My eyes travel further up her body and our eyes lock. It’s her, it’s fucking Josie. I grind my teeth, anger washing through me.
Quill must notice something’s up by the way I’m gripping my beer bottle. “Man, you all right? You look as if you wanna hit something.”
I snap my head over to Quill. “It’s fucking Josie up there, man,” I growl.
Quill’s eyebrows raise and he looks back up at the stage just as Josie’s performance ends. She’s picking up all the dollar bills she earned from the floor. Her blonde hair doesn’t make sense, but then it hits me that she’s most likely wearing a wig. I jump up from my seat and walk to the front of the stage. She must sense me because she slowly raises her eyes until they meet mine.
“Josie, what the fuck?”
Water pools in her eyes and she gets up off her knees, rushing off to the back of the stage through a black curtain. Without thinking, I jump up on the stage and follow her. Two men, both dark-skinned with shaved heads and arms bigger than my thighs, appear. They hold me back, each grabbing one of my arms and securing it behind me. I try to break free but these men look like they could lift a ten-ton truck.
“You better take your ass off this stage before I throw you out of this club,” the one to my left says, and I can’t for the life of me understand why he’s wearing shades in a club that’s already fucking dark.
“We got a problem here boys?” Quill says, my brothers behind him.
The security men immediately let go of my arms and curse. “Look, boys, we don’t want any trouble here. Your friend here is breaking the rules,” the one with shades says.
“Let my boy here out back and we won’t have a problem. You got me, brother?” Quill replies.
They both move aside and I take that as a green light.
I move past them, pushing aside the black curtain, and make my way down the hallway, coming face-to-face with a closed door. The sign on it says “Bitches.”
I push open the door and women are everywhere. Some shield their bodies, and others smile, turning toward me, not bothered that they practically have nothing on in the way of clothing.
“Ladies,” I say smiling.
“Can we help you?” one woman says, trying to conceal her breasts with her hands but not doing a very good job of it.
“Yeah, you can. I’m looking for Harmony.”
“The cute ones always want Harmony,” a redhead says standing before me naked, raking her eyes over me. She’s cute, but not my type.
“Where is she?” I repeat, growling.
“Down there to the left,” she responds, and points. I head further into the room and freeze when I turn the corner. There, with her blonde wig off and injecting what could only be drugs into her arm, is Josie.
“What the fuck, Josie?”
Josie ignores me and continues what she’s doing. She arches her head back and closes her eyes, inhaling deeply as whatever she’s pushing into her vein enters her bloodstream.
I move forward and kneel in front of her, shaking her, trying to get her to focus on me.
She opens her eyes, and her once lively brown eyes are bare of emotion. She looks at me with a blank stare and I tap her lightly on her cheek, trying to get some kind of reaction from her.
“Josie, it’s me, Hawke. What are you doing to yourself?” I ask, removing her hair from her face and pulling it back behind her shoulders.
“Hawke?” she whispers. “I thought it was you out there. What are you doing here?” she asks, giggling this time.
“You’re fucking high as a kite. What the fuck happened to you?” I question, shaking her shoulders.
She stares straight into my eyes and whispers, “You left me, Hawke, that’s what happened. You were my life, and just like that you walked out on me.” She’s clicking her fingers as she talks, her eyes glazed over by the drugs.
I feel winded, like someone just hit me straight in my gut. “Me? I’m the cause of this?” I growl, and pause to take a deep breath. It’s not worth getting upset. She’s high and won’t remember this conversation tomorrow. Right now, my head is saying fuck her, she did this to herself. But the good man inside of me needs to make sure she’s okay.
“Hey, man, everything good?”
I turn around at the familiar voice, finding Quill standing nearby with his arms crossed. His eyes then narrow in on Josie and he exhales loudly. “Fuck, man, she doesn’t look too good?” he mumbles, looking at the needle that has just fallen to the floor.
“Oh, look. It’s the big man himself,” Josie says, looking over at Quill with a lazy smile. “I saw you out there, I heard bikers were coming tonight, that it was someone’s bachelor party. You wouldn’t believe my surprise when I was told his name was Quill, and that I was to pay him ‘special attention.’” She starts laughing out loud. “Quill, getting married, now there’s a fucking joke,” she says, falling forward and swaying in her seat.
I hold her up and push her back against her chair. “You watch your mouth, Josie. He’s my boy and no one talks about any of my brothers that way. Now, why the fuck are you here?”
“Oh, Hawke, baby,” she says, running her hand down my cheek. Then she sobers. “I loved you, Hawke, and maybe I still do. When you left you took everything with you, including my heart. I lost everything because of you.” Tears start pooling in her eyes again, and she rests her head against my chest as she begins to sob.
My eyes flick to Quill, and just like he can read my thoughts, he says, “Take her home, man. It’s cool, don’t worry about me. I’m gonna check on Jasmine, then I think we’ll move this party back to the club.”
I nod my head once at him and pick Josie up bridal-style, grabbing her bag from the back of her chair. Looks like we’ll be taking her car if she has one; she’s in no condition to be on the back of my bike. Her head sinks into my neck and I feel her tongue lick me there. I pull away from her prying mouth and stop in front of Quill. “Thanks, man. I’ll take her home then meet you back at the club. Get one of the brothers to drop my bike off at her apartment. And Quill?” I state adjusting Josie in my arms, “no word to Luisa about this, you got me, brother?” I look Quill straight in his questioning eyes.
“Sure thing, man. Does Luisa know about your past?” he asks running a hand through his hair.
“No, she doesn’t. I plan on telling her soon, I just need to find the right time.”
“Don’t wait too long, brother, secrets always come to the surface.”
‘Will do,” I reply, and pass by Quill with Josie lying comfortably in my arms.
“Where are you taking me?” Josie croaks.
I look down at her, noticing her pupils are now dilated. Fuck me, I don’t need this shit right now.
“Home, that’s where,” I reply, walking out the room and back out to the front part of the club. My brothers are still there drinking, and cheering on the next dancer. They don’t even notice me walking out with Josie and that’s the way I like it. I don’t need any questions right now. I just need to get Josie home, and then I’ll leave her there and head back to the club.
Luisa
Walking through Beats nightclub, Jasmine and I search the club looking for Hailey, Tess, and Tristan. We spot them and they begin to frantically wave at us when they see us coming through the doors.
It’s so great to see Tristan here tonight, we haven’t had a chance to catch up since he moved back in with his parents. He lost his job at the editing company, something about no longer requiring more than two editors, and unfortunately Tristan was the one chosen to leave.
“Look, there they are,” I yell over to Jasmine, pointing to the group. The music is loud and it’s hard to even think, let alone hear each other.
Jasmine slides her hand through my arm and we make our way to the table where they’re all seated. Tristan gets up from his seat immediately when we reach them, and grabs Jasmine from my arm and hugs her, then moves on to me with the same greeting.
“Hey you, it’s so great
to see you,” I say when Tristan pulls back. He’s holding me at arm’s length, as though to get a good look at me. “It’s good to see you, Tris. How long has it been?”
“Oh, a couple of months,” he answers, smiling wide.
“Jasmine!” I hear yelled at a high pitch, and look over Tristan’s shoulder to see Hailey jumping up and down and clapping her hands.
Tess gets up and greets us both, moving Tristan out the way. I give her a hug, and then Jasmine does the same. Jasmine and I have gotten close to Tess; seeing we’re all dating members of the Blood Brothers MC, it’s only natural for us to become friends.
Tess is Blaze’s old lady. He’s hot! Blaze is from Barcelona and has a slight accent. Sometimes I catch him saying endearments to Tess in Spanish, and I have to say, it’s the hottest thing I have ever heard. He has chocolate brown eyes and dark hair that’s short on the sides and long on the top. He’s always wearing a white wifebeater with his cut over the top, his dog tags hanging out. His muscled biceps are covered in tattoos that Tess has done on him. Actually, that’s how they met in the first place. Tess is a tattoo artist, and Blaze went into her tattoo parlor one day to add to his half sleeve, and set his sights on Tess. As Tess explains it, it was love at first sight. Blaze was a prospect back then, and went nomad after he had a falling out with the club he belonged to in Barcelona, the Hot Heads. That’s when he came to the US and met the Blood Brothers, and he’s never turned back.
“Let’s dance!” Jasmine shouts as the song “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran comes on, and I gladly take her outstretched hand as we make our way onto the dance floor. I look over my shoulder and use my other hand to wave at the others to join us, and they follow suit.
Swaying my hips to the music, I run my fingers through my long hair and close my eyes, letting the music take me to another place.
Suddenly, I feel hands on my hips, traveling down the sides of my body. I smile thinking it’s Tristan with his hands on me, and I continue to move my hips to the music. That is until I feel something hard on my ass and freeze. I open my eyes and see Tristan and Jasmine in front of me, their mouths wide open. I turn around to face the man who has nerve enough to touch me this way, but don’t get the chance to say anything—one of the prospects, Torch I think his name is, slams a fist into the guy’s cheek, making him fall back on his ass. “Keep your fucking hands off her, unless you want another where that came from,” Torch yells as he leans over the guy.
The stranger rubs his cheek and puts his palms out. “I don’t want any problems. I’m sorry, I didn’t know she’s yours.”
Torch looks at me and grins. He’s got dark curls and green eyes, wide shoulders, and his muscles are screaming to let loose out of his sleeves. Torch gives me a wink before looking back down at the guy. “She’s not mine, but she is Blood Brothers property, so you don’t touch her. You got me?” he demands shoving his fist close to the guy’s face.
“Sure, man, sorry.”
“Piss off,” Torch commands. The guy, whose blond hair is in a mess, looks into my eyes with what looks like promise shining from their dark depths. I shiver at what the look might mean but let it go, not wanting to focus on him or his message for too long.
“Are you okay, hon?” Jasmine asks as she turns me toward her.
“I’m fine. I’m glad Torch was here, that guy gave me the creeps.”
“Do you want to leave?” Jasmine asks.
“Don’t be silly. I’m not gonna let that guy ruin your night,” I say waving her off.
Jasmine smiles back and yells, “Let’s get you a drink!”
As we follow Jasmine’s lead, Torch halts me by placing his hand on my upper arm. “You okay, darlin’?”
I look up into his worried gaze. “I’m great. Thank you, Torch, for taking care of him for me.”
“Don’t mention it.” He runs his hand over the back of his neck. “Anything for a brother’s old lady,” he says giving me another wink.
I blush at the term “old lady.” Hawke hasn’t actually asked me to be his old lady yet. But I’m not worried, I know when he’s ready he will.
“Thanks, Torch,” I say as I take my leave, and notice then that he has a phone in his hand. He lifts it to his ear. “Prez?”
I don’t say anything else, instead hurry over to Jasmine and the others, only to hear them arguing about who’s paying for the drinks when I get there.
“You are not paying,” Tess says, “it’s your bachelorette party.”
“I’ll buy her a drink,” a guy offers from beside Jasmine, as he trails his hand down her bare back. Jasmine looks gorgeous. She’s wearing a red halter-neck dress that ends above her knees. It’s tight around her chest but flows at her hips, hiding her baby bump. If you didn’t know it, you would never know Jasmine’s pregnant.
“Beat it, jerk,” Tess growls at the guy, and I burst out laughing as she raises her fist to him. The guy immediately pulls back and turns away, hitting on another woman to his right without a pause.
“Thank you, Tess,” Jasmine says.
“No worries, hon. I thought we might have needed Torch again,” Tess explains. “My treat. What does everyone want to drink?”
We all yell “Tequila!” except for Jasmine, who asks for a soda.
We continue drinking our drinks, and take a seat at one of the nearby tables. Jasmine can’t help but bring up the wedding, and we all laugh when she informs us Quill has agreed to wear a black tux with tails, and has promised he will get his boys to wear the same. I laugh out loud. “I don’t know how you do it, Jazz, but getting Quill to wear a suit, and the others, is just a frickin’ miracle. I must admit, though, I’m dying to see my man in a suit,” I say as I picture Hawke in a suit, clean-cut with his hair tied back. My clit throbs at the image.
“Well,” Jasmine says, smirking. “I told him no sex till after the wedding if he didn’t do this for me, and let’s just say he was soon agreeing to everything my heart desires.” Jasmine giggles as she takes her straw in her mouth, taking a sip of her soda and winking at me.
“It’s so romantic,” Tristan interjects. “The fact that Quill and you are getting married at your parents’ ranch. I must say, Jasmine, you picked yourself a keeper.”
Jasmine sighs and sits back in her chair. “I know, I really have,” she agrees, lost in thought as she stirs her drink with her straw and looks at something in the distance.
I click my fingers in front of her face. “Stay with us, Jazz, where are your thoughts at?”
Her cheeks flush, and I know it must be something dirty so I don’t push her. Thinking of dirty, I can’t wait to get home to my man tonight and let him have his way with me. He started something back at my apartment and I can still feel his touch between my thighs. I’ve been all riled up since, and I need Hawke to give me what my body so desperately craves.
We continue talking about our dresses for the wedding. Jasmine of course has chosen me as her maid of honor, and Tess and Hailey are bridesmaids. I’ll be partnering with Hawke, Tess with Blaze, and Hailey will be with Gunner. We have our last fitting tomorrow for our dresses, and Jasmine had them designed for us by one of the top dressmakers in New York, so I can’t wait to try mine on. She’s chosen a stunning design in silver silk that hugs all our curves, but flows at the bottom down to our feet. It’s a gorgeous dress.
I look up from my drink and notice heads are turned toward the club’s front doors. There’s a hush that surrounds the room, only the music breaking the sudden silence of the crowd. We all follow the crowds’ line of vision and gasp when we see Quill and the others walking through the club. Quill’s eyes land on Jasmine, and I see relief in her eyes when she looks up at him. I search behind Quill, looking for Hawke, but he’s not there.
Once Quill reaches Jasmine, he cups her neck and smashes his lips to hers, kissing her deeply. So fucking hot. He pulls back and smiles. “Sorry, baby, I couldn’t stay away,” he explains with his panty-dropping grin. I can see why Jasmine fell for him at first sight
.
They met at his father’s hotel. Jasmine was there to arrange flowers provided from her business, in the hotel foyer, and Quill turned up to have a meeting with his father. Jasmine owns a florist shop, and Hailey and I work for her. From the moment Quill set his sights on her at the hotel, he wanted her, and wasn’t taking no for an answer. I could see at the time why Jasmine had her reservations, even though she was attracted to him from the get-go. She’d been burnt before by her ex-husband, Nic. Nic was her first love, but ruined their marriage when he hid a gambling addiction from Jasmine. The truth came to the surface one day when Jasmine got home to a sign in her front yard, saying that their home was for sale by auction. He had lost everything of theirs. Jasmine couldn’t keep up with Nic’s lies anymore. She tried, but he was proving to be hiding a lot more than she’d ever expected. When Jasmine got divorced, she moved in with me and swore she would never let a man take advantage of her again. So when she met Quill, she fought their connection and tried to fight him off. But Quill was persistent, and with his good looks and alpha personality, he left her no choice but to give in to him.
Don’t get me wrong, Jasmine is a strong woman and can stand up to Quill, but she fell in love with him. Sure, they had their moments, like when his ex-girlfriend went all crazy and got Jasmine kidnapped, but that’s another story. All that matters is they’re happy now. They have a baby on the way, and they’re getting married next week. They are true soulmates, and I only hope Hawke and I will have our chance at the same kind of happiness.
Taming Hawke: Book #3 in the Blood Brothers MC Series Page 3