Page 58 of Death Wish

My mouth opened to curse him out, but Cole’s grip tightened on my upper arm. “It’s okay,” I mumbled instead.

“Great!” Cole said, gently steering me toward the motel room labeled 2. “You know I don’t care for Monty’s mattresses. No support for my back.”

Leonard smiled broadly, revealing a few missing teeth. “That’s because he stuffs them with newspaper.”

With a quick wave, he ducked back into the office and closed the door.

When I turned back to Cole, he had his finger to his lips, telling me to stay quiet. With a quick swipe of a plastic key, we went inside the motel room.

The décor of the place was very simple and very…brown. One king-size bed with a beige and brown patterned quilt, tan painted walls, and an ancient box TV on an equally brown wooden dresser filled the small space. Like something out of a seventies’ sitcom. It was plain but functional and surprisingly clean. I had expected much worse.

The moment I heard the door click shut and Cole flick the lock, I spun on him. So many things were bubbling up inside me, I was about to explode. And I pretty much did, the words spilling out of me in a jumbled rush.

“A hooker? A hooker! He thought I was a hooker?” I gestured to my simple clothes—dark jeans, a tank top, boots, only accessorized by my leather gloves. No neon fishnets. Not even a speck of makeup on my face. “Do I really look like a hooker?” When he opened his mouth to respond, I cut him off. “Wait, don’t answer that.”

Cole crossed his arms.

That only fueled my annoyance. “And you—” I stepped toward him, pointing. “That kiss! What the heck was that about? You… You…”

The slow spread of one of his sexy smiles stole the rest of my sentence. The memory of his lips on mine sprang up again, and instantly, my anger extinguished, leaving me gaping there like a fish out of water.

Cole casually waved my accusatory finger away from his face. “I had to make it convincing. I didn’t expect you to get so flustered.”

I paused.

I was flustered. But why? I wasn’t sure. That kiss may have taken me off guard, but it shouldn’t have had me gushing like a teenager. Maybe it was because, deep down, I had wanted that kiss to happen, but not exactly that way. Or maybe I was disappointed in myself for not being able to control my body’s response to his touch. No man had ever made me feel so out of sync with myself. And I didn’t like it.

“You have to know what to do and say to get what you want in my line of business. Got to be a quick thinker and an even quicker shooter.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Well, you can’t just go around kissing people. That’s not how this works.”

He took a step closer to me, his body a breath away from mine. Close enough for me to smell his intoxicating scent again. “Really? Because I was under the impression that you enjoyed it.”

I swallowed roughly, trying to keep myself composed. Trying but failing.

Man, he was gorgeous. Breathtakingly handsome but with a rugged, dangerous quality that made my heart pound.

“Or was I wrong?” Without waiting for an answer, he leaned in and captured my mouth again. Unlike last time, this kiss was hard, full of passion and urgency, as if he had been wanting to do this for a long time.

My own desire surged, and instead of resisting, I gave into it completely, matching his movements equally. My hands snaked behind his neck and tangled in his hair.

No longer holding back, Cole’s arms came around me and cupped my bottom, half picking me up to press me against the wall.

I missed being alive. I missed being able to feel another person’s body against mine. It had only been a year, but so much had happened in that past year with Styx Corp. and my reaping that it felt more like a lifetime.

Cole’s hand traveled along my thigh and guided it over his hip. That’s when I felt him, all of him, pressing against my jeans, ready and willing to take that next step with me.

Was I really about to do this? With a person I had just met and wasn’t even sure I trusted fully?

A strange vibration against my thigh made me hesitate. Cole did, too, pulling away from our kiss and glancing down at my jeans.

Confused, he stepped back and let me down.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the velvet pouch I had gotten from Marla. Even in my hand, it trembled, as if something inside were trying to get out.

Cole stared at it. “What the heck?”

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