Ho Ho Hennessy

The silence in the kitchen was broken by Jewell and the woman who had been the cause of his disruptive sleep coming through the swinging door. Jewell’s expression warned him to be on his best behavior after she saw that Arin had seen him sitting at the kitchen, proudly lifting her chin as if he was invisible.

Damn … Hennessy mentally whistled as he watched the haughty woman open the refrigerator. He must have been more than drunk last night; he had to have been blitzed out of his fucking mind.

Core, no doubt having the same thought, gave him a derisive tilt of his head at his stupidity.

Damn …

Damn …

Furious, Hennessy’s thoughts raced, trying to figure out a way to do damage control.

A kick under the table had him spilling his coffee over the rim of his cup.

As he stood, both women behind the counter coldly watched his approach.

“I made a mess.” Tearing a paper towel from the roll, he tried to appear cool under their regard.

Cracking an egg, Jewell then plopped it into a bowl. “You’re good at that.”

Directing his smile and eyes at Arin, Hennessy ignored the sarcastic bitch beside her. “Baby girl, my apologies for—”

“Don’t baby girl me. I’m a grown woman.”

“You sure are. I can see that for myself. Like I was saying …”

Dark brown eyes had him turning on his heels to retake his seat.

“I’m guessing she didn’t want to hear your apology,” Core said snidely, picking up his coffee cup then rising to his feet.

Hennessy could only sit and watch as his enforcer showed him how to handle the women.

“You ladies are looking fine this morning.” Bracing his hip on the counter, he gave them a charming grin that had Hennessy wanting to knock his teeth down the garbage disposal. “Jewell, you better call Knox and have me arrested before I try to steal you away.”

Jewell’s lips curled seductively upward. “Anytime you want to steal me away, you can try. You think you could take the place of so many men?”

“Jewell, for you, I would die trying.”

Hennessy tightened his grip on his cup when both women fucking laughed as Core placed his hand over his heart.

Turning his attention to Arin, Core gave her a onceover. “But I sure do hope you’re into sharing because I need the both of you…”

“Laying it on a bit thick, aren’t you?”

Hennessy couldn’t agree with Arin more. He had planned to tell him the same thing if he could get his enforcer away from the women.

“I refuse to believe you think I’m bullshitting you. Jewell would hurt me if she thought I was lying.”

Arin looked at Jewell, gauging her reaction.

“I would. But truthfully, he does get long-winded when he wants a morning wake-up call.”

Core looked affronted. “Just morning? I can sweet talk you or Arin any time of the day or night.”

Arin rolled her eyes. “You’re good; I’ll give you props. You can save your energy for later, though. Jewell and I have to get breakfast started.”

“Do you need any help?” Core asked.

She tilted her head to the side. “Do you know how to cook?”

“No,” he admitted, grinning.

“You could unload the dishwasher,” Jewell suggested.

Feeling left out, Hennessy remained seated, fuming at how easily Core managed to maneuver himself between the two women. The brother succeeded in brushing his body against Arin’s breasts every time he moved from the dishwasher to the cabinets.

Having had no idea Core was adept with women, Hennessy thinned his lips into an unpleasant smile when Core looked his way.

The fucker did it again—pretending to bump into Arin when she turned to put biscuits in the oven.

The morning got worse when The Last Riders started coming in for breakfast. If watching Core flirt with Arin wasn’t bad enough, Moon making no attempt to hide his interest rubbed more salt in his wounded pride.

“You were in bed when I got home,” Viper commented, sitting down at the table. “How was the ride in from Arizona?”

“Cold.” His attention had been diverted from the seductive beauty he had made a first terrible impression with when The Last Riders’ president held his hand out to be shaken. Then he rose to his feet when Winter moved to take a seat next to Viper, carrying a plate. He pulled the chair out for her, then sat back down once she was seated.

Winter scooted her chair under the table. “Good morning, Hennessy. Aren’t you eating?”

His stomach rolled at the thought of food. “Maybe later.”

Returning his attention to Viper, he said, “You could have warned me the weather was turning to shit when I was leaving Arizona.”

“I warned you to pack warm clothes.”

“There’s a big difference in packing clothes for the forties and fifties and sub-zero.”

“Blame the forecasters. I’m not the one who predicts the weather.”

“Next time, I’ll fly during the winter months. Core and I had to use window scrappers to peel our asses off our seats.”