Ella continued for several blocks, quickly regretting the strappy sandals she'd worn.
For that matter, why'd you put on these jeans?
Ella had to resist pulling the denim mega wedgie out of her butt. The three-quarter length jeans with sparkly sequined pockets, were super cute, even though she had to pour herself into them.
Ella giggled as she did the Bewitched nose wiggle, and willed the jeans out of her crack, while levitating a hair off the ground. When she was a preteen, she honestly thought she was a witch, and that the nose thing actually worked.
A wistful smile crossed Ella's face as she recalled how pissed her dad got when she pestered him for the millionth time about who her real parents were.
"Dammit, Bella, you weren't adopted," her father insisted as she helped him replace an electrical outlet. Ella loved helping her dad. It was the rare occasion she got to spend quality time with him. "Now, please hand me those wire strippers."
Ella summoned the wire strippers from his tool bag several feet away, letting them drop by his side. Of course, Harold had taken that moment to concentrate on the gang box, instead of her.
That was the closest Ella had come to admitting her secret. As Sabine got sicker, she convinced herself, her parents didn't need any more to worry about. Certainly not a freaky daughter, that was quite possibly possessed.
The sound of a motorcycle rumbling nearby, pulled Ella out of her reverie. It came to a stop beside her and Ella stilled.
Crap!
Ella slowly turned to see that it was just as she feared. Wolf looked like an urban knight astride his steel horse. He wore black combat boots and dark denim jeans. His worn leather jacket was open, exposing a white tank, that stretched across is impressive taught chest.
She reached his face to find a stern expression. The muscle in Wolf's jaw was rigid, his mouth turned down in a smirk. His honey brown eyes had this odd glow, as they pinned her aggressively. A shiver worked through Ella.
"What in the hell are you doing walking alone at night? Are you really this stupid, or are you looking to get mugged?"
"Excuse me?"
Ella took a step back in shock. Wolf was pissed.
What crawled up his butt and died?
"You heard me. Now get on the bike."
"I think I'll walk. Thank you very much."
Ella stalked down the sidewalk.
What the hell kind of chivalry is this? she fumed.
Ella wanted to inform Wolf she was safe, but he would never believe her. And she wasn't about to give him a demonstration.
"I don't think so. If you don't get your tail on this bike, you can kiss our agreement goodbye," Wolf growled.
Ella's eyes widened at the feral sound.
Is he seriously threatening me?
She whirled on her feet and stared Wolf down.
"Am I to believe, that a man who threatens me, is safer than walking alone?" Ella snapped.
"Is it yes or no, Ice Princess? Your choice," he rumbled.
Ice Princess?
Wolf had her between a rock and a hard place, and he knew it. She either put up with his sour attitude and crass mouth, or find a new place to live, which she still wouldn't be able to afford.
Ella realized she was letting Wolf get to her when she noticed the leaves fluttering in the trees, although there was no breeze. Why did this man make her so crazy?
Reign it in.
Ella closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down. Without a word, she stepped to the back of Wolf's bike and slung her leg over, settling in behind him.
"Grab on, I wouldn't want you to fall off and mess up that pretty little face of yours."
Ella smirked at the back-handed compliment and gripped his sides, letting her nails dig into his firm obliques.
"What did I do to you?" Ella tried to ask, but the roar of the bike drowned her out.
Being pressed against the gorgeous man would've been thrilling, if she wasn't so ticked off. Ella was glad Wolf couldn't see her frowning. Granted it wasn't smart to walk alone, but he didn't need to be cruel about it.
I'm not an Ice Princess.
Sabine called her innocent, and nagged Ella to let loose every now and then. Except there was a good reason she kept the genie in the bottle.
I'm not cold. What makes Wolf think he can say whatever he wants to people? Do the women he's used to, just roll over and take his arrogant, demanding attitude? Sexy only goes so far. Big jerk.
When the clubhouse came into view, Ella notice the two dozen motorcycles parked outside. If the four bikers yesterday were a handful, this would probably be doubly exciting. Leather clad men and scantily dressed women were milling around the entrance, as Wolf whipped into line with the rest of the bikes. Ella had a feeling he stopped abruptly for her benefit. She tightened her grip, gouging her nails into his stomach, till she heard him grunt.
Ella slid off the motorcycle, and followed Wolf inside. She scanned the room, gaping as every direction she looked, something untoward was going on.
"Are you good on your own?" Wolf said over the din of the party.
Ella's mouth almost dropped open. He was going to ditch her amongst a bunch of bikers she didn't know.
"Aren't you going to introduce me?"
"They know you're the decorator," he commented with a shrug, then took off, leaving her standing in the middle of the room.
"Dick!" Ella fumed.
Loosen up, and prove him wrong about the Ice Princess comment. Or you can send him an anonymous box of glitter. Ella smiled at the thought of the sparkly mess getting all over Wolf and his apartment. Glitter was the herpes of the craft world.
Be an adult. Stop letting the man yank your chain. You're not here to prove anything. You're here to see what's needed for the design, Ella reminded herself. Mingle. See what's going on.
Ella wandered further into the main room and paused. The music was blaring loud enough, the bass thumped through her, overtaking her own heartbeat. A few women were doing dance moves that would put a stripper to shame. A chick with long black hair and a mini skirt was grinding against a dude's leg, like her life depended on it. Ella suddenly had a better understanding of what a sweet butt was. The guy had a death grip on the woman's butt, kneading it, in time with her thrusts. It reminded Ella of Wolf's hands on her own rear, and she blushed.
Don't judge, she almost heard Sabine say. Professional mental note; they like dancing and music.
A few guys were playing darts, shoving each other as they argued about the score. One of the guys knocked the other one into the wall, sending dust cascading down. It looked like it hurt, except the guy acted like nothing happened, as he aimed a dart and threw, ignoring another biker in the way. Ella cringed as the projectile winged past the other man, nearly taking off his ear.
She noticed that most of the men wore leather jackets like Wolf's. On the back, there was a large insignia of a wolf baying at a crescent moon. It obviously represented something to the group.
Maybe that's where Wolf gets his name. I wonder if Wolf's his real name.
Ella caught a whiff of something she hadn't smelled since her freshman year in college, when she last attempted to go out and party with normal people. She turned to see several people passing a joint, by the bar. Her eyes traveled down the bar. Some guy threw back a shot, then bent over and kissed a blonde. She pulled away from him and swallowed, then bit into a lime.
That's one way to drink tequila.
Ella blushed when she noticed the guys didn't care about the massive hole in the wall, as they used the wrecked bathroom.
Privacy is clearly not a concern.
"Hey, did my idiot brother abandon you?"
Ella turned to see the black-haired apartment manager, Char.
"Yeah. It's okay. I'm getting an idea of what goes on here, so I can redesign the space," Ella spoke over the music.
"He mentioned that. Still, I can't believe he just cast you to the wolves."
Ella snickered at the pun.
"I think he's ticked off that I tried to walk here." Ella shrugged.
"Oh. That probably wasn't a good idea, though Manhattan's pretty safe. You want a drink?" Char gestured to the bar.
"Sure. Do you have any wine?"
"No, but I made jello shots."
"Close enough," Ella laughed.
"Right on. You can't get an idea of how we throw down, without partying with us."
Char led Ella behind the bar and grabbed a tray of multicolored jello shots from the fridge.
"Hey, Kayla, meet Ella. She's going help fix this dump up."
"Nice to meet you," Kayla, the tequila-shot blonde, shouted. "It's about time they fix this place up."
"You have any suggestions?" Ella asked.
"Hey, don't give her any ideas. I don't want this place turning all girly," the guy with shaggy brown hair from yesterday, chimed in.
"Shut-up Mark. Just for that, I hope she puts lots and lots of pink lace all over the place." Char shoved Mark out of the way.