by Debra Kayn
She shut down everything in the office, grabbed her purse, and locked the front door. Exiting through the bay, she approached Elissa and Willa.
"I'm heading out." She stopped alongside the vehicle they worked on. "Are you sure you don't want me to order some dinner for you both before I go?"
"If we take a break to eat, we won't get out of here before nine." Elissa wiped her hands on a rag. "Hours mean money."
Willa rolled out from under the car on a creeper. "Any chance we can hit a Brikken party this weekend?"
Sunday, Olin would be riding out of town and be gone a week. Friday's party would be closed to outsiders and only the women belonging to the members would be allowed to be there. She tried to ignore the flutter in her stomach. She already missed him, and he wasn't even gone yet. The last few weeks had turned out better than she'd hoped while living with him and she'd even moved the other half of her stuff into Olin's house.
"I don't think they're opening the clubhouse this weekend, but when they do, I'll see about getting you clearance." She smiled and stepped toward the opened garage door. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow. Don't work too hard."
Knowing she would have to fight traffic to get to the other side of town, she wasted no time starting her car and pulling away from work. Lindsay lacked patience. If she were ten minutes late, her sister would leave.
On Seventeenth Street and Piedmont, she turned right, cutting across the Sacred Heart parking lot and hopped the street into Applebee's. She pulled into the first available spot and was hurrying to the restaurant when she heard her name called.
She stopped and peered around, spotting a slim arm waving behind a black car.
Jackie rounded the bumper of the vehicle. "Aunt Ashley, look what I got."
The brand new, black Subaru WRX practically sparkled in the lot. Ashley looked both ways for traffic and hurried across the asphalt.
"Oh, my God. It's beautiful." She hugged Olin's younger sister. "When did you get this?"
"Friday night." Jackie held up the keychain. "Chief helped me buy it."
More than helped. She knew how much a brand-new car sold for. She also knew how much Chief protected his children. He would make sure she drove one of the safest cars on the market.
"It's gorgeous." She walked down the length of the car. "Are you having fun driving it around?"
"Yeah." Jackie's smile reminded her of Johanna. "I just met Toni and Xtian for dinner."
Of course, she was hanging out with Brikken kids. Ashley jolted at the reminder of Lindsay waiting for her inside the restaurant.
"You be careful. Wear your seatbelt." She hugged Jackie. "First chance I get, I'm stealing that car and going on a road trip."
Jackie laughed. "No way."
"Okay, girly. I need to go inside before Lindsay leaves or makes me pay for dinner. Congratulations on the new car." She waved and hurried away.
At the door, she glanced behind her making sure Jackie got into the car and spotted two bikers parked three spots down. She shook her head and let the door close. Jackie might've received her first big taste of freedom owning a car, but Chief wasn't letting her go out on her own.
She spoke with the hostess who showed her to the back table where Lindsay sipped on a drink. Thanking the woman, she slid into the chair and put her purse under the table by her feet.
"Sorry, I’m late." She picked up the menu. "I ran into Jackie in the parking lot."
"She was leaving the restaurant as I arrived and mentioned she got a new car." Lindsay lowered her voice. "Did you see it?"
She picked out her choice of dinner and folded the menu. "It's a beauty."
"As nice as the car Chief bought Johanna when she was sixteen?" asked Lindsay.
"Yeah." She laughed softly. "I forgot about that. I can't believe we couldn't see what was happening between those two back then, or even sooner."
"That's because we were too busy checking out boy butts in Levi's and caught up in having teenage fun." Lindsay sighed. "I need a sugar daddy."
"Oh, shut up." Ashley rolled her eyes and tapped her sister's leg under the table with her foot at the approach of the waitress.
They gave their order. Ashley checked her phone for any message from Olin while they waited for their food. She relaxed, knowing he was busy and she wasn't missing time with him if his plans had changed.
"We're going to have to figure out when we can go to the electric company and have the bill switched from your name to mine." Lindsay finished her drink.
"It can't be done over the phone?"
"No, I tried paying online but didn't know the password you made. I ended up dropping off the payment this morning before work. Apparently, anyone can pay on someone else's bill in person."
She leaned back as the waitress delivered her salad. Once they were alone again, she said, "I need to sign the house over to you, too."
"Why don't you wait." Lindsay wiped her mouth off on the napkin. "See how things go with Olin and—"
"Sis, this is forever." She set her fork down. "It's always been forever."
"I know, but—"
"No, but. I should've moved in with him the first time he asked." She stared down at her plate. "I don't know. I feel like I've wasted years that I'll never get back. It's been wonderful being with him, knowing I go to sleep with him every night and wake up with him every night. I'm feeling bad because I've wasted all these years and it was because of me, not him."
"Is this about having a baby," whispered Lindsay.
She shrugged. "No. Maybe. I don't know. Just a feeling of loss, even though I'm happy. We're not fighting. I enjoy working at Shechanics. Things at Brikken seem to be okay, according to Olin. None of his family members are locked up. It's a really good time for us."
"Remember how I went crazy turning forty?" asked Lindsay. "I felt a huge amount of stress to do things I'd never done as if time was running out."
"Yeah, I get it, and maybe that's what's going on with me. I feel so much pressure to get things done and have regrets that I waited this long to sort out my life. But, it's scary. Trusting another person makes me feel vulnerable like I could crack or something. Then, there's the sensible side that looks at my history with Olin and ugh..." She shook her head. "I should've agreed to spend the rest of my life with him ten years ago, at least."
She finished her salad. It wasn't like she dwelled on her age. Her goals in life had been the same since she set her sight on Olin at sixteen years old and thought he was out of her league. She had no life without him.
That sounded immature and unrealistic, but she'd done the whole living on her own, seeing other people, and trying to move past him. She always went back to him because that's where she wanted to be.
She loved him, and there was never any doubt that he loved her right now. It was the future that scared her.
"By the way, Mom's coming back in two weeks to stay for four days this time. I'd like to thank you for leaving me alone with her last weekend, to answer all her questions, and defend the reasons why I'm not married." Lindsay put her napkin on her empty plate.
She rubbed her lips together to keep from laughing. "I'm sorry?"
"You're such a liar." Lindsay picked up her purse. "Halves?"
"Yeah." She opened her bag and searched for her wallet to help pay for their meals. "Shit."
"What's wrong?"
She leaned against the table. "I left my wallet in the office. I had to pay for lunch to be delivered and two customers walked in, and I shoved it in the drawer, planning to put it in my purse when it wasn't so busy, and forgot."
"I can cover dinner." Lindsay held up her debit card.
"Thanks." She stood. "I'm going to run back to work. The last thing I need is to get stopped for speeding and not have my driver's license."
"It's after six o'clock. Isn't Shechanics closed?"
"Elissa and Willa are working late tonight." She stepped around the table and kissed her sister's cheek. "You're the best."
&nb
sp; "Fact." Lindsay waved her away. "Call me in the morning."
"I will." She walked out of the restaurant.
Traffic had slowed, the five o'clock rush over. She pulled her car out of the parking spot and found Freddy sitting on his motorcycle on the street. Slowing to a crawl, she lowered the passenger window.
"I'm going back to work. I forgot my wallet." Receiving a chin lift, she waved and accelerated into traffic smiling to herself.
It didn't take agreeing to be with Olin for the rest of her life and moving in with him for her to receive Brikken protection. She'd had someone from the motorcycle club around when she was out and about for as long as she could remember.
Olin's desire to keep her safe was another reason she loved him.
She pulled into the front of Shechanics. Grabbing her purse, she walked up to the front door and knocked. Hopefully, they weren't using the air tools in the bay. They'd never hear her over the compressors running.
After several minutes of waiting, she walked down the building to the first bay door. Fisting her hand, she pounded.
"Ow. Ow. Ow." She rubbed her fingers.
Beating against the door barely made a sound. She kicked out with her foot, making a louder noise. Unable to hear inside, she put her cheek to the metal.
Nothing.
She dug through her purse for her phone. The office line would go to the answering service, but she had Elissa and Willa's cell number.
"Hey," yelled Willa from the end of the building.
"Oh, good. You are here." She dropped her phone in her purse. "I left my wallet in my desk."
Willa motioned her to follow her. She hurried forward and caught up with her at the side of the building.
"I'm such an idiot and didn't notice until it was time to pay for dinner. Luckily, my sister was with me and paid the bill." She turned the corner and scanned the area behind Shechanics.
A big, white paneled cargo van parked at the rear of the building in front of an open walk-through door. She glanced at Willa. No one had told her about a delivery arriving, only that there were customers who needed a job done fast.
"You can go through here. The rear door to the office is open." Willa stopped in the garage.
"Thanks. I'll be quick." She hurried through the building.
Her wallet sat in the top drawer of the desk where she'd remembered putting it. She blew out her breath and walked out of the office.
Several men carried crates in and sat them at the back of the garage. Willa talked with Elissa, glancing over her shoulder at Ashley. She waved her thanks for letting her in and walked out the back door without speaking to either of them, not wanting to interrupt.
The men were in a hurry, and the women seemed at the end of their patience after working a long day.
A man stepped into her path. She jumped out of the way, smiling her apology. The guy only glared. Thankful she didn't have to deal with that particular company, she walked away and looked over her shoulder.
At the end of the building, she stopped.
All the men carried plastic crates, not boxes like the other parts that came to the office during the day. How strange.
Chapter Fifteen
Olin stood in the driveway. Ashley watched him from the living room window, her arms tucked into one of his old T-shirts to keep the early morning chill off her body. It was barely three o'clock in the morning, and already Brikken members interrupted the last few minutes they had together before Olin rode off for a week.
He stalked back to the house. She turned as he entered, picking up on his change of mood from earlier.
"Everything okay?" Her teeth chattered.
"It will be." He rubbed her upper arms through the material and found the hem, pulling the T-shirt over her head. "Soon as I finish what we'd started."
She snaked her arms around his neck and pressed against him. His naked upper body chilled from being outside caused her to shiver.
"God, you're cold." Her nipples hardened.
He trailed his hands up her body and cupped her breasts. "Lost it, leaving you."
"I'll find it." She undid his jeans and slipped her hand inside.
The knock at the door had interrupted them when things were getting hot and heavy, and she was hitting her orgasm. She wrapped her fingers around his cock and stroked it back to hardness. Feeling him grow, harden, pulse warmed her insides.
It was Olin's turn.
She stepped backward, leading him by the dick. Her knees hit the couch, and she sat down. Taking her hand out of his jeans, she tugged the material down to his knees.
"Found it." She moistened her lips.
Olin pushed back her hair, and she leaned forward taking his cock into her mouth. No longer cool to the touch, she stroked him with her lips, her tongue, her throat. He pushed into her, holding her head. She sprawled her hands on his thighs, taking in the strength of his legs.
He held back his dominant personality so she could lead. His large presence towering over her, making her feel small and loved. Everything about him overpowered her in the best way. But, it was his confidence that made her aware of him letting her control his pleasure.
That gift, a gift he gave often, never failed to sweep her off her feet.
She swallowed, tightening the suction on him. Craving his pleasure for herself, she dipped her head back and forth.
Olin rocked back on his bare feet and pulled her mouth off him. She gazed up at him as he loomed over her, pressing her backward on the couch until the cushions caught her.
He settled between her legs, entering her in one thrust. She hooked her legs around his hips. She moaned loud.
Balanced with his hand on the back of the couch and the other on the cushion beside her head, he pounded into her. She gasped-blew-gasped-blew each breath. As soon as he stole her breath, he'd return it with each stroke of his hardness. He shifted, each full thrust slapped her sensitive clit. Frantic for release, she reached out and grabbed his forearms, taking and taking.
Knowing he would leave, she wanted to keep him home. She hated facing her days without him, her nights alone.
"Ash." Olin grunted. His movements grew more erratic.
Her orgasm came swift, bowing her body and suspending her. Olin came down, grinding against her and finished with a shudder she absorbed.
She clung to him, hoping she could stop time.
A week without him seemed unbearable. She'd have no one to talk with while she went to sleep. No one to wake her up in the morning. No one to have coffee with her before she left for work.
She'd have no one to fight with and then make-up.
His cock slipped out of her. He pushed off her, and she pulled him back down, locking her ankles behind his thighs.
She buried her face into the nook of his neck. "Stay."
"Can't, Ash." He kissed the side of her head.
"Just another hour."
He inhaled deeply. "Sooner I leave, the faster I'll get home."
She whined as he pulled away. "I hate this."
"It's what I do. It's who I am." He walked out of the room.
She followed him to the bathroom. While he cleaned up, she sat on the toilet. When she was done, he handed her a warm washcloth. She jerked the rag out of his hand.
"Don't be like that." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "One week."
"In one week, everything can change." She washed between her legs and marched into the bedroom.
He followed her and encircled her waist with his arms from behind. "Remember, I need a ride to the clubhouse." He nibbled her ear making her squirm. "If you want to play with my dick on the way there, I'll drive."
"Shut up," she muttered, warming despite her sadness over him leaving.
He chuckled, letting her go.
He'd left his Harley at the Brikken garage to get the oil changed before the trip. She got dressed, knowing it would kill her to come back to the empty house after she dropped him off.
Olin left the room. She loo
ked after him, wanting to call him back. Her emotions were all over the place, she wasn't sure what to do.
Get angry. Be sad. Cry. Scream.
Shaking her head, she went into the bathroom and put on her makeup. Her phone pinged with an incoming text. She closed the cap on her mascara and picked up her cell, knowing it could only be another Brikken woman who was awake in the middle of the night.
Johanna: One wk. We got this, gf.
She inhaled deeply. Johanna was the one life-long friend who would understand what she was going through. They'd both seen each other through the good times and bad.
Answering the text, she typed.
10,080 minutes and counting. Want company?
How pathetic that in the past, she'd counted the minutes and knew them by heart. She'd also typed Olin long letters of undying love while she waited for him to return that was later torn up and thrown away before ever giving them to him.
Johanna: Now? Absolutely!
Be there in a few. Put coffee on.
Olin walked into the bathroom. "Ready?"
"No." She shoved her phone in her back pocket and put her makeup bag in the drawer before facing him. "I forbid you from leaving."
The corner of his mouth lifted behind the beard. She walked up to him, placed her hands on his stomach, and swallowed hard. His absences always made her believe that one day he might never return.
"I love you." She stared at the V.P. patch on his vest. "Please, please, please be careful. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."
He raised her face. "Do me a favor and don't give Limb and Chance a hard time while I'm gone."
Knowing he'd put the two newest prospects on the house, meaning on her, she used her finger and marked a cross against his chest. The added safety had to do with his peace of mind, not hers. She'd grown accustomed to making sure Olin had no worries while he was gone.
"I miss the days you were only gone twenty-four hours." She leaned into him. "Why do you have to go for so long?"