Breakers (Academy of Stardom Book 3)

Pen

“Iappreciate you coming with me. I know you probably have better things to do than act as chauffeur,” I say, smiling over at Dax as he drives us towards my mum’s place. I haven’t seen or spoken to her since I moved out, and it’s not an experience I’m looking forward to. Not that I plan on speaking with her, I just want to check in on Lena.

“Kid, I would’ve come regardless,” he replies, indicating right and merging onto the motorway in one smooth movement. Pressing his foot on the accelerator, he shifts lanes like a pro racer or something. I feel a tingle run down my spine at the sheer confidence he has cutting through the traffic at such a high speed. The last time I was in this Bentley I was a wreck and Dax was far less accommodating. This time I get to appreciate what an incredible car it is and just how sexy Dax looks driving it.

“Thank you,” I say a little breathlessly, my gaze drifting to his thick tattooed forearms, the muscles tensing and flexing as he drives. Why are forearms so sexy? All my Breakers have gorgeous arms, but Dax’s take the cake. He’s just so… so male in all the ways that matter. Sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed in his company. He’s like this force of nature but in a quiet, watchful way.

“You okay?” he asks me.

“Uh-huh…”

Currently he’s dressed in a pair of smart black jeans that hug his firm arse and thighs, and a grey roll neck sweater with the sleeves pulled back to the elbows, showing off his beautiful tattoos. He’s looking particularly delicious tonight and I have a feeling he’s dressed up for me.

“Stop doing that,” he grins suddenly, glancing over at me, his grey-green eyes sparkling with mirth.

“Stop doing what?” I ask, my tongue running over my bottom lip as I take my fill of him.

“That. Staring at me like you want to eat me. It’s… distracting.” He shifts in his seat, a rueful smile playing over his lips as he drops his gaze to his crotch briefly.

“Oh,” I say. “That must be distracting.” Stifling a giggle, I allow my heated gaze to rove over his growing erection. “Perhaps you should’ve worn looser jeans?”

“Hmm, perhaps,” he takes his left hand off the steering wheel, and covers my hand with his, then places it on his cock. My cheeks flush with heat as I run my palm over his hard length.

“Dax, is that a gun in your pocket or are you glad to see me?”

“Cute, Kid. Cute…”

His voice trails off as I rub him through his jeans, and if I weren’t so confident in his driving ability, I wouldn’t be having so much fun teasing him right now. With every stroke, my knickers grow wetter and Dax grows bigger.

“Fuck, Kid. Perhaps this wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had…” he chokes out. I can see he’s fighting the urge to pull off the motorway so that we can find somewhere to finish this off. Then again, we’re in central London, there isn’t really anywhere we can go park that won’t be surrounded by pedestrians, not to mention the fact I’m not into dogging.

“You really shouldn’t start something you can’t finish,” I whisper, popping open his fly one button at a time.

“Kid…” he warns, his voice low, gravelly.

“Shh, just concentrate on driving, let me do the rest.”

“Fuck!” he exclaims as my palm finds the opening to his boxer shorts and wraps around his beautiful cock.

“Luckily I have small hands. That’s quite a tight fit,” I say breathlessly, my own excitement obvious as I free his cock and start stroking him in that way I remember he likes.

“Kid, seriously, I might crash the fucking car if you carry on.”

“Then I should make this quick…”

“Quick—?”

Unbuckling my seat belt, I lean across the central divide, thanking the Lord Almighty this is an automatic, and wrap my lips around the bulbous head of his dick, humming when I taste the salty precum.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Dax swears, the car jerking forward suddenly as his foot hits the accelerator pedal a little too hard. “You’re fulfilling… Fuck… one of my…. Fuck me… fantasies right now.”

I’d laugh in glee if my mouth wasn’t so full of him. Dax winds his fingers in my hair and gently presses against the back of my head. I take him in a little further, grasping his thigh with one hand to support myself as I suck him off.

“Hold on, baby, I gotta take the next exit,” he says after a minute of cursing and moaning. Releasing my head, he takes the wheel in both hands and I lick him from base to tip, and back again. “We’ll be at your mum’s in five,” he warns, more curse words flying out of his mouth as he drives us, and I drive him wild.

A couple of minutes later, he’s coming in my mouth as we pull up outside the block of flats I grew up in. Swallowing down his cum, I lick my lips provocatively as he parks the car and tucks his cock away. The second he’s decent, he leans over, grabs me by the back of my neck and kisses me until I’m panting and needy.

“I’ll deal with you later,” he says, lust billowing in his eyes as he pulls back.

“Deal with me?”

“Yeah, deal with you. You took off your seatbelt. Fucking dangerous, Kid. I’m gonna spank your arse for willfully putting yourself in danger like that,” he says, before jumping out of the car and striding around to open my door like a true gentleman. “After you.”

“Why, thank you,” I say with a huge grin, already imagining what a spanking would feel like at the hands of Dax. He smiles wickedly, crowding me against the closed car door.

“Do you know how much I wanted you the last time I had you up against this car?”

“No, how much?” I ask, having a pretty good idea.

His knee presses up against my core, as he boxes me in and whispers against my ear. “So. Fucking. Much.”

“Rah, look at that Bentley. Nice fucking ride, man!” A boy of about fifteen appears out from behind the garages. He’s smoking weed and his red-rimmed, glassy eyes focus, or at least try to, on the car. “She’s fucking insane. What I’d do to drive that baby.”

Dax groans, then pushes off the car and turns around slowly. The boy’s eyes widen a little when his gaze finally focuses on him.

“Where’s the rest of them?” Dax asks, causing the boy to cock his head. I’m pretty sure that such a simple question uses more than a few brain cells to answer.

“The rest of them?”

“Yeah, the fuckers who’re gonna try and steal my car, or at least my hubcaps.”

The boy splutters whilst I chuckle. “I ain’t gonna steal nothing, man. I swear it.”

Dax folds his arms across his chest. “Yeah, and my name’s Robin fucking Hood.”

“What?”

“Never fucking mind. Just tell your boys not to fuck with my car. Got it?”

“What’s in it for me?”

Dax scowls, noticing a few shady looking kids lingering on the street corner. All of them are eying up his car and taking a great interest in our conversation. Having grown up on this estate we both know that Dax is correct in his assumption that they’d try and steal his car the second our backs are turned.

“I need to deal with this. Meet you up there?”

“Sure thing. See you in ten?”

“I’ll have this sorted in three.”

“Go easy, they’re just kids,” I say.

“The Breakers were once kids too and look how we turned out.”

“Fair point.”

“Lena, are you home?” I call out, stepping into the hallway, pocketing my keys as soon as I’m inside. The first thing I notice is the familiar smell of cigarette smoke and the cheap potpourri mum puts out to try and mask the smell. Fucking gross. What this place needs is a good airing. Better still, mum needs to give up her nasty habit and stop slowly killing her daughter with secondhand smoke.

“Pen?!”

At the end of the hallway, Lena steps out of her bedroom and squeals, rushing towards me in a flurry of pink fluffy pyjamas, face mask and wet hair. She throws herself into my arms and hugs me.

“Hey, Lena,” I murmur, holding her close, not caring that her strawberry face mask has rubbed off onto my cheek. “Nice pyjamas. Haven’t seen those before.”

“What are you doing here?” she asks, grinning that gorgeous smile of hers. It’s only been a couple weeks since I saw her last, but even in that time she’s changed. She’s growing up fast and is already towering over me. I definitely got the short gene, whilst she got all the legs. Lena is what I’d call a natural stunner and the total opposite of me in more ways than just our looks. She’s a lot more trusting and open than I am, that’s for sure.

“Can’t I check in on my baby sister every once in a while?”

“Well sure, but haven’t you got, like, work to go to tonight or something?”

“Nope, not tonight.”

“Does that mean you’re staying over?” She looks so hopeful that guilt riddles my chest.

When I don’t answer straight away, she plasters on a fake smile, grabs my hand and drags me towards the kitchen. “Let me make you a cuppa. Mum went shopping yesterday so we’ve got food in. Are you hungry?” she asks me.

“No. I’m good, but a cup of tea would be nice.”

“Sure.” She busies herself making tea whilst I take a look around the kitchen. It’s really clean, and despite the stale smell of cigarette smoke, the whole kitchen and living room is a lot tidier than it ever was when I was living here.

“The place looks… tidy,” I say, because whilst it’s certainly clean, it’s hardly the Ritz.

“Yeah, Mum’s been a bit better about tidying up after herself,” Lena explains, wrinkling her nose. I watch her as she scratches the tip, removing some of the facemask as she does so.

“How are things with mum?” I ask tentatively.

Lena hands me a mug of tea with plenty of milk and a dash of sugar, just the way I like it. “Good…” she hesitates, chewing on her lip.

“What, Lena?”

“Nothing.”

“Lena!” I warn.

She sighs and rolls her eyes. “She’s kinda sobered up a bit.”

“Sobered up a bit? You say that like it’s not a good thing?”

“I mean, she’s sobered up a lot.”

“Did she get a visit from the social, is that it?” I ask, putting Mum’s sudden change of attitude down to the fact that someone must’ve threatened to take Lena away.

“No, she didn’t. I swear one day she was pissed and lying on the sofa out of her head and the next she’s cooking homemade meals and cleaning the house up.”

“Fuck,” I say, as shocked as Lena is.

“Don’t get me wrong, she’s been a bit rough the last couple weeks. I’m guessing her body needed to adjust, but I swear it’s like she’s a new woman.”

“Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it.” My eyes trail to the coffee table and the half-dozen cigarette butts sitting in an ashtray.

Lena follows my gaze. “She still smokes but believe it or not she’s got a nicotine patch on her arm and has cut down from thirty to twenty cigarettes a day.”

My mouth falls open in shock and Lena laughs. “I know, right? She’s a changed woman. It’s weird.”

The front door opens, and Mum calls out Lena’s name. It’s a strange feeling hearing the brightness in her voice and not the usual husky slurred speech from smoking and drinking too much. “Lena, who are you talking—?”

“Hey, Mum,” I say as she steps into the kitchen, surprise written across her face.

“Penelope, you’re home.”

“I just came to see Lena,” I explain. Not you.

She nods, understanding what I don’t say, but rather than coming back with a nasty retort like I expect her too, she steps into the living room and places her coat and bag on the sofa. “Are you staying for dinner? I was going to make a stir-fry.”

Lena’s eyes widen as she looks between me and our Mum. Clearly she was expecting a different reaction to my appearance too. I swallow, a tight feeling in my chest forming. “No, I can’t. I really was just popping in for a quick visit and a cup of tea,” I say.

For a brief moment I see disappointment flash across my mum’s face, and it floors me a little. Not once in my whole entire life has my mum ever looked at me like she wished we spent more time together. Not once.

“That’s a shame. Maybe another time. You could tell us about the Academy and how you’re getting on.”

My mouth pops open, then slams shut. Even Lena is suddenly at a loss for words. “Yeah, maybe,” I respond noncommittally.

“Okay, well, I’m just going to grab a shower. It’s been a long day at work.”

“Work?” I ask, flicking my gaze between her and Lena.

“Yes, I got a new job at a really nice hair salon in the high street. I could get you a discount if you ever wanted to tame that hair of yours,” she says, reaching up and pushing back a strand of hair back off my face. I flinch, stepping back, a lump in my throat forming at her sudden affection. Her hand falls away and she gives me a half-smile before stepping out of the kitchen and into the bathroom down the hall. I let out a long breath, feeling shaky and weird.

“What the fuck was that? Has our mum been body snatched or something?” I question, trying to cover up this sudden rush of unwelcome emotion with humor.

“See, I told you she’d changed.” Lena cocks her head and smiles sadly. “Sorry, Pen,” she whispers.

“What for?”

“For mum never being the person you needed her to be. I know it’s too late now.”

She’s right, it is, but for Lena’s sake I’m glad she’s turned over a new leaf. I just hope it lasts. “Come here,” I say, holding open my arms. Lena steps right in and I hug her tightly. “I’m so glad mum has sobered up, but you remember I’m still here if you need me. Any hour of the day or night, I will come. Okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Lena replies.

A knock at the door has us parting and I step out into the hall to answer. I know who it is, and I don’t want Pen getting a shock at seeing Dax on the other side.

“Everything good?” Dax asks me the second I open the door. He peers down the hallway and smiles.

“Oh, my fucking God, is that you, Dax?” Lena asks, her voice getting higher with every syllable out of her mouth as she approaches.

Dax chuckles. “Hey, Squirt,” he says, referring to her by the nickname he used when we were friends before.

“Fuck me. I bet you’ve got better things to do than working tonight,” she titters as I glare at her over my shoulder. “Hi, Dax. Don’t you look… big.” Her eyes work their way up from his feet to the top of his head.

“I could say the same for you.” He smiles warmly and I swear my heart melts into a puddle. “How’re you doing?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Thanks for the package. I love these PJ’s.”

“Package?” I look between them both.

Lena pulls a face, chewing on her bottom lip as she glances between me and Dax. “The Breakers have been sending me stuff for a while now.”

“Sending you stuff? What stuff? Why didn’t you say anything?” I ask, flipping my gaze between them both, my voice rising.

“Shit, chill. I mean I only realised it was the Breakers and not some weird arse stalker when Xeno dropped off these pyjamas and other nice stuff the other week. It’s just things mum can’t afford. Nice shampoo, make up, perfume, that kind of thing. I came home from school and he was here, having a chat with mum… Oh, shit,” she exclaims, coming to the same conclusion as me.

Our mum’s sudden sobriety makes perfect sense now. I’m not sure whether to be grateful that he’s gone behind my back and has been taking care of Lena or pissed off that he never thought to tell me.

“I have literally no idea what to say.” I look at Dax, not sure what to make of it all.

“And your mum, how is she doing now?” Dax asks, his assessing gaze taking everything in as he subtly tries to change the subject. I narrow my eyes at him.

“She’s taking a shower, right now. Wanna come in for a bit?” Lena asks.

“No, can’t tonight, Lena. Dax and I have a duet to practice,” I lie quickly before Dax can take her up on his offer. I want to get back to the flat and speak with Xeno, he’s got some explaining to do.

“Oooh, a duet. I’d like to see you in action… I mean, you both. Together. Dancing. Yes, dancing… a duet. Sorry, that sounded a bit perverted, didn’t it?”

“Jesus, Lena,” I mutter.

“You take care, Squirt,” Dax grins, finding her fumbling cute.

“I will.”

Dax takes my hand in his and Lena practically squeals when she notices.

“I’ll call you in a couple days,” I say.

“You betcha!” She winks, watching us both with glee as we walk down the hallway.

Once outside, Dax bursts out laughing.

“What?”

“She reminds me a lot of you when you were young. So innocent…”

I scoff. “Believe me Lena is not that innocent,” I reply, remembering our conversation in the café about Teddy Smith’s nine-inch cock and how her best friend gave him a blowy on their school trip to the Isle of Wight.

“So that whole awkward conversation about tickling pickles never came up with your sister then?” Dax laughs and I smack him on the chest, internally cringing at the younger more innocent version of me.

“No, no it didn’t. Besides, don’t change the bloody subject. Spill!” I order, wanting to know more about what Xeno’s been up too.

“No way. That’s a conversation you’ll be needing to have with Xeno. I’m not getting involved. I told him you’d be pissed when you found out.”

“I’m not pissed. At least, I don’t think I am. I’m confused. Lena started getting all this stuff a couple weeks before I auditioned at Stardom Academy. I was worried she was either stealing it, she had a sugar daddy, or worse, had gotten involved with the Skins. Looks like I was partially right.”

“Xeno’s a mercurial bastard, that’s for sure. I didn’t find out about what he’d been doing until a couple days ago—”

“Wait, he was sending the stuff, not all of you?”

“Yep.”

“I don’t understand.”

Dax stops by the Bentley, resting his forearm on the roof of the car. “Lena has always been your priority. Xeno knows how much you love her, worry about her. I’m no psychologist, Kid, but I think it was his way of taking care of you without admitting that he still loved you. But if you want an honest answer, you’re going to have to ask him.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to do just that.”