by Rose, Renee
Her words hit me in the gut.
“I have it under control.” It’s a lie, but I’ll get it under control. Somehow.
I can’t fuck Casey’s future up along with mine just because I can’t keep my dick in my pants when it comes to Bailey Sanchez. It’s not right.
Casey shakes her head as she pulls the door shut and I take her condemnation into the shower with me, washing away Bailey’s delectable scent, the traces of my betrayal to my father, family and pack.
Fuck.
Chapter 11
Cole
It’s been most of the week and I’ve managed to stay away from Bailey. I’d like to say I took the space to get my head screwed on straight and now realize there’s no way I can keep fucking around with a human, much less this particular one.
But rather than cure me of my obsession, the time apart gets me worked into a frenzy. I think about her all the time. Jack off three times a day to the memory of spanking her ass and fucking those plump cheeks. When I’m home, I watch her window from mine and text her. First I texted to ask if she got a response from Brumgard. Then to tell her that Brumgard assigned the articles. To talk about which article I’d been assigned and tell her I expected her to complete the assignment for me. She sent me a gif of a girl flipping off the camera, which made me laugh. She probably would still write it for me, but I’m actually looking forward to the assignment. It’s different knowing I’m doing it for her and her pet project as opposed to Asswipe.
I took the assignment of writing a feature article on one of Wolf Ridge’s sports heroes. I’m going to interview Wilde about being team captain and what that entails. It’s going to be good.
When I’m at school I’m always looking for her in the hallways. And then when I see her—fuck, when I see her—I always want to throw her over my shoulder and carry her off somewhere to get filthy again.
I settle for winking when we pass each other. Or glaring at her from across the schoolyard. She always feels the heat of my gaze. Always turns and blushes. Rubs a hand over the back of her neck like I made the skin prickle there.
But that doesn’t happen to humans—does it?
Today, though. Today she’s not in one of her customary dresses. She’s wearing those short shorts she had on last Saturday, and it’s driving me fucking nuts. I find her after school and cage her in at her locker, making it appear like I’m harassing her. Which I am.
“What the fuck are you wearing?” I growl in her ear.
She turns her face to the side, but not far enough to make eye contact. Just enough to let me see her. “What’s it to you?” she sasses.
I press in a little tighter, letting the bulge of my swollen cock contact the back of the shorts. “You don’t wear shorts that short at school. Especially not those shorts.”
She frowns. “What’s wrong with these shorts?”
“Don’t play dumb, Bailey. Last time you were in those shorts, I took them off you. You fucking know what you’re doing to me. I’m going to smack your ass twice this shade.” I tug the streak of pale pink hair framing her face.
Her laugh is low and husky. A little nervous. The scent of her arousal drifts up between us, making my nostrils flare.
She glances past me, though, where my friends are standing by the lockers eyeing us. “You’d better go.”
“Don’t want to.” I mean, I really don’t want to. My need for her seems to be getting stronger and stronger. It must be because we’re approaching the full moon. It’s nuts because she’s not even a she-wolf. I shouldn’t have such a hard-on to get with her. It’s like my wolf wants to mate already. “Fuck,” I mutter out loud. This means I’d better stay away from her over the weekend. I might lose control, which would have devastating consequences. It’s bad enough I might need Austin to fucking babysit me to make sure I don’t go seek her out.
“Meet me after practice,” I blurt, even though any of my friends could overhear with their shifter hearing. Even though meeting her anywhere public is a bad idea and we sure as hell can’t meet near our houses, either.
Her eyes dilate like she’s excited. “Where?”
I think fast. “Here. At the school. Six p.m. I’ll wait for you by the locker rooms. You can get in through the door on that side of the building.”
Pink is driving regularly and has a car now—a used VW bug that sent my dad into a fury about the “spoiled human bitch” when he saw it.
“Okay.” She ducks her head to hide a smile. She’s been super cool about not letting on we’re an item, which I’m grateful for.
“Spank you later,” I murmur and wink, resisting the overwhelming urge to smack her ass before I walk away.
Practice is a total fucking blur. I don’t even know which drills we worked on or if I did what I was supposed to. My head was stuffed with Bailey the whole time.
After practice, I send Casey home with Austin and take a long, thorough shower. When six o’clock rolls around, everyone’s cleared out. I had this idea of pulling her into the locker room and ravishing her over a bench, but it occurs to me that every fucking member of the team will smell human in here tomorrow if I do.
Football field is no better because anyone could see us.
I step outside to wait for Bailey by the back door, still trying to figure out where to take her. She shows up with a big In-N-Out Burger bag, which she holds out to me. “I thought you might be hungry.”
The scent of food hits me hard. I’m fucking starved. Casey and I have been living on ramen noodles and frozen burritos since our dad lost his job—shit I can buy with the money I earn working at Winslow’s auto shop. Even so, if any other person tried to offer me food, I might have beaten them to a pulp.
But from Bailey? I don’t know, from her it means something different.
And the thoughtfulness of it knocks me on my ass.
I grab the bag and look inside at the two burgers and two fries and two shakes. Cute. She doesn’t know how much a shifter eats. “These are all for me, right?” I flash her a grin. The stars in her eyes when she looks at me make me feel like some kind of hero.
The guy I’ve never been.
And that’s when I realize: the In-N-Out Burger food will cover all scents. That shit can make the cab of my truck stink for a week. If I bring it into the locker room, no one’s gonna smell human. Just meat and fries.
I take Bailey’s hand and tug her inside. My stomach’s growling, but I drop the bag of food on the bench. “This deserves a reward.” I slide my hands under her skirt to contact skin.
Her breath quickens, eyes dilate. I glide my lips over hers. Not the mean, demanding kisses I’ve given before, but something more sultry. More exploratory. I let my palms roam, over her ass, up her sides underneath the shirt. She’s trembling already. There’s something in her scent, though. I try to distinguish it from the food.
Then I figure it out. “You’re nervous.”
Of course she’s nervous. She’s a total noob and I laid a lot of expectation on this encounter—blow job, spanking—every fantasy I’ve jacked off to all week.
Vulnerability flickers over her face.
“Am I going too fast?”
She stops breathing altogether, still looking up at me with doe eyes. Trapped in the headlights doe-eyes.
I release her and pick up her hand. “We don’t have to do this. Come on, let’s go for a ride, instead.” The last thing I’ll do is pressure a virgin. That’s not me. I want a girl willing and enjoying herself.
Scratch that. I want Bailey willing and enjoying herself.
I have zero interest in other girls at the moment. And I don’t want to unpack what that means.
Without waiting for her to agree or disagree, I make the decision I know is right and grab the food and lead her out. I’ll save locker fantasy for another day.
* * *
Bailey
A mixture of relief and disappointment runs through me as we walk hand-in-hand to the parking lot. There are a few other cars in the lot—who knows, m
aybe they belong to the janitors.
Cole was right; I was nervous. Stupid me had to lay the expectation of a blowjob and now he’s expecting it and I panicked because I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. You lick it like a popsicle was the advice Catrina had shared a million years ago but somehow that advice seems a bit lacking now. Surely there’s more to it. And why didn’t I just GTS—Google That Shit—before today?
So now I feel a little bit foolish, mostly relieved, and a million times melty inside at how sweet Cole was about it.
Where’s the alpha-hole posturing? I thought he’d order me on my knees and tell me what to do.
Okay, actually, that’s hot.
And it might make all this easier than me pretending I know what I’m doing.
Cole releases my hand to fish through the take-out bag and pull out his burger as we walk. “This was really fucking thoughtful, Pink,” he say with his mouth full. I take the bag so he can use both hands and reach in for a single fry.
Cole shakes his head “You’re like a fucking kitten, all dainty with your food. Humans are so delicate.”
“Humans?”
“I mean girls.” He’s still woofing down the burger, which is almost gone. “It’s cute, Pink.” He pops the last third of the burger in his mouth. “You’re adorable.”
I try to hide the glow of pleasure his words bring. “Holy shit. Did you even chew?”
He grins. “I don’t remember.”
I pull his fries out and juggle the bag to put ketchup on them before I hand them over.
“You ketchuped my fries.” He sounds surprised.
“Oh. Sorry—do you not like ketchup?”
“I do like ketchup. I like you working to please me even more.”
I stop walking in exaggerated offense.
Cole shoots that lopsided smirk my way and holds out his hand to take mine. “Don’t get pissed, Pink. I promise all the rewards.”
I take his hand. We were heading toward his truck, but he stops and looks around the parking lot for my car.
“Let me drive your new baby?”
I fish my keys out of my purse. “Sure. Seeing as how you let me drive yours. Forced me, actually.”
“And rewarded you,” he reminds me with a waggle of his brows that brings heat to my cheeks.
And what a reward it was.
My body heats at the memory.
“Have you named it yet?” Cole asks as he swings into my compact car and adjusts the seat back as far as it goes.
I snort. “Do you even fit?”
“I’ve been asked that before,” he boasts and I roll my eyes.
“I haven’t thought of a name I love yet. What do you think?”
He turns the key, considering. “You could call it New Start. You know, for driving again and moving here.”
Grief rolls over me like a wave. The moments are shorter now. Quicker. I could lean into them and go back to the depressed state I lived in for the last six months or I can just let them pass through me and acknowledge that it’s part of the process. I let it pass and swallow. “New Start it is. Good name.”
Cole pulls out of the school parking lot, appearing pleased. I never would’ve pegged him for a name your car kind of guy, but he does seem to love his truck.
“What’s your truck’s name?”
“The Captain,” he says proudly.
“First name The, last name Captain?”
“That’s right, smart ass.”
“It’s a great truck. You rebuilt it yourself, right?”
“Yep. Bought it for one hundred bucks off Bo’s brother Winslow. Their uncle owns Wolf Ridge Body Shop—the one down on the corner of Mountain and McGee?”
I nod even though I don’t really have my bearings in Wolf Ridge yet. I only just started driving this week.
“I work there on weekends with Bo. Have since we were twelve. When there’s no paid work to do, I work on The Captain. It’s almost ready for a new paint job, but I haven’t had the money.”
I wince, even though he’s not being a dick at the moment. Not accusing me and my mom of being the source of his lack.
Cole gets on the highway. “Where are we going?”
“I know this great gelato place in Cave Hills. Our mom used to take us as a reward for our patience after clothes shopping. You gonna eat the rest of that burger?”
“Nope.” I hand over the last third of my burger. “I should’ve bought you two.”
“I can eat four of those and not even blink, babygirl. Where do you think I get my stamina?” He winks and I roll my eyes, trying to will away the blush I sense crawling up from under my t-shirt collar.
Every encounter with Cole has been so far out of my playbook I can’t even categorize them. But this one? This feels like a date. He’s taking me for gelato. And while it’s not nearly as exciting as getting spanked and blowing him in a locker room, it does crazy things to my mind. Or is that my heart?
Crap.
I am so screwed.
We go in and order fancy gelato. I get dark chocolate orange and he gets mint chocolate chip. I know better than to offer to pay, even though I also know Cole’s hurting for money. He pays and we take it outside to sit on the patio overlooking the busy street below.
“It feels good to be out of Wolf Ridge,” I say. Even though it was only a twenty minute drive, Cave Hills feels more like an ordinary suburban city while Wolf Ridge manages to have the insular, small-town feeling.
It’s ritzy. It’s the northern part of Scottsdale, so there’s money here and I brace myself for a moment, fearing Cole will misconstrue my comfort here.
But he agrees. “Wolf Ridge gets so old. The same families have lived there for more than a hundred years. Everyone’s always in your business. I can’t fucking stand it.”
It occurs to me that he’s probably been the object of the town’s scorn since his dad’s plummet from grace. Which isn’t his fault. No wonder he’s been so bitter and rebellious.
“Are you planning to leave? You could get a football scholarship somewhere, right?”
A shutter slams down over his expression. “Nah. I gotta stick around for my sister. But no one leaves Wolf Ridge, really.” He shrugs like it’s just this accepted reality.
“But do you want to stay? I understand about Casey… with your, um, dad situation. But what about when she graduates?”
“Shut up, Pink.” There’s no smirk. Cole’s back to alpha-hole and he clearly resents my questions.
But this is what he does, isn’t it? He pushes people away to avoid the shame of his situation. Or the despair of how stuck he feels.
He picks up our empty ice cream cups and throws them in the trash. “We’d better get back,” he says flatly. “I don’t like to leave Casey home alone too long.”
By home alone, I assume he means home with his dad. I get up and follow him to the car. Cole starts the engine, not looking at me.
“Cole, I think you and Casey should get some help. It’s not right that you’re not only fending for yourselves, but afraid to be at home. If the authorities got involved, you and Casey would be taken away from your dad. I know he’s having a hard time, but he’s a shitty father right now.”
“Shut up! Shut up, Pink.” He slams his fist down on my dashboard and the plastic cracks. “Fuck!”
I sit in stunned silence and stare at the crack.
“I’m sorry,” he croaks.
“No, I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I don’t mean to upset you. I just—”
“He didn’t used to be a bad father,” Cole chokes out, his voice breaking. “He didn’t used to be.”
Tears flood my eyes, spill down my cheeks. Cole’s pain slices me to ribbons. Of course he still loves his dad. Things aren’t black and white. Good and bad. His good dad is still there somewhere, under the alcoholism and violence.
Cole finally looks over at me, eyeing my tears. “There you go with those tears again,” he says bitterly. “Why do you do that?”
; “What?”
“Cry for me.”
I dash at the tears with the back of my hand. “I can’t help it.”
He reaches for me, wraps his fingers around the back of my head and pulls my face right up to his. He doesn’t kiss me though. Just studies my face with a mixture of rage and wonder.
I tense, wondering which one will win out.
And then he pounces. Attacks my lips with his, same as the first time I cried for him, but this time we’re stuck in the tiny cabin of my Beetle. His tongue fucks my mouth, fingers twist in my hair. Everything about it is rough and brutal.
Passionate.
He tries to pull me toward him, but I’m caught by my seatbelt. Instead, he settles for crushing one hand over my left breast while he continues to kiss the hell out of me.
And then, just as suddenly, he releases me.
I fall back in my seat, breathless.
He stares at me with eyes that look golden in the streetlight instead of their usual brown. “You’re lucky we’re not in The Captain or I’d fuck you so hard you wouldn’t walk straight tomorrow.”
And as if that’s the definitive answer to our discussion, he turns forward and starts the car, backing out of the parking place.
I’m a tangled mess in the passenger seat. Heat pulses between my legs and flushes through all my veins. Tears still smear my cheeks and my lips are bruised and swollen from his onslaught.
As he pulls back on the highway, he says, “I didn’t mean it that way, Bailey.” He doesn’t look at me, just keeps his eyes on the road. A muscle in his jaw flexes. “I don’t force myself on women. I want you to know that.”
I straighten myself out, adjust my clothing, sit forward in my seat. Why am I still breathless? “I know,” I puff out. “You’ve proven that, Cole.”
“It does something to me when you cry.” His voice is strangled and I detect confusion in his voice, like he’s surprised by his own reactions. “I mean I always want to fuck you, but then you go and cry for me and I want to fucking consume you.” He shakes his head. “Nevermind. That doesn’t make sense. Am I scaring you?”