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Bryce wanted to push. He wanted Cole with them. After all, it wasn’t a road trip without being able to play corners. But he hesitated. He also needed Cole to choose to be there.
Cole sighed and mumbled, “Let’s go.” His attitude screamed meh, but Bryce saw a glimpse of something simmering underneath. A wildfire about to burn. The man had an intensity that Bryce was drawn to like a moth to the flame. Where Ava was all about cool, calm competence like waves lapping at the shore, Cole was an inferno. Maybe he was… an analogy escaped him. Whatever, it didn’t matter anyway. He could be the go between for them. No, bad Bryce.
He whooped, fist pumping the air, anticipation bubbling through his veins. Their trio was born, and this road trip was gonna be epic.
Cole rolled his eyes and Bryce wondered how old the man was. He didn’t seem that much older, except for his attitude. The dude was like a grumpy eighty-year-old man stuck in a twenty-five-year-old’s body. Bryce snorted out a laugh.
Ava’s expression was easier to interpret. Her tight smile and slight pause when he’d pointed to the truck screamed scepticism. He could practically read the questions running through her mind as if she’d asked them out loud.Will it start? Will it fall apart before we get there?
The door creaked as Cole pulled it open, the rusty metallic squeak high-pitched in the quiet of the car park. He motioned for Ava to get in and Bryce blew out a breath. This was really happening. They were really doing it. A road trip with two strangers was impulsive and pretty crazy, but it was right up Bryce’s alley. He jogged around to the driver’s side and hopped in, slamming the door closed after him.
Bring. It. On.
Four
Ava
C
ole pulled the door open and motioned for her to get in. Her lips tilted up in a shy smile, colour staining her cheeks when she caught Cole’s bitten-back grin followed by an instant frown. She’d thought of him as a hissing alley cat only half an hour earlier, but she was intrigued. A crack had appeared in the façade, and she could see his squishy marshmallow centre.
There was a whole lot more to Cole than what he let the world see.
Ava’s breath caught in her throat, a healthy dose of excitement and incredulity pulsing through her as she lifted her foot to the step. She couldn’t believe that she was actually going ahead with this crazy plan. Not just with two strangers, but with two male strangers, no less. Despite that, her gut told her to trust them. It was crazy to think of either man as familiar when she’d literally only just met them, but it was instinctual. Cole’s scowl and Bryce’s cheeky grin were already growing on her.
Their gestures spoke louder than any words could too. They’d already put her safety and comfort above their own. Bryce had sheltered her on the train, angling her and using his own body to give her as much room as possible during the short, but overcrowded trip.
Even though Bryce had given her room, he’d also stuck close. That had been… enlightening. He’d tried his best to hide it, but there was no mistaking what he was packing. The way he’d used his size to eke out a pathway for her to follow and escape the chaos was sweet. His constant checking over his shoulder to make sure he knew where she and Cole were, left her in no doubt that he’d look after her.
Then there was Cole. With his hand on the small of her back, he’d steered her behind Bryce, flanking her and taking care of both their suitcases. She didn’t think he’d wanted her to see, but he’d also gone back to assist an elderly man step off the train. The whole exchange was heart-warming, and she’d bitten back a laugh at the scowl he’d flashed at her when she waved to the man. Cole may be broody and may want the world to steer clear of him, but Ava saw through his façade.
They were both good men, and that was far more important to her than the length of time she’d known them.
It hit her when Ava reached for the grab rail. She was about to get into Bryce’s truck. The sense of freedom that washed over her was overwhelming. Like she could take on the world and win. The weight of expectation and pressure hovering over her for as long as she’d remembered lifted, leaving her weightless. It was one of those stand-at-the-bow-of-the-Titanic-and-fly moments and she was sure her blinding smile and giddy laugh reflected that.
Cole bit down on his lip and gave her body a slow perusal, igniting a different kind of desire in her. The kind that wanted her to be a little wild too. When he lifted his eyes, their gazes clashed and held. Heat flared, dancing in his blown pupils. White-knuckling the door, Ava was drawn to his hands. Scarred and tanned, they were the hands of a craftsman. Flashes in her mind’s eye of them sliding along her naked body lit her on fire.
Nothing revved Ava’s engine more than sexy hands, and Cole’s were gorgeous. Long, strong fingers with veins that ran like a spiderweb up to his wrist with a light dusting of dark hair. They were strong, and yet talented too; every tradesperson was.
The tip of his tattoo ended at his wrist. She’d noticed them before but couldn’t study the ink without acting like a weirdo. Standing close now, though, she’d underestimated just how intricate their design was. The pieces told a story, every gorgeous millimetre etched into his skin with a level of care and talent that Ava was in awe of.
Without thinking, she reached out, running her fingertips over the precise lines of the sundial on his forearm. The shadows on the rope and centuries-old-style map further up his arm gave the imagery a three-dimensional look.
Cole sucked in a sharp breath, and Ava’s gaze bounced to his. His pupils dilated and he exhaled a shaky breath.
Fuck me.
Cole was gorgeous. People’s sexiest man alive level hotness. It took all Ava’s strength not to strip him naked just for her viewing pleasure. Instead, she grasped his offered hand and hauled herself in. So what if she stuck her butt out a little more just to give him an eyeful of the evidence of the seventy-bajillion squats her PT made her do every week?
Bryce smiled shyly and straightened his leg, the muscles bunching as he pressed the clutch and reached between hers, shifting the gearstick into first. Ava groaned out loud. The man sported muscles on muscles and those hands…. Good lord, what was she getting herself into? Pressed between two warm bodies, both of whom were sexier than sin, Ava swallowed hard.
Nine hours of being in close quarters with them. Ava was doomed. Well, her panties were anyway. They’d be soaked through before they even managed to get out of the basement.
She fanned herself and didn’t miss the teasing smirk Bryce sent her way before he looked to Cole, who was, once again, on his phone. He cleared his throat, his eyes never leaving the screen. “It’s pretty much a straight run from here. Literally, three turns to get onto the highway.” Cole pointed to the roller door. “Head for the Harbour Bridge, then take the signs to go north.”
“No problem. Let’s get a move on.” Bryce fiddled with the air-conditioning, increasing the flow, and Ava’s skin prickled, her nipples hardening at the blast of cold air caressing her skin. His gaze lingered on her breasts, and a shiver passed through her, want sizzling low in her belly. Bryce flicked his gaze to Cole, staring intently at the man for a moment. Bryce’s smile was replaced with an intensity in his eyes that took Ava’s breath away.
When he blinked, it was as if Bryce came back to himself, jolting to attention once more. Pulling out of the garage after the door had hissed and scraped open, Bryce revved the engine of the old truck, easing it onto the deserted street.
