Harley (West Coast Rock Star #1)

by Michelle Jo Quinn

  ***

  The stretch limo stopped in front of the club. A tick had developed on Jax’s right cheek. Cade was sitting between Beth and Luke, and Luke used every chance he could get to touch Cade. He wanted to rip the man’s hands off, but he knew Luke. Once they went into Club 88, other women would distract him.

  Not him, though, not Jax. He only had his eyes on Cade. Before the night ended, he hoped to have more than his eyes on her. He pushed his hair back as he looked out the darkened windows.

  “Look at that line,” Beth said. “Ready to have fun, Cade?”

  “Will we even get in?” Cade asked and everyone in the limo except Jax laughed. “What’s so funny?” Cade didn’t blush or shy away. There was a challenge in her voice.

  Luke hung an arm over her shoulder and squeezed her to his side. “Babe, you’re with rock stars. We don’t do lines.”

  “Oh, right,” Cade said quietly. She followed them out of the limo.

  Jax stayed behind with Zee. Before the door slammed closed, Jax heard Cade say, “Hey, what about Jax?”

  The limo went down the road and turned a corner, stopping in a narrow alley. A door along one side of the bricked building was propped open. Before Jax stepped out, Zee said, “Reconsider.”

  Jax looked at him and leaned back against the seat. Frustrated, he ran his hands over his hair and face. “Zee, you’re putting me in an awkward position.” Jax propped his elbows over his knees, angling his torso forward. “Haven’t you at least noticed Harley with her, and with me now? It’s Cade. She’s making a big difference in Harley’s life, in our lives.”

  Zee shook his head. “Sorry, Jax. Mac won’t like your intentions. I don’t like it. One of our people will get hurt.”

  “I have no intentions of hurting her.”

  “Maybe not you. Maybe not now, but later. There are eyes and ears around you, Jax. Cameras zoom. One photo surfaces and it will blow up. Cade is not ready for that.”

  Jax snapped, “I won’t let that happen! Zee, I’m…shit…This sounds stupid coming from me. I like her, a lot. I think of her often, every second of every damned day. It’s all in here.” Jax thumped a fist over his chest. “And Harley loves her. She’s great with my daughter. Don’t take her away.”

  The big man hung his head, brought his hand to rub his tired eyes and nodded. Jax reached forward to pat him on his shoulder. Zee didn’t surrender. He was giving Jax a chance. He couldn’t possibly screw it up now, could he?

  “Let’s go in. Who knows what those maniacs are doing to her now?”

  Jax unfolded out of the car, following Zee. The door to the back of the club swung open, and a guy as big as Zee greeted them, “Mr. Clark. Zee. The VIP lounge has been reserved for your group.”

  “Thanks, Abbott.” Jax shook hands with the man and patted his arm. “Call Tina tomorrow for tickets to the show, all right?”

  “Thanks, Mr. Clark. Have fun tonight. It’s ladies’ night.”

  Of course, how could Jax forget? Luke and Marco chose the club because of that exact reason.

  Zee and Jax walked through the back hallways, through a small kitchen, and out the side of the DJ booth. The club was packed, loud, and full of energy. A svelte woman with bright red hair greeted Jax with outstretched arms.

  “Welcome back, Jax!”

  “Thanks, Tonya. I believe my friends are in the lounge.” Jax let the woman air kiss his cheeks.

  “Yes, they have their drinks. They’re having fun. You just tell me what you want and I’ll make it happen. You want girls tonight? I’ve got the right ones for you. Models, Jax, legs up to their lashes.” Tonya slapped a hand on her thigh and laughed.

  Jax cringed at the offer. He glanced over at Zee, who clearly heard the comment. “We’re good for now, Tonya. Thanks.”

  He made his way up a set of floating stairs. Eyes were on him. He could feel the gazes and the intense sexual energy coming off women as he passed them by. It was enough to drive a man crazy, but Jax wanted to feel only one woman’s sexual energy. And as he got to their VIP lounge, he saw her sitting on Luke’s lap. His hands fisted. The tension in his shoulders was enough to impede blood flow to his brain. He felt a muscle tick on the side of his face. Maybe going to this club with her was a bad idea.

  Chapter Eleven

  Cade was surprised when they arrived at the club, although she shouldn’t have been. They’d skipped the long line. Flashes blinded her from cameras of paps hanging around the club. Screams filled the air as their group walked towards the entrance. Marco and Luke flanked her, but they waved at their fans. Cade tried her hardest to use her hair to block the cameras. The last thing she wanted was her face on the front page of the tabloids. The boys shook hands with the bouncers before going into the loud club, where she let herself relax for a moment before taking her surroundings in.

  Club 88 didn’t look like much from the outside, but once inside, Cade tilted her chin up to see the grand spectacle. It was massive, too geometric, and much too modern, which gave Cade an ersatz feel. Suspended off the ceiling were mirrored flat panels, which absorbed and attracted the colours and lights from the DJ booth. The dance floor was filled with gyrating men and women, packed like sardines. There were pretty women walking around in sequined bras and matching booty shorts, with makeup thicker than mud and hair pulled into long ponytails, carrying trays of colourful drinks. The entire club was almost like a scene from a sci-fi movie.

  Every woman they passed licked their lips and eyed the boys by her side. The guys greeted them back in their own ways, but neither of them left her side, even when they went up a set of stairs and took over a black and purple-themed room, if she was to guess, VIP lounge.

  “Where’s Jax?” she asked no one in particular upon seeing the empty room.

  “He takes the back entrance,” Marco answered.

  “Yeah, he likes to go through the backdoor.” Luke added a snarky laugh.

  “You’re both idiots. Leave Cade alone,” Beth told the guys. “Wanna drink, hon?”

  “Um. I don’t know. I’ve never really gone out to a club like this before,” Cade confessed.

  “Never?” Luke and Beth both said.

  Cade shook her head. “I’m more of a pub girl. You know, peanuts and beer.”

  “I know what to get you.” Luke waved a waitress over and made his order. “Stat! We have a club virgin in our midst!” Cade sneered at him. Luke grabbed her hand and propped her on his lap. “Babe, don’t you worry. You’re hanging with the cool kids now. No more band camp for you.”

  Beth snorted and laughed. “Yeah, and Luke would know all about band camps.”

  “Shut it, Beth,” Luke playfully snapped. Cade waited for an explanation, but none came. Beth kept laughing while Luke pouted.

  The drinks came and Cade was shocked to see the amount their server brought. Shots and cocktails were placed on the smoke grey glass table in front of them. Cade squirmed away from Luke but the guy held her in place. It wasn’t such a bad place to be, she thought. Luke was kind of sweet, and hot, though not as hot as Jax. Speaking of whom, where was he? Cade was worried. She wanted to check her cellphone to see if Zee had sent her a message, but she was handed a shot glass with an ochre liquid in it.

  Everyone had one. When they finished those, they took another round, and another, and another, until she stopped counting. The flavours were all different, some sweet, and some sour, the last one was bitter but had a caramel aftertaste. Too much, too fast. Her head felt like it was starting to swell. Cade squinted her eyes, then widened them and narrowed them again, trying to keep her vision clear. Then a green cocktail in a martini glass was handed to her. Cade thought it was antifreeze in a fancy glass but she sipped it. Her tongue was bathed in sweet. Maybe a little too sweet. She stared at her glass warily. Didn’t she read somewhere that antifreeze is sweet?

  “You like it?” Luke asked. His grip on her had loosened. She nodded and was about to slide off his lap when Jax appeared. And he didn’t look too happy.<
br />
  Cade tried to focus on him. She widened her eyes, as his animosity seemed to be targeted on her. She saw Zee behind Jax, shaking his head. Cade took that cue to put her drink down and get off Luke’s lap. Her butt landed hard on the purple faux-ostrich skin booth.

  The group welcomed Jax. He chose to sit across from Cade, beside JP and Beth, on the wide bench, which was as wide as a queen-size bed. Perfect for the rock god to not only sit on it, but lean back and stretch his torso. He supported himself with a bent elbow. The heat on Cade’s face heightened when Jax’s shirt crept up and exposed his taut muscles. He looked at ease.

  Bending forward, Cade grabbed her drink and drank the whole thing in one smooth swig. Bad idea. The green antifreeze seemed to have more alcohol in it than all the shots combined, unless her mind was already gone and muddled because of the previous drinks. She stared at her hands, finding them odd and hazy.

  Another hand appeared in front of her. “Let’s dance!” She looked up to see Beth’s sweet smile.

  Cade held onto the hand thrust at her, and she found herself lifted up and standing on her own feet. She took a careful step. Dizziness made her sway but she took deep breaths to push oxygen into her system and get her mind cleared off.

  “Ya gotta take your jacket off. It’ll be hot down there,” Beth yelled in her ear, trying to fight against the music.

  “Okay.” Cade pushed off her jacket and dumped it behind her.

  Someone whistled.

  Someone said, “Damn, Cade!”

  Everyone and everything were starting to blur. Cade blinked her eyes. She had to get a grip. For once in her life, she was doing something fun, something for her. But maybe that much alcohol that fast had been a horrible idea. She felt a prickle against her neck, then on her forehead. Something cold? She blinked her eyes again, and found herself clutching at Jax’s shirt.

  He had taken off his jacket too. There they were standing in front of each other in matching white tops—short sleeve tee for him, and a ribbed tank for her—and dark jeans. Jax unscrewed the top of a water bottle, which had been cooling her forehead.

  “How much did she drink?” Jax asked Luke and Marco.

  “A few shots,” one of the guys answered him. Cade couldn’t tell which one.

  Jax, frowning at her, tipped the bottle against her lips. “Have some water.” She wanted to touch his face, outline his sharp features with her fingers, run her nails over his broad shoulders, taste his red lips. Instead, she obeyed. She drank half of it, stopped, and then had the rest. “Good,” Jax said. “Now, go dance the rest off.”

  “Rentyucomen?” Even to her, the question sounded odd. Jax raised a brow. Cade tried again, slowly enunciating the words, “Aren’t-you-com-ing?”

  But Beth grabbed her hand again, and answered for Jax, “Rock stars don’t dance. Come on. It’s you and me.”

  She swaggered around the table, noticing Zee giving her a slight warning with a tilt of his chin and non-expressive face. Cade held onto Beth as they walked down the steps, through the thick crowd, and right in front of the raised DJ booth. The bass from the speakers was enough to blow her eardrums but she didn’t care. Beth was fun to dance with, throwing her hands up in the air and moving her body to the beat.

  Throughout her preteen and teen years, Cade had trained in jazz and tap. Her father had refused to let her take “sissy” ballet, or “worldly” hip-hop, no matter how much she’d begged. In the end, her mother had made him concede to let her take jazz and tap. But at night, in her bedroom, she had watched music videos and tried to copy all the dance moves.

  When her father died, she immersed herself in everything dance, joining different studios, and learning all sorts of moves. Her cardio improved. She was flexible and she was strong. All that had helped later with the rigorous training she’d received from Mackinley Security. When the martial arts and gym workouts had taken over, she had completely forgotten about her love of dance.

  But tonight she moved, freely and effortlessly.

  She felt every vibration from the music through her body. Cade danced like there was nobody watching. Her skin became slick with sweat, and her long waves stuck to her skin. As she pushed her hair up, she felt hands wrap around her stomach. His scent hit her like a ton of bricks. She felt his hips pressed hard against her backside, moving in rhythm with hers.

  Cade closed her eyes, let her hair down over one shoulder, and welcomed Jax’s lips on one side of her neck. She had no clue what song was playing. All she heard was the hum from his throat, and the quick tempo inside his chest.

  Like a woman possessed, she felt brave, free, and uninhibited. Nothing could stop her. Cade pushed her ass against Jax, thrilled at what she could feel under his jeans. He growled against her ear, and it sent a sizzle all the way down to her toes. At a change of tempo, she bent her knees, slapped her hands against the sides of his thighs, and swung her hips from side to side. Cade moved lower, with her buttocks all the way down to the floor, and then shook her way back up again.

  Jax was close enough that she heard him mutter an expletive. When his hands started to snake under and up her tank top, she snapped and decided enough was enough. Without a word to anyone, she left her group and made her way back to the VIP lounge.

  A few more people—girls dressed more provocatively than her—were added to their group. Cade flopped down on the seat she’d taken before, and reached for one of the purple drinks on the table.

  “Wow, Cade, that was hot!” Luke leaned over to tell her. “I was watching you the whole time. Who knew you had moves like that!”

  Before she could reply, Beth, JP, and Jax came back. Jax didn’t look too impressed. He walked over to where Cade sat, taking over the space between her and Marco, and Cade noticed, ignoring the other pretty girls around them.

  “Having fun?” Jax asked.

  Was the question for her? She turned her head over his way and found him less angry, but not quite thrilled either. “Yeah.”

  He had been careful when he sat down, but as he moved forward to reach for a water bottle, then switched it with her purple drink, their legs touched. Even through the thickness of their jeans, Cade felt the heat and electricity between them. Jax took a sip from the martini glass and cringed.

  “What the hell is this?” he asked.

  “Luke ordered it.”

  Jax placed the glass back down on the table, swung an arm around Cade, and bent slightly in front of her to talk to Luke. “What’s this crap, Luke? Purple Kool-Aid?”

  She was squeezed tightly against Jax’s body. Cade didn’t know if she should push him away or bask in his hot as fire scent. Cade rubbed her nose against his neck and inhaled. Her stomach did a somersault. The man smelled delicious. His skin was covered in a thin film of sweat, but it heightened the notes of his cologne and made him even more appealing. She ignored the banter between the two men, and concentrated on the flicking pulse on Jax’s neck. Whatever came over her—the alcohol, the high from dancing, or him—she found herself pressing her mouth against him, then licking that pulse. One, two licks. Musky and salty. And all man.

  Jax stiffened beside her.

  What had she done? Jax didn’t loosen his grip on her. His face was inches away from a kiss. “Do I taste better than your purple drink?” Jax said in a deep, hushed voice, which made her lower abdomen tighten, and her cheeks warmer. Was he waiting for her answer? Jax surprised her by rubbing the back of his hand over her cheek. “I’ll get you a better drink.” He smiled. “Then you can lick as much as you want later.”

  Holy hell. Did Jax just say what she thought she heard? To her?

  He released her and got their waitress’ attention. The woman in a sequined bikini hurried, stood in front of Jax, bent down, and paid attention. Too much attention, as far as Cade was concerned. Perhaps it was the alcohol from the shots taking over, but she felt she needed to make this other woman know that Jax was…what was he? She pushed the muddled thoughts aside. Her hand gripped his leg and she fo
cused on his ear lobe this time. Good enough to take a little nibble. And so she did.

  Cade heard Jax hiss as his body tightened. She felt that repressed energy coming off him. Jax turned his attention back to her. From a side-glance, Cade saw the waitress purse her lips then walk away.

  He covered her hand on his leg with one of his hands. “You keep doing that and I’ll end up taking you to the back and showing you what you’re doing to me.” Was that a warning?

  Cade blushed. Her breath came out jagged. She could feel his hand behind her make its way up along her spine, then underneath her top. Goosebumps littered her skin, following the trail Jax’s fingers was leaving over the side of her ribs. Cade decided it would be best if she kept herself hydrated, just in case the heat between them caused an actual fire. She finished another bottled water.

  When the too-attentive waitress came back, she gave Jax two cut glass tumblers with golden amber liquid in them. Jax handed Cade one.

  She took a sniff, and wrinkled her nose. “Scotch?”

  “Yes, better than that.” He pointed at the unfinished purple drink on the table.

  Cade let out a small chuckle. “This is something my father would drink.” Drank, she corrected herself silently.

  “Are you calling me old?” A smirk appeared on his lips before he knocked back the drink.

  Cade spread her lips into a smile. “You don’t even know how to drink it properly.” She took a sip of the liquid, inhaled through parted lips and let the drink’s aroma release through them, and then she swallowed.

  When she looked back at Jax, he had a wide grin on his face. “That was positively the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  Cade lowered her eyes and shook her head. She placed her drink down on the table and stood. Right away, Jax grabbed her hand. She bent at the waist and brought her face close to his.

  “Off to the little girls’ room.” She didn’t have to hear his question.