Page 19 of Bedding the Biker Next Door

His body ached with want, overriding coherent thought. He reached out and touched her face. For a few moments, she stared at him, her eyes darkening. Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips. Her gaze dropped to his mouth, and she whispered, “Cole,” her voice unsteady.

He said nothing, just closed the space between them, and covered her mouth with his. He put his hands on either side of her face. Their lips brushed back and forth lightly in a whisper-soft kiss before he pressed harder and opened her with his tongue.

“Mmm…” she moaned softly through the kiss.

She tasted fresh and sweet, and he relished the heat spreading in the pit of his belly. He slid his hand down the side of her face to her neck then over her shoulder and down her arm. He felt goose bumps rising on her silky skin.

“Wait. Stop.” She breathlessly pushed him back.

Cole was breathless, too. Breathless and confused. Why had she stopped him?

“I can’t do this.” She shot to her feet.

Cole stood up, too. “Okay, that’s okay. Can I ask why?”

“I just can’t, I’m sorry. I’m really attracted to you, Cole. Obviously. But you’re going through so much right now. If I had known that last night, I never would have….”

“You never would have what? Taken advantage of me? Because I have to tell you, I wouldn’t mind you taking advantage of me again.”

“We’re neighbors now,” she said.

“Not for long.”

“That’s right. You’re going to pack everything up and move to San Francisco. Are you going to sell the house I’m living in, too?” Her eyes brimmed with worry.

The abrupt turn in the conversation threw Cole. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t considered how selling the rental house would affect her. But he was planning on selling the house—both houses—and investing the money into the expansion of Frontline. That meant Jill would have to find someplace else to run her daycare.

An unwelcome suspicion swept through him. Again, he considered her change of heart by coming over.

Was the possibility he was going to sell the house the real reason she was here? Had she come over to try and talk him out of selling? The idea that she’d been motivated by her own agenda rather than any genuine desire to be with him made him flinch. And say incredibly stupid things.

“Why do you want to know, Jill? Are you hoping to change my mind? Because it would take more than cookies for that. Or is that why you kissed me back?”

Her eyes widened. Her face paled. Her expression…

Jesus, she looked like he’d just smacked her in the face. “Did you seriously just say that to me?”

Yeah, he had. Because he was an idiot. “Fuck. That was an asshole thing to say.”

“You’re right. It was,” she said stiffly before standing. “Goodbye, Cole.”

“Wait. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

But she wasn’t buying it. She opened the door and stepped out. She paused on the front stoop to turn and face him. “Before last night, I’d never—and what you just accused me of, I’d never…” She shook her head. “That’s not who I am. But how would you know that? You don’t even know me. And I don’t really know you, do I?”

“That’s not true. Please, Jill. Come back inside, so we can talk.”

“No. I don’t want to. Right now, I’m thinking I don’t ever want to see you again, Cole.”

With that, she was gone. And this time, he was pretty sure she wasn’t coming back.

Chapter Seven

The next day, after a restless sleep in his old room and a brutal morning workout at a nearby gym, Cole still burned with guilt over what he’d said to Jill the night before. He was a fool for jumping to conclusions and letting unfounded suspicions make him lose control of his mouth. More than once last night, he’d barely managed to stop himself from going over to her house. Today he’d go over and apologize, though he’d wait until her work day was over before bothering her.

Dropping his gym bag in the hall, he got straight to work, packing up everything in the living room except his mother’s knickknacks.

After filling several boxes with stuff, he took down framed photos and paintings from the walls, things that had become so familiar to him he’d barely noticed them anymore. Now that he had packed most of it up, the space seemed overly large and empty, like a shell more than a home.

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