Page 66 of Wrecked (Axle Alley Vipers)

He’d kissed her so thoroughly, with so much warmth, she wished she didn’t have to ruin the moment and tell him what she’d done that afternoon. “Cole?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“I need to tell you something.”

He frowned at her serious tone. “Okay, let’s go to the cottage first.”

“Sure.”

He tucked himself back in and did up his pants, then took her hand and led her from the workshop, locking up before they left. When they walked into her house, he disarmed the alarm system and flicked on the lights.

Taking a seat on the couch, he tugged her down onto his lap. “I, ah, I need to talk to you, too.”

Had Kate already told him that she’d called? That she knew everything? “What about?”

He looked a little unsure, but the smile was still there. “You go first.” He gave her ass a squeeze. “And when we’re done, I’m going to bury my face between your thighs and stay there until you don’t know which way is up.”

She squirmed. Nope. He didn’t know. He wouldn’t be smiling and offering her mind-blowing orgasms if he did.

Oh dear God. She couldn’t keep what she’d done from him, no matter how much she wished otherwise. The guilt would eat her up, and it would be a whole lot worse if he found out from Kate the next time they spoke. She sucked in a shaky breath and twisted to face him. “Please don’t be angry at me.”

His smile dropped a little. “Why would I be angry at you?”

She winced.

“Piper?” His fingers resting on her hips flexed then loosened.

She clung to him tighter. “I shouldn’t have done it, but you wouldn’t open up to me, you wouldn’t tell me anything…so I…” She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I…”

He stilled. “You what?”

“I…I called Kate Connors,” she blurted. His hands dropped away from her completely, and the warmth bled from his eyes. “She told me how you blame yourself for Adam’s death. How you think it’s—”

One minute she was on his lap, the next she was sitting at the other end of the couch and he was on his feet. “Don’t say his name,” he bit out. “Don’t you dare say his name. You have no fucking right.”

She flinched and pressed back into the cushions. “I want to help you. I want to—”

“Fix me?” he said in a cold voice.

She shook her head. “No. I care about you… I did it for you, for us.”

He stared at her, anger radiating from him, all warmth gone from his eyes now. “No you didn’t. You did it for you. You invaded my privacy, Kate’s privacy, because fixing everyone else’s problems makes you feel good about yourself.”

His gaze was arctic, slicing right through her. How could he believe that?

“Well, you can’t fix me. I don’t want to be fixed. If I move on…if I forget even for a second…” He stopped himself abruptly and shook his head.

She stood and took a step toward him. “What, Cole? What happens if you move on?”

There was a knock on the front door, then Deacon walked right on in. He looked at them both and frowned. “What’s going on?”

She shook her head. “Can you give us a minute, Deke?”

Her brother crossed his arms, gaze going to Cole. “What’s this all about? Why did you ask me to meet you here?”

Cole’s shoulders stiffened, jaw going tight—and she knew, knew why he’d called her brother and asked him to meet with them. Knew what he wanted to tell him.

“Cole?” He’d planned to tell Deke about their relationship. He was going to come clean. Show her that she meant something to him.