Honey Whiskey (A Bastards MC Novel) (18 page)

Feeling extremely self-conscious,
I slid away from him a little. Nothing about him scared me, but
better safe than sorry. “You don’t have to wait with me, I’m good.”
I gulped another sip of water and, aware of his eyes glued to my
ass, turned around, backing into the bar. It was the wrong move. He
seemed to take it as an invitation. Instead of moving away, he
stubbed out his cigarette and stepped in front of me, boxing me in
with his arms. “I’m sure Rocker will be out to get me any minute.”
I tried to mask the irritation in my voice, but knew he heard
it.

He only smiled, leaning down and
invading my space, and moved his head to my ear. “Naw, Babe. He’s
got his hands full right now. Won’t be out for owahs.” I pushed
against him but would have had better luck moving a boulder—he
acted as if he didn’t even notice my hands on his chest. “I, on the
othah hand, have the whole fuckin’ afternoon free.” He lifted his
left hand, running a thick knuckle down my cheek. “I bet we could
think of somethin’ that would fill the time.”

I moved quickly, squeezing out
from under him. The slap that followed didn’t hurt that much, but
it made me yelp and jump. Moving my hand to my ass, I whirled on
him. “What the fuck was that?” I spit out as I rubbed the spot
gently, trying to numb away the sting.

I got a glimpse of teeth that were
so white they looked out of place as he grinned at me
mischievously. “Babe, rule numbah one, if you’ah gonna have it on
display heah, it’s gonna get touched.” He twisted his lips and took
a step towards me. “Why don’t we go back to my room, and you give
me a sneak peek before you go audition for Rockah?”

I stepped back, trying to find a
way to tell him to go to hell without causing trouble. Not taking
the hint at all, he reached his hand out and, without giving it to
much thought, I knocked it away. Deciding that retreat was my best
option, I turned quickly, but a hand wrapped around my left wrist,
pulling me back and spinning me around. I didn’t think, just balled
my hand into a fist like Nick had shown me and stepped my weight
into the punch.

I’d aimed for the throat, like
instructed, but the brute in front of me lowered his chin when he
saw the hit coming. I don’t know who was more surprised when my
fist actually connected. He grabbed my right wrist as I tried to
back away, amusement, not anger, filling his eyes. Yanking me flush
against him, he laughed and ran his other hand over his
jaw.

“You’ah a feisty
bitch, aintchya?” The hazel eyes twinkled. “That’s not somethin’ we
see too often in heah. It’s fuckin’ sexy as hell.” His voice was
low and rough. Moving his hand from his chin to my backside, he
rubbed the spot he’d slapped earlier and ground his front into me
so I could feel just how much of a turn on he thought it was. He
was hard as a rock. “Don’t worry, sweethaht, I give just as good as
I get. If this is youah idea of foreplay, I’m all for it.”

Lifting my face to his to show him
I wasn’t afraid, I glared at him. “Back off, Buddy.” I shoved at
him again, but his arms were too strong. If he didn’t let me go
soon, I was going to murder him with my bare hands.

“Faahk, you ahh
hot!” he muttered absently, and buried his face in the side of my
neck, closing his teeth over the bottom of my ear. I narrowly
avoided the urge to gouge out his eyes. “Mmm. I want to taste every
inch of this body.” He picked his head up, lapping his lips as he
starred at mine. “My Ol’ lady won’t be back ‘til tomorrow. Give me
the word, and I’m youahs for the night. Let me be your first
Bastahd.” His voice held a pleading tone.

I couldn’t fight the look of
disgust. He thought I was a club whore! Not just that, this jackass
had a girlfriend, or wife, that he was going to cheat on. “I don’t
fuckin’ think so.” I sneered, “Let me go.”

His hold started to loosen, but
the sound of catcalls and woops had us both looking across the bar.
A handful of bikers, all wearing Bastard jackets, were watching us
as if we were putting on one hell of a show. He swore and turned
us, so his back was to them, sheltering me from their view, and
pushed my head down into his chest. “Fuck off!” he barked. I
couldn’t hear their replies because his thick hand was over my ear,
but a few seconds later, he startled me by roaring,
“Now!”

A few minutes later, his arms
released me and he stepped back, but enormous hands cupped my
cheeks and tipped my face towards his. “Sorry about that. Fuckin’
prospects,” he admonished, obviously annoyed. “You ok?”

I gapped at him. In the last few
minutes this man had spanked me, manhandled me, propositioned me,
and implied I was a slut. Now he was worried about how I’d handle a
bunch of obnoxious men staring at me? I started to giggle at the
absurdity of the situation. He shook me slightly, as if trying to
get me to focus. “Babe?” I couldn’t answer, the giggles turning
into breath stealing, side hurting laughter. Then his mouth was on
mine. I reacted instantly, laughter gone, recoiling violently and
slapping him hard across his face. He grinned. “Theah you
ahh.”

He took a step towards me, but I
held up my finger. “Don’t you fuckin’ come near me
again.”

“Hooolllyyy
fuuuuck!” The words came out in a slow, surprised drawl, stopping
both the moose and I dead in our tracks.

Chapter 17

Jo

I snapped my head towards the
door. A man stood in the shadows, watching us. All I could see of
him was a thick dark beard and wide shoulders. My companion had
turned too, nodding a hello. “Got it undah control,
Bear.”

Bear shook his head, “The hell you
do!” he snapped back. In just a few steps, he was in front of me,
inserting himself between me and the giant, gently grabbing my chin
between his thumb and finger, pushing my head back. “You ok,
Ma’am?”

The familiar face and low voice made distant
memories filter through my mind. “Ian?”

He looked like he’d aged ten years
in the last few months. I knew he was almost young enough to be my
son, but the innocent twinkle he’d had in his eyes had been
replaced by a cautious wariness that he shouldn’t have for years,
and dark black smudges underlined his eyes. He smiled in surprise,
and for a second I could see the handsome kid he’d been.

“I wasn’t sure
I’d see you again, Joey.”

It had only been for a few hours
one night last summer, but the time I’d spent with this young man
had touched me. I’d been out with Matty and the Bastards when a
brawl broke out—Cris and I smack dab in the middle of it. Ian had
put himself between me and danger, carried me outside, taken me
home, and spent the night trying to keep my mind off Matty. He was
brilliant, insightful, and sweet. He’d entertained me with stories
of his girlfriend, Ellie.

Then, only a few weeks later, he
and Ellie had been viciously attacked. I’d often wondered what
happened to him, and until this second didn’t even know if he was
still a Bastard. Thinking about it made my heart ache. Not just for
he and Ellie, but for me and Matty. That had been the worst weekend
of my life—the one where Matty walked away, breaking me.

I took a deep, shaking, breath, fighting the
tears.

He shook his head. “C’mere!” he whispered,
dropping my chin and pulling me against him. A nasty scar ran up
his throat and disappeared under his beard. A souvenir from that
awful night last August? Without thinking, I traced the red line
gently with a fingertip. I felt him tense immediately.

As much as I
tried to, I couldn’t stop the tears. He ran his hand up and down my
back, muttering comforting words. “I don’t even know why I’m
crying,” I sobbed against him. “Are you ok?” I mumbled as I backed
away from him.

He searched my eyes. “Me? Ahh
you?” He glared over his shoulder, and I could see the other man
watching us, confusion clear on his face. I nodded as I wiped away
the last of my tears and looked around. The room was still empty,
except for the three of us. “No one’s gonna hurt you heah. I
promise!”

“She’s fine,” Gigantor
snapped.

Ian’s eyes flashed and his face
hardened. “I asked her, not you!” The other man took a step towards
us, furry written all over his face. Ian turned, going toe to toe
with the much larger man. “Some things never change, do they,
Brothah?”

The look that crossed the other man’s face was
enough to tighten my stomach in knots. “I know I’ve been gone a
long time, but you’ah outta line, Kid. I wasn’t gonna force her to
do anythin’ she didn’t want to do.” He glanced at me and his face
softened slightly. “If you wanna talk about this more, we can go
out back.”

I stepped towards my friend, but I
didn’t look at Ian. Instead, I looked into hazel eyes as I
answered. “It was a stupid misunderstanding, that’s
all.”

Ian looked from me, to the other
man, and back, relaxing a little. He turned, grabbing a stool from
the table closest to us, and pulled it out before gesturing for me
to sit. He took the seat beside me and then kicked the third chair
away from the table slightly, pointing at it as he glared at the
other man. “Why don’t you two tell me what the hell I walked in
on.” He turned back to me. “‘Cause after what I heard outside, I
nevah expected you to be the one I found in heah.” I blushed and
looked away as the other man grunted before joining us.

Not taking his eyes off me, he
answered Ian. “I thought she was a new girl and was lookin’ for
some fun. I’ll talk to Rockah when he comes out and take whatever
punishment he gives.” Punishment? The words had me breaking eye
contact and looking at Ian to see if he was confused, too. “I’m
sorry if I scared you,” he said to me. I shook my head, trying to
convey that it was fine. “I’m sorry, Bear.” I could hear the
sincerity in his voice. “I didn’t realize she was yours,
Brothah.”

“
She’s not mine.” A scowl crossed
Ian’s features. “So you two don’t know each other?”

“No,” I
answered, sighing. I turned my attention back to Mr. Massive,
offering him a hand. “I’m Jo.”

He took it, swallowing it with his
own, his grip firm. “Tank.” My eyes widened in surprise.
Immediately, everything made sense. I could actually see some
resemblance to Barbie in him. I smiled, trying to tell him that
everything would be fine. He smiled back, the same seductive grin
he’d given me earlier, and winked. “So, if you aren’t the new girl,
and you aren’t Bear’s, what ahh you doin’ heah, Jo?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but
Ian cut me off, obviously annoyed. He tipped his head towards me.
“Tank, meet Mateo’s Jo. Or, as Rocker calls her, L.K.”

Tank snorted. “Quit fuckin’ with
me, Brothah. I’m not that fuckin’ stupid. I’ve seen pictures of
Mateo’s girl. She’s pretty and shit, but she’s not you.” He winked,
looking over my tight tank and dyed hair. His eyes roamed my face
for a few seconds, then they grew large and he sat back, paling a
little. “Christ, I’m a dead man!”

“
That’s what I’m sayin’!” Ian
nodded, crossing his arms over his chest smugly.

“You are not!” I
snapped at them. “For God’s sake, you didn’t do anything some
stranger at a bar wouldn’t do. And, you didn’t know who I was even
though I could have told you numerous times.” I waved a hand in
front of my face, dismissing their argument.

“We’ah not in a bah, Joey. What
happens out theah doesn’t happen in heah. We don’t fuck with
brothah’s ol’ ladies, simple as that. We view it the same way the
rest of the world views stealin’. Tank tried to take somethin’ that
wasn’t his, and he’ll go to Court to answer for it.”

Court? What? And back to jail? The
thought infuriated me. “I wasn’t scared of him in the
least!”

Ian shrugged. “Then why were you
cryin’?”

I sighed, exasperated. “I don’t know!” I
snapped. “Adrenaline? Seeing you for the first time since…” I
trailed off, but Ian understood. I swallowed. “No one will talk
about you! I don’t know if Ellie recovered. I didn’t even know you
were still a Bastard until I saw you ten minutes ago!” I rolled my
head, trying to work out some of the tension in my shoulders. “You
were the last person I expected to see.”

Ian sighed. “Doesn’t mattah. In this house,
you ahh protected above all else. It’s club business. When
somethin’ like this happens, theah are consequences.”

“It’s club business,” I mocked
childishly. “Jesus, you sound just like Matty!” I snapped at him,
sitting a little straighter in the chair. “In case you hadn’t
noticed, I didn’t need you to run in and rescue me.” I shifted my
gaze to Tank. “You’re not telling Rocker shit. I’ll talk to him and
then tell Matty when I see him. I’ll take care of it. And if either
of you do, I’ll deny it all. I have no doubt who they’ll listen
to.”

Tank shook his head. “Jo,” he started
cautiously, “you can’t…”

My fists curled in anger. “You
just met me. Don’t for one second think that you can tell me what I
can and cannot do or I will kick your ass!” I practically shouted,
suddenly pissed at him. “What kind of man cheats on his girlfriend
when he just got home from prison?” He started to speak but I
slammed my hand on the table. “Seriously? And, why in God’s name
would you think I was a club girl?” He started to answer, and I
slammed my hand again. “No! Don’t fuckin’ answer that!” His eyes
had grown wide, and he looked like he might be fighting a smile. I
narrowed my eyes.