Being the Bikers' Old Lady Read online

  “Look, Miss Priss. You’re the one who needs a job. I wouldn’t be making demands if I was you,” Reece said with an amused grin.

  “And you’re the one who needs an experienced manager who can run a mere bar with both hands tied behind her back. I wouldn’t be cutting off your nose to spite your face,” she fired back, wearing an equally amused smile.

  “Damnation, woman!” Reece sputtered, shaking his head. “We aren’t running a charity here.”

  She stood up and planted her hands on her hips, in hopes it would keep her from wagging her finger in the man’s face. Somehow she doubted that would be a good idea. Haggling over money and position was a different story. It was somewhat to be expected, though not with a woman.

  “I don’t want your charity. I want a job, but I want decent pay for the work I do. Are you running a sweatshop instead?” she countered.

  “Give it up, Reece. The woman’s got a point despite her disrespectful method of making it,” Dom said with narrowed eyes.

  “Sorry, president.” She turned and looked at Reece with a perfect pout on her face. “Sorry, vice president. I really didn’t mean to be disrespectful. I tend to get overheated sometimes.”

  She heard someone sputter and cough behind her and figured it was Walker. Those two were going to be trouble. She could see that already. It struck her as Reece and Dom talked off to the side that maybe they were thinking the same thing about her. She needed this job and a place to stay.

  Why can’t I just keep my mouth shut for a change?

  Dom and Reece separated with Reece smiling and Dom? Well, Dom had a look of deviousness that made her stomach cramp. What where they up to? Delta had a feeling she’d met her match after all.

  “We agree that it’s not fair for you to work on turning the bar around for minimum wage only for us to either take it from you or move you to a salaried position that doesn’t pay much more,” Dom said.

  Take it away from her?

  Delta hadn’t even thought of that. Would they have really done that after she’d made it successful? And she would because she was good at that. Now the cramping in her stomach expanded to a heaviness in her chest as well.

  “So, what we are going to do is pay you a dollar over minimum wage now while you whip it into shape. Then, once it’s making money, you’ll receive a percent of the profits for as long as it makes a profit or you continue to run it,” Reece said, taking over from Dom.

  Delta finally took a deep breath and all the tension and unease melted from her body. She could do this, and if no one ever came after her, she could make a living here and be happy. Brushing off the occasional biker would be a nuisance, but she could handle it. The itch to get started began in her hands like it always did when she had a problem to solve. It had been the same way when she worked on cars.

  “There’s just one more thing, Delta,” Reece said, smiling even broader if that were possible.

  “One more thing?” She swallowed and braced herself for the worst. “What is it?”

  “Since we aren’t sure yet if you have someone coming after you, we will be providing you with 24-7 security. We can’t have someone under our protection from another club get injured while she’s here,” Reece said.

  “Wouldn’t look good for us. You understand, Delta. Don’t you?” Dom asked.

  “I guess,” she said. “But I’m not from another club. Why does that apply to me?”

  “Your sister’s old man asked for our help. You’re family to him, so you’re essentially affiliated with their club,” Dom explained.

  Delta sighed and collapsed against the back of the chair, her heart defeated for the time being. “Once a Dixie Devil, always one. Doesn’t matter that it was my mom who was the damn sweet butt and not me. I’m still being controlled.”

  Shaking her head, Delta stood up and lifted her chin. “Fine. I’ll take the job complete with security, but I want it all in writing. Now where can I find a place to stay? Are there apartments around here somewhere?”

  Dom’s face immediately shut down. “You stay here, on club property. We can’t protect you anywhere else. Plus, I said 24-7, Delta. Remember?”

  That was when it hit her exactly what had put that devious expression on his face earlier. He planned on someone keeping a close, personal eye on her. She narrowed her eyes at the man.

  “Hell, no! No one stays with me. I’ll bunk here on club property, but I’m not a sweet butt and never will be,” she said in her best deceptively soft voice. She didn’t take her eyes off of Dom while she spoke, either.

  His stoic expression slowly dissolved into a broad smile. “Delta, honey. One thing none of us would ever think about doing is mistaking you for a sweet butt. None of my guys will ever harm you or force you into something you don’t want. On the other hand, you have to leave the taken men alone,” he said.

  “No worries there, pres. I’m not in the market for a man or woman right now. I’ve had about all of the tricks and sneakiness men excel in to last me a lifetime. Now where do I unload my car?” she asked.

  “Butch and Walker are your security while you’re living here. Walker will personally supervise you while you’re working unless something comes up and we need him. Then they will assign someone else to watch you until he returns. You will not give them a difficult time about keeping you safe. That will null our agreement. Got it?” Dom asked.

  Delta nodded. “I’ve got it.”

  “Good. Now out.”

  “Wait!” She stepped away from Walker who’d reached to take her arm. “What about where I’m staying. You didn’t say.”

  “That’s up to them,” Dom told her, nodding in the direction of Butch.

  When she turned around to look at Mr. Goatee, aka Butch, Delta felt a swift moistening of her pussy. The man was staring at her as if he could eat her up. The smoldering look he was giving her burned her all the way to her bones. Damn he was hot, but he and his sidekick were off-limits. She had a job and the potential to make good money if she played her cards right. That didn’t include a romp or two with the two dangerous-as-hell-to-her-libido bikers.

  “Ready to see where you’ll be staying?” Walker asked, resting a hand at the small of her back.

  Giving him an overly exaggerated sigh, she smiled and said, “Lead on Macbeth.”

  “Who the hell is Macbeth?” Walker asked as Butch opened the door.

  “Obviously you haven’t read Shakespeare,” she said with a huff.

  “I doubt you’ll find a man here who’s read it outside of my brother and myself,” another tall dark-haired man said as he stood just outside the door as if waiting for them.

  She hadn’t seen him before. He was handsome with his deeply black hair and light blue eyes. The term Black Irish came to mind for some reason. That and his mannerisms struck her as being off for a biker.

  “And who are you, and who is your brother?” she asked with a quick smile.

  “Merrick, madam. At your service. My brother’s name is Cassius,” he said with a warm smile.

  That got her attention. “Merrick as in James Merrick, the English poet? What about your brother? Was he named after Cassius Dio? He was a Greek author of something. I don’t remember what, though.”

  “You’re a scholar I see. Kudos to you, my lady.”

  “You do remember one of the stipulations to staying here, don’t you?” Walker whispered into her ear. “No playing with the taken men.”

  She growled and turned to glare at Walker. “I’m not flirting! I’m just finding out who everyone is.”

  At the word “flirting,” Merrick’s face tightened, and he took a step back. “I was in no way flirting, Walker. River is my life, and you know that.”

  “I know that, Merrick. I was referring to Delta’s flirting with you.” Walker rested both of his hands on her shoulders, a claiming position if she ever knew one.

  Stepping out from under his hands she smiled at Merrick. “I apologize. I wasn’t flirting. I would never cause pro
blems between a couple. It’s wrong and beneath me.” Turning back to Walker, then looking over to where Butch stood silently watching she smiled sweetly at them. “Shall we go?”

  “It’s triad or ménage, sweet thing,” Walker said once they’d walked down the hall to emerge into the big open room they’d been in before.

  “Excuse me? Triad or ménage what?”

  Butch stepped over and crowded her back into Walker’s embrace. “Ménage as in relationship. Most of the men here prefer to share their women, little spitfire. Think you can handle two men?”

  Her heart immediately began a staccato race in her chest. Instead of fear and unease like she’d experienced back at that play party she’d attended with Aaron Caldwell, River’s pussy grew wet, and her nipples beaded. What in the hell was wrong with her? Two men? At one time? No way in hell! She couldn’t handle one man, much less two. Was he really serious?

  “I do believe you’ve managed to shock her speechless,” Walker said with a chuckle. “Wonder if that’s a record or something?”

  “Let’s go, darling.” Butch took a step back, and Walker nudged her forward with…

  Dear, God! Was that his cock? It’s huge!

  Delta had to think to make her legs work as they threaded their way between couches and chairs into the open kitchen and down one of the two halls leading from the spacious room. She hadn’t realized just how far back the building went. It was a pretty big place.

  “Right here, Delta.” Butch stopped and opened one of the doors. When she stepped in, it was to find a fairly neat room.

  The bed was huge, though. She didn’t need a room with a bed that size. At least they hadn’t tried to put her in one of the flop rooms. Those were the ones they let guests use when they stayed over from too much to drink. It was also where the sweet butts tended to entertain the bikers. That made her shiver in disgust that she might have had to decontaminate a room.

  “It’s really too much for me. I don’t need this much space or that size bed, guys. Don’t you have a small room? Um, not a flop room, though,” she said.

  “This is it, darling,” Butch said.

  “Okay.” She sighed and turned around. “I’ll go start unloading my car. There isn’t all that much.”

  “Whoa, Delta darling. That’s being taken care of. Vernon and Rhodes will bring your things in.” Butch backed her up to the bed. “Have a seat so we can talk.”

  “T-talk? About what?” Delta sat on the edge of the bed and watched as Walker grabbed a chair from the small desk while Butch pulled over the club chair. They both sat down and studied her in silence for a few seconds.

  “We need to get some ground rules straight. You’re here under Ghost Riders’ protection, which means we’re responsible for you as a favor to The Dixie Devils and Knuckles. We take our oaths of protection pretty damn seriously,” Butch told her.

  “But I didn’t ask for protection, and I’m pretty sure Knuckles didn’t ask, either. All I wanted was a job,” she told the big biker.

  “It don’t work that way with us, sugar,” Walker said, straddling the chair backward. “You see. You’re a female, and we take protecting our women very seriously here. If you’re going to work for us, then you’re going to be protected by us. End of story.”

  “But I’m not one of your women. I don’t belong to any of you, and I’m not a sweet butt.” Delta was getting pretty exasperated with the two bikers.

  “See, honey. There’s where you’re wrong,” Butch said as he stood up. “You don’t belong to anyone here, and you’re not a sweet butt, but you do belong to two someones. You see, in order for you to remain and work for us, someone has to claim responsibility for you or you’re not welcome.”

  Delta got a sick feeling as Butch slowly stalked toward her. When he reached where she sat on the bed, he leaned over, planting both of his massive paws on either side of her hips. It took all of her bravado to remain sitting up with his face inches from hers, his thick kissable lips a mere whisper from her suddenly dry ones. She dare not lick them.

  “You, Miss Delta Dawn, belong to Walker and me. We’ve claimed you as under our protection, and as such, the protection of the club. That means that you are ours and ours alone. You’ll eat with us, sleep with us, and follow our lead. If you fail to follow our directions, we will spank that pretty ass of yours. And believe me, I’m aching to get my hands on it, sugar,” Butch told her as he leaned in even closer.

  Every cell in her body urged her to lean up and kiss him. She wanted to with a vengeance, but she also knew that if she did, there would be no going back, and she couldn’t get mixed up with these guys. She’d turn their bar into a money maker and spend some time there shoring up her savings, then leave and start over again.

  Delta wasn’t going to be a biker bitch like her mom and her sister. It had been the only way of life her mother had known and Cassidy loved Knuckles who doted on her like she was a queen, but it wasn’t for her. She didn’t want that kind of life.

  “I’m not sleeping with the two of you. You’ll have to find somewhere else, or I can sleep on the floor. I’ve been sleeping in my car, so the floor won’t be a sacrifice at all,” she said, sliding back onto the bed and away from where Butch leaned. She slid off the side and stood up.” Where do you keep your extra blankets and pillows?”

  “You’re not sleeping on the floor,” Butch snarled.

  “You slept in that piece of shit car?” Walker’s disgust couldn’t be missed.

  “Don’t call Josie that! I haven’t said your bikes are trashed-out heaps, now have I?” she asked smiling sweetly.

  Walker growled at her, looking as if he wanted to choke her, but someone knocked on the door.

  “Come in,” Butch shouted

  The two men who’d been standing out in front of the garage when she drove up walked in carrying the plastic canisters that held her entire life in them. They stacked all four of them at the foot of the bed.

  “Thank you, guys,” she said, smiling at the two men.

  They nodded and smiled back, but Walker stepped in between them and her. “Jessie isn’t someone you want to mess with, Delta. She’ll chew you up and spit you out if you mess with her men.”

  Delta hissed out a breath and looked up, wishing she was able to scream. She would have loved to let one rip right about then. How was she going to be able to get it through their thick skulls that she didn’t want a man, much less two and certainly not a damn biker!

  “I’m not flirting. How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t want a boyfriend, much less two? And in case you have difficulty comprehending simple English. I don’t want a biker at all!” She huffed out a breath and walked over to the plastic totes to locate the one holding her bathroom supplies. She wanted to brush her teeth and freshen up a bit.

  “What are you doing?” Walker asked as she rummaged through the containers.

  “Looking for something,” she snapped back, then turned to look at him over her shoulder and gave him a “duh” look as well.

  “What, Delta, what are you looking for?” he asked, being much more succinct with his question this time.

  She pulled out her overnight kit and sighed. “Where is the bathroom?”

  “Down at the end of the hall,” Walker said.

  She watched the two men exchange glances but ignored them and carrying her bag, walked out the door. When she reached the bathroom, the door was closed. She knocked, but no one answered so she started to open the door.

  A big hand closed around hers stopping her in mid turn. “Wait.”

  Delta frowned and looked up at Butch. “Why? I knocked, but no one answered.”

  “Sometimes they won’t hear you. Let me check.” He slipped between her and the door before opening it and sticking his head inside. “All clear.”

  She wanted to poke him in the side for that, but wasn’t going to start something now. She desperately wanted to wash her face and brush her teeth. She’d slept in her car for the last few nights
and used truck stops to clean up. This morning she hadn’t passed one to stop at, so when she arrived at Reo, Delta hadn’t wanted to waste time stopping at the diner she saw.

  “Thank you,” she said in her best sickly sweet voice.

  Butch just nodded and stepped back for her to go inside. She couldn’t help the sigh of relief when he didn’t try to follow her inside when she turned to close the door. At that point, she wouldn’t have put it past him to try it.

  Once she’d taken care of business and enjoyed a spit bath, Delta brushed her teeth and spruced up her hair a bit. She loved the maroon, but was thinking something different was a good idea to celebrate her new job. She’d think about it and decide on the color later.

  She opened the bathroom door and stepped out to nearly collide with a hard strong back. Looking up, she realized it was Walker from the multi-shaded blond hair that curled just past the collar of his cut. Even knowing what sort of assholes they were, Delta still wanted to sink her fingers in his hair. She’d just make sure she pulled the hell out of it once she’d had her fill of playing in it. That brought a smile to her face.

  “Move, you big lug. I can’t get by,” she said, pushing at his unyielding back.

  Walker turned around and grinned down at her. “Mmm, something smells good. Did you put on some kind of sweet-smelling perfume?”

  She frowned. “No. I just brushed my teeth.”

  “Give me a taste, sweet thing,” he said.

  “No.” she pushed at his chest and realized he was built like a linebacker with enough muscle he could have shared with a high school football team and not missed any of it.

  Damn!

  He crowded her back against the door she’d closed behind her. “No? Not even a tiny one? I promise not to push, Delta.”

  “Like you’d keep your promise. I don’t think so.” Only her hands weren’t shoving at the immovable object in front of him now. Instead her fingers were tangling in the material of his gray T-shirt.

  “Sweet Delta. I always keep my promises. Always. You can ask anyone here, and they’ll tell you the same. If I say I won’t push, I won’t push.”

  Delta realized she’d insulted him. For some reason, she felt ashamed of herself for implying otherwise. She shook her head then dropped her shoulders.