Page 3 of Oz (Marked Skulls MC 4)
“Sometimes I’m half-tempted to just pick her up and throw her over my shoulder and carry her to the courthouse. Just get it over with so we can move on!” Abe continued. I shook my head.
“Alexis will slaughter you if you ruin her plans. She needs to go through the process of rejecting every plan and then somehow, just days before the wedding, you’ll see that her plans have magically fallen into place. I have no clue how she does it, but it happens every time,” I reassured him.
Abe nodded his head with a smile, and then his phone rang.
I could sense it was my sister calling. They spoke for a few moments and Abe hung up.
“Apparently she needs a second opinion on the six cakes she’s shortlisted,” he said and in one swig, he’d emptied the beer in his can. I couldn’t help but laugh at that too. Just the thought of a big guy like Abe sitting and tasting cake—seemed out of this world. But then again, I knew he would do anything to make my sister happy.
“It’s not like she’s going to let you make the decision yourself anyway,” I said, and he rolled his eyes.
“Exactly. Anyway, I’ll see you back at the docks tonight, quarter past eleven,” he said as he started to leave.
“I’ll gather the troops before that,” I told him and gave him a mock salute as he walked away.
I looked over at the table where the prospects were sitting. I could have joined them, but I was getting hungry. My stomach rumbled and I could hear it. I hadn’t even stopped for breakfast this morning.
Now that the new diner had opened up, it was the perfect place for me to catch a midday bite. I got up from my chair and left the bar to cross the street.
Chapter 4
Kaya
Melody, the rest of the waitresses, and I fell into our usual rhythm of taking orders and serving customers. It was a busy day at the diner, and since my conversation with Melody in the bathroom earlier, I hadn’t had much of a chance to talk to her. I was looking forward to my break in half an hour.
Even though I had never waitressed before, it was something that seemed to come naturally to me.
Clearly, the first rule of being a good waitress and receiving good tips was to be polite, and I had tons of that on my side. My parents had raised me to be hospitable and courteous and both those qualities came in very handy at the diner. Even though I was new, I was the one getting the most tips, and I put it all down to the smiling.
I had a tendency to smile at everyone, and not because I was forcing myself to—it just came naturally to me. I smiled at all our customers and I smiled at the other waitresses, the chef and the owners. Melody had told me earlier about how the others spoke about me and that I apparently lifted their spirits with my smiles.
I was glad they thought that of me. Given the fact that I came from a small town, I figured it would take me some time to fit in. I also didn’t want the others to think I was too naive, but none of that had happened. Not only had I fit in well at the diner, everyone seemed to like me. Which made my job here a lot easier.
The last thing I wanted was to get involved in politics at the workplace. I wanted to stay out of it and just do my job. I hadn’t moved all this way, made such a big change in my life—and all just to get into trouble.
And with a friend like Melody watching over me, I felt like I had everything.
So even though the diner was busy today, I was in a good mood. Having this independence made me feel like right now I had nothing to worry about. I had nobody to answer to, and I had no responsibility.
I took another order from a table and flashing them one of my famous smiles, I rushed over to the kitchen to collect the prepared order for another table.
The diner served a generous serving of waffles. Personally it was my favorite thing on the menu and I recommended it to whoever asked for my opinion.
In the kitchen, Melody was chatting with another girl and they tried to get me involved in their gossip. But I didn’t want to stand around and waste time talking. I collected the plate of waffles from the counter and hurried out of the kitchen before they could stop me.
Out in the diner, the place was buzzing with people and chatter. As I crossed the floor over to the other side, I heard the front door open, making the bell tinkle above it.
I placed the plates down on the table I was serving, wished them a good time and hoped they would enjoy the meal, and then began to walk away. I slipped the notepad out of the pocket of my white frilly apron to look at my pending orders.
In the meantime, I was headed in the direction of the front door where I knew the new customer was waiting to be seated. I was concentrating on the lists in my hand, instead of the man who was staring at me.
I was too lost in thought to sense the glare. That I was being heavily scrutinized.
“You can sit wherever you like,” I said absent-mindedly, as I went over my orders.
“Which table are you serving?”
I heard the voice. It was deep and like a growl. As soon as I heard his voice, I jerked my head up to look at him. I wasn’t quite sure of the effect that voice had on me. Was I in shock? Was I surprised by how sexy he sounded?
All I knew was that he’d startled me.
And now that I looked at him, I felt like someone had just punched me in my stomach. I hadn’t had a chance to think about the bikers all morning, and now there was one standing right there in front of me!
A big hunk of a man, so tall that he was towering intimidatingly over me. There were thick dark tattoos running up and down the length of his arms. He looked muscular, in his leather vest and with those bulging biceps and thick rugged looking thighs.
He had a thick crop of brown hair which looked ruffled and mismanaged. His face was chiseled like he was made out of stone, and he had deep blue eyes. While I stared at him, he looked back at me intensely, meeting my eyes.
I couldn’t look away. Did I want to look away?
I had no idea what was happening to me. Why my body was reacting in the way that it was. It felt almost unreal. Like I was imagining the whole thing.
But then he spoke again and that deep hoarse voice seemed to pierce my soul.
“So which table are you serving? Kaya?”
The fact that he knew my name almost made my knees wobble. I thought I was dreaming. I didn’t want to wake up. I wanted to keep standing there, staring at his chiseled handsome face.
But I noticed his gaze drift down to the name tag on my breast, and I felt my a blush start to creep up my cheeks. I opened my mouth to respond but no words came out. I was tongue-tied and I was making a complete fool of myself.
Chapter 5
Oz
I wasn’t surprised by the reaction that Kaya had towards me. Most women reacted that way when they first saw me. Women saw a tall guy covered in tattoos and muscles. A guy who knew how to take care of himself. All signs of a guy who would be able to take care of her too.
Those were the first instincts women had, and I liked it.
What they didn’t know was the depth of danger I was constantly in. The life I had committed to and the extent to which I would go to get the job done.
It didn’t matter. They didn’t need to know, because I wasn’t going to involve them in it. I doubted I would ever let myself get attached to anyone like Abe was with my sister.
So no
w while Kaya stood there in front of me, staring into my eyes with her lips parted—I knew exactly what she was thinking. How big was my cock going to grow between my legs.
My gaze traveled down to her tight breasts under that sweet looking dress she was wearing. Kaya had an innocent looking angelic face but a body that was made to be worshipped. She had thick blond curls which she’d tied up in a ponytail and big green eyes. Her complexion was pale, her cheeks were rosy red. She looked like the kind of girl who hadn’t experienced any hard labor.
With. just one glance at her, I knew she’d led a sheltered life.
Her body was voluptuous, her hips and thighs were curvy, just like her juicy pink lips. She was standing there like she was frozen to the spot.
“I…I…can show you to a table.”
She was stammering with her words which was adorable. She wasn’t the kind of girl who could hide her nervousness very well.
“I’ll follow where you lead,” I told her with a smirk, and I watched as she gulped, like her throat had gone completely dry. Why was she this nervous? Was she always this nervous when she bumped into a guy she was attracted to?
Or was I getting it completely wrong? Maybe she wasn’t attracted to me at all, maybe she was afraid of me.
She licked her lips and forcibly whipped around. I watched her hips swing in that dress as she started to slowly but deliberately walk away. She was leading me to a booth by a window.
“Is this okay?” she asked, holding her hand politely out to indicate the booth. I stood aside with my hands in the pockets of my jeans.
“It’ll be perfect if you sit down and have a meal with me,” I remarked, smirking at her. Kaya gulped and then shook her head.
“That’s impossible.”
“Impossible?”
“I’m on my shift right now.”
“So, not impossible?” I said, looking into her eyes. Kaya looked down at her notepad nervously.
“What can I get you, Sir?”
