Jase (Kings of Korruption MC Book 3) (2 page)

Again,
my chest starts to tighten.
Paul.
He’s not going to be happy. I’ve only been dating him for a
couple of months now. He’s eighteen, good looking, and captain of
our school’s football team. He’s popular, and before him, I was
not. I had friends, of course, but nothing compared to what I have
now that Paul and I are together. When he’d shown an interest in me
at the beginning of the school year, I’d been flattered. He’d asked
me out on a Friday, and that very night, I went on my first date
and had my first kiss. It was magical.

Things
with Paul had moved fast, but I love him… at least I
think
I do. I know I would do
anything for him, and that’s why the idea of telling him about this
has me wanting to barricade myself inside our high school bathroom
until the end of time.

Julie holds
her hand out, gesturing for me to take it. I stare at it, not
wanting to take another step. I don’t want to go out there, and I
don’t want to tell Paul. I don’t want to be pregnant.

Julie waves
her hand at me once more. I take a deep breath before grasping it
like a lifeline. She leads me out of the bathroom and down the
deserted hallway that will fill up with thousands of students as
soon as the bell rings.

We turn the
corner to go to my locker just as it rings. Students spill out of
every door, clogging up the hallways, making me panic.

“
Here he comes,” Julie whispers. “I gotta get some stuff out
of my locker. You talk to him and I’ll meet you back here in a few
minutes.” She doesn’t wait for an answer because Paul is already
behind me.

His arm wraps
around my waist and his lips graze the sensitive skin on the side
of my neck. “Hey, babe.”

I take a deep
breath and straighten my shoulders, deciding that it’s now or
never. I could wait to tell him, but what’s the point? I don’t need
to go through this alone if we can go through it together. We need
to be a team.

I turn in his
arms and paste on the best smile I can manage. “Hey.”

His eyes
narrow, not missing the fact that I’m acting strange. “What’s going
on?”

“
Um…” I bite my lip and look around, making sure nobody is
close enough to hear our conversation. “I need to talk to you.” I
stare up at him, doing my best to tell him with my eyes that this
is serious.

“
So talk.”

I shuffle from
foot to foot, my eyes not quite meeting his. “Well, I…” I take
another deep breath and look at him from beneath my lashes. “This
is important, and I’d like to talk to you in private.”

His arm pulls
away from me and he takes a step back, more than a little annoyed
now as he looks me up and down. “What the fuck, Ellen? I’ve gotta
get to practice, so just say what you gotta fuckin’ say.”

I taste blood
on my tongue from nibbling furiously on my lower lip. Why is he
being so mean? My eyes dart around the hall once more, not even
taking in my surroundings anymore. My heart races, and I wish more
than anything that the cement floor would open up and swallow me
whole.

“
I don’t think this is—”

“
Say it!” he snaps, not even caring who’s
listening.

My face heats
as the chatter in the hall dulls. I look to see everyone within
hearing distance watching us. I feel the bile rise up my throat as
I take in his uncaring face. Suddenly, my fear is much different
than just upsetting him. My fear is that he will abandon me
altogether, and with everyone listening. Everyone will know.

I spin on my
heel, intending to dash down the hall, but he grabs my arm and
yanks me back. “What the fuck do you have to say that’s so goddamn
important?” I stare up at him, unable to believe that he would grab
me like this. My arm hurts from where his fingers are digging into
my flesh. “Whatever,” he spits, shoving me away. “I don’t have time
for this shit.”

“
She’s pregnant, you asshole,” Julie says angrily from behind
me. “Did I seriously just see you grab her?” My eyes are glued to
Paul’s, whose are wide now, and on me.

“
This true?”

I nod, tears
spilling down my cheeks.

“
You saying it’s mine?” he asks with his nostrils flared and
his jaw clenched.

I can’t
believe he’s asking me this. He’s the only guy I’ve ever been with,
and he knows that. He shakes his head from side to side, not
bothering to hide the disgust on his face. “Yeah? Well, we’ll see
about that, you stupid bitch.”

I watch in
horror as he spins around and storms off down the hall. What just
happened? Paul’s never talked to me this way before.

A ninth grader
with a large stack of books is in Paul’s path. I cry out as he
picks the kid off the ground, books and all, and tosses him against
a locker. The poor boy slides to the ground, looking scared to
death. Paul then pushes and shoves his way through the crowd,
screaming at kids who are unfortunate enough to be in his way.

The hall
erupts once more in a cacophony of conversation. I turn to face
Julie, feeling even more afraid than I did before. “Well,” she
says, “that went well.”

CHAPTER ONE

Jase

I
stuff my dick
back into my pants, yank up the zipper, and look down at the bitch
on her knees. She looks up at me, licking her swollen lips as she
starts to stand. Leaning forward, she smashes her mouth onto mine,
slipping her tongue inside. Tasting myself is not something I
enjoy, but I kiss her back. After all, she did suck my dick, so
what’s a kiss?

I’d met Tammy…
Tania? Wait a minute… Tracy? Oh hell, whatever. About an hour ago,
while I was playing pool with some of the guys, she’d walked up to
me, slipped her hand in my back pocket, and told me I had a nice
ass. The bitch is observant. I do have a nice ass.

I’d managed to
finish my beer and another round of pool before she grabbed my hand
and dragged me back here to the ladies’ room. I wasn’t going to
argue. She pressed me back against the wall, unzipped my pants, and
proceeded to allow me to blow off some steam. It was a win–win for
the both of us.

I break our
kiss and smile down at her. “You want another beer?”

“
Hell yeah.”

Snagging her
hand, I lead her out of the dingy bathroom and into the main part
of the bar. I order us each a beer and look around the room, seeing
several of my brothers scattered throughout as they drink, laugh,
and dance.

The Kings of
Korruption Motorcycle Club has a clubhouse not far from here,
complete with a fully stocked bar and a kick-ass speaker system. We
spend a lot of time there, preferring to stick together and amongst
our own people. But every once in a while, we need to branch out
and meet some new bitches, get in a few brawls, and unwind. At
least we don’t have to worry about cleaning up our messes.

It’s no
mystery why we picked the Pig’s Ear as our hangout. The tables and
stools are ancient, covered in burn marks, and beaten-up with shit
scratched into every surface. There are five pool tables off to the
side that are well-maintained and always in use. The music is loud,
and the local bitches come here in droves, always ready for a good
time.

“
You wanna dance?” Tammy asks, batting her heavily made-up
eyelashes.

I turn to look
at her, but my eyes land on a familiar face. “Nah, you go ahead,
baby. I’m gonna go talk to my buddy for a minute.”

Her lip pops
out in a phony pout before she spins away, swaying her hips to the
beat of the music as she walks to the dance floor. I watch her go,
fully enjoying the flash of red panties I see beneath her short
skirt.

Moving across
the room, I come up behind Ryker and clap my hand down on his
shoulder. “Hey, fucker.”

“
Jase.”

I look
around the table, smiling at everyone I see until my eyes land on a
pair of brown ones that I haven’t seen in months.
Ellen
. She
stares back at me, her eyes wide, and I feel frozen in place. It’s
like time stops, and neither one of us are able to look away. The
loud music and drone of voices fade to a faint background noise,
drowned out by the beating of my own heart.

“
Hi, Jase.”

I blink and
turn my head, focusing on the voice calling my name. Ryker’s old
lady, Charlie, stares back at me, her eyes narrowed and her mouth
tight. Shit. Charlie’s been giving me a hard time for months about
Ellen, demanding I stay away from her, and I have. It’s been easy
because I never see her, but now that I have, it makes it a lot
more difficult.

I try to hide
my feelings as I grin at her. “Charles. I didn’t see you over
there.”

Her mouth
twists into a smirk. “Clearly.”

I ignore her
comment and greet everyone at the table, one by one. Reaper,
Laynie, and Tease all sit back with huge smiles on their faces, but
are quick to return my greeting. These fuckers know how into Ellen
I am, and they’re thoroughly enjoying this.

I’d first met
Ellen at the palliative care home where she works with Charlie.
We’d put Smokey in there when his battle with lung cancer was
coming to an end. Smokey had been like a father to me and Ryk in a
lot of ways, and had been a member of the Kings since the very
beginning. Ellen had been one of the nurses that took care of him
in those final days. I’d been attracted to her then, but she was
always quick to make herself appear uninterested.

I’d only seen
her one other time since Smokey had passed away, and that was here,
at this very bar, just a few months ago. I’d tried to talk to her
then, but Charlie had been all over me to stay away from her girl,
but seeing her here tonight, I decide that Charlie can kiss my
ass.

When my eyes
meet hers once more, I clear my throat and smile. “Hey, Ellen.”

I watch her
cheeks flame and hear her quick intake of breath. “Hi, Jase.”

I can tell
just by looking at her that she’s interested. Why the hell is
Charlie cockblocking me? Moving closer to her, I turn my body to
face her and lean against the table. “Haven’t seen you in a while.
You look…” I look her up and down, making damn sure she knows that
I like what I see, “gorgeous. As always.”

She raises her
brow and her lip tips up on one side. “Does that line actually work
on women?”

My brow
furrows. “What line? That wasn’t a line.” I motion towards her.
“You look fuckin’ hot, woman.”

Her cheeks
flame brighter, and a choked laugh escapes her lips. “Well, thank
you.”

I stare into
her smiling brown eyes, and neither of us say a word. I know we
must look ridiculous, but I don’t give a shit. I can’t stop looking
at the way her eyes crinkle in the corners when she laughs, or the
way she’s looking at me right now.

A body slams
into mine from behind, then a pair of arms wrap themselves around
my waist. “There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

I watch the
smile fall from Ellen’s face and the crinkles around her eyes
smooth out as she looks over my shoulder. Turning, I paste on a
fake smile and pull out of the unwanted embrace, taking my intruder
by the hand so I can move her away from Ellen. “Everyone, meet
Tammy.”

I don’t want
them to meet Tammy. I want Tammy to disappear. I want that happy
look back on Ellen’s face.

She yanks her
hand from mine and narrows her eyes at me. “It’s Tawney. How is it
you let me suck your dick five fucking minutes ago, but you can’t
even remember my damn name?”

Shit. “Tawney…
right! That’s what I—”

The sound of
her open hand striking my cheek is barely heard over the noisy din
of the bar, but everyone at that table hears it. Before I know it,
Tawney’s gone, and everyone’s staring at me. They’re all silent for
a beat, but then they all burst into laughter.

I lock eyes
with Ellen, who isn’t laughing. It’s quite the opposite, she looks
disgusted.

Raising my
hand, I press it to my lip and check for blood, but there is none.
The only thing wounded here is my pride, and most likely, my shot
with Ellen.

“
Looks like you pissed Tammy off,” Ryker chokes out through
his wheezing laughter.

“
Fuckin’ priceless,” Reaper snorts. “First time I ever saw a
bitch pissed at you, Jase. It’s like fuckin’ Christmas!”

The three of
them continue to cackle like a bunch of hyenas while I grit my
teeth. Fuck them. This shit isn’t funny. I look over to Charlie,
and the disappointment on her face makes my stomach tighten. Then I
look back to Ellen, but she avoids meeting my eyes.

“I’m
gonna grab another beer.” I walk away, thankful for any excuse to
distance myself from them.
Fuck
.
That bitch totally fucked up any chance I might have had with Ellen
tonight. And what the fuck did she hit me for? I’ve never been
slapped like that, ever.

Shaking my
head, I order my beer and wade back through the sea of people to
Ryker’s table.

The first
thing I notice is the empty seat. I look to Charlie, who just
shakes her head and looks away.

For the first
time in my life, a feeling I’ve never felt before threatens to
overwhelm me. I slump down onto Ellen’s abandoned stool, which is
still warm, and my face heats as I realize what that feeling
is.

Shame.

Looking up, my
eyes meet Ryker’s. He’s watching me closely, fully aware that I’m
upset. Well, fuck that, and fuck everyone else too. I didn’t do
anything wrong.

What’s so bad
about having a good time? Grinning, I shrug my shoulders and raise
my glass.