“Come on.” He pulled her along, back inside. He walked over to the bar. “Whiskey,” he demanded, wiping the blood from his mouth with his sleeve.
The girl that was tending bar set a couple of shot glasses down along with the bottle, glancing at him warily. Cole picked up the bottle and poured two shots. He turned and slid one in front of Angel.
She looked at him and knew better than to say no. He raised his glass and stared at her until she lifted hers to her lips. They both drank. His eyes never left hers.
Angel got the feeling he was angry with her. Did he think she’d been to blame? That she’d done something to bring on that man’s attention? The crowd began shuffling back in.
“Cole?” she whispered.
He turned back to the bar, setting his drink down. Then he leaned both arms on the bar and stared down at his glass.
Suddenly, Mack was there leaning close to Cole’s ear. He said something in a low voice and walked away.
Angel could see the muscles in Cole’s jaw clenching. She watched as he grabbed the bottle, poured himself another shot, and knocked it back. Then he slammed the glass down on the bar.
He turned and looked at Angel, staring her down.
Angel wished she could read his expression, but she couldn’t. “Cole? Are you angry with me?”
Reaching over, he took her empty shot glass from her hand and set it back on the bar. Then he pulled her along toward the stairs.
She followed him up toward his room. She stood quietly as he unlocked the door and pulled her inside. She turned to look at him.
He closed the door and reached for the deadbolt.
She heard the bolt click as it slid into place, and then he was leaning back against the door, staring at her. Angel didn’t like the stern look on his face. It scared her.
They stood looking at each other.
She noticed the bruising on his face and reached up to touch it.
“Uhm.” The groan slipped out, and he pulled his head back away from her touch. “Don’t”
“Your face…” She put her hand to her mouth and backed away.
***
“Go ahead. Say it,” Cole growled watching her back away.
“Say what?”
He shook his head and smirked. “What you’re thinking, I can see it in your eyes.”
“When you lose your temper like that… you scare me.”
A flare of anger edged his voice. “I scare you? Maybe you’re starting to see me for who I really am.”
She shook her head and backed up another step. “No. That’s not true. That’s not who you are.”
The fight had gotten his blood up. It brought out the darkness in him, the aggressive side. He took a step toward her.
She backed up, but she had nowhere to go.
They both knew that.
He slowly stalked her to the other side of the room, talking as he advanced. “Maybe that’s exactly who I am. Wanna bury some bodies and get away with it? I’m your man. But the kind of man you need, Angel? I won’t ever be that guy. It’s not in me.”
“That’s not true.” She kept backing up until she was just a few feet from the interior paneled wall.
“Isn’t it?” He stopped a few feet from her.
“You don’t know what kind of man I need.”
Maybe he needed to show her what kind of man he was, just what an asshole he could be. He sure didn’t want to stand here and talk about this shit. That wasn’t why he’d brought her up here. His eyes studied hers. “Take off your clothes.”
She looked at him, stunned. Her mouth came open slightly.
Cole watched her tongue dart out and wet her lips.
“What?” The word was barely a whisper.
“Take off your clothes for me, Angel. You did it enough times the past few days.”
“Cole. I… not like this. Not when you’re angry.”
“This isn’t a negotiation.”
***
Angel looked at him, saw the seriousness of his expression and heard the deadly tone in his voice. She wasn’t afraid of him. She knew deep down he would never hurt her. But something was eating at him, something dark, and she wasn’t sure she knew how to soothe the beast. Maybe if she complied, once they were in bed—
“I’m waiting.”
Slowly, she reached up, pulled her shirt over her head, and tossed it to the floor.
He stood looking at her.
She knew he was waiting for her to continue. Without breaking eye contact with him, her hands reached down and pulled her boots off. They fell to the floor. Thud. Thud. She undid her jeans and slowly pushed them down her legs, stepping out of them, and kicking them to the side. She noticed his gaze flicker over her body, taking in her long legs, her lace bra and panties, and then they came back to her eyes.
“The rest.”
She reached around, undid her bra, and let it fall to the floor, moving her hands to cover herself.
He shook his head.