Page 8 of Bruised MC Bear
3
Angel
Angel swirled her drink, wishing she had ordered another double gin and tonic instead of the one she’d already practically shot back until there was nothing but ice. Drinking too much before this meeting with Dean Roman probably wasn’t the best idea. She wondered why she needed a meeting at all. It wasn’t like the message from her best friend, Sonya, was top secret intel or anything.
Sonya and her entire extended family were mistrustful at best. Angel had known Sonya’s cousin, Dean, for years. She and Sonya had been best friends since before high school, yet Sonya had never once invited her to her house in all that time. At least this would be a short meeting. Sonya was on an indefinite work assignment as a conservation scientist assignment in Eastern Europe. Her employer had moved her out to study an area within a Bulgarian desert site Angel couldn’t even pronounce.
That detail was not newsworthy, except for the fact that the area was mostly out of cell phone range. So tonight, Angel’s meeting with Dean was to inform him that Sonya was fine, and would probably be unreachable for up to two months. That update was simple enough, yet Sonya had insisted the message needed to be delivered to Dean in person at this saloon.
Angel checked the time again. She had arrived early, hoping the meeting would be a simple one-minute conversation. A brief talk allowed for time to get to her usual hangout at the bar two blocks from work. She mostly wanted to stick around long enough for that big, sexy biker to phone her. Maybe he assumed she had punched in a fake number. It would be his loss if he didn’t at least try to contact her. She really needed to get laid soon.
Huffing out a breath, she looked around at the sketchy characters near the bar. One of them was wearing too much denim. The man next to him, not enough hair. Too drunk. Not tall enough. She snapped her head forward to face the bartender when the short one noticed she was looking and gave her a seedy wink. Nope. This was not the place for a casual hookup. Besides, she was still holding out some hope for biker guy.
Axe.
What a name.
Angel clutched her glass and bit down on her bottom lip from the flashback of the smoking hot man who had her panties soaked from only a five-minute coffee shop conversation. Their banter had been a random bright spot in an otherwise dull day. Most men couldn’t handle her larger than life personality or her confidence, not to mention the fact that she was plus-sized. She reminded herself that for now, she wasn’t looking for killer verbal skills, unless his tongue did killer things down south.
Ignoring the heat rising up her neck, Angel closed her eyes and downed the rest of her drink. She took a quick glance down her body to be sure she was still as put together as when she had left work. Good thing she had swapped her black suit jacket for this pale pink top with short capped sleeves. It was a less inhibiting, more casual touch.
“Hello, lovely,” said a slurred voice coming from behind her. “I’m Troy. How about I buy you a drink?”
Angel turned slowly until she was face to face with the inebriated patron from the other end of the bar. The man could barely stand straight, let alone have a conversation. She rattled the ice in her glass and narrowed her eyes at him. “I appreciate the offer, but I like buying my own drinks. Thanks though.”
He grazed his less than subtle lecherous eyes down her body, taking twice as long as most because he probably saw double with his level of intoxication. Angel glanced down into her drink with a frown, bracing for an inappropriate remark.
“Hey, excuse me. I’m going to cut in because she doesn’t look like she’s having the best time, okay? Just mosey on over to that table over there.”
She glanced up in time to see drunk dude unceremoniously lifted out of his chair, and the biker from the coffee shop slid in beside her as if he were supposed to be there.
“Look who it is,” she said, unable to contain her smile.
“Hey.” He had that cocky smile on his face. She wouldn’t forget it anytime soon. “You didn’t think you’d see me again, did you?” he asked in a voice that made her core clench as its baritone vibrations made its way to the base of her spine.
“Actually, I thought I’d have heard from you hours ago,” she admitted, giving him a sideway glance. “Axe, right?”
“Yes.” Her mystery man slapped the pink sticky note on the counter in front of her. “You dropped this outside Desert Java.”
“Oh, thanks.” She had been wondering where that address went. “I’m grateful to have a good memory, otherwise I wouldn’t have made it here.”
He held out his arm with a sleeve full of colorful ink, and she shook his hand, hoping he didn’t notice the goosebumps running up her bare arms. Her eyes trailed up his muscular chest, broad shoulders, and grizzled chin, skimming the rest of his face when she locked with his green eyes. God, they were sparkling just as brightly indoors as they had under the blinding sunlight earlier.
“Nice to meet you again, Angel,”
“Same here.”
That split second seemed like an eternity while they held on for way too long in that handshake. She couldn’t quite figure out why she didn’t pull away. Every molecule in her body told her to hang on, but there was a tiny part of her mind wrestling hard for control, urging her not to invest any time in this man with biker gang written all over him. Was she stereotyping him? Yes, because the last thing she needed in her life was trouble, even if Axe did have a whole lot of sex appeal smashed onto a muscular, godlike body and a killer smile. It was time to put up her guard.
“Can I buy you a drink?” he asked, releasing her hand.
Angel pressed her lips together and arched a brow. “I should probably lay off the alcohol right about now. I’ve got a bit of a drive home.”
Axe idly drew his finger over the top of her hand still resting on the counter. “I’d be happy to get you home safely tonight.”
“That’s really sweet of you, but I’m not looking for a designated rider—I mean driver,” she added quickly, jerking her hand out from under his electric touch. Maybe she was a little tipsy. Why else would she say something so spicy?
“I’d ride you home anytime,” he said with a grin.
