Cole: The Wounded Sons Read online

  “I can’t believe I am asking this but, what happened?” The question was out before I could stop it, Cole was here, and I didn’t have time for one of Thayer’s convoluted stories, but as it always did, my curiosity got the better of me.

  “Well … you see,” Thayer started, her hands on her curvy hips and that look she always got on her face when she was about to tell me more than I needed to know. Groaning at my momentary brain malfunction, I dropped to my butt and started to pull on the shoes. Might as well make use of the time it was going to take to hear this.

  “I had just turned eighteen, and I wanted to lose my virginity in the worst way, so I went to that pub on the highway, you know the one just outside of town? Anyway, that was before the cops shut it down for illegal whatever it was.” Thayer waved her hands in the air, then began pacing, not waiting for me to confirm or deny.

  “So this big dude, I’m talking well over six feet and muscled like you wouldn’t believe, you remember that wrestler, Big Sexy Kevin Nash? Think him before he did Magic Mike … now I was scared shitless, I’m talking about to vomit all over my boots scared.”

  Hearing my front door opening then closing, I hurriedly finished tying the boot laces, eager to get this story over and done with so I could start my weekend with Cole with as little scarring from Thayer’s story as possible.

  Cole only got a tiny taste of Thayer the other night, enough to give him the impression she might be nuts and in need of an intervention.

  “You asked him for sex?” I interrupted her just in time to stop her from describing what she had eaten that night and what her vomit might have looked like had she upchucked all over her shoes.

  “Ahh, duh! I did and he turned me down! Flat out refused to pop my cherry but offered me a ride home on his bike. Turned out he was an undercover cop on a drug bust, and he threatened to have me arrested for soliciting!”

  “No way!”

  “Way, and to make things worse, he was married. His wife saw us on his bike and followed us, driving so close behind us, blaring the car horn at us, and flashing her lights. It turned out he never told her about his undercover work, leaving her to believe he was cheating on her. With me!”

  Shaking my head and scrambling to my feet, I chuckled at the indignant expression on Thayer’s face.

  “Only you, Thayer,” I laughed. “Only you could have so many crazy things happen to you and still only twenty years old.”

  “Tell me about it,” she huffed, “I would have been the only woman arrested for prostitution with my hymen still intact!”

  A deep chuckle from the bedroom door broke my shock, whipping my head around to find Cole standing on the threshold of my room, dressed in all black. He looked sinful as always, but it was the amused grin spread across his face that ruined the dark and dangerous look his clothes suggested.

  “Ummm, should I ask?” Cole hedged, looking between Thayer and me, his lips twitching.

  “No!” Thayer and I both yelled at the same time, then dissolved into giggles.

  “Seriously, Rambo, trust me when I say you don’t want to know,” I assured him, zipping up my bag and starting to heft it up onto my shoulder when Cole moved forward and took it off me.

  “You packed light, good girl,” he praised, testing the weight of my bag by hanging it from one long finger. My core clenched at his deep voice and hearing him say good girl to me. It should disgust me, but for some indiscernible reason, I kind of liked it. He’d said it last night, too, sending an embarrassing gush from my channel to coat his fingers.

  My god, I am sick. Sick and twisted and destined to burn in hell for all eternity.

  “Temptress, you ready to go?” Cole asked, staring down at my thighs, his eyes dark with heat as they narrowed in, seeing something that interested him.

  “Psst, Oaks,” Thayer whispered, not quietly. “You are rubbing your thighs together like a wanton hussy,” she informed me in her own unique way.

  “Not that I blame you; I would be rubbing one out if a sexy, hot soldier called me a good girl too.”

  “Oi,” I muttered, reaching out to hug Thayer, then accepted Cole’s outstretched hand.

  “Stay here this weekend, Thay, okay?”

  “Will do, thanks,” Thayer answered easily, but I saw the relief that swept over her face. Her home life was anything but comfortable or safe, and more often than not, she bunked here with me. Not moving in, rather leaving my house as a sanctuary when her limits were reached at home.

  Cole stilled, staring at Thayer intently, his black eyes seeing what no one else could, without knowing her. Squeezing his hand twice, I tried to signal that he should leave it; it was like I told him at the Bar and Grill—Thayer’s story was hers, and if she wants to share, she would.

  After another round of goodbyes to my bestie, I followed Cole through my small house and outside to face his favourite mode of transport.

  I was nervous, nearly shitting myself about getting on the back of the monster beast and putting my life in the hands of another person–no matter how amazing that person was at giving me orgasms.

  “You squeezing the shit out of my hand because you can’t wait to have me all weekend or for another reason, Temptress?” Cole asked me without missing a step.

  “I have seen those shows on TV about car and bike crashes, Cole, and I don’t want to die in a fiery crash or have my skin grated off,” I blurted out, coming to a halt at the bike feeling anxious.

  “Baby, we aren’t going to crash,” Cole chuckled as he strapped my bag on top of his on the back fender with a stretchy strap.

  “How can you be sure, kangaroos jump out on the road all the time, Rambo, then there are pot-holes, falling trees, as well as sleep-deprived truck drivers.”

  Quickly walking around the bike, Cole stepped up to me, his muscle-riddled chest pushing into me as he used two fingers to lift my chin up to look him in the face. It didn’t escape my attention that Cole did this to me a lot. Eye contact seemingly very important to him for some reason.

  “The eyes don’t lie, baby,” Cole murmured with a lopsided grin, “that’s what you are thinking, isn’t it? Why I insist on having your eyes?”

  “H—how do you know that?” I stammered, half impressed with his observation skills and half annoyed I was so transparent.

  Pressing his lips to my shocked open mouth, Cole grunted a laugh.

  “Without going into too much detail, baby, it’s a skill that has kept many men alive, including me. Facial ticks, eye movement, the pulse at the base of the throat, all of them are a signature of a person and a lead to what they are thinking. Everyone has a sixth sense; mine is just more refined, and my attention to detail.”

  “Because of your mum?” I guessed, sliding my hands up his broad chest to rest them on his shoulders. Cole was tall, but not so much I couldn’t reach the places on his body I wanted to touch. Standing at five foot eight, I was taller than the average chick my age. And the reason my weight loss looked so bad, short is better for an anorexic.

  “Initially, yes, but I honed my skills over the years to what they are today. Now,” Cole patted my butt and turned us to look at the bike.

  “If you are really dead set against taking the bike, I can bolt back to the Club and swap it for my car, totally your call, baby,” Cole suggested easily without any judgement or annoyance. A fuzzy and warm feeling spread through me; Cole’s sweet, caring nature was endearing. It cemented the agreement we made together to stay off the radar from his family.

  He cared. Deeply. I didn’t have to possess his super spidey skills to recognise that.

  Taking a long, deep, cleansing breath and pulling up my figurative big girl panties, I smiled at Cole and pushed up to kiss his cheek.

  “I’ve always wanted to know what it’s like to go as fast as Valentino Rossi,” I joked, then laughed outright at Cole’s possessive growl.

  “Fuck Rossi, he rides a crotch rocket, this is a Harley, baby. The only bike you will ever be on.” Reaching for a
helmet, Cole gently dropped it on my head and fixed the strap under my chin, his scowl on his face cute and amusing to me.

  “Jealous, Rambo? Valentino is one of the greatest champion Moto GP—”

  Lips crashed down on me, stealing the breath from my lungs and reducing my brain to a puddle of jelly.

  “Mine, Oaklee, my bike, my everything. Got it?”

  Mindless from his kiss, all I could do was nod my head and stutter a breathless yes.

  “Good girl.”

  Biting back a moan, I listened to Cole give me instructions on being a pillion passenger, then accepted his hand and swung my leg over the wide seat.

  “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Oaklee, I promise,” Cole stated firmly, kissing me one last time, then swung his leg over and settled in front of me. His large hand taking me by the thigh and dragging me forward until my core was flush against his delectable arse.

  Is it safe to ride on the back of a bike aroused? I wondered absently, then moaned again when Cole started the beast, the bike’s thundered roar rumbling to a part of me that was already on edge.

  “Hold on to me, Temptress, you are about to have the second-best ride I can give you,” Cole shouted over the motor, and even though I couldn’t see his face, I would bet my last cent that he was grinning that sexy grin.

  Good gravy, I am in so much trouble.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  COLE

  One hour and fifty minutes. Nearly two hours of having Oaklee pressed up against me, squirming, rubbing the inside of her legs against my thighs, tracing her fingers on my belly. Making me so hard, I knew there had to be a permanent impression of my zipper pressed into my dick.

  Oaklee finally started to relax on the other side of Meredith, forty minutes outside of Ballarat. Her death grip on my waist eased into her hands splayed on my shirt, then the little temptress slid underneath and spent the rest of the ride driving me insane with her soft caresses, and even going as far up my chest to my pecs at times, scraping her nails over my nipples and earning herself a spanking when we arrived at the apartments the Sons inhabit when on duty.

  Crossing past the sign Welcome to Queenscliff, I took a deep breath and filled my lungs with the clean, crisp ocean air. I love my hometown, growing up in the Club, but fuck, I loved coming down here to escape and be alone. The land the apartments were built on was owned by the Club, but Team FIVE owned the actual apartments, giving the team the privacy we needed when we got back from a deployment. Our importance allowed us to have more leeway than regular army soldiers; we didn’t have to live on the base or spend too much time at Holsworthy in New South Wales.

  Although it was just me who spent time here compared to my teammates, with Gabe, Bastian, Grill and Rafe domesticated with wives and kids, their off time was in Ballarat more than here.

  This weekend, I asked them all to be here, to bring their women so Oaklee could meet them all properly without being uncomfortable and so I could have her alone without my father hovering. Thankfully, Oaklee was on board with my plan of subterfuge, granting me some time before I went toe to toe with Creed ‘Apollo’ Stephens.

  Flexing my fingers around Oaklee’s thigh, I have been holding her like this all the way, riding one-handed, unable to stop touching her, except for when I needed to use my brake.

  “Not far now, baby,” I yelled over my shoulder to Oaklee and getting a belly squeeze in reply.

  Not long before I have those legs wrapped around me in another position.

  Willing the images of Oaklee on her back under me, moaning my name as I drive my thick, hard shaft into her tight pussy, I patted her knee then forced my hand back onto the handlebars. Oaklee was doing fine for her first time on the back of Harley, but we had a lot of stop and starting from here to the Base, and so far, she was enjoying herself and I didn’t want that to change. Having her on the back of my bike was a dream I never knew I wanted. It felt right, so there was no way I was going to have her scared now.

  I knew the second Oaklee caught sight of the ocean as we drove down the private road that led to the army base. The apartments were situated on a side road that veered to the left of the private road hidden up behind the dunes.

  “Oh, my god!” Oaklee shouted excitedly, jumping on the seat, her feet back on her own foot pegs. Halfway, Oaklee’s confidence grew, moving her legs to rest on top of mine. Highly illegal and slightly dangerous if the rider had no experience, but I liked that she felt safe enough with me to experiment.

  “Haven’t seen the ocean before, baby?” I teased, laughing at her exuberance.

  “No! Never!”

  Steering the bike up the hill, I parked in the same spot I always did, noting that Gabe and the others were already here. Turning off the motor, I shifted in the seat to stare at Oaklee.

  “Seriously, never?”

  Shaking her head, Oaklee shrugged, then reached for the chin strap to undo the helmet.

  “Only ever been as far as Melbourne,” she admitted, “ and in the other direction only to Halls Gap.”

  “There are beaches near Melbourne,” I argued, stunned that this was her first time seeing the beach.

  “True, but I was in the city locked in a hospital every time I went there, and sightseeing wasn’t on my treatment agenda,” Oaklee informed me dryly.

  “Fuck, sorry baby, I wasn’t thinking—”

  Cupping my face, Oaklee pressed a kiss to my mouth, her lips dry from the ride and the wind, but with a swipe of my lips, I moistened them, hating that her soft lips got damaged even just by the wind.

  “Rambo, talking about me not seeing a beach isn’t going to trigger me. You don’t have to be careful with me, and I promise I am all right now,” Oaklee whispered against my mouth, holding my cheeks gently, her eyes shining the brightest green.

  “I know, Temptress, I just ….” Swallowing the lump in my throat, I took a minute to appreciate being this close to Oaklee, holding onto each other, kissing and just being a couple … being with her.

  “I don’t want to fuck this up, baby, already I’m asking to keep us off the radar from the Club. Your boss is my mother, for Christ’s sake, and now you have to lie about us, what if that triggers—”

  “You did not ask me to do anything of the kind, honey,” Oaklee insisted, her eyes flashing the prettiest dark emerald green, “I didn’t lie to Memphis. I told her I was going to the beach for the weekend with friends, and she never needs me on Saturday or Sundays anyway.”

  “I agreed that you and I need time to establish us before we go to your dad, and I’m fine with it Cole, please believe me when I tell you I am fine, and I am all in,” Oaklee stressed her words with kisses to my cheeks, lips and chin. Desperate pecks that left me breathing hard and aroused as fuck.

  Leaning my forehead to hers, I kissed the tip of her nose and smiled.

  “I like you calling me honey,” I teased, lightening the moment. Oaklee’s medical history was always going to worry me, no matter how much she stressed she was recovered. My research on the subject discovered that anorexia stayed with some patients years after successful treatment, lying dormant, never rearing his head, and sometimes it did. My worry was I was asking too much of her so early into our relationship.

  “Is that all you got from my speech?” Oaklee giggled, wrapping her hands around my neck, pushing herself into me. Her soft body perfect against my hardness.

  “No, I heard everything you said, and I believe you, baby. But you have to promise me one thing, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “If it gets too much, if anything about this deal makes you uncomfortable, you tell me, and I will fix it. My dad means the fucking world to me; my mum is the centre of my world, and hurting them is the last thing I ever want to do.” Pausing, I laid a kiss on Oaklee that promised more than any words ever could. She had to know that she was close to being that important to me, too, if she wasn’t already. Going fast wasn’t my usual style, I preferred to survey, get a lay of the land before showin
g my hand.

  Oaklee turned all that upside down with her honesty and trust.

  “But you are just as important to me, baby, promise me you’ll keep me in the loop with your feelings, yeah? Don’t push them aside thinking you can handle it on your own, okay?” I whispered, not taking my eyes off her greens.

  “I promise honey,” Oaklee agreed readily, “it’s only for a little while. Who knows, after this weekend you might decide to run. Decide I’m not the one for—”

  Growling, I slammed my lips down on hers, giving her my tongue and taking hers as if it belonged to me because it did. Twisting my hands in her hair, holding her still, I lost myself in our kiss. Focusing all of myself on Oaklee and the moment, not the tingle of dread creeping inside my head and heart that I was in danger of fucking up and hurting Oaklee.

  The day was turning out to be pretty warm for Autumn. March down at the beach was the time when holidaymakers packed up their caravans and went back to their homes. For me, it was the best time of the year to be back in the country. I preferred the colder weather for the peace and quiet, and no tourists meant no crowds and noise. If this unseasonably warm weather continued, I might have to spend more of my time at the compound, and that didn’t suit me at all. Not now I had Oaklee.

  Spending time in Ballarat meant less time with her, or at least until I came clean with Mum and Dad.

  “She is nice, Ghost,” Gabe said, handing me a beer and taking a seat next to me on the sand dune. Ammo, Grill and Rafe were sitting on my other side and Kodah was sitting on the esky in front of us.

  “That she is,” I agreed readily.

  “I can’t believe she has been around the Club for a year and I barely noticed her.” Gabe laughed shaking his head.

  “She is good at hiding, likes to stand in the shadows and not be part of the crowd,” I explained, not wanting to go too much into her story with him without Oaklee’s say so. I know she wasn’t embarrassed by her history, and neither was I, but I wanted to tread carefully, start this relationship right.