Keeper (Exiled Guardians MC Book 5) Read online

  “Lilly! We gotta get on the road,” Sniper yells from the other room.

  We break apart then and we’re both gasping for breath. She’s potent. More potent than I ever could have imagined. She may be an innocent, but damn, she’s got me tied up in knots.

  Her lips are swollen. Her hair is sticking up and her eyes are hooded with sexual arousal. She licks her puffy lips. “I have to go.”

  I smooth her hair down and tuck a piece behind her eare. “I know. Take care of yourself.”

  4

  Lilly

  The ride to the airport is filled with silence. Sniper keeps trying to talk to me, but I only give him yes and no answers. He looked at me weird when I came out from seeing Keeper. But he didn’t ask me anything, except if I was ready. I only nodded my head at him and followed him out to the truck with all the guys waving bye to us.

  As we’re pulling away, I see Keeper standing in the back, leaning against the doorway. He doesn’t wave. He doesn’t do anything. Just watches as we pull away.

  I almost beg Sniper to let me stay, but I don’t. Keeper said he wasn’t looking for anything permanent, so why would I do that to myself? It would kill me to be here and watch him go through the sweet butts one by one. My heart couldn’t handle it.

  I get checked in for my flight and Sniper walks me to security. “Call me, at least once a week, let me know how it’s going.”

  I smile at him. He hasn't had much time at it, but he’s a heck of a good older brother. “I will. I promise.”

  “If you need anything, anything at all, just call me.” I nod at him and walk into his embrace. I bask in the comfort of his arms around me. God, it’s nice having someone on my side now.

  He pulls back and stares at me. “You’ll get over him, Lilly.”

  Stunned, I pull back. “What do you mean?” Surely, he doesn’t know about Keeper and me. There’s no way. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  He laughs and leans over to kiss my forehead. “It’s obvious with you both.”

  Worried now, I ask him, “You’re not going to do anything to him, are you, Sniper?”

  “Now, honey, Keeper wouldn’t want you fighting his battles for him,” he says.

  I shrug. “I know. But I need you to know he didn’t touch me. He wouldn’t betray you.”

  “I know that. Don’t worry, honey, just promise me you’re going to make the most of this.”

  I want to argue with him and beg him to take me back. But I don’t. He’s right; he’s giving me this opportunity, sending me away to school, paying for my apartment, my food, everything. I owe it to him to give it my all.

  “It’s only a nine-hour drive or an hour and a half plane ride from here to Florida. If you want to come visit, or me to come visit, let me know.”

  With one last hug, I leave him then and walk to the waiting area for them to call my flight. My thoughts are back to Keeper and I can’t help but think I’m leaving more than just him behind. I rub my hand flat across my chest, wondering if I’ll make it out of here with my heart intact.

  Keeper

  Sniper’s back in less than an hour. I start by avoiding him but then can’t handle it any longer. “Hey, did Lilly get off okay?”

  He eyes me and shrugs. “As well as can be expected.”

  “What, is she okay?” I ask him. He’s sitting at his desk and I’m standing facing him, with my hands gripping the corner of his desk.

  “Should she not be okay?” he asks me and crosses his hands on the desk in front of him.

  “I kissed her,” I blurt out. “I kissed her bye.” I’m not afraid of his reaction. I mean, I can’t blame the guy if he pummels me in the face. No. I’m worried about losing his respect. Sniper is like a brother to me.

  He stares at me, searching my face. I’m waiting for him to punch me or kick me out. Either one, I probably deserve. I broke the first command of our MC president by messing with his sister. The one thing he warned all of us not to do.

  I don’t look away from him, though. I keep my gaze on him and he must see something in my face, because he takes pity on me and finally answers my question. “She’s fine, Keeper.”

  I nod my head at him, waiting for the rest to come, but it never does. He changes the subject and starts talking about the repair shop.

  Hours later, when I’m alone in my room, that’s when I think about Lilly. Her clear, almost translucent skin, her wide, innocent green eyes and her curvy, luscious body. It’s the only place I allow myself to dream or think about her.

  The next few weeks fly by and the feelings I had for Lilly, well, I thought they would disappear, but they don’t. I can’t think of anything except her. Sniper must feel pity for me, because he’s even started telling me about Lilly and what she’s up to. It’s not until almost eight months go by that Sniper drops the bombshell. He found out she’s been hanging around with some guy and he has Rider get some intel on him. When he finds out that he’s a stand-up guy, volunteers at a soup kitchen and is gentle as a mouse, it’s only then that I force her out of my mind. She’s with someone that she deserves. Someone that can give her a better life than me. After that, I stop asking Sniper about her. But I never stop dreaming about her.

  5

  Keeper

  Present Day – Two Years Later

  When Sniper told me last week that Lilly was coming home, I about lost my shit. I don’t know what she’s been up to. For all I know she could be married or pregnant. The thought has me bent over double behind the bar.

  There’s a party going on. It’s a welcome back party and all the brothers and their ol’ ladies are here to celebrate.

  Harper walks up to the bar. She’s Smoky’s ol’ lady and she’s actually become like a little sister to me. “Hey, Keep, what’s up?”

  I smile at her, but it doesn’t quite reach my eyes.

  “Are you okay?” she asks me.

  I shrug my shoulders and pour a beer, sliding it over to her. She almost lifts it to her mouth and stops. “You know what? I’ll take a water.”

  I look at her knowingly and set a water down in front of her.

  She takes a swig.

  I look up and she turns in her seat to look behind her.

  Lilly is looking at the two of us, and a blush fills her face as she jerks her eyes away. Harper gasps and whips back around to face me.

  “It’s her. She’s the one that got away,” she says excitedly, bouncing in her seat.

  I can’t stop the pain. “Don’t, Harper. It’s not like that. Just let it be.”

  “But, Keeper, I don’t understand,” she insists.

  “Let it go,” I say in a husky voice.

  I can tell she doesn’t want to give it up. She’s practically vibrating in the seat. She finally calms down and just nods her head at me. “Okay. I’m here if you want to talk.”

  I smirk at that. “I’m a badass biker, Harper. I don’t talk about my feelings.”

  She laughs but not for long. Smoky comes over and loops his arms around her. I try to keep the jealousy off my face, but I don’t know how successful I am. I don’t want Harper, or anything like that. But I want what they have. I never dreamed I could have it until I met a certain redhead two years ago. My eyes flick from Smoky and Harper over to Lilly. She’s glued to her seat, surrounded by people, but she seems completely alone. She’s watching me and I can’t take my eyes off her as she gets up, leans over and whispers something to Sniper and then walks my way.

  I can feel Sniper’s gaze on me, but I don’t care.

  She sits down at the bar and I lean against it with my arms outstretched in front of me. “Welcome back, Lilly.”

  She cuts straight to the chase. “Have you been avoiding me since I got here earlier?”

  I shrug and wipe down the counter in front of her.

  “Do you want a water?” I ask her.

  “No, I’ll take a beer,” she replies, brushing her long hair off her shoulder.

  I chuckle. She’s st
ill up to her old tricks. “In two months, I’ll serve you a beer.”

  She looks taken aback that I would remember her birthday, but what she doesn’t know is that I remember everything about her. Everything.

  Lilly

  It may have been two years since I saw him last, but it might as well as been two days. Feelings that I hoped had died away came to the surface fast the first second I looked at him.

  “How long are you here for?” he asks me, concentrating on wiping off the same spot on the counter he’s been working on since I sat down.

  I roll my eyes at him. “Already trying to get rid of me?”

  He doesn’t answer me but with his intense gaze, I know he’s fighting it. I just shake my head at him. “You don’t have to worry, Keeper. I don’t plan on throwing myself at you this time. You’re safe.”

  He shakes his head at me, but I can’t read his face. “I’m not worried about that. Just wondering when you go back to school.”

  My forehead creases in confusion. “Sniper didn’t tell you?”

  He shakes his head side to side.

  “I’m not going back. I’m moving back here. He’s going to let me work at one of the businesses. Maybe a few of them,” I tell him. “Teasers, Guardians Wrecker, I’m not sure where else.”

  His face tenses when I mention the topless bar owned by Smoky and the Exiled Guardians. “There’s no way that Sniper will let you work at Teasers!”

  I huff, offended. He probably thinks that I wouldn’t be able to make any money dancing, but I put the thought to the back of my head. “I’ll be working in the office.”

  His features soften, but only slightly. “So you’re here to stay.” His face is still void of all emotion and his voice is deadpan.

  “Yeah, I’m staying… but don’t get all excited.”

  He starts to reply but Sniper walks up and sits next to me. “Hey, Keeper, I’m busy tomorrow. Can you take Lilly around to a few of the businesses in town and introduce her? Leave a warning too.”

  I laugh and smack my brother on the shoulder. “I don’t think that’s necessary. I can introduce myself.”

  “I’ll take her,” Keeper says.

  Sniper and I look over at him, and his jaw flexes under the scrutiny. He’s still as handsome as ever. Nothing’s changed with him in the last two years. He’s still guarded with me. I can tell he’s holding something back. But I promised myself that if I came back, I wouldn’t get all worked up over him again. I want this chance to be with my brother and his wife, Avery. I won’t let my lust, or whatever this is for Keeper, mess up my relationship with my family.

  “No, he won’t. I’m twenty years old. I don’t need a babysitter. I can go myself,” I tell them both, looking back and forth between the two of them.

  Sniper looks as if he might agree, but Keeper butts in. “Sniper, we have a new assistant at Teasers and well, I think it would be better to go with her. At least this first time, so we can make sure there are no problems.”

  I hold my breath, waiting on Sniper to back me up on this. I’m sure he’ll be on my side. Well, until he isn’t.

  “Lilly, I’ve got a big day tomorrow. It would be a lot less for me to worry about if you had Keeper with you. Will you do this for me?”

  I want to argue with him, but after everything he’s done for me, I can’t. I simply nod at him. “Sure, yeah, that’s fine. I’m going to go back and join Avery. I’ll see you in the morning, Keeper.”

  He doesn’t look back at me and I wonder how I’m going to make it all day getting the cold shoulder from him.

  6

  Keeper

  The next morning, I pull into the parking lot of the Exiled Guardians Clubhouse and sit in my truck, taking deep breaths and trying to prepare myself for seeing Lilly again. I don’t know what kind of game Sniper’s playing here but I don’t like it. He knew how I felt about his sister. I know he did, so why the hell is he pushing this? I know that he was about to let her have her way and go by herself, but I couldn’t let that happen. There’s no way I could just sit at the club while she went around town. We run a pretty tight ship at all our locations, but I’m not willing to chance it.

  I take the keys out of the ignition and muscle my way out of the truck. I almost rode my bike today, just to have her pressed up against me, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to handle the temptation.

  Walking in, I head straight to the coffee that has already been brewing.

  Lilly comes around the corner. “I guess you had a late night, huh?”

  Jealousy is dripping off ever word she mutters. She must think that I went out last night. I look at her and decide to put her out of her misery. “I don’t live here anymore.”

  “What?” she asks me with surprise.

  “Yeah, I moved out last year. I built a house close to the property line.”

  I pour myself a cup of coffee into my travel mug and grab her a bottle of water. “You ready?”

  “Yeah. Sniper didn’t say you moved.”

  I just shrug and open the door of my truck for her, remembering the last time I had to help her. I go to put my hands at her waist, but she stops me. “I got this.”

  I watch her climb up into the seat, her ass wiggling as she settles herself. Fuck, it’s going to be a long day.

  We get to the first stop at the wrecker service and all the men are nice and respectful to her. But of course their books are so messed up, I’m sure they’re happy as all get out to have someone come and help.

  I sit quietly in the corner as she takes a look at everything and Cappy shows her where all the files are, the computer, how to get access, and everything else she needs to know. By the end of it, she has Cappy eating out of her hand. By the end of it, she’s carefree and even smiling a little bit. God, I’ve missed that smile.

  The next stop is Teasers, and I want to get there before the dancers come into work, but of course luck isn’t on my side. I forgot they start work earlier on the weekends.

  As soon as we walk in, Teresa, one of the new dancers, heads straight for me. She puts her hands on my shoulders and presses herself up against me. I can almost feel Lilly deflate next to me.

  I take Teresa’s hands and pull them off my body. But that doesn’t even faze her. “Come on, Keep. You’ve been putting me off and putting me off. When are you going to take me out?”

  Lilly looks between the two of us and I barely hear her stutter that she’s going to go find Smoky. She walks away before she can hear me turn Teresa down… again.

  I find her in the office with Smoky leaning over her. “You don’t know how glad I am to have you here. Now that Harper’s pregnant, I want to be able to spend more time at home.”

  “She’s not going to be working nights or anything, Smoky. She’ll come here to do paperwork in the mornings, before it gets too crazy,” I tell him and her too, in case she was wondering.

  She just rolls her eyes. “Smoky, I can work any time you need me to. Show me where everything is.”

  By this point, steam is about to come out of my ears. I’m sitting in the corner and now, not only is she ignoring me, but she’s also pissed off at me. I can tell.

  Smoky must sense it too, because I catch him laughing at me when she’s not paying attention. I just give him the middle finger and stare down at my phone like I have something important to do.

  As soon as they’re done, I hustle her out of there because most of the dancers are just like Teresa and I prefer women not to manhandle me, no matter what Lilly thinks.

  Once we’re in the truck, I ask her if she wants to stop for lunch before we go back.

  “No. I just want to go back.”

  “C’mon, Lilly, don’t be like that. I’m starving,” I plead with her. I would give anything to have her smile at me again.

  “Well, then drop me off and get yourself something to eat. I’m sure you can find someone to eat with.”

  I know what she’s thinking and she’s crazy. I haven’t even looked at another
woman since the day I met her. I can’t, not without picturing her. Even when I tried to put her out of my mind, I couldn’t. “I don’t want to eat with anyone else. I want to eat with you.”

  She’s quiet, but I can feel her staring at me across the console. Finally, she says, “Until I start working, I’m using Sniper’s money and I never eat out. I’ll eat at home.”

  I glance over at her. Sniper has more money than he knows what to do with. He wouldn’t care if she ate out for every meal every day. But she doesn’t want to take advantage of him. I shake my head, thinking about the last two years. What else has she gone without?

  I pull out my phone and call my favorite Italian restaurant and order four different meals. I don’t even ask her what she likes because I know she won’t tell me. I then pull into an ATM and get some money out, ready for the fight when I get back into the truck.

  I hold the bills out to her, but she keeps her hands clasped tightly together in her lap.

  “I’m not taking your money.”

  I grab her hand and pry it open, placing the bills in her palm. She pulls away then, almost like my touch burns her.

  “This is prepayment. You should have your own money.”

  Her nose scrunches up. “Prepayment for what?”

  “My furniture business. Don’t worry, I’ll tell you all about it. But I need someone to keep the books for me and help me with getting organized. I’m good at making the furniture, but not at keeping up with orders and everything else that goes with it,” I tell her.

  Her curiosity is piqued. But she still puts the money down in the cup holder. “Show me first, then we’ll talk money.”

  Nodding my head, I pull into the Italian restaurant. “I’ll be right back.”