I glance at Cole. “Yeah.”
He shakes his head. His eyes gleam and I bite my lip. “You look sane. But I’ve a deep feeling you are anything but.”
“Life was simple until you and Alex came along. I was a normal woman until then.”
Cole shakes his head, “what normal woman invents herself a boyfriend.”
I shrug, “there was a reason behind that.”
“Are you going to tell me?”
“No.” My lips quiver as I hold my smile at bay. “I’m about to end it with Dale.”
Cole reaches over, raises my hand to his lips and kisses the wrist. “What about me?”
“I’m sleeping with Alex.”
Cole leans back in his chair. “Why call it sleeping when you mean fucking.”
I hold his gaze. The barb hits, but I don’t blink as I keep my composure. “I’ve moved on to Demon’s Lair into his cabin. We are sleeping together.”
“And fucking.”
“Why aren’t you angry.”
“Did you think I would be?”
“My ego would like you to be.”
“This agreement you had with Alex. What was it?”
I lick my lips then take a sip of my coffee. “I spend his days off with him and the days he works, I spend with you.”
“We could keep to the arrangement.”
I trace an undescriptive pattern on the table. Then with a shake of my head, I look at Cole. “No. It wouldn’t be fair to any of us.”
“You never had the urge to fuck me?”
“No.”
“But with Alex, you did, and you have?”
“Yes.”
Cole nods and withdraws his wallet from his jacket pocket. As he rises, he drops some bills onto the table. “We were never lovers, Mia. Can we stay friends?”
“You never wanted to fuck me either. Did you, Cole?”
Cole sits on the corner of the table as he plays with a tendril of my hair. “I wouldn’t have said no If you had offered.” He leans over, brushing his lips against mine. “If this thing with you and Alex doesn’t work out. Give me a call.”
I watch Cole leave the diner and as I turn my head, my gaze clashes with the biker who I dismiss as I open my laptop. I’ve another man to dump publicly.
After dumping Dale via my blog, I send a quick text to Alex.
Me:Just met with Cole. He’s in the picture.
As I step out of the diner, my cellphone vibrates.
Alex:Make sure you return to Demon’s Lair before we sail.
I slip the cellphone back into my purse without answering. The riverboat isn’t due to sail until late evening, and I’m in no rush to return. I find a bench to sit on. I could visit Poppy’s, but if I do, I’ll be tortured with a thousand and one questions. From my purse, I pull out one of the beers I swiped from the bar at Demon’s Lair. Sitting on the bench, drinking alcohol from a brown paper bag in the middle of Noir Valley is the most dangerous thing I have done in four days. That and that I have no panties on. As the cool liquid slides down my throat, I wonder how Cole would have acted if he had known I was naked under my dress. As I walked towards him at the diner, the sun was behind me and his gaze had lingered on my legs. As I sip my beer, I wonder if he noticed I was pantyless.
The hum of bikes catches my attention, drawing me out of my dreams, and I glance down the street. Heading towards me are several bikers and I scan the street for Hank or one of his deputies, but no-one about. Even the biker from the diner is gone. The bikers stop in front of me and I watch Jono remove his helmet. Rickety-Lee and Sharpie are with him, and I nod to them.
“Jono.”
Jono remains on his bike. His hazel gaze hard as he studies me. Years ago, one look from him or Hank would have had me running. Now as I watch my brother, I take a large drink of the beer.
“I hear you’re fucking Alex. What happened to the journalist?”
I refuse to be daunted by Jono and keep my gaze on him. “We’re still friends.”
“If you want a bad boy between your legs. Rickety-Lee will be happy to oblige.”
“I’m happy with the one I’ve got.”
Jono’s lips pinch, “he’s bad news with baggage, Mia. Leave him while it’s still safe to do so.”
“I know about his baggage. I can handle him.”
Jono shrugs. “You being a biker bitch isn’t any skin of my nose. But once they start passing you around.” Jono stares at me and I force myself to remain still. “And they will, Mia. To them you’re the sister of a traitor and the sister of a cop. They’ll love nothing more than to turn you into a whore tuning nickel tricks. Day might like to give the impression the clubs changed. That they’ve cleaned their act. But once a river rat, always a river rat. Give me a call. You might as well as be a whore at a better club than a washed-up club like the River Demons.”
With one last slug of my beer, I empty the bottle, stand, scan the area, find a trashcan, and drop the bottle in it. Then I walk over to Jono. “If I’m to be a whore, I’d rather be a whore where men wash at least once a week.” My gaze flashes at Rickety-Lee. “Than with someone who doesn’t know what water looks like.” Jono’s sneering snigger follows me as I return to my car. As I pull out of the driving lot, Rickety-Lee parks his bike
