My body slid down his shoulder until my feet planted on the floor. Mere seconds passed before he had me pinned against the hallway wall. His hand held the side of my face as his thumb stroked my lower lip. “You think so?” He pushed his growing erection against me.
Wanting him, I shook my head.
“What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?” He brushed his nose up my neck to my ear, down my cheek, and along my lips before bringing my lower lip between his teeth. The tender nip had me whimpering. Releasing my lip, he growled and brought his lips to my ears.
“Tell me?” he asked, his hand flat on the wall, caging me. My nipples, hard and ready for him to touch, pressed against the cotton fabric of my bra. “Katherine?” His hand moved from the wall, down my shoulder, and around my swollen breast. “Tell me that you won’t mind if I withhold sex.” He circled the tip of my nipple over my shirt.
“You’re an asshole,” I whispered.
“Yeah, I know.” He pushed his cock harder into my pelvis as he reached under my shirt and bra and cupped my breast. His finger flicked my pebbled nipple before his mouth crashed over mine. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I pulled him down and kissed him deeper as I pushed my body against his rock-hard dick.
His other hand located the zipper on my pants, lowering it enough to get his hand in. Pulling his lips from mine, his thumb stroked my hardened nipple while his other hand slid into my panties. My core ached for his touch.
“Fine. You can’t withhold sex.” I closed my eyes, slamming my head on the wall. “Please. I need you to touch me.”
His finger gently grazed my clit.
Ring . . . Ring . . . Ring.
My eyes snapped open when I heard his office phone ringing. His lips closed over mine, and he tickled my wet clit before he pulled his hands out from under my clothes. “It might be important.” He brought his wet finger to his mouth before jogging to his office.
“That’s not fair,” I shouted breathlessly after him.
Not wanting to wait in the hallway for him, I tiptoed soundlessly to his office. I watched him talk with the phone wedged between his neck and shoulder, his arms crossed at his chest as he faced the city lights below.
“Tomorrow morning would be great . . . I should be free after ten . . . Wherever you want . . . No, Devon.” He chuckled. I stopped admiring his backside once I realized he was on the phone with Devon. “I love you, too. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He turned to set the phone back on the receiver, and my eyes met his for a split second before I sprinted to the living room. I shoved my feet in my shoes and grabbed my purse off the kitchen counter. I punched my finger on the elevator button, outraged that he’d had me pinned to the wall one minute, and only seconds later he was telling the bearded clam that he loved her. Angry with myself for ever thinking I could be anything real to him, I hit the button impatiently.
Nothing. You are nothing.
“Katherine? Where are you going?”
I pushed the button again. How could I have been so dumb? I was just a cliché. I wasn’t different. I wasn’t the only one who had slept in his bed.
“Hey.” He grabbed my elbow, turning me toward him.
I pulled away and stared at the numbers as the elevator ascended. “Don’t touch me.” I couldn’t bear to look at him.
His hand jerked my purse from my shoulder before he tossed it on the console table.
“What the fuck, Cole?” I yelled.
“Let me make myself very clear to you. If you choose to leave, I’m not going after you. I’m also not the type of guy who’ll sit here and beg you not to leave. If that’s what you need, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“I’m tired of you lying to me.”
“Lying to you? You don’t know anything about me, Katherine. You’ve never given us that opportunity. You’ve never taken the time to get to know me. Your first reaction when shit doesn’t go your way is to run. And quite frankly, it’s fucking childish.”
“Now I’m a child?” I walked over to grab my purse, and he stepped in front of me.
“You need to cool down and tell me what has you like this. Is it because I left you hot and bothered?” He chuckled.
“Fuck you.”
His eyes widened when the words registered. “Really?” He crossed his arms over his broad chest.
“Really. I’m tired of your fucking games. I’m not here to keep your bed warm while you wait for someone else.” I pushed past him, grabbing my purse from the table.
“That’s it.” He threw me over his shoulder. Again.
“Put me down,” I screamed, banging my hands on his backside, my feet kicking against his vise-like grip.
Cole stalked down the hallway and into his bedroom, and then straight through to his bathroom. “Drop your purse and stop kicking,” he ordered.
“Fuck you. Put me down.” I hit him again.
“Fine. Suit yourself.” Cole walked through his bathroom and into the large shower. “This should cool you off.” He turned the knob, and cold water poured over my feet before he stepped all the way in. I tossed my purse to the floor before the shower door closed behind us. I slid off his shoulder, standing under the cold water.
“Are you fucking crazy? You got my clothes all wet. My shoes too, asshole.” I shivered under the cold water. Reaching behind me, he adjusted the water temperature, warming it up a tad so we wouldn’t end up with pneumonia.
“If I need to get your attention with cold water, I will. What the fuck happened? The woman I left in the hallway was not this woman.” He waved his hand toward me.
“And the girl you left in the hallway was not the same one you were with on the phone.” I held my arms across my chest, shivering from the cold.
He reached his arm around me once more, heating the water a few more degrees. “I don’t do this whole mind-fuck thing you have going on, Katherine. Use your words and stop with the tantrums.”
“Who the fuck is throwing a tantrum? You had your hand down my pants, and twenty-seconds later you’re telling Devon you love her too, and you’ll see her tomorrow? She showed up at my house on Friday, and I know how your whole little arrangement works. You get to fuck Sammie, but at the end of the day you’ll end up with Devon!” I yelled like a teenage girl, my lips quivering from the cold.
He reached behind me and lowered the water back to freezing cold. I stepped away from the shower head, trying to hide in the corner, away from the arctic cold water.
“No, you don’t, doll. You need to cool down.” He pulled me back to him.
“I need out of here.” I slapped his hand away.
“Not until you have your facts in order.” He pulled me closer to him, wrapping his hands around my waist as the water cascaded over both of us. “Fact number one, I have no arrangement with anyone. You’re the only person I’m seeing, and I don’t see more of you because you won’t allow it.” He kissed the top of my head before increasing the temperature. “Fact number two, I don’t know what you think you heard, but I wasn’t talking to Devon.”
“Oh, really? I know a good night call when I hear it. Now, if you don’t mind, I need the hell out of here before I get sick.” I pushed against his chest.
“You’re sexy when you’re jealous.” He smirked and raised the water temperature to hot before he pulled me back toward him. He laughed as I swatted his hand. “You know what I do when you get angry. The water gets colder.”
“Whatever.” I locked my arms around my chest.
“You’re sexier jealous than angry. Your eyebrows furrow right here.” He tapped a small space on my forehead with his finger.
“I’m not jealous. I’m fucking pissed.”
“I’m going to try to hold you one last time so I can explain it to you. If you pull away from me, I’ll put the cold water back on.” I rolled my eyes at him but didn’t object when he wrapped his arms around me. “You should take your clothes off.” He chuckled, hugging me tighter.
I
looked up at him. “Just say what you have to say so I can go.”
“Fact number three, it was a good night call, but it wasn’t Devon.” I rolled my eyes at him. “I believe the conversation went like this. I said, ‘Hello, Reagan.’ My kid sister said, ‘Hey, big brother that I love so much. I know it’s late, but I’m just getting back to my room. I leave for California tomorrow. Would you be able to meet for breakfast?’ I said, ‘Tomorrow morning would be great.’ She asked, ‘What time works for you?’ I replied, ‘I should be free after ten.’ She asked, ‘Do you have a place in mind?’ And I replied, ‘Wherever you want.’ Devon is her friend, so she asked, ‘Can I invite Devon?’ I replied, ‘No Devon.’ She told me she loved me and I said I loved her, too.”
He chuckled as he kissed my cheek. “You’re really adorable when you’re jealous. It’s the same look you had on your face at the restaurant Thursday night.”
Feeling juvenile for acting like a child, I kicked my shoes off my feet. “I’m not jealous. I just don’t like being lied to.”
He tugged his soaked shirt over his head, then tossed it to the floor. “I never lied to you.”
I pulled my attention away from his wet chest and followed the water dripping into the V of his abdomen before I looked up. “Why did you go to Black Duck?”
“Because since I’ve met you, I can’t stop thinking about you. I paid the lobby receptionist downstairs to call me every time she sees you. I paid the security guard to tell me which elevator you were on, and I asked Victoria, Goldstein’s assistant, for your schedule.”
“What?”
“You wouldn’t let me in, so I forced myself into your life. I want you, Katherine.” His hand tugged at my arms. “Now, come here, my jealous girl.” Cole peeled off my jeans, then pulled my shirt over my head, leaving me in only my bra and panties.
“I think that’s enough cold water.” I reached behind me, unclasping my bra as Cole’s eager hands pulled my panties down my legs.
“I think that’s a great opening statement, Ms. Wolf. Now it’s my turn. I wanted to soak in the tub with you kiss away the pain.” He stepped toward me, and I backed away until my body hit the cool glass behind me. “But you may be right. I think the cold water was punishment enough.” He moved a wet tendril of my hair away. I licked my lips and noticed how the steam softened his image, making it hard to see him clearly. “You drive me crazy. You know that, right?”
“I know the feeling.” I shivered when his hands moved down my body, his eyes locked on mine.
“You’re beautiful.”
My face warmed from more than the steam, and I bit the inside of my cheek as I looked to the side.
He grabbed the bottle of body wash and lathered my body. Slowly, he moved the soap and suds along my body. Glued to his gaze, I let him wash my body. When he was finished, I returned the favor. My hands ran gently across his chest. My fingers traced out his abdomen.
Cole trembled under my hands, and I looked up at him. “Ticklish?”
“Very.” He smiled and kissed the tip of my nose.
He turned giving me his back. I lathered my hands up again and traced them across his back. Desperate for him I wrapped my hands around him and laced my fingers around his erection.
“Katherine,” he moaned, and I stroked his length. Cole turned. His eyes met mine with want and desire. “Shower.” He kissed my lips. “I’ll be right back.”
He stepped out of the shower and wrapped a fresh towel around his waist. Scooping up out wet clothes he walked them to the laundry room.
I cranked the water to the hottest temperature my body would tolerate, washed my hair, and warming back up before I shut the water off. I noticed Cole writing on the condensation on the mirror.
Fresh Start? Yes? No? Maybe?
“Fresh start?” I asked as I rubbed the fluffy white towel over my skin.
“Yes. I want to know if we’re starting fresh. That you won’t try to run away or turn into a cursing sailor.” I left the shower stall and headed for the door, but not before circling one of the words.
“Maybe? That’s what you circled?” he asked as I towel dried my hair. “Why maybe?”
“Because it all depends on what you have planned next.” I walked toward him and pulled at the towel wrapped around his waist.
I expected Cole to have his way with me, but instead, we lay under the covers, wrapped in each other’s arms. I didn’t know it then, but I was when I started to fall in love with him.
25
Katherine
The next morning, I woke up to the sun shining into the bedroom. My muscles ached from our early morning rendezvous. Turning so my stomach lay on the mattress, I stretched my arms and legs, then turned my head toward Cole. His side was empty. Surprised, I lifted myself to search his room for him. I heard voices from outside the bedroom. I took his T-shirt from the floor, and threw it over my body to follow them. I cracked his bedroom door open enough to measure where they came from.
“I’m not early. You’re late,” I heard a female voice say.
“Reagan, you said ten, not eight-thirty,” Cole said.
“I don’t see what the big deal is. I said breakfast at ten, but I came early to hang with my big brother beforehand.”
“Fine. Why don’t you go to the corner deli and get us coffee? I forgot to pick some up.” His voice was so low I could barely hear it.
“No, I’m not your maid,” Reagan yelled.
“Shh. You don’t need to scream.”
“Wait, do you have someone here? Holy shit, is she here?” I didn’t like the way she said she.
“Please, Reagan, not now. It’s early, and Katherine isn’t even up yet.”
“Come on. The first woman to have my brother wrapped around her finger and I can’t meet her?”
She’d seemed nice enough at dinner, so I ran to the bathroom, rinsed my mouth, and tied up my hair. I grabbed a pair of sweatpants from Cole’s closet before I walked out of his bedroom and into the kitchen.
“Hi,” I interrupted, letting them know I was there.
“Did we wake you?” Cole asked when I approached him. I shook my head before he kissed it. He turned back to the countertop, flipping on his Nespresso coffee machine.
“It’s nice to see you again,” Reagan said. “I really do hope we didn’t wake you.”
“No, not at all,” I answered politely.
“I thought you said you didn’t have any coffee, Cole?” she asked.
I smirked, picking at my chipped nail polish.
“Whatever. I didn’t want you to make Katherine uncomfortable, but there is no stopping you.” He pulled three cups from the cupboard.
“I’m fine.” I quickly shook my head.
“See. You’re such a pain. Don’t mind him. It’s not every day I get to meet his girlfriend. Well, besides Devon.” She shrugged. Even the sound of her name pissed me off.
“Reagan!” Cole walked over to give me the first cup.
“Shit. Sorry.” Reagan smiled apologetically. I shook my head, letting her know there was no harm done. “Are you joining us for breakfast this morning?” she asked, changing the subject.
“No, I have to run errands,” I lied. The last thing I wanted was to sit through an uncomfortable meal. “But thank you for inviting me.”
Reagan reached inside her purse, retrieving her ringing cell phone. “Excuse me, I need to get this.” She walked over to the living room and sat on the couch.
“Come with me. I need to get ready, and she’s known to have lengthy conversations.” Cole wrapped his fingers around mine, leading me back to the bedroom.
I dressed while Cole took a quick shower. “I liked the way that sounded,” he said, walking out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.
“What?” I asked, smoothing an eyebrow in Cole’s dresser mirror.
“My girlfriend.”
My body froze. I searched out his reflection in the mirrored glass. “Cole . . .”
He ca
me up from behind and hugged me, resting his chin on my neck. “How about we discuss this after the case has been settled? Then there will be no conflict of interest, and maybe by then you’ll be used to the idea.”
I could only nod. I didn’t know the first thing about being someone’s girlfriend, especially not Cole’s, but I liked the way it sounded too.
* * *
After I said goodbye to Cole and Reagan, I headed toward Ben’s apartment. I stopped at his favorite bakery and picked up breakfast and two cups of coffee. His neighbor let me in the front door, and I jogged up his never-ending steps.
“Katherine?” he questioned, opening the door after I banged on it with my elbow.
“I came with a peace offering.” I lifted the white box filled with overly sugared treats. “I’m sorry about the other night.”
“Me, too.”
I walked in and hugged him, being careful not to squash the box. My face lay flat on his chest. “I’m trying to do this fresh-start thing, so I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Just know I’m sorry for being such a bitch.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me anything.” He wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly. Then we sat on the floor of his living room, indulging ourselves in a carb-infused breakfast. Something seemed off with him, but I didn’t ask. If he wanted to tell me, he would.
Late in the afternoon, I left Ben’s apartment with a knot in my stomach. Though I’d apologized for lying to him about Cole, it hadn’t changed his attitude toward me. Could I have really fucked up my relationship with one of my best friends because of someone I was screwing?
Ben had been my friend for years, and I’d never lied to him. He knew that. He also knew that even when I couldn’t talk to Lila, I’d always confided in him. Always. But I hadn’t meant to lie to him, or anyone else. I thought if I lied to myself and kept saying there was nothing going on, then maybe it would be true.
I’d fallen for Cole, which scared the crap out of me. In only a short time I had developed feelings for someone I barely knew, feelings I’d never experienced before. Is this how relationships are supposed to work? I couldn’t keep the thought from entering my mind. I didn’t have a clue about any of this. My mother was awful at dating, Lila avoided relationships like the plague because she was focused on her career and determined to make a name for herself, and then there was Ben, who didn’t want the world to know about his sexual orientation.
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