and white. Good guys, bad guys.”
“And which are you, Cole?”
He pulled back slightly, shaking his head. “Trust me, Angel. You don’t want to know.”
“I don’t understand you. First you-”
He cut her off harshly. “Baby, I sold my soul to the devil a long time ago. Don’t go lookin’ inside my head. You won’t like what you find.”
At his anger, she backed down, and said nothing.
“So, I guess our time together is coming to an end,” he added.
She didn’t reply. She wasn’t sure why it hurt so much to hear him say that.
“Some people have a hard time saying goodbye,” he looked at her, raising his eyebrows, and shaking his head. “I’m not one of ‘em.”
She reached up, and pushed his arms away, and stepped away. She turned her back to him, not wanting him to see the affect his words were having on her. “Sure, I understand.”
She felt him move to stand behind her. She stood still, barely breathing, wondering if he would touch her. Aching for him to put his arms around her, and pull her back against him. But he didn’t.
“Do you? Look at me, Angel. Look.”
Reluctantly she turned to face him.
“I thought it’d be easy.” He ran a finger gently down her cheek.
“What?”
He shrugged. “Take what I wanted. Walk away.” He saw the hurt in her eyes. Well, she might as well know the truth. “It’s nothing I haven’t done a hundred other times.”
She tried to turn away, but he reached out, and grabbed her hand, pulling her back. “But nothing about you has been easy. This time…” he broke off, shaking his head.
She wet her lips. “Yes?”
He stared down at her a long moment, and then admitted, “I’ve cut a lot of women loose in my life. But…I don’t want to cut you loose, baby.”
She shook her head, and whispered, “I don’t want you to.”
He blinked. “You don’t?”
“Do you know what I want?”
He studied her, and shook his head. He didn’t have a clue what was in her head right now.
“Right now, more than anything, I want you to push me down on that bed. I want to feel you on top of me.”
“Goddamn, woman. The things you say,” he whispered, looking at her, stunned.
“It’s the truth.”
He reached up, and took a lock of her hair in his hand, idly caressing it with his thumb. “Truth. Truth I can handle. The rest…well, I can’t promise you a thing. You understand?” he murmured.
Their eyes held. “I know.”
“You may not always want to hear the truth, but I promise I’ll look you in the eye, and give it to you straight.”
She nodded.
“Okay.”
Her gaze dropped to his mouth. That was all the invitation he needed. He took her face in his hands, running his fingers into her hair, and tilted her face up to his. He held his mouth just above hers, and whispered, “This won’t last. You know that, don’t you?” And then his mouth closed over hers.
Maybe not, but she was here now.
He pushed her down onto the bed, coming down on top of her. He rose up over her, and looked down into her eyes. “Do you know what you do to me?”
“Tell me.”
“I’d rather show you.” He took her hand in his, and guided it to the front of his jeans. “Do you feel that baby? That’s what you do to me.”
She smiled, and he smiled back.
He raised his hand to her cheek, and looked down at her tenderly. Lowering his head to hers, he kissed her softly. He worked his way across to her ear, and whispered, “The way you make me feel. It’s not like any woman before. I want you to know that.”
Angel’s eyes slid closed as his mouth moved softly, seductively down the arched line of her neck. She sighed, wrapping her arms around him.
He groaned deep in his throat, and tightened his arms around her, his leg moving over her, holding her down. “I may never let you go.”
That night, Cole lay in bed. He could hear music coming from downstairs. He looked over at Angel. She was fast asleep. He kissed her on the cheek, and got out of bed. He got dressed, and softly closed the door on his way out.
He walked down the hall, the music and talking getting louder. He walked down the stairs, and into the main room. Glancing around, he saw that the guys were all back, some shooting pool, some at the bar. He walked over to the bar, and sat down next