Outlaw (19 page)

“What time is it?” she asked. Rain pelted against
the window panes. The skies were gray, and the early morning light was muted.
Thunder rumbled in the distance.

“It’s barely dawn. Go back to sleep, baby,” he
whispered.

She studied him. He looked tired. “Did you sleep?”

He shook his head slightly. “No. I’ve been watching
you sleep.” He ran his hand over her hair, and then leaned over, and kissed her
forehead tenderly.

She felt the brush of his soft facial hair against
her skin. He kissed her temple, and the affection in the gesture touched her
deeply. When he pulled back, she searched his eyes. “You’ve been awake all
night?”

He nodded.

“Why?”

“The things that haunt my dreams, there’s no rest
for me there. I try to avoid it for as long as I can.”

“Baby, you have to sleep. You’re exhausted.”

“I’m fine. I’d rather watch you.”

She saw the tormented look in his eyes, and asked,
“What’s wrong?”

He stared at her for a long moment before finally
admitting, “I promised you I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you. I let you down.”

The look on his face was pure anguish. She didn’t
know what to say to him.

“I’m so sorry, Angel.” He had failed her. He could
barely look at her. He was so ashamed. He broke eye contact, and looked down.
Nothing he could do or say would ever be able to undo what had been done to
her. He couldn’t bear the fact that he had caused her pain. All along he’d promised
her one thing, that he’d never let anyone hurt her. Just one thing, and he
couldn’t even keep that promise to her.

She reached up, and laid her palm against his jaw,
rubbing her thumb over his lips. “Shh. I know, baby. I know.” She ran her hand
over his face, tucking a lock of hair back.

He reached up, and took her hand in his, and kissed
her palm.

She rolled to her side, and tucked up against him,
laying her head on his shoulder. She put her arm around him, and he pulled her
close.

He closed his eyes, and rested his chin on top of
her head.

“Sleep baby,” she said. She felt him nod his head
slightly in agreement. She lay there listening to the rain, and to his heart
beating, feeling his chest rise and fall with his breathing. She felt
contentment. She wished they could stay like this forever, that she would never
have to leave the safety of his arms.

She could feel his breathing change, and knew when
he’d finally drifted off to sleep. She looked up at him, studying his face. He
looked so peaceful, but he’d said that there was no peace to be found in his
dreams. She wondered if it would always be like that for him.

It rained all day, and Cole slept most of it away,
wrapped in Angel’s arms. The last light was fading from the sky when he finally
woke up.

Cole came slowly awake. He found himself face down
across Angel’s chest, the side of his cheek lying on her breast. He became
aware of little things, the sound of the rain against the windows, the warmth
of her skin, the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. She was running
her hand through his hair, softly, repeatedly. It was heaven. He could lay
here, and have her touch him like this forever. He took a deep breath, exhaling
slowly, enjoying the feel of her hands, so tender on him.

“You awake?” she whispered.

He lay there, not moving, trying to prepare himself
for what he was afraid was coming. Would she want to leave him now? “Baby, I’m
so sorry.”

Her hand paused in stroking his hair. “I don’t want
to talk about it.”

“Angel, you have to know-”

She cut him off. “Please, Cole. I can’t deal with it
right now.”

“Alright, baby doll.” He gave in. He was unsure how
to proceed, not sure where he stood, where
they
stood. Was there even a ‘they’ anymore? He knew the best thing he could do for
her was to let her go. But he didn’t want to. God, help him. He couldn’t. Not
now. Not yet. He cursed the selfishness of it, but he didn’t care. He just
wasn’t ready to let her go. He wasn’t ready for this to be over. He lay there,
listening to her heart beating in his ear. “What are you thinking?” He had to
know.

She resumed stroking his hair. “Nothing.”

“Tell me, please. I know I hurt you. I let you down.
God, but you must hate me now.” When she said nothing, he realized how badly he
had wanted her to deny it. The muscle in his jaw tightened. He tried to prepare
himself, to protect himself from the hurt. “If you want to leave…I won’t stop
you. I’ll take you myself, wherever you want to go. But…”

“But, what?” she prompted.

“But that’s not what I want. I don’t want you to
leave. Not yet. Not yet, baby.”

She stared at him.

“Let me take you away from here, just the two of us.
Just a few more days together, please, baby. Will you stay? Will you give me
that?” He rose up slightly, and looked at her.

She smiled at him in the fading light, and nodded.

He lowered his mouth to hers, and kissed her softly,
their lips barely touching. He hung suspended above her, resting on his elbows.

Her hands came up, and framed his face, pulling him
down to deepen the kiss. Then they ran down over the muscles in his shoulders
and arms.

He heard her moan, and he tightened his arms around
her. His mouth moved to her jaw, trailing kisses to her ear. “I want you,” he
whispered in a low, gravelly voice.

Her mouth trailed kisses along his neck, moving to
his ear, feeling the warmth of his skin beneath her lips. She paused with her
mouth just over his ear, and she whispered back, “Then take me.”

He rose up, and looked down at her. “I don’t want to
hurt you. Your back is still tender, and-”

She pushed back on his shoulders, rolling him to his
back. Then she threw her leg over him, and moved on top of him. Her hands
pressed to his chest, as she rose up and straddled him.

His hands closed around her hips. He smiled up at
her. “You’re sure?”

She smiled back, and nodded.

His hands tightened around her hips, and he lifted
her, positioned her, and surged inside her.

Chapter Nine

The next morning, Cole took Angel, and left the
clubhouse. He didn’t tell her where they were going. He didn’t want to give her
a chance to change her mind.

They rode for hours, down through Santa Cruz,
Monterey, Carmel, all the way to Big Sur. They stopped here, and there, along
the way, and reached Big Sur by dinnertime.

Cole pulled into a campground that also rented out
small, rustic cabins. He parked the bike, and they got off.

Angel watched as he took his cut off, and stuffed it
in his saddlebag. He pulled out a flannel shirt, and pulled it on to cover his
shoulder holster.

When he saw the questioning look Angel was giving
him, he explained, “No reason to give ‘em and excuse not to rent to us.”

She nodded.

They walked into the office, and Cole talked to the
woman behind the counter. Angel wandered over to a display of brochures. It was
mid-week, and luckily they had one cabin left available.

Cole paid, and got the key.

The woman gave him directions to their unit.

They got back on the bike, and Cole rolled slowly
through the row of cabins until they found #9. He pulled up, and parked.

It was a tiny cabin, set off at the end of the row.
They were all rustic, log cabins, probably built back in the fifties.

They got off, and got their few things out of the
saddlebags.

Cole unlocked the door, and they walked in.

There was a small couch and table with two chairs on
one side and a double bed on the other side.

They stowed some of their stuff, and went back
outside to walk around. The place was on a small river, and set among huge
redwood trees.

“It’s beautiful here,” Angel marveled, looking up.
The sunlight filtered through the huge, majestic trees.

“They make you feel small, don’t they?” Cole watched
her; he’d give anything to bring a smile back to her face. But so far, she’d
been quiet.

Angel nodded. “They must be so old.”

“Yeah, hundreds of years old.”

After they wandered around for a while, they headed
out, and found a restaurant. They ate at a rowdy roadhouse grill. The place was
packed, mostly with a young crowd. They ended up talking with a group at a
table next to them, and had a great time. Angel finally snapped out of it, and
began to smile and laugh again. After the meal, they all ended up in the bar,
shooting darts, and drinking beer.

“Can I have some money for the jukebox?” Angel asked
Cole when the music stopped.

He smiled down at her, and dug in his pocket,
pulling a couple of bills out. “Anything for my baby.”

She smiled, reaching up to grab the bills out of his
hand, and turned toward the jukebox.

He grabbed her hand, and pulled her back.

She fell against his chest, laughing.

He smiled down at her, and asked, “You gonna play me
some blues, baby doll?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” she replied, with a saucy
smile, and walked over to the jukebox. She fed the bills into the slot, and
browsed through the selections, punching in several choices. She turned, and
grinned at Cole over her shoulder. “Stevie Ray Vaughan?”

He had his beer bottle tipped up for a drink. He
swallowed, and grinned at her. “Stevie Ray? Absolutely, babe.”

She continued flipping through the selections, until
she found another, and glanced back at him again. “Tab Benoit?”

“Oh, hell, yeah.”

She strolled back to him. “Did I make my man happy?”

He pulled her between his legs, wrapping his arms
around her. “What do you think?”

She cocked her head to the side, pretending to
consider. “Hmm. I think I’ve got your number.”

He grinned. “Yeah, baby doll. You absolutely have my
number.”

An hour later, Cole sat on a bar stool, and watched
Angel take her turn at the dartboard. She threw a bull’s eye, and one of the
guys teased her that she was across the line. Another jumped in front of the
board on her next shot, trying to throw her game off. She laughed, and
pretended to throw a dart at his butt. They all laughed. Cole noticed she fit
in with them, better than she probably did with him.

Angel walked back over to him, and picked her beer
up off the bar. She took a drink, and set it back down. She looked at Cole, saw
him studying her, and asked, “What’s wrong?”

He smiled. “Nothing.” He pulled Angel to him until
she stood between his legs. “You havin’ a good time?”

“I’m having a great time.” She smiled up at him.

“Good.” He bent his head to claim her mouth in a
kiss.

One of the guys was at the jukebox. He turned, and
yelled back to one of the girls in their group, “I played your song, Melissa!”

“Tommy, you didn’t! Why do you guys always have to
embarrass me everywhere we go!” she laughed.

Angel turned in Cole’s arms, and leaned back against
him, watching the fun. Cole’s arms closed around her.

The song started, and they heard The Allman Brothers
come on, and Gregg was singing ‘Melissa’. When he got to the chorus, all the
guys in their group sang along, serenading the girl. Soon the whole bar was
singing along at the top of their lungs.

Cole and Angel swayed to the music. When the song
was over he turned her around, and kissed her again. It was a long, slow kiss.

One of the group yelled, “Hey, you two, get a room!”

“We already have one,” Cole replied, grinning down
at Angel.

She raised her eyebrows. “Maybe we should go use
it.”

Cole smile got bigger. He stood up, and threw some
money down on the bar. “Yes, ma’am.”

They walked out, got on the bike, and headed back.
They drove down a winding road, and when they came out of the tree line, Angel
could see the ocean below. The moonlight was shining on it, lighting it up in a
soft, silvery light. She could see the surf breaking and rolling in, sparkling
in the moonlight. It took her breath away.

Cole pulled off onto the shoulder at an overlook,
and they got off the bike.

Angel wandered over to the guardrail to look at the
view. “Wow. It’s gorgeous,” she breathed.

Cole stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her.
“Yeah. The views of the Pacific are one of the best parts about living in
California.”

They stood quietly for a while, taking it in,
listening to the surf break.

Angel took a deep breath. “I can smell it. The
ocean.”

Cole smiled. He rested his chin on the top of her
head. “Have you forgiven me?”

She nodded.