Ridge Creek

by C L Green

  Is she in that much pain?

  I am about to ask her if she’s okay when she lets a strangled gurgle and then buckles forward bellowing with laughter.

  “Kinky women sex?” She screeches as she continues laughing and starts to bang her hands against her thighs. “Is that what you call what you just saw?”

  I hear Jambo start screeching from somewhere behind me. He’s distressed by Emma’s loud laughing. With a whoosh, my hair lifts off my neck as he swoops past me to land on her shoulder, his posture protective. Oblivious to his arrival, Emma keeps laughing.

  I stare at her for a few beats and then without warning, find myself bent over as a rush of air exits my lungs and I start laughing too.

  Hard.

  Ohmigod.

  We were just sprung on the floor moaning and groaning and rubbing our boobs by a room full of bikers.

  Funny.

  Continuing to laugh, I straighten up, tears pouring from eyes to see Jake leaning against the wall staring at us, his face blank. He does not look amused.

  “You done?” He asks sternly.

  Slamming my mouth shut and breathing through my nose to stem the laughter I nod. More tears slide down my face. Emma slows her bellowing to a chuckle and I can hear her hiccuping beside me as well.

  “Talk,” he growls again not removing his eyes from mine.

  “Well…” I start as I look back towards Emma wiping the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand. “We were bored and thought we might go to the pub. Therefore the register raid, we needed some money.”

  Jake lifts his eyebrow, his piercing jiggling slightly as he slides his eyes to Emma. She jams her mouth shut, nods and then hiccups again.

  “And that shit on the floor?”

  “Accidental fall,” I mutter as I suddenly remember how sore my boobs are and I lift my hand to give them a quick rub before I snatch it away as fast I can.

  Jake’s eyes flare and I hear his breath catch for a second. “Meeting’s over,” he grunts as he looks towards the closed door. “No need to go to the pub, you can come in and drink with us.”

  I study his face for a second or two trying to find out if he is angry or not. It is only when I see the slight twitch of his top lip that I realize he is amused. Reaching out to open the door, he glances back at us both. “You do that shit again, you do it out there.” He flicks his chin to the communal room. “I’ll sell tickets. We’ll make a killing.”

  Turning to Emma I grin. When I look back Jake is gone and the doorway is empty.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Business

  Jake…

  “What the fuck was that about?” Zane growls at me as he flicks the door shut behind him with the heel of his boot.

  Pissed that he’s growling at me for no apparent fucking reason, I cross my arms in front of me and lean back, throwing my weight to my heels. There is no way I’m gunna answer that question until I’m clear on what the fuck he is going off about. Hardening my eyes I growl back. “What the fuck?”

  “Don’t what the fuck me. You know what I’m saying.”

  Do I? He can’t be talking about the show the girls put on can he? That was as funny as fuck…

  “Why the fuck did you haul everyone’s asses down here tonight for what they thought was a business update that ended looking much to me like a fuckin’ church meeting of a motorcycle club? Since when did we ever act like a fuckin’ MC? We are a business Jake, not a fuckin’ MC and you are not the fuckin’ president.”

  What the fuck? He calls running the idea of increased security and background checks past everyone me acting like the president of a motorcycle club?

  “I never said we were an MC and I was the fuckin’ president,” I snap, pissed that he’s giving me shit over nothing.

  “Well you were fuckin’ acting like one out there tonight. How the fuck did the conversation between us on running your idea past the boys turn into what looked a fuck of a lot like a church meeting? One where the men in the room got to fuckin’ vote on the idea? They’re our employees and our associates Jake and I get that you wanted to get a feel for how this sat with them, but a fuckin’ vote?”

  He has a point. I’ve never asked for a vote on anything. I’ve just run ideas past Zane and on some occasions, Luke as well. Then between the two of us, we’ve told everyone what was going down.

  Mm.

  “What would you have done if they had voted no Jake?”

  A good question.

  What the fuck was I thinking?

  This is a business. A fast growing business that relies on us being able to trust the people we work with but it doesn’t mean they need to get a say in how we run it.

  “They didn’t vote no though did they Zane?”

  “Thank fuck,” Zane mutters as he walks over and sits on the edge of his bed looking relieved. “You and I both know that some of the men in that room owe us big favors. We also both know the shit we’ve done to earn those favors could land us in jail… or even worse, dead. You start making it look like they have a say in how we do business, you put us at risk of looking weak. If we look weak they might just decide there is a good business ripe for the picking if we were to be … out of the way.”

  “I trust the men out there implicitly Zane. I thought you did too.”

  “I do. But the business is growing so fuckin’ fast Jake. We have quickly rolled from the hundreds of thousands a year bracket into the millions. Our next step is double figure millions. Luke’s already pulling together the parts for another three setups and our realtor reckons he’s earmarked another four properties that meet our criteria. Big bucks equates to big risks. One of those big risks is that brothers you once thought of as loyal become jealous. They start to turn on you. They see the dollar signs before the loyalty and then the shit starts hitting the fan.”

  Sighing, I realize he is right. Dropping my arms I walk over and drop down beside him on the bed. We are fast heading into a lifestyle where we are going to need more than just friendships and favors to keep our business running. As well as to keep us alive.

  The risks when running a multimillion dollar drug business are going to be huge. Not only do we need to ensure we have strong in-house contacts, we need to protect ourselves from competitor takeovers. An even bigger task.

  Twisting my head to see Zane staring blankly at the floor between his feet, I decide to ask the question that I can tell is on both our minds. “Are we getting too big brother?”

  Jolting as if I have touched him with a hot iron, I watch a look of surprise flash across his face.

  “Mind reading now are we brother?” He mumbles before turning his blue eyes on mine.

  “Well?” I ask. We need to sort this shit out now. Deciding in another year or two that we don’t want this will be too late.

  “Maybe…” he falters as continues to stare at me thoughtfully. “But the stench of the shit we’ve done in our past is just gunna keep trailing us until we’ve got enough cash to wash it off. I for one still believe in happy fucking endings. A mansion on the side of the ocean somewhere with a harem of sexy women and a dozen kids is gunna cost a fuckin’ truckload.”

  And then some.

  I chuckle and watch as a grin starts to lift the corner of his mouth. “You don’t want to consider cutting that dream back by just a few square meters, a couple of women and a couple of kids?”

  “Fuck no,” he replies instantly a broad smile splitting his face. “And they’re all gunna have their own rooms too,” he adds.

  “You’re a fuckin’ dork Zane. If that’s seriously what you want, you’d better work on finding your harem soon or your gunna find yourself too old to breed…”

  I watch as he shrugs and the smile disappears from his face. Sucking his bottom lip between his teeth he looks thoughtful. “Do you reckon the crazy bitch is as good as we’ve heard she is?”

  “Which one?” I ask innocently as I scratch my chin.

  He grins at me as he lifts an eyebrow. “Be
tween her and the gutsy little piece you picked up off the side of the road, we’ve been handed the keys to take this to a whole new level.” He says in a serious tone before slapping his hands on his thighs and standing up.

  “Which is also something we need to talk about,” I announce as I turn my head to look at the door, concerned that it might open or that someone might be listening. “Don’t fuck with her and don’t fuck with her head. She’s Arianna’s only real friend and if you fuck that up I don’t care if you’re my brother or not, I’ll fuck you up.”

  With another big grin, Zane reaches his hand out to ruffle my hair before crossing his arms again in front of his chest. “Protective son of a bitch aren’t we?”

  “I’m a serious son of a bitch on this one Zane. Don’t fuck with her. She may act like a crazy bitch but from what I can see, she’s doing it to keep people from getting close. With the shit she’s into, I can see why. She’s gotta protect her ass to keep herself safe. I know you brother. You’ve got a way of working yourself under a woman’s skin. I also know you don’t give a fuck for more than five minutes and if we wanna move forward, we can’t afford to lose her. You fucking her over will probably mean she walks. Her walking will affect business and with her influence on Ari, I reckon she’ll walk too. Don’t. Fuck. With. Emma. Either you make it very fuckin’ clear your nothing more than a one or two night stand planning on a future harem or just let Luke have her. He’s more likely to handle her with the care she deserves.”

  I shift my eyes from the door back to Zane’s face in time to see him stiffen. A look of doubt flashes across face. “Not your call brother,” his words cut into me with an icy tone.

  I sigh again as I too push off the bed. Standing face-to-face with my brother I lean in so our faces are inches apart. “When it affects business brother, it may not be solely my call, but you know what I’m saying makes sense.”

  His face hardens before I watch his eyes blank out. He’s shut me out, conversation over.

  Typical Zane.

  Without another word he turns and heads for the door. Pausing briefly after he swings it open, he looks back and says, “I know it makes sense brother, but it's still not your fuckin’ call.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Plausible Deniability

  Arianna…

  “Wake up Ari.”

  I feel a warm hand gently move the hair across my face and hook it behind my ear. It then slides to the back of my neck and I feel a light squeeze.

  “Wake up babe,” Jake’s deep voice rumbles near my ear and I feel his hot breath dance across my cheek.

  “No.” I mumble against my pillow without opening my eyes. My eyelids are heavy and it’s too much effort to open them. “I’m tired. Moving and unpacking boxes last night wore me out. Go away.”

  “Lightweight,” Jake rumbles softly before blowing gently against my ear.

  “I’m not a fucking lightweight,” I grumble against my pillow again. “That’s the most exercise I’ve done in weeks and I’m tired… and stiff. And stop blowing in my ear, it’s annoying,” I growl swiping blindly for his face with my hand. If I’m lucky, a finger will connect with an eye and he will regret waking me up.

  He captures my hand midair with his far stronger one and I feel another light squeeze on the back of my neck. Warm, soft lips then connect with my cheek. “Okay,” Jake murmurs against my cheek before I feel him pulling away as he lets my hand drop to the bed again.

  With a groan, I roll over and force one eye open to peer up at him. It is still dark in the room and I can see the soft gray light of dawn peeping through the sides of the curtains. Light is spilling into the room from a hallway light. Jake is wearing a loose fitting white t-shirt and gray track pants. He is sitting on the bed and leaning over me. “Why’d you wake me up?”

  “I wanted to tell you that I’m headed to the gym with Luke and Zane and then Luke and I head out for two days. I won’t see you until Thursday.”

  “Good,” I mumble as I shut my eye again and open my mouth wide to let out a huge yawn.

  “Good?”

  I hear the confusion in his voice so I force myself to open both eyes. His eyebrows furrow as he stares at me. “Yes. Good. I like your muscles. I know muscles like that don’t grow miraculously on men’s bodies. They take work.”

  His lips twitch and his eyebrows relax. “Phew. I thought you were sick of me already.”

  Huh?

  Sick of him? How could I be sick of him? If my memory serves me right, he gave me three raging orgasms last night and one of them was before I even had my panties off. Jesus, no woman on this earth is going to get sick of that. I blink in shock.

  His lip twitch becomes a grin as I realize that he can see exactly what I was thinking. “You could come to the gym with us.”

  “Fuck no.”

  He chuckles softly, “Don’t like gyms?”

  “Fuck no, who would?”

  “Luke, Zane and me.”

  “Good then,” I mumble as I yawn again and throw my hands above my head to stretch. Aware that I am naked, I watch as Jake’s eyes darken as they graze down my body to stare at my boobs peeking out from under the covers.

  Without hesitation, his strong hand flies out to grab both of mine and pin them above my head. He leans in close to my face and asks softly, “What’s wrong with the gym?”

  With my hands locked above my head, my body instantly launches from tired and sleepy to wide-awake and fidgety. I blink again, this time slowly as the urge to arch my back off the bed and push against his body overrides my ability to think. My breath hitches in my throat as I stare mesmerized at his lips.

  His lips twitch again. “Ari, what’s wrong with the gym?”

  Rolling my eyes I draw in a breath and try to slow my now racing heart, “What’s not wrong with the gym?”

  He leans down and I notice his eyes have gone inky. His tongue darts out and swipes my bottom lip. “Elaborate.”

  “Um.”

  “I said tell me what’s wrong with the gym Ari?” He says again slightly more forcefully as he applies more pressure to my hands above my head.

  “Get out of my face and I will,” I announce breathily. “I can’t concentrate with you so close and… well so close.”

  He chuckles and pulls back an inch or two. Cocking an eyebrow I can see he is waiting for me to continue.

  “Crowds, stench, meatheads,” I announce quickly.

  “Huh?”

  I watch as his eyebrows knit in confusion again. With only a short pause, I continue.

  “Gyms are crowded, people everywhere. I hate the thought of people everywhere staring at one another as they work out. They also stink. All those men working out and sweating is plain gross. The smell of one of two guys sweating can be a turn on, but not multiple guys. It all just adds up to a soupy, sick stench that makes the air thick and its… gross. And most guys who work out are meatheads. So focused on how they look they spend the entire time working out in front of mirrors ogling themselves. It’s ridiculous.”

  His lip starts twitching again.

  “Am I a meathead?”

  “Fuck no.” I blurt without thinking. “Although I haven’t seen you working out at the gym so perhaps I’m wrong. Am I wrong? Do you stand in front of the mirror ogling yourself? Do you get spray tans as well?”

  He starts grinning again and leans in close to my face again. His breath hot against my face. “No I don’t ogle myself or get spray tans Ari.”

  “Thank God,” I murmur as I feel myself arching my back so that I can press closer to his warm body.

  “Our gym is not crowded either,” he rumbles as he licks his lips slowly and starts staring at my lips with much the same look as I suspect I am giving him.

  “How can you be sure of that?” I ask, my heart rate spiking again as I start to fidget against his hand, tugging at my arms above my head.

  “It’s in a shed out the back of my house.”

  I stop fidgeting. That was not th
e answer I was expecting. “Oh.”

  “Limited membership,” he murmurs before softly pressing his lips to mine. “You can be our first female member if you like?”

  “Um… “Maybe?” I mumble against his lips as my tongue darts out to seek entry into his mouth.

  He opens for me and within seconds we are hot and heavy and he has lowered himself against my chest. Our tongues dance together and all thoughts of gyms and whatever else it was we were talking about shoot out of my head.

  I hear him groan and he pulls away, letting go of my hands. “I don’t have time for this woman. I need to get moving.”

  I pop my lips at him and grumble.

  How dare he wire me up and then back off!

  “Luke and I need to hit the road straight after our workouts. We’ve got wind and solar to install and it’s nearly five hours away. We’ll be staying overnight. If all goes well, I’ll see you late tomorrow night.”

  Disappointed that he is going to leave me hanging, I stare up at him not saying a word.

  He grins at me, “You’ll live,” he announces as he leans down to give me a quick good-bye peck on the lips. Then without further hesitation he pushes up from the bed and heads for the door. Without looking back he closes the door behind him and I am thrown back into complete darkness.

  “Bye.” I whisper into the dark.

  I think I’m gunna miss him.

  Damn.

  *****

  "Get the fuck up woman!”

  Goddamn it.

  “What time is it?” I open my eyes and mumble against my pillow again as I hear Emma drawing the curtains and light spills into the room.

  “Nine thirty. We’ve got work piling up all over the fucking place so move your ass.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” I groan as I swing myself up and plant my feet on the floor.

  “You’re on the wireframes for Luke’s website, I’ve got two ID’s to do so I’m gunna be flat out and can’t help you. There’s also more unpacking to do out front that seems to be a priority considering they’ve already had five customers walk through the front door since nine. Seeing shit on shelves has started a customer stampede.”