Ignited (Most Wanted #3)(41)
Author: J. Kenner

I started to stand, then sat back down again. “Listen, there’s one other thing. I think I may have said something I wasn’t supposed to.”

“Oh. What?”

“I told Cole I knew about the Firehouse. And then afterward, I realized that you might not have wanted me to say. I mean, he’ll have to figure I heard it from you, right?”

“Probably, but don’t worry about it. I doubt he’s going to take out an ad in the Tribune announcing that he’s a member there, but it’s not a state secret.”

“Good. I was worried I’d broken a confidence.”

“Did he take you there?”

I shook my head. “No. But—” I cut myself off.

“What?”

“Can I ask a personal question?” I began, then continued when she nodded. “Is it your thing? What goes on there, I mean.”

“Let’s just say that Tyler opened the world to me in more ways than one. He pushes my boundaries, and I need that. Plus, I like it,” she added with a very wicked smile.

I thought about that, then gathered my courage. “I want Cole to take me, but I don’t know if he ever will.”

“I don’t know a lot about Cole, so I may be wrong. But Tyler never really spent time there. It was more of an aside for him, you know? Like one more thing in the toy box.”

“But with Cole?”

“Whatever he gets there, he needs it. Maybe he’s afraid you can’t handle it.”

I knew that what she said was true. But I was hoping that maybe—just maybe—Cole was starting to learn that I could handle more than he believed.

“I should get out of your hair,” I said.

“I won’t beg you to stay if you have stuff to do, but I’m getting light-headed. Why don’t we go down to the bar and have some appetizers? Maybe even some sort of fruity, sugary, bad-for-you cocktail to really celebrate your upcoming closing in style.”

“Can I ask you about the Firehouse?”

“Can I ask you about growing up in the grift?”

And since that seemed like a fair trade-off to both of us, we agreed. Sloane changed quickly into jeans, and we headed out.

We were randomly chatting about all sorts of things when we arrived at the Coq d’Or. The wedding, my house, general plans to spend a day at the beach. But all talk stopped the moment we stepped through the door and saw all three of the knights sitting right there at the bar, just as pretty as you please, as if Cole and Evan hadn’t caused me a shitload of grief—not to mention completely pissing me off.

“I don’t fucking believe it,” I murmured, my voice low.

I stalked across the room, then grabbed Cole’s glass. He looked up at me, his expression at first confused and then conciliatory.

“Kat,” he began, but I didn’t let him finish.

Instead, I tossed the drink in his face, drenching his face and his shirt in the bar’s finest whiskey.

fifteen

“And that’s our cue to leave,” Sloane said, taking Evan and Tyler each by the arm.

“You guys stay,” Cole growled as he mopped his face with a cocktail napkin and grabbed my arm with his free hand. “We’re going.”

I jerked free as he steered me toward the exit, then came to a dead stop right outside the door. “Goddammit, Cole, what the hell? You promised you’d tell me the plan. And then you up and move my dad without even contacting me? Do you have any idea how livid I am?”

Around us, the after-work crowd was moving into and out of the bar, all of them shooting us wary glances as they passed by.

“Shit,” he said, taking my arm again. And this time, when I tried to pull free, he held fast.

The ladies’ room was just down the hall, and he slammed the door open, then practically tossed me inside.

“What the—” I began, then snapped my mouth shut when he followed me in.

A twenty-something woman who looked like she was fresh out of college gaped at him, then edged carefully around us to escape.

“In,” he said, stalking toward me so that I had no choice but to either back the rest of the way into the ornate restroom or get run over by him.

I entered.

The restroom at The Drake is as elegant as they come, with a long marble counter with multiple seats to give the women plenty of space to take care of both primping and gossiping. But what really makes it exceptional is that every stall is fully decked out as a little room, complete with toilet, vanity, mirror, sink, and even a little upholstered stool to sit on. Moreover, the door is floor to ceiling, giving a woman complete privacy.

Cole pushed open the door to the first vacant stall, then dragged me inside.

“Are you crazy?” I whispered as he locked the door behind us.

He didn’t answer the question. Instead he grabbed me by the waist, picked me up, and sat me on the vanity. I gasped, for the first time truly realizing just how much he had on me in terms of weight, size, and strength.

“Dammit, Cole,” I said, but I’d deflated a little bit.

He shoved my knees apart and stepped between them so that he was pressed up against the vanity and right in my personal space.

“You threw a drink on me,” he said, his voice so low and so firm that I knew he was fighting to control his temper.

“You deserved it.”

“Why did you come to me about your dad?”

“You know why,” I snapped. “Because I thought you could help.”

“And just what the goddamn hell do you think it is that I’m doing?”

“You can’t just muscle in and—”

“All or nothing, Catalina,” he said.

“Bullshit. He’s my dad; you can’t cut me out of the scenario, especially not when you said you’d keep me in the loop. You told me I’m a submissive, and maybe you’re right. But that’s in bed, Cole. Not out here. Not in the world.”

I watched his face, saw the hard lines and angles tighten and his eyes narrow as he focused on me. “I’m not interested in taking away your autonomy,” he said. “But I don’t do anything halfway, and I’m not going to spend time trying to second-guess what the rules of engagement are. I already know the rules.”

“Is that a fact? What are they?”

“Mine,” he said, and I could tell from the heat in his eyes that it wasn’t just the rules about my dad that we were talking about.

I licked my lips, trying to stay on track. “Dammit, Cole—”