by KB Winters
I gazed up at the stars as I let my body come down, my limbs trembling with aftershocks. Cole had stopped moving even though I still felt him hard inside of me and I marveled at how wonderfully he fit between my thighs. It was almost as if he were meant to be there. I smiled to myself before tightening my vaginal muscles. The sharp gasp he let out and his incredulous look was more than worth it.
“What?” I asked innocently before repeating to motion. When his eyes narrowed I let out a laugh that felt as wild and free as it sounded. I wrapped my arms around Cole’s neck and pulled him in for another kiss. “Keep going, babe.”
The smile Cole gave me was soft and sweet and he leaned down to kiss me even as his thrusts started up again. His thrusts were long and drawn out and I marveled at how perfectly he filled me every time. Every other thrust I would tighten my inner muscles and enjoy my reward of Cole groaning against my lips. When his thrusts turned more desperate, sparks skittered up my spine and I had to break my lips away in order to let out gasping breaths. I hung on, tightening my legs around his hips. And with a sharp whimper, I urged him to move harder and faster.
With a shout, Cole’s hips slammed once and then twice before he tensed. The hand in my hair pulled before his lips crashed down onto my own. The feeling of his tongue thrusting between my lips was all I needed and I shuddered into my second climax of the night.
I let my legs flop down as we lay in the grass breathing deeply together. Tonight was everything I wanted—and I was quickly realizing that I needed more.
Chapter Four
My body was still on fire with the feelings from our sexcapade as we pulled up to my building. I turned to look at Cole with a huge smile. “I had a great night tonight. It has been a long time since I’d ever felt so relaxed.” I looked up at him from under my eyelashes. It was the truth. I was feeling more relaxed than I had in a long time and although I was anxious about this turning into something more than a one-time deal—I wanted to continue and see where it led.
Cole put the car in park before turning to look at me. “Well, I’m glad that you had fun and I’m glad you said yes. I haven’t dated much since coming to Washington, but I’m kind of glad those guys were hitting on you at the club. It gave me a way to actually talk to you.” His smile was almost blinding.
“Me too. I’m really glad that I said yes,” I said softly. The feeling in the car was electric, not as sexual as earlier, but more comforting and warm. I looked at him again with a wry smile. “But does that mean you were glad that I got accosted?”
“No,” he said quickly. He put a warm hand on my leg. “I definitely don’t want you to ever be in a situation where you need to be saved.”
“Oh trust me,” I purred, my smile turning sharp. “I am more than capable of saving myself.” I watched him poised and waiting for the same line I had heard so many times about me being a damsel who needed rescuing and protection. It was an annoyance that had left me unpaired for years—this idea that I was incapable of looking after myself or that I was somehow lacking.
Cole looked at me as if surprised. “Of course you are. From the first moment I saw you, I knew you were a woman who was confident in who she was and what she could accomplish. My point is that you shouldn’t have to protect yourself from jerks, because they should be responsible enough to control themselves.”
I froze in shock. Here was this big muscular man who was more than capable of taking on any other guy and he was telling me that he believed I didn’t need his help. If not for the surety in his voice, I would’ve yelled and called him a patronizing asshole. As it was, my paralysis allowed him to move closer and place a soft kiss on my lips. I closed my eyes and leaned into him letting his warmth wash over me until the shrill sound of his cell phone ringing made us break away.
Cole pulled back with a sigh and looked at me with a small smile. “Sorry, let me take this real quick.”
“Sure,” I breathed out, my mind still awash in feeling. I stayed where I was, my lips turned up into a soft smile. Cole placed another quick kiss on my lips before he leaned back and fished the phone from his pocket. He glanced at the screen before sliding his finger across the screen and placing the phone at his ear.
I leaned my head back against the headrest and let myself float along on my good feelings. The silence in the car eventually became interspersed with sounds from his phone and my focus snapped back as I heard a distinctly feminine voice on the other line.
‘When are you coming home?’
My eyes snapped all the way open. That was not something I was expecting to hear and I tried to listen as closely as possible without seeming like I was eavesdropping.
“I’ll be home in just a bit sweetie,” Cole answered with a soft smile. My eyes widened at his word choice and the note of fondness I heard in his voice. Then I remembered—he had a daughter which meant there had to be a woman in his life!
My blood ran cold and my focus turned inward as the sound of him talking faded away. I was with a man I’d met at a club and I’d been thinking about long term dalliances when he apparently had a wife and kid that he’d never mentioned. I felt humiliated and ashamed of myself. This was the exact situation I’d said I would never find myself in again and here I was, repeating my past mistakes all over again!
“Savannah?”
I snapped my gaze up. Cole held the phone in one hand as he looked at me with confusion clear on his face. It made me furious to still feel the stirrings of want within my body even after finding out that I was being played.
“When were you going to tell me you’re married, huh?” My voice was hard and cold to cover up the hurt I truly felt. His expression went from confused to shocked and I used that moment to throw open the passenger side door and jump out of his car. I heard his door open, but refused to look back—instead I stormed towards the entrance to my building.
“Savannah, wait!”
I didn’t turn back at Cole’s shout, but I was stopped by the hand that gripped the top of my arm. He whirled me around and I tried to ignore the lump in my throat when I locked gazes with him.
“It’s not what you think. That was—“
“—Not what I think? It’s not what I think?” I asked, my voice shrill and rising on my last words. I felt a sick sense of pleasure at his wince. Good fucking riddance. “I heard the woman on the other line and I saw your daughter when you came to my school.” I jerked my arm out of his hand and took a step back.
Cole let me go, but held his arms out in surrender. “Look, I don’t know where this is all coming from—“
I snorted. “Sure.”
“—but just let me fucking explain,” he finished ignoring my interruption. “Please.”
At his plea, I folded my arms across my chest, but kept quiet. On one hand I wanted to keep screaming and railing at him about how much of an asshole he was to lead me on while stepping out on his wife and kid, but on the other hand I wanted to know why. “Fine.”
Cole ran a hand through his hair, before speaking. “I am not, nor have I ever been married, and I don’t have a kid either.”
“Then who was tha—“
“Let me talk.” I snapped my mouth shut with a scowl at his clipped words, but gestured for him to continue. “The girl you saw me with at your school was my little sister—the one I told you about when we first met.”
I stayed quiet as I thought about his words. I did remember him mentioning a younger sister as well as a sick mother. My heart clenched as I became less sure about my accusation of his infidelity.
“Yeah, I told you. Now you’re accusing me of cheating on my fictional wife?” I looked up at Cole at his words. His expression was hard and angry and I felt my stomach sink. “My little sister and mom live together here in Washington. I moved in with them when my mom’s illness got worse. Although my sister is older, she still can’t care for our mother the way she needs, so I try not to spend too much time away from home. This was actually the first date I’d been on in almost a y
ear.” Cole chuckled to himself and I felt like shit at how hollow it sounded.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. Now I really did feel like a piece of shit.
Cole looked at me for a moment, before sighing. “Look, I don’t know who hurt you in the past to the point that you’d put up some sort of fucking wall and sabotage things—and nor do I care—but… not all men are like that.”
“I know that,” I bit out.
“Do you?”
My mouth snapped shut. Did I? Cole nodded as if resigned. “Jumping to conclusions is a good way to wind up alone, Savannah. You might want to think about that.”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I knew Cole was right, but his words hurt. I didn’t even have a chance to say anything before he turned away and walked back to his car. As I watched his tail lights disappear down the street, I wondered if I’d ruined things before they even had a chance to start.
“Fuck!”
Continued in...Temporary Assignment Book 3!
Temporary Assignment
Book 3
By
KB Winters and Evie Monroe
Copyright © 2016 BookBoyfriends Publishing LLC
Published By: BookBoyfriends Publishing LLC
Chapter One
I sighed loudly at the heavy thoughts rolling around my brain. I tipped my wine glass back and took several sips. It had been nearly three weeks since I’d last seen Cole, but even being busy at work wasn’t enough to push his last words from my mind.
“Jumping to conclusions is a good way to wind up alone, Savannah. You might want to think about that.”
“I hate to say it love, but I think Cole was right,” Heather said. I looked up sharply, surprise clear in my expression. She gave me a sheepish look before shrugging. “I mean, maybe just a little.”
“More than a little if we’re going to be truthful here.”
“Oh not you too!” I exclaimed looking over at where Kelly was perched in the loveseat. “You’re supposed to be on my side here.”
Kelly smiled softly. “Oh hun, I’m always on your side of course, but when it comes to you finally breaking out of your self-imposed isolation with someone as dreamy as Cole…just sayin’”
I sighed again. I knew they were just trying to help, but the fact was Cole’s words had hurt and as much as I wanted to just give in and call him—I was too much of a coward. “What am I supposed to do? Call him and tell him he was right?”
Heather and Kelly glanced at one another before saying in unison, “Yes!”
I set my glass of wine down on the coffee table in front of me and sat back with my arms crossed. “And then what? He hasn’t tried to contact me either so don’t you think that means that he is done with me?”
“What are you—“
“Look,” I interrupted. “It was supposed to be a one-night stand to begin with. I mean, sure he left his number and we had a date with even more awesome sex, but that doesn’t equal a real boyfriend/girlfriend relationship or anything,” I finished with a huff. I tried to keep my expression neutral, but just saying the words made something inside me want to shrivel and die. For the first time, I cursed my lack of experience with actual relationships. I’d only had one serious relationship in my life and the ending of that one had left me skeptical for any of the other ones that might happen.
“You’re so clueless about men, it’s physically painful,” Heather replied. I wanted to smack her, but instead I just let out a heavy sigh.
“I just don’t want to get all wrapped up in some guy—no matter how hot—just to get hurt again,” I said quietly. Heather and Kelly’s expressions changed from fond to understanding.
“We know you’re afraid, Savannah.” Kelly moved from the loveseat coming over to perch beside me on what little space was left on the sofa. “But you can’t let one guy put you off of finding love forever.”
“And we’re not saying that you need to find someone to marry right now,” Heather continued. She shifted over until the three of us were huddled together. “We just want you to be happy and find someone who appreciates how awesome you are—like we do!”
I looked at my two dearest friends. Kelly was there when my last relationship had imploded on me, and she’d been nothing but wonderfully understanding and supportive. Not once had she ever made me feel shame for what had been an unwitting affair with a married man. I’d been young and enamored with my advisor during graduate school. The man was older, wiser, and full of knowledge, which drew me to him like a magnet on steel.
“I thought I was going to marry him.”And just like that, the floodgates opened, and I let out every tear I’d never allowed myself to cry.
Remembering the shame I felt at finding out the man I’d given my body to—and had planned an elaborate future with—was married once again welled up inside me. I hadn’t known he was married. If I had…I would’ve never given him the time of day. If not for a series of coincidences that led me to Los Angeles for a job interview at a school there, I might have been with him to this day—pining and waiting for the day that he’d decide to marry me. I let myself go boneless, trusting my friends to catch me, and they did. Heather held me from behind as I clung to Kelly. I could feel someone’s hand caressing my hair and I just let myself grieve. I grieved for the two years lost where I wasted my time playing house with a man who lied to me. I grieved for the naïve girl who thought she was one of the lucky ones who found her prince charming without ever having to look. But even more, I grieved for the part of me that died the day I saw the man I’d loved for so long in a picture frame surrounded by his wife and kids.
“Talk to Cole, Savannah. You will regret it if you don’t, I know you will.”
I didn’t speak, but I nodded in acknowledgment of Kelly’s softly uttered statement. She was right and now it was time for me to put on my big girl panties and talk to Cole.
Chapter Two
Telling myself I needed to talk to Cole was easy. Making myself actually pick up the phone and dial his number was much more difficult and even though it had been three days since my emotion-filled talk with Heather and Kelly, I still hadn’t gathered the courage to do more than stare at Cole’s number on my phone.
At the rate I was going, I’d probably become superintendent of the whole school district before I’d manage to plan an accidental run in with him. It wasn’t like I couldn’t do it, especially with his little sister being a student at my school. All it would take was a false claim and one after-school detention to bring the two of us in contact again. But, I didn’t have the heart to do that. I’d never once falsified a claim against anyone and I had no desire to start now. Plus it wouldn’t have been fair to use a student for my own personal and highly selfish reasons.
I sighed out loud and buried my face in my hands. No matter how many scenarios I planned out, I was still a coward and I knew I’d never be able to give myself the push I needed. For as strong and put together as everyone thought I was…I was still just a woman who was as haunted by her past as anyone else.
“Ms. Rogers?”
I looked up sharply at my name being called, alarmed that I hadn’t even heard a knock on my door. “Yes?” My voice was soft and still sounded slightly vulnerable thanks to my thoughts, but the teen that walked in wasn’t looking at me anyway.
“Can I help you?” I asked, glad to hear my voice returning back to its normal authoritative tone.
The girl looked up finally and I was startled to see that it was Candice, the same girl who’d been in my office not even three weeks earlier after being involved in a fight with another student. Her hand still had a brace on it, but she looked to be fine otherwise.
“I was wondering if I could ask you for a favor.”
I sat up straight in my chair, intrigued. Despite having worked at this school for two years, no one, not even the faculty, had ever asked me for a favor. I didn’t include Heather in that, because she was a friend before anything else, and because she usually didn’t ask fo
r favors. If she wanted something from me, she annoyed me until I gave in.
“Of course, what can I do for you? You haven’t been getting into anymore fights have you?” I asked with a small smile.
Candice returned my smile with a small one of her own. I noted she looked about as exhausted as I felt. She was wearing a soft pink sweater that seemed to engulf her slight frame, and I marveled again at how someone so small could have broken another student’s nose.
“Well, I had debate team practice after school today, and I thought I told my brother to come pick me up.”
I nodded along as she spoke. A quick glance over at the clock showed me just how late it was and I was surprised. I must have been thinking to myself for quite a while. “Is he on his way?”
Candice looked down and shook her head. “I…I don’t know. I’ve called and texted, but there’s no answer on the house phone or his cell.”
I frowned to myself. “Well, that’s not good. Do you think there might be something wrong? Do I need to call the authorities?” I reached out towards the phone.
“No!” Candice exclaimed. She looked up at me quickly waving her hands. “I don’t think it’s anything like that.” She calmed as I moved my hand away from the phone. “Our mom is really sick, so he’s probably just busy taking care of her or something. That’s all.”
“Oh,” I breathed out in relief. “Well then, do you need a ride home? Is it too far for you to walk?”