Chapter Fourteen
By midnight that night I was nearing the end of my shift and I was exhausted. I couldn’t stop thinking about being pregnant. It would certainly take a while for that to really settle in.
It was a particularly busy Saturday night. The one saving grace was that my conversation with Pete had gone well and there’d be no problem keeping me off of night shifts. All the other servers wanted them because the tips were the best late at night. I’d just have to tighten my purse strings for a while, a better choice than having someone get hurt so I can make some extra cash.
The large table of fraternity boys wasn’t helping my night end any faster. They’d become rowdier with every round, and I was in no mood for the lewd comments they’d started to spew every time I was forced to check on their table. Unfortunately, it came with the territory, but nights like this made me seriously ponder another line of work.
“Hey baby, bring that sweet ass back over here!” one of the guys hollered breaking my reverie.
I could hear the want ads on craigslist calling my name.
“You want me to switch with you?” Connie asked, coming up behind me and eyeing the table with disdain.
I shook my head. “No, but thanks. We’ve all had tables like this. It’s my cross to bear.” I sighed dramatically, making her laugh.
“Better tell them to keep a lid on it. Sal is getting pissed,” she shared. I looked over and Sal, my ride home for the evening, was indeed seething. All the guys took their job of looking out for me extremely seriously. Anyone fucking with me was a slight on the Knights, with or without the Jake mess.
“Okay, I’ll do my best,” I nodded.
I walked over and looked at the table expectantly. “What can I get you?” I asked, my tone clipped.
“Another round and your phone number,” the loudest of the group of five boomed.
“Sorry, spoken for. Same as last time?” I asked, indicating toward the pitcher. This would be their last round. I’d ask the bar to cut them off after this.
“How about a quickie in the back then?” he persisted before reaching around and squeezing my ass.
“Hey!” I heard a very familiar voice bark from behind me. “Get your fucking hands off!” Cole growled as he stood next to me, putting my body behind his. He cast a formidable presence as he glowered down at the group. I wasn’t expecting him and I figured Sal had probably called him. Great.
The group looked up at him belligerently, but Mr. Grab Hands had the audacity to sneer. Cole didn’t miss it and he didn’t like it either. “That was your last drink,” he commanded, nodding toward the empty glasses. Settle up and get the fuck out. And if you stiff her, we’ve got problems,” he added.
“Oh I’ll give her a stiff one alright,” one of them snorted.
I rolled my eyes, so the wrong thing to say.
“What did you just say?” Cole demanded, his tone full of such menace that even I was afraid.
“Nothing man,” the smartest one of the bunch spoke up. “We were just leaving,” he added while looking meaningfully at his friends.
Loud guy scoffed. “I’m not going to let roughneck kick me out. Sweet cheeks here was just getting us another round,” he indicated toward me.
Oh shit.
“Cole, I need this job,” I whispered quietly, knowing that if he caused a big enough scene I’d lose it.
He turned to me with fire in his eyes. “You’d rather let him disrespect you and in doing so disrespect me?” he demanded. “You don’t need this fucking job that bad,” he added and I bit my lower lip. He was really pissed off. I noted to myself that interrupting him at times like this was probably ill advised. We were still getting to know each other, but I knew Cole well enough to know when I needed to let him do things his way. Now was one of those times.
I simply nodded, backed off, and stood next to Connie.
“Get up. All of you,” Cole barked to the group.
“You gonna take us all on tough guy?” grab hands asked incredulously.
“It would be my fucking pleasure preppy, but I’d hate to ruin the fun for my friends,” Cole glowered just as Wes and Sal appeared as if on cue to stand behind him. The three of them cut a menacing picture and despite the odds being five against three, I could see one or two of the frat guys visibly gulp.
“Outside,” Cole repeated, his voice so low I could barely hear him.
The group rose hesitantly and I made a mental bet that they’d high tail it the second they got outside. Cole, Sal, and Wes followed them out and I sighed, exasperated. “I wish Sal would have kept that information to himself,” I grumbled.
Connie patted me sympathetically as they disappeared from sight. “Cole would have his head if something happened and he didn’t at least give him the option to take care of it,” she informed me.
“Such macho idiots,” I continued to grumble.
“Yeah but they’re our macho idiots,” she said as she laughed, linking arms with me.
I was just finishing cashing out when Cole stalked back in and scanned the room until his eyes found mine. His chest was heaving and anger still flared on his face. Despite complaining about his antics, the fact that he was always so intent on protecting me turned me on. I walked up to him slowly and his eyes tracked every step as I got nearer. When I reached him, I put my hands on his chest before moving my arms up to link behind is neck. His expression visibly shifted as he caught my mood.
“You ready to go home?” I asked, softly meeting his fiery gaze.
“Yeah, baby,” he rumbled, his hands moving to my ass and lifting me so that my legs wrapped around his waist. I was too turned on by the gesture to be embarrassed by the catcalls from our friends, as he strode out of the place with me wrapped around him.
We barely made it through the door before we were all over each other. He had me pressed firmly against the wall in the hallway that led to the bedroom as I panted into his mouth. I loved how strong he was, how he could lift me and hold me any way he chose.
“You want it right here?” he growled into my mouth, his muscles flexing under my fingers.
“Yeah,” I replied breathlessly. I could feel his hardness through his jeans and a thrill went through me as he pressed himself into me. He dropped me to the ground long enough to strip me out of my jeans and underwear. He pressed me back against the wall as his fingers glided through my slick folds.
“Soaked,” he rumbled with pleasure as he unzipped his jeans to give him access. There was something undeniably erotic and utterly primal about him being fully dressed. He hoisted me back up and plunged into me. I threw my head back and cried out loudly as he immediately started hitting the spot I needed him to.
Wall sex was a new one for us, and I knew immediately that I’d be demanding a repeat performance.
My hands clutched at his shoulders as he slammed into me. There was a desperation about his movements that I hadn’t seen before, but I welcomed it. My intensity stemmed from a different source entirely, one I wouldn’t be sharing with him tonight. For now I just needed to feel connected to him.
“Oh, babe,” I moaned when I felt it coming like a freight train. Seconds later I was quaking around him, my legs wrapping even tighter around his firm ass to pull him deeper. He groaned and thrust two more times before he was following me over the edge.
“Fuck,” he breathed into my neck as he still held me pressed to the wall.
“Yeah,” I agreed simply, my voice a hoarse whisper. “Let’s do that again.” I smiled while kissing his neck.
“Think I need a quick breather, babe,” he chuckled.
“Well I didn’t mean now,” I replied, blushing slightly.
He set me on my feet and tucked himself back into his jeans. He kissed me softly before biting my lower lip lightly. “Love how you get so wild for me but you still blush like a schoolgirl,” he said as he grinned.
I swatted him away playfully as he took my hand and dragged me toward the shower.
“I’ve got a surprise for you,” he told me later as I lay sprawled against his chest.
My heart hammered with the knowledge that I had a very large surprise for him as well. And I wasn’t sure at all how he would react. I still wasn’t even sure how I felt about it.
We’d just finished round two, which had been Cole’s chance to play. I felt utterly satiated after hours of giving my body over to his knowing hands, so luckily I was able to fall back into relaxation mode rather easily. His fingers traced patterns over my shoulder and I hummed with pleasure.
“What kind of surprise?” I asked.
He chuckled. “It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you now would it?”
I pouted. “I suppose not, when can I have it?” I asked, propping myself up on my elbow to look at him in wide-eyed delight. No one had ever gotten me a surprise before and I was excited by the prospect.
“Tomorrow,” he answered simply.
Maybe he could have his tomorrow as well, when I figured out how the hell to tell him.
Fortunately I was too exhausted to think about it too much before my eye lids grew heavy and I fell asleep.