“You have no idea how amazing this is.” Star smiled widely as she spun around in the empty room and held her arms open wide. “Honestly, are you sure this is the same price as what I’m paying now?”
Ax crossed his arms over his chest and smiled smugly.
“For one of our Tanner’s girls, it is.” He laughed. “I spoke with Bull and he said it was cool. Plus, we’d rather have someone we know in here than some stranger. What’s the point of it sitting empty?”
Star’s mouth was hanging open in shock as she twirled on the spot and kept looking at the incredible home she was standing in. It was big, bright, and airy. It had been recently refurbished and all the appliances were new and had never been used. The ceilings were high, the lighting was perfect, and the view out over the rest of the street was wonderful. She wandered back towards the kitchen and looked out of the window and into the garden. It was much bigger than anything she had ever owned before, and even though there wasn’t much to it, just a bit of decking and grass, it made her heart ache, and a tear pricked her eye.
Ax had been true to his word and she could not thank him enough. Within two days, he had called her and said that they had an empty house close to Main Street in a quiet neighborhood mainly full of families.
Star hugged an arm around herself and wiped the tear from the corner of her eye.
“It’s a whole house,” she said. “I was expecting you to show me a tiny little apartment.”
Ax smiled and shook his head. “I told Jill I’d hook you up, and here you are,” he said without a hint of bravado.
“I don’t know what to say.”
Ax shrugged and scratched the back of his neck. “Well it’s up to you, but the offers there,” he said as he put his hands in his pockets and raised his shoulders.
“Of course I want it,” Star said quickly.
“Cool.” Ax smiled as he dug around in his pocket, pulled out a key and threw it across to her. “There you go. It’s all yours.”
Star’s mouth sagged again, completely taken aback and stunned by how quick everything had been. It was generosity like she had never known, and it was also a huge milestone for her to even contemplate living somewhere that had more than two rooms and a yard, never mind actually moving in!
“When are you scheduled to work next?” he asked her as he headed for the door.
“Tomorrow night,” she said, still half stunned.
“Cool.” He winked. “We can sort the paperwork out then.”
He opened the door and disappeared out onto the driveway, and when the door closed behind him, Star found herself looking around and around, then fallingto the floor and staring up at the ceiling.
“Holy. Fucking. Shit!” she whispered before she started to laugh and squeal with excitement. “I have a goddam house!”
She covered her mouth and kicked her heels against the carpet and laughed as she rolled from one side of the room to the next.
When she stopped rolling, she reached into the back pocket of her jeans, pulled out her cellphone and sent a quick text to Jill:
S: Your man is a gift from God! You have no idea how much it means to me to get out of that shitty apartment. Thank you both so much! Xx
She hit send and within a couple of minutes she had a reply:
J: It’s the Tanner’s family code ;) Thanks for helping me out the other night too. I can’t wait to see the new place! You can fill me in on it tomorrow at work, and I can fill you in on all the gossip with the “new blood” ;) xx
Star grinned as she read Jill’s message and held her phone against her chest. With all the excitement surrounding her potentially moving and catching up on her much-needed sleep, she had almost forgotten about what had happened at the club the last time she had been working.
The meeting, the initiation, the new guy…
“Well if it rains, it pours.” She laughed to herself before she hugged her arms across her chest and started to cry with glee. She was so happy she almost didn’t know what to do with herself.
“No more trailer parks and back street apartments from here on in,” she said, smiling to herself.
She was making a promise right there and then, that this was going to be the beginning of something amazing.
“Come on,” she said as she rose to her feet. “Let’s go and get whatever you can carry, because there is no way you’re not sleeping here tonight!”
By the time the sun was going down over the desert, Star had been back and forth to her old apartment no less than five times. She had carried suitcases full of clothes, boxes of bedding, and decorations.
She had set them all on the floor inside by the front door to her new home, then she stopped at the store on her way back on the second journey to collect some wine and food, along with other essentials, which she had stocked in the refrigerator and cabinets.
The house was almost completely empty, but there was a couch in the front room, a bed in each bedroom, and a refrigerator, table and chairs. She was going to have to set up her own TV and buy the rest, but she didn’t mind.
A good excuse to shop and spend, she thought to herself and smiled and tapped the top of an old shoe box which she stored in her new closet, the box she used to bank all of her tips from each night at work. She lifted the lid and looked inside and felt a rush of relief. Whenever she saw the stacks and stacks of notes in there, it always made her feel like a million dollars, even if she was a fair few short herself.
She had counted the cash the previous week and she knew she was sitting on ten thousand. That would give her plenty to play with when it came to decorating and filling out the house, and more than enough to buy a car if she decided that it was time for her to do so.
“But you love to walk,” she told herself as soon as the thought crossed her mind. “And you need to keep up the exercise.”
It was funny, but Star was so comfortable with what she did for a living that she often forgot she was actually pretty much naked in front of a lot of people every night. Most girls in her line of work were so body conscious all they did was watch what they ate and constantly hit the gym, but Star was more relaxed and natural. She had soft curves and long, toned legs, and she rarely had to worry about dieting. It was as if she had been blessed with a good metabolism. After all of the bad luck she had been dealt in life so far, she was more than happy to revel in that fact, but she still didn’t want to tempt fate when it came to taking her figure for granted.
She wandered around her new front room and still could not believe that she lived here. She stopped by the front door and picked up a suitcase and started to heave it up the stairs.
She had chosen the biggest room with an adjoining bathroom, and she had already made up the bed with her blankets and cushions. She had plugged in a small light that she had in her old apartment, and she had dotted some candles around the room should she wish for some ambience.
“Tomorrow is for sure going to have to be a shopping day,” she said aloud to herself as she opened the closet doors and started to unload her suitcase and unpack her entire wardrobe.
When she had finished, her stomach was growling with hunger and she realized that she hadn’t eaten for the majority of the day. So much had been happening and so much had transpired, that she had completely forgotten about food, even if though she had bought some.
She left her new bedroom and walked down her big, sweeping staircase with a huge grin on her face. Compared to her apartment, this place was like an absolute palace. She felt like a queen as she glided through the hallway and down to the ground floor.
She walked through the front room and out into the kitchen, where she turned on the oven and opened the refrigerator. She had bought some fresh groceries to make a salad and she had half a focaccia bread, which she shoved into the oven to warm while she opened a bottle of red wine and poured herself a large glass.
“Cheers,” she said to herself with a little smile as she raised it into the air. “To your new home, and to a new beginning.”
She took a sip and felt the warmth spread right through her. Around her was complete silence, something she hadn’t experienced for a long time after living in her terrible old neighborhood and underneath the neighbors from hell.
“I wonder if they’ll still be arguing tonight,” she mused as she took another sip. “Or will they have kissed and made up, especially seeing as they will no longer have a witness.”
Star shook her head. She felt sorry for whoever was going to get stuck with them once they moved into her old place, but she had paid her dues and she was more than ready to forget all about it.
She pulled out a plate and used it for a chopping board as she sliced up tomatoes, onions, lettuce and peppers, threw them into a big bowl and mixed them together. She then checked the oven to see how long she had to wait. The bread was still soft, so she grabbed her wine and wandered back through to the front room where she bit her bottom lip and stared at the TV on the floor and the tangle of wires around it.
“Urgh,” she groaned.
She had never been good with technology, but she was going to have to give it a try and see if she could get the thing working.
She knelt on the floor and lifted the TV up onto the stand before she slid it back against the wall and looked at the mess of wires.
She blew on them to get out any lingering dust and started to plug them into the sockets at the back before she flicked the switch and was met with…
Nothing.
“Oh, come on,” she groaned as she knelt back down and started to unplug them and switch them around. She was wrestling with the TV and the wires, getting hot and working herself up into anger when suddenly there was a loud knock at the door, causing her jump.
She sat back on her heels and felt her heart pounding out of her chest. She got to her feet and crept towards the door, peering out of the window to the side as she approached.
She could make out a large, tall figure but she didn’t in anyway recognize him. When she reached the doorway, she adjusted the cardigan she was wearing and brushed the hair back that was dangling all over her face. She took a breath before she turned the key and opened the door wide.
She didn’t know who or what might be behind Door Number One, but it wasn’t who greeted her when her eyes began to register on the figure in front of her. She didn’t know him, but she sure did recognize him. She felt her mouth sag open and her mind swam with confusion.
“Hi?” she offered, as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Erm… hello?” He raised his eyebrows and looked past her, over her shoulder.
It was him. The guy from the previous night at the club. The new blood.
He took a step backwards and looked up at the house and then he peered inside again. Star was trying not to feel offended, or allow herself to ask him what the hell he thought he was doing, but she could tell that he was as confused as she was.
“You?” He laughed a little and raised his hand and pointed at her. “You live here?” he asked.
“As of today I do, yeah,” she said with an embarrassed smile. “Can I help you? You’re new at the club, right?”
She cocked her head to the side and watched his face open out in a brief flash of understanding, but also caution.
“You’re affiliated with the club?” he asked her.
“I work in Tanner’s,” she acquiesced. “I recognize you from last night, I was there when you came in.”
His eyes bore into her and she felt herself blush a little.
“Yeah,” he said as he took another step back and looked around the front door. “I think I must have got the wrong place. Unless they’ve directed me to the wrong house.”
“They?” she asked with amusement.
“The boys,” he said. “The clubhouse is overrun, so they told me I could crash at one of the houses on this street. I was told number five, which is…” he held out his hands and presented Star and her new front door.
“Sorry,” she said. “I don’t know what to tell you. There must be some kind of misunderstanding.” She chewed her bottom lip and tried not to look uncomfortable. Maybe Ax had taken her to the wrong house and now the new guy was going to have nowhere to go.
I knew this was all too good to be true, she bemoaned internally. I can’t believe I actually thought this place was going to be mine.
He scratched the back of his neck and Star had to avert her eyes. If she stared at him for too long, his features became even more prominent and it was making her nervous. He was far too good-looking to be a Forsaken Rider. Those men were like a different breed; they were big and brutish and completely wild. This guy, well, he had all of those qualities and more, but they were more refined, more sophisticated. More real, almost.
She swallowed and moved uneasily to her other foot before she sipped her wine.
She could see past him and at the end of her driveway was a big glistening bike. He had a large bag slung over his shoulder.
“Do you want to come inside?” she asked uneasily, not sure of what else to say. “We can call Ax if you like? He brought me here today. There must have been a mix up.”
He studied her as if he were trying to figure her out and then he nodded slowly and waited for her to step back before he came in.
He didn’t close the door behind him. She watched as he looked around the front room and up at the large staircase in the middle of the hallways that joined the front half of the house together.
“Nice,” he said. “I bet you could kill me right now for turning up here,” He said with an easy grin as he dropped his bag down on the floor.
Star smiled shyly as she dug into her back pocket and reached for her phone. She scrolled through the names until she reached Ax and then she handed him the phone.
He held it to his ear and stayed silent until there was an answer on the other end.
“Hey man, it’s Chains,” he said.
Chains. A crazy name for a no doubt crazy guy. All of the bikers were insane in their own way. Insanely hot, insanely dangerous, insanely sexy. Star had to tear her eyes away from him again.
“I just got to the house and there’s some girl here, she says she works at the club.”
Star narrowed her eyes as she watched him and then she felt the need to correct him.
“My name is Star, Ax knows who I am.” she rolled her eyes.
“Okay.” Chains sighed as she looked up and locked his eyes in on hers. They were so intense and deep, they were like nothing she had ever seen before. It was almost as if all the color in the world had been saved just for them. They were as blue as the Pacific Ocean and intoxicating.
“So, what do I do? Wait it out or what?” he asked Ax. Star cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brow.
“Thanks, man,” Chains laughed. “I appreciate it.”
He hung up the phone and handed it back to her. She sipped her wine and waited for him to explain. He stayed silent as he looked over into the corner and stared at the mess of the TV.
“Do you need a hand with that?” he asked her as his eyes locked in on hers again.
“Are you going to tell me what Ax said?” she asked, trying not to sound angry.
“He’s put you in my house,” he said with a sigh. “But he said not to worry, I can have another one across the street, so I guess it looks like we’re neighbors.”
Star felt a little grip in her chest.
“This place was supposed to be yours?” She scrunched up her nose and rubbed her forehead. “Well, now I feel terrible.”
“Don’t.” He laughed as he shook his head. “I can live pretty much anywhere.” He shrugged and lifted his bag back up onto his shoulder.
At the moment he did it, suddenly a fire alarm blared out from behind them in the kitchen, and Star’s eyes opened wide as she remembered that she had forgotten the bread.
“Shit!” she said as she placed the wine glass down on the window ledge and raced back towards the hallway.
She pushed open the door to the kitchen and groaned when she saw the smoke rising from the oven.
“Oh no, oh no, oh no,” she said as she opened the door wide and saw the black billow of smoke rush out that hit her square in the face.
She coughed as she fanned it away and Chains was right behind her, reaching up with his long arm to push the button on the smoke alarm. He then opened up the windows to get some air inside and the smoke outside.
Star clattered the tray with the burned bread on down onto the counter and sighed. “I forgot it was in there.”
When she looked up at him he he raised his eyebrows.
“Don’t tell Ax,” she said with mock panic, and he crossed his arms over his chest.
“He’ll be here any second with a key to my house,” he said with a wry smile, “so you may need to bribe me.”
Star narrowed her eyes and felt a flash of irritation. Who did this guy think he was?
She popped her hip out to the side and grinned at him sweetly. “I’ll bribe you with my delicious homemade bread,” she said as she tried not to laugh. “It’s a moving in present, neighbor to neighbor.”
He threw his head back and laughed and then he shook his head.
“Thanks, but I think I’ll pass.”
He winked at her, turned on his heel and headed back out toward the hall. Star found herself following him, even though she didn’t have a clue what she wanted to say. The whole encounter had been so bizarre and unexpected. It was like she was in shock.
When Chains reached the front door, he stopped and looked back over his shoulder and pointed to the TV in the corner.
“If you need any help with that,” he said. “I’ll be across the street in number eight.”
Star bit her bottom lip and took him all in again. The leather, the muscles, the lean and toned physique, the way his features were so dark and brutal, but also so perfectly woven together, they created something exotic and special and quite unlike anything she had ever seen before.
“I’ll bare you in mind,” she said, deliberately flirty.
He gave her a wry smile and then he headed out the door, leaving it open behind him.
She wandered to the doorway and watched him climb onto the back of his bike and rev the engine. He didn’t look back at her, but she couldn’t make herself look away from him.
She watched as he pulled off her driveway and swerved the bike around in a big curve and went down to the other side of the street and a few houses down.
“The new blood is my new neighbor,” she whispered to herself as she tried to stop herself from grinning.
She closed the door and turned the key in the lock, picked up her wine and went back to tackle the mess she had made in the kitchen.
It had been a bizarre first night in her new home, but one that had certainly thrown up many new possibilities.
“I have the feeling you’re going to like living here,” she said to herself with a small sigh.