Cole (The Ride Series) (7 page)

“Not on a bet,” he shook his head, his
eyes smoldering into mine.

“What?” I demanded
,
surprised at how disappointed I was.

He grinned at my clear frustration. “Not
on a bet,” he reiterated. “You invite me in, it’ll be because you want me to
spend the night with you. Not because you lost a bet. And
darlin
’,
that day will come soon. I’m not worried about it,” he said as he winked at me.

God, he was so infuriating. Not only
was he now denying me what I’d started to look forward to, but he was
maddeningly arrogant.

“Suit yourself,” I huffed.

“Come here, babe,” he requested
quietly, still straddling his bike.

I went to him. When I was in reaching
distance, his arm snaked around my waist and pulled me flush against him. “You’ve
got the sweetest mouth,” he murmured, pressing his lips to mine. I made a low noise
in my throat and the kiss took on a life of its own. His tongue slid into my
mouth sending tingles down my spine and legs, and his hand slid into my hair
pulling gently. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and gave him everything
I had with a kind of abandon I didn’t know was in me.

“Shit, I have to go now,” he growled
pulling free of me, his eyes shouldering.

I nodded, feeling slightly shaky on my
feet.

“Sleep well,” he said, starting the
bike up again as I backed away.

“You, too.” I smiled and watched him as
he roared off down my street.

Apparently the sidewalk had turned to
air as I walked to my apartment. My limbs seemed to move independently from the
rest of my body as I turned off the alarm and began to get ready for bed. I’d
never felt so completely blissed out in my entire life. I fell asleep smiling,
something I’d never done before. I still had my hesitations about Cole and
there was still so much to consider, but in that moment after such a great
night, all I could think about was how happy he made me.

Chapter Five

I woke up to the alarm clanging loudly
throughout our apartment. It took me a moment to place it before ice slid
through my veins. I prayed it was just Kat forgetting the code, but deep down I
knew differently. I grabbed the baseball bat I kept underneath the bed and
opened my bedroom door hesitantly. Kat was doing the same, and I gave her a
wide-eyed look. Clearly someone else had triggered the alarm. The front door
stood wide open and my heart hammered loudly in my veins. I took a quick visual
sweep of the apartment. Whoever had tried to get in, the alarm must have scared
them off. I went over and turned it off, my hands shaking so much that it took
me a couple of tries.

“We have to call the police, Scar,”
Kat whispered behind me, her eyes wide.

“I know,” I sighed in resignation.

“I’ll put my name on the statement,”
she said, trying to assure me.

“They’ll still want mine, too. It’s okay.
It’s inevitable,” I sighed. Plus I had to face the fact that the person I’d
been avoiding all this time and the break-ins were probably related anyway. The
thought was not a comforting one.

The police showed up fifteen minutes
later, two cars and three officers. It felt overwhelming to have so much
attention, and I shivered in my shorts and
cami
,
wishing I’d thought to put on a robe.

I was dumbfounded when Cole stalked
into the apartment as the police were finishing up our statements. He eyed me
for a moment before disappearing into my room and returning with my robe. I
gratefully pulled it around myself and looked up at him beyond relieved, if not
surprised to see him.

“What are you doing here?” I asked
quietly.

“We’ll talk later,” he replied firmly,
turning to one of the officers to ask for details. Their conversation was just
a blur of sound to me as I tried to make sense of everything that was
happening.

I realized with a jolt that I should
just leave town. As much as it pained me, I was bringing nothing but trouble
for Kat and now for Cole.

“I’m
stayin
’,”
Cole said firmly once the police had taken their reports and pulled away in
their cars. The apartment felt eerily quiet with all the commotion over.

I saw Kat sag with relief at Cole’s
decree and I nodded, grateful to have his presence as well.

“What do we do about the door?” I
asked, looking at the now splintered front door.

He looked down at the baseball bat by
my feet and took it over to the door wedging it underneath the handle forcing
it closed. “Anyone opens it, the alarm will sound, but I doubt anyone would
dare with my bike parked out front,” he said confidently.

He was probably right. And I couldn’t
deny that I was relieved to have someone else take care of things for a change.
I hadn’t known Cole long but I already trusted him, something beyond rare for
me.

“Bed, babe,” he said softly, taking in
my frazzled state.

I nodded before turning to Kat. “I’m
so sorry Kat,” I whispered, my voice hoarse with emotion.

“Don’t you ever say you’re
sorry.
 
This is
not your fault. I won’t ever accept that type of apology. Got it?” she
demanded. Kat had already done so much for me and now I was bringing my shit
directly to her door. There was no way I couldn’t be sorry, but I knew her well
enough to bite my tongue.

I nodded without speaking and headed
off to my room. I heard Cole speak to her for a few moments as I crawled back
underneath the covers, but I couldn’t hear what they said. He entered the room
moments later, ditching his jacket, shirt, and jeans--leaving him in nothing
but boxers. I was too upset to appreciate the view, which was unfortunate.

He crawled into bed and didn’t
hesitate pulling me against him.

“How did you know?” I asked quietly,
resting my head on his firm chest. His skin was warm and he smelled amazing. My
senses were rapidly returning it seemed.

“Wes did a drive by,” he explained.
“Why didn’t you call?” he demanded lightly.

The thought honestly hadn’t even
occurred to me. “Because it’s the middle of the night and we’ve been on one
date,” I replied, clearly baffled by his question.

“You’re so not getting this,” he
muttered, but didn’t elaborate.

I lifted my head and looked him in the
eye. “I’m
gonna
leave town Cole, it’s for the best,”
I said softly.

His eyes narrowed and his grip on the
back of my neck tightened.

“I’ve been patient and tried to let
you figure it out in your own time but clearly that isn’t
gonna
happen,” he sighed, exasperated. “Babe, I’ve staked my claim. You’re mine.
You’ve been mine since you got on the back of my bike,” he decreed.

My eyes widened in shock.

“You know it, I know you do. You’re
the exception to my rule,” he whispered, roughly giving me another neck squeeze
and bringing his forehead to mine.

And I realized that I did know that,
I’d been fighting it, but I knew it. And while part of me wanted to squeal with
joy, the other part felt complete trepidation.

“All this shit, it’s not your
responsibility or your fault,” he continued. “We got word that fucker Jake and
some others are making plays against us,” he informed me. “I’d a been in this
shit whether you were here or not. You’ve just proved to be a damn good way to
get us riled,” he muttered.

That did make me feel better I had to
admit. But I was still confused.

“So this isn’t just Jake trying to
fuck with me?”
I asked, my brows furrowed.
It’s what
I’d assumed all along.

I felt Cole’s entire body stiffen, we
hadn’t talked about the details, but I assumed his father had filled him in on
my history, the pieces he knew anyway.

“I don’t doubt he’s fucking with you
sweetheart,” his deep voice rumbled. “But there’s a lot more to it than just
that,” he explained. “And for now, the less you know, probably the better,” he
added.

I nodded, surprisingly fine with that.

“So no more talk of leaving town or
apologizing to your best friend for that piece of shit,” he said, firmly
looking intently into my eyes. He doesn’t deserve anything of yours, not one
fucking thing but especially not fucking guilt. You get that?” he demanded.

I nodded. “Yeah, I get it,” I said
softly before I cleared my throat for what I had to ask next. “How much do you
know?”

Whatever he saw in my expression made
his eyes soften as they looked back into mine. Clearly he understood what I was
getting at. “Enough. Not what’s in your head or what you remember, of
course.
But I know your father was a good man who did the
best he could when your mama died,” he said softly as I bit back the emotion that
was growing in my chest, threatening to suffocate me. “I know that Jake fucking
Silvera
had something to do with him getting killed.
I also know that Jake and you had something when you were kids that obviously
he thought more of since he expected you to be at his side when he took over
runnin
’ the club. Clearly you had other ideas, because you
split the first chance you got,” he said, and I thought I detected a hint of
pride in his tone. “And I know that you’re as hard as nails as you are soft and
sweet, and you’ve got something I want not only to protect, but selfishly
something I want for myself, too,” he murmured while kissing my forehead.

Wow that was sweet. I sagged into him
unable to convey with words how much gratitude and longing I felt for him in
that moment. He was unlike any of the men I’d grown up with. He had a hard edge
for sure, but his heart was as warm as they came.

“Sleep, babe, everything’s
gonna
be fine,” he assured me.

“K,” I muttered.

“Can Kat come to the barbeque, too?” I
muttered, half asleep.

I was sure I felt him smile. “Yeah,
babe.”

Then it was lights out.

I woke up feeling warm and I smiled
when I felt the wall of Cole behind me. He was pressed to my back yet again
with an arm thrown over my waist, pulling me close. I’d never been with someone
who liked to cuddle, and it was a welcomed change. My skin began to hum with
the awareness of him and I grinned as I scooted my behind that much closer to
his boxer covered body. He growled softly in response, and his arm got tighter
around me. My whole body lit up as I rolled to face him. His eyes were wide
open, sleep only a memory as his gaze bore down into mine. His hand trailed
down my torso, clenching at my waist and I could tell it was taking all of his
restraint from launching himself at me.

I looked him over, my eyes hungrily
devouring his form and thought, “fuck it.” I sat up and slowly pulled my
camisole over my head.

I saw his eyes widen in response, his
pupils dilated and his nostrils flared. It was the most animalistic response
I’d ever seen in a man before, and it sent a rush of wetness between my legs.

“You are the sexiest fucking thing
I’ve ever seen,” his deep voice rumbled as he did in fact launch at me,
throwing his body over mine. He pulled me into a passionate kiss as his hands
trailed like liquid fire down my smooth back and into my shorts, cupping my
ass.

“You have no idea how much I’ve wanted
to have my hands on this ass,” he groaned, squeezing me firmly.

I sighed in response as his hands
pulled my shorts down and off my legs.

His mouth trailed from my mouth to my
neck and further still until it reached one of my nipples. I heard my own
intake of breath when he took one in his mouth and sucked, nibbling slightly
until I was fighting back a loud grown. It occurred to me absently that Kat was
home and that the walls were by no means thick.

His mouth continued its exploration as
he moved down past my breasts to my stomach and further until he reached his
goal. I’d never felt that comfortable with having a man’s mouth on me, but
there was something so erotic about watching Cole and the hungry look in his
eye when he looked up at me, that all thought of modesty fled my brain. He
pulled my legs apart forcefully and dove in like a man starved.

“Oh, God,” I breathed softly as he
sucked and nibbled until my legs were shaking and I could feel my body building
up to something mind blowing. It was
mere
moments
before it washed over me as sweat broke out across my brow and I had to throw
my arm across my mouth so I didn’t cry out.

It was then that we both heard the
front door open and Kat’s car start up.

“Thank fucking Christ,” Cole muttered,
his mouth sending incredible sensation down my inner thigh.

I pulled him up toward me and pulled
his boxers off with both feet. “Tell me you’re on the pill,” he said, his tone
desperate as he looked down at me.

“I’m on the pill,” I replied without
hesitation.

“I’ve never not used a condom, not
ever. But I don’t want to use one with you. Do you trust me?” he asked quietly.

“I trust you,” I nodded. And I did. It
was shocking what I would trust this man with.

He kissed me then, long and deep
before I felt him slide inside me.

“Ah,” I protested only slightly.

“Baby, you are so fucking tight,” he
rumbled, his lips at my ear. “I’ll go slow until you get used to me.”

“Okay,” I replied breathlessly.

He slowed his rhythm, gently sliding
in and out until I only felt pleasure and no pain.

“I’ve got it now,” I told him, my
hands gripping his firm shoulders.

“Christ you feel good,” he groaned as
he picked up the pace.

I’d never felt anything like this
before. I’d had sex before, but I realized I hadn’t come close to experiencing
the full potential of the act. With Cole’s body moving inside and over mine, I
immediately began to feel a quickening that I’d never felt before.

“Oh, God,” I cried out, feeling almost
afraid of what was about to happen. It felt so intense, like I wouldn’t be able
to handle it.

“Let it go, baby,” he commanded
gently.

As it turned out, I didn’t have much
choice in the matter, and my orgasm washed over me in a rush as I clenched
around him, my nails raking his back. I didn’t even recognize my own voice as I
cried out. I absently heard him groan with his own release into me before he
collapsed on top of me, breathing hard into my neck.

After a few moments he rolled off,
lying on his side so we were facing each other. His hand stroked the curve of
my hip as we looked at each other.

I blushed and let a small giggle
escape, making his face light up.

“Now she’s blushing,” he muttered
making me laugh. “You okay?” he asked, his face serious. “I would have been gentler,
I didn’t realize…” he trailed off.

“That I’ve been a nun for a few
years?” I teased. “I’m great Cole, amazing,” I assured him.

“Good,” he sighed, squeezing my hip.