Jupiter's MC Ghost

CLARISSA

It feels like someone is watching me. But it’s not the creepy sort of being watched that I have been feeling for the past month that has me constantly looking over my shoulder in fear.

No, this is the kind that makes you want to turn around and check if his eyes are painting you, caressing you. The kind that empowers a person.

I’m tempted to see if he is truly watching me or if it is my imagination.

I want him to be watching me. And if I can catch him, it’s a sign that I’m not the only one who feels this connection between us.

One glance can’t hurt, can it?

I chance a peek over my shoulder, knowing exactly where he is sitting.

I have always been overly aware of where he is in a room ever since I came back from school. I catch him staring at me with those hypnotic green eyes. There’s an intensity in his stare—it feels as though he could melt the walls around my heart, see within my soul, and capture all my secrets.

I look away, my cheeks turning red at the heat in his eyes. I can’t help but hope that he didn’t see me watching him as well. But with how intensely he is staring at me, there is zero chance of that happening. That man misses nothing.

I glance over again to see if he has stopped watching me, even though I know he has not. There’s a slight smirk on his face and amusement dancing in his eyes.

Again, I look away in embarrassment, blushing even more than before.

I turn to the drink in my hand and try to focus on anything but him. But it’s impossible. He’s all I can think about lately.

I hear his voice cut through the chatter in the crowded bar. He’s talking to someone, so I take a chance to look at him again.

His attention has moved to Radio, the technology specialist that just patched in. Radio catches my gaze and makes his way to me.

I feel Ghost’s eyes on me yet again. Though it feels more critical this time, like he’s confused about something.

“Wolf wants to see you, Clarissa,” Radio says as he stands by my side. “Don’t stress about it; we will sort this out soon. The club won’t let anything happen to you.”

Ghost is standing next to him, his brow furrowed.

Shit. Why is Ghost being brought in on this?

Radio leads the way to Wolf’s office, and I can feel Ghost following closely behind us. His presence at my back should make me feel closed in, backed into a corner. But it doesn’t.

If anything, I want him closer. But that’s dangerous. He’s a brother, which means he’s off limits. I need to keep reminding myself of that.

Radio knocks before opening the office door. Ghost and I walk past him, and with a nod to us, he shuts the door behind us, leaving us with Wolf.

Wolf clears his throat before asking us to sit down.

I sit on the edge of the chair in front of the desk, and Ghost sits in the chair next to me. He’s tense. His shoulders are hunched, and he’s clenching his hands into fists.

I close my eyes, trying to block out the scent of Ghost so close to me. I know why Wolf has brought us in here, and I need to focus on what he’s about to say.

Wolf starts talking, and I open my eyes, forcing myself to look at him and not at Ghost.

“Now, Clarissa, I believe you have an idea as to why you are here; however, you may not know why I have brought Ghost in. Correct?”

The blood drains from my face. “Yes, that is correct, Prez. I assume that Axel has spoken to you about my situation.”

Wolf sums up what he knows: the text messages, the pictures, the package with my stolen underwear.

And then he drops the mother of all bombs. He asks Ghost to be my bodyguard.

My heart stops for a moment and I feel like I might just pass out. I’ve been under so much stress since this all started, and my lack of sleep is really starting to get to me.

Then, Wolf says the last thing I want to hear. “Clarissa, I think it best if you start at the beginning. Tell us everything. There could be something you’ve missed, and it’s best if we have all the information.”

Shit. I’ve never said more than ten words to Ghost in the eight years I’ve known him, and now I’m meant to tell him the most humiliating story of my life?

I take a chance and look over at Ghost. He’s staring at me with a question in his eyes. But they’re also gentle, like he cares.

I take a big breath to calm my nerves.

“While I was at boarding school, a guy in my class asked me out. I said no because I didn’t see him as more than a classmate. He seemed upset at the rejection but left me alone for a while.

“Life went on, and I forgot about it until I started receiving messages and calls from an unknown number. I just thought it was a prank, so I ignored them.” I close my eyes. Reliving this is even harder than I thought it would be.

“Then one night I came back to the dorm, and my room was broken into. The door was ajar, and my things were scattered all over the floor. I didn’t notice anything missing, but I reported it to campus security anyway. They said they would deal with it, but they couldn’t figure out who it was so no one was ever punished.”

There’s a growl to my left, and I look through my lashes at Ghost. His fists are clenched tight, like he wants to hunt down and hurt whoever messed with my things.

I continue on. “When school ended, I came back here. Everything stopped, so I put it behind me. I didn’t want to spend my time worrying…”

I stop to take a breath to further calm my nerves so that I can continue with the rest of my story.

“About a month ago, the calls and texts started up again. They were from the same unknown number. But this time, it wasn’t just messages. There were also pictures of myself walking around the neighborhood, just doing everyday things. There were even a few of me outside the clubhouse.

“And then the other day I received a package. Inside it was a note and a pair of my underwear. I recognized the pair. I thought I had lost them when I moved back, but he must have stolen them when he broke into my room back at school.”

I clear my throat to try to stop the tears. “At that point, I knew it had gone too far, and I was scared. So, I told Axel.” I can’t go on. But Wolf seems to understand, and he takes over for me.

“Axel reported it to me, and I brought in Radio. Radio did his magic and tracked down the person behind everything. His name is Jonas, and, if I’m correct, he’s the boy Clarissa rejected back at school.”

I glance up at Ghost, and there’s pure rage burning through his eyes. I can’t tell if it’s aimed at me, my stupidity for attracting a stalker, or the fact that he’s now stuck being my bodyguard.

Whatever the reason, his stare is quite scary. I can’t help but shrink back in my chair at the look in his eyes.

Wolf clears his throat. “Radio has been looking into him, and what I can’t figure out is why he’s so attached to you, Clarissa. It’s been years. Why show up now? Did he only ask you out that one time? Did he say anything else to you while you were at school?”

I close my eyes as memories come to the surface. It wasn’t just one time. And after a while, he did more than ask. But I can’t talk about it. Not to Wolf, and definitely not to Ghost.

I open my eyes and shake my head, but I know Wolf doesn’t believe me.

“Are you sure?” he presses. “Anything you can tell us about him can help us find him and stop him from getting close to you again.”

I swallow before continuing. “It’s like I said, he asked me out and I told him no. I don’t know why he’s reaching out now.”

But I do know why. All he talked about for the last few months of school was how he was going to tour the world. Australia, China, Brazil, Egypt, Iceland, Chile, Indonesia, Peru, Tanzania, Romania. With every country he named, my hope grew that he would be out of my life for good.

But I knew as soon as I opened that package that my hopes and prayers weren’t answered.

Wolf nods, and I’m grateful he doesn’t ask me any more questions. I don’t like lying to him.

“Ghost, do you have any questions?” Wolf asks.

Wolf and I wait for Ghost to say something, but instead, he jumps out of his chair, almost tipping it over in his haste to stand. He all but sprints out of the office, slamming the door hard enough that the walls shake and a few things on the shelf beside the door topple over.

Well, that was unexpected.

I look at Wolf for guidance.

“You should go after him and talk to him about the details. My decision’s final. You need a bodyguard, and he’s the best we’ve got in the club. You’ll be safe with him.” He turns his attention back to the laptop on his desk. “I have some last-minute paperwork to do before the next run.”

I take that as the dismissal I know it is and leave the office.

I make my way up to the second floor of the clubhouse where the bedrooms are located and head to his door. I knock on it before opening it gently, trying to not piss him off more than he already is.

On the other side of the door, I come face-to-face with the same burning gaze I witnessed in the office. I open my mouth to say something, though I don’t know what, and I notice that his hand is bleeding around his knuckles as if he punched something hard.

I push past him into the room and find a gaping hole in the wall beside the door. Well, that explains the bloodied fist.

Without a word, I walk to the adjoining bathroom and grab the first aid kit from under the sink. I turn back to the main room, and Ghost is still standing there as though he is frozen. Except for his eyes. His eyes follow me. Though instead of the rage they were filled with in Wolf’s office, they now hold curiosity.

I glance at his knuckles again. I don’t have time to think about the look in his eyes. I need to get him cleaned up.

“Sit down,” I say, pointing to the bed. He quirks an eyebrow at me as if to question me. “Don’t look at me like that,” I say in reply. “I want you to sit down so that I can bandage your hand. Get your mind out of the gutter.”

Shit, I did not just say that to probably the scariest man I have ever laid eyes on.

He sits on the bed, still not saying a word. He doesn’t take his eyes off me.

I sit next to him and grab his hand to examine the wounds. I’m no doctor, but it looks like superficial cuts and scrapes. If the wounds were any deeper, I would have called for Eagle, a brother with a degree in medicine who patches us up if we are injured.

But for some reason, I want to help him myself. I don’t want to call in Eagle. I don’t want anyone to see Ghost this way. To see how he’s looking at me.

I clean his knuckles with alcohol wipes, dab some ointment on them, and wrap a bandage around them. I force my mind to think of only first aid. If I think of anything else, I don’t know what I’ll do.

His eyes stay on me, watching me as I pack up the first aid kit. As I go to push myself off the bed to put the kit away, his fingers graze mine on top of the bed.

I look up only to find that his face is mere inches from mine. It’s too close.

I go to pull away as fast as I can, but I trip over my feet in the process. Faster than I could have thought humanly possible for someone of his size, Ghost grabs my arm and pulls me toward him to stop me from falling backward, only to have me fall on him instead.

I look down into his eyes in shock, but he’s staring back at me with a heated expression paired with that weird smirk that he had earlier.

Before I can comprehend what is happening, I’m being flipped onto my back, Ghost hovering above me.

What have I gotten myself into? And do I want to get myself out of it?