Locke (Aces MC Series Book 4) (10 page)

"She's smiling." I stated to CJ as I watched in
anticipation secretly hoping that she'd now come over and thank me personally.
I witnessed the bloke that she was sitting with lean over and take
the drink, and suck through the straw seductively before he fluttered his
fingers femininely in a camp wave.
CJ spat his drink over the bar as he roared with laughter,
"That's why the bartender was smiling, he knew that the Martini was for
him." CJ continued to howl at my expense and I could feel my cheeks flush
slightly at the embarrassment of sending a guy a drink. What a prick!
"Get me another drink." I spat trying to gain my composure.
CJ called the same bartender over, "What's your name?"
He looked a little confused, "Pete." He stated
sheepishly.
"Get us two beers, Pete." CJ held out a note for him to take but he
refused by shaking his hand.
"These drinks gentlemen are courtesy of Declan."
"Declan? Who the fuck is Declan?" I asked glancing
towards CJ before I turned my attention back to Pete.
He glanced in the direction of the bloke I'd just bought a drink
for and smiled, "Declan is sitting right over there." He stated trying
not to laugh as he removed the bottle tops from the beers and placed them onto
the bar.
I rubbed my head as CJ sniggered, "Fucking hell, I need to
get drunk. Give me that beer and line up the shots, I want to get wasted."
CJ wiggled his brows animatedly, "You can't drink too much, Declan may not
like it."
"Fuck off and get these down you, One, two, three." I
stated knocking back the shots of whiskey one after the other. I chased down
the sting of the whiskey by taking a long swig of my beer, yeah, this is what I
needed.

"So how long are you staying for?"
I turned towards CJ seeing his questioning look. "I don't know man maybe a
couple of days, you know the deal. I'll try and make a point of coming back
more often but you know I have other commitments."
"And will I ever get to meet these other commitments?"
he asked raising his brows.
I sniggered, "Maybe one day." CJ had been hounding me for years to
find out where I went on a regular basis and who I was going to see. I'd
managed to dodge the majority of his questions over the years but that hadn't
stopped him from being inquisitive and even trying to follow me.
"I've known you for three years Locke and I'm not any closer
to finding out who you hang out with during this time." He let out a sigh
and I rested my hand on his arm. "I feel like your cheating on me."
CJ pouted taking the piss out of the situation.
I laughed hard, I could always rely on CJ to lighten the mood but
I needed to explain the situation again.
"On a serious note it's best keeping it that way. You know
that I wouldn't want to put you or the club in danger."
"It's doing my head in though. Duke's been hounding me
lately trying to find out where you are and what you're up to. You gotta give
me something man to get him off my back." CJ ran his hands through his
short hair. "You turn up once or twice a month on a fleeting visit looking
like your homeless with a chin full of hair."
I laughed at his analysis of the situation, I hated growing a
beard but I liked the way it shielded the scar that Onyx had inflicted on me as
a child. The couple of days that I spent in Essex a month were my release, I
could have a shave, let loose and try to forget about my worries and plans for
revenge if only for a couple of days.

Feeling a tap on my shoulder I lowered the bottle and turned
to see Declan standing before me, I casually shifted my head to glance behind
him to see the beautiful red head with an unreadable expression.
"Hey guys, I just wanted to thank you for my Martini."
Declan said in a thick Irish accent with a broad smile, standing with his hand
on his hips.
I was gob smacked, it wasn't like me to be lost for words but this good looking
bloke who stood well over 6ft was actually coming on to me in front of my
closest mate in a room full of people.
CJ was drinking as Declan spoke resulting in him quickly lowering
his bottle to spit his drink everywhere through howls of laughter. I glanced at
him disapprovingly and wiped the fluid from my arm before I turned my attention
back to Declan but quickly noticed that the young lady he was with had now
moved forward slightly so that I could see her true beauty.
"My pleasure. Who's your friend?" I asked as I turned
my attention to the bird beside him.
Declan raised his hands to his chest dramatically as his mouth fell open in
mock disgust, "I'm hurt young man. Now I'm thinking that you just bought
me a drink so you could shag my sister."
I could still hear CJ sniggering like a school boy beside me but
I ignored his antics, I wanted to find out more about the bird. Sister, well
that was interesting at least it was confirmed that they weren't an item, not
that I thought as much after he'd opened his mouth to hear how camp he was.
"Keira," she stated holding out her hand for me to shake.
I took her tiny hand in mine and rubbed my thumb across her hand
to see her eyes widen at the contact. "Nice to meet you Keira, I'm Locke
and this arsehole here is Caleb or CJ to his friends."
"Whoa!" Declan flung his arms around trying to break the contact
between Keira and myself. "So are you gonna buy me another drink, big
boy?" Declan swung his hips as he moved closer, licking his lip in
appreciation as he stood in front of me. He placed his hand upon my chest and
lightly moved his fingers down towards my belt, "Mmmmm, Keira you'd like
this babe, he's ripped."
I smacked his hand away, "I don't fucking roll like that, there's
more chance of me fucking your sister than you." I noticed his eyes widen
slightly before I glanced in Keira's direction to give her a wink.
She ignored me and leaned over to pull on Declan's arm, "We need to get
going." She stated tugging on his arm further.
Declan huffed and spun on his heels, "Toodles." He
sang, wiggling his fingers in a camp wave before linking arms with Keira and
sauntering from the club.

"What the fuck just happened?" I asked picking up
my beer to take a long swig.
CJ sniggered, "He just tried to hit on you."
I rubbed my forehead as I played the scene over in my head again.
I would've liked to have taken Keira back to my hotel room this evening but
she'd made it perfectly clear that she wasn't interested. Well it was her
fucking loss, it looked like I would be going back to my room alone and
pleasuring myself.

"You can't drive us home in that state." I glanced
towards CJ as he leaned on the bar, he turned briefly to give me a smile.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and sent a text to Ramsey asking
him to pick us up. I wasn't that drunk that I'd get into a vehicle with CJ
behind the wheel, he'd end up fucking killing us.
"Come on, let's go and wait outside." I patted CJ on the back which
woke him a little, and he followed me through the pub until we were outside in
the car park.

"So this family of yours in the Midlands, does it
include a female?"
I shook my head knowing where this conversation was going, after what had
happened today I really didn't want to be talking about it. I placed my hands
on my hips and kicked at the gravel as I
contemplated what to tell him. I couldn't
let him know about April, he'd ask too many questions and I wasn't ready to
talk about her.
April and I had become close over the past seven years that I'd spent
at the club. We'd fucked a few times but it wasn't because we were romantically
linked. The first time we slept together was after she'd had a huge fight with
Polar. I'd found her in the back room of the clubhouse sobbing her heart out,
he knew how to pick her up and spit her out to play on her insecurities and
make her feel
worthless.
If it hadn't have been me, it probably would've been one of the other guys but
in that very moment she just needed to feel wanted, and I was able to give her
that if only for a short time.
The second time we came together was just after the loss of Viper. April had
the ability to read me and understood that I was hurting, she wanted to help me
and I sought comfort from her. After this our relationship grew stronger, not
in a loving way but we respected and understood each other and would look out
for one another where possible.
Polar could see that we were growing close and did everything
within his power to make sure that we didn't spend too much time together,
which had the desired effect as that's all April wanted. She loved him and
wanted to be part of his world but he just wouldn't commit to her.

"Earth to Locke." CJ stated as he waved his hand
in front of my face. "Where did you just go? Looked like a million miles
away." He stepped back and placed his hands in his pockets as he rocked
back and forth on his heels.
"Someone close to me got injured badly earlier today, I
thought we'd lost her for a while."
CJ let out a low whistle, "Sorry man, I just didn't know. We could've gone
somewhere quieter to talk about it, you should've said earlier." He
stepped forward but I shooed him away.
"This is what I wanted. I wanted a drink with my best mate and spend a few
hours to forget about it."
"And has it helped?"
"I don't know yet."
"How did she get injured? Do you need to get the club involved?" he
asked pulling out his phone.
I smiled, I appreciated him looking out for me but this was way beyond club
business. I shook my head, "It's nothing to worry about, just stuff I need
to deal with on my own."
"You don't have to deal with anything on your own Locke."
"It's not so much as I need, it's that I want to."
"You're a stubborn fucker!"

Headlights caught my attention as the vehicle turned into
the car park and approached us. "What you two doing out here?" Ramsey
asked through the window.
"I fancied a change of scenery." CJ stated as he opened the door to
climb in, shuffling up so that he was sitting close to Ramsey.
"And was the scenery good this evening?" Ramsey wiggled
his brows as I made my way into the van, using the armrest to hike myself up
into the front cab.
"The scenery was very good but the only thing Locke pulled was a
bloke." CJ sniggered and Ramsey leaned forward so that he could see my
discomfort.
"Fuck off and drive."
"Where we going?" Ramsey started the engine and drove through the car
park.
"Take me home, I need to go home." I didn't want to go back to the hotel.
My place wasn't huge but it was home and I needed the familiar this evening.
I hadn't been home for a while now and I needed to add the most
recent information to my board. My room had become the hub of my investigation
on the Satan's Wrath, and the walls were covered in everything regarding the
club that had taken away the most precious things to me. I sighed, thank god I
didn't have to add April to the ever growing list.
I'd succeeded in taking one of them down but it had taken me
seven years to do so, I needed to act quicker, I couldn't have it taking
another seven years before I made further progress with my mission.

Keira

We had been hectic this morning making sure everything was
in order for the wedding flowers. The best man had arrived at 10.00am as
requested and collected everything that needed to be taken to the hotel for the
reception and the church. He looked a nervous wreck and kept referring to a
list that had come directly from the bride, anyone would think that he was
getting married to her the way he came across as hen pecked.

"I'm shattered Declan." I flung myself into the
chair and rested my feet on the foot stool directly in front of me.
"Babe, why don't you take yourself to the gym or something? You could have
a sauna and just chill for the rest of the day."
"I can't leave you here by yourself."
"You most certainly can. The wedding flowers have been collected and we'll
only have the usual bouquet orders, I can't see there being a sudden influx of
customers today."
I mulled over what he'd just said. He was such a sweetheart and had taken to
the business well although it wasn't his chosen career.
I stood nodding my head, "I'm going to take you up on that offer."
"Good. You've been working so hard getting this shop up and running, that
you deserve some time off." Declan continued to flick through the pages of
his Grazia magazine indicating that everything had been sorted.
"Thank you." Declan looked up as I blew him a kiss, he pretended to
catch it and held it to his cheek before he returned his attention back to an
article that had intrigued him.

An hour later and I was wrapped in a fluffy white towel
making my way into the sauna. I loved the relaxation of being in the humidity
of the room, giving me the time needed to unwind. Business was going well, I
couldn't complain about sales and I'd made some friends along the way. It had
taken a lot for me to take the plunge and open the shop but I had faith in my
creativity and ability to succeed.

I opened the door to a large puff of steam and hurried inside
closing the door firmly behind me careful as to not let out all of the heat. I
glanced around quickly to see that I was the only person in here and walked
over to the far bench to lie comfortably, making the most of being alone.
I let out a loud sigh as I wiggled until I was in the correct position, and
closed my eyes letting the stress leave my body.

The sound of the door startled me, I opened my eyes trying to
focus realising that I must've nodded off. A whoosh of cold air entered the room
but it ceased as the door shut firmly behind the person who'd just entered. I
smelt a manly aroma as the person joined me on the back bench sitting directly
at my feet as I looked though the steam searching for the person's face.
I noticed a small towel wrapped around his waist barely covering his modesty
and worked my way slowly up his muscular body until we locked eyes, to see a
smile creep across his handsome face.

"It's you!"
"It certainly is me, and it's you." He stated mocking me.
I held my towel in place around my lower regions and sat up slowly making sure
that nothing was hanging out.
"What are you doing here?" I asked feeling awkward at his close
proximity.
"The same reason you are, I'm taking a sauna." Locke said dryly.
I rolled my eyes as he chuckled, "I mean, what are you doing in
Epping?"
The steam was mounting and I found it difficult to see him. Locke waved his
hand around in front of him before sliding up the bench slightly. "CJ, the
bloke I was with last night manages this place."
I nodded my head understanding but was pulled from my thoughts as his knee
brushed mine. I glanced at our touching legs and then back at Locke who looked
like his thoughts were elsewhere as he stared straight ahead. I relaxed
slightly knowing that he didn't do this on purpose but still flushed at the
close proximity.

"So was the drink intended for me?"
Locke shook his head, "Sorry babe, what did you say?"
Locke seemed preoccupied, "I said was the drink intended for me?"
His face brightened slightly, "Yeah."
"You're a man of many words." I stated sarcastically at his lack of communication
skills.  
"What do you want to talk about 'Irish'?"
I raised my brows at his address as he looked at me intently, as if waiting for
my next question.
"What's your real name? I'm assuming your mother wasn't so cruel as to
call you Locke."
His smile quickly faded and his eyes narrowed as he clenched his jaw. I raised
my hands, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend, Locke is a lovely
name." I stated quickly trying to lighten the situation.
He continued to stare but he didn't say anything, I swallowed hard and leaned forward
to place my hand lightly on his forearm. "Locke, I'm sorry."
He glanced at my hand, and I removed it quickly as his gaze travelled up my
body until he reached my eyes. "You don't need to apologise babe, you just
got me thinking that's all."
I sat quietly assessing his mood which also gave me the time to look at his
scar in more detail. I'd seen it last night at the pub and had briefly wondered
how he'd got such a thing. It wasn't deep but it was large, possibly 4inchs in
length and travelled from his chin to his ear.
"Jake, my name's Jake."
I smiled, "Jake's a lovely name, your mother has very good taste."
"Yeah she did." He leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees and
rested his head on his raised arms.
"So what do you do for a living?" I asked trying to change the
subject as he obviously didn't want to talk about certain subjects.
"The clue's in the name." He said sarcastically.
I scoffed, "Considering you wanted to buy me a drink last night you're
being bloody hard work."
"Sorry it's just the way I am." He rubbed his face and took a deep
breath, "So Irish, where do you work?"
I smiled as I knew he was now really trying, "I own a florist on the high
street."
"Are you married?"
"No."
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
"No."
"Kids?"
"No."
"Can I take you out for a drink?"
"No."

He cocked his head to the side looking at me bemused that I'd
turned him down.
"What?" I asked shrugging my shoulders.
Locke sniggered and shook his head, "You amuse me."
I stood and as I did the towel fell away from my body so that I was standing
naked before him. Locke's eyes instantly searched my body and he nodded his
head in appreciation.
I glanced towards the bench to see that he'd purposely grabbed the side of the
towel without me realising. I now knew what type of game he was playing and it
wasn't in my nature to let anyone get one over me, I needed to let him know
that this hadn't affected me, although I was crying inside.
I knew that I had a banging body, I worked out five times a week and refrained
from eating anything sweet, only allowing myself to gorge on the occasional
night out. I also knew that I needed to work it and tease him as he was doing
to me.

"Could I please have my towel back?" I asked as I
held out my hand.
"Let me take you out, you won't regret it I promise." Locke held the
towel in front of me just out of reach so that I had to step forward.
"I'm busy."
"I haven't told you when."
"Like I said I'm busy."
"Oh, it's like that. Then no, you can't have your towel back."
The fucking cheek of him, I watched as he lifted his leg slightly and pushed my
towel under it so that I couldn't get it even if I wanted to. Locke's smile
grew as he witnessed my discomfort and I jumped when I heard the door open. The
cold air that rushed around my body made my nipples harden and Locke's eyes
narrowed as he assessed me hungrily.
I was so embarrassed but I'd come this far, I needed to follow through or I'd look
like a complete fool in front of him which I wasn't prepared to do.
I turned on my heels and met the eyes of a bloke in his late twenties with a
skin head covered in tattoos from head to toe. He smiled sweetly and I was
surprised that he didn't take in my naked form as he made his way over to
Locke.
I took a deep breath and walked towards the door, "Irish!"
I slowly turned to see Locke make his way over towards me, "Here, I was
only mucking around." He held out my towel towards me, "Please take
it."
I looked at the towel before I met his pleading eyes, as if he didn't want me
to leave in all my glory. "Stick the towel up your arse." I stated
before I turned on my heels to hear the sniggering from the tattooed bloke that
had just joined us.

I closed the door behind me and hurried down the corridor
trying to hide my most intimate parts of my body as I passed staff members on
the way. She smiled politely and didn't say anything about my attire, well lack
of it but I don't know who blushed more, me or her.
When I was safely back in the changing room, I removed the key from my wrist
and opened my locker door. I let out a sigh, grateful for the spare towel that
I always packed and wrapped it around my naked body before the rest of the gym
managed to see. Sitting on the bench I took stock of what had just happened and
laughed to myself. He was a cocky, arrogant and somewhat infuriating man but on
the flip side good looking in a rough and ready kind of way. His brusque
demeanour intrigued me and I knew that I could have some fun with him. I saw
the way his eyes scanned my body and he'd already asked me out on a date. Would
an evening out with him be so wrong?

I was pulled from my thoughts as a gaggle of women entered
the changing rooms and took over the space so I hurried into a cubicle to put
on my clothes.
"Did you hear that Locke's back?" I heard one of the ladies say which
caught my attention. I stopped what I was doing and peered through the gap in
the door.
"Yeah, the guys mentioned it this morning when I was over at the
clubhouse." I strained to see the other lady that was talking but she was
out of sight. "I saw CJ this morning and he mentioned that Locke's dealing
with some shit."
"And how early did you see Caleb this morning?"
"Not like that." I saw a piece of clothing fly through the air and
hit the red head who'd asked the question as the group laughed.
"Locke's always dealing with shit, he needs to find someone that he feels
comfortable to talk to."
The ladies agreed with her comment and they made their way from the changing
rooms.

As the room fell silent I unlocked the door and made my way
from the cubical to stand in front of the mirror to check my attire. I'd
already made a tit of myself earlier so I wanted to make sure that I looked
presentable before I left the gym.

I eagerly made my way through the corridor not wanting to
bump into Locke or the lady that had seen me naked earlier, and out into the
car park towards my car.
Opening the boot I threw my gym bag in and closed it before making my way around
to the driver's side door. As I sat in the seat I started the ignition and
sniggered to myself remembering the embarrassment of my earlier encounter with
Locke and how my body tingled from his touch.
My throat felt sore and I realised that I hadn't had a drink recently and knew
that I had one in my gym bag. I exited the car and closed the door behind me
making my way to the rear of the vehicle to retrieve my drinks bottle. I returned
to the driver's side door and pulled on the handle to realise that the car had
locked itself, I groaned at my predicament.
What the fuck was I going to do?

Leaning against the car I rubbed my forehead, contemplating
my next move.
"Are you having a little trouble?"
I looked in the direction of where the voice had come from, "You could say
that." I stated seeing Locke stroll towards me.
A small smile spread across his face, "Well I can help you out but I'd
want something in return."
"Name it." I said far too quickly.
Locke raised his brows, "Come out with me for a drink tonight."
"Locke, I don't even know you." I said with a sigh. "You could
be an axe murderer for all I know."
"No axes, I only use chainsaws." He said dryly.
I smirked at his banter, "Well that's a relief then."
"I've already seen you naked babe so we've got that awkwardness out of the
way before our first date."
I placed my hands on my hips, "You're full of yourself and you're implying
that there'll be a second date."
"Look, I want you and I know that you want me plus I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon
and won't be around again for another couple of weeks. I'm happy to do the
casual thing if you are?"
"And how many casual things do you do?"
Locke sniggered, "It's been a very long time babe, my balls are turning
blue."
"And you think I can help you out of your predicament?" I asked
stepping closer towards him.
He looked me up and down, lingering at my breasts before he rubbed his chin,
"Oh yes."
"You're funny, I'll give you that," I sniggered.
"Funny ha-ha or funny strange?"
"Both! If I turn up tonight it doesn't mean we're shagging." I stated
with humour in my voice.
"Yeah it does." Locke winked and turned to stroll over to his van.
I watched as he slid open the side door and rummaged around in the back. His
jeans became tight around his arse as he leaned further inside, I found myself
ogling but quickly looked away as he made his way from the vehicle.

Locke strolled over to my vehicle and pulled out his tools to
work his magic as I watched hopeful that he could open the door.
"
Voila!"
I let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you, I really appreciate your
help."
"Not a problem, now what time do you want to meet up Irish?"
I sniggered at his persistence, "Where do you want to take me?" Locke
raised his brows and smiled.
"You're disgusting!" I swatted his arm playfully.
"I'm staying at the Travel Lodge hotel in Enfield. Come and have dinner
with me around 8.00pm."
Locke stepped closer and stared at me intently, my body felt warm under his
scrutiny and I simply nodded letting him know that I'd be there. What was I to
tell Declan? He'd probably want to come with me given half the chance.
"Great, I'll see you there." Locke winked cheekily and strolled
towards his van leaving me standing alone in the car park with nothing but the
building excitement inside my stomach.