Discover Love(4)

 

As his eyes moved from Trudi heading back to the kitchen, he noticed a woman at the bar staring at him, a small smile curving her lips. He quickly glanced around at his fellow Saints, obviously all with women, except for Marc, but as he turned his gaze back to the woman, she was definitely not staring at Marc.  

 

Cocking his head to the side, he blatantly observed her, his mind categorizing her traits the way he always analyzed things. Long, black hair, hanging in a sheet down her back. Dark, almost black eyes. Jeans encasing her crossed legs, and a light blue sweater falling off one shoulder. Definitely nice. And definitely not the type that usually looks my way.

 

Seeing their pitchers of beer almost empty, he excused himself as he headed to the bar to save Trudi a trip. Okay … to be honest, I'd like to check out the interesting and interested lady at the same time.

 

Sure enough, as he approached, setting the empty pitcher on Chuck's worn bar, the woman swiveled toward him, her smile now a little shaky. Nervous … she looks nervous. Dark bangs hung down almost to her eyelashes, making it difficult to ascertain what her eyes looked like, but her flawless complexion and soft smile was easy to appreciate.

 

Before he was able to speak, a man wearing an expensive suit leaned a long arm across the woman, placing his glass on the bar while simultaneously leering down at her breasts. Noting her wide-eyed expression of surprise, Luke stood up straight, walked over to her and threw his arm around her, saying, "Hey sweetie. Sorry, I'm late."

 

The man looked up hastily, grumbled, then snatched his glass back and moved down the bar.

 

Before Luke was able to step back, the woman smiled up at him.

 

"Thank you … I … well … thank you."

 

Distracted as she bit her bottom lip, he moved his arm from her shoulders and stepped back slightly. "Well, it seemed his attention wasn't what you wanted, so I thought perhaps-"

 

"Oh, yes," she rushed, a blush rising from her neck upward as she glanced around.

 

"I'm Luke. Luke Costas." He paused, but she simply smiled back, staring at his face, offering no name in return. "And you are?"

 

Startling, she jumped. "Oh, I'm uh-"

 

"Here's your beer," Chuck called out, drawing Luke's attention back to the bar. Nodding, he moved to pick it up before turning back to the woman. Seeing her slip from her barstool, he asked, "Would you … uh … like to join my friends?"

 

Her eyes jerked over to the loud, boisterous Saints before reluctantly shaking her head. "No, thank you. I'm not … well, that is … uh, I actually need to be leaving."

 

"Early night?"

 

Her blush darkened as she nodded. "Yeah, something like that-"

 

A shout of cursing came from the pool tables as one drunken man slugged another. Before anyone could intervene a melee broke out amongst several of the patrons in the back of the bar. Luke's gaze darted to the table of Saints as they all jumped up to create a barrier between the brawl and their women.

 

Luke instinctively moved toward the Saints since their table was close to the back pool area. As the three largest, Bart, Cam, and Blaise, hustled to break up the fight, Luke placed himself in front of their wives. With his arms out wide, he began to herd them toward the safety of the bar.

 

At the same time, his gaze searched toward the bar only to witness the dark-haired beauty once more being accosted by the man in the suit. Fuck! Chuck, no longer guarding the bar, had leaped over with a baseball bat to subdue the miscreants in the back. Luke attempted to hurry Miriam and Faith forward while maneuvering toward the woman at the bar.

 

A flash of movement caught his eye as she grabbed the suited man by the hand and, with a whirl, pinned him against the bar with his arm held painfully behind him. Luke, as stunned as the man must have been, watched as she continued to push the larger man to the floor using his weight against him. With a quick glance around, she disappeared through the crowd, her wide-eyed expression full of fear.

 

 

 

        

          

        

         

 

Luke watched as she slipped through the front door. Rubbing his chin, he realized he did not even get her name. The fight, now broken up, had Chuck clearing out the rabble with Trudi shouting curses and threats of bodily harm if they ever came back.

 

The Saints resumed their seats as Luke made his way back to the bar for the pitchers of beer. The suited man, now climbing up from the floor, glanced nervously around. Guess getting your ass handed to you by a much smaller woman must be a real ball buster. Grinning at the memory, he had to admit it was the sexiest thing he had ever seen.