Bad Boys of Romance - a Biker Anthology (7 page)

Abigail Lee

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright 2014 by Abigail Lee

Editing by Jenny Sims of Editing4Indies

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing.

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication and use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owner.

All rights reserved.

Chapter 1

My window was down, and I let the wind whip through my hair as I flew down the highway. I had only been gone for two hours, but I felt free. My shoulders loosened, and I found myself looking in the rear view mirror less and less. He was no longer in my life. I had somehow found the strength to end things with the man who I had called my boyfriend for the past three years.

Our relationship had always been tense, always on the edge of breaking, but I had held on.
Convinced that I was the one woman who could make him change his ways. Form him into the man who I wanted him to be. Needed him to be.

We had met at the beginning of my college career and stayed together despite the few hours between our cities. He had moved to Arkansas after he graduated college, and I had stayed in Austin, since I was still in school. That would make this change easier for everyone. Thank God we didn't live together or own anything together. I assumed he would make a plea to get me back at some point, but for now I was free.

When I left his apartment, he was turning on his laptop and acting unaffected by my presence. This had become our normal interaction, for the past few months anyway, so it seemed fitting for our breakup. His last words to me asked if I were coming back the next weekend. I knew he had heard each word I had just said to him but this quiet, controlled reaction was pretty standard for him. I had looked at him for a few seconds from the doorway before turning and leaving without another word.

I pulled my black Honda Civic into the small parking lot in front of my apartment complex and came to a stop in my space.

“So, is it a done deal?” I heard my roommate ask before I shut the door.

“Yep.”
I laughed and walked into the living room. “It's done.”

“Thank God!” she squealed and lunged at me for a hug. “You're finally done with that douche bag.”

I just smiled and let her hug me. Hannah and I met freshman year of college and had been inseparable ever since. We lived in a two bedroom apartment close to campus and were both getting our degrees in advertising.

“Let's go out and celebrate.” She let go of me and led me back into the living room.

We had decorated the space with reds and blacks with a few paintings on the walls. A large mirror stood in the corner, and pictures of us were framed throughout the room. It was definitely a girl's apartment.

I fell onto the overstuffed, cherry red couch and let out a long breath. If we went out tonight, it would be the first time in three years that I had gone out
without him. He was always possessive and found a way to control my actions even with the miles between us. He never wanted me to go out with just my friends. When I went out with him, it was never for longer than an hour, and I never drank.

I definitely wanted to go out tonight.

“Where should we go?” I smiled and looked up at her. “And what should I drink when we get there?”

“Yes! That's the Riley I've been waiting on all of these years!”

“Me too.” I laughed. “I can't believe I broke up with him. Is it horrible that I'm not even sad about it? Like, not even a little bit.”

“Nope,” she answered without hesitating. “That only means you made the right decision.”

“That's what I was thinking too.” I sighed. “Surely he'll be okay. He just sat there and barely reacted when I told him. I should have just called him and saved the gas money.”

“I'm sorry, sweetie.” She stood up and motioned for me to follow her. “Tell me about it while we get ready for our night out.”

We spent the next hour curling our hair and applying extra eye liner. My long, blond hair fell to the middle of my back on top of the short purple dress Hannah had picked out for me. She explained that we couldn't just wear jeans and cute tops, it was a short skirt kind of night. I was not sure I even wanted to know what that meant so I just went along with her suggestions.

“I'm ready,” I announced as I stepped into my tall black heels.

“Yeah, you are,” she whistled. “Look who's been hiding all this time. You look hot!”

I rolled my eyes but caught my reflection in the mirror before walking out of my room. My blue eyes were surrounded with dark, smoky eye makeup. My lips were a deep red, and the short dress displayed the lean legs that he never let me show off. My head cleared even more as we walked to the front door. Leaving him was the best decision I have ever made.

Hannah made the executive decision that we would go to College Street. This was the area of town that had a host of bars to choose from and the most popular area for college students to go out. The cab dropped us off in front of a bar that had bright blue and green lights flashing in front. The only people going inside looked like they could be my grandparents.

“Not this one.” I laughed.

“No, not that one.” She grabbed my hand, and we crossed the street to a section of bars that seemed to contain more people our age.

We walked through a door into a loud room after showing the bouncer our IDs and made our way to the bar.

“Here's the deal.” She turned around and faced me. “We're having one drink at each bar and making our way down the street. Unless we see a reason to stay in one place, we'll keep moving. Sound good?”

“Lead the way, friend.” I looked around the already packed room.  There wasn't a dance floor, but that didn't stop a small group of people from moving to
the choppy beat of the techno mix. Red, blue, and green lights flashed throughout the room, making it hard to focus on any one thing.

“We start with beer.” She handed me a bottle and clanked hers against mine. “Cheers to your freedom.”

“Cheers.” I smiled.

I managed to take three drinks before I couldn't fake the awfulness that was filling my mouth. I gagged as I took the next swig.

“What's wrong?” She looked at me. “You don't like it?”

“It's just not what I imagined it would taste like.” I shook my head. “I thought it would be fruity or at least taste like pop. This is nasty.”

“You're such a girl.” She tipped her bottle back until the last drop was gone. “Let's go get you a fruity drink.”

We made our way through three bars before I felt the full effect of the alcohol. As promised, I was provided with three yummy, fruity drinks and now I was feeling every bit of them. Everything Hannah said was somehow hilarious, and my laughing couldn't be controlled.

“Okay, woman.” She stood up from our table and helped me up. “We need to slow down, or we'll be back home before
Saturday Night Live
even comes on.”
“Oh good.” I laughed. “Miley Cyrus is hosting tonight.”

“Nope.”
She shook her head. “It's time to dance.”

The club we were in now centered around a large dance floor that was already filled with college students having a great time. We made our way to the middle and started moving to the beat. I found myself flowing easily with the music. I stopped suddenly when a thought crossed my mind.

“What?” Hannah shouted over the music.

“Do I look stupid dancing? Because those drinks you bought me have me convinced that I look awesome.”

“That's because you do look awesome. You're hot.” She swatted at my behind. “Now, keep moving.”

Hannah tossed her long, brown hair behind her shoulders and kept moving to the beat. She looked graceful and sexy, and I prayed I looked the same. She was beautiful, no question there. With her dark green eyes and olive toned skin, it wasn't long before a guy who looked like he belonged in a fitness competition pulled her next to him to dance.

When the song switched to a slower beat and they continued moving, I decided to make my way back to our table and order a water. My head was starting to clear a little but the dancing had made me hot, and I wanted to cool down. I sat and watched the people around me. People watching was one of my favorite pastimes. I loved to come up with life stories for those who passed by.

Sitting at this table alone reminded me of the last time I went to a bar with him. We had sat a table similar to this. No talking, no touching—just him drinking his one drink, and me watching everyone else around me. I had watched that night, looking for someone who he could date.
Someone who could take my place and maybe make him happy. That was the night I realized I needed to get out. When you sit and hope that your boyfriend will cheat on you just so you have a reason to leave, well, that pretty much screams the relationship was over. What a sad, odd relationship ours had turned into.

“Is this seat taken?” a voice interrupted my thoughts.

I looked up to see a cute cowboy staring down at me.

“Um, yeah.”
I really wasn't interested in meeting anyone. “My friend is just out dancing.”

“Okay, well I'm standing right over there if you get lonely.”

“I'll keep that in mind.” I smiled and turned my attention back to the dance floor.

Texas men were so nice. Even when you turned them down, they were still polite. Don't get me wrong, if they drank enough, they were wild and liked to fight. But for the most part the southern charm was what would always make me stay in Texas.

Hannah waved at me from the dance floor, and I smiled back. We never went out together, and I was glad she was having fun. Standing up from my seat, I began to make my way to the bathroom. Moving through the crowd of people, I walked to the back of the club. Before I pushed open the bathroom door, I saw movement at the end of the hall. Two people were standing and shouting at one another.

It wasn't until I took a step closer that I realized that one of the people was a female about the same size as me. I couldn't hear them over the music but as soon as his hand slammed into the wall to the side of her face, adrenaline and too much alcohol set in.

“Leave her alone!” I shouted as I neared them.

Both of them turned to look at me in shock, and the girl quickly wiped the tears from her face. I grabbed for her hand and pulled her closer to me.

“What the hell?” he looked at both of us but then glared at me. “Who in the hell are you?”

My breath caught as his green eyes bored into mine. He ran his hands through his short brown hair, and I caught site of the tattoos that ran down his arms. This guy was clearly bad news, and I was frozen here staring at him like an idiot. He moved toward both of us and pointed at the girl.

“Remember what I said,” he warned her before stalking back to the front of the club.

We both watched as he disappeared.

“Are you okay?” I asked as I turned to her.

“Yeah.” she nodded her head and smoothed her hands over her short, platinum blonde hair. “He just gets mad when I show up here drunk.”

“It's a club. Isn't that the point of a place like this?”

“That's what I think, but he's the boss.” She rolled her eyes.

“I hope you know you don't have to stay in a relationship like that.” I stared her straight in her eyes.

“Unfortunately, I do.” She let out a small smile. “He's my brother.”

Chapter 2

I hurried through the bathroom routine and made my way back to our table. Relieved to see Hannah and her new friend sitting there, I took my seat and grabbed her arm.

“You're never going to believe what just happened.”

“What?” she looked my way.

“I just broke up an argument between...” I stopped short when I felt the odd sensation that someone was watching me. Chills ran up my arms to the back of my neck. What the hell was happening?

“What?” Hannah asked again.

I only shook my head at her as I looked up and found myself lost in a pair of familiar green eyes. He was standing across the table next to Hannah's new friend and glaring at me. He was tall and his arms looked massive crossed over his chest. What was his problem? I narrowed my eyes back at him, because there was still enough alcohol in my system to make me think I could take on the world. Some random guy wasn't going to make me squirm on the same day I found my confidence to leave my jerk of a boyfriend.

“Riley, this is Trey.” Hannah elbowed me in the side causing me to look her way.

“Hi, nice to meet you.” I forced a smile as I shook Trey's hand. The other guy’s shoulders seemed to stiffen as soon as I touched Trey.

“Nice to meet you too,” he replied and pointed to the guy next to him. “This is Luke.”

So the brooding hunk has a name. I attempted to smile and meet his eyes again but quickly looked down when I noticed his glare had turned menacing. Seriously, was he that pissed that I had broken up his argument? Swallowing the lump that was forming in my throat, I looked back up to see that he was gone. I felt a wave of relief but also a new emptiness that I wasn't used to.

“Are you about ready to head home?” Hannah asked.

“Sure,” I answered as I made a quick scan of the room. Luke had disappeared.

I followed Hannah and Trey through the club and out the front door. The fresh air immediately helped calm my nerves.

“Let's go to Cheesy's before we go home.”

“Are you serious?” I asked. “I thought we were on another diet.”

Cheesy's was a greasy diner close to our apartment. They served the best cheese fries and were open twenty-four hours a day.

“It can start tomorrow.” She shrugged.

“Sounds good to me,” Trey spoke up as he held the door open for the cab.

I rolled my eyes as I climbed into the far side of the backseat. Hannah had never been a relationship girl. She liked to have her fun but never settled down for long. Trey was tall and all lean muscle and seemed like he was interested in more than one night with my friend. He seemed nice enough, and a part of me was hoping she would give him a chance to stick around.

The cab dropped us off, and we were soon seated in a red vinyl booth with burgers and cheese fries in front of each of us.

“What were you trying to tell me earlier?” Hannah asked between bites.

“I'll tell you later.” I gave her a look letting her know to drop it. Trey obviously knew Luke, and I didn't want him to tell him I was talking about him. Wait, why did I care. I should ask him about Luke now.

“So what's the deal with your hot, angry friend?” Hannah turned to Trey, beating me to the questions.

“Who?” he laughed.

“The one standing next to our table.
He looked pissed.”

I sat in silence and listened as this conversation took place in front of me.

“Oh Luke. He's always pretty tense when the bar is busy like that. Who knows what his deal was tonight.”

“He was staring at Riley,” she said matter-of-fact.

“No he wasn't.” I nearly choked on my Coke.

“Um, yeah he was.” She reached for more cheese fries. “It was getting tense in there.”

“Shut up.” My face was burning red.

“Just saying.”
She laughed and leaned into Trey.

“I have his number if you want it.” He reached for his phone.

“I hate you both.” I stood up and placed some cash on the table. “Let's go home.”

The next few days were back to our normal routine which consisted mainly of schoolwork and only two text messages from Chris, the ex-boyfriend. I didn't reply to either. Hannah and I had the exact same school schedule and were in our final semester of our senior year. We both had internships with local advertising agencies and hoped they would bring us on as actual employees once we had our degrees.

“I got my first actual assignment at work,” I said as I threw my backpack on the couch.

“Oh yeah.”
Hannah barely moved from her spot on the black, overstuffed recliner.

“Yeah,” I went on. “I have to get five local businesses to sign up for our quarterly mailer. They don't have to provide a coupon or anything.
Just their logo and business information.”

“Have you gone anywhere yet?” she asked, finally turning her attention to me.

“I was about to,” I replied. “Want to go with me?”

“Sure,” she answered and turned off the TV. “It'll be good experience for both of us.”

We drove down to College Street in Hannah's red Camaro. During the daytime, this street was known for its restaurants and shops so it would be a good place to start. Since it was still early, the bar scene was almost nonexistent. After talking to about fifteen store owners, we got four to sign up. One agreed to a ten percent off coupon, but the others just liked the advertising option.

“Let's get a drink,” she said as we looked down the street to see what stores we hadn't solicited yet. “
Trey sent me a text message. He and some friends are at that bar we met at on Saturday.”

“Okay, fine,” I replied. “We actually got a lot more done than I thought we would.”

“You could ask the bar and see what they say.”

“Or I could just drink.” I laughed.
“Trey, huh? You like him?”

“I don't know.” Her cheeks turned bright pink. “I don't really do the whole 'like' thing.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I nudged her as we walked into the bar.

I noticed the sign above the door this time that read The Green Room. The place was nearly empty since it was three o'clock on a Wednesday afternoon, and we found Trey and the few guys he was with easily. Hannah began shaking hands, and I slipped away up to the bar so I could talk to the owner about the ad before I had a drink.

Looking around in the daylight hours, I could see the dark walls were lined with black leather booths, and tables were placed all around the room. University of Texas memorabilia cluttered the walls, and signed dollar bills hung from the ceiling. The dance floor area seemed much smaller than it had the other night. I was sitting at the main bar in the center of the room, but there was a smaller bar closer to the entrance that I hadn't noticed the other night.

I opened my folder on the bar when a deep voice caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand up.

“Can I get you something?” I looked up to see Luke standing behind the bar.

“Oh, um… I.” Of course I would forget how to talk when I saw him.

“Oh yeah?” He smiled.

I shook my head and gathered my thoughts. “Sorry, I was hoping to talk to the owner of this bar. Do you know if they are around?”

“Yeah, they're around.” He took two steps and stood in front of me on the other side of the bar. “I own this bar.”

“You what?”
I couldn't hide the surprise in my voice if I was paid to. “You own The Green Room?”

“Surprised?”

“Well...” I might as well be honest. “Yeah, a little.”

When he stared at me, I found it hard to breathe. His arms flexed underneath his white t-shirt, and my eyes immediately went to the ink that snaked across his skin. I knew my face was redder than the sweater I was wearing, and I desperately wanted to start fanning myself with the papers spread out before me. He pulled my attention back in by tapping his finger on the bar.

“Okay, sorry.” I shook my head, and he let out a quiet chuckle. “I work for Linx Advertising, and we are asking local companies if they would like a spot in our quarterly mailer. It can be a coupon or just your business information. There are several options to choose from.”

I handed him the paper that listed the prices and watched as he slowly took it in his hand. He rubbed the thin paper between his fingers.

“Just so I understand.” He looked up and the same venom was back in his glare. “You walk into my bar, barge into a private conversation that I was having with an employee, and now you come back asking for money.”

Once the shock filtered through my system, anger set in. “Fine, be a dick.
Whatever. There are plenty of businesses that will benefit from this. And you should learn to respect your sister. No one deserves to get yelled at like that.”

I quickly gathered my papers without looking up and made my way back to Hannah. She handed me a cup of beer as soon as I sat on the stool next to her.

“Did they sign up?” she asked.

“Nope.”
I tipped the cup back and took a huge drink.

I snuck a glance at the bar to see Luke was gone. I had never met anyone with so much anger.
Even when Chris was mad, it was a controlled kind of anger. Luke seemed like he could explode at any minute, and I had no idea why I seemed to piss him off so much.

After two cups of beer that still didn't taste good to me, Luke still hadn't shown back up. What was he doing? Did he leave? Why did I care?

“Trey and I were going to head to dinner,” Hannah leaned over and whispered in my ear. “Can you make it home alone?”

“A date in the middle of the week?”
I teased. “Yes, I can make it home. I'm actually about to leave.”

“Hey, Riley.”
Trey walked back up to the table and handed me a piece of paper. “Luke wanted me to give this to you.”

I looked down at the paper and it was filled out with his company information, a free drink coupon logo and a check for the advertising space. You have got to be kidding me.

“He gave this to you?” I questioned.

“Yep.”

“To give to me?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

“As a joke?”

“No, he looked serious about it.” He tipped back his cup and took a long drink. “I was talking to him back in his office, and he handed it to me before I walked back out here.”

What a confusing jerk. I put the paperwork into the folder and tucked it under my arm.

“Okay, well thanks.” I stood up and hugged Hannah. “I'm out of here. You guys have fun tonight.”

I walked out into the evening air and suddenly realized we had been sitting in Luke's bar for three hours. The bus stop was only two blocks from here and was a much cheaper option than a cab. I turned the corner and looked down to put the folder into my large blue purse.

“Oh, sorry.”
My shoulder knocked into someone in front of me.

“Can't stay away from me, huh.”
The familiar green eyes bored into mine again. “Are you driving home?”

I squared my shoulders and began walking again when he grabbed my wrist.

“Seriously, are you driving? Weren't you just drinking?”

I tried a few times but failed to pull my wrist from his grip.

“I'm taking the bus,” I finally answered.

“No, you're not. I'll give you a ride,” he stated as if there was no other choice.

“No, I'm riding the bus.” I stood up straighter. “Thanks for the advertisement space, but you didn't have to do that. I can take care of myself.”

“And what if I want to take care of you?” He took a step closer and tightened his fingers around my arm.

My tongue went dry, and my palms began to sweat. The closer he got to me, the harder it was for me to breathe. The scent from the black leather jacket he was now wearing invaded my senses. The overwhelming feeling that I should turn and run away took over, but a stronger force kept my legs in place. We stared at each other, waiting for the other to talk.

“You're coming with me.” He slowly moved his hand down and interlocked his fingers with mine. I found myself following after him as soon as he started walking. Like a damn puppet. I was starting to get concerned with the amount of idiot I became around him.

“Here,” he said handing me a helmet.

“Wait, you drive that?” I gaped at the huge chunk of black and metal in front of me. Of course he rode a motorcycle.

“You scared?” A smirk spread across his face.

“Yeah, a little bit.” I wasn't even sure if I was talking about the bike or of him.

“Good.” He climbed on and motioned for me to get behind him. “You should be.”

I pulled the helmet over my blond hair and climbed on behind him. He grabbed both of my hands and wrapped them tightly around his waist. Before I could decide how much I liked this and hated it at the same time, he took off down the road.

“That's it,” I shouted over the engine.

He pulled the bike into my apartment complex and came to a stop in front of the building I had pointed at. I felt his chest rumble beneath my arms. They were wrapped tightly around him, and I couldn't bring myself to loosen the grip.