Page 9 of Play Hard
“My friends and I opened a bar. It’s called Game Changers. It’s two blocks over from here, on the corner of Parks Drive and Selma Road. Come by around seven. I’ll save us a booth, get Jeret to make you some crab balls and onion rings. And we’ll talk.”
When I didn’t immediately respond, he extended his arm and tugged on the end of my ponytail. “Now you know you never pass up crab balls.”
He was right, dammit. I loved seafood, specifically whatever seafood dish my Pop Pop prepared, but there were things I would try from other places. Anything crab, however, I was always skeptical about just because my grandparents and my mother, were born and raised on Maryland’s Eastern Shore where seafood was like a religion. And even though they’d all moved away from that area, they’d taken the recipes with them.
I groaned. “You know I’m picky about where I eat crab.”
He nodded. “I do know that and I assure you that Jeret makes crab balls that are comparable to the Maryland style you favor. In fact, I can tell you in confidence that it’s an extremely close knockoff to the crab cakes down at Crabtree’s place.”
“So, someone on your staff is jacking Pop Pop’s recipes and you’re inviting me there to taste it? That’s shady as hell.”
He chuckled, and I couldn’t help it, so did I.
“Hey, don’t forget I told you that in confidence.” His hand dropped from my hair and his knuckles brushed over my cheek, then the line of my jaw.
The touch took my breath and whatever I was about to say flew from my mind. My mouth was still open though and when his finger moved closer to my bottom lip, Ialmostdipped my head and sucked that shit inside.
Snapping my mouth closed, I cleared my throat and nodded. “Yeah,” I finally managed to say. “I’ll keep your little secret. But if they suck, I’m telling on you and your stealing ass chef.” I moved to turn around then.
He was standing closer than I thought, and the side of my arm brushed against his chest as I moved. His arm that had been extended toward me, didn’t move, and now I was sort of locked in to him. He lowered that arm until his fingers were at my waist, and with one tug, I was against him again. I guess I could be thankful that my titties weren’t pressed against his nice hard chest for a third time in as many days, but still, he was touching me, holding me, and I couldn’t hate it as much as I wanted to.
“They won’t suck.” He leaned in until his lips brushed along my ear. “I’ll see you later,” he whispered before licking my lobe.
I immediately sucked in a breath, my eyes involuntarily closing as desire swarmed my body. “Yeah.” I cleared my throat again. “See you later.”
His teeth clamped down on my lobe then, and I swallowed hard. I remembered everything about that tongue. All the nastyand delicious things he used to do with it, all the nasty and delicious things I always wanted him to do with it. My heart hammered in my chest, and my panties were more wet from arousal than sweat at this moment.
“Later,” I mumbled, forcing myself to pull out of his grasp. “I’ll see you later, Noah.”
He moved and I hurriedly turned my back to him so I could dig down into my shirt where I’d stuffed my car keys in my bra. I yanked them out and had just unlocked the car door when he spoke again, “Jordan,” he said. “Call me Jordan, the way you used to.”
Glancing over my shoulder I found his heated gaze on me. His tone was deep, that timbre that came only when he was aroused. “We’re not who we used to be,” I said. “Not anymore.”
And I wondered what that really meant. He probably wondered the same, but he didn’t ask and I didn’t stick around to find out if he would figure it out first.
CHAPTER 5
Noah
“That’s some bullshit!” Jeret gripped the dish towel that had been swung over his shoulder moments before. Now, he was twisting the material between both hands as if it were somebody’s neck instead of an innocent towel. “We’ve been waiting for those permits for months now. They just don’t want a Juneteenth celebration taking away any of the shine from their week-long Fourth of July festivities.”
Lance, who sat comfortably in what was now known as his favorite stool at the end of the bar closest to the kitchen, shook his head. “Nah, they just don’t wantusspearheading a Juneteenth celebration. Or any other thing that might back up our commitment to working for the community.”
“I’m inclined to agree with you on that one,” Del added.
“Gayla acted like she was on our side during our meeting,” I interjected. “Said they had our applications and just needed to get the final approvals on them. I called her first thing this morning as a follow-up.”
“It’s damn near seven,” Jeret continued. “Way past time they get up out of the office, especially on a Friday. Her ass had no intention of calling you back.”
Just like Serra had no intention of meeting me at the bar last night. I held those words in, feeling the sting of disappointment that I’d battled with all night. Now, though, I was firmly in the realm of being pissed the fuck off. At Serra and the town council.
Which wasn’t a good thing since I wasn’t known to be one of the calmest of the Brothers.
There were the twins: Delano and Delancey Greer. Del, the former DEA agent turned manager was the brooding and oftentimes solemn one. At least he used to be before falling for Rylan, his sister’s best friend. Lance was the former cop with music in his soul and women on his brain. Lance loved a good laugh at any of their expense, but he was also loyal as hell. Then, there was Ethan Henley, the former Secret Service agent who once upon a time had a hair-thin temper and was known to kick ass first and ask questions never. That was the space me and Rock, Rochester Patterson, the professional wrestler turned accountant, lived in as well, so the three of us had instantly bonded at the Grace House for Boys. Jeret, the former Army Ranger and the only one in the crew who gave Ethan’s green-eyed ass a run for the title of “pretty boy,” was the balance between us all. He was the steady one, the negotiator, the calmer head. At least that was the case until you pissed him off, which the council members and many of the others in this town had done a long time ago.
We weren’t related by blood, but since we’d all done something to get us kicked out of our family homes and placed in the Grace House for Boys when we were teenagers, we’d built an unbreakable bond and collectively called ourselves the Brothers. It was that bond that had saved my life on more than one occasion, which was why I would forever be dedicated to any and everything this group of men decided to do.
“I’ll stay on them,” I said, trying to bring an end to a conversation that would only keep us all irritated. A state thatwould undoubtedly jeopardize anyone daring to get out of hand tonight. “We’re doing the celebration, even if it comes down to just operating inside of the bar and on our parking lot where no permits are required. We’ll make it work.”
