by Niecey Roy
“Don’t worry about me. I’m heading home for a hot bath before my muscles seize up.” Hillary jerked her thumb toward Cole, making his way across the room. “And that guy doesn’t seem like he wants to stick around, either.”
She met him halfway. Taking his hand, she led him from the bar.
They didn’t talk. Not on the walk to his pickup. Not on the drive to his house. They didn’t have to. The current surging in the space between them intensified with every second, and she thought she would melt from it. When he turned the truck off and the interior went dark, Jaden threw open the door and stepped out onto the driveway. She didn’t want to give herself time to think, didn’t want indecision to ruin this—they’d already come this far.
Cicadas buzzed in the trees and the humidity stuck to her skin. She sucked in a breath, and there he was, standing before her with so much desire in his eyes that it made her knees weak and her stomach flutter. She couldn’t discern the sound of her beating heart from the rush of thunder in her mind.
This is what you want...
She placed a hand on his chest. Funny, she’d touched him many times before, but it had never felt like this. Maybe it was because of what they were about to do, or maybe it was because this time, she’d decided not to hold back. If she would only have one night with this man, it would be perfect.
When her fingertips made it to his neck, she felt him hold his breath. He wanted her. He wanted this as much as she did. She guided his head down and rose to her toes.
His lips navigated hers in gentle, plying kisses—he’d given her the reigns. She tugged on his bottom lip before she slipped her tongue inside, and his arms tightened around her. The moment his tongue touched hers, she couldn’t think of anything else but feeling all of him. Every curve, every plane, every piece of him.
He cupped her head, their chests pressed together so that her heart pounded against him. This, this, this.
His hands slid against her dress, pressing against her waist. His hands cupped her ass now, and in one easy lift, she had her legs wrapped around him. She sensed they were moving, but she didn’t pay attention, didn’t care. She delved her tongue into his mouth and licked his silken, hot tongue with hers. The ache at the juncture of her thighs was so heavy, so deep, she moaned and gripped him tighter.
They nearly fell into the house. It was almost like a dream she had once—her back against the wall, moaning his name in a husky whisper drowned out by the pounding of her heart, and his breath against her neck. She didn’t know what wall, or where. She didn’t care. He held her up with one hand, and braced the wall with the other, his lips kissing her neck, his tongue licking the sensitive flesh of her earlobe.
They were moving again. She felt his steps on the stairs, one of his hands against the rail guiding them up. Her hands were busy, pulling at his shirt. He chuckled when it caught on his head. She gave it a little tug and it was free, dropped somewhere in the dark.
His skin was warm under her hands. She splayed her fingertips over his shoulders and across his shoulder blades, the strength of him like a drug. When she realized he wasn’t walking any longer, she released her legs and slid down the length of him until her feet hit the floor. They were in his room, the yellow glow of a half-moon spilling through the open windows, touching the edge of the bed. She could see his face now, the need etched tight in the set of his jaw, matching the heavy desire suffocating her. A gentle breeze rustled the curtains, and still, the only sounds were his breaths, and her heartbeat.
Things were slow now, as if a switch had been flipped. Grasping the hem of her dress in both hands, she lifted, pulling it up and over her head. The dress landed in a pool of white cotton at her feet. Every part of her body that his gaze touched burned hot. She needed him. Now. Inside of her. Now.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Cole’s heart pounded as his gaze roamed over her, standing before him in white lace. He couldn’t think, couldn’t move. Was this really happening? They’d down-shifted, and slowed to a crawl, giving him a moment to catch his breath.
The white lace of her bra and panties glowed under the light of the moon. He couldn’t tear his eyes away. He’d dreamed of this moment—God, she’d been in his dreams for so long. When she rested her hand against his bare chest, over his heart, he held his breath. His heart pounded against her palm, thundering in mad, unsteady beats.
He placed his hand over hers and gazed into her eyes. “This is what you do to me.”
Without a word, she tugged her hand from beneath his. She dropped her hands to the button of his jeans. A gentle tug and the button popped loose. His breaths were ragged as she unzipped his jeans with a slow tug, her eyes never leaving his. Fuck, she was so damn beautiful.
She knelt before him and pulled his jeans down. He kicked them off, but she stayed where she was. When she touched the waistband of his boxer briefs, he expelled the breath he’d been holding. His hands shook and he clenched them into fists at his sides. The moment her soft kiss touched the tip of him through the boxers, he nearly lost it. He sucked in deep breaths to steady himself. He wanted this to be slow. He wanted to savor every moment, but her touch drove him insane.
And it was nothing like the feel of her warm, wet lips around his erection. She’d pulled him from his boxers, and taken him into her mouth. He lost his fingers in her hair and dropped his head back. It was too much. He wouldn’t last another second if she kept sliding her tongue against him like this.
“Jaden.” His voice was ragged, a low guttural sound in the back of his throat. He stepped back and she stared up at him with wide, innocent eyes that drove him over the edge.
He reached for her, pulled her up into his arms. They fell onto the bed; her soft laughter made his nerve-endings tingle. She was an angel with her hair splayed around her. He propped his hands against the bed on either side of her to gaze down into her eyes. Did she have any idea what she did to him? What she was doing to him now? She tugged her bottom lip into her mouth and stared up at him; her gaze dared him to finish what they’d started.
She was warm under his calloused hands. Warm and tight and her skin smelled of coconut. He shifted lower to kiss her belly, and she shivered under him. This was the best part, driving her mad, making her wild with desire. She tensed, and clutched the bed covers in her fists when he slid a finger under the seam of her panties. With a gentle nudge, he spread her legs and he could tell by how still she was that she held her breath.
He pressed a soft, hot kiss against her wet panties and the musky scent of her intoxicated him. She moaned his name, and he wanted nothing more than to take her now, but he didn’t trust himself not to come the moment he drove himself inside her. He tugged on her panties with his teeth before nibbling over her swollen nub, and she gasped. His breath was ragged as he held the cotton aside and slid his tongue against her slick flesh, and the taste of her made him shake with need. He darted his tongue against her, then lavished her quivering flesh until she writhed beneath him.
“Please,” she gasped, and he stood, pulling her panties off with a quick tug.
She lifted up to him as he thrust into her thick, wet folds. Her legs wrapped around him and met him with every thrust, pulling him in, surrounding him. They were lost in time, in each other—he’d waited for this moment for so long. They came together, the shudders of her climax taking him over the edge and into an abyss of pleasure he’d only ever dreamed of. Gathering her in his arms, he pulled her to him and collapsed on the bed, their limbs entwined and slick with sweat and sex.
Once he caught his breath, he kissed her. Smiling against her lips, he said, “I thought I wasn’t going to be able to charm you out of your panties.”
She rolled over to straddle his lap. Gazing down at him with her hair hanging over her bare shoulders and chest, she looked like a goddess ready to make him beg. He hardened beneath her already.
She traced a finger down his chest and smiled. “It’s not a big deal. It’s just sex.”
He propp
ed his hands behind his head and traced her breasts with his gaze. “Whatever you have to tell yourself, Jelly Bean.”
“So cocky,” she said on a breathy laugh, and wiggled over him.
He grasped her hips and held her still. “I’ll show you cocky.”
She shrugged, her gaze lit with challenge. “I’ve got nowhere to be.”
He groaned and flipped her onto her back, her soft laughter silver in the moonlight. “Good. Because I’m not letting you out of this bed anytime soon.”
Cole woke to his phone ringing. He rolled into Jaden’s soft curves and the scent of her hair and went back to sleep. The phone rang again. He groaned and rolled toward his nightstand, and missed her warmth the moment it was gone.
Kensie’s number showed on the display and his gaze went to the alarm clock. It was nine in the morning. He never overslept on weekdays. “Hello.” He cleared his throat to remove the gravel of sleep. “What’s up?”
“Hey, I was just calling to let you know Micky won’t be able to come this weekend.”
He sat up and rolled his legs over the side. The bed creaked under him. Jaden sighed in her sleep. “What are you talking about?”
“We had something come up.”
Naked, he crossed the room to his dresser and pulled out boxer briefs. Tugging them on with one hand, he said, “What kind of something.”
She was silent a moment while he stood in the middle of the room, waiting.
“Kensie.”
“We’re leaving town for the weekend.”
“I’m not having this conversation with you again.” The floorboards groaned as he padded barefoot to the door. With a glance at Jaden, he stepped into the hallway. “This is my weekend.”
“We came up on Sunday,” she said. “You just saw him.”
He gritted his teeth and took the steps in a quick trot to the first floor.
Of course, it was no surprise there’d been an ulterior motive for showing up last Sunday. In the area, my ass. He’d been smarter than to fall for it, but she left on Sunday without dropping a bomb, so he’d been hopeful her visit had been her trying for a better relationship between them for Micky’s sake.
“So that’s why you stopped by—you wanted to jump me about giving up my weekend.” He turned into the kitchen; sunlight streamed through the windows above the sink.
“I’m not taking your weekend. I’m asking you to reschedule it.”
“I get him every other weekend, Kensie.” She expelled an irritated breath, but before she could argue, he said, “Just like the court order says, remember? I don’t know why I have to keep reminding you of this shit.”
“I know what the court order says,” she snapped.
“Great, so why are we even discussing this? Again.” He pressed his fingers into the bridge of his nose. He’d need coffee for this conversation—or whiskey, one of the two.
“Kyle bought tickets for the water park and we’ve got a camping spot.” Her sigh whistled through the phone.
He stopped pacing to glare at the wall. “Why the hell are you planning stuff with Micky on my weekends? I don’t give a shit if you reserved a camping spot.”
“I was being nice letting you see him outside of your visitation. I didn’t have to, you know.” The strain to her voice told him she was on the edge of losing it. And he didn’t give a damn.
“Don’t give me that shit,” he growled. She’d been dangling visits in his face for months, as if she were providing him a privilege by allowing him visitation. This time, she’d gone too far, and he was past being agreeable and accommodating—all for Micky, only for Micky. He raked a hand through his hair, leaving it disheveled and on end. “A couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon isn’t going to replace my regular weekend.”
If they lived in the same town, he’d have joint custody. Because she lived forty minutes away, he got every other weekend, every other holiday, every Father’s Day, and Micky’s every other birthday. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough.
“You’ll be busy anyway.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“You’ll be busy with your girlfriend.”
“Is that what this is about? Jaden?”
“I should have known you’d hook up with her the moment I left you. She’s the one you wanted in the first place, right?”
His anger surged. “Jaden hasn’t been in the picture since the day I chose you—us. I’m the one who stuck around, Kensie. You left. You chose this. It’s not your business who I’m with now, just like it’s not my business who you’re with.”
She snorted indignation. “I don’t care who you’re with. But with her there, I don’t want you ignoring Micky.”
He clenched his jaw and prayed for patience. “Do you even hear how ridiculous you sound?”
“It’s not ridiculous. It’s me being logical.”
“Your logic is skewed.” It always had been, but he kept that to himself. Saying so would only cause her to hang up, with nothing resolved. He crossed to the coffee machine.
“Oh, how’s that?”
This conversation was going nowhere, and he was exhausted going rounds with her. He shoved a filter into the machine. “So, you’re saying that when you’re with your boyfriend, you don’t pay attention to Micky?”
“Of course not,” she huffed. “I would never do that.”
He uncapped the coffee can and dumped the grounds inside, not bothering to measure. “No shit. And neither would I.”
She changed the subject: “I don’t know why you’re being so difficult. Micky doesn’t care about that dumb festival.”
“He’s been talking about it for weeks.”
“Micky loves whatever we tell him to love. He’s five.”
“I don’t tell him what to love and what not to love, and neither should you. He wants to go. He told me so. And it’s my weekend, so end of discussion. Understood?”
“You’re impossible—”
“I’m not arguing with you about this, Kensie. Do you understand?”
“I can’t talk to you when you get like this. I was just trying to give you some time with your new girlfriend.”
No, she wasn’t, and they both knew it. “Just follow the court order. This doesn’t have to be difficult.” He poured water into the machine and pressed the start button. “If you’re not here this afternoon, we’ll take it up with the judge.”
He hung up before she could argue. The closer they got to the final hearing, the harder she’d been to get along with. He didn’t understand it. It was what she wanted, so there was no reason for her to fight him every damn step of the way.
The scent of coffee flooded the kitchen and he took in a deep breath. Shit, he wished he understood women. His dad once told him never to try, he’d just get a headache. When he said it, though, it had been with an affectionate smile aimed at Cole’s mom.
“Hey, you.”
Jaden leaned against the doorframe. She was naked under his flannel, the top buttons undone, leaving the valley between her breasts exposed. Her tousled hair was draped over one shoulder, and her cheeks were flushed as if she’d just washed her face. He stumbled with his thoughts, his mind blanking.
“You’re beautiful,” he said on a breath. Every part of him was awake with an urge to be inside her again. Right now.
He crossed the room and swept her into his arms. She tilted her head, offering her mouth. He took it, crushing his lips against hers, and was inside her before they made it back upstairs.
“Rough night?”
Jaden stopped halfway up the stairs and shifted to grab the rail. David stood in the kitchen doorway, his gaze sweeping over her rumpled clothes with a smirk.
She glared down at him. “The roughest.”
He made a show of reading his watch. “We ate breakfast hours ago.”
She ignored his comment. “Nice to see you home.”
Finally.
He leaned into the doorframe with a grin. “Why, you miss
me?”
“Hardly.” Her answer only deepened his smile. “But your wife did.”
“She worries too much.” He crossed his arms and flashed a grin. “Thanks for keeping her company. She hates when I leave town on business.”
“You two get things worked out?” She wanted to rip his ass; really lay into him. They hadn’t always despised each other. David had been a different person back when he’d been living his dream. After his knee injury, he turned bitter. Mia stuck by him through his recovery, put up with his depression and mood swings; her devotion never wavered. All these years later, he still hadn’t found a way to cope without being the football star he’d once been. Maybe he never would? She wished he’d grow up.
“Nothing to work out. She’s at a meeting with a client or something.” He took a sip from the coffee cup in his hand, then said, “So, how long you sticking around?”
“I leave on Tuesday.” A week ago, she’d worried her time here would drag by. Now, she wished it would slow down, just a little.
“I’ll be working all weekend, but I’m sure Mia will have some sort of party planned before you leave,” he said with a dismissive nod. “You know Mia; she loves her parties.”
“Nice seeing you again,” Jaden lied, and turned to walk up the stairs. She sat down on the edge of the bed and plugged in her cellphone to charge. It had died sometime last night, forgotten on the floor until much later.
Her phone dinged on while she changed into shorts and a tank top; it buzzed on the nightstand with missed message reminders. She needed a shower, but was exhausted. Nap first.
The bed was soft, inviting, and instantly put her in sluggish-mode. She flopped back onto mattress and pulled the comforter around her. Out of habit, she grabbed her phone to scroll through the notifications—social media tags, a voicemail this morning from the producer’s assistant. A voicemail from Ellie. Her finger hovered over the message; this was the first time in a while she’d hesitated over what to do with it. Cole’s offer to take Jaden to see her hung in the back of her mind. After a moment’s hesitation, she scrolled past and didn’t delete it.