Breaker Read online

  Her arms automatically went around my neck, and she melted into me. My mouth ran along the seam of her lips, and they parted, allowing me entry. She tasted like candy, and with one lick, I was addicted. I angled my head to deepen the kiss, and her sweet, little moan nearly blew away the last of my control. Before I took her to the nearest dark corner and fucked her, I forced myself to break away.

  The dazed expression on her face, coupled with her kiss-swollen lips and the way she was clinging to me, almost did me in. But I kept reminding myself that I first needed to stake my claim and get this fucker to stop harassing my girl. Then I could work on convincing her that she was mine.

  “I missed you,” I murmured as I slid her down my body. I locked our gazes, urging her to back my play.

  “Um, yeah,” she mumbled. Her eyes darted to the bouncer and back to me, dropping to my mouth before she licked her lips.

  I spoke quietly this time, my words for her ears only. “You keep looking at me like that, and I’m going to do a fuck of a lot more than kiss your lips and grab your ass.”

  A few whistles and catcalls broke us out of our bubble, and I gave her another quick peck before releasing her. Then I dropped one arm over her shoulder in a possessive gesture.

  The bouncer looked at me with mild irritation on his face, but there was rage in his eyes. His meaty hands were balled into fists so tight his knuckles were white. He came up the steps and glared at my girl.

  “Who is this asshole, Ireland?” he snarled.

  “Watch your tone with my girl,” I said in a low, dangerous tone. Ireland—a beautiful name that fit her perfectly—shivered, and I suppressed a smile.

  “Your girl?” he spat. “That’s bullshit. Ireland isn’t dating anyone.”

  I pushed Ireland behind me and took a threatening step forward. “Excuse me?”

  “Of course, she is!” A tall blonde chirped as she stepped up to my side—the drummer. “She just doesn’t broadcast her relationships.”

  “She’s been dating Breaker for a while now, Scott,” one of the other girls piped up from behind me. I mentally applauded her for her quick thinking—reading my name stitched on the back of my Silver Saints cut.

  Ireland slipped her hand around my waist and moved to stand on my other side. She looked up at me with an adoring expression. I couldn’t resist her soft smile, so I bent my head and brushed our lips together. “Been keeping me to yourself?” I teased when I pulled back.

  She shrugged, “What can I say? You’re all mine.”

  That statement was truer than she knew.

  “If you’re going to be here, though, I’ll make sure every girl around knows you’re taken.”

  Her possessiveness was cute as hell and incredibly sexy. She was seriously wreaking havoc on my self-control.

  I tore my eyes from hers and shifted them to the bouncer, who was still looking at us dubiously. Then he smoothed his features and zeroed in on Ireland, adopting a softer tone when he said, “You don’t have to pretend, Ireland. If he’s forcing you to say these things, I can help you.”

  A growl rumbled in my throat, but Ireland piped up. “No one’s forcing anything on me, Scott.” Her voice sounded piqued, and I smiled, amused because she was so fucking adorable.

  His expression said he clearly didn’t believe her, but he backed off, slowly descending the stairs. I caught a look between him and another similarly dressed meathead guarding another door who nodded. Seriously? He can’t be this stupid...he sent the same look to another man at the front door who also nodded. Yup. Dumb as a box of rocks.

  I considered dealing with them by myself, but I had Ireland to worry about. So I slipped my phone from my pocket and sent a quick text. Then I focused on my girl and grinned. “I’m Breaker—Sebastian Ross—nice to meet you.”

  “She’s Ireland Foster, and she’s very grateful. In fact, she’ll totally go on a date with you as a thank you,” the blond drummer announced with a cheeky smile.

  “That so?”

  Ireland's cheeks burned red, but she smiled and shrugged. “Sure. You’re pretty hot, and I already know you can kiss so...”

  I threw my head back and laughed. When my amusement died, I joked, “Is that how you thank any man who stands up for you?” I used a teasing tone, but I needed her answer so I could make sure she knew that from this moment, the only man she kissed was me.

  One of the other girls—the bass player with brunette hair except for hot pink tips—scoffed, “Yeah, right. I’m not sure Ireland’s ever been on a date.”

  Ireland tossed her bandmate a dirty look. “Yes, I have.”

  “Your mother setting you up with a country club snob for prom is not a date,” the bassist stated.

  Ireland rolled her eyes before meeting mine again. “Okay, so she’s mostly right,” she admitted.

  I raised an eyebrow.

  “All right, so she’s dead on.”

  I laughed again and winked. “I’ll tell you a secret,” I murmured. “I don’t remember the last time I had a date, so this will be new territory for us both.”

  Her eyes went wide, but they crinkled at the corners as she smiled. “Really?” I nodded. “Cool.”

  Laughing again, I reached for her keyboard and curled my arm around her waist. “We won’t wait up!” the drummer called out before all three girls burst into laughter.

  When we reached the bottom stair, I noticed Scott and his pathetic posse huddled in a corner, throwing us furtive glances. Sighing, I guided Ireland over to the bar and put her on a stool. I flagged the attention of Wendy—who I’d known since I was twenty because she was Scout’s younger sister. She didn’t come around the club often anymore because of how overprotective Scout could be, but I saw her around every once in a while when I was in this neck of the woods. Something her brother didn’t mind since it meant I could check on her for him.

  She lifted her brow, and I cocked my head in Ireland’s direction. After receiving her answering nod, I kissed my girl on the crown of her head and whispered. “Stay put for a few minutes, baby.”

  I left Ireland in Wendy’s care—Scout had made damn sure she could take care of herself—and helped the other girls load their van while keeping an eye out for my brothers. I knew Scott and his buddies would wait for me to leave with Ireland before they made their move.

  Just as I loaded the last amp, the ground hummed, and the rumble of motorcycles reached my ears. Spinning on my heel, I walked back into the bar and sent a sinister smile to the trio of idiots. It’s on, motherfuckers.

  4

  Ireland

  After my run-in with Scott between sets, I’d been dreading the end of the night. I knew deep down in my gut that the bouncer was going to push hard to get me to agree to a date. But then Sebastian had changed everything—and kissed me senseless while he was at it. I’d almost messed up several chords during our last set, something I hadn’t done during a live performance in years. The sexy biker’s kisses were lethal...and addictive. I was already looking forward to the possibility of another one when we said our goodbyes tonight.

  Turning on my stool to grin at Wendy, I fanned myself with a smile. “I think I’ll take you up on that offer from earlier.”

  “Yeah, I think that’s a great idea.” She pulled out a bottle of coconut rum. “But a Campari and soda isn’t going to cut it. You definitely need something stronger tonight.”

  I thought about how it had felt to be in Sebastian’s arms and had to agree. “You’re right. This is definitely a situation where liquid courage would be a big help.”

  She poured the rum over ice, adding cranberry juice, a wedge of lime, and a straw before sliding the glass my way. “Most people order this with pineapple instead, but I think coconut rum is way better paired with cranberry.”

  “You’re the expert, so I’ll definitely take your word for it.” I took a tentative sip of the drink and was surprised by how delicious it was. “I’ve never had rum before, and I can barely taste it. There’s just the faint
est hint of coconut to let me know it’s in there.”

  She tossed the bottle into the air with a bit of flair before putting it back. “Get ready for lots of new experiences now that you’ve grabbed Breaker’s eye.”

  I’d always gotten along well with Wendy when we played at McClaren’s and considered her a friend. But her talking as though she knew Breaker well didn’t leave me feeling very cordial toward her. I wanted to know what their connection was and how close they were, but I didn’t want to come across as a jealous witch over a guy I’d just met. So I stuck with a safer question along the lines of regular girl talk and less like me grilling her for information. “He said he doesn’t really date?”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with a woman, but I know how those guys can be.” She rolled her eyes. “But guys like Breaker move fast when they find the right woman, so brace yourself for warp speed.”

  I took another sip of my drink, relaxing a little at how comfortable she sounded with the idea of Sebastian and me dating. “Is that the voice of experience speaking?”

  “Not hardly.” She laughed and shook her head. “My older brother takes overprotectiveness to a whole new level. He almost blew a gasket when I took the bartending job here instead of working for a place owned by the Silver Saints.”

  Any lingering concern I had about her and Sebastian melted away as I realized what their connection was. “That’s how you know Breaker? Through your brother?”

  She nodded as she wiped the bar top down. “Yup, Scout is the VP of the Silver Saints MC.”

  A loud crash to my right interrupted our conversation. When I swiveled on my stool, I saw Scott and two of the other bouncers facing off against Sebastian. Several other men stalked into the bar, and I assumed they were all members of his motorcycle club based on their leather vests. “What in the heck is going on? And where did all of them come from?”

  “A bar fight, and that’s Breaker’s backup.” Wendy sighed and shook her head before she jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “Which means you’d better get your butt back here. Breaker would be pissed as all get-out if you accidentally got caught up in the brawl.”

  “Holy crap,” I whispered as I jumped off my stool and raced around the bar to stand next to Wendy. In all the time I had spent performing in bars, the only fights I’d seen had been minor scuffles with drunk customers that the bouncers had quickly taken care of. I could hardly believe they were the ones who were getting ready to start the fight now. And over me of all things.

  Considering the fact that I’d never been out on a date with Scott and had turned him down more times than I could count, their actions were beyond ridiculous. The McClaren’s head bouncer had zero claim on me and absolutely no right to expect anything from me if he managed to make it out of this brawl in one piece.

  My jaw dropped when Wendy pulled a baseball bat out from under the bar and handed it to me. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

  She jerked her chin toward where the men were all facing off against each other. “If things go to hell, aim for the balls.”

  “I haven’t used a bat since middle school gym class,” I cried, trying to shove it back into her hands.

  “I don’t need a bat.” She bent low and dug through her purse, which she kept on the bottom shelf. My eyes widened in shock when she pulled out a gun. “I have something better.”

  “You bring a gun to work?” I hissed.

  She flashed me a quick grin before inserting a magazine into the gun. “Yup, Scout would’ve made it impossible for me to bartend here if I didn’t agree to carry.”

  I had about a million questions I would’ve loved to ask her, but Scott chose that moment to mouth off. “You’re too scared to face off against me on your own, huh? You had to call a bunch of your biker buddies in for backup?”

  Sebastian stepped forward, his friends remaining ready for whatever came next while they held back and let him do his thing. “But it was never gonna be just you and me, was it? I clocked you signaling your bouncer buddies while you were pretending not to be crushed to find out that Ireland already had a man. Couldn’t run the risk of her getting caught in the middle. It’s my job to keep her safe.”

  “Oh, yeah? You must be doing a crap job of it then. I’ve never seen you in here with her before tonight,” Scott jeered, the other two bouncers nodding.

  Sebastian’s gaze shifted toward me, slowly moving over the upper half of my body, the only part visible from where I was standing. His lips curved into a smug grin as he focused on Scott again. “Looks to me like I’ve done a damn fine job, even from a distance.”

  I sucked in a breath when the bouncer stalked forward to get into Sebastian’s face. “I call bullshit. Ireland would’ve mentioned that she had a boyfriend, and she’s never said a word about you.”

  “When should she have mentioned me? One of the many, many times you tried getting my girl to notice you?” Sebastian shook his head and sighed. “Ireland is too damn nice, but I’m not. Take her rejection like a man, leave her the fuck alone from now on, and walk away while you still can.”

  I hadn’t had the chance to share the details of the trouble I’d had with Scott, but Sebastian had picked up on enough of what had gone down tonight to sound as though I’d been complaining to him about Scott for months. His tone was full of conviction, and if I hadn’t known he was lying through his teeth, I totally would’ve believed him.

  Scott must have been a tougher nut to crack, though. Instead of backing off, he decided to double down. “If you ever want to come back to McClaren’s, you’re the one who should leave. We have a zero-tolerance policy for fights, and I have no problem black-listing you and your biker buddies.”

  Sebastian glanced over his shoulder at his friends, and one of them shook his head. “Nah, that threat has no teeth. Once we wipe the floor with their bouncers, I’m sure the owner will be less than impressed with their performance. And you know damn well I’ll have the proof to backup whatever story we want to tell.”

  “That’s Hack. He’s not kidding. He could probably frame them for stealing money from the till or roughing up some innocent customers by doing a deep fake video or something,” Wendy whispered. “When the fight actually gets going, you’ll be able to tell who’s who from the club by the patch on the back of their cuts.”

  It was as though her mention of the fight starting sent everything in motion. Scott swung at Sebastian, and all heck broke loose. The guys from the Silver Saints moved like a well-oiled machine that put the bouncers to shame. Two of them moved swiftly to face off against the two guys Scott had talked into being a part of this mess. The other three moved into a triangle formation around the men, standing guard so nobody else could interfere.

  Once the fight was over—if you could even call it one since the three bouncers were shut down before they could do more than throw a couple of punches—one of Sebastian’s brothers, Patriot according to his cut, sent him a sly grin before asking, “What happened to the Silver Saints being a motorcycle club and not a matchmaking service?”

  5

  Breaker

  “Stop running your mouth and go back to your woman,” I grunted to Patriot, one of my MC brothers. He laughed and clapped me on the back before walking away.

  I looked around the bar and grinned at the lack of destruction. Except for the damage we’d done to Scott and his cronies.

  Satisfied that I’d removed the threat to my woman, I turned my attention back to her. She was standing behind the bar with Wendy. Ireland had a bat in an awkward grip, and her jaw was slack as she surveyed the scene in front of her. I was relieved to see only shock and awe in her eyes rather than fear.

  As I made my way back to her, Don, the owner of McClaren’s, walked into the room from a hallway that led to the back of the building. His expression was curious rather than angry, which was what I’d expected. Actually, I’d been surprised when he hadn’t rushed out to stop the fight. I was sure he had a security camera feed in his offic
e. Although, I hadn’t spotted much by way of security besides the two cameras and his bouncers. I didn’t like the thought of Ireland coming back here with so little protection.

  An idea popped into my head, and I glanced at Hack, who nodded, obviously having had the same thought. Don stood at the end of the bar, not far from Ireland, perfectly positioned for me to approach him.

  I fished a card out of my pocket and handed it to him. “Your security needs an overhaul. Let’s talk tomorrow.” Then I went around him and held out my hand for Ireland. “Let’s go, baby.”

  “Um...go?” Ireland asked, sounding confused.

  Wendy snickered and reached for the bat Ireland held at her side. “I’ll just take this in case you aren’t a fan of warp speed.”

  I wasn’t sure what she meant, but I only cared about what Ireland was thinking. “I’m going to take you home so we can talk before I take off.” It was going to be hard as shit to leave her and go home, but we’d barely exchanged names and didn’t know each other—excluding the knowledge of her body and the sounds she made when she was turned on. I didn’t know how she would handle me bulldozing into her life and staking my claim. That was exactly what I would do, but I would attempt to slow it down a bit for her sake.

  Ireland cocked her head to the side and studied me for a moment before she smiled and put her hand in mine. The moment our skin touched, it sizzled, but I also felt a sense of calm and peace descend over me. I tugged her close and dropped an arm over her shoulders, then I started toward the front exit.

  As we passed Don, I gave him a nod. “Want us to take out the trash?” I lifted my chin in the direction of the three bouncers in various states of pain, all of them still on the floor.

  He shook his head and sighed at the pathetic sight. “I got this. Be here at eleven tomorrow, and we’ll discuss your ideas.”