Page 12

LOU

I stayed up late, waiting for Ajax to get home. Mick and her girlfriend were sleeping in Mick's room. I didn't have a problem with Sheila staying, but when she said Ajax and his club were paying a visit to Sheila's stepdad to kick his ass, I was concerned.

I sat in the chair by the window and waiting to hear the pipes on Ajax's bike. I didn't realize I was holding my breath until he came inside, and I hurried over and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly. "Thank God you're okay!"

He chuckled and kissed me on the cheek. "Of course I am. Had some club business that needed dealt with tonight."

Ajax wasn't much of a talker, and when he did say something, it was to the point.

" Sheila is staying the night. They're both sleeping in Mick's room. They said you and your club were going to, and I quote Mick, ‘ Kick Sheila's step-father's ass.’ To me, that means violence, and you, me, or Mick can get hurt." I walked to the chair and sat, lighting a cigarette.

"Mick needs to learn to keep her mouth shut sometimes," Ajax grumbled.

"So everything is okay with Mick? She's safe? Am I safe?"

"Of course she is," he barked. "Mick's my daughter, and she is protected by you, me, and the Berzerkers MC. She's untouchable. So are you!"

"Don't yell. You'll wake up the girls," I sushed, my heart pounding and feeling nauseous. I'd seen how violent Ajax could be when he punched Erwin, but I'd not really seen Ajax angry until this moment, and it was directed at me. My past relationships with men never ended well, and sometimes, even recently, I endured a smack on the face or was pushed around. My childhood was not any better with a father like mine and brothers who tormented me.

I crushed my cigarette, stood from the chair, and walked toward the bedroom. "I have the morning shift tomorrow, so I need some sleep. Good night."

I didn't feel like arguing.

He was quick, snatched me around the waist, and spun me around. His eyes burned with anger or lust, maybe both. "If you want this thing between us to work, Lou, then don't ask me questions about my club!"

I pushed against his chest, but he didn't budge.

"Let me go!"

He released me, running his hands through his hair. "I'd never hit you, Lou. You know that."

I marched to my bedroom and shut the door, then closed my eyes and sobbed.

Ajax and I didn't speak for two days and slept on opposite sides of my bed. He kept himself busy at the clubhouse, but on the third night I was determined to make things right. Mick was out at the movies with Sheila, so when Ajax came home and went to the bathroom to shower, I stripped out of my clothes and stepped into the tub to join him.

I took the soap bar and began lathering his chest and abs. I looked into his dark brown eyes, and he groaned when the soap in my hands moved to his cock, which was already hard, a drop of pre-cum seeping from the tip.

We didn't speak, both of us knowing that we cared for each other and that what happened the other night was our first argument and would not be the last. My desire for Ajax was stronger than my anger at him over nothing he had done.

Ajax twisted my wet hair into his fist, pulling my head back, his brown eyes full of hungered lust. "Is this making up?"

"Yes, and this is make-up sex, the best kind."

He wrapped his arms around me, and our mouths clashed. The kiss was frenzied as the warm water cascaded down our naked bodies. He lifted me, and I wrapped my thighs around his hips. Then he pressed my back against the tiled wall and eased his full length inside me, filling me up so nicely. I clung to him, panting while he withdrew, hammering into me over and over. I screamed out my orgasm when Ajax slid his hand between us and rubbed my sensitive spot.

"You're so damn sexy, Lou; I can't get enough of you." Ajax groaned, then spilled his warm cum deep inside my core.

By the time we dried off and went to bed, my limbs felt like Jello. Ajax held me in his arms that night, and we slept through the night—we didn't hear Mick come home.

October came, and the air was cool and crisp, and the leaves began to change. Mick wanted to earn her own money so she could buy tickets to rock concerts and needed a job. I talked to the diner's owner, Jerry, and was able to get Mick a few hours working part-time, bussing tables and washing dishes.

Things started off weird for the three of us. It was all new, living together, learning each other's habits, and getting accustomed to considering others like a family. I liked it, though, and the bond I had with Mick grew stronger, to the point where she trusted me. Trusted that I was not like her mother, who sold her own daughter away like a piece of property.

Mick seemed to have a good work ethic for a teenager and performed her duties at the diner without any complaints. Since Chelsea was only twenty, she got along well with Mick. Maybe because Chelsea had the maturity level of a sixteen-year-old. The diner's cook was a quiet older man we called Butch. He didn't say much and only spoke to Chelsea and me. Since Mick enjoyed cooking, and with her outgoing personality, she wasn't shy about asking him how he made his famous meatloaf, the most popular food on the menu. It was probably the first time anyone ever showed interest in what Butch did, so he opened up and talked to Mick about the way he prepared the meat.

One day, I was out back having a smoke break when Mick appeared at the back door, holding a plastic container full of dirty dishes. "Some guy sitting at Table 9 creeped me out, especially when he approached me and asked if you were here today. He said his name is Erwin, and he looks like a dweeb. I told him you were sick and not working today."

I tossed my cigarette butt in the coffee can on the window ledge, nauseous. Why would Erwin come to the diner asking for me? "I'll go see what he wants."

"Is he your ex?" Mick asked as I walked inside.

"Yeah. And the night I met your dad, he punched Erwin in the face."

Mick laughed. "That's totally badass!"

I walked toward the booth where Erwin was sitting, wanting to smack the smug look on his face as hard as he used to slap me.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Who's that pretty teenage girl working here now?"

"I'm her guardian, and it's none of your business, so stay away from her! Got that?" I seethed through gritted teeth.

Erwin raised his hands up. "Whoa, just trying to be friendly, that's all."

"You've got ten seconds to tell me what you want, or you leave the diner."

"I heard from a good source about what happened at the Paradise City strip club last week. That is Death Angels MC territory, but the Berzerkers came in and threw the owner out, then claimed it for themselves, including one of the young strippers who belongs to a Death Angels club member. They're declaring war on the Berzerkers and your biker boyfriend."

We are in danger!

Even though my palms became clammy and my knees felt weak, I hid my anxiety well and rolled my eyes. "Go away, Erwin."

As I walked away, Erwin stood, grabbed a hold of my wrist, and squeezed. "He's dangerous, Lou. He could hurt you or that pretty teenager—"

"Don't fucking touch me!" I yanked out my arm from his grip. “Ajax would never hurt Mick, or me!"

Erwin grinned.

He knew Mick was Ajax's daughter.

"If you don't get out of here now, my dad will come here and kick your lame ass!" Mick said, standing with her hands on her hips and a dishrag on her shoulder.

I grabbed her by the shoulders as her eyes glared at Erwin. "Mick, go in the back and finish what you were doing."

As Mick walked away, Jerry, approached. "You're not welcome in my diner, Erwin. Leave now and don't ever come back."