Page 4 of Ember (Royal Harlots: Yonkers, NY Chapter #1)

J ack liked the way it felt having Ember in his space.

In just two weeks, he was able to find her some clothes and things that she had to leave behind while on the run from Marco.

They had settled into a routine together, and he had to admit—he liked coming home to her at the end of every shift.

She usually made dinner, and they sat at the kitchen table that he had never really used before.

Tonight was going to be different, though.

Tonight, he planned on surprising her by taking her down to his club to meet some of the guys and their Ol’ladies.

She was still a bit skittish around him.

He could tell by the way that she watched him that she didn’t trust him.

She told him that she didn’t trust easily, but he hadn’t given her any reason to distrust him since moving her into his spare room.

Hell, he had even kept his hands to himself, which was becoming increasingly harder to do with her in his space.

When she first moved in with him, she’d borrow his T-shirts to sleep in.

He sported a hard-on every time she paraded around his house in one of them.

His inner caveman wanted him to toss her over his shoulder and carry her back to his bedroom.

But he also knew that Ember had a rough relationship with her ex.

The last thing Jack wanted to do was scare her away.

She was a runner, and he knew that she’d take off if given half a chance.

He found her in the family room, sitting on the couch, reading. She looked so peaceful that he almost didn’t want to disturb her, but his surprise wouldn’t wait. “Hey,” he almost whispered. She stopped reading and smiled at him. “I have a little surprise.”

“You should know that I hate surprises,” she said.

“Even good ones?” he countered.

“Yep, even those. But you didn’t know that, so I’ll let it slide this once.

” He loved her sass. Ember seemed capable of giving as good as she got, except for when it came to her ex.

He couldn’t see her taking what Marco did to her, but then again, that might not be something that he’d ever understand.

“How about we go down to Hurricane’s House tonight?

” he asked. Jack felt as though he was holding his breath, waiting for her to answer.

He had asked her to go to the club with him before, but she always had an excuse not to—upset tummy, headache.

He got the hint that she wasn’t ready to be out in public yet, but the longer he allowed her to hide away in his house, the more effort it was going to take to get her to go out with him.

She touched her bruised face and winced. He knew that she didn’t want anyone to see her with a fading black and yellow bruise. He couldn’t blame her, but he knew that the guys and their Ol’ladies wouldn’t give her bruises a second thought.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” she breathed. “What if Marco is watching and waiting for me to leave the house? I wouldn’t want to put you or your friends in danger at the bar, just for a night out.”

“Listen,” he said, crossing the room to sit down next to her.

Jack took it as a good sign that she wasn’t trying to move away from him.

Every time he got too close for her comfort, Ember let him know.

“I think that you’re putting too much pressure on a night out at my club.

You’ve already met Hurricane and Yonkers.

They saw your bruises, and I can tell you that they don’t give a fuck about them.

Unless you count wanting to pummel the man who gave them to you. ”

“Watching them pummel Marco would be fun,” she teased. “I’m just worried what their wives will think about me.”

“Tina, Brandi, and Wren can’t wait to meet you. I promise, it will be fun. You need to get out of this house. Staying locked up in here isn’t healthy. Plus, if you don’t live your life, then you’re allowing Marco to win, honey.”

She looked as though she was considering his proposal and argument, so Jack decided to give her some time.

“I’m going up to shower. If you want to go with me, be ready in an hour.

I really hope that you’ll come out with me tonight, Ember,” he said, taking her hand into his own.

She didn’t pull hers free, and he took that as a good sign.

They sat like that for what felt like hours, not minutes, soaking in the silence.

Jack finally stood can headed for the stairs.

“I’ll be ready in an hour,” she promised.

Jack couldn’t help his victorious smile as he made his way upstairs to take a shower.

Little by little, he was making progress with Ember.

He just hoped like hell that tonight didn’t set the progress back that he had already made with her, but he knew his friends would help make her feel like one of the family—just as they had him.

Jack helped Ember out of his truck, and she placed her hand into his. “Is this okay?” she asked. It was more than okay, but Jack tried to play things cool.

“Yep,” he agreed. “Just stick close to me, honey. They are going to love you.” He just hoped that he wasn’t feeding her false promises. Ember needed a fun night out—they both did.

She looked around the dark parking lot, and Jack’s heart ached for her. “He’s not here, honey,” he promised. “Marco can’t get to you here. Hurricane has top-of-the-line security around the bar. We’ll know if he so much as breathes in the bar’s direction.

“I know,” she lied, “I guess I’m just a little paranoid.” He couldn’t blame her for being that way. Marco had done a number on her, both physically and emotionally.

They walked into Hurricane’s House and found a few of the guys around the bar.

All the Ol’ladies were in the back of the bar at their usual booth.

The guys knew to leave them alone when they were back there having their little meeting.

Hurricane was even tossing around, starting an all-women’s MC that he had heard of.

Savage, down at their sister RBMC in Huntsville, AL, had sponsored a group like that called the Royal Harlots.

He said that the Ol’ladies in his club loved it, and they were even building their own clubhouse.

Hurricane was the first to welcome them, and the rest of the guys quickly joined in. He could tell that Ember’s head was spinning from meeting all the bikers. “How about I take you back to meet the Ol’ladies?” Hurricane offered.

Ember looked over at Jack, and he nodded. “I’ll be right here if you need anything.”

“Okay,” she hesitantly whispered. She followed Hurricane to the back of the bar, and Jack had to admit that he was nervous for her.

“You two together now, or what?” Reacher asked. His friend always did have a way with jumping right to the point with everyone.

“No,” Jack breathed.

“Fuck, Spark,” Yonkers grumbled. “You’re going to ruin your record if you take too much longer.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jack drawled. “I know that she’s been through a lot.

Hell, you both saw how her ex treated her and what her face looked like after he backhanded her.

She needed a safe place, and I’m trying to give that to her.

” He looked over at Ember and noticed that some of the tension was gone from her beautiful face.

“She seems to fit in with the other women,” Reacher said. “That will help Hurricane’s push for an all-women’s MC.”

“How will Ember getting along with the other women help Hurricane’s idea?” Jack asked. Yonkers shot Reacher a guilty look, and Jack knew that he wasn’t going to like the answer to his question.

“He’s going to ask Ember to be the club’s Prez. Said that he has a good feeling about her,” Yonkers said.

“Hurricane met Ember for all of five minutes, and he’s got a feeling that she should be the club’s Prez?” Jack asked. “That’s ridiculous. He’s going to scare her away.” Panic welled up inside his stomach, and he left the guys to join Hurricane and the women in the back of the bar.

“What are you planning?” he whispered into his club Prez’s ear.

“I’m planning on keeping Ember around. You should be happy about that, Spark. I see the way you look at her.” The last thing Jack needed was for Hurricane to play matchmaker for him.

“You’re going to spook her, and she’ll run,” Jack whispered.

“Why don’t you let her decide if she wants to take my offer or not?” Hurricane said.

“What are you two whispering about?” Tina asked.

Hurricane cleared his throat, garnering the women’s attention, and Jack wanted to stop him from saying what he was about to say.

“The Bastards would like to sponsor an all-women’s MC called the Harlots.

Tina, Wren, and Brandi are all in, and I’m sure that we’ll get some more members once the other Ol’ladies hear about it, but we need a Prez.

” Hurricane looked at Ember, and she quickly looked around the table at the other women.

Jack groaned out loud, and Hurricane just smiled. “We’d like for you to be the new Prez,” Hurricane said.

“Me, why me?” Ember squeaked. “You don’t know me, and I’m not even sure that I’ll be sticking around once this stuff with Marco blows over.” Jack felt as though she had landed a physical blow to his gut, saying that she might not stick around.

“We know that you’re a kick ass chick,” Tina said. “And we’d like for you to stick around. So how about it?” she asked.

“Um, I can think about it, but if you need an answer tonight, I’m afraid that it’s no,” she said. “I’m not a leader.”

“I don’t think that you’re giving yourself enough credit,” Brandi insisted. “I might not know you yet, but I can tell that you’d make a great leader.”

“How can you tell that by talking to me for five minutes?” Ember asked.

“Well, you don’t have any kids, right?” Brandi asked.

“Um, no,” Ember said. “I don’t have kids.” Jack could tell that the question seemed to hurt her feelings for some reason, and he wondered why that was. “How does being childless make me a good leader?” she asked.

“You’ll have time to be the Prez,” Wren said. “I know that sounds crazy, but we just don’t have the time to devote to being in charge of anything—well, except for snacks for soccer practice.”

“Just think about it,” Hurricane offered. “You don’t have to decide right away, but if you want the job, it’s yours.”

Ember nodded, “I’ll consider the offer, thank you,” she said.

Jack could see her anxiety and worry in her eyes, and he knew that Hurricane had pushed her too far, too fast. He just hoped that she wouldn’t take off on him, because for some reason, he not only wanted her to stick around—he needed her to.