Pain darkened Cole’s eyes and he looked away briefly. When his gaze returned to Lucas, it was cold and unyielding, giving nothing away.
“I can make her happy.”
It was on the tip of Lucas’s tongue to argue the point. To tell Cole that it didn’t matter what he thought because Ren was Lucas’s. But that wasn’t why he’d come. It wasn’t at all what he was going to say. There was little point in needling the other man.
“I’m agreeable to giving her to you for two weeks’ time,” Lucas said.
Cole went completely still, and his eyes suddenly blazed. It was clear that he was shocked by Lucas’s offer. Lucas experienced a moment’s satisfaction that he’d been able to catch this man off guard because he sensed it didn’t happen often.
Cole finally found his tongue and his response was explosive.
Lucas remained silent, allowing Cole to process the sudden declaration.
Cole’s eyes narrowed and he leaned forward. “What’s your angle, Holt?”
“No angle,” Lucas returned calmly. “Ren has been out of sorts since her meeting with you. It’s clear that you and she have unresolved feelings. I’d prefer for those feelings to be resolved so the past can be put to rest.”
“And if they aren’t?” Cole challenged.
“One way or another, they will be.”
Cole stood, then ran a hand through his hair and turned his back to Lucas to stare out the window. When he turned back around, Lucas could see how unsettled he was. Whatever the past, he obviously did still care deeply for Ren.
“I have conditions,” Lucas said before Cole could say anything further.
“Of course,” Cole said dryly.
“For the first meeting, I will be present. I won’t simply turn over a woman I care a great deal about to a man I’m not sure of. You’ll demonstrate your handling of her and I’ll be satisfied that she’ll be well cared for or we leave together.”
“You want to watch me fuck her?” Cole asked in disbelief.
Lucas shrugged. “If that’s what occurs, then yes, I’ll watch you fuck her. You won’t disrespect her. You will treat her with the utmost care. If I sense anything, and I mean, anything at all that would lead me to believe I’m making a mistake, I’ll pull the plug and Ren leaves with me.”
Cole shook his head. “What’s your game? Why would you do this? It doesn’t make any sense. You have to know that I’m going to do everything in my power to make damn sure she stays with me.”
“Yes, I know.”
Cole’s look of absolute
“If you’re able to take her from me then she never really belonged to me now did she?”
“You’re crazy,” Cole muttered.
“I want her to be happy even if it’s not with me. I wonder if you can say the same.”
“I don’t know,” Cole said honestly.
Lucas rose. “I realize I run the risk of having Ren not return to me. She could choose you. I would be lying if I said I had any confidence of knowing how she’ll choose either way. But know this: If she does indeed return to me when her time with you is over, I’ll never let her go again.”
“Yeah, I understand. In your position, I wouldn’t either.”
“I’m giving you something very precious to me,” Lucas said quietly. “If you do anything to hurt her, I’ll come after you.”
Cole nodded his understanding. “Just so you understand, though, I don’t take orders from you. If you’re truly giving Ren to me, that period of time will be on my terms.”
“I think Ren would be very disappointed if the man charged with taking care for her ever allowed another man to dictate his actions. Ren needs a very strong man. Don’t think to wrap her in cotton and pretend you aren’t a dominant man. She won’t thank you for it and it will immediately drive her away. Ren is a woman who is very comfortable with her needs and wants. She doesn’t like games and she won’t appreciate you pretending to be what you’re not in an effort to woo her.”
Cole’s breath huffed out in a sound that came between confusion and exasperation. “You’re a twisted son of a bitch, you know that? You’re giving me a primer to seducing the woman you care about away from you. You’re bitingly possessive one minute and lazily accepting the next.”
A slow smile twitched the corners of Lucas’s mouth. “But you need no such primer. You were Ren’s first. You should know how to please her. And if you don’t, she’ll simply come back to me that much faster.”
Cole settled onto the couch and after a moment, Lucas took his seat across from Cole. For the space of a few seconds, Lucas studied the man who’d meant so much to Ren.
“Tread carefully, Madison. It puzzles you that I’d provide you so much information. I want Ren to be happy, but more than that I want her to feel safe and comforted. Her last relationship damaged her.”
Cole’s nostrils immediately flared and he sat forward, his expression blank. “What do you mean by ‘damaged’?”
