Double Coverage (32 page)

Ryker pinned Hannah behind the bar so she couldn’t get out, bad move on her part.

“What’s wrong?” he asked again.

She looked at him with those light green eyes that were pleading…for what? Forgiveness? Yearning? Understanding?

“Nothing’s wrong. I just want to tidy up the bar so we don’t have a massive mess to clean once you fools leave. Which…don’t you have a game tomorrow?”

Ryker waved her off. “We’re fine; we’ll sleep in. I know you didn’t come over here to tidy up the bar. Ashlin didn’t mean what she said.”

“So you’re telling me you didn’t feed her the same line you fed me?”

“It’s not a line, Hannah. I’m not kidding you when I tell you the minute I saw you for the first time, I knew we were meant to be together. You were made for me.”

Hannah rolled her eyes. “Did you or did you not say the same thing to her?”

“I might recall saying that…” Hannah threw her hands in the air and tried to get past him, but he didn’t let her. “But it was some childish proclamation. She was the only girl I ever knew, I thought that was it. Obviously, I’ve grown up.”

“It doesn’t matter, Ryker, because we’re never ever going to be an item.”

“That’s not true.”

“You’re delusional. Stop wasting your time chasing after something that’s never going to happen and indulge yourself with Ashlin.

“I don’t want her.”

Hannah cocked her hip to the side and put her hand on the counter, studying Ryker. “Do you think I’m an idiot? I see the way you look at her; I see the yearning in your eyes. You want her. I get it. She’s gorgeous. Stop trying to prove to whomever it is that you can nail the waitress and, instead, just go after someone who’s more your type.”

Ryker gripped her wrist tightly and gritted through his teeth. “And what type would that be Hannah?”

“Super model, materialistic, big boobs, fake, you know the type,” Hannah said, while nodding toward Ashlin.

Ryker instantly released Hannah and looked her up and down. No longer was the playful Ryker in front of her, nor the flirtatious Ryker. No, a pissed-off Ryker stood in front of her ready for an attack.

“You know, maybe you’re right. Maybe I’m not meant to marry you because I wouldn’t want to be with some judgmental bitch, who is only making fast-assed assumptions on what she sees. You know nothing about me or Ashlin, so do a little research before you go assessing people because let me tell you sweetheart, you can’t always judge a book by its cover.”

Hannah felt like a piece of crap. All she wanted to do was back Ryker off a bit, but instead, she’d insulted him.

“Ryker…”

“Save it, Hannah. I don’t want to hear it. Thank you for helping me see the real you.”

Ryker grabbed two bottles of beer from the cooler in front of them and brought them over to his table. He handed one to Ashlin and gave her that devilish smile that he used to give Hannah. He draped his arm around her and looked over at Hannah, while he took a sip of his beer. Hannah knew she shouldn’t care, but she did. Ryker had become a wonderful friend and she’d just destroyed that relationship in a matter of seconds.

***

Jax didn’t like the atmosphere of the bar the minute he walked in. He knew his players were able to make their own decisions and, if they wanted to kick back some beers the night before the game, that was their choice, but that wasn’t what was bothering him. What really had his gut twisted in knots was the way Piper would occasionally glance at Mason and the way Mason returned her looks. Jax could feel the heat flowing between the two of them and he didn’t like it, at all.

The last thing Jax wanted to do was go over and talk to two of his wide receivers; they were cocky bastards to begin with, so he didn’t want to find out what they were like when they’d been drinking. That was why he stuck to Piper’s side and talked to Jake Taylor, who was actually a really nice guy, and his beyond beautiful blonde wife, Lexi. He had seen occasional photos of the gorgeous couple together in magazines, but the pictures did not do the couple justice. Jax thought about what Piper and he would look like on a cover together. She would steal the show for sure with her vibrant red hair, liquid metal eyes and creamy skin.

He watched her as she talked to Lexi about some of the shenanigans they played on their parents when they were younger. Jax could only imagine what a little Piper looked like running around her parents’ backyard with a head full of curls; the image warmed his heart. God, he loved her so much. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and Piper smiled at him, returning a peck on his lips. He wished he could deepen the kiss to show everyone just who she belonged to, but he knew Piper would be pissed if he pulled such a move.

“Ugh, you two are so cute together,” Lexi said, while resting her head on Jake’s chest. “Don’t you think so, big guy?”

Jake, who was at least a foot taller than his wife, placed a kiss on her head and said sarcastically, “Just the cutest.” Jax laughed at the high-pitched tone Jake used. Lexi elbowed him in the stomach while rolling her eyes.

“Men! So tell me, Jax, are you serious about my friend here?”

Jax looked at Piper who returned his stare, love radiating from her eyes. “More serious than I thought I ever could be.” Piper placed a soft kiss on his lips and, when she pulled away, he saw her eyes flicker to Mason. Jax tried to ignore her distraction, but it was slowly wearing on him.

He leaned in so only Piper could hear him. “Is there something you want to tell me darlin’?”

Shock registered through Piper’s eyes. “What…what are you talking about?”

“Did Mason do something to you? You keep looking his way. I just want to make sure he’s not giving you a hard time,” Jax lied, but he wanted to gauge her reaction to Mason’s name and, so far, it wasn’t going so well. She started to stutter and look around, as if she was looking for a scapegoat.

“No. Everything is fine.”

“You would tell me, right? You would tell me if he was bothering you?”

“Of course.” Piper glanced over at Mason again, but then turned around quickly and kissed Jax on the lips. “I love you.”

Jax felt some of the tension that was building up in his body ease as those three little words came from her mouth. After his wife died, he didn’t think he would be hearing those words directed toward him again, but then he found Piper. She was everything he needed and wanted. She made his life bright again and he felt like he was starting to balance his life back out again.

“I love you too, darlin’. When do we get to get out of here? I’m thinking about you and me, naked.”

Piper rubbed against him. “Mm, that sounds amazing, but you’re going to have to wait. I don’t want to be rude to our friends. Think you can hold out?”

“I’ll try, but I can’t tell you the little man will be happy about it.”

“The little man will have to suffer a little, but I promise, when we get back to my place, I’ll make it up to him.”

Just what Jax wanted to hear. He gripped her ass and pulled her in closer for a hug, rubbing her up and down. He took a peek at Mason, who was consumed in conversation. Jax hated that the guy was so talented; if Mason wasn’t so good at catching a stupid football, Jax would cut him from the team out of pure spite. Jax didn’t like how Mason looked at his girl. Jax studied him for a second, while continuing to snuggle into Piper and rub her ass. Mason had something white hanging out the back of his pocket and it was lacy. Was that underwear? What a creeper. Who had underwear hanging out the back of their…?

Jax froze for a second and then rubbed Piper’s ass again. He peeled away from her and looked at her metallic eyes. She smiled at him as she went in for a kiss, but he stopped her.

“Are you wearing underwear?” Piper froze for half a second and then rubbed up against him.

“Of course not.”

“But you’re wearing a skirt…what if you tripped or something?”

“I’m graceful; tripping isn’t in my vocabulary.” She tried to kiss him again, but Jax stopped her.

“What’s wrong?”

Jax nodded toward Mason and said, “He has underwear hanging out of his back pocket, it just seems…”

Piper shot off him. “Are you accusing me of sleeping with him?” Anger flashed through her eyes and Jax instantly felt sorry.

“Piper, I’m sorry. I just don’t like how he looks at you. Come here.” He pulled her in close, but she was rigid now. Good going Jax, way to ruin the night. Now, he most likely wouldn’t be getting five-star treatment in bed.

“Don’t be that jealous asshole; you know I hate that.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I think I need a beer or something to relax. Can I just go grab one?”

“Yeah, sure. I’m going to go freshen up.”

Jax watched her walk away and admired her pert behind. He was insecure about their relationship for many reasons, but the biggest reason was standing a couple feet away from him, sipping on a beer and making the people around him laugh hysterically.

Chapter 16

Piper almost puked when Jax questioned her about Mason. For some reason, she thought Jax found out about her little escapade in the back room and she nearly passed out from his questioning. When Jax assumed Mason and Piper were together, Piper went into instant denial mode and turned the argument around on Jax, making him feel like an ass, which made Piper feel like an even bigger ass. Jax was right, Piper was fooling around with Mason and she couldn’t even fathom why. It was as if, every time she was around him, there was some kind of magical attraction that was pulling him into her.

Piper walked in the bathroom and splashed some water on her face, not caring what it did to her eye make-up. She needed to cool down. Her last conversation with Jax was almost too much for her to handle. Thankfully, she recovered quickly, but she didn’t know if she could lie to Jax again if he asked. He was a good man and she needed to get her shit together or else she was going to end up hurting him.

The bathroom door flew open and Mason walked in with a huge grin on his face. He sauntered up to Piper and pinned her against the counter. His arms were on either side of her and he was inches from her face. She pushed at his chest, but that did next to nothing, since he was a brick wall and she was a feather compared to him.

“What’s wrong, babe? Don’t want me around?”

“Stop calling me babe!” She reached around and pulled her underwear out of the back of his pocket.

Holding them up she said, “This almost got me in trouble.” She shook the underwear in his face and then threw it in the trash in the bathroom.

“Hey, I wanted to keep those.”

“Get out of here. I don’t need someone walking in on us and getting the wrong impression.”

Mason gently caressed her face and, damn her head, for moving into his touch. “And what impression would that be?”

“That we’re fooling around.” She looked into his deep chocolate-brown eyes and felt her insides melt like butter on a hot day.

“But we are and I want to make it more than fooling around. I want you to be mine. When is that going to happen?”

“Never!” She pushed him away and went out into the bar where everyone was still drinking, playing pool, and having a good time. Jax was distracted by Jake when Mason came tumbling out of the bathroom after her.

He walked by her, but before he was past her, he reached down and rubbed her ass while whispering in her ear, “Sooner or later, we will be together, Piper.”

“Don’t count on it, ass.”

Piper tore away from him and went behind the bar to fix herself a drink; she was going to need some more liquid courage to get through the night. She looked back at Mason and he did not look happy. His stare felt like he was boring a hole in her soul. She wished she could tear her gaze away, but she couldn’t; she was transfixed. He sucked her in wherever they were. No matter the circumstances; she was always amazed at how he could easily control her body without even using his words.

The bar door swung open, disturbing Piper from her staring match; she looked over and saw a gorgeous Brooke walking in. She was dressed in amazingly tall high heels, royal blue hot shorts and a black tank top that cut all the way down to her black lace bra that was peeking through. Her outfit might have been a little slutty, but she classed it up with a black hat, some necklaces and bracelets. She looked stunning, like some kind of movie star. Piper felt herself shrink.

She looked over at Mason, who was staring at Brooke and licking his lips. What a pig!

Brooke sauntered over to Mason and pulled him down to kiss him on the lips. Piper was shocked when Mason let her. Piper watched at how Mason circled Brooke with his arms and pulled her in close. His hands were placed just above Brooke’s bottom, sending a direct dagger of jealousy through Piper’s heart. Mason looked over Brooke’s shoulder straight at Piper, winked at her and then started nuzzling Brooke’s neck.

Piper felt her blood start to boil, starting at the bottom of her feet all the way up to her ears, where steam poured out. This meant war.

The group was now all hanging out around the pool table, the same pool table Mason and Piper had sex on for the first time. Memories of that night flooded Piper’s mind as she made her way toward the group. Flashes of Mason’s naked body crossed her mind, the way he touched her, the way he smelled, the way he caressed her. It was one of the best nights of her life, but that was all it was, a night.