I drop my bag to the floor and walk up behind her. “Can I have five of those?”
“Cole, I don’t have time …”
I pull my wife from the stove, spin her around, and lift her, planting her ass on the kitchen island. I shove her legs apart and stand between them. Why was she wearing her wedding dress in the dream? We’ve been married for a while now. Does it mean marrying me was a death sentence for her? I hate that I’m too selfish to let her go. I need her for my sanity and my survival. Austin Lowes brought life to my dead world. I’d hate to cut her life short for my own. But as I look into her green eyes, I wonder where she’d be if I hadn’t forced her to be with me. Probably with that motherfucker Martin. And that just pisses me off.
“Cole—”
“I need five minutes.” I’ve always been a needy person. But what used to be a need for violence has now turned into needing her.
“You had me last night.” She arches a brow. “I remember.”
“It was like twenty minutes.” Not nearly enough.
Her green eyes narrow in the sexiest way. “It was like four in the morning. You woke me up. Sorry I wasn’t in the mood for foreplay.”
I reach up and gently push her long, dark hair over her shoulder, exposing her neck to me. I bury my face in it. “You still got off,” I remind her. “Twice.”
She slaps my chest playfully.
“I need more,” I admit. We had to be quiet. I can’t remember the last time we weren’t careful about our sex life because of Lilly. I want to fuck my wife! I want to make her scream. I want to feel the split of my skin from her nails. Shove her up against the wall. Slap her ass. Wrap my hand around her throat. Make the bed bang against the wall. Like I said, I need more. “And I can’t remember the last time I fucked you anywhere other than our bed.” I nip at her neck. I want to fuck her on the kitchen counter or in a bathroom. Fuck, I’d do her in the back seat of my car.
“Cole …” She sighs, and my cock hardens.
“Getting warmer,” I mumble before running my free hand up her back and tangling it in her thick hair. I’m madly in love with Austin Reynolds, but I never forget why I fell in love with her—she’s fearless. A force to be reckoned with.
Challenge me, sweetheart.
She places her hands on my chest and pushes me back. I go willingly, looking down into her heavy eyes. “I was going to surprise you, but Lilly is staying with a friend this weekend.”
“Really?”
“Yep. We’ll have the house to ourselves. And I ordered some things online. They arrived yesterday.”
I arch a brow, running my hand over her jean-clad thighs. “What kind of things?”
She shoves me back and jumps off the island. “That’s a surprise.” She walks out of the kitchen, and I hear her talking to Lilly down the hall.
My phone starts ringing in my pocket, and I pull it out to see it’s Deke. “Hello?”
“Where you at?” he asks in greeting.
“About to walk out of the house. You?”
“Same.” He lets out a long breath. “I’ve got some news. And you’re not going to like it.”
I grab my keys off the counter and head toward the garage. “What is it?” I ask, knowing this is that motherfucking shoe, and it’s about to drop.
AUSTIN
I’m going to kill him! Cole has been ignoring me all day. I’ve sent him naughty pictures, along with things that I plan to do to him tonight, and I haven’t received a single fucking thing!
“Where the hell is he?” I growl to myself.
I spent most of the day getting ready for this weekend with him. I wanted it to be special. I got my hair done and had everything waxed. Things haven’t been the same since Thanksgiving in Collins last year. They’ve been better. At least that’s what I thought. But he seems on edge. I can read him like a book, and something is up.
I grip my cell and call his once again. “You’ve reached Cole …” Straight to voicemail. Just like it’s done the other fifty times I’ve called.
Looking at the clock, I see he’s almost two hours late. Two hours. That’s not like him. Sometimes practice runs later than usual, but he calls and tells me.
Is it another woman? Doubt fills my mind. Becky said he’d get bored with me. Could that be true? And don’t forget the fact we’re so young. I don’t go to a big college. I don’t have any friends other than Demi and Brynn. But Cole? He’s around people all the time in class and practice. I never thought he’d be capable of cheating, but isn’t that what every woman thinks? Right up until she sees it with her own eyes? How would I find out, though? He doesn’t use his social media page that I know of. And he takes his laptop to his classes with him. Think, Austin …
My cell rings, and I hold my breath, praying it’s him, but I let it out when I see it’s Demi. “Hey,” I answer.
“Hey, girl. Do you and Cole want to go out tonight?”
I run a hand through my hair. “He’s not home. I can’t get a hold of him …”
“Oh, I just spoke to Deke, and they’re still at UT. Something about practice running late.”
Yep. Definitely going to kill him!
All that worrying for nothing! He’s been at the university this entire time? Why the fuck didn’t he tell me?
I look over at the bed and the candles that light up the room, then I stand in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror. My makeup is done pretty heavily with smoky eyes and red lips. My hair fixed in big curls, and I want to laugh at myself. Cole wouldn’t give a shit that I took the time to dress up for him. Because things like that just don’t matter. It pisses me off that I thought it could be another woman. I’d kill him if that was the case. Maybe her too. Depends on if she knew about me or not.
When did I become this woman? Someone who waits around for a man who ignores her? Cole knows not to piss me off. That I can be just as heartless as he can be.
“Yeah.” I smile to myself in the mirror. “Let’s go out tonight. I know just the place.” I stomp over to the desk that sits in the corner and yank open the top drawer. “I’ll come over to your place, and Cole can just meet me there.”
“Sounds good. See you soon.” She hangs up.
I sit down at the desk and scribble a note for my husband.
CHAPTER THREE
SHANE
I LIFT MY head up out of the water and suck in a deep breath before placing it back down. My arms cut through the water as my feet kick, and I glide along the length of the large pool.
When I reach the other side, I slam my hand to the concrete wall and lift my head. I suck in a long breath of air. Ripping my goggles off my face, I look up at the man who stands at the side of the pool, holding a stopwatch in his hand.
“Not bad.”
I snort. Not bad, my ass. Placing my hands on the edge, I push myself out of the pool and remove my swim cap. Water drips from my body as I remove my ear plugs.
The man crosses his arms over his chest and eyes me suspiciously. Then they slide over to the two guys who stand next to him. My best friends—Cole Reynolds and Deke Biggs.
Sighing, he looks back at me. “We just happen to have two spots open on the team.”
A smirk grows across Deke’s face. Cole stands there, a look of pure hatred on his. Our relationship isn’t as strong as it once was. He doesn’t want me here. He’s still sour about the secrets I kept from him.
Too bad.
I once didn’t care if his now wife lived or died. But I guess Deke got a pass, since he too once felt the same way. But whatever, I’ve always been the one left out in the group. I’ve never let it bother me before, so I’m not going to start now.
The University of Texas is where I want to be and was always meant to be. But I had taken a scholarship in Oregon because I wanted to stay with Kellan. But Cole killed him a few days before our high school graduation. I won’t say he didn’t deserve it because even I thought Kellan was losing his mind. I tried to help him, but it wasn’t enough.
&nbs
p; “Well, I’m here,” I say, arms out wide.
“And here you are.” Coach nods, looking down at my transfer papers in his hands. Even if he wants to tell me no, he can’t. It’s a done deal. “Hit the showers,” he tells me then he turns and leaves.
Deke grabs my towel off a chair and slaps me in the face with it. “Welcome to UT.”
“Thanks.” I dry my face. “Anything I should know about? Besides the fact Cole doesn’t want me here?”
Cole steps into me, his shoulders squared and chest bowed. Typical Cole, always looking for a fight. Honestly, I figured married life would have changed him, but obviously, I was wrong. “Stay the fuck away from Austin.”
I give him a smile. “Ahh, Cole, you hurt my feelings.” I slap my hand to my bare chest.
His blue eyes narrow to slits. “That was your only warning.” Then he turns and walks toward the locker rooms.
I look at Deke. “You would think he’d forgiven me by now.”
He shakes his head. “Pretty sure that will never happen.”
I wrap the towel around my neck, gripping the edges. “How are things?” It has been a while since I got to spend time with them.
“Good.” He nods.
I arch a brow. “Good? You both got married,” I remind him. “Honeymoon over already? Thought that lasted like a year or some shit?” Cole got married last January, and Deke got married this past May right after Demi graduated high school.
That makes him laugh. “No, that’s all good.”
“Then what is it?”
“I don’t know,” he answers and turns to head to the locker room as well. I wonder if he’s telling the truth.
Guess I have plenty of time to figure it out.
COLE
I fucking knew it!
The shoe dropped alright, and it’s fucking Shane. He’s moving to Texas. He’s already moved here. He’ll be here with me and Austin.
I don’t want him near her, but I’m not sure how I can stop him at this point. Ideas of going back and drowning him in the pool cross my mind. Why didn’t he give us some kind of warning? How long has he been here? This was his plan. To piss me off. I didn’t mind when he visited, but I didn’t want him to fucking live here. I don’t want him this close to Austin on a day-to-day basis.
“Cole?” Deke calls out, entering the locker room.
“I gotta go,” I say, grabbing my bag and placing my dead phone in my pocket. It died hours ago. Plus, I’m getting home later than normal. Coach wanted to have a meeting with me and Deke. And that meeting involved Shane.
I throw my bag over my shoulder and walk out just as Shane is walking in, and I make sure to throw my shoulder into his because I’m that kind of guy. And I fucking hate him!
I pull up to our house and notice all the lights are off. As the garage door opens, I see that Austin’s Range Rover is missing.
“Austin?” I call out, entering the house. “Austin!” I shout and am met with silence. I take the stairs two at a time and barge into our room. Flipping on the light, I see candles all over. Some on the nightstands and others on the tall and long dresser. I walk over to the bed and pick up the one next to my side of the bed. The wax is still liquid, letting me know she didn’t blow it out long ago.
I turn to the bed and see a note on it.
Cole, I went to Deke and Demi’s.
That’s it. Straight to the point. No information on how long she’ll be there. Nothing. What the fuck? Why would she go over there? We had plans tonight. Thought she had some surprise for me?
I wad up the note and throw it to the floor before plugging my phone in. Then I head to the bathroom. I’m taking a shower before I do anything else.
_______________
An hour later, I pull into Deke’s driveway and walk inside. I hear her laughter immediately coming from the kitchen. I enter and find her sitting at the kitchen table. Her cell in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. She quiets the moment her eyes meet mine. “Hey.” She manages to give me a small smile.
I don’t return it.
Demi looks at me over her shoulder before getting up from her seat. “I’m going to go see what’s taking Deke so long to get ready.”
I plop down at the table next to my wife and look her over. Her hair is in big waves, and she has more makeup on than usual. I wonder if she did that for me. I would have much rather been in bed naked with my wife instead of dealing with Shane this evening. She licks her red painted lips, and it makes me hard. I want to shove her to her knees right now and have red lipstick marks around my cock from her mouth. I need a release. Even my hands itch for a fight with some unlucky bastard. The dream put me on edge, but Shane has made it worse.
“Hey.” She reaches out and places her hand on mine. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I lie. Because that’s what I do when it comes to her. I never tell her the truth when something bothers me. I prefer to keep that shit to myself. Austin never seems to have the same level of concern as I do anyway. She has more of a “it will all work out” kind of attitude. And that’s the kind that will get you killed.
“It’ll be fun.” She nods.
“What will?” I ask, knowing no matter what we do it will be boring as shit.
“We’re going to Death Valley,” she answers.
“I thought we were supposed to be fucking,” I state.
The smile drops off her face, and she pulls her hand away from mine, standing. “Maybe if you would have sent me a text instead of leaving me waiting for you, we would be,” she replies with bite.
“Something came up,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before.” She exits the kitchen.
“Austin?” I call out, but she doesn’t return, doing what she does best by ignoring me. And it takes my level of anger from a seven to a ten.
CHAPTER FOUR
DEKE
“BABE?” I HEAR Demi call out.
“In the shower,” I answer, rinsing the soap off my body.
“What’s taking you so long?” she asks, opening the glass shower door and poking her head in.
“It won’t take me more than five minutes.” I look over her tank top and tight-fitting jeans. They sit low on her narrow hips, giving me a peek at her tan stomach from spending so much time in our pool over the summer with Lilly and Austin. Her blue eyes quickly drop to my cock before returning to mine. “Unless you wanna join me?” I lick my lips and wrap my hand around it. “I’m willing to spare an hour.” I begin to stroke it.
She snorts. “No, we don’t have time for that.”
“Bullshit.” I close the small distance between us. “I’ve always got time for you.”
She bites her bottom lip when her eyes drop once again. I can see her mind working as she tries to figure out if we have time for a quickie. But I don’t like to rush things when it comes to my wife. I prefer to take my time with her and worship her.
“Cole is here, and he seems pissy.”
I sigh, the mention of my best friend totally ruining the moment. “He is.”
“Do you know what’s going on with that?” She arches a brow.
“Nope.” I lie, knowing what the issue is but not wanting to get into it at the moment. Shane isn’t my favorite person right now either. Do I want him around Demi? I’d rather he not be, but I don’t hold him responsible for what happened between the girls and Becky back in Collins. No, I blame myself for that. I should have killed Becky instead of just marking her. That was my lapse in judgment, and if given the opportunity again, I won’t make the same mistake twice. I should have set her ass on fire that night when we found the girls at the Lowes residence. Another mistake.
I duck under the water to rinse off the remaining soap, then turn the shower off. I step out to her holding a towel for me. “Thank you,” I say, taking it and leaning in to kiss her on the cheek.
She glares up at me.
“What?”
“You’re lying to me, Deke.”
/> Standing in front of the double sinks, I begin to dry off like she didn’t just call me out. Maybe if I pretend I didn’t hear her, she’ll let it go.
“Cole and Austin are fighting, and you know why.”
“Their marriage is none of my concern,” I say, my eyes meeting hers in the mirror as she comes to stand beside me.
She turns to face me, so I do the same. She runs her hands down my wet chest and grabs the towel I have wrapped around my hips. “Demi …” I warn her.
Looking up at me, she gives me a smile and undoes the knot holding the towel in place. It falls to my feet. “Oops.” She thinks sex will get her the information she wants. It won’t, but I’m not going to pass up an opportunity to fuck my wife.
Reaching out, I undo her jeans and shove them down her legs along with her underwear. Then I spin her around to face the mirror. I shove her hips into the counter and run my hand up her thigh, spreading her legs with mine. I reach her pussy and push a finger into her to see how wet she is. Wet enough.
I grip the base of my cock and push into her. She bows her head and hisses in a breath as I stretch her tight pussy.
Leaning forward, I wrap my hand around her throat and lift her head so I can look at her in the mirror. “Oops,” I whisper in her ear before I nibble on it. Her body shudders.
“Deke …”
I don’t let her protest. Instead, I tighten my hand, cutting off her words, and begin to fuck her, knowing she was right. We don’t have a lot of time. So, I’ll settle for a quickie now and take my time with her when we get home later.
_______________
She’s pulling her jeans up when she finally speaks again. “This conversation isn’t over.”
I laugh under my breath. Demi and Austin have become pretty close, but I highly doubt Austin even knows why she and Cole are fighting.
She opens the bathroom door, and a pure white American Eskimo dog enters the bathroom, wagging her tail.
“Come on, Snowball,” Demi calls for her as she steps outside of the bathroom, “let’s go outside and potty before we leave.”
I got her that dog for her birthday this year.
DARE SERIES COLLECTION Page 93