“I mean…”she corrected herself with a reddening of her cheeks, “I needed to get to my phone to call you…for help.”
He nodded, urging her to go on, when all he wanted to do at that moment, was to pull her into his arms and silence her with his mouth on hers. He wanted to make her forget absolutely everything. Everything but me.
“When I was almost to the bottom, I heard him. He whispered…” She shivered and Cole gave her hand a gentle squeeze, silently letting her know that he wouldn’t let anyone hurt her.
“What did he say, Katherine?”
She swallowed the very large lump forming in her throat. “Mine,” she husked so quietly that he had to strain to hear her.
Pure rage coursed through Cole’s body like a damned tidal wave. Not fucking likely he silently seethed. He’d make damn well sure that this son of a bitch never got near her again. He would move heaven and earth to make sure that she was safe.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he assured her, and she smiled sadly, her glorious eyes sparkling with moisture; which only made her all the more beautiful.
“I know. I…I don’t know how I know it; but I do. Knowing that you believe me means everything.”
She stifled a yawn with the back of her hand and Cole stood, gently pulling her to her feet, knowing full well that she was coming down from her adrenaline rush hard and fast and had to be completely drained.
“Get some sleep, Sweetheart,” he murmured, and she felt that damned tightening in her chest at his use of the endearment. He had called her sweetheart at the house too, and she found that she really liked the sound of it coming from his lips; almost as much as when he said her name. No one had ever done that before. And there was a very large part of her that didn’t want anyone else to call her that, ever…no one, but him.
“Thank you, Cole…for helping me, and for believing me, for just…everything. Good night.” With that she turned and headed off to the spare room, and Cole could only stand there silently, watching the gentle sway of her hips and fighting the tumultuous desire to follow after her. He wanted that more than anything.
“Down, boy,” he muttered quietly before heading off to his own room for what he was sure was going to be another long, sleepless night.
Chapter 4
Katherine struggled to get air into her lungs as she ran through the thick fog that was surrounding her, making it impossible for her to get her bearings. From some far off distant place…she could hear it; softly surrounding her–floating on the air all around her, seeping into her soul. Oh, God! Why wouldn’t it stop?
I’ll be seeing you…
Stop! She tried to scream, but she couldn’t find her voice; it was locked up tight in her throat. Please, make it just stop. I can’t do this anymore.
“Mine…” the voice drifted through the darkness, sucking what little air that she had managed to get into her lungs right back out of her with a strangled, choking sob..
In all the old familiar places…
Please stop! No more! I can’t take anymore.
“I’ll never let you go…”
“No!” Katherine jerked bolt upright, her chest heaving, trying desperately to fill her lungs. She felt her body vibrating with tremors and fought to calm down as her throat burned. Oh, God. Had she screamed out loud?
Suddenly the bedroom light snapped on and in the next instant, she felt arms slide around her and another scream threatened to rip from her throat. She couldn’t bring herself to open her eyes and face her nightmare.
“Sweetheart, shh… It’s all right. It’s just me. I’m right here.”
Cole! That was Cole’s voice…Cole’s wonderful scent. Cole’s strong arms holding on to her so tightly, his hands rubbing gentle circles along her back. There was comfort here in his embrace. Safety.
Katherine let out a tortured sob, and threw her arms around his neck, her entire body shuddering now.
“Easy, Baby. It’s all right. I’m here…I’m right here. I’ve got you.”
***
Cole held her tightly against him, his heart wrenching in his chest. What the hell had happened? He could feel her trembling against him and placed a gentle kiss to her temple; his lips lingering much longer than they should have. He knew that he should move away, but he just didn’t have it in him. He couldn’t have moved away from her if the house had been on fire. She felt too damned good.
“It was just a dream, Sweetheart,” he reassured her softly. “You’re all right. You’re safe.”
He felt her take a deep, quivering breath and nod slowly against his neck, her warm breath whispering against his skin and causing goose flesh to crawl across his spine and up his arms. Christ, this was hard.
She tilted her head back and looked into his eyes, those incredible depths taking what little breath he had left away in a heartbeat.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “I just can’t seem to stop them. I didn’t mean to wake you. I’m…sorry.”
“There’s no need to apologize,” he murmured. His mouth was so dangerously close to hers, and by God, he could almost taste her. It caused a shiver of longing to run through him and hit him straight in the chest.
“They won’t go away. They just won’t.” The look marring her perfect features was his undoing.
Cole’s mouth came crashing down on hers, his tongue sweeping against her lips, begging for entry, and with a quiet gasp, she obliged. Her hands tangled in his hair as she returned his embrace, their tongues dueling and wrestling for dominance. It was fucking everything that he imagined it would be! It was beyond anything that he had ever experienced before. It was hot, powerful…raw. How just a kiss could affect him so, he didn’t know–but it did. It was as if a floodgate had opened and the wave of desire washing over him was overwhelming.
Her mouth tasted like nectar straight from the God’s, and he wanted more…so much more. There was no rhyme or reason…just need. Just quiet, desperate longing.
“Baby,” he groaned against her lips, the sound coming from somewhere deep down in the recesses of his soul. A place that he had never been before. This was new…intense. Consuming.
He knew that he should stop…now. He knew that he was crossing a very dangerous line, but he couldn’t help himself. His need for her was out of control. It was a force that couldn’t be contained any longer.
“Christ, I want you so bad,” he husked painfully against her mouth, his breath coming out in quick, jerky gasps.
Cole thought that he would explode when in the next moment he felt her hand lower from his hair and slide down his chest to his barely contained erection. He was as hard as granite and the thin pair of boxers that he wore did nothing to hide that fact. He thought for certain that he was done when she touched him, and he could feel the heat radiating off of her delicate fingers. Sweet Jesus! Her small, timid hand on him was almost his undoing. Tentative, yet firm and he groaned again, afraid that he wouldn’t be able to stop if he had to.
Cole leaned back slightly and tore his mouth from hers, sweeping his eyes up to meet her gaze, which was filled with nothing less than pure desire. Sweet tap-dancing Jesus!
“Katherine,” he growled, his body responding to her touch as she gently, yet possessively stroked him, and he reached down and grasped her hand in his, bringing it to his lips and kissing her palm. “Are you sure you want this?” he asked shakily. “There’s no going back. Hell, I don’t know if I could stop now if I wanted to,” he rasped out, finding the words so damned difficult to speak. But, he had to ask. As much as he wanted her…needed her, he only wanted to take her nightmares away. Not give her more of them. He wanted to show her that she was swiftly and unexpectedly becoming important to him, and that he would protect her with his very life.
He had never wanted a woman as much as he wanted this beautiful creature in his arms. He wanted to cherish and protect her, to taste every damned inch of her glorious skin… to be buried deep in her warmth…to f
ind that heaven that he knew without a doubt would be in her arms.
He had always liked sex fast and hard, but not with her. Not with Katherine. With her he wanted tenderness; something that he had never cared for before her. He held his breath as he looked into her eyes, waiting for her to say something…anything. If she turned him away…he would accept that. He would have too. As much as it would kill him to do it.
***
Katherine watched in fascination at the play of emotion on Cole’s face. She could see it in his eyes…he wanted her, possibly, almost as much as she wanted him. She didn’t have the words to express just how much, so instead, she pulled his shirt that she wore up over her head, tossing it to the floor.
She heard his sharp intake of breath as she did, and felt her lips turn up in a smile. The look of utter desire on his face gave her the strength to finally find her voice. She knew that this was crazy, she barely knew this man. But something deep down inside of her was telling her that this was right. That this was meant to be. Call it fate or dumb luck, but she knew in that instant that he was meant to come into her life.
“Make love to me, Cole.” the words were spoken softly, but without the slightest doubt or fear. There was no hesitation at all. His touch made her crave more, not flinch in terror. And, it was wondrous…glorious. She had never wanted anyone as much as she wanted this man. His strength and tenderness were the perfect balance, and it made her need so much more. Yes, this was happening very fast, but there was no going back. Deep down in her soul, she knew that this was right.
***
Cole groaned deep in his chest, his mouth taking hers once again with a hunger that needed to be satisfied. Her mouth, her skin, was pure silk, and he wanted to drown himself in her. He turned his body and lowered her down onto the pillows, his heated gaze holding hers. He needed her to see how much he wanted her. How much he needed her. The last thing that he wanted was to frighten her. It would kill him if he did.
His lips traveled down her neck slowly, thoroughly, to her collarbone, branding her skin with his tongue as he moved down to her breast, his hot mouth closing over her aching peak and sucking. Katherine gasped at the sweet contact, wanting to scream for more. His teeth nipped as his tongue soothed and it was beyond incredible. It was like nothing she had ever experienced before.
He moved lower, his tongue skimming along her belly until finding the juncture of her thighs, hot, wet, and waiting for his willing mouth. And when his lips finally hit their mark, a sound burst from her that was something between a scream and a purr, and Cole had to fight to keep from coming apart at the seams. It was a sound that cut straight through to his soul. It reverberated through his body like an earthquake, sending aftershocks right to his groin, and his body twitched with the need to make her his.
His hands gripped her hips, holding her steady when she tried to arch her body up from the mattress as his mouth continued to work its magic. Her honeyed sweetness was driving him to the brink and he moved his hand to join his mouth and slipped two fingers inside her, shuddering when he heard her gasp with longing. He felt her body convulse around him as his nipped at her throbbing nub and took her over the edge-his name bursting from her lips in a guttural cry of satisfaction as her head thrashed from side to side, her hands fisting the sheets as she whimpered. And Cole couldn’t help but smile.
Now that was a sound that he would be content to hear coming from her lips forever. It twisted around his body and hit him straight through the chest.
That thought gave him pause. He didn’t do relationships. He didn’t care. He took and he moved on. That was the way it had always been with him. But with Katherine, that didn’t seem to be an option. This had all hit him like a damned lightning bolt and he knew that he was already lost.
He slid up her body and settled himself between her thighs, his fingers intertwining with hers as he lifted them above her head.
“Are you all right?” he husked, his body throbbing to finally be surrounded by her sweet warmth. It was a physical ache.
She nodded, a breath-stealing smile lighting up her face that caused his heart to clench painfully in his chest once again, and he swore that he was going to have a massive coronary.
“I’m wonderful…amazing,” she said the words on a sigh, and it was sexy as hell. “I’m not…experienced,” she whispered, her eyes moving to stare at his shoulder as her cheeks flushed. “I’ve only been with one other man, and that was a long time ago and I was never very good with intimacy…” she took a long, shaky breath. “I just don’t want to disappoint you.”
Ah, hell Cole thought with that damnable slam to his chest. How in the hell could he tell her that she could never disappoint him? That he had wanted her to the point of distraction since the moment he had first set eyes on her.
“Jesus, Katherine. You could never disappoint me,” he groaned out, right before he took her lips once again and moved his body with a powerful thrust, joining them, and he suddenly felt like he was home. He held still a moment, allowing her time to adjust to his size as he basked in the feel of her sublime heat surrounding him. She was tight, slick…smooth–and the last thing he wanted was to hurt her in any way.
He pulled away from her mouth and closed his eyes, clenching his teeth, willing himself to wait, but when she wrapped her legs around his hips and started to move, there was no holding back. What little resolve that he had left snapped like a dry twig.
He began to move, slowly at first, but with a growing intensity as she matched his movements to perfection. It was beyond heaven. It was indescribable, incredible…right.
The bed squeaked beneath them as he buried himself in her to the hilt, and then pulled back, almost all the way out, only to thrust into her once more. Slow, steady strokes.
“More,” she begged, her breath coming out in ragged bursts, and Cole melded his mouth to hers capturing her cries and increasing his pace until he thought for sure that he would go mad. Just when he thought that he couldn’t take anymore, he felt her tighten up around him, sending him over the edge with a mighty roar, the force of his release shaking him to his very core.
“Katherine,” he growled as his orgasm slammed through him as it never had before. It was powerful and hard, to the point that the air was forced from his body in a mighty whoosh.
He lifted his head and rested his forehead against hers, their breaths mingling as his mouth hovered over hers and her body continued to convulse around him, over and over again.
“Christ, you are amazing, Katherine Chastain,” he whispered when he was able to finally catch his breath enough to form words.
Katherine’s fingers tightened around his as she felt her eyes fill with tears. There were no words. She had walked into this man’s life in desperation, and he had given her a gift that was completely unexpected. He had made her feel alive. He made her feel normal. She had never experienced anything like this before. Calmness was washing over her, warm…comforting. And, it was frightening as hell.
She forced back her tears and gave him a smile, leaning up slightly to place a gentle kiss to his mouth. “You aren’t too bad yourself, Detective.”
“Shit,” he groaned in utter disgust at himself. “I didn’t use anything.” He could have kicked himself in the ass right then, but he couldn’t think straight with her around. Fuck!
“It’s okay,” she chuckled softly. “I’m on the pill to regulate my periods.”
Cole rolled over and pulled her up against his side, wrapping his arms around her tightly. Thank God, he thought with an unsteady breath. He had been much too worried about burying himself inside her to think about anything else. He had never been so careless before, but then again, he had never wanted anyone as much before either. Jesus, he had absolutely no control around her. His body vibrated with need when she snuggled up against him and sighed, her breath puffing out against his chest.
“Get some sleep, Sweetheart,” he whispered against her hair, his lips grazing her temple. “You’re safe he
re. I’ll be right here beside you.”
And, as Katherine drifted off into a dreamless sleep for the first time in years, she knew beyond a doubt that she was.
***
Cole reluctantly opened his eyes to the rapping at his front door, and inwardly groaned when he checked the alarm clock to see that it was only a little past seven. Holy Shit! Who in the hell would be here so damned early? He carefully slipped from the bed, making sure not to wake Katherine.
He turned and looked at her, curled up in sleep, her glorious hair fanned out around her perfect face, and he smiled. God, she was beautiful. She was the stuff that dreams were made of.
He slipped from the room closing the door quietly behind him and dashed to his room, grabbed a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and slipped them on, his mouth set in a tight line. He stormed over to the front door, yanking it open with a scowl, only to find Ben standing there, a shit-eating grin plastered across his face, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
“What in the hell are you doing here?” he snarled, not the least bit happy about being pulled from his bed…or Katherine.
“Morning, partner.” Ben laughed, much too cheerfully for Cole’s liking. “I heard about your break-in last night and the Captain sent me over with some clothes for your…guest.” He held up a brown paper bag and grinned, giving him a wink that set Cole’s teeth on edge before dropping his cigarette to the ground and stomping it out. “He wants you and Ms. Chastain at the station as soon as possible.” Ben snorted, his eyes taking in what Cole was wearing with a healthy grin. “So, I see you put another notch in the old bedpost there, Buddy. Very nice. I’ve got to say, damn quick work. But then again, you never had any problem getting them into your bed, did you.”
Cole heard a gasp and turned to find Katherine standing behind him, dressed only in his t-shirt. Her face burned red as she looked from Cole to Ben, and she looked as if she had been punched in the gut. He noticed with a twist to his heart that her bottom lip trembled ever so slightly as her lashes sparkled with moisture, and he just wanted to beat the hell out of Ben.
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