STEEL: MC ROMANCE (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 3) (27 page)

Chapter 11

It was late afternoon before they woke up again, bathroom breaks notwithstanding. The sun had finally risen, and they stretched comfortably in the cabin. They'd gotten used to the smell sometime during the night, and without it, and with the touch of the sun, it was actually really cozy. Layne laid in bed, looking at the pictures on the walls, a framed leaf plated with gold on a cream mounting board; a motivational phrase embroidered onto a scroll, encouraging everyone to live in the moment and believe the best is possible. She recognized the quote from somewhere but couldn't quite place it anymore. It had been too long since she dared to wander into a library. Most of them had water damaged books, and the smell of mold was too much for her allergies. She might as well have rolled around on a rug made of cat fur.

Finally, she gazed at the perfect sleeping body of Jax. She let her eyes roam in full golden glory what she hadn't been able to see in the dark. It had been the best sex of her life, nothing could possibly compare. His hand was resting on his bare chest, and she touched it, unable to believe that somebody so mysteriously powerful had come into her life. But there he was.

He gripped her hand tightly as he opened his eyes. He looked well-rested for the first time since they met. She realized that he never seemed able to fully relax – he was always on the alert, looking out for danger, watching out at all times so she wouldn't have to. It was nice to see him have a break for a change. It was something that she would like to get used to. He deserved some peace of mind once in a while.

“Good morning,” he said with a smile.

“Morning,” she replied.

She was worried that her breath smelled bad. She had cardamom seeds in her bag. She hoped that once they were planted they could chew on them to improve their oral hygiene. She had a toothbrush but without toothpaste it wasn't exactly breath-refreshing. Most people didn't bother anymore, but she did her best. It was something she and Jax had in common. The people in the tribes were too miserable to care much about their hygiene.

Jax sat up, kissing her on the cheek, and cracked the window by the bed open. They were hit with a smell that Layne found intoxicating, and she had a sudden urge to run outside and play like she would have when she was just a young girl. The fresh air and the trees awakened her.

“Let's go explore!” she exclaimed. “I want to see what it's like here.”

“All right,” he said, laying lazily on the bed, everything tantalizingly exposed but his groin. Each knew what the other was thinking, and he tackled her back onto the bed.

When they were done, they pulled their clothes back on and headed outside with their backpacks.

“I really like it here,” Layne decided. It had a good feeling about it. Good energy, as if it had been inhabited by kind people. After a while of wandering, you got a sense like that about a place. She tried to avoid old homes because the bad feelings were the worst, especially when you were alone.

Jax nodded.

“Look, it gets better!”

They had suddenly come upon a gravel pathway. They glanced at each other excitedly. Each side of the path was littered with edible berry bushes.

“This is quaint,” Jax said, plucking a berry from its stem and popping it into his mouth. Layne laughed. Jax was the kind of person who would say “quaint and mean it.” She followed his lead, picking a handful of berries, and they began walking down the path, unsure of what they would find.

“Why do I feel like this is Hansel and Gretel?” Layne asked as they moved forward cautiously.

“Maybe we all feel like characters in a book when things are too good to be true, because we believe the catch will come at any minute.”

“What if I choose not to believe in a catch this time?” The day had been too perfect.

“We'll find out when we reach the end of the path,” Jax said with a shrug.

They fell into a comfortable silence as they walked, picking berries and eating until finally, they reached a clearing. They stared at the sight in disbelief, clinging to each other's hands tightly.

They were standing in front of a giant solar panel, surrounded by a garden – boxes of raised beds with old, shriveled, plants wilting in them.

“This is unreal,” Jax said, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. If he had glasses he would put them on right now.

“Pinch me,” Layne whispered.  Jax pinched her butt and she laughed, pushing him away. “Ass.”

He grinned, turning to her, giddy with pleasure.

“This means running water. They would need a well out here. Layne, you can have this. We can keep it. You can have a home again!”

The threat of the wild dogs seemed like a distant memory. Here was the remains of somebody's dreamland. A place that was already growing its own compost. The animals got into all of the food of course, they would have to be careful, but it was a start. They embraced tightly, and Layne wept tears of joy. Jax held her tightly, kissing the top of her head. She would be safe her, and they would stick together, creating a home, somewhere stable where he could bring his brother to safety.

THE END

The story continues in Book 2, available now from Amazon

Samantha Leal

Copyright ©2015 by Samantha Leal. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

1.

The restaurant was quiet for a Friday night and Chantel lazily loitered out the back of the fire escape, looking up at the stars. She had been waiting for almost half an hour, and even though it had been all over the news that there was supposed to be a meteor shower happening that evening, she hadn’t seen one shooting star as she watched the heavens.

“You still skiving?” Ben said as he came out of the back door of the kitchen and lit up a cigarette. He was pretty cute for a man who spent most of his day surrounded by raw meat and cooking grease, but as Chantel had gotten to know him over the months she had realized there was more to him than met the eye. Ben had a quiet, thoughtful side that allowed him to be ever so mysterious… and even though Chantel knew better than to get involved with someone from work, she quite liked to day dream that maybe one day her and Ben may have some kind of future away from the restaurant.

“I’d hardly call it skiving, have you seen it in there? It’s dead,” she laughed.

“Yeah I know,” Ben exhaled a plume of smoke up into the night. “Lucky us, at least we’re not being overworked as well as underpaid.”

He winked and Chantel gave him a coy smile.

She had been working at Carlo’s for around three months, ever since her parent’s had gotten a divorce and cut off her allowance. She was finally out on her own after years of privileged and uncomplicated living. She had worried at first about affording it all whilst still studying at college, but luckily her friend Sarah had managed to land her a waitressing job at one of the best known Italian’s in town, and even though the money was pretty terrible, she made sure that she always had a big smile on her face to ensure good tips.

“Yeah I’m glad it’s quiet,” she said. “I’m tired tonight.”

“What?” Ben laughed. “On a Friday? What kind of college girl are you? You should be leaving here in an hour, slapping on a high pair of heels and a tiny skirt and hitting the town!”

Chantel laughed and shook her head.

“If only my life was that exciting…” she trailed off and looked back up to the sky again to check if there was any meteor activity. A few stars twinkled brightly, but apart from that the whole black expanse above her was pretty clear.

She sighed and brushed a strand of hair back into her ponytail.

“Well,” she said as she slid down off the crates and smoothed down her skirt. “I better get back to it.”

She slapped Ben playfully on the shoulder and smiled at him as she walked by. She could sense his eyes on her until she got inside and she felt a rush of lust creep up inside of her. It was obvious that their crush was mutual, and it certainly made her nights at work all that little more exciting.

She made her way through the kitchen, past the rest of the chefs and out of the double doors into the restaurant. Carlo, the owner was sat up at the bar, drinking a bottle of beer and lamenting the poor turnout of customers.

“If we carry on like this, I honestly don’t know what we’ll do,” he said miserably.

“It’s nearing the end of the month,” Chantel said hopefully. “People are probably just waiting to get paid.” She didn’t even know if she believed herself, but she could only try and keep morale high.

“I hope you’re right,” Carlo said as he turned to look at her. She smiled sympathetically and made her way behind the bar where she started stacking glasses into the dishwasher before wiping down the countertops. She didn’t even know why she was trying to reassure Carlo. She knew fine well that should trade not pick up she would be the first one to go. Last one in… First one out. That was how it went, and to date she was still the newest member of the team.

“You hooking up with Sarah later?” Carlo asked from over the rim of his beer bottle.

Even though Carlo was married, he and Sarah had been involved at some point or another. Chantel had never got the full details of their affair but she knew it hadn’t exactly ended well. Carlo had wanted to keep her on the side, but Sarah had had enough.

“Umm…” Chantel stalled, unsure of what to tell him. “Probably when I get back to our dorm.”

“It’s Friday,” he snorted. “Surely you girls have something planned?”

Chantel shrugged and bit her bottom lip. She didn’t want to drop Sarah in it in case they were still seeing each other and she was out on a date.  Or worse, if Carlo had suddenly decided to become possessive and track her movements. The last thing Sarah would want is to lose her job at the restaurant.

“Well tell her I said hello anyway,” he yawned with disappointment. “You may as well get yourself home.  No point in waiting around here in this ghost town.”

Chantel checked the clock on the wall. It was only nine-thirty.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Yup,” Carlo took another swig of his beer. “See you tomorrow.”

He slid off his stool and made his way toward the kitchen door.

Chantel didn’t need to be told twice. Without wasting a moment she pulled off her apron, clocked out on her timesheet and grabbed her jacket and purse. As she ran through the kitchen she waved goodbye to Ben and he winked at her as she passed.

They were definitely going to end up together. Even though she knew it was risky with them being colleagues, she decided right then and there that she was going to make him hers.

2.

“Ben the chef?” Sarah asked as she opened a bottle of wine and poured them both a glass. “Ew,” she said as she shuddered her shoulders.

“What do you mean ‘ew’?” Chantel laughed.

“I don’t know. He just doesn’t do it for me.” Sarah shrugged.

“Oh what and older, boring, balding Carlo does?” Chantel rolled her eyes.

“Shhh,” Sarah hushed. “We never mention him again.” she reached over and pulled a red lipstick out of her vanity case before she held it up to her lips.

“He was asking about you,” Chantel said quietly as she took a sip of her own wine. “Wanted to know if we were out anywhere tonight.”

“Oh I bet he did,” Sarah cringed. “He’s not exactly taking the hint.”

“Well I didn’t tell him anything.”

“Good,” Sarah smiled. “Especially seeing as we have a wild party to go to I suppose.”

“Yep,” Chantel unrolled her last curler and flicked her hair.

She hadn’t known about the party until she had left the restaurant and made her way back to the dorm. Sarah had been off work all week and had heard from one of the girls down the hall that there was a big house party off campus and that all of the girls in their year had been invited.

“So who’s party is it?” she asked Sarah as she picked up her curling tongues and added to the gentle bounce of her blonde hair.

“No idea,” she shrugged. “But I’ve heard that apparently whoever this guy is, he’s had them before and they’re pretty wild.”

“Oh great,” Chantel laughed.

Her life had been so quiet of late, she could do with some excitement.

“It’s just what we need,” Sarah said as if she had read Chantel’s mind. “You’ve been saying lately how boring things are around here. Maybe tonight something exciting will happen.”

Chantel smiled and wished with all of her might that Sarah was right. She had felt low of late and knew that letting her hair down and enjoying herself could lift her mood.

She looked in her closet and ran her hands along the selection of dresses she had in the left hand corner.

“Red or black?” she asked Sarah.

“Red,” Sarah grinned. “For sure. With those blonde curls and this red lipstick you’ll be like a 50’s starlet.”

Chantel nodded and took the lipstick from her roommate. If there was one thing she knew she could depend on Sarah for, it was a keen eye for what looked good and an honest opinion.

As she slipped into her tight, red dress and strapped on her heels she felt sexier than she had felt in a long time. She was ready to go out, meet new people and have some fun, and she was determined to make the most of it.

Life at college hadn’t been as exciting as she had hoped, but it was all about new experiences, so she was glad to be getting off campus and exploring a new part of town, with hopefully a new set of people.

“Okay,” Sarah said as she picked up her purse and downed the last of her wine. “Let’s go, don’t want to get there too late and find out all the hot guys are taken.”

Chantel laughed and followed her to the door. She pulled on her coat and then the two girls made their way out into the hall and down the stairs to the main door of their building. As they walked across the quad Chantel felt a buzz that she hadn’t felt in a long time. She was excited and felt it was the kind of night where anything was possible and anything could happen.

They hailed a cab, jumped inside and headed off campus and across town. When they pulled up at the house and paid the cab driver her anticipation was growing with each passing second and she couldn’t wait to get in there.

The sound of music thumped out from the house and along the ground, in ran under their feet and made their whole bodies vibrate. They could see from the outside that the house was jam packed with people, and for a townhouse it lit up the whole street with the amount of lights bouncing around in each of the windows and shining different shades of pinks and blues.

“God knows what’s going on it there,” Chantel laughed.

“Well we’re about to find out,” Sarah grinned.

She took hold of Chantel’s hand and led her across the street. As they began to climb the steps to the front door Chantel had an overwhelming feeling that they should turn and run for home. Even though she had wanted excitement, now that she had it right in front of her, she was nervous and didn’t know whether she had the confidence to walk into a house full of people she had never met.

Sarah rang the doorbell and within a few moments the door opened wide and a handsome man with a tanned, muscular torso and an open shirt stood there with a glinting smile on his face.

“Welcome girls,” he said smoothly. “Please, do come on in.”