I needed to be worried.
She jumped out of the car looking like all my wet dreams come true. She wore a man’s button-down shirt with a wide leather belt wrapped around her waist and a pair of the sexiest cowboy boots I’d ever seen, provoking my inner caveman.
Forgetting about my lack of shoes, I ran down the steps and took her into my arms.
“That shirt better not belong to some other guy,” I growled against her neck, breathing in her coconut scent that made me giddy.
Grace leaned back and met my eye. “And what are you going to do about it if it is?” she challenged, her eyes alight with mischief.
“Oh, baby girl, you’re playing with fire,” I warned her as I scooped her up and tossed her over my shoulder before bringing my palm down on her butt.
Chapter eleven
Grace
Cole manhandled me like it was nothing. When I’d put this dress on, Gabriella had accused me of doing it to get a rise from Cole and she couldn’t begin to imagine just how right she was.
He carried me up the stairs, tugging on the ends of my dress making sure my ass was covered. It was short, I had to admit that, but I loved the way it made me feel. Like I was sexy, so I’d pushed aside any reservations I had and wore it anyway.
It wasn’t until we were standing on the porch that Cole set me back on my feet.
“Grace,” he began, and the seriousness in his tone caught me off-guard.
When I stepped out of the car and I heard his low growl, I half expected him to bend me over the porch railing and fuck me until my knees shook. Instead, he stepped back, putting distance between us and acting odd.
“Wh-what’s up?” I asked nervously.
“Someone’s here,” he mumbled, and my heart sank. He had someone else here. He knew I was coming, he’d practically begged me to come, and he had someone else already inside.
I wanted to throw up.
I wanted to throw up and I wanted to run.
Cole reached for my hand, but I batted it away. I didn’t want him to touch me. The hurt stung too much. It was palpable. And I hated myself.
“I have to go,” I rushed out as I hurried down the steps heading straight for my car. I needed to get out of there. The realization of how much it hurt was the worst of all. We’d known each other less than a day and if his betrayal hurt this much already, then I couldn’t afford to go and fall in love with him. He’d obliterate my heart without breaking a sweat.
“Grace! Grace!” I heard him call, but I was barely holding myself together. I couldn’t afford to look back. “Grace, would you stop a second please,” Cole begged.
I yanked open my car door and he was right there. Looking at me like I’d kicked his puppy.
“Cole, go inside,” I replied, feeling defeated. “You’ve got company,” I reminded him.
“Yeah, Grace, I do,” Cole confirmed. “And I want you to meethim,”Cole emphasized, snagging my attention.
I froze. “Him?” I asked, and a smile crept back across Cole’s face replacing the worry and removing the deep frown lines between his eyes.
“Zane. He’s a buddy from the army. He just showed up.”
“Oh.”
Cole edged around the car door that separated us, backing me up against my car. “Yeah. Oh. And the only reason I stopped us,” he began, bending down and whispering in my ear, the warmth of his breath tickling my neck. “Is because Zane does not get to see your ass. That ass,” he continued as his hands toyed with the edge of my dress before sneaking under the flimsy material, “is for my eyes only,” he finished before nipping on my ear lobe.
“Oh,” I repeated, unable to think properly or form real words.
“So, are you going to come inside and say hi, or do you still want to run?”
Cole was putting the ball firmly back in my court.
