Los Banditos: A Biker Romance Collection

by Hazel Parker

  “I’ve noticed.” Elizabeth was calmed by the change in topic. “I did walk down to a couple.” Rick started through the now green light.

  “I'm partial to Mocha Bean myself. You can smell it before you hit it.”

  They kept up the small talk as they drove a few more blocks. Rick pulled the truck into a corner parking lot. He got out, immediately coming around to open her door again. Elizabeth decided that she could get used to this treatment; her ex had never been much of the gentleman type. This was a refreshing change.

  It was truly a bar in every sense. It was dimly lit with a pool table settled behind a half wall on the far right side. An old jukebox sat in one corner. The bar was a dark mahogany with cheaply covered stools in a line beside it. The wide open space between it and the door was dotted with small, black, iron tables in clusters of one or two with two or four chairs around them. Elizabeth was surprised to notice that most of them were full. She hadn’t expected such a crowd in a small town.

  Rick lead her to a table near the wall. She settled into one of the chairs. The room smelled like fried food and beer.

  Rick produced two menus from the metal holder on the table. He offered one to her. She took it, perusing the bar foods.

  “I recommend the pretzels and beer cheese for a starter. How’s that sound?”

  “Perfect.” Elizabeth was hungrier than she realized, as everything on the menu looked good.

  A waitress came and recognized Rick immediately. He introduced Elizabeth. She was not surprised. If there weren’t many places in a small town to grab a beer, she figured that the regulars were everywhere.

  Rick’s ordering felt like a scene from a movie. It wasn’t in another language, or fancy, but he quickly rattled off beers, pretzels, and cheese. The waitress appeared again with a basket of pretzels and their beers. Elizabeth took a sip of hers, finding it cold and delicious. She closed her eyes in satisfaction.

  “Nothing beats a cold beer after a long day, huh?” Rick reached out to tap his bottle against hers. “What should we drink to?”

  “How about fewer dead animals?” The comment made him laugh.

  “Ok, something with a few less visuals. Or at least more pleasant ones. How about, to new friends and new towns with new beginnings?”

  “I’ll drink to that.” Elizabeth clinked her bottle against his. They drank in silence for a few minutes.

  “So, aside from dead animals, how do you like the house?”

  “It’s gorgeous,” Elizabeth said before biting into a pretzel. “Did you know my grandmother well?” Rick nodded, swallowing his beer.

  “Yeah, I brought her over to the place a few times. She liked to check on it, make sure the place was still standing.” He chuckled. “I’m not entirely sure she believed that my dad would keep it going.”

  “I always visited when I was kid. It was such a cool house to a child.” Elizabeth had to smile at the memory. She had been one of those kids who loved going to grandma’s house. The house had felt so big, it had been an adventure.

  “We probably passed each other in town and never knew it.” Rick was watching her with a comfortable smile on his face. Elizabeth realized that she really did like him. He was a good, decent man—not to mention handsome. She could allow herself to settle down with someone like him.

  Their food came. She had ordered a traditional burger with the basics: lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onions. He’d ordered barbeque wings and they split an order of fries.

  “So, being a local, tell me if there’s some deep, dark secret that would be drawing someone to harass my house.” Rick chuckled.

  “Well, I don’t know any local legends that require the death of a rabbit.” Even that made her smile, despite the nastiness of the memory.

  “No, of course not, but is it like…some sort of fabled house?”

  Rick picked up another wing. He took a bite, chewed. He seemed to be thinking.

  “Pretty much every house in this town has some type of legend.” He shrugged. “It’s an old town. It has a history. It’s nothing spectacular.”

  “Your brother brought up the Lizzie Borden House in Fall River.” Elizabeth looked at him over her beer. Rick rolled his eyes.

  “That’s Danny. He likes the dark humor.” Despite her good mood, Elizabeth felt a sudden chill. She wondered just what Rick meant by ‘dark humor.’

  He must have picked up on what he said because he waved his hand.

  “Daniel is harmless, Elizabeth. He just likes television shows featuring demons and hauntings. I’m sure he’s got a huge list on the history of your house.”

  “So it does have a history.” Elizabeth caught him. Rick rolled his eyes.

  “Like I said, yours has the same history as every house in this town. It was built by a local business man where he raised his family. A couple of people in his family died in the house during a measles outbreak. I don’t know if that really means a haunting. Your grandmother always laughed off the idea of ghosts.”

  That sounded like the grandmother that she knew. Her grandmother would never have given into any type of local legend, and she certainly wouldn’t have been scared of one. Her grandmother was the type of woman who chased mice out of the house with a broom and ran over snakes with a lawn mower. The thought of a dead man roaming the halls of her home would have just been an interesting dinner tale.

  “Well, if there are supposed ghosts, it’ll be good for business.” Elizabeth shrugged as she put her bottle down.

  “Now that I agree with,” Rick nodded. “People love that stuff. They come out of the woodwork for it. Hey, maybe you could even get the place on the local ghost tour.”

  “There’s a ghost tour?”

  “Only in October. It’s run by the historical society. But people come. Like I said, people love that stuff. Everyone seems to like to hear the stories.”

  “Do you?” Elizabeth gave him a coy smile.

  “Why?” Rick leaned in a bit closer to her. “Do you have one to tell me?”

  Elizabeth knew that they were flirting and she had no problem with it. She tried to remember the last time that she had flirted with a man, or that one had flirted with her. She found that she could not.

  Rick drove her home. He walked her up the porch to her front door, just like any good gentleman would have done.

  “Do you want me to check over the house?” He nodded towards the dimly lit windows.

  “No, why?” After a few beers, the concept seemed ludicrous. Sober, it probably would have been a more rational suggestion.

  “No reason.” He leaned in to her. His lips brushed hers ever so slightly. Elizabeth felt her entire body tingle at the sensation.

  It might just be alcohol, she thought to herself. He may not know what he’s doing.

  Rick smiled at her as he stepped back.

  “I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

  “You mean here? In my house?” Elizabeth winked as she unlocked the door. “I’ll be here.” Rick laughed.

  “Goodnight, Elizabeth.”

  And with that, she headed into her house, up the stairs, and decided to watch a few videos on her iPad before bed.

  As the alcohol started to wear off, she wondered if she had been too much. She was paranoid now. Should she call him? Text him?

  No, it was late. And then she realized she hadn’t put his number into her phone. She still had it written on a business card which she’d taped to a cabinet. Should she go down and shoot a quick text?

  No, of course she shouldn’t. But she should put his number into her phone. Not for any romantic reason—that would be silly. It was good business to have one’s employee in their phone. She was sure that anyone would agree. What if she needed to get in touch with him for some reason? Yes, she finally rationalized to herself, she needed to have Rick’s number in her phone.

  Pausing the video on her iPad, she took her phone and started downstairs. As she reached the top of the stairs, her hand felt the wall for the light switch. To h
er surprise, she saw the downstairs already blazing with light. That was odd: She was sure that she had turned off the lights when she’d come upstairs. Maybe she was seeing things.

  No, when she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw that she was not seeing things. Every light in the downstairs rooms had been turned back on.

  Any buzz that she had once had was gone. In fact, Elizabeth felt the alcohol and bar food roll in her stomach. She was sure that she had turned off all of these lights—one hundred percent. There was absolutely no one else who could have turned them back on.

  She checked the doors. The front door was firmly locked. That left only the back door. Elizabeth made her way into the kitchen. The back door was also latched. So how could—

  And then she saw it. She caught it first from the corner of her eye. When she fully turned, she saw that it was standing wide open. The door to the servants’ stairs that the men had opened. The door that Daniel had declared led to the basement, and could let anyone in. It stood fully open, leaning against the wall. Elizabeth shrank back against the back door. She was suddenly terrified.

  *****

  After a week, Elizabeth had grown unsettled in the house. Not even unsettled, really, but frightened. In fact, she’d become so terrified that she’d called an alarm company and asked for the first available appointment. After some hemming and hawing, the man had agreed to come the next afternoon. Now every night, Elizabeth set the alarm. She felt much better. So far, she hadn’t had anything else in the house.

  That had not stopped the scratching on the windows. She heard it when she lay in the upstairs bedroom at night. Something dragged over and over on the glass. She tried to tell herself that it was only branches. Morning light revealed no branches rubbing against windows. All of the shrubs were neatly trimmed below them.

  There had first been the flash of a haunting in her mind. Maybe she was currently living in one of those houses that you only saw on reality shows. But that thought disappeared with the alarm system. She was sure that any eighteenth-century ghosts she might have were not familiar with the concept of a security alarm, so it was certainly not stopping them.

  Which left the next logical option: human. That was also the far more terrifying thought. Her grandmother had always told her never to fear the dead, only the living. Rick and Philip had tried to tell her that there was nothing to worry about. Philip had assured he was on the property all the time and no one had come or gone. Furthermore, there was no one in town who would want to hurt her, he was certain of that. It was undeniably some local kids who wanted to scare the new lady in town. It did not make her feel much better, but it was at least something. She had given Philip the alarm code just in case of emergency.

  Rick had been making it a point to check on her at night. That was her favorite distraction. Elizabeth knew now how the tween girls felt when their crush sent a message. Rick’s messages made her smile. When she was alone in the dark house with only her iPad for company, a quick word from him made her less lonely.

  They’d had dinner twice now. Each time it was at the bar. Rick had told her that he didn’t want her to think he didn’t know of anywhere else to go; it was just a reasonable place for two people to go to relax and enjoy some good food. Elizabeth didn’t mind. She actually found that she liked the place. All of the waitresses were friendly. She felt like she was walking into a small town Cheers. This was what she had come to a small town for—friendly people who always knew your name. She finally thought she would make friends quickly in town. If the other forty-year-olds hung out at the local pub, she did not mind going there to meet them.

  She and Rick were having dinner again tonight. It did not matter that they were together during the day while he worked on her property. The two barely saw each other all day, so they had plenty to discuss in the evenings. And she could not complain about the work that the three were doing. They had checked all of the plaster and were now patching up the weak spots. It would be ready for paper and painting soon.

  Elizabeth did not see much of Daniel; she felt no real need to. It made her uncomfortable to be around the other man. Since she had brought him up to Rick, he only acknowledged her and then went on his way. As charming and personable as his brother was, Daniel was that anti-social. The difference in the two men was night and day.

  Tonight they’d spent more time drinking than talking. Elizabeth was in the mood for a few shots even though she was probably too old and would feel it the next day. Rick drove them home. He was bigger than she, and had a higher tolerance. She wasn’t drunk by any means, but she certainly felt the two shots of vodka mixed with her usual two drinks.

  The alcohol lowered her inhibitions, so when Rick walked her up to the door, she immediately pulled him to her. He seemed startled, but not uninterested. Elizabeth raised her head and brought her lips softly to his.

  He returned the kiss without hesitation. Elizabeth felt emboldened by his actions. She allowed her tongue to press against his lips. Rick responded instantly, parting his lips, allowing her in. Elizabeth allowed her tongue to seek his. Rick’s strong hands gripped her tighter. She clung to his shoulders. In this moment, she was glad that she had moved to town. This was better than she ever could have hoped.

  Finally, Rick pulled back a fraction of an inch. “Is this goodnight or are you going to invite me in?”

  Elizabeth gave a low chuckle. “I thought you’d never ask.” She drew away from him long enough to unlock the door. Right now, she didn’t care about weird houses or strange noises—she just wanted this man near her.

  Once they were inside with the door locked behind them, their kiss resumed. Rick’s lips had returned more passionate. Elizabeth did not mind. She wanted him to keep kissing her all night. Hopefully he would.

  She finally pulled back to lead him up the stairs. Her bed wasn’t due for another few days, so the air mattress would have to do.

  Once in the bedroom, she turned to face him. She wasn’t self-conscious about her body. She’d taken good care of it over the years. As she moved to kiss him once more, her fingers began to loosen the buttons of his plaid shirt. She pulled it open to reveal a firm set of abs. She hadn’t expected any less. Once it had been pushed down and to the floor, her hands were finally able to roam across his naked biceps. The muscles were solid. It was a comforting feeling beneath her hands.

  His hands moved to tug the long-sleeved, black t-shirt over her head. She watched as he took a step back to admire her body. She lowered her head, hoping that he didn’t see the flush which crept into her cheeks; it had been a long time since anyone had seen her like this.

  He pulled her against him. Elizabeth felt his hands roaming up her back, coming to rest on the clasp of her bra. She felt it spring free and the straps were slipping down her arms. She shrugged it off. For a moment, she simply enjoyed the feeling of her breasts pressed against his bare chest.

  Rick’s hands moved up. He cupped her breasts between his palms. His thumbs played across her nipples and they hardened at his touch. Rick nudged her gently. His hands guided her back to the air mattress and down.

  She settled flat onto her back and he moved towards her. It took a moment of positioning so they both weren’t thrown off of the mattress. Settling beside her, he lowered his mouth to her breast.

  Elizabeth allowed her back to arch into his caress. It had been so long, and it felt so good. She let her hands drift up his bare back, finally coming to tangle in his hair. He kept up the warm tugging until he finally moved to the opposite side. That felt even better than the first. Elizabeth heard herself moan; she wondered if he was this good with his mouth everywhere.

  He finally left her breasts. His tongue dragged down her ribs, over the smooth line of her stomach. He kissed along the waistband of her jeans before undoing the button. His fingers worked the zipper down. Elizabeth lifted her hips so that he could pull them off.

  As soon as her jeans were in a pile on the floor, his hands stroked over her underwear. His head
followed, his mouth moving between her thighs, licking the fabric still covering her. Her hands gripped at the blanket as his tongue passed back and forth.

  “Rick….” she finally breathed out. “Please.”

  He answered by slipping his hands under the waistband of her underwear. He pulled them down her thighs and dropped them aside. Now his hands pushed her thighs apart. Elizabeth closed her eyes. She tried to prepare herself for the feeling of his mouth. Even though she was ready, she still cried out at the contact of his tongue against her hot flesh.

  Rick’s tongue swirled around her. He licked up and down the small bundle of nerves which made her moan louder. One hand gripped his head to her while the other tried to keep her steady on the mattress. His tongue did feel as good as she had hoped.

  He lifted his head, kissing the inside of her thighs. His eyes finally lifted to meet hers; she saw heavy desire in them. She could only imagine what he saw in hers after what his tongue had done to her.

  “I need you badly, Elizabeth,” he whispered thickly. “I’ve wanted you for so long.”

  “Please.” It came out as a strangled whisper, but she was too far into the moment to really care about it. She wanted him on her, and in her, immediately.

  Rick moved off of the mattress. He stood up to kick his shoes off and peeled each sock off before finally starting on his jeans. He unbuttoned them, dropping them slowly down his hips. A pair of boxer briefs followed and he finally revealed himself to her. Elizabeth reached one hand up and wrapped it around the thick organ. Now it was his turn to moan as he her hand stroked him up and down.

  He dropped down to his knees beside her. Elizabeth rolled to the side of the mattress. She leaned forward, closing her mouth over his tip. Rick’s face contorted into pleasure. His hands immediately moved to stroke, and finally tangle in her blonde hair. It was glorious, and erotic, and better than she had had in years.

  Finally, Rick nudged her off of him. He eased her to lay back on the bed. Almost as soon as she had, he was climbing on top of her. She sighed in contentment at the heavy weight over her. She felt him guide himself to her entrance. He pushed forward, slowly. He stopped every few seconds to allow her to adjust. Finally, he was all the way in. She was satisfied at the feeling of him deep inside her. Her legs moved to wrap around his waist while her hands held him to her.