Chas's Fervor: Insurgents Motorcycle Club (Insurgents MC Romance Book 3) (2 page)

Jack’s big, brown eyes looked down at his hands as he rubbed them over and over. A slight tremble made his lower lip shake, and his dark brown bangs fell down past his forehead into his eyes. Picking up the phone, Addie called Jack’s mother for the umpteenth time, and again, the call went straight to voicemail. Addie left a much curter message than her previous ones on the mother’s answering machine.

“I don’t think my mom’s coming,” Jack mumbled as he looked down at his hands.

In a soft voice, Addie said, “Oh, I’m sure she just got tied up. She’s probably rushing to get here, but in case she’s running very late, I should call your father and see if he can pick you up instead.”

A smile cracked over Jack’s face. “Yeah, he’ll come get me.”

As she began to dial the number she had in Jack’s file, a jangle of chains and the loud clack of footsteps on the linoleum floor made her look up from her task. Coming toward the reading table was a tall, lean, muscular man. Dark brown hair fell in long layers a little bit past his collar bone, and his black eyes shone like well-polished quartz. A strong jaw and high cheekbones were covered in his five o’clock shadow. His legs were powerful, every corded muscle emphasized by the tight denim covering them, and his fitted black t-shirt showed off a finely sculpted chest. Staring at him, she was rendered speechless, and his commanding presence and good looks mesmerized her. After glancing briefly at her, he rushed over to Jack, bent down, and ran his hand through Jack’s dark hair. Jack looked up at him, smiling, while tears brimmed in his eyes.

Crouching down, Chas put a large hand on his boy’s shoulder, moving Jack closer to him.

“Hey, little buddy, what’s wrong? Why’re you all upset?”

“He thought his parents forgot to pick him up,” Addie said, as she stood up and crossed her arms over her ivory blouse.

Ignoring her, Chas hugged his son. Circling his small arms around his dad’s neck, Jack hid his face.

“You know I’d never forget you, right, buddy? Your mom called me just fifteen minutes ago telling me to pick you up, that’s all.”

In a hitched voice, Jack asked, “Why didn’t Mom come? She knew she was supposed to pick me up after the reading circle.”

“At four fifteen, forty-five minutes ago,” Addie interjected as she went to the table and leaned against it.

“I’m aware of the time. I learned how to tell time when I was in grade school. I don’t need you to tell me what I already know.” Chas threw her a sideways glare, then focused his attention back on his son.

“Apparently, you weren’t a very good learner,” she muttered under her breath, but the way he stiffened his back led her to believe he had overheard her.

“Your mom had something unexpected come up. She called me, and here I am. You know one of us will always be around to pick you up, right?”

Jack nodded slowly.

“Okay, so all’s good now, right?”

“Yeah. Am I going home on the hog?” Jack’s eyes lit up, the fear in them gone since his dad was there.

“You bet.”

Standing up, Chas turned to stare at Addie full-on, a look of surprise crossing over his face. Pushing back on his black engineer boots, his eyes moved up her body, lingering on her curvy hips—accentuated by her pencil skirt—then brazenly rested on her chest for several seconds before stopping on her rose-tinted cheeks. Heat flushed against her fair and lightly freckled skin, making it blush pink as he blatantly checked her out.

Flustered, she walked over to one of the bookcases and pretended to straighten a book. Regaining her composure, she turned around and looked him straight on. “Jack was scared not knowing when he’d be picked up. I phoned your wife several times and left many messages, but she never answered.”

Jutting out his jaw, Chas narrowed his eyes and said, “She’s my ex, and I’m here now, so it’s all good.” Giving her the once-over again, he walked up to her, leaving barely a few inches between them. “What did you say your name was?”

Black eyes under perfectly shaped eyebrows bored into her. White teeth flashed when his lips curled into a smile. In his right ear, a silver Celtic cross earring dangled and swung when he moved his head. Trying to create some space between her and his imposing figure, she flattened her back against the rows of books behind her. A sliver of satisfaction gleamed in his eyes, as her discomfort was transparent.

Tilting her chin up in defiance, she looked at him pointedly and said, “Ms. O’Leary. Please, don’t take any offense, it’s just that I worry about the kids and how they feel when parents are late, or when they don’t know where their parents are. Jack was very scared he’d been forgotten.”

“And you’re the teacher?”

“I’m the librarian, but I engage in the after-school reading group your son is in. Since he’s started, he’s doing quite well.”

“I’m Chas. Nice meeting you.” Extending his hand, she grasped it and small electric currents tingled against her skin. Blinking, her green eyes locked onto his coal black ones, and for a moment, the current connected them. As the heat rose up her neck, she pulled away, looking sideways as her embarrassment colored her face.
What is the matter with me? I’m acting like I’ve never seen a good-looking guy. Dammit.
Chiding herself for her absolute lack of professionalism, she glanced back to his face. He smirked, moved away from her, and went up to his son.

“Were you scared, buddy?”

“No, I knew it was okay.” Jack grinned, exposing two front spaces from his recently lost teeth—it made his dad laugh.

Messing up the top of his son’s hair, he winked and drew the kid close to him, giving him an extra hug. “That’s my boy.”

Watching this tall, mean-looking man display such overt affection to his son touched Addie. His good looks, badass attitude, and the tats peeking out from under his t-shirt also affected her, but in a very different way. Drooling inwardly, she couldn’t help but imagine what his large hands would feel like on her skin. Not believing how his mere presence could place her body in overdrive, she shook her head, trying to dispel thoughts of her student’s father. How could she even think about his hands running over her, or his full lips kissing her in places she had never been kissed?
For God’s sake, he’s off-limits. Dunk your head in a fucking bucket of ice water, Addie. He’s Jack’s dad. You can’t be doing this.

“Why don’t you meet me at the Harley, okay, champ? I’ll be there in a few minutes. We can get dinner and ice cream before we head home.”

“Oh, boy, Dad. That’s great.” A pink blush dusted his cheeks as his eyes shone. Looking at his teacher, he said, “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon, Ms. O’Leary.” Scooping up his backpack, he dashed off.

“Wait, Jack, you forgot your book for tomorrow.” Addie started after him when a strong arm pulled her back. Startled, she lost her footing and fell back against something hard and solid. Whirling around, she stared into the chiseled face of Jack’s father. “Oh,” was all she could muster.

“I’ll take the book and give it to him. Does he have to read it for tomorrow?” he asked in a gravelly baritone.

“What? Oh, yeah—I mean, no—I mean, he has to read some of it.” She turned away before he saw her cheeks flushing a bright red. She hated her fair skin because it revealed every emotion she was feeling.

A deep chuckle rose from the depths of his throat. “I didn’t mean to make you nervous, but I like that you
are
bothered by me.”

“You didn’t make me nervous, nor am I
bothered
by you. I’m tired because I had to wait for an errant parent to pick up his son.” With her back to him, she went over to the reading table to gather the strewn books she’d have to re-shelve before she left.

A large hand grasped her fleshy arm like a vise. “Don’t ever fuckin’ call me an errant parent again. What the shit do you know about me? Also, don’t chew me out in front of my son again.” Flashing eyes scanned her taut face. “And I don’t give a shit if you
are
his teacher. You wanna say something to me, say it when he’s not around. You got that?”

His scorching hand on her skin unnerved her, and tiny shivers traveled from her stomach to her inner thighs. Mad at herself for her body’s response, she jerked her arm out of his grasp and faced him. “Don’t bully me. I’m not in the mood to debate your family situation. I felt sorry for Jack because he was so forlorn and didn’t think anyone was going to pick him up. My anger for that is probably misdirected at you. Please, in the future, make sure either you or your wife is on time to pick up Jack.”

“It’s my ex, and apology accepted,
teach
.”

“I’ve had a long day, and I have to straighten up before I close the library. It was nice meeting you.”

Skimming her body with his eyes, Chas looked at her, took her hand, shook it, and said, “It was nice meeting you.” He leaned in close and whispered, “You look pretty when you’re embarrassed.” Then he winked at her and swaggered away, shrugging on his leather jacket.

With her hand still burning from where he’d touched it, Addie looked at his retreating back and noticed his leather jacket had the words
Insurgents
on the top and
Colorado
on the bottom, and an emblem of a skull next to two smoking pistols in the middle. When he turned sideways to exit through the glass doors, she saw the diamond 1%er patch and a skull with the number 13 underneath. Throwing her a half-smile, he walked out of the library.

Addie watched him leave. She had no idea Jack’s father belonged to the Insurgents Motorcycle Club. A person couldn’t live in Pinewood Springs and not know the Insurgents were an outlaw biker club who didn’t mess around if someone got in their face.
Yeah, Jack’s dad is a real badass, and from the minute he walked in, I was a bundle of nerves. What the fuck?

Mad at herself for acting like a sixteen-year-old girl, Addie absentmindedly touched the spot on her arm where Chas’s hand had just been. The thrill that coursed through her body when he touched her, left her craving for more. Never had she been so drawn to any one person as she was to Chas. Even though she knew she was entering the danger zone, she wanted to see him again.
What’s my problem? He’s just a good-looking man with a helluva lot of sex appeal. A chick magnet, that’s all.

The loud rumble of an engine jerked her from her thoughts. When she gazed out the window, she saw Chas straddling a big-ass Harley, the streetlights bouncing off its chrome, and Jack snuggled behind him wearing a safety belt and helmet. The iron horse jumped forward, then roared into the traffic. Leaning against the windowsill, Addie watched them until they disappeared.
I have to stay away from Jack’s dad; otherwise, I’ll be so screwed.

She always went for the bad boys, and her poor parents had had their hands full when she was in high school. Trying to cure herself of the bad boy syndrome, she’d accepted Ian’s invitation to dinner after she’d met him at a friend’s party in her last year of college. Thinking he was the kind of guy she needed to take care of her, she was happy to tell her parents she had met a responsible man who was the CEO of Minecorp—one of the largest gold companies in the world.

Shaking her head, she snorted at the irony of her life. Ian turned out to be way worse than a bad boy. A calculated killer who murdered for profit, Ian had destroyed her life, and put her on the run from the law and him.

It had been two years since she’d arrived in Pinewood Springs with a new name, profession, and life. Everything so far had been wonderful; she loved the small town of nine thousand people, and she adored her job and the kids she worked with. Life was peaceful for her, and she’d even begun to relax a bit and quit looking over her shoulder every time she heard a noise. Her life in Chicago seemed more and more like nothing but a bad nightmare as time passed.

The last thing she needed in her new life was a badass. Addie appreciated a handsome man with raw sex appeal, though, and it
had
been two years since she’d been with a man. As a matter of fact, Chas was the first man to have touched her since she fled from Ian. Even though Chas’s contact with her body was most probably inadvertent, it seared right through her, reminding her how good it felt to have a man’s touch.

As lonely as she had been over the past two years, she wasn’t interested in being involved with another bad boy. She’d had her fill of them, and she was doing just fine without a man. Running the library and the pilot after-school reading program took up most of her time. She really liked the children, but her favorite—before she’d laid eyes on his sexy dad—was Jack. He was a good kid who struggled with his reading, but never gave up. He was a bright, curious, and ambitious boy. Making a mental note to call his mother and ask her if she could set up one-on-one reading sessions two times a week, Addie went into her office to clean off her desk before she headed home.

Locking the big, double-paned glass door, Addie walked down the library’s front steps and made her way to her car, parked in the adjacent lot. The sun dipped behind the mountain peaks, and the scent of pine drifted around her. Tall evergreens looked like narrow cones silhouetted against the darkened eastern sky. As she walked on the pavement, leaves crackled under her black pumps, and a thin mist sprayed around her. Picking up her speed, she wanted to make it to her car before the sprinkles turned into a downpour.

Parking in front of her apartment building, Addie turned off her windshield wipers, cut the engine, and settled back, hoping the rain would dissipate enough so she wouldn’t be drenched if she made a run for it. Sheets of water bathed her Ford Taurus, and the lightning’s jagged designs crisscrossed the darkening sky. After fifteen minutes of pouring, Addie—plastic bag covering her head—dashed to the entrance of her building.

Opening her apartment door, Addie switched on the overhead light and a warm glow filled her small place. She loved the character of her one-bedroom abode. Because the building used to be a Victorian mansion built in the late 1800s, the crown molding, the tin ceiling, and the stained glass windows lent her apartment the charm she loved. At first, she’d taken it because it was on a quiet tree-lined street near the library, but after a few months of living there, she had come to love it. Her place was one of five in the converted house, and the quietness of the building was a welcoming change to all the chaos and noise she had lived with when she and Ian resided in their Chicago high-rise penthouse.