Read Online Cole (The Ride Series) by Megan O'Brien - Free Book Online Page A

to have his presence as well.
    “What do we do about the door?” I
asked, looking at the now splintered front door.
    He looked down at the baseball bat by
my feet and took it over to the door wedging it underneath the handle forcing
it closed. “Anyone opens it, the alarm will sound, but I doubt anyone would
dare with my bike parked out front,” he said confidently.
    He was probably right. And I couldn’t
deny that I was relieved to have someone else take care of things for a change.
I hadn’t known Cole long but I already trusted him, something beyond rare for
me.
    “Bed, babe,” he said softly, taking in
my frazzled state.
    I nodded before turning to Kat. “I’m
so sorry Kat,” I whispered, my voice hoarse with emotion.
    “Don’t you ever say you’re sorry.   This is
not your fault. I won’t ever accept that type of apology. Got it?” she
demanded. Kat had already done so much for me and now I was bringing my shit
directly to her door. There was no way I couldn’t be sorry, but I knew her well
enough to bite my tongue.
    I nodded without speaking and headed
off to my room. I heard Cole speak to her for a few moments as I crawled back
underneath the covers, but I couldn’t hear what they said. He entered the room
moments later, ditching his jacket, shirt, and jeans--leaving him in nothing
but boxers. I was too upset to appreciate the view, which was unfortunate.
    He crawled into bed and didn’t
hesitate pulling me against him.
    “How did you know?” I asked quietly,
resting my head on his firm chest. His skin was warm and he smelled amazing. My
senses were rapidly returning it seemed.
    “Wes did a drive by,” he explained.
“Why didn’t you call?” he demanded lightly.
    The thought honestly hadn’t even
occurred to me. “Because it’s the middle of the night and we’ve been on one
date,” I replied, clearly baffled by his question.
    “You’re so not getting this,” he
muttered, but didn’t elaborate.
    I lifted my head and looked him in the
eye. “I’m gonna leave town Cole, it’s for the best,”
I said softly.
    His eyes narrowed and his grip on the
back of my neck tightened.
    “I’ve been patient and tried to let
you figure it out in your own time but clearly that isn’t gonna happen,” he sighed, exasperated. “Babe, I’ve staked my claim. You’re mine.
You’ve been mine since you got on the back of my bike,” he decreed.
    My eyes widened in shock.
    “You know it, I know you do. You’re
the exception to my rule,” he whispered, roughly giving me another neck squeeze
and bringing his forehead to mine.
    And I realized that I did know that,
I’d been fighting it, but I knew it. And while part of me wanted to squeal with
joy, the other part felt complete trepidation.
    “All this shit, it’s not your
responsibility or your fault,” he continued. “We got word that fucker Jake and
some others are making plays against us,” he informed me. “I’d a been in this
shit whether you were here or not. You’ve just proved to be a damn good way to
get us riled,” he muttered.
    That did make me feel better I had to
admit. But I was still confused.
    “So this isn’t just Jake trying to
fuck with me?” I asked, my brows furrowed. It’s what
I’d assumed all along.
    I felt Cole’s entire body stiffen, we
hadn’t talked about the details, but I assumed his father had filled him in on
my history, the pieces he knew anyway.
    “I don’t doubt he’s fucking with you
sweetheart,” his deep voice rumbled. “But there’s a lot more to it than just
that,” he explained. “And for now, the less you know, probably the better,” he
added.
    I nodded, surprisingly fine with that.
    “So no more talk of leaving town or
apologizing to your best friend for that piece of shit,” he said, firmly
looking intently into my eyes. He doesn’t deserve anything of yours, not one
fucking thing but especially not fucking guilt. You get that?” he demanded.
    I nodded. “Yeah, I get it,” I