My stomach dips as I stay on the bike, staring at the house, telling myself, seeing Cole in public is one thing. In his home, it seems more intimate.
“Are you coming in?”
I dismount from the bike, telling myself to stop being childish and smile as I follow him into his home. As he leads me into the lounge, he takes my jacket. His fingers soft against my flesh and I step out of his reach.
“What are we eating?”
“Chinese. It’ll be here in about an hour.” Cole chuckles as he sits beside me. “I’m a lousy cook. I’ve lived on my own for so long it’s easier to eat out or order in. It’s either that or starve.”
I glance at Cole and appreciative the man in front of me. At six foot, and without an ounce of fat on him, there’s definitely no sign of the lifestyle he just described. Unlike Alex and the rest of The River Demons, his hair is short. His cheeks smooth. Free of any facial hair, and he smells of lemons. “Then you must work out.”
Cole’s smile is modest as he flexes his arm. “Three times a week.”
The curl of his biceps teases me and to break the budding intimacy I glance around the lounge. The pale blue walls and long white drapes at the window bestows the room a sense of warmth. On the wall is a collection of photographs and I look them over. There’s one of a group of children and I run a finger over the small girl with blond pigtails. There’s something about her, but I’m not sure what it is. Cole is behind me and I turn to him.
“This is a nice house.”
“I’m house-sitting for a friend.”
“So, this photo’s not yours.”
Cole takes the photo from me, his thumb stroking over the blond girl. “No, it’s my friends. But this is me when I was ten.” He points to the small boy sat next to the blond girl.
“That explains it,” I said.
“Explains what,” Cole said.
“I thought I recognized the girl, but it must have been you.” I take the photo and look at the boy. Cole’s grown up and the innocent gleam of youth in his gaze is long gone. “Are you from Noir Valley.” Noir Valley’s not a big place, but there are still people I don’t know.
“No. I grew up in Reno.”
I rub my thumb over the photograph. “But you were close to this family.”
“Yeah, we were cousins.”
“Where are they now?”
Cole removes the photograph from my loose grip and hangs it back on the wall. “Jack’s on tour and his folks moved to Baton Rouge.”
“He’s in the military?”
Cole shrugs as he turns to the door. “You can say that. Want a beer while we wait for the food.”
“That’ll be great.” As Cole goes for our beer, I check out his music collection. There’s a record player next to the vinyl collection and I find a copy of Roberta Flack’s Greatest Hits and slip it on. The room echoes with her voice and I sway as I wait on Cole’s return. When I turn around, Cole is leaning against the door jamb, his ankles crossed. The man cries out alpha and reeks of sex appeal. I lick my lips. If it wasn’t for Alex, I could easily bed this man. “You have a real music collection. You don’t see much of that these days.”
“That’s Jack’s fault. He loves music. He’s made it his life and it kind of rubbed on to me, I guess.”
I continue to sway to the music and Cole strolls over. When he reaches me, he passes me a beer, which I accept as I wrap my free arm over his shoulder. “Dance with me.”
“I don’t need asking twice.” Cole pulls me in close. His arms loose around my waist. His hands cupped as he holds his beer. I slip my arm around his neck and lean my head against his shoulder. He’s a good height for me and we fit perfectly. His hips rub against mine and through the denim his erection brushes against me.
“Cole.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m still not ready.”
Cole leans back. His gaze on me. “Because of Alex or because of Dale.”
I giggle. Shit, everyone must think I’m a scarlet woman. “Neither. Alex is history,” my feet stumble as the lie slips from my lips. “And as for Dale.” I bite my lips. “That’s complicated.”
Cole pulls me closer. “I like complicated, and I can wait.”
My fingers clench as I close my eyes. If I didn’t need Cole for protection, I’d run. Someone was going to be hurt, but it wasn’t going to be Dale.
Chapter 9
Alex: Demon’s Lair Noir Valley
The cheer from the couch has me glancing across the room, and I smile as Leon thumps TJ’s shoulder. They’re playing a racing game on the game console and I shake my head.
“You need to relax, Alex,” Day said.
I turn to Day, sitting in the chair beside me, and watch as he takes a long swallow of his coffee. “I am relaxed.”
The club’s president chuckles. “That’s the third time you’ve looked at your watch in the last thirty minutes. Is there someplace you need to be?”
The gleam in his blue eyes has me smiling in response. “Nope. Not for nine hours.”
Day’s smile disappears, “you don’t want to change your mind about this plan.”
Change my mind. My body has not stopped humming since yesterday morning with unsated lust. My libido refuses to sleep. I have taken three cold showers and masturbated a couple of times. Shit, I spent the evening watching the whores, trying to decide which one to take to my bed. Fuck, if Mia was going to continue to see that fucking journalist and
