“There’s a table open,” she smiled at him over her shoulder, “I’ll gorack ’em if you want to get the beer.”
He nodded agreement and pushed his way to the bar. He watched herwork her way through the crowd, up the two steps to the raised pool area and puther quarters in the table. He turned his attention to his currentobjective — beer.
She racked the balls and scanned the room for Smokey. He was stillat the bar. She started sorting through the cue sticks, oblivious to hersurroundings. The smell of stale smoke and staler sweat made her turn.
“Hey baby, how bout you and me shoot a game?”
Her eyes raked the half-tanked, slovenly cretin. “Sorry, but mypartner’ll be here in a minute.”
A nasty smile pulled the unshaven lip. “Oh, did you send your bitchfor beer?”
“Excuse me?”
“Why don’t you and your girlfriend play doubles with me and my buddy?” The scabrous smile widened.
“What?”
“Stop playing stupid. All a dike cunt like you needs is a good fuckfrom a real man. That’ll bring you around.”
Her confusion vanished and her vision clarified. There was nomistaking the intents of this Neanderthal for anything other than sheer, brutaloffense. She realized she was backed into the corner with the solicitoussubhuman blocking her on one side, and his plug-ugly pal closing in fromthe other side of the table. Her fingers closed around the shortest cue as ifof their own accord.
“I got a van in the parking lot. So, whaddya say? How’s about youand me slipping out the back?”
The familiar calm flowed through her like an ocean breeze, herbreathing slowed, her stance became relaxed and deceptively casual. She looked intothe vacuous eyes and said softly, “Despite your confidence in your own selfworth, the thought of having your malodorous, festering, fetid body anycloser to mine than it already is, is so repugnant and loathsome that themere idea makes me want to vomit.”
“What? What the hell you talking about?”
“Too many syllables? Let me put this as monosyllabic as possible andI’ll speak slowly and clearly. If you even try to touch me, I’llkill you. Then I’ll puke. Now do you understand?”
The piggish eyes that so suited the porcine face glittered withanger, the chapped lips pulled back from tobacco-stained teeth in a vicious snarl.”You bitch. Who the hell do you think you are?” He was nearly screamingin her face, spittle showing white at the corners of the ugly mouth. Hestabbed at her shoulder with a thick, callused index finger.
“Don’t touch me again,” she warned. She just wanted to get free fromthe corner and the two men so bent on their offensive assault.
Smokey finally flagged the bartender, ordered two pints ofheffeweissen and turned his gaze just in time to see the fat, grubby drunk thump Red inthe shoulder. He charged through the crowd knowing that if he could justreach her before the inevitable explosion, he could smooth things over andget her the hell out before she got hurt. “Don’t let her get her hands on astick, don’t let her get her hands on a stick,” he muttered, knowing herproclivity. He saw the fat drunk grab at her. She moved with remarkablespeed, dodging the clumsy attack and bringing the pool cue into play. Withan audible crack, the cue connected with the forehead of the aggressor. Theman staggered and bellowed as the stick snapped in half. Smokey almost smiledas he saw the strapping redhead grab the fat half of the stick, all tooobviously pleased with the new, more mobile and more familiar length of herweapon.
He felt like he was moving in slow motion. The crowd seemed to pressin against him, angry voices protested as he bulled his way through. Hecouldn’t get to her side fast enough to prevent the beefy fist of the drunkfrom landing a glancing blow to her grinning lips. But he smiled as shecaught her attacker across the wrist with a vicious, bone breaking blow.He saw her shoulder drop and knew she was going for her favorite target, thevulnerable knee. Connecting with her usual speed and efficiency, he sawthe fat man’s leg buckle. She followed up with a resounding smack to thetemple and the man dropped at her feet.
Smokey was close enough that her green eyes met his. Her color washigh, her eyes glittered and her lips were pulled into a tight, humorless smile.Her grip on the cue was loose, casual. He still hadn’t figured out how shecould wield a stick with such devastating force and accuracy.
The scene around the three pool tables was quickly dissolving into agood old-fashioned barroom brawl. The other patrons of the bar hadgathered into an ugly, cheering crowd. All seeming to take depraved, voyeuristicdelight in the plight of the aggressive redhead. Smokey was disgusted.
“Look out!” she shouted the second before he was hit by a rapidlymoving, heavy body. He crashed to the ground hard enough to force the windfrom his lungs. Striking out blindly, his fist met flesh and bone, hisassailant grunted with the pain of the furious blows. Smokey managed toroll from beneath whoever the hell it was that hit him and tried to get to hisfeet, years of training making his moves sheer reflex. He could see Redwas lashing out with her improvised baton, trying to keep two burly rednecksfrom getting their paws on her. The crowd cheered them on. He’d had enough.
He reached under his jacket and freed his Colt from its restraints. Hethumbed off the safety and ratcheted a round into the chamber. The sound,soft in the din, caught the attention of those nearby. Silence spreadfrom him like a ripple in a pond. The two assholes had managed to snare Red’shands, preventing her from wielding her weapon. One man had his hand onthe waistband of her jeans and a cruel smile on his lips. Smokey pressed thecold steel of the barrel against the ridge of bone behind the man’s ear.
“Let her go fucker, or I’ll blow your worthless brains all over yourpals here.”
Both men froze and slowly, carefully removed their hands. Red wasbreathing hard, a welted handprint beginning to show on her left cheek.
“C’mon darlin’, let’s hit the road.” He took her by the hand, pullingher from the motionless, ashen-faced duo.
The crowd parted like Velveeta under a hot knife as he pulled her tothe door, keeping his weapon out and threatening. He pushed her out into thenight. “Get your bike started.”
He felt her move away. He tossed his business card onto the bar, “Ifyou decide to call the cops, give ’em my card. Tell ’em I’ll be more thanhappy to press charges.”
He heard her Panhead rumble to life and slipped out the door afterher.His Low Rider started easily at his touch. He heard the chirp of her tireas she pulled out into the deserted street and he followed a bare second behind.Knowing she’d be getting hit with the shakes in about three minutes, hewatched her carefully as she headed straight to the hotel. They pulledinto the spot right in front of their door. The engines fell silent.
“I don’t want to leave Bob out here overnight. Someone might messwith him.”
“Sure, we’ll push ’em into our room. Nobody’ll notice.”
He opened the door and held it for her as she maneuvered the bigblack and gray Duo-Glide into the small room. She returned the favor, holdingthe door for him.
The adrenaline was still pumping hot through his veins, demandingthat he do something, fight someone or have a stiff shot of scotch. He keptseeing her in his mind, her red hair glowing like a vibrant halo, her skinpale and nearly translucent but her cheeks flaming. God she wasphenomenal.
He fell back onto his bed, chuckling. “You were amazing. I thinkyou scared the whole place shitless. I’ve seen you in full frontal assaultthree times now, and I still don’t know how it is you do what you do.”
He looked over at her. She was sitting on the edge of her bed,elbows on knees, her face in her trembling hands. Her auburn hair fell in thickwaves, hiding her face from him. He thought he heard a sniffle.
“Hey, you did all right,” he got up from his bed and kneeled in frontof her. He lifted her chin so he could see her eyes. A single tear trickleddown her cheek. She wiped it away.
The handprint on her cheek was fading but her lower lip was beginningto swell. “Aw baby, look at your lip.”
She touched it gingerly. “It doesn’t hurt. Really.”
He could see the tears welling in her eyes. “Then what’s wrong?”
“It?it wasn’t my fault! It really wasn’t. I wasn’t doing anythingwrong. He just?he just?” Her face crumpled. “You don’t think I’m a diketoo, do you?”
He struggled against his natural reaction to flee from a weepingwoman, especially this one. He brushed her hair from her face. “Of course Idon’t.The guy was a drunken idiot. He was just pissed ’cause he knew he didn’thave a chance to have a classy babe like you.” He touched the swelling lipgently, “Now let me get you some ice for that.”
“No it’s fine, really. It barely hurts at all.”
“You’re so tough.” Without thinking, he gently kissed the injury.
The brief contact stunned them both to immobility.He could see a near-desperate loneliness in the green depths of her eyes, and the look ofdesolation tore at his heart. He took her face gently in his hands and hereyes took on the panicked look of a deer in headlights. His conscience warredwith his wants. She was so vulnerable, yet so vibrant. Desire won out. Hekissed her long and deeply, savoring the taste of her lips, realizing hehad wanted this for a long time. Breaking contact, he looked into her eyesagain, seeing willingness overcome the panic.
Still on his knees before her, he slipped off his jacket, tossing itonto his bed. It was followed by the Colt and shoulder harness. Hecarefully helped her out of her jacket, then pulled her into his arms.Feeling the strong body beneath his hands, he had to force down the residualenergy from the brawl. He knew better than to push her. He felt sure thatany sudden move or loud noise and she would shy away and flee into thenight like a creature of the wild. And as if taming a wild thing, he gentlystroked the sleek hair, the soft cheek. Her eyes closed and he kissed awaythe last tear that trickled from the corner of her eye. Her lips were partedever so slightly, inviting another kiss. He obliged, wanting to devour herin his fervent need for her.
He could feel her body begin to respond and relax. Her hands began toroam across his chest and shoulders, timidly at first, but with morepurpose with each passing moment. He ran his hands under her shirt, slowly,allowing her the chance to reject him. He was emboldened when the rejection failedto come. He pulled the shirt from her, exposing milky white shoulders with agentle spray of freckles. His lips tasted the salty sweetness of her skinas he kissed and nibbled his way to the round, firm breasts. She reachedbehind her back, easily unhooking the bra one handed, as women do. The breastsfreed from their bondage, he took one in each hand, kissing one then theother while Red moaned softly. He pushed her back onto the bed, kissing andcaressing her smooth body. Still fearful of rushing her into something shewasn’t ready for, he contented himself with carefully attending to each partof the lithe body already exposed; her white neck, hot lips, soft pinknipples, silky smooth stomach, long firm arms, delectable shoulders. Hecontinued his ministrations until she reached for the button fly of hisjeans, trying to free him from the painfully tight jeans.
He smiled and returned the favor, unbuttoning her jeans and slidingthem off the long legs he had begun to dream about. The black silk boxers madehis grin widen. He should have guessed she’d wear boxers. He ran his handslightly over the thin material, feeling her beneath the fabric as if itweren’t there. He slid one hand up the loose leg, seeking andfinding the hot, wet objective. She moaned as he gently slid one finger inside,then brought the finger to his lips, relishing the delicate tang. He pulled theboxers from her round hips, exposing soft auburn curls. His heart waspounding as he fumbled to rid himself of his own jeans. He then blissfullyslid between her legs and into the waiting arms of the redhead, fittinginside her like a key in a lock.
She murmured his name, softly, breathlessly as he pressed deepinsideher with slow strokes. Her long legs hooked around his waist, pulling himin tighter. Her mouth found his and she kissed him with a single-mindednessthat drove any shred of hesitation from his mind.
A considerable time later, as they lay entangled in the sweat-soakedsheets, she sighed heavily.
“What, disappointed?”
“Oh! No,” she chuckled and ran her hand over his chest. “Not at all.But does this mean we can’t still be friends? It’ll be different now.”
“Just better,” he reassured.
A long moment later she sighed again.
“What now?”
“I was just wondering how long you’re gonna keep having to haul myass out of trouble.”
“I guess as long as you keep stumbling into it. Just one thing, nexttime try to save a little fun for me, will ya?”
