Page 2 of Protected By the Bikers Next Door
By the time I get Jenny cleaned up and settled in my bed with me, it’s gone midnight, and the party is showing no signs of abating. I toss and turn, unable to sleep. Thankfully, Jenny is soundly sleeping beside me. I try to convince myself that this is just a one-off and the neighbors won’t be doing this all the time, and I don’t want to fall out with them on our first night, so I decide not to go over and ask them to keep it down.
However, when I’m still wide awake at two, I hear the unmistakable sounds of a couple having noisy sex outside. I climb from my bed to peer out of the window into the neighbor’s backyard, and my suspicions are confirmed when I see a threesome taking place in the hot tub. I’m no prude, but I decide enough is enough; what if they were to wake Jenny and she saw? The realtor assured me that, while this wasn’t the most affluent neighborhood, it was a safe and family-friendly one. If I don’t say something about the noise now, what’s to stop them from throwing parties like this every night? I’ll be damned if I’m forced out of another home. I won’t let people walk over me anymore.
Checking that Jenny is okay and still sleeping, I storm over to bang on the neighbor’s door. By the time I get there, I’ve worked myself into a frenzy, and I’m livid. When there’s no answer, I rap my fist against the door so hard it might leave a bruise. Finally, someone hears me, and the door opens.
An older man with a beer belly answers. Before he can speak, I launch into my tirade, explaining how I’m his new neighbor and the noise level is unacceptable when I have a sick child next door.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, lady, slow down. This ain’t my house. You’re gonna have to speak to Wolf.”
“Fine, where is he?” I ask, barging my way inside.
“He’s sittin’ over there.”
The man points to the living room, which looks more like a bar, complete with a pool table and a real bar. The room is packed with half-naked, gyrating bodies, the music deafeningly loud. I shove my way through, focused solely on my mission.
I’m momentarily thrown off my stride as I encounter the sexiest man I’ve ever seen in the flesh. Dark hair with a smattering of silver at the temples that only makes him look hotter, a well-trimmed beard that frames his chiseled jawline, and piercing gray eyes. Those eyes lock onto me, and I freeze like prey, caught in the sights of a hunter. Unsurprisingly, he has a large tattoo of a wolf on his arm; whoever did it was obviously talented, as the detail is incredible and it is hauntingly beautiful.
He’s sat in an armchair, but it may as well be a throne. I didn’t need to ask which one was him; his presence is so commanding that it could only be him. He sits like a king at court, watching over his subjects with mild amusement. I can see why he’s called Wolf; he has the wild energy and cool, focused gaze of one.
Shaking myself free of the spell he’s put on me, I remind myself that, while he’s hot, he’s still an asshole who throws loud sex parties without a care for his neighbors. I stamp over to him.
“Are you Wolf?” I demand, hands on hips.
“I am. Who are you?” he replies, his voice commanding and clear.
“Harper, your new neighbor.”
“Let me guess, you’ve come to ask me to keep the noise down?”
His bored, mildly amused tone tells me I’m not the first neighbor to ask this, and that he thinks I won’t be the last. If I’d had any say in where I lived, then this would be the last place I’d have picked. I wonder how many people have been driven out of their home because of this man?
“Yes. My daughter’s sick, and I don’t think it’s too much to ask for you to keep the music down and not allow people to have sex in your backyard!” My voice trails off to a squeak of embarrassment at the end, and my cheeks flush.
He smiles slowly. “And you enjoyed watching a little too much for your liking? Or perhaps you came over to join?”
His gaze explores my body, and for the first time, I realize that, in my rage, I’ve come over here wearing only my pajamas, which just so happen to be the least sexy pair I own—a big baggy t-shirt from some cringey boy band I loved when I was younger, I got it at the first concert I ever went to back when I was a teen, and a hundred pounds heavier, and a pair of faded, too tight shorts. I shouldn’t care how I look; it’s not like I’m trying to impress this asshole, I try to tell myself, but it’s of little comfort. I’m still mortified. I’d rather Wolf and his pals think I’m the super-hot new neighbor than the crazy one. Perhaps I’m just imagining it, but his offer sure seems flirty. Almost as if he’s inviting me to do it with him. I stop my thoughts from goingdown that road. He might be hot, but he’s still an asshole. I’m supposed to be done with assholes.
“This isn’t a fucking porno, asshole,” I snap.
He chuckles, as if he finds my anger amusing. He rises from his chair, and I try not to ogle as I get a good look at his toned physique through the tight shirt he’s wearing. He towers over me, a giant of a man, at least six-three. “This is our territory, sweetheart. Has been for over twenty years. So why should I do a thing you ask, when you’ve been here all of five minutes?”
“I don’t care if you’ve been here since the fucking Stone Age; it doesn’t mean you can’t show some common respect and decency!” I square up to him, refusing to let him intimidate me. I had enough of that shit with my ex, and I’m tired of being a pushover and treated like I’m weak.
Those smoldering gray eyes search mine with naked curiosity before he nods, almost imperceptibly. “Bear, Hawk, go tell the randy fuckers in the tub to take their party someplace else,” he commands.
Two men, presumably Bear and Hawk, step forward. They’re equally as hot, but in totally different ways to their leader. I can’t believe I didn’t notice them before.
The one who has to be Bear is even taller than Wolf, six-five, and at least two hundred and fifty pounds of pure muscle. He has a big bushy beard and a shaved head. His arm is tattooed with a full sleeve of what appear to be Norse symbols. You’d expect that, given his appearance, he’d be terrifying, yet somehow, he reminds me more of a cuddly bear than a wild one. Perhaps it’s his kind brown eyes that meet mine as he offers me a slight, apologetic shrug, the trace of a smile dancing across his face.
Hawk is the total opposite of his companion. He’s the shortest of the three but still stands over six feet. He has a tattoo of his namesake on his chest. I know this because he’s wearing his leather vest with nothing underneath, revealing washboard abs. His lean, broad-shouldered physique reminds me of a swimmer. He has inky black hair that falls just above his shoulders, looking so shiny that one could almost describe it as feminine. That’s if he didn’t radiate a kind of lethal energy that makes me suspect he’s the most deadly of the group. He surveys me with intense green eyes before turning his attention to Wolf, the clear leader.
“Got it, Prez,” Bear agrees, his voice deep and booming, yet friendly at the same time. “Nice to meet you, neighbor,” he adds cheerfully, grinning at me before leaving the room with Hawk wordlessly following. I’m not sure if he’s being genuine or sarcastic.
I turn my attention back to Wolf. He might have conceded to my one demand, but I’m not giving in that easily. “I’m not leaving until you turn down the music,” I say, folding my arms across my chest.
“Tempting,” he purrs, and my cheeks flush all over again. “Though, of course, you have a sick kid to get home to,” he reminds me.
He’s got a point. I’ve already been gone too long. What if Jenny wakes and finds me gone?
