by Ella Frank
That was when Cole cautioned her for the last time. “No, it’s not rocket science, but be careful, Rachel. Everything isn’t always as it appears.”
Solid—that’s what he is. Solid, tight muscle under this perfect white shirt. Huh, who knew?
“Stop talking in circles. What are you saying? You aren’t as you appear?” Rachel quipped as she moved around behind him. “You aren’t the man in a three-piece suit and shiny shoes?”
“I am,” he admitted, turning his head to follow her as she removed the vest down his left arm. When their eyes met, in a voice so seductive it set off alarm bells, he added, “But I’m also so much more.”
What the hell is that supposed to mean? Rachel thought when she finally removed the vest and placed it with his coat on the counter. Coming back to stand before him, Rachel cocked her head to the side with more attitude than was probably wise. “You want to back out?” she asked undaunted.
“Not even a little bit. I’m just trying to play fair,” he informed.
His expression made Rachel nervous. The man was so confusing. Maybe he was trying to tell her he didn’t believe he could keep his hands off her.
“Are you sure about this? Because if you touch me, I’m out of here.”
“I told you, Rachel. I will not touch you until you ask.”
Satisfied, she smoothed her hands across his tight abdomen again as she inched toward the buttons of his shirt. Looking at him from beneath her lashes, she tugged the material, freeing it from his pants, and she smiled when she heard him take in a breath.
“Nervous?” she asked.
“No, but would you like to remove my tie? It makes taking off my shirt that much easier.”
Rachel released the shirt and gripped the end of the tie. Wrapping it around her hand, she pulled on it until he was leaning down, just an inch away from her, and then she decided to tell him exactly what she was thinking. “I like the tie. I’ve never fucked a man in a tie.”
Cole observed her as she stood perilously close to him with his tie secured around her palm. It was amusing that she believed she held the control in this scenario.
“And you aren’t going to tonight either.”
“No?” she asked, licking her bottom lip that was now very close to his.
“No. I said you could take off my clothes, not fuck me. What kind of man do you think I am, Rachel?”
Her sultry eyes connected with his as she moved in even closer. Finally, she pressed her lips right beside his. “Bet I can change your mind,” she murmured.
He turned his head, so their lips were now aligned, and he could smell her sweet breath and cherries. “I bet you can’t.”
Annoyed with him and possibly herself, she pushed him away, releasing his tie.
“So, why are you here then?”
Cole reached up and loosened his now mangled tie. “I told you that I would come back here, so you could get me out of my suit.”
She let out a frustrated sound as Cole added the tie to the pile.
“Would you like me to leave? I didn’t misunderstand the whole point of this meeting, did I?”
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” she accused.
Shrugging his shoulders, he started to undo his shirt buttons one at a time.
“You came all the way down here at one in the morning to strip for me and not put out? Oh, now that’s a laugh. Do you get off on this?” She spun around and marched to the other side of the shop in her click-clacking heels.
“On what?” he asked calmly as she continued to fume. He was now halfway through with undoing his shirt buttons.
“Playing with women? Teasing them? ‘Oh, I’ll be there at one, and then you can take off my suit,’” she mocked, throwing her hands up in the air. “What else was I supposed to think? I mean, forgive a woman for jumping to conclusions.” She finally turned around to face him.
That was when her mouth snapped shut, and her eyes widened.
“I haven’t even begun to play with you, Rachel. Want me to start?” Cole asked as he lifted his arm and threw his shirt on the pile of clothes behind him.
He was now naked from the waist up.
Oh my fucking god.
Yes, Rachel admitted, that kind of language was not usually her style. But as she stood across from Cole, who was now minus every last scrap of material covering his upper half, Rachel felt justified in her choice of words.
The man is a fucking god.
If she thought he had been dangerous with clothes, removing them had just made him lethal. Underneath that carefully put together suit was a whole new beast, a beast covered in tattoos and—Are his nipples pierced? Fuck!
Suddenly, her mouth was dry, and her palms were sweaty as she was confronted with something she had definitely not seen coming.
Okay, okay. I can do this. He is still the same man he was five minutes ago.
The problem was she had been having enough issues dealing with this man. Throw in all of this, and she was…yep, fucked.
“I asked you something,” he said.
His voice penetrated her insane thoughts, and finally, it brought her out of her stupor as she stood in what she could only guess was shock. Running her eyes all over him, Rachel couldn’t find any words. She was too busy looking at everything he had just uncovered.
“Rachel?” he queried again, taking a step toward her.
Brain, kick in, run. Brain?
“Are they both pierced?” she blurted out before she could help herself.
“Would you like to take a closer look at them?”
Shaking her head back and forth, she knew that answer. For her sanity, the only logical response came out of her mouth. “No.”
He chuckled deeply as he continued forward.
Nowhere to go. I have nowhere to go. Damn wall.
“I think you do,” he told her. “You even want to touch them, maybe even lick them.”
Rachel could feel her clit throbbing incessantly between her thighs as her brain continued thoughts all on its own. A wolf! That’s a goddamn wolf on his right pec.
Closing her eyes, she tried to block out everything, but all she could see were tight, hard rippling muscles, tattoos, and silver.
The tattoo of a wolf on his chest smacked her between the eyes, but there was so much more. He also had some writing on his forearms and down his left ribs. Not to mention, he had what looked like a sterling silver bar through each nipple.
Had not seen those coming.
“Rachel?”
Looking up at him, she finally found her tongue. “I’m fine. You’re, uh…”
As she trailed off, she watched a very—yes, she was always going to think it now—wolfish grin appear across his mouth.
“Not as I appear to be?”
Suddenly, everything fell into place, all his clues and frustrating riddles. Before she could say anything, the wall was flush against her back, and he was close to being against her front.
“You promised no touching,” she reminded him, feeling more panicked than ever before.
This man, this stranger, who was now directly in front of her, was definitely a man she had no chance or hope of ever controlling.
“I’m not going to touch you,” he promised, leaning forward. “But I am going to kiss you.”
And before she could protest, his mouth was pushing hotly against hers.
Yes, Cole thought as he pressed his lips to hers. Gotcha.
Swiping his tongue against her bottom lip, he felt a scorching jolt of arousal as she immediately parted for him. Instead of pushing his tongue straight in to tangle with hers, he took a moment to trace her ripe, succulent mouth. He could feel her shaking as she stood with her back pressed against the wall, but she wasn’t backing down either. She wanted him, but she was stubbornly clinging to her resolve.
Nipping her bottom lip, he soothed it once more with his tongue, teasing her, playing with her. When a small moan escaped her, Cole couldn’t help his own groan. Keeping
his arms firmly behind his back, he lifted his mouth from hers and moved it to her ear.
“I can’t touch you, Rachel, and god, I want to. I want to undo these sexy leather pants and slide my hand inside. Or maybe, I could lick the skin that’s peeking out between the laces, but I can’t. You said no.”
Flicking her right lobe with his tongue, he bit it gently, causing a second shudder to rack through her body.
“You like how I look, don’t you? Unexpected at first, but now that it’s sunk in, now that you know, I bet you’re wet from just thinking about playing with my piercings.”
Nibbling his way along her jaw back to her mouth, Cole looked directly into her eyes. “They aren’t the only piercings I have either.”
As her eyes glazed over and her breathing accelerated, he lowered his mouth to hers, making another promise. “Maybe if you let me touch you, I’ll let you see the other one, too.”
From the words that were coming from his mouth, she was panting now, and he could see her breasts rising and falling rapidly. He wanted to fuck her so badly, and he was positive his cock had never been harder.
Obstinate as ever though, she shook her head.
“No? Okay then.” He crushed his mouth down onto hers.
Pushing his tongue deep into the warmth of her mouth, he felt her suck on it immediately, and he almost lost his own footing. Like a piece of his candy, she sucked him in deep as she tilted her head to the side, angling their mouths, so he could get even deeper inside her.
Growling in the back of his throat, he fisted his hands behind him as she continued to take what he was willingly giving for now. As he kept his hands away from her, he felt her arms reach down between their lower bodies.
At first, he was certain she was about to touch him, and he just hoped he could rein in his reaction. But as she moaned against his lips, he realized he didn’t feel her hands on him. He leaned back to glance down between them, and what he saw made him feel as though she had cut him at the knees. The little minx had one of her hands grinding down hard between her thighs while she looked him over as though he were her latest dirty magazine.
“Stubborn, stubborn woman. Just say the word,” he muttered, lowering his head. Pressing his mouth to hers, he promised, “Say the word, and I will make you come with my hands and my mouth.”
“No. No touching.” She panted desperately as her hand rubbed against herself.
“Fine then. Show is over.” He abruptly removed his mouth from hers and turned, making his way back to the pile of clothes.
He quickly got dressed, and when he turned to face her, he was shocked to find her in the exact same spot with her hand burrowed between her thighs. As he headed toward the door, he took a good look at her and arched a brow.
“I suggest you lock the door after I leave. It’s late, and you wouldn’t want anyone to come in and find you with your pants around your ankles and your fingers deep inside yourself.” Gripping the handle of the door, he nodded once. “Have a good evening, Rachel. It’s been interesting.”
With that, he walked out into the night.
Rachel pushed through her front door and slammed it shut. Leaning back against it, she rested her head on the wood and closed her eyes.
Cole had been wrong. She hadn’t taken care of herself after he’d left. Oh, she had been tempted, but knowing he’d suggested it grated on her nerves.
So now, she was standing in her apartment at two in the morning, frustrated and alone.
Pulling out her phone from her bag, she then dumped it onto the floor. As she moved straight to her bedroom, she checked her phone for any messages.
Four missed calls. No surprise they’re from Mason, Mason, Josh, and—yep, I knew it—Mason.
Sighing, Rachel ran a hand through her hair and hit play to listen to the voice mails.
“Rach, just calling to make sure you got home okay. Call me.”
Shaking her head at Mason checking in on her, she hit delete and listened to call number two.
“Rach, call me.”
Kicking off her heels, she trashed another one of Mason’s messages and hit play on Josh’s message.
“Mason told me to call you to tell you to call him. So, please, Rach, call him. It’s one forty-five in the morning. You know he’ll worry until you do.”
Looking at the photos on her dresser, she focused in on the one of her and Mason at his wedding. She had to laugh a little. Surely, one day, he’ll quit worrying, right? Playing the final message, she felt her heart warm at Mason’s concerned voice.
“Okay, Rachel Langley, I know you’re an adult, but it is now one fifty in the morning, and you left at eleven fifty. Shh, Lena…she knows I hate that she has to catch a taxi so late at night...I know she’s an adult.”
There was a pause, and she could hear him sigh and rustle. It was probably from the bed he was lying in.
“I am not going to sleep well until you text me. I’m worried. Love you.”
She typed a text to both her brother and Josh.
I’m home, safe and sound. I was not mugged, accosted, or taken by a sex addict (I should be so lucky). GO TO SLEEP. —R
Standing, she unzipped her leather pants and peeled them off her body. I thought I would be doing this in front of Cole. Guess not. Apparently, that man had decided on a different agenda. It was a pity he hadn’t filled her in on it before she got herself all worked up.
Once she was naked, she slipped between the sheets, closed her eyes, and immediately drifted off to sleep.
“Turn around,” his voice commanded in her ear.
Obediently, Rachel turned, so she was facing the wall in their bedroom.
“I got a little gift for you today,” he said as he unzipped his jeans.
He had called her earlier and told her she should be naked by the time he got home because he needed to fuck her. At first, she had been hesitant, especially after their argument last night, but she knew if she didn’t do as he suggested, the evening would be that much worse.
“I just love your ass. I’m going to have it one day, I promise you.”
Rachel shivered. He knew how she felt about having his cock near her ass, but he constantly liked to push. Instead of protesting though, she kept her mouth shut, just as he preferred it.
“Maybe tonight?” He planted his palms against the wall by her head and pushed his erection against her bare crack.
Being this close to the wall, Rachel felt cross-eyed, so she shut her eyes and turned her head, laying her right cheek against the wall. Lately, it was becoming more and more obvious she needed to end things with him. But every time she approached the subject, he would turn the tables, and she would end up apologizing before she took off her clothes.
That was the problem with their relationship. He never listened, and she couldn’t help the way he made her feel. What the fuck is the matter with me? How can I get off on the way he treats me? To be more precise, it was the way she let him treat her.
In the beginning, it had all been fun, having a little kink in the bedroom, but over the last year, he had become more aggressive, more demanding. When he would be in the right frame of mind, it would turn her on more than she had ever imagined. Lately though, his moods and disposition had become volatile, and that frightened her.
“Hands behind your back, Rach.”
Slowly, she moved and rested the backs of her hands against the curve of her waist right above her ass. That was when she felt the cool hard snap of a handcuff encircle her right wrist. Automatically, her shoulders stiffened, and she raised her head from the wall.
Looking back over her shoulder at him, she locked eyes with hot, annoyed ones.
“Handcuffs? I don’t think that’s a great idea.”
His lip curled in a cruel twist as he lowered his face close to hers.
“I don’t remember asking for your opinion. Now, turn around, and shut your mouth.”
Biting down on her bottom lip, Rachel lowered her eyes and tried to control the shiver
that racked her body. Something didn’t feel right. The way he had looked at her with a glint in his eyes that hadn’t been there before felt evil.
“Spread your legs,” he demanded, his warm breath skating along the skin at the top of her spine.
Opening her eyes, she slowly spread her legs as she felt him snap the left cuff around her wrist. Rachel could feel her heart beating faster, and despite her growing fear, she could feel herself becoming more and more aroused.
When she heard him removing his jeans, she closed her eyes again, waiting for whatever he was about to do.
“I ran into your brother today,” he said, his voice cutting through the air.
The words were so unexpected and so inappropriate that she had no idea what to say or if she was supposed to say anything at all.
“He’s such a player. He’s always got a new piece of pussy on his arm. Wonder what he does to make the women flock to him.”
Rachel stiffened. Turning around, she was ready to tell him to get lost. As she faced him, he reached out, and with a strong palm to her breastbone, he pushed her hard against the wall. Looking up at him, she could feel her breathing accelerate as fear fully replaced any kind of arousal she had been feeling. Her arms hurt as he moved in close and crushed her against the wall, forcing the metal cuffs to bite into the skin on her wrists. Sliding his hand up to her neck, he squeezed as his eyes narrowed.
“Your precious Mason told me to let you know he heard from a friend of his.”
Rachel’s brain was trying, trying to catch up, but nothing was making sense. “You’re hurting me. Can you please move?”
“No, I can’t fucking move, and you aren’t going anywhere either. Who’s Josh?”
Josh? What the fuck is he talking about?
“Josh, an old family friend, according to Mason. He told me you used to have a big old crush on him.”
Rachel swallowed, trying to think, willing her brain to catch up. Josh? She hadn’t seen or heard from Josh in years. Yes, she’d had a crush on him in high school, but that was fucking high school.
The man in front of her had completely morphed, and there was no way he was going to listen to her. Changing before her eyes, he had gone from a man she had found comfort with to a man she no longer knew. He had become a man who terrified her.