Outlaw (22 page)

Mack walked over to the pool table, and leaned down
in Wolfman’s ear, and in a hushed voice said, “I need you to do something for
me.”

Wolfman turned around after taking his shot, and
leaned back against the edge of the pool table, setting the end of his cue on
the ground, clenching it loosely in both fists at shoulder height. “Sure boss.
What do ya need?”

“See that sweet piece at the end of the bar talking
to Crystal?” Mack nodded toward Angel.

Wolfman turned to look. It was the one he’d tried to
hit on a few minutes ago. After she’d walked away, Red Dog had set him straight
on who she belonged to. “Yeah?”

“I need you to hit up on that.”

“She’s Cole’s, isn’t she?”

“I know who she came with. I need to see how deep
he’s in with her.”

Wolfman stared back at him. “Fuck. He’s gonna loose
his mind.”

“Just do it,” Mack snapped, and walked away.

Wolfman sighed. “This isn’t gonna end well.”

Angel and Crystal were laughing when she felt
someone come up behind her, and slip their hands on her hips. Assuming it was
Cole, she smiled, and turned to look over her shoulder at him.

It wasn’t Cole.

She found herself staring into a pair of dark brown
eyes. It was the man from the pool table. The one Crystal had called Wolfman.
He was about the same height as Cole, but he was dark headed, with a goatee.

The smile faded from her face, and she tried to pull
away.

He tightened his hold. “Not so fast, sweetheart.”

“Let me go,” Angel demanded.

He pulled her back against him, and bent his head
down along the side of her neck. “You sure smell good, baby.”

“Please, stop,” Angel pleaded, trying to twist away.

“Wolfman, she’s with Cole.” Crystal tried to
intervene.

“Stay out of this,” he snapped back at her.

Angel could hear the hush that fell over the crowd
around them, and then she saw it part, and Cole was pushing his way through to
her.

“Shit,” she heard Wolfman whisper.

Cole yanked Wolfman by the collar, pulling him off
her. “You lookin’ for a fight?” he growled.

Wolfman backed up a step. “No, man. Is she with
you?”

Cole nodded. “You knew she was when you came over
here.”

Angel looked from one man to the other. She gasped
when Cole spun her around, and yanked her shirt up.

“You see what that says, asshole?”

Wolfman’s eyes fell to the tattoo on the small of
Angel’s back.

She was mortified, with everyone in the bar
watching.

“Outside, now!” Cole demanded, his voice a tight
thread of sound.

The crowd stepped back, and the two men headed out
the door. The crowd followed, pouring through the exit, into the parking lot.

“Come on,” Crystal grabbed Angel’s hand, and dragged
her outside.

The crowd had formed a circle around the two men,
and Angel couldn’t see over them. Crystal pulled her toward a picnic table that
was outside by the door. They climbed up, and stood on top, and were able to
see what was happening.

Cole and the other man were circling each other.
Cole charged him, knocking him back into the pavement. He began pounding his
face with punches. Wolfman was able to get a swing at the side of Cole’s head,
and knock him off. They both scrambled to their feet. Cole came back with a
right and left punch. Wolfman answered back with a punch to Cole’s gut.

Angel looked away. She couldn’t bear it. The crowd
was now egging them on. The fight continued for another couple of minutes, as
they pounded on each other, both taking their licks. Finally, she noticed Mack
signal to a couple of the guys to break it up. By then, both of the men were
bloody. Cole wasn’t ready to quit, and Crash and Green had to pull him off
Wolfman.

“You Goddamn son-of-a-bitch!” Cole yelled at him.
Crash and Green were able to back him up, and separate them.

“Cool down,” Crash said.

Cole shrugged them off, and walked over to the
picnic table. Crystal climbed down when she saw him coming, leaving Angel
alone. Cole stood there, staring up at her.

Angel looked down at him. His mouth was bleeding
from the corner, and the side of his face was already starting to bruise and
swell.

He reached up to lift her down. His knuckles were
cut and bleeding.

She stepped toward him, and their eyes locked.

His hands closed around her waist, and she put her
hands on his shoulders. He lifted her down, letting her body slowly slide down
his, never breaking eye contact.

“You okay?” he asked.

She nodded.

“You enjoy the show?” he asked sarcastically.

She shook her head. “No, I-”

“Come on.” He pulled her along, back inside. He
walked over to the bar. “Whiskey,” he demanded, wiping the blood from his mouth
with his sleeve.

The girl that was tending bar set a couple of shot
glasses down along with the bottle, glancing at him warily. Cole picked up the
bottle, and poured two shots. He turned, and slid one in front of Angel.

She looked at him, and knew better than to say no.
He raised his glass, and stared at her until she lifted hers to her lips. They
both drank. His eyes never left hers.

Angel got the feeling he was angry with her. Did he
think she’d been to blame? That she’d done something to bring on that man’s
attention? The crowd began shuffling back in.

“Cole?” she whispered.

He turned back to the bar, setting his shot glass
down. Then he leaned both arms on the bar, and stared down at his glass.

Suddenly, Mack was there, leaning close to Cole’s
ear. He said something in a low voice, and walked away.

Angel could see the muscles in Cole’s jaw clenching.
She watched as he grabbed the bottle, poured himself another shot, and knocked
it back. Then he slammed the glass down on the bar.

He turned, and looked at Angel, staring her down.

Angel wished she could read his expression, but she
couldn’t. “Cole? Are you angry with me?”

Reaching over, he took her empty shot glass from her
hand, and set it back on the bar. Then he pulled her along toward the stairs.

She followed him up the stairs, and down the hall
toward his room. She stood quietly as he unlocked the door, and pulled her
inside. She turned to look at him.

He closed the door, and reached for the deadbolt.

She heard the bolt click as it slid into place, and
then he was leaning back against the door, staring at her. Angel didn’t like
the stern look on his face. It scared her.

They stood looking at each other.

She noticed the bruising on his face, and reached up
to touch it.

“Uhm.” The groan slipped out, and he pulled his head
back away from her touch. “Don’t”

“Your face…” She put her hand to her mouth, and
backed away.

“Go ahead. Say it.”

“Say what?”

He shook his head, and smirked. “What you’re
thinking, I can see it in your eyes.”

“When you loose your temper like that…you scare me.”

A flare of anger edged his voice. “I scare you?
Maybe you’re starting to see me for who I really am.”

She shook her head, and backed up another step. “No.
That’s not true. That’s not who you are.”

The fight had gotten his blood up. It brought out
the darkness in him, the aggressive side. He took a step toward her.

She backed up, but she had nowhere to go.

They both knew that.

He slowly stalked her to the other side of the room,
talking as he advanced. “Maybe that’s
exactly
who I am. Wanna bury some bodies, and get away with it? I’m your man, but the
kind of man
you
need, Angel? I won’t
ever be that guy. It’s not in me.”

“That’s not true.” She kept backing up until she was
just a few feet from the interior paneled wall, the desk off to her right,
shelving above it, but just empty wall behind her.

“Isn’t it?” He stopped a few feet from her.

“You don’t know what kind of man I need.”

Maybe he needed to show her what kind of man he was,
just what an asshole he could be. He sure didn’t want to stand here, and talk
about this shit. That wasn’t why he’d brought her up here. His eyes studied
hers. “Take off your clothes.”

She looked at him, stunned. Her mouth came open
slightly.

Cole watched her tongue dart out, and wet her lips.

“What?” The word was barely a whisper.

“Take off your clothes for me, Angel. You did it
enough times the past few days.”

“Cole. I…not like this. Not when you’re angry.”

“This isn’t a negotiation.”

She looked at him, saw the seriousness of his
expression, heard the deadly tone in his voice. She wasn’t afraid of him. She
knew deep down that he would never hurt her. But something was eating at him,
something dark inside him, and she wasn’t sure she knew how to soothe the beast
in him. Maybe if she complied, once they were in bed-

“I’m waiting.”

Slowly, she reached up, and pulled her shirt over
her head, and tossed it to the floor.

He stood looking at her.

She knew he was waiting for her to continue. Without
breaking eye contact with him, her hands reached down, and pulled her boots
off. They fell to the floor. Thud. Thud. She undid her jeans, and slowly pushed
them down her legs, stepping out of them, and kicking them to the side. She
noticed his eyes flicker over her body, taking in her long legs, her lace bra
and panties, and then they came back to her eyes.

“The rest.”

She reached around, and undid her bra, and let it
fall to the floor, moving her hands to cover herself.

He shook his head. “Uh-uh. Put your hands down.” Her
chin came up a notch, and he watched the defiance flare in her eyes, but,
slowly she moved them to her sides. “It’s just you and me here, babe. No reason
to be shy.”

She watched his eyes drop to her breasts, and she
saw the flame of desire kindle in his eyes. An answering flame ignited in her.
She suddenly wanted him to touch her, wanted his hands on her breasts.

His eyes returned to hers, and he arched one brow.
“This isn’t a good time to try my patience, Angel.”

She stood before him in barely more than a scrap of
lace. But that wasn’t enough. He wanted it all. She slid her panties down,
shimmying them down her hips, and they, too, fell to the floor. She stood
there, letting him look his fill.

“Let your hair down.” He lifted his chin toward the
ponytail she had her hair pulled back in.

Angel raised her arms, and pulled the elastic band
free. She shook her head, and her hair spilled around her shoulders. She looked
at him, her chin coming up, and Cole could almost see the dare in her eyes.

He slowly closed the distance between them, and took
her in his arms, pulling her up against him, her naked body rubbing up against
his fully clothed one.

She felt the cold leather of his cut against her
nipples, the roughness of his jeans against her belly.

His eyes studied hers as his hands ran over her
body, the look in his eyes almost daring her to try to stop him, letting her
know he was the one in control here. “This is so you know just who it is you
belong to.” When she made no move to stop him, his mouth came down on hers, his
tongue delving deep.

Her body responded instantly to his, heat sweeping
through it. She felt his hand on her breast, he rolled her nipple between his
thumb and forefinger, and she moaned under his mouth.

Hearing her moan almost pushed him over the edge,
his mouth plundered deeper. Then his hand was trailing over her belly, down
between her legs.

At his touch, she sucked in her breath. Her knees
felt weak. Her arms came up, and she clutched his shoulders, clinging to him.

Colt felt her respond. He knew just where and how to
touch her to have her panting. His fingers slid into her. She was wet and
ready. But he was still angry with her, even with the haze of sexual need
coursing through his veins, he still had the overwhelming urge to lash out at
her. He rose up slightly, looking down into her eyes.

Angel looked up, and saw the sneer on his face.

He taunted her, “You think you know me? You don’t
know shit about me, except that we’re good together in bed. That when I fuck
you-”

Without realizing what she was doing, she shoved him
back, and felt her palm crack against the side of his face.

He stood still, his face still turned. He took a
deep breath. He knew he deserved that slap.

“If you wanted me to believe you were such a
bastard, you should have left me at the Dead Souls clubhouse that first night!”