A Bit of You (2 page)

A BIT OF YOU

Bailey Bradford

9

studied Les and tried to copy his stern expression. Judging by the way the big guy started snickering, he wasn’t very successful.

Adam didn’t seem to think so either. “Come on, Billy,” he said as he nudged Billy’s shoulder. “You aren’t cut out to be a snarly type.”

“Fine,” Billy huffed. So he couldn’t snarl—but he could pout. He crossed his arms over his chest and let his lower lip do its thing. That bottom lip had got him out of more trouble and tight spots than he could count. Xavier was a sucker for it, and he was one giant hard-ass most of the time.

It worked like a charm on Les and Adam, who both looked contrite for laughing at him. Adam sighed and Les glanced down at the floor. Billy felt a small sense of satisfaction until he remembered both of these men had nearly died. Then he just felt like an ass for being a manipulative little shit.

Gnawing on his lip, he looked at each man. Should he ask? Like he wasn’t going to.

Why even pretend? “So what happened? Everyone’s saying Les killed a man with his bare hands and some other guy shot a bad cop in the balls and you,” he pointed to Adam, “beat the bad cop so bad he’s in a coma and—”

“Whoa!” Adam snapped, thrusting up a hand. “What are you talking about? Les didn’t kill anyone, and no one got shot in the balls, and Lukowski’s not in a coma! He’s already out of the hospital and in jail awaiting trial!” He then proceeded to tell Billy what had happened. “Mitch Rollins Sr sent thugs here looking for me and for this other guy, Chase Murphy. Rollins wasn’t happy with just running me and my mom out of Billings after we helped put his son in prison for rape. He bribed the cop who worked with Les—former officer Lukowski. That dick kidnapped Les and left him for some psycho to murder.” Adam paled and Billy figured he did too as he looked at Les.

The man was big, huge, and he’d have scared Billy with that stoic look if Billy hadn’t seen him go all soft and gooey around Adam. How anyone could have kidnapped him was beyond Billy. Maybe they used an elephant tranq dart or something. He wasn’t going to ask, even if he had to bite his tongue in half to keep from doing so.

“I’m really glad you’re okay, Les,” Billy said, and he meant it. He wanted everyone else to have a happy ending even if it didn’t seem like he’d ever get one.

“Thanks,” Les grunted, his cheeks turning ruddy. Adam gave him a looks so full of adoration it made Billy feel all sappy even though he didn’t think of either man like
that.

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A BIT OF YOU

Bailey Bradford

10

“Suffice it to say the bad guys didn’t win. Lukowski is going to be in prison for a long time, and Rollins Sr is dead—killed himself rather than be arrested. Now we just need to find James…”

Billy frowned before he thought about how doing so could eventually lead to ugly wrinkles. As soon as it occurred to him, he smoothed his brow with his hand. He started to ask who James was but Xavier opened the break room door and gave a little wave at Adam and Les. “Adam, you wanted to talk to me?”

Adam gave Billy an apologetic look.
Uh-oh, I know where
that
conversation is going!
Even though Xavier paid his employees well, there was still a pretty high turnover. Billy and Troy, the bartender, were the only two employees who’d been with Xavier since the beginning.

Most of the other staff had been here less than six months.

Billy finished getting ready for work and patted Adam and Les both on the ass as he walked by them. Adam winked but Les turned a delightful shade of burgundy.

Xavier grunted and ran a finger through his black hair. “Fine. Let’s have this discussion in my—well, we’ll have it here since my office is a wreck.” He gave Billy a pointed look.

“I’m not the one who went all He-man on Randy last night,” Billy pointed out. “That was all you.
I
had everything under control.”
Except for the whole choking on Randy’s dick thing.

Billy wasn’t going to mention that, though. Instead, he slapped on his happiest grin, skipped around the other three men and was out of the door before Xavier could stop him.

Billy shut the door on the rest of Xav’s sentence. He didn’t want to think about last night, at all. Instead, he thought about the adventure—no, adventure was a stupid thing to call it when so many people could have been hurt or killed. Still, Billy thought about what had happened to Adam and Les and the way it differed from the gossip.

He suspected Adam wasn’t giving all the details, but then again, who’d want to?

Maybe that’s why people were making stuff up. Even if no one had killed, castrated, or coma’d anyone else, the whole thing had to have been pretty scary. It just wasn’t as gory as rumour had it, which was a good thing. Maybe. Well, if the gore had been from the bad guys getting eviscerated or something, that would have been kind of cool.

Castration, however, was
never
cool. For some reason his thoughts pinged right to Randy.
No, not even he should be castrated.

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A BIT OF YOU

Bailey Bradford

11

At least Billy wouldn’t have had to blow Randy, though. He’d finally been banned for good. It was one less worry to dwell on, though if he had told anyone he was worried about anything at all, no one would have believed him. Billy had the carefree happy ding-a-ling act down so pat even he bought it most of the time. It came in handy, though, and Billy wasn’t sure how to change other people’s perception of him now anyway.

Maybe I should start with myself.
It was an insightful revelation, an epiphany, he thought it was called. Were epiphanies possible to turn into reality? Billy mused on it as he served drinks and tried to avoid being groped.

It occurred to him after a while that he’d forgotten to clock in. He shrugged it off. It wasn’t the first time he’d forgotten and it wouldn’t be the last. Also, it probably wasn’t the best way to get people to view him differently, and he was aware his own attitude could have been better about it. Billy tried to lecture himself but the fact was, his mind liked to bounce around as much as his body did.

He wasn’t exactly sure how long he’d been working when he got a creepy feeling, like he was being watched. It wasn’t uncommon; Billy knew he was cute. Lots of men looked at him. Most of the time it didn’t bother him, but somehow it just felt off this time.

Maybe he was just extra paranoid tonight, he thought, as he set the mixed drinks on the small table. The three men there had giggled like school girls when they’d ordered the Sex on the Beaches. If they thought that was a raunchy name for a drink, they were in for a surprise. There were much dirtier ones. Billy toyed with filling the still giggling customers in on some of them but the feeling of being watched intensified and suddenly all he wanted was to escape for a few minutes.

“Enjoy your drinks,” he murmured, knowing his voice was drowned out by the loud music thumping through the speakers. He didn’t care, he wasn’t up to yelling. Billy ignored the pinch to his ass and hurried back towards the bar. He spotted another server. “Ernie, will you keep an eye on my tables? I need a break.”

Ernie rolled his eyes but nodded, which was good enough for Billy. Most of the time Billy took his breaks in Xavier’s office, but considering the state of the room and what had happened there last night, and the fact that Xav was working out of the break room, where anyone could come and go, Billy decided to take his break alone. It was bad enough that a lot of the other employees snarked about him being Xav’s favourite—
duh
—but he didn’t want to www.total-e-bound.com

A BIT OF YOU

Bailey Bradford

12

rub it in their faces by being all chummy in the break room. If he did, it sure wouldn’t help him with his tentative plans for a new image.

He skirted around the bar with a wave at Troy then ducked into the back room where the liquor and supplies were stored. He closed the door behind him then leant back against it, his head thumping the wood hard enough to make his ears ring. He tried to relax and shake off his funky mood.

It was no use. Frustrated, he pushed away from the door. Maybe a little fresh air would do the trick. Billy sprinted across the room and unlocked the door used for unloading deliveries. He opened it and stepped into the alley.

The night air was cool, the humidity from earlier in the day having evaporated with the lower temperature. The large dumpster a dozen feet away made the small alley stink, but it wasn’t much worse than the bathrooms Billy had to clean when Xav was really pissed off at him.

Billy took a deep breath then nearly jumped out of his boots when something moved in the shadows a few feet away. Hand to his chest, he peered into the darkness. Was something moving over there? He squinted as the weak light from the back door glinted off something, but, before he could process it, a battered man stepped out and leered at him.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Billy. You owe me a blow job.”

For the first time in years, Billy was too scared to speak. He couldn’t do anything but stare at the big knife in Randy’s hand.

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A BIT OF YOU

Bailey Bradford

13

So far, Liam Stone was not impressed with The Xxchange. He’d come here to blow off a little steam before he interviewed Chase Murphy tomorrow. The guy was driving Liam’s boss nuts with phone calls demanding they ‘hurry the fuck up and find James’. Liam thought his determination to find James Stratton was admirable, but just a little odd. The two weren’t lovers as far as Liam had been able to tell. If that really was the case, Chase Murphy was a hell of a loyal friend.

The only link he could find between them besides Chase doing an occasional job for Stratton was the way the two men had met. Although, he guessed in such a situation, he could maybe see where Murphy and Stratton had formed some sort of bond.

Liam stayed in the shadows of the club, cautious even here. He wasn’t exactly closeted, but he didn’t flaunt his preferences at work or in his everyday life. That was problematic at times, because he was invariably attracted to men who were less…careful than he was.

There were plenty of men like that here, but none of them provoked the kind of pounding lust that shoved him right past his own inhibitions. Still, they seemed to seek him out, and after not so gently turning down another persistent admirer, Liam was ready to give up on this whole night when he saw him.

Short and blond headed, with blue colouring the spikes at the ends of his hair, and with the thin, almost skinny build Liam preferred, the guy exuded energy. He’d be a handful, Liam thought as he watched the cocktail waiter flirt with a customer. Since the waiter was wearing a skimpy outfit of black leather hot pants and boots with a good two inch heel, there was plenty to look at.

From the back the man was all lean lines and glowing pale skin. There was the slightest hint of definition to his back, and his arms were toned but not in any way ripped. Long, delicate looking fingers tipped with blue-painted nails gripped the drinks tray. Liam could just imagine those fingers gripping his cock, stroking slow and firm, twisting around his crown.

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A BIT OF YOU

Bailey Bradford

14

Liam moaned softly and shifted in his seat, shoving at his dick. He was so fucking hard it was a wonder his prick didn’t spear right through his skin-tight jeans. Warmth spread under his hand as his slit leaked pre-cum. He dragged his gaze back up those long arms and over the narrow shoulders. Liam followed the line of his spine down to his pert ass and Liam’s mouth watered as his cock throbbed. For such a slim guy, the blond had a fabulous ass, and those legs…

“Fuck,” Liam rasped as he rubbed at his cock. Either the guy was a natural blond with leg hair so pale Liam couldn’t make it out, or he removed the hair. Liam didn’t care which it was, he just wanted to run his hands over his taut ass, down those smooth thighs until he could grasp those ankles and spread the man wide open. He’d bury his face in his groin, lick and suck until the blond begged, then make him beg some more before turning him over and fucking him into unconsciousness.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Liam fumbled with the fastening of his pants, his gaze never wavering from the blond’s ass. He managed to get his dick out and fist it. Liam pumped slowly as he studied the cocktail waiter’s leather-clad ass. Liam would have the guy leave his boots on while he fucked him. He’d just bend him over, or…no, he’d put him on his back so those boots would bang against Liam’s ass or back or shoulders every time he ploughed into the blond.

The problem with that fantasy was, he didn’t have a face to put on his imaginary lover.

“Turn around, come on,” Liam coaxed as his climax boiled in his balls. God, he hoped the blond was at least half as hot from the front. The server finally finished flirting with the other men and turned.

“Yes!” Liam hissed as he caught a glimpse of blue eyes and high cheekbones. The waiter had the beautiful androgynous look Liam loved, too. He was every one of Liam’s hot buttons packaged in one small form.

Liam didn’t care that he was jerking off in a club. There were other people there doing the same, or more, even. Granted, maybe it made him kind of pervy to be watching someone who didn’t have a clue they were starring in his private porno, but, again, it was not the weirdest thing going on here. Besides, Liam had every intention of finding the server afterwards and telling him all about it. He didn’t think he was wrong about the blond. Liam bet the guy would be flattered; smug, even.

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A BIT OF YOU

Bailey Bradford

15

He kept his stroke steady as he watched the sway of those hips. God, but he liked a man who shook his ass when he walked!
And look at his creamy skin
. It sparkled under the club lights, tempting Liam mercilessly to touch it.
Glitter, has to be.