Brick

by Hope Ford

  A knock on the door, and someone bellowing “Church” is how Ben wakes up. He instantly jerks awake and gets out of bed, looking for his pants.

  I’ve read enough motorcycle romance books to know what church is. As he’s getting dressed, he leans over and kisses me. “Mornin’, princess. Stay here and as soon as church is over, I’ll get you something to eat.”

  I reach over the side of the bed and spot his shirt I was wearing last night. I reach for it and then tug it over my head. I need to be clothed, because I know we are about to have a disagreement. Unfortunately, it’s one that I am going to have to win.

  I stand up from the bed and even though I have no underwear on or any to put on, I still feel better not standing here naked.

  “I’m fine, Ben. I’m going to go. I have to work tonight.” I start pulling on my shorts from the night before.

  “You’re not leaving.” He raises up to his full height.

  I grab my bra and start to put it on. He’s staring at me and I point to the wall for him to turn around.

  He doesn’t turn away. Instead, he takes a step toward me. “I’ve already seen you, princess. You going to hide from me now?”

  I take a step back and raise his shirt over my head. I start putting my bra on. “I already explained this to you. I have to keep my job.”

  “Fuck that job. You’re not going back there,” he demands.

  My mouth drops open and my eyes widen. “What do you mean, I’m not going back there? What do you want me to do? There’s nothing else that pays anywhere close to what I make there. I can’t live without it. No thanks, I’m keeping my job.”

  He gets a fierce look on his face but we are interrupted when someone hollers through the door again, “Brick, church, man!”

  “Start without me,” he bellows.

  I shrink back away from him, because the mean voice I just heard is not the Ben I know.

  He watches me as I step back away from him. He holds his hands up in front of him, palms facing me. “I would never hurt you. I would never let anyone hurt you. I thought you would have figured it out last night, but if not, then I’m doing something wrong. I want you here… with me. Not just tonight, not tomorrow. Forever.”

  Hope flares in my chest, but just as quickly I tamp it down. “No, Ben. I won’t stay here and have you getting hurt trying to defend me. I can take care of myself. I’ve done it a long time.”

  He puts his hands on my shoulders and I can feel myself weakening. His touch controls me. “Really, is this what this is about? You’re worried about me? Honey, I know you may not have faith in me after seeing me last night. But I am the sergeant of arms for the club. I had three men on me at one time, and I was sidetracked. They got me, fuck, all of us from behind. But I can take care of myself. I can take care of you.”

  I don’t say anything. I want to. I want to tell him okay and I will never leave his side. But that’s not really realistic. Who really has forever after only knowing someone for one day? “I can’t just quit my job.”

  He leans down and kisses me, completely making me forget my train of thought. “Look, until I know you’re safe, I can’t let you—” When he sees my eyebrows raise at the word ‘let,’ he wraps his hand around the back of my neck. “I mean, I want you safe. I need you safe. Trust me to take care of this. Stay with me until it’s over and then if you still want to leave, I’ll take you home myself.”

  He doesn’t wait for a response; he bends down and reaches under my shirt to cup my mound. I’m swollen and sore from last night, but I can still feel the pull in my lower belly from his touch. His finger slides through my slit and my head falls backward. He kisses my exposed neck and when I moan, he lifts me up in his arms and carries me to the bed.

  He lays me down and covers my body with his.

  “I thought you had church?” I ask him.

  “I do, but I have something more pressing that needs my attention right now,” he whispers against my ear. I lie underneath of him while he pushes my body to its very limit of satisfaction.

  6

  Brick

  I keep Madison so busy, loving her body, that I hope she has forgotten that she wants to leave. Just the mention of it had me ready to tear things apart.

  After our lovemaking and another shower, we make it to the main room. I fix her a plate of food and we sit at the bar talking.

  Everyone has gotten a good laugh about her saving me, but I just laugh right along with them. Her saving me was the best thing that ever happened to me.

  I have my hand on her thigh as I’m talking to the guys.

  “So, Rancher, you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Everything but my pride anyway. They cleaned out my stab wound and stitched me up. I’ll be on crutches for a while. I tore something in my leg and they want me to go to physical therapy.” He says it with disgust in his voice and immediately, I know that Rancher is not going to go to physical therapy. No matter how bad it hurts.

  We talk a little about the night before and it isn’t long before he walks away from me. I can tell how pissed off he is and I don’t blame him. I only question which he’s more pissed about: not being able to ride his bike or his horse.

  Madison’s phone rings in her pocket, and she digs it out and looks at the screen. I notice the name “Brent” on the caller ID. My hand tightens on her thigh. “It’s my boss.”

  She had tried calling him earlier and he is just now returning her call.

  “Hey Brent, I’m sorry I can’t make it in tonight,” she apologizes.

  There’s a brief silence and then, “What do you mean I’m fired?”

  She looks at me with her eyes wide and then drops off the stool and walks over to the corner of the room. I hear her say, “It’s not my fault they were in there trying to destroy your bar.”

  She’s quiet for a long time, until she finally tells him, “Yeah, okay, I understand.” And hangs up.

  I walk up to her. “What was that about?”

  “Apparently, I’m fired. He thinks it’s better for him that I’m not there, ya know, to give the Kings a reason to come back.” She’s barely holding the tears back.

  “Church!” one of the brothers hollers out.

  Madison throws her hands out to the side. “How many times do y’all have church in a day?”

  I smile at her and lace my fingers with hers. “C’mon, I’ll take you back to the room.”

  On the way there, I stop one of the prospects. “Did you get what I needed?”

  “Yep.” He reaches into the bag on his shoulder and hands it to me.

  “Thanks,” I tell him and start walking toward the room.

  As soon as I get her inside, I kiss her quickly. “I can’t miss church again. I know you’re upset about your job, but I don’t want you to worry about it. We’ll work it out. Here.”

  I hand her the envelope that the prospect just gave me.

  “What’s this?” she asks me, taking it from me.

  “Open it.”

  She peels back the tab and opens it, pulling out its contents. “It’s the college guide and application for the university.”

  “I know, and maybe you want to go somewhere else, maybe something online, but I thought this would give you at least something to look at while I’m busy.”

  She tries to give it back to me. “Why, Ben? I can’t afford this.”

  “You want to graduate college, or at least I thought that’s what you wanted. Think about it. Whatever you decide, I’m fine with.” I kiss her and start to walk toward the door and turn around quickly. “Well, except for leaving me. That I’m not fine with.”

  I smile at her and walk out. I wanted to tell her not to leave, but I’m not even going to worry about it. I put a prospect at my door and told them if she leaves to come get me.

  “In church?” he asks me.

  Usually, prospects are not allowed to enter church, but I’m fucking making an exception on this.

  “Yes,” I assure him and go me
et my brothers.

  Madison

  I look down at the papers in my hand, still not understanding what just happened. Did he just say he would pay to send me to college?

  I sit down cross-legged on the bed and open the folders. I don’t know how long I sit there, but the more I read, the more excited I get. Hours must have gone by because my stomach starts to growl. I sit up, slide my shoes on and open the door. There’s a big, burly biker standing there.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey!” He nods his head and blocks my path.

  “Uh, I need to get by,” I tell him.

  He shrugs his shoulders like it’s no big deal, but I can see something in his eyes, maybe fear. “Where do you need to go?”

  “To get something to eat. Maybe stretch my legs. Not that it’s any of your business,” I tell him before sliding beside him and walking down the hallway.

  “Fine, I’ll go get Brick from church. He’s not going to like it.” He walks behind me into the kitchen.

  I get two slices of bread from the loaf and lay them down on the plate. I start spreading peanut butter on it and then look up at the prospect. “Why would you disturb the meeting because I’m going to the kitchen?”

  “Because Brick told me to tell him if you moved. Will you stay here until I go get him?” he asks and I laugh. Really, guys, I’m a grown woman.

  Brick walks into the kitchen and pats the man on the back. “It’s okay, I got her.”

  I try not to let him see me laugh, because obviously the man was worried about interrupting church. He nods at Brick and backs out of the room.

  I smile at Brick. “You got me, huh?”

  “Yep, I definitely got you.” He acts like he’s going to kiss me and then at the last minute, takes a bite of my sandwich.

  I swat him on the chest and start laughing. “Hey!”

  He then kisses me and leans against the counter.

  I hold up the jar of peanut butter. “Do you want me to make you one?”

  He reaches for the bread and pulls out two slices. We work together to make his sandwich. I watch him take a few bites and try to concentrate on my food instead of his lips, or his body.

  He takes another bite. “So what did you think of the school?”

  “It’s nice. But I’m not going to let you pay for me to go to school. I was thinking that maybe I can get a job around here. The commute will only be around twenty minutes.” I take the last bite of my sandwich and wipe my mouth off.

  He sets his food down and crosses his arms over his chest. “It will be hard to work and go to school full time. But ya know, while I was in church, I was thinking. If you’re pregnant, you may want to consider going to school online.”

  He’s looking at me with a smug look on his face. My brain starts working overtime, thinking about last night and how we didn’t use protection, not once, and then I start trying to calculate the time since my last period. The whole time he’s just smiling at me, as happy as he can be and not a care in the world.

  Speechless, I don’t even know what to say. He takes the last few bites of his sandwich and grips my hand. I think he planned to take me back to his room, but he stops once we get to the main room.

  When I came through here earlier, there was no one. Now the room is filled and there are people everywhere. He grips my hips and puts me up on a bar stool. The conversation goes on around us and finally, I turn to him.

  “You want me to get pregnant,” I accuse him.

  He smiles. “Yes.”

  I start stuttering. “You met me yesterday. How do you make that decision in one day? I could be a terrible mom. You don’t know.” I shake my head. “Wait, why are we even talking about this? I’m not pregnant. I’m pretty sure it’s the wrong time of the month, thank goodness.”

  Disappointment covers his face, but then the corners of his mouth lifts. “More time to have you to myself. We’ll just keep trying.”

  “Brick…” I start.

  He leans over and kisses me and whispers, “Plus, you’ll make a great mom.” Yep, I’m pretty sure my ovaries just caught fire.

  One of the women walks up to us, interrupting our talk. “Hey, Brick. Hi, Madison. I’m Avery. Do you want to go with me so we can find you some clothes to change into?”

  I look over at Brick to see what he thinks. I’ve seen the sweet butts here and I don’t think she’s one of them, but I can’t be sure. Brick nods his head at me.

  “Sure, Avery. That would be great, since he won’t let me leave.” I thumb over at Brick.

  He stares between the two of us and I’m surprised when a growl escapes his lips. Avery laughs and smiles up at him. “Easy, big guy. I’ll bring her right back.”

  When we get to her room, she starts pulling out clothes for me. “So, uh, are you an old lady?” I ask her and hope I haven’t offended her. I’m pretty sure that’s what they’re called.

  She smiles while she sorts the clothes. “Well, Sniper says I am anyway.”

  I can’t help but laugh. “I know what you mean. Brick’s the same way.”

  We laugh and get to know each other. She gives me two changes of clothes and to heck with it, I even let her give me underwear. I’m definitely going to have to go shopping. I even had to use Brick’s toothbrush today.

  Once I change and put the extra clothes into Brick’s room, I follow Avery back to the party.

  7

  Brick

  I watch as Madison walks out of the room. Several pairs of eyes follow them and I can’t help the possessiveness rising in my belly.

  I look around the party and one glance at the sweet butts in the corner dancing has me looking the opposite way. I have no interest in that anymore. I sit there, sipping the shot of tequila that Keeper gave me. We shoot the shit, and talk about the plan for the Fallen Kings.

  Sniper joins us and I tell him I want to take Madison home with me, to my home.

  “Well, if our intel is right, the Fallen Kings are on a run to Mexico. I had Smokey and some prospects check it out and their place is empty. You should be safe. It looks like we’ll have a week before we have to worry about anything. Gives us time to get our shit together. No more surprises,” he tells me.

  I can hear it in his voice that he’s even surprised the way everything went down last night.

  “Everything okay, Brick?” he asks me.

  I shake my head, like I’ve been thinking about something else. “Fuck no, it’s not okay,” I grunt back at him. “A woman had to save my ass. I’m losing my touch,” I admit.

  We watch as Avery and Madison walk back in. Madison has changed out of her waitress uniform and as she walks across the room, her eyes are on me.

  “Fuck, I’m in trouble, Pres,” I mutter to him.

  “Yep.” He laughs and slaps me on the back before going over to Avery.

  I stay in my seat and wait on Madison to get to my side. “Let’s get out of here.”

  “Where are we going?” she asks me.

  “Home. I want to take you home,” I tell her honestly. I’ve thought about it all day. Don’t get me wrong, I love the club and my brothers, but I want my woman in my bed, in my home.

  She looks up at me questioningly. “I thought we had to stay here, ya know, the Fallen Kings and all that.”

  I grab her hand and start walking to the door, nodding my head at the people that say bye to us. “That’s club business, princess. I can’t tell you about that. All you need to know is that you’re safe and I would never put you in harm’s way.”

  “So I can go home?” she asks me.

  “Yes. To my, I mean, our home,” I tell her before plopping the helmet on her head. I sit down on the seat and hold my hand out to her.

  I’m ready for her to resist me, to tell me no, but instead she just shrugs her shoulders. “Okay, sounds good, Ben.”

  Epilogue

  Two years later

  Madison

  “Princess, you better be resting,” I hear as the front door slams.
>
  Ben was only gone for an hour. Since we’re getting close to the due date, he rarely leaves me alone now.

  I prop my swollen feet up on the chair across from me with my school book in my lap. It’s taken a while, but I will be graduating next month. Even though I resisted it, Ben reasoned with me and finally convinced me to finish my schooling. He even promises to put me to work at one of the shops after I graduate, and well, after I have this baby that is dancing on my bladder.

  He walks in and bends down to kiss me. “How you doing, princess?”

  “Grrrr. You don’t want to know,” I tell him and try to adjust myself in the chair. I can’t get comfortable these days.

  “I know what you need,” he tells me and turns around to the stove. I watch his ass move in the tight jeans and my mouth starts to water. Damn hormones.

  The last two years have been a whirlwind. That day I gave in to his insistence that we were meant to be, and I gave in to what I really wanted, well, was the best decision I’ve ever made. Getting on the back of his bike started our relationship. We still joke about how I saved him… but really, he saved me too. I moved in with Ben the second night after knowing him and we haven’t spent a night apart since. He’s had obligations to the club, but he always makes sure to make it back to me before I lie down in bed.

  My big ol’ biker has proven to be a wonderful husband. We got married mere weeks after meeting. And he never asked me; nope, he told me we were. But of course, I didn’t argue with him about it. I wanted it just as bad as he did.

  He turns back toward me and gives me a mug with hot chocolate in it. He kisses me and then sits down in the chair across from me, picking up my legs and putting them in his lap.

  Brick

  I know she’s miserable. I can see it in her face. If there was anything I could do to help her, I would. I’ve talked to her doctor plenty of times until he’s now told me not to call him until she’s in labor.