He nodded.“Yeah, babe.I told you we would find them.”
“Shouldn’t you tell the police?”
“So they can fuck it up, and the guys run?”he shook his head.“We’ll handle them.”
That should’ve been reassuring.And it was.Mostly.“Aren’t you going to get into trouble?”I asked.
“Only if we get caught.”
“Are you leaving now?”I asked quietly.
Something flickered across his face, surprise, maybe.Or realization.“No,” he said immediately.“I’m staying here.Wrecker and the guys can find them.They’ll let me know when they get them, and I’ll roll out.I’m here with you until then.”
“This shouldn’t be your guys’ responsibility.What if something bad happens?”I asked.
Cole’s eyes connected with mine.He stepped closer.Not crowding me.Just there.“Something bad already happened, Star.The Fallen Lords are going to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“And what happens after you get them?”It had been a question in the back of my mind.Cole said he was here now while there was danger out there, but what happened after?
“Life goes back to normal.”
“But…” I started.“Us?”
A smile spread across his lips.“Pretty sure there was going to be an us, whether or not those assholes jumped you.”
“Did I impress you when I pinned that guy to the ground?”I laughed.
He shrugged.“Let’s just say you caught my eye before then, babe.”
That was the moment something shifted.
Not fireworks.Not declarations.Just the quiet certainty that he wasn’t here because he had to be.
He was here because he wanted to be.
I swallowed.“You don’t even know how long this could last.”
“I don’t care.”
I laughed softly, shaking my head.“That’s crazy.”
“Probably,” he agreed.“Still not leaving, though.”
I slid off the stool and stood in front of him, close enough to feel his warmth.My hands slid up his chest, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt, and I kissed him.
This one wasn’t tentative.
The kind of kiss that saidI know what I want and I’m not afraid of it anymore.
He made a low sound in the back of his throat and kissed me back like he’d been waiting for permission.His hands framed my face, thumbs brushing my jaw as he deepened it just enough to steal my breath without taking too much.It wasn’t rushed.It was steady and warm.I leaned into him like my body already knew where it belonged.
When we finally pulled apart, we were both breathing a little harder.
He rested his forehead against mine.“You okay?”
I smiled, even as my head swam a little.“I might feel a tiny bit dizzy,” I said lightly.“But nothing another kiss won’t fix.”
His mouth curved.“Yeah?”
