Edible

by Ella Frank

  For the first time in the last hour, Rachel found herself smiling.

  “No, that’s not it. Cole has never met Ben, which is lucky for Ben, I think. But for so long, I had nightmares about what he did to me. I was terrified to let anyone touch me. So, I made sure I dated easygoing guys, guys like Charlie, that let me control everything.”

  “I don’t want to hear the rest of this, do I?” Mason asked with a hint of humor and an arched brow. “Because I sure as shit know that Cole is nothing like Charlie.”

  “No, he’s not. He’s the exact opposite. I couldn’t control him any more than I could you. I know Cole comes off as serious and stuffy, but he’s so much more than that. He’s kind and honest. He’s the one that wanted to tell all of you about us from the very beginning. Why do you think he came to the restaurant last week? And last night? That was all him.”

  Mason’s lips twitched, and the usual easygoing smile that was so familiar started to come back. “Well, I believe that. He’s a cocky bastard.”

  “Mase, he makes me feel safe. He chases all the nightmares away.”

  “And you really love him, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I really do.”

  Mason sighed and shook his head with a small chuckle. “Only you would fall in love and marry a man in less than two weeks.”

  “I think I might have started to love him the first night I met him. He told me that he was exactly what I needed, and I was convinced he was a lunatic, so I told him to get lost.” Rachel laughed, remembering the intense and sexy stranger with the tequila in the club.

  “That seems to run in our family—falling for a person who drives you insane. Isn’t that what Dad always said? He was a wise man,” Mason reflected.

  “He married Mom, and she was a pretty amazing woman, so I think he knew what he was talking about.”

  “We had the best parents in the world. You know that, right?” Mason tapped under her chin.

  “I know. I think they’d be pleased with us. Don’t you?”

  Mason’s smile widened, and his eyes filled with mischief, just like they had when he was a boy. “Well, me definitely. What’s not to love?”

  Rachel found herself holding back tears as happiness swelled inside her. “Well, as much as I hate to admit it, I couldn’t have asked for a better brother.”

  Mason opened his arms and hugged her. “Bring Cole around. I want to meet him.”

  “You don’t need to worry about Cole. He loves me.”

  “I’m starting to see that, but I still want to know him because I love you, too.”

  Rachel leaned up as Mason lowered his head, and she pressed a kiss to his cheek.

  “Best brother ever.”

  Mason chuckled. “You didn’t think so last night.”

  “That’s because you were a jerk last night.”

  Letting her go, Mason walked around her and made his way down the back hall. He stopped to pet Tulip, who was sitting up on the table in the back.

  “See you at eight on Friday at my place. Okay, Mrs. Madison?”

  Hearing her name on her brother’s lips, Rachel’s eyes widened.

  Mason snickered. “See? Even you still think it’s weird.”

  Rachel poked her tongue out at him. “We’ll be there!”

  With that, Mason chuckled and left, leaving the small flower shop feeling much lighter than it had earlier this morning.

  The minute Cole set foot off the elevator, Logan stopped him.

  “Well, if it isn’t my absent partner back from his impromptu trip out of the city to see his ailing mother.”

  Cole rolled his eyes, not even sparing him a glance. Making his way down the hall to where Jane was seated behind her desk, Cole nodded and smiled as she held out several envelopes to him.

  “These came for you this morning, Mr. Madison. All your other mail is in your inbox.”

  “Thank you, Jane. Did you have a nice weekend?” he asked, ignoring the fact that Logan was still hovering behind him with an annoying-as-shit smirk on his face.

  “I had a lovely weekend, sir. And you?”

  Jane was barely containing the grin she was holding back. She knew exactly what he had done this weekend since he had called to have her make sure several things were in place.

  “My weekend was…” Cole paused as though thinking about it. Just to further irritate Logan, he said, “Interesting and eventful.”

  “Well, something must have happened besides the norm. Usually, you come back here pissier than when you left. Although, this time, you did leave after a date with that hot piece of—”

  Before the words left Logan’s mouth, Cole turned on him and pinned him with an icy glare. “Stop before you say something that will not only embarrass Jane but will also come back to bite you in the ass.”

  Logan raised a dark brow from behind his glasses and looked to Jane, who was now much more composed. “My apologies,” he offered.

  Cole turned and made his way to his office. Pushing open the door, he walked inside and hung his coat on the rack. Unbuttoning his jacket on his way toward his desk, he didn’t bother looking behind him to where he knew Logan was standing.

  “What, Logan?” Cole demanded as he placed his briefcase down on the floor.

  As he sat down in his chair, he pulled the large stack of mail from his inbox and started to flick through it. He didn’t bother looking up at the man who had now stopped in front of his desk.

  “Want to tell me what happened this weekend?”

  Cole leaned back in his chair and finally looked at Logan. Raising his hands, he let his fingertips come together at a point in front of his face. Feeling a grin tug at the corner of his mouth, he realized he was looking forward to shocking the hell out of Logan. Sitting silently, Cole began to twist the platinum band that was on his left hand.

  “Come on, Cole. What’s happened with Lydia?”

  “Mom’s fine. You should come and visit her sometime,” he said, still playing with his latest accessory.

  “I don’t know that she would like that so much. Your mother wasn’t my biggest fan,” Logan pointed out as he turned and walked over to the couch that was pushed up against the wall.

  Sitting forward, Cole rested his arms on the table. “Well, that’s true. Can you blame her though? She found out pretty late in the game that her husband had another child.”

  Logan shrugged as he undid his jacket before sitting. “Didn’t seem to bother you.”

  “Yes, it did. I hated you.” Cole chuckled.

  “At first, but my charm, intelligence—”

  “And annoying habit of never, ever going away.”

  “Wore you down,” Logan tacked on the end.

  Cole frowned, remembering those first few meetings. “You made sure we roomed together at college. Although how you managed that, I will never know.”

  Logan gave Cole a look that was all too familiar. It was his victory smile, arrogant and cocky. It was almost the exact replica of Cole’s.

  “It was my amazing power of persuasion, which was another reason you agreed to become partners with me.”

  Cole narrowed his eyes on his half-brother.

  Yes, Logan is right. It had been a huge shock when the section of his father’s will regarding his college trust fund had been read on his eighteenth birthday. That had been the day that he and his mother had found out that his father, who had passed away before Cole had turned five, had fathered a second son—a son by the name of Logan Mitchell, who was a year younger than he was.

  That day changed Cole’s life forever. At first, he’d been certain it was in a bad way, but as he had gotten to know Logan, he’d found he actually liked him.

  Even though Logan was currently annoying the shit out of him.

  “Is there a reason you are still sitting on my couch?”

  “Is there a reason you are avoiding my question?” Logan fired back, placing his right ankle on his left knee.

  “No reason,” Cole replied, once again twistin
g the ring on his finger. Sitting back in the chair, he looked Logan directly in the eye and announced, “I got married this weekend.”

  He had to give the guy credit. Logan’s expression barely changed, except for the slight rise of his eyebrows over his glasses and the widening of his blue eyes.

  “Excuse me? Did you just say you got married this weekend?” As Logan said that, his eyes finally dropped to the ring Cole was twisting around his finger. They locked on to it, and before Cole could say a word, Logan shot out of the couch and shouted, “You’re not fucking joking, are you?”

  Cole, serious as ever, shook his head and replied casually, “No, I’m not.”

  That seemed to ignite a second round of incredulity.

  “Un-fucking-believable,” Logan scoffed as he crossed the office. “A ring and everything, huh? I’m assuming it’s hot cheetah pants from last week, right?”

  Cole couldn’t help but laugh at that description. He knew Rachel would get a kick out of being described that way. She’s definitely not a cheetah, but she’s a tigress, for sure. “Yes, a ring and everything, and her name is Rachel.”

  Logan pushed his hands into his suit pockets and rocked back on his heels, letting out a long whistle. “Oh boy.”

  “What?” Cole responded to the intentional provoking before he could help himself.

  “You’re so screwed.”

  Cole thought about that before replying thoughtfully, “Yes, that is one of the benefits— nightly. Hell, sometimes hourly. How are you doing in that department, Mitchell? Who’s the flavor this month, Candace or Luke? I can’t seem to remember or keep up.”

  “Fuck you, Madison. Neither. I’m currently flying solo.”

  “Or playing with yourself solo, right?”

  “Laugh all you like. I’m not the person who just signed up for one partner for the rest of his life. Mind you, she’s an extremely sexy partner.”

  Cole glared at him. “Do you mind? Don’t you have enough to choose from, considering at nineteen you doubled your options?”

  Logan walked back toward the door, laughing. “Don’t get mad at me because you just narrowed yours down to one.”

  “I’m not mad at all. I’m the luckiest fucker in the world, and for all your talk about options, you admittedly have none right now.”

  Logan tsked him as he turned to open the door. “Why would I pick one when there are so many yet to try?”

  “Get out. I have to catch up on some work.”

  Logan gave him a final look of what Cole could only call mock sympathy.

  “Poor Rachel. You always were the all-work-and-no-play guy.”

  “And you were always the pain in the ass.”

  Logan gave a wink behind his glasses, and as he left the office, he replied, “Truer words have never been spoken but only if they behaved and asked nicely.”

  The morning flew by, and it was around four thirty when Cole heard a knock on his office door. With the phone to his ear, he covered the mouthpiece and called out for the visitor to come in. He was so busy concentrating on the person speaking at the other end that he didn’t notice Rachel slip inside the door.

  “Yes, I realize that, but like I told you this morning, there’s nothing we can do until we hear back from their lawyer, Dan.” Cole shook his head as he listened to Daniel Pearson. Once again, Daniel was underlining the reasons it was of the utmost importance that Cole hurry along his company’s hearing. The problem was that it was currently out of Cole’s hands, and nothing could be done but wait. Ahh, patience. So little people have it.

  As Cole felt a headache starting to form, he remembered someone had knocked on his door. Looking up, he felt a sense of happiness and warmth rush in to replace his previous annoyance. There, standing with her back leaning against the door, was Rachel.

  His eyes locked with hers as her brightly painted pink lips mouthed the word, Hello. Honestly, he could have stared at those lips for hours. Lucky for him, he now had the rest of his life to look, touch, and taste them.

  Raising his hand, he crooked a finger at her, signaling for her to come to him. The look that came into her eyes as she started forward had Cole shifting in his chair. Everything about her called to him, and she knew just how to use it.

  Her hair was out and falling over her shoulders, just as it had been this morning when she had left his—no, our—bed. The leather pants she had poured herself into now seemed glued to her legs, and the outrageous pink top she had matched it with…well, it suited her perfectly.

  Yes, there are definitely perks to being married, Cole thought as she came to a stop opposite his desk, like knowing she will be coming home to me every night.

  Raising his eyes to hers, he watched her place her small black purse on the table. She pressed her palms to her thighs, like she was finding it difficult to stand still. Leaning back in his leather chair, Cole noticed her eyes drop to his lap before she quickly averted them.

  Ahh, so it seems everything about me is calling to her as well, and Cole loved it.

  “I can definitely try to get a hold of them today. Maybe we could set up a meeting for tomorrow?”

  Daniel reiterated that he would prefer to know this evening, and Cole continued to pay attention…well, as much attention as he could with Rachel moving her hands to the laces of her leather pants.

  Cole reached out and rapped the wooden desk twice with his knuckles. Instantly, she froze, and her eyes warmed as he motioned with two fingers for her to come around the desk. Slowly, she stepped back and pivoted to make her way around to where he was sitting. Swiveling in his seat, Cole spread his legs apart and gestured for her to step forward.

  “Dan, listen to me. This morning, when I spoke to Michael, he was very clear that they had not yet made a decision. I know it’s hard to be patient…” Cole raised a brow at Rachel, who had stepped forward between his legs. “But sometimes there’s no other option.”

  Rachel smirked as he reached out and tugged at the bow tied in the center of her abdomen, low on her hips. As the tie came free, he dipped a finger into the top of the leather and slid it along the front, causing the crisscross laces to part.

  “Dan, we have done everything we possibly can,” Cole placated as he sat up straighter in his chair.

  Glancing up at Rachel, he indicated with a nod of his head what he wanted from her. She knew straightaway because with one quick move, she raised her shirt, baring her unlaced ties and her navel ring.

  “Uh-huh,” Cole mumbled. He was now tracing the silver piercing and moving his finger over to the bottom of the tattoo on her ribs. He was about to sit back and finish up the conversation when he felt her hand thread through his hair.

  She gripped it in a small fist and tilted up his head, so he was looking at her.

  As Cole listened halfheartedly to the man on the other end of the line, he found himself staring up into the blazing blue eyes of Rachel, the tigress.

  It’s really such a shame his mouth is busy, Rachel thought as she gripped his dirty-blond hair in a loose fist. Somewhere deep inside her, she thrilled at the fact that he allowed her to tip his head back.

  “I will be here first thing in the morning. No, I was out of town Friday and Monday,” he explained to the apparently very needy client on the other end of the line. All the while, he kept his eyes focused on hers.

  Rachel licked her lips slowly and brought her left hand up to her mouth. She licked the tip of her index finger, and Cole’s gaze followed it as she dipped it inside her mouth. His eyes narrowed as she sucked a little more suggestively than she probably should.

  See? I can tease, too, she thought, remembering back to his little game in the library last night.

  “I can call them up in the morning, and if they haven’t gotten an answer by then, we can definitely try to push them a little harder.”

  Speaking of harder, Rachel mused, glancing down between Cole’s legs, it’s definitely hard alright. As she looked back into his eyes, she moved the finger she was sucking d
own to her loosened pants.

  He pulled against the grip she had of his hair to follow that hand down to the top of her pants. “Dan, how about you let me give them a call, and I will give them a heads-up about tomorrow?”

  Rachel had a feeling that at this stage, the words coming out of Cole’s mouth were complete lies. As his left hand grasped her hip to hold her in place and his thighs came together to keep her still, he sure as hell didn’t seem to be about to make another business call.

  Pushing her fingers inside the leather, she flattened her palm against her stomach and slid it down farther into the snug pants. As she did, she gripped his hair tightly, and he pulled against it. He glared up at her, not with anger but with burning heat and frustration.

  “Okay, yes, that sounds good. Nine tomorrow morning. I’ll wait to hear from you,” he replied. This time, he seemed less controlled. He sounded strained, and his voice was taut. Finally, his right hand reached over and hung up the phone.

  As soon as it was in its cradle, Rachel pulled his hair much tighter, tilting his head back. As his eyes blazed up at her, she leaned down with her hand still in her pants and licked from his cheek to his ear where she bit it playfully.

  “Good afternoon, husband.”

  “Rachel,” Cole growled as he tried to move his head.

  She couldn’t help the lust she felt, knowing she was keeping him in place with her tight grip. “Uh-uh,” she warned. “Behave.”

  Dragging her tongue back across the stubble on his cheek, she flirted with the corner of his mouth. He parted his lips, and Rachel couldn’t help but take a bite of his bottom one. Both of his hands gripped her hips as he tugged her in close. As she bent down, he strained up in the chair to get closer to her.

  “What are you doing to me?” he finally whispered against her mouth.

  Rachel finally released her grip in his hair and smoothed her hand down to cup his neck. With her other hand still wedged down her pants, she let out a small squeak as Cole stood and turned with her, crowding her against the desk with her back to the door.

  “Did you lock the door?” he asked as he looked down between their bodies to where her hand was now trapped between them.