Chapter 3 Chloe

Chloe

Jake grinned at me, completely ignoring Cole like he wasn't even standing there.

"Your mom invited me, old man, same as every year."

My mouth fell open before I could stop it. 'Old man?'

Cole's mother smacked his arm lightly. "Don't be rude, Jake."

Then she turned to me with that warm, easy smile that made you want to tell her everything. "Chloe, honey, Jake doesn't have any family in Chicago, he's a foster kid, and ever since we drafted him at nineteen he's spent every Thanksgiving with us, so he's like Cole's little brother, isn't that sweet?"

"Oh, I see," I said, still trying to process everything while trying to look normal.

Jake walked straight toward me, ignoring Cole's hand on my waist completely, and his eyes never left mine.

"Mom told me Cole would be coming with his girlfriend and her name was Chloe, and I knew right away it was you."

Before I could respond, he pulled me into a hug that lasted a second too long. I knew Jake liked me, he'd never been shy about showing it, and apparently he wasn't planning to start now.

Behind me, Cole's hand tightened around my waist. "Jake, that's enough."

The entire room fell silent.

Before I could even react, Cole stepped between us and his chest formed a solid wall in front of me.

He leaned closer to my ear, close enough that his breath brushed my skin. "Remember rule three."

His voice was so low that a warm shiver ran through me before I could stop it.

Then he turned toward Jake. "Stay away from my girlfriend, Sterling, that's an order from your boss."

Cole's mother clapped her hands together. "Oh, boys, stop fighting!"

Before I could come up with a word, the sound of footsteps on the stairs caught everyone's attention, and with every step my heart beat harder against my ribs.

A tattooed man with gray eyes came into view, and his gaze swept over me in a way that made me instantly uncomfortable.

'No.'

My palms grew sweaty and my stomach dropped.

He was the bar owner I'd spent one night with two months ago, I'd left the morning after without even saying goodbye.

His face changed as he recognized me, and a slow smirk spread across his lips.

A cold shiver ran down my spine and I couldn't even move.

'Please, God, don't let him be Cole's brother.'

"Chloe, meet my son Luke," Cole's mother said with a bright smile.

My mind went completely blank and I could still see her talking but her words sounded distant, like bubbles popping underwater.

There was no way. I'd slept with Cole's brother.

My heart hammered against my ribs and this had to be karma coming for me.

"Hey, pretty."

Luke's voice pulled me back to the present and he extended his hand, waiting for me to shake it.

I swallowed hard and tried to move, but I couldn't.

"That's enough."

Cole's voice was cold and final, and he stared at his brother with his jaw clenched tight.

But Luke only smirked. "Hey, big bro, I'm harmless."

He flashed a smile that could make any woman forget her own name, but his eyes remained fixed on me.

"Chloe is tired and needs to rest," Cole said, and his tone was so cold.  "Alright, bro." Luke raised his hands in surrender, but his gaze lingered on me a second too long.

My stomach sank as I noticed the way everyone in the family looked between us, curious and confused.

Cole's grip on my waist remained firm as he led me out of the living room and toward the bedroom we'd be sharing, and of course he wasn't stupid because he knew something had happened between Luke and me.

The moment we entered the bedroom, Cole locked the door behind us.

I jumped. "Why did you lock it?" He turned toward me, his eyes stone-cold and unreadable, the kind of cold that makes the air in the room feel thinner.

"Because my brother was staring at you like he already knew what you sounded like," he said as he walked toward me, slow and deliberate, one step and then another until there was no space left between us.

I backed away without thinking until my back hit the wooden wall with a soft thud and there was nowhere else to go.

"Cole..." I whispered, but my voice didn't sound like mine.

"How many times?" he asked, his voice low and tight, like the words cost him something to say.

"What?" My eyes widened as I locked eyes with him, trying to read what was anger and what was something else entirely.

"How many times did you sleep with him, once, twice, in his bar, in his bed?" The questions came out too fast, like he'd been holding them since he saw Luke's face.

"Jeez, Cole, what the-"

"Answer me!" His voice rattled through me, not just loud but raw, and the wall shook a little behind my back.

"It was once," I said, my eyes searching his face because I couldn't understand what could make him act like a caveman when all of this was fake and we both knew it.

"Once," he repeated, as if he were tasting the word, letting it sit on his tongue and deciding whether he believed it.

His hand came up slowly, not touching me yet, but caging me against the wall, his arm braced beside my head so close I could feel the heat coming off his skin.

"Did you know his name? Did you scream his name?" he asked quietly, his eyes dropping to my lips before coming back up.

"Cole, stop."

"Did he touch you like this?" His hand finally landed on my waist, firm and possessive, his palm hot through the thin fabric of my dress as his fingers pressed into my skin.

"Did he hold you like you belonged to him?"

That was it. That was the height of it all, the line he shouldn't have crossed.

Right then, all I could feel was the heat and anger shooting through me at once, rising from my stomach up to my throat, because who did he think he was to ask me that when this whole thing between us was fake.

"He didn't hold me like I belonged to him because I don't belong to anyone!" I snapped, my voice shaking with more anger than I knew I had in me.

I placed my hand against his hard chest and shoved him with everything I had, and he stumbled back one step, his eyes wide, and I could see the shock all over his face, as if he couldn't believe I'd actually pushed him.

"It's none of your business," I said, my voice shaking despite me. "That was before your stupid fake contract, before your fucking rule three, you hired me to pretend to be your girlfriend, you didn't hire me to interrogate me about my body."

A heavy silence settled between us, and outside the window the frozen lake cracked loud enough to make us both flinch.

Cole looked at the spot where I'd shoved him, then back at me, his jaw so tight it looked painful.

"You're right," he finally said, his voice low and rough. "It's not my business who you slept with before."

He ran a hand through his hair and stepped back, giving me space for the first time since we entered the room, and the distance felt colder than his anger. But something told me the problem wasn't going to end there. Because Cole Maddox might have agreed that my past wasn't his business. His reaction to Luke had already told me he wasn't going to find it easy to forget.