Cole (The Ride Series) (16 page)

“Even if it means you can’t look at
me?” I croaked out, my eyes filling with tears. God, I was so tired of crying.

“Baby, it was never
you
I couldn’t face,” he replied. “I
fucked up, I’m sorry,” he said, his eyes burning with sincerity.

I looked at this man who had put
everything on the line for me. Who made me feel things I never knew I could--who
loved me with a ferocity that I never thought I’d experience. I knew with that
kind of intensity that I’d occasionally get burned. But Cole had made me
realize that I’d rather be in the fire than out in the cold.

“Okay,” I replied quietly.

He kissed me then, slow and sweet. My
mouth opened under his and my limbs liquefied as his tongue brushed with mine.
I’d missed him more than I wanted to admit.

He squeezed me tight. “Come home.”

“Home?” I asked dubiously.

He rolled his eyes. “My place, babe.”

“Oh, right.”

“Are you not comfortable at my place?”
he asked with a raised brow.

My eyes slid to the side as I debated
how to answer him. There wasn’t anything wrong with his place, but for the time
being it represented the fact that I couldn’t go home. I decided to keep this
piece of information to myself, though.

“No, its fine. I just miss my place, my
things,” I murmured.

“I want you to feel comfortable, bring
whatever you want over. Hell, redecorate for all I care,” he said with a chuckle.

“That’s not necessary,” I scoffed,
wincing slightly as I shifted to my back.

He leaned up over me, his rough hands
lightly tracing my face. “Your bruise looks much better,” he murmured, gazing
down at me tenderly.

“Yeah,” I agreed quietly.

“How about the rest?”

I didn’t miss the double meaning of
his words. “Getting there,” I told him honestly.

“Your strength completely slays me,”
he whispered. My eyes opened in shock. “You completely beguile me, my little
warrior,” he said as he kissed me softly.

Well that was pretty damn amazing. “Let’s
get up and get you back to my place. I’ve been ornery as all hell not having
you with me,” he admitted.

Selfishly, I sort of loved that.

I took a quick shower, redressed my
wounds, and put on the clothes that Kat had thrown together for me. I left
Connie a note thanking her profusely for putting me up. Cole loaded his truck
up with my things and I marveled at his ability to get me back so quickly, yet
again. The man had my number that was for sure.

“When’s the last time you ate?” he
asked as he fired the truck up, looking over at me.

I bit my lip trying to remember.

He sighed, exasperated. “The fact that
you can’t remember says it all. Breakfast is the first matter of business,” he
said, eyeing me with a possessive look. I knew his protective instincts
extended to all things concerning me, including my appetite.

I smiled at my overprotective alpha.
“Sounds good,” I agreed readily.

And over coffee and a ginormous
breakfast, I started to feel more like myself.

Cole watched as I shoveled food into
my mouth. “I’ve never seen you eat like this,” he commented, eyeing me with
regret. I knew it bothered him that I was obviously so starving.

I shrugged not wanting to make a big
thing of it as his large hand engulfed mine across the table. “That’s the last
time you get upset enough to skip so many meals,” he grunted more to himself
than to me.

I squeezed his hand reassuringly.
“It’s done babe, I’m fine.” And I was. I knew he was dealing with a feeling of
powerlessness that he was unaccustomed to and that he wouldn’t take it out on
me again. And, he loved me. I continued to hear him say the words over and over
again in my head.

“What’s on for today?” I asked,
changing the subject.

“I’m hanging with you,” he said
simply, without hesitation.

I smiled, pleased at the thought.
“That sounds good. I just have to work at six.”

He scowled. “You’re scheduled already?
And for the late shift?” he asked incredulously. “Don’t you think you should
take some more time off?”

The truth was that I’d love to take
more time, but my bank account wouldn’t allow for it. “Can’t,” I answered
evasively, hoping he’d leave it at that as he settled our bill and we headed
out into the sunshine.

“Why not?” he demanded lightly,
opening the passenger door for me and leaning in the doorframe as I buckled
myself in.

I shrugged casually wanting
desperately for him to drop it, and feeling distracted by the muscles flexing
in his arms as he peered down at me. I put my hand to his chest, and pulled his
T-shirt so that he was forced to lean down to me. I kissed him with nothing of
the soft tenderness of the morning. He responded immediately, taking over the
kiss as his body pressed into mine.

“This wouldn’t be your attempt to
distract me now would it?” he asked against my lips.

I simply smiled and kissed him again
until our breathing was labored. “Better get you home before we get arrested
for indecent exposure,” he growled as he pulled away.

“This is hardly indecent,” I scoffed.

“It’s about to be,” he answered, his fierce
eyes making my toes curl.

“Oh,” I breathed.

“We’re not done
talkin
’,”
he warned as he closed my passenger door and came around the front of the
truck.

I was afraid of that.

We drove to his place in comfortable
silence as I looked out the window mulling over the past few days and what a
whirlwind they had been. When we walked into his place I was momentarily
stunned as I eyed the boxes of my things piled in the corner. Taking a look
around the room, I noticed that my favorite throw blanket was now on his couch.
My books were sitting on the media cabinet. I noted more boxes when I entered
the master bedroom.

“Um, this doesn’t look like you
grabbed just a few of my things,” I noted, my voice sounding a bit panicky.

He came to stand behind me placing his
hands on my shoulders, “No, it’s basically all of your things,” he admitted,
undeterred by my impending freak out. “I wanted you to be comfortable here,
babe. Now all your things are here. I left the unpacking to you so that you can
put your things where you want them. I just cleared some space in my dresser
and the closet,” he said as he shrugged, as though he were talking about
something as casual as what we were going to have for dinner.

“But…we’re not moving in together,” I
protested.

He grinned. “You just haven’t agreed
yet.”

“But,” I protested again completely at
a loss.

He moved to stand in front of me
stooping down slightly so that we were eye to eye. “You still have your
apartment
darlin
’, for as long as you want it. All of
these things can easily be moved back there in a few hours if need be,” he
assured me. “Hell, if it makes you feel better don’t unpack,” he said
nonchalantly, though I could tell the idea bothered him. “I don’t want you to
feel trapped, but I do want you here with me and I want that badly,” he
admitted.

I bit my lip looking beyond him at the
boxes. Part of me wanted that badly, too. There wasn’t anywhere else I’d rather
be than sleeping beside Cole every night. But it was so fast and there was so
much already muddling my head. I just didn’t have it in me at the moment to
process it all. I couldn’t even tell him I loved him, though I did with
everything I had.

Instead of sharing all of this I
simply nodded, ready to accept the compromise. He took me in his arms gently
and kissed the top of my head. “What do you feel like doing?” he asked quietly.

I sighed. “Honestly, I’m exhausted. If
I’m going to work tonight I’d better rest today,” I told him. Between my
hospital stay and sleeping in so many unfamiliar places the last few nights, I
hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep in close to a week.

He was quiet for a moment and I could
tell he was biting his tongue about my plan to go to work. Instead he nodded.
“Okay, to bed with you then,” he said gently.

“Would you lay with me for just a
little bit?” I asked while meeting his tender gaze.

“Sure,” he agreed with a small smile.

I gingerly removed my clothes, slipped
into a long nightshirt that was soft on my skin, and I crawled under the
covers. It was just after noon, but I had no doubt I could sleep the day away.
Cole crawled in beside me after removing his T-shirt and jeans. I immediately
rolled on my good side toward his reassuring warmth. He smelled so good, and
despite my exhaustion and throbbing side I felt the familiar tingle between my
legs as his hand stroked my hip. I felt his firm body beneath my fingers, and I
allowed my hand to wander from his chest down to his washboard abs, then to his
thigh, teasing him slightly. I heard his quick intake of breath and I smiled to
myself as my cheek lay pressed against his chest. There was no mistaking the swell
that immediately filled his boxer briefs. I felt wetness between my legs at the
sight and I reached out to stroke him.

“I thought you were tired,” his deep
voice rasped.

“Not
that
tired.”

“Fuck. Thank God,” he hissed through
clenched teeth as I began to stroke him. He wrapped his hand around the back of
my head, pulling my lips to his. His tongue met mine and the kiss went wild,
all traces of subtlety gone. It had been several days since we’d been together
and the forced abstinence was clear in his kiss. He growled into my mouth as my
grip got firmer around him. He pulled my hand away, moving over me, his mouth
covering my nipple over my nightshirt.

I arched off the bed sighing in
pleasure as he sucked me further into his mouth. He moved down my body sliding
my panties down my legs and tossing them to the floor. Then his mouth was on
me, and he licked and sucked until I was crying out his name.

“Cole,” I called, my voice ragged. “I
need you inside me,” I begged desperately.

He lifted his head and his intense
gaze met mine. Something passed between us in that moment. His gaze was filled
with a promise, not only of the moments to come but of something far more. I
couldn’t say how I knew that, I just did, and the knowledge of it nearly moved
me to tears.

“Now, please,” I called again.

He moved up over me, careful not to
touch or rub against my bad side and slowly guided himself inside of me.

“You feel so good, baby,” he groaned.

“Harder,” I demanded raggedly as he
glided in and out.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he replied,
his own voice hoarse.

“You won’t,” I assured him, wrapping
my legs around him, pulling him into me.

Any trace of self-control he’d been
holding onto was quickly abandoned as he slammed into me, eliciting a noise
from my throat that I didn’t even recognize. It was only moments before I felt
a wave of ecstasy that rose up and crashed back down, sending such forceful
shocks through my body that a single sob escaped.

“Fuck,” I heard him gasp before he
followed close behind me, collapsing onto my good side, his breath warm on my
neck. “Okay?” he asked, his voice ragged.

“Yeah,” I breathed, still trying to
come back fully to my senses.

He rolled off of me and pulled me
toward him, tucking me into his side. Being tucked close to Cole where I felt
so safe and protected, I was able to forget my troubles momentarily and just
breathe him in. How I ever thought I could do without this was beyond me. He
stroked my hair as we lay not speaking and I felt myself begin to drift off.

When I woke up it was dark outside and
I bolted upright in a panic. I’d completely over slept. It was nearly six o’
clock--I should have been out the door already.

“Shit,” I hissed pulling on my jeans
and whirling around the room looking for my shirt.

Cole came to lean in the doorway, his
arms crossed over his broad chest.

“I’m late,” I exclaimed unnecessarily.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” I demanded, finding my work shirt in a heap near
my suitcase.

“Because you needed to sleep. I called
your boss, he agreed that you need at least another night off to recuperate,”
he explained calmly.

“What? You called Pete?” I demanded
while still topless, holding my shirt in my hand. “Why did you do that? I told
you that I need to work!” I said feeling somewhat desperate. My bills were
piling up. I didn’t have the luxury of an extra night to recuperate.

“And I told you to take more time,” he
replied, his eyes doing a body sweep. “You need to change your bandage,” he
added calmly.

“Fuck my bandage. I’m going to work,”
I huffed, trying to hide my wince as I pulled my shirt a bit too roughly over
my body.

“For Christ’s sake you’re going to
reopen your fucking wounds. Would you please relax?” he growled.

“You relax!” I exclaimed. “I have rent
to pay, a car payment! My utilities will get turned off. And I haven’t even allowed
myself to think about the hospital bills,” I cried as I tried to whirl past him
to the bathroom.