honest. This is what I want. Take care of yourself, Cole.”
Cole cupped her cheek, registered the determined look in her eyes, then reluctantly gave in. “Fine. But I’m walking you out and waiting with you until you get in the cab.”
“Cole—”
He pulled her back down for another kiss that quickly escalated into more. Knowing the longer she delayed leaving, the harder it was going to be for her to leave at all, she finally pulled back and sighed. “Walk me out.”
He grinned. “After one more kiss.”
Chapter Four
It had been several months since Cole slept through the night, but after being with Jill, he fell into a deep sleep, not waking until the sun poked through the hotel curtains and tickled his face. He awoke feeling rested.
He awoke thinking of Jill.
Not just the intense, mind-blowing sex, her sweet mouth, or her hot body, but the look on her face when she’d pulled off his motorcycle helmet, gleeful from the ride. She’d spread her wings and flown despite her fears, and the exhilaration she’d experienced had somehow transferred to him, making him feel more alive than he had in a long time. That joy for life only intensified when they were in bed.
Maybe it was because she’d left him feeling so damned good, or because he was simply inspired by her own boldness, but being with Jill last night helped Cole start his day with renewed determination. Today, he would deal with his mom’s things.
More than once as he showered and got ready, he found himself missing Jill. Wishing she was still there. Even though he’d made it clear they’d only be together one night, he hadn’t come close to getting his fill of her. And not just her body. They hadn’t had a chance to talk nearly enough. He wanted to know more about her, who she was, how much further she’d walk on the wild side if given the chance.
He could always call and ask to see her again.
But then he remembered…
He hadn’t gotten her number. Wanting to kick his own ass, he growled and left for home. There, in the half-empty apartment, he packed enough stuff to stay at his mom’s for a few days. If he left before the job was done, it might be another three months before he talked himself into going back again. The housecleaner’s husband had left cardboard boxes in the garage for him, so he just needed to get in, pack, and get out.
Unfortunately, his determination to get the job done waned as he rode back to his mother’s house. By the time he got there, he’d almost changed his mind. Getting rid of her things would mean getting rid of her. No, it wouldn’t Cole , he told himself. His mother’s memory was in his heart, not in her belongings.
Once again, he sat on his bike across the street, staring at the house that had been his mother’s home all his life. He had grown up, screwed up, and shaped up within its walls, and his mother had been his rock the entire time. Everything about that house reminded him she was gone. The longer he stared the deeper the hole in his heart grew. While sitting there, gathering the strength to ride his bike along the side driveway and park it in the rear garage that currently housed his mom’s little hatchback, he saw a dark head poke around the corner from the back of the house.
“What the hell?” Was someone casing the place? He turned off the engine, swung off the bike, and charged across the street. He could see the body that belonged to the head now. It was just a little boy, a tiny one at that. He couldn’t have been more than four or five years old. Why the hell was some kid in his mother’s yard?
Cole glanced over at his mom’s rental house next door. A teenaged girl with a blond ponytail sat in the driveway, which was bordered by a gate and white picket fence. She was surrounded by five toddlers of mixed nationalities. It looked like they were drawing on the sidewalk with an array of colored chalk. Obviously the teen wasn’t the woman his mother had told him about.