Bullet Series Box Set Books 1-8

by Jade C. Jamison

  “Well, yeah…I guess so.” How the hell did this woman frequently manage to leave him speechless?

  Then she did smile. “What did you have in mind?”

  Had she been fucking with him and Nick had been so tense, so worried, even when thinking he wasn’t, that he’d missed it? Well, no matter. She seemed to be agreeable, and he couldn’t lose this opportunity. If he’d felt more comfortable being open with her, he would have shaken his head; with this woman, though, he felt the need to hold the cards close. For some inexplicable reason, he felt like she could and maybe would exploit any weaknesses she found, so he needed to make sure he didn’t appear vulnerable.

  Not that he was.

  So he shrugged. “Eh, I dunno. We could either go to my place for a beer or two or we could go to a bar.”

  Her smile didn’t fade. “Why do I get the feeling that I shouldn’t be alone in your place with you?”

  Was she actually flirting? He couldn’t help the chuckle that poured out of his mouth. “Suit yourself…but I have premium shit, babe.” She scowled. Oh, fuck. Terms of endearment not allowed. No problem. He could remember that—but he wasn’t about to apologize. She’d live. “A bar it is, then. I can drive if you want.”

  She smiled again, his faux pas either forgiven or forgotten. “Nah. How about I follow you to wherever we’re going?”

  “We can do that too.” He was still absorbing the fact that she’d said yes. Anything else was gravy.

  So they made their way into the house to wrap up and say goodbye. Chris tugged on Nick’s pant leg, so he lifted the child up and let him give him a goodbye hug. Nick would never admit it out loud, but he loved those damn kids. He had the honorary title of uncle, as did Zane, but he actually felt like those kids were part of him somehow. He didn’t know if Zane felt the same way, but those kids were a huge part of Nick’s life. He wouldn’t have a clue what to do without them. Sure, there were times he’d go without seeing them—a month here or there—but most of the time, he saw them once a week—at least. For that, he was grateful.

  He and Brina walked out together, and that was when he knew she was serious about taking him up on the offer of a drink. She’d had more than one chance to bail and chose to stick around. As they walked out the door together, she said, “So I’ll follow you? Where we goin’?”

  “Well, my favorite bar’s quite a way away from here, and I don’t want you going out of your way just to have a drink with me. I think there’s a bar a couple of miles from here…if you don’t mind taking the scenic route.”

  She nodded. “I’m good with that. I should be able to find my way out after if it seems easy to get lost.” She patted her ass. Oh, God, wouldn’t he love to do that for her. “Got my trusty Google maps app on my phone.” Oh…which was in her back pocket. If she only knew what thoughts she’d incited in his filthy mind from that little act alone.

  But he had to remember she had no interest in him. She’d already established that much. “All right. See you there.” Nick climbed in his car and that was when he saw Brina hop on a gorgeous silver and black Harley. Holy hell. No, it didn’t shock him in the least, but it did nothing but stoke the lust burning in his heart.

  He turned the ignition but his mind wasn’t on driving. Jesus. Could this woman not get any more perfect? Every little thing she did made her that much more desirable, and it was killing him. She’d never care about him, would never find him attractive nor lust after him the same way, so he had to stop tormenting himself with his thoughts. No, the best he could do would be to settle into a friendship and they could become close bandmates, united for the good of the team. That wasn’t what his cock wanted, but his heart would settle for it.

  It didn’t take him long to find the bar he’d been thinking of, but his eyes had been on the rearview mirror just as much as they’d been on the road in front of him. She wore a helmet, but he felt like he could see her eyes on him anyway. And she handled that bike like it was part of her body. Seriously just made her hotter.

  When they got to the bar, she parked next to him, and he stood, waiting for her to join him so they could walk in together. “Sweet bike, by the way.”

  Brina flashed an uneven grin at him, one side of her mouth turning up higher than the other. “Yeah, she is, isn’t she?” He nodded as they walked toward the doors of the bar. “I got her about a year ago. I was tired of paying as much as I was for gas and, besides, I can slide through rush-hour traffic easier. I don’t regret the purchase.”

  Nick held the door open for her. “You look fuckin’ hot on that thing.” So he was a pig. He couldn’t help it. The woman was damn hot.

  She didn’t slap him or give him a pissed off look or even a piece of her mind. She simply said, “Thanks.”

  Oh, shit. She shouldn’t do that. It would only encourage him. He couldn’t help his raised eyebrows, and she noticed them as she sauntered past him.

  Damn…the woman could wear skin-tight black whatever well, too. He wondered if she even owned any colors other than black or silver for the accessories.

  Oh, and red lipstick…and bra.

  Nick let the air out of his lungs and let Brina lead the way through the bar. He’d let her decide where she wanted to sit—bar or table or booth. It made no difference to him. He was just glad that she’d agreed to sit and chat.

  She chose a booth and they waited for a cocktail waitress to head over and take their order. Nick asked for a Guinness, not wanting something too hard to start off with, but she wasn’t going to let up now. He was beginning to wonder if showing him up was becoming a challenge for her, like she wanted to do it every chance she got. She ordered a whiskey, neat, no chaser, and then sat back with that fucking look on her face.

  Yeah, that one. The one she most often gave Nick…and he couldn’t decipher it. It was driving him crazy. But that was why they were here.

  He also felt underdressed next to her. She wore a black leather fitted vest and matching shorts that were almost too short…not that he’d been complaining. Fishnet hose, tall black boots—the woman was formidable, and he was surprised it didn’t make his dick go limp.

  Oh, hell, no. It did the exact opposite.

  Well, no better time than the present to get down to business and get his mind out of the gutter, whether or not it felt at home there. He didn’t want to drag it out and wait for the drinks. “I wanted you and me to have a drink together so we can…” What the hell did he even want to say?

  She smirked. “Bond?”

  He laughed. “Well, yeah, I guess. Kinda. It just seems like maybe you don’t like me or respect me or whatever… I just feel like if we’re gonna be in the same band together, even if you don’t like me, we need to find a way to get along.” That kiss, though—it said something very different.

  She considered him and seemed to be pondering what to say. They had to wait until the waitress dropped off the drinks before she opened her mouth. “No, I don’t hate you.”

  He couldn’t help but notice her choice of words. “Yeah, but you don’t exactly like me either.”

  “I never said that.” She raised her glass to her lips and took a big swig. She didn’t even shudder or gasp. It went down her throat like water. He couldn’t even hear it in her voice when she spoke—the sounds coming from her mouth were as low and melodic as they’d ever been. “You seem like a decent guy, Nick. I just…don’t play well with others. I guess you should know that now.”

  Nick smiled and took a drink out of the bottle in front of him. “I don’t mind a little scrapping, babe.”

  Oh, shit.

  She leaned over and her voice was dangerously low, but not so low that he couldn’t hear it over the music playing in the background. It was husky too, only making her feel sexier by the second. “Did you seriously just call me that again?”

  He didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. “Sorry. Habit. Just slipped.”

  She wasn’t about to let it go, though. “Let’s get one thing clear, Nick. Yea
h, we can be friends. We can be coworkers. We can even get along and maybe even learn to enjoy each other’s company, but I am not, nor will I ever be, your babe.”

  He grinned. He couldn’t help himself. She had that angry look on her face again, the one that made him hot. “It’s just a term of endearment.”

  “Yeah, well, you can take that term of endearment and shove it up your ass. I find it offensive.”

  Oh, God, there it was again. He loved when she got angry like that. He couldn’t understand why, but he did. As he watched her take another gulp of her whiskey, almost emptying the glass, he realized he wasn’t making her a friend that way. He sighed. “Sorry.” She set her glass down and looked in his eyes. “Sorry I say offensive shit like that sometimes.”

  She stared at him for a few seconds, and he almost started to sweat, but he didn’t break eye contact. That would be like staring down the alpha in the pack—he’d lose if he backed down. She nodded. “I believe you. You sound sincere…and so I forgive you.” He nodded and smiled and picked up his bottle. “But you say that shit again, I will take you down.”

  He made sure not to spit out his beer as he let it glide down his throat. It was awfully tempting to see if he could make her become aggressive with him. It might be worth a broken bone or two. Instead, he decided not to push his luck and even decided to go the other way—sincere, even letting his guard down. “And sorry too about my mistake. My gaydar’s usually pretty good, but I totally missed that you’re a lesbian.”

  She downed the rest of her drink, slamming the glass on the table between them, and said, “I’m not a lesbian.”

  Nick felt confused then and a bit out of his element. “But I thought you said—”

  Before he could even reason it out for himself, she interrupted him. “I have a girlfriend. Yeah, I do, but I’m not a lesbian. I’m bisexual.”

  Holy shit. Why the hell could Nick not stop the blood from swirling through his veins at that revelation? He had to concentrate. “Okay, I guess I need to apologize then for not realizing you were in a relationship and kissing you.”

  She grinned. “I kissed you back. And how were you to know?” He shrugged, taking another drink. At least they seemed to be moving toward friend territory, instead of constant friction. That was better than nothing. “It’s not that I don’t like men. I do. I love men…but it would be cheating, and I’m no cheater.”

  “I can respect that.” But he was going to down that whole lager, and maybe have a second, because he still didn’t have a shot with her.

  She had plenty of surprises up her sleeve, though. “It wouldn’t be cheating, though, if my girlfriend joined us.” Had he heard her right? And what the hell kind of purr was that in her voice? He couldn’t help it any longer and he let the blood rush through his body and straight into his cock with abandon. He wasn’t going to fight it anymore.

  But his mind and mouth still weren’t believing. She’d been too cool for too long for him to think she just changed her tune. Surely, she was fucking with him. “What?”

  Her eyes locked with his and told him that, no, she was dead serious, and she’d just managed to keep it all hidden for all that time. “You’re a good looking guy, Nick. I’ve heard stories about you. I’d like to check you out myself.”

  He was still having a difficult time processing her seemingly quick conversion, so it took him time to grab onto the second part of what she’d said. “Heard stories? What the hell does that mean?”

  She laughed then and waved the waitress back over. “I’ll take a Coors Light this time.” Once the waitress stepped away from their table once more, she said, “Oh, come on, Nick. You’re not five years old. Women talk. Yes, online. Try Googling it. There’s all kinds of shit out there about which rock stars cheat on their women on the road, what they’re like in bed, what kind of crazy shit they’re into…” She paused then and tilted her head, letting Nick know she was putting emphasis on the next words out of her mouth. “How big their dick is.”

  Nick couldn’t help but chuckle then, and he shook his head while grabbing for his beer. His brain was reeling now. First off, he knew he shouldn’t even go looking that shit up, because anything online was exaggerated or fueled by emotion. He didn’t need to read that shit, good or bad. It would either piss him off or blow up his ego, and neither had a good outcome. Secondly, though…this woman—this majorly hot chick here whom he’d believed didn’t want a thing to do with him—was propositioning him, and he wasn’t sure what to say. For the first time in he didn’t know how long, Nick was speechless.

  Brina didn’t mind. “Sound like a plan?”

  “Does what sound like a plan?”

  She sat up, leaning over the table once more, and whispered, “You, me, Monica.”

  The waitress came by with Brina’s beer but Nick wasn’t waiting. “Monica?”

  Brina winked at the young waitress, causing the girl to blush before leaving their table. Then she said, “My girlfriend.” A smile slowly spread over Nick’s face when she said, “I know a threesome wouldn’t be a stretch for you, Nick, and I bet you’ve done it at least once before. But not with me. I think we could make some sweet music together.”

  He thought they could too…and another woman in the mix? He was more than all right with that. That date couldn’t come fast enough.

  Chapter Seven

  NICK MIGHT HAVE thought a threesome with Brina sounded good at first, but the more he thought about it, the less he liked the idea. He wanted Brina, not Brina and another woman…especially another woman who was going to be jealous and possessive. Even if her girlfriend was also bi, he could see the sticky complications from miles away. It was a bad idea drenched in bad vibes…but he couldn’t help but want it anyway.

  He wanted her and he’d do whatever it took to get her.

  Ordinarily, he’d laugh and joke about it with someone like Zane or Ethan, but both those guys were working on their own side project, and they were somewhere in England recording their album. They’d gone there for inspiration, Zane had said, and Nick wasn’t going to question it. Ethan had been a completely different person since getting clean, and Nick knew inspiration was a funny thing. If he had to travel the world to make good music, Nick wasn’t going to question it.

  No way would he talk to Brad about it. Yeah, the guy might have some solid insight, considering he’d had his own love triangle bullshit going with Valerie back in the day, but he was always the logical, levelheaded one, the straight-laced guy, and Nick already knew what he’d say.

  She was trouble.

  Yeah, the entire idea was trouble, but that was the funny thing about temptation. He wasn’t usually tempted to do things that were smart or good or beneficial. He wasn’t tempted to spend a day cleaning trash off the side of the highway or volunteering at a soup kitchen. Sure, he’d done both of those things, but he’d never felt a burning desire to do them, a soul-deep impulse urging him to try.

  God, he couldn’t get her out of his head. He needed to talk logically with someone about it.

  That left Gracie.

  No way. No way in hell.

  Yet, there they were. They were watching a DVD of the latest B horror movie. It had been something they’d started doing after they started hanging out with each other—renting crappy movies with no expectations and just having fun. Tonight, Nick wasn’t actually taking in the movie; his mind was pondering Sabrina and, for a brief moment, he considered talking to Gracie about it. Soon, though, he saw how stupid that would be and decided against it. But he couldn’t concentrate on the movie. His thoughts were consuming him.

  Not to mention the fantasies that had started rolling around in his head.

  What was Brina like in bed? What did she look like under those skin-tight clothes she wore? And what about her girlfriend? Was she just as hot?

  Was the girlfriend bi or not?

  That was part of what was gnawing at Nick. If her girlfriend was also bi, there would be less chance of jealousy and hurt
feelings. He could enjoy them both, pleasure them both, and everyone could have a good time. Brina hadn’t said the other night, and Nick hadn’t thought to ask, so he was left in the dark for the meantime.

  All that did was make him wonder…and consider the possibilities.

  Gracie said, “Holy crap. Do you think he’s the bad guy?”

  “What? Who?”

  Gracie paused the movie. “Nick! You’re not even watching, are you?” He couldn’t deny it and just shrugged. “Fine. Let’s go make some popcorn and then, before we start the movie again, I’ll catch you up on what you missed.”

  He followed her to the kitchen, trying to get his head in the game. He’d already decided not to discuss the matter with her, so he needed to get his mind off it.

  When they got to the kitchen, Gracie moved around it like she owned it. Honestly, she’d probably washed more dishes in his kitchen than he ever had. She found the box of microwave popcorn and continued talking about the movie while she went through the motions of taking out a package, removing the wrap, unfolding the bag, and putting it in the microwave. It wasn’t until she turned and looked at him, asking a question seeking confirmation, that he realized he still wasn’t paying attention, was still consumed by thoughts of Sabrina.

  Gracie half frowned and said, “All right, Nick. What’s up with you?”

  He shrugged, hoping to blow it off. “Nothing.”

  “BS. You’ve been tuning me out all night long. What’s on your mind?”

  As much as he loved Gracie and trusted her, he valued their friendship too much to divulge what he’d been thinking. Somehow he knew it wouldn’t set well with her. Why, he wasn’t sure, but it was something he knew in his bones.

  “Eh. You know. We’re getting ready to film another video later this week, and I don’t know if I’m ready.”

  She nodded, but he could tell she didn’t believe him. He appreciated that she wasn’t going to continue pushing but it was going to nag at her. “You know you’ll do fine.” She walked across the kitchen and pulled out a big bowl to put the popcorn in. When she turned around, though, she hit him with a ton of bricks. “I wanted to ask you if you know what you’re getting into.”