THE HARDEST YARDS (A BAD BOY FOOTBALL ROMANCE)

by Andrea Rose

  “Already got em. Four women, all registered massage therapists with proper licenses from the state of California. One of them is on a work visa but it’s all on the up and up.”

  “Keep looking. Tear this place up end to end if you have to,” the detective shouted.

  “I’m not my father, and this is not my father’s MC,” Break said with a steady voice. “We’re in real estate, business, I’ve got a stock portfolio for Christ’s sake. You’re not going to find anything because there’s nothing to find.”

  “Let them up,” one of the collared agents shouted, waving at the leather clad bikers. I could see Ash and Acre among them, shit eating grins plastered across their faces. “Not you two,” he shouted as I tried to stand. I dropped back down, my knee digging into the concrete uncomfortably as I held my hands behind my head. Tears were welling up in my eyes, and I could see Break wasn’t taking this well. His face was flushed with an anger I hadn’t seen in him since the day he kicked Jude out of the club.

  “We can play this game Shawn. I can have my people up your ass six days a week if that’s what it takes. Sooner or later, you’re going to fuck up. The Kings are a pile of shit and I’m glad to see them pull out of town, but if I find out you’re the ones who pulled the trigger I’ll have your nut sack on a platter and feed it to the goddamned district attorney.”

  I stared up at the man in the white shirt, his face twisted and snarling.

  “I told you, we’re legit. I don’t know who shot those fucking Kings up but good goddamned riddance. I’m just trying to run a business here. Now if you’ll kindly let me up, I’d like to get back to work.”

  “I better hear nothing. Not one fucking peep. I catch one of you so much as jaywalking and I’ll be so deep you’ll have to call a proctologist to pull me out.”

  “Thank you officer, may I stand up now or are you going to keep threatening me with sex crimes?”

  “Let them up. Everybody out of here, lets let these ‘business men’ get back to work.”

  The man stepped away, leaving us staring at the female detective as officers began to file out of the building.

  “I’m not letting this go Break,” the woman said ruthlessly.

  Break didn’t so much as honor her with a response, spitting on the concrete floor and watching her coldly as she followed the other officers.

  I didn’t move, waiting till Break pulled me to my feet before I finally breathed a little easier. The rest of the club seemed far more relaxed. Some of them more than relaxed. Penny came out from the back with sex-hair flying all over the place. Sure didn’t take her long to forget about Marlo… Turning, I started to say something to Break, but he cut me off with a finger over his lips. Everyone seemed to understand it but me, because it was that point I realized nobody was saying a word as the police filed out and drove away.

  ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

  I sat quietly, watching men scour the building. They went around pulling furniture over, bottles went crashing off the bar’s shelf, and someone was even unbolting vents on the air conditioning system that hung from the ceiling. After a few hours, the men had come back together near the bikes. One by one, they started the engines, an unholy cascade of roaring sounds filling the space. I leaned in with everyone else as Break was the first to say anything from within the ring of screaming engines.

  “Ears?”

  Acre nodded, holding up two fingers. He pointed over to the board room, then off to the side of the bar.

  Break smiled widely, standing up straight, his voice booming.

  “Ok, looks like we’re clear. Next time we get raided I want to know about this shit before I come pulling up. How the fuck did they get up the alley without somebody putting out the alarm?”

  “Dig was on watch,” Acre said, spitting in the direction of one of the men. All eyes turned toward a thin and lanky kid who couldn’t be old enough to drink yet.

  “I had to use the shitter…” Dig replied, fidgeting.

  “You’re lucky I don’t use you as a shitter,” Break said, his teeth bared. “I’m laying down the fucking law on this. Any asshole that leaves that alley without eyes on it is losing their patch.”

  “I’m sorry,” Dig replied, his voice trembling.

  Break ignored him, shaking his head.

  “Charlie, you and Dig need to get up to LA and check on our shit. The last thing we need is these fucks slowing down our work right now,” Break said firmly. Dig nodded, slinking away from the group with a second man I hadn’t been introduced to. The group was quiet as they mounted bikes and the metal steeds roared to life. Break drew the members in close. The echoing rumble of engines was oppressive, even causing the massive roll-up door to rattle in its tracks.

  A circle collapsed around Break and he spoke up, his voice barely audible even at close range under the cacophony of sound. “No talking business in here till we pull the ears. Charlie and Dig will drive up to the apartments and oversee repairs on our real estate, that aught to keep the feds off our ass for a few days. I need a few of you to stay here and make this place look busy. The rest of you need to fan out into the city for a day or two, then make your way to the dockside warehouse. We’ll set up shop there until we finish up the deal with Carcetti.”

  A few of the men nodded or gave the thumbs up.

  “Jude fucking sold us out, didn’t he?” Acre asked, voice growling with anger. “I’ll tie his dick around a fucking chainsaw.”

  “Maybe he did, maybe the Kings did, the important thing here is we don’t lose our fucking cool. Keep your nose clean and we get out of this. The shipment is hitting and I’ll be damned if we’re going to let some rat fuck it up for us. We need all bodies to get this shipment off. Get in touch with the Italians and tell them we need to shift the drop north, they’ll know what to do.”

  My ears split as a pair of motors roared and I found myself watching Dig and Charlie roll out before snapping my attention back on Break.

  “There’s no time for a change Break, you know this shit is going down…” Acre said, gnashing his teeth.

  “We’ll make it work. This isn’t our first fucking rodeo,” Break responded, patting Acre on the back. “I’ll see you up by the dockside.”

  Acre nodded, waving a hand around above his head. The men pulled away from Break, mounting bikes and bringing their engines roaring to life.

  “Roll out people. Penny, you ride with Acre. Somebody tell the girls in back we’re gonna be out for a few days and ask them to behave themselves.”

  Break turned to me, finally noticing the tears on my face. “It’s fine sweetheart, you ride with me. I promise it’s gonna be ok.”

  “You heard the boss, roll the fuck out,” Acre shouted, his voice booming. Break lifted me up, planting me on the seat of his rumbling black and chrome custom hog, throwing his own leg over and kicking back the stand. His hand gave a little circular motion in the air as I pulled the spare helmet over my head, buckling it under my chin. Together, we boomed out into the night, the club splitting up as we reached the edge of the alley. I tucked in tight to Break as we went our own way. It took awhile before I realized we weren’t heading for the dock. Part of me wanted to ask Break where exactly we were going, but the blasting wind and roaring engine made any conversation impossible. I drew myself even harder against his body, my arms cold in the rushing air. Break’s hand reached down, giving my leg a firm squeeze as if to reassure me as we hit the freeway.

  Oh my God!

  My mind cried out as Break swung the big bike between lanes, tearing through nearly stopped rush hour traffic at high speed. I slammed my eyes shut, adrenaline rushing through my body as he expertly threaded the needle, taking us impossibly quickly across town. Everything about this was wrong. I couldn’t look, couldn’t bring myself to watch, my head pressed itself hard against Break’s back as my heart beat straight out of my chest. Where could we be going? What in the hell was Break doing?

  Soon enough, we pulled off the freeway, veering down
a side street as I opened my eyes. The bike swung left across traffic and into a parking lot. Wide eyed, I stared at the big building almost in disbelief. A steakhouse? My stomach rumbled. We’d skipped breakfast and lunch was ruined by the police raid… Had Break seriously put our lives in danger so he could grab something to eat? Against every fear and anger welling up inside me, something even stranger bubbled to the surface. I started to laugh. I’d never felt so alive.

  “Sorry sweetheart, had to lose the tail before we head out to the dockside again, and I thought you might want something to put in your belly.”

  “Tail?”

  “Unmarked cruiser. Probably want to see where I’m heading. So, you hungry?

  “We did miss breakfast…”

  “Speak for yourself, I had the best goddamned breakfast ever,” Break said, a shit eating grin flashing pearly white teeth. My face flushed red as he stepped off the bike, pulling me along with him. “C’mon, this place has the best filet this side of Texas.”

  I threw my helmet over the handlebar and took his hand. For a brief moment as we walked up to the steakhouse, I felt… Normal. Just a woman and her man, out for an early dinner.

  “Table for two?” the young girl at the counter asked as we stepped inside.

  “Yes…. Table for two.” I responded, gripping Break’s hand even tighter.

  Maybe this is my new normal. I thought to myself.

  ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

  “You seem bothered,” Break said, sitting down on a large rose colored booth, pulling me to the in next to him.

  “I’m just overwhelmed. It’s been a long day,” I replied, letting out a deep sigh. Long wasn’t really the right word for it. If I wasn’t so sure of my grip on reality I’d be checking myself into an asylum.

  “Just relax sweetheart. Get comfortable, enjoy the food and enjoy the company.”

  I stared at his lips as he curved them into a smile. His hand landed atop mine below the table, giving me a reassuring squeeze. I’m almost ashamed to admit I melted. His touch sent shivers straight up my arm. I closed my eyes, imagining Break’s touch spreading out from my fingers, exploring. My own smile grew, and I took a deep breath before opening my eyes again, gazing into his, exploring.

  The waiter came by to take an order, and quickly a glass of wine arrived for both of us.

  “Tell me everything is going to be ok,” I whispered, a little wave of fear overcoming me as I sipped my wine.

  “I need you to know Callie, that I don’t do anything half-cocked. Things might get a little rough, but we’ll come out on top.”

  “Are we still talking about business, or sex?”

  “Maybe a little of both,” Break said, laughing. “Tonight though, how about we don’t worry business? Do you have any idea what you do to me? You and those goddamned puppy dog eyes?”

  I shook my head downing a large mouthful of the cool and lightly sweet riesling. I was going to need more wine. “You’re not so bad yourself…”

  I smiled, but I was already regretting saying anything. I felt like a school girl on her first date. My thighs pressed together, trying to force away my feelings.

  “You know, I haven’t been on a real date in years. I hope I’m doing this right.” I said, staring down at the table. Break laughed, his hand moving over to my thigh and giving it a nice squeeze. Electricity was firing from his fingers and all I could think of was the way those hands felt when they touched me everywhere else… Part of me wanted him to drop the gentleman act, to rip my top off and slide his hands up my sides, to grab my tits and bend me over the table and fuck me senseless right in front of God and everybody just like he did back at the clubhouse.

  I sucked in a little breath as my eyes focused and saw Break gazing at me, a gleam of lust shattering all pretenses between us. It was focused and directed, a raw desire for me and only me.

  “Stop looking at me like that,” I said hesitantly, squirming in my seat. His hand slid up my thigh higher, inward.

  “Like what?”

  His voice was low and growling, primal and sexy and full of purpose. I couldn’t stop this. I didn’t want to stop this…

  I flinched away from him as the waiter reappeared, large plates balanced on a wide platter. He lay them down and my mouth watered. Pan seared steak encrusted with an insanely delicious looking mushroom concoction, sitting over spears of asparagus. I sliced the smallest sliver off the steak, the soft perfectly cooked piece of meat practically melting in my mouth. I let the taste roll over my tongue, savoring the flavor, letting off a little moan in pleasure.

  Break smiled, carving into his own filet. "Do you know how sexy it is to watch a beautiful woman properly take control of her meat?”

  Sexy?

  My heart raced as I carved off another thin slice. “What do you mean, Break?” I said, smiling as I slipped the food into my mouth, letting my tongue catch it and draw it in. It felt nice to be flirting like this, pretending I hadn’t spent part of my day terrified that I was about to go to prison.

  “You’re savoring it, taking it slow, and appreciating every little bite. That’s living in the moment Callie. I love the way you show your respect for the flesh.”

  “Are we still talking about steak?” I said, laughing. Break laughed too, and it was nice to hear the sound mixing with my own.

  “I know the last few days have been crazy, but, thank you Break… I’m really enjoying this.”

  I let my hand stroke his arm lightly, sliding in. Break took my lead, and we came together. The kiss was slow and pleading, but there was something more behind it, something animal. I loved the way Break’s lips felt on mine, the way they wrapped my lip and gave it just the lightest of suction.

  “Wow…” I whispered, pulling away. Break smiled, trying to return to his neglected steak. I didn’t let him. I kissed him again and this time there was nothing soft and delicate about it. Our lips met, my tongue reaching out to search the edges of his mouth, running across the corner, edging along his teeth, fencing with his own tongue for dominance. A moan escaped me as I straddled him right there in the booth, grabbing his head with both hands and making out like a teenager in heat. Break’s hand ran through my hair, drawing me in tight as I felt the growing bulge beneath my thigh. That only made me hotter, but the sensation that we were being watched made me pull away…

  “God damn sweetheart… I thought you were hungry,” Break panted as I slipped off his lap. An elderly couple glared at us from across the room and I flashed them a big smile.

  “I am hungry…”

  “We’ll get to that, I give you my goddamned word.”

  “We’d better,” I replied, carving at my steak. Some small part of me was still worried about the disasters yet to come, but I was finally coming to terms with it all. Break made things better. As long as I stuck with him, it was going to be ok…

  “Patience baby, patience.”

  Maybe he can tame me.

  “Come find me in the bathroom and I’ll show you how patient I am,” I whispered, slipping out of the booth and walking away, my hips swaying. For a moment, it seemed like he might not be following…

  Maybe not. I thought to myself as I listened to the crash of his boots approaching.

  I let him in, locking the door behind us. He didn’t even have a chance to say a word before I’d forced him up against the inside of the door and fell to my knees, the tile ever so slightly painful, but the sensation lost in a sea of desire. I wasn’t waiting any longer.

  “Make me cum down your pretty little throat sweetheart…”

  I shivered, my fingers tugging at his belt, ripping at his jeans and getting them zipped down enough to pull them over his hips. As if on command, his cock sprang forward in all its magnificence. I brought my mouth toward it almost painfully slowly, arching my back and looking up at his eyes even as my tongue slipped down along his shaft. My breath danced over him, and he twitched in my hands, letting out a loud groan. His thighs were tense, every muscle in his body
on edge.

  “Relax…” I whispered, slipping him into my mouth and sliding downward, my tongue pressed against the underside of his enormous girth. I pulled free again, smiling. “Let me make you cum… Just close your eyes Break.”

  He leaned his head back, gasping as I engulfed him once again. I took him deep, gagging ever so slightly on the head before retreating to lightly nibble on the tip. His body slumped against the door, my mouth working its magic. I loved giving head, I always had. No boyfriend had ever been able to resist me.

  “Where did you learn to suck cock like that?” Break whispered. I just smiled and threw myself into the job even harder. He had no idea what I could do. My mouth was practically designed for pleasure. My tongue undulated lightly, slipping along the length of his shaft with every deep stroke, his hips beginning to respond to my movements. I hummed and moaned against him even as he started to thrust, and that only drove him wilder as he fucked my mouth.

  I needed him more than I needed air. I let him go deep, taking him into my throat and choking me until my vision began to draw into a tunnel. I pulled back carefully for a breath, but Break pressed forward again, his hands reaching down to grip my hair. Things were becoming less and less controlled. His cock slammed deep into my throat again and again, my gasping gagging mouth slurping and sliding along him even as my own hands found their way into my pants, a single finger dancing across my clit. I wanted it so bad. I wanted him to cum in my mouth. I wanted to swallow him whole… To drown in his essence… I moaned hard, each stroke met with enthusiasm and joy even as pleasure shattered my existence. An orgasm rolled over my body, every muscle quivering in delight as Break used my mouth, desperately swallowing against him as his thick cock throbbed and pulsed a huge load right down toward my belly…

  “Jesus Callie…” Break whispered, staring down at me with his breath coming in short gasps. His cock was still twitching, just the faintest of pulses splashing the last of him across my tongue. He might have thought we were finished, but I knew I could get him off again. His cock tasted better than anything on the menu in this little steakhouse, and I knew exactly how to savor it.