Goldie(Night Rebels MC Romance Book 4)(23)

"Move on, dude. She's my best friend's little sister."

"And who is she?"

The lustful sheen in Army's eyes pissed the hell out of Goldie, but before he could say anything, Hailey smiled and held out her hand. "I'm Hailey."

Army grasped it and held onto it a bit too long for Goldie's liking. "I'm Army." His gaze slipped down to her ample bust.

"Let go of her hand," Goldie said.

Army raised his eyebrows and grinned as he released her. That grin told Goldie he was going to have a good time ribbing him later on after he told all the brothers that Hailey had Goldie's balls.

"Hey, who's your lady?" Sangre said as he and Paco came over to the table. The vulture-like attitude around a pretty, stacked woman was one aspect of the brotherhood he didn't like, especially since their hungry eyes were fixed on Hailey's tits. Although, he couldn't blame them-Hailey was a biker's wet dream. Hell, she was most men's wet dreams. And he'd be acting just like his brothers if he'd spotted one of them with a woman like her. But since she was someone he knew and respected, he didn't like the way they were looking at her.

"Back the fuck off. She's a good friend of mine. Show some respect."

And just like that, they backed off. Pride in his brothers' loyalty spread through him as puzzlement fanned out across Hailey's face. They chatted for a few minutes about Harleys and the upcoming rally, then left Goldie and Hailey alone, drifting toward some other brothers who leaned against the jukebox in the far-left corner of the room.

"Were those some of the other guys in your club?" she asked as she watched them move away.

"Yeah. They can come on strong. They're always looking for a pretty woman to score with."

"Do they find them?"

"Most of the time. Women are crazy about bikers. The more tats and patches we have, the more they want to fuck us." Goldie turned away and watched as Paco approached a table with two big-busted blondes. He sniggered.

"Are you always looking for a woman to score with?"

He jerked his head around. "Not always."

"But a lot of the time?"

"I guess it depends on how you define ‘a lot.' I don't walk around with my tongue hanging out, wanting to jump every chick's bones, if that's what you mean."

Hailey glanced around the bar. "No, I didn't mean that. It's just that I heard your club likes to have parties, and women go to them just for the sex."

"And the booze, the drugs, and the thrill of partying with a bunch of outlaws. Some of the women are professionals who wear suits with a prim, high-collar blouse to work. For them, it feels good to let loose without being judged."

"So it's anything goes at these parties?"

"Pretty much. We don't let hard drugs into them. We try and keep that shit out of the county period. We also don't let anyone under eighteen in, and if someone gets rough with one of the women, we stop it. But other than that, we let everyone party the way they want."                       
       
           



       

"How do you like to party?" Hailey had moved her chair closer and her arm rested against his.

"You don't want to know, Hailey. If you're trying to find out if I've fucked a lot of women, the answer is yes. Don't ask me how many because I couldn't tell you. But you should know that I've never had a serious relationship with any woman. Our fucking is for fun, and it's a mutual thing."

"You've never been in love?"

He shook his head. "Enough about me. What about you? Besides that asshole Nolan, has there been anyone else in your life?"

"Not really. I mean, dates here and there, but nothing meaningful or satisfying. I wasn't in love with Nolan. I thought I was because in the beginning, we had a good time together and hung out a lot, but after we had sex, he got all weird and possessive. I just wanted to run away from him. I know Ryan thinks he's going to come to Alina, but I doubt that."

"You never know what a person will do. You can't ever underestimate them. You gotta always be on guard."

"Is that how you live your life?"

"Fuck yeah. In my world, you never know who's gunning for you."

Their gazes locked, and he was pulled in by her. Everything about her made him want her more. The whole loyalty thing to Ryan was waning so thin that it was fading into obscurity. The music, the chatter, and the clinking glasses disappeared. The only thing he was acutely aware of was Hailey: her arm touching his, the bar's red lights falling softly over her face, her hair spilling around her shoulders, and her mesmerizing gaze. Desire, lust, and sweet electricity ran through him. He'd experienced desire and lust with a woman more times than he could count, but the circuit of emotional feeling was alien to him. He didn't know how to process it, and he wasn't sure he wanted to. Before Hailey entered his life, things were simple: lust after an attractive chick, let her know, and then fuck her. His sex life was on autopilot, and he liked it that way. Until now. Fuck.

He moved away from her. "We better get going. I have to get back to the ink shop." He stood up, ignoring the confusion etched on her face. Without arguing, they left the bar.

As she drove away, he took out a joint and lit it, his gaze plastered on the red lights of her car fading into the darkness. He wanted to go after her and hold her in his arms, smothering her with kisses. Instead, he stubbed out his joint, went over to his Harley, and headed to Get Inked. He hoped he'd be busy as hell; he needed something to block her from his mind and his dick. She was slipping dangerously close to his heart, and he couldn't have that. He was a bastard with women, and he knew he'd end up hurting her. And he didn't want to do that.

For the first time in his adult life, he cared about a woman and how she felt. It was both an unsettling and exhilarating feeling.

And for the first time in his life, Goldie was scared shitless.





Chapter Sixteen





Hailey turned off the lights and locked the door to the flower shop. She'd stayed way past closing hour, trying desperately to stop thinking about Goldie. The way he'd practically dragged her out of Cuervos still made her cheeks burn. He still thinks of me as Ryan's little sister. I need to just forget about him. He's not interested.

But he did keep giving her mixed signals. Sometimes she'd catch him staring at her, desire heating his gaze, and then once in a while, she'd see something mixed with the desire. Affection? Stop it. You're making too much of this. Anyway, he just wants to screw women, not date them. At times she'd tell herself that she was fine with them being friends with benefits, but she knew she wasn't that type of woman. Though she wasn't exactly the waiting-for-your-prince type either. She'd hoped to find something in-between. Goldie was the extreme all-male type of guy. And it surprised her how attractive she found his take-charge personality. It gave her a charge the way he took care of business, not apologizing for his actions. Like the way he handled that creepy Kevin. Her aunt had complained about him to her. She'd hated the way he'd look at her, try and brush against her, and make excuses for having to be in her room. Laughing, she slung her tote over her shoulder. Aunt Patty's going to laugh her ass off tomorrow when I tell her what Goldie did to Kevin.

The clack of her heels echoed in the empty street. Hailey had forgotten how quickly life folded up on a weeknight in the town, especially when it was past ten o'clock. That night, the street was quieter and darker than usual. The amber streetlights were dimmer and the town lights ebbed to a mere twinkling. Looking up, she noticed the clouds were blackened shadows that shifted with the wind that had kicked up. They blotted out the stars and the moon, making the street like an old-fashioned photograph-everything a shade of gray. She clutched her tote tighter and made her way to her car.                       
       
           



       

When she'd returned to the store that evening, the only parking space she could find was by the small park. The white iron benches and bright green leaves appeared ominous amid the blackness of the night. In the shadows, the trees' branches resembled grotesque caricatures of arms and fingers as they swayed and moaned. As she fumbled in her bag for her keys, a rustling behind the thick bushes made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Where the hell are my car keys? She swore under her breath that she'd bought the tote without any compartments as her fingers kept grabbing at everything but her keys.

Rustling. Silence. The wind groaning. More rustling.

Where the fuck are my keys? Someone was behind the bushes. She could feel him. Nolan? Oh God. I hope not. Glancing around, there wasn't a person in sight.

A crunch on the dirt. A snap of a twig. Rustling.

Hailey normally liked the quiet and darkness of night, but at that moment, it seemed to press on her like an awful weight. Someone is here. I can feel him watching me. I hear him. Heart pounding, she pasted her body to her car as if that would offer her any protection. Balancing the tote on her upraised knee, she clawed and shoved the items aside until her fingers curled around her remote entry. Pushing the button, the car's headlights were two beacons offering her some comfort.