Chapter 11
Lauren
I’d just said goodbye to my old high school friend and had started back toward our table when I was grabbed suddenly by my upper arm to stop my forward progress.
I winced because that grip was tight, and it was uncomfortable.
My head whipped toward whoever was holding my arm, only to discover that it was a man I’d never talked to before.
I thought I’d seen him around town, but we weren’t acquainted.
“We’re gonna dance,” the heavyset man told me in a voice slurred from an overabundance of alcohol.
The guy was probably in his forties. He had a definite beer belly, and he was starting to lose some of the dark hair on top of his head.
But it was his eyes that made my body tense.
His glare was as cold as the Montana weather right now.
I was torn.
It was a small town, and I usually had no reason to refuse to dance with anyone, no matter their age or what they looked like.
There were men old enough to be my father or my grandfather who occasionally asked me to dance.
Crystal Fork was just friendly that way.
None of those older men were ever being pervy.
It was all in good fun to dance with anyone who wasn’t dancing when people were out on the town.
However, I wasn’t getting a single neighborly or friendly vibe from this man, and I really did not want to dance with him.
He shook me a little. “Did you hear me?”
Crap!
I was going to have to do something I’d never done before, even though I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.
Silas had hired a DJ for tonight. He was on break at the moment, but I knew he’d be back momentarily, so I couldn’t use the absence of music as an excuse.
I opened my mouth to tell him I didn’t want to dance, but a pissed-off male voice spoke before I could.
“Take your fucking hand off her right now or I’ll break it just to make sure you never touch her again,” a deep baritone said ominously.
It was a baritone I knew well.
Cole.
The tension suddenly drained from my body.
The expression on Cole’s face was terrifying, but not to me.
I knew he’d just shown up to rescue me.
The man removed his hand from my arm, but he snarled back at Cole, “What in the hell do you care if I touch her?”
“I care,” Cole drawled as he wrapped a protective arm around my waist and pulled me against his warm body.
“You!” the man said in a garbled voice as he swayed on his feet. “You and your brother killed your daddy. Who are you to tell me what to do? You’re nothing but a damned murderer.”
Anger suddenly rolled through me at that accusation.
How dare he say that!
I was just done listening to gossip about Cole.
After all he’d been through as a child, he didn’t deserve this as an adult.
My hand was itching to slap him, but Cole tightened his arm around me like he knew exactly what I was tempted to do.
“Don’t,” he said roughly next to my ear. “He’s not worth it.’’
“Time to go, Massey,” Kaleb said angrily from behind the man, grabbing the offender’s arm none too gently.
Devon grabbed his other arm.
Apparently, the two men had been listening in on the discussion.
“You can’t do this,” Massey sputtered.
“Oh, yes, they can,” Silas, the establishment’s owner, said firmly as he approached the situation. “Take him out of here. He’s not welcome here if he’s manhandling the women and spreading stupid rumors that aren’t true about the townspeople.”
“We’ll happily take out the trash,” Devon grumbled.
With that, Kaleb and Devon propelled the intoxicated man toward the door.
I’d known the two men since I was a kid, and I could tell they were furious about what had been said to Cole.
I looked up to see a perplexed look on Cole’s face.
He might have stridden over here to rescue me , but I could tell he wasn’t used to having anyone except his brother defend him.
My heart ached because he almost seemed uneasy that people had actually jumped to his defense.
Silas moved closer to Cole and slapped him on the back.
“Sorry about that. Todd’s not a nice person most of the time, but he’s impossible to get along with when he’s hammering the drinks down.
I should have been paying attention and cut him off.
It’s so crowded that I didn’t notice him until he started making trouble. ”
“It’s not your fault,” Cole said stiffly. “He’s not the only one who thinks that way.”
The elderly man frowned. “I suppose he’s not the only idiot in this town, but don’t let those folks get to you, Cole. Where’s that brother of yours tonight?”
Silas and Cole continued to trade comments, but I was so busy studying Cole that I didn’t really hear the lighter conversation.
I’d known that Cole was nervous from the moment we’d walked into the bar earlier.
He hid his emotions well, but I’d sensed his trepidation.
So much so that I’d almost made up an excuse to leave.
After all, he’d taken me out to dinner and came to this gathering to do something nice for me, and I’d never meant to make him uncomfortable.
The only thing that had stopped me from making up that excuse to leave was the fact that Cole really needed to be with his family more.
He also needed to show his gorgeous face in town more often so the rumors about him and Asher could eventually dissipate.
Still, I hated the fact that some jerk had called Cole a murderer after I’d encouraged him to come here.
I’d never expected that to happen.
Some people in this town gossiped, but speculation was much different than someone calling him out for being a murderer.
Most of the people around us at that moment had looked horrified.
There had been a bit of a scene, but it had been touching to see Devon and Kaleb so readily stand up to someone who was saying something bad about Cole.
I’d known that none of the other Remingtons believed in Asher or Cole’s guilt but seeing them treat Cole as one of their own was heartwarming for me.
“Dance with me, angel,” Cole said in a persuasive voice next to my ear.
I startled, suddenly realizing that the music had started and that Silas had moved away after his discussion with Cole had ended.
I also realized that Cole still had a steely arm around my waist.
A shiver of longing fluttered down my spine.
I knew it was dangerous to like being this close to his massive body, but I suddenly felt like a woman who didn’t mind living a little dangerously.
I knew there wouldn’t be that many opportunities to be this close to Cole Remington in the future.
I smiled at him and nodded, and Cole took my hand and drew me onto the dance floor.
“I’m sorry about what just happened,” I told him as he took me into his arms.
It was a slow and seductive song. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he pulled me flush against his body.
“Not sorrier than I am,” he said next to my ear. “I really did want to break his arm for touching you, but I also wanted to end that shit because I could tell the whole thing was making you uncomfortable.”
I smiled as I laid my head against his shoulder.
I was sorry that a drunken patron had accused him of being a murderer.
He was sorry because that drunk guy had given me some unwanted attention.
“I’m sorry about what he said to you ,” I clarified.
“I know,” he said in an amused tone. “I couldn’t care less about that. But nobody lays a hand on a woman who doesn’t want to be touched.”
I let out a long sigh and snuggled closer to Cole.
For a guy who didn’t want anyone to think he had emotions of any kind, he could be pretty protective when he wanted to be.
I nearly felt myself purr as he stroked a hand up and down my back like a lover.
Dammit!
He felt so incredibly good.
He smelled like sex and sin, and I swore that he was throwing off some irresistible pheromones because I’d never in my life been obsessed with a physical attraction to a guy before.
Tonight, I was obsessed, and I had no idea what I was going to do about it.
There was something about Cole that had my stomach in knots and heat licking through my body and landing directly between my thighs.
I wanted him, and this kind of lust was something I’d never experienced before.
I took in a deep breath and released it, reminding myself that this dance wasn’t going to last forever. I was going to have to figure out a way to get over my attraction to Cole Remington before I made a total fool of myself.