Page 45 of Sizzling

I’d debated on taking them or leaving them so as not to alert whoever had put them there that they’d been found. Leaving them for now seemed like the best idea, but then that meant I couldn’t let Briar out of my sight.

She had just taken the stage for her second set when I arrived, and the furious gleam in her eye when she spotted me was brief, but I didn’t miss it.

The angrier she was at me, the harder it made it for me not to throw her against a wall and fuck her until I was sated. Which part of me feared I’d never be when it came to her. Sated, that was. It made me hard as a damn rock, even thinking about it. She’d liked it when I was rough with her. That tight pussy of hers had literally been soaked. She had a redheaded temper, and I liked it.

Pepper turned back around. “So, it’s business then and not the gorgeous woman on my stage?”

Both.

“Not my type.” Fucking lie.

Pepper let out a cackle. “She is everyone’s type. Heck, even I think I’d be tempted to swing that way if she asked. At least when she’s up there singing.”

Not an image I needed. My hand tightened around my glass, and I took a drink in hopes of cooling down. I didn’t want to see Briar with someone else, but the thought of her and sex always got me worked up.

Unable to help myself, I turned to look at Briar onstage. She winked at someone as the words to the song flowed easily from her, as if the song had been written just for her. It hadn’t been, but she sure made it seem that way. Somehow, she managed to make the entire room think she was up there for them. She drew you in and held you there with her.

“Another beer, please, Pep,” a tall blond biker said, leaning against the bar as he continued to watch Briar sing.

“You came without a woman tonight. Not like you, Country,” Pepper said to the man.

“Got my eyes on something better.” He grinned and turned to pick up his beer as Pepper slid it across to him.

“You and every other single man in here,” she replied.

“Ah, Pep, but it’s me. I got this smile and all this charm.”

I wondered how big of an issue it would be with Blaise if I killed one of his father-in-law’s men.

“She’s not gonna date a biker. Let it go,” Pepper informed him.

He smirked, putting the beer to his lips. “She might.”

“She won’t.” The clipped words came from me before I could stop them.

“And who are you?” the guy asked, giving me a challenging look.

“A Kingston. Go back to your seat.” Pepper’s tone had a warning in it that the guy didn’t miss.

“As in—” the guy started.

“Yes,” Pepper snapped.

He took a step back and nodded his head once before turning and walking away. Clearly, he’d met Huck.

“Don’t start anything with them. The lot think they’re in love with her. Brings in business. If you got something to handle with Briar, then do it elsewhere,” Pepper told me.

I held up my drink. “Just here for this.”

“Uh-huh,” she replied with a twist of her mouth, then turned to walk down the bar to take someone else’s order.

The place was clearing out as Briar made her way toward me. I’d eventually moved to a back table and ordered food tonight. Every chance she could, she shot me a warning look. It had become amusing as fuck. She walked past the servers cleaning up with her determined glare locked on me.

“Why are you here?” she demanded.

I stood up and pushed in my chair. “To take you home.”

She blinked at me as if taken off guard for a moment, but then she recovered quickly. “Pepper is giving me a ride. You can leave now.”

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