Page 49 of Stolen Summer

Rage flashed behind my eyes. “And everything is about you. What you need. Grow the fuck up, Cole. You’re acting like a spoiled-ass rich boy.”

Should I be riling Cole up? Pushing him? Probably not, but I didn’t stop to psychoanalyze why not.

Cole stared at me under lowered brows. “Whatever you think of me, my word is my bond. We made a deal. Next time, know what you’re getting into before you deposit the check, Killer.”

Gah! The impulse to scream again burned at the back of my throat. Adrenaline pumping through my veins, I clenched my jaw. “If I were a guy, I’d hit you right now.”

“Don’t let that stop you. If you need a punching bag, I’m your guy.” To show he was serious, he lifted his hands off my hips and put them into the air.

The sun glinted off something shining in the sand to my left. As reckless as every decision I’d made today, I reached over, plucking Cole’s phone up, and before he could stop me, I hauled my arm back and tossed his phone as hard as I could toward the ocean. I didn’t know who was more surprised at the splash, Cole or me. We watched as the device sank.

His hands dropped, and he looked like he was trying to process what the hell happened, but I refused to waste the small window of opportunity I was given and scrambled out of his lap.

Sand squished between my toes as I stood to my full height, but my edge lasted only seconds. Cole surged to his feet, glaring down at me. “What the fuck, Arie.”

“How does it feel to have someone screw with your life?”

Cole narrowed dark eyes on me, his body no longer relaxed but coiled tight like a poked cobra. Not so pissed off he would strike me but angry enough he might still hurt me. “Like that person needs to be taught a lesson.”

“Me?” I shrilled. “You’re the one who is out of touch. Your head is so far up your own ass you can’t see how the real world works. A new phone is the least of your concerns. I needed that job. You don’t need anything except a fucking hobby so you have less free time to ruin people’s lives.” I finished my rant with a heavy exhale.

He took a menacing step toward me, and I lifted my chin, unafraid of him. “Be careful, Killer.”

“Or what? You’ll hit me?” I knew I wanted to slam my fist into something—if I was a violent person, but I wasn’t. But people changed. I didn’t know enough about Cole to say who he was.

He could very well hit me.

Then what?

Cole’s jaw clenched. “Glad you have such a high opinion of me.”

“I don’t have much to go on.”

“I didn’t either, and yet…you’re here.” He brushed past me, strutting toward the ocean. He didn’t seriously think he’d be able to fish out his phone, did he?

Talk about a needle in a haystack.

But what infuriated me most was that he hadn’t given me the fight I’d been looking for, and I wasn’t letting him just walk away.

That would be the sane thing.

Nothing about me screamed rational today.

Stepping into his footprints in the sand, I headed after Cole. His toes sunk into the wet shore, the surf washing over his ankles. I came up behind him, and as I threw my arms up to shove him into the ocean, Cole twisted, latching on to my wrists and taking me with him.

We plunged into the water, Cole falling first, with me landing beside him, our legs twining. An icy wave dragged me under, salt filling my mouth as I took in a gulp of water. A hand fastened to my arm, tugging me upward, and plastering me against his chest.

I coughed as I gathered my bearings, my feet touching the shell-covered ocean floor.

“You’re out of your mind,” he growled, swiping a hand over his face followed by shoving strands of wet dark hair out of his eyes, which now zoned in on me. His arms were still wrapped around me.

“Why does that sound like a compliment coming from you?” I sneered as a wave came up behind me, pushing me against Cole’s chest. The white shirt I wore was soaking wet, outlining the lacy black bra I’d thrown on this morning in a rush when I couldn’t find my white one. Instant regret hit me at my earlier fleeting decision because my nipples, now pebbled from the cold water, pressed into Cole, creating a zip of sparks inside me.

Heat flared in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth twitched a breath before his lips crushed to mine in a hard kiss. My hands pressed onto his chest, and I assumed they were there to shove him away, but that was not what happened. I curled them into the wet material, taking his bottom lip between my teeth.

I didn’t know what the hell got into me.

But I bit him.