Yearning Absolution (Yearning Series)

by Rachael Orman

  “There is always the elevator.” Gwen wiggled her eyebrows at him and smiled. Cole let out a little chuckle.

  “Yes, there is always the elevator. Speaking of.” Cole held out his arm for her to enter the elevator as the doors slid open. There were two other people in the elevator. Gwen stepped between them so she could stand at the back of the elevator. She didn’t like having her back to anyone if she could help it. Cole moved to stand next to her. He resumed his standard pose of leaning back, arms crossed over his chest, feet crossed at the ankles.

  Gwen found herself looking at the white cuffs of his shirt that stuck out from under his suit jacket. Even his wrists and hands looked sexy when he stood like that. It made his jacket strain against his thick biceps and forearms while accentuating his broad chest. Gwen shook her head, no man should be that sexy. Cole looked at her and a slow sexy half smile slid onto his face, like he knew what Gwen was thinking. She let her eyes roam over his profile when he turned to look forward again. She felt like the room got a few degrees hotter. Just staring at him, she was getting turned on. Thankfully, the two other people got off at the lobby. As soon as the doors slid shut and the elevator started moving towards the garage, Gwen was on Cole. She grabbed the lapels of his jacked, pulling him hard against her. She pushed up on her toes to slam her mouth to his. Her tongue snaked into his hot mouth and slid against his.

  “God, I hate how fucking sexy you look. All you have to do is just stand there and I’m panting for you.” Gwen said before smashing her lips to his again. He gently placed his hands on her hips but kissed her back with the same raging need. The elevator dinged and Gwen jumped back from him in case someone was waiting to get on. There wasn’t. It would’ve been obvious what they’d been doing anyway.

  Cole yanked down on his jacket to straighten it before grabbing Gwen’s hand and pulling her quickly to the car. They both slipped into the back. As soon as the car door was closed, he pulled her into his lap, his hands in her hair as he kissed her hard.

  “I’ve wanted to do that all day.” Cole pulled her back to his lips so he could kiss her again. Their tongues mingled and danced as Doug drove them back to Cole’s apartment. Cole pulled back when both of them were breathing hard. He gently cupped her face and rested his forehead against hers, his eyes closed. “We can’t keep kissing. I’m already struggling to wait and this really isn’t helping.”

  Gwen gritted her teeth. She was so hot. Her panties were soaked and she wanted him so badly. But she could tell he really was trying to control himself and wait till their third date. “You know, this should count as our second date.”

  “Really?” Cole smirked at her as she slipped off his lap to sit next to him. “What makes you say that?”

  “Well, we left the house together. We are coming back together. Both of us ate while we were gone. See, just like a date.” Gwen smiled at him.

  “Nice try.” Cole laughed. “We are supposed to eat together at a restaurant, not floors apart.”

  “Hey, we were in the same building.” Gwen shrugged. “Oh come on… It should at least count as half a date.”

  “Well at that rate, we’ll be at 3 before Friday.” Cole figured each day they went to work would be half a date and they worked five days a week.

  “Yes, that would be the point. I could have you all weekend.” Gwen gave him a wicked smile. Cole groaned and adjusted himself in his pants. “See, I know you want it. I want it. Why are we waiting? We both know how good it is.”

  “Because the next time we are together, it’ll be special. You’ll be my girlfriend and I’ll be the only man in your life. You’ll be mine and McKayla’s only. You’ll know that I want you for you. I promise you that waiting while we get our lives situated and our relationship settled will be worth it.” Cole reached for her hand and laced his fingers with hers. He brought it to his lips and kissed the back of her hand.

  “I already am all of those things. And since you want to wait then I will try to be good.” Gwen kissed the back of his hand and smiled at him.

  Chapter 7

  Over the next couple days, Gwen and Cole fell into a pattern but they were both so busy with work that they left early in the morning and stayed late into the night, barely seeing each other or McKayla. Finally the end of the week rolled around. Gwen was happy to finally get some down time to relax and spend with McKayla. She tried to alternate whose bed she ended up in each night or have all of them sleep together. But there had been a couple nights she ended up falling asleep on the couch. Cole would carry her to his bed when he turned in.

  Gwen knew that McKayla was feeling a bit left out since Cole at least got to spend the time with Gwen during their commute. McKayla got very little time with her at all. Gwen made it her mission to spend as much time as she could with McKayla on the weekend.

  She asked Alina, Cole’s Housekeeper, to make McKayla’s favorite breakfast of baked eggs with tomatoes. She sat and watched as Alina cooked. Gwen and Alina found that they both enjoyed reading and would sit and chat about books that they had read whenever they were alone together. Once the meal was cooked, Gwen carried it on the tray to McKayla’s room. She set it on the floor before climbing into bed next to McKayla.

  “Wake up, sleepy head.” Gwen whispered as she used her finger tips to pull the hair off McKayla’s face. McKayla rolled towards her but didn’t open her eyes or make any other movement to show she was awake. Gwen carefully pulled the blankets down, exposing McKayla’s tank top. Just the loss of the warm blanket, made McKayla stir. Her eyes blinked a few time before focusing on Gwen. Gwen smiled, “Good morning.”

  “Hi.” McKayla said before stretching her arms over her head then smiling at Gwen. “What are you doing in my bed so early in the morning and on the weekend?”

  “I brought you breakfast.” Gwen laid a soft kiss on McKayla’s lips before reaching down to pick up the tray and place it over McKayla’s lap as she pushed up in the bed. McKayla ran her fingers through her hair to tame her bedhead a bit then picked up the fork.

  “Mmmm, my favorite!” McKayla smiled warmly at Gwen as she dug in. She took a huge bite making Gwen smile. She liked being able to surprise her. Knowing just what she would want made Gwen feel more secure in their relationship. “And I was starving.”

  The whole melding the new with the old wasn’t easy. She knew there would be challenging times, but Gwen really was trying to make it work. While she loved the relationship that she had with McKayla, the relationship she was forming with Cole brought her a whole different happiness and she wanted to have both in her life. Each person completed a different part of her soul. Now she just needed to make sure she showed them that.

  “I have a whole day of plans for us. Manicure, pedicure, massages, the works. Just you and me. All day.” Gwen smiled tenderly at her. “I know it’s been a rough week, not only am I working long hours, but we are no longer at our apartment and you have to share me even at night. I just need some you and me time.”

  “Sounds wonderful.” McKayla uttered between bites. Once she was done, McKayla went to shower.

  Gwen made her way back to Cole’s room to see if he was awake yet. She had showered and changed into jeans when she woke before asking Alina to make breakfast. Cole had still been sleeping and she didn’t want to wake him. But when she pushed open the door to the room, she found the bed empty. She checked the bathroom and closet but he was nowhere to be found in the suite of rooms that made up the master bedroom. Gwen wandered out to the kitchen hoping to find him there.

  “Good Morning.” Cole spoke from the breakfast bar where he was sitting as she walked into the room.

  “Just the person I was looking for.” Gwen beamed at him. She sat on the stool next to him and turned to face him.

  “What are your plans for today?” Cole put his fork down on his plate, turned towards her.

  “I was thinking I’d spend the day with McKayla. I haven’t gotten to spend much time with her since we moved here. I hope that’s okay.” Gwe
n smiled apologetically at him.

  “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. I know that you are here temporarily and it is a big change both of you. I’ll just do some other stuff I’ve needed to get done.” Cole brushed her cheek with his thumb. “I will miss you though.”

  Gwen clasped his face between her hands and softly kissed his lips. He grabbed her hips and pulled her between his knees, forcing her to stand from her stool.

  “Promise me you’ll be careful while you are out.” Cole spoke softly as he drug his nose up her neck before nipping on her earlobe.

  “I was hoping we could take the car so we wouldn’t have to use the subway and cabs. Other than that we won’t be going anywhere dangerous or that leaves us anywhere too dangerous.” Gwen ran her fingers through Cole’s hair while he still nuzzled her neck. His hands wrapped tightly around her waist. “I doubt he would know to look at a spa anyway.”

  “Of course. It’s yours as long as you need it. I’ll be staying in the apartment all day anyway.” Cole answered without hesitation. Plus, this way his driver, Doug, would be around them. Doug was trained in personal security, so he would help keep them safe.

  “Ready?” McKayla asked from the door way. Gwen looked up to see that she was dressed similarly in jeans and a plain t-shirt. Her long hair hung wet around her shoulders but her make-up was perfectly applied.

  “Whenever you are.” Gwen smiled at McKayla. She gave Cole a soft kiss before stepping from his embrace. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  After spending hours getting pampered at a local spa, Gwen and McKayla sat at a little pizzeria waiting for their food to arrive. They were holding hands, leaning close across the table.

  “This was really nice. Just getting you all to myself for a while. Oh and being massaged, lotioned, painted and made to feel like a million bucks wasn’t half bad either.” McKayla smiled as she ran her thumb over Gwen’s knuckles. “I almost don’t want to go back to normal life.”

  “Oh, it’s not over yet. Once we are done with dinner I want to take you somewhere else. It’s kind of fancy so we will have to run home to change first.” Gwen beamed at McKayla. She had put a lot of thought into this date.

  “Really? I can’t wait to find out what else you have planned.” McKayla squeezed her hand then took back her hand as the waiter set down a huge pizza on the table.

  “Looks like there will be left overs.” Gwen laughed seeing the size of the pizza. They each took a piece and dug in. “So, how do you feel about moving in with Cole? I know it’s temporary but I’m sure you have some thoughts on it.”

  “It’s okay. You know, I thought I would be against having my own room. But I kind of like being able to get away from everything in my own space. And I know you aren’t stealing all my clothes since most of yours are in his room.” McKayla winked and smiled. “I miss having you around all the time. But the space is kind of nice at times too. At the same time, I can’t wait to move back to our place too. I know that it will be another change for you since you will have to live apart from Cole, making you really split your time between us. I guess we will have to talk about when you will be ready, if and when, to move in with him for the long term or if he would consider moving in with us or what the plan would be.”

  “Yeah. I don’t really want to think about it. I don’t know what I will do once the brother is caught and out of our lives again. But I don’t want to dwell on it. I don’t want to stress about anything else. I don’t even want to talk about that man. I know he is still out there, somewhere. But I can’t do anything until he makes a move again. So, until then I am just going to try to make the best of things and keep my eye out for anything out of place or any sign that he is up to something.” Gwen grimaced. This wasn’t how she wanted the night to go. “But let’s not talk about the unhappy things. Let’s talk about happy and fun things. Speaking of… if you are done eating, let’s get going.”

  “Yes, I don’t think I can fit more than one piece of this huge pizza in my belly.” McKayla laughed as she patted her stomach. She’d eaten her piece quicker than she had meant to, but it had been her only meal all day.

  Once their waiter boxed up the rest of the pizza and they paid, they made their way out of the restaurant to let Drew drive them back to Cole’s so they could change. When they arrived, the apartment was dark and quite. McKayla went to her room while Gwen went to Cole’s closet.

  Gwen pulled her hair up leaving little pieces falling down around her face. She put on a little black strapless dress that fell to her mid-thigh paired with a little lacy cap sleeve top that only covered her shoulders and wrapped around her back. She finished the outfit with a pair of black four inch heels.

  Gwen walked out of Cole’s room but McKayla wasn’t ready yet. She decided to get a glass of water from the kitchen while she waited. As she poured water into her glass, she heard the low rumble of Cole’s voice. Carrying her glass of water with her, Gwen made her way to his office. She smiled as she leaned against the door frame before taking a sip of her water. Her eyes ran over his muscular frame as he paced in his office and talked rapidly to someone on the phone. He quickly hung up the phone when he noticed her.

  “Well, now.” Cole took off his blue tooth earpiece and tossed it on the desk once he ended his call. He leaned back against his desk with his hands braced on either side of his hips. “I didn’t expect you back so early.”

  “We are just here for a quick wardrobe change and then we will be leaving again. I figured you were busy but wanted to come say hi since I could hear your voice in the kitchen.” Gwen walked to him before leaning in to give him a kiss. His arms wrapped loosely around her hips. Her arms wrapped around his back, careful to not drop her glass.

  “You look damn good in that dress. She’s a lucky girl to get to take you out looking like that.” Cole ran his finger over her skin, following the edge of the top she had on. His finger followed the top from her shoulder to the swell of her breast where it met her dress. “I would love to lick every inch of your skin. You look so yummy.”

  “Don’t start with all that. You’ll make me drop my glass.” Gwen licked her lips slowly as she set her glass down on the desk behind him. “Plus, you’ll just get me all hot… and wet. Just touching me like that with those dark sexy eyes on me. Your rough sexy voice saying dirty things to me. You’ll get me all… turned on. Then, poof, you’ll turn away, leaving me wanting. And that wouldn’t be fair.” Gwen rotated her hips against Cole’s as she spoke. She could feel his erection pressing into her, growing larger as she spoke softly into his ear.

  “Gwen?” McKayla’s voice came from the hall.

  “Be right there.” Gwen called out. Cole growled low and pulled Gwen to him for a hot hard kiss. His tongue slid into her mouth as his hands grabbed her ass hard, holding her tight against him. He pulled back from her.

  “I will pay you back for that.” Cole slapped her ass hard once before releasing her. Gwen fanned her face with her hand and smiled.

  “Oh but I think it was worth it. I love getting you all hot. It’s so sexy.” Gwen winked and waved before walking out of the room. She walked back in a minute later to pick up her glass from his desk. “Oops forgot this.” She gave him a soft kiss and nipped his bottom lip before jumping out of his reach when he growled again at her.

  She took the glass back to the kitchen. Then walked to the main hallway to greet McKayla. “I was just telling Cole we were leaving. Well, that we were here and then leaving again.”

  “Okay. Are you ready?” McKayla let her eyes travel over Gwen’s body in appreciation. Gwen nodded.

  “Are you?” Gwen let her eyes run over McKayla too. McKayla had put on a flowing mid-thigh heart neckline dress that was bright yellow with nude heels.

  “Absolutely. We are gonna stop traffic.” McKayla laughed as they made their way to the elevators. “So, are you going to tell me where we are going now? And is this dress appropriate?”

  “No and yes.” Gwen gave her a cheesy grin. “
You just have to wait and see.”

  They took the elevator down to the garage then climbed in the car. Doug already knew where to take them so Gwen just sat back and let McKayla ponder their destination.

  Chapter 8

  The car pulled up a few minutes later in front of a swanky blues club that everyone had been talking about. Doug opened the door for them. McKayla got out first, followed by Gwen.

  “Blues, huh? That’s different.” McKayla made a face.

  “Hush. It’s supposed to be really amazing. I’ve never been here either so it’ll be a first for us together.” Gwen grasped McKayla’s hand and pulled her towards the entrance.

  Once inside they found a round booth in a secluded corner of the dimly lit room. There was a woman on stage singing a sultry song.

  “See it’s not so bad.” Gwen murmured as she cuddled closer to McKayla. The place was quite romantic with the dark red table cloths covering every table. The dark walls paired with the small candle on each table which provided most of the light. This wasn’t a place people came to if they were going to study the menu. It was too dim for that. Although they weren’t known for their food but instead for their entertainers. Gwen turned to face McKayla. “Right?”

  “It actually isn’t that bad.” McKayla softly smiled while brushing a few strands of Gwen’s hair back behind her ear. Her fingers tracked around the back of Gwen’s ear, then slowly down her neck. McKayla bit down on her bottom lip as her eyes followed her finger as it slipped down to the center of Gwen’s chest to find the valley between Gwen’s breasts. “I think it’s just perfect for what I have in mind.”

  “Mmm and what is that?” Gwen moaned. Her eyes locked on McKayla’s mouth. She tilted her head up and brushed her lips against McKayla’s.