Vance slowly eased away from the kiss, pressing his forehead against Coley’s. “We need to stop.”
Coley closed her eyes, trying to regain her composure. “I don’t want to stop.”
Vance pulled away just enough to kiss the tip of her nose. “This kiss is more complicated than just a simple kiss. You know that.”
“I don’t care.”
“I do.” Vance pulled away so he could look into Coley’s green eyes. “You know me, Coley. You know who I am and what that means.”
“Yes.”
“Then you know that the next time we kiss, if we kiss, you will be mine.”
25
The last few days, Vance’s mind had been consumed by Coley. He couldn’t get her out of his head. The way her body felt against his, the way the unruly curls of her hair smelled as she struggled in his arms, and the way her eyes sparkled an enchanting green as they locked with his. Then, there was the kiss. The amazing, breath taking, life altering kiss, had haunted his daily thoughts. He truly had lost his mind over this girl.
He had wanted to act on his feelings for her for quite some time but never did. She was Coley for Christ’s sake! Caine’s little sister. He knew better than this, but when they were at the party, he couldn’t help himself. His mind swam with all the possibilities of what could go wrong… and also, what could go right. The only thing he did know was he needed to speak with Caine. He owed him that before he went any further. If Caine had a problem with it, then he would have no choice but to respect the man’s wishes. Nerves racked through him at the thought of that, but he still knew what he needed to do. He was happy that Caine was meeting him at the bar and hoped it wouldn’t end with his best friend punching him out.
“Hey, man,” Caine greeted as he pulled up the barstool next to Vance.
“Hey. How’s life treating you? You and Neely still doing good?”
“It couldn’t be better. That girl is more than I could ever ask for,” Caine gushed.
They spent the next half hour small talking and enjoying their beers. Vance thought it best to let Caine have a few beers in him to soften the blow of the news he was about to throw his way. Not to mention, needing the liquid courage to muster up the ability to spill his guts.
“So, Caine, I’m interested in your sister.” He decided to just be direct and come out and say it.
Caine choked on his beer. “What? Are you fucking kidding me? Coley?”
“Yes. Do you have a problem with that?” Vance was prepared to walk away from any future with Coley if it was going to upset Caine. He respected their friendship entirely too much to risk it.
Caine paused for a long while. “No. But damn, dude. Do you know what you’re getting yourself into? Coley is a huge pain in the ass. She’s my sister and I love her dearly, but I always said I would pity the man who took her on.”
“Well, it hasn’t gone anywhere yet. I wanted to ask your permission before I continued on. But, Caine, I can tell you that I haven’t thought about much of anything else but her lately.”
Caine chuckled. “Jesus Christ, you are going to have your hands full with her. I don’t think she’s going to go for our lifestyle you know.”
Vance nodded in agreement. He knew that this was an obstacle they would be facing. Coley at least understood what his beliefs were and there was no secret that needed to be revealed. But convincing her that she too wanted to be part of it was going to be a challenge.
“She sure as hell needs a strong man like you. But man…” Caine shook his head as he let out a light laugh.
Vance took another sip of his beer. “Any advice?”
“Let me tell you about Coley. She’s full of life, spontaneous, impulsive, and at times just plain reckless. She doesn’t open up to many, and I’ve never seen her in a serious relationship. But she does love with her full heart. She gives everything to the ones she cares about. So, if you can be so fortunate as to win her heart… well, then you’ll be one lucky man.”
“I hope so, man. I really do.”
Their conversation was interrupted as some more of their buddies joined them for a beer. The evening was going as well, or better, than Vance had hoped for, but now that he had gotten the green light from Caine, Vance couldn’t wait to see Coley again. His thoughts were lost in figuring out how he would see her again when he heard Caine perk up.
“Hey, baby! What a surprise!” Caine exclaimed. “What’s wrong? Is everything all right?”