Duke (Aces MC Series Book 2) (13 page)

After we said our goodbye’s I decided to take an early
lunch. I wasn’t that hungry but I had an hour before Harlow arrived for her
hair appointment and was looking forward to putting my feet up. After making
myself a nice cup of tea, I grabbed the closest magazine and relaxed on the
sofa flicking through the pages of the gossip columns.

My phone buzzed indicating I’d received a text message.

Hi Taylor. Thanx 4 letting me sleep in
J
What do u want 4 dinner 2nite?

She was such a sweet girl, always looking to please.
How
could her dad be such an arse towards her?
I quickly typed my response.

Don’t worry about dinner. I’ll bring a takeaway home.
Chinese, Indian or Pizza?

I didn’t usually do takeaways. I was well aware that the
closer I got to thirty the harder it was to shift the pounds.

As long as you’re sure. Pizza’s good. Like everything
apart from those round black things! X

I sniggered as I read her last text. I assumed she meant
olives and I didn’t like them either so I was pleased about that.

Okay, see you about 6 x

“Taylor!” I turned to see Harlow standing at the door.
“Hi Harlow, how are you?” I stood greeting her properly.
“Sorry I know I’m early but I was in the neighbourhood so I thought I’d pop
in.”
“Not a problem, take a seat. Do you want a drink?”
Harlow started to take off her poncho with difficulty.
“Come here, let me give you a hand.” I untangled it from her body, “When does
the cast come off.”
“Not soon enough, it’s doing my head in. You don’t realise how much you use
your body parts until you’re made immobile!” She smiled sweetly, “I hope you don’t
mind me coming back here? Chloe said it was okay to come through.”
“No that’s fine. How are things with you?” I was a little confused as to why
she was here. We’d only met once, a couple of weeks ago when I put her
extensions in. Although I did feel like I knew her through conversations with
both Amy and Savannah.
“I can see by your face that you’re a little confused as to why I’m here.” She
leant forward on the chair, “I just want to introduce myself properly. I’ve
heard so much about you, from the girls and the guys come to think of it.”
I laughed at her comment. I’d had first-hand experience of the guys gossiping.
“Amy said you’re coming out with us on Thursday.”
I nodded my head as I took a sip of my tea. “I’m looking forward to meeting the
rest of the girls. I’ve been welcomed with open arms so far by everyone.”
“I’m glad to hear it but I’m sure Duke wouldn’t have it any other way.” She
lifted her eyebrows with a knowing look. “How are things going in the Duke
department?”
I smiled tightly not making eye contact.
What could I say to her?
I was
falling hard for this hot alpha male. He was possessive, strong and made me
feel things that I’d never felt before but he also had a sensitive side that
not many people saw but most importantly he made me lose my inhibitions which
scared me and I was afraid of the dangerous path he would lead me down both in
our relationship and my life in general.
“I know that look Taylor and I could probably real off, all the emotions that I
just saw in your eyes. You gotta let it run its natural course. Don’t over
analyse babe or you’ll stop whatever it is between you before you even give it
a chance.”
I looked at her, intrigued by her analysis and found that she spoke like she
was a lot older than her twenty years.
“You don’t know much about me but I’ve lived and breathed it Taylor. Bikers are
domineering, intense and passionate men both in their day to day lives and in
the bedroom.” She sniggered at her own comment. “I can see your reticence and I
appreciate how coy you’re being about your relationship with Duke and I think
he’d appreciate that too. It’s just that Duke doesn’t do relationships so
everyone’s excited at the prospect of the two of you getting it on.”
I bit my lip whilst processing her comment. It was very early days, in fact it
had only been a couple of weeks but Duke was so intense. I’d never been
consumed by a man before but Duke had a way of getting into my head and my
heart.
“What if I can’t do it Harlow?” She looked at me intrigued. “What if I can’t
fit in with his life? It’s different for you as you were born into this, it’s
in your blood. But me, I’m just a normal person, with a normal job and a normal
life. What could he possibly want with me?”
Harlow moved so that she was sitting beside me, “You’ve answered your own
question. I can’t speak for Duke but I’d say he wants you because you
are
normal!” I looked at her confused. “I haven’t known Duke that long but when I
first met him he honestly scared the shit out of me. He has this demeanour
about him and I suppose that comes with being the president of the club. I can
only go by what I’ve heard from the girls at the club but he’s only ever had
one night stands. He doesn’t do the relationship thing and very rarely goes
back twice.”
I rubbed my forehead as I sniggered, “You’re not painting a very good picture
of him!”
She laughed, “What I’m trying to say is that I think he really likes you, he
just finds all this…difficult to process.”
I took another sip of my tea and let the hot liquid smooth my tummy ache. My
ear continued to pulsate and I was planning on seeing the doctor again if it
didn’t sort itself out by the weekend. I glanced over at Harlow. Every time I
looked at her skin, I saw something else. Her tattoos were fantastic and very
feminine.
Harlow caught me staring, “Have you got any tattoos?”
“No but I’ve been thinking about one for a while. I’d like a purple butterfly
on my shoulder.” I stated pointing to the place where I wanted one. It wouldn’t
be prominent and could still be covered over with clothes but I would know it
was there.
“Why don’t you book an appointment? I can’t ink you because of my arm but I can
draw it.”
I rubbed my shoulder contemplating. I’d always erred on the side of caution.
“Sod it! Go on then, book me in. Can you do after 11.30am tomorrow?”
Harlow looked at her diary on her phone. “Spike can fit you in at 12.30pm.”

Duke

“So what does it mean?” Rex asked.
“What a fucking stupid question Rex. It means someone has beef with the club.”
Diesel stood knocking his chair flying.
Earlier on in the day a brick had been thrown through the gym’s window with a
note attached, telling us to watch our businesses, families and backs.
The guys were getting restless and we had no leads. The new CCTV system
installed was good but it didn’t stretch wide enough to see who threw the
brick. I hated feeling fucking helpless and unable to protect the club.
“Calm down Diesel. Let’s not get over excited. It’s probably someone we threw
out of the strip club or didn’t enjoy a meal at the cafe. Let’s analyse this
sensibly.”
“Are we on lock down?” Justice asked looking around the group.
“There’s no need for that. We’ll just tighten security and make sure no one
goes out alone. Rex you’re gonna need to keep Brooke under control.”
Everyone started laughing, “Yeah, good luck with that man.” CJ sniggered.
“And Woods, let Lauren know, not that she’s a problem. Put a prospect on Ink,
Amy and Maggie and find someone for Ash.”
I looked around the room at everyone’s questioning looks but I didn’t give a
shit. It was protocol to look after our women as they were an easy target. Ink
and Maggie were old ladies and Amy was family but I’d never asked the club to
look out for someone for me and that’s what the questioning looks were for.
Diesel broke the silence, “Have we covered everything?”
I looked at CJ, “Where was Locke going this morning in such a hurry?”
The room fell silent, “I don’t know Duke, and I’m not his fucking keeper. I know
he’s my mate but leave me out of this shit.” CJ stood and stomped quickly out
of the room.
CJ’s little outburst was interesting. He obviously knew more than he was
letting on and this was something I would get Diesel to investigate further.
I quickly brought the gavel down dismissing the other members. Everyone started
to file out leaving only Diesel and Bear behind.
“What’s your hunch Duke?” Bear asked tapping his fingers on the table
impatiently.
“The most obvious is Tyreese but this isn’t his bag. He would come in all guns
blazing not giving a shit about the repercussions. Something just doesn’t feel
right.”
Diesel tossed me a knowing look, “Rev?”
I nodded my head slowly as it was a possibility.

Taylor

“Harlow it’s beautiful.” She’d designed a stunning realistic
butterfly. The design would fit perfectly on my shoulder and I started to get
excited at the prospect of having it but not at the pain that came with it.
“She’s bloody talented that’s for sure.” I turned to see Spike stroll into the
room. “Are you ready for me Taylor?” He lifted his eyebrows up and down.
“Hell yeah, let’s get this done.” I said, expressing a little more confidence
than I was feeling inside.
Spike positioned himself behind me, “Now lay down face first and take the
pain.”
Harlow burst out laughing at my shocked expression, “Does everything you say
have to sound so sexual Spike, it’s gross!” I stated as I positioned myself
comfortably on the chair.
Harlow leant closer, “It’s gonna be fine Taylor. In a little while you won’t be
a virgin anymore.” We started to giggle like school girls.
“Who’s sounding sexual now?” Spike asked looking directly at Harlow before
turning slightly towards me. “I could tell you an interesting story about
certain people losing their virginity Taylor!” Spike stated through sly eyes.
“You wouldn’t dare!” Harlow swatted Spike on the arm playfully.
“Then get out of my way woman, I’ve got work to do.”

An hour later I was the proud owner of a beautiful tattoo.
“Spike it’s wonderful.” I stood looking at my reflection in the mirror admiring
his handy work.
“Keep it covered for eight hours then put this cream on it.” Spike handed me a
tube of Bepanthen.
I read the label, “It’s for nappy care! Is that nappies as in diapers?”
They started to laugh, “It works wonders, trust me.” Spike said as I put it safely
into my jean pocket with a confused expression.
“Thank you again, it really is beautiful.”

It hadn’t hurt as much as I thought it would. It was a little
sore now but as long as I didn’t lay on it tonight I’m sure it would be fine.
It had now been eight hours so I carefully took the cling film off that was
held in place with some surgical tape to protect my new tattoo.
“Oh Taylor, that’s stunning.”
Spike had done a fantastic job with Harlow’s design. The butterfly was purple
and had been shaded so it looked like it was about to take flight.
Chanel stood on tip toes and gently applied the cream to my skin.
“I’m trying to be gentle, let me know if I hurt you.”
“You’re doing fine Chanel, keep going and make sure you cover it all.”
She continued to work the cream but stopped when there was a gentle knock on
the door. I turned and instantly saw apprehension on Chanel’s face.
“What’s the matter Chanel?” I asked panicked, hopeful that it wasn’t her father
at the door.
“Erm…I forgot to ask if…if I could pop out with Buster for an hour or so.”
I looked at my watch, it was after 9.30pm. “It’s late, where you going?” I
asked as I walked over to the front door.
“Hi Buster, come in.” I moved out of the way so that he could enter the house.
Poor sod, he looked petrified.
Was I really that scary?
“Where you
taking her?” I immediately asked as I followed him into the living room. I’d
answered my own question, yes I was that scary.
“Erm…We were just going for a ride to spend some time together.”
I felt like such a bitch. Who was I to question young love.
“That’s fine. Sorry for questioning you but can you understand why?” Buster
nodded his head slowly not wanting to make eye contact. “Look after her or you’ll
answer to me, then Duke.” This time he nodded dramatically, making sure I knew
that he understood.
Chanel stood on tip toes and kissed me lightly on the cheek before taking
Busters hand and leading him out of the house.
I started to laugh to myself. She wasn’t even my daughter but I was acting like
she was.

I walked over to the mirror again to admire my tattoo and
decided to take a photo on my phone using the reflection in the mirror to help
me. I wanted to send the photo to Duke as he didn’t know that I was getting it.
It didn’t take long for him to respond.

Who’s been getting you naked?

Really! Not the response I was looking for. He could’ve
asked why I’d chosen a butterfly or did it hurt? No, not Duke, he just went all
out cave man.

Spike did the tattoo if that’s what you’re asking and
Harlow was there the whole time!

OK

Okay!
What does he mean by bloody okay?
I put my
phone on the table and went upstairs into the spare room to do a workout session.
That man made me so furious at times. I changed into my shorts and vest top
mindful of my tattoo and cranked up the music. I was planning on doing an hour
of high pace cardiovascular exercises to take my mind off of his shit response.

I was now forty-five minutes into my workout so I started to
wind down rocking slowly from side to side to bring my heart rate down. I
started to breathe steadily and was feeling totally relaxed breathing, in and
out, in and out, in and out...
A deafening blast came from the doorway as the door smashed into the wall. I
let out a high pitched scream as pieces of wood flew through the air and I stepped
back quickly towards the wall narrowly avoiding the carnage. My heart was
beating ninety to the dozen as I looked around the room not knowing what had
just gone on, until I heard the chuckles from the doorway.
I turned my head slowly to see Bear, Spike and Diesel standing where up until
thirty seconds ago there had been a door.
“What the fuck are you doing in my house?” I screamed not recognising my own
voice as I’d never been so outraged. I could feel the vein in the side of my
neck pulsating as my rage took over me. They stood there dumbfounded at my
reaction. “Well, I’m waiting you fucking arseholes. What are you doing here?”
Spike stepped forward, “Erm…Duke asked us to come over. He thought you may be
in trouble.”
I stepped away from the wall and rested my hands on my hips.
“Trouble from what? I could’ve been stuck in my Lycra outfit and needed some
assistance to get it off. I could’ve been stuck in a compromising yoga position
and needed assistance to get me out of it.” I said sarcastically.
They looked at each other dumfounded by my reaction. I pushed past them, still
annoyed walking down the stairs to find my phone. This had to fucking stop it
was ridiculous. I picked up my phone to call him, when I saw ten missed calls
and seven text messages from Duke.

Sorry, I’m finding this difficult Ash. The thought of
you naked with another man!

It looks lovely

Why the butterfly?

Is everything okay Ash?

Answer me please!

If you don’t answer I’m coming over!

The guys are on their way!

Shit! I rubbed my forehead as I scrolled through the
messages taking everything in.
“Ahem! Is it safe to come in?” Spike asked as he walked slowly into the living room.
I turned at the sound of his voice and started to snigger. The three burly
bikers looked like scared zoo keepers trying to coerce a dangerous animal. The
sniggers turned into full belly laughs and the tears started to stream down my
face.
“Here she goes again! I’m pleased this time she hasn’t broken anyone’s nose.” Diesel
said sarcastically to the roar of Spike and Bear laughter.
We were laughing so hard that we didn’t see Duke enter the room, “Well I’m
pleased that you all find this fucking hilarious. I’ve just been pulled over for
fucking speeding.” 
We immediately stopped laughing like naughty children being scolded. Duke clearly
wasn’t in the mood to piss off further.
He looked directly at me, “Go and put some fucking clothes on Ash!”
I looked down at my attire then back at him with a glare. He raised his
eyebrows almost goading me to argue. There was nothing wrong with my outfit. I
would possibly wear an outfit like this to the gym but his statement had made
me immediately feel self-conscious. I pushed past him and stomped up the stairs
like a child not getting their own way to look for something less revealing. I
wanted to pull him on his shit but decided to do it later when the guys weren’t
around.

As I reached the top of the stairs, I could hear the guy’s conversation
about me having a shit attack and rightly so. I was in my goddam house, how
dare they just break in even if it was to check if I was okay. I was still
furious and seeing the mess that they’d created didn’t make it any easier.
I changed into a navy blue track suit and hoped that this would meet Duke’s
approval but if he didn’t like it he could simply fuck off, I wasn’t in the
mood this evening for his shit.

By the time I’d come downstairs there was a man fixing my
front door. I hadn’t even noticed that it was hanging off of its hinges when I
flew past earlier. I walked into the living room to find that the four of them
had raided my fridge and had an array of food on the coffee table in the middle
of the room.
I stood with my arms folded in front of my chest, “Make yourself at home guys.”
“Hope you don’t mind? I’ve sent Ramsey to the corner shop to pick up some supplies
and enough to reimburse what we’ve eaten.” Diesel stated with a Dorito mid-air
making its way into his large mouth.
I shook my head as I walked into the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water. I
needed to take my antibiotics and I could feel a headache coming on.

I heard activity going on in my living room so I walked
casually over to the archway. Ramsey had just arrived with enough supplies to
feed a small army.
“Where should I put these Taylor?” Ramsey asked holding up the blue carrier
bags.
I smiled at him, “Thanks Ramsey, just put them on the worktop and I’ll sort it
out in a minute.”
He walked past me giving me a wink. Cheeky bastard!
I made eye contact with Duke across the living room and he gave a small smile
as he opened up his arms for me to join him on the sofa. There wasn’t much room
and I wasn’t squeezing between Duke and Diesel so I decided to sit on his lap.
I quickly glanced around the room to find that the guys weren’t interested in
our somewhat display of affection which made me relax.
Had they accepted me
or the fact that Duke liked someone?

“Taylor are you okay?” Chanel squeezed past the man fixing
the door and came bounding into the living room followed by an uncomfortable
looking Buster.
We turned to her shrieks, “She’s fine Chanel don’t panic.” I loved the way Duke
dealt with Chanel treating her like she was part of his family.
Duke suddenly looked past Chanel to where Buster was standing, “Where have you been
this evening?” He asked coldly.
Chanel took a step sideways so that she was almost standing in front of Buster
protecting him from Duke’s harsh tone, mirroring my sentiments with her the
other evening at her dad’s house.
“He’s been with me Duke. I needed cheering up.” She smiled at him and I could see
the scowl from his face lift slightly by her way of explanation.
“Are you hungry? There’s plenty of food in the kitchen.” Duke stated.
“Thank you.” Chanel grabbed Busters hand and dragged him into the kitchen.
Bear flung his arms in the air, “Fucking hell, you’re all dropping like flies.”

“Duke, both doors are now fixed.” The carpenter said
proudly. It turns out that Rob had been working for the club for years. He
probably did well out of them by replacing all the doors they’d smashed in!
Duke raised his arm to shake his hand as he continued to hold me with the
other, “Thanks Rob, I appreciate you coming out so quickly.”
“Not a problem.” Rob said as he left using the new front door.
I placed my hand over my mouth as I started to yawn.
“Right that’s our cue to go. Thanks for letting us eat your food Taylor.” Spike
said as he got up from the sofa with Diesel and Bear closely behind him.
“Thanks for breaking down my doors to make sure I was okay.” I said with a cheeky
smile. I’d had time to calm down over the past couple of hours and they had
replaced both doors so I was feeling a little better about the situation.
I went to get up to see them out but Duke held me firm as he wrapped both arms
around me pulling me tight.
“See you tomorrow at church guys.” Duke said.
Bear, Spike, Diesel and Buster started to leave.
“Not you Buster, I need a word.”
I could see the anguish on his face and the guys didn’t make it any easier by
taking this piss.
Duke looked directly at Buster, “I need you to stay here tonight.”
“Excuse me! I think that you’ll find it’s my house and I get to say who stays
here or not.” I got up from Duke’s lap and stood affronted. I glanced over at
Buster, “Sorry I don’t mean that disrespectfully but I’m not being dictated
too.”
Bear, Diesel and Spike finally made a quick exit probably knowing that it was
about to kick off.
“No offense taken Taylor.” Buster stated smiling at me until he met Duke’s
glare.
“This is non negotiable Ash.  We had a direct threat towards the club and
associates so I need to keep you safe.”
“You can’t keep dictating to me Duke. I’m a twenty six year old woman.” I
screamed back at him.
“You can scream and shout as much as you like but it’s happening. He either
stays in here or he can stay in your front garden like Ramsey did last night but
he will be staying.”
“Ramsey stayed in my garden last night!” I’d lost all composure and was now
shouting. “You’re just impossible.” I screamed back at him. Looking over at
Buster, “How do you feel about this?”
He shrugged, “I do whatever I’m asked to do for the best interest of the club.”
“Stop being so fucking selfish Taylor, it’s not just about you, I’m thinking about
Chanel too.”
Bastard! Duke had played the Chanel card. He looked over at me with a slight
smirk on his face seeing the fight leave my body. He knew full well that I
wouldn’t put Chanel in danger and if it came down to it, I wouldn’t let Buster
sleep in the front garden either. I rubbed my forehead as my headache was
getting worse.
I let out a loud sigh, “Okay, Buster can stay.”
“You stay down here and protect my girls. If anything happens to them, I will
hold you personally responsible. Do you understand?”
Buster nodded his head and looked between the two of us contemplating what Duke
had just said. Poor guy, he couldn’t be much older than eighteen and now he had
all of this responsibility.
“Well, I’m glad you’ve come around to my way of thinking.” He rose to his feet,
“I’ve gotta go, I’m meeting Savannah at the club, she wanted to speak to me
about something.”
I nodded my head, biting on the inside of my mouth to prevent myself from
saying anything. I’d let him have it the next time I saw him. I wasn’t prepared
for a full on argument in front of Chanel and a club member.
“I’ll see you tomorrow night.” Duke stated before stalking out of my house.