Break Away (The Moore Brothers Book 4) (3 page)

Lilah shook out her hair and ran some gel into it, resigning herself to another day of dealing with her somewhat unruly waves. It’s not that they were bad, she just preferred to tame them, straightening them into shining submission. She took the time to swipe on some mascara and eyeliner, some light shadow and a bit of blush, then finished up the look with a simple gloss. The woman in the mirror looked fresh and natural and totally not like the styled into perfection fashionista Lilah was used to seeing.

Whatever. It’s not like she was going to get this job anyway. And maybe that was for the better. This whole experiment was dumb. Lilah sucked in her lips and rubbed them together before letting them go with a little popping sound. Her stomach rumbled as she ran down the stairs to grab her purse, reminding her that Cheez-its weren’t exactly considered a meal. One look at the pile of dishes in the sink was enough to help her decide that she would just grab a meal at the restaurant. It couldn’t be that expensive, right? Just a couple dollars?

She grabbed her purse and headed outside, the heavy July heat taking her breath away as she locked the door behind her. She sighed at Ellie’s rust bucket.

The thing was ugly as sin. It stank. And ever since it broke down and left her stranded on her way to an interview the other day, she didn’t trust it. Not at all.

The door groaned as she pulled it open.

“Believe me,” she said as she sat down and yanked the door shut. “I’m looking forward to this about as much as you are.”

She put the key in the ignition and gave it a twist, waiting for the embarrassing spurt of exhaust and the somehow way too loud roar of the engine to blare through the parking lot, alerting her neighbors that she was leaving.

Nothing.

She frowned and twisted the key in the ignition again.

Still nothing.

“Come on,” she said, giving the key another twist. “Not now.”

More nothing. Not a click. Not a whirr. Not one single sound that would make her think the car had any intention of starting.

She pounded on the steering wheel. “Come on, you gorgeous, wonderful car. You start for me and I promise I won’t say anything bad about you ever again.” She twisted the key in the ignition again. Nothing.

She growled in frustration. Now what? Did she need to call the damn tow truck guy again? Then what? Pay another couple hundred dollars to get the thing running? Again? What about her interview? This was
so
not the time for this!

A knock on her window made her jump. She spun to see Mr. Sexy McJudgy smiling at her through the glass.

“Need some help?” he asked, all white teeth and blue eyes and blonde hair shining against tan skin.

Lilah just stared for a second, appalled at the condescending humor in his eyes. Who the hell did this guy think he was? She shook her head and turned her focus back to the key in the ignition. “I’m fine,” she said, loud enough for him to hear through the glass and gave the key another futile twist. It was getting hot in the car and sweat started to bead at her brow.

Great.

Just what her hair needed.

“I bet it’s your battery,” said the guy, still peering through the window. “I can give you a jump. Won’t take a minute and you’ll be good to go.”

Well, since she had no other idea as to how to get the damn car running again, Lilah sighed and cracked open the door, waited for the guy to step back before she pushed it all the way open, embarrassment surging through her at the heavy whine of metal on metal. Stupid rust bucket.

If this guy looked good all wet and bare in his swimsuit, he looked fan-fucking-tastic in his blue jeans and worn t-shirt. Lilah stood up and caught just the faintest whiff of his cologne. Tried not to stare at the way his jeans hung just right off his hips.
I bet his ass looks amazing
, she thought.

“Thanks,” she said as she stepped out of his way.

“We’ve all been there.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Pop the hood?”

“Ummm…” Lilah leaned into the car, totally aware of how her skirt rode up, showing more of her legs than what was appropriate. But when had Lilah Moore ever been appropriate?

She found the handle to release the hood and gave it a pull, straightening in time to see that this guy had definitely enjoyed the view. The look on his face almost made up for all the judgment she had seen from him at the pool. “I’m Lilah, by the way. Lilah Moore.”

“Cole Bennett.” He held out his hand and Lilah took it, amazed by his rough skin and the way his hand dwarfed hers. She looked up at him, realizing for the first time how tall he was. He had to be six-three at least. “Lucky for you, I’m parked right here.” Cole indicated an ancient pickup truck in immaculate condition. It had to be ten years older than Ellie’s rust bucket and Lilah was sure that it started without a problem every single time.

With a smooth confidence, Cole lifted the hoods and pulled a set of jumper cables out of his truck. Got things hooked up and in no time, the rust bucket was chugging away in that oddly off beat way it had.

Cole lifted an eyebrow. “Sounds healthy.” He unhooked the jumper cables and got everything put back to rights, closing the hoods of both the truck and the rust bucket without slamming them.

“Thank you,” Lilah said and meant it. She had no idea what she would have done if Cole hadn’t come out to help her.

“Might want to get that thing into the shop. Wouldn’t trust that battery to do anything but let you down,” Cole said and without another word, climbed into his truck and drove off, leaving Lilah to stare after him.

T
hings were looking so much better
today than yesterday. Lilah had a job. The manager had seemed a little dubious when she said she would give her a shot, but that was okay. She would show her just how smart she had been to hire her. She would be the best damn waitress Lou’s Diner had ever seen!

And what better way to celebrate having an income than by going out for a little retail therapy? Lilah bought herself a brand new outfit on the way home from her interview. And we’re talking new from the ground up, new shoes, matching nail polish, new bra and panties, all on top of the cute little dress she found. Sure, they weren’t the kind of high quality stuff she was used to, but damn, it felt good to have something decent on. Plus, that meant she had one more day to put off going to the laundromat.

Lilah dug through the pile of dishes cluttering the sink and counter for a bowl and rinsed it out, scrunching up her nose at the bits of crusted food she had to chip off with her fingernail.
I should really clean this shit up,
she thought as she poured herself a bowl of cereal. She decided she would do just that after a quick trip to the pool. She didn’t start work until tomorrow. Today was going to be all about enjoying herself.

After eating, Lilah changed and grabbed her still soggy swim bag and headed out into the already sweltering heat. She was locking her door behind her when the neighbor's door swung open and a disheveled redhead staggered out.

“Fuck you, Cole Bennett,” she screeched as she slammed the door shut.

Lilah couldn’t help but stop and stare. This was an obvious walk of shame. The redhead’s clothes were too fancy for a Sunday morning and were wrinkled from a night spent in a ball on the floor. Her hair was wild and her makeup smeared. The girl turned and caught Lilah staring.

“You see that bastard, you can tell him he can go straight to hell!” She stabbed at Lilah with her finger, her eyes wild and blazing. Without waiting for a response, she staggered off, teetering in her high heels like Bambi on ice.

Well, chalk that up as a brand new life experience. Having a stranger in last night’s clothes shriek at her on the sidewalk was definitely something she hadn’t run across before. Lilah chuckled to herself as she walked to the pool, her flip-flops flipping and flopping underneath her. The first thing she saw when she pushed through the gate into the pool was the infamous Cole Bennett, swimming laps. She scanned the lounge chairs and found one sporting a towel that looked like the one Cole had used yesterday and, even though she had her choice of multiple empty chairs this morning, chose the one chair right beside the one she thought was Cole’s.

She told herself it was because she wanted to thank him again, but she knew it was because she wanted to tease him about the crazy woman coming out of his apartment. She didn’t have to wait long for him to finish his swim. In fact, she got the distinct impression that he caught sight of her and ended his swim early. He grasped the edges of the pool and pulled himself up and out, water streaming over his body. Damn, he sure was easy on the eyes.

“Hey,” he said, as he walked her way, leaving a trail of wet footprints behind him.

“Your girlfriend seems pissed.” Lilah skipped the thank you and went right for the jugular.

Cole shrugged and reached for his towel. “I don’t do girlfriends.”

“Well, then, the girl I ran into leaving your apartment this morning didn’t seem too happy with you.” Lilah pushed her sunglasses up onto her head. “Did you know we’re neighbors?”

“You don’t say?”

“Yep. I’m in 3B.”

“Right next door, then.” Cole dropped his towel onto his chair and had a seat.

“Yep,” Lilah said, popping the p at the end of the word. “Which is how I ended up being given a very important message from some yowling redhead. Apparently, you can feel free to go to hell.” Lilah couldn’t help but smile as Cole shook his head.

“I don’t know what part of ‘I don’t do girlfriends so you better be cool with that before you come over’ she didn’t understand.” He ran a hand through his wet hair and stretched out on the lounge chair, his body taking up its entire length. “Last night was just a bit of fun.”

“I don’t think she had quite the same idea.”

Cole hit her with that vivid smile of his. “She didn’t seem to have a problem with it last night. Seems there was a lot of thanking God and.”

Lilah rolled her eyes. “Oh. So you’re a player. Good to know.”

“Why? You interested in taking a ride?”

Lilah was appalled. “Hell no. I like my men with a little integrity.” She took the time to infuse as much disdain and disgust into her voice as she possibly could and turned away from him, pulling her sunglasses back down over her eyes. What an ass!

“Sure you do, sweetheart. You just keep telling yourself that.”

Who the hell did this guy think he was, talking to her like that? Just because he was chivalrous enough to help get Ellie’s rust bucket started yesterday didn’t mean he could just be a complete and total asshole today. Did women really fall for this? Is this how he ended up with that redhead in his bed last night? If so, then she totally deserved waking up to an empty bedroom this morning.

Part of her wanted to call her brothers and tell them what a class-A jerk this Cole Bennett was. One of them—hell, probably all of them—would be more than willing to come out and remind him how to treat a lady. But, not only was she supposed to be out on her own and not relying on her family, but it really wasn’t like Cole had done anything to actually hurt her. He was just an ass. An incredibly good-looking ass, if you were into that whole rugged and world-wise look.

Which Lilah, apparently, was.

She spent the rest of the time at the pool totally annoyed by the fact that he wouldn’t leave. Here she was, trying to relax and feeling more than a little awkward because she was stretched out in the lounge chair next to this gorgeous asshole who just propositioned her. This gorgeous asshole who ‘didn’t do girlfriends’. This gorgeous asshole who kept commanding her attention, just when she thought she was tired of thinking about him, her thoughts would start spinning with the strange combination of battery jumping hero, sun-brown skin and blonde hair, and that poor angry redhead, staggering down the sidewalk all disheveled and furious.

You interested in taking a ride?

Hell no,
answered her mind, her scruples, her self-worth.
FUCK YES!
Screamed her traitorous body.

Lilah was not interested in frivolous anything. One night stands were not in her vocabulary. But lying here by the pool, her eyes and thoughts continuing to stray back to Cole’s strong body, his high cheekbones and broad jaw, the weather-worn crinkles near his eyes, and Lilah found herself wondering what it would be like to be with such a manly man.

Would he take her? All rough and dominant? What would it be like to have those work-tough hands scraping across her body? Would he let her ride him? She got stuck thinking about what it be like to look down and see him underneath her. His eyes, so stormy and expressive. What would they look like, burning up at her as she writhed on top of him? Lilah shivered as a wave of pleasure rode through her body and damn if she didn’t get just a little wet.

The thing was, she wasn’t going to be living in this apartment forever. She would live here long enough to prove to her brothers that she could survive on her own and then she would return to her comfy house on her parents’ property. So, if she
did
go ahead and have a one night stand with Cole Bennett, it’s not like she would run into him time and time again and embarrass herself. And if she went into the whole thing knowing what she was getting into, well, he wouldn’t be using her so much as she was using him. Or, really, they would be using each other, right?

“You’re thinking about it aren’t you?” Cole’s voice interrupted her thoughts and her eyes flew to his.

“Thinking about what?” she asked even though she one hundred percent knew what Cole was talking about.

He smiled, this slippery little smile that sent another wave of desire fluttering along in her lower body. “You know very well what I’m asking.” And then, he did something Lilah found simultaneously appalling and hot as all hell.

Cole Bennett reached down between his legs, grabbed his dick, and gave it a little squeeze. Her jaw dropped and she couldn’t help but stare. What kind of man did something like that in public?

“That’s what I thought,” said Cole, rich laughter turning his voice into molten chocolate. “Tell ya what, princess. You know where I live. You just knock on my door and I’ll give you the ride of your life.”

Lilah’s jaw worked, opening and closing as she tried to find something to say—the bitchier the better. But for whatever reason—maybe because she was busy fighting down the surge of lust clenching in her belly, maybe because she had never, not in all her life been spoken to like that, maybe because a big part of her was ready to take him up on the offer right here and now—Lilah never found anything to say. She just stared at him as he gathered his things and left, chuckling to himself the whole time.

Asshole,
Lilah thought at his back as he sauntered off towards the gate. She decided right then and there that no matter how much her body was all for a one night stand with Cole Bennett, there was no way in hell she would give it to him. She was, after all,
the
Lilah Moore and she deserved so much better than a cocky bastard who had the nerve to walk away from her, shaking his head and not even bothering to hide the fact that he was laughing

Cole Bennett could go fuck himself, because she wasn’t going near him, not if her life depended on it.