She was unlike anyone he had met before. One minute, she was fearless and sexy, and the next, she was almost childlike in her joy and exuberance. In that moment, Cole knew without a doubt that he loved her.
“Have you ever been here before?” he asked. He was merely reaching for something, anything to grasp on to as he stood several feet behind her, blown away by his own realization.
“Oh, yes!” she responded, tracking a bright yellow fish along the aquarium tank. “Yes, I have. When we were little, my father would bring Mase and me down here on the last Sunday of every month. I think that was a ‘Mom’ day, but we loved it.” She paused and seemed to think back on the memories she had just mentioned. “I miss him.”
Standing up, she turned and locked heartbroken eyes on his. “I miss them, my mom and dad.”
As she walked back to him, Cole watched her closely, feeling his own emotions swelling at the thought of his mother and how he, too, missed her. He noticed her eyes move down over him, and when they finally came back up to rest on his, he felt as though she had touched him even though she was still an arm’s length from him.
“Byron’s wife had lovely things to say about you,” she informed him.
Cole was grateful for the topic change as Rachel finally stopped close enough to touch him.
“Did she?”
“Yes, but I disagree with most of them.”
Unable to help himself, Cole reached out and placed his hands on her hips, urging her closer. She came without hesitation and smoothed her palms up his tuxedo jacket to his shoulders where she lopped them around his neck.
“And what, pray tell, did she say that you disagreed with?”
“She told me you were quiet, serious, and charming.”
Cole nodded. “And which point did you disagree with?”
“All of them.” She sighed in a breathy tone as her lips parted in pleasure. “I think you are smart, cunning, demanding, arrogant, and most definitely, the sexiest man I have ever met.”
Her mouth split into a devious grin, and Cole watched her perfect teeth bite into her bottom lip as she titled her head.
“I like this,” she informed.
“You like what?” he probed as he studied her carefully.
“I like being almost eye-level with you. I don’t have to look up as much, and our bodies,” she whispered, moving in as close as they could be with clothes on, “are perfectly aligned.”
Finally hitting the wall of his patience and control, Cole wrapped his arms fully around her and walked them slowly backward in the exhibit room until they hit one of the walls. In the dark corner, they were shielded from anyone who might walk in, and only their faces were illuminated from the aquarium lights.
Without a word, Rachel turned her head, offering him access to the smooth skin that had been calling to him all night, and he waited no longer. Lowering his mouth, he pressed hungry lips to the junction where her shoulder met her neck while his hands moved down the silk dress from her hips to her thighs.
As he pushed in close to her body, nibbling and kissing his way up her neck, he bunched the silky fabric in his fists and drew it up her gloriously long legs, all the while loving the sexy-as-hell sounds that were coming from her throat. She gripped his jacket lapels and pulled at them frantically as if trying to get closer. When he reached her jaw, Cole bit it lightly and thrust his hips against hers.
“Oh god,” she moaned. As her head rolled against the back wall, she arched out against him. “I want…want my dress gone.”
She was breathing heavily, and Cole felt a shiver of desire snake up his spine as her eyes dilated.
She sighed. “I want more.”
Bringing one hand up, he gripped her chin lightly with his thumb and index finger and tugged it gently. “Open your mouth, Rachel.”
As her lips parted, he moved in close and traced the top one with his tongue. Keeping his eyes connected with hers, he almost lost it when she let her tongue come out to touch his. Instead of sealing their mouths together, he continued to flirt with her, tangling his tongue with hers until he couldn’t stand it any longer. Finally, he lowered his lips to hers in a scorching possessive kiss.
As a throaty moan bubbled up from deep inside her, he felt her legs part, and she started to rub herself against the black material barely containing his engorged length. Pulling his mouth from hers, he stared into lust-crazed eyes and groaned.
“Jesus Christ, Rachel. We can’t, not here.”
Straining her hips against him, she ran her hands over his shoulders and down his arms. “Then, just use this,” she suggested, taking his free hand in hers and entwining their fingers. She was obviously past the point of rational thinking.
In a clenched fist, his other hand was still holding the fabric of her dress halfway up her leg, and he knew exactly what she was suggesting. Looking around behind them, Cole decided, Why the fuck not? No one had walked in, and the place was closed, except for the function.
Turning back to her, he inclined his head in affirmation. “Okay. We can play this your way. But, Rachel?”
As her heavy eyes focused on him, he gave her a stern look and warned, “Don’t you dare scream. I do not want to end up as tonight’s gossip. But I do want to end up with some part of me inside you.” Lowering his mouth to hers, he ended with, “It’s just a shame it will be my fingers and not my throbbing fucking cock.”
Rachel was so turned on she was ready to pull up her dress and ask him to just take her here in public. Instead, as usual, Cole’s self-control prevailed, and he was currently trailing his fingers up between her thighs. Biting down on her lip, she made sure to keep direct eye contact with him as she felt the tips of his fingers finally stroke against her piercing.
“Ahh, there it is,” he murmured against her mouth. “Warm, wet, and mine. This little piercing is so fucking sexy that I could spend days playing with it.”
Rachel was slowly melting from the inside out as Cole continued to finger the little stud adorned on her aching mound.
As she pushed her hips closer to his hand, she replied on a soft pant, “So is yours.”
“You like my piercing, do you?” he asked, his finger sliding deep inside her slick pussy.
Rachel’s breathing kicked up a notch. “Yes.”
“Which one? The ones in my nipples or the one that really wants to be in here?” He punctuated the question with the firm thrust of two fingers deep inside her.
Moaning loudly, Rachel clamped her teeth onto her bottom lip, reminding herself not to scream, as she gripped his jacket and started to grind against his hand. His blistering gaze was burning into her where she stood, and Rachel knew it wasn’t going to be much longer until this was all over for her. She could feel the climax building to an all-time high.
Cole gathered her in as close as they could get, and he continued to shove his fingers in deep and then slowly drag them out.
“I like them both, but right now, I wish this one,” she told him, reaching out and palming the hard-on behind his tuxedo pants, “was either in my mouth or my pu—”
“Fuck, Rachel,” he hissed out before he slammed his mouth down on hers, effectively cutting off her final word.
She had only seen Cole lose it once before, and that had been the night in his kitchen. Right now, she was witnessing it for a second time, and it was sexy as fuck.
He ripped his mouth from hers and pulled his fingers from the tight, snug sheath of her body. He glanced around, and when he looked back at her, she felt his other hand leave her dress, and he quickly undid his pants.
Rachel stood with her back to the wall, panting in the dark, as her legs trembled and her core clenched, dying for him to sink his cock deep inside her. Watching him tug open his perfectly tailored pants, Rachel thought she might climax on the spot, but as he freed his impressive erection, she knew she would wait if it meant getting some of that.
Moving back in tight and close, Cole’s voice washed over her, making her body tremble.
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“Lift your dress, Rachel. I need to be inside you.”
She hurriedly pulled her dress up her legs, and the victory was so sweet as he stepped between her bare thighs and dipped down to brush his pierced cock through her wet slit.
“Cole,” she moaned.
As their eyes met, he gripped her left thigh and tugged it up to his waist. “No talking and definitely no screaming. Think you can handle that?”
At this stage, she was surprised she hadn’t passed out from sexual overload. Instead, she nodded, and in response, he slammed his hips up and forward, impaling her with his full length in one swift thrust. Rachel gasped as his mouth took hers at the same time his cock did. She held on and sank her tongue deep between his lips as her thigh tightened around his hip and she felt her pussy contract around his rigid flesh. In and out, he pummeled her relentlessly as he devoured her mouth with his sinful tongue.
It didn’t take long, maybe two minutes or so, before Rachel’s entire body tensed, and she came with Cole in one of the most combustible climaxes of her life.
It was also the moment his phone started to ring in his jacket pocket.
Cole inhaled several deep breaths to calm himself as the phone continued to buzz in his jacket pocket. Fuck! Not now! Closing his eyes for a moment, he gathered what little control he could find and slid out from between the sweetest thighs he’d ever had the pleasure of being in. Licking his lips, he savored the lingering taste of her kiss.
“Are you going to get that?” Rachel asked in a tone that told him just how satisfied she was now.
Reluctantly, he let go of her dress and took a step back from her, stuffing his happy-for-now cock back into his pants. When he finally had them zipped and buttoned, he reached into his jacket pocket with his left hand as he brought the other to his mouth and licked his fingers. “Hmm…god, you taste fucking delicious.”
Then, he looked down at the screen and frowned.
“Better than your caramels?” she questioned.
This time, she received no response. Cole was too busy staring at the number flashing at him. His thumb slid over the screen to accept the call, and he brought the phone to his ear, holding up a finger to Rachel.
“Hello, this is Cole.”
“Mr. Madison? Oh, I’m so glad I caught you.”
“Becky? What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Cole kept his eyes on the floor as he listened to the woman on the other end of the phone, hoping with every fiber of his being that this wasn’t a call he could never come back from.
“I’m afraid so. Your mother took a rather bad fall around an hour ago.”
“Is she going to be okay?” he asked, knowing that his voice was much cooler than it had been only moments earlier.
“I believe so. She has a very bad bump on her head, and she broke her arm. We’ve moved her to the hospital.”
“Fuck,” he cursed, shaking his head.
Spinning on his heel, he made his way to one of the aquarium tanks illuminating the space from the opposite side of the room. “Look, I’m at a function right now, but I’m going to leave right away. I should be able to get there in around…” He paused and lowered his arm, so he could look at his watch. “An hour. Yeah, I can get there in an hour, I’d say.”
“Of course, Mr. Madison. After last time, we knew that you would want to know right away.”
Becky was right. He did want to know. He just hated that he was so far away, and at this moment, it made him feel so fucking useless.
“Thank you for that, Becky. I do appreciate it.” His voice was clipped, but that was all he could manage. “I’ll be there soon.”
He ended the call and stared at the blank screen in his hand. He needed to leave right now. Pushing the phone back into the pocket he had pulled it from, he turned to walk out, and that was when he saw Rachel standing only a few feet from him.
“Are you okay?” she asked cautiously.
“No. I have to leave,” he replied absentmindedly.
“Okay.”
There was something in the way she immediately accepted his response that pulled him from his thoughts long enough to look her in the eye.
“I—” he started.
“Cole?” she coaxed, taking a step closer.
He kept his hands by his sides. He was almost afraid that if he touched her, he might break down for the first time in his life. What he hadn’t counted on was her reaching out to him.
Silently, she raised a hand to his cheek, where she gently cupped it, and then she took that final step toward him. “It’s okay. Whatever it is, go and take care of it. I can catch a cab.”
And just like that, he knew what he wanted. He covered the hand she held against his face with one of his own. “Come with me?” he requested.
He held his breath as he watched her blue eyes blink, her dark lashes kissing her cheeks. Once again, he was struck by how beautiful she was.
“Where to?”
That isn’t a no. He felt relieved as he brought their hands down between them.
“Lake Forest.”
Her fingers squeezed his as she asked, “What’s in Lake Forest?”
Trying for a smile but knowing it was coming off as more of a grimace, Cole replied stiffly, “Not what. Who. It’s my mother. She’s in a home up there.”
He could tell he had surprised her, but she still held his hand.
She inquired, “Is she okay?”
“No, she had a bad fall tonight, and she’s in the hospital.”
Rachel’s face changed to such a look of despair that he was sure he would get an excuse of some sort, but what he got instead was a nod.
“Of course, I’ll come with you. I’ll call Mason from the car. Let’s go. You can tell me more on the way.”
She turned to leave, but before he could help himself, Cole pulled her back around and tugged her to him. She came without resistance, and as his lips met hers, she returned the kiss with a soft sigh.
“Thank you.”
“For?” was her quiet response.
There were so many ways he could answer, but considering his feelings for her at this moment, he decided to go with something simple yet oddly profound.
“For finally saying yes and going on a date with me.”
Rachel glanced over at the man sitting behind the wheel of his luxurious car as they hit the freeway.
Since they had left and navigated their way out of the city, he hadn’t said much at all, so she’d decided to leave him alone. That was the best way with men, she’d found. She’d learned that from her past experience with Mason back when…well, back when they’d lost their mother. Let them battle their demons until they reach a point where they need a hand or a woman to crumble with.
Discreetly, she looked Cole over as they sat in the confines of his vehicle. He had his left hand on the steering wheel at the twelve o’clock position, and the right was fisted against one of his tightly muscled thighs.
The five o’clock stubble framing his serious jawline made Rachel want to reach out and touch, to remember how it had felt against her skin back at the aquarium, but she kept that memory and her hands to herself for now. Now was not the time for inappropriate touching. As a matter of fact, she found she wasn’t even interested in that way. If anything, she wanted to reach out to soothe him, to heal him.
Settling back into the plush leather seat, she peered around the dark interior at all the bright blue lights shining from the dashboard. Suddenly, a random thought crossed her mind as she realized this car was way out of her pay range. It also struck her that even though Cole was obviously wealthy, he didn’t ever mention it, and he never made her feel like he was in any way above her on the social ladder. No, he might dress like a million dollars every day, but he had never held his prosperity over her or anyone for that matter. Huh, add that to my list of things I find so compelling about him.
Right on the heels of that thought, the radio switched songs, and one of her all-time favo
rites came on. It was a classic, and she was a sucker for the classics.
Automatically, she leaned forward to turn up the music, but at the last minute, she stopped herself. Turning her head to face him, she smiled. “May I?”
Cole looked her way with a curious expression. “Simon & Garfunkel? Now that is something I wouldn’t have pictured.”
Rachel chuckled. “What can I say? My father was into the classics, it rubbed off.”
As she turned up the volume on the melancholy melody, Rachel sat back and started to hum “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The lyrics were so incredibly fitting for him at this moment, and they made her want to comfort him that much more.
While Rachel sat there, wondering how to initiate any kind of contact or conversation, Cole unclenched his fist and moved his arm across the console to her, offering his hand with his palm turned up. Rachel felt a lump in her throat at the simple gesture, and she slid her hand into his, entwining their fingers and holding them in her lap.
And just like that, words were no longer needed.
As soon as he pulled into the hospital parking lot, Cole cut the engine and sat for a minute, staring out into the darkness surrounding them. He was trying to absorb the calming presence of the woman beside him. He was discovering that, unlike any other person, she had the ability to truly soothe him. She was sitting, silent and unmoving, but because of her silence and her understanding that he needed it, he felt closer to her than ever before. Pivoting in his seat, he unbuckled his belt and reached across the space to run a finger down her cheek.
She turned to face him, and in the dim light peeking through the car window, he saw eyes full of compassion staring back at him.
“You’re so much more than I ever expected. How did I not see that coming?” he asked, mystified.
Her lips tipped into a shy smile. “Because I was hiding,” she confessed.