her bra. He pushed her back down, covering her with his body.
She felt the cold metal of his belt buckle pressing against her stomach. She reached for the hem of his tee shirt, and pulled it up.
He helped her.
She tossed it aside as his bare chest came down on hers. She purred in the back of her throat as his mouth closed over hers. Her hands trailed gently over his back, and down along his ribs. She slid her hands between them, reaching for his belt.
He raised up on his elbows, staring down into her eyes as her hands unbuckled his belt, and undid his jeans.
The sound of glass breaking filled the room. Cole stopped all motion, his body coming alert. He rose up a few inches, his head tilted, listening. He heard a car door open out in the carport.
“What was that?” she whispered.
He lifted off her, fastening his jeans. He picked up his gun from the bedside table, and pulled the slide back, loading a bullet into the chamber.
Angel sat up, pulling her dress back on.
Cole looked down at her, and ordered, “Stay here.”
She watched as he slowly opened the sliding door, and disappeared, leaving it open. The curtain blew softly in the breeze. Angel stood up, buttoning her dress, and moved to the curtain. Pulling it aside, she peeked outside.
Cole crept around the corner of the house, and through the gate to the carport. He saw a shadowy figure leaning into the open door of Natalie’s car.
“Freeze, asshole,” Cole said softly.
The guy stepped back, seeing Cole standing there, pointing the gun at him. Cole had a brief impression that this was a teenager, before the guy turned, and ran toward the front yard. Cole dashed after him, firing off a couple of shots over his head. He knew better than to shoot a man in the back. Still the kid kept running. Cole stopped at the end of the driveway, watching him run down the street. Hopefully, that was enough to scare him off, and keep him from ever coming back.
Angel jumped when she heard the two shots. She ran out the door, and around the corner into the carport.
Cole heard the footsteps behind him, and spun around, startled, leveling the gun on her. “Christ, Angel!” He lowered the gun when he saw it was her.
She stopped short, her breath catching in her throat when she realized she’d startled Cole, and he’d almost shot her.
He walked back toward her. “I told you to stay inside.”
She glanced down at the broken glass, and saw the broken window of Natalie’s car. “Oh, my God.”
“Yeah.”
“Someone was trying to steal the car?”
“Probably just after the stereo or whatever he could find inside.” Cole slammed the car door shut.
The outside lights all came on, and Natalie opened the front door. She saw them. “What’s going on? I heard gunshots. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. We’re fine. Someone tried to break into your car, though,” Cole told her.
Natalie came outside, and rushed over to them. She saw the damage.
“You should call the police. File a report. I’m sure they won’t be able to catch the guy, but you’ll need the report for your insurance.”
Natalie nodded, and looked up at the gun in Cole’s hand.
He saw the scared look in her eyes. “You okay?” he asked her.
“Yes. Yes, I’m fine.”
He nodded. “Go back inside. Everything’s okay.”
Natalie nodded, and turned, and walked inside.
Cole tucked the gun in the waistband of his jeans, up against his spine. He looked over at Angel.
She looked over at him, hugging her arms to her, starting to shiver.
He reached up, and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “How about you? You okay?”
She shook her head, and went into his arms.
He pulled her close, tucking her head under his chin, his hand smoothing the hair on the back of her head. “It’s okay, baby. He’s gone. He won’t be back, I promise.”
She held onto him, her face pressed against his bare chest.
Finally, he pulled back, and smiled down at her. “Now, where were we?”
She smiled back.
The distant sound of a siren reached them. Looking up, they saw a squad car slowing down to make the turn into the neighborhood.
Cole looked back at her. “I’ll deal with this. You should go back inside. This may take awhile.”
“Cole, maybe it’d be better if I talked to them. I know you and cops are-”
He cut her off. “I said, I’ll deal with them. Go inside.”