Hard Irish

by Jennifer Saints

  Before he could even order a beer, the first thing Jared saw was the backside of a woman. She was shooting pool on the other side of the bar. Her heart-shaped ass was nicely framed by stonewashed jeans and topped the longest pair of legs he’d ever seen. Men surrounding her were moaning, groaning, hooting, and hollering as she dominated the pool table.

  He watched her every move. Svelte, classy, and determined, she angled the cue this way then that way, completely absorbed by the game, unaware of the attention. She had her long black hair pulled back in a ponytail, wore a conservative-sized black T-shirt and as far as he could tell, had no makeup on her sun-kissed skin. Attention wasn’t what she was after. At least not compared to the polished and painted women he’d been through recently.

  “I can’t believe it,” James said.

  “She is something,” Jared added, forcing himself to look at his brother just to prove the woman hadn’t cast a spell over him. James’s confused frown as he glanced up from the gleaming bar, clued Jared in that they weren’t on the same page. He nodded toward the woman. “I’m talking about her. What can’t you believe?”

  “Christ! I’m going through the biggest crisis of my life and you’re checking out the local meat market?”

  Jared clenched his jaw. James’s words set him off. Without the distraction of the job site, James had fallen back into his premonition funk. “Bro, I’m telling you now. Don’t go reading more into what Dad said. It was just an old story a ten-year-old boy believed.”

  “How can I not?”

  “Think about it. When we were ten, Jackson and Jesse had us convinced there was a serial killer in the old saw mill. Remember? We saw that fisherman slicing open a trout in a nearby creek and we both peed our pants running home from the place. We didn’t sleep for a week and nobody could convince us the guy wasn’t a killer. Jesse kept telling us it was just a story he and Jackson made up.

  James grinned. “Dad tanned both their butts for it, too.”

  “Yeah. But what did it take for us to finally believe it wasn’t true?”

  “We never did.”

  “Exactly. Nobody could tell us differently. We moved on, grew up, and eventually forgot about it. Now, Dad was ten when his grandfather died. He’s going to believe stories told about him whether or not they make sense. And even if it is true, it doesn’t make any real difference in your situation right now. Does it?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You either have premonitions or you don’t and think you do. Jesse and Jackson have been forewarned and knowing them, they aren’t going to blow off what either you or Dad said. Jesse’s a freaking security expert. He’ll treat this like he would any threat to his family.”

  “You think so?”

  “I do. In fact, I will call him later and tell him exactly that.”

  James shrugged. “I don’t know. Part of me feels like I should be hounding their every step just so I can be there to stop whatever is going to happen from happening.”

  “Come on,” Jared motioned for James to follow him.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Out front so we can call Jesse and Jackson and tell them how you feel and to find out whether they are taking precautions or not. If they are, then we’re putting this premonition stuff to rest for the night and coming back in for a beer. If not, we’ll see.” He glanced back at the woman, but couldn’t see her through the gathering crowd.

  After five minutes on the phone with Jesse, James was convinced there wasn’t anything more he could do. Jesse had cancelled his upcoming business trip and had a security detail on himself and Jackson.

  “I’m warning you—you’ll be on your own for a bit, bro,” Jared told James. “Before I leave here tonight, I’m getting that woman’s number or my name isn’t Weldon.”

  James raised a brow, looking more like his usual self than he had all day. “Maybe I’d better take a second look at her. I haven’t seen you this determined in a long time.”

  “Look is all you can do. She’s mine,” Jared muttered. There was one negative to having an identical twin. If a woman was attracted to one then odds were she’d be equally attracted to the other. It always left a little doubt.

  They’d lost their premium seat at the bar, much to Jared’s frustration and had to settle for a table across the room, which put a kink in his brow and had him grumbling at James over it.

  “If you remember, the reason we’re here has nothing to do with picking up chicks. We’re supposed to be scouting out McKenna’s crew.”

  “I said I was getting her number. I didn’t say I was...have you even looked at her,” Jared glared at James. “She’s not that type.”

  James spewed his beer mid-sip. “You haven’t even spoken to her yet and you already know what type she is? Come on, what’s gotten into you? Do you hear yourself?”

  Jared opened his mouth, then shut it. There wasn’t anything he could say. There wasn’t any rationale or reason to the vibe he got from her. It bothered him that James couldn’t see it. Alan Jackson was crooning over the sound system about being in love with a woman whose name he didn’t even know.

  “I will warn you that you aren’t the only guy in the room focused on her,” James added.

  “No duh. There’re ten staring at her play pool.”

  “Not them. That guy back there.”

  Glancing over his shoulder, Jared’s hackles rose. A man in the back corner was staring daggers at the woman. It was more than obvious that he had a bone of ill content to pick with her.

  “He’s looking like possession is the law and that he has every right to possess her,” James said. “I don’t need any beam-me-up-Scotty’s premonition to predict that. Something bad is about to happen.”

  The guy downed his drink and staggered to his feet. Jared braced himself and turned his gaze on the woman. He had to know what this guy meant to her and he had his answer the moment she caught sight of the guy heading her way. Fear and anger. She was afraid of the man approaching, but not too afraid to turn her back on him.

  Jared watched as the woman tossed the cue onto the pool table and pointed her finger at the men around her, clearly accusing them of something. They all stood, shaking their heads in denial. Two of them moved toward the approaching man, who promptly shoved them aside.

  Jared stood and James grabbed his arm. “This isn’t your business. Men get shot for sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong. Sit down. She’s not alone.”

  Two more men split from the group and went to head the guy off. They were close enough for Jared to hear them talk.

  “Go home, Collin,” the larger man said. “You weren’t invited and Rocky doesn’t want you here.”

  “Stay out of it, Mack. This is between me and her.”

  “Afraid not.” The man named Mack moved to block the guy and that’s when the fight broke out. The guy threw a punch, Mack ducked, and the punch caught a biker upside his tattooed head. Chaos spread like wildfire.

  “Shit.” James grabbed Jared’s arm again. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Jared pulled free. “Not yet.”

  Cut off by the fray, he saw the woman backing into a corner and headed her way. People shoved and hollered. Beer bottles flew, along with bar stools. Women yelled and men shouted. He knew she was tall but hadn’t quite realized how tall until he got closer. Six foot at least. She had her gaze focused on one man. The man who’d started the fight. The man who still looked bent on getting to her, but was happy to knock a few others out on the way.

  “Watch out!” Jared dove her way. Wrapping his arms around her, he brought her crashing down with his best offensive tackle, as a flying bar stool smashed into the wall where she’d been standing. He grabbed the heart-shaped ass he so admired and twisted to take the brunt of the fall. Splintered pieces of wood rained down on them.

  Jared’s pulse kicked up about ten notches. Just an adrenaline rush. It had nothing to do with the scorching feel of her long, lean but curved, just-right bod
y plastered to him or the thick-lashed, narrowed green eyes, the color of spring clover, staring at him. Her curtain of dark hair fell about them, framing her face that could only be described as beautifully determined. Her sun-kissed skin glowed like warm honey and an even sweeter-looking, lush mouth softened her dominant nose, chin, and brow. She smelled of citrus and coconuts, making him want to lick just to see if she tasted that way, too.

  The fear was still there in her gaze, along with surprise.

  Jared spoke, hoping to reassure her. “I don’t know who that jerk coming after you is, but I do know two things. He doesn’t deserve to be in any universe you’re in. And I’d do just about anything to take that fear out of your eyes.” He slid his hands up from her delectable bottom to pull her tighter to his chest. “Please tell me he isn’t your husband.”

  She blinked at him a moment before she exhaled and whispered. “Ex. He’s my ex.”

  He brushed back a wave of hair that had fallen across her face. It was like heavy silk. “Best news I’ve heard all day. I’ve half a mind to kiss you and show him you’ve moved on to bigger and better things.”

  She arched a skeptical brow. “I’ve lost my mind, because I’ve half a mind to let you.”

  “Two halves make a whole,” Jared whispered. He leaned up slowly, giving her plenty of time to back off before he claimed her full mouth. Explosive didn’t come close to describing everything that coalesced in a kiss that moved from sweet to spicy with a stroke of his tongue.

  The bar fight, the advancing mad-as-hell ex, the very fact that he needed air to breathe, completely disappeared from Jared’s consciousness. All he could think about was the woman in his arms kissing him like there was no tomorrow.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Rocky’s heart sped. She went from questioning Mack about her father, as she dominated the pool table, to having Collin come after her, and lying in the strong arms of a stranger who wasn’t like a stranger at all. It was as if she were free-falling into a dark, pleasurable abyss that sucked every care and worry from her mind.

  Kissing her rescuer had thrust her from a half-formed notion of showing Collin she’d found someone else, into an encounter with a man who had her more aroused than she could ever remember being. Either that, or the act of kissing a stranger with her ex bearing down on her, had given her an unbelievable adrenaline rush. Because, for the first time in her life, she lost sight of where she was or who was around her. The feel of the tall, dark, and devastatingly handsome man against her had short-circuited—everything.

  Being the boss over a crew of construction workers had made her draw a hard line of propriety a long time ago. She’d never let that line lax and had never let any of the men get anywhere near it. Ever. They gave her respect with a bold, capital R.

  Most of the crew was at Sally’s celebrating Mack’s birthday and were likely getting an eyeful, but she didn’t care enough to stop the moment.

  Had some latent need for revenge against Collin suddenly unleashed itself?

  She didn’t think so. What had captured her and fueled her desire for more was the stranger kissing her. Not only did he smell and feel like heaven, but the man was a master of kiss. The right amount of pressure. The right amount of tongue. The right amount of give, take, and tangle. He took charge enough to lead her, but then relaxed into her every move to match her. Simple sexual synergy.

  Or she was so parched that anything would have been amazing. She didn’t think so and she didn’t get any more time to decide either. A hard hand bit into her shoulder, jerking her back.

  “What the hell are you doing, bitch?” Collin yelled, his voice slurred from booze. “You’re my woman!” He stood over them, face purple-red and twisted with rage.

  Rocky wasn’t exactly sure how, but the stranger she’d been kissing, who was still half beneath her managed to plant a boot in Collin’s crotch, sending him flying backward. He hit a table before landing on the ground. Beer mugs flew.

  “She’s her own woman, asshole. And her name isn’t bitch,” the stranger said, easing her back enough to rise to a fighting crouch, planting himself between her and Collin. The stranger’s devilishly blue eyes had turned deadly.

  Mack and two men from her crew ran up and pulled her to her feet and away from the fight. “Rory would kill us for getting you into this. We’re getting you out of here.”

  Rocky shook her head. Her gaze was glued to the stranger and Collin, her stomach in her throat. Everything in her wanted to shout at the stranger and tell him to be careful. Collin didn’t fight fair...ever. But she couldn’t get a word out.

  Collin gained his feet and roared. He came at the stranger with both fists raised.

  The stranger stepped cool-as-ice to the side, grabbed Collin’s right fist in mid-air and forced it down. Then using her ex’s rushing rage against him, he sent him careening into the wall. Collin bounced hard. Angrier than ever, he turned. Instead of going after the stranger, he came right at her.

  Mack and the guys hauled her up and dragged her away.

  “No!” Rocky cried out in protest as the stranger moved to intercept Collin. She didn’t want to abandon her stranger. Collin was capable of anything. But her crew shoved her out the door and into the dim parking lot where it seemed to her a lot a bad things could happen if caught out here alone.

  “Wait!” she said, pulling back. She really should warn the stranger that Collin...

  Mack shook his head. “No way. You’re getting the hell out of here before someone gets killed. Riley, you and Zeke make sure Collin can’t find his keys until he settles down. I’m following her home.”

  “I can take care of myself.” Rocky pulled away after they reached her truck.

  “I know that boss, but a man’s got to be a man or he ain’t nothing. For us that means getting you the hell out of harm’s way. Who is that guy taking on Collin anyway?”

  Rocky shrugged. There was no way in hell she’d let her crew know she’d been kissing a total stranger. “Just a friend.”

  “Well next time you get friendly with your friend. Don’t do it with Collin around.”

  “What I do or don’t do is none of Collin’s business. Not anymore.”

  “You don’t need to convince me. In my book he lost that right long before you left him. Problem is he hasn’t figured that out yet.” Mack looked back at Sally’s. “Just might be your friend there is the one to drive that point home. He looked as if he could handle himself very well, but having you anywhere around is just adding fuel to the fire right now.”

  “Yeah, he can handle himself,” Rocky whispered. And her, too. Real well. Too well. Her lips and body still burned. She didn’t know who he was or what his name was, but maybe that was a good thing at the moment considering how she reacted to him. She needed to do some major thinking. “I’ll go home, but you don’t need to follow me.”

  Mack lifted a brow. “I promised Rory I’d take care of you.”

  Rocky’s breath caught. “When? Did he say something before his stroke?”

  “No. I told him that when I saw him in the hospital. Don’t know if he could hear or not, but if he could, I thought it would make him rest easier.”

  She exhaled. “He was worried about something before his stroke. Did he say anything to you?”

  Mack shook his head. “Rory and I mostly talked about the jobs. He did ask me if I thought you were happy a few months back and I told him that ditching Collin’s shadow had done you a world of good.”

  “Do the words Unforgivable, stop, and pray in reference to my mother mean anything to you?”

  “No. Why?”

  “Because Da said them to me today.”

  Mack grabbed her shoulders. “Really! Was he able to do anything else?”

  “No. He spoke and then lapsed back into a blank vacuum.”

  “Still. It’s a good sign, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  Gravel crunching beneath a boot made Rocky shiver. It was too dark to see far and the thought of som
eone purposely lurking in the shadows made her skin crawl. She forced a smile at Mack, glad to have his support. He was somewhere in his forties and looked as if he’d weathered of few of life’s storms and hadn’t always come out on top.

  Mack looked around. “Let’s get you home before they bring the fight outside. I’ll be right behind you, okay?”

  Rocky nodded and climbed into her truck. As she drove home, the feeling that her life had spun around and was careening blindly into the unknown overshadowed her. Implausible events had happened. Collin’s rage had reared an ugly head after staying on the sidelines long enough for her to almost forget him. Her parents’ had death secrets that remained beyond her grasp. And she’d been in the arms of a stranger whose kiss she didn’t want to forget—ever.

  Jared knew to his core that only a fool, a dead fool, took his eyes off his opponent in a fight. No matter what. Still, when he heard the woman cry out, he glanced her way and it cost him. If it hadn’t been for the mirror over the bar and James’s warning shout from the crowd, the woman’s bruiser of an ex would have nailed Jared at the base of his skull with a bar stool. Instead, Jared took the brunt of the blow on his shoulder and ended up getting a bloody nose, before knocking his opponent out.

  It was a good ten minutes before Jared reached James on the sidelines.

  Two well-endowed blondes clung to him for protection. He looked like the perfect knight in shining armor. “I told Chloe and Ginger we’d walk them to their car.”

  Jared nodded and headed for the front door. Just maybe they’d get out before the cops arrived. He’d yet to be able to let go of his nose and seriously wondered if he hadn’t broken the damn thing. That’s what he got for sticking it into someone else’s mess. He didn’t know the woman’s name, much less her number.