Tequila Blues: A Second Chance Romance (Serrated Brotherhood MC Book 3)

by Bijou Hunter

  “Yeah, I remember that coward move, but I’ve already forgiven you,” he says, running his finger along the curve of my shirt just above my breasts.

  “I want to reschedule.”

  Dayton gives me a sly smile. “Of course, you do.”

  “Are you really in there alone?”

  “Stop asking me that question,” he says, losing his grin. “If I were banging a whore, I wouldn’t have her stay over.”

  “What do you mean by ‘if’?”

  “My dick craves only the nice blonde lady standing in front of it. Maybe she’ll give it a kiss before she goes.”

  Rolling my eyes, I step back. “Sorry, penis, but my sisters and Keanu are waiting for me. I’m only here to make plans for Friday.”

  “I’ll pick you up at six. Don’t bail again or I’ll chase you down.”

  “I’ll see you at six,” I say, backing away while staring at his erection barely hidden by those gray boxers. “If you’re good on Friday, your friend might get a kiss after all.”

  Dayton glances down at his hard-on and nods approvingly. I leave him before we end up doing something horribly inappropriate. In fact, I nearly run to Ruby’s door to keep from returning to Dayton and his erection.

  Friday can’t come soon enough.

  Seventeen - Dayton

  My uncle likes pussy as much as he hates condoms. There’s no other way of explaining why Howler has so many bastard kids in the world. Most of them stay on the DL, likely waiting for him to kick the bucket to show up and claim an inheritance.

  Growing up, I knew Bonn was my cousin. We went to the same schools and got to be friends, but he wasn’t invited to family functions. I do know my mom sent him gifts for his birthdays and Christmas. I’m also fairly certain the Hallstead sisters sent checks on occasion to make sure the boy was fed and clothed.

  Otherwise, Howler’s bastards stayed away. That is, until a few months back, when Jude Junior arrived in Hickory Creek Township, looking to meet his long-lost dad. To most people’s surprise, Howler welcomed this bastard with open arms.

  For me, it wasn’t such a shock. I’d noticed my uncle’s mind slipping a year before JJ ever showed up. The middle-aged fucker got shaky during fights. He drank too much, laughed too loud, and his taste in women got so young it bordered on illegal. I called a midlife crisis on Howler long before he became silly proud over JJ.

  I’m probably the only other person in Hickory Creek who’s cool with my newest cousin. Camden views JJ as an interloper, trying to take what’s rightfully his. The Hallstead women blame him for the fire that destroyed a restaurant they wanted saved. Bonn sees his half-brother enjoying the kind of attention from Howler that the old man never gave him.

  JJ’s managed to irritate pretty much everyone in the club and even the old ladies. Pissing off the wives is a loser move, but JJ got it done. The man has a talent.

  JJ doesn’t look like much. He’s wiry, and his shoulder-length hair is thin. Despite his size, he’s a mean fucker who’s taken down plenty of bigger guys. Mostly because he’s sneaky and willing to shiv someone when they’re not looking.

  “Heard you hooked up with that blonde Slater girl,” he says, joining me at the back booth at our club hangout, Salty Peanuts. “Camden’s sister-in-law.”

  “Heard that, did you? I guess you’re part of the gossip bunch in Hickory Creek now.”

  “People talk,” he says, ordering a beer.

  “Sure, but I hook up with a lot of women. Blondes, redheads, brunettes. Once I porked a chubby girl with purple hair. She was a wild one.”

  “Those Slater girls sure know how to marry up.”

  Normally I shrug off JJ’s bullshit even when it touched on Camden and Daisy. Except he’s bitching about Harmony now. “Why you got a bug up your ass about pretty trailer park girls doing well in life?”

  “No. None of that shit. I just believe in calling out a gold digger when I see one.”

  “I don’t doubt the Slater girls have been called worse, but I dig Harmony,” I say without sounding too hung up about her and no doubt fooling this stupid shit. “She and I have been friends with some benefits for years, so watch the way you call her out around me. I don’t want to take anything personal. That’s not my style, but she’s a great lay, so who knows what could happen if you cross a line?”

  “Never thought I’d see you get stupid over a woman.”

  “Don’t call me names unless you’re willing to bring me a tissue for my tears, asshole.”

  JJ smiles, but his grins always feel like a put-on. I don’t need to be psychic to know the man is boiling over with rage at the world. When it spills over, I wonder who will get the privilege of ending him. If he keeps talking shit about Harmony, I’ll be at the front of the line to make him dead.

  “Mojo says we got to put you through the paces and get you patched in,” I tell JJ since he’s eyeing me like a grifter studying his newest mark.

  “I’m ready to be a brother to you.”

  I fight the urge to roll my eyes. This asshole doesn’t know two shits about loyalty and family. I bet he’d sell out his mother for a pack of smokes. No fucking way would he take a bullet or prison sentence for the men in the Brotherhood.

  “The club bought a building on the outskirts of town. You and I need to clean it up. Get the trash out and make it ready for the contractors to look around.”

  “So, I’m a fucking janitor now?”

  “More like a maid. I don’t know why you’re whining. I’m the one who already did all this grunt shit years ago to get my patch. Now I have to do it again, just ’cause I spoke up for you.”

  JJ’s frown fades when he hears that I have his back. Loyalty to him is important. He expects to be treated well. Feels he deserves things because of who his father is, despite JJ having never done anything worth respecting.

  “Everyone does the dirty shit in the beginning,” I say, standing up. “Every fucking one except maybe Mojo and Howler since they were here at the beginning. Of course, they organized everything, and that wasn’t easy when the place used to be filled with moonshiners fucking goats in their front yards.”

  I throw down cash on the table for the waitress and think about what Hickory Creek was like back in the day. “This damn place was rough before the Brotherhood took control and the Hallsteads stepped into the mayor and sheriff slots. Anyway, that’s the old days. These days, we got to earn our shit, so get up.”

  JJ moves with the urgency of a spoiled brat from the country club, thinking someone else ought to do the heavy lifting. Despite his attitude, I know being the sons of powerful men doesn’t mean anyone will hold our hands and help with the workload.

  The sooner JJ realizes this fact, the sooner he’ll freak out, and the sooner someone will put a bullet between his beady fucking eyes.

  Eighteen - Harmony

  Daisy and Ruby help me pick out my outfit based on the selfies I send of me in front of the mirror. Keeping it simple, we pick out a pink, lightweight skirt and a thin blue low-cut tank. To jazz it up, I wear heeled beige boots I bought from the Goodwill a few months back.

  My outfit looks sexy. My loose hair is even behaving. I’m raring to go. Unfortunately, I manage this amazing feat about an hour before Dayton’s arrival.

  Until he shows up, I surf the internet and read about a strange sighting in London Harbor. A knock at the door rouses me from my focus on the unexplained.

  I open the trailer door to find Dayton wearing a blue buttoned-up shirt revealing more cleavage than my top does. I glance down at my low-cut shirt and wonder if I should change into something smuttier so I can compete with him.

  “You look like an angel,” he says in a weird deep voice.

  “What?”

  “I’m saying you look hot.”

  “Thank you,” I say, reaching out to fix his shirt. “You look fancy. You know, for you.”

  Dayton pulls at his ponytail before yanking at his partially buttoned shirt. “Yeah, I figured I’d take y
ou somewhere they require shoes. This shirt was in my closet, so I put it on.”

  Laughing, I step out of the trailer and pat his cheek. “Are you nervous?”

  “No. Are you?”

  “Of course not. I’m a grown woman capable of facing any situation.”

  “I bet you are. So, is the kid here?”

  “Keanu is sleeping at Ruby’s place. He misses his cousin.”

  “Then your place is empty?”

  “Yes, but you’ve got to earn your way inside,” I say, locking the door.

  “You mean more than take you to a place that requires shoes?”

  “Yeah, more than that, Dayton. You better charm me tonight if you want to get my panties off.”

  Taking my hand, he starts walking toward the parking lot. “How charming do I need to be if I’m willing to do you while your panties are still on and I just shove them to the side? What needs to happen on my end to make that happen on your end?”

  “Same as if the panties come off. You need to be outstanding just to get into my trailer.”

  “What if I’m willing to do you on my Harley?” he asks while patting the bike’s seat.

  “I’m not screwing you in public.”

  “Even if I’m Hugh Grant level of charming?”

  “Who?”

  “That guy in those British romantic movies.”

  “I don’t watch British romantic movies,” I say, giving him a once-over. “To be honest, I’m less attracted to you now that I know you watch that crap.”

  “I don’t watch them. My mom does.”

  “Sure,” I say before sliding onto the Harley. “Did she pick out that shirt too?”

  Dayton gives me a stubborn frown, and I laugh again.

  “I’m trying to be the guy you want.”

  “You don’t know who that guy is if you think he watches Hugh Grant movies.”

  Dayton grunts like Daisy’s cats do when they’re ready to cough up a furball. I take his hand and guide it to my face.

  “Is Hugh Grant a good kisser?” I whisper.

  “How the fuck would I know?”

  “Don’t make me spell it out for you.”

  Dayton finally gives me a tiny smile. His lips cover mine, sending heat straight to the V between my legs. While he sucks deeply on my curious tongue, I cup his face and enjoy the feel of his scruffy jaw against my fingertips.

  “I thought about bringing a car,” he says, once our lips part, “but the weather was too nice not to take the bike.”

  Wrapping my arms around his waist once he straddles the Harley, I sigh. “I agree.”

  The early summer heat feels good on my bare arms while we ride to The Eatery in the nearby town of White Horse. I don’t need to ask why we can’t eat somewhere closer. There’s no privacy in Hickory Creek Township.

  Once at The Eatery, we’re seated in a curved booth in the back where it’s too dark to see the food. I don’t complain, though. This date isn’t about our meal. I only want to know if Dayton and I can click in ways beyond the amazing sex.

  “Do you want to make chitchat while we wait for the food or should we make out?” he asks after spreading his long, muscular arms along the back of the booth.

  “You’ve got to earn those kisses, mister.”

  “What do you want to talk about?”

  “Um, something easy, I guess. Like what happened to Bryana?”

  “Who?”

  “The woman I fought with at Salty Peanuts.”

  “Oh, yeah, I don’t know. The club girls smacked her around and likely kicked her out of the bar. Can’t be sure since I never went back and asked them.”

  “Was JJ angry about what happened?”

  “He’s always angry. The guy has daddy and mommy issues. Chips on both shoulders. He’s a mess,” Dayton says and then adds, “He farts a lot too. Just thought I’d mention that in case you were thinking about making a move for him.”

  “I already have my eye on another bad man, but thanks for the fart info.”

  Dayton smirks. “I do what I can to help out.”

  “I still can’t believe I punched Bryana. I should control myself better.”

  “Yeah, you should, but she was a bitch, so who cares?”

  “I do. I’m a mother and a professional who deals with temperamental patients. I can’t slug people when they piss me off.”

  “That’s different,” Dayton says, taking my hand and stroking his leg with it. “Your kid isn’t a bitch. And those people you work with are messed up in the head. It’s not their fault they act like assholes sometimes. That chick, whatever her name was, she wants to piss people off. Well, part of pissing people off is accepting how sometimes you’ll get punched. She learned that lesson. You did a good thing by schooling her ass.”

  “Yeah, but I expect more from myself.”

  “Fine, but I’m not helping you be hard on yourself.”

  “I respect that.”

  Leaving my hand on his lap, Dayton’s fingers play with my hair, and he scoots closer. “Tell me about that crypto crap you’re into.”

  “I like reading about things that can’t be currently explained.”

  “And you think it’s real?”

  “Most of it is, but maybe it’s not what people think it is.”

  “You believe in ghosts?” he asks without laughing at me.

  “Do you?”

  “I don’t know. I’d never thought about ghosts really.”

  “When I was a kid, we went with Mom’s friend, Betty, to visit her family in Chattanooga. Her grandmother lived in an assisted living facility. It’s the kind of place where a lot of people pass away. Then while waiting for Betty, a chill brushed against me.”

  I graze Dayton’s chest with my fingers so he can see how gentle the sensation felt.

  “I wasn’t near a window or vent, and the place was warm. I felt the chill a few times while we were there. Daisy and Mom felt it too. Ruby was cranky and likely scared off ghosts around her. That’s why I believe in stuff that we can’t see.”

  “That’s a neat story. How come you went with Betty to see her family?”

  “You know why.”

  “Because your mom and Betty are very close friends.”

  “Don’t be a perv.”

  “Well, they are very close.”

  “Men have done them wrong, but their friendship continues. I wish I had a friend like that.”

  “You have your sisters.”

  “Yeah, and they have their men,” I point out.

  “Yeah, I’m forced to endure a bunch of gross PDA whenever I leave my condo. The other day, I got stuck in the elevator with my brother and Daisy, and I thought they’d fuck right there. Talk about pervs.”

  Smiling, I pat his cheek, again enjoying the feel of his rough stubble on my skin.

  “What are you thinking?” I ask when his dark gaze unsettles me.

  “Tell me about the boy’s father.”

  “Why won’t you say Keanu’s name?”

  “It makes me think of him.”

  “Well, it is his name.”

  “No, it makes me think of his father. Tell me about the guy.”

  “I met Hwan at Tad’s party. You know the one.”

  Dayton’s gaze narrows. “I know the one.”

  “You’d left, and I wasn’t in the greatest mood. Everyone was getting on my nerves, and I was buzzed from drinking two screwdrivers. That’s when Hwan came over and asked about my shirt.”

  “That Loch Ness one?”

  “Yeah. He said he’d visited Scotland and saw the lake.”

  “You’re telling me this guy traveled to Europe to see a lake where a monster was supposed to live.”

  “No, he traveled there for work. Hwan had traveled all over for his work in technology sales. His dream trip was to visit the Congo to see where the Mokèlé-mbèmbé is reported to live.”

  “He was a nerd like you.”

  “You think I’m a nerd?” I ask as my fingers play wi
th a button on his shirt.

  “Nerds can be sexy.”

  “Are you sure?” I whisper, sliding closer and pressing my side boob against his chest. “I would hate for you to slum it with a loser.”

  Dayton’s smile turns predatory, sending a shock of heat through my body. I feel it on my cheeks and pulsing between my legs. This man knows how to send my lust into overdrive with the simplest gesture. Though I can’t strip away his power in the same way, I’m not without my talents.

  Tonight, we’ll find out which one of us has the upper hand.

  Nineteen - Dayton

  Harmony talks about her baby daddy with such ease. Her pale green eyes light up, and she smiles at the thought of him. If the guy weren't already a corpse, I’d need to dig him a grave. While it’s not his fault he got to her before I did, I still resent his dead ass.

  “You dropped your panties for a stranger just ’cause he liked monsters?” I ask after our food arrives and Harmony inches away from me.

  “Yes, that was exactly why. I’m glad you understand.”

  Grunting, I feel like an ape unable to form words, but she’s irritating me. I want her to feel genuine shame about messing around with a guy who wasn’t me. I mean, I felt bad for banging chicks who weren’t her. Fair is fair.

  “He wasn’t in your league.”

  “Neither are you.”

  I study her, trying to figure out if she’s messing with me. When Harmony only focuses on her chicken, I poke her shoulder.

  “How so?”

  “You’ve screwed everyone I know.”

  “Not everyone.”

  “So you say.”

  “I haven’t screwed your sisters. Or your mom. Or Betty.”

  “Only because they wouldn’t put out. I think if you thought you had a shot with them, you’d have taken it.”

  “That’s how you see me, huh?”

  Harmony glances at me and smiles. “That’s how you see yourself. You told me once that you’d fuck anything with the right parts. You weren’t choosy.”

  “I never said that.”

  “Did too. We were at Red Barn, and you’d downed a keg’s worth of tequila to prove to me that you could drink a keg’s worth of tequila. I asked if you were going to die from alcohol poisoning and you said if you did die that you’d die happy since you’d already fucked all the women worth fucking. Then you kept talking about fucking random women. I would have ditched you for being such a pig, but I figured you might die, and I didn’t want you to be alone when the devil came knocking.”