by Ella Frank
The cool air started to bite, and as Cole made his way toward the women, he heard Lena assuring Rachel.
“He’ll come around. He’s been so worried about you lately. And this? Well, this is a bit of a shock.”
When Cole stopped at the end of the car, Rachel looked to him and gave a small smile.
“Want to head inside?” he asked as Lena also turned to face him.
He waited for accusations of coercion, but instead, he got a huge grin.
“Come on, it’s time to meet the rest of the family, brother,” Lena announced.
Rachel let out a small laugh as she moved toward him. She slid her hands inside his jacket and around his waist, laying her cheek on his chest. “You ready?” she whispered, looking up at him from beneath dark lashes.
Cole removed his hands from his pockets and smoothed them over her hair. “As ever. You?”
“No.” She chuckled nervously.
Leaning down, he kissed her on the forehead.
Glancing up, he noticed Lena was watching them closely. Her eyes softened, and she mouthed, Thank you.
That’s an odd thing to say, Cole thought.
As Lena turned and made her way to the back door, he pulled away from Rachel and took her hand in his.
“Come on, let’s do this.”
Well, this is awkward, was all Rachel could think as she sat beside Cole at their family table in the dining room of Exquisite.
Mason was seated at the head of the table where he always sat, and Lena was off to his left. Beside her were two empty chairs—one for Shelly and one for Josh—who, of course, hadn’t arrived yet because they were running late. Great, just when I’d kill for some of Shelly’s over-the-top attitude, she’s nowhere in sight. And that left the seats to Mason’s right where she was sitting with Cole.
Mason still hadn’t said a word to her. Instead, he was staring…no, glaring at Cole.
“So, Cole, what do you do?” Lena finally asked, attempting to break the arctic ice surrounding the table.
“He’s a lawyer,” Mason answered before Cole had the opportunity to open his mouth.
Rachel tensed, knowing how much it annoyed Cole to be interrupted or cut off in a conversation, but instead of saying anything, Cole took the much higher road than her pouting brother.
“Yes, Mason’s correct, I’m a lawyer. In fact, I’m the lawyer for Joshua’s company.”
“Oh, that’s right.” Lena gave a forced laugh. “I knew that.”
“No problem. I don’t mind you asking or getting to know me,” he pointed out, turning shrewd eyes on Mason.
The man has a death wish. Of that, Rachel was certain.
“You know,” Mason replied in a frosty tone, “that’s the kind of thing a man does when he introduces himself to the family before he dates or marries a woman.”
“Mason,” Lena hissed.
She wasn’t even getting through to the imposter that had taken over Rachel’s usually levelheaded brother.
“Well, in my defense, the last time we met, you didn’t seem very open to getting to know me,” Cole said.
Rachel could feel her heart hammering inside her chest while her head was pounding with the headache she could feel coming on.
“That’s because Lena and Shelly told me that Rachel would never date a man like you—ever.”
“Mason!” Both Lena and Rachel shouted as they glared at the man who was usually so loving, usually so open.
Rachel wanted to hit something—Mason, in particular—as she shot a death stare in his direction.
What a complete disaster.
Thinking she would have some major explaining to do, Rachel turned to see Cole was looking at her with a mixture of amusement and annoyance. She liked to imagine that the amusement was for her and the annoyance for her brother.
Under the table, she felt a hand move to her thigh where Cole squeezed gently before he looked past her to Mason.
“Good thing I don’t ever take no for an answer then, isn’t it? And while your point is valid, technically, we didn’t even finish our first date.” Cole paused and looked back at Rachel with a smirk injected with a healthy dose of irritation.
The look almost made Rachel want to wince.
“When was that?” Cole asked Rachel conversationally before turning back to Mason. “Oh yes, Thursday night. A week after Rachel began, hmm…seeing me. Yes, our first date was definitely Thursday night, marriage license was Friday, and the wedding Saturday. You’ve got to love the efficiency of the county clerk’s office, don’t you?”
Like a missile being launched, Mason shot out of his chair. Just as he was about to open his mouth, the back door swung open, and Shelly sauntered in, dressed in a black pencil skirt and blue blouse. With a bottle of wine in one hand and Josh holding the other, she gave them all a warm smile.
“Sorry, we’re late, guys. We got held up in traffic,” she announced.
Josh dropped her hand and swatted her gently on the ass. “I don’t remember there being any traffic.”
Shelly laughed with Josh as she placed the bottle on the table beside the one they were all seated at…well, except for Mason who was still standing. She finally glanced at the other people in the room, and when her eyes moved to the man sitting beside Rachel, her mouth fell open. Not being the shy or retiring type, Shelly stepped up to the back of the empty chair with a sly smile.
“Well, well, well,” she muttered as she let her eyes move back and forth between Rachel and Cole. “Isn’t this an unexpected treat? Rachel brought a date to dinner.”
Josh, wearing his usual jeans and T-shirt, stepped up next to Shelly and looked at Cole. Cole nodded in acknowledgment to Josh before turning to look at Shelly.
Rachel knew it only took Josh a second to sense the mood in the room, and as he looked to where Mason was standing at the head of the table with a clenched jaw and a pissed-off expression, she could see his mind whirling.
“Cole,” Josh greeted cautiously as he pulled out his seat.
Before Josh could sit, Mason started to laugh like some kind of lunatic. His eyes shut, and he held his stomach as the hilarity of whatever he was thinking seemed to get the better of him.
Rachel watched as Shelly turned to Lena, who was silently shaking her head.
Then, in true Shelly style, she asked, “What the hell have you been smoking, Mason?”
Mason finally got himself under control and sat down.
Turning to Josh and Shelly, who were now both seated opposite Rachel and Cole, he finally spoke. “Let me introduce you, not to Rachel’s date, but to her husband. Josh, I believe you already know him.”
Cole kept his eyes focused on his friend and employer, Joshua. As the news seemed to finally make its way past the shock factor, Cole saw his friend look immediately to where Rachel was looking back at him and Shelly.
“Married?” Shelly shouted, slapping her hand on the table. “Shut the fu—”
“Shel,” Josh interrupted the stunning blonde while still looking at Rachel with an expression of worry and confusion.
“What?” Shelly demanded on a laugh.
Well, hell, Cole thought, at least someone is amused.
“This is priceless. I’ve been waiting for Super Domme to finally admit she liked this guy, and here she is married to him!” Leaning back on her chair, Shelly reached around Josh and poked Lena in the side. “You owe me fifty bucks.”
“Hang on. You took a bet about this? That they would get married?” Mason asked as he glared at his wife.
“No, I took a bet that they would end up dating,” Lena muttered.
Cole sat back in his chair and watched the chaos unfold. He had to admit he was extremely curious about Shelly calling Rachel Super Domme. It was a point that Mason had obviously missed, or he would have—
“And why are you calling her Super Domme?”
Okay, no, he didn’t miss it.
“Mason, I think you need to calm down,” Lena advised as she reached acros
s to where his palm was clenched on the table.
“I think someone needs to start fucking talking!” Mason shouted as he turned his eyes to where Rachel sat silently, watching everything swirl around them.
Cole was going to let her answer. He was sure of it, but then the look on her face told him she had no idea what she wanted to say, and he hated that she felt so cornered. So, he stepped in.
“I think you should calm down, Mason. If and when Rachel wants to talk to you about it, I’m sure she will.”
“Cole, I think you should probably let them talk.”
The low warning came from Joshua, and as Cole zoomed in on him, he asked, “Is that the advice of my friend or from a man who once kissed my wife?”
“What?” Shelly sputtered, her mouth falling open.
“Oh, that’s really mature, Cole,” Joshua pointed out.
“I don’t particularly think anyone is acting very mature at this table, so why should I?”
“What does he mean you kissed Rachel?” Shelly asked again, looking back and forth between Rachel and her fiancé. Then her face split into a grin as it dawned on her. “Oh, you mean when you were teenagers? I think it’s sweet.”
“Oh. My. God! Would you all just shut up?” Rachel finally yelled as she stood and glared at everyone.
Cole sat in silent admiration as she turned on Mason.
“You owe Cole an apology.”
“I will not—”
“What?” she demanded, interrupting him. “Act like an adult? Right now, you are acting like a teenager who wants to beat up my boyfriend you disapprove of. And if I remember correctly, you never did that to him,” she accused, pointing at Josh, who was now sitting back in his chair with his arm slung over the back of Shelly’s chair.
“You dated Josh?”
This question came from Lena, who looked like she was trying to hold back a grin. Cole noticed the side of her mouth twitching, and he knew she was struggling.
“No, I didn’t date Josh. I had a crush on him in high school.”
“A huge one,” Shelly added with a smile.
“Awww.” Lena finally lost the battle, and the grin broke free. “That’s very sweet. I bet he was a real sweetheart in high school.”
“He was her first kiss,” Shelly interjected, receiving a frosty glare from Rachel. “What?” Shelly feigned innocence. “It is sweet. And I have it on good authority that he is an excellent kisser.”
Cole could tell Rachel was close to losing her cool as she let her eyes move over everyone sitting at the table.
“This must be so much fun for you all, and I get it. I used to give you all shit when you brought someone new in. I don’t have any issue with that, but you…” She paused, turning to her brother. “I expected so much more from you.”
Cole saw the way that comment hit Mason. His eyes clouded, and Cole could sense the anger draining from him, but Rachel wasn’t finished. She leaned down until she was nose-to-nose with her brother.
“You haven’t only embarrassed me, which I expected and probably deserved, but you have hurt and humiliated me tonight. I never thought you would ever do that.”
Pushing the chair back, Rachel threw her napkin on the table and looked across to where Josh was silently staring up at her.
“Nothing to say? I’m surprised. I figured since you and Shelly must have had a fantastic laugh about me behind my back that you would be full of comments right now.”
“Rach, it’s not like that.”
“Save it, Josh. I thought at least you would be on my side.”
Cole glanced over to his friend, who was now frowning.
“I would like to leave,” Rachel requested softly.
Standing, Cole buttoned his jacket and nodded to the table. “It’s been…interesting.”
And with that, he took Rachel’s hand, and they left the table, heading out the same way they had come in.
The entire drive home, Rachel had been running through everything that had just happened, and she felt numb. Going in, she had known that Mason would be annoyed, but she had at least expected him to calm down enough to listen. His reaction had been unlike anything she had seen before. It was like he was a powder keg, and someone had lit the fuse. Rachel was still blown away by the ferocity of his anger.
“Hey,” Cole said, his voice sliding through the interior of the car.
“Hey.”
“Mason will come around,” he tried to reassure.
“Honestly, I’m so angry at him right now that I don’t care if he does.”
“Yes, you do.”
“You’re right,” she admitted begrudgingly as she stared out the window. “I do care. I just don’t understand why he is so mad.”
There was a long pause, and then she felt Cole’s large palm on her thigh.
“Strange emotions can take over when a person no longer feels needed.”
Rachel placed her hand over Cole’s and looked at his profile in the dark confines of the vehicle. “Huh. You think that’s what was going on tonight?”
Cole shrugged a little before he responded softly, “Perhaps. I get angry about my mother’s situation, and it’s usually because I feel unable to do anything about it. It’s like I am suddenly no longer necessary.”
As they pulled into the parking garage at his condo, Rachel turned in the seat to face him. “But that’s not true. By you going there, you help her. You give her moments of happiness.”
“I guess. Maybe Mason feels like he’s lost you.”
“Well that’s ridiculous, and it doesn’t excuse his moronic behavior.”
“No, it doesn’t,” he agreed.
He unlocked the doors, and they climbed out to head inside.
Making their way through the lobby, they got into the elevator silently and Rachel leaned back against the far wall, staring at the numbers lighting up in front of her.
4, 5, 6, 7…
Cole remained beside her but touched her in no way. For a moment, she worried that he had changed his mind after witnessing the chaos that was her family.
11, 12, 13, 14…
“Don’t change your mind,” she blurted out into the silent space.
There was a second of silence.
“Look at me.”
Turning her head against the back wall, Rachel found Cole facing her.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Blinking once, Rachel looked away and closed her eyes on a sigh. As the elevator climbed, she heard nothing, except for the whisper in her ear.
“Tell me what you need.”
She knew the whisper was real, and she knew he could give her the one thing she wanted more than anything right now—to feel. When she opened her eyes, the elevator dinged and lit up number 26. Rachel pushed away from the back wall and turned to face her husband.
“I need you to make me forget about tonight. Take me someplace new.”
Stepping up close to him, she placed her hands on his chest. As the doors swished open, Rachel felt Cole’s fingers trace her cheek.
“That, I can do. Let me show you my office.”
His office?
It must have been behind one of those shut doors she hadn’t been in yet.
Silently, she took his hand and trusted him to make good on his word.
Cole followed Rachel into his condo, and he was shocked to find he was excited that they would soon call this our home. It amused him on some level that when he had left this place last Thursday, he had been heading out on his first date with her, and now, here they were, walking back inside his—scratch that, our—home as a married couple.
As she stopped by the table in the foyer, she looked over her shoulder, letting her eyes run down him where he stood just inside the door.
“Which door?”
Cole unbuttoned his jacket and shrugged out of it. Placing it on the coatrack, he undid his left cuff and began rolling it up his arm as he made his way toward her. “Second to the left. It’s my office and library.”
When he stopped behind her, he let his eyes travel over her elegant back to her tight ass that was encased in those black leggings. Quickly, he undid the right cuff and rolled it up and out of his way. Without touching her, he leaned down and placed his mouth by her ear. “Let’s go.”
Placing a hand on her lower back, Cole heard her breath hitch, and he saw her shoulders shift as she started to move forward. Following her closely, he took a deep breath and reminded himself that tonight was about making her forget. It was about making her feel again, and he had the perfect idea in mind.
When they stopped by the door, he reached around her and grasped the handle. He felt her lean back into him, and Cole took the moment to breathe her in. The shampoo she used was mixed with the lingering scent of her hair dye, and it was one hundred percent Rachel.
Pushing the door open, Cole stood back and gently nudged her inside. She moved into his office and stopped in front of his desk, running a finger along the mahogany wood. Leaning his shoulder against the doorjamb, Cole watched her as she silently looked around the space.
There was a large window that overlooked the lake, and on the far side of the room were bookshelves that spanned the entire length of the wall and ran from the floor to the high ceiling.
Over the years, Cole had collected hundreds of hardbacks, both fiction and non, and he had stored many of them here in his private office. He loved to read, and as Rachel moved toward them, he realized they had yet another thing in common.
Looking over to him, she gave a small smile as she pointed to the books. “I didn’t know you were such an avid reader.”
Cole raised a brow as he reached up and undid his top button. “I’m sure there are many things you don’t know about me yet.”
Turning back to the books, she nodded, obviously giving that statement some thought. “Yes, I suppose you’re right.” Reaching out in front of her, she ran a finger down the spine of one of his books. “I love to read also. This is an amazing collection.”
Keeping his eyes locked on her, he watched her walk down along the wall, trailing her fingers over the books as she went. When she reached the ladder he had installed so he could reach the books on the top shelves, Cole had a stunning vision. Immediately, he felt all the blood in his head drain south as Rachel stopped in front of the ladder and looked up.
