Page 3 of Abe (Marked Skulls MC 3)
“No, I just had a late night,” I told him as he came up to me.
“Here, sit down, you don’t need to keep standing for this,” he fussed around to find a chair for me.
“I’m fine, really, I don’t need to sit,” I protested but he had already pulled a chair out of the corner and brought it to me. I sat down and smiled at him.
“Thanks, I just need a good night’s sleep again, you know? To just get back to a normal routine,” I said and picked up the register again for the stocktaking.
He was leaning against one of the cabinets, brushing his curly dark hair off his forehead.
“Yeah, these people seem to keep giving you the worst shifts. Maybe you should speak to Lucy and see if you can get better hours?” Joshua suggested and I nodded my head. I didn’t want to explain to him that I needed the hours. I needed to work as many hours as I could so that I could earn enough to pay the bills and feed two mouths. Oz wasn’t interested in getting a job, but I wasn’t going to let him starve either.
“Or you know what else might help you relax? You could come over to mine and I’ll cook you a nice dinner. We could have a lazy night in, watch a movie, eat some popcorn on the couch. It might help you unwind,” Joshua continued and he walked up to me now and placed his hands on my shoulders.
I kept sitting still and licked my lips as he started massaging my shoulders. I didn’t have the heart to tell him to stop, even though he was making me feel uncomfortable. I looked up at him and tried to smile as sweetly as possible.
“If you’re asking me out again, Joshua, you know what the answer is,” I told him and he shrugged his shoulders and kept massaging.
“It doesn’t have to be a date, but more importantly, why can’t it be a date?” he asked and I shook my head.
“Because we work together, and we’re friends. I don’t want to ruin that by dating,” I replied and he increased the pressure on my shoulders, as if that was going to distract me from where this conversation was headed. I was beginning to regret allowing myself to get stuck here alone with him. I was tired of constantly letting him down.
The door of the storeroom burst open and a man stepped in. Joshua jerked himself away from me. We were both startled.
The man was in a black leather jacket with a tight t-shirt underneath and dark jeans. He had closely cropped sandy blond hair and piercing blue eyes. I could see tattoos crawling up his neck, while he glared at Joshua and then turned his gaze to me.
“This area is for staff only,” I said, standing up from the chair. He narrowed his eyes at me before he took a few steps in my direction. I gulped, holding his gaze. He had a straight strong jaw, and a sharp nose. Under his jacket and his clothes, I could sense that he was well built and muscular…he was very strong, at least half a foot taller than Joshua who was quite tall himself. He had a boyish soft look on his face, even though he had a handsome masculine built.
“Sir, you need to leave this room, this area is for staff only,” I said again, while Joshua remained quietly standing on the side. I got the sense that he was intimidated by this man.
“I heard you the first time,” he said, in a deep manly voice and I clasped my hands together, a little afraid of what he was going to do next.
“Then you know that you need to leave,” I said, as he came to a stop right in front of me.
“It doesn’t matter what I need to do. I want to talk to you,” he said, his gaze traveling from my face, down my neck, to the front of my blouse and back up at my face again.
“To me?” I remarked and a grin was forming on his face.
“You are Alexis, Oz’ sister right?” he asked and I gulped.
***
The man tipped his head towards Joshua, without taking his eyes off me.
“Scurry away, I need to talk to her alone,” he said. I looked at Joshua, who instead of checking to see if I was all right, rushed to the door and left me alone with this man.
I knew I was attracted to him. He was exactly my type; against all my better judgement—but right now, I couldn’t think about how hot he was, now that he had mentioned my brother.
“How much does he charge for these massages?” he asked, with that grin still on his face. I stepped away from him, crossing my arms over my breasts. He followed my every movement with his dangerously blue eyes. Under any other situation, I would be drooling over his delicious bad-boy charm, but not today.
“What do you want with me?” I asked him and he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket.
“Shouldn’t I introduce myself to you first? Since I know your name already? I’m Abe,” he said and I flared my nostrils at him, holding my head high up.
“Let me guess, you’re from one of those motorcycle clubs?” I asked and Abe smiled even wider.
“You’re quite observant aren’t you,” he said.
“You’re not doing anything to hide it,” I snapped and he arched his eyebrows, surprised by my high-pitched voice.
“Do you have something against me or just motorcycle clubs in general?” he asked and I gritted my teeth at him.
“Why are you here? I have nothing to do with you or your MC, whichever one you belong to, and if this has anything to do with my dad…he’s been dead for a decade!” I hissed at him and Abe breathed in deeply.
I had stepped even farther away from him, backing myself into a corner and he was watching me, undressing me slowly with his eyes. Underneath my clothes, I could feel my nipples hardening, getting pebbled under my bra. I didn’t want to admit to myself that it gave me a thrill to be watched by him. That I was already fantasizing him pushing me against the wall and taking me right here, in the storeroom. I was trying to fight that urge.
“This has nothing to do with your dad. I don’t know who your dad is. I’m looking for Oz, your brother,” he said and I felt like a knife had gone straight into my heart.
The last thing I needed to hear was a guy from an MC coming here looking for Oz.
“What has he done? Why are you looking for him?” I asked with a quivering voice and Abe stepped even closer to me. I had nowhere to back myself away from him now, I was stuck and now his body was just a few inches from me. His eyes roamed over me, and I could smell him…a musky scent of his sweat and a strong aftershave.
“You don’t have to be scared, Alexis. I just want to talk to the boy, I have some opportunities in mind for him,” he continued and I glared at him, hoping he’d be able to see the fury in my eyes.
“You stay away from my brother. Don’t even think about getting him involved in any of your shit!” I hissed and he arched his brows again.
“Wow, you really have it in for me, don’t you?” he asked, grinning again.
“I don’t want Oz involved in that life. I know all about it. I know exactly the kind of shit you guys do. I don’t want Oz going anywhere near that!” I shouted and Abe breathed in, squaring his wide shoulders and then he nodded his head.
“I hear you, and I’m sorry but it’s not up to you. I need to speak to him first, see what he has to say and if he doesn’t w
ant to get involved, I promise I’ll leave him alone. How does that sound?” Abe asked, and I was too angry not to do something. I pushed past him, shoving my shoulder violently against his.
“Get out!” I screamed and pointed at the door. Abe followed me, his hands were still in his jacket.
“You’re overreacting here, Alexis. Your brother is already a part of a street gang. I think he’d be happy to get a promotion,” Abe continued and I could feel my body shaking with rage.
“Oz doesn’t know what he wants, he has no idea what is good for him. He is a smart bright kid and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you and your gang ruin his chances to have a normal life. Get the fuck out!” I thundered.
Abe was watching me still, the grin on his face weakened and his brows were crossed now. This had stopped being a joke to him.
He walked up to me and I glared at him with a quivering lip. He brought his face close to me, close enough to make me think that he was going to kiss me and it made me weak in the knees.
“I’m going to find your brother, Alexis and I’m going to talk to him,” he said, and with that, he barged through the door and it swung shut with a bang behind him.
I felt breathless, like I could break something and burst into tears at the same time. A minute later, Joshua burst in through the door again.
“Alexis! Shit! Are you all right? I didn’t know whether to alert security or if you knew this guy,” Joshua came rushing towards me and I jumped away from him.
“Keep your hands off me!” I snarled, before pushing past him and rushing out.
I didn’t know what I was going to do. How was I going to stop Oz now? This guy Abe, was exactly the kind of man Oz would look up to.
Chapter 5
Abe
I walked out of the supermarket, my head filled with thoughts of the woman I had just met. She was nothing like I expected.
