Page 12 of Stone Cold Bad
“It belonged to this really cool old lady who always smelled like cinnamon and spoke with a Scottish accent.Everyone called her Noddy, but I’m not sure why.She was a widow, and she lived out here alone.Her family almost never came to see her.I guess they were far away in Scotland or something.”He walked over and picked up a plate from a box.It was one of those old fashioned hand painted porcelain plates you’d seen in an antique shop.Colt smiled weakly at the plate.“My brothers and I would come here sometimes.”His voice was low as if he was thinking back to that time.“Whenever we needed to be away from my dad, we’d get on our bikes and ride over here.Noddy always had oatmeal cookies on this plate.Homemade ones too.None of that store-bought shit.It was weird.She always had them fresh baked like she knew we were coming.”He put the plate down.“She knew what it was like for us.Everyone knew, but Noddy was the only one who made a point of noticing.The rest of the town was scared to death of my dad, but she wasn’t.Even reported him once to child services, but we just ended up in different foster homes.As bad as we had it, it was still better when we were together.”He looked around.“Never felt homesick in my life until Noddy died and they boarded up this place.After a long legal fight between her family members, it finally went on the market.By then, it had weathered away to this pile of wood, but I didn’t care.I’d saved up enough to buy it.”
“I’ll bet Noddy would be happy to know it ended up in your care.”
“Like to think so.”He led me back outside, and we sat on the porch steps.“What about you?How’d you end up with that prick?”
I rarely talked about my past, but there was something about the way those pale green eyes looked at me that made me want to spill my heart out.“Never knew my mom.She left my dad when I was little.But he wasn’t really a dad.”I rubbed my boot over the sand on the bottom step.“He wasn’t abusive or anything like that.He was just this other person living in the same apartment.He rarely paid attention to what I was doing because he just didn’t care.When I was sixteen, I walked past him with a backpack full of my things.He never even looked up from the television.I walked out the door and never went back.Of course, the harsh reality of being homeless hit pretty fast.I met Ray at a burger stand.He was handsome and charming and, most importantly, he could give me shelter and food.And attention.All of a sudden I wasn’t just some invisible person walking around an apartment with a dad who refused to acknowledge my existence.Ray showered me with that attention I craved.For awhile, I was convinced I loved him.Booze and drugs took away the few good traits he had.”
Colt stood up and I followed.
“I’ve never run from Ray before,” I said, “but I’m pretty sure he’ll come looking for me.”
Colt took my hand and led me back to the truck.“Figured that much.And I’m looking forward as hell to that day,” he said darkly.
“No.The last thing I want is to cause trouble for you and your brothers.I’ll stick around here long enough to make some money and then I’ll move on.He’ll have a harder time finding me if I keep moving.”
He stopped when we got to the truck.He stepped closer.My body was wedged between him and the truck.I hadn’t realized how cool the ocean breeze was until his body heat surrounded me.He reached up and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear.“So you’re just going to keep moving from place to place to avoid that asshole?”
“I think that’ll be best.I don’t want to cause you any trouble.”
There it was again, that slight smile that left a crease on the side of his mouth.“Darlin’ it’s too late.I’ve been in trouble since the second you used me as camouflage in that dark hallway.”
His hand moved down along my cheek and back to my breasts.He slipped his hand under my shirt and smoothed his palm over the skin of my stomach and up to my naked breasts.I took a deep breath and swayed backward against the truck.His eyes turned that silvery gray color, that glossy shade that always seemed to appear when he was touching me, which he was doing now with every bit the same mastery as the night before.
I stood by helplessly, knowing I should be ducking away from his touch but unable to do so.I just didn’t have the willpower to deny him.He was that good.
“Colt.”His name came out on a ragged whisper.
“Shh, I know.I’m not going to try anything.I just want to touch you.”His fingers teased and pinched my nipples into tight buds.“Is this making your pussy wet, baby?”He continued to play with my nipples, and I pushed them harder against his touch.
“Yes,” I answered.
He shoved his thigh between my legs.A wide open jeep with music blaring from its speakers rolled off onto the unpaved road leading to the cottage.A could of dust kicked up around it, but I could still see the two girls sitting in the front seat.Colt still hadn’t pulled his hand from my shirt as they rolled over the long weeds and stopped in front of the house.
The girl in the passenger seat, an extremely pretty brunette dressed only in a tiny bikini, grabbed the top of the windshield and pulled herself to standing.She looked at me before turning her attention to Colt.Even then, he kept his hand under my shirt.I pulled out of his reach.
The driver turned down the music.“We thought we might find you here, Colt.Jen and I are headed to Cooper’s Cove for a swim andstuff.You should come.”She made it clear the invitation was just for Colt.
“Yeah?You know how much I likestuff.I might head over there in awhile.”
The girl made a point of sneering at me before sitting back down.The jeep spun around and rumbled off through the same cloud of dust.
“I’ve got to get home,” I said.“Amy is going to take me to talk to her boss, and you don’t want to miss your swim,” I said it briskly, as if it didn’t bother me in the slightest that he was going to the beach to dostuffwith two pretty girls.Of course, it did bother me, and I wanted to kick myself for that.It wasn’t like I didn’t know exactly what kind of guy Colt was, a guy who took pride in fucking a lot of girls.I needed to get that notion tucked firmly in my mind.Just like Amy and I had talked about this morning, guys like the Stone brothers were not worth the headache ...or heartache, for that matter.And more heartache was the one damn thing I didn’t need.
I climbed into the truck and barely said a word the entire ride home.
NINE
COLT
Hunter was sitting on the driveway next to his bike.He looked up over the seat of his motorcycle, and we both watched as Amy and Jade climbed into Amy’s rust covered car.It was an odd, silent moment.Two brothers who had learned not to have any emotional connection to anyone and, yet, we didn’t look away or say a word until the car sputtered off down the road.
Hunter turned his attention back to the bike.“Says she’s got a date with some beer delivery guy or something,” he said offhandedly as if he was making sure that I knew he didn’t give a fuck.
“Street?Yeah, I think she’d be fighting off all sorts of guys if you weren’t always lurking around like a fucking gladiator with his underwear in a bunch.”
“I never tell her not to date.She can do whatever the hell she likes.Makes no fucking difference to me.”
“Yeah, that’s why you’re holding that wrench like you’re going to pound a skull with it.”
