Cole in My Stocking

by Jessi Gage

  She stayed relaxed. Thank God. Her eyes were serious as they roamed his face, but her mouth was soft, vulnerable, tempting as hell.

  He captured her chin in his hand and tilted her face to his. Their lips met. He kept his hand on her chin to let her know he wanted to be in control. Woman took the hint.

  She sighed through her nose, a happy noise, and let him nip at her, tender and soft, slow. Setting the tone for tonight. Patience and love filled his heart. Taking his time had never tasted so sweet.

  Only after she murmured “more” against his mouth did he lick at the seam of her lips. She opened for him immediately.

  Her mouth was pure bliss. Tongue on tongue, heat on heat, the taste of wine, absolute perfection. The kiss picked up speed, even though he fought to keep it slow. He went hard as frigging steel.

  Too bad he’d already decided the only relief he’d get tonight would be in the shower by himself once Mandy fell fast asleep. It was going to be a long evening. It was going to be the best evening of his life to date.

  * * * *

  Cole surrounded me with affection. His love came through in every caress of his hand, every squeeze from his powerful arms, and every stroke of his tongue over mine. I wanted this to go on forever. Kissing was my happy place. At least this kind of kissing was, the kind that was tender as opposed to hungry.

  I only knew Cole was hungry for more because I felt him hard against my stomach. With any other guy, the joy I would have gotten from the kissing would have fled at the insistent prodding. Not Cole. With him, it didn’t feel like prodding. It didn’t feel insistent. He never made me feel like his having an erection was in any way my problem. In fact, for the first time since my assault, I took it as a compliment. It meant he liked what we were doing. Yeah, he would probably like it if we did more, but with Cole, I knew we didn’t have to do more, not unless I wanted to.

  Tonight, I wanted to. Only problem was I didn’t know exactly how much I could handle. But I trusted Cole not to be upset if I freaked. I would be embarrassed, but I would survive to try again another day. No one had ever made me feel that way before. Only Cole.

  His mouth left mine and slid to my neck. He kissed and licked and nipped at my skin. A pleasant heat made a fist low inside me. Desire. A foreign emotion where men were concerned.

  There was another emotion inside me, one I’d only recently learned to identify. This one pooled behind my breastbone. “I love you,” I whispered, hugging his head to keep him where his mouth felt so amazing.

  “Baby,” he breathed. Breaking my hold, he tackled my mouth again. He tenderly devoured me, and I tenderly devoured him back.

  Yes. This was love. The potency of it sent me reeling in my own head. Somehow, loving Cole tethered me securely and set me free at the same time.

  I could marry this man. I wanted to. I was only twenty-four, but I could tell the chemistry between me and Cole was something special. I’d be crazy not to accept we were headed in that direction. There was just one thing holding me back. I couldn’t bear binding Cole to someone who couldn’t give him everything he deserved in a physical sense. I had to know my body was capable of fully trusting this man who had earned my trust in every other way.

  Cole’s kisses took on a weight that would have turned my desire to dread if he’d been anyone else. He dragged one of my legs over his hip, bringing our pelvises into alignment.

  “Any problem here, baby?”

  “No problem at all, officer.”

  He chuckled but sobered quickly. Fingers gripping my thigh through my jeans, he rolled me to my back and settled between my legs so he was lying on top of me but holding his weight on his elbows. His chest brushed my breasts, stopping just shy of compressing them. All my focus went to the satisfying pressure of his big body above mine, of the way our position hinted at sex but how our clothes kept things relatively tame, if a man’s throbbing erection between my legs could be considered tame.

  “How about now?” Spots of color on his cheeks were the perfect complement to the heat in his gaze. He licked his lips, making me stare at that talented tongue.

  “We might have a problem,” I said, missing the sight of his tongue when it disappeared behind his lips.

  He went rigid and started to move off me.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him close. “It’s just a small problem. One easily remedied.”

  “Tell me what you need.”

  “I want your mouth on me. Here.” I cupped my breasts from the sides.

  He purred. “Like this?” He pecked the side of my breast near where I’d cupped it. His grin told me he knew darn well that’s not what I’d wanted.

  “Like this,” I said, and I pushed at his shoulders until he rose up enough that I could pull my sweater off. I had on a white tank top over a plain white bra. Feeling bold and safe, I wiggled my shoulders to work the straps down my arms and used my thumbs to scrape the molded cups down until my breasts were bare, framed for him by white cotton.

  “Good God.” A muscle in his jaw ticked as he looked at me. “You’re going to kill me.”

  I bit my lip, suddenly uncertain. “Is that a bad thing?”

  His gaze jumped to mine. He exhaled. “Baby, it’s the best fucking thing in the world.”

  My little moment of anxiety was over as soon as he lowered his mouth to my sensitive skin. Then we didn’t talk any more for a while. He hummed. I gasped. But there seemed no need for words.

  Cole showed me the meaning of tenderness in the way he feasted on me. My body came alive for him. I burned. Oh, how I burned.

  “More,” I said, bringing his mouth up to mine. His lips and tongue were warm and wet. Perfect.

  “How much more,” he murmured between kisses.

  “Everything. I want all of you.”

  He groaned. “Not going to go from zero to sixty in one night, baby. But I’ll give you something beautiful if you let me.”

  “I’d let you do anything to me right now.” I meant it. I might spontaneously combust if he didn’t do something to me right now, and I meant right now.

  Reverting to those tender kisses from earlier, Cole seemed to calm himself. His breathing slowed, and it seemed natural to match mine to his. I might have thought he was slowing things down, but I sensed a change come over him. Intent poured from his hooded eyes. He usually kissed with them closed, but not now. He had them slitted, and he was watching me, taking in my every move, my every breath.

  He slid one hand slowly, so slowly down my stomach. When he found the button of my jeans, he flicked it open and continued on his way. At the elastic band of my underwear, he paused. He lifted his face from mine. I thought he was about to ask permission, and I was going to have to scream, yes, do it! Touch me there! But he didn’t ask.

  He held my gaze while he pushed his hand lower, while he touched me skin to fevered skin.

  My head sank back into the throw pillow as sensation seared through me. “Oh.” It had never felt quite like this when I’d touched myself. I’d never imagined a man’s hand could feel better than my own.

  “You like?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  Eyes bright with love, he gave me something very beautiful, indeed, something no man had ever given me. And I accepted his gift gratefully.

  Lying in his arms afterwards, I knew without a doubt everything about my life was about to change.

  Chapter 27

  “Gotta go, baby. Love you.” Cole’s deep voice brought me out of a peaceful sleep. As soon as I opened my eyes, he kissed me. Short, sweet. He was leaning over me in his uniform.

  I cupped his freshly shaven face. It was the morning of New Year’s Eve. He was on his way in for a double shift. Twenty-four hours of patrolling New Hampshire highways…on the number one holiday for drunk driving, which meant he was going to be busy. We were planning to have a quick dinner together at the station at five thirty tonight, but other than that, I wouldn’t be seeing him again
until tomorrow morning. “Going to miss you.”

  “I know.” That smile. It reached his eyes and came from someplace down deep. He was happy. I was too. “I’ll miss you too,” he said. “But we’ll have all day tomorrow together.”

  “After you sleep for at least eight hours.”

  “Pfft. Four will do me.”

  “Eight.”

  “Six.”

  “We’ll see.”

  Another smile. I loved the way the skin crinkled at the corners of his eyes.

  “I love you,” I told him.

  He kissed me again and said, “I know.” Then he left for work.

  I relaxed back against the pillows and joyfully resurrected my memories of last night. Cole had given me such an amazing gift. He’d brought me pleasure with nothing but his fingertips and the heated look in his eyes. I hadn’t experienced a single moment of panic. I loved and trusted him. I desired him. All those attempts at taking things further than kissing with other guys had been doomed to failure before they’d even begun because those vital components had been missing. And those guys hadn’t been Cole.

  After the sweetest, most memorable orgasm I’d ever had and the only one I’d ever experienced with a man, Cole had held me. Boneless and overwhelmed, I’d cried a handful of happy tears. When I could move my limbs again, I’d tried to return the favor. Cole hadn’t let me. He insisted we go to bed instead, just to sleep. No matter how badly I’d wanted to give him the kind of amazing pleasure he’d just given me, I could never push for something sexual when my partner said no. Not even if I suspected he wanted it as badly as I’d wanted to give it.

  So I’d gone to bed with him. Just to sleep. I held him and stroked his buzzed head, traced his ears with my fingertips and peppered his face with kisses. He fell asleep with a smile on his face. To think a man could be as hard and ready as he’d been and lie down to sleep unfulfilled but happy! Incredible. Wonderful. That was Cole.

  I rolled to see the clock on his side of the bed. It was five-fifty. It was never easy to get out of Cole’s big, comfortable bed, but I had something even better than sleeping-in to do. And it all started with a phone call to PHMC. By the time I got out of the shower and had breakfast, Marybeth would be at the office, starting up the coffee pot and warming up the copy machine. I hated to leave her in a lurch, but I planned to renege my offer to return to work next week.

  I hoped Cole hadn’t had his heart set on a drive to Philly. At least not any time soon.

  * * * *

  “…Three, two, one, Happy New Year!” I counted down on video phone with Heather. The dark background came alive with a pinkish glow as the glassy building behind her reflected the first sparks of the Delaware River Waterfront fireworks show. A second later the explosion crackled through the speaker and the music began.

  Heads adorned with knitted hats and festive headbands blurred across the screen as Heather turned the phone toward the river so I could see the show.

  “Thanks, hon,” I shouted over the noise, “but I’ll let you go. Thanks for ringing in the New Year with me!”

  The phone swung around again until her freckled face was in frame. She had on a green knitted hat with a pom-pom on top and a scarf wrapped tight against the chilly waterfront wind. “What? Did you say something?”

  I laughed. “I’m going to let you go. Enjoy the rest of the show.”

  She pushed out her lower lip. “You don’t want to watch with us?” She angled the phone toward our friends Caryn, Paul, and Maggie, tempting me with their familiar, friendly faces. Paul waved, and Maggie smiled. Caryn was watching the fireworks, but when Maggie poked her, she blinked and said, “You’re missing a great show, Mandy.”

  “I’ve got the Boston show on Cole’s TV right now. I’ll watch that while I text him. You guys have fun. I’ll see you in a couple weeks.”

  Heather’s face filled the screen again. “You’re breaking my heart. Are you sure this is what you want?”

  “It is,” I assured her. “He’s worth it.”

  “Then go for the gold, chica. See you when you’re ready to pack up that apartment of yours.”

  “You bet. Happy New Year!”

  “Back at you. Tell loverboy I said hi.”

  My cheeks heated at Heather’s nickname for Cole, especially after last night. If the whole gang hadn’t been listening in while waiting for the fireworks to begin, I might have summarized the evening for her. As it was, she didn’t know we’d taken a turn for the intimate in our relationship, but from the twinkle in her eye as she’d listened to me talk about Cole, I could tell she understood just how much I cared for him.

  I signed off with Heather and started to text Cole. Before I could hit send, I got a message from him.

  Happy New Year honey.

  I returned the sentiment and told him to stay safe. Then I settled in with a mug of eggnog to watch the rest of the fireworks display on his big-screen. The plan was to wait up for him, but when my ringing phone woke me from a dead sleep, I gathered I hadn’t made it.

  Lying on Cole’s sectional, I swiped my phone off the table. It was three twenty-seven, and I didn’t recognize the incoming caller. I answered.

  “Mandy, it’s Stacey. I’m so sorry, hon, but it’s Cole. He’s at Exeter Hospital. He got hit tonight while out on patrol.”

  My heart lunged into my throat. “What? Hit how? Like by a car?”

  “Yes. Someone swiped him in a hit and run while he was writing a speeding ticket.” Her voice trembled.

  “How bad?”

  “I don’t know. I got the call from our lieutenant ten minutes ago. All I know is Cole’s at Exeter. Rob’s driving us over right now. You want us to swing by and pick you up on the way?”

  Stacey and Rob lived in Dover, which was North of Exeter. Newburgh was south. “No. I’ll meet you there.”

  I launched myself off the couch and ran for the bedroom. I’d changed into my jammies for the fireworks. Tears pricked at my eyes and my heart hammered as I yanked on jeans and a sweater. Finished dressing, I jogged down the stairs. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

  It was cold downstairs, too cold, like someone had left the front door open to the night. A quick glance showed the door was closed, and the security system was armed.

  Out of the darkness in Cole’s living room came a voice. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

  Fear froze me on the bottom step.

  I recognized that voice. It was a voice I thought I’d never hear again. It should be impossible that I was hearing it now. I scanned the living room, squinting until movement drew my gaze back to the front door. A moment ago, the door had been plainly visible. Now a shadow in the shape of a man blocked it.

  “Dad?”

  “There’s a dangerous man out there. Where’s that .45?” The voice wasn’t coming from the shadow. I seemed to be hearing it inside my head.

  My heart just about jumped out of my chest, it was beating so hard. A strange sense of time standing still settled over me. Regardless, I needed to get to Cole. “It’s upstairs,” I said, my voice thready with fear. “I’m just driving to Exeter. Cole is hurt. It’s three thirty in the morning.” I was laying out my rationale like I’d been caught out past curfew. It was just us girls. No one was drinking. No one else has an eleven-o-clock curfew.

  “I raised you smarter than that. Go get it.”

  The shadow dissipated, and the cold lifted. Time seemed to restart, and my head cleared as if I were waking from a dream. Only after it was gone did I realize my ears had been buzzing with some kind of strange static.

  I broke out in a clammy sweat. My hand tightened on the railing.

  I was probably still half asleep. That’s all. I certainly hadn’t just spoken with my dead father.

  Cole. He was hurt. In the hospital. That could mean so many things, none of them good.

  I dashed into the kitchen and grabbed my purse and keys from the counter. While I jamme
d my arms into my coat near the front door, I paused. Maybe I should go get the gun. It wouldn’t hurt to have it. I could even leave it in the lockbox in the beast if they didn’t allow weapons in the hospital.

  I ran upstairs and grabbed the .45 and holster off the bedside table. By habit, I checked the chamber and safety. Not taking the time to slip the holster on, I jogged down the stairs, armed Cole’s security system for away, and locked up. While I crossed the driveway to where the beast was parked in front of Cole’s garage, I heard a vehicle turning off the main road into Cole’s driveway.

  The engine noise grew louder as the car approached, but I couldn’t see it through the trees yet. That had to mean the lights were off.

  A dark sedan with a dented bumper and a dangling headlight rounded the corner into the clearing between Cole’s house and garage, triggering the security light. Why would anyone be visiting Cole in the middle of the night with their headlights off? It couldn’t be Stacey and Rob. They were headed toward the hospital, and I suspected Rob drove something nicer than this banged up sedan.

  My stomach churned with nausea as I remembered hearing my dad’s voice. “There’s a dangerous man out there.”

  As the car pulled to a stop, angled away from me and toward the house, I slipped the gun from the holster and crouched behind the beast. Had I been seen?

  Peering around the bumper of the beast, I watched a man get out of the car. His back was to me. In the fluorescent wash of the security light, I could tell his shirt was a burgundy Henley. He also had on a denim vest and jeans that sagged in the butt. No coat, hat, or gloves. Long, dark hair streaked with gray was pulled into a raggedy ponytail.

  He staggered toward the house. I recognized that kind of listing gait. I recognized it well. Whoever the man was, he was drunk.

  I slipped my phone from my purse and dialed 9-1-1.

  The man raised a fist and pounded on the door. “I know you’re in there, Mandy,” he shouted, leaning back to aim his voice toward the second floor. I knew right away from the deep growl of his voice who it was. Gonzo. “And I know your fuckbuddy ain’t coming to your rescue this time. Get your ass out here and tell me where that money is.”