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Chapter Six
Daryl knew he shouldn't be sitting there drinking with her. They had moved on from shots to beers and he could tell she was just a few of those away from falling on her face. His alcohol tolerance was a lot higher than hers so he wasn't feeling it as much. He stayed alert, watching the other men that were watching the two of them.
"Is it hot in here to you? It's hot in here to me," she said, fanning her face.
He tugged on the hem of her jacket. "Might be cause of that," he muttered.
She looked down and then grinned. "I bet you're right." She pulled it off and he did a double take. The shirt was clinging to every dip and curve she had and he could easily make out a black bra under the thin material.
Like it wasn't bad enough that he didn't seem to be in complete control of eyeballs tonight, he didn't need to see anymore of her to distract him further. It was funny since most of the women he was around showed off a lot more skin than this. Compared to any other female here she was dressed pretty modest. And then he realized that was the problem. He was so used to women being easy pickings that he barely even noticed them anymore. He wasn't used to a woman like her and that was the appeal.
"How long have you lived here?" She asked, taking a sip of the beer. She was smart, taking it easier on the alcohol than she had been earlier.
He shrugged. "I've never not lived here."
She smiled. "Small town boy, huh?"
He snorted and chugged half his beer in just a few gulps. "Yeah. Somethin' like that."
"And you work on motorcycles here?"
He nodded. "My dad's shop. My dads club. You'll hear about it eventually, I'm sure. We work on cars too. Classics mostly."
Her eyes widened and she searched his face, leaning closer on her stool. "So, this place, this is a real motorcycle club? You guys deal in illegal gun trades and you off people that mess with you? And you're the son of the president of the whole operation. You're like..."
He tried to hold it in but he couldn't help it. He laughed. "You watch too much T.V., woman. That ain't how it is in every club. Mostly, we do this. Well, they do this. I stay my ass at home for the most part. Livin' fast gets old after a while."
"You're important around here. I can see that," she said, her eyes wide as she glanced around the crowded space. "This is incredible."
"What about you? You just some suburban soccer mom out lookin' for a thrill cause her husband is gone?"
Her smile dimmed and she nodded, meeting his eyes. "Something like that I guess."
He killed his beer and motioned for another round. "And what happens when he comes back?"
She shrugged. "Life happens when he comes back. Things go back to normal. Sophia will shut down, I'll join her. Ed will rule his roost like he always has."
The sadness in her voice had anger spiking, mixing dangerously with the alcohol already pumping through his veins, and he didn't even understand why. He didn't know her. She wasn't his friend. So why did he care if her life sucked and her husband was obviously a piece of shit that didn't treat her right? "I'll be right back," he said, slipping off the bar stood.
She grabbed his hand quickly. "Where are you going?" Her eyes were wide.
"To take a piss," he said, raising an eyebrow at her. She may have been a little on the tipsy side but she was still not drunk enough to be okay with him leaving her alone.
She dropped his hand and nodded, glancing around nervously. "I don't know why I'm so nervous. I-"
"They think you're mine. Nobody is gonna fuck with you," he assured her.
She blinked and then snorted. "Like, your girlfriend?"
He shrugged. "Just mine. And what belongs to a Dixon ain't to be fucked with." He usually didn't use his father's position to benefit himself around here but he was glad for it right now. If nothing else, the other men would leave her alone. They would if they were smart anyway.
Her eyes widened even more and her lips parted slightly. "Oh."
"I'll be right back."
She nodded and he could feel her eyes on him as he walked towards the back. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and shook his head. "You need to reign it in. If you don't then you're gonna find yourself tangled up in some shit you won't know what to do with. She ain't somebody you can just screw and you know it." His reflection stared back at him, looking smug.
A few minutes later as he made his way back to her he realized that not everyone had taken his claim very seriously. There was Dave, sitting on the stool Daryl had vacated, sitting much closer to her than Daryl had been. She didn't seem too upset by the other man's proximity but it was now simply a matter of principal. He had told the man earlier and now the guy was blatantly over stepping bounds. Considering the asshole was just a wannabe, and not even a member of the club at all, only made it more offensive.
Carol smiled at the man but it looked strained. Dave leaned a little closer but Carol shook her head and leaned away from him. When Dave placed his hand on her thigh that was when Daryl really got pissed. She looked up just as he made it to them. When she met his eyes he saw the relief in hers. She didn't want the other man that close.
"In about three seconds you're gonna lose that fuckin' hand, Dave," Daryl said in a low voice.
Dave dropped his hand and stood up quickly. "Oh, I was just keepin' your girl here company, Dixon. No harm, no fowl. You need to keep a closer eye on her though cause I'm not the only one sniffin' around."
Daryl nodded and sat down. "Leave."
Dave blinked. "What? Come on Dixon. I didn't mean shit by it."
Daryl held his gaze and the man cursed under his breath. This wasn't usually Daryl's role here. This was Merle's. But someone had to show the assholes that their bullshit wouldn't be tolerated. There was a strict code among the people here and Dave crossed a line. As Daryl glanced around he met a few sets of eyes. He shook his head and grabbed the stool Carol was perched on, pulling her closer. He was starting to wonder if she was more trouble than she was worth. He decided that she wasn't when he glanced at her and she was staring at him like some star struck woman staring at the hero at the end of the movie. He laughed, shaking his head. "What?"
"You just said leave and that guy just walked right out the door," she said, sounding awed.
He nodded. "Don't be too impressed, woman. It has less to do with me than it does my old man."
She followed his gaze. "Why do I feel like people are watching us?"
"Because people are watchin' us," he said as he killed another beer. He was starting to feel the alcohol now, more than he had in a long time.
"But why?" She asked, turning her own beer up, still watching the people around them.
"Because I don't make it a habit of showin' up here. And I sure as hell don't make it a habit of bringin' women here. Especially a woman like you."
Her eyes met his and narrowed. "What do you mean, a woman like me?"
He shrugged and motioned towards the room. "Look at them. You ain't nothin' like them."
She made a face and then turned to the old man behind the bar. "Two shots," she said in a loud voice. The man nodded and sat them down in front of her. She met his eyes again and when he decided to play along and grab one of the shots she shoved his hand away and killed them both.
He gaped at her. "Oh man, this ain't gonna end well at all," he laughed and then nodded to the man when he was presented with two shots of his own. He downed them just as quickly as she had. "You know, getting wasted ain't gonna make you more like the women here. You couldn't be like them if you tried."
She glared at him and he realized that she was actually offended by his words, even though he hadn't meant it in a bad way. "Because they're more exciting than me?"
He shook his head. "No, it's because you got a few things they ain't got. Probably never had. You don't look good cause you spend hours in front of a mirror and dress like a whore. You look good cause that's just how you look. You carry yourself like a woman that ain't for sale. These women ain't got a damn thing on you, lady." He was depending on liquid courage and it was going pretty well. He would never be telling her this shit otherwise. He wouldn't have cared enough.
She searched his eyes and he saw, from the corner of his own, that they were indeed being watched by several of the guys there. They knew what he knew. She was out of their league. To herself she was just some lowly housewife. To them, she was unattainable. Someone that didn't just give it away. "You expect me to fall for that?" She finally asked, leaning her elbow on the bar and looking up at him expectantly.
He shook his head. "Don't matter to me what you fall for. I'm just telling you the truth. You wanna shoot some pool?"
She blinked and then pulled back, just realizing how far she was leaning towards him. "I don't know how."
"You ain't never shot pool before?" He chuckled and stood up.
"No," she muttered as she slid off the seat. She was a little unsteady but he caught her quickly, pulling her closer than he really needed to.
"You really shouldn't have had those last two shots," he said, leaning down so he could speak right into her ear. His hand was on her waist and he was surprise to feel her shiver under his touch. With a toxic mix of adrenalin and alcohol he slid his hand lower over the swell of her hip. "Cause you just might end up doin' somethin' stupid that you'll regret in the mornin'." His lips were right next to her ear and for no reason other than he was drunk and she was possibly willing, he caught her earlobe right between his teeth, tugging lightly before letting it go.