by Summers, MJ
"Really?" Claire laughed, "I guess I'm just generally better than you. Dogs can sense these things."
"Oh is that so?" Cole said, handing her a beer. He settled himself next to her on the couch, and reached into the pocket of her jeans when she lifted the bottle to her mouth. He pulled out a small plastic baggie with treats inside.
"Aha! Found it!" he said, feeling satisfied, "You have been bribing my dog so he'll like you better!"
"I have done no such thing! Those treats are for me. You know, in case I need a little protein," Claire said, with her most convincing look. Otis walked over and sat down, wagging his tail and staring at the bag in Cole's hand.
"Oh, well, maybe you should have one now. You're probably tired from all that hard work in the kitchen today," he said, taking one out of the bag.
"No, no. I couldn't right now. I ate too much at supper. I'll save those for tomorrow when I need them."
Otis nudged Cole's hand and he gave him the treat, "Nice try lady, but I'm onto you."
Claire snatched back the bag and stuffed it in her pocket, looking over at Otis, "That was supposed to be our little secret, Dog."
Cole laughed and took a long drag on his beer, "It's so nice to be home with you. I can't wait to get into bed. I'm a bit sore from sleeping in a tent for four nights."
Claire smiled, curling up her legs under her and facing her body to him, "I'm so glad you are back. My bed has been so empty without you."
Cole wrapped an arm around her and drew her to him, "So, no UPS guy?"
Claire laughed, "He never made it to the bed. I just had my way with him and sent him off in his brown truck."
Cole chuckled, "You're lucky you're so bendy or I wouldn't put up with that."
Claire smiled and gave him a long kiss and then sighed happily.
Cole nuzzled his nose along her neck, "So, I've kind of been waiting for the Victoria’s Secret fashion show to start."
"Oh, have you?" Claire laughed, "I seem to recall requesting someone to put on his hat, belt and boots and give me a little show..."
"I never said yes."
"Good point. All my new lacy things are at my place, except what I'm wearing under these clothes."
"Mmmmm," Cole murmured, kissing her neck, "I'm intrigued."
Claire gave a soft little sigh, "Cole, I have to ask you about something your mom said."
Cole sat straight up, giving her a questioning look, "Does it have to be right now, Claire?"
"I'm sorry," she said, touching his cheek with her hand. "But it kind of does. Something has been bothering me and I really need to get it off my mind."
Cole took his arm from around her and placed it on his knee, "Okay...what's up?" he asked with a tentative voice.
"Your mom told me that you have a habit of falling in love fast without really knowing the woman you're with. She also mentioned a Gabriela, who apparently lived with you?"
Cole let out a big sigh and reached for his beer, "I'm not sure what you want me to say. I had a life before you got here. I'm sure you would expect that. I am thirty-two."
"Yes, of course. I'm not trying to start an argument with you. I was just hoping to understand what your mom meant about you making this a habit," Claire said with a soft voice.
"She's exaggerating to make a point," Cole replied, taking her hand in his and moving it over to his leg. "I think she must have given you the same speech she gave me about slowing down. My last relationship was with a woman named Gabriela. I did get involved quickly with her and things didn't work out. Now my mother seems to think I need her to oversee my love life in order for me to get it right."
"Hmmm, yeah, she did talk to me about us taking it slow. I don't know, maybe she has a point. We were all set to move in together and there are obviously some things we don't know about each other," Claire said, pausing to take a sip of her beer.
"What?" Cole asked, shifting himself away from her on the couch and letting go of her hand. "Are you seriously going to let a conversation with my mom dictate how we are going to do things? She doesn't even know you."
"You're right, she doesn't, Cole. But I don't know how well we really know each other either. Until a few minutes ago, I didn't know you had lived with anyone before."
"So is that what this is about? Gabriela?" Cole asked, sounding exasperated.
"Partly," Claire nodded, "I mean, it sounds like a significant relationship to me. Those things shape who we are. They are important to talk about."
Cole sighed, "This is NOT how I expected this evening to go. I missed you and I'm tired as hell. Do you really need for me to go through my complete dating history right now?"
Claire raised her eyebrows at him, "Cole, I'm not trying to piss you off here, but the fact that you are avoiding telling me anything about Gabriela is frankly a bit off-putting for me."
"I'm not trying to put you off. I just don't see the point in dragging up the past when it's over. But if you really need to hear about her, fine."
He drained his beer and stood up, "I'm just going to grab another drink first."
He walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. Claire sat waiting on the couch, feeling very uncomfortable all of a sudden. Had Gabriela lived here in this cabin? Had they made love in the same bed or on the couch she was sitting on?
Cole came back and flopped down on an arm chair off to the side of the couch. "Gabriela and I met in Las Vegas a couple of years ago. She's from Brazil and was travelling around the US with a couple of girlfriends. We spent a few days there together and then she and her friends decided to come here for a couple of weeks after so we could spend more time together. We did get involved really quickly, mostly because she was set to go back home so soon. It felt like we had to make a decision right away to either be together or forget the whole thing.
She ended up staying and moving in with me when her friends went back. Her parents showed up after a few months to try to bring her home. They didn't like the idea of her living with some cowboy out in the sticks. I found out she had a fiancé in Brazil who was waiting for her. She hadn't told me about him or him about me. Her family was covering for her but they were out of patience and wanted her back. They own a large chain of hotels and his family own a bunch of resorts or something that they wanted to merge. She refused to go home and I decided to overlook the fact that she had neglected to mention her fiancé. She made it sound like an arranged marriage and she assured me that she loved me and wanted to stay. She was here for almost a year and then one day her mom called and told her that her dad had a heart attack. She flew home the next day and never came back. She called me a couple of weeks after she got home. Her dad was fine, he’d never had a heart attack either - they just knew that would get them what they wanted. When she called to tell me, she made it clear that I was a fun diversion from her real life but nothing more. She told me she did love the guy and was getting married to him. So, that was a rough lesson for me."
He took a long swig of his beer and then sighed heavily. "Looking back, I can see how wrong we were for each other, you know? But at the time, I thought our differences would make it work. I ignored all those things that were staring me in the face."
"Wow," Claire said softly, "That is quite the awful story. I'm so sorry that happened to you, Cole."
She stood up and crossed the room, kneeling down in front of him, holding his face in her hands, "She shouldn't have used you like that." Claire brushed her lips on his forehead.
"Yeah, well, it's over and I'm sure you can see why I don't like my mom throwing it back in my face," Cole answered.
"I definitely understand that," she replied as she took his hands in hers. "What do you want to do now? Do you want to just get some sleep?"
"I want to forget," Cole said, leaning down to kiss Claire's lips, "You can help me forget."
Claire kissed him back tenderly, running her hands up his thighs. They stayed like that for a long time kissing and touching each other. Cole felt a wave of relief wash over
him, almost like Claire could mend his scarred heart with her touch. She was the complete opposite of Gabriela, perfect for him in every way that Gabriela had been wrong for him.
Claire kissed and touched him with such love and genuine care, hoping that she could erase the imprint that Gabriela had made on him a little bit at a time with each caress. Together they could heal each other from the pain of their former lovers and learn to trust completely again.
"I love you, Cole," she whispered, hugging him and pressing her head to his chest, "I'll stay as long as you want me to be with you."
Cole pressed his lips to the top of her head, "I'll never stop wanting you to be with me."
"Then I'll never leave," she said, staring directly in his eyes.
Their lips met in one sweet, long kiss, full of love. Claire pulled back for a moment, "I have a crazy idea. Come with me," she whispered, getting up and holding out her hand.
Cole stood up and took her hand, "I'm all yours."
"Good, get your shoes."
"What?" Cole asked, "Going out right now is not really what I had in mind."
"Trust me, Cowboy. You'll like this," she said with a grin.
She slid into her ballet flats and grabbed her keys. As she opened the door, she told Otis to stay, pulling Cole out the front door with her and shutting it behind them.
Chapter 47
The path towards the lodge was lit only by the moonlight as Claire hurried along it, pulling Cole with her. The night was warm and clear giving them an amazing display of stars above them. Claire stopped when they reached the gate to the pool, unlocking it. The grounds to the ranch and the pool were completely deserted.
She led Cole over to the hot tub and turned on the jets. Soft blue lights turned on under the water. She kicked off her shoes and turned to Cole. He pulled her to him and gave her a long, hard kiss, wrapping his arms around her, "You're right. I am going to like this."
Claire ran her hands over his chest and then pulled his t-shirt up over his head. He finished taking it off and then tossed it on a lounge chair. He reached for her shirt but she grabbed his hands and stopped him.
"Just you," she said, raising her eyebrows a little.
Cole gave her a confused look and then decided to go with it. She untied the string on his pants and slid her fingers in, lowering them along with his boxer briefs. She ran her lips down his chest and stomach as she lowered her body to remove his pants. He stood in front of her, completely nude and becoming fully erect next to the hot tub. Claire moved her hands up his thighs and then lifted her body, giving his cock a lingering lick as she moved her way up to standing. A shudder went through his body at her touch. When she stood up, she turned suddenly and walked over to the other side of the hot tub, leaving him standing looking a little frustrated.
"Get in," she told him.
Cole obliged and sunk into the hot, swirling water, curling his lips into a little smile, in anticipation of what was coming. Claire stood opposite him and started unbuttoning her shirt slowly, swaying her hips from side to side as she did.
"I believe I promised to finish this..." she said, with a sexy grin.
She made a slow circle as she pulled her shirt out of her jeans and then unbuttoned her last couple of buttons, turning to face him. She bit her lip and looked down for a moment, feeling a brief twinge of embarrassment. When she looked up, Cole's expression emboldened her and she continued to sway as though there was a slow, sexy beat playing.
With her shirt open, he could see she was wearing a lacy red push-up bra. It made her breasts look even bigger and perkier than they were. Cole couldn't peel his eyes off her chest as she slid her shirt off her shoulders and let it drop to the floor. He spread his arms wide, resting them on top of the hot tub, thoroughly loving the show along with the feeling of the warm jets on his back.
She opened the top button of her jeans and then swivelled so her back was to him again as she unzipped her zipper. She slid her thumbs into the sides of her pants, then wiggled her hips from side to side, lowering the waistband to reveal a thong in the same lacy material as her bra. When she got the waistband just below her ass, she lifted it up again gingerly pulling her jeans back up. She heard a low groan from her audience and she turned, smiling at him. She lowered her jeans again, revealing the front of her panties and then made another circle stopping with her back to him, and bent forward, giving him a clear view of her ass as she slid her pants down to the tile floor.
Cole let out a sigh, "Wow."
Claire lifted herself to back to standing in one quick snap, then stepped out of her pants, one foot at a time. She turned back to face him again, swaying her hips as she lifted her hands up her sides, caressing them with her fingertips. When she reached her neck, she lifted her hair up, raising her arms above her head. She turned her back to him one last time, bending forward with straight legs and a flat back, placing her palms on the ground. She slowly brought her hands to her toes, then slid her fingertips up her body as she lifted herself back up. She brought her hands behind her back to reach her bra clasp. She undid the clasp, letting her bra open and slide off her shoulders ever so slowly, leaving her standing in only her red panties. She swivelled back to him and tossed her bra right at him. He caught it with one hand, grinning at her as he threw it as far from the hot tub as he could.
Shaking her head at him with an exasperated smile, she crossed her arms over her breasts, pushing them up a bit and caressing her upper arms with her fingers as she gazed at him with her lips slightly parted.
Cole sat in front of her, hard as a rock, feeling conflicted. Part of him never wanted the show to end and the other part needed her to get into the water with him so he could touch her.
She stepped into the hot tub, still covering her breasts as she lowered her body into the water, feeling liberated and sexy. She sat opposite him for a minute, looking at him. His expression was completely carnal as he stared back at her. She knew without looking that when she crossed the tub, he would be rock hard and ready for her. She let her arms float straight out to her sides as she stood up, her fingertips skimming the water's surface as she crossed to him. The view of her coming towards him with her wet, naked breasts exposed fulfilled the fantasy he had of her the first night they met.
His hands moved to her waist as she stood in front of him. He looked up at her as he drew her to him, opening his mouth and taking her right nipple in. He swirled his tongue around her hard nipple and then sucked with an intensity that showed her exactly what effect she had on him. She drew in a sharp breath at the feel of him sucking so hard on her nipple and then she grabbed his head with her hands and lowered her lips to kiss him on the top of his head. Cole brought his mouth up to hers, kissing her lips with hard, short, passionate motions.
Claire spun her body away from him and slid onto his lap, lifting her arm up and behind her to touch his cheek. Cole turned his face to hers and continued kissing her while he ran his hands up to her chest and then down to her hips in long strokes.
"You are so fucking sexy, you know that?" he murmured into her ear.
"Only around you. I've never been this way before," she said, kissing his mouth tenderly. He pulled her body closer to his and pressed his chest against her back, sucking gently on her neck.
Claire could feel his erection pressing into her bottom as she sat on his lap with him cradling her in his arms. She shifted her core backward and up against him, drawing him inside her. As she pushed down with her body, he was finally inside her after so many nights apart. Cole moved his hands to her hips and lifted her body up and down, back and forth with his powerful arms. Claire tightened her muscles around him and moved her hands down to touch the sides of his thighs. They stayed like this, rocking slowly and tenderly, bodies pressed together in the swirling water for a long time, until the momentum seemed to take over.
"I love you, Claire," he whispered in her ear, "I love you so much."
Claire turned her face to meet his again, kissing his lips. "I
am so in love with you," she whispered, her voice thick with emotion.
Cole reached his hand in between her legs and firmly held her pussy against his cock as they moved together. With his other hand, he reached up covering her breasts with his arm and holding her to him as she pressed her body onto his thick, hard cock. Finally, they both came in tender, quiet swells of bliss.
When it was over, Cole lifted her off of him and spun her to face him. She wrapped her legs around his waist. They kissed and caressed each other for a long time before either of them spoke.
"I've never been loved like this before, Cole. You're everything I've been waiting for my whole life," she said, as she rested her forehead on his.
Cole kissed her lips gently, cupping her face with his hands. "That's exactly how I feel about you. I just want to be with you every minute of every day," he smiled warmly at her and then hugged her tight.