He felt Shaun tense, and he pulled back to find a frozen expression of concern. “What?” he breathed. His heart pumped so hard, the chaotic rhythm of his pulse reverberating in his ears.
She hesitated a moment, and he was convinced she was having second thoughts. He just hoped he could get home fast enough for the cold shower he would undoubtedly need.
“Protection,” she replied flatly. “I didn’t really need any with–” Her words thankfully trailed off. The last thing Cole wanted to think about right now was the sex Shaun had with Olivia.
He smiled in relief. That was one department in which he remained responsible at all times, not believing in leaving anything to chance or his sexual partners. Slipping his hand into his back pocket, he removed his wallet. He tossed the worn brown billfold to the carpet next to Shaun’s discarded dress after he’d plucked a small gray square from its contents. Amused by the concern still evident on her face, he slipped the wrapped condom into her cleavage, enabled by the cut of her sheer bra, a sexy little garment that made her tits utterly delectable.
“Hold on to this until we’re ready.”
Shaun bit at the corner of her lip, her gaze darkening with lust. Unable to hold himself a moment longer, Cole vice-gripped her thighs, lifting her lithe body off the floor. She smashed his face between her hands and kissed the breath from his lungs, exploring his mouth with her tongue unabashedly. He set her down on the desk and swept all the files on top to the floor with his forearm. No laptop, thank god. He guided her back with a hand loosely at her throat, her legs still wrapped around his hips, the vision like nothing he could’ve ever imagined. The condom remained in place thanks to the light sheen of perspiration on her skin acting like glue.
“My first day here, I wanted to fuck you on this very desk.” He punctuated the recollection with a hard thrust of his hips, forcing free a sharp gasp from Shaun. He inched his palm down over her breast and kneaded the supple orbs one at a time. “After I made an ass of myself, of course.” He circled a tightened dusky rose peak visible through the sheer lace, taking in the sight of her wanton and open. “So damn beautiful.” His voice was husky and unrecognizable to his own ears. Her back arched and her eyelids lulled shut.
Sensing her straining for more, he glided his hand down her ribs and then her stomach, stopping at the sweet valley hidden between her thighs. He pressed his palm into the swell of heat and cursed at how soaked she was for him through the delicate fabric. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her, and the thought alone was almost enough to make him erupt before he even entered her. Before he even got his fucking pants off.
Using the friction of her panties to intensify the pleasurable rasp, Cole circled the swollen bud of her clit with the meat of his thumb. He leaned over her, feathering his lips along her collarbone. Shaun curled her short nails into his shoulder blades. Her breath hitched, hips bucking upwards. Keeping his hand right where it was, he stretched out his middle finger, sneaking the digit beneath the damp lace, and cursed at how easily it slipped inside her. So hot and so wet, her body shifted and squeezed. He restrained his desire to replace the finger with his cock. This was all about Shaun right now and readying her for what was to come. A chance for her to stop him if she wished.
She didn’t, though. Her moans begged for more. With Cole’s finger pumping, his thumb circling, Shaun rocked her hips against his hand, desperate and needy. “Yes,” he growled against her skin, completely insane with lust for this woman. “Come for me, Shaun,” he pleaded as a second finger joined the first, both curved enough to hit her in just the right spot. He didn’t know how long his restraint would last.
Using his free hand, he pulled down the ornate strip of lace barely covering her heaving breast, exposing a deeply blushed peak. His mouth surrounded the sensitive pearl shucked from its shell and suckled hard. Shaun squirmed beneath him as the wave of her release crashed down, her inner walls pulsating around his finger. Cole claimed her mouth, swallowing each and every cry. When her trembling eased, he pulled back and smiled, proud that the flush of her cheeks was a product of his doing.
He dipped his head and grabbed the condom still stuck to her breast with his teeth, inhaling the scent of sex on her skin. Standing upright, he began the task of freeing himself from his jeans. He kept his eyes down, nerves causing his hands to shake. He hoped the office was too dark for her to notice.
He also hoped this once would be enough to sate his hunger, even though Shaun’s words to just that effect had struck him deep.
Her eyes moved to the ceiling when he tore open the condom wrapper and rolled it down his rigid length. He appreciated the privacy, jolted by the unexpected onset of nerves. Unsure whether he could wait a moment longer, he clutched her panties with both hands and yanked hard until the undergarment split, careful not to hurt her in the process. Succeeding in winning back her attention, he tossed the scrap of fabric to the floor.
“Take it out of my paycheck,” he challenged with an arrogant thrust of his chin. The smile she returned pierced his soul and also frightened the shit out of him. Those kinds of feelings were not welcome in this arena; she’d made that clear. Refocusing on the subject at hand, he gripped Shaun by the thighs and dragged her until her ass sat on the edge of the desk.
“If you want it, Shaun, you’re going to have to take it,” he said, his voice low and graveled. “Put me inside you.”
She stared up at him in shock. He could tell she wasn’t used to taking orders in business or in play, but that shit was about to change. Unlike Olivia, he wanted nothing more from Shaun. No commitment. No connections. Just sex. He nudged her slit with the tip of his cock, prodding her into action.
Overcoming her initial apprehension, she reached a hand down and wrapped her fist around him. She eased him gingerly along her slick cleft, teasing, tormenting, and then jerked him away from her body, asserting her upper hand.
“Fuck, Shaun!” he hissed. The color of her cheeks indicated the loss of contact to be just as painful for her. Regaining some semblance of control, he worked his length through her firm hold with a grin, petitioning his need for pleasure. Pleasure that only she could give him.
“Just this once, right?” she whispered.
“Right,” he agreed. “If that’s what you want.”
Giving over, Shaun positioned him just inside her tight entrance. The pain of restraint was unbearable, but he would wait until she was ready. Then the affirmation came. A hushed “yes” charged Cole forward into the unknown.
CHAPTER 15
“Good Christ, what the hell was I thinking?” Cole agonized out loud, bent over the bathroom sink with a towel wrapped around his waist, staring at his reflection in the mirror. He didn’t look any different, but he sure as hell felt that way. He’d just finished his second cold shower of the day, third for the weekend. He scratched at the scruff he was cultivating along his jawline. Without wanting to, he had played right into Robert’s hands, and that alone made him sick with remorse. He had no intention of following through with the plan of partner sabotage. In fact, he had tried everything in his power to derail Robert’s progress, on sheer principle. However, having genuine feelings for the woman his uncle had brought him to Mason to help fire made the whole scenario even more fucked up.
Friday evening should have just been about scratching an itch, sating a hunger. Instead, he found his ankle caught in an undertow named Shaun, yanking him down further into the dark depths of desire. The air that remained in his lungs far from enough. He wanted more. He glared at his phone. He would not call her. Not now, even when he desperately needed the air that he knew only she could give.
His phone rang in protest of being ignored, and Cole nearly leapt out of his skin at the ruptured silence. The number on the display was a familiar and much-needed one.
“Hey, Jake,” he answered, dropping down onto the sofa, wet skin sticking to the camel leather.
“Hey,” his friend replied on the other end. “I bribed Rocky into watchin
g over the shop for a few, so I thought I would use my precious break to live vicariously through your ass. How’re things?”
“Okay, I guess. Not as bad as I thought, but still not great.”
“Uh oh. What’s wrong now? Please tell me you’re not still homesick for Sweetwater.”
“No. I mean yes, I’d rather be there than here, but that’s not it.”
“No? Life on Lucky Bastard Boulevard is not all it’s cracked up to be?” Jake asked with a chuckle, and Cole laughed along with him. “Want to talk about it?”
Cole contemplated letting Jake in on his secret, revealing how much of an asshole he truly was. “I wish you were here, man.”
“Deflecting? Shit it must be really bad.”
“I fucked my boss.” Cole blurted the words quickly before his brain could intervene with a better option.
“Your boss, meaning the chick who you caught with another chick? Because if you’re confessing an incestuous fling with your uncle, I’m thinking you might want to consult a professional.”
“Fuck you, you ass.” Cole chuckled again. Jake always managed to help lighten Cole’s mood, which was ironic considering everything his best friend had been through. “My boss, the woman.”
“Okay, I’m waiting for the problem, and it better not be that her girlfriend joined in, because so help me God, I’ll be on the next bus to Mason.”
“No, just her.” Cole snorted. “Sorry to fall short of your fantasy.”
“You’re still my idol, man. So, what’s with all this ‘woe is me’ bullshit I’m hearing in your voice?”
“It’s really complicated. My uncle is dead set on having their partnership dissolved at all costs. And I mean, at all costs.” Cole thought it best to omit he was his uncle’s instrument of betrayal in this scenario, not ready to have Jake read him the riot act right now.
“Was it any good, at least? I mean, if you’re going to hell, you should go with a smile.”
“Why am I even talking about this with you?”
“Because you apparently need to tell somebody, and I’ll never judge you. Sure, I might be one jealous motherfuck, but you’re my best friend and nothing will ever change that. Nothing.”
Jake had often been the subject of ridicule growing up; seen as a dirty troublemaker who floated from one foster family to another after his mother gave him up at the age of eight. When Cole had stuffed the fifth grade faculty toilets with cherry bombs on a dare, Jake confessed to the prank without hesitation. They had been inseparable from then on, and Cole had resolved to always be there for his best friend. But much like with the cherry bombs, Jake had been Cole’s savior all along. Although inappropriate and crass, he somehow knew the words Cole needed desperately to hear.
“Thanks.”
Cole sprang up from another dream of Shaun at the sound of his alarm blaring, his dick hard enough to slam down the snooze button itself. He collapsed back in the tangle of sweaty sheets. All he could think about was how hot and tight she’d been. The flush of her full breasts when aroused. The soft whimpers she’d made each time she came. The whole thing had ended way too soon for fear of the cleaning crew catching them in the act when they made their second pass through the offices. If he were honest, he had never believed people who claimed the world moved when they had good sex. Cole had had some great sex in his life, especially during his college years. But nothing had registered a tiny tremor on his internal Richter scale until Friday night.
For a good week and a half, Shaun and Cole traded their presence at the firm. When he was scheduled at the office, she’d work from home or be stuck in a meeting on twelve for the whole of the day. She was avoiding him, and he’d be lying if he didn’t admit he was doing a little avoiding of his own. He wanted to see her, discuss what had happened between them, but what would he say? “Hey, thanks for fucking my brains out, but that’s exactly what Robert wanted me to do and here’s why.” Yeah, he didn’t imagine he’d possess all his body parts after divulging that information. However, he couldn’t go on ignoring her. She deserved more than that and he wanted to give her more.
Cole and the crew were starting work on the design aspects of Ciao Belleza today, having finally brought the property to where it needed to be, but Cole decided to make a detour first. Shaun wouldn’t expect to see him at the office. Dressed for construction work, in boots, dark jeans, and a hunter green thermal, he waited in the parking garage by the elevators for her to show. He spotted Violet’s Beetle, glad she had arrived before he had, not wanting to explain why he was lingering in the parking garage like some creeper.
Then a pair of halogen headlamps came into view, moving closer. Cole ducked into the shadows until he could identify the car and its driver. The celestial black Jaguar coupe he remembered purred into a reserved parking spot up front.
Cole returned to the elevators and propped himself against the wall, waiting. The clack of high heels along the asphalt ricocheted off the concrete and drew near. Shaun stared down at the phone in her one hand, a hot beverage cup in the other, oblivious to Cole watching her. She finally looked up and stopped dead in her tracks. He pushed off the wall and shortened the distance between them.
“Hi.”
“Hi,” she replied, dropping her phone into her handbag. “What are you doing here?” Cole grimaced, wondering if this was a bad idea. “I mean, you’re supposed to be at the restaurant today.”
“I know.” He scrubbed at his hair, hoping the gesture would shake free a better sense of what the hell he planned to do now that he had Shaun right where he wanted her. “I forgot a few sketches and thought I’d stop by to pick them up.”
“Oh.” Her gaze moved to study an oil stain on the ground. She had a few good ones to choose from.
“Okay, that’s a fucking lie. I wanted to see you, Shaun. I know you’ve been avoiding me, and truth is, I was avoiding you too.”
“Really?” She folded her arms across her chest, a bored tone in her voice. The conversation appeared to be approaching crash-and-burn status.
Cole took a step closer and her head snapped up. “I couldn’t stay away any longer.” She swallowed and scanned the garage. Cole too shared the fleeting moment of paranoia, even though he’d been there long enough to know that they were alone. He reached toward the cup still clutched in her hand and relieved her of the beverage, setting it down on a trash can. Grasping her wrist, he pulled her behind one of the nearby support columns, the space shrouded in darkness, and she followed willingly. Out of the light and away from possible onlookers, Cole backed her into the solid steel, his arms caging her in. God, she was just as beautiful as ever. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, leaving her long neck thankfully bare.
“What are you doing, Cole?” She shoved against his chest half-heartedly, playing at being unwilling. The amusement quirking at her mouth betrayed her feelings.
“Once was not enough, and I think you agree.” Leaning down, he brushed his lips over her mouth, licking at the flavored gloss. Not through with his torment, he continued his exploration over her jaw and down her neck, allowing his tongue to taste the sweetness of her goose-fleshed skin.
“What are we doing, Cole? What is this?” she murmured, hands slipping beneath his thermal, no longer attempting to push him away but instead tugging him closer. He didn’t miss the change in wording, the “we” instead of “you.”
Cole pulled back, meeting her questioning gaze. “What do you want it to be?”
“Truth?” He gave her a small nod, apprehensive of her response. “I don’t know.”
Cole didn’t know either, but nothing had occupied his mind more than this woman since arriving in Mason. She was a puzzle that challenged him at every turn. Just when he thought he’d figured her out, the facets realigned, giving him a whole new problem to figure out.
Cole cupped her face in his hands, their mouths inches apart. “Let’s decide together.” Breaching the space, he sealed his lips over hers, his tongue delving deep to coax all warri
ng thoughts from her mind. “Stop by the restaurant site today,” he petitioned against her lips.
“I’m not sure I should,” she breathed in reply. He migrated his kiss down her neck once more, slowly dropping to his knees. Much like Olivia in the stairwell. Cole cursed the thought out of his mind. He no longer fantasized about the two women together. He wanted Shaun to himself, no sharing.
Cole slid her charcoal pinstripe skirt up, exposing the upper bands of her stockings. He was sure she wore this sexy shit on purpose, agonizing all she left in her wake. She gripped the hem of her skirt between her legs and tried to stop him. “What are you doing?”
“Don’t.” He gently nipped her knuckles, and she released the fabric with a gasp. Not wanting to expose too much of her in the open, he let only his hands continue with the ascent up her skirt, not stopping until he felt the silk of her panties. Remembering the scant pair he’d ripped off her the night they’d fucked, he imagined these were just as sheer. Her scent flooded his airways and resuscitated his cock. He glided his forefinger over one plump fold and cleaved the valley between, working the silk over her clit. Shaun moaned, letting her head fall back against the column. Just like everything else, sex looked good on her, and Cole didn’t want to stop. But they had to. They couldn’t continue with what he wanted, not here, like this. He needed to get her to the restaurant, and he’d figured out a way to convince her to join him.
Hooking his fingers under the waistband of her thong, her tugged the sheer silk down her legs. He instructed her to step out of the panties with one palm to her right calf and then her left. Not letting go of the pillaged undergarment, Cole stood, although the tempting bouquet of her arousal made it difficult.
“If you want these back, you know where to find me.” He slid her thong into his back pocket. Her mouth fell open and he turned, hiding his smirk as he walked toward the elevators.
The sound of her shoes scurried in pursuit. “Give those back, Cole.”
Drawn Through You Page 13