Honey Whiskey (A Bastards MC Novel) (21 page)

I grinned. “You don’t look half bad yourself,
Mr. Doyle.”

He looked rakish and as dangerous
as James Bond, dressed in a tux that had obviously been made
specifically for him. It hugged his hips and long legs perfectly,
and the jacket accented his wide shoulders and large biceps. A
gigantic man any day of the week, Rob usually looked like the
quintessential biker or the carpenter that he was. Tonight, though,
his 6’3, 250ish pound frame in that monkey suit would make every
other man at the benefit look like he was playing dress up in his
Daddy’s best.

“Hawk and his girl will be here
soon,” he promised as he pulled me into the kitchen. Hawk told me
as we looked through dresses that he went to this benefit every
year in order to placate his father. He was sharing our limo and
table, though, to offer support. “You feeling prepped?”

I pushed my hand into my stomach
once again as I sat at the table. “Yes.” I nodded. “Well, I think
so.” Rob walked to the island and poured us each a shot. “What if I
screw it up?”

He handed me the glass and smirked. “You
won’t. But even if he doesn’t bite, at least you tried.” He tipped
his glass back and strode back to the counter to refill
it.

I turned my glass around, looking at the amber
liquid, too nervous to drink it. I felt like something was going to
go wrong, which usually wasn’t a good sign. The elevator came back
to our floor with a ‘ding’ and I heard laughing.

Laughing from more than two people.

A low whistle sounded from the hall. “Holy
shit! Someone cleans up nice,” the familiar voice joked. “And I’m
usually the one that’s overdressed.” He laughed. “You’re taking
pictures, right? My sister is gonna flip her lid when she sees how
you look with Barbie tonight.”

I’d done a ton of preparation for
tonight, but nothing could have gotten me ready for this. As Matty
walked into the kitchen, Hawk and his date behind him, and leaned
against the counter opposite my date, Rob scowled.

“
What in the hell ahh you talking
about?”

Confusion crossed Matty’s handsome face. “I
thought Cris went away and you were taking Jess.”

Rocker didn’t answer. Instead, he turned his
entire body towards me, arms crossed, face hard. His eyebrows were
raised in question, but he looked pissed.

Matty’s head turned to follow
Rocker’s glare. As soon as he saw me, his entire body stiffened.
The look of confusion mixed with fury made me nauseous. I pushed
myself to my feet, needing to touch him and make everything better.
I was almost to him, walking slowly in the death traps some
designer decided was stylish, when I offered him a small
smile.

“
I didn’t know you were coming
tonight.” It was a pathetic grasp at conversation, but I had to say
something to break the tension.

Matty inhaled sharply, his eyes
widening, showing me the dark blue storm clouds in them. “Yeah. I
can see that.”

Chapter 20

Matty

It had been a long fucking few
days. I thought things were good between us when I left Wednesday
morning. If I hadn’t had to get back for work, I would have stayed
in our room, wrapped up in her all day. Now, I wished that I had
just called out sick and stayed put, because things weren’t good.
They were fucking falling apart.

When Rob called and told me about
what happened at the club, I was pissed. My first call had been to
Jo, but she didn’t answer so I dialed Tank, just to let my brother
know that I was going to kick his ass next time I saw him. He’d
apologized, telling me everything that had happened. Not only had
he kissed her, but he’d also fondled her and slapped her ass. My
girl had stood up for herself like a fucking champ, but she
shouldn’t have had to. It was my fault I hadn’t been there to stop
it.

I’d called her every chance I’d
gotten from that point on. She sent me to voicemail or ignored
every call. Of course she was pissed, and she had every right to
be. She’d been telling me for days that she missed me, and I’d
promised her last year that no one would ever put their hands on
her again. It only made it worse that it was one of my brothers
that did.

I had to get to her, just to hold
her and tell her how sorry I was. I’d had Sammy last night and all
of today, but explained to Becky that I needed to drop him off
early because I had to get to Jo. She understood. Hell, she’d been
in my life long enough to know that I wouldn’t drop everything if
it wasn’t important.

I’d driven as fast as I could,
imagining I’d find Jo dressed in one of my tees and her ratty
sweats, eating ice cream, and lying in bed. I had so many ideas on
how the rest of this weekend was going to play out. All of them
involved the two of us not leaving the bedroom. I was going to love
every inch of her until she forgave me.

The woman in front of me, though, wasn’t
moping in bed missing me. No, her makeup was flawless enough for a
magazine cover shoot and her hair was up with curls dangling
everywhere. She was a walking wet dream. I wanted to pull her out
of her chair and carry her downstairs, not letting her leave my bed
until both our bodies were satisfied.

I saw the panic in her eyes as she
stood up and walked towards me, giving me a full view of the dress
she wore. If you could even call it that. There was more skin
showing than anything else. Material crisscrossed over her chest,
barely hiding her nipples, her breasts bulging out over the top of
them. Every single one of her sexy curves were on full display.
That was the only thing covering her top half and the bottom wasn’t
much better. A long slit up one side flashed leg with every step
she took, and the material just managed to cover the crack of her
ass.

She smiled at me, dark red lipstick making me
think about the only place I wanted those lips to be right now. “I
didn’t know you were coming tonight.”

“Yeah. I can see that.” I was
pissed. She would have known if she’d picked up her fucking phone.
I felt my anger growing as I watched her. She was every man’s
fuckin’ fantasy and there was no fucking way she was leaving my
sight in that. “Go change.” She raised an eyebrow, as if she needed
an explanation for my bad mood. “You’re not leaving here dressed
like that!”

Her face fell. “Excuse me?”

I shook my head annoyed. “I didn’t fucking
stutter.” I felt my lips curl in disgust. “You’re not fucking
wearing that!”

She inhaled at my tone. The entire atmosphere
of the room shifted, the air suddenly full of tension. Hawk and
Tabby’s quiet conversation came to a screeching halt. I heard the
uneasy shuffle of feet as they tried to figure out how to ignore
us.

Jo tipped her head back slightly,
meeting my eyes with an angry glare. “Yeah, I am.” Trying to force
my agitation down, I took a couple of deep breaths and then stepped
towards her. “What the fuck is your problem?” she hissed, taking a
single step back.

"Right now, you are. You and that
pathetic excuse for a dress! I've seen hookers that had more
covered than you do!” I lifted a finger, pointing it at her so she
would understand that the coming threat wasn’t an idle one. “Either
you go change, or I'm gonna carry you down those stairs and strip
you myself." I wanted nothing more at that moment than to do just
that. In fact, I had never wanted to take a woman over my knee as
much as I did right then. She swallowed hard, but her eyes stayed
on mine, defiant. I leaned in, lowering my voice even further. "And
when I'm done with you, you won't be able to walk for a
week."

Color rose in her cheeks, but Joes
was never one back down. “The last time I went out with you and
your friends, I looked like a cheap ass whore, and you didn’t have
a single complaint!”

“Yeah, well, at least you weren't
half-naked. I didn't have to sit around fuckin’ worryin’ about who
was looking at you, and who might try to put their grubby paws all
over you ‘cause we were right there, weren’t we? No one was gonna
look twice because it was obvious who you were goin’ home with, and
even more obvious who you belonged to!” My eyes narrowed even
further than before as I leaned closer. She wasn’t getting the
point. “Go. Change.”

She pulled back her shoulders,
straightening herself, as if ready for a fight. “Oh, for Christ’s
sake!" she snapped. “Rocker’s one big dude, Matt!” The sarcastic
way she said my name had me fuming again. “I’m his date! No one is
going to even look twice at me. And, unless you have other plans,
you’ll be here when I get home.”

My jaw clenched. “Joes.” I hoped she knew by
the way I growled that I was barely controlling myself. "You're
wearing somethin' else!"

“
My date said I look fantastic.”
She copped a major attitude, jabbing a finger into my chest. “If
you don’t like my dress, or how I look in it, then don’t fucking
look at me.”

“
You’re all anyone is going to be
looking at!” I snapped back, done having this ridiculous
conversation.

“Thanks!” she snarled back. “I’m
gonna take that as a compliment.” She looked at Rocker. “Now, if
you’ll excuse me, my date is waiting.” She tried to move by me, but
I grabbed her arm.

“
He’s gonna keep waiting!” I
looked over her head at my best friend, hoping he could see how
dangerous an interruption would be right now. He held up his hands
as if in surrender, backing up.

“
We’re gonna go see if the car’s
here yet and give you two a minute.” Jo snapped her head towards
him, but not before I could see worry taking over her features. Rob
wisely ignored her. “I’ll see you later, Brothah.” He nodded and
then they were gone.

I waited until I heard the
elevator doors close before I yanked her back so she was facing me.
“What the fuck, Joes?” was all I could spit out. I had so much to
say, but I couldn’t process a single thought.

“Exactly! What the fuck?” she
yelled back, shoving at my chest with her free hand. “Let me go or
I will kick your ass.”

I leaned close to her ear. “You wanna get
rough, Joey? I fuckin’ love rough.”

“Ugh!” she screamed in
frustration, and I had to fight not to laugh. “Let. Go.
Matty.”

I released her arm. Instead of
stepping back, she stepped into me, shocking the shit out of me.
Grabbing my shirt, she pulled herself into me. My body, already
tense from our argument, reacted instantly, and I felt myself
harden against her. I would want this woman until I died. She
tipped her head, looking up at me with perfect eyes.

“
I have to go, Matty. It’s club
business.” She shrugged and I suddenly hated that fucking term. “If
I had a different gown, I would change, just for you. But, I don’t.
I have to wear this.”

I searched her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me
you were goin’ tonight?”

She raised an eyebrow and shook
her head once, but that was enough to tell me she hadn’t even
thought about telling me, that I hadn’t even been a concern.
Instead she answered with the annoying, “Its club
business.”

“
And I’m a member of the fuckin’
club, Joes. So I can know!” I turned, pacing into the hallway and
back. “Don’t go. Stay here with me.”

She adjusted again, bringing
herself up to her full height—all five feet of it. “You know I
can’t do that. Your club needs me to do this.” She turned, walking
over to the elevator and pushing the call button. “It’s only a few
hours and then we’ll have the rest of the weekend.”

I was pissed again. “My club
doesn’t need you to do this shit! We’ve got it fuckin’ handled.
You’re doin’ this for Rob!” I sneered, fisting hands at my sides.
“I could make you stay, you know that right?”

She turned to me, eyeing me
coolly, and then pushed her shoulders back, making her breasts
jiggle and proving once again how fucking skimpy her dress was.
“Yeah, I do. But, I also know you won’t.”

The elevator opened and I reached
for her, stopping her as she stepped in. “Jo.” Even I could hear
the hard warning tone in my voice, the ultimatum there, but left
unspoken.

She stepped around my hand and
turned, facing me with pleading eyes. “I have to go, Matty. I have
a quick job to do and then I’ll be back. We’ll talk about this
later.”

Then the elevator doors closed,
and she was gone. My fists clenched at my sides. I wanted to hit
something. Fucking beat the shit out of something. I turned around
the empty foyer, mind frantic.

I needed a drink. No. I needed to
get drunk. Fucking shitfaced.
Can’t-even-walk-let-alone-think-straight drunk. I slammed the call
button and when the elevator came back up, I pressed the basement
button angrily.

There was no doubt about where I
needed to go. Throwing my leg over my Harley, I fired her up and
headed for the clubhouse, tires squealing angrily on pavement. I
needed to sit my ass on a stool and drink until I could forget that
Jo just left me.

Jo

I sagged against the wall as soon
as the elevator door closed. I always hate fighting with Matty, but
the look of disbelief and wrath he’d just given me was enough to
make me want to cry. I knew he wouldn’t believe it, but nothing
sounded better than taking off this dress and crawling into bed
with him. It was as if he thought I was choosing his friend over
him. If I hadn’t promised Rocker… When the elevator opened on the
bottom floor, I didn’t move. I could easily press the button and go
back upstairs. Except, I realized as I debated with myself, that I
didn’t have the key fob. Well, fuck it. The decision was made for
me.