Bet on Me (3 page)

* * *

“I take it your folks aren’t too happy about whatever it is you’re doing?”

I dragged my gaze from my eReader to find Cole studying me curiously. After the teasing over names I plugged in my headphones and tuned him out. I’d downloaded a few hundred free books before my trip, and I planned on finishing at least one on the train.

Lowering my head, I returned to my book and muttered, “Why do you want to know?”

I jumped at his touch when his hand grazed my chin. Taking it between his thumb and forefinger, Cole pulled my face up to look at him. When our eyes met, his were still light and full of humour. “Sweetheart, we have at least another twelve hours on this train together. It’ll go by a lot quicker, and with a lot less pain, if you play ball.”

“If I’m to play ball, you’re going to have to stop calling me sweetheart, or there will be another type of pain for a different type of balls.”

He tipped my head to the side and leaned in so his lips were right at my ear. His breath swept over my neck, raising the tiny hairs there. Lowering his voice to a husky rasp he whispered, “You can play with my balls anytime, all you have to do is ask … sweetheart.”

His dulcet tone combined with his words disarmed me, knocking all of the air out of my lungs. When he dropped his hand and returned to his side of the chairs it took me a moment to compose myself. They shouldn’t have, yet his words sent a spark of fire through me, heating me to the core. The air-con suddenly felt as if it wasn’t working as I sweltered in my seat.

“You all right, Gingernut?” he chuckled, and the sound should have been illegal. Thick and rich like honey it melted me a little more. He even managed to make the ridiculous nickname sound sexy.

I slammed the armrest down between us. The crash caused a few curious stares, which only added to my flustered demeanour. I’d never had a guy be so open … not one I just met anyway.

“This.” I swallowed hard and pointed at the barrier. “This stays here. You don’t cross it.”

He held up his hands, feigning surrender though his eyes darkened evilly. The expression made me wary immediately, warning me he intended to say something else I wouldn’t like.

“Bet I can change your mind.”

“Bet I can have you doubled over in the aisle and clutching at your precious balls before you can change my mind,” I countered, gathering my wits once more.

“Touché. But for the record … not what I was thinking.”

 “Oookay, time for a change of topic.”

His expression transformed into a mask of innocence. “Hey, I wasn’t the one who brought up balls. I asked a perfectly legitimate question and you shot me down.”

“What was your question again?”

“Why you’re here.”

“No it wasn’t. You asked if my parents were happy about me being here, and considering you already knew the answer from eavesdropping on my conversation, I didn’t need to respond.”

“All right, smartass. Why aren’t they pleased about it? And what is ‘it’?”

“Can I tell you my name instead?”

He shook his head with a smirk. “Nope, you only get one chance at a nickname and you’re too late to reverse the process. I want to know what you’re doing now.”

I sighed, giving myself a moment to come up with an answer. Cole waited, watching me silently as I sucked the air back in.

“I’m freeing myself. I want excitement and adventure so I packed up and left everything behind.”

His eyes widened and for a full minute he didn’t reply, stumped by my openness. In all honesty, I hadn’t been intending to reveal so much. However, his flirtation still had my brain scrambling for a way to return to a neutral subject and this happened to be the first thing it latched on to.

“What about you? Why are you on this train? You’re obviously from England if your London accent is to be believed,” I asked, not wanting to give him time to judge me out loud.

“I’m learning to live again.”

Both locked in a thoughtful silence, we considered each other’s words. They were surprisingly similar and he piqued my curiosity. I couldn’t help but wonder if his reasons were similar to mine. “Why again? Why weren’t you living before?”

“You don’t need to know that, sweetheart. You’d be reaching for the emergency stop button again if I answered
that
question.”

In a second all of the teasing and rapport we’d built up dissolved. A shiver raced down my spine at the undercurrent to his words.

Who is this guy and how can he change so drastically?

“Oh, right. Forget I asked then.” I didn’t mean it. A part of me itched to question and drag the answers from him, yet he’d already begun retreating from me. I could see it in his eyes. For that reason I let it go. There were still hours left of our journey and I didn’t need to piss him off so soon into our travels. If I had to sit next to him, I wanted the teasing guy. Even if he may have been bad for my heart because of another reason, I still preferred it.

 “Why don’t your parents agree with your trip?” he said eventually.

“They think I should have gone to university, got a degree, and found myself a respectable job. They think being secure is the key to happiness.”

“And you don’t?”

I cast him a sidelong glance, wondering how much I should tell him. “No. I believe following my heart will make me happy. I want as many adventures as possible, I want to be free of the rat race, and I want to live by my own rules. I want to move around as much as possible, see the world, and not settle for anything less than my heart’s desires.”

Heat prickled at my cheeks. I’d sat through all of his sex jokes without blushing once, but talking about my dreams lit my face up like a Christmas tree.

“Sorry, I’m babbling. It probably sounds stupid … everyone thinks I am so you can say so. It won’t be anything I haven’t heard before.”

His nose scrunched up, his brow furrowing and his mouth twisting in confusion. “Why would they say you’re stupid?”

“Apparently the life I’m striving for is impossible without a huge amount of money. They all told me I need to settle and compromise … that I can’t have what I want.” I shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe I am stupid, but you don’t know until you try, right? If I stayed home I’d be married off before twenty-five, have kids before thirty, and on my way to an early divorce when I realised the guy I’d married was only a companion to fill the void of what I was missing out on.”

 I waited for him to agree with everyone I left back in the UK.

“I don’t think you’re stupid at all. A lot of people settle and end up unhappy. It’s rare to meet someone who actually gives up everything to go after what they truly want.”

For some reason his agreement only made me blush more and I bowed my head. I’d divulged too much information. It was too personal. If he combined it with looking into my eyes he’d see right into my soul. He would see how much my trip meant and that wasn’t something I wanted him to know.

“Can I ask you something? I’m not questioning your decision, just curious.”

“I think it’s a bit late to ask my permission to question me.”

He chuckled again, the sound forcing me to stare at him. He exuded a rugged beauty, and when he smiled his face brightened. The gesture seemed uneasy, though; his mouth trembling faintly at the corners as if the expression was new to him. It wasn’t something you’d notice unless you were focused on him. And the fact he found me genuinely funny not only astounded me, but also sent a warm, fuzzy feeling through my veins.

“Aren’t you worried about money, a roof over your head, or where your next meal will come from?”

I shook my head, an idea forming. For some unknown reason I wanted to put a stop to the small tremor. “Where would the fun in that be? And anyway, if I’m really stuck I could always become a stripper.”

His eyes bulged and his jaw dropped open so I could see all the way to the back of his throat. His cheeks both paled and flushed; something I didn’t think possible. When his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat, he managed to pull his face back together. “Please tell me you’re not serious.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” I picked up my eReader again to leave him to stew. I’d just flicked the device on when his hand rested on top of my wrist. Strong and calloused, his thumb grazed the back of my hand. A spike of electricity pulsed through me, causing me to gasp.

“You’re not meant to cross the line,” I whispered, my voice embarrassingly hoarse. I kept my focus locked on the layer of fine hair coating his arm and the leather surfer bracelets wrapped around his wrist. It meant when he lifted his hand to my cheek I saw every movement. Drawing my lips into my mouth, I attempted to bring some moisture back to them.

“Hazel, the line,” I murmured unconvincingly.

“Sweetheart, my name is Cole. We’re going to have a problem if you keep calling me Hazel.” Hooking my chin, he raised my face to his, only I dropped my gaze. “Look at me.”

My eyes snapped to his at the command. His irises swirled with a startling intensity, so much so I thought I’d get lost in them. How he managed to suck all playfulness out of a situation so quickly had me perplexed.

“Tell me you’re not serious.”

“Why does it matter to you?”

“Because you’re not cut out to be a stripper, Gingernut.” His mouth lifted at one corner into a crooked grin and mine fell.

“You don’t think guys would like what I have to offer?”

I lowered my gaze to his lips when they parted and instantly regretted it. I had to stomp on the curiosity to know what he tasted like rising within me.

“No, I don’t, sweetheart.”

My smile faltered even further. While I was only messing with him, it hurt to hear he didn’t think of me as attractive. I shouldn’t have cared. He was a random stranger after all. However, I wanted to hear a compliment leave his lips.

“They wouldn’t enjoy it because I’d beat the shit out of any guy who dared to watch.”

I sucked in a sharp breath.

“So tell me, how many guy’s faces am I going to have to break?”

“N-none,” I stammered with a whisper.

“What was that?”

“I said none. I was joking. I already have a string of jobs lined up and they’re giving me room and board.”

He dropped his hand, satisfied with my answer. At the removal of his touch, my head instantly cleared.
How did my joke go so wrong?

“I bet you wouldn’t have followed me, though. Not only could I have you arrested for stalking, but you’d get bored long before I got to the stage where I needed to strip.”

“There are three things you need to know, Gingernut. One, I’m not a person you want to make a bet with. I don’t back down and I don’t lose.” He held up his fingers to count off his points. “Two, you’d be surprised by my disregard for the law. If there was a chance I’d get to see your sexy ass I’d be there, and it’d
only
be me. And three, you’re one of a kind. I’m almost certain any time spent with you would never be boring.”

The carriage suddenly felt too small. As if all of the air had been drawn from the train, I struggled to suck in a breath. No one else existed in that moment. I couldn’t have described a single thing happening around us. All I focused on was his deadly serious gaze.

“Do you understand what I’m saying?”

I found myself nodding. “No stripping.”

“No stripping,” he repeated, his stare unwavering. “Unless it’s for me.”

“Dream on, Hazel.”

“I will.”

I swatted his arm and he held it, feigning pain, although I knew I hadn’t hit him that hard. From the muscle there I doubted he even felt it. He wasn’t huge, but he obviously kept in shape.

Thankfully, the food trolley made its way down the aisle and the blonde woman pushing it at a slow pace to make sure she didn’t miss anyone distracted Cole. He dug a hand into his pocket, pulled out a few coins, and ordered something in fluent French—at least I assumed he spoke in French, he could have been saying anything for all I knew.

“Did you want anything?” he asked, glancing back over his shoulder to see me shake my head. “You sure? There’s still a while to go.”

“No I’m fine, thanks.”

He shrugged, and the woman handed him a packet of ready salted crisps. If I was only missing out on crisps then I wasn’t bothered. I filled my bag with food for the journey before leaving, and the only reason I hadn’t eaten was because the excitement distracted me.

 “What jobs have you got lined up?” he asked after he finished the packet. Placing his thumb between his lips, he sucked the flavouring from it slowly. All the while he kept his eyes on mine, his movements deliberate.

“General dogsbody I guess is the official description. I worked in a hotel back in Cornwall and my boss owns the chain. He knew all about my plans and he’s set things up so I can stay and eat for free at his hotels as long as I chip in. I also get a small wage. It’ll mostly be receptionist work, waitressing, or bar work. He has six hotels in Europe, and as long as I can pay for travel, he said I can go to whichever. I’m planning three months per country, but it’s open to change. If I get bored earlier I’ll leave. If I want to stay longer I will.”

“Lucky. What’s the name of his hotel chain? I may stop by and stay a few nights.”

I snorted a laugh—a very unattractive laugh. “You’re going to have to try harder than that.”

“It was worth a shot.”

“What about you? I’m not revealing anything more until I get some information back. What are you doing here? How are you planning to live again?”

“I knew this would bite me in the ass,” he muttered under his breath.

CHAPTER FIVE

Cole

If only I stayed on the opposite side of the train. The last subject I wanted to cover was what led up to me being in France. I knew asking questions made me vulnerable to her returning them, yet I’d done it anyway.

“I’m searching for excitement, I guess. Like you, I want to experience the world and I got tired of being cooped up in the city. I needed to get away from some shit and a recent … uh, inheritance has enabled me to do it.”