The dam breaks and I start to cry, I’m not overwhelmed or scared. I’m sad. Just really sad that we can’t seem to stop everyone we love from being hurt. As I struggle to explain why I’m crying, Cole holds me and strokes my hair from my face, planting gentle kisses on my face. “Shhh now, shhh, it’s going to be okay, Mia. I promise you that this will come to an end. We will find this fucker and put an end to this shit.”
“Fuck!” I yell, wiping my eyes with the palms of my hands roughly. “I thought we were done with this when Carter died. Honestly, I was relieved, but now this? Who would do this? Who… I know you think his cousin, but this kind of crazy is beyond revenge. Someone tried to straight up kill Alex in our home, whether by mistaken identity or on purpose, it is apparent that this crazy person has an agenda. Have you contacted Carter’s parents? Wouldn’t that be the easiest way to find out about his extended family?”
“Actually, it was our first stop, but they are out of the country. Seems they have little interest in communicating with us.”
“Of course, why would they be interested in helping us when they seem to not give one shit about what kind of monster their son was!” I snark, throwing my hands in the air. Cole leans back, running his hands through his hair and blows out a hard breath.
“Trust me, I feel your frustration. Hopefully, Foster can find out some more information from his buddy in the department. I’ve got my money on this fucking cousin.”
“I hope you’re right because this whole, ‘scared to leave my hotel room’ is going to get old fast!”
“I know, baby, I know.”
We check into the hotel, order dinner, and I fall asleep before it even arrives. Keeping my eyes open is no longer an option. The exhaustion from the day. Fuck, from my life. All night I dream of shadows chasing me and trying to kill me, the absolute worst dreams of my life and I cannot count how often I wake up through the night until I finally just give up, going back to sleep.
Cole walks out of the bedroom, stubble on his face and sexy bedhead paired with dreamy eyes, searching for me. “When did you get up, baby?”
God, I love when he calls me baby, sweetheart, sexy, anything really. “Oh, ‘round four this morning, I just couldn’t sleep… monsters,” I say with a wink. He walks over and stands me up, diving his mouth onto my neck and removing my robe at the same time. “Well good morning to you too, this is a very nice hello,” I breath out, moving my head to the side to give him more of me.
“Sure-fire way to chase away monsters,” he hums into my neck. Pulling my robe from my shoulder he tugs it down until it stops at my waist where it’s tied. Standing back, he bites his lips while appreciating the view. Reaching out with one hand, he snaps the closure of my bra to set my breasts free, all the while holding a crooked grin on his face.
“Whatcha doing?” I ask, mirroring his smile.
“Just trying for a better view,” he winks while he starts tugging on my belt.
“Ahh, so you just want to look?”
“No.”
“No?”
“No,” he growls a bit louder as my robe falls down the rest of my body. Knowing exactly what game he is playing at, I let my bra slip from my shoulders and back onto the floor.
“Mmmm, that is a great view, but it could be better.”
“Better?” I ask with fake innocence.
“Take em’ off.” He levels his stare right at my center. If looks could remove my panties, they would be flying off right now without my help.
Slipping my finger into the waistband, I run it back and forth watching his eyes follow the path of my fingers.
“Take them off,” his voice is husky, but still a measured tone.
“Mmm… these? Do you mean my panties? Do you want me completely naked, wet… standing in front of you?”
Cole’s heavy intake of breath through his nose is all I need to know that I am having the effect I’m hoping to have. He takes a step toward me, reaching out with one hand grabbing the front of my undies into a fisted ball, forcing me to take a few steps closer to him. They bunch up tighter and create a little sting but it’s the kind of bite that just makes me want and need more. I grind my hips against it to feel it on my clit.
“Ooh, my dirty girl, you like that. I gave you a chance to save these flimsy little things, but now I’m going to rip them off of you and fuck you on this table.”
Throwing my head back, I moan in appreciation of his words and true to his word, I feel a much bigger bite as he shreds my underwear off my body and pushes me back, causing my butt to hit the table and my hands brace against it. Just as quickly, he leans toward me, grabbing my waist and plopping me onto the table. I widen my legs to give him access and he wraps his arm around my waist, causing my hands to jump to his chest as my body is pulled tight up against his. I grind my core against his hard cock as our mouths barely touch. I can feel his breath and just the smallest area of our mouths touch, but he doesn’t lean any closer, staying still as if he needs to savor this moment.
“Fuck me,” I plead breathily. “Fuck me into tomorrow, don’t be gentle…I want it.” I groan into his mouth, forcing my kiss into his mouth, pushing my tongue in, wanting his kiss.
Cole stays still as I grind my pussy into him, licking and kissing his mouth. He just stands there with that crooked smile and hooded eyes, watching me use his body to fuck myself. I feel feral like an animal. The more he holds back, the crazier I become with need. I’m not even embarrassed by my desperation.
“Fuck me, Cole! Please! I need you.” I beg as I continue to cause a delicious friction on my clit from grinding into him.
“That’s it, baby, show me… show me how much you want me, does that feel good, Mia? Fuck yourself. I want to watch you come.”
I lose my mind and throw my head back and arch my back into his grip, tightening the space between our lower halves. I can feel the build, just a little more, I just need to push harder, grind deeper. I can feel my body tense.
“That’s it, do it, baby… come, baby.”
Hearing his words make me topple over.
“Oh, fuckfuckfuck,” I scream as I am hit with an orgasm like a Mack truck.
The minute I hit the top of the wave, Cole lets go of me and I fall back onto the table, bracing my hands down to stop myself from falling too hard. He hooks his arms around my thighs and buries his mouth on my sensitive clit. Screaming out, I feel the softness of his lips and his tongue take quick licks over my bud making the fire start to build again. Goddamn. I love him.
“Oh my god, yesssss… I’m coming again!” I scream, not giving two shits if anyone can hear us. All I feel is the vibration against my clit as he moans and that’s enough to send me flying, screaming his name loud enough for the whole floor to hear.
Pulling away, he rubs his hand over my stomach and toward my breasts. I use my feet to paw his pants down until I feel them fall. Feeling Cole at my tight entrance, waiting, unmoving, I open my eyes to see what he is doing and am met with the eyes of the most gorgeous man, staring at me, his chest rising and falling, giving away his struggle for restraint. He keeps the head of his cock at my entrance, teasing me like he did with our mouths earlier. Leaning forward, he wraps his hand around the back of my neck and pulls my mouth to his, filling it with the taste of me. Kissing me long and hard, pulling back and stepping away as I reach for him saying, “Over.” Tensing his jaw, I can see that his restraint is gone. When I said, ‘fuck me into tomorrow’ he was certainly listening.
I slowly roll over, putting my feet on the ground. He kicks my legs open with his leg and puts his hand on my back, holding me in place. Kissing and nipping down my back, he reaches down between my legs and pushes in two fingers, causing me to lurch forward and groan.
“Don’t move, Mia,”
He holds me by the waist, now causing me to be just on my tiptoes as he fucks me with his fingers. Pulling them out, he runs the wetness over the seam of my ass. I squeeze tight in reaction to his fingers being there.
“Do you like that? You do, don’t you… you want me there, inside. I want to hear you say it. Tell me where you want me, Mia.”
I feel like I’ve forgotten how to breathe, “Ahhh, Cole, please, I want it.”
He never stops the rhythm, pressing just enough to cause me to want to push back into his finger, but I don’t have any leverage on my tiptoes.
“Say it, Mia. What do you want from me. Be specific because my cock gets so hard hearing dirty words coming out of your mouth.”
Oh fuck, I’m so close just from his words I think he might make me come again just from talking to me like this.
“I want it, fuck my ass with your finger,” I groan at the same time he pushes his finger into my ass and pushes his cock inside of my pussy. That’s all it takes to make my whole body shake as he fills me and fucks me hard.
I can’t breathe or process, all I can do is feel. Every receptor in my body is exploding and I am just want and desire. Wave after wave of orgasm explodes around me and I feel Cole shatter behind me as he comes inside of me. My breathing become slow and I feel myself being lifted and carried off the table.
“Sleep now, baby. I’ve got you.”
I drift into a sleep too deep for monsters and shadows.
Waking up, I let my body acclimate to the light and sounds. Stretching my limbs out, I slowly open my eyes to my empty hotel room. I look around for Cole and then over my shoulder to see the clock, which reads two p.m. I’ve slept another day away. Geez, I need to get my days and nights straight. I throw my legs off the side of the bed and roll my head around in an attempt to de-stiffen my neck. I slept like the dead and I have Cole’s magic penis to thank for it. I pad out to the sound of the sports network coming from the living room and walk into Cole’s arms for a hug.
“Hi,” he mouths, pulling his mouth from the phone and kisses my head.
I smile back, pulling away to go to the coffee. I need the coffee! After pouring a cup, I snuggle on the couch and watch Cole handle his conversation. No matter what the conversation entails, he doesn’t take his eyes off me. I can feel his eyes watch me grab the remote and turn the television to the Food Network. I can feel him watch me fluff the pillows on the couch for a more comfortable spot and I know he is watching when I lick my lips after taking a sip of coffee. Knowing he is watching is making it very hard to concentrate, to say the least.
“Handle it. I have full faith that you will find the solution and not let this situation turn into a full disaster. What we all need right now is stability and a dose of morale. Our employees need to maintain faith that we will always work in their best interest and that interest is always aligned with company values.”
My curiosity gets the best of me and I gesture to him to say “what’s up?” I’m really hoping that this doesn’t have anything to do with his arrest, because I secretly harbor some guilt over that, even though I know that I had nothing to do with it. I can’t help but feel bad about his life being so negatively affected by my dumb baggage and the fact that he is so amazing about it makes me feel even worse. I wish he would just be mad at me for a minute. His sainthood will be my demise! Perfect asshole. I laugh to myself at the crazy that exists within my mind.
“Nothing to worry about,” he reassures, pulling the phone from his ear. “Within any company, sometimes the employees want one thing and corporate wants another. I try to find middle ground. Nobody gets their cake and to eat it too.”
“Aww, softie, you are a good boss”. I blow him a kiss.
Smiling, he tosses his phone on the chair and walks over to me, planting a kiss on my lips.
“Mmmm, you taste kind of like cake. I guess I could have my cake and eat it too?” Biting his lip he draws back to look at me.
“You are disgusting!” I laugh, swatting at his shoulder. Cole just wags his eyebrows in response.
“How’d you sleep?” he asks, grabbing my coffee and taking a sip.
“Amazing, thanks to your magic penis…”
“Magic penis? So, I’m like David Cockerfield?”
I spit my coffee out that I just sipped and double over with laughter. Cole joins in and we both have to catch our breath from the laughter.
“I could do this all day, you realize this!”
“Yes! Yes, I realize, but before you hold me hostage with all your insane jokes, maybe I could carve out time to see my best friend?” I respond as my laughter slowly dies down.
“I’ll try to hold the jokes off for a while. Go get dressed and we can get going.”
Giving him a kiss, I jump off the couch and head back toward the bedroom. Cole follows saying, “I talked to Foster this morning after I put you to sleep and he said Alex is doing well. Still a sleeping beauty, but the swelling in her head has gone down and her body is functioning just fine. The doctors are really optimistic that she’s healing.”
I listen from the bathroom, holding onto the counter for stability. I cannot even think of the alternative. She has to wake up and get back to business as usual. There just isn’t any other reality I see for her. That girl means everything to me and if she doesn’t wake up, a piece of me will forever be missing.
Being at the hospital is never fun, but I am acutely aware of everything around me today. It’s like my body is hypersensitive to the sounds of the machines and the silence. I especially hate how quiet it is. Turning on the television, I try and block it out. I don’t know why I am so creeped out, but I am. Even knowing that Foster and Cole are both right outside the door, I spend an hour talking to Alex about anything and everything until my one-sided conversation starts to feel stupid. I sit for a moment, wondering if she can hear me and wishes she could respond, hoping that maybe she will wake up soon.
“Hey, I have that interview the day after tomorrow. Wish me luck. I feel like I’m losing them. I will mention I have a friend in a coma and maybe they will take pity and hire me.” I wait for a second, hoping she will open her eyes and point out my sad sense of humor, but she doesn’t, so I stand to leave.
Cole and Foster decide at that moment to walk back in, exchanging sympathetic glances at me. I’m not trying to hide my sadness, I can’t. It’s just on me and I can’t escape it. Foster walks past me and pats my shoulder as he does, taking his post at Alex’s side. Cole reaches out to me and I happily walk into his arms, letting them wrap around me. We all just stay quiet for a few minutes until Foster interrupts the silence.
“Hey, Mia, the nurse gave me a bag of Alex’s stuff, but I am just staying here, will you take it back to her place or yours. You know how she is with her phone.” He laughs. “She would kill us if it isn’t charged when she wakes up…” His voice drifts off at the end as he looks at her, brushing her hair from her forehead.
Walking around, I grab the plastic bag from him and tuck it under my arm.
“Yeah, I’ll take it back to our hotel and hook it up. Have you made any headway in finding Alex’s mom?”
“No, the woman is a ghost. It’s sad really because I thought Alex was always being dramatic when she said she was abandoned.” Foster shakes his head as if to rid himself of the disappointment.
“No, it was always crazy growing up. Her mom was always with the guy of the month, chasing a lifestyle, and Alex was on her own a lot, we spent most of our time together.”
“People don’t cherish the privilege of becoming a parent,” Cole interjects.
I just nod my head in agreement, because that really was the gist of Alex’s story. She was abandoned. I met her when I began going to public school. I remember begging my mom to let me go to a public high school the year before my freshman year. I was looking to escape the snobby ridiculous fauxcolites that attended my private school. Alex was the first person I met, we bo
th thought P.E. was an extreme waste of our time, so we basically bonded over our laziness. It was perfect, from the day we met we were bonded for life. My mom was always welcoming to Alex hanging out, probably because she was happy I made a friend. Regardless, we took advantage of the allowance and spent many a night giggling in my room and dreaming up our perfect lives. Alex always knew she wanted to work in print. Which was perfect because she adored the fantasy that fashion provided and who doesn’t love the quizzes in those magazines? Plus, she was great at putting a spin on almost everything. That trait came in handy for the both of us in high school.
I laugh under my breath at the memories of our shared mischief and try to regain my focus, bringing me back into the conversation with Cole and Foster.
“Ready to head back, sweetheart? I have to drop by the office for a bit, I can drop you at the hotel. Give me Alex’s bag and I’ll have everything taken to the penthouse to be boxed up.” Kissing my forehead, he takes my things, literally removing the stress I feel.
“Yeah, that’s fine.” Frankly, I just wanted to crawl back into bed. I was feeling exhausted by my sadness.
I know there is so much to be grateful for, Alex is showing signs of improvement, but I think the weight of our reality is starting to take its toll. I just need to keep my focus and prepare for my interview in two days. I need to keep myself positive and pushing forward. For mine and Alex’s sake, she doesn’t need a friend wallowing and mourning her when she is getting better.
The next two days go by in a blur between hospital visits and making sure that I get my schedule back to normal. I have managed to pull myself into a pretty good rendering of a professional. Sitting in the lobby of the advertising firm, I remind myself to take deep breaths. I have been looking forward to this day before this week from hell. I was super stoked to have this piece of the puzzle fit in its place. I pull my phone out of my purse and check the messages, re-reading my last message from Cole.
Good luck baby, remember that if you don’t want this, don’t take it. I happen to know of a pretty amazing company that would hire you to run their public relations department… just sayin’.
The Forever Series Page 21