Page 18 of Bedding the Biker Next Door

“No, no. Don’t be sorry. My mom loved kids. I’m sure it was fun for her having you guys next door.”

“Yes, she liked to sit on the porch and watch them play.”

Just like she’d do when Cole was a kid. He stood. “You want some water? I think I’m going to get some water.”

“Sure, water would be great,” she said.

Cole went into the kitchen and poured two glasses of ice water. He drank half his glass before heading back into the living room.

“Here you go.” He sat down next to Jill again. “So what part of LA are you from?”

“I grew up in Orange County.”

“Oh, an O.C. girl. Is Daddy a doctor?”

A strange look crossed Jill’s face. She seemed to recover quickly before she said, “No, he was an artist.”

“Was?”

“Yes. He passed a few years ago.”

Cole craned his neck to catch her downcast gaze. “Now I’m the one who’s sorry.”

She shrugged. “It’s okay.”

He could tell it wasn’t, but she didn’t seem any more interested in talking about her father than Cole was in talking about his mom, so he let it go.

“So what do you do, Cole?” Jill folded her hands in her lap.

She’d entered into the banal, let’s-get-to-know-each-other type of discussion. Definitely different from the Jill he’d known last night…the woman who’d all but ordered him to fuck her. Was that woman really so different from the Jill who sat sedate and prim on his couch?

Didn’t matter, really. He’d let her set the pace in whatever this now was between them. Friendship? Neighbors? His mind was all for the new dynamic, but hell—his body still wanted her, and bad. “I’m self-employed. I co-own a security company.”

“Security? Like for weddings and parties, things like that?”

He fought to keep from brushing his fingers through her hair. Indulging himself in the silken strands. “No, more like for rich, famous people. Rock stars, movie stars, politicians…”

“Wow, seriously? Who’s the most famous person you ever did security for?”

“I can’t tell you her name, it’s all confidential.” He looked around dramatically like he was making sure no one was listening, then said in a conspiratorial tone, “What I can tell you is she’s pretty famous for her…assets. My partner and I had to charge her double for protecting it—I meant them—if you know what I mean.”

Jill laughed. The sound loosened Cole’s muscles. Focus, Cole, he told himself. Relax. Enjoy the company of a woman for who she is, not how she makes you feel. He took another cookie and bit into it.

“What made you want to go into the security business?” she asked.

He shrugged. “We live in LA. It’s a hotbed of celebrities and big shots, right? A friend who I’ve known forever agreed it could probably turn into a lucrative business, and it has. In fact, business is so good we’re going to open an office in San Francisco.”

“Oh, that’s right. You mentioned moving north earlier.”

“That’s the plan. At least, until the business is established.”

She nodded and sipped her water.

Cole watched her face. Was he imagining things, or did it seem to bother her that he’d be leaving LA? They barely knew each other, so that didn’t make sense. Neither did his own reaction to the idea he might not see her again.

Fuck. Why was he pretending he didn’t want to see her again, when all he wanted was to take her, caress her, touch and tease and tempt her? Maybe there was a reason she was here. Maybe they were supposed to have more than one night together.

Maybe.

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