Aiyana: Book 2 (The Protectors) Read online

  “This is my office.” He smiles letting my hand go to wave his hand and bow. “Really the door right there is where my desk is, but this is where I spend most of my time.” He turns and powers up his computer.

  I look around at the men here and see them take notice of both Jared and me, but they all have good thoughts of him. It relaxes me to know he is well thought of by his people.

  “This will scan you. I could pull out the measuring tape and enter it all in, but this is quicker and won’t deplete your energy by me touching your entire body.” He is smiling and every hair on my body is standing up wishing for him to touch me.

  I clear my throat and close my eyes. “Thank you for the thought to time.” It comes out hoarse and I feel my face get red. I have never been so flirtatious and, while embarrassing, I feel excited. When I open my eyes, he is watching me. I ask the ancestors for strength, wondering if they will help with such a silly request, for obviously personal reasons.

  “Good to know it’s just time that concerns you.” He holds a bar above me then slowly moves it down my body. His eyes watch the light running down me, stealing my ability to talk, then breathe normally. I focus on breathing and keep my thoughts to myself. When he reaches my feet, he moves behind me. “Pose like you’re on a bike so we get the right reach.”

  I do as I’m told, breathing easier now that I am not watching his face and eyes.

  It works well until he moans. “Wuyituwôk.”

  I do not know how to reply so I say nothing to this, but keep my crouch with my feet spread so he can finish. Everything that is womanly in me wants to pull him into his office so I can see his hands all over my body. Taking a deep breath, I push it aside and concentrate on breathing.

  “Done. Let’s put in what you want on your bike and see what that looks like.” He turns fast, pulling a chair closer, then sits down in front of the computer.

  His abruptness surprises me. I sit and wait while he types or whatever he is doing with his fingers. I have never seen anyone type so fast. He asks questions about things I have never heard of then waves it away when I do not answer. “What color do you want your lights?”

  I smile at that one. “Pink of course.”

  He rolls his eyes making me laugh. “I’m tempted to put them on if I can hear that again.” He looks surprised that he said it and I laugh more. He shakes his head. “I’m not putting pink lights on your bike.”

  “I like the blue, but would like it lighter.” Like his eyes, I almost say, but stop before I embarrass myself.

  He smiles like before, his whole face and eyes light up, it’s fascinating. “Blue it is.” He picks a light blue that is almost his eye color then takes his hands off the keyboard and watches the screen.

  Another program starts running on a big monitor above his computer and I watch it build me and a motorcycle from the bottom up. I’m riveted. Within a couple of minutes, he has an avatar of me and a motorcycle completely built on the screen. Computers amaze me, but this is beyond what I have seen. It is like the hologram man being built in Jess’s lab. “What you do with your computer is amazing.”

  He laughs. “Have dinner with me, we can see what happens without my computer, that could be amazing too.”

  “Yes,” I speak before I can even think about it. What is wrong with me? I do not take my eyes from the monitor knowing that my face is red from embarrassment.

  He is typing again and I chance a look at his face as it is bathed in the light of the computer. He is very beautiful to look at. “Wuyihtiyáwun.” I hold my breath and look up at the monitor above us. I hope he does not realize that I just called him beautiful to gaze at.

  “It is, isn’t it? I come from a line of people in love with technology. What we can do with it still amazes me.” He never takes his eyes off the screen so I let my breath out feeling relieved.

  * * *

  Jared

  She’s killing me here. My body never reacted like a teenager — even when I was a teenager. What the fuck is this all about? Wuyihtiyáwun is pleasing to the eye, beautiful to gaze at. I see it on a page as if it’s brought to me by a Google search. She was staring at me when she said it. My dick likes the thought of that and strains painfully against my zipper.

  When the program goes to build mode, I look at her. “The frame is being built. Let’s go eat. This will be done tomorrow in time for you to ride it home.”

  She’s stunned and looks at me with those beautiful almond shaped eyes. “That is incredible, Jared. If I could master the computer, I would perform miracles every day as well.”

  I have to laugh, but I like her thinking I perform miracles. It’s just a program, not that I’m telling her that, all I did was hold the wand to measure her.

  I email for Craig and Alex to build for me then stand. “Dinner, I’m cooking.”

  Again, I get the amazed eyes and wonder what else dazzles the little Indian Princess. “You cook too?”

  I put out my hand and nod. “Wuyituwôk, I am well versed in all the mundane chores of life. I actually like to cook, but don’t tell my mother, she’ll never let me live it down.”

  I’m surprised she took my hand again, but don’t let it show and walk her out. Fuckin’ Aaron zeros in on our hands again. From what I know, she’s been here for a week training and Aaron is on her detail. If he was interested, he should have at least talked to the woman. I’m not waiting for him to grow a brain, so I ignore him and wait for Aiyana to get on her bike before I get on mine. He’s not putting his hands on her now that she’s coming home with me, that’s for sure.

  At my house, Aaron spins around heading back toward the gate fast. I ignore it and give Aiyana my hand smiling. The picture of Aleena from Cloud’s old house floats through my head, that’s what’s been bugging me, that’s who she looks like. I can’t wait to see her on a horse with the wind catching her hair behind her. Her eyes aren’t green like Aleena’s, they’re more golden than brown, a very light brown with gold flecks. I could get lost in those eyes. I shake my head clearing it. What the fuck is going on with me?

  “On the Compound, you don’t need Security, but you need to wait at the gate for a shuttle service before they allow you out.” She nods looking very serious. “So, this is where I live. Have you been on the Compound before?”

  We walk through to the kitchen before she smiles. “I was here for Christian’s wedding party and once before that. I was not allowed off the reservation for Dakota’s wedding.”

  She wasn’t allowed off? “How old are you, Aiyana?”

  “I just turned twenty-seven and no I am not seeing anyone.” She smirks at me.

  Twenty-seven. “You wouldn’t be here if I were, and why were you not allowed off the reservation? It sounds like jail.”

  She looks around and I try to see the kitchen from her eyes. It's clean today because I haven’t been here. With the MC needing bikes, I’ve worked late and ate with the Brothers at the Lab. It’s a regular eat-in country kitchen that doesn’t look so different from the other houses. I watch her take in every detail like she’s memorizing it.

  “With Christian, the rules I have always lived by have relaxed. The ability to read and the visions were the reasons I was given for the Security measures they put in place. Growing up, I learned to accept touch so they could no longer use that one. For the first time in my life I am free to leave the reservation without a full warrior detail.”

  I start pulling food from the fridge while I think about that. It’s like us when we merged with the MC. “We lived similar and weren’t allowed to leave until my parents merged with the MC. I’ll never forget the first time I went out the gate without all the Security. It was a fuckin’ great day. Little Ben, Jessie, Darren and Ricky met up with us and brought us around the borders of the towns and City. I’ll never forget it.”

  “Jess never mentioned it. The men in the MC are crazy. I am surprised your parents allowed you to be watched over by them.”

  I laugh and almost drop the veg
etables. “They weren’t always so crazy, but they were different. We heard stories at the time that we thought were just made up. Looking back now, I think they’re true, maybe they were always this crazy. It’s been interesting that’s for sure.”

  She takes the knife from my hand and starts cutting the onion I put out.

  Talking while we work I realize we have a lot in common. She’s more relaxed and laughs at anything and likes to cook too. “Why haven’t we met before now?”

  She turns from the counter with a ready smile. “I was not allowed off the reservation, Jared. It has only been a short time that I have been freed. I am here now. That smells wonderful.”

  It does and I better get moving before it’s sitting cold in the pan. I pull plates and she helps set the table until I find myself reaching around her to put the parmesan cheese down.

  She turns smiling. “You could not reach from where you were or you wanted to be this close to me?” She’s definitely not shy.

  “I want to be close enough to feel you breathing against me, but I’ll settle for a kiss before our dinner is burnt or cold.” A smile is my answer, so I lean down and claim her lips, but it’s not enough. Pulling her against me I kiss her like I wanted to when she smiled at me in Jess’s Lab — with her hair in my hands and body pressed against me. She does not disappoint. Fuck. Her arms wrap around me and she pulls me in tighter, touching every bit of my mouth just like I did hers. She knows what she wants and it throws the heat up about a hundred degrees. I have to pull away before I lay her across the table. “Wuyituwôk, we need to stop before you’re undressed and you’re my dinner. What a fuckin’ surprise you are.”

  She clears her throat. “That would be a pity as I am also hungry.”

  I can’t help, but laugh. “I really like your quick wit, Aiyana.” I put her down and step back. “Are you okay?”

  “There are many answers to that question. I think it would be wise to ask for you to be more specific.” She looks a little flustered.

  I shut the stove off and dump the pasta into a serving dish. “Energy. When Dakota is touched, he suffers a loss or excess of energy. I’ll ask for more details while we eat.” Putting dinner on the table I pull her chair out.

  “Thank you, I am always surprised by chivalrous acts the Princes show. The energy is an abundance, but I was expecting it and I can get rid of it easily. I will not take more than my body can handle. It is not a concern you should worry over.” Her eyes are glassy. Tears?

  I sit and put food on our plates wondering if she’s gotten shit over the touch thing. I’ve been blocking her since I first realized who she was. Should I let her see what I’m thinking? Readers at her level can probably get through my shields, but I’m not sure I should let her see everything I’m thinking. With that decided I take her hand. “I wasn’t worried over it, just asking if you’re okay as a way to get my focus off of how good you feel breathing against me.” She smiles looking relieved. “You shouldn’t be surprised by the Brothers, they all take care of women, it’s the way we grew up.”

  “You are a very good cook, Jared. The reservation is very different than the motorcycle clubs. Women are not heard unless they are Nunànuk and are expected to stay home and cook, clean and raise babies. Shoes are optional.”

  I stop eating and look at her, she’s serious. “Do me a favor, don’t tell that to Jess or my mom. They’ll be picketing the reservation with the old ladies of the Princes and MC.”

  She laughs, thinking I’m kidding I bet. I watch her face as she wipes her eyes. She wears no makeup. My dick jumps reminding me he’s still ready. “There are women that would love to see the elders try to debate Mitch Baxter, but the majority of women on the reservation are not equipped to deal with life outside the gates of the ancestral land. They very rarely leave — for there is comfort in the known, but fear in the unknown. Our people are very traditional in nature. They do not believe in the mixing of Indian and Anglo.”

  “Yet here you are.” How fucked up is that? Maybe I should tell my mom.

  She eats a couple of bites before she answers. “I like the chicken broth base with the tomatoes and peppers. How did you learn to make pasta without the thick sauce?”

  I guess we’re past gender equality. “Pam, our housekeeper, let us hang with her when we got older. We all learned to cook from Ben, my mom and Pam. My dads taught us how to build things and they’re masters in martial arts.” My plate is empty, but I’m not ready to end our conversation. I want her comfortable knowing who I am and how I became me.

  “I read that you have three fathers. As a woman with ability, I was brought up with everyone having a say in my life, but me. Is that how you lived?”

  I smile remembering the tunnels, giving Chase and Cloud a hard time, all the activities and vacations we went on. “Even with Security we had a great life. My parents are fair and always heard our side. When we ran our BGs, bodyguards, ragged, they understood we were kids just trying to be kids and never came down too hard on us. My mom is tough though, she would find ways to get her point across so we’d never even think of stepping wrong twice. We weren’t suppressed as kids, just guarded.”

  She puts her fork down and looks at me. “Suppressed.” Lines form in between her eyebrows and I want to touch them, but keep my hands on the table. “That is exactly it. The women are suppressed. I was also, but for different reasons. I will tell you a secret.” She’s smiling so it mustn’t be a real secret. I nod. “I was terrified to come to training. I did not know what to expect of the motorcycle men even though I worked from the reservation with them. The thought of working with them in person scared me half to death.” Worked from the reservation with them?

  She’s cute. “Bikers and we ride bikes. Some of the Brothers are scary. They live different than we do here on the Compound. Security, HS and the Officers are trained or were brought up to think differently. There are Brothers at the Club that scare even me, but Brotherhood is understood by all of us. At Security, you’ll always be safe and all the trainers are Officers. The other thing is you are Aiyana, that means someone is always watching out for you.”

  She doesn’t look happy. “There are times that I wish I could be just a face in the crowd.”

  “No, you don’t. If you were you’d be in a house — cleaning, cooking dinner, with kids running wild and of course, shoes would be optional.”

  She laughs putting her hand on my arm. It’s enough of an invitation that I slide my chair back and pull her to my lap. She looks shocked. “If it’s too much touch tell me.” I get a nod and kiss her just getting into it when the doorbell goes off. “That will be Alex.” I kiss her lips before she jumps off my lap.

  “LaPonte-James?” she asks following me to the door.

  With my hand on the knob I answer. “Yeah, he stops for dinner if he’s running late.” Devan is standing on the porch surprising me. “Brother, I thought it was Alex.”

  “Nope, the other one. He wanted me to let you know he’s working on the bike for Aiyana and he got dinner at the Lab with Craig and Prince. What did you make?”

  Aiyana laughs putting her hand on my back and stepping up to my side. “Pasta and it is delicious.”

  I open the door so he can step in. While they talk, I cover the serving dish and clean the kitchen. When I get back to the front door I hand the bowl over. “Make sure I get my bowl back.”

  He throws me chin leaving quickly. “He is not at all what I expected when I first met him. I thought he was much older.” Since I’m not talking up any Brothers tonight, I just nod and pull her to the living room. “I like your house. You live here alone?” She has a curious sound to her voice. She likes getting information about me. Maybe I am blocking her.

  When she sits, I do. “Kaleb stays here when he’s down, but that’s not too often lately, so basically, yeah, I live alone. Do you live alone?” I’d be shocked, because of her independent streak, if she still lived with her parents.

  “Yes, but my house would fit in y
our kitchen.” She’s smiling. Wasted space amuses her.

  “What do you need to know about me, Aiyana?”

  She finds me amusing too. “I was asking myself the same question. What do you need to know about me?”

  “This will happen. For whatever reason, I’m drawn to you like no one I’ve ever met. It’s not one sided here, so I need to know where you’re at.”

  Her face gets a blank look. “You say you do not agree with women being suppressed, what do you picture long term as a partner?”

  Shit, that’s a hell of a question to ask before I’ve even had her. “It’s not that I don’t agree, I’ve lived in a different world, my whole family works, but no one works like my mom. We grew up knowing the value of intelligence and morals and equality. There are no gender equality issues in my future because I didn’t learn them growing up. I see my future with a partner, not a maid.”

  She nods and I can see she wants to ask more, but stays quiet.

  “What does your future look like?”

  She laughs, “I wish I could see it. I do not know my future, but I know it is not being treated as less. My experience is not vast, but being changed to fit someone else’s idea of a partner is not what I am looking for.”

  That’s honest and blunt. “Why do people do that? I hate that I’m good enough until I don’t jump through a hoop I was never interested in looking at. I work a lot, love my family, play hard and I’m an Officer in the Club. I don’t see that changing. It’s important for me to know that I’m not expected to quit my job, distance myself from my family, drop the Club or stop riding, hiking, and flying. It’s all part of who I am.”