“How about some company?” he asked again.
“I’m kind of working.”
“Yeah, well, I saved you. Tell them you owe me.”
She smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “A lot of people wouldn’t believe you saved me. They would think I asked for it.”
“Really? Why would that be?”
“You been to small towns before?” she asked. “Do you know the stigma of what a family is like?” She pressed her lips together. “I’ve got to get back to work.”
He watched her step back, even more curious about her than he wanted to be. She was young. If she worked in a bar, she had to be old enough to serve drinks. He was old, forty years old, but who counted?
He’d lived one hell of a life, and well, he intended to keep on living it to the fullest until the devil himself came for him. He wasn’t a good man and never claimed to be one.
Tipping the bottle to his lips, he watched Piper. She didn’t have those curves on display and he also saw the men, the way they treated her. She avoided anyone touching her, and whatever the men said to her, she acted as if they weren’t really talking.
Interesting.
Why the fuck did this woman intrigue him?
He wanted to protect her. To force all men to look away. They didn’t have a right to look at her, let alone stare. He wanted to fuck them all up, but he drank his beer, watched, and knew he wouldn’t be leaving town any time soon. Not until he knew why this woman intrigued him.
Ape wasn’t too far away. He nodded him over. “Find us a place to stay and while you’re at it, get me everything on Piper.”
“Sure thing. What do you want to know?”
“Everything from her tit size to why men around here seem to think she’s fair game.”
“You staking a claim?”
“Fuck, yeah,” he said.
Chapter Two
“Everyone is talking about them. I’ve got to go and check them out,” Candy said.
Piper rubbed at her eyes, giving in to the yawn. She’d just woken up after three hours of sleep to her sister already dressed in tight hot pants and a bikini top. The heels she wore emphasized her calves and ass, also giving her a tallness her sister didn’t actually have.
“Who?” Piper asked.
The trailer was small and her mother was outside spraying her hair, trying to give it more life.
She grabbed the coffee pot, needing the rush of caffeine. In an hour, she needed to be at the diner. All she wanted to do was to go back to bed, curl up, and pretend she lived anywhere else.
Candy sprayed her chest heavily with the perfume she loved. It wasn’t cheap but she had plenty of men willing to buy her the good stuff.
“Didn’t you hear? There are some new men in town and it’s already all over the place. The gossip is they’re an MC. I’ve never had me a biker. I want one.” Candy moaned.
“She would have seen them, baby girl,” their mother said, walking into the trailer. “They were spotted at the bar last night. I do believe you bought one of them a drink.” Her mother kissed her cheek. “You look way too tired. You work too much.”
“I work just fine.”
“So, tell us about them,” Candy said. “Are they hot? Are they looking for women to party with?”
“It’s way too early to even think about this.” Her bed really was screaming at her. Still, she had to get to work, and she needed to remember that.
“Come on, Piper. Hot guys. Bikes. Come on, you had to have seen them.”
She had seen them, even served one a beer and felt his gaze on her for the remainder of the night. She’d … liked it. An entirely new experience for her, but one she didn’t wish to dwell on too much.
“I did.” She wasn’t about to tell them she’d been attacked by Dave. He was a regular around here, at least for her mom, but that was about it. Candy didn’t give him the time of day. “I served a couple of beers, that was it. I’ve got to get dressed.”
They didn’t understand why she didn’t seek male attention. It was nothing personal to them. She just didn’t want to lose her virginity to anyone.
“Wow, someone is in a pissy mood this morning,” Candy said.
“I’m tired is all.”
“You work too hard.” Her mother kissed her head. “Right, I’ll see you guys later, I’m heading out.”
“Wait for me,” Candy said.
She held her hand up and waved to them. Neither of them looked back to see her and for that, she was grateful. All she wanted to do was sleep but instead, she quickly downed her coffee and dressed.
Waitressing, she was always supposed to wear a pink monstrosity that came to the knee. She much preferred working at the bar where she could don a pair of jeans and a shirt. The owner, Eric, didn’t like any fights and wasn’t interested in his staff creating them. He once told her some women dressed to impress and he ended up footing the bill for a couple of men fighting over a woman. He didn’t want to have to deal with it again, and well, she wasn’t the kind of woman people fought over. She wasn’t about to let Eric know that he implied she wasn’t worth fighting over.