by Nana Malone
“Go ahead,” Jen said, throwing back the remainder of her margarita. “I’m Emmalee,” she introduced herself, and then nodded to Echo. “She’s Cece. Do you mind if we come with you and thank your friends for the drinks? It’s getting crowded on this side of the room and I guess the band is going to start soon.”
Echo nervously drained the rest of her drink in time for the bartender to hand her a new one. She was feeling warm, but it wasn’t an entirely unpleasant feeling. She could let loose. Have fun. How hard could that be? She was still steady on her feet as she once again, followed Jen’s lead.
Introductions were made all around, and Echo was forced to admit to herself that Jen had been right about the booze helping her loosen up and embrace the role of Cecelia Sullivan.
It also helped when it was clear no one recognized her for the Coulter she was. It took her a moment to put the names to the faces and understand that the group of friends were at the bar celebrating something. But there was one set of eyes that made her nervous whenever she met them.
“Cole here, starts a flashy new job in a couple days,” Dylan said, giving his friend a hard slap on the back.
“Congratulations,” Echo said with a smile as she raised her glass in Cole’s direction.
Cole’s intense gaze stayed on her as he nodded his thanks and tipped his beer in her direction. The hairs on her arm stood, and a shiver ran through her. Their eyes remained locked on each other for a few extra beats before they both looked away. Echo couldn’t shift her focus, though. She could practically feel him.
She analyzed him from her peripheral vision. She was five-ten and Cole was taller. He was lean like she was, the muscles of his forearms prominent where he rested them on the surface of the table. She could only assume the rest of him was equally muscular, though she couldn’t see it.
Her skin heated as she tried hard to focus on the conversation around them. His dark hair was short, but slightly curly. And despite having had that peek at his eyes, she couldn’t tell if they were really as dark as she thought, or if it was the dim lighting of the club.
The lights shifted above them, and everything was suddenly focused on the band, the notes of their first song cutting through the chatter and commanding the attention of the room. People began to drift to the open space, swaying to the music, a few engaging in what could only be called simulated sex…or dancing.
Cole leaned forward and Echo forced herself to breathe. Why was it suddenly so difficult? “Want to dance?” Her heart hammered against her ribs. She didn’t normally dance. She always did the safe thing. For once she didn’t want to be safe.
“Okay. Sure.”
Four
Echo hadn’t really thought through what it would mean to dance on Jen’s borrowed heels. Cole pulled her close, his hands pressing into her hips. Unlike her, he moved naturally, bringing her close so their bodies fit together like puzzle pieces. A shiver ran down her spine as his hands tightened on her hips.
“You don’t talk much, do you?” she asked, a nervous tremor running through her voice.
“You don’t either,” Cole said. They slipped farther from the main crowd on the floor towards the bar.
“I talk more than you, and I was pretty chatty when it was just Emmalee and me over at the bar,” She said. “Or didn’t you notice?”
“Oh, I noticed,” he nodded, his eyes holding hers. “You’re sort of hard to ignore.”
What was it about him? Finding it hard to breathe, she broke eye contact and looked up at the stage where the band was winding down the first song and transitioning into their second. The lead singer took a quick sip of water from a bottle he kept on the floor in front of the drummer’s gear.
Cole saw too much. That had to be it.
“So, how come you look like you want to go home? For the man of the hour, you don’t seem to be celebrating as hard as everyone else.”
“Dylan’s friends. And I guess I’m not really into the celebration.” He shrugged.
The beat of the new song was livelier and easier to move to. It was easy to be in his arms. He was warm and hard, and smelled like the ocean. Her body swayed into his, and he held her tighter as a ripple of desire coursed through her.
“My job’s just an excuse. They wanted a night out. I, however, am less enthusiastic. Dylan practically had to drag me out of my apartment.”
“So the fancy new job isn’t as fancy as they think?” she asked.
“The people I’ll be working for are fancy. Not me,” Cole told her. “But I need the gig.” He changed the subject. “What is it you do? Are you a model or something? You’re tall enough.”
Echo flushed, though she knew it was probably a calculated compliment, as opposed to a genuine observation. “I’m flattered, but no. Not a model. I am a fashion designer, though. Well I hope to be, someday. Have to make it through classes first.” For the first time, saying her dream out loud didn’t feel wrong or selfish. “Got accepted to design school—that’s why Emmalee and I are out tonight.”
“Congratulations,” Cole said. “Can a guy get an invite to your first show?”
She laughed. “You just want to ogle models.”
His chuckle was low and mellow. “More like the designer.”
Flushing, she asked, “So if it wasn’t your idea to come out tonight, what did Dylan say to finally convince you?”
She turned the conversation back to him. She didn’t want to dwell on the fact that, while classes might be starting in just a few weeks, that didn’t mean she was going to be attending.
Cole considered. “You know guys. He said I needed a drink to calm my nerves about the new gig. And by drink he meant pretty girl. Maybe you. I’m paraphrasing here.”
Echo covered her mouth with her hand and widened her eyes in mock exaggeration. “A guy going out to try to get lucky…the shock of it all.”
He laughed. “Bar scene’s not really my thing. I like things a little more organic.”
Echo was pleasantly surprised that instead of freezing, his confession made her flush. After all, wasn’t that why she’d come out? She liked Cole. Well, maybe ‘liked’ wasn’t right. She hardly knew him. But she did like how she felt in his arms. The way he smelled. The low timbre of his voice. She wanted him. And while Echo might hesitate to go after what she wanted, Cece wouldn’t let anything stop her.
“So tell me. What do you want?”
Cole pinned her with an intense stare. “I want to know how you taste. I’ve been obsessing about your lips since I saw you at the bar.”
Echo smiled up at him. “You use that line on all the girls?”
His chuckle was low. “No, actually. In case you didn’t notice, I have zero game at all.”
He was kidding, right? Guys like Cole didn’t need game. His intensity, coupled with his good looks and awkward charm, was enough. All of it made her nerve endings stand up and pay attention. There was a steely core to him and she found that strangely appealing, considering how much she hated being bossed around. But Cole didn’t seem domineering, he just seemed like no one was leading him anywhere he wasn’t already intent on going. “I don’t know about all that. You seem like you’re doing just fine.”
“Maybe I have some Cece-specific game.”
“Yeah, that’s it.” She ducked her head and hid her smile. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Well, seeing as we’re pressed up against each other, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be, it seems like the price of admission. Go ahead.”
“You don’t seem like you’re having fun for real. Why not?”
“Well, I’ve known Dylan for a long time, but I usually do the lone-wolf thing. Except for with my brother.”
“I can understand that. How old’s your brother? I have four, myself.”
“Four? Wow. Alex is twenty. I left him at school to come and take the job here. It’s just us, so…” his voice trailed off.
“You miss him.” It wasn’t a question.
His gaze
narrowed. “You are very good at that.”
“What?”
“Getting people to talk when they don’t want to.”
“Call it my superpower. I’ve been honing it for years. But don’t worry, I use my powers for good and not evil.”
“Seriously, are you real?” he asked as he cocked his head and studied her.
Echo laughed. “You can’t feel me in your arms?”
“It’s just—” He stopped abruptly, then took a deep breath. “I get this feeling you can see everything I’m feeling and thinking. It’s unsettling.”
“Then I probably shouldn’t tell you that I see that thing you’re trying to hide in the back of your mind. You should probably put that under lock and key.” She winked at him and his bark of laughter made the butterflies in her belly dance.
“Tell me Cece, did you see me thinking about this?”
He bent his head, and slid his lips over hers. The contact was light but potent. Drugging. As if she’d been hit with something strong enough to blur her mind.
Cole waited a hair of a second and started to pull back.
But for the first time in her life, Echo didn’t overthink, she just followed her instinct. With a sigh, she melted against him, chasing his lips with hers.
She felt, rather than heard, the low grumble from his chest as he angled his head, deepening the kiss and delving his tongue inside to tease hers.
One lick of his tongue and she was in no condition to think. No condition to be rational. All she wanted was more of Cole.
His hands slid down her back, pressing her even closer to him, making her all too aware of every muscle of his every movement, every pulse of his erection.
Holy hell, the man could kiss.
His hands tightened on her hips and he pulled back slightly. “You are so fucking beautiful.”
Echo couldn’t breathe. “Thank you.” She didn’t know what else to say to get him to kiss her again. But it was what she wanted. No, needed. So she did what she was prone to doing, and blurted out the words. “Do you want to get out of here?”
Cole leaned his forehead against hers as he dragged in deep breaths. “You’re sure you’re okay with that? What about your friend? Doesn’t she need—?”
“I’m sure. And she drove,” Echo interrupted. “She’ll be fine. She switched to water a while ago. I’ll just say goodbye.”
“Okay. I’ll get us an Uber. Meet me outside in five?” Doubt lingered in his voice.
“I’ll see you out there.” She nodded firmly. She wanted this.
He slipped away while she went to grab Jen.
“Where’d Cole go?” One of the men whose names Echo couldn’t keep straight asked when she returned alone.
She shrugged. “Bathroom? Anyway, I need a word with Emmalee,” she explained, taking Jen by the hand and pulling her off to a corner.
When they were out of sight of the table, she explained that she was leaving with Cole. “I’ll be safe about everything, I promise. I’ll let you know where his apartment is when I find out, and I’ll be at your door in the morning, my normal bright-eyed and bushy-tailed self.”
“You’re sure about this?”
“I am. I’m fine. I promise.”
“Go forth and burn that V-card to the ground. You know the drill, text me his addy,” Jen urged. “Have your fun. You’ve earned it.” Jen winked as she gave Echo a push towards the exit.
Five
At his apartment, Cole didn’t bother flipping on the lights before he had Cece up against the wall just inside the door of his apartment, his lips pressed to hers, his tongue sliding into her mouth.
What was wrong with him? Where was his control with this girl? His hands were everywhere, skimming her breasts, sliding beneath the coat she wore to explore the bare terrain of her back, drifting south to cup her ass and pull her against his rigid erection.
Shit. Easy. Relax. Control the situation. But kissing her again was an accelerant to the embers stoked at the bar. She arched against him, her legs sliding apart in anticipation and need. She ran her hands up his torso and around his neck, twining into his hair, and gave a tug. Oh shit. The pulse of need hit him like a fist.
“Slow down, baby. I don’t want us going too fast.”
Cole staggered back and shut the door, as Cece tugged off her jacket and smiled at him. He laughed quietly, taking her hand and moving ahead of her in the short entryway to his apartment.
“Kitchen’s right there,” he nodded to a narrow space that could fit two people, so long as they didn’t attempt to move past one another. There wasn’t much to see. Just a fridge, a few cabinets, and a sink as well as an open space above the counter that served as a breakfast bar. Two tall stools were on the other side, tucked under so they wouldn’t be in the way of the stacked boxes he had yet to unpack. The kitchen wasn’t what he wanted to show her anyway.
“This is the living room,” he told her. “You have to go through the bedroom to get to the bathroom.”
“Is that so you have an excuse to get girls into your bedroom?” she teased.
“No, but it might end up being an unexpected perk,” he laughed. “That’s actually everything, though. Oh, wait, I think I missed the coat closet by the front door. Do you want me to start over?”
Cece shook her head, laughing. “Nope. I got the gist.” She shifted on her feet as she quickly tapped out a text, then tossed her phone and her little clutch purse on his couch.
Was she rethinking this? “I should have asked you if you wanted something to drink,” he said. “I haven’t had a chance to go to the store to get more than just the basics, but—” She shook her head, but met his gaze as she took deliberate steps toward him.
“I’d like a personal tour of the bedroom, please,” she whispered. In her heels, she was about eye-level with him.
Her scent and her proximity made it hard to think. “You sure about this?”
She nodded and he took her hand, leading her into the bedroom. She leaned in and kissed him, slowly at first, but when his hands slid along the bare skin of her back, their kissing became more desperate. For fuck’s sake, he couldn’t figure out just how the strings across the back of her top kept it on her body. “I swear this was made to thwart men.”
She laughed, and pushed him gently away, raising her hands to the knot at the back of her neck. “Here you go.” Instantly, the fabric sagged, but didn’t drop.
Her breasts, high and firm, beckoned to him. Begging him to touch them, taste them, fuck them. Damn, thinking with his brain was impossible right about now.
“Remember…we’re taking our time…enjoying each bit of this.”
She tugged lightly, and the knot came free, the upper half of her navy top falling forward, leaving her breasts exposed. Jesus, so beautiful. “Make sure we hit all the bases.”
Cece stepped closer again, and pressed her bared flesh against him.
Cole’s hands slid down her sides to her hips as he pulled her against him again and kissed her, his tongue easily parting her lips in search of hers. She slipped her hands around his neck, her fingers teasing the hair at the base of his skull, while one of his hands began wandering once more, gliding over the sleek fabric of her falling shirt to caress her breast.
She fit easily into his palm, and her nipple hardened against his hand. Oh, God. Still kissing her, he directed her back towards the bed, his hand never leaving her breast as he kneaded the soft flesh.
With each step, the flimsy top slipped farther down her body, until she stepped out of it altogether. Damn, he needed to taste her. Cole laid her on her back across his bed, and leaned over her to replace his hand with his mouth.
Hovering just over her breast, he blew warm air over her skin until she arched. His first taste was heaven, the next was pure bliss.
Her fingers slid into his hair as his tongue teased her nipples, first one, then the other. Using his teeth, he grazed the sensitive skin until each stiff peak puckered. Then he licked his way down to the
shallow valley between them, and then farther down to her navel.
His hands shook, and he dragged in ragged breaths, as he undid the buttons on her jeans and peeled them away from her muscular legs, along with her panties, planting sporadic kisses along the inside of her thigh, the space behind her knee, the muscle of her calf. He paused with her pants around her ankles so he could remove and toss her heels aside.
They hit the floor with a soft thud, and he tried to focus and rein in the need. Control. He had to get control with this girl. He was going to lose it if he didn’t go slow, and then they’d be over before they began.
He eased her legs apart, and his breath caught at the sight of her soft, pink skin already wet and slick. He frowned when she tried to sit up. “No. You’re beautiful. I want to taste you.”
She sucked in a shuddering breath and scored her bottom lip with her teeth. “Uh—oh—okay. But you don’t have to.”
“Are you kidding? I’ve been imagining how you taste since I saw you.”
She swallowed hard then nodded, and Cole released the breath he’d been holding. He’d been worried she didn’t want him to put his mouth on her, and given how desperate he was for just one taste, he needed her to say yes. He leaned down to kiss her again, his thumb caressing her cheek as he did.
She tasted so damn good. A combination of her lip gloss, her drink, and her. Just tasting her mouth drove him half crazy. Control, asshole. Find your damned control.
Usually, he had no problem with control. That had always been a complaint with women he’d dated. He was never out of control. He was too measured. And that was true to a point. But with Cece…? The energy and excitement vibrated inside him, dying to be let out, and he fought to hold onto those reins. She wasn’t exactly tense, but there was something skittish about her, and he wanted to make this good.
