Claiming Sarah (Ace Security #5)(29)

“I choose to be nice instead of being mean. There’s way too much hate in the world. Maybe it’s the same amount that was always around before the internet came to be and we could see the bad stuff the second it happened. There have always been shootings, kidnappings, and murders, but now they’re all shoved down our throats every second of every day. I know I remember when someone’s nice to me way longer than when they’re mean. That’s the world I want to live in. One where humans do nice things for each other without wanting something in return. You’re a good man, Cole. And nothing you can say will convince me otherwise.”

She took a deep breath after her little speech, as if she’d been talking as fast as possible in case he decided to interrupt her.

“Don’t ever change,” he told her. “You’re right. And like I’ve said before, the world needs more people like you in it. I’m going to do my damnedest to let you live in your world of nice by standing between you and the anuspinchers whenever possible.”

She chuckled at his word usage, but said, “You don’t have to shield me, Cole. Just let me do my thing, and don’t make fun of me for it.”

“Never,” he vowed. The day he mocked her for being a gentle, beautiful soul was the day he stopped deserving her. “Come on, I know you’re tired. You’ve had a long day.”

He crooked his elbow and draped her arm over it, keeping her snug against his side as they walked the rest of the way to the parking lot. When they got to her car, he placed the bag of food on the floor of her back seat. After she opened the driver’s-side door, he crowded her against the metal, placing his hands on her hips.

“Text me when you get home,” he ordered.

“Okay.”

“Make sure you lock all your doors when you get there.”

“I always do,” she told him.

“And if you go out again, let me know, and text when you get home.”

“I will.”

“I’ll make some calls about the apartment here in town.”

“I appreciate it. I’m still not sure about moving, but every time I have to drive to the hospital, I’m paranoid, wondering if Owen is following me. He could easily run me off the road and snatch me before I knew what was happening. And without Mike and Jackson, the house just seems too big. Empty.”

“When can you come by the gym for more lessons?” Cole asked.

Sarah shrugged. She was working for the next three days, but she had no idea what Cole’s schedule was and didn’t want a repeat of the day they’d met, when he’d overbooked himself.

“I can come to your house if that works out better.”

She stared up at him. “You can’t come all the way to Parker.”

“Why not?”

“Because. It’s out of your way, Cole.”

“If you live there, it’s not out of my way,” he reassured her. “Sarah, I’m not sure if you understand what’s going on here. I’m not just some guy you’re working with. Or, I was until that first lesson at the gym. Then I became more.”

“More, huh?” She liked that. A lot.

“Yeah. This was our second date,” he reminded her. “Date, angel. The thing that two people do when they’re interested in each other. When they want to get to know each other better. And I want to know more. I’m not stupid either. I know a good thing when I see it . . . and you could possibly be the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m not going to let you slip through my fingers simply because you happen to live in the next city over.

“The question is—are you feeling even a tenth of what I am? Can you feel the chemistry between us? I think you can, but I could be misreading everything. You might just be thankful for my help with the situation with Owen. If that’s the case, speak up now. The last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable with my attention. That’s what’s happening with jerkhead, and I definitely won’t be that guy. Just say the word, and I’ll back off. I’ll be your self-defense coach, be the liaison between you and Ace Security, help you get that apartment, and that’ll be it.”

“No!” Sarah exclaimed.

Cole breathed out a sigh of relief at her vehement response.

“I couldn’t believe you bothered to chase me down. I mean, I know you did it because you didn’t want to lose a potential customer, and you were doing Logan a favor, but you were so apologetic . . . and I have to admit that I thought you were good-looking, even if you had been kind of a jerk.”

He smiled. “So you’ll let me know when you get home?”

She nodded.

“And you’ll let me take you out on another date?”

She nodded again.

He smiled gently. “And you’ll let me kiss you at the end of our third date?”

She blushed, but nodded yet again. “You can kiss me now if you want,” she said shyly.

God. Cole’s dick immediately got hard. Oh, how he wanted to. He wanted to lick her plump lips and hold her against him as he learned her taste. But he was enjoying the buildup. The anticipation. He’d only known her for a week. He could wait. Maybe.

He leaned in and loved how her eyes slowly closed and she tilted her chin up to take whatever he wanted to give her. His lips brushed against her forehead gently, and then he kissed each closed eyelid before pulling back.