Cole (The Ride Series) (2 page)

Our living situation had always worked
perfectly for us. Kat preferred to go out and I preferred to be at home. But
other than our social preferences, we spent the majority of our time together.
We even worked together, both as waitresses at the brewery downtown. Ever since
Kat had forced her way into my life with her spitfire-like nature, we never looked
back. We had lived together in various places ever since.

When I left California I’d meant to
get farther from home, much farther. But I’d run out of money, and by the time
I had enough to get back on the road I was reluctant to leave Kat. She was my
partner in crime and the best friend I’d ever had. So, I stayed with just one
state line between me and my past life.

I sat heavily on the couch, thankful
to be out of the heat of the day, and told her about my biker run in.

“Damn, I wish I would have peaked
through the blinds!” she exclaimed when I was done.

I laughed and nodded. “I’m not talking
him up, he was that hot,” I sighed.

“Damn, too bad,” she muttered. “Well,
you can catch a ride with me tonight--we’re working the same shift,” she said,
patting my leg while getting up. Kat always knew when to change the subject. It
was one of the endless things I loved about her.

“Cool, thanks,” I said.

“And, because I’m such an awesome best
friend, I’ll drive you to get your car tomorrow, too,” Kat said with a grin.

“You’re the best.”

We worked the late shift, and though I
had more than enough distraction, my mind kept drifting back to Cole. I hurried
from table to table taking orders and serving drinks, but my mind was miles
away. No man had ever incited such a physical reaction from me. I found it both
off-putting and electrifying-- two emotions I wasn’t accustomed to feeling at
the same time. With the latter rarely being felt at all.

“Earth to Scar are you in there?” Kat
teased as we were driving home, both exhausted and smelling like burgers and
beer. It was one of the pitfalls of the job.

“Shut up,” I grumbled before throwing
her a small smile.

“You’ve got biker on the brain,” she
said as she giggled.

“Do not,” I grumbled.

“Do too, liar.” She laughed before letting
the subject drop.

I dragged my tired, lying ass to bed
and tried in vain not to think about that damned dimpled grin.

Thankfully my car was ready when Kat
drove me to pick it up the following day. My pathfinder was nothing fancy, but
it was practical and it was all mine, which always meant something to me. I was
extremely happy to have it back.

“Here, I’m supposed to give you this,”
Manny grumbled when I paid my bill. He handed me over an envelope and I looked
at him in confusion.

“Don’t look at me,” he said as he
shrugged, turning back to his paperwork. I walked over to my car while reading
the note that I took out of the envelope. I was soon grinning despite myself.

“The last name’s Jackson, just in case
you wanted to do a background check. Here’s my number-- 540-8970, use it.”

I couldn’t help but grin at his
flippancy. I folded up the note and put it in my purse, flattered that he’d
taken the time to come back to the shop to leave it for me. Clearly this was a
man who was used to getting what he wanted. Unfortunately for him, in this
instance, he was in for a rude awakening.

Chapter Two

“Scar, come on, seriously. You
never
go out,” Kat whined a week later
trying her best for the hundredth time to get me to accompany her to our
coworker’s birthday party. I rolled my eyes at her and turned my attention back
to my movie. “Ok you know what, consider this an intervention,” she said firmly,
snapping the TV off and standing in front of it with her hands on her hips.

“Hey!” I protested.

“No, seriously Scarlet. This is
ridiculous. All you do is work, read, and workout. You’re heartbreakingly
gorgeous, your young, and you need to
live
,”
she said forcefully. “I’m not saying you need to come out just to meet some guy,
but come out just to be out,” she insisted. “It’ll be fun, remember fun?” she
pressed.

I sighed, reluctant to admit that she
was right. I knew I probably guarded myself too closely, that I should get out
more. The only socializing I really did was when we had people over, or when we
had drinks with coworkers at the bar after our shifts. But I liked feeling in
control and safe, something that could only be attained by keeping my world
relatively small. It had felt big and harsh enough for the first eighteen
years.

“Please?” she pleaded one last time.

“Fine,” I replied, and surprised us
both.

“Really? Ok great!” she exclaimed
jumping up and down. “This will be so much fun!”

Kat was clearly enjoying getting ready
together. I felt somewhat reluctant. I’d guarded myself so closely for the last
eight years. I hadn’t changed my name or anything as extreme as that, but I’d
tried hard to stay under the radar. Rationally, every time she successfully
dragged me out, I knew that one night out wouldn’t change anything, but it made
me feel oddly vulnerable. I forced myself to shake it off and to enjoy a night
out with my best friend.

Kat decided on skinny jeans and a
figure hugging tank top that complimented her slender frame. She kept her eye makeup
relatively simple, but chose bright red lipstick that offset her raven hair,
which was cut short for the summer. She had beautiful blue eyes that complemented
her dark hair and pale, porcelain skin. She was a complete and total knockout.

My figure was much curvier than hers,
with my large breasts and an ass that only frequent exercise could tame. I was
tall for a girl and I worked out often, so I always looked slender, but I was
no stick figure that was for sure. I chose a lightweight summer dress that
hugged my hips and showed some leg. It had a modest neckline with an open back,
which made it sexier than the average summer dress. I paired it with my
platform sandals and left my long hair down and naturally wavy. I did a smoky
eye, which made my green, almond-shaped eyes pop, but I went with a nude lip
gloss so I didn’t look too overdone. All in all, I thought we both looked
pretty fantastic.

We hopped in a cab and were soon
headed downtown to our coworker’s birthday party at some bar I’d unsurprisingly
never heard of. The place was packed when we arrived, and Kat automatically
took my hand and pulled me toward the bar to order drinks.

I was pleased to find that it wasn’t
even an hour into the party and I was having fun. The music was good and
several of our other coworkers were there. Everyone was so excited that I showed
up. It made me realize how much I needed to get out more. Connie, the birthday
girl, had greeted us enthusiastically. Connie was upbeat and always seemed to
be in a good mood. I often thought that I should have some of whatever she
was having
to make her so seemingly high on life. She soon
introduced me to her boyfriend, Wes, who I had seen in the brewery a few times
but hadn’t met formally. They were an interesting match. Connie looked like
your typical California girl with her blond hair and tanned skin, while Wes was
dark skinned and somewhat menacing with his large frame and shaved head.

Wes seemed nice enough, though he was
clearly guarded. He watched Connie with a kind of intensity that I envied. He obviously
cared deeply for her and was protective in a way that I found to be sweet
instead of suffocating. I hadn’t thought about my own love life in so long, and
I suddenly realized that I was lonely. Aside from a casual date here and there,
I hadn’t had a serious boyfriend since I’d left home. I missed the intimacy of
it, the comfort. I was shocked and even a bit disgusted that I could think back
to my time with Jake with any type of yearning given the way things had ended.

My thoughts shifted to Cole as they
had often done in the past week, and I thought of the note I’d kept in my
purse. I hadn’t thrown it out despite considering it often. I had to admit that
I’d had more than one fantasy about him since we met. I shook my head to dispel
the current direction of my thoughts, and I excused myself from the table to go
get another drink.

“Can I buy you a drink?” a guy said
with a smile as I walked up to the bar. He was far too preppy for my taste, but
handsome in his own way. He also looked like he’d had one too many drinks.

“No thanks,” I said as I shook my head
politely.

“Just one drink,” he pleaded, trying
to lay the charm on, but immediately turned me off in the process. “You’re the
most beautiful girl in the room,” he murmured, his hand drifting to my bare
back. I stepped back immediately, planning to head back to my friends, but his
hand clamped firmly on my arm. “Hey, where are you
goin
'?”
he asked, his eyes traveling down my figure.

“If you want to keep that hand, you
better remove it in two fucking seconds,” a voice growled angrily behind me. My
heart leapt at the familiarity of it, and I inwardly scolded myself for the
involuntary flutter that fled through my entire body. What was he doing here?
How long had he been standing there?

The guy at the bar looked slightly
taken aback, but he quickly removed his hand. “Sorry, just a bit of harmless
fun,” he explained casually.

I narrowed my eyes at him before
turning to face the formidable frame of Cole, who was still glaring angrily at
preppy guy.

“What are you doing?” I asked
nervously. I was completely befuddled at seeing him.

Instead of answering, he shocked me by
putting an arm around me and leading me toward the other end of the bar as
though he’d done it a thousand times. I couldn’t pretend that I didn’t enjoy
that short walk pressed against his firm body. And I may have leaned in to take
a sniff of him, just a small one. He smelled amazing, of course.

“New Castle,” he ordered from the
bartender who’d come over within moments of seeing Cole standing there. I
carefully edged out from under his arm, despite wanting very much to stay right
there.

“And for you?” the bartender asked me.
Cole looked down at me expectantly. He still looked angry and I thought it best
not to argue with him.

“Gin and tonic please,” I requested. I
let Cole pay for my drink, still too flabbergasted to argue.

“I assume you got my note,” his deep
voice rumbled before taking a deep swallow of his beer. God his mouth was
beautiful.

I nodded.

He looked at me expectantly, his eyes
fierce.

“It’s not personal,” I assured him, feeling
flustered by his nearness and his intense stare. The man did not mince
words that was
for sure. He looked gorgeous in dark blue
jeans and a dark blue
henley
that made his eyes pop. Tattoos ran up and down both arms, complementing the
muscle that flexed as he moved. He searched my expression in that way of his
that made me feel like he could see right through me, and I was forced to look
away.

“Where’s the rest of your dress?” he
demanded, the change in the conversation throwing me for a loop.

“Excuse me?” I demanded in return, any
trace of feeling flustered disappearing.

“You heard me,” he replied as we
stared at each other, the electricity zapping between us.

“Thanks for the drink, goodnight Cole,”
I bit out, and turned on my heel to stomp away. I didn’t get one foot before
his hand gripped my arm and spun me around to face him.

“Didn’t say you don’t look hotter than
hell baby, but it’s
gonna
make for an exhausting
night for me if I have to wade in every time some mother fucker looks at you
the wrong way,” he informed me.

I stared at him in utter bafflement
for a minute before I collected myself. Seriously the nerve of this guy!

“I’m sorry, I must have missed
something,” I said sarcastically. “The last I checked, I was perfectly capable
of taking care of myself. There’s no position currently open for ‘Scarlet’s
savior,’” I said as I put my hand to my chest dramatically. “The whole damsel
in distress thing isn’t really my bag, so clearly you’ve got the wrong girl,” I
added, as I took a sip of my drink and forced myself not to look away from his now
thunderous expression.

“Scar! There you are,” Kat’s voice
sounded from behind me. She stopped short after observing my stare down with
Cole, the energy still crackling between us. I turned to her, grateful for the
distraction. Her expression was almost comical as she took Cole in, her mouth
practically agape.

“Cole, this is Kat,” I introduced
begrudgingly. “My best friend and roommate,” I added.

“Nice to meet you,” he replied shaking
her hand, barely sparing her a glance before his eyes returned to mine.

She grinned and I knew she’d made the
connection of who he was. She’d be gloating later that she had forced me to
come out tonight. “Do you want to join us?” she offered. I narrowed my eyes at
her. She was so in for it.

“Love to,” he smirked with a devilish
gleam in his eye. Clearly his mood had lifted while mine was still far from
light. I rolled my eyes as he followed us back to the table. Wes and his
buddies all turned to greet Cole with clear familiarity.

I narrowed my eyes at him again as he
laughed and said, “It’s a small world, sweetheart.”

“You know Wes and Connie?” I asked,
surprised.

“Wes and I go way back. That’s why I’m
here tonight, to hang with him,” he said. “Not filling any job openings
tonight,” he added in my ear with a grin. His proximity sent a thrill through
me, which served to only sour my mood. I was determined not to fall for this
guy’s routine. And, it was just that, a routine--one I was sure he’d done a
thousand times. Once he’d overcome the challenge I presented, I would be history,
and I had no interest in being a part of that.

“
Hmph
,” I
muttered. I sat back in my old seat with Kat and Connie to my right, and he
took a place at my left where he leaned over to talk to his friends in that deep
voice of his. Kat nudged me from the side and I could tell she was grinning
from ear to ear without even looking at her.

“He’s freaking hot, Scar,” she
whispered a bit too loudly in my ear. She’d had a few too many cocktails.

I refused to respond to her, all too
aware that Cole’s conversation had ended and he was probably listening. He
threw his arm over the chair I sat in, and I realized he was staking a claim in
typical biker fashion. Much to my dismay, I found myself a bit turned on by the
gesture. There was no denying the sexual energy that passed between us no
matter how hard I tried to ignore it. I needed to get away from him soon before
I ended up doing something I really regretted, like tackling him. The man
infuriated me, but I had never been so attracted to someone in my life. Just
the press of his outer thigh against mine underneath the table was making it
hard for me to concentrate.

He didn’t force small talk on me, but
instead kept close to me as we each talked with our friends. Connie and I kept
ourselves
entertained by trying to find suitable guys for
Kat, but the pickings were somewhat limited.

“What are you girls giggling about so
much over there?” Cole’s deep voice rumbled next to my ear, making my heart
gallop in my chest.

“Trying to find a guy for Kat,” I
answered honestly. “So far, not much to choose from,” I added while drinking
the dredges of my cocktail.

“Need another?” he asked, eyeing my
empty glass.

“I can get it,” I replied firmly.

“You can say whatever you like about
it, but I think my limit for keeping assholes at bay has already been met for
the evening
darlin
’. And with you in that dress, you
walk up to the bar and I’m sure that preppy asshole won’t be alone. So how
about you let me get it and save us both the hassle?” he persuaded, his arm
still wrapped around my chair as his fingers began tracing my shoulder in a way
that made me want to scream...and not with fear.

“Listen, I appreciate the…whatever
you’re trying to do,” I sighed with a wave of my hand.

His brows rose in amusement as he
watched me, his face mere inches from mine.

“But your efforts are lost on me. You
should find some other girl whose going to go home with you, because I’m not,”
I said firmly, gesturing around the room to all of the potential one-night stands
at his fingertips.

“Are you always this much of a pain in
the ass?” he demanded, his eyes incredulous.