Bishop's Angel (6 page)

“Are you going to be the only one of us not
to ride Bully Boy?” Cora asked, waving their waitress over. Cora
was a part-time volunteer for the school clinic and library.

“Come on, Angel,” a male voice coaxed from a
nearby table. She spared him a smile. He and two of his friends had
been watching them for an hour, jeering them on, buying them
drinks. She’d seen them at Bronco Bill’s before and had dismissed
them as harmless flirts.

Jody stumbled her way to their table,
laughing. “Your turn, Angel, and then I’m calling it a night.”

“Oh, all right, but if I go flying someone
better be there to catch me.” Angel got to her feet and made her
way to Bully Boy. She was feeling a light buzz from the three
glasses of wine she’d drank, and would need to wait before driving
home. Which, thank goodness, was just down the street.

“I’ll catch you, Angel!”

She ignored the male shout-out and grabbed
the well-worn leather strap on to the mechanical bull, pulling
herself up onto his wide back. Bully Boy’s body looked just like a
real bull, minus the legs. His enormous head was adorned with two
massive horns. Just as she was digging in her front pocket for some
change the guy, from the nearby table moved into her line of
vision.

“I’ll get it, Angel.” He quickly slipped
four quarters into the slot, and the bull took off before Angel was
ready.

She let out a squeal and she said a prayer
when the bull started out in slow speed. As quickly as she could
she slipped her hand beneath the strap around its girth to hold
onto.

“A baby could ride that bull as slow as
you’re going!” Jody yelled out, laughing.

Before Angel could reach forward and change
the speed someone else did it for her. Bully Boy rapidly switched
to the buck-and-spin speed and she clamped her legs to him tightly
and held on, throwing her other arm in the air. She let her body
relax until she was flowing with the gyrations of the bull and not
straining against them. She’d ridden the buck-and-spin speed
before, but not after downing three glasses of wine.

“That’s more like it!” She heard Cora
laughing. The other girls joined in but it was hard to make out
what they were saying because they were all speaking at the same
time.

As always it didn’t take Angel long to get
caught up in the fun of riding Bully Boy. She was vaguely aware of
Marty coming over to take a picture of her, and then returning to
the table.

“You have to stay on for two minutes like
the rest of us!” Jody called out.

Angel already knew that. Sometimes they rode
longer, sometimes shorter, but no matter what time they agreed on
everyone had to do the same time, or pay the tab for the night. As
she spun around she glanced in the direction of her table and could
see that her friends were finishing their drinks and gathering up
their belongings. It was later than they usually stayed out, but it
was the last time they were getting together until school began
again.

During one of her trips around she caught
sight of a small group sitting at the bar. Seeing Bishop with them
caught her by surprise, even though he’d told her he had plans with
friends. He hadn’t given her the specifics, and she hadn’t told him
her plans, so his being there was an obvious coincidence.
Has he
seen me?
Angel got her answer the next time she glanced his way
again. Looking directly at her, and smiling, he nodded her way.

She smiled back, and tried to ignore the
flutter inside her belly. He looked so handsome in jeans and a
pull-over sweater that was the color of his eyes. “How much
longer?” she called out to no one in particular.

“One more minute, honey,” said the same man
who’d paid for her ride.

She was conscious of him standing off to the
side and watching her. She smiled because he smiled, and she didn’t
want to seem unfriendly. Under normal circumstances she would find
him interesting, but how could she now, after what she and Bishop
had shared? Hopefully the guy would keep it on friendly terms and
not make a pass at her. She hated awkward situations.

“Times up!” Ann, who was also a kindergarten
teacher, called out.

Thank goodness! The room was beginning to
spin and not because of Bully Boy. Angel reached forward and hit
the switch. Only she leaned over too far and lost her balance. She
instinctively cried out, her eyes rounding when she felt herself
slipping over the bull’s head. She made a wild grab for the massive
horns.

“Someone help!” she laughed, trying to push
her bottom back into place.
Oh, God! I’m going to fall and make
a fool of myself. And right in front of Bishop!
She glanced at
the bar, and just when she was about to thank God he wasn’t
looking, he turned to see her dilemma.
Shoot!

She was aware her friends were rushing in
her direction but the guy from the other table was already there,
and all he had to do was reach up and pull her down from the bull.
She automatically put her hands on his shoulders for support until
her feet touched the ground.

“Graceful,” Jody chuckled, turning back the
way she’d come. The others followed suit once they saw Angel had
been rescued and was okay.

“Thank you,” Angel said. “I guess it was a
good thing you were hanging around.” She turned to leave but he
held onto her shoulders, preventing her from going anywhere.

“Name’s Steve,” he said, reaching for his
beer on a table where he’d obviously placed it earlier.

She didn’t know him, other than he’d been
sitting at the table next to them with his friends, yet something
warned Angel that he was a little drunk. “Thank you, Steve.” She
turned to leave again.

“Wait a minute.” Without warning she found
herself being pulled back by a firm hand on her arm. “The least you
can do is tell me your name.”

She took a deep breath, smiled, and tried to
pry her arm loose without drawing attention. A quick glance at
Bishop told her he was watching them closely. For the first time
she noticed that there was a woman sitting between him and another
man. Was she Bishop’s date, or the other guys? Right now they were
conversing, only Bishop’s narrowed gaze was fixed on her. He looked
poised for trouble, as if sensing it.

“I’m sorry, it’s Angel. I see my friends are
getting ready to leave. If you’ll excuse me—”

“Why don’t you stay a little while? I’d like
to buy you a drink.”

“That’s okay.” Again Angel tried to pull
free as she noticed Bishop leave the bar. “Look, Steve, I
appreciate you rescuing me from Bully Boy and the offer of a drink,
but I’m not interested. Can we just please keep this friendly?”
Lord, I don’t want a scene!

“Sure.” He practically threw Angel’s arm
from him, and then held his up in the air. “I guess you and your
friends are all just flirts, huh?”

What? Where was that coming from?
Angel decided to distance herself from him as fast as possible,
before things got out of hand. She hadn’t noticed how much alcohol
laced his breath until now, and she knew the best thing she could
do was remain calm and just agree with him. Well, at least to a
certain extent.

“You’re right, and I’m sorry if I misled you
in any way, Steve. Maybe we can have that drink next time?” Angel
guessed she’d taken about three steps backward before he surprised
her by reaching forward and grabbing her arm.

“Then how about a goodbye kiss, baby?” He
hiccupped.

The next thing Angel knew she was being
pushed roughly up against Bully Boy, and then all hell broke loose.
The two guys he was with scooted back their chairs and began
rushing toward them, her girlfriends dropped their stuff ready to
jump in, and she was very aware Bishop was walking toward them with
a look of anger on his face. That was all she had time to take in
before she realized Steve was crowding her against the bull and
leaning in for a kiss. She brought her hands up and pushed against
his chest.

“Steve, man, let her go!” One of his friends
ordered. He took Steve by the arm but Steve pulled away sharply,
not taking his blurry-eyed gaze off Angel.

“Yeah, you don’t want this kind of trouble,”
the other said. “Let’s go back to the table.”

“He’s not usually like this,” his first
friend said, making embarrassed eye contact with Angel.

Angel glanced around to see her friends had
stopped halfway to her, but were poised and ready for action. Then
her gaze fell on Bishop, and real fear raced through her.
Everything about him said he was battle ready. His expression was
hard as granite, eyes as solid and cold as blue ice. His hands were
fisted, and he’d just about reached where her friends had gathered.
He kept walking and passed the two men trying to talk some sense
into Steve.

They didn’t notice Bishop until he was level
with them. Without hesitation Bishop grabbed Steve, yanked him away
from Angel, and handed him off to his round eyed friends. It was
obvious he wasn’t going to waste words trying to reason with
him.

“Get him the hell out of here.” His tone
left no room for argument.

“What the fuck—” Steve fell into one of his
friends but quickly swung back around. He took a wild swing at
Bishop, who blocked it with his arm.

Angel and everyone involved could only stand
and watch as Bishop then swung his fist at Steve. It connected with
his jaw and forced the other man’s head around, blood spewing from
his mouth. The sound of bone hitting bone was surprisingly loud,
and that one powerful punch was all it took to render Steve
unconscious.

Bishop stood like a warrior, ready in case
Steve’s friends decided to give him trouble. They wisely picked
Steve up, and went back to their table. Bishop’s gaze swung to
Angel, and she could tell by the way he was looking her over that
he was deciding for himself whether or not she was okay.

“What are you doing here?” Angel asked,
smiling nervously. Situations like this had always made her feel
uneasy. She didn’t like confrontations. “Is this the business you
were talking about earlier?” She cringed inwardly, wishing she
hadn’t asked. It was none of her concern.

He grinned back, but it didn’t soften the
hard look in his blue eyes. “Looks like I’m rescuing you.” His gaze
followed hers to the bar where his friends were sitting, quietly
watching what was going on. “This is after business.”

Angel nodded. “Well, I guess I better get
going.” She smiled, but she didn’t really feel like it. The woman
at the bar was beautiful and classy. Maybe she was just an old
friend.

“Are you going home from here?”

She nodded. “You?”

He nodded. “I won’t be much longer. Don’t
call the police on me this time,” he teased.

Now it was her turn to smile. “I’ve had
three glasses of wine. Don’t worry, I’ll sleep like the dead
tonight.”

“I better get back to my friends.” He
reached forward and tucked a wayward curl behind her ear. “I
couldn’t take my eyes off you when you were riding Bully Boy. Do
you know how damned sexy you are?” Angel shook her head. Then
suddenly, without warning he hooked his hand around the back of her
neck and pulled her to him for a kiss. Well, that certainly took
care of any concerns she was harboring about the woman at the
bar.

Angel was expecting a quick kiss but that’s
not what Bishop had in mind. He kissed her long and hard before
setting her away from him.
What was that all about?
She
watched him walk away, while she stood there trembling from his hot
kiss. Then she saw Steve and his friends watching from their table.
That explained it. Bishop wanted to make sure Steve thought they
were together. Taking a deep breath, she walked back to her
table.

“Oh, my God, who is that hunk?” Jody asked
as soon as Angel was within ear shot.

“We came back to the table once we realized
you knew him,” Marty explained. “We didn’t want to interfere.”

“You didn’t tell us you had a boyfriend,”
added Ann.

“He’s not my, ah, boyfriend.”

“Come on. Who are you trying to fool? The
way he kissed you spoke volumes!” Cora laughed. “Are you sleeping
with him?”

Angel was tired, and just wanted to go home.
She didn’t feel like answering a hundred personal questions, even
if they normally shared everything with each other. Casting a
sidelong glance at the bar, she was surprised, and a little
relieved, to see that the woman was gone and Bishop was deep in
conversation with the man. He had said the man was a friend, yet
the seriousness on their faces suggested a different relationship.
They looked more like they were discussing something important.

“Look ladies. Let this be the topic at our
next girls’ night out, okay? I just want to go home to bed.” A yawn
backed up that she was tired.

“I’m with Angel,” Ann said, covering her own
yawn.

One by one they finally agreed. Angel
snatched up her purse and brought up the rear as they all headed
toward the door. She didn’t look at Bishop again, but she was
conscious of his gaze following her as she left. With a secret
little smile she put an extra bounce in her step.

She slid into her old but faithful Toyota,
started the ignition, and pulled behind Ann. They had a safety
system in place. They all left at the same time, and they didn’t
leave the parking lot until they were all in line.

Driving the short distance home Angel
wondered if Bishop would sleep with her that night. She thought
about what she’d packed to sleep in besides her white nightshirt.
Her mouth pulled down at the corners as she realized her only other
option was a pair of pajama shorts and a camisole. It would have to
do.

Bishop stood staring down at Angel. True to
her word, she was out cold and snoring softly, if his ears weren’t
deceiving him. She’d kicked the covers aside and was curled up on
her side, hugging a pillow to her. She looked tempting, just what a
hungry man liked to come home to at the end of his day. Her shapely
legs were left bare by the barely there shorts she was wearing. His
gaze focused on her shapely thighs and the tantalizing swell of her
cute ass.