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Willa

I stretch out lazily, cracking open my eyes and squinting as harsh sunlight greets me.

I roll to my side, expecting to see Oak, but he’s not there.  I feel the sheets. 
Cold.
  He’s been gone awhile.  A stab of disappointed shoots through me and I climb out of bed to make a coffee.

I plod out to my kitchen and turn on the coffee.  While I wait, I put some toast in the toaster.  That’s when I notice the note on my bench.  I pick it up and read through the scratchy cursive in front of me.

Had to leave early.  Didn’t want to wake you.  Call me when you get this.

It would seem he is not only a man of few words in speech, but in the written words as well.  I take a sip of coffee and a bite of toast before dialing his number on my cell.

Two rings later, he answers.

“Babe,” he greets.

“Hey.”  I bite my lip.  “So, umm, I’m awake,” I say lamely. 
God, I’m such an idiot. 
“How has your morning been?”

“Busy.  Sorry I had to leave early.  You look fuckin’ gorgeous when you’re sleeping.”

I duck my head and smile.  “Thank you.”

“You workin’ tonight?”

“Yep.  Six till close.”

“Okay.  I’ll see you there.  I gotta go, babe.  Your brother’s on the war path.”  He chuckles and the phone goes dead before I can reply.

Oh, my god. 
I shove the toast into my mouth and take a gulp of coffee before grabbing my keys and dashing out to my car.

Rad will kill Oak if he gets the chance.

Oak

“You motherfucker.” Rad storms across the room toward me, his face twisted with fury.

“Problem, brother?” I scowl at him.

“You fuckin’ my sister?”

“Yep.”  There’s no need to beat around the bush.

His fist connects with my jaw before I see it coming.  My head snaps to the side before righting.

“That’s the only free shot you get,” I warn.

“Bring it on, fucker,” he snarls, before bringing his fist back and propelling it toward me again.  I dodge his attempt and throw one back of my own, connecting with his ribs.  He lets out an
oomph
sound and swings again.

“What the fuck’s goin’ on here?” I hear one of the boys say.  I don’t reply because I’m focused on Rad’s fists.

“You’re a piece of shit, you know that?  I fuckin’ warned you stay away.  My sister’s too good for you.”  He swings again, his clenched hand sliding off my cheek.

I get one more hit in before I’m dragged away from behind by Johns.  Digger has a struggling Rad in his grasp and he’s pulling him out of the room. 

“What the fuck is goin’ on, dude?”  Johns asks.

“Nothing,” I grunt.

“You got Willa warmin’ your dick?” he asks, baiting me.

“You got two choices, Johns.  You either shut your fuckin’ mouth, or I’m gonna knock all your teeth out of your fuckin’ head.”

“None of you pricks can take a joke,” he mumbles while walking away.

I turn around and slam my fist into the door, slamming it shut in the process.

Fuck.

“Rad!  What did you do to him,” I hear Willa shriek.

Fuck!

“I thought I told you never to come here,” he growls at her.

I swing the door open and stride toward them.  I tug her into my side when I reach them and give Rad a death glare.  “Don’t you fuckin’ talk to her like that.”

“Or what?”

“I’ll give you a matching shiner on your right eye,” I taunt him with a smirk.

He wipes a dribble of blood from his lip and looks to his sister.  “What the fuck’s goin’ on, Willa?”

“She’s mine.”  I answer for her when she doesn’t reply.

“You’re claimin’ her?” he asks in disbelief.

I jerk my head once, firmly.  

“Fuck me,” he mutters.  “You want to be with him?” he asks.

“Yes,” she answers.  “Please don’t be mad, Conrad.  I know this isn’t what you hoped from me, but it’s what I want.”  She ends with a shrug.

“Come here,” Rad says gruffly.

I let Willa go and she walks the two steps to her brother.  I watch as he wraps his arms around her and holds her tight, whispering in her ear while she nods.

Willa

“Could do worse, baby sister,” Rad whispers in my ear. 

I nod against his shoulder.

“I’m happy if you’re happy.”

“Thank you,” I choke out.

I sigh in relief and step out of his embrace.  “I love you,” I tell him.

“Love you, too,” he replies before looking to Oak.  “Take care of her.  You hurt her, I’ll gut you.”

“I won’t,” Oak promises.

After they shake hands, Oak takes my hand and leads me out to his bike.

Silently, he hands me a helmet, which I place on my head.  Then he expertly fastens it in place before telling me to climb on.  I swing my leg over the leather seat and situate myself on the bike.  Once he slides on, I shuffle forward, pressing my front tight against his back.  I wrap my arms around his waist, loving the way his hard body feels against my palms. 

He starts the bike up and the roar of the Harley fills my ears as the vibrations travel through my body.

He pulls out and tears down the road.  I can’t help the smile on my face as the wind rushes past me.  I grip him tighter as he flies down the freeway, my laughter spurring him on to go faster.

After we’ve ridden for a while, he slows down and turns left down a rough, dirt lane.  The grass on either side of the road is lush, green, and thick.  The trees are shady and bountiful and I bet if I stood in the field, it would be as peaceful as you can imagine.

Oak comes to a stop underneath a large tree.  He turns the bike off and climbs off.  Taking my hand, he helps me off and then he begins leading me up a short gravel path, through thick ferns of all shapes and sizes.

“You’re not taking me to the killing fields, are you?” I somewhat joke.

He turns his head and his gaze drops down to find mine.  He raises his eyebrow in question.  “Killing fields?” he asks, humor in his tone.

“Yeah, you know, where you and the biker brethren bury all your victims after you’ve slaughtered them.”  Of course, I really don’t believe they do that!  I’m pretty certain that they don’t do many illegal things.  I’m sure there are worse people out there in the world.  Or, maybe I’m just naive and living in denial.

“You’re really something, you know that?” he says, coming to a stop, turning, and pulling me flush against his body.

“Yeah?” I breathe, overwhelmed by his sudden close proximity.  My body immediately goes onto high alert.

“Yeah,” he agrees quietly.  He leans down and takes my mouth in a searing kiss.  One that has me panting for air and begging for more.  He tastes like mint, coffee, and
Oak
.  The combination is heady and has me craving it so badly I’m afraid I’ve fallen face first into a full-blown addiction.  He squeezes my ass firmly and gives it a slap. 

“Come on.”

He takes my hand again and walks us up the semi-steep embankment that opens up from the overgrown walkway we just came through, into a wide open field that branches out to a cliff top.

“Oh, my god,” I whisper under my breath.  It’s the most gorgeous place I’ve ever seen.  We walk closer to the edge of the cliff and I gingerly peer over the edge.  Below is a gorge, the water flows fast and free.  I spin slowly in a circle, taking it all in.  There is nothing – no houses, no other people.  Nothing.  Nothing but peaceful serenity.

“This is gorgeous,” I murmur in awe.

“I come here when I need to think,” he admits.

“The air feels cleaner here, for some reason.”

He nods in agreement.  “It’s a beautiful part of the world.”

“How did you find this place?”

“Just got lucky.”

“You don’t strike me as the kind of guy who believes in luck.”  I smile.

“You’d be surprised, darlin’.”

We walk around some and then find a nice patch of grass to sit down on.  Oak lays out his leather vest and I lie down, resting my head on his thigh.  I look up at the blue sky and a smile spreads across my face.

“That one looks like a man kneeling down before a boat,” I say, pointing up in the air.

“Huh?”

“That one.  See, right where I’m pointing.”

“Oh yeah, I see,” he says, but I’m pretty sure it’s only to humor me.

“Your turn.” 

“Over there.”  He points.  “Looks like a duck.”

I sigh contently.  “When I was a kid, I used to find pictures in the clouds all the time.  But every time I did, I wished I had a friend to find them with me.  Thank you,” I tell him softly.

He doesn’t reply, he just continues absently tracing my hairline.  I close my eyes and breathe in deep, filling my lungs with the pure oxygen that is surrounding me.  We stay there like that for hours, until it is time for Oak to drive me home so I can go to work.

It is one of the best days of my life.

***

Work is steady for the night, and Carly and I don’t get much downtime between customers.  By the end of the night, I’m glad I bought some gel covers for my heels because with the amount of running around I did tonight, the new shoes would have definitely made my blisters worse.

Carly and I have just locked the doors and we’re shutting down everything to call it a night.  By the time we managed the get all the drunk customers out, it was already after close anyway.

“I’ll check the back,” Tiny tells me in his gruff, serious tone.

“Thank you,” I chirp back, feeling much more chipper than I should.

“What’s got you so happy?” Carly asks, jabbing my ribs.

“Nothing.”  I smile, a playful lilt in my voice.

“You’re getting some, aren’t you?” She narrows her eyes and points at me.

“I’ll never tell.”  I spin and walk behind the bar to clear the registers.  She bounds behind me, asking questions and trying to figure out who has made me so happy all of a sudden.

“Do I know him?  Is he a biker?  Oh, my god, your brother will
shit
if it’s one of his brothers!  Is he good in bed?  Is he hot?  Tell me,” she ends with a whine.

“Yes, yes, yes, yes,” I reply.

“Yes to
all
of my questions?” she gasps.

I smile in return.

“Oh. My. Oak,” she breathes.  “It’s him, isn’t it?  Oh lawd, the man is the finest thing I’ve ever seen – besides your brother.”  She winks.

“I don’t want to know.”  I laugh, covering my ears.

“Tell me more about Oak, Willa.  I want to know
everything
.”

“He’s gorgeous.”  I shrug. 

She gives me a look that means she’s clearly not happy with my answer, so I continue on, giving her a bit more.  “Okay, so he’s nice to me, he’s sweet and kind.  But he’s also so intense and broody.  That kind of pisses me off, but it’s also really hot, too.” I giggle.  “It’s still early though and I have no idea where it will go, if anywhere, so I’m just taking it one day at a time.”

“Have you fucked him yet?”

“Carly!”

“Well?” she says, unfazed when I don’t answer her.

I smile and shake my head in reply.  She sees right through me and squeals a little.  “I’m so happy for you!  It’s about time you got out and started spreading your wings a bit.”

“My wings?” I scoff.

“Or your legs,” she mutters with a laugh.  “In all seriousness, though, I’m happy for you.  And, I bet he bangs
hard
.  A man like him….
eeuw.”
She makes a point of clenching her thighs together.  “I bet he knows exactly how to use the equipment God gifted him with.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Who’s crazy?”  We both spin around to find Oak, leaning against the doorframe, his massive biceps bulging from where his arms are crossed over his wide chest.

“How long have you been standing there?” I ask, mortified.

He looks to Carly.  “You’d bet right,” he tells her.

My hands fly up and I cover my face as my blood heats with embarrassment.  Carly bursts out laughing and I can’t help but join her.   Oak walks over and tugs me into his chest.  He wraps his arms around me and holds me there.  When he does it, Carly suddenly stops laughing and I open my squeezed-shut eyes to find her gaping at us.

“You guys look so cute together.”

“Okay, enough talk about this.  No more.”  I step away from Oak.  “I won’t be a minute. I’ll just finish here,” I tell him.

“Take your time.”

I take all the cash and lock it out in the safe.  Then, I double check everything is locked up before we leave through the back entrance.

“I’ve got Willa.  Walk Carly to her car,” Oak orders Tiny.

“See ya.”  I throw them both a wave and follow Oak to my car.  I toss him my keys before he even has a chance to ask, and we climb inside.

The drive home is short, as it always is.  Once we get inside, I have a shower and collapse into bed.  Oak pulls me into his side and strokes his fingers up and down my back in the most calming way.

He shifts and his mouth hovers over mine.  He touches his lips to mine gently and then increases the pressure. 

“I’m too tired for any of that,” I tell him reluctantly.

“Not gonna fuck you, babe.  Just wanna make out with my woman for a while.”

“Okay.” 
That sounds so good!

His tongue slides inside my mouth gently, leisurely dueling with my own.  He tastes like beer with a hint of peppermint.  Fucking
divine.

When he pulls back, I bury my face in the crook of his neck and breathe in the soapy scent of his skin.

“Night,” I whisper.

He kisses my head and I fall into a deep, contented sleep.