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There’s a snort, and a warm grip on my wrist. My eyes fly open to realize Cole has tugged my hand down, and he’s wearing a snarky smile.
“Are you smirking at me?” I try to sound annoyed, but all I want is to stare at where he’s holding my wrist.
“Yes,” he says.
Oh goodness. Pleasurable shivers skitter along my spine.
The five-minute bell splits through the quiet library, shocking me enough to wrench my wrist from his grip. Embarrassed at my erratic movement, I grab an armful of books off the top of one of the stacks.
“I can put these away!”
“No, Summer.” He spreads a large palm over them, pressing the stack down until I have to release them. “I will.”
“What about these?” I reach for another pile, but Cole steps in front of me, his body almost flush with mine, acting as a barrier between my seeking hands and the hoard of books.
“I’ll take care of the ones I don’t want to check out.”
Of course. I know that, but my hands want something to grab onto.
So they won’t reach for him.
I silently scold my hands and my nerve endings that all seem to have become addicted to him. I shouldn’t be surprised. Bad boys are like drugs in that way. They make you feel good. So good that you get dependent. You think you need them to survive.
And that’s when they disappear.
That’s when you find out just how much destruction a life can handle. How painful it is to live with the wreckage of a broken heart.
I want a man to love, and I know the kind of man who will make me feel safe.
A nice guy. Not a bad boy.
Not a Cole Allemand.
I know he’s not right for me. Knew it the second I saw him in a grocery store parking lot a few months back. Seeing him outside of the library threw me off, but I was just about to recover and offer a friendly wave when he shocked the hell out of me.
Cole walked up to a random tan SUV, and without any provocation, dragged his key along the entire length of the vehicle. Even a good twenty feet away I heard the metallic screech of metal on metal. Once he finished vandalizing the car, Cole tucked his keys in the back pocket of his black jeans, then strolled into the store, wearing a smile of smug satisfaction.
I don’t know if he saw me or not, but the guy wasn’t being sneaky. The act was brazen and unapologetic.
Leading up to that moment, I’d started to scold myself for automatically assuming Cole was a bad boy just because of the way he looked and his aloof attitude.
Now I know better.
So why can’t I stay away from him?
“Sounds good. I’ll leave you to it. Have a good night.” This time my retreat is purposeful, rather than driven by fear.
“You’re not going to check me out?” Cole’s smile disappears, a confused twist to his mouth taking its place.
I’ve been checking you out all night, I’m tempted to retort.
Classic library humor. Still, it’s true. And exactly why I need to have a locked door in between me and this tempting man.
“Karen can handle it. I have some stuff to finish in my office. Librarians do more than steal books from distracted patrons!” I add a forced chuckle, trying to help my bad joke land.
Cole doesn’t laugh, or smirk, or even let the tiniest corner of his mouth twitch.
He just watches me stroll away.
