by JN Welsh
The unspoken instruction in his eyes had her kicking off her boots. She slid and twisted out of her pants and underwear. Her boots were the biggest obstacle to nudity but she finally won the wrestling match and discarded them with the rest of the garments covering her lower body.
Cole feverishly unbuckled his belt and pushed his pants and underwear down to the ankles, his engorged rod beckoned her. He opened the glove compartment and pulled out a condom. “It’s probably cold as ice but I don’t give a shit.”
“It’s going to crack into little pieces.” Elle laughed.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t or you’ll be cursing me in nine months.” Cole warmed the condom in his hands before opening the wrapper and fitting himself with it. He reached for her as she climbed over the center console and onto him. He supported her weight as she reached between her legs and guided his cock into her ravenous wet pussy. She needed him more than she realized. Based on how his eyes bore into her and his mouth sought hers in hunger, he needed her too.
The engine purred, vibrating the steel around them as Cole’s foot hit the gas petal. He reached to turn the engine off and maneuvered the seat all the way back to give them room. The awkward shift in the seat crashed her into him and he penetrated her deeper. Elle gladly went for the ride, moaning and gyrating her hips in circular motions.
“Fuck yeah, sweetness.” He pulled her sweater up over her head, followed by lifting her bra up to her neck. Within seconds his mouth scorched her flesh, suckling and biting her chilled nipples as she trotted on his shaft. She held the velvety ceiling of the vehicle for stability while Cole’s hands ran up and down her sides. Their lips met again, and the windows fogged from their breath. The wool of his sweater scratched her skin, sending delightful sensations through her as she continued to ride him.
This time wasn’t about practicing for her family or for a sexual tutorial. Cole wasn’t angry with her and he didn’t want to punish her. The frenzied desperation in his touch and the way he clung to her felt different from their previous times together and it rocked her to her core.
Cole held his breath, signaling the approach of his orgasm. He was too generous a lover to come first, but more than ever she needed to hear him take his pleasure.
“I want to hear you come first, honey,” she rasped out, squeezing her insides to control her beckoning orgasm.
“No.” Cole’s words strained, and his hips pounded with more force. “You deserve—”
Her lips silenced him, and she held his face. “I need to hear you take pleasure in me.” Her lips mushed against his.
“Elle—”
Elle was stubborn, keeping her eyes on him. “Please, Cole. I can’t hold on—” Her voice broke as her insides screamed for release. How she prevented her climax from bursting was beyond her. She squeezed her eyes shut in excruciatingly exquisite pain. Thoughts of relinquishing Cole of this same feeling, however, gave her the strength to sustain. “Please, please.”
She felt him grip her hips tighter and his thrusts pummeled into her. Cole shouted his climax into her bosom and sunk his teeth into the flesh of her breast.
“Louder, honey. Louder.” Elle squealed.
His deep, passionate cry vibrated against the glass. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, soothed by his warmth, and free in this moment to love him. She released her own orgasm as it rained down, dissolving her like sugar in water. Shrieking and shaking, she reveled in her arrival. She no longer denied the truth. She’d been falling in love with Cole since he poured a glass of Malbec for her at the bar. Being here with him now, in the midst of their fear for one another, she allowed herself to feel for him.
She didn’t care he was a gigolo and she had paid him to play the role of her fake-boyfriend. He was hers and this wasn’t pretend.
Elle heard a light sound similar to crumpling paper. She opened her eyes and reality returned. “Are we moving?”
“Oh shit.” Cole secured her with one hand while the other shot out for the emergency brake. He yanked it up and back.
The car jerked to a halt and with it their bodies.
“Mmm.” She moaned, feeling him inside her. Though he softened, his member was still a force and her body continued to flutter in post lovemaking bliss.
Cole chuckled as he nuzzled his head between her breasts.
“I don’t care, Cole.” The utterance poured out of her.
“About what, sweetness.”
“That you’re an escort and I paid you to be here. I’ve been the worst kind of hypocrite this whole time. You didn’t deserve it.” Elle blamed her heart, his dick, the cold shivers that ran down her back, and the goose bumps decorating her skin for the declaration. “And when I’m with you…this feels real. This is real. Isn’t it? You. Everything you’ve shown me. The way you’ve treated me.”
“Yes, Elle.” He stared at her as if seeing her for the first time and etching her into his memory. He then devoured her mouth, conveying everything he was feeling in the single kiss. “This is real.” He hugged her waist so tight she had trouble breathing.
Cole released her to turn on the ignition. A stream of cold air—that soon warmed—fanned against her back.
“I hate to say this, sweetness, but get dressed.” His palms ran up and down her arms, raising her temperature.
Elle smiled and with chattering teeth, eased off him to put on her clothes. Cole also donned his clothing and then drove them back to the house.
When they arrived at the house, some of the family members were gathered in the living room, including Jasper. It all happened too fast. Cole separated from her and snatched Jasper up by the front of his shirt and pinned him to the wall.
Her mother was up in an instant. “What’s going on, here?” She hustled over to Jasper and Cole.
Elle held onto Cole’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Cole. Let him go.”
“Yo, man. What’s your problem?” Jasper tried unsuccessfully to get out of Cole’s grip.
“My problem? You almost got your sister killed. That’s my problem,” Cole growled. “It’s one thing to chide her about her skiing ability, but completely reckless to just leave hear out there to fend for herself.”
“It wasn’t him, Cole. It wasn't his fault. It was me.” Elle tugged on a contracted bicep.
“She ended up on one of the blue, advanced beginner slope with no idea how to handle herself.”
Jasper blinked over to her. “I’m sorry, Noelle. I thought you knew.”
“I should have been there with her, but you need to think next time.” Cole let Jasper go, and then put a possessive arm around her.
“What happened?” Shandra continued to question.
Elle explained, and her mother was none too thrilled.
“I’m fine. Everyone just calm down.” Elle assured her family. “Like I told you, I got distracted and ended up on the wrong everything.”
“Cole should have boxed you.” Her mother’s accent was straight Trinidadian, no chaser, and she smacked Jasper’s head. “You’re supposed to look out for your sister.
Elle giggled because she forgot the last time her mother smacked her brother like that, and he hunkered like a little boy.
Jasper lumbered over and hugged her. “I’m really sorry, sis. I’ll do better next time.”
“I know you are, but I should have been paying attention.” Elle accepted the hug and then punched her brother’s arm so hard he howled. “Jerk.”
Elle and Cole retreated to their room to change. She was still reeling from their romp in the Charger and shaken from what felt like a near death experience. She welcomed a warm shower and ambled into the bathroom to undress. She reached for the faucet and felt Cole’s hands on her hips. She straightened and faced him. His eyes were hooded in concern.
“I didn’t mean to make a scene. I know I’m here to be your—”
She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. “You make me feel so protected and safe, Cole.”
He squeezed her. “Yo
u can always count on me, sweetness. Don’t ever forget that.”
She wove her fingers with his and kissed the back of his hand, and then pulled him into the shower.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Christmas Eve had arrived, and she and Cole were nearing the home stretch. The children played games outside with Cole, Jasper, and her Uncle Desi while the other grown-ups secretly wrapped presents. Elle was in the kitchen with Holly and her aunts, supplying snacks and holiday drinks for the family.
Later, they gathered in the family room and sang Christmas carols. When they ran out of ones to sing, they let the stereo provide Cariso, Chutney, Reggae, Lovers Rock versions of holiday tunes, and other Caribbean classics. It was a busy day, but one spent together building excitement for presents and basking in the holiday spirit.
Elle’s heart was full as she watched her family. Though she was happy, this was the moment in their Christmas vacation that always made her a little sad. She rubbed the gold clock pendant hanging around her neck. When no one was watching, she put on her coat and slipped away, taking the long walk to the lake under the cover of night.
*****
Cole noticed Elle had gone missing when he returned to the family room. The rest of the family settled down. Lovers nestled into one another, the children—though excited—played in the game room. When he couldn’t find Elle in the house, concern stirred inside him, recognizing something was off.
“She’s gone walkin’.” Her father’s voice drew his eyes from the door.
“Walkin’?” Cole waited for further explanation.
“She walks by the lake every Christmas Eve. My father used to meet her down there with something to warm her up—a hot chocolate and a blanket. One year, he even met her with a horse drawn carriage he rented from a nearby ranch. It was their thing. They’d chat until the cold forced them inside,” Terrence reminisced.
“That’s charming. Where’s your father, Mr. Rudolph?”
“He passed away three years ago.”
“My condolences, I didn’t know.”
“I’m surprised Elle didn’t tell you. She was very close to him. They used to work on watches together.”
“The horologist.” Cole recalled the story Elle told him at the inn, and the timepiece she wore around her neck.
“Yes.” Terrence was happy at the recognition. “Every year she still takes the walk. I’m sure she still has a chat with him.”
Cole’s heart ached, pulling him to seek her out, but who was he to interrupt her?
“Right about now, she’s probably getting cold.” Terrence patted his shoulder.
“Yes, sir.” It was the blessing he needed.
Cole carried the thickest fleece throw he could find and a thermos of hot chocolate before making his way down to the lake. Moonlight reflected off the snow and illuminated the path.
When he found her, she was staring up at the stars and appeared to be talking. She must have heard his footsteps approaching and whipped her head around. He saw wetness on her cheeks and she swatted them away with the back of her wrist.
He stopped in his tracks. She was having a personal moment. What was he thinking coming out here? She wanted to grieve, alone.
“I didn’t mean to disturb you. I’ll leave you to your thoughts.” He tried to make his retreat swift and quiet.
“Don’t go,” Elle called to him. “It’s okay. You don’t have to go.”
He should have been relieved but for the first time in a long time, he wasn’t sure what this woman needed and if he could give it to her. All he wanted to do was ease her pain. He moved closer to her and handed her the thermos. “I brought you some hot chocolate.” He swaddled her shoulders with the blanket.
“Thank you.” She nestled her shoulders further into the fleece.
“You’re welcome, sweetness.”
She slurped the hot chocolate. “Whoo! Did you spike it?”
He laughed. “A little brandy is a good warming agent.”
“It’s good.” She handed the thermos back to him. “Did my mom tell you I’d be here?”
He gripped the thermos with padded fingers and swirled the liquid around, watching the steam rise against the coldness of the night. “Your dad.”
She gazed up at the stars. “I only know the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, and the North Star. Is there a constellation you can point out for me?”
He was impressed she remembered that small but important detail about him. “Well, you can see Pisces Austrinus, aka the Southern Fish, this time of year.” His boots rooted into a mound snow next to her. He held the thermos in one hand and pointed up to the sky with the other. He found a star that probably appeared random to Elle but already formed the image of the constellation to him. “First, find Fomalhaut, which is the mouth, right there. Now track it like this.” He connected the dots to form a geometric shape of a fish. “And there is the constellation. The rest of the fish you have to draw with your imagination.”
“That’s pretty cool. You really are an astronomy geek.”
“Told ya.” He sipped from the thermos before offering her another drink. She tightened the blanket around her.
Silence hung between them with only the quiet of night to accompany them.
“Granddad was the best,” Elle spoke at length. “He was a watchmaker, you know.”
He drank the sweet creamy chocolate liquid, the hint of cinnamon and brandy sweet on his tongue. “Did he make the one you wear around your neck?”
“Yes. He gave it to me on my sixteenth birthday.”
Cole had seen it countless times and thought it was a retro thing she did for fashion. Now, he knew it held deeper meaning.
“He loved the holidays and seeing us all together, crazy like we are. And he loved my Christmas cookies.”
Cole grunted in agreement. “Who doesn’t? They’re incredible.”
“He’d like you. Maybe not the deception we got going on, but besides the whole gigolo thing, you have some qualities he’d appreciate.”
“Like what?”
“You work hard, you’re generous, you know how to care for people, and much more.”
He was surprised by her list. “I’m truly flattered, Elle.”
“I appreciate them, too.” She was pensive for a moment before he saw the tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. “Since he died, I just come out here and tell him about what’s happening.”
“He sounded like a great man.”
“He was. He taught us so much about the importance of family and how to enjoy each other. He lived a long, healthy, and happy life, but I still wish he were here.” She sniffled. “I still want him back.”
Her tears flowed down her face and her sadness shot through his soul, killing him over and over again. All other options were taken from him, save one—to console her. He put the thermos down and pulled her into his arms, rocking her. He didn’t interrupt. Rather, he just let her express her feelings in the safeness of his chest. Time seemed to stand still, and he had no idea how long he held her, but he didn’t want to let her go.
She pulled away, her eyes reddened and cheeks wet. He wiped her tears as her lids lowered and her gaze darted from his lips to his eyes and back again. It was an invitation accepted.
He touched his lips to hers, sinking into their heavenly softness. For the first time, he wasn’t steering his emotions and it freaked him out. Every time he tried to resist, he surrendered to his desires. She was air and he breathed her in, possessed by her. She let go of the blanket and embraced him around his waist. She shivered in his arms and moaned as he kissed her deeply, lovingly. His tongue danced with hers, hoping his kisses might begin to heal her pain.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Elle woke up to Cole’s arms draped around her, under the heavy blankets. She stroked the soft hairs on his forearms and nestled further into his body as he shifted to accommodate her movements. She blushed, remembering everything he’d done to her the previous night. Their lovemaking had been otherwor
ldly, from the moment they hurried their goodnights to the family to the minutes she writhed in ecstasy.
When they’d reached the bedroom, Cole had pressed her against their bedroom door and grinded his pelvis against her hip. The intensity in his turquoise eyes penetrated through to her very existence like he had plugged into her soul. She recognized the sentiment in his eyes because it was the same one that blossomed in her heart. He had relieved them both of their clothes and with her still pressed against the door he had dropped to his knees. As he stared at her, she wanted to cry because she knew they were in love with each other.
He had gripped her thigh and slid her leg over his shoulder, pleasuring her pussy to the point where she clung to the door and wall. Her legs had given out and she slumped to the floor. The action had only allowed him to continue his assault until she was screaming her pleasure. She was certain the house heard her that time and him the next, when she had flipped him over and rode him like her life depended on it. And at that moment when they had come almost simultaneously, and Cole bellowed his ecstasy and she squealed out hers, they had achieved the most magnificent summit.
She enjoyed waking up to him and being in his arms. She turned and found him awake.
“Merry Christmas, sweetness.” He kissed her temple.
“Mmm. You too, honey.”
Their sweet morning make-out session lasted all of seven seconds before the kids barged into their unlocked room and jumped up and down on the bed.
Elle pinned the blanket to cover her nudity.
“It’s Christmas!” Karen yelled.
“Let’s open gifts,” Donny shouted.
Karen tugged at the bedding. “Come on, Auntie Noelle.”
“Whoa! Okay, you guys.” Cole tried to grab hold of the blanket and fastened it around his naked waist and stiffened member.
Elle giggled at the redness in his cheeks. She had never seen him blush.
“Let’s go, Uncle Cole.”