He walks back over to me with the sun on his face, looking like an absolute god with his muscles out on display. “How’d you get in here? The doors were locked. And who are all these people?”
“These are my fighters,” he says as he gestures around. “Consider this their strength training,” he adds as he motions to two of the guys who are working together to lift the fallen fence off the ground. “Oh, and don’t stress, the doors were locked. We came in by the hole.”
Right. Stupid question.
I can’t help but cringe as I look up at him. “You know you don’t have to do this right?”
His eyes become very serious as he looks intently at me. He steps closer into me and takes my waist in both of his big hands, sending shivers all over my body. “I want to,” he murmurs as he lowers his face to mine and presses a soft kiss to my lips.
I resist pressing my fingers to my lips in my desperate need to savor his kiss, though, I don’t doubt he’ll have any problems giving me another. I can’t be getting distracted by this hell of a man today. I have work to do. “Ok,” I say, giving in, though it’s not like I’m going to deny help today. I need all the help I can get if I plan on re-opening any time soon. I mean, every day the doors are closed, I’m losing money.
“We’re nearly done clearing all this shit away then Chase is going to hose it down with the pressure cleaner. Once it’s dry, you should be good to start putting the furniture back out here.”
I look around and realize just how much he has done here already, but my eyes linger on the non-existent gardens. “I’m going to need to get a landscaper in here,” I murmur.
“Yep,” Cole agrees. “You’ll probably need someone to look at the bar too,” he says indicating to the outdoor bar. “It’s pretty fucked up.”
“Really?” I question with a cringe before heading that way and giving it a good look. “Shit.” I sigh as I add that to my list. “Ok, well, thanks,” I say to Cole as I make my way back over to him. “I’ll be inside if you need me.”
“Alright,” he says with a wink before turning back to finish what it was he was doing. “Oh,” he says, calling over his shoulder. “Luke, Caden, and Jace will be coming down too, so don’t freak out when they appear in the hole.”
“Ok,” I laugh as I make my way back inside, smiling like an idiot at how he somehow manages to warm my heart even though I’ve been feeling like shit since yesterday.
I head back into the club and walk out the back. I flick on the music system and get some music playing. There’s nothing worse than having a cleaning day in dead silence.
I go back to the dance floor and pick up where I left off. I clean a space on the floor by the back door and take all the outdoor furniture over there, leaving only the shit that’s too heavy. While I do that, Cole and his guys come inside and walk straight past me on their way to get to the other outdoor area.
Cole’s eyes remain locked on mine and I try to keep a straight face, acting as though his very presence doesn’t affect me, but I fail miserably. I end up grinning at him like a looney which has him cracking a jaw-dropping smile of his own.
Cole eventually walks out the door, leaving me to get on with it, only this time I have a perfect view of him which only manages to slow me down. Watching him work and getting all hot and sweaty has my body reacting in ways that only he can fix.
I ignore the throbbing as I clear another space over the other side of the room and do the same for the indoor furniture, though at least it’s mainly just tables and chairs that aren’t too heavy. As I’m finishing up, the other trainers from Rebels Advocate come walking through the hole in the wall and have a look around. “You’ve been busy,” Luke says as he looks on with an impressed gleam in his eye.
“Yeah,” I laugh as my eyes flick across to Cole for the millionth time this morning. “I have something motivating me.”
“That pent-up sexual frustration is a killer,” Jace says as he looks over at Cole with a knowing grin. “Trying to keep yourself busy so you don’t jump him, hey?”
“Like you’re one to talk,” I reply, just as smug as he had been. “How’s Cami?”
“Shut up,” he grins. “Now, what do you want us to do?”
I look around the dance floor, wondering where the best place for them to start would be when my eyes find the tree. “You don’t think you guys could somehow get rid of that, do you?” I ask. “I mean, once that’s gone, I can work on cleaning up all this debris and putting this area back together.”
“Sure thing, little lady,” Caden says before the boys go and stand around the tree for at least ten minutes, wonder what the best plan of action is to get rid of it. My suggestion of getting all the fighters from outside to just lift it out didn’t quite go so well. Apparently, it’s best to do it in pieces, so I’m not surprised when Luke disappears and comes back fifteen minutes later with a chainsaw.
I clean around the boys and get rid of as much of the debris as possible. All I have to do is clean up all the mess from the chainsaw and I’ll be good to mop the floor.
Cami comes through the door shortly after the boys get stuck into the chainsaw. She stands by the door gawking at Jace, probably the same way I had when I saw Cole earlier.
“Earth to Cami,” I say, gaining her attention. Her eyes flick back to mine and she reluctantly crosses the club. “What are you doing here? I thought you had a mess to clean up at your store.”
“Yep, I did,” she smiles. “But my store isn’t even a quarter of the size of this place. I figured you’d need some help.”
“You’re amazing,” I tell her as she walks over to the bar and dumps her handbag next to mine. “Alright,” she says as she returns. “Where do you want me?”
“I’ve got somewhere you can be,” Jace grins across at us.
“In your wildest dreams, cowboy,” she shoots back at him before turning away while her face flames and she can no longer hold back her goofy grin.
“Could you be any more obvious,” I murmur to her. She rolls her eyes before giving me a serious look. “Ok,” I laugh. “So, you can either do the bar or order the new windows,” I tell her as I point up to the broken window in question.
“Ooh, I’ll take the windows,” she says.
“I thought you might,” I tell her with a knowing smile. She’s never really been one for manual labor, but when she has to, she’ll get down and dirty just like the rest of us.
With as much of the dance floor done as possible, I get started on the bar while doing another stocktake at the same time, seeing as though the majority of the bottles were smashed.
Cami appears out of nowhere with a tape measure and starts jotting down the measurements of the windows before arguing with Jace as he believes she did it wrong.
Cole and his boys come back in before heading up to the rooftop. My eyes follow him as he crosses in front of the bar and disappears. “Careful,” Jace says once he’s sent Cami away huffing and puffing. “You’re drooling.”
“And you’re a dick,” I tell him as Caden and Luke start chuckling to themselves.
The tree eventually disappears and Cami returns to help them clean up the mess while I finish off cleaning out the bar. All that’s left to do is put in a massive order to completely fill the indoor bar, the two outdoor ones, and the rooftop bar. Fuck, that’s going to be expensive. Not to mention, I haven’t even looked at the state of the rooftop bar. Hopefully, it’s not as bad as the courtyard bar.
I send Cami down to the salad bar to get us all some lunch and she returns half an hour later with twenty boxes of pizza. Almost as if Cole’s boys can sense it, they come inside and take a seat at the bar.
I find glasses from out the back and get them all drinks while they lay into the pizza.
“Shit, guys,” Cole groans. “Go easy on the pizza. You’re supposed to be in training, remember?”
“Fuck that,” one of them respond. “I’m hungry.”
“Shit,” Cami says as she gives Cole an apologe
tic look. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.’
“Don’t stress it,” he tells her. “They deserve it today. They’ve worked hard.”
I sit up on the bar with my glass of iced water and cross my legs. My club is finally coming together. The place is still a mess of furniture, but at least it’s not covered with mud and debris anymore. Hell, even the outdoor areas are looking really good. They’re still soaking wet, but in a few hours, I’ll be able to start putting the furniture back out there.
The fighters finish chowing down their lunch and Cole tells them to get out of here. I thank them all and offer them free drinks until the end of time, which Cole then reminds them is also not a part of their diet.
One of the guys hands over a business card for a carpenter and tells me the guy is fantastic. I thank him and promise to give the guy a call before Cole comes and takes the vacated seat before me. “So,” he says with a mischievous twinkle in his dark eyes. “You’ll call that guy, but not me? Real nice.”
“Shut up,” I laugh before I realize I’m not completely freaking out right now. I mean, why the hell aren’t my palms sweating? And why am I not fumbling over my words right now? Don’t get me wrong, my heart is still racing and I desperately want to jump him, but for the first time, I feel at ease.
What is happening right now? I’m not ready for an us, am I?
Holy shit. I think I am.
I flick my eyes away from him as I wonder how the hell I’m going to go about this. A few hours later, I’ve got absolutely nowhere.
The boys have helped me and Cami put all the furniture back in place and it’s like this cloud of relief has come over me. There’s still so much more I need to do, but for now, I can sleep easy.
New windows will be put in next week, the carpenter will be here on Friday and the stock order will hopefully come in the next few days. Cami even went ahead and called every single one of my employee’s and told them what was going on.
I swear, that woman deserves a fucking holiday.
As exhaustion claims us, I send them on their way and climb up on my bar. I reach across for my glass of water and refill it while I contemplate if I have enough energy to get myself home or if I should just fall asleep right here.
Chapter 16
Cole
It’s been a massive fucking day. I haven’t been this exhausted since we were building Rebels Advocate, but it was worth it seeing the look on Rylee’s face. She looks like a whole new woman than the one I saw yesterday and this morning. She’s back to being her usual radiant self and while there’s still a bit of work to do, I know she’s got it under control.
Once all the furniture is back in place, Rylee tells us to get our asses out of there, but I find myself lingering in the doorway, watching as she walks over to the bar and climbs on top. She practically lays down on top of it as she sips at her water.
I silently walk across the dance floor and come up beside her. She has her eyes closed and I can imagine this is what she’d look like waking up in the morning, minus the dirt smeared across her cheek.
I place my hand on her lower back and slide it up under her shirt.
She gasps at the touch and her eyes fly open. “Shit, Cole. I thought you were gone.”
“No shit,” I laugh as I sit down on the stool while keeping my hand firmly on her back.
She pushes herself up so she’s sitting and grabs her water again. She takes a quick drink and I decide she’s been too far away all day. I take the glass out of her hands and place it back down on the bar before taking her by the waist and lifting her down onto me so she straddles my lap.
I hold her close with an arm around her waist while my free hand comes up to push the hair back off her face. “You’re tired,” I comment.
Rylee nods her head and I pull her in closer so she rests her head against my chest. I continue running my fingers through her hair and she lets out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry this happened to your club,” I tell her.
“Don’t be sorry. It wasn’t your fault. Just mother nature being a nasty bitch.”
“I know,” I tell her. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel,” she says before lifting her head off my chest and looking into my eyes, “But that has everything to do with you.”
Fuck me. This woman.
I swear, my heart explodes inside my chest.
“What you did for me today. That was incredible,” she tells me. “Apart from Cami, I’ve never had anyone in my life who would go to such lengths for me. I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”
I curl my hand around the back of her neck and bring her in closer. “I’d do it every day for the rest of my life if it meant being near you.”
With that, I pull her the rest of the way into me and kiss her with everything I’ve got. Her body completely relaxes into mine and she lets out a moan which urges me on.
I can’t resist her anymore. I need her in my life.
I pull back and rest my forehead against hers. “Come on,” I start, knowing that what I’m about to say can either work in my favor or take us back a few steps. “Go lock up. I’m taking you back to my place.”
Her back straightens as she pulls away so she can look me in the eye. “Um… what?” she grunts.
“You heard me,” I say.
“I’m not sure if you recall the conversation we had just a few days ago where I told you I wasn’t ready for… whatever you and me would be.”
“I remember it,” I tell her.
“Ok,” she says. “Do you remember the part where you said you were done chasing and that I could come to you when I’m ready.”
“Yep.”
“Then what the hell?” she practically shrieks.
I grin at her reaction. “I changed my mind.”
“You can’t just change your mind.”
“But I just did,” I tell her. “I’ve been thinking about it and the more time I spend with you, the more I realize I was an idiot for letting you dictate this whole thing. You’re too fucking stubborn to come to me so I decided I no longer give a shit. I’m taking your choice away.”
“Fuck, Cole. You’re the most frustrating person I’ve ever met,” she scolds.
“Get used to it, babe. I love seeing you all fired up.” My grin widens which makes her frustration skyrocket. “Besides,” I tell her. “I saw the look in your eyes during lunch today. You’re ready.” She pulls back slightly with wide eyes and I realize I was right. She’s more than ready. She’ll probably need to take it slow, but she’s prepared to share her life with me. “Stop freaking out, Rylee. This is happening.”
She visibly swallows before searching my eyes. It feels like she’s watching me forever when in reality, it’s only a few seconds before she slowly nods her beautiful head. “Come on,” I say as I lift her off me and stand before her. “Go lock up.”
I press my lips to hers once again before sending her on her way.
She returns a moment later and I slip my hand into hers. She looks down at our joined hands and I see the apples of her cheeks lift in a smile, but she doesn’t dare lift her eyes to mine like a stubborn little she-devil.
I’d love nothing more than to pick her up on it and tease her, but it’s too soon and she’s had too big of a day.
I lead her out to my truck and open the door for her before helping her up. She gives me a smile that knocks my socks right off. It doesn’t completely reach her eyes as she’s just that tired, but nonetheless, it’s absolutely dazzling.
As I drive back to my place, she becomes more and more fidgety. I reach across and take her hand out of her lap. “Relax, would you? This isn’t a big deal,” I lie.
She scoffs. “Yeah right,” she says under her breath.
I can’t help but grin. “Ok, it is a big deal, but there’s no reason for you to be thinking about it so much.”
I pull up at my place and she sits silently beside me. "What is it?" I question as her eyebrows d
raw down in curiosity.
"It's... I don't know. Not what I expected."
"Dare I ask what it is you expected?" I say as I open the door and jump out of my truck.
I turn around and wait for her answer. "The ultimate bachelor pad," she says with a grin. "Maybe an apartment or something like that, but not a family home in the suburbs."
"Why not?"
"Just didn't pick you as the family guy," she tells me.
"Get used to it," I say before shutting the door and walking around to her side. I never thought I'd be a family man, but the second she came onto the picture, I've been finding myself thinking about it more and more.
Rylee doesn't move for a moment as she continues studying my house, making me wonder if she's going to make a run for it the second I open her door. She's most likely getting herself worked up again, but that’s just another thing she'll have to get used to.
Since the second I walked out of her club with her hand in mine, this feeling of ease came over me and it's a feeling I'll never give up.
I open her door and she hops down before me. "Let me get you fed," I say as I run my knuckles down the side of her face. She melts into my touch and it has me feeling like the proudest mother fucker alive to know that this woman is mine.
She eases at my touch so I take her hand and lead her inside.
I walk through my home and skip over the whole tour bullshit as she’s too exhausted. I bypass the living room and walk her straight into the kitchen. I pull a stool out at the counter and instruct her to sit her fine ass down.
She collapses into the stool and leans into the counter, propping herself up on her elbows.
“What are you doing?” she murmurs as I go about the kitchen, pulling out all the ingredients for a chicken schnitzel salad.
“Making you dinner,” I tell her as I get chopping.
“Seriously?”
I look up at her with a blank stare. “Um… yeah,” I say as she looks at me like I’m some sort of alien. I mean, this is normal, right?
Cole: Rebels Advocate (Book 1) Page 11