Desire Too Hot To Handle: The Bad Baker Boys: John's Story

by Tonya Brooks

  “You certainly can,” she assured him angrily. “Tell me where that no good, low down, dirty rotten, scoundrel Brett Walker is hiding.”

  Uh-oh. This couldn’t be good. A gorgeous pissed off woman looking for the chief. He really hoped she wasn’t an old girlfriend. Everybody knew the chief’s wife was a jealous woman and she wasn’t afraid to use her shotgun. “Uh, he’s not available at the moment,” Alan replied and glanced at the closed door to the chief’s office.

  She followed his line of sight and knew that he was in there. Before the deputy knew what she was up to, Danni quickly skirted the counter and made a beeline for the office with the young man hot on her heels.

  “Ma’am, you can’t...”

  She yanked the door open, stepped inside and slammed the door shut in the deputy’s face. When Brett looked up at her in surprise, she stomped over to his desk, braced her hands on her hips to keep from strangling him and gave him hell.

  “You low down, dirty rotten scoundrel!” Danni accused furiously. “How dare you get married and not tell me! That was the meanest, cruelest thing you could have done. How could you when you knew it would break my heart? You didn’t even have had the decency to call me. If I didn’t love you so damn much, I’d kill you!”

  Oh, hell. She was an old girlfriend, Alan realized when he heard everything she'd yelled. This could get real ugly. Maybe he’d better offer some backup. He rapped his knuckles against the door and opened it to find Brett holding the woman in his arms and damn near swallowed his tongue. No way was the chief cheating on Dizzy.

  Brett read his deputies expression and knew exactly what the other man was thinking. “Alan, I think we might need to put this wildcat in a holding cell until she calms down,” he said and sounded very official.

  The woman in his arms glared sheer malice at him and warned, “You just try it and see what... Brett!” She shrieked when he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. “Damn you, put me down!”

  He smacked her ass and she howled in outrage and began to pound her fists on his back as he walked past his dumbfounded deputy and entered the main office, one arm locked over her legs to keep her from kicking him. “We don’t tolerate trouble makers in this town, young lady.”

  “So help me, God, I’m gonna shoot you when I get loose,” Danni threatened and managed to yank a handful of his hair.

  Holy God! Another woman with a gun. The chief attracted them like flies, Alan thought as he watched the pair in amazement. The dispatcher and other deputies on duty were staring at their boss incredulously and didn’t have a clue what the hell was going on.

  “Threatening a police officer, resisting arrest, causing a public disturbance,” Brett recited a list of charges as he carried her all the way to the back of the room and entered the empty holding cell. He dropped her unceremoniously onto the bunk and got the hell out of there when she started kicking.

  Danni made it to the cell door just as it slammed shut and her blue eyes were flashing furiously. She reached through the bars, hands extended claw like, but he remained just out of reach and grinned at her. “I am so gonna kick your ass for this one,” she assured him.

  Brett laughed at the familiar threat. “I’m not letting you out until you calm down.”

  “Fine,” she groused, folded her arms over her chest and tossed the mane of blonde hair out of her face. “I’ll behave.”

  “Uh-uh. I know better,” he denied and knew she was lying.

  Danni’s smile became overly sweet and she batted her lashes innocently. “If you don’t let me out right now, I’m gonna tell your wife about the time that you and Lori James went skinny dip...”

  “You win,” Brett hastily agreed and unlocked the cell door while she laughed in delight.

  Danni jumped into his arms, wrapped her legs around his waist and hugged him fiercely. “I missed you like crazy, big guy.”

  He returned the hug and squeezed her until she squealed. “Missed you too, wildcat.”

  They both became aware of the fact that the room was so silent that you could have heard a pin drop. Still holding her in his arms, he turned and saw that his wife had entered the building. Everyone in the room was staring at her and expecting the worst. This should be good.

  A brilliant smile covered Dizzy’s face as she rushed toward them. Brett put the woman down and said proudly, “Danni, this is my wife, Dizzy.”

  “It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Dizzy enthused as she hugged her.

  Danni was pleasantly surprised at the warm greeting. Brett had always attracted beautiful women, but this was not the model perfect type he usually preferred. His wife was stunning, but she exuded a natural beauty from within as well. And she was dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a novelty t-shirt that his former girlfriends wouldn’t have been caught dead in. Danni liked her already.

  “It’s so nice to finally find out about you,” she replied and returned the hug.

  “I told Brett to call you,” Dizzy said and shot her husband an exasperated look.

  “You were somewhere in Europe,” he defended. “It’s not like you could just hop on a plane and come to the wedding between shows.”

  “I could have,” Danni said in annoyance. “One of the venues was flooded and the concert was cancelled. I was free that weekend and would have flown in for the wedding if you had told me that you were getting married.”

  “Well how was I supposed to know?” Brett complained.

  “You would have if you had called,” she complained yet again.

  “Alright, I’m sorry. I’m an ass,” he admitted in exasperation. “I should have called.”

  “Damn right you should have,” Danni said in satisfaction and loved it when he was wrong.

  “Brett, why is everyone staring at us like we’re crazy?” Dizzy asked as she noticed the peculiar looks they were receiving.

  “Because they think my wife just hugged my girlfriend,” he admitted with the bad boy grin that she loved. When his wife’s eyes narrowed jealously, he quickly announced to the room at large, “Folks, this is my sister, Danni.”

  A sigh of relief went through the room before titters of nervous laughter could be heard. “Thank God,” Alan said fervently.

  “I love that T-shirt, Dizzy,” Danni enthused. “Where can I get one?”

  “You can have hers,” Brett grumbled and really hated that damn shirt. It said, If I’d shot him when I met him, I’d have been out of jail by now. Everyone in town already knew his wife was trigger happy; she didn’t have to publicize it.

  Dizzy laughed at his disgruntled expression. “I only wear it to annoy Brett.”

  His sister laughed in delight at that. “You and I are going to be the best of friends.”

  “Yes, we are,” his wife agreed as she looped her arm through his sisters and began walking toward the door. “Now, tell me all about Brett skinny dipping with Lori James.”

  Brett groaned and shut himself up inside the holding cell. With those two on the loose together, he was a hell of a lot safer in jail.

  ~~~~

  There was a crowd outside waiting to get in and the club was already filled to capacity when the band took the stage for their first set. Since Matt was there keeping an eye on Cyn, John was a little more relaxed than he had been the night before. His oldest brother was the most deadly SOB he knew and there wasn't a hope in hell that the stalker could get past him.

  He was in the middle of a song when he saw a customer grab Cyn's ass and it seriously pissed John off. Tonight she had worn a black leather mini skirt with a pair of those ridiculous shoes that laced up her legs. She looked so damn sexy that he couldn't blame the man, but that didn't mean he was going to let him get away with it, for damn sure.

  There wasn't a hell of a lot that he could do about it onstage, so when the song ended John decided to use the opportunity to remind the customers, and the psycho, that she was his. “Y'all see the smokin' hot waitress in leather?” He asked into the microphone and a deafening
cheer went up from the men. "She's mine. Keep your damn hands off or this song is for you."

  "I judge by what she's wearing just how many heads I'm tearing off of assholes coming on to her."

  Cyn stared at John in disbelief when he started singing. They had done nothing but argue about this for the last two days. She'd been so mad with him the night before that she had made him take her home after the club closed, and she had slept in her own bed. Okay, she had tried to. John had picked her up and carried her to his bed where he reminded her that he had promised to keep his hands on her all night.

  And here he was, intentionally trying to antagonize the stalker with that outlandish claim. She was so going to kick his ass for this. There was no way she was letting him put himself in danger to protect her. Even if the stalker didn't try to hurt him physically, those tires weren't cheap and she'd really hate to see him do even worse damage to the truck.

  "Is that your hand on my girlfriend? Is that your hand? I wish you'd do it again. I'll watch you leave here limping."

  "Didn't know you were taken, Sweetheart," the guy who had grabbed her ass complained as she placed the drinks on the table that he and his friends occupied.

  Cyn looked him over carefully and was certain that she'd never seen him before. She seriously doubted this guy was the stalker. He was altogether too cocky to fit the profile. "I'm not," she denied as she collected their money.

  "He seems to think you are," he said with a nod at the stage where John was glaring daggers right through him. If looks could kill, he'd already be dead.

  Cyn glanced over at the stage where John was giving them the evil eye, tucked the tray under her arm and replied blandly, "He's my boss. It's his job to make sure no one harasses the waitresses."

  The guy winced as his buddies laughed and teased him about losing his touch with the ladies. "Harass, huh? That was cold," he teased with a crooked smile that probably had the college girls at his feet.

  They were all at least three years younger than her and obviously had a lot to learn about women, Cyn realized. "Naughty children grab what they want," she explained to the grinning group with her own teasing smile to take away the sting. "Grown men ask politely."

  His smile became more flirtatious as he queried, "So if I politely ask what you're doing later?"

  She laughed lightly and shook her head. "Wrong woman, Romeo, but the approach was much better."

  "Sweetheart, you don't know what you're missing," he assured her in a cocky tone.

  "My loss," she said with a wink and headed off to the next table to check on the rest of her customers.

  ~~~~~

  Brett and Dizzy had taken Danni to an amazing restaurant called Speakeasy for dinner and its jazz club had been really nice, but not her thing. She was hard a core rock n' roll chick and her brother had assured her that she would love the band at Ecstasy.

  "Now this is my kind of place," she said in genuine excitement as she stepped inside the club and heard the hard pulsating beat of a rock band. The unmistakable sound of a badass lead guitar filled the air and she could feel it resonating deep in her soul. Her hands tingled with the need to grip her own axe and play along.

  Then she heard his voice and everything tingled. It was rich and smoky with just enough rasp to make all of her senses come alive. Good Golly Miss Molly, that man could sing! She moved determinedly through the crowd until she was at the edge of the dance floor and was able to actually see the band. Danni was not disappointed.

  The lead singer was also the lead guitarist and Holy Hannah the man was hot! He was even more handsome than he was talented and she was awed by his sheer masculine beauty. "I think I'm in love," she sighed when the song ended.

  "Not happening, kiddo," Brett said firmly as he took her elbow and began to lead her to the VIP section. "He's taken." Thank God. The thought of his wildcat sister getting tangled up with a bad Baker boy was more trouble than he wanted to deal with.

  "Well, damn," she said in disappointment as her brother led her up several steps into a section to the right of the stage that had an excellent view of the band.

  Danni followed Dizzy to a table where another couple were seated and she introduced them as Matt and Harley Baker. As if the family resemblance wasn't a dead giveaway, Brett explained that Mark, who owned Speakeasy, and John, the lead guitarist, were Matt's brothers.

  "Damn," she said in amazement. "They do grow some gorgeous men in these parts."

  "That they do," Harley agreed with a huge smile. She knew John was a huge fan and he was gonna flip when he met Danni Walker. Maybe it was time to make Cyn a little jealous.

  It soon became obvious that Danni was transfixed by the music, so the two couples left her alone to enjoy it as they conversed among themselves. She wasn't anti-social, but she couldn't bear to miss a bit of the performance. Those guys were incredible. She hadn't seen a band this hot in a long time.

  When the Bad Boys took a break and entered the VIP section, she was so excited that she was acting like a total fangirl. Danni bounded up out of her seat and announced in her usual bubbly manner, "You guys rocked the house!"

  Recognition was instantaneous and John's jaw went slack. "You're Danni Walker," he said in awe. Holy shit! The hottest female guitarist in the world was in his club. Listening to his band. And she liked them! Holy shit!

  Brett stood and draped a protective arm around her shoulders and said proudly, "Guys, meet my little sister."

  "Holy shit!" John exclaimed in shock. Danni Walker was Brett's sister? How the hell did he not know this? The resemblance was there in their smiling faces. Well, Danni was smiling. Brett was giving them a warning look to keep their hands off. The hell with that. John wrapped her in a hug and said, "Girl, you are the shit!"

  By the time Cyn made it to the bands table to deliver their usual drinks, John and Brett's sister were sitting side by side having an animated discussion. A hard knot formed in her chest and she reminded herself that he had the right to flirt with anyone he chose to. They were not in a relationship. It was sex and nothing more. So why the hell did she want to claw the other woman's eyes out and snatch her bald?

  When Cyn leaned between him and Danni to place a drink on the table, John slid his hand between her legs from behind and wrapped his fingers around the front of her thigh. "Darlin', have you met Danni?" He asked in genuine excitement.

  "I have," she admitted and felt the tightness lessen a bit at his touch. Especially when his thumb began to gently caress her bare leg just below the apex of her thighs. If she shifted the slightest bit he'd know just how wet he was making her.

  "So this is your lady," Danni deduced as she noticed the familiar way he was touching the waitress. Lucky bitch. She looked up at Cyn and said enviously, "Girl, if I had a man like this, I'd make him sing me to sleep every night.

  "He does," Cyn admitted a bit smugly. "He even takes requests."

  Sensing the coolness in her tone, John realized that Cyn was jealous. The knowledge did wonders for his morale, but he wanted to assure her that she had nothing to worry about. Danni was hot and talented as hell, but she wasn't the woman he wanted in his bed. He leaned over and placed a tender kiss against the outside of Cyn's thigh and promised, "Only for you, darlin'."

  More than happy with his response, she bent down and placed a kiss on his lips before heading off to the next table. Suddenly the idea of him claiming that she was his didn't seem so bad at all. Lord, she had to get a grip.

  ~~~~~

  Cyn exited the ladies lounge and a hand snaked around her waist, pushing her back against the wall. A firm, male body pressed against hers and she looked up into slightly glazed green eyes. Uh, oh. Looked like college boy didn't like hearing no. Three hours and copious amounts of alcohol had made him stupid.

  "Hello, Sin," he said in amusement and placed his hands on her hips.

  "You really need to step back before this gets ugly," she said seriously.

  "What'cha got there, Chad?" One of his buddies asked as
they joined them, forming a semi-circle around the couple pressed against the wall.

  "A smokin' hot waitress in leather," Chad slurred as his hands started sliding up her torso.

  Cyn grabbed both his wrists and tried to shove them off with no luck. College boy might not be built like John, but he was still a hell of a lot stronger than she was. "Get your damn hands off," she warned.

  "What happened to asking politely?" He taunted and cupped her breasts.

  Cyn didn't have a chance to react before all hell broke loose around her.

  When John shot out of his chair like his ass was spring loaded, and vaulted over the railing around the VIP section, Matt, Brett and the band were hot on his heels. As they raced across the crowded room, none of them knew if they were going to fight a crazed stalker or hold John back from killing the dude.

  John practically flew across the club, adrenaline and fury pumping through his veins. He'd seen the guy grab Cyn and back her against the wall and a red haze had formed over his eyes. From that second forward, he'd been operating solely from primal instinct alone. There was only one thought in his head and it kept playing on a loop. Protect his woman.

  His hands shot out, grabbing the two men closest to him and flung them out of his way. His primary target was the loser with his hands on Cyn. He grabbed him by the collar and slung him backward into his buddies with a feral snarl of rage.

  Cyn stared up at John and was shocked at the transformation. She thought she had seen him angry before, but holy effin shit, she hadn't had a clue. Those blue eyes actually glowed and the fury rolling off of him was palpable. The man was practically breathing fire as he stepped between her and the college boys.

  "What the hell, man?" One of the guys slurred as he took a step forward. A firm hold on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks and he looked up into the forbidding face of the police chief.

  "Time for you boys to leave," Matt growled in a tone that raised the hair on the younger man's neck as he stepped between him and his brother. The college guys looked around at the angry men surrounding them and decided to take the big guys advice. Brett led them to the door with Matt and the band right behind them.