by Debra Kayn
But, she only belonged to him.
He pulled his finger from her mouth. She startled at the abrupt loss and lifted her head, blinking her eyes. He stifled his groan of pleasure.
"Chief?" She touched her lips and tilted her head in question.
He'd leave her to figure out for herself what had happened when she was alone. "You need to wake up and go home. You've got school tomorrow and Karla's upset that you didn't make curfew."
He lifted her to her feet and held her until she got her balance. Rubbing the warmth of her cheeks, he peered into her eyes. It would take nothing for her to crawl into his bed upstairs and go back to sleep.
She swallowed and worked her lips together as if seeking his finger again. "She won't be mad because I was with you."
Johanna only knew the mothering side of Karla. He knew the woman. The one who took her status as his kids' mom seriously and her position with the women of Brikken with an iron fist. The only contention between him and Karla was her refusal to let him be more involved with Johanna. If he'd had his way, he would've taken her when she was sixteen and learned how to kiss.
"Let's get you out of here." He picked up her hand and led her across the room.
She held on to him, leaning on his arm. The cooler air outside would wake her up fully.
Pushing through the door, he looked around and found Jett parked beside Johanna's car. He walked her the twenty yards and put her in the driver's seat. She kept glancing at him as she hooked her seatbelt and started the engine.
He leaned through the opened window. "Keep your eyes on the road."
"I will." She turned her head toward him. "Can I come back tomorrow night?"
"Don't you have plans with your friends?"
Her brows lowered. "I don't have to go with them. I want to be with you."
"I've got business with the club going on. Go out with your friends and have fun." He tapped his hand against the door of the car and stepped back. "Jett's going to escort you home. Follow him out."
Looking up, he lifted his chin at his son and watched them both leave the Brikken property. He put his hands in his pockets and strolled between the clubhouse and the garage which contained the business side of Brikken. Behind both buildings, a stream ran through the property.
He stood at the back of the buildings until his eyes adjusted to the darkness and then using the light from the moon, walked to the creek flowing at the back of the property. His body raged. It would take nothing for him to go inside and use one of the women to finish what Johanna had started in him.
But he wouldn't.
He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, remembering the sweet suction of her mouth on his finger. One more month, Johanna would graduate high school.
What came naturally to her would become a deeper craving away from the structure of going to school and living with Karla. Every inch of freedom as she stepped into adulthood would only give her confidence to go after her dreams.
And, he'd made sure her dreams always centered around him. At first, having her in his life had been a 'what if' situation. Grooming her to be the perfect woman to fit into his life as president of Brikken. But, somewhere over the years, it wasn't so much his paying attention to her, but her commitment to him.
Her loyalty and trust were given freely, and he'd sheltered her feelings, letting her have him in her life.
Opening his eyes, he looked into the darkness across the creek where his parents had lived. Rollo had built a home for his family to protect what was his. He wanted Brikken to provide a livelihood and security to those he loved.
But, Rollo had made mistakes.
Chief wasn't going to repeat them. Not with the club, and not with Johanna.
The pressure of his age, the pressure from the Feds getting closer, the pressure to accomplish all he'd set out to do weighed heavily on him. He could feel the clock ticking.
Chapter Seven
In the reflection of the mirror, Lindsay's ass stuck out of the small closet. Johanna unwound the curling iron from the last section of her hair and gazed at the backend of her long-time friend.
"The black heels have a red sole." She ran her hands through the strands of her hair, loosening the last fifteen minutes of work. "They're in a gray box, I think."
"I'm still looking," mumbled Lindsay. "There's so much stuff in here, I don't know why you don't organize everything so it'd be easier to find your clothes and shoes when you want something."
"I hate closets." She adjusted the top of her bikini and pressed her hand against the front of her short-shorts. "I'm counting on those shoes to bring in the tips tonight."
"Found them." Lindsay turned around holding the heels. "Do the customers even see your feet when they come up to the window to order coffee?"
Her job at the drive-through coffee house—an almost topless establishment—provided enough money in the tips alone to afford her part of the rent for the apartment she shared with Lindsay and Ashley.
"No, but those heels make me feel sexy. They scream class."
Lindsay laughed and ended with a snort. "No, they scream...throw me on the back of a pickup bed and fuck me like crazy."
"That, too." She laughed and slipped on the four-inch heels. "It's crazy how much coffee men can drink during the day with a little incentive to come back. Besides, the bikini top is all about the allure. They can look, but they can't touch."
Lindsay raised her brows. "Karla's advice?"
"You know it. Without her talking to Cendra who talked to the owner, I would never have gotten the job...and I wouldn't have been able to move out and live with you and Ashley." Johanna grabbed her purse. "Okay, I need to take off. Are you going to be here tonight after I get home from work?"
Lindsay followed her out of the bedroom. "No, I'm going to stay over at Tyler's."
"What about Ashley?" Johanna stopped by the front door.
"She left a note on the fridge that she and Olin are going to hang out at the clubhouse." Lindsay sat down on the couch.
"Ew." She gagged. "I just can't with those two."
"She's falling deep."
"I think that's a huge mistake. Olin is Olin. He'll never settle down." She wrinkled her nose. "At least she's screwing him at the clubhouse and doesn't bring it back to the apartment. I don't need that in front of my face or hear them through the walls," she said.
Olin had spent his high school years dating every female in the class, thanks to Jett's reputation for doing the same. From what she'd seen, he'd already gone through half the women at the clubhouse. Ashley deserved better.
Because of his older brothers, Thorn only had to breathe, and he had women throwing themselves at him. Sometimes two or three at a time. She thought Lindsay and Ashley would be safe from their charms being friends with her and knowing the truth behind the brothers' sexcapades, but Ashley fell for Olin's good looks, and no amount of warnings could keep her from falling into Olin's bed.
"Everyone always makes their own plans and leaves me to go out and have more fun. I thought we moved in together to actually hang out and go wild." Johanna pointed her finger at her friend. "I see how this goes. Find a man and forget that I've been your bestie for years."
"You need a man, girlfriend. Then, we could all hang out together."
Johanna waved away the excuse. "See you tomorrow, then."
She'd dated guy friends, and while she enjoyed the attention and participating in the dating scene, they all lacked what she looked for in a relationship. She walked out of the single-story apartment to her car. Even the men outside her social circle who'd asked her out while she worked ended up being less than perfect for her.
At nineteen years old, she should be out experiencing life. For years she'd thought adulthood would bring all the answers. Yet, she went to bed every night wishing she could go back to being sixteen years old and to experience the kiss with Chief again.
The feelings he'd evoked in her was the beginning of learning what passion felt like. S
he'd compared every date, every kiss, and the two times she had sex to how Chief had made her feel simply by him kissing her back.
She cranked up the radio. Two other cars pulled out of the off-street parking area, and she drove into the line waiting to enter the main street going through lower Tacoma. The night when she sought comfort from Chief after crashing her car had come naturally.
Her body led. Her mind followed. It'd been the first time she understood why people had sex, knowing that having it with someone she loved would be even better.
"Oh, come on, traffic." She eased her foot off the accelerator and crept up one car length and waited her turn. "I cannot be late for work," she muttered.
The last six months had been a learning curve of finding out it was her responsibility to wake up to an alarm and there was no one around to remind her of her work schedule or how much to save out of her paycheck for bills. While living with Karla, she'd taken everything for granted. Karla had made sure all her needs were taken care of and guided her through growing up.
A biker rode by causing a split in the traffic. She pulled out and headed the four blocks to the coffee house. For as long as she'd been driving, everywhere she turned in Tacoma, a Brikken member seemed to be riding around.
For the last two years, the conflicts within the club and the business Chief had to handle stopped him from coming to Karla's house as often. She braked behind the biker at the intersection on the red light. Instead, Karla went to Chief and their sons at the clubhouse. Any time she'd been around when Chief was close, he either left or acted like everyone else was more important than her. He only gave her enough attention to find out what she was doing with her life, but it wasn't enough for her.
More times than not lately, she ignored him because he'd hurt her. It wasn't enough that he stayed in her life. She wanted him to be a part of her everyday living. It'd be nice if he called and just asked what she was doing and seemed interested in talking. She missed being a part of his life.
Recognizing Keeffe, Chief's Vice President, as the rider in front of her, she waved back when he lifted his arm.
Keeffe looked over his shoulder. She lowered the window and leaned her head out of the car.
"If you push traffic, I'll give you a free coffee." She smiled, keeping her foot on the brake.
His chin lifted, and he turned around at the same time the light turned green. Her mood brightened. She missed seeing everyone from Brikken all the time. Since she'd moved out, she'd stayed away from the club, unless there was a get-together for the Brikken families.
Even then, she returned to the apartment more in a funk because it was impossible to be around Chief and not be the most important person in his life.
She flipped her blinker on and turned into the last parking spot for employees only. Checking her phone, she laughed softly. No wonder traffic was thick. She'd left a half hour earlier than planned. The conversation with Lindsay had distracted her.
Opening her door, she got out of the car and carrying her purse, walked over to Keeffe. "Come sit with me and have a coffee. I looked at the time wrong, and now I'm early for work."
He left his helmet on the handlebar of his motorcycle and joined her outside the coffee house. She stepped up to the drive-thru window and smiled at Selena. "Hey, girl. Can you give me two black coffees?"
"Sure." Selena peeked her head out of the mobile mini-home that'd been converted to a coffee house. "You're early."
"I don't know what I was thinking." She looked over at Keeffe who sat at the outdoor table. "But, better early than late."
"It's Friday, that's what you're thinking." Selena grinned, filling the cups. "You're off this weekend, and unlucky me, I get to work both days." She handed the cups over and adjusted her bikini top. "Enjoy."
"Oh, I will." She laughed. "The calm before the storm, right?"
"Don't you know it."
She carried Keeffe his coffee and sat down across from him. Catching his frown, she put off taking her first sip.
"What's wrong?" She blew across the surface of the cup.
The polar opposite of Chief, Keeffe leaned toward the skinny side and usually talked more rather than the silent treatment she'd gotten from Chief lately. Though Keeffe looked around the same age as Chief if she had to guess. Maybe a little older.
"Does Chief know you're looking like that?" Keeffe drank from the cup averting his eyes.
No one, not even Chief, had told her how to dress since he forbid her to go to some dance in high school, and even then, he'd changed his mind and let her attend. Granted, she'd spent the next two years wearing clothes she hoped would gain his attention—positive or negative— but her work called for a skimpy top and shorts. It's what made the coffee house famous in Tacoma.
Men who'd rather spend their day at a titty bar but had to work stopped in the drive-thru to get a look at the employees' bodies before work, during breaks, their lunch hour, and on their way home. Being seen for her body never bothered her. She was a female. She had boobs. So what?
"I'm sure he knows where I work. Half the club comes through for coffee and Karla was the one who helped me get the job." She shrugged. "None of his business what I'm doing with my life. I don't live with Karla anymore. I moved out, and he knows it. I've got an apartment now."
"When did that happen?"
"Mm..." She licked the drop of coffee off her lip. "Almost six months ago."
"Huh." Keeffe looked everywhere but at her.
Maybe the vice president was more like the president after all. She crossed her legs and leaned back in the chair. He had a quiet side like Chief that left her self-conscious.
"So, how is he?" she asked.
"Chief?"
She lowered her chin and looked at him, giving him a clue to follow the conversation. He rubbed his thigh, and his cheek twitched. She found it interesting that Keeffe seemed uncomfortable around her and flipped her hair in front of her shoulder, thinking it was her barely-there bikini top distracting him. She'd become comfortable in the lack of clothes required of her, she often forgot that the sight of a woman in beach apparel, not close to the water, flustered males, old and young.
"You know, a lot is going on, Johanna. Chief's been busy." Keeffe drained the rest of his coffee. "Talking about being busy, I need to take off and run some errands. Thanks for the cup."
She remained sitting, stunned by the conversation and sad. Sad because there was a tension between her and Keeffe that had never been there before. Using her extra time before work, she watched him get on his motorcycle and leave. Blowing out her breath, she hadn't expected him to clam up or question her right to work and earn a living. With her legs crossed, she swung her foot as more agitation filled her.
On Fridays, the Brikken members partied, unless something important happened and the bikers were occupied.
Getting her phone out of her purse, she dialed Karla.
"Hello?"
"It's me." She picked at the hem of her shorts. "What are you doing tonight?"
"I'm meeting some of the women over at the club at eight o'clock, why?" Karla paused. "I can change my plans if you need me."
"I always need you, but I don't need you tonight." She ran her free hand through her hair. "Earlier this morning, I was talking to Lindsay about her plans and what Ashley was going to do tonight. Everyone's busy, so I was just sitting here wondering about you, and thought I'd check in and see what you're going to do on a Friday night."
"That was sweet of you. So, tell me what your big plans are tonight?"
Keeffe admitted a lot was going on at the club, but Karla and Ashley had plans to go there tonight. Whatever put the moody-mood in Keeffe and Chief, apparently wouldn't stop the others from hanging out with Brikken members.
"I'm just going to do a few things around the apartment, and then I'll probably meet Ashley at the club." Her split decision made, she said, "I'll make sure I find you. I owe you a hug for letting me take two of your Rubbermaid containers."
; Karla laughed. "And, my laundry soap."
"Hey, who knew lugging a week's worth of dirty clothes to the laundry room at the apartment complex required so much work." She stood and pulled the back of her shorts down to cover her butt. "You spoiled me when I lived with you."
"I'd have you back home in a heartbeat," said Karla quietly. "I love you."
"Love you, too." She sighed. "I better go. It's off to work I go..."
"Have a good day."
"You, too. Hopefully, I'll see you tonight." She disconnected the call and slipped the phone back into her purse.
In eight hours, she'd go to the clubhouse. She wanted answers on why Chief chose to basically ignore her since she moved out of Karla's house. While living under Karla's roof, she felt responsible for not causing conflict between the woman taking care of her and the man she loved. She'd gone about her life the way everyone else wanted her to, trying to forget how Chief made her feel, but she could never forget.
If anything, his distance only made her want him more.
He'd reinforced their connection many, many times over the years. She hadn't imagined it. She was old enough to hear the truth about how he felt, and she'd know if he lied to her.
The pain of not only growing up without her mom and everything she knew exonerated the guilt when she let herself wish that Chief would be in her life forever. That he would be hers forever. That the relationships he had with Karla and Nene would become something different.
She walked to the back door of the coffee house swallowing the jealousy that always hit her. Karla had a family relationship with Chief. Nene used Chief because she was too lazy to go get a job and support herself and basically sold him sex.
And, Keeffe had the nerve to comment about how she dressed and seemed concerned about Chief's opinion? The statement hadn't come from him. He'd fed her something Chief would've said about her privately, and she wanted to know why.
Chief never answered to anyone. But the way he'd went out of his way to ignore her and yet believed he had a say in how she dressed and where she worked only made her more determined to speak her mind. Enough was enough.