Cole (The Ride Series) (3 page)

“Just trying to save you some time,” I
replied.

“Another gin and tonic?” he asked as
though I hadn’t spoken.

“Suit yourself,” I shrugged, before nodding
that he had my drink right. He squeezed the back of my neck briefly before he
stood up to head to the bar. The gesture stoked the fire I already had
simmering for him. It was possessive and yet reassuring. I liked it a lot. I
tried not to watch his ass as he walked away, but those Levis fit him entirely
too well for me not to.

“How do you know Cole?” Connie asked
excitedly, taking the opportunity to get the scoop, and forcing me to swallow
the saliva in my mouth and tear my eyes from his ass.

I shrugged, a bit embarrassed that I’d
been caught ogling him. “I don’t really, he was at my mechanic shop last week
and he ended up giving me a ride home. Now he’s here.” I shrugged.

“Something tells me he intends to get
to know you a lot better,” she replied.

I wrinkled my nose. “I don’t date
bikers,” I uttered quickly.

“Honey, I don’t care if he’s a
freaking alien from outer space. If Cole Jackson takes a shine to you, you go
with it. And that’s coming from someone who’s madly in love with her
boyfriend,” she said with a grin.

Despite my reservations, I really
wanted to know more. “What’s he like?” I couldn’t help but ask, my curiosity
overwhelming me.

“I don’t know him well,” she answered
truthfully. “Just hung around him a few times at the club and out and about
with Wes. But he keeps to himself a lot. He’s always been polite to me, but
he’s clearly not someone you fuck with,” she said, telling me something I
already knew.

“Yeah, and how many women have you
seen him go home with?” I asked dryly, already knowing the answer to that as
well.

“A few,” she admitted. “But I have yet
to see him stake a claim the way he’s doing with you tonight,” she added.

“Yeah that’s only because I’m not
dropping my panties for him just because he throws me a smile,” I replied knowingly.
“He just likes the chase.”

I’d grown up watching men like Cole,
beautiful and powerful men who valued their bikes more than the women on their
arms. Because of who my father was, they’d stayed clear for the most part, but
I’d watched them go through women like water. It had always baffled me how the
women hung around the club just hoping for
more,
ready
to be used at a moment’s notice. That had never been for me, and being my
father’s daughter, he would have killed anyone who tried anyway. My father had
been overprotective (to say the least), and at times it had driven me crazy.
Now I just missed his guidance and protection. I missed everything about him,
every day.

Kat snorted, speaking for the first
time and snapped me back out of my thoughts. “Or it could be that your
devastatingly gorgeous and smart and he knows he’s met his match.”

“You’re biased,” I pointed out dryly,
as Cole returned with my drink ending any further discussion.

“Thanks,” I said, as he handed me my
drink and reclaimed his seat next to me.

“Don’t mention it,” he replied easily.

“Anyone try to feel you up?” I teased,
taking a sip. As long as he knew where I stood I might as well have a little
fun.

He chuckled. “Only one person in here
I’d let do that. Anyone else would lose a limb,” he replied, looking at me with
a twinkle in his eye.

I blushed and turned my attention back
to the bar at large, which was now packed beyond anything I’d ever seen.

“Is it always like this?” I found
myself asking him.

“What? This busy?”

I nodded.

He shrugged. “I don’t come here a lot,
I take it you don’t either, but I’d say this isn’t all that unusual.”

I simply nodded watching the crowd,
feeling slightly annoyed with all the people.

“This wouldn’t be your choice of
venue?” he asked while leaning into me, his arm draped over my chair.

I shook my head. “Actually, I don’t go
out much,” I admitted before immediately wishing I hadn’t said that.

“Why’s that?”

I pondered his question, unsure how to
answer him.

“It’s a simple question sweetheart,”
he added when I hesitated.

“You can’t ask the question and then
define what a simple answer is,” I replied feeling slightly affronted.

He shocked me by taking my chin and
gently turning my face so I was looking at him. He looked at me with such
tenderness that it made my stomach pitch. “Fair enough,” he murmured moving to
squeeze the back of my neck again with his large hand. His touch, yet again,
sent spikes of pleasure through me.

“This place is way too crowded,”
Connie complained loudly over the music. “Let’s go somewhere else.”

This was a perfect opportunity for me
to make my escape. If I sat next to Cole any longer, and God forbid, in a more
intimate environment, I was done for. There were too many elements from my past
that reminded me to stay away from him. “Connie, I think I may actually head
home,” I told her over the noise as I felt Cole stiffen at my side.

“What! No you can’t,” she complained.
“It’s too much fun getting to hang out with you, for
once
,” she emphasized with a raised brow.

“How about I promise to come out more
often?” I bargained with a smile.

She pouted for a moment before
shrugging. “Fine. But I’m holding you to that,” she warned before hugging me
good-bye.

Kat turned to me and we exchanged a
look. She was gauging her chances of convincing me to stay, and I was silently
telling her that it wasn’t going to happen. She nodded simply and sighed.

“See you at home,” I said.

“Thanks again for the drink. And for
defending my honor, warranted or not,” I said to Cole, and smiled slightly as I
gathered my purse.

“You can thank me when I’ve dropped
you off in front of your place,” his voice rumbled.

I looked up at him with wide eyes.
“What? No, I’m just calling a cab. You stay and hang out with your friends,” I
argued, my anxiety rising as I realized that he wasn’t going to go away as
easily as I’d hoped.

Instead of answering me, he turned to
his friends and started issuing farewells. There were many handshakes and rough
man hugs before he turned to me expectantly, gesturing that I could lead the
way. Great, now I had no way of getting out of this, and everyone would now
think we were going home together. I groaned under my breath, but I started to
make my way through the crowd, waving to Connie and Kat who looked beyond
thrilled about the situation. I rolled my eyes at them. I felt a warm, large
hand press on my bare back, guiding me protectively through the masses of
drunken people.

“Are you okay to drive?” I asked,
thinking of it for the first time as we got out into the fresh air and much
quieter street.

“Wouldn’t offer to drive you if I
wasn’t,” he answered simply, shrugging on his leather jacket.

“Okay,” I murmured as I followed him
to his bike.

“You don’t have a jacket?” he asked
reproachfully.

“Ending the night on a Harley
Sportster wasn’t really part of my plan,” I answered dryly.

He looked at me for a moment before
shrugging. “Fair enough,” he said, and he smiled as he handed me his spare
helmet. “You know your Harleys, huh?” he asked as I climbed up behind him
carefully, trying to keep my dress in place.

“You could say that,” I muttered
simply.

He gave me a look as though he wanted
to pry, but thought better of it and instead started the bike up.

We roared off toward my house and I
had to admit that, yet again, I loved being on his bike. It felt exhilarating
yet safe--dual emotions seemed to be commonplace in his company.

When we pulled up to my building, I
immediately stiffened and sucked in my breath. Our front door was slightly
ajar, certainly not the way we’d left it.

Cole turned off the bike as I stayed
glued to the seat, fear percolating through my system.

When I hadn’t moved he shifted
slightly to look at me. “What is it?” he asked, his eyes following my widened
gaze.

“Our door…it’s open,” I breathed, pointing
to our front door.

“What the fuck?” he rumbled, swinging
off the bike and stalking toward the building before I could stop him. “Stay
there,” he ordered over his shoulder. Not something he had to tell me twice. My
mind whirled with the possibilities. Was it just a random break in or something
more? All of a sudden the gin and tonics weren’t sitting so well in my stomach
as I wondered if my past had suddenly become my present. I hadn’t seen or heard
from anyone in my old life since I’d left, but I’d always watched my back in
fear that my past would come looming up to haunt me.

It felt like hours, but it was
probably only minutes before Cole was walking back toward the bike.

“Whoever got in there is gone now,” he
confirmed once he reached me, and I climbed off the bike feeling slightly shaky
on my feet. “Granted, I haven’t seen your place before, but everything looks
orderly,” he added.

I simply nodded looking over at my
door.

“You
gonna
call the cops?” he asked.

I thought about that for a second
before I shook my head. I tried to fly under the radar, so I didn’t need a
police report circulating. Someone from Dad’s old crew might get wind of it,
get worried, and decide it was time to check in despite my making it clear when
I left that such a visit would not be welcomed.

“Thank you for driving me home and for
checking things out,” I said quietly while taking the helmet off. “I’ll handle
it from here,” I told him, trying my best to sound confident when I felt
anything but.

“
Darlin
’,
you would force a saint to lose patience, get back on the bike,” he insisted.

“What? And go home with you? No way,”
I demanded as I shook my head.

“It’s either that or I’m coming in
there with you,” he answered simply with a chin lift toward my place. We regarded
each other for a few moments before he softened his approach. “Look, it’s true
I want in there,” he said, his eyes assessing me provocatively as my eyes
widened in turn. “You got something that I want a lot more of. But even if I
didn’t, I sure as fuck wouldn’t let you walk in there by yourself and spend the
night alone. I promise to keep my hands to myself, alright?” he asked. I was
still stuck on his “wanting in there” comment, and it took me a minute to pull
myself together. “Alright?” he asked again.

“Okay,” I answered him, softly
climbing back on the bike. The truth was, I couldn’t fathom walking into that
dark apartment by myself and being able to sleep a wink, so I decided to put my
arms around Cole instead. It wasn’t a hard decision when it came down to it.

It was a short drive before we pulled
up to a simple, single story house just on the outskirts of town. We pulled
into the garage next to what I assumed was his black F-150 truck. Clearly he
did well for himself.

Despite my current frazzled state, I
took a minute to look around. We’d walked in through the garage straight into a
large, open kitchen with wood counter tops and a beautiful island that looked
like it had been custom made. His appliances were stainless steel, but nothing
too flashy. The kitchen opened up to a large living room with hardwood floors
and high beamed ceilings. It was furnished relatively simply with black leather
couches, a coffee table, and a huge TV and entertainment system. A hallway to
the left looked like it led to the rest of the house.

“I have to call Kat,” I told him as
soon as I’d put my purse down on his sofa.

He nodded while heading off to the
fridge, and I soon found myself holding a cold, much welcomed beer as I let the
phone ring. She didn’t answer, which didn’t surprise me, so I left her a
message and followed it with a text letting her know briefly what happened and
that she should sleep elsewhere tonight. I felt immediate guilt, hoping like
hell it wasn’t me who caused this situation and that it was just random bad
luck.

Cole flopped down next to me on the
couch and crossed his legs at the ankle on the coffee table and flipped on the
TV. I suddenly wished I was wearing more clothing and shivered slightly in the
forced air of his place.

“Cold?” he asked quietly.

I nodded and he got up and handed me a
Harley Davidson hoodie that I gratefully put on over my dress. It was huge on
me, but it made me feel moderately more at ease.

“Thanks,” I sighed, sitting back on
the couch and propping my now bare feet on the edge of his table. He put an arm
around me and pulled me into his side, surprising me.

“Just relax,” his voice rumbled when I
protested slightly. I had to admit it was comforting to be close to him, and
breathing in the smell of him wasn’t half bad either. So I allowed myself to
sink further into him and zoned out on the mindless home improvement show he’d
put on.