by Diana Nixon
Two or three more days. You can do this, Harlee. Take your fork and start eating, before you fill up your mouth with something else but food.
***
Cole
I could swim forever, enjoying the motion of the water around me. It rescued me from stress and saved my soul for the unrest. I always liked swimming, starting at five years of age when my father took me to the ocean for the very first time. I didn’t get his passion for the waves until he made me sit down on the sand and just watch them. Surfing was my father’s biggest passion; he spent all his money on new boards and chasing the best waves ever. That’s why mom and I didn’t see him much, but when he was at home, he wouldn’t stop talking about the ocean and how good it made him feel.
I inherited his love for the blue and green abyss. There was so much in it: strength, beauty, freedom. No wonder L.A. was my home. There I could enjoy swimming every day.
Swimming in a pool was different, but I still loved it. Especially tonight when I was looking for Harlee to join me. I lifted my gaze and looked at the full moon that looked like a shining saucer glued to the night sky. Somehow, it was bigger and brighter than ever. I leaned against the side of the pool and stared at the still water around me. I intentionally left the pool lights off, making it look more like the ocean that I loved so much, with nothing but the moonlight to touch the surface.
After dinner was over, I helped Harlee wash the dishes and clean the table. We exchanged a few more perky words and she said she was going to call it a day, because tomorrow she would need to be at work, and it was going to be a long day for her. I pretended I didn’t know anything about her swimming plans and went to my room, waiting impatiently for our next meeting.
Somehow, I couldn’t get enough of being around Harlee. She was smart and funny and way too sexy to play it cool when with her. If a few days ago someone told me I wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about a woman, again, I would tell them to fuck off.
Though right now, I was really happy to be back in New York, despite the original reason for my arrival. Which, by the way, faded in comparison to what was about to happen next…
And next was Harlee.
She walked through the glass door and carefully looked around, as if afraid I would be somewhere there too. From where I’d been waiting for her in the water, she couldn’t see me watching her.
She was wearing a black bikini with a matching robe that was now lying on the ground, next to her feet.
She loosened her hair binder and let the locks flow freely down her back and shoulders. The light coming through the windows of the house illuminated her from behind, darkening her face and eyes, but making her silhouette stand out. Maybe that’s why the entire moment looked a little bit surreal. It was so easy to imagine her being an angel, with the wings hidden behind her back.
Harlee dipped one foot into the water, probably trying the temperature, then she smiled and slowly walked down the stairs that led into the pool.
My guesses about her body were not mistaken. It was beautiful, with the softness of her curves, calling for me. She was different from all those women from the billboards. She was real and so easy to be around.
Except…
Easy was the last word to describe how I felt right now. The closer she swam to me, the harder it was to breathe.
Being out of her sight, I could take a moment to enjoy the view. Harlee flipped on her back and was now lying on the water surface with her flawless porcelain skin turned to the night sky. I could see the drops glisten on her lips and the desire to kiss her was nearly impossible to suppress. Everything about her was delightful.
She looked relaxed and at peace, as if there was nothing able to shatter her moment of joy. I wondered if she was thinking about me at that moment.
Hardly possible.
But I liked the serenity written all over her delicate features. I didn’t remember the last time I felt so good, just watching a beautiful woman and not running away from her, because she might be so much like Carol, and wanted nothing more than my money.
With Harlee, everything felt new. I gravitated towards her, willing to be closer. So close I would be able to smell her perfume or see the light in her eyes that made her look so young and careless. It was as if she was a secret I wasn’t allowed to know. Like I was only allowed to watch her, but never touch. I was so conscious about everything she was doing or saying. As if I knew she would change my life, she would change me or my way of seeing things around me. A part of me was scared of changes. I got used to my life after Carol, I was okay with it. At least until I met Harlee. I couldn’t figure out what was so different about her that made her stand out from all the women I had ever met in my life. But I knew there was something in her. And it was too damn intoxicating to walk away without a kiss.
Or, at the very least, an attempt to get one.
I started to move closer, suddenly afraid to scare her. Just then, she stood in the water and turned around abruptly, as if she could feel my gaze on her.
“It’s just me,” I said, smiling at her.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“Swimming.” I swam around her, with her eyes following me all the way.
“And you are naked…”
“You know I always swim naked.”
“I should have guessed… I thought you went to your room.”
“I thought you were going to call it a day.” I stopped swimming and moved closer to her. Very close.
So close, our bodies touched, and I swear she could feel how hard I was for her.
“You never give up, Mr. Griffin. Do you?”
“I sure don’t.”
“So I thought.” She lay on her back again and swam away from me, with her piercing look still locked with mine. I swam after her.
“But that makes two of us. Right?”
“Giving up is the lot of those who are too weak to fight for what they want.”
My whole body ached at the mention of want. Because right now, all I wanted was her, swimming towards me, longing for me.
Silence fell around us. We were floating on our backs, lost in our own thoughts, but I couldn’t enjoy it more. I stared up into the night sky and wished I could read her mind and know what she was thinking now. We were alone, and there was nothing and no one to break this moment of unspoken connection that swam between our weightless in the water bodies.
It was a beautiful night, with an even more beautiful woman watching it with me. I didn’t mind the way it was going, but I wanted to add a little more excitement to it.
I turned my head a little so I could see Harlee’s face and let my fantasies take me away for a moment.
I would wrap her legs around me and pin her to the side of the pool, with my lips crashing onto hers. I would kiss her senseless, until she started moaning into my mouth, wanting more. Then I would remove the only piece of clothing hiding her most sensitive spot from me and play with her clit, until she was ready for a much hotter game. And then…
“You look like you are about to swallow me alive.”
I chuckled. “What if it’s exactly what I wanna do right now? Shall I fight for it or are you willing to give it to me willingly?”
Again, I swam closer to her. My hands wrapped around her waist, bringing her body closer to mine.
Our lips were on the same level, just a breath away. And I suddenly caught myself thinking of how good it was to have her in my arms now.
“This is not gonna happen,” she said almost in a whisper.
“What do you mean?” With my eyes glued to her lips, I couldn’t think about anything but running my tongue across their surface. If back in the morning I thought today would be the most fucked-up day of my life, now I knew I couldn’t enjoy it more. Because what was happening between Harlee and I overshadowed everything that led up to this very moment, with her trembling in my embrace.
“Despite how badly you want it, you are not getting it.”
I smiled. “I n
ever give up, remember?” My mouth moved closer to hers, feathering her lips with mine. “You want it too, don’t even try to deny it. I won’t believe you.”
She licked her lips, and her tongue as if accidentally touched my lips too.
My embrace around her tightened. “You are not leaving this pool without a proper good-night kiss.” After that, nothing else mattered. Neither her poor attempt to break free from my arms, nor the calling of my rational thinking that was telling me that kissing Harlee was a bad idea from the very beginning.
My tongue slipped inside her mouth and she gave up easily, responding to the demand of my lips with the small delightful sounds that were about to blow my mind.
Her hand slipped between us and wrapped around my hardness, stroking it slightly. Gosh, I liked the touch. Please don’t stop, ran thought my head. I wondered how much longer it would take to make me lose it badly, just playing with her like this – kissing her, and enjoying the way her lips and hand were touching me in return.
It felt like everything around us turned into sparks that were flying in all directions, taking away every small thing that might have the power to stop us from getting what we both desired. I felt like we were the only two people in the whole world, kissing under the starlight.
I could feel her hand at the back of my neck, playing with my hair. She was enjoying the kiss as much as I was, and it couldn’t be better.
I deepened the kiss, making it more passionate. In that moment of sweet connection, all of our secrets and worries laid bare, swimming on the water surface just like the moonlight that was the only witness of the undeniable desire exploding within our bodies and minds.
My hands moved up her spine, fingers pulled the strings of her bikini top, letting it flow in the water.
Her hardened nipples pressed against my chest and I knew I was close to losing my mind over her. Everything about the moment was just too perfect to describe.
“Here or upstairs?” I asked, breathless.
It felt like forever passed before she said, “Nowhere.”
It took me a few moments to actually see the devilish look that she gave me.
“I told you – you are not getting what you want, Cole. Not here, not anywhere else.”
She pulled away from me and the corners of her lips that I kissed just a few moments ago, twisted in a sarcastic grin. Fuck, I was struck by how badly I wanted her back into my arms.
“You can’t be serious,” I said. I was so turned on; I was seconds away from begging her to stay and finish what we started.
What the fuck? Very manly, dude.
“Hope your shower is cold enough to cool you off.” With those words said, she got out of the pool and walked to the glass door that lead to the living room.
I called after her, “Hope one box of batteries is enough to reduce the tension in between your legs, baby. Because next time you dare to tease me like this, be ready to be fucked hard.”
***
Harlee
Payback was a bitch. I always knew it.
But I never thought it would be that much of a bitch.
The moment I walked out of the shower the next morning, I knew something was wrong with my room.
And the something was lying on my bed, with my notebook in his hands. Sometimes I used paper notebooks, because I liked pretty things and if you didn’t know what to give me for my birthday, a new notebook would be the best present ever.
“What the hell do you think you are doing?” I asked furiously.
“Go to The Bunnies? Sounds like a trashy strip bar. Didn’t know you were one of their permanent visitors.”
“Give it to me.” I stood at the bed with my hands on my hips.
“That’s what I was going to do last night, sweetie. But you were the one who refused to give it to me.” Cole stood up, still keeping my notebook in his hands. “I just called your boss, by the way.”
“You did what?”
“And you are working from home today.”
“The hell I am.” I tried to take the notebook away from him, but he put his hand up and I would have to jump to get the damn thing. So, I stood still and waited.
“I bet you can’t believe your lady boss agreed to let you work from home again, but I knew how to get her permission.”
“I’m scared to think about what you’ve promised to do in return for her non-existing kindness.”
“It doesn’t really matter. What does matter though is that you are here, all at my disposal for the rest of the day.”
I crossed my arms, giving him the angriest look I could muster at the moment. Thank God, this time my towel covered a good part of me, and I didn’t feel completely naked under his studying eyes.
“Oh, I know what’s going on here. It’s revenge, right? Because no woman has ever told you no. Not to mention leaving you in the middle of the game.”
His lips twisted in a damn charming smile. “It’s because I’m bored.”
“What?”
“Yep. I booked a flight for tomorrow morning. Until then, I have nothing else to do here. And I thought it would be great to spend another day in your irresistible company.”
“I have other things to do than to stay at home and entertain you.”
“Go to The Bunnies. I know.”
“For your information, The Bunnies is not a strip bar. It’s just a bar where I like going with my friends.”
“Good. I’m going with you.”
“What?” I watched him leave the room. “You can’t go there with me!” I ran after him. “It was supposed to be an all-girl night with my bestie.”
Cole stopped and turned around, giving the towel wrapped around me a hungry look. “Love seeing you like this.” The way he said it… God, how did he do this? “Imagine how beautiful you would have looked if you had agreed to wake up in one bed with me, freshly fucked, and then shared a shower with me instead of going there all alone and heated up.”
I don’t think the red on my cheeks had ever been so deep. I could almost feel the fire all over my face. Despite the fact that last night’s play was all about teasing him, I couldn’t deny the fact that the kiss we shared was amazing. Sweet and seductive enough to make every inch of my long-untouched-by-a-man body arch with the need to be one with him.
I shook my head, trying to make my brain think about anything but ending last night in a bit different way.
“What are you expecting me to do now that I’m stuck here with you, for the rest of the day?”
The glow in his eyes said it all for him. But aloud he said the following, “There’s an event I’d like to hold in this house. And I need your help with organizing it.”
“An event? Here?”
“Yes. I know you are renting the place, but your boss thought it would be great if you hosted the event here.”
“Wait a second. What does my boss have to do with it?”
“Let’s have breakfast first, and then I will tell you all the details.” His eyes slipped to my towel again. “The mere thought of taking it off you and seeing what I didn’t get a chance to see last night makes me want to pin you to that wall behind you and show you how hard I usually fight for what I want.”
CHAPTER 6
Cole
Making Vivian agree to become a partner in my innocent crime turned out to be easier than I expected. At the mention of the sum that I would donate for the event that her magazine would host at my house, she said I could keep Harlee for myself for the rest of my life.
There was one thing that I desperately wanted to do since the very moment my lawyer announced that Carol and I were no longer husband and wife. First I thought I would give her the divorce that she wanted so bad and back off. But then, when I looked into her emotionless eyes and saw nothing but pure ice in them, I knew I couldn’t let her go just like that.
I wanted her to see what she’d lost. And there was only one way to make it happen…
“So, are you going to share your plans for me or not?
”
I chucked. “The way you make it sound makes me want to change my plans and put you in each and every one of them, in every room of this house. And the pool that you left so abruptly last night.”
Harlee rolled her eyes and shook her head. “This is going to be the longest day in my life.”
“And the best one, I hope.”
“Doubt it.”
“Okay. Here’s what I want you to do: first of all, you need to write an article about the biggest beauty event of the season. I’ll give you the date and the time later. I want your article to attract as much attention as possible.”
“I can do this.” She bit a piece of apple and chewed it carefully. “When do you want it by?”
“Next Monday. I’d like the event to be held at the end of the month.”
“But I’ll be still here, remember? My rent agreement wouldn’t end until one year from now.”
“I know. But since you will get a good bonus to your regular salary, I hope it will make things easier for you.”
“How good exactly will that bonus be?”
I smiled. “Trust me, you will like it. Just like everything I give you.” I winked at her. “Too bad you haven’t tried the best of it, yet.”
“Can we get back to business, please?”
I paused for a moment, enjoying the anger boil in her look. Oh, she just had to think twice before leaving me hard for her and not satisfied. “Sure. After the article’s ready to go live, I want you to take care of the event planning as well.”
“And I’ve got less than four weeks to make it happen?”
“Too little time?”
“Not at all. But I’d like to make a few notes, and for that, I need my notebook back. The one that you stole from my room, remember?”
“Don’t lie to me, Harlee. You need it back because it keeps your little secrets, and I want to know them all. That’s why I’m keeping it. For now. Use your laptop to make notes. Or another notebook. You’ve got about a dozen in your bedside table.”