Page 2 of Lulu

Not that I was in any hurry to do so. I wanted to live a little first. Enjoy my new life and prove that I could be independent. That I could take care of myself. For so many years everything I’d had had been given to me by the club. They’d taken care of me, and all I’d had to do was be there for the men in whatever capacity they needed me.

I’d learned to love them, some more than others. I’d thought that I’d loved LD once, but I didn’t have what he needed, and he’d been right to push me away. I was happy that he’d found Jolene. She’d given him back his life, and with a second baby on the way he was truly a family man now.

Someday I’d have what they had.

For some reason thinking about settling down with someone and having a family brought Brody’s rugged, unsmiling face to mind. I don’t know how I’d discovered his first name when I’d always heard him referred to as Savage. The first time I’d seen him was when he walked into the clubhouse one day. I’d caught my breath at the way my body had responded instantly to his strong-featured good looks. But it had been more than just his looks that had caused a flutter in my belly and my core to clench with awareness. He’d exuded the same dark and dangerous qualities as the men I was surrounded by.

I’d always been attracted to the bad boy.

When our eyes had met for the first time, something had happened between us. Something strong, immediate, and intense. Something I’d wanted to explore, but knew that I couldn’t. For a moment it had felt as if we were the only two people in the room, or at least the only two people who had mattered. And then Loco had called me over and pulled me down onto his lap, and the spell had been broken.

In a big way.

It had been one of the few times that I’d wanted to deny the use of my body to a member of the Desert Rebels. Especially when I’d looked back to meet Brody’s eyes again and had seen his realization of the ugly truth of what I was. His initial interest had hardened into a cold, condemning glare. His expression and pressed lips had held nothing back, and I’d glanced away with deep regret. Loco would have let me up if I’d insisted on it but the damage had been done. Ever since that day, whenever Brody or I found ourselves in the same room together, one of us left. Usually me.

He didn’t even try to hide his unspoken contempt for me.

It didn’t matter now anyway. I knew that he was around, but since I’d moved out of the clubhouse I hadn’t seen him in almost a year.

I pushed any thoughts of me and him together away. It was what it was. I hadn’t planned on growing up to become a whore, but my years in the club had been necessary to survive, and not something I’d have changed. As long as Eddie had been out there possibly looking for me, I hadn’t taken any chances. Surrounding myself with strong men in a culture known for keeping to themselves and living on their own terms had meant protection.

I hadn’t ended up at their clubhouse by accident.

With a sigh I closed my eyes and willed myself back to sleep. I had a busy day ahead of me. Dr. Bowers and I were going to set up her new office today. Six months after being hired on at the multi-vet facility she’d been working at she’d approached me with an offer to become her lead tech at her new clinic outside of Las Vegas. It was a rural location, not far from my house, and I’d jumped at it. She’d been a local vet for years and had a good list of clients.

The prospect of working in a smaller office in the country was too tempting to pass up. I’d always been a country girl at heart. The raise in pay and the opportunity to work closer to home were big pluses. A bigger plus was that I liked Dr. Bowers, or Elizabeth, as she’d told me to call her when we weren’t working and with clients. We got along great and had good chemistry. She valued my opinions and made me feel like her equal when we were working together. The fact that she was familiar with biker culture had also helped in building our relationship.

Ugh! I realized that I had too much on my mind to go back to sleep. I was excited about the day and the opening of the clinic the following Monday. Elizabeth had hired another vet tech, Stephanie, and one receptionist, Megan. Stephanie and I would cover the desk on Megan’s days off. Dr. Bowers wanted to run her small clinic with just a few dependable people. At her age and after many years of hard work, she was tired of working in a fast-paced environment and wanted to slow down.

I could live with slow.

As I pulled back the covers, I could make out the sound of a motorcycle coming down the road. For as long as I lived the sound would always remind me of the Desert Rebels, and most of my memories with them were good. I’d developed the attitude early on that my happiness was in my own hands, and that I would make whatever was going on in my life work for me.

I rolled from my bed to my feet, stood, and stretched, catching my appearance in the floor length mirror against the wall. Some habits were hard to break, and sleeping naked between crisp, cool sheets was one of mine. I gave myself a critical look, searching for the subtle changes that came with getting older. But I had to admit, I still looked good.

My tits were still perky. My belly still flat. My ass still where it should be. Nothing sagging yet. I’d taken care of myself.

I smirked at my thoughts and walked to the bathroom where I took care of my needs and then grabbed a quick shower, careful not to get my long hair wet. It took forever to dry and I didn’t feel like dealing with it today. Once I was dressed in jeans and a tee I went to the kitchen for coffee. As I waited for it to brew, the sound of another bike drew me to the window over the sink. I pulled back the curtain in time to catch a single rider flying down the road. It was too dark to make out if they were wearing a cut or not, but whoever they were, they were in a hurry, and they were big.

I turned back to pour my coffee. I still had an hour before work. Plenty of time to enjoy my first cup out on the porch and watch the sun come up.

Chapter 2

Brody

I was on my way back to my house when I rounded a corner and slammed on the brakes, but not fast enough to avoid hitting the mutt that chose that moment to run across the road. Swerving did no good when the animal zigzagged right in front of me.Shit!I grit my teeth and prepared myself for impact, which was followed by a screeching yelp that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I lost control of my bike, but only for a moment, and pulled over onto the shoulder. I looked over at the dog as I sat there for a moment, and when I saw movement, I knew that I couldn’t just leave him there.

Goddammit!I was angry at myself, not the dog. I was already late for a meeting that I’d missed once before, through no fault of mine. If Sanford ended up giving the job to someone else because of this it wouldn’t be any skin off my back, but when I said I would be somewhere I was there. I’d been thinking about slowing down, possibly even retiring, and maybe this was the sign I’d been looking for. I had enough scratch that I’d never be able to spend it all in my lifetime.

I stood over the poor animal who was lying on the road, scared, whimpering, and looking up at me with big, brown eyes. It was a stray, I could tell. Filthy, hair all matted, and half-starved. My mouth turned down when I didn’t see any blood, but I knew that I’d hit him. I crouched down. “Hi buddy.” I reached out a hand so that he could sniff it. “That’s a good boy.” I let him sniff me for several minutes. When he licked me, I felt a flicker of some emotion I couldn’t name. “I’m not going to hurt you.” I spoke in a soothing tone, one I saved for animals and babies. “Where you hurt, huh?” I scanned his body, what I could see of it, and then used my hands to carefully check for injuries. When I got to his leg he yelped and jerked away.

I was fairly certain that he had a broken leg. I pressed my mouth tightly, patting his head while I thought about where I could take him. There was a new vet office that had just opened up at the base of the hill not too far away. Getting the injured dog there on my bike might be a problem, though. I pressed my lips and continued patting him on the head.

I had a blanket in my saddlebag. I could wrap him up in that and ride with him across my lap. Take it slow. “Be right back, buddy.” I went to retrieve it, hearing him whimpering behind me as I walked away. By the time I pulled the blanket loose and turned back to him he’d made a pitiful attempt to drag himself over to me.

Shit.

I stood looking down at him for a minute and shook my head. This was not going to end well. With my line of work I didn’t have time for pets. I was gone a lot. But something in my gut told me that this dog was already getting to me. There was just something about him. The pitiful, sad look in his eyes as he stared up at me, silently begging me for help. He reminded me of a mongrel I’d had while growing up. That dog had been my best friend, but I remembered how much it had hurt when he’d died of old age. I shook my head again. Nope. Not going to end well.

---