Brett Read online

  Shaking my head, I pressed my lips to hers again. “Be careful,” I warned her. I gently squeezed Katyushka’s shoulder as I passed her on my way out of the room. “Thanks.”

  Katyushka smiled at me. “No problem, Brett. Go on. Grim is waiting for you downstairs. You know how impatient he is.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah; he’s a fucking grump.”

  She barked out a laugh as I walked out of the room, heading down the stairs to go to the chapel. Honestly, Grim could be an asshole. None of us knew who he had been before the Savage Crows. He’d quickly worked his way up from prospect level to VP, and then from VP, he went to the president seat. He was a damn force to be reckoned with, and he had a way of commanding respect and attention as soon as he walked into a room.

  Some of the men from the original charter feared Grim more than they feared Copper, and that was fucking saying something.

  Grim looked up at me as I stepped into the chapel. He reached forward and put his half-smoked cigarette out, gesturing to the seat on the right of him. Alex, the Texas charter VP, nodded once at me in greeting as I took the seat Grim had pointed out.

  “What’s going on?” Alex asked me. “Copper didn’t mention why you needed to ride down here – just said that you needed to.”

  “Remember the shooting a few days ago?” I asked. Alex nodded. Grim just silently listened. “Long story short, apparently this fucker is related to the person that murdered Olivia’s parents a few years ago. The murderer was then killed, and Olivia was sort of framed. But she wasn’t the person who did it. They eventually found the right person, and Olivia was released, but this fucker still thinks Olivia is the one who did it, and he wants to shut her up.”

  “Jesus fucking Christ,” Alex swore as he leaned back in his seat, drumming his fingers on the table. “And your dumbass decided that riding here without protection the entire way would be the best way to get here safely?”

  “He made a good choice,” Grim said, silencing Alex. Alex glowered at his president. “Riding here with protection would have brought too much attention to them. He needed to get Olivia here as quietly as possible.” He looked over at me. “Is she going to be okay with staying here in the clubhouse, or is she going to be wanting her own space?”

  I shrugged. “Right now, I think she’s more concerned with gaining feeling back in her legs right now and getting some sleep than she is with where we’ll be staying right now.”

  “If she wants out of the clubhouse, she can stay at our place,” Grim told me. “Scab and I are normally there every night with Katyushka and the kids. She may feel more comfortable there.”

  I nodded once in thanks. Grim leaned back in his chair. “So, what’s the plan, brother?” he asked me.

  “Right now, I just want to lay low and keep our heads down. This fucker is out on bond. There’s not much any of us can do until his court date, which he’ll most likely skip. If he skips, then we take matters into our own hands and deal with this shit our way. But no matter what, Olivia is to be protected. She’s family now.”

  “You claiming her, brother?” Alex asked me.

  I nodded once. “Working on it. Just about there. Mother charter already considers her family. I’d like that to be the same here,” I said, looking at Grim, knowing he would make sure it happened.

  Grim nodded. “And she will be.” He stood up and clapped his hand to my shoulder. “Welcome, brother. Grab a beer and go take care of your woman. Layla and Trixie should have dinner finished soon.”

  I stood up from the chair I was sitting in and stretched my back. “Thanks for taking us in, Grim.”

  He shook his head. “You’re family, Brett. We take care of family.”

  With that, he strode from the chapel. Alex drew me into a one-armed hug. “Hate that you have to be here under these circumstances, brother, but welcome. Make yourself at home.”

  I slipped out of the chapel behind him and headed up the stairs. Olivia was sitting on the edge of the bed wrapped up in a towel, her hair hanging wet around her shoulders. Katyushka was already gone from the room.

  “Feel better?” I asked her, ignoring the way my cock hardened in my jeans at the sight of her sitting just about naked on the bed.

  She nodded with a yawn. “Yes, though I’m really tired and hungry. I don’t know which one is outweighing the other.”

  I released a husky laugh. “Get some rest. I’ll wake you up when Layla and Trixie have dinner finished so that we can eat.”

  “Thanks, Brett,” she whispered as she crawled under the covers, not even bothering to get dressed.

  Fuck. This woman was dangerous – so fucking lethal. She didn’t even realize it.

  I strode into the bathroom. Looks like I was taking a cold shower.

  Olivia

  The scene I walked into when I finally emerged downstairs with Brett for dinner was not one I had ever seen before.

  It seemed that every man in this charter had an old lady and kids. The little ones were running around, laughing and squealing. Every single man in the room had a beer in his hand, and some of the women were standing in a circle, talking animatedly about something.

  “Decided to give you two a warm welcome,” a man standing next to Grim said when he noticed us come down from the stairs. He gave me a kind smile and held out his hand. “I’m Scab,” he introduced himself. “Olivia, right?”

  “Yeah.” I shook his hand. “Seriously, thanks for taking me in with Brett. I know you’re not obligated—"

  Scab looked at Brett. “You claiming her?” Scab bluntly asked him. My eyes widened, my lips parting in shock. Brett only grinned and tugged me against his side.

  “Yeah,” Brett simply answered before he pressed his lips to the top of my head. My heart began to pound hard and fast in my chest. “As long as she’ll have me, that is.”

  Scab shrugged, turning his attention back to me. “He wants you as his. That’s all the explanation this charter needs. You’re family now.”

  He suddenly grinned at Katyushka as she walked over towards him. I turned my eyes up to Brett, only to find him already staring down at me. “Did you mean what you said?” I quietly asked him, hating that I was hoping for it. I was hoping that he really did mean those words and hadn’t just spoken them because he was protecting me.

  He nodded. “We’ll talk about it later,” he said quietly. “But don’t let it worry you. I want you – wanted you since the moment I saw you working that damn register.” He groaned and pressed a hand to his stomach. “But if I don’t get food in the next few minutes, I’m going to lose my fucking mind.”

  I laughed. If there was one thing that I had learned about him on our trip here together, Brett loved food, and if he didn’t at least eat a small snack every couple of hours, he was a damn grouch.

  “I don’t see where you put all of the food you eat,” I teased. But I really didn’t. The man was all hard muscle.

  He flashed me a grin and flexed his arm. I licked my lips to make sure I wasn’t drooling. Fuck, he was built, and damn if he wasn’t sexy as hell.

  His grin turned into a smirk. He knew exactly what he was doing to me. “I normally workout every morning.” He stepped closer to me, his hand splaying across my back, pulling my body even closer to his. Every nerve in my body was hyper aware of every part of him that was touching me. He flicked his tongue out over his bottom lip, and I barely resisted the urge to moan.

  I wanted that tongue inside of me.

  Fuck.

  “Maybe I’ll let you watch me workout in the morning,” he said quietly. “But you have to be a good girl and promise not to touch.”

  Sweet baby Jesus, my poor ovaries.

  He huskily laughed before he leaned down and took my lips in a slow kiss that burned all the way to the depths of my soul, lighting me on fire for him. I moaned, unable to help myself as I slid my hands under his cut, feeling the hard plains of his chest beneath his shirt.

  “Later,” he promised. He pressed a quick kiss
to my lips once he pulled back. “I promise.”

  Drawing in a deep breath, I stepped back from him, but it didn’t mean that I was any less aware of him. Brett wasn’t the kind of man that was easily pushed aside in your mind.

  He was always there – a constant presence in your head. You could never forget him nor what he was capable of doing to a woman’s body.

  I sucked in a sharp breath, forcing my thoughts away from what it was like to have sex with Brett. Jesus, I really needed to get a hold of myself. I was acting like a silly girl with a crush. I was a woman now.

  But Brett was also very much a man – a very beautiful, sculpted, muscular man with stunning blue eyes and a soft heart.

  Oh, God, I was in so deep.

  Thor leaned forward in his chair, shooting Brett a smirk. Brett groaned as he leaned back and threw his arm over the back of my seat, his fingers playing with my hair as he got ready for Thor to tell an embarrassing story – most likely starring Brett.

  “It’s not a long story,” Thor assured me. “But it’s one of Brett’s biggest moments in this club.”

  “Brother,” Brett warned, but I could hear the smile in his voice. Brett was an easy going guy. I knew an embarrassing story about him wasn’t going to piss him off. If anything, the man may join in on the shit being thrown around about him.

  He was just that kind of guy. He didn’t take much to heart, especially when it came to the other men and women of the Savage Crows MC.

  “Okay, so Brett was here on a run with Logan. It was supposed to be a quick one – come pick up what’s needed and go home – but Brett’s fucking bike ran out of gas. Instead of those two lousy fucks calling one of us to come get them and help them get to a gas station, Brett and Logan both decided it would be a fantastic idea to just hop on over into the nearest bar about a quarter of a mile up the road.”

  Hatchet barked out a laugh. “Oh, fuck – I remember this shit. Those two dumbasses got shit faced, and the crew over that territory caught them in their bar, wasted and dancing with their club women.”

  Brett grunted. “I’ll admit it’s not my proudest moment. I should have remembered we weren’t on Savage Crows’ territory.”

  “It gets better,” Thor told me. I placed my chin on my hand, intently listening to whatever he said next. I liked hearing about Brett. I knew he was a comedic kind of guy, so it didn’t surprise me that he managed to get himself into some kind of trouble.

  “He told the fucking president to suck his left nut and dropped his jeans. Not only did he get the fuck beat out of him, but both him and Logan got their drunk asses hauled off to jail,” Thor told me.

  I laughed as I turned to look at Brett. He smiled back at me as he twirled a blonde lock of my hair around his finger. “Are you still this much trouble?” I asked him.

  He flashed me a wicked grin. “Get me drunk and find out. I give no fucks when I’m wasted, sweetheart.”

  Hatchet laughed. “That’s true, brother, because when we called Copper and told him what happened, he told us to let your dumbasses sit there for a few days, and you know what you’re response was?”

  Brett slowly dragged his eyes away from my face, looking to the Sergeant at Arms sitting across from him. “Honestly, no, I don’t. That night is still just a black hole in my memory.”

  Thor laughed. “You told Copper he could suck your right nut.”

  Brett grinned. “Sounds like something I’d say. That pissed the fucker off right damn good, I bet.” He turned to look at me when I suddenly yawned, my cheeks burning in embarrassment afterward. It was so rude to yawn when people were talking to you.

  “Come on. You need to get to bed. You’re still exhausted,” he noted as he stood up.

  I pouted up at him. “I was enjoying hearing about you being a wild child.”

  He laughed. “You can hear about that some more tomorrow morning. Now, be a good girl and get your cute ass out of that chair and up those stairs,” he ordered.

  I sighed as I stood up from my chair. “So bossy,” I grumbled through another unexpected yawn.

  “It was good to meet you, Olivia,” Hatchet told me as I began to slowly trudge my way to the stars. “Treat Brett good, yeah?”

  I threw him a thumbs up over my shoulder. Brett grabbed my hand in his. “Come on, sweetheart,” Brett coaxed. “Your eyes are beginning to become bloodshot. You really need some sleep.”

  Once we were inside of our room, I instantly plopped onto the bed, not realizing how tired and sleepy that I actually was until my body was on the soft mattress.

  I didn’t open my eyes, though I could feel Brett tugging my shoes off of my feet and my jeans down my legs before he covered me up. “Get some sleep, babe.” He brushed his lips to my forehead. “Goodnight, sweetheart.”

  “Goodnight,” I whispered, already falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  Brett

  Grim was the only one up when I walked downstairs at five the next morning. He arched an eyebrow at me as he brought his coffee cup to his lips. “You normally up this early?” he asked me. We all knew Grim was an early riser, but I guess he was used to being the only one up at this hour.

  I nodded. “I’m used to having to get up to let Savage out.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket when I felt it vibrate. I laughed at the message on my screen.

  When you come back home, I’m going to put my boot so far up your ass that you’ll taste the steel in it. Who the fuck trains their dog to use the bathroom at FIVE IN THE FUCKING MORNING?! -Logan.

  “Savage?” Grim asked.

  “My dog,” I explained. I moved towards the coffee pot to make me a cup of coffee. “I was going to do a walk of the perimeter, make sure everything is still safe and secure.” I looked at Grim, realizing how fucked up that sounded. “Shit, sorry, Prez. It’s not that I don’t trust—"

  “I know,” he told me. “I’ll walk with you. I get it. When our women are in danger, it’s hard to put everything in someone else’s hands.”

  I blew out a soft breath of relief. That kind of remark to Copper probably would have gotten me knocked on my ass. But then again, Copper would have left everything in my hands anyway. When it came to women of the club, Copper backed down.

  I finished making my coffee, and Grim and I stepped outside into the cool morning air. It was still dark out, only a soft, orange glow being cast over the lot by the lights outside. I looked around me. “I don’t remember this place being so damn lit up,” I commented.

  Grim grunted. “Sabotage liked it dark. Shit always pissed me off. Too much shit was able to happen since it’s easier to move under the cover of darkness. A couple of years ago, I had Scorpion come rig this place up for me. We have a top of the line security system with cameras everywhere as well as sensors under the ground.” He held up his wrist, showing me a watch. “This lets us know if someone crosses over the wire.” My eyebrows shot up to my forehead in amazement, but Scorpion was techy as fuck like that – even better than Logan. I was honestly sad that he left the Savage Crows, though he didn’t have much of a choice.

  He had two options: take over another club or be killed. After basically wiping out the entire Texas charter of Satan’s Worshippers, Scorpion was basically forced to become the president of that charter per their own laws and guidelines.

  We got a good ally out of that shit, though. Scorpion kept us heavily supplied with guns and drugs. He was a damn good business partner and an even better president. His club had the utmost respect for him. And I had to admit, being a president suited him far more than being a treasurer had.

  We walked towards the fence line, and Grim held open the gate for me to slide through with him. “Touched base with Copper this morning,” Grim told me. “No sign of your guy yet. Still doesn’t seem like he’s in town. Logan is apparently expanding his search.”

  I sighed. “I guess Olivia and I just continue to lay low until he makes a move towards her. I hate doing shit like this, but I don’t know what else to do. I don’t wan
t to bring him anywhere near her, but it might be the only way I get my hands on him.”

  Grim grunted. “You know this entire club will back you up in whatever needs to be done,” he told me. “Within reason, that is,” he reminded me. I nodded in agreement. “I don’t do shit that puts the women and children of this club at stake.”

  I knew that as well. It was why Scorpion ended up becoming the president of an entirely different club’s charter. He made a move on his own with Grave because Grim refused to make the move with him and put the women and children here in danger.

  “I know how you operate, Grim,” I told him. “If I decide to do something, though, I’ll do it on my own just as long as you all promise to protect Olivia. This shit isn’t your charter’s problem.”

  Grim sighed. “Let me know what you want to do before you do it,” he told me. “If it’s something I can help with, I want to help.”

  I just shrugged. Grim left it at that.

  Olivia made it downstairs a few hours later. She had taken a shower and gotten dressed. Her blonde hair was dried, and she was wearing a pair of skintight jeans and a low cut V-neck t-shirt.

  I softly growled as I prowled towards her. She looked up at me in surprise when I gripped her hips, yanking her towards me. “Brett?” she asked in surprise.

  “Babe, I could see down your shirt from a mile away,” I told her. She frowned up at me. I reached up and traced the swell of her breast with my fingers. Her breath hitched in her throat, her gray eyes darkening even more. “Is this shirt really necessary?”

  She shrugged. “Is it teasing you, Brett?” she asked, a flirty note to her voice.

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “You know it fucking is,” I rumbled.

  She smirked as she stepped back from me, her eyes lighting up with mischief. “Good. Then it’s doing what I want it to do,” she cockily retorted.