Jase (Kings of Korruption MC Book 3) (5 page)

I tried to
tell her no. I’ve never been to a nightclub before; I’d never had
the chance. But when Julie wants something, she can be relentless.
Before I knew it, she’d forced me into this short skirt and had my
make-up done up heavier than I’ve ever done it in my life.

Now we’re
here, and I’m having a blast. I love to dance. I’ve always loved
music. I may not be the best dancer, but there’s something so
freeing in letting go of your inhibitions and just enjoy the
moment.

I’m lost in
the song, my body swaying from side to side, when a pair of hands
land on my waist. I look to Julie with wide eyes, hoping for some
clue as to who it is, but she only looks amused. Well, she might be
amused, but I’m not. You don’t see strange men walking up to women
in the grocery store and grinding into their ass, so why do they
think it’s okay to do it here?

Whipping
around, I pull myself from their hold and get ready to rip them a
new one, but when I see a familiar face grinning back at me, my
stomach fills with a swarm of angry butterflies. God, he’s
beautiful. Jase should be posing for billboard ads and magazine
covers.

Leaning
forward, I have to shout to be heard. “What are you doing?”

I see a
tiny smirk cross his face as his hands land on my hips once more,
pulling me into him. “Well, I
was
dancing with you.”

The
butterflies go crazy and my breath catches in my throat. Placing my
hands on his chest, I put some distance between his body and mine,
even though I like the feel of his. “I don’t think that’s a good
idea.”

His blue eyes
look at me with confusion. “Why not?”

Because you’ll hurt me
. I don’t say it, but it’s true. There’s no doubt that I’m
attracted to Jase. I may want him, but I can’t have him. I don’t
want to be a notch on this beautiful man’s bedpost. I respect
myself more than that, and I’m not looking for casual
sex.

My teeth
nibble on the inside of my lip as I try to pry my eyes away from
his. Finally, I find the courage to speak. “It’s just not.”

The stunned
look on his face makes me want to take back my words. I need to get
away. Without an explanation, I spin on my heel and rush towards
the bathroom, praying that Julie and her friend follow. I don’t
need this right now. I’ve gone almost twelve years of playing it
safe, and I’m not about to change that for anyone, not even
Jase.

Sure, I’ve
dated, but the men were always dependable, responsible, and quiet.
Boring is more like it, but they were good role models for my boy.
I hadn’t gone out with any of them more than two or three times
because they just weren’t the right ones for me. I’m still holding
out that someday, I’ll meet a man who will be a good father to my
son, and a good husband to me. Until then, I need to stay far away
from guys like Jase.

I shove my way
through the bathroom door and raise my hands to my flushed cheeks.
God, this is silly. It was only dancing, for goodness sake.

I give myself
one final look in the mirror and move to stand in the line of
drunken women who are waiting to use the toilet. I use the time to
calm my pounding heart and remind myself that I’m overreacting. He
was flirting, which is what he’s always done. Hell, he flirts with
everyone.

I finish my
business and wash my hands quickly before walking back through the
door, intent on finding Julie.

“
How do you know?”

The voice
comes from behind me, and back here in the hallway, the music is
quieter, so his voice bounces off the walls. I can’t help it when I
let out a tiny scream. “What?”

He takes a
slow step closer to me, and I suddenly feel like his prey. “How do
you know that it’s not a good idea?”

I stare at his
lips. The lower one is slightly fuller than the upper, and all I
can think about is what it would feel like to take that lip between
my teeth. My eyes wander from his lips to his eyes, and it’s like
I’ve been electrocuted. A jolt down my spine brings me back to the
here and now.

“
It was just a dance, Jase.”

He steps
closer, invading my space. “Exactly. It was just a dance. How is
that a bad idea?”

From this
distance, I can see tiny yellow flecks in the blue of his eyes.
They’re mesmerising. I press my back against the wall, trying to
keep as much space between us as I can manage. “Jase…” I don’t even
know what to say without sounding like an idiot. “Look, you’re a
nice guy, but—”

His hand lands
on the wall above my head, effectively boxing me in on one side.
When he leans forward, I can barely breathe as his eyes bore into
mine. “It was just a dance, El.”

Does he really
think I’m going to fall for this shit? I push off the wall, feeling
slightly victorious when he has to back up to allow me room.
“Really?”

He chuckles,
but his words speak a truth that we both know. “Fuck no.”

If he
thinks that a sexy chuckle and a little dance is all it takes to
get me into bed, he doesn’t know me very well. “I’m not that girl,
Jase. I’ve heard about you, and I’ll never
be
that girl.”

“
Ah, so you’ve been asking around about me?”

“
No, but I’ve heard enough, and what I do know is that I’m
certainly not what you’re looking for.”

The cocky
smile melts slowly from his face. “And what exactly do you think
I’m looking for?”

“
Not me.” With that, I spin once more and march right out of
the bar. Once I get outside, I text Julie and tell her I’m going to
grab a cab home. I just want to get out of these tight clothes,
wash away this stupid make-up, and forget that Jase Matthews even
exists.

CHAPTER FOUR

Jase

“S
o you sold
it?”

I hammer
another nail into the wood and answer without looking up. “Yep.
Made a fuckin’ killing off it too. That guy didn’t know much about
bikes, but he knew he wanted that one.”

Ryker hands me
another board and gets to work on the other end. “Nice. I bet
Gunner’s impressed.”

I wipe the
sweat from my forehead and sit back on my heels, surveying our
handiwork. We’re laying the final boards to the backyard deck
Charlie wanted. Ryker had started it a couple of weeks ago, but I’d
been busy with my chopper. Now, with it being done, I’m ready for a
cold beer and the burger he’d promised me.

“
I haven’t told him yet. He said three bikes, so I’ll let him
know once I’ve sold three.”

The patio door
slides open and Charlie steps outside with a beer in each hand.
“Wow. This looks amazing, guys.” She hands a beer to Ryker, then
steps over a pile of tools to hand one to me. “You’re almost
done?”

Ryker twists
the cap off the bottle and takes a long pull before answering.
“I’ll stain it over the weekend, but the hard part’s done.”

Charlie smiles
wide and presses a kiss against his lips. “You did good, babe.”

He reaches
down to pat her ass. “Jase and I are hungry. You got those burgers
ready?”

“
I’ll go get ‘em while you fire up the grill.”

She disappears
inside, but is back before Ryker has completed his task. She places
the plate on the table by the barbeque and turns to me. “So Ellen
mentioned that she saw you at the club last night.”

My chest
tightens at the sound of her name. To keep from giving myself away,
I wag my eyebrows and lean in closer. “You ladies were talkin’
about me, were ya?”

Charlie’s not
amused. “We were. Ellen didn’t say much, but she seemed a little
upset.” She lets out a heavy sigh and holds my gaze. “What are you
doing, Jase? I told you she wasn’t right for you.”

I fold my arms
across my chest and lean against the railing. “Yeah, you’ve told
me—several times, in fact. But what you haven’t told me is why. You
don’t think I’m good enough for your friend, Charles?”

Her expression
softens a little at the use of the nickname I gave her. “Handsome,
you know that’s not it. It’s just that Ellen has a lot of
responsibility. She’s got a lot going on in her life, and doesn’t
have time to play games with you.”

“
What makes you think I’m playin’?”

She continues
to stare at me. I can tell her mind is racing, trying to figure out
if I’m bullshitting her. “Why Ellen?”

I let my arms
drop to my sides. “She’s fuckin’ hot, for one thing.” Charlie
arches her brow. “Not only that,” I continue, “but she seems like a
sweet girl. I got to know her a little when she was takin’ care of
Smoke.”

I still
haven’t convinced her, which is clear by the look on her face. I
have to get past Charlie if I have any hope of getting a shot at
Ellen. “I can’t fuckin’ explain it. Every time I see her, she just
does something to me. I don’t even know why, so how the hell am I
supposed to put it into words for you?”

“
What if you can’t handle her? Ellen’s got some pretty heavy
baggage.”

“
Seriously? What are you, her mother? Fuck me, Charles. I just
want to see her again.”

Charlie waits
for me to go on, and my heart sinks. “I really like her. It’s
different with her.” I can see the moment she caves. Her body
slumps and the stubborn look on her face fades. I don’t waste the
opportunity. “Tell me what I have to do to see her again.”

“
You’re relentless, you know that?” I can’t contain my grin.
“Fine. Ellen takes the bus to and from work. She always works the
day shift, and she’s working tomorrow. If you take me to work,
maybe you could be outside and offer her a ride home.”

Fuck. This
woman is a goddamn genius. I close the distance between us and pull
her into a tight hug. “You’re cool as shit, Charles.”

Her voice is
muffled against my chest when she answers. “I know. But I swear to
God, if you hurt her, I will rip your you know what right off.”

“
Ouch,” I tease. “But that won’t be necessary.”

A throat being
cleared behind us has me grinning even wider as I turn towards
Ryker and keep Charlie in my arms. “You ladies done with gossip
time, or are you gonna need another minute?”

I shrug. “I
think we’re done.”

“
Good. Now, you wanna get your fuckin’ hands off my woman
before I rip ‘em off your body?”

I give Charlie
one last squeeze and let her go. “Fuck, Ryk. When you gonna learn
to share your toys?”

The punch to
the arm he lands hurts like a son of a bitch, but it’s worth
it.

Ellen

I’m just
putting the last of the groceries away when there’s a loud knock on
the door. If it’s Paul, I don’t know what I’ll do. His persistent
phone calls haven’t stopped, and I know it’s only going to get
worse.

Walking to the
door, I peek out the window and see a large man in a suit standing
on the front step. I twist the lock and pull open the door, holding
it partially closed as I peek around it. “May I help you?”

His voice is
gruff and no-nonsense. “Are you Ellen McGrath?”

“
Yes.”

He reaches
inside his pocket and pulls out a white letter envelope and thrusts
it in my direction. “You’ve been served,” he says before turning
and walking down the steps to his car.

What does that
even mean? I look down at the envelope, but there’s no writing
anywhere on it. Pushing the door closed, I turn the lock and walk
back to the kitchen, tearing open the seal as I go.

Inside are
four sheets of stapled papers, filled with typed words. I unfold
the small stack and my heart sinks. At the top of the first page is
a coat of arms, accompanied by the words, Supreme Court of
Canada.

My head swims
and my heart races as my eyes scan the paper, trying to make some
sense of what I’m holding in my hands. I see my name and address in
one column, and in the column beside it is Paul’s. I feel like I
can’t breathe. Every breath I draw in weighs heavily on my chest as
my shaking hands try to hold the paper still.

I read
it over three times before I allow myself to let out the anguished
sob that’s been building. Paul’s gotten a lawyer. In my hands, I
hold a signed court affidavit, preventing me from leaving the city
of Ottawa with Bryce until the court date provided at the bottom of
the page—
two
weeks.

I throw down
the papers and scrub my hands down my face, wiping away the tears
as best I can. I need to get a handle on this. Paul has no grounds,
and I’m a good mom. There’s not a judge in the province that would
take away a little boy from a perfectly good mother, is there?

The front door
opens and in walks Bryce. “Hey, Mom.”