DECK

I drove the car towards the gun shop, using all of my military training not to kill the big fucker sitting beside me. His laughter was really starting to piss me off. I mean, really? He hadn’t stopped since the day care. My knuckles were turning white from the death grip I had on the steering wheel.

“What the fuck you wanna say, brother?”

Darth spluttered for a few more moments as he attempted to get himself under control.

“You belong to me? Seriously, brother, that’s how you come at a woman you’ve met twice?” he asked, incredulity in his deep voice.

Yeah, it was a bit over the top, kind of claiming the beautiful dancer, but fuck, it pissed me off that she watched Darth with so much interest. Okay, so now I’m thinking she was just intrigued by how such a big man could be so gentle with a little child. But it didn’t stop the silly irrational jealousy I’d felt. It gripped me like nothing ever had. Such a strange reaction, but I kind of liked it. The pretty blonde had a way about her, and my kid obviously adored her. And there was no better endorsement in my book. So, I was going to explore this…feeling.

“She’s good with Shiloh, and she is fucking hot. And…”

“And?” Darth asked, his grin wide like he knew what I was about to say. “And?” he prompted again.

I was reluctant to voice the next bit of information, but I wanted Darth to back off, not just with the teasing but I also didn’t want him sniffing around Charlie.

“I like her,” I told him quietly. “Enough said,” I declared softly. All talk of Charlie was finished.

“Enough said, brother.” His quiet response was barely audible.

After dropping Darth at the shop, I made my way to the construction site.

The day before, we had supply problems one after another. Today, I wanted smooth, no issues, just lots of work and progress. I wanted this job done and finished. Shiloh’s fourth birthday wasn’t far away, and I wanted to take her away to my parents’ farm. Her birthday was always a bittersweet occasion. Celebrating her birth and the death of her mother on the same day was a real roller-coaster ride of emotions, not only for me but also for my brother—my actual blood brother, the dick cop.

Zoe and I had fooled around on a regular basis, but I had always known she was also fooling around with Jason. It hadn’t bothered me one bit when I found out. She had been completely honest with me. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been so forthcoming with my brother.

So, fists flew, words were said, and bang, he got the girl. Well, not quite bang. It had been a bit more complicated than that, but the gist of it was she picked him. I didn’t give a shit. Monogamy hadn’t been high on my list of things back then. I had been out of the military for a few years by then, and Booth and I, and the rest of our team had been in the process of building not only the club but also the businesses that helped fund our lifestyles. So when Zoe told me she was carrying my baby—naturally, my world turned on its axis. My relationship with my brother changed irrevocably that day, not that it had been great beforehand. And at the time, I’d thought it couldn’t get any worse between us. Of course, I had been dead wrong.

Shaking off the bad memories, I lost myself in the hard work of building, knowing that dwelling on the past only brought trouble and heartache.

I was making good progress, as was my team when my mobile phone sounded in my pocket. The ringtone of ‘Paint It Black’ by the Rolling Stones filled my ears.

“Yo! You got Deck.”

“Um, excuse me, Mr Johnston. This is Mrs Fumberg from the Sunshine and Daisies Day Care and Education Centre. Your presence is required here at the centre, sir, regarding your daughter’s choice of attire today,” the annoying, high pitched, nasally voice of the administrator said in my ear.

Dropping my head, I sent out a quick prayer for fucking patience.

“Lady, you’re talking to the wrong man. Grab a pen, doll face, and take down this number.”

Grinning like a loon, I rattled off Darth’s number. I’d warned the stupid big fucker. Maybe next time, he would think twice before dressing Shiloh like GI Jane for day care.

Slipping my phone back into my back pocket, I picked up the shovel and got back to what I was doing with a grin splitting my face, wishing I could be a fly on the wall at the office of the Sunshine and Daisies Day Care.

 

————

 

I ignored the phone calls from Darth. I’d spoken to Charlie earlier, and she assured me that she took care of the whole mess, but little Miss Shiloh couldn’t take her gun and holster to day care anymore. Charlie had tried and failed miserably to hold in her laughter when she told me Darth had stormed out of the office muttering a string of expletives—Charlie’s word, not mine—with Shiloh following behind him, expressing her disgust at the decision and telling the administrator that it was ‘horseshit.’

Then they sent Shiloh home. Again. Her warnings for cursing had run out.

So when Charlie followed them out, she was mortified—again, her word—to see Darth strapping a pink helmet onto Shiloh’s head and getting ready to sit her on the front of his bike. We had a special harness made to strap Shiloh to whichever rider was in charge of picking her up. Mostly, it was Darth, Booth, or me but all the other members, at one time or another, had Shiloh on their bikes. All except Creed. He never took a passenger, ever, but that was his story to tell.

So this was how I found myself heading to the compound to see my girl and my woman.

Whoa! My woman? Where in the ever-loving fuck had that come from? That morning, I basically told her she belonged to me. Never had I ever claimed a woman, not even close. Even Zoe was never mine. I hadn’t wanted her to be. Yeah, the sex was good, and sometimes, it was great even, but nothing earth shattering where I’d wanted her all to myself forever. When she had told me she was pregnant, I knew I was all in for the baby’s sake, but to be honest, when she went off with my brother, I breathed a sigh of relief. I hadn’t wanted to marry her—that much I knew. I just wanted my child.

But Charlie? My reaction to her was messing with my mind. All we had shared so far were some intense looks and some pretty interesting electricity, which I’d felt all the way to my dick. My desire to protect her almost rivalled my feelings for my reason for breathing, my reason for getting up in the morning—my raven-haired baby girl.

Not sure that I wanted to explore any more about the subject of laying claim to the sweet, beautiful Charlie, I shook it off and focused on getting to the compound. One of the messages from Darth I hadn’t bothered to read until just now told me to get my arse there pronto.

I parked my truck next to my bike and headed inside. I really felt nervous that Charlie was there—it was my life, Shiloh’s life. There was no other option for us. If anything were going to happen between the beautiful blonde and me, she had to accept that this was us. It was me. It was Shiloh. This band of brothers, no matter how broken, was a family, and nothing or no one was going to break that connection. Ever. So when I entered the main common room and saw Charlie laughing with my pres and vice president, I allowed the knot in my stomach to unravel just a little.

Walking up to the bar where they were sitting, I saw Charlie as she turned slightly and noticed me. Her eyes lit up, and her breathing increased just a little, but I noticed. Good. She was just as affected as I was. I think.

“Hello, Sweetness,” I said, using my new nickname for her. It suited her, and I kind of liked the hitch I saw in her pulse at the base of her slender throat every time I’d said it.

I watched as the pulse in her neck increased and she swallowed audibly. Fuck, she was too fucking sweet. Too sweet for the likes of this old wounded soldier. But I was a selfish prick, and I wanted her. The way she reacted every time I was around her told me she wanted me, too.

“Hello, Deck. I’m sorry for barging in the way I have, but I wasn’t really comfortable seeing Shiloh on the motorcycle,” she said, keeping her tone light, but I read something between the lines.

Now I wasn’t going to lie, but it pissed me off. My way of handling my daughter was really no one’s concern. My prick of a brother let me know on every occasion he pulled me over how Zoe would be disappointed with how I was doing things. Well, you know what? Fuck that. My kid was goddamn awesome, and she was happy, safe, and, above all, loved. Any kind of judgement wasn’t wanted or needed.

I didn’t want to jump down her throat and ruin everything on the first day, but she had to know it was not her call.

“Well, with all due respect, Sweetness, Shiloh is just fine, and there ain’t no man in this place who wouldn’t put their life on the line for her. And that means making sure she is safe on a bike. Understood?” I tried to keep my voice low and not threatening.

Her eyes widened at my words as a red blush stained her perfect cheeks.

“Oh, no, oh, please, Deck, I didn’t mean it like that.” Her voice was full of apologies and regret, and like I said, I didn’t want to ruin things before they started, so I took it easy on her.

“It’s all good. I just want you to know Shiloh is fine and safe. No need to worry.” I reassured her with a smile. I wanted to see her smile again. I needed to see it. She gave me a small version of her beautiful smile as she visibly calmed.

“Brother, we showed the lovely Charlotte the harness we made for Shiloh. Even gave her a demonstration of how it worked out in the parking area. Once she heard Shiloh’s giggles and enjoyment, she relaxed.” Booth looked over at Charlie with a grin. “Ain’t that right, Teach?”

Ducking her head, Charlie nodded in agreement.

“Yes. She definitely enjoys going fast and looked very much at ease.” Charlie looked at me with those stunning green eyes. “I am really sorry, Deck. Please, forgive me.”

She looked so upset. I couldn’t let her feel like that anymore.

“Nothing to forgive, Sweetness. Now, have you been given a drink?” Clapping my hands together, I walked around to the other side of the bar to pour myself a drink.

Laughing, she looked happy again. “Yes, thank you. After seeing Shiloh’s riding demonstration, Booth made me an iced tea.”

I raised my brow at my pres. Iced tea, huh? His answering smirk told me to fuck off.

Laughing, I looked back at Charlie.

“Speaking of the unholy terror, where is my daughter?” I asked.

Steel, my VP, chuckled. “She is pissed off, brother. The Johnston temper is in full force.”

I didn’t say anything, waiting for him to continue. By the look on his face, there was obviously more to the story.

Heaving a sigh, Steel went on. “She is having a timeout. I have Seb on the clock waiting it out.”

Nodding, I asked the first of many questions.

“How long?”

“Ten minutes.”

Shit, that was a big one.

“What’d she do?”

I eyed the two men at the bar, and then my gaze travelled to Charlie. Her look was somewhere between humour and concern. Okay, this couldn’t be good. Shaking my head, I took a pull of my beer, and then, with a wave of my hand, I gave Steel the go-ahead to lay it on me.

“Well, brother, she sat her little tooshie up here at the bar and asked me for a ‘motherfucking Fanta.’”

Choking on the cold liquid, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

“The fuck you say.”

Booth let out a rueful chuckle. “Shit you not, brother. It took everything I had learned as a soldier not to laugh and to stay serious, but hearing that tinker bell voice say that was priceless.”

I knew Shiloh was swearing a bit too much lately, but this was really a lot too much. If we as a group had taught her anything, it was to respect her elders.

“But you didn’t, did you.” It wasn’t a question, but he answered anyway.

“Nope. Told her off like I usually do. Steel stepped in and gave her a timeout. Let me say, she was not happy about it. Turned on the waterworks, and then stomped off shouting at Darth. So…” He stopped the telling of the story to laugh.

“So?” I prompted.

“So, she gave Darth a timeout, too,” Charlie finished, laughing, too.

I joined in.

“Okay, well, let me go see the little delinquent, and then we can relax. Okay?” I said, asking her to stay without saying the actual words. I wanted her to want to be there.

Her look told me she understood what I was asking, and her soft answer helped the knot in my stomach unravel a bit more. “Of course. I will be here.”

I needed to touch her. I needed to know how she felt.

Leaning over the bar, I ignored my brothers and focused in on Charlie. Cupping my hands around her soft neck, I brought her close to my face. My lips were so close that I could feel her warm breath against mine. So close, but I didn’t kiss her. Not for the first time, not in front of my brothers, and not when my daughter needed me. So, instead, I kissed her on the forehead, letting my lips linger for a bit longer.

“Good. I won’t be long. I want to talk and then see what this thing is between us. Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she said. Her smile lit up her face and warmed my soul. I wanted to own all of her smiles, all of her laughter, but first, I had to release my daughter and her cohort from their timeouts.

 

————

 

“Okay, squirt, go play and remember what I told you,” I warned my child as I released her from my arms, placing her on her tiny feet. Everything about Shiloh was small—her feet, her hands, her body, her cute-as-fuck pixie voice—everything except for her attitude.

“I member,” she grumbled back. Taking off I knew to find two things—her Harley and Darth. Chuckling to myself when I thought back to ten minutes ago when I found the big man sitting on a chair out front of Shiloh’s room, Seb watching him with barely restrained laughter.

“I don’t know who is worse, you or her,” I told him, motioning with my head to get out of the way.

“Bloody little shit is lucky I love her more than my own life,” he grumbled before he took off in the direction of the bar.

Still chuckling at the memory, I made my way over to where my woman was sitting with one of the regular girls who hung out at the compound full time.

 “Howdy, Vegas. Do me a favour and watch the squirt for me for a bit. I think I need to give her and Darth a bit of time apart,” I asked the pretty brunette. Her smile was instant and genuine.

“Of course, Deck. I saw Darth take off with Ingrid just a few minutes ago, but he made up with Shiloh before he went,” Julie, aka Vegas informed me, her eyes looking a little sad when she mentioned Darth taking off with one of the soul girls. Fuck, I have no idea why that man hasn’t claimed this stunning woman yet.

As she stood up from her seat on the leather couch, she turned around and gave Charlie a small but genuine smile.

“It was lovely to meet you Charlotte. I hope to see you around here again soon.”

“Thank you, Julie, I hope so too.” Her eyes found mine, a faint blush staining her cheeks.

I took my place on the couch and crowded a little closer to Charlie, liking the way her breasts rose quickly with her breathing. I have never been so happy with a woman’s reaction to me. Normally, I’m a ‘like it or not, who gives a shit’ kind of bloke. But with Charlie, damn it, I want to affect her like she has never been affected before. I want to be in her every waking and sleeping thought.

“So, Sweetness. Do you like what you see here at the compound?” I might as well get to the important stuff straight away. There’s no point if she doesn’t or can’t accept this part of my life.

“It’s different from what I thought it would be,” she answered quietly.

“How so?” I asked immediately. I wanted to keep her talking.

 “Well, I was expecting wild, scantily-dressed women, drugs, and guns everywhere.”

I throw my head back and laugh loudly. It feels good to laugh so freely like this, and her answer is so unexpected yet so honest.

“What?” she whined, embarrassment flooding her cheeks.

“Oh, Sweetness, we aren’t that kind of biker club. Our name is the Wounded Souls MC, and yes, we have cuts like other MCs do.” Her confused look stopped me, as I wasn’t wearing mine at that moment, so I turned my head and searched the room for a brother wearing a cut. Finding Seb, I pointed to him.

“See Seb over by the pool table? His leather jacket with the patches on it?”

Charlie nodded her head as she looked over and took in Seb’s sleeveless cut. Her gaze shot straight back to me.

“So, we all have one with our club name and insignia on the back. And on the front, by our hearts, is our old military rank and current club rank.” I pointed back to Seb. “See, his says Lance Corporal and Patch. He doesn’t hold an officer rank in the club but is just as important.” I hoped like hell I was explaining it right. Charlie’s bottom lip was getting a workout from her teeth as she took in the information I was giving her. If only she knew it was making my dick harden. I wanted so bad to bite that lip myself.

“So, what do your patches say?”

“Well, my rank on discharge was sergeant. My rank here at the club is sergeant at arms.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’m a patched officer of the club, a founding member, actually. Basically, it means I’m in charge of any protection the men may need for any reason.” I reached for her hand and laced my fingers with hers. It felt so right. Nothing had ever felt so right before—not including my daughter or my men but with a woman. The basic need to touch someone was foreign to me, but I wanted this with every breath in my body. Jesus, I hoped she wanted it, too.

Charlie looked down at our joined hands. Her slight squeeze of my fingers sent jolts of pleasure through me.

“So, no one percent patches, then?” she teased. I raised my eyebrow at her. Blushing, she ducked her head. “What? I’ve seen Sons of Anarchy,” she admitted, mumbling.

Again, I laughed. Shit, she was cute.

“No, baby, no one percent patches in here. No Mayans and no Irish guns. Strictly above board and very lawful. Not saying these men are saints one hundred percent of the time, but our killing days were over the minute we left the army.”

“Okay.”

We sat and talked mindlessly for a few hours, mostly about Shiloh and the club since it was hard to get Charlie to talk about herself. Figuring I would get her to open up sooner or later, my gaze strayed towards Shiloh, and I could see she was waning. I knew we were behind schedule a bit for her dinner and bath time. So, reluctantly, I pulled Charlie to her feet.

“Well, Sweetness, I’m sorry to end this night here, but I can see Squirt is getting tired, and she needs to be fed before I tackle her into the bath.”

Charlie tightened her grip on my hand like she didn’t want to let go. Good, I liked that.

“Surely, it isn’t that bad.” She laughed as she followed my lead out to the car park.

I raised my eyebrows and snorted. “Hell, yes, it is. You should stay over one night and have the full experience.” I deliberately threw out the invitation casually hoping she would catch on and accept.

She didn’t disappoint me, but she also surprised me.

“Maybe I will.” Her soft, shy voice barely reached my ears as she leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips against my cheek.

Something passed through me. Something new and exciting.

Pulling her against me, I wrapped my arms around her slim waist, her curves pressing flush against my hard body. I needed to kiss her, but I needed her to want me to more.

“Sweetness, can I kiss you?” I kept my voice soft and gentle. This was just so new to me. Asking.

Almost begging.

But it was important that it was her decision. I couldn’t explain it, but I didn’t just want to take from this woman. I wanted to be wanted, to be needed, by her. I wanted to win.

“Yes, please, Deck. Kiss me.”

And just like that, I won.

Leaning in, I took my time, watching as her pink tongue quickly swiped across her lips, leaving them slightly wet and ready for me. My dick appreciated the gesture and told me so as he stirred in my pants for the hundredth time since meeting this woman.

Pressing my lips gently to Charlie’s, I bit back a moan as her warm soft-as-petal lips moulded themselves to mine. There was no tongue, no rushing, just perfect movements against each other’s mouths. Sliding my hands further around her back, I pulled her closer to me, harder against me, but I kept the kiss gentle even—though I really wanted to devour her mouth.

I didn’t, not yet.

Softly, I explored her lips, nipping lightly while never taking my lips from hers. Oh, God, has a kiss ever felt this good? I’m done for, I’m sure of it. If I couldn’t tell how Charlie was enjoying our kiss, her tiny ladylike moans of pleasure were sure telling me. And my dick loved them.

But so did my heart.

Weird little pulses were dancing in my chest. I needed to slow this down, which was crazy as fuck. I didn’t do slow and steady, and I certainly didn’t do soft. My usual MO would have been tongue down her throat and fuck her against the car after she’d sucked my dick. Just the thought of Charlie being shoved to her delicate knees on the cold, unforgiving asphalt had me reluctantly pulling away. My forehead rested on hers as we both tried to catch our breaths.

“What…what was that?” Charlie stammered as she took deep gulps of air, letting me know it was totally worth pursuing. She wanted me but was maybe scared. Apprehensive?

“That was us beginning, Sweetness,” I told her. Serious shit now. This was hopefully the start of something serious and real. For the first time, apart from Shiloh’s birth, I wanted to be part of something real and honest.

I didn’t want to give her any time to argue with me, so grabbing her keys from her fingers, I pressed the remote and deactivated the central locking. Leaning over, I reached in and made sure the car was in neutral and started the car. I hopped back out and pulled Charlie back into my arms once more. She looked happy and something else I couldn’t place. It had me worried. I didn’t have time to figure it out with her right then. Shiloh was waiting, and she always came first. Always.

“You with me on this, Charlie?” I held my breath, waiting for her answer. It seemed to take forever, but in reality, it was literally only four seconds. And only one word that meant the fucking world to me.

“Yes.”