Bedding The Biker Next Door (3 page)

Jill had her back mostly to the guy, but she caught sight of him out of the corner of her eye, sidling up to their table.

“Aw, come on. My friend bet me I couldn’t get you to kiss me.”

“That was a safe bet on his part,” Jill said, unease skittering up her spine.

The man smirked, put a twenty-dollar bill down on the table in front of her, and said, “After we kiss, it’s yours to keep.”

Appalled, Jill and Liz exchanged glances, then Jill fully faced the man. “I’d appreciate it if you took your money and left. Nothing here is for sale.”

The man, taking this as a challenge, stepped even closer. Jill could smell the whiskey on his breath. “Come on. Just one little kiss—”

“She said ‘no’ more than once, but I could use twenty bucks,” a deep male voice spoke from her other side. “Come here, and I’ll kiss you.”

Jill swiveled around. The tall, tattooed man from the bar had joined them. His focus was on Whiskey Breath. Despite his joking words, he looked beyond annoyed even before Whiskey Breath snapped, “Fuck off.”

Dear God, the man must truly be drunk. Anyone could see that Mr. TDTS could wipe the floor with the drunk exec with one flick of his finger. But something in the big man’s eyes, strangely enough, made Jill feel calmer. Safe.

“Well, now you’ve gone and hurt my feelings,” her rescuer drawled. His eyes—a warm chocolate brown with golden flecks—briefly met Jill’s before returning to his prey. That was the only way Jill could think to describe it. He was a predator who’d managed to hold himself in check thus far, but with his coiled muscles and that dark look in his eyes, he was more than ready to pounce.

Jill mentally urged the man who’d been bothering her to turn around and walk away. If he didn’t, she had no doubt he’d be buying himself a world of trouble.

Almost as if she were seeing things unfold in slow motion, Jill watched as Whiskey Breath stepped around her chair and threw a punch at Mr. TDTS, who easily grabbed the other man’s fist in mid-air. In two seconds, Whiskey Breath was face down kissing the table, arm pinned behind his back.

Mr. TDTS looked first at Jill, then at Liz. “I’m sorry about all this, ladies. Some people just don’t know how to act in public.”

The drunk guy’s friend was already headed out the door. Mr. TDTS fished the guy’s keys out of his pocket. “You’re going to call a cab. The keys will be at the bar when you sober up.” He dragged the other man out the front door while several people around them clapped and cheered.

Jill stared after them and eventually snapped shut her gaping mouth. Mr. TDTS looked like trouble but acted like Prince Charming.
I like it,
she thought, imagining him taking her into his arms, spinning her around, and pinning
her
to the table. Her heartbeat sped up a bit and adrenaline rushed through her, sending a strange sensation through her body, similar to a buzz but something else entirely.

“Wow!” Liz gazed after the men with stars in her eyes. “Can’t wait to see what happens when he comes back in.”

If Liz could only see the X-rated images running through Jill’s mind…

Having that beautiful man throw her over his shoulder and take her some place private so she could properly thank him for his assistance wouldn’t even begin to describe her gratitude.

“Didn’t you say you had to leave?” Jill teased in order to throw Liz off the scent. Her breathing was accelerated, and she could feel a deep blush warming her cheeks. Thank goodness the lights were low.

“Did I?” Liz laughed. “Okay, fine, I’m leaving. You be good. And by good, I mean get to know that man better, because I’m sure he’ll be
very
good.” Then her face grew serious. “But be careful. Maybe I should stay.”

Jill shook her head. “Go. I’ll be fine. I’m not going to do anything stupid, I promise.”

Liz sighed. “Too bad safe and stupid are rarely the same thing.” She gave Jill a hug. “Call me so I know you got home okay. And so you can fill me in.” She winked.

“There isn’t going to be anything to fill you in on. I’m going to say thank you to the man for helping us, then head home.”

“Safe. But not fun.” Liz blew Jill a kiss and headed off.

Soon after Liz walked out the door, Mr. TDTS strode back into the bar and headed straight to her, making her pounding heartbeat race even faster. He stopped a couple feet from her table. Even though she stood, she had to tilt her head back to look at him.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his eyes sweeping over her. He really was checking on her, not checking her out, but all the blood in her body zinged right to her already aching core.

“Thank you,” she told him. “You were…amazing.”

He shrugged. “Glad I could help. That joker was drunk. I doubt he’d have the nerve to do any of that while sober.”

“Yeah, he was pretty wasted,” she agreed. “You usually don’t see that here.”

He glanced around at the (now) tame bar, nodded, and turned to her. “I’m Cole.” He held out his hand.

“Jill.” Good, she remembered her own name. That was a start. She slipped her hand into his, reveling in the dry toughness of his skin, and shook perhaps a moment too long.

He hesitated briefly. “Your friend left. Do you need to get going, or can I buy you a drink?”

Now it was Jill who hesitated. It wasn’t likely they had anything in common. But the thought of going home alone suddenly seemed terribly depressing. Why not stay a little while and enjoy his company? When would she ever get another chance to flirt with a tall, sexy man who was obviously kind and charming, too?

Cole grinned, and she suspected her conflicted feelings were written all over her face.

Oh, what the hell,
she thought. She was feeling off-kilter because of what had happened with Whiskey Breath, and her nerves sizzled with attraction for the man standing in front of her. Might as well enjoy it as long as she could.

“I’d love another drink. Thanks.”

* * *

Cole pulled out Jill’s chair, then took his own seat, motioning to a waitress for their drinks. As they waited, he asked, “Are you sure you’re okay?” She seemed to be, and she’d handled herself fine when that drunken ass had bothered her. Even so, when the man hadn’t immediately backed off, a familiar sense of protectiveness had gripped Cole. He hated to see guys acting like dicks, especially to women. He had done everything in his power to keep from ripping the guy in half.

“Fine. Thanks to you, he didn’t touch me.” Jill smiled.
Natural. Pretty
. The drinks arrived and Jill asked, “So you seemed comfortable confronting that jerk. Are you a cop or something?”

It was a perfectly reasonable question, but Cole didn’t like talking about himself. Talk of his job would eventually turn to other things, maybe even his mom, and that was the last thing he wanted. He took a swig off his beer. “Something. What about you?”

“I run a daycare,” she said.

He raised an eyebrow. Daycare. It fit with her girl-next-door looks, and yet it didn’t. As he’d noticed before, there seemed to be more to her than met the eye, something he’d confirmed when she’d gone toe-to-toe with the guy who’d bothered her. Her words had been calm and clear, yet the tilt of her chin had been defiant, and an unmistakable fire had burned in her eyes. All he’d been able to think about was seeing that fire directed at him in a way that was all about pleasure. A way that would make her voice shake with need.

Damn, what had they been talking about?

Daycare. Kids.

He couldn’t imagine working with kids all day. They didn’t exactly scare him, but they seemed like a lot of work. And maybe they did scare him on some level, at least when it came to the idea of having his own. What if he couldn’t handle the responsibility? What if it made him feel tied down? His interests and profession didn’t exactly broadcast Soccer Dad. And Lord knew his own birth father wasn’t a ringing endorsement for parental commitment and proficiency either. The fact Cole didn’t even know the man’s name was proof enough.

“So you work with kids all day. That’s brave.” He almost winced at how lame he sounded, but Jill didn’t seem to care.

She giggled. “Yeah, it can get a little scary sometimes. Are you from LA?”

“Born and raised. What about you?”

“Same.”

He nodded, taking in all her pretty features and smooth skin. Then he realized he’d been silently staring at her, and she was blushing. Catching sight of the dartboard over her shoulder, he cleared his throat. “You ever throw a dart?”

“Once or twice.” Her mouth quirked, as if she was keeping a secret. Then, she got up and strutted over to the dartboard with a confidence that made Cole instinctively realize she’d not only thrown a dart before, but she was probably damned good at the game.

Like he’d suspected, she wasn’t all sweet and sugar, but a little spice, too.

God, he wanted to take a big, long bite out of her.

Cole pushed back his chair, walked to the dartboard, and plucked the darts out one by one. He handed the three with red flags to her, keeping the blue ones for himself. “Ladies first.”

As she took the darts, their fingers touched, and his mind went straight to imagining all the things his fingers could do to her. And what she could do to him—after she recovered from the series of mind-blowing multiple orgasms he’d give her, that is.

“I can show you how to throw if you want,” he offered, a slight smile gracing his mouth.

She licked her lips, then nodded. “Sure. That would—that would be great.”

He positioned himself behind her, wrapped one arm around her waist, and cradled her other hand in his, helping her take aim. He didn’t care about the dart or the game, of course, and neither did she. He only wanted to envelop his body around hers even tighter, and eventually, he’d want hers wrapped around him. And from the way her body shivered almost imperceptibly against his, he thought maybe, just maybe, she wanted the same thing.

“All you need to do is focus. Are you focused?”

She nodded.

“Are you visualizing what you want, Jill?” he asked, his warm breath near her ear.

Because he sure as hell was. He imagined stripping her naked. Sliding those jeans right off of her. Lifting that tight, pink shirt to bare what he suspected was a gorgeous body. Running his tongue along ever inch of her. Man, it was nice to feel normal again.

She nodded in response.

“Say it,” he commanded, wanting confirmation that she was as revved up as he was.

She swallowed audibly, and he glanced down, watching as her chest hitched with her efforts to draw in enough air. “Yes, I’m visualizing what I want.”

His eyes nearly crossed when she pressed her ass against him and then pulled away. Had she done it on purpose?

“Good,” he rasped. “All you have to do is hit that target. Feel how much you want it and go for it. Ready?”

She made a small whimpering sound, and he imagined what she might be thinking.
Yes, please. I’m ready for you to fuck me. I’m ready to come.
She took aim and threw. The first dart landed and struck just outside the bull’s eye. She whooped in triumph.

Cole took a shaky step back. “I think I just got myself taken by a shark.” He laughed.

Jill wiggled her eyebrows. “Technically, you haven’t been taken, since we’re not playing for anything.”

Oh, how he wanted to be taken by her. “You saying you want to?” he asked.

Heat flared in her eyes, and he felt an answering warmth sweeping through his entire body. Oh yeah, his libido was back—big time. Thick, undeniable arousal throbbed through him. Hardening him. Filling him with desperation to turn her around, bend her over, and fuck her six ways to Sunday.

It must be written all over his face. Did she see it? Did she feel what he was feeling?

Jill blew out her breath slowly. “Maybe.”

“Not sure?”

“It’s just…I’m not particularly adventurous. But I’m feeling like maybe…maybe I want that to change for just one night.”

Cole wanted to tell her she was wrong. That he saw the unrestrained wildness inside her. It wouldn’t be obvious to most, but her ferocity was there, straining to be let free. She confirmed it when she stared at his mouth, then let her gaze travel down his neck and the rest of his body.

“All right,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “If you want to play with fire tonight, I’m more than ready to get burned.”

Chapter Three

Cole turned to the dartboard with a half smile, but Jill caught his own head-to-toe scan of her, which sent fire all the way up her body. The music and conversations around the bar made this space near the back feel secluded—thankfully. She couldn’t act this way if she felt like it was connected to her real life. No, this was some strange dream.

She watched as he threw his dart. It didn’t land quite as closely to the bull’s eye as hers, but he was no rookie. They met each other’s gazes for a heated moment.

He leaned close to softly say, “It’s not over yet.”

Jill lined hers up again and threw. That one hit the red bull’s eye dead in the center. “It is now!” She pumped her fist in the air, high on all the emotions raging inside her.

She pulled her darts and waited on him. When he took aim, she said, “We have a weekly dart tournament at the daycare. Poor kids are always broke when we’re done.”

Cole laughed just as he threw his next dart. It landed completely outside in the black. “No fair. You’re making up stories to distract me.”

Jill threw her next dart. Not a bull’s eye, but still good. “Me, making things up? You should see how good the kids are getting at shooting pool.”

Cole laughed again, and Jill felt giddy with her ability to make him unravel. A big, tough guy like him, smiling and laughing at her jokes. It filled her with a sense of power. He took aim on his next turn. “I don’t know if I want to win or lose. Because I don’t know what we’re betting.”

“Well, maybe we can think of a way to make us both winners.” It just popped out of her mouth. She wanted to pat her own back for flirting like a champ, but at the same time she wanted to run screaming out the door. What the hell was she doing taking on someone like Cole?