by Marla Monroe
They watched as she walked in not even bothering to turn around to make sure the door closed behind her. Murdock and Ajax stepped inside, closed, and locked the door behind them. When they dropped their bags on the floor next to hers, Ginger finally reacted. Turning around, she stared at them with her brows making a cute V.
“What are you doing in my room?”
“We’re sharing the room, baby.”
Chapter Three
“Hell no!” She marched back to the door and unlocked it. “Get the hell out and get another room.”
She threw the door open wide and stood there with her arms crossed, waiting on the bastards to leave. How dare they assume she was going to sleep with them? Of all the damn nerve.
“Calm down, Ginger. Let’s talk about this.” Murdock’s calm voice only ratcheted up her anger.
“Don’t tell me to calm down. I’m not sleeping with the two of you.” She looked at Ajax and pointed at him. “See. I told you it always came down to paying it back. It’s not a question of if, but a question of when and how much interest you’re going to charge.”
She couldn’t believe that she had tears in her eyes. She fought them, ashamed that she’d actually started to believe that maybe they were different. Hell, her damn hormones screwed her up every time. Just because they were sexy as hell didn’t mean she had to be attracted to them. Why did they turn her on when no one had in so long?
“Did you hear me? I said get out.”
Murdock walked toward her but he hadn’t picked up his bag on the way. Instead, he stopped directly in front of her and stared down into her eyes. His hazel ones looked so serious. She found herself leaning toward him before she caught herself. He pulled the door out of her hand and quietly closed and locked it once more.
“We’re not leaving, Ginger. You’re not leaving, either. We don’t expect you to have sex with us, babe. It’s safer for us to share the room with you. No one will get past us to get to you.”
“No one is after me. I’m not in any kind of danger. This doesn’t make sense to me.” She ran her hands over her face and fell back against the wall.
“Shhh, baby girl.” Ajax walked over and eased her into his arms. “You’re worn out and need to rest. Why don’t you take a nice hot shower and relax before we see about something to eat.”
Ginger let him ease her toward the bathroom. When he closed the door between them, leaving her alone in the bathroom, she sighed and leaned on the counter. Looking at herself in the mirror, she shuddered at what she saw. Strands of her hair had escaped from the ponytail she’d put it in that morning. Her eyes were dull with dark shadows circling them. She was far from sexy, and she’d basically accused them of wanting to fuck her. Obviously she was way off the mark there. Embarrassment flooded her face as it turned a dark shade of pink.
Disgusted with herself, she spun around and turned on the water in the tub-shower combination. Once she had the temperature to an acceptable heat level, she adjusted the showerhead and pulled off her clothes. Almost as soon as the water touched her bare skin, Ginger started to relax. Surprisingly enough, there was plenty of water pressure, and the pounding spray did wonders for her bunched muscles and tight nerves.
“What am I going to do? I can’t sleep in the same bed with them. All they would have to do is touch me and I’d jump their damn bones. This isn’t going to work. I never should have agreed to move back to Reo.”
“Did you say something, babe? Are you okay in there?” Murdock’s deep voice jerked her out of her thoughts.
“I’m fine. I’ll be out in a few minutes.” She lathered up the cloth and started scrubbing in an effort to rub some sense inside her thick skull.
“Take your time. We’re looking at the choices that are close by. Do you have any preferences?”
“No. Anything is fine. I would prefer nothing fancy though. I don’t have anything to wear other than jeans,” she said.
Fifteen minutes later, she rinsed off and climbed out. While she was drying off, it occurred to her that she hadn’t brought her bag in with her. That meant no deodorant, toothbrush, or clothes. She quickly finished drying and wrapped the towel around her torso. Thank God the towels weren’t skimpy. She cracked the door and called out to Murdock.
“Um, could you hand me my bag? I need my things.” She could feel the heat traveling up her neck to settle in her cheeks.
“Sure thing.” He picked up her satchel and crossed the room to hand it to her through the opening in the door. “How do you feel about plain old pizza tonight?”
“Sounds good. I love pizza. I’ll be out in a couple of minutes.” She quickly shut the door and hurried through her routine, getting dressed in record time.
When she stepped out of the bathroom, both Murdock and Ajax stood up from where they’d been sitting on the bed watching TV. She dropped her bag on the floor next to theirs and stuffed her hands in her front pockets. Neither of them said anything at first. Finally Murdock spoke up, breaking the silence.
“Ready? The restaurant isn’t very far. I thought we’d take the bikes. You can ride with one of us.”
She just nodded and waited on them to open the door. Ajax strolled across the room and unlocked everything before swinging the door open. He stepped outside and waited on them to follow him. Murdock rested his hand at the small of her back, and together, the three of them headed for the elevator once again.
When they walked through the lobby, Ginger looked over to where the front desk clerk stood talking to another customer. He didn’t seem to be paying them any attention, but she wondered what he thought about the fact that two men and one woman were staying in a room with only one king-size bed. She’d never been a prude by any means, nor had she ever worried what other people thought about her outside of work, but to her this was pushing it a bit.
No, she wasn’t in a relationship with them and they weren’t lovers, but no one else knew that. Did it really matter at the end of the day though?
Really, I’m never going to see them again. Why do I care what they think about me?
Ginger sighed as Murdock handed her a helmet to wear. She pulled it on, thankful she hadn’t bothered to put her hair back up in a ponytail. Once she had the chin strap fastened, she waited for Murdock to mount the bike and indicate that she should climb on back.
“Can you hear me okay, babe?” Murdock’s voice was loud and clear in her ears.
“Fine. I’m ready whenever you are.”
“Ready, A?”
“Starved back here. Let’s go.”
Ginger loved how Ajax’s raspy voice sounded in her ear. It was almost intimate. She could imagine him sitting right behind her whispering to her. She shook that thought away and held on as Murdock pulled out of the parking lot of the hotel and led the way to the pizza place. She had to admit she was hungry. She knew from when they’d been running with Jessie what they liked on their pizza and was relieved that she liked the same things. It would make it much easier to order.
When they pulled up into the pizza parlor several minutes later, Ginger climbed off the back of Murdock’s motorcycle and unstrapped the helmet. He took it and hung it by the chin strap to the handlebar opposite from his.
Ajax walked up and gave her a slow smile before winking and stalking toward the door. She couldn’t help but drool a little bit at the sight of him walking away. His ass was truly something to behold.
Murdock leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Don’t make me jealous, babe. Tell me you look at me the same way when I’m walking in front of you.”
She hissed out a breath and hurried ahead of him. His soft chuckle only increased her mortification. She hadn’t realized the man would notice that she was checking out Ajax’s ass. She stiffened her spine and stepped inside the building. It wasn’t as if they didn’t check out women’s breasts all the time. What was the freaking difference?
They chose a booth in the back away from others. Murdock sat next to her with Ajax across from her. She struggled
to keep from touching Murdock, but the tight quarters made it next to impossible. When she looked up from the menu, it was to find Ajax smirking at her.
“What?”
“Just watching you try to keep from touching Murdock. It’s enough to give a man a complex, baby girl. The more you squeeze your sweet body into that corner, the more Murdock is scooting over to get close to you. I can’t wait to see how you manage to eat like that.” Ajax grinned when she shot him the bird.
“Move over, you big oaf.” She pushed at him, but the bastard didn’t move an inch.
“Are you going to relax?” Murdock asked instead.
She sighed and closed her eyes. “Yes.”
To her relief, he moved over to the other side of the booth, giving her plenty of room. She watched him as she slid away from the corner she’d been trying to burrow into. When he didn’t immediately crowd her again, Ginger allowed her body to relax.
“What can I get you guys to drink?” A young waitress that didn’t look old enough to work, much less at a place that served beer, stood next to their booth, pen and pad in hand.
“How about a pitcher of whatever you have on tap and three glasses?”
“I’d like a glass of water, too, please.” Ginger liked beer with pizza, but she also would need some water to go with it.
“Sorry, babe. I should have asked you first.” Murdock’s quick apology startled her.
“Be right back with that.” The waitress walked off, leaving them to peruse the menu while she was gone.
“What do you want on your pizza, Ginger?” Murdock asked.
“I’m fine with anything other than fruit and anchovies,” she said.
“She picked off the olives last time,” Ajax said.
“It’s fine with me if you have olives. I can pick them off. I don’t mind the taste of them on the pizza so much as the texture of eating them.”
She watched the two men look at each other with amused expressions on their faces. Ajax shrugged and Murdock nodded. She guessed they must have decided somehow on whether or not to add the olives. Men and their grunting communications. She shook her head at them and looked around the room. There were only three other groups there besides them. A table of five that were deep in conversation sat close to a couple who were obviously not speaking to each other and then there was an odd-looking group of four men who kept looking in their direction. She didn’t know if the guys had noticed them or not, but she didn’t like how they kept staring.
“Okay, here you go.” The waitress plopped a pitcher and three glasses on the table, and then she handed Ginger her water. “Have you decided on what you want to eat?” she asked.
“We want two large thin-crust pizzas with everything on one and everything except anchovies and olives on the other,” Murdock said.
“I can’t eat an entire large pizza by myself.” Ginger frowned at him.
“You don’t have to, babe. We’ll eat on it, too. But this way you don’t have to pick off anything you don’t like.”
“Anything else?” the waitress asked.
“That should do us for now.” Murdock smiled at the young woman.
Once she was gone, he turned back to her with a smile. “So, what are you planning to do when you get to Reo, Ginger?”
“I’m going to find a job and a place to live. Jessie said I could stay there at the clubhouse until I get on my feet.”
She watched as the two men exchanged glances again. What was up with all their silent communication anyway? She sipped her water. Murdock had poured them all a round of beer, but she would wait for the pizza.
“We want to claim you, Ginger. It’s not a good idea to be on your own in a bike club.” Ajax spoke up for the first time.
“Absolutely not. I don’t belong to anyone but me. No one will bother me while I’m with Jessie. Vernon and Rhodes will see to that.”
“True, but they have their hands full with Jessie. Let us watch out for you, babe. Ajax and I care about you. We can get to know each other,” Murdock continued.
“Look. I have nothing against the club lifestyle, but it’s not for me. I’m not planning on being part of The Ghost Riders at all. I’m just crashing there for a few weeks until I can find my own place.” She looked down at her glass, hoping they would change the subject.
As if he could read her mind, Murdock started talking about what they were going to be doing in Reo. She listened as they outlined their plans. She had to admit, they sounded really organized and intelligent.
“You really think you can make it work?” she asked after a few minutes.
Ajax nodded. “The cabins are already there, they just need refurbishing. Dominic and Reece had been thinking about opening the area up but didn’t have a way to run it. Not many of the guys in the club have the background necessary to make a go of it.”
“What exactly are you going to offer?” she asked.
“Cabin rentals around the lake with johnboats for fishing to start with. Then we’ll add the gun range and eventually make it an all-out survivalist camp experience.” Murdock nodded over at Ajax. “A, here, is an expert when it comes to basic survival skills. I’m good with guns and tracking.”
“It all sounds scary to me. What sort of men will you end up with wanting to go there? Do you think having them around will be safe?” she asked with a shiver.
Ginger had heard all sorts of stories about survivalists and how out there they could be. Somehow she wasn’t as comfortable with the idea as the guys seemed to be. Of course it was their lives, and she wasn’t going to be living at the club for long.
“We’ll screen our guests carefully before we let them come out. We won’t allow any extremists at all. Mostly what we’re shooting for are the weekend warriors.” Ajax sat back and looked toward the counter. “Looks like our pizzas are ready.”
After the waitress dropped off the food, they concentrated on eating. Still, Ginger couldn’t get their idea out of her head. She thought they were probably on to something, but she couldn’t help but worry that they were asking for trouble as well. Why that bothered her, she didn’t understand. They were men—dangerous men. They could take care of themselves. Of that she had no doubt. Still, it worried her. She didn’t want to see either of them get hurt. Despite their overbearing ways and tendency to get all up in her business, she didn’t want anything to happen to them. What was up with that?
Chapter Four
The second the door to the room closed behind them, all the tension of earlier settled inside of Ginger once again. While they’d been eating, she’d relaxed, allowing the food and beer to lull her into a comfortable acceptance of the situation she’d found herself in. Now it all came rushing back in full force. The bed sat in the middle of the small space, a focal point that alluded to things she didn’t want to think about.
To her amazement, the men acted as if there wasn’t a huge chartreuse elephant in the room with them. Ajax pulled off his boots and climbed on the bed to relax against the headboard that was screwed into the wall. Murdock went so far as to remove his T-shirt and unbutton the top button of his jeans before settling on the love seat with his socked feet stretched out in front of him as Ajax flipped through the channels on the TV.
Shaking her head, she weighed her options for seating possibilities and seriously considered the toilet as one of her options. With Ajax in the middle of the bed, which wasn’t a sane choice anyway, and Murdock taking up more than his fair share of the loveseat, Ginger drew the short end of the straw.
Mumbling to herself, she pulled off her shoes and jerked one of the pillows off the bed to create a semi-comfortable spot on the floor in front of the TV with her back against the foot of the bed. Neither man commented. She wasn’t sure if she was glad they hadn’t fussed about her sitting on the floor and not with one of them or disappointed that they didn’t seem to care if she was comfortable or not.
Hell, I can’t have it both ways. Why do I care if they care? There’s nothing between us.
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br /> Ginger slowly relaxed once again and got interested in the movie Ajax had settled on. Thankfully it wasn’t overly sexual in nature and the action was enough to keep her interested so her mind didn’t wander. Once it was over with, Ajax found another movie that didn’t have near the appeal. It wasn’t long before she started wondering when they were going to go to bed. As soon as Murdock gave up the loveseat, she planned to bunk there for the night.
Before long, though, her long day and the late hour began to weigh heavily on her. She found herself nodding off and fought desperately to stay awake so she wouldn’t miss her opportunity when Murdock vacated the loveseat.
At some point, Ginger lost the battle and drifted off. It couldn’t have been for more than a minute, but in however long it had been, the men had attacked. She found herself lying on the bed with Ajax tugging on her jeans, trying to get them off. Murdock was pulling her shirt over her head when she yelped and tried to stop him.
“What the hell are you doing?” She couldn’t believe they were undressing her.
“Calm down, babe. You fell asleep. We’re just getting you ready for bed.” Murdock was obviously trying to sound reasonable.
“I could have gotten ready for bed without your help,” she grumbled as they finished removing her jeans.
Ajax dug in her bag and pulled out her sleep shirt, tossing it to Murdock, who caught it with one hand. He tossed it at into her lap.
“Finish dressing yourself,” he said with a growl as he grabbed his bag and walked toward the bathroom.
Ajax didn’t say a word. He walked over to the bed and pulled back the sheets. It was then that she realized he wasn’t wearing anything other than boxers. She quickly averted her eyes at the obvious outline of his cock. A low chuckle told her that her quick glimpse of him hadn’t gone unnoticed. No doubt he thought she’d ogled him on purpose.
Men and their egos.
Ginger grabbed her pillow that had been replaced on the bed and circled around to climb onto the loveseat. Half expecting Ajax to argue with her about sleeping there, she couldn’t stop the edge of irritation that blossomed at his lack of reaction to her bed choice. He was probably waiting for Murdock to lay down the law, she decided.