“Sounded like some huge guy was bothering you in the restroom.”
I frowned, not remembering that at all. I did recall dancing with a big guy, and then later with a twink with pink hair. But I didn’t remember being in the bathroom. I couldn’t believe how drunk I’d gotten.
“But why didn’t Cane just let Hung take me home?” I asked, wondering how much of an ass I’d made of myself. I hadn’t spoken to Cane since that night at the club. Every time I’d seen him, he’d disappeared a moment later. Was he avoiding me? God, had I made a move on him again? I covered my face with my hands.
“Stop worrying. I’m sure Cane took you home because he didn’t like seeing you with a guy all over you.”
I shook my head. “No. Hung had probably gone to a back room with somebody. Cane took me home because he’s a good guy. Oh, God, I’m so embarrassed.”
“Stop,” Nick said, prying my hands from my face. “Tony, you did nothing wrong at the club or the night you crawled into Cane’s bed, for that matter.”
I winced.
“You didn’t!” Nick insisted. “It’s not like he gave you some pity fuck. He wanted to fuck you, or he wouldn’t have done it. And surely you’ve noticed he’s a loner with serious social skill problems. No wonder he doesn’t want to get involved with someone. It’s not like he’s been dating anyone since he’s been here.”
I relaxed a little. “You really think so? I mean, the part about me doing nothing wrong.”
“Of course. If anything, you were the better man for wanting something more with the sex. It’s his loss, my friend.”
I smiled a little tremulously. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. You act like you have no idea how fucking hot you are, not to mention what a great guy you are. Have some confidence in yourself. If I wasn’t into big, tough men who call me ‘boy,’ I’d go after you myself.”
I laughed. “I’m glad I didn’t know this before; I probably would have run off somewhere to hide.”
“That needs to change. Like I said, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You think he didn’t enjoy every minute of what you two did together?”
I felt my cheeks warming, knowing Cane had and not wanting to think about it because it was both arousing and confusing.
“Okay. I see your point.”
****
Thunder cracked and lightning lit up the sky. The weather had turned unseasonably warm in the last day as a front moved through bringing dangerous thunderstorms with it. Hung snored softly in the next bed, undisturbed when the house shook like the wind was going to tear it from its foundation.
My bedroom door opened a crack.
“Tony?”
“Nick?”
He walked into the dark room. “Can I sleep with you? Skitz is on the couch.”
“Of course. I pushed the sheet and blanket aside while he stripped out of his clothes. A moment later he burrowed under the covers with me.
“I thought you went home hours ago.” I turned onto my side to face Nick.
“I found a mistake in the books. I just finished ten minutes ago and raced across the backyard while the sky pelted me with balls of pea-sized hail. I tried sleeping in the big chair, but it’s uncomfortable as hell.”
“I’m glad you didn’t try driving home in this,” I said.
“I don’t even like to drive in the dark,” Nick admitted. The room lit up with lightning and seconds later a boom of thunder made both Nick and me jump. “I hate storms!” Nick’s muffled words came from under the covers.
“If I wasn’t here, would you have jumped into bed with Hung?” I quietly teased.
“Uh, no. I would’ve taken your bed.”
“I’m surprised he’s even here, to be honest.”
Another loud boom of thunder made Nick jerk under the blankets.
“Where does he go?” he whispered.
“I don’t know. Ever since Blaze banned him from having overnight guests here, I guess he’s been hooking up somewhere else.”
Nick made a huffing sound in the dark just before another crack of thunder had him moving closer to me. “The storm’s close. It’s lightning and thundering practically at the same time.”
Wanting to distract him, I said, “You were saying yesterday that something’s missing in your relationship with Royce. Is it too private to tell me what it is?”
“No, I can tell you. Royce is a good Daddy. He’s sweet and considerate and very careful with me. It’s nice, but sometimes that’s not what I want.” He paused, and I lay waiting for him to continue. When he did, I had to lean closer to hear. “Sometimes I want him to be more, I don’t know, strict? I get that I can be a bit of a brat, but Royce doesn’t react to it the way I’d like him to.”
“How does he react?” I asked.
“He tells me I’m being unreasonable and to go think about whatever it was I did before coming back to talk to him. I’ve thrown full-out tantrums, and he’s done nothing more than given me a disappointed look and told me to go sit in the corner and calm down.”
“What would you rather him do?” I asked, curious.
Nick was quiet so long, I thought maybe he wasn’t going to answer.
“I want him to react,” he finally said before clamming up on the subject.
The storm continued, and I snuggled with Nick while it raged. He really did seem terrified, shivering like the little dog I’d had as a kid used to do when it stormed.
When the tempest finally subsided, rain easing and muted thunder rolling off into the distance, Nick finally fell asleep, but I lay awake thinking about what he’d said about Royce not being everything he needed. Seemed to me he shouldn’t have to settle, but who was I to give advice? I wasn’t seeing anyone at all because I was hung up on someone I couldn’t have.
Why was I so attracted to Cane Winters? Sure, he was gorgeous: tall, with loads of muscles, dark hair, and steely blue eyes surrounded by dark lashes. But he was also surly and unsociable, and sometimes he didn’t seem to be able to string an intelligent sentence together, which was an act—I was sure of it. Only, why?
I sighed. It wasn’t my job to figure out Cane and why he was the way he was. Anyway, I’d promised myself when I came home that I’d put him out of mind, but that would be easier if he’d not do nice things like save me from jerks at the club.
My head hurt, and I finally let the rain pattering on the roof, Hung’s soft snores, and Nick’s warm presence beside me lull me to sleep.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Cane
“What did you find out?” Karl asked, flicking cigar ash into a glass of half-drunk whiskey. His shirt was unbuttoned and silk tie pulled away from his collar. When I didn’t immediately answer, he said, “You went to the club, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I went. It was packed.”
“Entertainment?”
“Pole dancing.”
I’d thought and thought about how I could present The Yellow Banana in a bad light, but the place was perfect for what Karl had in mind, and I was pretty sure he already knew that. He was testing me, and I had to pass the test.
Karl’s lips pursed in thought. “The waiters do lap dances?”
“Some do. A little action on the side, too, but no pressure from management. Seems to be employees’ choice.”
“Fucking perfect.”
“I don’t think they’re hiring though.”
Karl waved that away. “We’ll get Evan in there. Maybe Sam. Word will spread, and After Hours will have more business than we can handle.”
I nodded, mind drifting to the way Tony had danced at the club, arms in the air, hips swiveling. I shook myself and tuned back into what Karl was saying.
“—a better website. This one’s trash.”
“Sure,” I said.
“You know anyone you trust who can set one up for me?”
Not that I would recommend to you, I thought. I shook my head. “Can’t think of anybody.”
Karl’s mouth turned down, and h
is eyes narrowed as he studied me for a long, silent moment. “You ever ask the leader of your biker club if he’s willing to sell his porn business?”
“He’s not.”
“You sure about that?”
I looked my cousin in the eyes. “The fact we’re family should come with some trust, Karl.”
He grunted. “Trust goes both ways, cousin. For some reason, you don’t seem to want to introduce me to your friends.”
Anger heated my skin. “I do everything you ask of me without complaint. When I’m not working, I like a little privacy. Don’t I have a right to that? What more do you want from me?”
Karl leaned forward, dark eyes hard. “I want your loyalty.”
“You have that.”
“I don’t think so. Let’s get something straight. I put up with your little biker fantasy because it’s gotten you working for that porn company, which could be useful to me in time. But when it comes to family business, you’re only half in, if that much. I want a little initiative from you, rather than you just doing the very least I ask. For some reason, Pop saw potential in you. I’ve never understood it.”
Alarm bells started going off in my head. It had been a while since Karl had expressed his misgivings about me. I’d become complacent, and I couldn’t allow that. Fighting to remain calm, I shrugged.
“I always thought Uncle Reiner used me to get to you. You worked ten times harder when he said something positive about me.”
Karl made a huffing sound, but I could tell he was thinking about it. When he relaxed into the sofa cushions and loosened his tie, I felt my coiled muscles begin to unwind. “Pop would do that.” He shook his head. “Well, here’s your next task. I want you to make sure there’s at least one spot open at The Yellow Banana as soon as possible. I want Evan in there.”
The elevator doors slid open with a soft whoosh, and Shika appeared wearing casual clothes, her face washed of makeup.
“Hello Cane.” She flashed me a smile before turning to Karl. “I didn’t know you had company, darling.”
Karl snorted. “I don’t. It’s just Cane.”
“Well, I’ve come from feeding the babies. Davis helped me. I’m heading for the shower.”
That was my cue to leave, so I stood. “I’ll be going.”
“Let me know as soon as it’s done,” Karl said to me.
I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
****
I looked around the crowded dance floor of the club. How in the hell was I going to pull off getting one of The Yellow Banana’s employees fired?
I could tell Axel I saw one of them doing something against policy. It would have to be something pretty bad, so there wouldn’t be a question of second chances.
Fuck, I hated this.
I’d been to the Banana every night that week. Axel had finally asked me what was going on.
“What d’ya mean?” I asked, using the tough, lazy dialect I assumed around the club—something I’d felt slipping more and more lately. Damn, I was letting my guard down, and I couldn’t do that.
“You’ve been hanging out here a lot.” Axel handed a glass of scotch and soda to me over the bar.
I took a sip before answering.
“Thought it might be good to get out more,” I said with a shrug.
Axel looked surprised. “That’s good. I was beginning to wonder if you’d ever come around.”
It was my turn to be surprised. The club had been waiting all this time for me to thaw out? Shame tugged at my conscience.
“You’d probably have more fun if you did something more than sit at the bar drinking,” Axel said. “Ever thought of, hell I don’t know, dancing?” His lips tipped upward in a smirk.
I cleared my throat. “I need time to adjust.”
Axel stared at me a full five seconds before breaking into laughter, and I couldn’t help laughing with him. What the club must think of me, I couldn’t imagine.
Mick, a guy the club had taken on as a sort of pet project since he’d been beaten up by a guy in another MC, slid onto the empty stool next to mine. The first beating had been bad, but the second had put Mick in the hospital. Blaze blamed himself for that because the Hedonists had retaliated against the Sinners, and they’d reacted.
“Don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile,” Mick said to me.
“This is his first time,” Axel told him. “Wouldn’t be surprised if he hurt his face doing it.”
“Ha, ha,” I said, inexplicably pleased at the gentle ribbing.
Mick ordered a beer and before the two could razz me anymore, I headed for the dance floor, thinking about the waiters and which one would be easiest to get sacked. There was Lake, of course, but I wasn’t going to get Blaze’s boyfriend fired from his job.
Earlier, I’d spoken to a petite guy called Seb who’d had glitter all over his body and made it plain he’d blow me if I wanted. Maybe I could complain to the manager about him, but one infraction wasn’t likely to get the guy fired. Another server, Cal, was really good on the pole. Probably too good to be easily let go.
Maybe I was going about this all wrong, I thought as I eased into the crowd of dancers. Immediately, two guys sandwiched me between them, and my mind kept running as my body automatically moved to the beat.
Maybe I could offer one of the servers a job somewhere else so they’d quit. Or…maybe one would be interested in getting into porn. Since Hung had left Hard Time, Blaze had been talking about hiring another actor. Not everyone was willing to do porn. I was good at it, being able to disconnect and just go with the pleasure, but it definitely wasn’t as easy as it looked, especially for a top like me. A myriad of things could make a guy go soft in the middle of a scene, not least of which were all the stops and starts in filming. I’d seen it happen and suffered secondhand embarrassment for the guys who went through it. Some resorted to help in the form of a pill, but I wouldn’t touch shit like that.
A server who was willing to give a little action in one of the back rooms would be more likely to go for getting naked for the camera, so I figured Seb was my best bet. When the music segued into something slower, I left the dance floor and sat down at a table in Seb’s section. I didn’t have to wait long before he approached.
“You change your mind about joining me in a back room?” he asked, placing a hand on my shoulder and gently squeezing. All the servers at the Banana wore mesh tops, little white shorts and white leather boots, and I could see Seb’s nipples were pierced. He climbed onto my lap. “What do you say?”
“Actually, I wanted to give you a job proposition.”
Seb pouted. “I’m not a whore. I just thought you might be into it.” He started to move away, and I stilled him with a hand to his waist.
“No, I was wondering if you’d ever thought about doing porn. Friend of mine has a porn company—Hard Time. Ever heard of it?”
Interest flickered in Seb’s eyes. “Yeah, I have, actually. He’s hiring?”
I nodded. “You’d be perfect.” I didn’t really know if Seb would be. In fact, if Blaze was looking to replace Hung, the guy was all wrong. Seb was a definite bottom.
He wiggled suggestively on my lap. “I’d never thought about it, but I might be interested. Do you do it?”
I nodded and took one of Blaze’s cards out of my pocket. “Here.”
Seb took the card and looked at it before turning dark eyes to me. “You think there’s a chance we might do a scene together?”
“A good chance,” I said. “And you’d be making much more than you do here.”
Seb grinned and stuck the card under the waistband of his shorts. “To be honest, being a server is getting kind of old.” He stood. “I owe you.”
“It’s nothing. Like I said, my friend needs a new actor, and you’ll be perfect.”
I ordered a beer, and after I’d drunk most of it, I left the club, satisfied. With any luck, Blaze would hire Seb, and then Evan could apply. Then maybe Karl would leave me alone for a while.
/>
CHAPTER EIGHT
Tony
“Talked to someone last night who’d like to get into the business.”
I froze at the sound of Cane’s voice. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but hell, Skitz had cracked the kitchen window after burning the oatmeal, and Cane and Blaze were on the back porch.
“Yeah? Who is he?”
“His name’s Seb, and he’s a server at the Banana. He’s interested in something different. Great ass, and he can deep throat better than anyone I’ve ever met.”
I barely saved my dish from dropping into the sink. Gently, I placed it on the counter and walked as fast as I could out of the room and away from the conversation. It was nothing short of goddamn pitiful the way I couldn’t stand the visual Cane’s words had evoked of a guy on his knees with Cane’s cock in his mouth. I hated this Seb guy already.
Hung reclined on the living room couch, feet propped on the end, playing a handheld game.
“Where’s the fire?” he asked, not taking his eyes off what he was doing. “Although I guess that’s a bad choice of words after Skitz nearly set the kitchen ablaze.” He cursed as I shoved his feet off the couch to make room to sit.
“Fuck! What the hell? You messed me up.”
“You’re not playing one of those games again where you’re the princess, and you have to choose a prince, are you? Did I just make you put on the blue dress instead of the pink?”
Hung sneered at me. “That was one time, Sarto, and I was just tryin’ it out to see if my niece would like it.”
“You don’t have a niece.”
Hung put the game down. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing. You don’t want to tell me why you came barreling in here like you were trying to get away from something.” At the sound of the back door opening and Blaze and Cane’s voices, he added, “Or someone.”
“Fuck you,” I grumbled and kicked Hung in the shin when he laughed, causing his game to fly from his hands and land on the floor.
“Tell him to come by tomorrow morning,” Blaze said to Cane as they entered the room.
The Hacker and his Heart's Desire Page 4
