The Bad Boys' Reluctant Woman (14 page)

****

Jake finished on the car he was
working on as the giggles and whistles came through the mechanic shop. He
cursed aloud. This was part of the job he hated. Didn’t these girls and a few
of the women have something else to do rather than giggle at them? Brent
smacked his head on the underside of the truck.

“Fuck, do you think we can get
Tristan to arrest them? They’re really starting to piss me off,” Brent said.

Jake shook his head, got into the
driver’s side, and reversed the car out of the shop. Jake drove the car in the
reserved parking space then began walking back to the car. A young woman came
running over to him. He recognised her but couldn’t think of a name.

“Jake,” she said, wrapping her arms
around him.

Brent raised his eyebrows at him.

“Excuse me, lady. I’ve got to work,”
said Jake.

“Don’t you remember me? It’s Chloe,
Stefan’s little sister. You use to babysit me when my brother went out to be
with his friends?”

“Chloe Jackson? Well, you sure grew
up. Did you have a great time in college?”

“The best.”

“I came over because Stefan and the
guys want you over at his house later this afternoon. They’re having a barbeque
before going to The Dugout. He wants you, Brent, and Connor. No exceptions.
Also, he said you had a girlfriend to bring along. I think the guys want to
meet her.”

“Zoe will be working at The Dugout
tonight, so he’ll have to wait until later to meet her. Come on, I’ll take you
to see Brent.”

He put his arms around her shoulders
and escorted her into the mechanics’ shop. The whistles followed him inside.

“They still want a piece of your
ass?” she asked.

“You go away to college and come
back with a dirty mouth? I don’t like it. I think I should talk to your
brother.”

“I’m a big girl. I know how to take
care of myself.” She squeezed his ass for good measure. He batted her hand
away. Brent was staring past his shoulder with a panicked look in his eyes.
Jake turned to see Zoe and Vicki waiting.

“Oh shit,” Jake said.

“You better fix this, Jake,” Brent
said.

Zoe looked frozen to the spot. She
turned to walk away. Vicki stood glaring at him then at Chloe. “It’s Chloe,
Stefan’s sister,” he said as he passed.

“Zoe, wait.”

“I’m going to go home and get ready
for work.” She rounded a corner down the alley leading towards the path that
would take her towards her apartment. Jake ran to keep up with her. When he
caught up, he grabbed her hand and spun her around. He dodged her fist as she
took a swing at him.

“Whoa, be careful with those fists.”

She took another swing at him. Jake
took both of her hands in his and pressed them against the brick wall.

“Calm down, baby. That’s not what
this is about.”

“Really, so all women are allowed to
grab your ass when they feel like it?” she asked.

“What? No. Let me explain.”

“I’m not going anywhere. You’ve got
all the time in the world to explain.”

Jake stared into the fiery depths of
her eyes. She was jealous, and he liked it. He pressed his body against her
rubbing his cock next to her pussy.

“Dry humping me is not an
explanation.”

“I’m not dry humping you, Zoe. I’m
showing you what seeing you in the clothes we bought you has done to me.” Jake
leaned down and kissed her neck. He heard her gasp, and her head turned to the
side as he brushed his lips along her pulse. He felt her pulse leap the moment
he nibbled on the base of her neck.

God, he fucking loved her. She had
no idea how damn much he did.

“The woman you saw was Chloe
Jackson. She’s a younger sister of Stefan's. He’s part of the Law Castle Bad
Boys.”

“You guys sound like a circus act,”
she said.

“We kind of are. Men and women come
to see what all the fuss is about. She means nothing to me other than being a
relative to a friend.”

“Then why did she have her hand on
your ass?”

“The girls like to come and whistle
at us as if we’re a spectacle. She was giving them something to talk about. It
means nothing to me. Chloe means nothing to me. I’ve got you, Zoe.”

“You share me with two of your
friends. You don’t really have me,” she said.

Jake stared down into her eyes. She
looked so insecure, and he hated himself for putting that insecurity there.
“You’re our woman, Zoe. We will never share you with anyone else. This is what
Brent, Connor, and I wanted. You’re what I want.” He kissed her lips. “Okay?”
he asked.

After a time, she nodded her head.
“Okay, I don’t like other women touching your ass. If no other man is touching
mine besides you, Connor, and Brent then I want the same.”

“That’s not fair. You’ve got three
men while I only have you,” he said, teasing her.

“No, you’ve got one woman and two
men. Brent and Connor can touch your ass any time they’d like.” She smiled
sweetly at him.

“You’re a vixen. There is no way any
of those two is coming near my ass. It is staying pure. I promise.”

She smiled at him. He took her hand.
“May I introduce you to a friend?”

“Yes, I’ll be embarrassed, but I
think I deserve it.”

****

Brent was waiting for Jake and Zoe
to return as Connor came back. He looked pale, but there was relief on his face
as well. Chloe stood against the wall admiring the tools. The girls who had
been admiring the guys had disappeared.

“Where’s Jake?” Connor asked.

“Gone to get our
girl.
This one
here decided to scare her off.”

“Hey, how was I to know your girl
would be the possessive type?” Chloe said, folding her arms over her chest.

“You always loved shit stirring,
Chloe.”

“Hi, Chloe,” Connor said, making no
move to touch her.

“How have you been, Connor?”

“Fine.”

Jake walked in with a big grin on
his face. “Our jealous kitten is ready to say hello. Chloe, this is Zoe, our
possessive woman. Zoe, this is Chloe, a sister to a friend.”

“Nice to meet you,” Chloe said.

“Likewise.”

“The guys would like you,” Chloe
said, eyeing Zoe.

“Guys?”
Connor asked.

“Yes, there is a get-together
tonight at Stefan’s place. He wants you all to come, and you’re invited as
well,” she said to Zoe.

“I can’t make it. I’m working at The
Dugout tonight. Steve gave me the job, and I don’t want to call in sick,” Zoe
said.

“No problem. They intend to move
their party to The Dugout. You’ll be more than welcome to meet them there.”
Chloe looked at her watch. “I’ve got to go. See you all later.”

“Where’s Vicki?” Zoe asked.

“She said she had some stuff to do
and she’d see you at work.”

“Are you guys okay if I hang out
here awhile? I don’t want to change for work, and I’m more than happy to stay
here.”

“It would be our pleasure,” Brent
said.

She took a seat on a work bench as
they began working. Brent was conscious of her presence. Noah and Drew walked
out and stared at her.

“Is she real, or do we have a statue
now?” Noah asked.

“She’s real. Zoe, meet Noah and
Drew, our bosses.”

They shook her hand. “No hanky-panky
in the workplace, guys. See you at
Stefan’s
later, and
don’t forget to close up.” They both left.

“I’m starting to think we own this
shop,” Brent said.

“What do you do in your spare time,
Jake?” Zoe asked.

“What?”

Brent was interested in where this
conversation was going.

“Brent writes and Connor bakes. What
do you do?” she asked.

“He’s never told us what he does. It
is top secret. We know he likes to paint, but we’re not allowed in his space. I
bet he’s got some porno crap going on,” Brent said.

“I don’t get that. You all share a
house together, and you have no idea what Jake does with his spare time?”

“I always figured he was using the
attic room to jerk off or something,” Connor said.

“Bite me.” Jake punched Connor as he
passed.

“I paint,” Jake said after some
time.

“You paint? That's it?” Brent asked.

“Yes, nothing fancy. I like to
paint, and that’s what I do in the attic. Why do you think our decor in the
house is so good? That’s what I do to earn extra cash.”

“Cool,” Zoe said.

“Cool, you’re not going to ask to
see them.”

She shook her head. Brent chuckled
at the incredulous look Jake shot her.

“I better make my way over to work,”
she said.

“Will you be okay?” Connor asked.
Vicki pulled up outside the mechanic shop.

“I figured you’d want a ride,” Vicki
said, walking inside.

“I do. You’re a lifesaver.”

“Thanks, Vicki,” Jake said.

“Don’t mention it.”

Brent watched the two women
disappear inside the car. “Do you think we should clean up and get to
Stefan’s?”

“I don’t want to go to some party,”
Connor said.

“I don’t think we have much choice.”

“I hate these fucking parties.”
Connor shook his head.

Jake hadn’t said a word since Zoe
had left. He was looking out of the work shop with a rag in his hand. Brent
left him to his thinking as he eased the hood down on the car that was pretty
much fucked. This is why he preferred writing stories. The cars he wrote in the
stories always had sweet engines.

“I’m in love with Zoe,” Jake said,
turning towards them.

That was a mighty big step.

Brent paused staring at his friend.
“We never talked about forever with her, Jake.”

“I know. I love her. She’s the one,”
Jake said.

“Don’t you think you’re rushing it a
little too much?”

Jake shook his head.

“I feel the same way,” Connor said.

Brent stared at both men in shock.
He cared about her. Shit, he might even love her, but he’d not had the feelings
his other two friends clearly had.

“Then I guess she’s the one,” Brent
said, envious of the way Connor and Jake were feeling.

“You’re not going to argue with us?”
Jake asked.

“No, I’m not.”

I want to feel the same as you.

He wouldn’t tell them his thoughts.
They’d hold themselves back from Zoe, and he knew she wasn’t the hold back
type. If his friends were in love with her then it would only be a matter of
time before he was as well. At least he hoped so.

Chapter Fourteen

Connor glanced around at the huge
barbeque. He checked his watch and saw it was past eight. They’d been here for
over two hours. The Dugout had been open since five. He wanted to get to the
bar to see Zoe. He wanted to explore what Tristan had told him. Did he want to
see her in pain, or were his feelings more to do with sexual satisfaction of
claiming Zoe as his?

His mind was full with so much
bullshit. He smacked himself on the side of the head in an effort to clear his
mind. His thoughts were driving him crazy.

Jake and Brent were mingling with the
rest of the groups. He preferred to stay back and to have his personal space
than try to mingle where he didn’t really belong.

Stefan came to stand by his side.
Connor didn’t say anything as they both looked out over the crowd of people.
“We’re going to The Dugout in a second. I wanted to talk to you about
something,” Stefan said.

“I’m all ears.”

“Drugs are making the rounds in this
town. I don’t like it. It is bad for business.”

Connor shook his head. “You’re
talking to the wrong guy.”

“You’re the one who went to Tristan.
He came to me, and now I consider this my business. For too long the trailer
neighbourhood has not been our concern. They were a lost cause and all that
crap. I don’t like it. I want to fix that problem.”

“Stefan, we’re not some biker group
fixing problems.”

“No, we’re a bunch of strong men
intent on protecting this town. I’m not asking you for advice, Connor. I’m
telling you that this is what we’re going to be doing. Anyone caught dealing or
with anything will answer to us if Tristan doesn’t find them first,” Stefan
said.

“I’m not dealing or doing drugs,”
Connor said.

“I know. Your moods say otherwise. I
don’t want your crap anymore, Connor. You either suck it up, or you leave the
Bad Boys behind. Do you understand me?” Stefan said.