by Sarah Curtis
The happy smile that made her eyes sparkle when she noticed him went a long way in soothing his anger, but it still didn't stop him from laying his hands on her in a barbaric show of possession.
"Hi," she whispered, on a sigh as he drew near, tilting her head back to keep him in sight.
He clamped his hand around the back of her neck as he leaned above her, grazing her cheek with his lips before sliding them to her ear, murmuring loud enough for Abby's new friend to hear, "Mornin', Darlin'." He lightly kissed her slightly parted lips before turning his attention to the dickhead trying to move in on his territory.
Keeping his hand around Abby's neck, he reached out with his free hand. The steel in his voice was unmistakable when he said, "Cole Garrison, Abby's man, and you are?" Oh, he was pretty sure he knew the little pricks name, Chad something or other. It was a small town, after all, and after three years, knew most of its players. From the flash of anger he saw in the guy's eyes, he knew he hit his mark in pretending not to know his name.
"Chad Daniels," the guy said, taking his hand, and Cole showed restraint by not giving it a tight squeeze.
"What are you doing here?" Abby asked, seemingly oblivious of the testosterone floating through the room.
He gave his full attention back to Abby. "Had to pick something up in town and knew you'd be here. Thought I'd stop by, see if you needed any help."
She gave him another dazzling smile that not only reached his dick but seemed to reach his heart, as well, if the stutter he felt between the beats was any indication. "I do have some things in the car if you want to help me bring them in."
Unable to keep his hands off her, he tucked a lock of hair, that had escaped the confines atop her head, behind her ear then trailed his fingers down her neck before saying, "Lead the way."
She smiled at Chad—a smile not nearly as bright as the smile she'd given him, he noted suppressing a grin—and said, "It was nice meeting you, Chad. I'm sure I'll see you around once school starts."
That was Chad's cue to leave but either he was thick or chose to ignore it because he said, "I have time if you need help setting things up and getting organized."
Cole felt Abby grow stiff beside him and wondered if she felt the same weird vibe coming off the guy as he did. Already, he didn't like that the guy worked with her, and now his clingy attitude just pissed him off more. He would need to keep his eye on the pencil dick, make sure he didn't step out of line.
"Oh, no, that's okay. I don't have much and will have it done in no time. Thanks for the offer, though."
Cole wasn't as nice. "Catch ya later, Chet." He placed his hand at the small of Abby's back, leading her to the door, this time not fighting his grin when he heard a mumbled, "It's Chad," from behind him.
* * * * *
Abby waited until they were out of hearing range before speaking. "Don't think I don't know what you were up to in there."
Cole didn't try to deny it, in fact, he didn't say anything as they walked down the hall and out the building. "Where are you parked?" he asked, looking around the nearly deserted parking lot.
Abby stepped away from his side and placed her hands on her hips. "That's all you've got to say?"
"What do you want me to say? I don't like the guy and let that be known."
"Have you not liked Chad in the past or is it just now, that you've found him talking to me, that you don't like him?"
He shrugged. "Never talked to him before." He pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I will admit, walking in to find you laughing and chatting with the guy probably had an influence on my first impression."
She wrapped her arms around his neck and played her fingers through the loose curls at his nape. "Well, I'm new to the school and have to work with the guy. Can you try a little harder to be nice, please?"
He gave her a nod. "I'm gonna do as you asked for a couple of reasons."
Abby rewarded him with a big smile for being so reasonable. "Yeah, and what's that?"
"What you just said, revealed a few important things to me, and I like what they implied. First, you expect me to run into your new friend so that means you don't mind me visiting you here, and I like that. Second, you warning me to play nice also tells me you want me here, a fact I also like. Last, you said please, and I love the sound of that word on your lips." His head lowered, his lips grazing her ear. "I'll like the sound of it better when I've got you under me, your legs wrapped around my waist, begging me for more."
His warm breath and suggestive words delivered in his slow, sexy drawl had her pressing herself against him, while at the same time, her fingers tightened in his hair, pushing against his head, trying to bring him closer. Anything to stem the growing need between her thighs. With a low growl, he captured her lips, biting and nipping at the lower one before sucking it into his mouth. His tongue entangled with hers, and with a soft moan, she fully surrendered to his assault.
As quickly as the kiss started, he ended it, pulling away and taking a large step back. Beyond turned-on, her mouth burst forth words before her brain could think to contain them. "Why'd you stop?"
"Because I'm not planning to fuck you in a parking lot and if I had your tits pressed against me and my tongue in your mouth one second longer, that's exactly what would've happened."
Abby felt her cheeks heat. "Oh, well... Okay then," she stammered.
He took the step back to her but didn't touch her, just hovered over her, so she had to tilt her head back to keep him in sight. His next words though quiet, were no less powerful when he uttered, "When I fuck you for the first time, it'll be in a bed, and it'll be when we have time 'cause, Darlin', I plan to take you nice and slow. I'm gonna strip you bare and put my mouth on every inch of your skin. Then I'm gonna make you beg, make you scream, make you come." His finger trailed down her body, between her breasts, over her stomach, stopping at the button of her jeans. His lips grazed her cheek before they found her ear, and he whispered, "Make you come, over," his tongue traced the shell of her ear, "and over," his lip found her lobe, sucking it into his mouth and twirling it with his tongue, "and over again."
Abby's arms broke out in goose bumps, and she knew it had nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with the sexy cowboy whispering dirty things into her ear. His fingers had somehow found their way into the waistband of her jeans, and the soft edges of his blunt nails lightly scraped across the sensitive skin under her belly button. The tingles of earlier turned into an ache that she knew could only be sated if his fingers would stray a tad bit lower. Instinctively, she found herself reaching up on her toes encouraging lower contact.
In a blink, his fingers were gone and again, he took a step away from her. Slowly he shook his head. "You make it very difficult to keep my hands off you. Where are you parked? Let's get your shit, get it unpacked, then get the hell out of here. My days of being a gentleman are over. I want you naked in my bed preferably within the next hour."
Abby couldn't lead him to her car fast enough.
Chapter Twelve
Things didn't quite go as planned. They were in Cole's truck after picking up Lucky and dropping Abby's car at her house when he got a phone call. From the set line of his jaw and clipped responses, she could tell he wasn't a happy camper.
"Everything okay?" she asked as he hung up the phone.
He sighed, glanced over at her, and gave her a small smile before turning his eyes back to the road. "Yeah, I need to head up to Albuquerque. I probably won't be back 'til late."
Abby wanted to know why but felt hesitant to ask. Their relationship was still too new, and she didn't want to come off as needy or clingy. If he'd wanted her to know, he would've volunteered the information. "That'
s okay. I have a ton of stuff to do to get ready for school next week if you don't mind dropping me back off at home." She was trying for nonchalant and hoped she'd pulled it off. She gave him a sunny smile for good measure. If possible, the set of his jaw became firmer followed by a slightly noticeable eye twitch.
He made a U-turn, and nothing else was said until they pulled into her drive. Before she could open the truck door, he stopped her by taking hold of her hand. She looked over at him, but he wasn't looking at her, his eyes were locked on Lucky bouncing around on the floorboard at her feet.
"This isn't how I envisioned spending the rest of my day." He finally looked at her. "The last thing I want to do right now is drive all the way up to Albuquerque and leave you here."
She squeezed his hand. She could tell his words were sincere so meant it when she said, "It's okay, you don't need to explain yourself to me."
His features became tight again, his lips a hard line, and she guessed that hadn't been the response he wanted. "Yes, I do," he said, squeezing her hand back. "And I will. Listen, there are some things you need to know before–" The ringing of his phone cut off what he was about to say. "Fuck." His frustration was evident as he answered, but he kept his tone calm as he spoke into the phone, "Yeah." He listened for a few minutes. "Okay, I'll be there soon." After hanging up, he leaned over, giving her a light kiss on the lips. "Let's get you inside."
Worry and impatience radiated off him, and she figured he needed to hit the road. Whatever those phone calls had been about, it sounded like an emergency, and she didn't want to be the cause of any delays.
Abby clicked off her e-reader and sat up from her lounging position on the couch disturbing Lucky, who lay at her feet. "Shall we try to go potty then get in bed?" She asked, giving him a scratch behind the ears. She set her e-reader on the coffee table and stood with a stretch before making her way to the back door off the kitchen. "Come on Lucky." She grabbed the door handle and swung the door wide. She wasn't expecting to be greeted with the bouquet of red roses that sat on her stoop. She picked up the vase, smiling as she breathed in the flower's rich fragrance before setting them on her kitchen counter.
"Come on, little guy." She stepped out the back door, hoping Lucky would follow while pulling her cell from her back pocket and hitting Cole's number. "Go potty," she encouraged as she listened to the line ring.
After three rings, he answered, "Hey."
"Hey, yourself." She was sure the smile she still wore came through in her voice. "Why didn't you knock when you stopped by? It's not that late, I'm still up."
"What are you talking about? I'm not home yet."
"Then who... Oh, um..." she trailed off when realizing Cole hadn't given her the flowers. The pang of disappointment was unexpected, and she felt her good mood drain away slowly replaced by confusion over who'd left them.
"What the hell is going on? Why do you think I was there?" His voice had grown lower and deeper, and she was coming to recognize it as the voice he used when he was not happy.
She felt embarrassed to say anything now, knowing he hadn't been the one to leave her the flowers and assuming he had. "I ugh, went to take Lucky out before we turned in for the night and found a vase full of roses on my back porch." She giggled nervously. "I just assumed they were from you." Silence descended after her announcement. Gah, that sounded even more pathetic when said aloud. Guess the old idiom was true about when you assume, it makes an ass of u and me.
Abby looked around and spotted Lucky trying to crawl into one of the only three small bushes she had in the yard. Worried it housed a snake or some other deadly varmint, she shouted, "Lucky come here. Get out of that bush."
To which she heard an instant reply growled in her ear. "Please tell me you aren't still outside."
"I told you I was out walking the pup."
"I'm about thirty minutes away. Get in the house and lock the doors, and don't unlock them until I get there."
"Cole, don't you think you're overreacting a little bit."
"Abby, I'm a half hour away from you, I'm totally powerless, and I can't tell you how much I fucking hate that. Now, get in the fucking house and lock the fucking door. Please."
She held the phone away from her ear when he started yelling and was currently scowling at it. "Lucky, come on, boy." She called out instead of answering Cole. Once she was back in the house with the door locked, she put the phone to her ear. "There, I'm in, and everything's locked up. Guess you're not totally powerless." Okay, that might of come out more sarcastic than she'd intended, but Cole really needed to learn to tone down his Mr. Bossy attitude.
His answering chuckle didn't help her pissed-off-ness. "You can yell at me all you want when I get there. Until then stay locked up."
His sudden good mood pissed her off more. "I'm in. It's locked. What more do you want?"
"Thank you, baby. I'll see you in twenty."
Yeah, well, the baby was nice, but he was still getting an earful once he showed up.
Abby was pretty much over being mad by the time Cole called back to tell her he was at her front door. Without the subject of her pique there to jab and poke at, a person could only sit and stew alone for so long and still keep their temper.
As soon as she unlocked the deadbolt, he pushed through the door. His energy creating a living entity, filling her small space. Lucky trotted up and sat at his boots, giving him a friendly yap, but Cole's eyes were fixed firmly on Abby, sweeping her from head to toe as if assessing she were in the same condition he'd left her in. She was, not even her clothes had changed.
"Where are they?"
Abby blinked not understanding the question. "Pardon?"
Cole ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, and she noticed how tired he looked. "The flowers, Darlin', where are they at?"
"Oh, in the kitchen." She pointed to the kitchen counter, and he turned to look that direction.
He reached the kitchen in four of his long strides then inspected the flowers, moving roses around in the vase. "There's no card. I checked for one already."
His eyes shot up from the bouquet, spearing her with a look. Oh, hell no. Mr. Bossy attitude better not make a reappearance. She placed her hands on her hips and gave him dagger eyes right back. "What?" She threw out with attitude. "I thought they were from you."
His eyes went from hard to soft in a blink. He stepped around the kitchen counter and stalked over to her before capturing her hips in his hands. "Something you should know up front. I'm not a flowers and chocolate kind of guy. I don't know dick about romance. So if that's what you're expecting..." He trailed off like he wanted to say something then thought better of it. "I just don't want you to be disappointed."
He was wrong. Some of his romantic gestures may have been unconventional, but they were romantic if you read between the lines. The puppy sitting at their feet being the perfect example. Not that she would tell him that. She had a sneaky suspicion he would scoff at the very idea. She placed her hands on his hips, interlocking the two of them together. She looked up at his handsome face, absorbing each of his masculine features and said softly, "I don't think you could ever disappoint me."
"Then you're not as smart as I thought you were."
She let him see her flash of anger. "Maybe, I just don't have high expectations."
He gave her a smirk, but his expression was far from humorous. "Then you're even more foolish than I thought because a woman like you should expect the world."
His tone was cutting, but she felt her heart melt as his words penetrated. She placed her hand on his chest. "And I'm sure a man like you is quite capable of giving it."
He drew a feather-light line down her nose, over her lips, stopping with his
fingertip resting on her chin before saying gruffly, "For you, I would try."
"Then that's all a girl could ask for."
Their "moment" didn't last long before Mr. Bossy was back on the scene. "Go pack some shit, so we can get the hell out of here."
"What? I'm not going anywhere."
Cole had a hand on his hip the other he ran through his hair. "Listen, I didn't like you staying here by yourself before, but I sure as hell won't allow it now."
Abby's spine stiffened in outrage. "You won't allow it?"
"Yeah, I won't allow it. Now go get your shit. If you want to fight about this further, we'll do it at my house."
She gritted her teeth. "If we fight about it at your house, that means I'm already there, and you'll have already gotten your way."
He gave her a wicked grin. "Yeah, I know."
"You're unbelievable, did you know that?"
He took her by the shoulders, turning her until she faced her bedroom door. She felt his lips gently brush the back of her neck before he spoke low in her ear. "Darlin', it's late, I drove over three hours today, and I'm tired. If you're here alone, I'll worry, and I won't be able to sleep and that would mean another crap day tomorrow. So please, pack some shit so I can take you home." He gave her shoulders a light push in the direction of her bedroom.
With a resigned sigh, she kept walking. She wasn't sure whether it was the way he said please or the fact that she didn't want him losing sleep over her that had her giving in. She would pack some "shit" and go home with him. But not wanting to seem a complete pushover, when she reached her bedroom door she turned her head to look back at him. "The only reason I'm doing this without a fuss is because you said please. Remember that, Mr. Bossy." She disappeared into her room before he could reply.