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I look at Cole, and I think bad boy.
Then he does some random nice thing, and I’m re-evaluating my assumptions.
But what do I expect from Dash? There’s got to be some kind of bro code that mandates he sings Cole’s praises. Soon this garage will be full of compliments, but will any ease my worries?
“Paige and I have a dog.”
“Um, that’s cool. Very cool. I’ll probably make uncomfortably high-pitched baby talk noises if you show me a picture. However, I’m missing the connection to my question.”
Dash uses his arm to wipe some sweat off his forehead, leaving behind a smear of grease. The petty part of my heart is glad he and Cole were never intimate. Dash is too sexy for his own good. How would I even be able to compare?
“She found the dog and called the shelter. That’s how we met. When she came in to adopt it.”
“That’s sweet.” Such an adorable meet cute. I wish dogs were allowed in the library.
Dash nods. “But Paige can’t get over that fact thatshefound her. That if she hadn’t been out running that day in that part of town that maybe no one would have. So now she jogs in shitty neighborhoods, keeping an eye out for abandoned animals to report.”
“Wow. That’s next level badass angel stuff.”
Dash scowls at my car’s engine, but I get the feeling the aged machinery isn’t what put the expression on his face. “It’s dangerous. She knows some self-defense. A decent amount. But she was still running on her own. It was killing me. I tried going with her, but I’m shit at running. After a mile I was dying. She was sweet about it, ’cause that’s Paige, but I could tell it frustrated her.”
He reaches his hand up like he’s going to comb his fingers through his hair. Luckily he stops himself at the last minute, reaching for a rag in his back pocket to wipe away some of the grease instead.
“So what did you do? Train? You didn’t tell her to stop, did you?” I wonder how that confrontation would go down. I get the feeling a woman who jogs through dangerous neighborhoods to search for abandoned animals wouldn’t just roll over.
Dash seconds that thought with a snort. “Once, soon after we first met. She just dodged around me and continued running.” He smiles while reliving the memory, then shakes his head as if to clear it. “I told Cole about it. Just venting. Then the next time she showed up at my place in her running gear, Cole pulled on his sneakers and told me to sit that one out.” Dash strolls over to his work bench, switching out his tools.
I wait impatiently on my stool for him to keep talking. “So he went running with her in your place?”
“Hegoesrunning with her. At least twice a week the two of them go for miles. We never talk about it. He never says why he goes. But I know.” Some bolt-type thing clanks as it hits the cement ground. Dash crouches to pick it up, fiddling with it instead of returning immediately to whatever mechanic magic he was working. “He goes because I was worried about my girlfriend and he wanted to help. Cole just does stuff for the people he cares about.” Dash smirks. “And if you mention it, he gives you this look.” The mechanic meets my eyes then, his mouth curving even more. “This look that saysOf course I’m helping you, asshole. So shut the fuck up about it.”
Laughter bubbles up in my throat, spilling out and echoing around the garage. I can picture that exact expression on Cole’s face.
“He’s not warm and fuzzy. But if you’re one of the people he cares about, I’d say you’re lucky.” Dash shrugs, then leans back over the engine.
And I’m left to puzzle over one more confusing piece of Cole Allemand.
COLE
“Bite me.”
“Are you telling me to fuck off, or are you literally telling me to bite you?” Summer asks.
When I invited my librarian to come over to my house, I wasn’t planning on immediately falling into bed with her. But sometimes these things just happen.
Now I have her gorgeous naked body sprawled over my chest, and I’m wondering if she’s up for fulfilling one of my fantasies.
“Literally.”
“Is this because of the braces?” She taps a nail against her front tooth. “And my great teeth?”
My moan mixes with a laugh.
“Maybe. But I also want you to mark me.”
“Ooo. Someone has vampire fantasies.” The grin I’m treated to is wicked, somehow making me harder. “Do you want me to dress in all black leather and sneak into your window in the middle of the night?”
Can a man come just from listening to the woman of his dreams describe naughty scenarios? Because I think I just did.
