“So I’m the first.” He shifted closer, and she felt the prod of his erection against her hip. “I like that, Olivia. I like that a lot.” Once again, his fingers filled and stretched her. But this time he didn’t torment her; this time he gave her exactly what she needed. With expert skill, he pumped his fingers in and out until she not only didn’t care where they were, but who else was in the house.
His lips brushed her ear. “I want to watch you come,” he breathed.
“Yes,” she panted. Her voice sounded desperate and needy, but Olivia didn’t care. She was on fire and near mindless with need.
His gaze never left hers as he quickened his pace. Her hips churned, shamelessly surrendering to the rhythm of his unrelenting fingers. Then his thumb began to move in tight circles, and the dual sensation was more than she could bear. His eyes flared as she fell into that sweet abyss, and when she opened her mouth he sealed his lips over hers, muffling the sounds of her orgasm with a lush kiss.
He stayed with her, kissing her until the tremors subsided. When she finally stilled, he pulled back to look at her. Moonlight streamed in from the window casting his face in a silver glow. “I want to make love to you, Olivia.” His voice was tight with a barely leashed restraint. “I want to be inside you.”
Her heart lurched, and she had to swallow to find her voice. “I want that too,” she whispered.
Cole’s hands framed her face as his tongue slid over hers in deep, dragging sweeps. With a soft moan, she kissed him back, matching his lush strokes with her own—tasting, exploring, consuming. Their kiss went on and on until Olivia thought she might come again from the sheer pleasure of his mouth on hers.
“I need to feel you,” he rasped against her lips. Gathering the cotton fabric in his hands, Cole pushed her T-shirt up and over her head before tossing it to the floor. Her shorts quickly followed, leaving her completely naked and his for the taking.
Cole took his time, touching her with only his gaze for what felt like an eternity. When he finally reached for her, it was with only his fingertips. Her breath hitched as he traced the contours of her breasts. Lowering his head, he pressed his warm mouth to her shoulder before kissing his way across her collarbone. Anticipation coursed through Olivia’s veins as her back arched in offering. Thankfully he obliged, flicking his tongue across one nipple then the other. But unlike the last time they were together, he was in no hurry. Instead he laved her slowly, drawing lazy circles around the taut peek until a frustrated groan escaped her lips. Only then did he suck the tender tip into his mouth. Olivia’s hands found their way into his hair, her fingers clutching the dark waves as the sensation echoed through her core.
Unable to go another minute without touching him, she slipped her fingers under the waistband of his boxer briefs, pushing the fabric lower until his erection sprang free, hard and glistening at the tip. Cole’s hips flexed as she caressed him, so firm and yet so velvety soft, and instinctively her grasp tightened. His eyes burned with desire as she squeezed and stroked his length, and all at once she felt an overwhelming need to not only touch him, but to taste him as well.
A hiss escaped his lips as she bent to flick her tongue over his erection. He cradled her head, guiding her but letting her set the pace as she drew him into the warmth of her mouth.
“Feels so good.”
His harshly whispered words caused a warm ache to spread between her thighs, urging her to pull him deeper as she found a rhythm with her lips, fingers, and tongue. He inhaled a sharp breath as she pushed him to the back of her throat.
“Fuck . . .”
Olivia glanced up at him. His blue eyes were unfocused and clouded with lust as he watched her draw him in and out of her mouth. His fingers tangled in her hair, and his hips flexed on a groan that was a sound of sweet misery. Hmm, now who wanted more? Only too happy to oblige. Olivia tightened her lips, sucking hard as she drew him out, then swirled her tongue over the head of his cock before sliding him deep once again.
“No more,” he managed. His voice was thick and hoarse. “I want to be inside you when I come.”
“Do you have . . .”
“In my bag,” he said, answering her unfinished question.
“That confident, huh?” she teased as he slid out of the bed and grabbed a condom from his duffle bag.
Cole shot her an amused grin. “Hopeful perhaps.” He climbed back onto the bed and tore the foil packet with his teeth. “I was going away for the weekend with a sexy woman.” He sheathed himself then met her hungry gaze with one of his own. In a swift move, he rolled Olivia onto her back, his body covering hers as he settled between her thighs. This time when his lips found hers there were no barriers, no carefully constructed walls. Just skin against skin. Heartbeat against heartbeat.
Bearing his weight on his elbows, Cole threaded his fingers with hers, deepening their kiss as he brought their bodies together. Once buried inside her, he stilled, the silence of the room broken only by their heavy breaths and the steady hum of the fan. This was more than sex, it was a connection. Olivia felt it with every fiber of her being.
Then Cole began to move, pulling back before flexing into her at an achingly slow pace. Olivia moaned. The feeling of him filling and stretching her was unlike any she’d known before. She wanted more, she wanted to be lost in each other, even if only for one night.
She smoothed her hands over his broad shoulders and wrapped her legs around his waist, digging her heels into his ass in an effort to urge him on. But Cole was in no rush. He continued his leisurely torment with carefully timed thrusts that were like heaven and hell all rolled into one.
He shifted his body, and she gasped as he slid deeper. “Please, Cole . . .”
Gradually he increased his rhythm, taking her higher and higher until a blinding orgasm consumed her in a white-hot rush. And he didn’t let up, his perfectly measured thrusts suspending her in a trembling bliss. Then his fingers squeezed hers as he drove high and hard one last time, dropping his head on a groan as he followed her with his own release.
“Fucking perfect,” he said, his breath harsh against her ear.
And it really was. So much so that a tiny part of her wished it never had to end.
Chapter Nineteen
Olivia looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Her hair was a mess, her lips were swollen, and her cheeks were flushed. There was no denying it, she had the look of a well-fucked woman. Only this time her orgasmic glow wasn’t dimmed by a colossal hangover or marred by a misinterpreted text. Nope, this time she was free to bask in the glow. Unless of course she stopped to consider the fact that she and her fake husband had spent the entire night making love in her childhood bed. Not fucking, not fighting, just soft touches and whispered words and . . .
. . . what the hell had she been thinking?
Maybe she was still asleep. She leaned forward and splashed cold water on her face, but when she straightened the reflection staring back at her was wet, but other than that, unchanged. She was still a twenty-eight-year-old woman in an arranged marriage that had some serious gray areas.
Olivia patted her face with the towel. This was a problem. Enemies with benefits was one thing. If they’d fallen into a routine of fucking and fighting, she would have at least known where she stood. But this was shaky ground. Because what they’d shared in her bed last night wasn’t just sex. It was a strange combination of friendship and lust and caring and need and . . .
. . . what the hell had she been thinking?
Okay, she thought. Time to examine the facts. They wanted each other, there was no denying it, and considering how the first night in Vegas went down, neither of them should have found that fact surprising. But now it seemed as though they not only tolerated each other but were actually starting to like each other? That was the part that was most shocking, and it definitely threw a wrench in their original arrangement. Bottom line, they needed a new plan.
She tried to focus, but her mind kept drifting to the delicious ache
between her thighs. She could still smell Cole on her skin, still taste him on her lips, and when she closed her eyes, all she could picture was him looming above her, bathed in moonlight as he pressed gently inside.
Olivia sighed. How could she possibly go back to casual indifference after a night like that? Friends with benefits was always a possibility. But could she trust herself to enjoy the perks of his body without becoming too attached to his soul? If she’d asked herself that question a few weeks ago, the answer would have been a resounding yes. Up until recently she wasn’t sure the man even had a soul. But the whole situation was far more complicated now, and no matter how much she tried to rely on logic, the fact remained that when it came to Coleman Grant, Olivia was playing with fire. She needed time to think things through before she got seriously burned, and for that she needed coffee. Maybe the whole pot.
She pulled a brush through her tangled blond curls and gathered them up into a tight ponytail. The cold water had calmed the pink in her cheeks, but there wasn’t much she could do about her lips or . . . holy fuck was that a hickey on her neck? She leaned closer to the mirror, resting her hands on the pedestal sink. Yup, it was a hickey all right. Behind her ear and just below her hairline. They had joked about reenacting her teenage fantasies, but an honest to God hickey? Cole was going to get an earful when he woke. It wouldn’t solve the problem, but it sure would make her feel better. The realization made her smile. Maybe their contentious relationship could be saved after all. Not to the extent of the utter disdain they’d shared before, but enough to keep her heart at a safe distance.
She decided to contemplate the concept of “frenemies with benefits” after she was properly caffeinated. Her more immediate concern was the red bruise on her neck that made her look like a horny teenager. Olivia groaned as she yanked her hair out of the ponytail and let it fall around her shoulders. Not the best solution, but at the moment it was the best she could do.
She started down the hall, stopping at her open door. The bed was empty, and Cole was nowhere to be found. Her heart beat a bit faster until her gaze fell on his duffle bag, still on the bedroom floor. For the love of God, what the hell was wrong with her? Had she really thought he’d left? There was no doubt he was the type to make a hasty exit in the morning, if not the night before. But did she really think he would have hightailed it home, leaving her to explain the situation to her parents? And more than that, why the hell had the thought sent her into a momentary tailspin? She needed to get a grip. Fast.
“Morning, sweetie,” her mother said when she came into the kitchen. “Can I fix you some breakfast?”
“No thanks. Just coffee is fine.” Olivia reached for the extra tall mug on the top shelf. At the rate her brain was functioning, and IV would have been more appropriate, but a double size serving would have to do. “Where’s Daddy?”
“Already up and gone.” Her mother waved a hand through the air. “Something about a new mare down at the Sinclair place.”
“And Cole?” she asked, trying her best to sound nonchalant. She filled her mug to the rim and then joined her mother at the kitchen table.
“He said he was going for a run. I told him he could take the mountain bike, but he said he likes to run, something about needing to pound the pavement.”
Olivia knew from living with him over the past few weeks that Cole pounded the shit out of his treadmill. Especially when he worked out at night. She used to wonder if that was due in part to sexual frustration, which naturally had made the sound of every aggravated stride that much more satisfying. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. Sexual frustration certainly wouldn’t have been the case today. Unless of course he’d woken with morning wood. The very thought of Cole waking in her bed with a raging hard-on had Olivia pressing her thighs together in an attempt to quell her own need.
She was so screwed.
“He seems like a real nice boy. A bit spoiled, but I think there’s hope for him. We had a nice chat before he left.”
“You did?”
“Mmm-hmm. He showed me pictures of the two of you in Vegas.”
Holy Crap. Olivia choked on her coffee, spilling the hot liquid down her chin and onto her T-shirt.
Her mother laughed. “From your wedding,” she clarified. “Dear lord, from the way you reacted you’d have thought it was from the honeymoon. Guess it’s a good thing I didn’t swipe left.”
“Listen to you, all techie.” Olivia wiped her mouth with the back other hand.
“I have my moments. And so do you.” She stifled another laugh. “You made a lovely Bride of Frankenstein.”
Olivia groaned. “That was not my doing.”
Her mother passed her a napkin. “I figured as much. But look at it this way, you have some of the best wedding photos I’ve ever seen. I mean, anyone can stand on an altar or by the ocean, but how many folks can say they had Elvis Presley and Angus Young at their wedding?”
The two women laughed until tears were leaking out of their eyes. When they finally quieted, Olivia grew serious. “I’m sorry we eloped,” she said. Her voice was small and filled with guilt. “I mean I know I wasn’t one of those little girls who marched around with a dish towel on her head humming ‘Here Comes the Bride,’ but when I did think about getting married I always pictured you and Daddy would be there.”
Her mother reached over and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “Just make sure we’re there next time.”
Olivia froze. “Excuse me?”
“I’m assuming this marriage has a predetermined expiration date. I mean, isn’t that usually how these things work?”
For a moment, she considered trying to spin whatever had tipped her mother off, but in the end, she decided against it. Olivia’s life was turning into nothing but a tangled web, and even though she knew her mother would be upset, telling her the truth felt like an enormous relief. “How did you know?” she whispered.
Her mother’s gaze softened. “You’ve always been a horrible liar, Olivia. And besides, nobody knows you like I do, and the one thing I can say with all certainty is you would’ve never eloped in Vegas. Not with the love of your life and certainly not with a man who’s been nothing but a source of aggravation for you for the last three months. Plus, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the long-eared bats are not only protected, but have a newly established preservation fund dedicated just to them.”
“They do?” This was news to Olivia.
“Don’t play dumb. I raised you better than that.” She had, which was why Olivia had come clean in the first place. But in this instance, she was genuinely in the dark.
“I’m not. Cole told me he would find a new site for his project, but I honestly had no clue about the fund.” At one point, she had suggested he set up a fund to protect the animals he’d previously tried to displace, but she’d been half joking and had no idea he’d actually done it. Yet somehow her mother did. Olivia tilted her head to one side. “How did you find out about all this?”
“I can find my way around the internet, Olivia. I’m not one of those mothers who just uses her laptop to lurk around on Facebook. I’ll have you know that the store has its own Instagram.”
There was so much information to process, Olivia didn’t know quite where to begin. One thing was certain though. If her mom started sending Snapchat selfies, she was officially leaving social media.
Her mother walked over to the coffee pot. “I was fairly sure this was all some sort of elaborate plan. The conservation fund just confirmed my suspicions.” She topped off Olivia’s mug. “What I can’t figure out is what’s in it for him. No offense baby girl, but the boy gets around.”
Olivia made a mental note to disable her mom’s Google alerts.
“Was he in some kind of trouble?”
“In a way.” She took a deep breath and started from the top. “Cole’s parents died when he was in college and well, I guess you could say he was a bit of a hellion. They thought he had some growing up to do and figured it
was in his best interest to provide a little monetary incentive.”
Her mother’s eyes grew wide. “By forcing him to get married?”
Olivia nodded.
“What in the world were they thinking? A marriage is hard work, even when it’s for love. But to expect him to do it just for money?”
“To be fair, it was a lot of money. If Cole wasn’t married by his thirtieth birthday, the entire estate would revert to his grandmother, and then to a charity after her death.”
“And I take it that deadline was coming up?”
“His birthday was last Tuesday.”
“Wow, took it down to the wire, didn’t he?”
“I think he was hoping his lawyers were going to be able to get him out of it. I was a bit of a last resort.”
“Sounds to me like he traded one problem for another. You both did.”
“It’s only temporary. After three months, we’ll get a quickie divorce and then we’ll never have to lay eyes on each other again.”
“How do you feel about that?”
Olivia shrugged. “What’s there to feel? This marriage is in name only. It’s just a piece of paper.”
“Is that so?” Her mother raised a knowing brow. “Care to explain the creaky bed springs then?”
Olivia’s face flamed. “Mom!”
“What? It’s an old house. Thin walls.”
Olivia dropped her head in her hands. “You must be horribly disappointed in me.”
Susan moved to the chair next to her daughter’s. “I’m not going to lie, baby girl, I was a bit disappointed when I first suspected this was all a ruse. But now that I’ve seen the two of you together, I’m just worried about you.”
Olivia looked up to meet her mom’s concerned gaze. “Worried about me? Why?”
Her mother brushed a lock of hair away from her eyes. “Because it’s obvious you’re falling for him.”
Olivia’s mouth gaped open. “I most certainly am not.”
“You can keep telling yourself that,” Susan said. “But I see the way you look at him when you think no one is watching.” The smile on her mother’s face told Olivia’s there was no sense in denying it. “And he’s just as smitten with you.”
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