Counting On Cole (Wilde Ways #8) - Cynthia Eden Page 0,34
shoulders. “Besides, I’ve got you, don’t I?”
“Yes.” Soft. “You have me.”
“I also have my new bracelet.” She looked down at it. Saw the diamonds sparkle once more. “You can find me anywhere.”
He slid back toward her. His body pressed to hers. “Yes. I can find you anywhere.”
The limo stopped.
She looked through the rear window. Saw the big crowd that had gathered near the red carpet. Her heart raced, but she schooled her expression. She had this.
“I need to get my life back.” She didn’t like being afraid. “So let’s do this.”
She started to ease past him.
He caught her. Pulled her onto his lap. Her dress slid over his thighs. “Cole?”
“Let’s give them the right show when they open the door…”
His hand sank into her hair. Her head tipped back.
She knew what he meant. He was obviously planning some super sexy, hot kiss. Something for the crowd to see. An image for any cameras to catch.
The door began to open.
Maybe I want to be in charge of the show.
Evie licked his lower lip. Sucked that lip. Heard him growl. Then she kissed him. Deep and sweet, slow and savoring. She enjoyed his mouth, and she let the world see it.
***
“What in the hell are you doing with my sister?” Harrison grabbed Cole’s arm and hauled him into the nearest corner. “You’re supposed to be guarding her, not—not—”
“Putting my hands on her? My mouth?” Cole smiled at him, a tiger’s grin. “If she wants them on her, if she wants me, then I will give her exactly what she wants.”
Harrison’s fist swung back as if he’d punch Cole right in the—
Cole caught his wrist, stopping the blow. “I think we need a come to Jesus meeting.”
Harrison choked. “Excuse me?”
Cole glanced over Harrison’s shoulder. As soon as they had entered the massive ballroom, Chase had appeared at Evie’s side. He was currently sticking to Evie like glue while Cole took care of her jerk of a brother. “You won’t keep me away this time.”
“Uh, yeah, I hired you. That’s hardly the definition of keeping—”
“She woke up screaming my name last night.”
Harrison looked away. “She…stopped having those nightmares a while back. It must have been the stress that caused them to return. It must have—”
“You told me that she was better off without me.”
“I stand by that.”
“And I stand by the fact that you’re a giant dick.”
Harrison’s angry stare snapped back to Cole.
Once more, Cole smiled. “An audience is watching us so how about you act like we’re best friends? After all, I am the man who is currently dating your sister.”
“You are not—”
“That’s the cover we’re using. The perps will think I’m easy to eliminate if they believe I’m her obsessed lover, the guy who follows her twenty-four, seven because he can’t stand to be away from her, as opposed to the bodyguard trained to protect her.”
“That’s BS. If anyone looks into your background, they will find out the truth about you! You’re former Delta Force. That shit isn’t hard to figure out.”
“You’d be surprised at how quickly records can change.” He snapped his fingers together. “In fact, if you try to find my background, you’ll see that it’s quite different from what you might suspect.” His brows climbed. “The folks at Wilde are great at creating false trails. Delta Force?” Cole paused, as if to consider that option. “No. Not me. I’m a real estate developer. Your father and mine were friends ages ago. I knew Evie in the past. In fact, we had a hot and heavy relationship about two years ago.” It was always better to include bits of truth in a lie.
Harrison flushed a very unbecoming shade of red. “Stop talking about fucking my sister.”
“We broke up,” Cole carried on smoothly, quietly, “but we’re back together. And we have your full blessing.”
“The hell you—”
Cole lowered his voice a little bit more. “I can break you in about fifty different ways, and if it weren’t for the fact that your sister is currently staring at us, I’d be doing just that.”
“You’re threatening me—”
“You came between me and something I want very badly. You misled me. I won’t ever forget that.” He grabbed Harrison’s shoulder. To onlookers, it would look like a casual touch between friends. It wasn’t casual. He was squeezing those nerves just right.
Harrison wasn’t flushing any longer. He’d turned stark white.
“I need this cover story to be close to her. You’re going to back me up, Harry. The attackers are waiting for a moment where she’s vulnerable. If