“I can’t even imagine, Cole. I’m so sorry.”
He shrugged, trying to stay strong. He’d become immune to sympathy in the weeks following his father’s death because at that time the kind remarks were always laced with a trace of judgment.
Almost everyone in his parents’ circle of friends was or had been military at some point. The accusations against his father, and the fact that his suicide seemed tantamount to admitting guilt, were a hard pill to swallow for some people. Most people.
The question of the kind of man his father truly was had driven a wedge between Cole and his twin. Shep had always been a free spirit, the family rebel and the brother who’d given their parents the most trouble growing up. He’d felt somehow justified in his choices after Richard Bennett’s years of treachery had been revealed.
Cole, who at the time was stationed in Texas, proud to follow in his father’s footsteps with his own military career, had been knocked so far off center he wasn’t sure he’d ever right himself again. Despite the mountain of evidence, including emails and other correspondence that implicated Colonel Bennett, Cole still wanted to believe his dad could be innocent.
“The worst was mom’s reaction,” Cole told her, keeping his voice neutral as emotions buffeted him from every side. “She was his biggest supporter. She’d been so proud of his service. Even after the arrest, she insisted he’d been framed. She wanted him to be the honorable man she’d married but would have stood by his side no matter the outcome.”
“He didn’t give her that choice,” Sienna said quietly.
“She felt like he’d abandoned her. It didn’t help that Shep was doing the ‘I told you so’ routine every waking minute. Her pain didn’t seem to phase him at all.”
She squeezed his leg. “That couldn’t have gone over well with you. It’s obvious you were protective of your mom.”
“Picture the most generous, selfless, caring person you can imagine, then multiply by ten. That was my mom.”
“You were lucky.”
“So was Shep. I still don’t get how we could have had the same parents, the same childhood, most of the same experiences and his take on everything was the polar opposite of mine.”
“I can’t answer that,” Sienna said. “Jase and I obviously had different upbringings, at least for most of it. Did you finally get your brother to come around?”
Cole shook his head. “We got in a fight at Dad’s funeral. Both of us ended up with black eyes, and he had a split lip to go with it. Never could block a shot. Mom blamed us both.” He closed his eyes as memory and regret coalesced inside his chest. “Shep left that night. I haven’t talked to him since.”
“What about when your mom died?” Sienna asked.
He pressed his lips together, then said, “He didn’t come back, and I did a private burial. Without Shep, it was only me there. I couldn’t stand the idea of her family and friends judging her in death at a big service.”
“You don’t know—”
“I do,” he insisted. “It was awful for her, and she had no one with Dad gone.”
“She had you.”
He stood, paced a few steps forward and plucked a stone from the creek bank, hurling it toward the river. It skipped across the water twice, then disappeared into the current with a plop.
He closed his eyes and listened to the water, hoping the bubbling sound would calm his tumultuous emotions as it had so many other evenings. This was the place he came when he needed to regroup—when the stress of work or the sting of the past got to be too much.
Before tonight, he’d always come here alone.
He felt more than heard Sienna come up behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek to the center of his back. “Neither one of our fathers fought for us,” she said into his shirt. “What a pair.”
A pair.
Cole liked the sound of that. He liked the thought of not being alone, and especially of not being alone with Sienna. She softened his edges, dulling the throbbing pain inside his heart until it lessened to a manageable ache.
No one had ever been able to reach him that way before. Cole might be stubborn, but he wasn’t stupid. What she gave to him was precious, a gift to be cherished even if only for a short time.
So he turned around, cupped her cheeks between his hands and kissed her.
Chapter 11
A tremor raced along Sienna’s skin at the press of Cole’s mouth to hers. Within seconds, he deepened the kiss, his tongue lacing with hers and their breath mingling until she wasn’t sure where he ended and she began.
The emotions that assailed her from tonight still held on, but being with Cole had loosened their grip on her. They were distant now, brushing against her legs like tall grass in a summer field instead of making her feel like she was being sucked down into suffocating quicksand.
The longer they kissed, the more she lost herself in the moment—in the feel of Cole’s strong body against hers, the way he held her face so tenderly.
It was as if he saw her for something more than she knew herself to be. Someone who could handle whatever life threw at her, even though she had so many doubts about herself. He’d trusted her with his own painful memories, and she had a suspicion that wasn’t something he did lightly.
“Let’s go...” She paused because what she wanted to say was “home” but she didn’t have a home at the moment. Yes, her condo was waiting for her back in Chicago but the idea of returning there now felt foreign to her. She no longer belonged in her own life, but she didn’t quite have a place in Crimson either. The Bumblebee was lovely, but only a temporary situation. Everything felt fleeting at the moment, and she desperately wanted to hold on to something sure.
“To my place?” Cole whispered against her mouth, and she nodded.
Not her home, but it would do for now.
He took her hand and they returned down the path toward the parking lot. Shadows fell over the trail and the air had already cooled several degrees.
A shiver passed through her as she climbed into the truck, and she wished she’d worn more to dinner than a thin T-shirt with her jeans. As if reading her mind, Cole reached into the back seat, then handed her a fleece pullover.
“This should help,” he said as he turned the key in the ignition.
“I’m fine,” she lied. It was obvious she was nowhere near fine. She slipped the soft fabric over her head, inhaling the scent of laundry soap and spice she would forever associate with her sexy sheriff.
Her sheriff.
Heart stuttering at that thought, she zipped up the fleece. Cole might not be hers forever, but she wasn’t going to waste this chance with him.
“Do you want seat heat?” he asked.
She shook her head. “The jacket is plenty. Do you mind if I roll down my window?”
He gave her a confused glance out of the corner of his eye. “I saw you shiver.”
“I’m warm now, and I love the smell of the forest.” She paused, then added, “I love the scent of pine. I didn’t remember it until tonight, but there were woods at the edge of the trailer park where we lived. I used to build forts and secret hideaways in the trees. Sometimes when my mom and dad fought, I’d escape and pretend I lived in the woods by myself.”
He depressed both of the window buttons, and a moment later cool air and the crisp scent of pine filled the truck. Sienna leaned back against the headrest and let her eyes drift closed. She was used to the hot, humid air of Midwestern summers and appreciated the freshness of the mountains in a way she couldn’t have guessed before returning to Crimson.
“Actually,” she said softly, glancing over at Cole, “an escape still sounds like a pretty good idea.”
He chuckled and took her hand, enfolding it in his larger one. They didn’t speak the rest of the drive back into town. Now that she was calmer, Sienna had a chan
ce to process everything that had happened tonight and what she was about to do with Cole.
What going to his house with him meant. Nerves skittered along her skin, but she didn’t consider changing her mind. She wanted him and for once she wasn’t going to waste time second-guessing herself.
He parked the car in the driveway and came around to open her door. “I’m happy you’re here,” he said and leaned in to kiss her.
“Your neighbors might see,” she said against his mouth, then pulled back.
“I don’t want to hide anything.”
She gave his arm a playful nudge as they walked toward the house. “Is the beloved town sheriff really allowed to bring a woman home for the night?”
They entered the house, cool and quiet in the evening light. “This is nobody’s business but ours,” he said, dumping his keys onto a table next to the door.
She liked the sound of that—of having something here in Crimson that belonged only to her. It was doubtful Cole truly meant the words, but she still appreciated them.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, letting everything else melt away in the heat of her desire. The kiss was slow and deep but quickly turned molten. Suddenly she couldn’t wait any longer. There was nothing Sienna needed more than Cole—all of him with every part of her.
As if sensing the change in her, the consuming need pulsing through her, he lifted her into his arms. She held on tight, her legs encircling his hips as he moved from the family room down the hall.
He continued to kiss her as he moved, and she smiled against his mouth. “A man who can multitask. I like it.”
“I aim to please,” he told her, rounding the corner of what was obviously his bedroom. In the soft light coming from the window, she could see that the walls were painted pale gray and the furniture was dark wood, heavy and masculine. Perfect for Cole.
He pulled back the sheets and followed her down onto the mattress.
“Too many clothes.” She pushed at his wide shoulders.
He laughed softly. “I thought we’d try a little foreplay first.”
“Foreplay later,” she countered. “Right now I need you.” She leveled a look at him, hoping he’d get the message. “Right. Now.”
Straightening, he flipped on the light next to the bed, then tugged his shirt over his head, revealing a broad, muscled chest that made her mouth go dry. The hard planes weren’t a surprise, but the sight of his golden skin and the smattering of dark hair across his chest were the sexiest things she’d ever seen.
“Your pants, too,” she demanded, pointing a finger at him.
One side of his mouth curved. “Do you want to check and make sure my butt passes the no-sag test?”
She shook her head. “I have no concerns about your butt.”
His grin widened. “I hope you’re not going to make me get naked alone.” One finger traced the top button of his jeans. “I could move a lot faster with the right motivation.”
Sienna wasn’t totally inexperienced with men, but she couldn’t remember a time when she’d had so much fun in the bedroom. And they hadn’t even gotten to the good part yet.
She sat up, then undid the buttons on her cotton shirt. The soft fabric tickled her overly sensitive skin as it fell from her arms. She looked down at herself, then said a silent prayer of thanks that she’d worn a pretty bra tonight.
Reaching behind her back, she unfastened it and tugged the red straps off her shoulders.
“Is this what you had in mind?”
Cole’s eyes had gone as dark as rich chocolate. His chest rose and fell like he was having trouble catching his breath. “I couldn’t have imagined you in my wildest dreams.”
The hoarse rasp of his voice sent another round of shivers skittering over her skin. She liked the power she felt in this moment, reveled in his reaction to her.
“Then you’re going to love this,” she told him and tossed the lacy bra in his direction.
In what seemed like one fluid movement, he caught it, tossed it aside and was stretched across her a moment later.
She gasped as his big hands covered her breasts, then arched into him when he captured one nipple in his mouth.
“So damn beautiful,” he said and turned his attention to the other breast. Sensation spiked through her, making it feel like her whole body had gone liquid.
“I thought we agreed...” she paused to suck in a breath as his teeth grazed the tip of one breast “...to skip foreplay.”
“This is too important,” he said, then lifted his head. “You’re too important to skip any part of it.”
Emotion swept through her, even more overwhelming than the physical pleasure Cole was giving her. She raked her fingers through his hair, groaning when he shifted on the bed and undid her jeans, then tugged them, along with her panties, over her hips.
He straightened from the bed and undid his jeans, pushing them down and revealing himself to her. He was perfect...everywhere.
“Do you have...?” She glanced toward the nightstand.
“Yeah.” The one word did crazy things to her body. How was it possible to feel so much when he’d barely touched her?
He stepped forward, opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out a condom, tearing open the wrapper with his teeth.
Automatically, Sienna reached for the light.
“Leave it on,” Cole told her. “I want to see you.”
He was on the bed a moment later, a perfect fit as he joined himself with her. She sucked in a breath as he entered her, wrapping her legs around his lean hips.
They moved together, slowly at first, the rhythm building as he kissed her like his life depended on it.
“You’re perfect,” he whispered, trailing kisses along her jaw.
“Hardly,” she couldn’t help but respond.
He stilled, and she could feel the tension in his body. “Perfect,” he repeated, his gaze intense on hers.
She reached up and pulled his head down to hers, kissing him with all the emotion she wasn’t willing to let him see in her eyes quite yet.
Pressure built inside her as they found a rhythm again and for the moment she let herself believe that she was perfect. That her life wasn’t a total mess. She gave herself over to Cole and as soon as she did, it was like a million stars burst inside her.
She called out his name as pleasure washed over her, lifting her on a wave of sensation so strong it felt like she might never recover.
And in that instant, she realized she wouldn’t recover from Cole Bennett. Because as much as she wanted to believe what was happening between them was just physical, to Sienna it was so much more.
His body tensed and he whispered her name like it was a prayer. After they’d both returned to earth, he held her tight, rolling over and taking her with him.
“Don’t go anywhere,” he told her like he thought she was some kind of flight risk.
Which could be the truth if she wasn’t so boneless.
He took care of the condom, then returned to the bed, straightening the sheet and comforter over her and pulling her to his chest again.
“Perfect,” he repeated, his tone gentle.
“Perfect,” she agreed and let her eyes drift closed.
* * *
“Is it called the walk of shame even if you drove home?”
Sienna gasped and whirled around to find Paige leaning against the hallway doorframe.
“You practically scared the pants off me,” Sienna said, clasping a hand to her chest.
Paige flashed a wide grin. “I think Cole took care of that last night.”
Color rose to Sienna’s cheeks and she forced herself not to look away. “No drive of shame this morning. I’m tired but not ashamed.”
“Because you’re so happy and satisfied?” Paige suggested. “Am I going to get all
the naughty details?”
Sienna shook her head.
Paige made a face. “At least give me something. It’s been a marathon dry spell around here. I need to live vicariously through someone.”
“It was nice,” Sienna said. “Now I need coffee. Do I smell banana bread?”
“Yes,” Paige said, walking down the hall toward the kitchen with Sienna following. “But you can only have a piece if you tell me last night was the most amazing, life-changing experience you’ve ever had.” She grabbed a mug from the counter and handed it to Sienna. “And that Sheriff Bennett is as thorough and capable as I’d imagine.”
Sienna took the mug and moved toward the coffeepot.
“In case we haven’t discussed it,” Paige told her, “I have a very vivid imagination.”
Sienna had a difficult time hiding her grin. “Yes.”
“Yes?”
She kept her gaze on the mug as she poured coffee in it. “To all of it. Amazing, life changing, thorough and capable doesn’t do him justice.”
Paige squealed and did a little dance, coffee sloshing over the mug she held. “I knew it.”
“That’s all I’m going to say,” Sienna added quickly. “No details.”
“Fine,” Paige said as she grabbed a paper towel from the rack attached to the underside of the cabinet. “I even kind of respect you for it. Although I wouldn’t complain if you changed your mind.”
Sienna shook her head. “What’s going on around here?” She gestured toward the living room, where there was still a gaping hole in the floor.
“The contractor is coming today to tell me how much money I don’t have that it will take to fix everything.”
“Sorry.”
Paige shrugged. “I’ll figure it out. I always do. What’s next for you and Cole?”
“Nothing.”
“Do we need to revisit amazing, thorough and more than capable?”
“It was great but I’m not here for that. I need to talk to my dad. We had a little incident last night.”
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