The Dividing Line (Book 1)

13 Ξ Truce (BWWM)

"Where are you going?" He asked in a lazy voice. 

As hints of sunlight ebbed around the curtains to announce the break of a new day, Angel lay in bed considering the stiffness that had settled in her joints. After a night filled with sensual explorations, her body protested against her attempts to engage in even the slightest movement. Fire had its way with her all night as Cole tested the flexibility of her limbs bending and twisting her body as he indulged in her flesh. 

She was sure the soreness would eventually subside. But for the moment, Angel knew the first step of overcoming the painful reminders of her late-night activities required that she figure out a way to untangle herself from the massive limbs wrapped around her body.

Easing his knee from her thigh, Angel slid his arm from her waist. Just as she was certain to have freed herself from the warmth of his flesh, Angel came to realize that her efforts had been in vain. 

Cole pulled her back.

"Where are you going?" His groggy tone demanded.

"I have to start my work," she giggled more at the idea of being caught in the middle of her escape.

"No, stay in bed with me. I need you next to me," Cole whispered softly as he snuggled closer to her.

Angel allowed him to pull her back under the blanket where warm soothing skin awaited her. She knew there was no chance in the world that the two of them could simply stay in bed motionless, doing nothing. 

Since they crossed the line that once divided them, neither Cole nor Angel signaled their regrets. Instead, they lost themselves in the silence and solidarity of being all alone out in the middle of nowhere. 

Cole had been violently ripped away from his previous life and though he hated how he discovered Angel's care, he was thankful for the peace and serenity he found in her... with her... right by her side.

With the beast pressing against her back, physically shouting inaudible commands, the grin on her face confirmed that she was aware of his desire for her.

"Are you okay?" He asked with gentle attention after his acts of destruction hours ago.

No, was all she heard screaming in her head. Angel still ached from the attack waged against her body. If only she could blame it all on him, but she knew better. Angel spent the night prompting him to do his worst. And he did.

As if he read her mind, Cole nudged her to turn and face him. 

Angel's warm brown orbs peered into his sky-blue eyes. What she saw in them stirred her heart as she acknowledged the changes in them. 

The man staring back at her was no longer the stranger she labored to rescue. 

That man was long gone. 

Before, he always appeared so dangerous and unapproachable. Evil energy surrounded him at all times after he regained consciousness. But now, his eyes... his smile... somehow, they were softer and more gentle than before. They held none of the venom that was present on the day he first laid eyes on her. The disbelief he once carried around in his every glare transitioned from rigid uncertain to a certain kind of quiet reverence as he lost himself focusing on how she had incorporated his care into her daily life. 

Cole's lips met hers in a gentle embrace. 

Even though the symbols of hate embodied in his tattoos remained in their place, Angel no longer associated the man with the remnants of his troubled past.

When she met him, his inward and outward characteristics screamed who he was and what he represented. He was a living breathing advertisement for hate. His head was completely bald and he dressed like a person hell-bent on destruction.