Burning Desires (Blue Bandits MC Book 4) (5 page)

“No, if he left you alone in this crowd, he doesn’t deserve the pleasure of your company,” he growled, his eyes turning darker as his mouth neared hers when he leaned forward. She pulled away, trying to swing her legs off of him, but he wouldn’t allow it and his hand inched upwards on her thigh. The man next to him chuckled and stood up, glancing down at them with a little knowing smile.

“I guess you’re busy. I’ll talk to you later, Burner,” he said and he walked away with a little wave, abandoning her to her fate. She watched him with a sinking sensation in her chest because she suddenly knew no one would interfere on her behalf.

Kelsey didn’t know what to do with his face looming ever closer to hers and her heart pounding against her chest. She felt fear stir inside her and felt the need to jump up and run from his forceful inspection. This man was intense and he had every intention of taking what he wanted from her despite her protests. Kelsey trembled slightly, her hazel eyes captured in his as he face loomed closer still and she wondered fearfully what he would do.

She was saved from finding out when a hard male voice demanded, “What the hell are you doing, Burner?”

Kelsey jerked her eyes away from his to see Hammer coming towards them with a glower on his face directed at the man holding her. She’d guess Burner was his name since both Hammer and the other man had called him that. She felt relief flood through her making her almost light-headed because Hammer was here.  She knew that he would rescue her from Burner, which was good because she didn’t know if she’d have been able to stop him from taking what he wanted. Not with her body unwilling to cooperate.

“What’s it look like, Hammer? I’m helping a damsel in distress. Why the hell do you care anyway?” Burner had narrowed eyes and his face was contorted into a cold look, his hands still firmly holding her on his lap. His hand tightly clamped around her upper thigh, his thumb moving in a circular motion on her skin, sliding upwards slightly every few seconds.

“She isn’t one of the sweetbutts, now let her up. She’s not that type,” Hammer grunted, his own face set in a hard compressed line. He seemed to watch Burner carefully like you would a snake about to strike.

“Not one of those girls? Then why the fuck did you leave her alone?”

“I went to get us some beers and I told her to stay put in the game room,” Hammer said, holding the two beers up.

“I guess she didn’t listen well, did she? You don’t leave a nice girl alone at a party like this and you know it. What the fuck, man?” Burner’s hands didn’t release her but the one on her thigh that had been inching up her leg stopped. Kelsey watched Hammer, still motionless, noting with a frown that he looked a little guilty for some reason. Kelsey raised a brow because she’d bet he’d forgotten about her and that was what had taken him so long to come back. Great, just what she needed, a man who forgot about her when she could be in a dangerous situation.

“Look, just let her up and I’ll stay with her from now on. I didn’t mean to leave her alone for so long but Amber waylaid me.”

“How long did you leave her alone?” Burner growled the question and she felt his grip tighten, becoming slightly painful on her thigh, but seeing the dark look on his face directed at Hammer, she didn’t protest the hold.

“A while,” Hammer evaded, looking even guiltier than he had a moment ago.

“
How long?
” Burner demanded gruffly, his hand releasing her thigh.

“Forty minutes or so,” Hammer finally told him and Burner pushed her off his lap, helping her to her feet as he stood beside her, moving closer to where Hammer stood. His glare was dark and his grip on her arm tight but not painful this time.

“You don’t leave a nice girl alone here for five seconds much less forty fucking minutes, you damned moron. What the fuck, man, and for Amber? That bitch? Really, motherfucker?” Burner snarled right in Hammer’s face, his contorted into a cold glower.

“I didn’t intend to leave her alone for that long and like I said, I left her alone in the game room and told her to stay there till I returned so she was safe. I don’t know why she came out here,” Hammer defended his actions and his empty hand rose to rub his neck nervously.

Kelsey glanced back and forth between the two men wondering who Amber was and why she had waylaid Hammer. She felt a little anger that he’d wondered off on their date and left her alone for over half an hour while he chatted up another woman. Who does that?

“Maybe she left the room because she was bored, you fucking idiot. What the hell were you thinking to leave her alone while you chatted up Amber, likely asking her to come by your place after your date. You shouldn’t be around a nice girl, hell, none of us should. We’re a bunch of assholes and apparently in your case morons. None of us should bring a nice girl here and you fucking know it. Now take her home.” Burner was right in Hammer’s face and Kelsey was becoming more and more upset with Burner and his high-handedness by the second.

Who did he think he was to tell her or Hammer what to do? She wasn’t very happy with Hammer either but that didn’t give Burner the right to dictate to either of them. He didn’t know her and he wasn’t the boss of her, that was for damned sure. He wasn’t going to send her home like a schoolgirl caught out after curfew.

“Who gave you the right to decide anything for me?” Kelsey demanded, jerking her arm from his grip to place her hands on her hips, well aware that the only reason she managed it was because he allowed it.

“I’m the man who just saved your ass from getting into bigger trouble than you can even comprehend, little girl,” Burner growled, his eyes resting on her now, his glare hot.

Kelsey didn’t care that the cold steel of his eyes sent a chill of foreboding down her spine, he wasn’t going to intimidate her. She had stared down her sisters in this mood more than once and Burner was no different just because he was a man.

“I didn’t ask you to save me so you can quit congratulating yourself on a job well done,” Kelsey told him even though her insides twisted into knots at the dark glower on his face and the way his eyes narrowed and his lips tightened. He moved into her personal space. His steely blue eyes were hard and the almost haunted look in them made a spike of unease move through her chest.

“You listen to me,
little girl
. This isn’t a place for girls like you and if I hadn’t caught you a minute ago you’d likely be needing stitches right about now so how about showing some gratitude.” Burner was in her face, his breath teasing her lips as he uttered the words.

“Leave her alone, Burner. You need to walk away, this isn’t your business,” Hammer barked. Burner stared at her for a long moment, so long that she thought he would ignore Hammer and continue insulting her, but he finally ripped his eyes from hers to look at him. His hands curled at his sides and lifted as if he wanted to grab her but was forcing himself not to. Kelsey had never felt fear like the cold spike that ran down her spine in that moment but it wasn’t fear of him, it was fear of what she would allow him to do that was making her quiver.

“Fine, but remember this, girl. You’re out of your league here. Now go home,” Burner snarled before he released her and stomped away leaving her standing there with Hammer, her arms wrapped around her own waist to ward off the chill of his warning.

“Are you okay?” Hammer asked, moving to stand next to her, his hand resting on her arm.

“Yes,” Kelsey replied, even though her insides were still quaking and her hands shook. She clenched them together in front of her trying not to let the way Burner’s words affected her show. Hammer watched her carefully for a long moment before he spoke again.

“Sorry I left you alone so long. I didn’t expect to be trapped at the bar by Amber.”

Kelsey had forgotten he left her alone while talking to another woman she’d been so frazzled by Burner’s closeness and his high-handed behavior. Not to mention her unintentional desire for him that had blasted through her from the moment she’d first seen him. It confused her because she normally wasn’t such a hussy that she lusted after a man while on a date with another. Of course, Burner was such an asshole that she didn’t want anything to do with him despite her raging libido.

“It’s fine. Let’s just go out and dance for a bit,” Kelsey said, even though she wasn’t really feeling it after that nasty scene with Burner and finding out her date had been with another woman while she sat in that room alone. She’d be damned if she left like she now wanted to because Burner had demanded it. Call her stubborn but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that she left right after he told her to.

“Sure, let’s go.”

Handing her one of the beers, Hammer motioned for her to head down the stairs ahead of him and as they came to the bottom he took her arm and began leading her through the crowd. He leaned close to her ear and in a low voice filled with a bit of concern that Kelsey felt was a little misplaced asked her, “Why did you leave the game room? I told you it would be the safest place for you and you knew I would be back.” After all, he’d left her alone for over half an hour; how concerned could he really be about the answer to his question.

His face twisted and she could tell his lips were compressed in a tight line as he continued, “I know I left you alone but you shouldn’t have risked your safety.”

Kelsey felt her fists curl and her stomach felt like a fiery ball of tension. Her eyes narrowed and she wanted to tell him to take her home but she refused to allow Burner to dictate to her. She knew even if it was her choice to leave he would think it was because he told her to; he was just that arrogant. Not that it should matter, she’d likely never see him again anyway. Well unless he came to the bar to collect the monthly income or to break up a fight, because she wasn’t going out with Hammer again anytime soon at this point.

“I wasn’t interested in the free show a couple who entered was putting on,” she replied tightly. Hammer grimaced and she really hoped he felt like an ass because he’d acted like one.

“Damn, I’m sorry, Kelsey. Burner’s wrong though, I wasn’t having her come by the house or trying to get with her. It’s––well see, we were an item a few months ago and she messed around on me when we were supposed to be exclusive ––and well she just asked if I could talk to her. I didn’t really want to but I felt like a jerk because she was crying. It was a ploy of course but it took me about thirty minutes to figure that out. It’s no excuse and I’ll understand if you want to leave but I hope that we can move past this. I really like you and want to get to know you better,” Hammer finally finished.

Kelsey watched him carefully, her eyes taking in his expression, wondering if she should take him at his word as they stood on the front porch of the clubhouse. She could just make out his face in the light from the clubhouse, which spilled from the windows illuminating the dark. He was looking at her intently, his face serious. She wanted to believe him but she wasn’t sure she could, even though he seemed sincere. She didn’t want to get attached and then get burned when she found out he was cheating on her.

“Hammer, I don’t know how I feel about this right now. I just want to step back from it for now. Can we just dance and deal with this issue later please?” Kelsey asked, her head starting to hurt from all the thoughts swirling inside her.

She hated when things got complicated. It wasn’t that she couldn’t deal with it, she just didn’t like to. She could see why Hammer had spoken to Amber if what he was telling her was true. She knew what it was like when you cared about someone; even if they did hurt you, you didn’t want to see them upset. Kelsey turned to look out at the fire, her hands rubbing together, trying to ignore the fact that she was searching the crowd for Burner. She wanted to be sure he knew she hadn’t left when he told her to.

“Sure,” Hammer said after a long pause. He took her hand and began leading her out to the firelight where music was playing and people were dancing. Kelsey and Hammer joined them and for a little while she enjoyed her night again, forgetting about Burner and the drama of finding out that Hammer had been chatting up another woman on their date.

Chapter Five

Burner stood in the shadows watching Hammer and Kelsey dance, his eyes narrowed and his shoulders tense. He didn’t know why the hell he was still watching her. When she’d fallen in the clubhouse he’d caught her without a second thought, but once she was in his arms he felt such a visceral surge of desire that he’d been ready to take her to his room and fuck her all night despite her voiced protests. Finding out she wasn’t a sweetbutt or a piece of ass that hung around the club for the night seeking pleasure had made anger burn inside his guts that twisted and turned in venomous delight because he wanted her.

Badly
.

He supposed that was what made him act like a total asshole to her but fuck, a good girl didn’t need to be here. Now that he could see past his hardened cock and the burning chasm of need she’d unleashed with her fresh apples and honey scent and her long coltish legs, he could almost feel the sweetness pouring off her.

Hammer, that stupid fuck, had left her alone and he cringed as thoughts of what could have happened to her bombarded him. His anger grew as he watched her laugh in tinkling wonder as she was spun around by Hammer. His teeth ground together and his arms crossed and it took everything he had to stop himself from walking over there and jerking her from Hammer’s arms to take her home. A woman as pure as she was didn’t need to be here with this motley crew or anywhere near a man like him. Burner felt a hot pit open up inside him and his emotions began to be sucked into the vortex of hate and self-loathing that was now his whole world.

How many girls like her had his actions caused to be broken and abused? How many times had he stood back and watched it happen because he was trying to find the mole for men like Hammer? Fuck, just fuck. He shifted from foot to foot trying to get a handle on his rampaging emotions. Burner tore his eyes away from Kelsey and Hammer.