4: A Stunner

Ezra

“You’re not gonna say thanks?” I ask.

She blinks at me. “For what?”

“For dragging your luggage up these stairs, for helping you Wren,” I reply with a scoff, baffled.

“I’m sure you get plenty of thanks around here, Ezra,” she replies. “If I don’t give you one, you’re not gonna die.”

Wren slams the door shut in my face, and my lips twitch.

Well… fuck my life.

Gone is the blushing twenty-one year old with bangs, and in its place is a twenty-four year old feisty vixen. 

Now that Wren’s back, and obviously very mouthy, I’m in for one hell of a ride.

Wren has always disliked me, and I have no idea why. Or maybe I do. It wasn’t always like this, though. I like to think we were friends back in the day.

And all of a sudden, she just… switched. Like a fucking light bulb. At the time, she would just ignore me and then avoid me until she left for Seattle. 

Now, she’s hell bent on giving me hell, isn’t she?

I give the door one last look, chuckling to myself before heading back downstairs to the bar.

Lizzy slides a glass of whiskey to me, and I tip it in appreciation.

“VP!” Torch sidles up to me, planting himself in the barstool beside me. “I didn't know Prez had a sister.”

Raymond is the President of our motorcycle club, Raven Reapers. Everyone calls him Prez or Ray. And since I’m his Vice President, they call me VP or EJ—short for Ezra Jax.

“Well, not many people know.” I shrug. “Only those that were here from the beginning know about Wren.”

“Was she always here?”

“In the clubhouse?”

He nods. “Yea.”

“Quite. She was younger then, so Ray didn’t let her spend so much time here. She alternated between here and their home, but their dad…” I leave him to fill in the blank.

It’s no news that Tony Carlisle, Ray’s dad, was a… case, for lack of a better word.

Torch whistles. “Where did she travel to?”

“Hold up.” My brows dip. “Why are you being so inquisitive about Ray’s sister?”

“Come on, EJ—” he nudges me. “She’s a fucking stunner.”

I pause.

“Excuse me?” I say through gritted teeth.

“Her legs man, she’s got legs for days,” he practically groans. “And her eyes… nah man, if she wasn’t Prez’s little sister, I’d have tapped that ass.”

What. The. Fuck?

The thought of someone else touching Wren like that has me seeing red.

My fist shoots out, punching him square in the nose. He tilts back on the stool, tipping over and falling to the ground.

“Fucking hell, EJ!” He clutches his nose, while I tower over him. “What the fuck did you do that for?”

Everyone stops to stare, a hush silence falls.

“Are you fucking cussing at me?” I lean forward, his eyes widen, blood seeping from between his fingers. 

“No!” He shouts, scrambling away on the ground. “I’m sorry, but fu—you just punched me in the nose, man. What for?”

“I dare you to repeat what you said to me to Ray,” I spit. “I fucking dare you.”

He pales. “Okay, okay, fine. I understand my mistake, I’m sorry. Shit.”

We stare at each other for seconds, my jaw clenching and unclenching. A deep breath expels from my lungs, and I stretch a hand to Torch.

“Come on,” I say.

He grabs me and I pull him up, patting him on the back.

“Mrs Dee?” I call. She appears, a short-haired old lady married to one of the older bikers. She’s like our mother hen here at the clubhouse. “Please be a dear and wipe him up?”

“Anything for you, VP.” She winks, blowing me a kiss. I return it with a laugh. “Come on, Torch. Your mouth will always put you in trouble…”

Her words trail off as she drags him away, and everyone goes back to what they were doing.

A slow clap sounds from the stairs and I’m not surprised to find Wren there. She’s changed out of her clothes into tiny denim shorts, a crop top and knee-length boots.

Torch is right, Wren is a fucking stunner. 

Her hips have filled out, milky thighs on display. Her long hair—a mixture of blonde and brown—is up in a high bun, her pretty face on display.

All the blood rushes to my cock, and my head swims, mouth drying up. 

Don’t go there, Ezra, I tell myself. Ray will kill me… literally.

But fuck, she’s beautiful. She’s a woman. 

And I’m just… a man.

The clap follows her as she makes her way towards me, and settles on the stool Torch just left. 

Her scent invades my nostrils, and I knock back my glass of whiskey, welcoming the burn that distracts me from everything Wren.

“Mr VP,” she taunts. “Beating up innocent bikers. What an abuse of power.”

“That’s why I’m the VP, and you’re not,” I retort.

She rolls her eyes, my jaw ticks. “If that role has me beating up innocent people as a show of power, I’m not interested.”

“Exactly, birdie,” I reply. “Don’t concern yourself with matters of the sort, then.”

“A coke, please, Lizzy,” she says, flat out ignoring me.

I press my lips together, hands tightening on the whiskey glass. 

“Coke?” I scoff. “This is a clubhouse, not a little girl’s birthday party.”

“You wouldn’t know a little girl’s party if it hits you in the face, Ezra.”

Both of us know that’s a lame comeback, but if I was a decent person, I wouldn’t point it out. 

Guess what? I’m not.

“That was lame.” I laugh. “And when did you get so mouthy?”

Lizzy slides a bottle of coke to her.

“Thank you,” Wren says. Then, she gives me her back, tuning me out. “You haven’t aged a bit, Liz.”

Lizzy gives me a look, lips pursed in silent laughter. I stretch my whiskey glass to her, and she fills it again. 

Wren’s gonna turn me into a fucking drunk.

“You look gorgeous, Wren. I still remember your bangs,” Lizzy says, then sighs. “I heard about the fiancé fiasco. I’m so sorry.”

“I really wish I can forget all of that,” Wren replies.

“That bastard really hit you.”

Wren’s shoulders lift and drop. “He never hit me before then, though. He was probably really upset, plus the injuries were just minor scrapes.”

My jaw flexes at her statement. 

What does she even mean by that? He was probably upset? 

Wren has gotten on my nerves since the moment I picked her up from the airport, but she doesn’t see me hitting her… or any woman for that matter.

“There’s no justification for him raising even a finger on you, birdie,” I cut in.

She glares at me. “I don’t recall talking to you, Ezra.”

“You don’t have to talk to me for me to make an input.”

“I didn’t ask for one.”

“Well you should,” I reply. “I do have a bucket load of wisdom for youngsters that desperately need it, like yourself.”

“That’s it!” She slams her coke down on the counter. “The only thing I desperately need is to scratch your eyes out.”

“Easy there, little bird,” I say. “With what claws?”

She shoots up from her seat. “I’m going to kill you, Ezra fucking Jax.”

And now, she cusses?

My lips pull up into a Cheshire grin. “Come on, then. Do it.”

She lunges forward. Lizzy wraps a hand around Wren’s waist, her shoulders shaking with laughter.

“Cut it out, Wren.” Ray’s voice cuts in, booming. “EJ, stop taunting her. My office! Now! Both of you.”

Hell. I didn’t even know he got back.

Wren’s gonna be the fucking death of me.