"Skye?"
I snapped out of my dirty thoughts and found Cole watching me in amusement. "Yeah?"
"What's up with you? We were just about to order dessert," he said. "Do you want to have some?"
I swallowed hard. I want to have you, I almost blurted out but my Cole was strange in that sense. Sex with me was a pretty big deal for him and he told me he was not going to rush into it. Also, he had been honest about how he worried Jasper might take it once we started being intimate since nothing like this had ever happened in their house before. Neither of them had ever slept with another person separately and Cole did not want Jasper to feel hurt.
I understood that, of course. If I was Jasper, it would hurt me too and Cole's consideration was admirable, especially given the fact that he wanted to jump my bones so badly every time we were alone together.
"I don't want dessert," I said softly and smiled at him, reaching out to caress his hand. "You guys go ahead and order. I'm going to the bathroom."
Cole's eyes were like twin flames of desire as he watched me get up and walk away. There was so much promise in those green depths. I felt fortunate every day to have his love.
When I returned a few minutes later, Jasper and Cole were sharing a chocolate soufflé between them and laughing about something. I paused for a moment and just watched the two of them basking in each other's attention and love. And felt something like longing creep up on me.
Then I shook it off. I knew my place in this trio of ours and I liked it there. I didn't have to long for anything else because I had Cole and that was enough for me.
At that moment, Jasper caught sight of me and looked me over in that way of his. My breath hitched and I watched mesmerized as he brought the spoon of soufflé to his mouth and sucked on it. Then he dug it back in the chocolate and offered some to Cole. Cole barely even swallowed it before Jasper leaned forward and kissed him in the corner of his mouth keeping his dark eyes fixed on me with a taunting look in them.
I swallowed at the surge of lust that threatened to consume me at the sight of them kissing. Jasper thought he was being mean and yes he was but it was in a very different sense to what he probably intended.
I did feel jealous. Not because he was kissing Cole in front of me but because I suddenly wanted to be right there with Cole receiving Jasper's teasing kisses.
Oh, shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. This was not happening. This could never happen. Cole would kill us both. He was adamant about not sharing me and always looked upset if I showed too much interest in Jasper and vice versa.
All of a sudden, Cole turned his head and looked directly at me, catching me completely off guard. I quickly averted my gaze from Jasper. My boyfriend's smile faded a little as he studied my expression and I inhaled deeply to steady my racing heartbeats.
I was pretty sure I had my horny face on. Cole always teased me about it whenever we made out and he knew exactly what I looked like when I was turned on. My hands were actually trembling and my skin grew hot as guilt crept up on me. For a moment, he just stared at me and then flicked his intuitive eyes to Jasper who was trying his best to pretend he was not even aware of my presence as he peered at the canal beside us.
Then Cole simply lowered his eyes to the plate of dessert sitting in front of him and firmly pushed it away as if the sweet item had suddenly turned into something offensive.
~~~
Chapter 12
Skye
He had me pinned to the bed with just the weight of his big, hard body and was slowly grinding his hips against mine. Languidly. Making me feel every inch, every slide.
"Tell me you don't like this. Tell me this isn't something you enjoy. Huh?" he demanded to know, his hands trailing paths of fire across my skin. "Come on, you little minx. Tell me you hate my attitude now," Jasper growled before crushing my mouth with his.
With a gasp, I opened my eyes and lay there stiffly, my heart pounding like crazy and my pussy feeling all tight and throbbing. Holy fuck.
I had been dreaming about Jasper Wells handling me in his arrogant, possessive manner and it had turned me on. Shit. My nipples tightened as the unbidden image of him dripping wet in a towel every time he got out of the shower flooded my brain.
I let out a groan. "What is wrong with me?" I grumbled, dragging the sheets over my body and closing my eyes again. We had gotten back from the dinner only a couple of hours ago and all throughout the drive, my body had been way too aware of the man I was not supposed to be thinking about.
Cole better get over his inhibitions and have sex with me soon because this was getting too ridiculous. I spent more time around Jasper than I did with my own boyfriend and I was sure it was just the proximity and sexual frustration getting to me. I just needed to get laid, that's all.
~~~
Cole
A loud crash startled me from my nap and I jerked awake trying to get my bearings. Someone let out a shocked sound close by, confusing me further. With a muttered curse, I stumbled out of my bedroom and in the direction of the noise which seemed to be coming from our home office.
"Skye?" I called out because it definitely sounded like a female.
"Signor Cole," said the voice apologetically and I finally realised it belonged to Adalina, our maid who came in once a week, every Saturday, to give our place a general cleaning. "Mi dispiace. I'm sorry," she kept saying and to my horror, I discovered she was inside Jasper's dark room, bent over some equipment and files which were strewn over the floor.
"Christ, Adalina, what are you doing?" I hissed out clutching my hair because for a moment I had no idea how to process this.
I had started work at six in the morning after returning from the club around midnight following our dinner. Then today, I had worked for almost eight hours straight at my new job. Coming home had felt like heaven and all I could see in front of me was my bed. This was the last thing I had expected to deal with. Jasper hated it when anybody went inside this room or messed up his stuff and that included me. I had learned that lesson the hard way a couple of times before deciding it was not worth it getting this room organised.
"Adalina, you know you're not supposed to come in here," I reminded her in an exasperated tone.
She sniffled as she tried to gather the stuff that had fallen. "Sorry, Signor Cole. The door was unlocked and this room was so messy!" she cried. "I thought to help. Per favore non essere arrabbiato con me."
I felt bad for her. She sounded genuinely terrified as if she might get fired or something. Kneeling down, I put a hand on her shoulder and assured her that I was not angry with her. She was a woman in her forties who mostly minded her own business, was good at her job and had simply made a mistake like all humans do.
"I'll take care of this, Adalina, va tutto bene. Just...go do the other rooms please."
She worried her lips with her teeth and I motioned for her to go. "You're only messing it up more. I'll see if I can just put it all back the way he likes it. Please don't ever come in here again."
Adalina nodded gratefully and departed the room, leaving me to blow out a breath and get to work. Fuck, I was exhausted. It was around 3 pm now. Skye would be home any minute from her session. Jasper might take longer since he was called for a meeting with some big shots today but there was no going back to sleep now.
It took me half an hour to 'reorganize' the clutter. I had not set foot in this room for months because I had no interest in getting in an argument with Jasper in case I messed up his precious equipment or chemicals or photos.
Adalina had already left a few minutes ago after coming to say goodbye. The saintly woman had made us pasta and meatballs for dinner along with Jasper's favourite no-bake cheesecake which was not part of her job description but I guess she had wanted to make up for her blunder.
Oh well. One less thing to worry about for the evening.
"Personal gallery, Borcello wedding, Anna Reece birthday," I mumbled while placing Jasper's portfolios back on the shelves at the back of the room.
I had forgotten whether he organised those in alphabetical order or by recent dates but I just went with the latter.
When I picked up a blue folder from the floor and flipped through the leaves since it was not labelled, I found it to be blank and was about to put it away when a few loose photos fell out.
"Damn it," I grumbled because the lack of sleep was causing me to feel so irritated and this just added to my discomfort.
I bent to pick up the photos and frowned at the large, glossy print-outs in confusion, my hands holding them gingerly as I slowly got to my feet. What the...?
It was dark in the room so I had to squint a little but I still could not wrap my head around the fact that I was looking at pictures of Skye.
My Skye. A close-up of her face as she lounged in some pool, smiling slightly. Then there was one of her back as she got out of the pool wearing a black bikini. The last one was of her from the front, her glorious body on display in just scraps of clothing as she towelled her hair.
A cold feeling wrapped around my heart as I placed the folder on the nearest closest surface.
That was when I heard the sound of the front door opening and Skye's voice calling out my name because she already knew I was at home alone. I had been texting her when I fell asleep an hour ago. I said nothing because I was still reeling from my latest discovery. She searched for me as the seconds went by before finally walking into the office and appearing in the doorway of the darkroom.
"Cole? Are you okay? Didn't you hear me calling?" she asked in a soft, worried voice.
I rubbed a hand over my face. "No. Sorry. I was just distracted."
"Oh, okay. What're you doing in the Batcave? How'd you manage to get past the security systems?"
My lips twitched involuntarily at her attempt at humour. She knew the darkroom was off limits as well because Jasper got grumpy about it.
Jasper.
A jolt of pain shot through my heart as I thought of him. Was this why he did not want anybody here? Because it was where he hid his dirty secrets?
I glanced over at Skye who was frowning at me worriedly but I straightened when I noticed her bloodshot eyes and sad expression.
"Skye? What's wrong?" I asked, walking towards her quickly, my concern for her overriding every other thought and emotion.
She shook her head at me. "Nothing. I just missed you."
I cradled her face in my hands and frowned at her. "What's wrong?" I repeated a little firmly this time. She grew tearful and buried her face in my chest in that sweet, trusting way of hers.
"I love you," she whispered and my heart thundered in response. It was the first time she had uttered those words to me. I smiled then because I could not help the pleasure from spreading across my body at her confession.
"Skye. I love you too. It's a good thing, you know," I told her, rocking us both gently as we stood there hugging. "You don't have to sound so miserable."
She laughed, the muffled sound vibrating against my chest. "I'm sorry," she sniffed. "I just didn't get a chance to see you in the morning and I had a restless night. Then I was late to work and one of my clients got mad and yelled at me."
"What?" Scowling, I pulled away from her and stared into her watery eyes. "Who do I need to beat up?"
She shook her head dismissively. "Can you just hold me?" she asked sadly. "Just hold me and let me sleep for a while. Please."
Without hesitation, I lifted her up in my arms and carried her into the living room, placing her gently on the couch. Knowing her, there was probably a huge pile of clothes strewn on her bed from her hurry to get to work today and sure enough, that was the case when I walked into her space to get her a blanket. Smiling in amusement, I returned to the couch with the blanket, turned on the TV and then settled down with her leaning on me and the blanket draped over us.
"You want to eat or drink something?" I murmured, running my fingers through her long, blond locks.
Sighing, she snuggled closer. "No. I just want you. And sleep."
Again I smiled. "Took the words right out of my mouth," I whispered, the white noise from the TV sending us both into dreamland in no time.
~~~
Chapter 13
Jasper
The small, pale yellow apartment coming into my line of vision as I pulled up in our driveway brought a contented smile to my face. It had been such a busy day today. I had had two photo shoots, both taking place out of the city and a meeting with the big dogs at Vogue Italia. They wanted to hire me as a photographer for some controversial piece about aging models and I was thrilled at the prospect.
Cole was the first person I had texted as soon as I closed the deal but he had not replied for so long and I was pretty sure he was sleeping. I quietly made my way inside, careful not to disturb him because of his long hours today and headed into the kitchen. There had not been time for a proper lunch and I was wondering what to make for dinner when I spotted the plates in the sink, the opened bottle of wine and half empty jug of lemon juice. Cole didn't drink wine so it must have been for...
The door to Skye's bedroom opened and Cole emerged from inside with an armload of laundry. We stared at each other for a moment, my jaw hanging half open at the fact that he was doing Skye's chores. What the fuck? The girl had perfectly working hands and feet. Why did my boyfriend feel the need to coddle her so damn much?
He did not smile at me or throw me one of his affectionate greetings. Instead he jerked his head towards the counter and said, "Adalina made us dinner. Don't worry about the mess, I'll get around to it tomorrow. It's been a long day."
Tell me about it. I opened my mouth to ask him what Skye was doing and why she was not helping him after he had been working so much but he stalked off in the direction of the laundry room before I could say anything.
Angrily, I went over to her open bedroom door and marvelled at the organisation and lack of clutter for the first time since she had moved in. She was lying sideways on the bed with her eyes closed so I could not berate her for her laziness but just then, her eyes opened and she looked right at me.
A strange expression came over her face. Something like...fear and it threw me off so much, I remained silent before retreating to my own room. Why was she giving me that kind of look instead of lording it over me that Cole was acting like her personal slave boy?
Fuck. I did not have time for all this drama. I just wanted my partner here with me so I could ask him how his day went and tell him about mine while we watched movies and shared drinks or something. I missed that so badly. When it was just the two of us and we had all the time in the world. Cole did his best to make sure I did not feel left out so I could not use that as an excuse to argue with him. I did not want to argue with him. I just needed him with me. Right now.
When he walked into the room a minute later, wearing nothing but jeans and looking all sweaty and sexy, my first instinct was to grab him and kiss him but he appeared so grim, unlike his usual self and just threw a folder beside me on the bed causing some pictures to spill out.
I froze in the act of removing my shoes and looked up at Cole with dread curling around my heart.
"Explain this," my boyfriend simply said to me and stood there with his arms folded and a blank expression.
My throat closed up. I did not know what to say. He knew about the pictures? Shit. I should have burned those a long time ago. Why the fuck was I stupid enough to keep them in my collection?
"When did you take these?" he wanted to know, still not letting up on his stiff posture.
I exhaled a frustrated breath. "It was a long time ago, Cole," I mumbled, finally jerking off my shoe. I hated being cornered. Especially over something that meant nothing to me.
"How long?" he grated out while I untied my other shoe lace with short, angry movements.
"It was...a few days before you met her."
Cole was silent, most probably shocked at my answer before he started pacing the floor.
"So you knew who she was the day I brou
ght her home for the first time?" he hissed, careful not to raise his voice because I got the feeling he did not want Skye to hear this conversation.
"No," I argued with a scowl. "I didn't know who she was. I was working at the hotel during that weekend I went away and I saw her there."
He stopped pacing to narrow his green eyes at me, his glasses shining in the bright bedroom light. "And you just decided to take her pictures?" he demanded incredulously. "Without her knowledge? While she was barely dressed."
I huffed out another breath. "Cole, I'm sorry. I looked okay. She was...there was something about her and...I felt like capturing the moment."
He shook his head at me. "Then why did you keep it a secret from me? I don't mind that you looked, Jasper. Hell, I know what must have drawn your attention better than anybody else. But why did you never mention it?"
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