by Brooks, Abby
“Finally,” said Cole and Lilah couldn’t agree more. But when he took her hand and led her off the dance floor, Lilah was confused.
“Where are we going?”
“I’m hot and ready for a drink.” Now he looked confused. “Aren’t you?”
“Yeah…” Lilah was ready for a drink but she was more ready for a slow dance with Cole. Her gaze darted back to the dance floor filled with couples swaying to the lilting music.
“I don’t slow dance, princess.” Cole tugged on her hand and led her through the crowd to the bar where he ordered an iced tea. Lilah considered ordering a Long Island, but felt weird drinking alone.
“I’ll have what he’s having,” she said when the bartender looked her way.
Cole downed his first iced tea and was waiting on a second one while Lilah sipped politely at her drink. “You’re a lot of fun,” she said.
“Oh no, princess. We’re a lot of fun.” He thanked the bartender when his drink arrived and took a long draw on the straw. “We’re good together. You take my shit and give it right back.”
Lilah scrunched up her nose. “Cole, that sounds disgusting.”
“You know what I mean.” He leaned forward, elbows on the bar. “So what do you want to do? You feel like more dancing or shall we go home and I can serenade you with my guitar?”
“I’ll take option B, please. I request much serenading.”
Cole paid the bill and Lilah felt a little clench of guilt again. Maybe, the next time they went out, she would offer to pay. They rolled the windows down in the truck on the way home and Lilah’s hair went flying around her face until she grabbed a hold of it in a tight ponytail at the base of her neck. Cole turned the radio up and they sang along at the top of their voices, Lilah’s sweet soprano blending surprisingly well with Cole’s husky baritone. By the time they got back to the apartment complex, Lilah had already chalked this night up as one of the top ten best nights ever. She was sweaty from dancing and her hair was a disaster from the wind, but her smile was wide and real and her heart skipped a few beats every time she looked at Cole.
Since Maggie was probably already asleep, they agreed that he should grab his guitar and meet Lilah in her apartment. While he unlocked his door, she raced up the stairs two at a time to quickly check her makeup and pull her hair back into a messy bun. She spritzed on a little perfume and checked the mirror. Her brothers wouldn’t recognize her if they saw her. Gone was the almost military perfect straight hair. The heavy makeup that took hours to make look like she wasn’t wearing any at all. Instead, the woman in the mirror looked fresh and happy. Wild hair and all.
Downstairs, her front door creaked open and she heard Cole step in and close it behind him. “I’ll be right down,” she called.
“Take your time. But nothing you do will make you more beautiful than you already are.” Cole strummed a few chords on his guitar and Lilah couldn’t help but put a hand to her heart and swallow hard. This man.
Either he was a master at reading what women needed to hear or he might actually be perfect for her. The quick wit. The sarcastic humor. The glimmer of sweetness. His strength. His willingness to help.
Downstairs, the chords turned into a thrumming melody and Cole threaded his voice around the notes in a mournful song that sent chills down Lilah’s spine. She wandered down the stairs, careful not to disturb him. He had turned on the one lamp on her end table and sat bathed in the soft light, eyes closed, face transformed by the beauty of his song. He opened his eyes when she stepped into the living room and smiled as he sang. A shiver ran up Lilah’s spine and she held his gaze, smiling in return. Cole stopped singing and silenced his guitar.
“Don’t stop,” she said. “It’s beautiful.”
“No, Lilah. You’re beautiful.”
She lowered her gaze and smiled at the floor. “Please, don’t stop playing. Please just let me listen to you.” Lilah crossed the room and folded herself into the corner of the couch across from him, transfixed by the way his fingers danced across the strings. And when he started to sing, she saw into his very soul. His clear blue eyes draining of stress and worry. The hard planes of his face softening somehow. She wondered how many people saw him like that and suspected it was only the people who ever heard him play.
“You want to try?” he asked after a few more songs. “I can teach you a few things.”
“I’d love that!”
Cole handed her the guitar and scooched over beside her. He helped organize her fingers on the fret boards and smiled patiently while she struggled to press down on the strings. She strummed and the guitar made a horrible sound.
“Ugh. I think I killed it.” Lilah turned to find Cole’s face right next to hers. Her gaze dropped to his lips and back up to his eyes only to find them hooded with lust. There was this moment of stillness between them. Cole inched closer. Tilted his head to the side and paused, his gaze glued to her mouth. Lilah’s chest heaved. And then Cole closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers.
18
The first time Cole kissed her, it was sweet and polite. His lips just barely brushing against hers, his tongue ever so politely exploring her mouth. This kiss was not like that. Cole crushed his mouth to hers, his hand threading up into her hair, grabbing a hold of it and pulling back to expose her neck. He kissed down her jawline and down along her hairline until he reached her shoulder.
The guitar sat awkwardly in Lilah’s lap, banging hollowly as they shuffled for more space. Cole took the guitar from her and propped it against the couch and in just those few seconds Lilah missed his mouth. Missed his hands. As soon as he had the guitar safe, he was back on her, his touch setting her on fire.
A tiny little part in her brain started worrying about where they were going and what they were doing and whether she was being a full on idiot or not. But then Cole pulled her into his lap so she was straddling him, feeling his erection pushing up against her and all those little worries just disintegrated.
He rocked his hips upwards and his cock pressed against her thrumming clit and even through the layers of clothing she could feel his hard warmth. His hands were everywhere. On her back. On her breasts. On her face and in her hair. She was surrounded with the rustling of their clothes and the sharp intake of their breath. She rocked her hips into his and he moaned into her mouth, moved his hands down to her hips and ground her forward, pressing himself into her.
Lilah tilted her head back and Cole moved on hand from her hip up to her throat, wrapped his fingers around her neck and pulled her mouth back to his. She ran her hand up his chest, letting them bump over his strong pecs, and moved them down over his shoulders where she squeezed his biceps. They were everything she hoped they would be. She smiled as he kissed her and he pulled back ever so slightly.
“What’s so funny?”
“Not funny. You just feel so good.”
Cole growled his approval. “No, princess. We feel good.” His mouth was on hers again and she had to agree. They felt damn good together. Lilah couldn’t remember being this turned on just kissing a man. Not even all the way back to Junior Prom when she was a walking hormone, ready to lose her virginity to Braydon Fletcher.
Cole grabbed the hem of her shirt and moved to take it off. Lilah pulled back and stopped him. “You’re gonna be here after? If we do this, you won’t disappear? I won’t lose my best friend?”
Cole gave her a devilish look. “As long as you don’t fuck it up.” He smiled to show he was kidding but Lilah wasn’t having it.
“I’m serious.”
“I’ll still be here.”
“Good. And just remember, if you’re not, I know where you live.” Lilah pulled her shirt off and threw it on the floor.
“Hot damn,” Cole breathed. “You’re so fucking gorgeous, princess. Stand up, let me see you.”
Lilah wriggled off his lap and stood in front of him, biting her lip.
“Take off your skirt.”
Lilah went to kick
off her shoes and Cole held up a hand.
“Leave the heels.” His lips quirked up into that smile she loved so much and she carefully stepped out of her skirt. Cole’s eyes raked across her body, from her head to her feet. He sat back into the couch and spread his knees. The movement rocked his hips up and she saw the bulge of his cock pressing against his jeans. She stared at his crotch and licked her lips.
“You want to see it, don’t you?” he asked. He reached down between his legs and gave his dick a squeeze.
Lilah’s lower muscles clenched with need and she got wet. Why was that so hot?
“Answer me, princess.” Cole’s voice was darker, a little more demanding than she was used to hearing from him. “You want to see my cock, don’t you.”?
“Yes.” Lilah lifted her chin, tracing her finger along her collarbone and down along the cup of her bra. “I want to see your cock.”
Cole smiled and undid his jeans. He pulled out his dick and Lilah’s eyes widened. “Holy shit,” she said.
Cole rubbed his hand up the long, thick shaft. “You want to stroke my cock, princess?”
Lilah nodded, her eyes on his hands. Her clit throbbing. Hell yes, she wanted her hands on him. And her mouth. She nodded, chest heaving.
Cole stood, his erection straining towards her, and pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it on the floor. He dropped his pants and stepped out of his boxer briefs and then closed the space between them. His lips were on her breasts, kissing and biting and sucking on her tight nipples through the fabric of her bra. Lilah reached down between them and wrapped her fingers around him. He groaned and thrust his hips forward, into her hand.
She couldn’t help it. She needed to taste him. Lilah got down on her knees and teased him with the tip of her tongue, swirling it around the head, before she took him into her mouth. She worked him with her tongue and hand, looking up and holding eye contact with him. His mouth opened and he smiled down at her, his eyes burning with lust.
Lilah loved the way it felt to have him look at her like that. To know that she was giving him pleasure, that she had his complete focus. To know that she was making him feel good turned her on like nothing else. She took him all the way to the back of her throat and moaned.
“Oh fuck, Lilah,” he said and grabbed her by the hair, yanking just enough to make it sting, and rocked his hips forward, thrusting into her mouth.
Oh hell this is hot, she thought to herself. Here she was, in her underwear and high heels, kneeling on the floor of her apartment while this monster of a man fucked her mouth. What. The. Fuck. Her clit throbbed and moisture soaked through her panties.
Cole pulled out of her mouth and helped her to stand. With a practiced hand he reached around and unhooked her bra. Her breasts spilled free as the yet another piece of clothing hit the floor. “Panties off. Heels on,” Cole said as he lowered his mouth to suck on her nipple.
Lilah shimmied out of her panties and gasped when Cole brought his hand to her clit. He ran a finger across her folds. “I need to taste you,” he said and guided her to the couch. She sat on the edge and spread her legs while Cole got on his knees.
He ran his tongue up her slit and pressed it flat against her clit. She looked down at that head of blonde hair between her legs and almost came right then, the sight was just that hot. He looked up and caught her watching.
“You like watching me make you feel good?” He slid a finger inside her. “Because I like making you feel good.” And then he flicked her clit with his tongue before he sucked on it, moving his fingers in and out of her and Lilah threw her head back, her hips moving without permission, her orgasm building fast and hard.
“That’s right, come for me baby,” Cole said, and just as if her body had been waiting for his permission, she exploded. Her muscles clenched around her fingers and she let out a long wail of a moan. Instead of slowing down his motion, Cole kept thrusting his fingers inside her, kept sucking her clit. The feeling was too intense, too much. Her hips started bucking and she wrapped her fingers in his hair and then another wave of pleasure overcame her and she screamed, coming harder than she ever had in her whole life.
When Cole finally pulled away, wiping his face and standing with that shit-eating grin dancing in his eyes, Lilah didn’t know what to say. “Fuck, Cole. That was amazing.”
“We're just getting started, princess.”
Lilah didn’t know how or why, but her body responded to his words with a surge of desire. How could it be that as spent as she was, she still wanted more? She watched him pull a condom out of his pants on the floor and spread her legs, totally aware that she was literally dripping onto her couch.
Cole rolled on the condom and positioned himself over her, his hands pressing into the back of the couch beside her head. He pressed the tip against her opening and pushed in, slowly sliding into her, filling her, stretching her so full she thought she might just come again from the reality of having him inside her. She looked up and found him watching her and as he began to move, she gasped and he smiled.
“Does it feel good, princess? Does it feel good to have me inside of you?”
Lilah swallowed, gasping for breath. Not sure if she could speak around all the sensation. “Yes,” she managed. “You feel so good.”
Cole slid himself all the way inside her, and then when she didn’t think he could get any deeper, he thrust his hips forward, finding that point where pain danced with pleasure in wonderful glittery explosions of delight. “And that?” he asked, thrusting again.
“Yes,” she managed, her eyes still on his.
Cole smiled. “And what about when I fuck you?” he asked as he sped up, thrusting harder and deeper and faster. “Do you like it when I fuck you, princess?”
“Yes!” she cried. “Yes! Yes! Yes!” And then, all her words were obliterated by an orgasm so powerful she couldn’t help but cry out. Cole sped up, pounding into her, driven by her pleasure. And just like before, just when she thought she had hit the apex of her orgasm, he brought his thumb to her clit and pushed her over the edge into a new level of sensation. Her hips rocked and bucked and her muscles clenched and just when she thought she was done, he brought on yet another wave.
Her eyes rolled back into her head and her back arched and just as she managed to screech out his name, Cole came with a shout, using both his hands on her hips to pull himself even deeper inside her. As his body relaxed, the spasm of his orgasm releasing him, Cole lowered his gaze to Lilah’s. She stared up at him, a big pile of mushy muscles and slurred thoughts. A slow smile brightened Cole’s face and he dropped his forehead to hers.
“Well, princess, I’ve got to go,” he said, pulling out of her.
The sudden hollowness of having him gone coupled with his words and dropped a fear bomb in her heart. She gasped and her jaw dropped and she stared up at him, anger boiling in her belly. She should be shrieking at him, clawing at him. Was he really that much of an asshole? Willing to put on so much of an act just to get inside her? Had she really fallen for a player’s game?
Cole’s face softened. “Oh Lilah.” He dropped to his knees and cupped her cheeks with his hands. “I was just trying to make a joke.”
“You ass!” Relief flooded through Lilah and she could breath again. She slapped him on the arm. “It officially wasn’t funny, if you’re curious.”
“Then why are you laughing?”
“Because I totally fell for it and maybe it’s getting a little funny now.”
“Tell you what. What if I take you upstairs and make it up to you? Maybe make it up to you two or three times?”
Lilah widened her eyes. “Are you being serious? Because I don’t think I’ve recovered from what just happened yet.”
“So is that a yes?”
“You’re gonna have to carry me upstairs. My legs don’t work yet.” Lilah hoped he could see that she wasn’t joking. Her whole body was a rubbery mass of relaxed muscles. Teetering upstairs in her heels really wasn’t an option.
* * *
Lilah’s eyes opened as the faintest gleam of dawn began to glow pink behind the blinds covering her window. She lay still, listening for Cole’s breath, trying to gauge if he was still sleeping. After he made good on his promise and made it up to her for most of the night, they had fallen asleep wrapped in each other’s arms, her head on his chest, listening to the rush of breath in his lungs, the beating of his heart, the simple sounds that meant he was human and alive and quite possibly the most amazing fuck she had ever experienced.
The bedroom was too quiet. Either Cole was holding his breath, or he wasn’t here at all. She rolled over, that stupid surge of fear twisting her stomach into knots again, and found that she was alone. There was a big empty space in the side of her bed where Cole should be sleeping, or propped up on an elbow smiling down at her. Wishing her good morning with that sweet grin of his, throwing some off-hand sarcastic comment her way.
Lilah sat straight up in bed. Maybe he was downstairs. Maybe he was just used to waking up super early in the morning and he crept down so he wouldn’t wake her. She threw on some clothes, didn’t matter what, and tiptoed downstairs, peeking into the living room as soon as it was possible.
No Cole.
And what’s worse, his clothes should have been strewn around the living room but they weren’t. No clothes either.
She dropped to the stair and put her head in her hands. “You fool,” she whispered. Regret mingled with disappointment and welcomed anger to the party.
Girl, said anger. You’re not the fool. He is. And you need to go make sure he knows.