m not sure where that came from because it’s him that brings that out of me. I didn’t really have a response so I decided it was time to change the subject. “So, what are we going to do? And is this outfit ok?” He smirks, “Ever been on a bike?” I shake my head, “No.” His smile grew wider as he said “Well, we will start there then. Go throw on some boots and grab some glasses babe. If you’re up for it bring a bikini. You may wanna throw a braid in your hair.” I raise an eyebrow at him thinking he is crazy if he thinks it will be that easy to get me in a bathing suit. Then I look outside and see it is gorgeous out. With that I nod and head to my room to get myself together.

  I have outfits for all occasions. I must say there would be no reason for me to have a “riding” outfit. I do, however, have a pair of boots that could pass for a biker babe. I put my bathing suit on underneath my clothes, I throw my boots on, get my sunglasses, and throw my hair in a braid that falls down my right shoulder. I walked back out and stopped dead in my tracks. I took a minute to take in the man that is standing in my foyer. He really is beautiful. That isn’t a word you use to describe a man, but him? Definitely. Everything about his features are perfect. I can only imagine the package he has going on underneath his clothes. The stretch in his shirt leaves little to the imagination. You can tell that he is muscle, everywhere. This is the first time I’ve gotten to observe him without him staring me down and making me feel uncomfortable. It doesn’t take long before he realizes I am there. With that he walks to me, grabs my hand, and walks me to the door. “Lock up, babe. I’ll be outside waiting for you.” I nod as he exits and I set my alarm. I head outside and see a big black dodge truck sitting there. “So, do you even really have a motorcycle? Or is this just how you pick up chicks.” He throws his head back laughing and shoots his eyebrows up and gives me a “Babe.” I nod, “Right. So where is the bike?” He points at the truck with his eyes, “It’s at my place. We gotta go get it. I didn’t have my bike at the club last night.” Great. Now I was going to see how this man or this “President” lived. “So, is your house a white house on a hill?” He chuckled again and said “Not white, but it is sorta on a hill.” Hmmm…interesting. I think I am intrigued to see how he lives.

  He walks me over to his truck and he has to help me in. The thing is so high, and even with my long legs he needs to give me a boost. He walks across grinning and I ask him as he gets in, “You have it lifted like this on purpose so when you take girls out you have to manhandle them, don’t you?” I hear the smile in his voice, “Guilty. But, I only help the pretty ones with legs for days.” I roll my eyes. I’m sure he has a lot more experience than I do. I really don’t want to think about all the other women this Adonis has been with. He must have sensed my unease and he grabs my hand and squeezes it. I look up at him and give him a fake smile. “Hey, baby. Don’t go there ok? I’m no choir boy. The life I’ve led hasn’t been one of a saint, but I can be a one woman man. Which also means that my woman needs to be a one man woman.” Well, I guess that’s probably as good as I was going to get from him at this point. That’s why when I spoke next I did it without thinking. Self-preservation if you will. “It doesn’t matter. We won’t be going there. You won’t need to be a one woman kinda man. At least not for me.” He shook his head, but did it grinning. I don’t know if there is going to be any shaking this guy. Ugh. I let out a heavy sigh. What have I gotten myself into? I think he senses that if he doesn’t talk soon I was probably going to freak myself out. “Babe, look at me.” I look up into his gorgeous baby blues. Wow. Perfect. “You promised that you wouldn’t make a decision before our day was over. That was a comment that made it seem like I was doomed to fail. I just want to give you a fair warning.” “What’s that?” “I never lose baby. I always win. If you’re the prize you can be guarendamnteed I will not lose.” I roll my eyes at his corny line but give him a genuine smile. I’m starting to think I might be screwed. We head through town and out the other side. I live on quite a bit of land just outside of town. He apparently lives on the opposite side of town. “How far away do you live?” “From you, just about twenty minutes.” I nod. That isn’t too bad. So we must be getting close. We make a few turns as I stare out the window. Even though it is only twenty minutes away it feels like we are really far out of town.

  We make a turn down what looks like a dirt road. This apparently isn’t a road, but a driveway. I peek out over the windshield. We start to go up a hill and I see the top of a house. Once I can see the rest of it (without seeming too anxious) I take it all in. The house is beautiful. Two stories. All cedar on the outside. On top of that, the landscaping is perfect. Behind it, I can see there is a building, but I have no idea what that is. The house is breathtaking. “You’re home, it’s gorgeous.” I hear him respond, “Thanks, babe. I built it myself.” I gasp, “Did you do the design to?” I look to his smiling face, “I helped every step of the way. Of course, if I had known you I would have had you do the design. I saw some of your buildings w
hen I googled you. You’re work babe. It’s amazin.” Wow. That was more than kinda nice. “Thanks.” I think I just swooned. “So, motorcycle club President by night does that make you a carpenter by day?” “Somethin like that baby. I’ll show you some of my work later.” I smile at him. Thinking that if he does any kind of building we are kind of a match made in heaven. “I’ll give you a tour later too, babe. I have a bike room though. And it’s off this side of the house so come on.” He comes around to my side of the truck. Puts his hands at my hips and pulls me out of the truck. I slide down the front of his body and the contact is amazing. He was not wrong about the chemistry between us. I feel like I am on fire. He gives me a knowing grin and takes my hand. He takes me to the side of the house and punches in a code. The side of the house opens like a garage and the floor spins around and the motorcycle is not facing us. That is seriously so cool. I mean I am an architect so I see finished products like this all the time, but this, something that clearly means a lot to him, is seriously awesome. “Wow. It’s beautiful.” I run my hand on the chrome as he says, “Babe, you do not call a bike beautiful.” I smile, “I do. And that piece of equipment is just that. Beautiful.” He chuckles under his breath and pulls me through the room. We stand to the side and he lets me take in the sleek lines, the flat black color, and the hints of chrome on his bike. “What kind of bike is this?” You can hear the pride, “This is my newest. It’s a 2016 Custom Street Glide.” “You’re newest? How many do you have?” “Well, my grandfather bought me my first bike. I still have that it was a custom fatboy. I also have a Road King, and I have my custom Harley Soft Tail that was all built to my specifications.” Hmm. I had to know, “What do you do with them all?” He smiles, “Ride them, they all serve different purposes. It depends on how far I’m goin.” That made sense. “Where are your others?” “I usually keep two in here. One is in the shop and the others are at the clubhouse garage.” I nod. This is seriously awesome. “I can’t wait to ride. And I can’t wait to see the others.” I just realized I said that out loud. Woops. He holds out his hand that is holding a bandana. “May I?” I nod and look up at him. He folds the bandana around my head and ties it in the back. He smiled huge and muttered “just beautiful” and walked me around the bike. He threw his leg over and told me to hop on. I looked at him a little unsure, but it can’t be too hard to figure out.