CHAPTER 2
Another night, another shift at The Skull.
The bar was one of the most popular in my home town, Lucas Corner, California. It was a small desert town in the southern part of the state, surrounded by motorcycle clubs, which meant there was always some excitement brewing somewhere. The Skull was the only bar in town that didn't have a club designation, and it gave us an edge over our affiliated competition.
We served all the clubs without bias, and the only rule was that they couldn't start shit while they were in there. The bar’s reputation spread, and our little shithole quickly became a neutral meeting ground whenever issues needed to be resolved. If club members had problems, or if people wanted to cross-pollinate and marry into other clubs, they could meet in the bar, have a drink, be offered unbiased service, and leave with answers.
And if anyone kicked up any shit, they were tossed out on their asses.
My boss called me up and asked me if I wanted to have an extra shift, so I told him I would come in and help. The bar was always empty until eleven at night, but sometimes pre-game stragglers came in. These were the people who wanted to get drunk before they went off to their club-affiliated bars scattered throughout Lucas Corner. From eight until eleven, I recognized everyone. It was always the same people asking for the same drinks every single time. The monotony helped me mentally slip into the rest of my shift, which would work me like a dog until four in the morning.
I was so fucking ready for my two days off.
But instead of the monotony I was ready for, I had an unexpected little surprise. Three men came in through the doors of the bar. I had no idea who the fuck they were, but it was obvious they were related. They were all tall, with black hair and blue eyes, strong jawlines, and there were bulging muscles underneath their clothes that made my nipples harden.
Fuck. They were beautiful.
Their eyes scanned the bar before the three of them locked onto me. They headed toward the bar, and I readied myself for whatever drinks these men wanted. My heart was hammering against my chest as they got closer, and once they sat down, I could smell the fresh scent of their leather.
Holy hell, it was attractive when a man took care of his leather.
“Can I help you?” I asked.
“Wrong question.”
The tallest one with the iciest blue eyes locked his gaze on me. His voice was deep, like distant rolling thunder. He sat with his back leaned against the chair and his shoulders upright with confidence. His chest was puffed out, pressing his chiseled muscles against his tight white shirt.
I felt myself growing weak in the knees just looking at him.
“Then what’s the right one?” I asked.
“What can we do to help you?”
One of the other men with the mesmerizing blue eyes had my attention now. His shirt was cut a little deeper down his chest, revealing the top of a tattoo. He was slightly thinner than the other two, but his forearms boasted of strength. Pulsing veins so hot that I wanted to rake my tongue across the tattooed rose on his skin. His voice was commanding, but lighter than the man who had previously spoken.
“Help me?” I asked. “What do you mean? I’m pretty sure I’m the one that’s supposed to be serving you drinks.”
“Doesn’t mean you don’t need help.”
The third one that had been quiet up until this point had spoken, and his voice was rough. Edgy. Pulled tight like he was stressed. He looked wound up like something had pissed him off.
I could think of a few ways to help him unwind if that was the issue.
“There’s not anything that needs to be done,” I said. “You guys thirsty? The bar’s officially open.”
“Looks like you still have chairs to put down.”
My eyes connected with the stressed-looking one as I set my hands on the bar.
“You got a name?” I asked.
“Depends. Do you?”
“I do.”
“Ladies first.”
“Emma.”
“Adam,” he said.
“Excuse our brother. He’s a bit high strung.”
I looked back over to the one with the icy blue eyes. His eyes were much lighter than the rest, and his temples were dusted with salt and pepper.
My guess was that he was the oldest.
“I’m Jacob, and the other one down there’s Nick.”
“Hello,” Nick said.
“And what my asshole brother’s trying to get across is that it does look like you still need help. No one’s in the bar yet, so we figured we could be of service,” Jacob said.
“So, you peeked into a bar and decided to help instead of drink,” I said.
“We’ll be drinking, don’t worry,” Adam said.
“Good. Because you look like you could use it.” I saw a shadow of a grin tug Adam’s lips and it drew my gaze down to his mouth. His lips looked soft. I wanted to lean over and kiss them, press my body against his strength and feel his hands on my ass.
I pulled myself from my trance before I drew in a deep breath.
“The chairs do need to come down, and I have to get some glasses from the back,” I said.
“We got the chairs,” Nick said. “You go get those glasses.”
“Need help with them?” Jacob asked.
That was so fucking hot. Ballsy, but hot.
“Nope. I got it,” I said.
What were the chances of three smoking hot men in beautiful leather cuts strolling into the bar and asking if they could help? They were all chiseled with muscles I wanted to feel against my body. They all had kissable lips that I wanted to feel wrapped around my nipples. As I gathered the glasses from the kitchen, my mind fluttered to unspeakable places. Places where my body was spread out on a table for them to devour; where I was riding one brother while sucking another off. Places where I had the three of them at my disposal, in my own place, and at my own time, at my every whim.
Shit, I’m in trouble if they stay around here all damn night.
I stacked the glasses while the three of them put all the chairs down. I threw a rag to Nick so he could start wiping down the seats as Jacob went back to get more glasses.
Did I die and go to heaven?
Adam sat at the bar and helped me dry off shot glasses, and I could feel his eyes heavy on my body.
“You work often?” he asked.
“As often as I can,” I said.
“I like a hard-working woman,” Adam said.
“You’re shit at flirting, Adam,” Nick said. “Let me show you how it’s done.”
“Oh, and you think you can do better?” I asked.
“I can. And you want to know why?” Nick asked.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because even if I couldn’t, you’d be worth the effort.”
“That was pretty good, I’ll give it to you,” I said with a wink.
“Nice ass,” Jacob said as he came out with more glasses.
“That all you got?” I asked.
“Nice tits, too,” Jacob said, grinning.
“Ass and tits. That’s all men ever want,” I said, sighing.
“Not all men,” Nick said.
His words halted me in my tracks as my eyes panned over to him.
“Oh, really? And what is it you want?” I asked.
I could feel their eyes on me as Nick drew in a breath. But before he could answer me, my boss, Booker, came strolling through the front door and ruined my fucking moment.
“The crowd’s about to settle in, Emma. You ready?” he asked.
“Yeah, boss. I’m good,” I said.
“You’ll be the only bartender until midnight, so try to keep up your energy. You eat yet?”
“Nope. You rolled me off the cot, remember?” I asked.
“Doesn’t sound very nice,” Nick said, mumbling.
“Here. Eat a protein bar.” My boss tossed me a piece of chalk, and I laughed. It was a literal piece of chalk. Booker was an asshole, but he was an entertaining asshole.
“What? Don’t like the protein bars I leave you on your desk?” I asked.
“No, now stop doing it. I like my chicken wings.”
“But your heart doesn’t,” I said.
“And she gives a shit. That’s nice,” Jacob said.
I looked at the three peculiar brothers and shook my head. What were they buttering me up for?
“I can hear the hordes of regulars about to descend. You three want anything? Because if you do, get your order in now,” I said.
“How much does a shot of you cost?” Jacob said.
“Okay, okay. You’ve proved your point. You can stop flirting,” I said. “It’s painful.”
“What if we don’t want to?” I stared into Adam’s ocean blue eyes and found nothing but sincerity in them. His voice was harsh, but his words were softening quickly. People started shoving through the front doors, sitting in chairs and calling out their orders. I slid out from behind the bar and ran around to them, writing shit down on my arm before I got to work.
And the entire time, the three brothers sat at the bar and talked to me.
“You sure you guys don’t want anything?” I asked.
“Beers would be great,” Nick said.
“Three beers coming up,” I said.
I popped open three beers and handed them out before I leaned against the bar. The fucking waitress was late, as always, and I was prepared to take every damn tip from every table I’d already served. She knew the drill. She only got paid for tables she worked. The more tables I worked meant more of a headache for me, but it also meant more money.
And I could fucking use all I could get.
The brothers sat there all night, talking and staring. Their company was nice, but I had no idea what the hell their plan was. They came in here, helped me with shit, then sat there nursing two, maybe three beers all damn night while making casual conversation with me.
Thankfully, my mother stayed the fuck away that night. If she hadn’t, she’d be all over these men in a fucking heartbeat. The embarrassment would have been too much. They made me laugh and kept me going until the bar finally started to wind down around three, then they took their leave so I could clean up and close down.
As I was heading to my car, I got a notification from my bank on my phone. An updated statement on my joint savings account with Lindy. I opened the attachment and jumped up and down in the parking lot like a mad women, when I saw that Lindy’s deposit had already hit.
After two years of working ourselves half to death and saving every single penny we made, we had all the money we needed to finally find our store.
Shit was finally heading the right direction.