3. Cat

Chapter 3

Cat

I don’t know what I was expecting to see in a biker called Saint. But no matter what that was, nothing could have prepared me for the physical response my body had just by seeing him across the room. Not that I can see much of him now. Barbie is in his lap and all I see is hair.

But I knew the minute he walked in the door of the bar. I mean, there were people hollering and the room was alive with excitement, but there was something else too. A feeling that caught me off guard as I watched him walk across the room, his friends all around him. He didn’t see me. He didn’t look my way and I’m glad of it. I don’t know what I would have done if he’d looked at me.

He’s big, almost bigger than any of the other bikers around here. He has dark hair and tattoos up and down his arms. He has his cut on, the one that all the other bikers wear with the Heartlands logo big and proud on the back of it. Just like over half the other men that are in the bar right now. But his is tight, almost like he hasn’t worn it in a while and grew out of it. But even with the ill-fitting cut, none of the other men compare to him. No, he definitely stands out.

Instantly, I don’t like the way my body reacts to seeing Saint. I remind myself that I’m staying away from men, especially violent ones, and I remind myself that I don’t know anything about him. I’m already on edge. It seems like the whole club is here and everyone is drinking heavily. Any time there’s a big crowd, I get anxious. It’s times like this with big groups and excessive drinking that remind me of my time at the Outlaws. When the bar fills up with this many people, I get nervous and my anxiety gets the best of me. Taking a few deep breaths, I immerse myself in my work and make sure I don’t look over at him anymore. I literally jump at the chance to stay too busy to keep checking him out. I set my mind on my job and keep the drinks coming.

When I hear the sexy low rumble of a new voice, I don’t even have to turn around and look up to know it belongs to the sexy sergeant at arms. “Can I get a draft beer?”

I grab a frosty mug and fill it to the brim, almost spilling it everywhere. I set it down in front of him when he reaches for his pocket to pay.

I shake him off. “Ranger said you don’t pay tonight. It’s on the club.”

He puts his wallet away. “So it seems you know me, but I don’t know who you are.”

I blush, realizing that I gave away that I already know him, that I checked him out.

I just shrug my shoulders and grab a dish cloth, still not meeting his eyes.

He stops me with his hand over mine as I’m wiping down the counter. “You’re new around here, right?”

I look at his huge hand covering mine. I know I shouldn’t, but I do it anyway. I look up at him, right in his eyes, and take an audible breath. From across the room, he’s big, powerful and handsome. Up close, with his blue eyes staring straight at me, he’s downright sexy. No wonder Barbie was going crazy about his return. She was right: one look at him could melt my panties off. He must have heard my gasp, because the corners of his lips raise in a smirk.

“Yeah, I’m new.” I smile back at him tentatively.

He starts to say something else, but Barbie slides up against him, pressing her fake breasts into his face. “That’s just Cat,” Barbie tells him. I look between the two of them and wonder if they are an item. I know he’s been gone a while, but I also know that Barbie hasn’t necessarily been waiting for him.

Ignoring Saint, I turn my gaze to Barbie. “Ice tea?”

She just shakes her head and then runs her hands up Saint’s chest. “No, honey. I got more than I can handle in my hands right now.”

I nod, walking away. I don’t want to examine why it bothers me so much that Barbie has her hands on him. I don’t have any claims on him and I sure as hell don’t want to. At least that’s what I tell myself.

I breathe a little easier when I walk away and put some distance between us. The whole time I was talking to him, I felt like I was holding my breath. I felt my body get hot and I couldn’t stand there as he watched me, stared me down. Maybe Barbie will draw his attention away from me , I think. Because attention from him is the last thing I need. I keep telling myself that anyway. I go and fill some other orders. Besides all the regulars and club members, there’s a lot of new people too.

“What do you say, honey? I’ll take a beer and just five minutes with you on my lap.”

I look at the man briefly, pour him a beer and set it down in front of him. “That will be three dollars.” I’ve learned from my time at the Outlaws that you don’t make eye contact. If you do, men like this will get it in their heads that they can say and do anything they want to you.

He just laughs. “Well, I’m getting off cheap tonight. I would have paid five for a beer and a lap dance.” He sets the three dollars on the bar between us and I grab it, ignoring him. Some of the other guys, all newcomers, laugh with him.

I can feel Saint’s gaze burning into me. I chance a glance over to him, and he is still watching me. It doesn’t slow Barbie down any; she’s still hanging on to him and talking a mile a minute, but his eyes are on me. He looks over my shoulder and I watch as his gaze hardens. I flinch at the look on his face. He screams dangerous and I know I need to stay away from him.

Turning away, I look back at the man that was talking to me, but he’s disappeared, along with all his buddies. I can’t help but wonder if Saint had something to do with that. But I don’t turn around to find out. I know I’m better off forgetting about him. Him and his sexy eyes.