Page 36 of Stolen Summer

Relief should be coursing through my veins, not a ribbon of disappointment. Could I actually be upset I hadn’t had drunk sex with Cole?

I pressed a hand to my temples, massaging the dull throb that made itself known.

Fucking wine.

Never again. I was swearing off any form of alcohol in Cole’s presence. Nothing good happened.

Or more like the only good things that happened were the kind of good that was distracting and dangerous for my future.

I didn’t want Cole in my life. I didn’t want to be swayed from my path.

My goal was clear, and I intended to reach it.

Refusing to spend the rest of my life stuck in Fallen Oaks, Cole would not sink my ship before it got the chance to sail, metaphorically, of course. I couldn’t afford a boat, not even a rowboat.

The deal!

Shit.

I hadn’t agreed to anything. There was still time to cut my losses and run. To never see Cole Riley again.

Then I locked eyes with him, and my heart cartwheeled. I let my gaze roam over his face. “You took out your lip ring.” I distinctly remembered what it was like to have the cool steel against my mouth.

“Uh.” His brows knitted together in a confused line only to break a moment later. “Oh, yeah.” He rubbed at his lower lip with his thumb. “Does it bother you?”

“No, just an observation. I don’t mind.” Fuck that. Who am I kidding? I loved it.

“I bet,” he mumbled, and I sensed his tension.

Fumbling with the blanket, I tugged it up closer to my chin. “Why are you here? Did something happen?”

His gaze shifted past me to the wall of windows. “The power is back on.”

And for the first time, I became aware of the sunlight dancing in the room. My head whipped around, taking in the missing shutters and the electrifying view of the ocean extending past the balcony.

He touched me, taking a piece of my hair and twirling it around his finger.

Oh, my God. I went to sit up and jump out of bed, but a slice of pain pierced my skull and I fell back onto the mattress. I glared at Cole. “Did you just pull my hair?”

Those full-ass lips curled. “Before you disappear on me, I want to remind you of our agreement.”

“In case you aren’t familiar with the phrase go fuck yourself…” I flipped up my middle finger.

His chuckle caressed my skin like velvet. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

My stomach did some sort of weird flippy thing I wasn’t thrilled with. “I need to go, Cole. You should have woken me,” I scolded, side-eyeing the hand still attached to my hair.

“I only just got up myself,” he said, unwinding his fingers.

I scrambled out of bed, not caring if I flashed Cole or that he watched me as I scoured the floor in search of the discarded sweatpants. “I’d say it’s been a pleasure, but it hasn’t,” I said, hopping on one foot as I put my other into the leg hole.

While he lay on his back, his eyes stayed on me with a magnitude I refused to acknowledge. “Well, it’s a good thing we have the rest of summer to change your mind.”

I slipped my left leg into the sweats, tugging them to my waist. “And if I still despise you by the end of the season?”

He slipped a hand under his head and smirked. “Not possible. Or are you forgetting last night?”

Heat flowered in my cheeks. “I’m trying. Let’s agree it was a momentary lapse in judgment I’ll never repeat.