And then, just as suddenly, he releases me.
I fall back in my seat, breathless.
He stares at me with eyes that look golden in the streetlight instead of their usual brown. “You’re lucky we’re not in The Captain or I’d fuck you so hard you wouldn’t walk straight tomorrow.”
And as if that’s the definitive answer to our discussion, he turns forward and starts the car, backing out of the parking place.
I’m a tangled mess in the passenger seat. Heat pulses between my legs and flushes through all my veins. Tears still smear my cheeks and my lips are bruised and swollen from his onslaught.
As he pulls back on the highway, he says, “I didn’t mean it that way, Bailey.” He doesn’t look at me, just keeps his eyes on the road. A muscle in his jaw flexes. “I don’t force myself on women. I want you to know that.”
I straighten myself out, adjust my clothing, sit forward in my seat. Why am I still breathless? “I know,” I puff out. “You’ve proven that, Cole.”
“It does something to me when you cry.” His voice is strangled and I detect confusion in his voice, like he’s surprised by his own reactions. “I mean I always want to fuck you, but then you go and cry for me and I want to fucking consume you.” He shakes his head. “Nevermind. That doesn’t make sense. Am I scaring you?”
“No,” I whisper. It’s only partly a lie. He’s exciting me.
As we drive back, Cole offers, “My mom ran away with the Wolf Ridge High math teacher.”
“Oh shit.” I cover my mouth with my hand.
“Yeah. Talk about a fucking scandal. They left town together and we haven’t heard from her since.”
“Not even you and Casey? She hasn’t tried to contact you?”
“Nope.” His face is a brutal reflection of bitterness and hurt.
“That’s fucked up.”
“No shit.” Cole pulls into the school parking lot. “So that’s when our household collapsed. My dad started drinking. It affected his job. You know what happened next.”
“He got fired and they hired my mom in.” I whisper. “And Jesus, what are the chances of us moving in next door? I keep thinking with how small Wolf Ridge is, the realtor should’ve warned us or something. I mean, didn’t she know? Seems like everyone knows everything here.”
Cole grimaces. “Oh she knew. She probably figured it was my dad’s due punishment. When the Wolf Ridge Brewery shut down for three weeks, three quarters of the town went on reduced pay. He was and probably still is the least favorite pa—I mean, town—member.”
“Well, that’s fucked up. Someone should get him some help instead of judging and condemning.”
“He wouldn’t take anyone’s help. My dad’s a stubborn asshole when it comes to admitting any weakness.”
“Hmm.” I don’t say how much that sounds just like him, but he picks up my tone.
“Shut up, Pink.” He doesn’t sound pissed, though. He turns my car off, leaving the keys in the ignition.
Cole
I touch the crack I put in Bailey’s dash. “I didn’t mean to hurt New Start. I will fix it for you, I promise.”
The approaching full moon is definitely getting to me. I swear I nearly marked Bailey back there. One minute I locked lips with her, the next my wolf was right at the surface. Like my canine teeth elongated to giving her a mating mark.
I’ve never had that happen before. Not even at the worst of the raging puberty hormones.
I have to wonder if it’s because there’s more at play here than sex. I don’t just want to fuck her—Bailey’s under my skin. I want to hold her hand and make her laugh and hear her dreams. And yeah, fuck her until she screams.
And fuck if any of that is possible.
She’s human.
Not a suitable mate. Definitely forbidden. And the daughter of the enemy.
That doesn’t stop me from wanting her.
But not during the full moon. I need to keep away until it’s over. Just a few more days.
“Thanks,” she murmurs. I eye her, trying to gauge how mad she is over it. I can get Bo’s uncle, Greg, to order a new dash right away, but I don’t have the money to pay for it. I might be able to talk Greg into spotting me, but that’s a big might.
“Are you coming to the game Saturday?”
“Of course,” she says, like it’s always been her and me. Like she didn’t flip me off last time I asked her to come. Well, told her to come. Her easy acceptance makes me warm and itchy. Like I need to be careful because someone’s going to get hurt.
Both of us are if I don’t put the brakes on this.
Trouble is, I don’t want to.
“You’d better,” I say. “I’ll be looking for you. But I can’t hang out after the game. We’re doing team building all weekend,” I lie, putting up barricades now while I still have a little control.