Sassy Christmas (Storm MC) (2 page)

V
elvet

“
G
od damn it
!” I kicked the flat tyre on my car and cursed some more inside my head. This day was going to shit very fast. I’d slept through my alarm and then I’d had an argument with Nash on my way out of the house. It had been one of those arguments that should never have even started in the first place. But because we were both tired and rushed, it had escalated pretty quickly and there was no fixing it before I had to leave for work. And now, this bloody tyre. I raked my hand through my hair and blew out a long, frustrated breath. This time of year was so damn stressful and I was all tied up in knots on the inside. The fact Nash was dealing with Storm problems at the moment didn’t help either. Worry for him and the club filled my mind daily.

“Kicking it won’t make it better,” Roxie said from behind me.

I spun around and glared at my boss. “No, but it made
me
feel better.”

She eyed the tyre. “You got a spare?”

“Yeah, but I have no idea how to change it, and besides, don’t we have customers to look after?” It was the Tuesday before Christmas and I was fairly sure we were both flat out this week.

“Bobby and Tahlia have customers. You and I are blocked out because Madison, Harlow and Layla are coming in today for haircuts and facials. They haven’t arrived yet so we’ve got time to change this now, which beats leaving it until the end of the day. That would be the last thing you’d want to do after working all day.”

I’d forgotten today was the day the girls were all coming in. “I don’t think you heard me, Roxie, I have no clue how to change a flat tyre.”

She put her hand out. “Give me the keys for the boot. I know how to change a tyre.”

I handed her my keys. “Why does it not surprise me that you know how to change a tyre?” I’d been working with Roxie for nearly six months now and she kept revealing parts of herself to me. She blew me away with the shit she knew.

As she walked to the boot of the car, she jerked her chin towards the salon. “Can you go in there and make sure Bobby and Tahlia are okay? Christmas time seems to bring out the bitch in Bobby even more than normal and I think Tahlia has almost had enough.”

I grinned. “I’d like to see Tahlia take on Bobby.” For the past few months, I’d watched those two interact and wondered how long it would be until Tahlia lost it at him.

Roxie groaned and shook her head. “No, you don’t. It happens once or twice a year and it’s nasty. It takes them at least a couple of weeks to get back to normal and those weeks are a living hell.”

“Shit, okay. Will you be right to change that by yourself?”

“Yeah, won’t take me long.”

I nodded and left her to it. God knew what I was about to walk into. As I pushed through the front door of the salon, I was pleasantly surprised by the sound of laughter. Bobby and Tahlia were both laughing at something and gave me huge smiles when they saw me.

“Where’s Roxie?” Bobby asked.

I headed towards the back room to store my bag. “Changing a flat tyre on my car.”

“Nash isn’t gonna be happy about that,” Bobby said.

I dumped my bag and headed back out to where he was. Frowning, I said, “That Roxie changed my tyre?”

“No, that you had one in the first place.”

Shit, he was right. Nash was on at me about getting a new car and I was stalling because I didn’t want to spend the money. We’d had more than one argument about it and I knew this would cause him to bring it up again. “Damn,” I muttered. “You’re right.”

His brows rose and an I-told-you-so look crossed his face. “Tell you what, Velvet, if that man gives you too much grief and you decide you’ve had enough of him, send him my way. I’ll take good care of him.”

Tahlia groaned. “God, Bobby, can you give it a rest? I’m so freaking sick of hearing you ogling every damn man you meet,” she snapped.

Bobby scowled at her. “You’re just annoyed because you haven’t had any cock in months,” he snapped back.

I raised my hands in a placating gesture. “Okay, you two, enough.”

They both scowled at me and went back to getting ready for the day. When the first client arrived a moment later, Bobby walked past me to the front counter and gave me another filthy look. I sighed. Today was going to be a long day.

F
our hours
later we were knee deep in haircuts, colours and beauty treatments with Madison, Harlow and Layla. I was engrossed in a conversation with Layla about her ex-business partner when the pop of a champagne bottle caught my attention. I spun around to find Roxie holding the bottle up with a questioning look on her face. “You want some?”

“Champagne on a work day?” I asked.

A smile spread across her face. “Yeah, it’s Christmas week and all the girls are here. We definitely need champagne to celebrate.”

I smiled and nodded as I took the glass of champagne off her. “Thanks, but only one because I have to drive home later.”

The smile on her face grew. “I may have organised for Nash to come and pick you up from work so you can have a drink.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

I took a long sip of my drink. “Well, after our argument this morning he might change his mind,” I muttered.

Madison joined in the conversation. “It must be the day for arguments. J and I went a round this morning, too.” She took the orange juice that Roxie passed her. After a sip she exclaimed, “Men!”

Harlow raised the glass of champagne Roxie had just given her. “To men who can be pushy and bossy,” she said and promptly drank almost the entire glass.

My brows pulled together. “You okay, Harlow?”

“Yeah.” She sighed and then continued, “I’m just a little over Scott always trying to get me to talk about my miscarriage. He doesn’t seem to get that I don’t want to talk about it.”

Madison looked at her with concern. “Honey, I think he’s just worried about you.”

Harlow drank the rest of her drink. “He needs to stop worrying about me. I’ll get through this but it’s gonna take some time.”

I watched her closely. Harlow wasn’t coping at all well with the loss of her baby but she didn’t seem to realise this. Or else she was blocking it out and not facing it. I couldn’t blame her. Hell, I’d been where she was, so I understood what she was going through, but I had to give it to Scott for his patience. For a man not known for patience, he had proven otherwise where Harlow was concerned.

As we stood in silence, none of us sure of what to say, Bobby saved the day when he interrupted. “Ya’ll need to be thankful you have a man to complain about. You have no idea what I’d give to have steady cock in my life.”

Harlow laughed and said, “I’ll send mine your way if you’d like. It’s not like he’s getting any off me anyway.”

“What? You’re
still
not having sex?” Roxie asked, clearly stunned. Harlow had told us a few weeks ago they weren’t having sex and Roxie had been surprised then, too.

Harlow shook her head. “No.”

“Why?” Roxie asked. She was always the one to ask the questions no one else did.

Harlow motioned for Roxie to pour her another drink before quietly admitting, “I don’t know.”

The pain in Harlow’s voice was clear and I had the urge to wrap her in my arms. Madison moved first, though, and put her arms around Harlow in a hug. Harlow didn’t return the hug but rather placed her head on Madison’s shoulder and began crying.

Harlow’s grief dredged up my own grief over my miscarriages. Shit, I didn’t want to be thinking about this today. I nodded at Roxie for another glass of champagne. When she passed it to me, I promptly drained most of the glass in one go.

“You okay?” Roxie asked softly while Madison continued to console Harlow, and Layla spoke with Bobby.

Her concerned eyes were focused completely on me. We’d grown close while working together and I now counted her as one of my closest friends but we hadn’t really spoken about this. I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. “Yeah.” My voice cracked slightly as I said this.

“No, you’re not. Talk to me.”

I motioned for another drink, and after a quick raise of her brows, she poured me one. After I drank some, I said, “I’ve had quite a few miscarriages and I’m not sure I’ll ever have kids. This is just stirring up feelings I’d rather avoid.”

“I take it you want kids.”

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” I admitted quietly, the ache in my heart growing.

She reached out and placed her hand on my arm. So out of character for Roxie. She was not a woman who engaged in displays of affection. “Have you spoken to Nash about this or have you been bottling this up?”

I sighed. “Roxie, he’s just beginning to deal with his own loss after all these years. I don’t want to burden him with my shit.”

“Isn’t that what relationships are all about? Sharing the highs and lows.”

“Yeah, but the timing isn’t right.”

“Is it ever right?”

“I think there are certainly times that are more right than others.” The champagne had started to buzz through my system and I drank more, silently begging it to hurry up and block the pain pricking my heart.

“I disagree, Velvet. If something is upsetting you, you have every right to ask your partner to help you through it regardless of what he is going through at the time.” Her gaze slid to my glass of alcohol before coming back to meet mine. “Better to talk it through with him than to drink your way into denial.”

The truth in her words hit home and I blew out a long breath. “Shit,” I muttered.

“Are you finished with your treatments?”

“Almost. Why?”

“Because I think you should call Nash and ask him to come and get you now. Actually, you go finish and I will call him while you do.”

I smiled at her. “Thank you,” I whispered.

“All good,” she replied, and I knew she hadn’t grasped my full meaning.

I placed my hand on her arm and said, “No, I mean thank you for being a good friend. I don’t have very many so it means a lot to have you.”

She stared at my hand on her arm for what felt like a long time and then she shocked the shit out of me by putting her arms around me and pulling me close for a hug. “I don’t have a lot either,” she murmured before letting me go.

I watched as she headed for the phone at the front counter, a warm, happy feeling surging through me. She hadn’t said much but her actions did all her speaking; Roxie valued my friendship just as much as I valued hers, and that was something I truly treasured.

A
n hour later
, Nash walked through the doors of the salon, his eyes trained on me as he strode to where I stood at the back of the shop.

“Thanks for coming,” I said, smiling at him.

He bent his face to place a kiss on my lips, and when he ended it, I curled my hand around the back of his neck to keep his lips where they were. I needed more. As I deepened the kiss, he groaned into my mouth, and the way his body moved into mine told me he loved every second of it.

“Not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?” he asked when I finally let him go. His hand was on my ass and he didn’t move away from me.

“That was for coming to get me, and for being you, and for loving me,” I said, the words gushing out of me thanks to the alcohol in my system.

“You never need to thank me for picking you up. If you need me, I’m here for you,” he replied and then paused for a moment before asking, “You ready to go?” His voice had turned gruff and it hit all the right spots.

As the sensations his voice caused rushed through me, my eyes dropped to his chest and I took in the hard muscles his grey t-shirt hid, and then my gaze slid lower to his jeans and motorcycle boots. Everything about this man turned me on.

I looked back up into his face. His amused expression was hard to miss as he waited patiently for me to answer him. “Yes, I’m ready,” I muttered, mentally berating myself for being so easily distracted.

His brows rose. “You sure, sweet thing? Wouldn’t want to interrupt you.”

I rolled my eyes and turned to walk into the back office to grab my bag. As I came back out to him, I smacked him lightly on the chest and said, “Take me home. I’m ready for some Nash loving.”

“Jesus,” he cursed. “I’ve gotta get back to work.”

Placing my hands on my hips, I cocked my head and asked, “Is Nash Walker turning down sex?”

Lust blazed in his eyes. “You should know I never turn down sex, but it’ll have to be quick ‘cause Scott will bust my balls if I’m not back at the clubhouse soon.”

“If it’s too much hassle, I can take care of myself, Nash. I’ll send you a video,” I teased, loving the scowl that fell over his face.

He dipped his face so he could growl in my ear. “If anyone’s gonna be taking care of you today, it’s gonna be me. Understood?”

My legs squeezed together as I nodded. I couldn’t resist one last opportunity to rev him up, though. “A video would still be fun, right? I could make you one later today, you know, to help you get through until you see me tonight.”

He slapped my ass and commanded, “Outside now. And if you send me a video, you better be naked and ready for when I finish work, because the only thing your night will involve will be my cock and your pussy, and whatever the fuck I decide to do with them.”

I grinned at him, but didn’t say anything else.

He shook his head and with a jerk of his chin in the direction of the front door, he muttered, “Go.”

As I walked past the girls, I apologised, “Sorry for leaving early. We didn’t even get to discuss what everyone is bringing to the party on Saturday.”

“Blade and I will supply the alcohol,” Layla said, “but can any of you come and pick it up from the bar on Friday because I don’t have time to bring it over.”

I nodded. “Sure, I have Friday off.”

“Yeah, I do, too,” Madison said, “so I can come and help.”

“I’m working at the café on Friday so I can’t help, sorry,” Harlow said.

“No worries, Velvet and I can do it,” Madison declared.