CHAPTER Ten
They pulled back into the clubhouse parking lot late that night. Angel noticed quite a number of bikes parked. There were a few guys milling about outside, but from the number of bikes, Angel knew that most of them must be inside.
Cole took her by the hand, and led her inside.
She was right. The place was packed, music was blasting, and the air was thick with cigarette smoke. They didn’t get ten feet before Cole was stopped. Several of the brothers greeted him, surrounding them both. She noticed they all looked her over. Some of them she hadn’t seen before.
After a few minutes of talking, Cole pulled her by the hand, and led her over to the bar. It was crowded with men and a few women. Cole shouldered his way through, and grabbed two bottles of beer. He passed one to her, and his arm came up, settling on her shoulders, pulling her to his side. He tightened his hold around her neck, curling his arm, and pulling her in for a kiss. When he pulled back, she noticed Mack staring at her from where he was standing at the end of the bar.
Cole turned, and spoke to Crash, who was sitting on the barstool to their left. Angel noticed Crystal at the other end of the bar, and waved to her, smiling.
Crystal waved back, and motioned her over.
Seeing the exchange, Cole dipped his head to Angel’s ear. “You can go over, and talk to her. It’s okay.”
Angel pushed through the crowd, her beer in hand. She had to stop, and wait for someone to make a shot at the pool table, not wanting to bump him, and mess up his shot. When he was through, he turned, and noticed her standing there.
Angel smiled at him. “Just waiting for you to shoot. Didn’t want to get in the way.”
He looked her up and down, and smiled wickedly, “Darlin’, you can get in my way anytime. What’s your name? Ain’t seen you around here before.”
She smiled, and turned, and made her way over to Crystal. Over the crowd she could hear the man telling her to come back.
“Don’t let him bother you,” Crystal reassured her, looking over Angel’s shoulder. “Wolfman’s harmless.”
“Harmless? I don’t think any of these guys could be called harmless,” Angel scoffed.
“True,” Crystal conceded, smiling. “So, how are you?”
“I’m good,” Angel replied.
“I heard about what happened,” Crystal said softly. “The tattoo.”
Angel nodded.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m okay.”
“I heard you were pretty upset.”
“I was.”
“You know, there are a lot of women that would love to wear that tattoo.”
Angel looked over to where Cole was standing, thinking about the last few days that they’d spent together. “I believe you.”
Crystal nodded toward Cole. “You two seem to be getting along pretty well now.”
Angel smiled. “Yeah. We are.” She looked back at Cole. He and the group of guys around him were all holding shot glasses up in the air. She heard someone yell a toast.
“To money, guns and p-ssy!”
Then Cole responded, “The road to Hell, boys!”
Then Crash shouted, “And too far gone to turn around.”
Then they all chimed in, “The road to Hell!” and downed their shots.
“You’ve been gone for days. Where did you go?” Crystal asked, drawing Angel’s attention back to her.
“He took me down the coast. We stayed a few days in a cabin in Big Sur.”
Crystal’s eyebrows shot up, and she grinned. “Lucky you.”
Angel blushed.
“He likes you. I can tell,” Crystal teased her.
“How can you tell?”
“Hmm. Maybe it’s the way he keeps glancing over here, like he doesn’t want to let you out of his sight.”
Angel turned to look. Cole was talking to Crash, but then sure enough, a moment later, he glanced over at her. When he caught her looking at him, he winked.
Angel smiled, and blew him a kiss.
He smiled back, until Crash reached his hand up in the air, and pretended to catch her kiss. Cole’s palm hit Crash’s forehead, shoving his head back, and Crash about fell off his barstool.
Angel could tell from across the bar that it was all in fun. She turned back to Crystal, and they both giggled.
“See?” Crystal teased.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe? Hon’, I haven’t seen Cole act this way about a girl, well…ever.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Really. Swear to God.”
“How does he usually act, then?”
Crystal shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess, indifferent. You know, like he could take it, or leave it. You know, like that saying, ‘if you miss this bus, there’ll be another one along in a minute’.”
“So, you’re saying there’s just a line of women in his life?”
“Well, apparently not anymore.”
“What makes you think I’m not just one in the line?”
“Because I’m not blind. Any fool can see he’s got it bad for you.”
Mack walked over to the pool table, and leaned down in Wolfman’s ear, and in a hushed voice said, “I need you to do something for me.”
Wolfman turned around after taking his shot, and leaned back against the edge of the pool table, setting the end of his cue on the ground, clenching it loosely in both fists at shoulder height. “Sure boss. What do ya need?”
“See that sweet piece at the end of the bar talking to Crystal?” Mack nodded toward Angel.
Wolfman turned to look. It was the one he’d tried to hit on a few minutes ago. After she’d walked away, Red Dog had set him straight on who she belonged to. “Yeah?”
“I need you to hit up on that.”
“She’s Cole’s, isn’t she?”
“I know who she came with. I need to see how deep he’s in with her.”
Wolfman stared back at him. “F*ck. He’s gonna loose his mind.”
“Just do it,” Mack snapped, and walked away.
Wolfman sighed. “This isn’t gonna end well.”
Angel and Crystal were laughing when she felt someone come up behind her, and slip their hands on her hips. Assuming it was Cole, she smiled, and turned to look over her shoulder at him.
It wasn’t Cole.
She found herself staring into a pair of dark brown eyes. It was the man from the pool table. The one Crystal had called Wolfman. He was about the same height as Cole, but he was dark headed, with a goatee.
The smile faded from her face, and she tried to pull away.
He tightened his hold. “Not so fast, sweetheart.”
“Let me go,” Angel demanded.
He pulled her back against him, and bent his head down along the side of her neck. “You sure smell good, baby.”
“Please, stop,” Angel pleaded, trying to twist away.
“Wolfman, she’s with Cole.” Crystal tried to intervene.
“Stay out of this,” he snapped back at her.
Angel could hear the hush that fell over the crowd around them, and then she saw it part, and Cole was pushing his way through to her.
“Shit,” she heard Wolfman whisper.
Cole yanked Wolfman by the collar, pulling him off her. “You lookin’ for a fight?” he growled.
Wolfman backed up a step. “No, man. Is she with you?”
Cole nodded. “You knew she was when you came over here.”
Angel looked from one man to the other. She gasped when Cole spun her around, and yanked her shirt up.
“You see what that says, a*shole?”
Wolfman’s eyes fell to the tattoo on the small of Angel’s back.
She was mortified, with everyone in the bar watching.
“Outside, now!” Cole demanded, his voice a tight thread of sound.
The crowd stepped back, and the two men headed out the door. The crowd followed, pouring through the exit, into the parking lot.
“Come on,” Crystal grabbed Angel’s hand, and dragged her outside.
The crowd had formed a circle around the two men, and Angel couldn’t see over them. Crystal pulled her toward a picnic table that was outside by the door. They climbed up, and stood on top, and were able to see what was happening.
Cole and the other man were circling each other. Cole charged him, knocking him back into the pavement. He began pounding his face with punches. Wolfman was able to get a swing at the side of Cole’s head, and knock him off. They both scrambled to their feet. Cole came back with a right and left punch. Wolfman answered back with a punch to Cole’s gut.
Angel looked away. She couldn’t bear it. The crowd was now egging them on. The fight continued for another couple of minutes, as they pounded on each other, both taking their licks. Finally, she noticed Mack signal to a couple of the guys to break it up. By then, both of the men were bloody. Cole wasn’t ready to quit, and Crash and Green had to pull him off Wolfman.
“You Goddamn son-of-a-bitch!” Cole yelled at him. Crash and Green were able to back him up, and separate them.
“Cool down,” Crash said.
Cole shrugged them off, and walked over to the picnic table. Crystal climbed down when she saw him coming, leaving Angel alone. Cole stood there, staring up at her.
Angel looked down at him. His mouth was bleeding from the corner, and the side of his face was already starting to bruise and swell.
He reached up to lift her down. His knuckles were cut and bleeding.
She stepped toward him, and their eyes locked.
His hands closed around her waist, and she put her hands on his shoulders. He lifted her down, letting her body slowly slide down his, never breaking eye contact.
“You okay?” he asked.
She nodded.
“You enjoy the show?” he asked sarcastically.
She shook her head. “No, I-”
“Come on.” He pulled her along, back inside. He walked over to the bar. “Whiskey,” he demanded, wiping the blood from his mouth with his sleeve.
The girl that was tending bar set a couple of shot glasses down along with the bottle, glancing at him warily. Cole picked up the bottle, and poured two shots. He turned, and slid one in front of Angel.
She looked at him, and knew better than to say no. He raised his glass, and stared at her until she lifted hers to her lips. They both drank. His eyes never left hers.
Angel got the feeling he was angry with her. Did he think she’d been to blame? That she’d done something to bring on that man’s attention? The crowd began shuffling back in.
“Cole?” she whispered.
He turned back to the bar, setting his shot glass down. Then he leaned both arms on the bar, and stared down at his glass.
Suddenly, Mack was there, leaning close to Cole’s ear. He said something in a low voice, and walked away.
Angel could see the muscles in Cole’s jaw clenching. She watched as he grabbed the bottle, poured himself another shot, and knocked it back. Then he slammed the glass down on the bar.
He turned, and looked at Angel, staring her down.
Angel wished she could read his expression, but she couldn’t. “Cole? Are you angry with me?”
Reaching over, he took her empty shot glass from her hand, and set it back on the bar. Then he pulled her along toward the stairs.
She followed him up the stairs, and down the hall toward his room. She stood quietly as he unlocked the door, and pulled her inside. She turned to look at him.
He closed the door, and reached for the deadbolt.
She heard the bolt click as it slid into place, and then he was leaning back against the door, staring at her. Angel didn’t like the stern look on his face. It scared her.
They stood looking at each other.
She noticed the bruising on his face, and reached up to touch it.
“Uhm.” The groan slipped out, and he pulled his head back away from her touch. “Don’t”
“Your face…” She put her hand to her mouth, and backed away.
“Go ahead. Say it.”
“Say what?”
He shook his head, and smirked. “What you’re thinking, I can see it in your eyes.”
“When you loose your temper like that…you scare me.”
A flare of anger edged his voice. “I scare you? Maybe you’re starting to see me for who I really am.”
She shook her head, and backed up another step. “No. That’s not true. That’s not who you are.”
The fight had gotten his blood up. It brought out the darkness in him, the aggressive side. He took a step toward her.
She backed up, but she had nowhere to go.
They both knew that.
He slowly stalked her to the other side of the room, talking as he advanced. “Maybe that’s exactly who I am. Wanna bury some bodies, and get away with it? I’m your man, but the kind of man you need, Angel? I won’t ever be that guy. It’s not in me.”
“That’s not true.” She kept backing up until she was just a few feet from the interior paneled wall, the desk off to her right, shelving above it, but just empty wall behind her.
“Isn’t it?” He stopped a few feet from her.
“You don’t know what kind of man I need.”
Maybe he needed to show her what kind of man he was, just what an a*shole he could be. He sure didn’t want to stand here, and talk about this shit. That wasn’t why he’d brought her up here. His eyes studied hers. “Take off your clothes.”
She looked at him, stunned. Her mouth came open slightly.
Cole watched her tongue dart out, and wet her lips.
“What?” The word was barely a whisper.
“Take off your clothes for me, Angel. You did it enough times the past few days.”
“Cole. I…not like this. Not when you’re angry.”
“This isn’t a negotiation.”
She looked at him, saw the seriousness of his expression, heard the deadly tone in his voice. She wasn’t afraid of him. She knew deep down that he would never hurt her. But something was eating at him, something dark inside him, and she wasn’t sure she knew how to soothe the beast in him. Maybe if she complied, once they were in bed-
“I’m waiting.”
Slowly, she reached up, and pulled her shirt over her head, and tossed it to the floor.
He stood looking at her.
She knew he was waiting for her to continue. Without breaking eye contact with him, her hands reached down, and pulled her boots off. They fell to the floor. Thud. Thud. She undid her jeans, and slowly pushed them down her legs, stepping out of them, and kicking them to the side. She noticed his eyes flicker over her body, taking in her long legs, her lace bra and panties, and then they came back to her eyes.
“The rest.”
She reached around, and undid her bra, and let it fall to the floor, moving her hands to cover herself.
He shook his head. “Uh-uh. Put your hands down.” Her chin came up a notch, and he watched the defiance flare in her eyes, but, slowly she moved them to her sides. “It’s just you and me here, babe. No reason to be shy.”
She watched his eyes drop to her breasts, and she saw the flame of desire kindle in his eyes. An answering flame ignited in her. She suddenly wanted him to touch her, wanted his hands on her breasts.
His eyes returned to hers, and he arched one brow. “This isn’t a good time to try my patience, Angel.”
She stood before him in barely more than a scrap of lace. But that wasn’t enough. He wanted it all. She slid her panties down, shimmying them down her hips, and they, too, fell to the floor. She stood there, letting him look his fill.
“Let your hair down.” He lifted his chin toward the ponytail she had her hair pulled back in.
Angel raised her arms, and pulled the elastic band free. She shook her head, and her hair spilled around her shoulders. She looked at him, her chin coming up, and Cole could almost see the dare in her eyes.
He slowly closed the distance between them, and took her in his arms, pulling her up against him, her naked body rubbing up against his fully clothed one.
She felt the cold leather of his cut against her nipples, the roughness of his jeans against her belly.
His eyes studied hers as his hands ran over her body, the look in his eyes almost daring her to try to stop him, letting her know he was the one in control here. “This is so you know just who it is you belong to.” When she made no move to stop him, his mouth came down on hers, his tongue delving deep.
Her body responded instantly to his, heat sweeping through it. She felt his hand on her breast, he rolled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, and she moaned under his mouth.
Hearing her moan almost pushed him over the edge, his mouth plundered deeper. Then his hand was trailing over her belly, down between her legs.
At his touch, she sucked in her breath. Her knees felt weak. Her arms came up, and she clutched his shoulders, clinging to him.
Colt felt her respond. He knew just where and how to touch her to have her panting. His fingers slid into her. She was wet and ready. But he was still angry with her, even with the haze of sexual need coursing through his veins, he still had the overwhelming urge to lash out at her. He rose up slightly, looking down into her eyes.
Angel looked up, and saw the sneer on his face.
He taunted her, “You think you know me? You don’t know shit about me, except that we’re good together in bed. That when I f*ck you-”
Without realizing what she was doing, she shoved him back, and felt her palm crack against the side of his face.
He stood still, his face still turned. He took a deep breath. He knew he deserved that slap.
“If you wanted me to believe you were such a bastard, you should have left me at the Dead Souls clubhouse that first night!”
He turned his head back to her. They stood in silence for a split-second, his eyes flashing with anger, and hers shining with tears. Then he bent his head so that they were eye to eye. “Did you really just say that to me?”
She glared up at him. “You are a bastard.” She reached up to shove him backwards again, but this time he caught her wrists.
“Goddamn it!” he hissed through his teeth. Then suddenly, he reached up, and tangled his hands in her hair, pulling her head back. “You’ve got a smart mouth on you, babe. I told you once before I didn’t take lip from anyone, and that includes you.” He reached around her, and the flat of his palm came down, and popped her on the ass.
She sucked in her breath, felt the sting, and then his hand was there, rubbing over the spot tenderly. A sexual jolt shot through her.
“Did you come on to him?”
Finally, she thought, what really had him upset came to the surface. “No. Cole, I swear I didn’t-”
“I saw you smile up at him. He had his hands all over you,” he interrupted darkly. “Mack said he saw you come on to Wolfman.”
She shook her head. “No, Cole. That’s not-”
He popped her on the ass again. “The truth, Angel.”
“It is the truth,” she pleaded.
He was too far gone to stop. “Did you think I’d let him touch you? Let any other man touch what’s mine?” Too late he realized what he’d said, what he’d admitted. He looked down at her mouth, and was lost. He pushed her forcefully up against the wall, and kissed her roughly.
She heard things fall from the shelves, felt the cold, roughness of the paneling against her back and bottom. She didn’t care. She wanted him, wanted this. She didn’t care if he took her right here on the floor. Need swelled in her. She reached for his belt.
F*ck, what was she doing to him? He had to get out of here. She didn’t deserve to be mauled, and the mood he was now in, he didn’t trust himself with her.
The suddenness with which he released her, had her stumbling back, her arms grabbing at the wall to hold herself up.
His eyes ran over her, taking in her lips, swollen from his kisses, her breasts heaving as she gasped for air. He saw the hurt look on her face.
“Cole?”
“I’m sorry, Angel.” Then he noticed that the blood that was still trickling from the corner of his mouth had gotten on her face. He reached up to gently brush the blood from her lips with his thumb, and realized just how much she didn’t belong here. This was no place for her. He shook his head. “I should never have brought you here.” He backed up a step. “You deserve better than this. Better than me. I can’t do this, Angel.” He backed up another step. “I’ve got to go.”
“Go? Go where?”
He turned to leave.
“Cole, wait…”
The door opened.
“Please, don’t go,” she pleaded.
He walked out, slamming the door behind him.