Chapter Eight
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a familiar head that stood above the others. When she turned, her eyes were caught by Cole’s angry gaze. She sighed. What did she do this time?
The blond man put his hand on her shoulder.
“What’s making you so sad?”
All three looked around for the cause of her sudden sadness.
A shiver ran down her back when Cole’s look grew darker, and he started milling through the crowd.
Victoria turned away suddenly. “I’m sorry. But I forgot I had to do something ... at home...” she said, sounding a little panicked.
The shorter of the three grasped her arm.
“Wait. What’s going on? If someone is scaring you, you need to tell us so we can help.”
Tears stung her eyes at the gentle way he handled her. “Thank you, I’m not in danger, but I do...”
“You’re not going anywhere, and Joe, take your fucking hand off her,” Cole grunted in a heated tone.
All four and the crowd around them froze and turned.
Joe raised his hands.
“Hey, Cole. If I had known she was yours, I wouldn’t have touched her.”
“But I’m not his,” Victoria spat and turned her narrow eyes on Cole. “Who touches me is none of your business, Mr. Conley.”
He bent until he was about nose to nose with her. “Hell, yes, it is. And if you call me Mr. Conley again, you’re going over my knee.”
Victoria gasped as her blush became hotter. The people around her chuckled, not even trying to hide their amusement or interest in the show they were putting on.
Her hands went to her hips, and she narrowed her eyes. “You wouldn’t dare...”
“Bet me, sweetheart.”
Victoria was silent for a moment, then turned to the men. “It was very nice meeting you, but I’m somewhere I’m not supposed to be.”
The blond man frowned at Cole before he looked back down at her. “You can be anywhere you want to be, Victoria.”
“No, she can’t.”
The gruff sound of Cole’s voice over her shoulder was hard, but the way he was trying to alienate her was devastating her. Before anyone said anything else, she turned and ran through the crowd. She had to get outside before she broke down in front of everyone.
A large hand reached out and pulled her to a stop. “Wait, goddammit. Where the hell do you think you’re going?”
She pulled frantically at her arm. “Home. Please let me go, Mr. ... Cole. I don’t want to cause more drama. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were going to be here, or I wouldn’t have come tonight.”
He moved them away from the crowd and turned her until they were facing each other, and he could see her face. He kept a good grip on her because she still looked like she wanted to flee.
“What the hell does that mean?”
Victoria shrugged her shoulders as she kept pulling away. “Just ... this was your town first, so you shouldn’t have to be uncomfortable when you’re out with your friends.”
Cole ignored her struggles and pulled her against his chest before he gently wrapped his arms around her. “Oh, damn. I didn’t mean for you to feel unwelcome. Shhh, baby,” he said when she tried to pull away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. This is as much your town as it is mine.”
Victoria finally stilled when she realized she wasn’t going anywhere until he released her. “No, it’s not, and I have a feeling it never will be.”
Although they were off to the side of the crowd, the noise level was still high. Cole bent down so he could hear her better.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing, Cole. I really need to get home.”
“No, you don’t, you’re leaving because of me, aren’t you?”
She nodded. “Yes, I think it’s for the best.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re angry that I’m here.”
“No, I’m not. I was actually very happy you were here. I was at your house, and one of your ranch hands told me where you were. I caught sight of you and was headed over, but then Trisha left you with those three men.”
She stared up at him like he’d gone crazy. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“I was jealous, okay?” He hadn’t realized he’d yelled until the room around them stopped and turned to stare at them.
A flush covered Victoria’s face from mortification as she looked around at the curious faces.
“Oh, my God. Let me go, Cole,” she pleaded as she started struggling again.
“Tory, stop, baby. Just ignore them. I want you to listen to me carefully. I do want you here, very much. I love being around you. You challenge and fight with me when few people in my life would dare. I’m so proud of everything you’re trying to do, but at the same time, terrified you’ll get hurt.
I’ve never met a woman like you in my life.
You seem to be fearless. You’re so damn tiny, but you’re stronger-willed and a harder worker than most men I know. ”
Victoria had frozen halfway through his speech and stared up at him in shock.
“I can’t hear you very well, so I’d like to go somewhere we can talk. Do you want to stay for a while?” he asked.
Victoria looked around for Trisha. “If it doesn’t make you angry, I’d like to stay here, maybe for a bit, I don’t want to leave without at least saying goodbye to Trisha and Ben.
” She didn’t understand what had changed with him, and she didn’t know if she trusted it.
Was it just another ploy to get the ranch?
What saddened her the most was that, even knowing he might be misleading her, she couldn’t let go of the feelings and desires his hands evoked, which touched something deep inside her.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and started back into the crowd, making sure no one jostled her. He stopped on the dance floor and looked down at her. “Will you dance with me?”
Her surprised gaze shot to him. “Yes, I’d like that.”
Cole pulled her further into the dance crowd and stopped at the back edge of the group, then turned his back to the crowd before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tightly against his chest.
The difference in their height made it a challenge to dance together.
Victoria lay the side of her head against his chest and curled an arm around his waist. Her other hand was held gently in Cole’s much larger hand as they swayed to the music.
Her heartbeat had not calmed down. In fact, she felt it beat against her breast at the same time she felt his.
His other hand fit against her lower back and kept her pressed tight against him.
She took in silent, shuddering breaths, closed her eyes, and enjoyed his hand on her and what felt like his hard cock against her stomach.
Neither said anything for two more slow songs. When the music changed to a faster beat, he maneuvered her to the bar, lifted her with ease, and sat her on one of the tall stools.
He stood next to her and faced her as he got the bartender’s attention.
“What would you like to drink?”
“I’ll take another beer. I didn’t get to finish the first and only one.”
“What, and you only let yourself have one?” he asked.
“When I have to drive home, yes.”
“You’re so small it probably doesn’t take much to get you drunk.”
Victoria shrugged. “No. It doesn’t, but it also doesn’t help that I very rarely drink alcohol. I’m too much of a lightweight.”
“Smart woman.”
Victoria couldn’t help feeling the glow of praise he gave her. She tried but couldn’t pull her eyes away from him. Everything about him was so masculine. Even his scent was pure male and intoxicating. With just a few words, he commanded attention.
“Here you go, sweetheart.”
The endearments he used always made something inside her melt and made her feel special.
They drank in silence for several minutes.
His gaze was away from her as he scanned the room, but for some reason, she thought she had his full attention.
The hand that slowly slid up and down her back soothed her.
Even when people stopped to talk or introduce themselves to her, he didn’t stop touching her.
Trisha and Ben stopped to talk to them. Victoria had to bite her lip a few times at the expressive look on Trisha’s face.
The “oh my God” Trisha mouthed silently to Victoria from behind Ben’s back when she noticed Cole’s hand just about set Victoria off.
Trisha continued to make faces behind the guys’ backs.
“You’ve got some explaining to do, girl,” she whispered in Victoria’s ear.
Victoria rolled her eyes. She wouldn’t be surprised if she got a call later that night.
They said their goodbyes when Trisha and Ben had to move on.
Cole’s hand slid under Victoria’s hair. She liked the way it felt, like a wave in the ocean. She wouldn’t care if he played with the soft tresses all day, every day.
“Are you ready to go?” he asked.
Victoria looked up at him. Her heart stuttered in her chest at the dark look of impatience, mixed with desire, on his face. “You don’t have to wait for me.”
Cole snorted and shook his head. “I’m not leaving here without you.”
Victoria looked at him, confused and aggravated. “Good heavens, why?”
“First of all, I don’t want you driving home in the dark. Secondly, I’m not leaving you here to get hit on and picked up. That shit isn’t going to fly with me.”
A ball of tension solidified in Victoria’s stomach as confusion and a sense of anticipation grew in her head.
Victoria cleared her throat. “You’re making it sound like we’re a couple.”
His hand tightened on her hair, holding her head up and back so he could see her face. “I’d very much like to be.”
A thrill of desire swelled in her body before reality surfaced to smack her in the face. “How do I know you’re not doing this to get the ranch?”
“Screw the ranch. I don’t need your ranch, Tory. I don’t want to talk about it again. It’s you I’ve wanted all along.”
“Then why ask to buy it in the first place?”
“At first, I did want it, but that changed very soon after we met. It changed into needing to control you and the situations you put yourself in. I wanted to finally get a good night’s sleep knowing you’re not getting hurt.”
Her stomach was so tight with nerves right then, she felt dizzy. Victoria drew in a breath.
“You really care about me getting hurt?”
His eyebrows came down in a fierce scowl. The hand not stuck in her hair raised her chin. “Hell, yes.”
She cleared her throat and licked her lips before setting her hands on his waist. Did she have the guts to ask for what she desperately wanted, for what her body demanded?
She knew she could be opening herself up for emotional suicide, but she couldn’t walk away from him if she tried. “I want to go home.”