by Eden Finley
What the fu—
“And, Cole. I’m … well, I can’t say I’m happy about you and Paige. I still don’t like you, and you’re not good enough for her.”
Cole nodded.
“But it’s not like I have the best judgement, right?” He sighed. “I guess I can only hope that if Paige was right about Reece, that she’s right about you, too.”
He held out his hand for Cole to shake, while I remained stunned. What the hell is going on?
With their handshake over, Dad took a step back. “Now, I’m going to steal one of my colleagues and get this bitch of a marriage annulled.” He went to walk off, but I grabbed his arm.
“Dad. What’s going on?” I asked. “How did everything change so quickly?”
Dad’s eyes snapped to Cole’s. “You didn’t tell her yet?”
“I was a little busy … ah …”
Kissing the fuck outta me. “Tell me what?”
“We were always safe. I mean, I know condoms aren’t one hundred percent, but we were safe.”
That really wasn’t something I wanted to hear about from my dad. I screwed up my face in disgust but didn’t voice my queasiness.
Dad continued to talk. “And then when we went for the scan, the dates were off, but only by about a week—the doctor just said Reece must’ve ovulated at an irregular time during her cycle or the baby was small or something. I didn’t think much of it. That stuff happens, right? Well, thanks to that fucker over there—”
“Daddy, language!” It was weird hearing him swear.
He laughed. “No, he deserves that title. He and Reece had an affair behind my back. Right around the time of conception.”
“That night we all left her at the pub,” Cole added.
“The baby might be mine, but I’m not staying married to her even if it is. I gave her everything and she cheated on me. I can’t believe I was so blind.” He shook his head and pulled me in for another hug. “I’m so sorry.”
“Dad, don’t apologise to me. I knew she was manipulative, but I didn’t think she’d do something like that.”
“Neither did I.” His eyes glanced around the room at everyone staring at us in shock over what had just gone down, all of them hoping for the answer that Dad just gave me. “Can you fill Danny in? I really want to get out of here.”
“Sure thing, Dad. I really am sorry.”
“Don’t be, honey.”
“Are you okay? I mean, that’s a really stupid question,” I said, shaking my head.
“I’ll bounce back, love. Don’t you worry your pretty little head about me.”
I was upset for Dad, but I think I was jumping for joy on the inside. I wondered if Dad’s heartache would be worth the relationship Cole and I would share, but then I reminded myself we weren’t the ones who did anything wrong here. Reece was. And then sudden bouts of anger were coursing through me.
Dad walked off to one of the reception tables and then exited with one of his workmates. My gaze found Reece. Spence was trying to console her, wrapping his arm around her, but she swatted it away and scowled at him.
I stalked towards her, but Danny rushed me from the side of the dancefloor. “Whoa, what’s going on?”
I stopped in my tracks. “Bitch has been cheating on him!” I yelled, making the whole room completely quiet for the briefest of moments before a loud chatter broke out.
“What?” Danny asked.
“With him.” I pointed at Spence.
Cole put his hands on my arms. “Shortcake, I know you’re upset right now, and you have a right to be, but where’s Cody? I don’t want him to hear any of this.”
I stilled. Shit. I’d forgotten about Cody, and now I felt like the biggest asshole in the room.
“I saw Hunter take him outside when you guys arrived. I guess he knew shit was about to go down,” Danny said.
Thank God.
I started for Reece again when Cole pulled me back. “Come with me to talk.”
“I don’t want to talk, I want to kick her ass.”
Cole laughed. “You’re insanely adorable when you want to ‘kick ass,’ but that’s probably not the best idea. Do you even know how to kick someone’s ass? And are you sure you want to attack a pregnant lady? Trust me when I say that shit haunts you forever.”
“I’m going to go find Dad, make sure he’s okay,” Danny said.
“And you’re coming with me,” Cole said, dragging me away from the commotion, out of the expansive ballroom, and into the bathrooms situated off the hall.
“Look at that, you’ve dragged me into yet another public toilet. Do you have a bathroom fetish you haven’t told me about?”
He chuckled, holding his hands out to the side. “Come on, you have to admit, this one is much classier than that dirty pub bathroom. This one’s fit for a lady.” He closed the small gap between us, turning and pushing me against the bathroom door. Reaching behind my head, he flicked the lock and then melted his body to mine.
I tried not to moan as my body hummed in contentment. Well, most of me was content, but my lady parts were screaming for attention. I was in the arms of the man I loved. Wait, what?
I swallowed hard. “I thought you dragged me in here to talk.”
“After. It’s been six agonising weeks, Paige,” he murmured against my ear. “We were apart for the same amount of time we were together, yet somehow, the last six weeks have felt like an eternity. And I know a lot of shit has gone down, but can we just forget about that for the moment? I want this to be about you and me.”
I whimpered as his hips ground into mine, his erection pressing into me.
“Kiss me,” I practically begged. I needed his mouth.
His kiss was soft, but his hips were demanding. I no longer cared I was in a public bathroom. I needed all of him. Right now.
“Fuck,” he hissed, pulling away.
“What?” I whined, trying to pull him back to me.
“I want you, right here, right now.”
My brow wrinkled in confusion. Isn’t that where this was going? “So, take me.”
“Jesus-fucking-Christ.” He took a step back. “I don’t have a condom.”
I groaned. “Not this again. I’m clean and on the pill. Pull out if it’ll make you feel better, I fucking need you. Right—”
His lips were on mine before I could finish my sentence. My legs wrapped around him as he lifted me up, his hands fisting my poufy skirt. He pressed me against the bathroom door again as his hands worked their way under my dress. His calloused palm ran along the inside of my thigh, toying with the flimsy material of my underwear. A throaty growl escaped him as he moved my underwear aside and thrust a finger in.
A breathy “Holy shit” left my lips before he added a second finger, making me moan and writhe against him.
“Fuck, I’ve missed you.” He raked his teeth over my neck, biting down gently.
My moans were loud enough that I was sure anyone in the hall would know what we were doing. I bit down on his shoulder to prevent me from calling out.
He moaned, removing his fingers from me. I almost let out a loud noise of protest, but it was silenced by the sound of his zipper.
Seconds later, I was put out of my misery. With a single thrust, he was inside me, the slight sting a welcoming pain for how full I felt. Complete.
“Dammit! We should’ve found a condom.”
“Huh?” I pulled back so my back was flush against the door, but my hips were still grinding against his. Did he really just say that?
“This feels too fucking good, I’m not going to last long.”
“Oh.” I chuckled. “Guess it’s a good thing I like it fast then, hey?”
He groaned. “You’re perfect.”
His mouth came to mine again, his tongue slowly stroking mine in that loving manner that made me weak in the knees. Had my legs not been wrapped around him, I was sure I would’ve melted into a puddle on the floor.
He started moving in and out of me, a
gonizingly slow at first, but it wasn’t long before he was pounding into me, supporting me with one arm around me while the other was under my skirt, his thumb pressing into my clit.
We were chasing our release together, losing ourselves in oblivion. There was nothing but him and me, and in that moment, I didn’t even care if I got to the finish line or not. Just being with him again made me happier than any orgasm could.
Not that my body was having any of that. All of me was throbbing, and my clit was swollen and tight under the scrutiny of his thumb.
“I need you to come.” His voice was hoarse, and I knew he was close.
I clenched around him, making the build up so much more intense. I threw my head back against the door and pushed out my hips. It was right there. I was right on the cusp.
He grunted and I loved the sound of it. It triggered my release. One more thrust and he swore under his breath, his whole body convulsing as he filled me.
His hips slowed, and our breathing synced. Pressing his forehead to mine, we both breathed heavily as we came down from our high.
When he pulled out and lowered my legs to the ground, I was wobbly on my feet. He smiled before kissing me briefly.
“You didn’t pull out,” I said. Real romantic, Paige. “I thought …”
“I …” He looked a little sheepish. “I couldn’t even if I wanted to. You felt too amazing, and I couldn’t help myself. You mad?”
“Fuck no. It should be like that every time.”
“I still don’t trust just the pill.”
“I’ll get that implant thingy, I’ll do anything you want if I get to have you like that every time.” I hated the desperation in my voice, but it seemed to appease him.
He grinned and then stepped back to rearrange himself and zip up his fly. “Deal.”
I adjusted my underwear and my dress, padding my way over to the sinks. Leaning over the bench, I inspected my makeup and appearance in the mirror. My hair was a mess of I-just-got-fucked curls, but my makeup went fairly unscathed. My lips were swollen and puffy, again in an I-just-got-fucked kind of way, but it only made me smile.
Cole’s lips touched my bare shoulder as his arms wrapped around me from behind. His eyes met mine in the mirror. “I love you.”
My breath completely left me, making me winded.
He continued to make the air around me thin as he kept talking. “You’re it for me. I’ve never met anyone who remained in my corner, even when I’d majorly screwed up. No one, apart from maybe Hunter, has stood by me when I needed them the most. Even though we couldn’t be together, you still supported me. You fought for me when I wasn’t willing to fight for myself. You’re the one I want to come home to, the one I want to wake up next to. The one I hope to marry ...”
My eyes bugged out of my head.
“Don’t freak out just yet.” He laughed at my shocked expression. “I mean in the future. I don’t care if it’s months away or ten years from now. But one day, I will make you a Turner.”
The word “okay” almost past my lips before I’d even realised what that meant. The fact I was all right with his words only cemented what, deep down, I already knew. He was it for me, too.
I toyed with the idea of becoming a Turner and found myself falling in love with it ... Until I realised ...
“Paige Turner?” I yelped. “No way in hell am I ever going to become Paige Turner.”
He broke into hysterics.
“Not funny, Cole. You’ll have to take my last name.”
“Cole Minor? That’s just as bad.”
It was my turn to laugh. “How did we not realise this until now?”
He buried his head in my neck, unable to control the laughter. I leaned back into him. It felt right. Being with him had always felt right, even when we knew it was wrong.
“Okay fine. When we get married, we can keep our own last names,” he said.
“When? I don’t believe I’ve agreed to marry you yet.” Aloud.
“That’s fine because I haven’t actually asked yet. I certainly wouldn’t ask you in a dirty bathroom after fucking you senseless. But trust me, it’ll happen, Shortcake.”
“Whatever you say, Hemsworth.”
Epilogue
- COLE -
Twelve months later …
Half-asleep, I rolled over and reached out to pull Paige into my arms. One of her legs draped over me as I ran my hand up her thigh, resting it on her ass.
“Say it again,” she whispered.
“Say what again?”
“You know what I want to hear.”
With my eyes still closed, I smiled. “I told you you’d be begging me for cheese one day.”
“Tell me,” she whined.
“Move in with me and I’ll say it again.” It was more a demand than a request. I’d already asked nicely and she turned me down, but that was when Hunter was still here. I figured I should try being demanding this time.
She pulled back, making my eyes snap open.
“Hunter only just moved out. Don’t you want your own space for a while?”
“Nope. I want you filling all of my space.” I rolled her on top of me, raising my hips so my hard cock rubbed against her clit. This is why you should always sleep naked. “Or more specifically, I want to be filling yours.”
She ground against me, causing everything to short circuit and send me haywire.
“Goddamnit, Cole. You know my rule. No hanky-panky with Cody in the house. Even if the door’s locked and you have a new non-squeaky bed now.”
That only made me smile. The fact Cody was here on a Thursday, living under my roof four days a week, made my heart swell.
“Shortcake, if we were to stick by that rule, we’d never have sex. What happens when we have our own kids and they’re with us all the time?”
She stopped grinding and I groaned in protest, gripping her hips to keep her moving. I wasn’t even inside her yet, but I was so damn close.
“Our own kids?” she shrieked. “And plural?”
Yeah, not the best time to bring up that subject with her. “You know, in the future.” Or as soon as possible. That works for me, too.
I wanted everything with her, and I wanted it as soon as she was willing to give it to me.
But she’d only just graduated and started working at the bottom of the food chain at some corporate law office, so I knew she wouldn’t be ready for that kind of thing. Not yet.
The last year had been one of the best years of my life, but that’s not to say it wasn’t a turbulent ride.
The Reece and Paul thing blew up in everyone’s faces. With an in-vitro DNA test that Paul insisted on, it was proven that the baby boy was Spencer’s. Kicked out on her ass, Reece had two options: move home with her parents who she knew would drive her nuts or move in with Spence—as roommates—where they could both look after their child together.
Cody’s baby brother, Elliot, was born six months ago and Cody was absolutely smitten. Even he was wanting Paige and me to have a baby. The whole once-maybe-stepsister thing was a non-issue when we told him we were together. He didn’t actually know why we were making a big deal about sitting him down and telling him, just as he was fine with living with Paul but now with Spence. We think he understood, but perhaps he was still too young to follow relationship drama.
Reece had to get a job because Spence wouldn’t pay for her completely. In his words, “She’s not my girlfriend, so why would I support her in any way other than for Elliot?” He may have been able to pass it off as a douchey remark, but I heard the undertone loud and clear. He was in love with Reece.
Why, I had no idea, but then again, I’d fallen for her charms at one point too, so I couldn’t really judge him.
I couldn’t judge her so much anymore either. She’d finally forgiven me enough to give me more responsibility. It may have been because she had no other choice, but I wanted to focus on the positives. I had my kid in my life more now than ever before.
Becaus
e Reece was working in a shitty telemarketing job four shifts a week that took up her evenings and Saturday mornings, I had Cody Wednesday to Saturday and Reece had him on her days off.
The group’s Friday nights at the pub died since half of us had kids to look after, but Hunter, Blair, Pip, and Gage still got together occasionally on a Friday night.
It wasn’t much of a sacrifice to make, but one I didn’t even think twice about giving up. The decision was easy—it would be Cody, every time.
And while I would’ve loved keeping the tradition we had for ten years by leaving him with my mother like I used to do, she was sadly no longer with us. After I righted things with her, Paige, Cody, and I visited regularly, and we became closer than ever before. Before she died, Mum told me I had to marry Paige one day. I told her I was on it.
Mum had been diagnosed with cancer—the kind that was fast growing and already spreading through her entire body. With a shitty prognosis, she rejected treatment, and I buried her four months ago.
I knew without a doubt that if I was ever going to be tempted back to the bottle, her death was going to do it. But I stayed sober. I couldn’t say I didn’t think about drinking, but I made it through without giving in to temptation.
Paige and Cody were by my side the whole time, reminding me every day why they were more important to me than anything else in this world.
“Shortcake, I need you.” In more ways than one. “Right now.”
“Uh … you just said you want to have kids with me, so I’m a little shell-shocked at the moment.”
“I don’t know why that would be shocking when you know you’re going to marry me one day.” I smirked.
She was now completely motionless on top of me, still straddling my hips, my hands no longer forcing her to grind against me.
“I still don’t think I’ve agreed to that.”
“I still don’t think I’ve officially asked. But I will. One day.” I would’ve done it already had I thought she was ready.
She raised up and positioned herself on the tip of my cock. Before slamming down on me, she hesitated. “Say it.”
I usually loved her teasing attitude, but right now I was ready to explode, and I just wanted inside her. “Why do you like it so much?”
