Burning Desires (Blue Bandits MC Book 4) (13 page)

“Oh, well guess that’s more convenient but are you sure he’s capable? You don’t want her getting sicker because he doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Andy questioned, looking concerned.

“He’s great. He actually helped me with a headache a few weeks ago,” Kelsey told him, only stretching the truth a little, not outright lying to him. She’d had a headache the night he’d treated her after all; that just wasn’t the only reason she’d been to see him.

“If you’re sure then I’ll take your word for it but if she needs anything, tell her to let me know,” Andy said again.

“I will be sure to tell her,” Kelsey told him, knowing that she wouldn’t say a damned thing to Hanna because it would only piss her off. She moved down the bar a little to grab another beer and a whiskey sour for two women who called out to her, feeling a little twinge of guilt for lying to Andy. Not enough that she was going to come clean with the poor sap though. After setting their drinks in front of the women, she went back to where Hammer was sitting.

“Who’s that guy you were talking to? He’s in here a lot, isn’t he?” Hammer asked when she stood in front of him.

“That’s Andy and his friend Todd. They’re regulars here,” Kelsey offered, wondering why he was asking.

“He seemed sort of friendly with you,” Hammer grunted, looking a little like Burner as he glowered in Andy’s direction, making her frown. What the heck was wrong with Andy being friendly?

“Yeah, he’s crushing hard on Hanna and I think he drags Todd in every week so he can see her. It’s sad really because Hanna has no interest in him other than the credits she gets for the drinks he buys. He’s such a nice guy,” Kelsey informed him, wondering why he was still glaring down the bar at Andy. Was she wrong and he wasn’t as okay with her brush-off as she’d thought?

“Hmm, right. I’ll talk to Burner about him when he gets here,” Hammer muttered, making Kelsey frown.

“When Burner gets here?” she asked and Hammer turned back to her, seeming to look a little shocked that she didn’t know he was on his way here.

“Yeah, I called him when you got here and he wasn’t too pleased because he was on a run but he called a few minutes ago and he’s on his way here now,” Hammer explained.

“Why would you call him?” Kelsey demanded, anger stirring inside her over his actions.

“Do you really think I am going to get my ass handed to me because you’re here and I didn’t?” Hammer asked, his brow raised in question.

“The man isn’t my keeper and you’re here so why does he need to be?” Kelsey asked, her hands balled into fists that she pressed on the edge of the bar.

“Darlin’, you really need to understand that nobody fucks with Burner anymore. With the way he follows you around lately, you’re clearly someone he’s interested in. I’m man enough to admit I’m not pushing him on the subject. Sorry, but I like breathing too much to ignore the writing on the wall with you two.” Hammer let out a little snort as if she should have known all this and Kelsey wanted to slap him.

What the hell?

“That’s ridiculous. He just feels a little responsible for me because of tho––” Kelsey caught herself before she said what she’d been thinking and continued lamely, “Because of that mishap at the bonfire. He isn’t going to hurt anyone for not calling him when I’m at the bar.”

“I hate to break it to you, Kelsey, but Burner isn’t just worried because of whatever happened to you. That man is in knots and I can tell you that tempting him by not calling him yourself isn’t a good idea in the mood he’s been in lately. I recommend you do yourself a favor and when he gets here you apologize sweetly and make up some more lame shit, like that story about how he feels responsible for your safety you told me, in order to appease him because he isn’t going to be happy with you.” Hammer was leaning forward, his hands on the bar and his face contorted into a seriously grim expression.

“You don’t have any clue what you’re talking about, Hammer. I can’t believe you called him,” Kelsey bit out, her glower dark as her mouth twisted into a hard line. She wanted to scream at him to mind his own damned business next time, but she didn’t want to seem like a shrew so she let out a huff of indignation instead.

“Like I told you, man’s in knots and I like breathing,” Hammer replied.

Kelsey didn’t bother to respond; she was too pissed off to string coherent words together anyway. She moved to help another person at the bar, then proceeded to ignore Hammer for the rest of the evening.

Turning the water on high, she sprayed the glasses, washing the suds off them. She had been cleaning them for the last ten minutes. Her anger with Hammer had lessened some but she still wasn’t too happy with him. So far Burner hadn’t arrived and they were all locked up for the night. She might actually get to escape the lecture she knew was coming her way for not calling him tonight. She really hoped that he wouldn’t make it before they left because then she could lock herself in her house and ignore him.

Kelsey couldn’t figure out why Hammer had felt the need to call Burner and what the heck did he mean by ‘he’s in knots’ because that didn’t make a damned bit of sense to her. She was lifting the glasses and setting them into the drainer beside her when Brenda came back into the kitchen.

“Kelsey, everything is restocked and I gave the trash to Flame so whenever you’re finished, we can get the heck out of here for the night,” she said smiling.

“Great, I’m almost done here. Thanks for cleaning the tables tonight,” Kelsey replied, glad she’d asked Brenda to clean them because she didn’t want to deal with Hammer or Flame.

“No problem. Guess you and the hunky biker aren’t getting along anymore, huh,” Brenda asked, grinning at her.

“If you mean Hammer, then no, not tonight we’re not,” Kelsey flatly replied, setting the last two glasses into the strainer.

“Too bad, he’s a hottie.” Brenda let out a little giggle, making Kelsey smile despite her anger over Hammer calling Burner tonight.

“Yes, but he’s annoying too.”

“Ha, name one man who isn’t,” Brenda shot back, tossing a towel to her so she could dry the excess water from the counter. “I’ll grab our purses. Do I need to shut down the computer?”

“No, I already did,” she called after her, still cleaning the water she’d somehow managed to get everywhere.

Brenda was back by the time she finished wiping it up and they walked out of the back room together. Kelsey was pleased to see that Hammer was still here and there was no sign of Burner. She might get to postpone that lecture after all. Glee flowed through her as she exited in front of Brenda and headed to her jeep.

“See you Friday, Kelsey,” Brenda called from behind her as she headed to her own car.

“Night,” she called, climbing into the driver’s seat, her heart pumping fast. Her escape loomed before her only to feel a sinking sensation in stomach when she heard the roar of a bike pulling into the parking lot. Kelsey sighed before cranking up the jeep. She pulled from her spot, unsurprised when she saw Burner following her on his bike in the rearview mirror.  

Damn, she wasn’t going to be able to avoid the lecture after all. It didn’t take them long to make it to her apartment and Kelsey’s heart sank further when Burner zoomed around her just before she got to her place. He wasn’t taking any chances that she could get inside before he spoke to her obviously. Parking, she turned off the ignition, mentally counting to ten before she grabbed her bag and climbed from the vehicle.

Kelsey expected Burner to say something but he was silent as she got out from behind the wheel, shutting the door behind her. His face was twisted into an unhappy scowl that didn’t bode well for her. She walked up the driveway feeling her stomach twist as unease churned inside her. Burner took her keys when they were a few steps from the door and opened it, swinging it wide to allow her to enter before him. Kelsey warily went in, wracking her brain for a way to avoid the coming confrontation.

Burner shut the door forcefully behind her, making her jump a little as she turned to face him feeling the knots in her stomach tighten even more. Kelsey stood for a moment wondering what he would say, almost holding her breath as she waited.

“I believe that you and I made a deal several weeks ago, didn’t we, Kelsey,” Burner asked between his clenched teeth, his blue eyes tracking her movement as she shifted from one foot to the other.

“We did,” Kelsey agreed haltingly as she set her purse down on the end table.

“So tell me why I got a call from Hammer tonight instead of you,” Burner commanded.

Unsure what to say, Kelsey just stood looking at him for a long moment before she turned and headed into her room, trying to escape this conversation for a moment. Entering, she attempted to shut the door but his hand slammed into it.

“I’m waiting, Kelsey,” he growled, anger evident in his tone and the way he glared at her.

She watched him for a long moment before turning away again and walking to the dresser, taking out some sleep pants and shirt. An idea struck suddenly and she glanced over her shoulder at him wondering if it would work. He was stand-offish since he had saved her and it just might make this whole conversation go away, but it could backfire. Kelsey weighed her options; should she attempt what she was thinking or try to reason with him? Burner crossed his arms and glared at her, spiking her anger, and she made her choice.

“I have asked you once and I want a damned answer. Why didn’t you call me?”

Kelsey began to take off her jeans, ignoring him standing in her bedroom doorway watching. At first Burner didn’t seem to notice. Not until she was standing before him in her underwear that is.

Burner was livid when Hammer had called him to inform him that Kelsey had shown up at the bar tonight. He knew that her sister was sick and he wasn’t ticked off because she went in, just that she hadn’t called him. How many times had she gone in when he wasn’t aware of it? It made him see red thinking of her working and not having anyone there watching over her.

Tonight he’d been two hours away talking with a contact about some new information they were trying to gather on the Jackals, who were lingering in their territory. Reaper wanted to lock down what they were up to and had sent him out to look for information along with Pansy and Animal. Had Kelsey called him, he would have told her to stay near Hammer and that would have been that, except she hadn’t called him.

After the meet with his contact, he had ridden back here to confront her, barely making it before she left the bar. Outside, he hadn’t trusted himself to speak because he knew that when he did, it wasn’t going to be quiet and he wanted to do it in private, not with any nosy neighbors gawking at them from their windows. Not that he cared but he was sure she would. When they were inside, he silently scrutinized her and she purposely ignored him and his anger, which only pissed him off more. He was currently seething, his hands balled into tight fists, a muscle twitching along his jaw.

Kelsey was gathering things from her drawers and then stood with her back to him before she glanced at him with an odd expression on her face. He glared at her back until his eyes caught on her long legs. His brain slowly processed that they were suddenly bare and all the blood flooded from his head down into his cock. He felt like his mouth turned into a desert and his eyes widened.

Holy shit, were those black lace panties?

He almost swallowed his tongue as his eyes took in the curve of her ass covered only in the black lace. His mind wandered to the way that flesh had felt gripped in his hands a few weeks ago and the way those legs would look wrapped around his waist as he pumped his cock into her.

Fuck.

“Ar-re th-those black lace panties?” Burner found himself asking in a stunned kind of daze as he watched her turn slightly to glance at him. His cock pressed hard against his zipper and his body tensed as his eyes caressed the curves she’d revealed.

“Yes,” Kelsey replied matter-of-factly as if standing before him in only her underwear and a tank top that barely covered her upper body from his hungry eyes was perfectly normal.

Burner couldn’t seem to pull his eyes or his mind from the thought of tumbling her onto the bed that was so conveniently close and fucking her senseless. Except he had decided six weeks ago that she was too good for him or anyone like him. That meant he needed to get his mind back on the issue at hand.