Claiming Sarah (Ace Security #5)(57)

Sarah thought about it for two seconds. “Deal.” She wasn’t looking forward to moving at all. Tomorrow afternoon, she had to get started on the stuff in the attic. She had no idea what was up there, and she had a feeling she was going to be extra depressed if she’d lost Cole once and for all after being too loose-lipped with her new friends.

“Start thinking about what you want for your tattoo,” Felicity said with a smirk.

Sarah opened her mouth to retort that Felicity should start figuring out where to get a bunch of boxes . . . when there was a commotion at the door of the bar.

The women around her turned, still flanking Sarah on either side.

Sarah barely heard Felicity’s chuckle and soft “Told you so” before she also turned—and Cole was in front of her.

His eyes were gleaming, and she’d never seen him look quite so . . . unsettled before.

“Cole? Are you okay?”

Instead of answering, he asked, “Were you in on that conversation?”

“Um . . . the one about babies?”

“Yeah, Sarah. The one about babies.”

She couldn’t read his mood and tentatively said, “Yes?”

“You want to have kids with me?” he asked next.

“I love you, so yeah.”

She immediately could’ve kicked herself for blurting out that tidbit. Darn alcohol.

Without another word, he took a step toward Sarah, bent slightly, and threw her over his shoulder.

She screeched and grabbed the side of his shirt. “Cole!” she protested.

He didn’t respond, merely turned and headed for the door of the bar.

“See you later!” Blake called out.

“Drive safe!” Nathan said.

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Ryder added.

Logan wasn’t there, but Sarah remembered Grace saying that Ryder would take her home, since her husband couldn’t leave the babies to come and pick her up.

“Cole! Put me down!” Sarah told him, propping herself as best she could by putting her hands flat on his back and arching up. She had no fear of falling—the arm around her thighs was tight . . . and this was Cole. He wouldn’t drop her. No way.

He strode out of the bar toward his sports car. The world was spinning, so Sarah simply relaxed and let Cole take her where she wanted to go anyway. He tucked her into the passenger seat, still without speaking, and before she could blink, he was pulling out of the parking lot.

“Cole?” she said, but he held up a hand to stop her.

Sarah waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. He merely put his hand back on the steering wheel and stared straight ahead. She honestly had no idea if he was pissed at her, or upset, or any of a hundred other emotions. She could see his jaw ticking, and he clenched the wheel until his knuckles turned white.

Despite what she’d bet Felicity, she’d hoped that Cole would be excited about her wanting kids with him. And she’d thought he was at first—the whole “throwing her over his shoulder like a Viking carrying off a virgin bride” thing was kind of hot. But now that he wasn’t talking to her and looked like he was two seconds from losing his mind, she couldn’t be sure.

The alcohol in her system was making her somewhat emotional, close to weepy, and she couldn’t think straight. Biting her lip, Sarah kept quiet. She couldn’t tear her eyes from Cole, though. If this was going to be the last time she got to stare at him to her heart’s content, she wasn’t going to give it up.

He pulled into the parking area of his apartment complex and jerked the car into park. He turned to her then and said, “Do. Not. Move.”

So Sarah sat stock-still as he walked around the front of his car to her side. He opened the door and reached for her. This time, instead of putting her over his shoulder, he cradled her like a husband would as he carried her over the threshold of their new house. Sarah snuggled into him, loving how he felt and smelled. She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes as the world spun.

She didn’t open them when he placed her on her feet in front of his door either. She wrapped her arms around his chest and felt him unlocking the door behind her. He shuffled them inside and, after locking the door, simply dropped his keys.

The noise they made as they hit the floor surprised her, and Sarah’s eyes popped open. She tilted her head back and stared up at Cole in trepidation, wondering what he was going to say.

Cole took her shoulders in his hands and slowly backed her up. Sarah didn’t take her eyes from his, trusting that he wouldn’t let her trip.

“How drunk are you?” he asked.

Sarah tilted her head and lifted a hand, showing him a small space between her thumb and pointer finger.

“How much did you drink?”

“Four mixed drinks. Wait . . . maybe five. I don’t remember.”

“Shit. I’m an asshole . . . but this is happening.”

“What?” Sarah asked.

Cole stopped and turned her so she was facing the living room. He put a hand on her back and pushed until she was draped over the back of the sofa. His hands moved to her dress and jerked it up over her hips.

Sarah turned her head and stared back at him. Cole was gazing at her ass with a look so hot, so intense, she felt her body dampen. “Cole . . .”

“I warned you last night that if you gave yourself to me, that was it. There was no going back.”