She reaches up and pecks my cheek. "Good," she says, leaning on my chest and staring into my eyes. "Because I want to leave Dawn behind me. She was part of Gears’s world. His possession. And I don't feel that way anymore. I want to be me. I want to belong to myself."
I'm fine with that. Even finer that she's confiding in me about this change in her life. I take pride in thinking I've had something to do with it.
"Well, Meredith. I was going to surprise you with the name tag I ordered for you at work today, but that can wait until I order a new one."
"You ordered me a name tag. That's so sweet."
"It's not that special. All my employees get one sooner or later."
She taps my nose with her finger. "It's still sweet."
She's out of my bed and walking naked to the bathroom. The light illuminates her silhouette and my mouth goes dry. Meredith is beautiful on the inside and out, and after last night I can't lie about my feelings for her. I want to make her mine. I've wanted to since the day I first saw her a year ago.
And now that she's confided in me and she's putting her past behind her, I know I have a chance.
I just have to make sure I do it right.
Dawn was an infatuation for me. A fling. A challenge I needed to get out of my system. But Meredith... I already know she's going to be the love of my life.
Chapter 7
Meredith
Doc is around the office most of the morning, but after lunch he's nowhere to be found.
I don't really mind the time alone. After living in the clubhouse again over the last few days, it's nice to get a moment of quiet. I'm still filing away invoices from the last few months of unit rentals and auctions of delinquent accounts, and I'm finding I enjoy the steady rhythm of the work.
Around midafternoon, Hawk rolls in on his Harley and makes an excuse of looking for Doc to check up on me. I know Tempest Elite well enough to know Doc has eyes everywhere. I don't even mind being looked after the way Doc does it. He's possessive in his own way, but he's not overbearing, and he bends where most guys I've been with in the past would break.
I know I've overheard Doc and Gunner and Bear talking about their time in the service. Bear was the powerhouse who their unit looked up to the most, and Gunner was the guy who had everyone's back, but Doc was the one who took care of everyone. He got his name because everyone came to him when they had a problem.
I smile at the thought, knowing Doc is now taking care of me and the notion makes me feel warm and safe. A shiver runs through me at the thought. Not a cold, hollow one, but a full satiated surge of delight.
I'm already planning to wear the yellow dress tonight and brought it with me to change into before Doc returns to take me home.
Five minutes before close, he struts into the office in a nice pair of jeans and a button-down black shirt with roses in his hands. He's clean shaven for the first time since I've known him, and he smells so good I want to bury my nose in his neck.
"Are those for me?" I wink at him as I close down the computer and walk around the counter.
"I don't know," he teases. "I'd planned to meet my ol'lady here. Maybe you've seen her around?"
He grins and butterflies flutter in my belly and a weight pushes down on my core. "Stop teasing me, Doc. I'm not very good at it."
He hands me the flowers and I lean in to smell them. They are fresh and so fragrant I close my eyes to take in the scent. I've never been given flowers before. Not one single time in my life. I want to remember this moment forever.
"When we get back to the club, I'll put these in water."
Doc takes the roses from me and lays them on my desk. "We're not going back to the club. Not right away. I have plans for you tonight."
"Plans." I smirk. "I'm not much for surprises, but if you promise me it's a good one—" Inside, I'm holding back a surge of fear. I trust Doc. But I've been a part of way too many surprises that weren't good and ended with me in trouble.
Doc takes my hand in his and brings it to his mouth. His soft cheek brushes over the top before he presses his lips onto my skin. "Do you trust me?"
I hesitate. God, how I wish I could just scream yes to him. But there is always that part of me that has to play it safe. "I trust you enough."
"Enough," he repeats and runs his hand over his forehead. That answer didn't make him happy. I can tell by the lines wrinkling his forehead. "Well. Enough will have to do for tonight."
I have no idea what his plan is, but when we lock up the office and I head off toward his motorcycle, I spy a basket strapped to the back. I don't want to ruin this moment for him, so I don't ask. I straddle the seat as best I can in the dress before he helps me with my helmet.
The evening air is hot, but the breeze from the bike cools off my skin except for the places where I'm pressed into Doc. I hold on tighter than I need to. I've been riding bitch seats for most of my life and could hang on by the sheer strength in my thighs alone, but I wrap my arms around his middle and lay my head on his back anyway.
We travel out past the city and the bridges and the water until we're out in the middle of nowhere. Doc takes a dirt road for a few miles and pulls to a stop in the middle of a wooded area with a small grassy field and a view of a pond.
"Is my surprise a picnic?"
It's hard to imagine a man like Doc thinking of something so romantic on his own. I'm sure Bree or Everly or even Gunner had a part in this. I don't want to take away from the pleased expression he's wearing, so I say nothing.
"You said last night you were putting Dawn behind you, so I wanted to give Meredith something special to celebrate her coming out." He laughs. "I know it's corny, but go with it so I don't feel like a complete loser."
"Ah."
Doc takes my helmet and hands me the blanket from the top of the basket.
"I would never think you're a loser, Doc. Its' romantic. There's nothing wrong with showing your tender side once in a while."
He grunts at me, then takes the basket and my hand and leads me to the edge of the water. We spread out our blanket and I dig into the basket and set out packages of cheeses and breads, olives, a pint of fresh strawberries, two wine glasses, and a bottle of sparkling white.
There is no way Doc thought of any of this, but the fact that he is sitting down beside me and playing along makes my heart thump hard and that familiar weight against my core thrum.
The conversation comes easy as we joke about the food and the flies that won't leave us alone. I feel Doc's walls drop and his true passionate side emerges.
By the time the sun dips down too far to see, I'm laying with my head in his lap and he's brushing my hair with a lazy hand.
"You know when we return to the club, there are going to be stares?" I glance up at him and say. "Are you going to be okay with that?"
He drops a sweet kiss to my forehead. "I claimed you as my lady on day one. If they say a word that makes you uncomfortable, I'll smash their skull in."
I giggle. Doc's trying to seem all macho, but he's already slipped and shown me how tender and loving he can be. I'd still never mess with him in a fight, but the guy I knew who busted heads and made threats isn't the same man I'm with tonight.
I like this guy. Like, really like this guy.
I could see myself really becoming Doc’s ol'lady for real and living a happy life with him. I'm sinking and it's all his fault. I couldn’t be more thankful, because for the first time in a year I feel I can drop my guard and just enjoy being me.
Doc has saved me.
I couldn't be happier.
Doc
Meredith is curled into my back on our ride home from the lake. It's a dark night with a crescent moon and until we reach the city, the stars are bright.
I'd planned on doing more than talking at the lake. Images of Meredith's exhausted and naked body bathed in moonglow plagued my mind all afternoon while I worked with Gunner and Everly to put together an evening to mark Meredith’s transformation. I didn't tell them why
I wanted to do something special for her, but by the smiles and winks to one another, I'm sure they figured it out.
All too soon, the croaking frogs turn into car backfires and we pull into the club lot. I park next to Gunner's bike, but I don't see Everly's. I had hoped to thank her for the food and the flowers and to give Meredith a chance to chat with her girlfriends before I carried her up to our bedroom again for a repeat of last night.
The bar is close to empty when we enter. Only prospects and sweetbutts with an unpatched member behind the bar.
"Where's Gunner?" I toss at him as I lead Meredith to the counter.
His eyes are wide and his expression makes the hair on my neck stand. Something isn't right. "Bear just called church. You didn't get the message?"
"No." I'd turned my phone off, wanting nothing to hinder this evening with Meredith. I release her hand and dig for my phone. Five texts. All one word.
CHURCH.
"Go," Mer says without hesitation. She understands the importance of the meeting and how much trouble I'm already in for being late.
I pull her face to me between my palms and study her eyes. "I'll be back as soon as it's over."
"I'll be waiting." She smiles before I drop my mouth to hers. It's hard to pull away. Damn hard. I've just gotten this woman to care for me the way I've cared about her for years and I'm afraid if I step away, even for a second, it will all disappear.
I turn at the church door and see Meredith has settled into a bar stool and she's smiling at me and waving me on. She'll be there when we're done. I know that’s what she's saying.
"We don't know for sure but there have been reports of Devils in the area. A couple nomads last night mentioned a turf war brewing between them and the Dark Angels to the south."
I take a seat in the back and catch the last of Bear's speech.
"The Dark Angels have aligned with us before against the Devils and in return, if they ask for support in this fight, we need to be ready to step up."
Mack stands. "We just ended our fight with the Devils a few months ago. They almost killed our Prez. Do we really want to join in a turf war that has nothing to do with us?"
As soon as he sits, the grumbles and groans begin.
Bear almost didn't make it out of his last dust up with the Devils alive. If he's willing to take them on, I have his back the whole way. But something nags at the back of my thoughts.
"We're Tempest Elite. We don't back down from a fight. Ours, or any other for a club that supports us." Bear is stern. He's using the same commanding voice he addressed the troops with years ago, and they always listened.
"If our prez asks us to step up, we don't question. We do," Gunner adds.
I yell a "hell yeah," but as soon as I do, my back tingles. This isn't like going into other fights when I didn't care if I came out hurt or even alive. This time, I have something to come back to. Someone. I can't fuck this up with Meredith.
Something else is said that I miss before Gunner calls for a vote. All but a few hands fly in the air and the rest follow as Bear stares down each resisting member.
"The club is a brotherhood and as such we stand as one. Tomorrow I will address the prospects and make an open call to the independents in the area," he says before dismissing us back to the bar.
Meredith is still sitting where I left her, chatting with the prospect behind the bar. I recognize his face, but I don't know his name, and I don't care to.
I step up behind her and sweep my arm under her knees, hoisting her up against my chest.
"Doc," she shrieks followed by a giggle. "What the hell are you doing?"
"What I've wanted to do all damn night." I have her at the steps when Bear calls my name.
He comes to us. "For now, I need what was said in there to stay between patched members only." He glances at Meredith before looking at me again. "Understand?"
"Got it," I growl back. I'm not happy with his implication, but I brush it off. I'm about to have my woman knowing full well she wants me bad and nothing, not even a turf war, is going to come between us.
Chapter 8
Meredith
Doc and I reached the office only a few minutes before opening. Being the boss, Doc doesn't seem to mind that we slept in. Or at least we stayed in bed longer than usual, even if what happened in that bed couldn't be described as sleeping.
I chose the yellow dress to wear today with my hair up in a twist that shows off my neck and the pair of strappy sandals Bree helped me pick up on our shopping trip.
It's a Saturday, and according to Doc, one of the busier days since it's the last weekend in the month. We will be slammed with people wanting to pay their fines and fees or begging for an extension before the monthly auction to clean out delinquent units.
He also told me between breakfast this morning and a second round in the bedroom before showers and dressing that he'd have a few extra guys on the grounds for security since some of his customers don’t take rejection well.
He knows I'm a sucker for a sad face, and as soon as he opens the front doors for business, I'm sent to the back office to finish entering invoices and updating records.
"Squash any dreams?" I ask just before noon when he pokes his head in to check on me. I can see him and one of the prospects working the front from the large window in his office and I've witnessed more than one crying customer begging for help before they blew up and screamed his head off.
"Hey. I give them two extra months to be delinquent before I change the locks on their units. That's more than most get.”
He steps around to me and bends down, taking my face in his hands. "And that's why I don't want you working the front today. You'd give away the whole damn place if I let you."
"You're not wrong." I wrinkle up my nose and grin. "But I have a feeling you'd do the same under the right circumstances. I mean, you could have turned me down when I came in looking for a job."
"You?" He smirks and seeing Doc happy and relaxed does things to my heart I can't explain. He's almost a different man outside of the club. Not that I don't like Doc as a citizen. He's fucking hot when he's taking charge. But this side has its charms too.
He drops a kiss on my mouth that doesn't last long enough before he's back at the door. "Lunch in or out today? I'm feeling like Mexican."
"In." I laugh. "It's too busy for you to leave anyway. I'll call and have it delivered."
"That's my Baby Girl." He winks at me and then he’s gone.
It's cozy how we fit together now. He's still protective and watches over me when we're in the club, but here in the office, it's almost like we are playing house. We're the happy married couple working the family business without a care in the world.
I call the restaurant the club favors and order enough for me, Doc, and the extra prospects from a kid we know from the neighborhood. With the order in, I pick up another stack of invoices to enter just before the office phone rings.
Out the window, Doc is talking with a customer, so I reach for the phone on his desk and answer.
"Tempest Elite Storage and More. If you've got stuff, we've got the perfect place to store it." It's cheesy but I've heard Doc say it at least a half dozen times since I started helping out.
"Dawn?" The voice sounds muffled until I hear the music in the background and realize it's someone calling from the club.
"This is her."
"Where's Doc? I need him on the phone."
"He's with a customer."
"I need him now." I'm not sure, but I believe it's Bear's voice and he isn't happy.
I know that tone too well. Something is up and with the last-minute church last night, I don't have time to waste. I stand up with the phone still in hand and I knock on the window. When Doc looks up, I point to the phone and mouth "Bear" to him.
He holds a finger up to the couple he's been chatting with and reaches for the phone from the front desk. As soon as I hear him answer, I pull the phone away from my ear, but not before I overhear Bear tel
l Doc it's time.
Time for what? It's a loaded question when it comes to club business and knowing how tight the Tempest Elite are, I'll probably never know, so I'm not going to push.
I'm just back to my stack of work when Doc comes in the door again. He's short on breath and the easygoing feeling I felt from him all morning is gone.
"Change of plans, Baby. Bear's calling a meeting. I'm going to lock up early and take you back to the club."
"Lock up? It's your busiest day of the month. Leave the prospects and me and we'll take care of the customers."
"Can't do." He rubs at his chin. Something is really irritating him, but I don't dare ask what. "The prospects are coming too. The ol'ladies are all meeting up at the club. You should be there with them."
Doc rounds the desk and begins shutting off lights and shoving papers into piles. Piles I spent the better part of the morning sorting. "I'm not really one of the ol'ladies, Doc. You know other than Bree and Everly, they all still hate me."
He glances up at me from his work, but he doesn't respond.
"The food is already on the way and there is so much work here that needs to get done. Why don't you leave me here in the back office to finish up? You can lock up the front. No one will know I'm here."
Doc reaches over my shoulder to cut off the computer, but I stop his hand before he can reach the keys. "Doc."
He huffs and scowls at me. "I don't like it."
"You don't have to. I don't know what's going on at the club but if it's tense there, it might be better for everyone if I'm not there to stir up more trouble. I'll have food and something to keep me busy while you guys hash out whatever Bear is so worked up over." I force a smile and reach for his forearm. "You can pick me up tonight and we can go for a long ride before you take me back to the club."
Doc tenses and growls, but I have him over a barrel. He knows as well as I do the ol'ladies don't want me around and if tensions are high in the clubhouse already, I'll only make things worse.
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