ROMANCE: BIKER ROMANCE: Valentine Biker (MC Alpha Male Pregnancy Romance) (New Adult Valentine Romance Short Stories) (104 page)

"Yeah. But I might need another shot of that," Hailey answered.

Claudette laughed again, and poured two more drinks. "My kind of girl," she said with a wink, and then disappeared through the door behind the bar.

Hailey got along easily with most of the men, and they were nice, for the most part. There was a group of five men who stayed at the back, except to order more drinks, who gave her mistrusting looks. They barked their drink orders at her, and just stared at her while she was making them. One of them, a skinny man with greasy black hair, asked her to make a complicated sounding cocktail she had never heard of.

"Sorry, I think I'll have to go get Claudette to make that one," Hailey said in her most polite tone. The man sneered in response. He turned away and muttered something, but Hailey heard him say, "fucking idiot."

She lowered her eyes, abashed, suddenly feeling like this was a bad idea. Most of the other men had turned their eyes away, not wanting to draw this man's attention. But suddenly from the back of the bar was the one she had made eye contact with. He was striding through the crowd, moving with ease. He came up beside the skinny man and grabbed his arm.

"Hey buddy, if you don’t want any trouble, you should apologize to this young lady right away," he said sternly. His fingers were digging in to the man's arm so hard Hailey thought they would draw blood. The bar had gone quiet and everyone was averting their eyes. Everyone except Patrick, who was watching from the door of the bar with his eyes narrowed.

"Elias," he called, his voice bellowing across the room, "Let go of Jeff's arm". The man with the blue eyes, who must be named Elias, looked up. He shook his head a little, and then let go of Jeff, pushing him a few feet across the floor as he did. Jeff looked up, his eyes were burning with hatred. He moved forward like he was going to hit Elias but one of the other men stepped into his path. He backed down, and strode toward the front door. Hailey watched him and four other men leave. She heard their bikes roar to life in the parking lot and speed off down the road.

Hailey let out a deep breath. She realized she had been holding it. Finally someone started the jukebox up again, and slowly the life came back into the bar. Elias stepped forward and smiled at Hailey.

"Elias," he said, holding out his hand.

"Hailey," she said, taking his hand to shake it. When she did she felt a rush of electricity surge from his touch. She took in her breath, and the rest of the bar seemed to disappear as she looked into his eyes. He was staring at her with an intensity that was disarming, but she couldn't look away. She felt him slide his thumb across her knuckles and she shivered from the sensation. His hands were strong, powerful. When she looked down, her own hand looked tiny in his. In fact, she felt tiny next to him. She rarely felt small next to anyone in her life. He towered over her.

"Thank you," she said finally, "for defending me. He was rude."

"Yes," Elias said, his voice was a low seductive purr. Hailey felt her stomach twist with excitement. There was something about being near Elias that seemed to make her fire on all cylinders. He still hadn't let go of her hand, and she reluctantly pulled it away.

Elias sat at the bar in front of her for the rest of the evening. They spoke on and off, more as the night got later and the bar started to empty out.

"Are all of these guys driving home drunk?" she asked Elias eventually in a lowered voice. She suddenly felt complicit in their crimes, since she served them alcohol all night long.

Elias laughed, a low gravely chuckle that sent a fresh course of chills through Hailey's body.

"Don't worry, they can handle their alcohol," he said. And she guessed he was right. She had been serving alcohol all night long but she hadn't seen anyone act drunk.

Elias sat with her while she cleaned behind the bar, readying it for the next day. When an older couple who had been feeding the jukebox all night finally got up and exited the bar with the wave, Elias and Hailey were the only two left in the room. As the door shut with a jingle Hailey felt the tension and electricity in the room magnify. She only knew Elias a few hours, but she felt her heart race with excitement as he stood up and slowly came behind the bar.

"It was really nice meeting you tonight Hailey," he said as he walked toward her.

"It was nice meeting you too. Thank you for keeping me company all night," she said. "And thank you for defending me from that man."

"I would do it again in a heartbeat," he said. He stepped toward her, closing the space between them. Hailey could feel the warmth coming from his body; she could smell his cologne and a faint whiff of cigarette smoke. She would normally be turned off by a man who smoked, but for some reason it thrilled her even more.

Elias was smiling down at her. He lifted a hand and placed it on Hailey's cheek. Hailey wanted to gasp at his touch. The feel of his skin on hers sent waves of pleasure through her body. And he was only touching her cheek. She wondered what kind of pleasure his touch would elicit on other places of her body. At the thought she blushed, and Elias smiled when he saw the flush of pink in her cheeks.

"What are you thinking?" he asked, his voice a purr.

"Nothing," she whispered. Then said, "Everything."

Elias laughed and lowered his face to hers. His lips brushed hers lightly, and Hailey took in her breath. He nipped at her lower lip, and she moaned at the sensation it caused. The sound seemed to unravel him, because he growled, a low seductive animalistic sound, and pressed her up against the bar. He kissed her deeply, holding both sides of her face with his hands. She kissed him back and pressed her body against his.

Then Elias was ripped away. Hailey looked up to see Patrick standing behind Elias, his hand in a tight grip on Elias's shoulder.

"You’re harassing my girl. Get out of my bar," he roared at Elias, and pushed him toward the exit. He pointed, as if Elias had forgotten the way. "Now."

Hailey turned to see Claudette coming from the doorway behind the bar. Her make-up was streaked and smeared and her eyes were bloodshot like she had been crying. Hailey opened her mouth to say something, but the look Patrick was giving Elias made her change her mind. Patrick was looking at him like he wanted to tear him limb from limb.

Hailey, flustered and confused, grabbed her purse from below the bar. She was afraid of what was happening.

"I need to go," she said.

"Hailey," Patrick replied.

"I'm sorry, I really need to go. Thank you for the opportunity..." she then looked at Elias. He was at the door, just about to leave the bar, and he looked back at her longingly.

"I'll see you next week," Hailey said to Patrick. And rushed out the door in attempt to follow Elias, however, when she got outside he was nowhere to be seen.

She drove slowly back to her dorm room, aware that there might be drunk bikers on the road. On the short walk from the dorm parking lots to her building she thought she heard a sound from the bushes between the building and the beginning of the forest. In the light from someone's window, she swore she saw the lumbering figure of a black bear with bright blue eyes. She gasped and stopped, squinting into the darkness, but the figure was gone. She went into her building with one last look behind her shoulder, then she pulled the door closed and checked to make sure it was locked.

*****

The next week went by in a blur, and Hailey tried to keep herself distracted with her art and studying. She forgot to ask about the studio space last week, so she vowed to get to the bar early for her second shift to ask Patrick about it. She hoped the drama from last week was resolved. It was awkward standing there in the middle of a fight. She thought a lot about Elias since that night, especially when she was lying in bed trying to drift off to sleep.

When she woke up Saturday she made a trip into the nearby town to the mall so she could buy a new outfit, complete with a stylish leather jacket from the local charity shop. One good thing about being a full figured girl was that it usually wasn't hard to find clothes at second hand stores in her size.

She got dressed and made the drive to the bar. She was there about 20 minutes early, , and while driving in she noticed the parking lot was as full as last week. Hailey felt a little more confident this time as she strode to the door; she even got a few greetings from familiar faces as she entered the bar. At least some of the guys remembered her.

Claudette wasn't behind the bar tonight. It was a young girl who was icy with Hailey. She barely said two words and then, after Hailey placed her apron on and served her first customer, the girl said she was done and left in a huff.

After about an hour Hailey saw Elias through the crowd. He was sitting with a group of guys at the back. He met her eyes and waved with a smile. She smiled back, hoping that he would come over and say hello. After a few minutes, as if reading her, he begin to walk her direction. She watched as he sauntered easily through the crowd, slapping some of the guys on the back and joking as he did.

"Hi," he said as he stepped up to the bar.

"Hi. How are you?" Hailey asked. She suddenly felt a little shy.

"Good. I've been looking forward to seeing you again. I want to apologize for last weekend."

Hailey shook her head. "Don't worry about it…it's none of my business."

"No, we shouldn't have involved you in that. Your presence here has stirred up a little drama," he laughed.

"Mine? Did I do something wrong?" she asked, she felt embarrassed and wondered what it could be.

"No, not at all. It's just Patrick and Claudette have been a thing for a long time. And you seem to have caught Patrick's eye a little..." he trailed off.

Hailey couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Elias took a deep breath, like he was wrestling with telling her something that he probably shouldn't tell.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it. If you have a thing for him then it’s none of my business," he said.

"Of course I don't!" Hailey cried.

Elias laughed. "I’m glad to hear that. Just let him down gently. And let me know if he tries anything you don't approve of…okay?" Elias's eyes were suddenly serious.

"He wouldn't..." Hailey trailed off. She felt a little worried all of a sudden. Patrick was a big man, and she had been here all by herself with him at the interview.

Elias placed a hand on Hailey's. "Don't worry." He pulled a pen out of his pocket and wrote his phone number down on a napkin. "If you need anything, anything, just call me. Okay?" he said, pushing the napkin toward her. She folded it and slipped it into her pocket.

"Thanks," she said and smiled. When she turned around Patrick was standing in the doorway behind the bar. His face was set in a serious expression. Elias met his eyes, and Hailey wasn't sure because the bar was loud, but she thought she heard him growl.

After her shift Hailey went out to her car. Elias disappeared shortly before she had to leave. She wished she could have said goodbye, and decided to text him when she got back to her room. A thrill of excitement twisted through her stomach at the idea of late-night phone calls with Elias. Maybe she could convince him to come over.

When she left the bar it was completely empty. She didn't have keys, so she just left the door unlocked, hoping that Patrick was still in the back so he could lock up. As she walked to her car she could feel a presence behind her. She turned to see Patrick slowly walking through the parking lot behind her. She felt uneasy, and pushed the unlock button on her key fob so she could quickly get into her car if Patrick tried anything.

"Hey Hailey," he said, "did you have a good night?"

"Hi Patrick. Yeah, it was fun. Thanks," Hailey replied. "I couldn't lock up," she said, pointing toward the door. Patrick waved it away.

"Don't worry," he said. He was walking closer, and Hailey found that her back was now pressed against her car. She felt like she should get in and get away from here, but she wanted to ask about the studio space. She began to wonder if that was even a good idea at this point..

"Patrick, the job ad said there was a small room included in the position..." she began. Patrick smiled. His expression was suggestive and he was walking closer. There was only a few feet left between them.

"I can show you now, if you want?" he said. His voice was low. He took one hand and brushed Hailey's hair from her cheek with the back of his hand. His touch was cold and rough, and Hailey wanted to shrug him away. Instead she straightened her back and stepped to the left, away from him slightly.

"I think next Saturday would be better," she replied. "I'll get here a few minutes early. I really have to go now..." she turned and opened her car door and then slipped inside. She was breathing heavily. She started her car and as she was placing the key into the ignition Patrick punched through her driver side window, leaving Hailey wondering if she would make it out of this alive. She looked up hurriedly to back out of the parking lot and in her rear view mirror she saw Elias in the shadows. He stepped out of the darkness and strode toward Patrick. Hailey watched in horror as he leapt toward Patrick, knocking him to the ground. He held Patrick down and punched him several times in the face before Patrick pushed Elias off and struggled to his feet. For a few seconds the two stood facing each other, Patrick bleeding from the corner of his mouth. Elias looked at Hailey through the car windshield and pointed. He mouthed the word "go". Hailey was frozen, she knew she should leave, that she wouldn't want to see this, but she couldn't move.