by Amelia Wilde
“This seemed like a really good idea when it was in my head, but looking at it now I can see how you might have the wrong idea.” He looks flustered and he walks forward, blowing out a couple of the candles before I stop him.
“It’s fine, Cole. Just leave them.”
He turns to face me and wrings a hand through his hair. “I swear I don’t plan on seducing you. I just wanted you to be warm and comfortable. All I want is to explain everything.”
I nod and shiver a bit, images of Cole’s seduction coming to mind. He mistakes the action for me being cold.
“Come have a seat. Use a blanket to warm up.” He bends over and picks up one of the beige fur blankets and holds it out for me to take.
It’s late fall, but the weather tonight is mild. Chances are it’s probably in the low to mid-fifties, but I don’t argue, stepping forward and taking the offering from him. I slip my heels off and step onto the blanket, the soft fur slightly cool underneath my feet. Once I’m seated I wrap the other blanket around me and watch as Cole follows suit and removes his shoes then sits directly across from me.
My heart is pounding like a bass drum in my chest and each beat reverberates against my sternum.
“I’m not even sure where to start.”
“The truth would be a good spot.”
A crease forms on his forehead. I can tell this isn’t easy for him, but I won’t allow myself to care. I refuse to.
He picks at the blanket for a moment before he draws in a breath and begins. “Back in college I became friends with a guy named Stefan. We met at a frat party and hit it off. Mostly because he wasn’t a pompous asshole like a lot of the other kids there who’d grown up with a silver spoon in their mouth—myself included. His dad was in finance on Wall Street and when Stefan graduated he came into some of his trust fund. Rather than follow in his father’s footsteps he decided he wanted to do something good with the money.”
He glances up at me from where he was looking down at the blanket to see if I’m following along.
Which I’m not.
I mean, I understand everything he’s saying, I just have no idea where he’s going with this. Regardless, I nod for him to continue.
“Stefan moved to Florida and started up a shelter for battered women. Since college he’s been helping women leave abusive relationships and resettle into a new life. Part of the process is giving these women a fresh start. To do that he relies on myself and a few other college buddies to provide them with a job and help settle them in a new city far away from the reach of their abusers.”
My mind runs over all the women I’ve met at Cole’s various businesses and I wonder which of them fall into the category of victim.
“That’s what Chase was talking about when he threatened to tell your dad about the women…” I’d meant only to think it, but before I can stop myself the words are flying out of my mouth.
Cole nods. “Chase overheard a conversation I had with Stefan on the phone one day and put two and two together. He’s threatened a few times to expose my secret to my dad. He has no idea and if you knew my dad you’d know that he wouldn’t want anything to do with it. My dad’s the kind of guy who throws money or a charitable donation at a problem. He’s not an in-the-trenches guy.”
A few things that have bothered me since our break-up click into place. “That phone call you took that day when you had to leave abruptly…”
“One of the women was scared. She thought she heard someone out back of her place. It was nothing, but it took me a while to calm her down.”
My shoulders hunch as a little of my indignation leaves my body. My biggest issue was Cole not telling me what Chase was up to, but I’d be lying if I pretended that the little incidents with the women hadn’t bothered me. I’d wondered more than a few times whether something had happened with Cole and someone else when we were together.
I pull the blanket tighter around myself. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“I couldn’t break their trust. They’re here to leave the past behind them. Not only is it not my story to tell, but if you knew you’d no doubt look at them differently and they wouldn’t want that.”
I guess that makes sense. “That still doesn’t change the fact that you lied to me about Chase. You knew my best friend’s fiancé was cheating on her and you didn’t say anything.” My tone grows heated.
“Whit, I couldn’t tell you. Chase was threatening to out me to my dad, which would’ve meant all these women might lose the jobs that are keeping them afloat. My dad legally owns all those businesses I gave them jobs at. Not only that, but a new woman was coming the next week and if Chase had exposed me she would’ve had nowhere to go.”
“So what? You were planning to stand beside your brother as his best man while you knew he was screwing around?” I’m angrier now.
“No!” He scoots forward and grips my shoulders over the top of the blanket. “I was trying to get him to do the right thing and tell Tahlia what had happened. That’s why he barged in that night, because we’d just had it out and I told him he had until the end of the week.”
I don’t know what to think. Sincerity and frustration are written all over his face. But I’m not sure I can get past the fact that he knowingly lied to me. Over and over again.
“Cole, I think what you’re doing for those women is honorable and I understand why you didn’t want to tell me… wait. Why are you able to tell me now?”
“I spoke to everyone involved, told them what happened and they all agreed that it was okay if I confided in you. I think they’ve watched me mope around and be miserable for the past month and they’re sick of it.”
A small laugh escapes me, much to my own annoyance.
“There were so many times I wanted to tell you… I just… it wasn’t just about me or me and you. If it were I would have been honest with you from the start.” He leans in and kisses my forehead. I don’t pull away. I can’t. Once again, I’ve made Cole out to be some type of monster in my mind when he’s not.
When will I learn? When will I trust someone and stick around to give them the chance to prove themselves in good and bad times?
I exhale and feel like I’m releasing all the toxic emotions I’ve bottled up since I disposed of the man in front of me.
He pulls back and searches my face. The blanket falls from my shoulders and I wrap my arms around his neck.
He pulls me closer so that I’m sitting on his lap.
“I know you don’t have any siblings, Whit, but he’s my brother. I felt loyal to you and to him. We may not be the closest, but I wanted to believe that he’d do the right thing—eventually. I know he loves Tahlia. I thought maybe… maybe he just had cold feet about the wedding and would sort his shit out. Chase has always been a little pompous and self-entitled, but it’s hard to accept that he’s the kind of person who would willingly hurt the woman he asked to marry him.”
Cole’s right. I don’t have a sibling, but I do know what it’s like to come to the realization that a member of your family may not be the type of person you expect them to be. I had to come to grips with the fact that both of my own parents didn’t want me.
“There’s something else you need to know.”
His voice is low and serious. It makes my entire body tense, waiting to hear what he says next.
“I want you looking at me when I say this.” He pushes my shoulders back and cups my face. “Sweetheart, I am so in love with you. It’s been hell without you and I don’t want to do it anymore. I need you in my life and I’m not going to take no for an answer. You may not forgive today, or even tomorrow. But I’ll be here waiting for you the moment that you do.”
He leans forward and places his lips on mine and I open to him immediately. Nothing has ever felt so right as when this man kisses me. Our slow and sensual kiss turns heated right away and before I know it I’ve shifted myself on his lap so that I’m straddling him.
His hard cock pushes into me from below and I’d gi
ve anything right now to get rid of all the fabric between the two of us. I grind down on top of him, anxious for any friction I can get—desperate having missed this so much.
“I can’t be without you anymore, Whit.” He trails his lips down my throat and his hands reach for the hem of my shirt and in one fluid yank it’s up and over my head.
“I can’t either. Even when I was mad at you I still loved you.”
He stills below me and pulls back to pin me with an intense stare. “You feel the same?” he asks in almost a whisper.
I bite my bottom lip and nod, the corner of my mouth creeping up.
A slow grin transforms his face and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him look so happy. “You realize that I’m never letting you go. No matter what bonehead move I make in the future, you’re still mine. You’ll always be mine.”
I reach behind and unclasp my bra. “I think I can live with that.” I let the straps fall down my arms and toss it to the side.
His hands cup and knead my breasts. “Good, because you have no choice in the matter.” He lowers his head and sucks my nipple into his mouth, teasing it with his tongue and biting down lightly.
“Please don’t make me wait any longer,” I beg. “I need you inside me.”
He doesn’t answer, but he does push up and gently lay me on my back so that he hovers over me.
Cole undresses me slowly, trailing kisses over every inch of skin he exposes, and then undresses himself. I take in the way the moonlight bounces off his skin and shadows his muscles while he works away, and I can’t believe that this man is mine. That we are in love with each other.
Six months ago, I was in one of the darkest spots of my life until Cole shone his light on me. The feeling inside me is overwhelming joy and I know that anything is possible.
“In some ways, I’m glad we didn’t get that date all those years ago,” I say as I pull my head up to meet his lips. “If I’d met you back then I’m not sure we would’ve made it to here. I wasn’t ready for you.” He gives me a slow kiss that heats every inch of my exposed skin. “I’m ready now. I am so ready.”
He slides into me and I know with all my heart and my head that this is what real love feels like. The joining of bodies… the joining of lives… the joining of hearts. It doesn’t mean everything will always be perfect, but it does mean that when things are imperfect you can trust the other person to get you through. I have a partner now and I fully accept and believe that I don’t have to do it all on my own anymore.
As I cry out in ecstasy under the full moon and a spattering of stars, I know that I will never stop loving this man—his unicorn cock is just a bonus.
Epilogue
Six Months Later
“You sure come with a lot of stuff.”
I place the box I’m holding on the kitchen counter and cock a hip. “You love it.”
Cole sets my box of shoes down on the floor and steps over to me, drawing me into his body. “I love you. I can’t say that I love the five thousand pairs of shoes you’ve brought with you.”
“That’s a bit of an exaggeration, don’t you think?”
He looks behind him at the box he just set down and then to the one set at the entrance to the kitchen and turns his attention back to me. “I’m not so sure about that.”
I smack his chest. “Well, if you didn’t want all my stuff here you shouldn’t have asked me to move in with you.”
Cole dips his head and his lips meet mine. In seconds, he deepens the kiss and slides his tongue along the seam of my mouth. I open to allow him entrance and our tongues meet and before I know it our hands are exploring one another’s body. My t-shirt is whipped up over my head and tossed somewhere on the floor in a flash.
I come to my senses and pull away, taking a few steps back from him. “Wait. We can’t do this right now. We still have boxes in the U-Haul and it’s due back in a couple of hours.”
His hungry eyes roam over my body and eventually meet my gaze. “Sweetheart, do you really expect me to look at you standing in front of me like that and not do something about it?”
I bite my bottom lip and moan a little because it’s so hard to say no to him when he’s looking at me like I’m his lunch. But I have no choice. We need to finish hauling everything up here and then Lennon and I have plans to go to Tahlia’s and finally drag her back into the land of the living.
“What if we negotiate?” I offer.
He takes one step closer to me. “I’m listening.”
“What if we finish getting everything up here, return the truck, and then I give you one of those blow jobs you like so much? Afterwards we can shower together to save time.”
Cole doesn’t even bother to answer me. Instead he bends down and scoops my shirt up and then pulls it over my head, dressing me as if I’m a child.
“You always have the best ideas.” He gives me a chaste kiss and then turns to get back to work.
I laugh and grab a glass from the cupboard, suddenly parched.
“Um…”
“What is it?” Once the glass is gripped in my hand I turn around to face him and see exactly what it is. “Sparky! Bad dog!”
The little mutt has dragged one of my shoes out of the box on the floor and is doing his best to turn it into a chew toy.
“Stop it.” I spring forward to try to save my shoe, but Sparky just grips it between his teeth and takes off for the living room, wedging himself between the back of the couch and the wall.
It’s moments like these that make me question why I decided to be the one to adopt him.
“Those were one of my favorite pairs,” I complain.
I hear Cole’s footsteps behind me and he takes my hand and leads me out the door. “I’ll buy you another pair. Hell, I’ll buy you ten. Let’s just finish this job because now all I can think about is that blow job, my cock is hard and I’m going to be uncomfortable until your lips are wrapped around me. So, come.” He claps his hands in front of him twice. “Chop, chop.”
I laugh and get back to work. Truth is, I’m looking forward to it as much as he is.
After a few drinks at Tahlia’s house, Lennon and I put our plan to find Tahlia a rebound guy into action. A cab drops us off outside the city’s core where a giant white tent is set up with a large temporary fence around the entire area.
“What is this?” Tahlia asks as I pay the taxi driver. She opens her door to exit.
“Excitement, that’s what.” When they’ve both exited the back seat, Lennon shuts the door to the taxi and it speeds off.
I pull out my phone and text Cole to let him know we’re here.
Lennon doesn’t even wait for us and starts heading toward the action, unconcerned as to whether we’re following.
I tuck my phone into my back pocket. “Cole’s waiting at the gate for us.”
“What is this?” Tahl asks again, glancing down at her outfit, no doubt wondering whether she’s dressed appropriately. Twenty-something years of upbringing are hard to break.
“It’s an amateur boxing fight night. Cole comes here with his friends on occasion.”
Tahlia tenses, every muscle in her body appearing rigid.
“Not Chase,” I assure her and swing my arm around her shoulders, pulling her into me. “Cole understands that Chase is never to be around me.”
“What about when you get married?”
I draw back so she can see me and know I’m not just giving her lip service. “We’ll elope, or forget to mail his invitation.”
“It’s his brother.” She looks doubtful. She clearly doesn’t know my blow job skills and my ability to leverage them to get what I want from my man.
“Tahl.” I pause until she’s looking at me. “Let’s not talk about Chase for one night.”
A small smile creeps onto her face. “Deal.”
I unhook my arm from around her shoulders and we hurry to try to catch Lennon, ready for the fun to begin.
Now, if I’d had any idea what was going to go dow
n that night I might never have brought her in the first place.
Can a bad boy mend Tahlia’s broken heart?
GRAB HOOKED ON THE BOXER NOW! Scroll ahead for an excerpt!
“I'll just say one thing, thanks to Lucas, I'll never look at a boxing ring in the same way” ~ Amazon Reviewer
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BETTING ON YOU
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