by Denise Marie
Her body tingled at his blunt, erotic words. She’d give him the world if he continued to speak with such desperation in his voice. “Bus,” she whispered.
Still focused on the excitement of his words, she struggled to put one foot in front of the other while he yanked her arm in haste. His need to be lost in one another, again, traveled through their contact. He slammed through the doors of the bus. When she’d admitted there was more between them than just the list, it altered him.
His determined stride, either to validate that he felt it, too, or tend to an awakened arousal, made it difficult to keep up. A few feet into the aisle, he spun and she braced her feet to the floor to avoid the impact, since she’d followed so close behind. He grabbed the sides of her waist and pinned her back into the counter, his gaze fixed on her lips.
“Everyone out.” He hollered, but didn’t wait for a reply. He ravished her with his tongue, much like the expertise she’d already experienced, lower. She squeezed her legs together.
The guys complied with the odd slap of approval on his back as they shifted passed.
“Guess she liked the video,” Derek mumbled on his way by.
“Strip.”
The door wasn’t even closed before the order left his mouth. Groans echoed. She didn’t hesitate. He tore his clothes off at the same time and kicked them out of the way. She stood in front of him, naked, nothing between them but the spark that never died. He stared at her; his mark from the night before was a deep purple.
The intensity in his eyes made the world around them fade. It was just them. He smoothed one hand over her collarbone, to the back of her neck, and wrenched her body into him for a kiss more intense than any other. Her knees weakened. She threw her arms around his neck for support and like always, he responded. His large, warm hand scooped up the back of her knee and raised it around his waist. Her feet rose off the floor as he continued to hoist her onto the counter.
“Cole,” she moaned into his mouth. “Fuck me, please.”
He bit her lip and then brushed the sting away with his tongue. “I will, baby.” He stepped back and used his hands to spread her knees, his attention drifted to where he intended to go next. “I want to taste you first.”
Her pulse raced at the erotic sight of him, dropped to his knees in front of her. His gaze on her body was like he’d finally found a part of life he couldn’t live without. As he neared her sex with his mouth, she placed her hands back to the counter for support.
She’d need it. His tongue was the most pleasurable form of torture. Every light tickle with its tip created greed in her only he sparked. She let her eyes drift closed and rolled her hips into his assault. Her legs shook and her body moved with a mind of its own, demanding he take care of her.
He growled when she braced one hand on the counter and weaved her fingers through his hair with the other, grabbed hold, and scratched his scalp in the process. She rubbed herself against his mouth. She didn’t have to hold back with him, and didn’t have to ask. Her muscles clenched to prepare for the release she now demanded. He placed his hands over hers and loosened her grip so he could stand. Satisfaction covered his face at the temptress he could compel from within her. He gripped her butt, lifted her to the edge of the counter, and thrust into her, hard.
“Ahhh.”
Their reaction was identical.
She latched her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist as he pumped into her. Very little room existed between them. They held on to each other with fierce need. His muscles flexed under her grip.
“This isn’t going to last long. Ahhh. I can feel you squeeze me baby, are you close?”
“I’m with you,” she whispered.
He tipped his head up and mouthed the words “thank God.” She giggled. He buried his face into her neck and impaled her with himself. His body trembled with a release more than just physical.
Her channel swelled with desire to give back to him, and accept the claim he’d staked with his cum deep inside her core. She came with him. “Oh God. Yes.”
Through her scream he whispered, I love you. Every sense awakened from those words, she came harder.
The bus was quiet except for the sound of their satisfied pants. He stayed inside her. Every few seconds, he’d give a gentle thrust, wouldn’t allow the moment to end. What should I say? The words, the same ones he used, were frozen inside.
“So. What are we doing today?” She tried, but casual still sounded ridiculous after that.
He chuckled, his face still buried in her neck. “Well, I planned to book the bungee jump but after your episode this morning on the plane, which I am sure is still there somewhere under the surface, I’ve changed my mind.”
She relaxed her muscles and placed her hands on the counter behind her. The lust in his gaze from moments ago was now replaced with concern. She didn’t know what to make of his ability to read her so well in such a short time. “Probably a good idea.” Don’t make it go any faster than it has already. “What do you have in mind, instead?”
He kissed her on the forehead. “Stay the night with me again? In a hotel, just the two of us?”
She nodded at the same time the doors to the bus opened and the guys climbed the stairs.
“Shit sorry. The screaming stopped, assumed you were done.” Zander halted his movement forward and Brett, Drew, and Derek slammed into his back like dominos. They stood there, jaws hung, and speechless,
He laughed and picked her up with her legs still curled around him, his semi erect cock still inside her. He carried her to the bathroom with a grin. “Eyes off my woman.”
He closed the door behind them, and they could hear the hoots from the guys. He freed himself from her body and set her down on the floor. She covered her mouth to laugh but he just shook his head as if their antics were part of a regular day on the job.
She touched his arm with tenderness as he raised it to the shower door. “Just the two of us sounds wonderful.”
He opened the door and waited for her to step in first. She jumped when he smacked her bare ass. “You’ll pay for that, Cole.”
“I hope so.”
****
She let him take the lead with their bags on purpose. His drool-worthy form became an important, every day object to admire.
He opened the hotel suite and stood to the side. “Get a good look, darlin’?”
She strolled with a sway of her hips into the enormous suite loaded with amenities, most they’d never use. “Thank you, handsome. I sure did.”
A large, flat screen hung on the wall, overtop a stone fireplace. Tan leather sectionals spread throughout the living area for people they wouldn’t be inviting to join them tonight. The window that extended the full length of the far wall stole her attention, and the view of the beautiful St. Louis skyline took her breath away. Her imagination raced as she strolled over to the king size bed and smoothed her hand over it. The soft, white material cooled her hand. For some reason, this night had to be one he would remember while they were apart.
Several beeps blared from her phone. “Ugh.”
She scrambled for the sound and sat down. A wide smile crossed her face when she read who the messages were from.
Can’t wait to see you. Too bad the hunkies won’t be there too. I’m in for the tattoo. Taryn
Your timing is perfect. Miss you sweetie. Pick a tattoo that will look nice on me too. Abigail
Tears pooled in her eyes before she could get to Katherine’s message.
Everything’s set. Plane lands at 11:30 a.m. Can’t wait to see you. Katherine
Squatted down in front of her, he wiped her tears with his thumbs. “What is it, beautiful?”
She dropped her hand with the phone, and raised her gaze to his tear-blurred face. “The girls. They get in at eleven-thirty tomorrow morning and want to get a tattoo as well, to match mine.”
He smiled, and wiped the tears that didn’t seem to stop. “You have pretty amazing friends.”
She nodded, couldn’t stop the waterworks. “The best. I love them so much.”
His smile fell, along with his attentiveness before he stood up and retrieved the box of tissues on the table. He held his hand on the box, but kept his back to her. “I can see how much you love them.”
His back heaved with a noticeable breath before he returned to her, the box in one hand, his other in his pocket. Fisted?
“They’re the lucky ones in my eyes.” He didn’t linger when she accepted the tissues, just excused himself to the bathroom.
She didn’t know what to make of his sadness, and choked-up cough as he plodded away.
It didn’t take much to understand what bothered him. The L word. She said it, and not about him. She could feel it though, the love. If she refrained from the use of the word, she prevented hurt, or so she’d convinced herself.
His face on the other hand, couldn’t have been clearer; he already hurt. She didn’t want to ruin this night, needed to fix it before he left tomorrow. She used a tissue to wipe her face dry, and took a deep breath.
He roamed out of the bathroom with his smile back in place, but his pain still showed behind the mask. “So. What would you like to do?”
She tapped her hand on her thigh and scanned the room for anything that would offer a distraction. “Cole?” His chest expanded at the sound of his name on her lips.
“Yeah?”
She crossed her arms over her chest and straightened her back, but his attractive fake smile even melted her. “You have spent more than enough time making our days about me. What do you want to do? For you. Not me, for a change.”
He strolled forward, tucked her hand in his with a grin on his face, and guided her toward the bed. She smacked his arm. That could wait a bit.
“One track mind these days, huh?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
She never had seen his smile so wide.
“You really don’t want to know what I want.”
The suspense killed her, more than the tumor and it sounded kinky. Although a little sore from the night before, she focused on the bed, and couldn’t think of anything they left undone. “Okay, I can’t take it. Tell me now.”
He nudged her down on the bed. “I would really love to get under the covers with you—”
He grabbed the hem of his shirt and her pulse shifted into overdrive. She put her hands down on the soft bed and scooted back further. A strip tease by Cole Davies was sure to be worthy of millions. The sound of his zipper filled the air.
He lowered his jeans, kicked them off to the side, and crawled toward her on the bed. The mattress bounced when he plopped down beside her. “—and watch a movie. It has been so long since I have done something so simple.”
With her mouth hung open, she filtered through her assumptions to get out a response for his absurdity, but he tackled her. She rolled around to avoid his tickles, but he overpowered her and pinned her beneath him.
She stared up at the childlike glow in his eyes. This could backfire, but she had to. “My head.” She squeezed her eyes shut.
He fell for it. She’d never seen him move so fast. He rolled off her and placed his hands on either side of her face. “What’s wrong, baby? Do you need a doctor?”
She shoved him back down on the bed, beneath her. “Got ya.”
“That was too far, Isabelle Chambers. Not fair.”
His face boiled an angry shade of red but she leaned down, gave him a loud kiss, and jumped off the bed. “If I have learned anything, it’s that nothing in life is fair.” She laughed and rushed to the door. “I’ll be right back.”
****
He practiced patience, not one of his better qualities. When she returned, it appeared as though a vending machine exploded in her arms, and she rushed to spill it on the bed as if she’d just scored the biggest jackpot. He did, with her.
“I didn’t know what you liked, so I bought one of everything.” She shrugged her shoulders. “You can’t watch a movie without snacks.”
She dumped the assortment of candies and chips on the bed and climbed under the covers with him. The mountain of sugar held her attention while he scrolled through their options on the TV. He glanced at her every few seconds. He loved her, and the next perfect moment with her, he’d shout it out loud. No more whispers.
A movie, with her, was priceless. He laughed, hard, every time she yelled in an animated voice at the TV whenever a female character crossed right into the path of the killer in the horror flick he selected.
She threw a chip at the screen. “This is the reason us blondes get a bad rep. Run in the other direction, stupid.” She threw her hands in the air, and sunk back into the pillows with him. “I give up. They never learn.”
He smiled and kissed her forehead. “It’s just a movie, baby.”
When the credits and music played, he held the remote up and paused. One of our songs would sound cool at the end of a horror movie. He made a mental note to run the idea by Tony, and shut the TV off.
She nestled into his arms and lay there, quiet. After a long silence, he assumed she’d drifted to sleep, so he eased the cover up over her, but she snuggled in closer.
“Thank you, for everything.”
When she stretched, uneaten junk food trickled to the floor. They giggled. He needed to say something to her. It was getting to heavy to keep it in.
“Isabelle?”
“Mmhmm?”
“I’m scared, too, you know, of my feelings for you. You should know…” He placed the forearm that didn’t hold the woman of his dreams, over his eyes and closed them. The dark couldn`t hide enough. “Everything I have said to you, I’ve meant.”
He didn’t know whether his earlier words, I love you, were loud enough for her to take in. In case they were, he needed her to know he’d intended to say it. It wasn’t something thrown out in the heat of passion.
She sighed, but the dark room kept him from her beautiful face, he couldn’t tell what it signified.
“I didn’t count on this experience leading me to you and the guys. I care about you all. If things were different.” She laughed. “The guys would have a blast getting to know the girls. I have a feeling my group of friends would mesh with yours and create a lifelong bond of friendship and love.”
She trailed off at the end, as if the words pained her. He didn’t know what to make of it. He veered his gaze in the darkened room, to her journal on the nightstand. She said the word love but it didn’t sound like a declaration.
“Speaking of. The girls want to get matching tattoos tomorrow. What can we get?”
It didn’t take long to brainstorm ideas; he had experience. She yawned, a lot. He fixed the blanket over them, and even though their topic of conversation reminded him they would say good-bye soon, she needed her rest.
“I just want to memorize what it’s like to have you in my arms, if that’s all I’ll ever have.” It sounded pathetic, his voice low, choked up. They laid in silence for a long time. Sleep seemed impossible. He evened out his breath and closed his eyes, didn’t want her to stay awake because he couldn’t relax.
“I love you,” she whispered.
He fell asleep with a smile.
Chapter Sixteen
Dear Diary,
With pain came beauty, for all of us…
“What time does their flight come in?” Cole climbed the stairs with caution while he lugged the bags of groceries she insisted they stop for on the way back to the bus.
“Eleven-thirty. Yippee. I’m so excited.”
He laughed. “I couldn’t tell.”
He’d gotten used to whatever the roadies managed to pick up for groceries. They had their requests, but he forgot how many good things they lived each day without. It was nice doing normal things, with her.
“That’s perfect. Our flight takes off at eleven. Derek and one of the security guys will hang out with you until they come in.” He glanced back over his shoulder, and winked as he put boxes of cereal in the c
upboard.
“Did you see the pictures of the beautiful woman plastered on my arm in the trash rags at the checkout counter? You will probably need a little more security from now on.”
She threw the bag of M&M’s at his head.
He caught it and did a little happy dance. “I’m really pissed we aren’t going to be here.”
With her hands on her hips, she tipped her head to the side. “Why?”
He gave her the duh expression he was so used to from her. “Hello? Four gorgeous women, probably drunk judging by all the booze we bought, in our bunks without us?” He held his hand over his chest. “Tragic.”
He glanced down the aisle. The sound of snores let him know they were alone, so he yanked her into his chest and planted a kiss on her lips. His heart still pounded hungry to hear her words from last night, the words, again. She didn’t know what brought on their early morning sexapades, and he wouldn’t explain it to her either. He couldn’t risk her taking it back. Put her guard up, as she always did.
With a loud smack, he ended the kiss that could get out of control without any trouble. “I think it’s time we wake these ingrates. Breakfast to go for everyone was brilliant by the way.” He slapped her on the ass and scurried to the stairs. “’Cause we don’t love you enough already. You have to win us over with food.”
The smell of the hotel’s restaurant buffet tortured both of them while they checked out. Her solution satisfied not only him, but would his best friends too. Her selflessness captivated him, much like her humble self-confidence, sassy seductive ways, and willingness to explore.
A slight nag of shame stuttered in her voice when she asked if it would be okay. He didn’t know why. Her last interaction with the guys ended a little awkwardly, but was nothing compared to what they’d put each other through over the years. He stumbled back up the stairs with a large box of food, and a piece of bacon already clutched between his teeth. She shook her head.
“Food.” Brett called out with a desperate tone.
Several curtains opened to reveal hung over men in need of grease. They were quite the sight. Moans and groans filled the air, until satisfied hums replaced them.