I fought to stop my eyes from closing, to halt my lips from nuzzling against the roughness of his palm.
I jerked away, half-choking on the answer. “N-no.”
His blue-eyed gaze met mine and for a split-second, his mask dropped.
“Because they smell of you.” A ring of honesty circled his words and he looked away.
I knew exactly how he felt, recalling my own earlier excursion into my panties. Lust that had been simmering below the surface, reignited. I looked up, expecting to see the smug little smile brushing at the corners of his lips…only to find nothing but the intensity of matching desire. His mouth softened. A mouth I knew was imminently, insatiably kissable.
I slammed my eyes shut.
“That’s just creepy,” I rasped, pulling on my dwindling willpower to push him away. I stumbled for the safety of my bedroom.
Low, sexy laughter dogged every step. “Tell yourself what you have to, but we both know what’s going on here.” His words chased me across the living room.
I hid behind my door, my heart pounding. Yes. I knew exactly what lay between us. Money. Power. Suspicion. For all Cole might fancy a repeat of the other night, the fact remained he couldn’t care less about me. He’d relegated me to the couch, had me cook dinner like a housemaid, all to humiliate me—to take me down a peg or two.
But he still wanted me. And despite everything I knew about Cole, it brought me a little comfort to know he didn’t hate me so much his desire had disappeared.
And underneath the brashness and innuendo, I had to admit, Cole was proving to be a good man. While it was hard to reconcile his behavior with me, his patient treatment of his prickly sister painted a different story.
I leaned my head against the door. All I had to do was survive one more night with Cole. For whatever reason, he’d given me the breathing space I needed to fix my life, so I didn’t have to run back to my mother. Or Logan. All I had to do was put on an outward show for one more night.
It shouldn’t be hard. I had spent a lifetime perfecting my act.
I straightened my shoulders and shook out the last of my tension. This was what I’d been born to do, to play the part and present myself as a calm, confident, well-bred woman. No matter my insides were jelly, set quivering every time Cole came within five feet. The trick was to remember no one else knew that except me.
I locked myself in the bathroom for a long, leisurely shower, taking my time to wash my hair and scrub down every inch of my body until it glowed with freshness. Only when I felt truly clean did I step out from under the water and build up the layers of my outward appearance. Each sweep of the brush boosted my confidence, each dab of lotion, every stroke of moisturizer against my skin. Until I oozed poise and composure from my perfectly exfoliated pores.
A pity it was wasted on an empty apartment.
I told myself it was a relief to be left on my own. I had never had sleepovers with girlfriends and Patricia wouldn’t be seen dead at anything less than five star. But as I looked around the room, it did seem empty. Despite the mess.
I bit back a smile. The Langford siblings knew how to fill a space, their belongings sprawled across my lounge as if they owned it, discarded wrappers and debris scattered on every available surface. But instead of irritation, I found myself humming as I wiped crumbs off the bench and put cushions back in the right place. Thank God I’d let the cleaner go last week. Danika wouldn’t have known what to do if she’d had to actually clean something.
With the apartment restored to reasonable order, I pulled out a blank notebook from my polished cherry wood desk. Cole had given me a job and I intended to do my best to fulfill it.
First, I spent an hour researching local trails and city walks, mapping out routes Jess could take in my area. Once I’d exhausted all of those possibilities, I considered other places of interest. There was a pool and mineral spa nearby that Jess might find therapeutic and my gym membership was alive for another six months. Jess could go as a plus one once I figured out her capabilities.
Something I needed to understand before I planned anything further. When Cole came home before Jess, it provided the perfect opportunity for me to discuss Jess’s physical limitations in private.
“What’s this?” Cole was surprised when I started reading through my notes and asking questions.
“You’re paying me to do a job,” I reminded him.
He raised his brow. “So there are things you take seriously besides handbags and shoes?”
The comment stung. “Don’t presume to know everything about me,” I said coldly.
The smile gave Cole away. “It’s okay. I get it.” He put up his hands, his expression sobering. “And I think it’s great the way you’re trying to stand on your own two feet.”
“This is hardly standing on my own two feet,” I scoffed.
“Oh, I don’t know.” He nodded towards the notebook. “I’d say you’re doing a thorough job.”
His gaze wandered over me for a second, more detailed appraisal. Awareness followed the path of his stare, heat flickering between us as if his fingers scorched a path across my skin. Something sparked in the depths of his ice-blue eyes, his stare slowly changing from thoughtful, to intrigued…to hunger. I felt it licking between my breasts, smoldering in my belly. I tightened my grip on my pen.
“Very thorough,” he purred.
His approval made me feel good. Desired. Deserving.
It felt good to be recognized as more than just a show pony. I clicked the nib of my pen in and out.
Cole edged closer, each small step intensifying my reaction to him, until I thought I’d explode into flames. Was he going to kiss me? God, I hoped he was going to kiss me. The pen stuck to suddenly clammy hands.
“Would you be just as meticulous in taking care of me?” he whispered.
Reality crashed in, extinguishing my desire in an icy cold wash. I struggled for breath, knowing Cole thought of me as an object to look out for his sister, but hell, if he could get a little extra thrown in…
“Madison?” The smile disappeared from Cole’s face.
My fingernails bit into the softness of my palm as I struggled to tamp down the hurt welling up like blood from a cut.
“Thank you for your offer,” I said, super-sweet. “I’m sure you can understand if I’m not interested in overtime. I have better things to do.”
Cole’s stare narrowed and his lips tightened into a frown. I didn’t wait around to hear his response. It was better to believe he was being an asshole.
I grabbed my gym bag from the closet and flew out of the apartment, feeling the burn of his attention all the way out of the door.
A few thousand miles on a treadmill would help. Because a part of me—a very big part—had wanted to say yes to Cole, regardless of what he thought.
I hit the gym hard, pounding out a harsh rhythm on the treadmill until sweat trickled between my breasts, tracking like tears down my cheeks. And while the exercise helped hold back the tide of sexual energy, it did nothing to extinguish the fire burning in my belly for a certain blond-haired devil.
The couch managed to make itself even more uncomfortable the second time around.
I shifted restlessly, trying to find an angle which supported my aching neck and kept the blood circulating to my feet. I was in the process of re-bunching my pillow for the third time when the door to my bedroom eased open. I froze mid-gather as Cole’s silhouette filled the doorway and slammed my eyes shut, pretending to sleep.
There was a slight rustle. A scuffle of feet on the carpet. Silence.
I slitted my eyelids open. Shit. I rocketed upward.
Cole stood not two feet away, his arms folded over his chest—his very naked chest—staring down at me. I clamped my mouth shut, swallowing back the soft moan of temptation and squeezed my eyes closed.
“You’re interrupting my sleep,” he stated.
“Then you shouldn’t have taken my beeee…argh.” The rest of my sentence never made it past my lips wh
en Cole scooped me into his arms. “What are you doing?” I yelped.
“Shh.”
In the time it took for the shock to wear off and my limbs to start working again, Cole had reached my bedroom and dumped me on the bed. I scrambled to get off, but Cole was quick, diving after me, wrapping me in his arms and pulling me hard against him. His breath rasped in my hair, his heartbeat a wild tempo I could feel pulsing through my back.
What the… Was he…spooning me?
“Seriously. What are you doing?” My heart pounded and my voice rose. It wasn’t indignation. The heat of his body along my spine ignited fires in all kinds of interesting places. I renewed my efforts to escape and he slung a leg over the top of my thighs, pinning me down.
“I’m giving us both a good night’s sleep,” he said firmly. “Now hold still or you’ll stir things up.” Cole flexed his hips and the hard shaft of his cock pressed into my buttocks. I froze.
“That’s right. Settle down, or believe me, neither of us will get any rest.” His voice rumbled through my back, his words a dark promise I had no doubt he would fulfill.
Like that would help me relax. Too scared to move, I lay like a rock in Cole’s arms, trying to regulate my breathing to resemble anything normal. I couldn’t. Not with Cole virtually on top of me. The slightest touch of his skin against mine was like a mini explosion of heat, slivers of lust arcing through my belly every time he took a breath. My nipples ached to be touched, the rough press of his fingers a brand at my side. Two more inches and those same fingers would graze my breast. Ease the ache.
A small sigh escaped, refusing to be held in.
“What’s the matter now?” His grip on my hip tightened imperceptibly.
I stifled another sigh. He wanted a list?
“You’re on my side,” I hissed.
I could feel his smile in the darkness. And it riled me more.
“I’ll trade,” he offered, his fingers tapping out a tempting tattoo. “Switch sides for one kiss.”
I sank my teeth into my lower lip to stop the sound of my panting. Liquid heat prickled at my sex, hormones heading south to join the party, and I fought the urge to clamp my thighs together. Every movement, every breath was a reminder how much I wanted Cole. I bit down harder, concentrating on the sharpness of the pain until it was all I could feel.
“No way.” I croaked. “I’ll stay where I am, thank you very much.”
Cole gave a throaty chuckle and gathered me closer. “Wise choice, Princess. Now, go to sleep.”
Chapter Fifteen
Madison
Hot. So hot.
I skimmed my hands across warm, muscled skin. In the safety of my dream, it seemed only natural for my lips to follow. Mmm. Skin tasting of warm subtle spices. My satisfied moan was answered by a low, sexy murmur.
I paused, thoughts pressing in through the fugue…then hands tangled to dance in my hair, pulling me back to the sensual expanse of skin. So good. My nipples were achingly tight and I rubbed against the fantasy body molded to mine, giving up trying to make sense of my dream.
Hot breath puffed at my hair, the rigid brand of an erection pushing into my belly. I wriggled against the silken smoothness, luxuriating in the feel of hard and soft. I slid down, needing to feel the heat of his cock sliding into my mouth, to hear Cole’s gasp of breath as I pleasured him.
Cole. My eyes sprang open, unable to convince myself it was a dream any longer.
“Madison?” The man in question uttered my name, half-harsh plea, half-question.
Scrambling out of bed, I tangled in the sheets to land on the floor with a solid thud. Pain flared in my hip and Cole’s head popped over the side.
“Get back up here,” he growled wickedly.
“No way.” I tried to scoot away, but he was beside me before I could unravel myself from the bedding.
He scooped me up. “Uh-uh. No. You don’t get off that easy.” His gaze was filled with desire. Hot, burning desire.
My insides melted to a warm gooey puddle, an answering flare of need squeezing the breath from my lungs. Kisses scorched across my cheek, and I couldn’t help but release a small sigh of pleasure as my traitorous body gave in. I couldn’t blame it. After being in Cole’s arms all night, it was begging for his touch. It wanted what it wanted. And it wanted Cole.
“You started, so I get to finish,” he growled, his mouth fever-hot and hungry.
He lowered me to the bed and quickly followed, pushing up my nightshirt, his hands shaking with impatience to get me naked. He settled his lips on by breast, and I let out a gasp as his tongue swirled and danced around my nipple, licking and sucking at the aching peak. First one. Then the other.
This was better than anything I could have dreamed and I couldn’t deny Cole anything as hot, wet kisses landed on my belly. One. Two. Three. On a downward path of rediscovery. My breath rasped embarrassingly loud, but I didn’t care. He brushed work-roughened thumbs across my mouth-softened nipples and pleasure arced like lightning, straight to my sex, soaking my panties. Clever fingers slid over sensitive skin to settle in the hollow of my waist.
“Touch me.”
His husky demand released me from any lingering shackles of self-restraint and I attacked, finding the smooth skin I’d been craving, roaming across the expanse of his chest, finding all of the secret places that had lived in my fantasies. Lips. Tongue. Hands. I couldn’t get enough. I lapped at his nipples, nuzzled at his throat, digging my fingers into that firm, muscled ass as I rubbed against the coarse hair feathering his chest.
Cole abandoned his attempt to tease me and we both got caught in the pleasurable frenzy of skin against skin. He pushed his cock into my mound, imitating the act we were both desperate for. My legs parted on a moan as he slipped his hand into my panties and found my wetness. He ran his finger up and down my slit, drawing moisture up to coat my clit until it was slippery with juices.
I flexed my hips. Inviting. Begging. I wanted him. All of him. Inside me. Now. But I couldn’t formulate the words. My mind was a tangle of desire and heat and erotic need.
Still, Cole understood my silent message. I pointed to the bedside cabinet and his movements became focused as he rummaged inside for condoms, sheathed himself…
“Ready?”
I didn’t answer, just drove my hips upward, groaning with heartfelt enjoyment as the blunt head of his cock breached my entrance. He drove forward, his hard length a pleasurable shock that filled me in one long thrust. I hooked my legs around his hips to lock him in, rocking against him. He buried his head in my shoulder, his guttural moan lost in the curve of my neck.
“Oh, fuck. Yes.” He slid his hand under my ass, tilting me to the perfect position so he could pound the living fuck out of me.
I met every thrust, sweet, dizzying sensations building, layering one on top of another. The exquisite slide of his cock as he drove deep, his soft grunt of pleasure punctuating the slap of his balls against my ass. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, another rush of pleasure would rise up to swamp me, pulling me back under until I was nothing but a swirl of sensation. There was no warning, no time to prepare as an orgasm the size of a Mack truck slammed through me, so intense tears squeezed from my eyes.
“Cole. Oh God. Cole. Cole.” Words formed to tumble from my mouth.
“Yeah. That’s it. Give it to me.” Cole yelled out, ramming his cock deep as he welded his body to mine with the scent of sex and sweat. His head dropped to my shoulder, his chest heaving while he tried to regain his breath.
“That’s what I’ve been waiting for,” he growled, satisfaction brimming in his voice.
I had to agree. This had been coming since the moment we’d seen each other again.
“At least I’m doing something right,” I chuffed out a laugh.
The next moment I let out a squeal as Cole rolled, taking me with him until I was tucked into the crook of his shoulder. He twisted to look at me, pushing back a lock of hair from my forehead.
“More than something,” he said warmly. “I appreciate what you’re doing for Jess.”
Heat stained my cheeks from the unexpected compliment. “Well, it is my first real job.” I grinned shyly. “I want to make sure I do it well.”
Cole blinked. “Really? Your first?” Now he really started to laugh. “I forgot this is all new to you.”
“What? Being poor and at the mercy of others?” I snorted softly. “Hardly.” I looked up at Cole’s puzzled expression. “I didn’t start out as Madison St. James, you know.”
“The Madison St. James?” His eyes flashed with amusement. “I think I’ve heard of her.”
I rolled my eyes, wishing I’d kept my mouth shut. Confessing to unemployment did nothing to make me look better to Cole, and I was struck again by how much I wanted him to think well of me.
“I do a lot of charity work,” I defended my style of living. It wasn’t like I’d swanned around doing late lunches and getting my nails done. Much. “I’m often called on to model clothes and jewelry for auctions, or just turn up as their poster girl. Mother likes me to be available to promote her charities.”
“I’m sure she does,” Cole said dryly. “One must be seen doing the right thing. A pity charity never seems to start at home.” He shifted his arms to clasp his hands behind his head. “So how did she take it when you told her you had a real job?”
I frowned. “Helping Jess hardly qualifies as a job. It’s not like she needs a babysitter.”
In fact, Jess was so obviously not an invalid, I’d begun to suspect Cole had set this up more to help me. And to get me back into his bed…not that I was complaining.
“So you haven’t told her?” Cole queried softly. When I shook my head, his gaze narrowed. “Does she think you’re still with Logan?”
I froze, his dangerous tone causing fingers of ice to drizzle between my shoulder blades. “I have to let her think that, otherwise she’d make me move back to Baltimore.”
“So, you’re still lying.” Cole’s voice was flat. Emotionless.
I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. To see the disappointment on his face. I sat up and fumbled for my top, the chill in the air palpable.
The Rebound (One Night Stand Series Book 2) Page 8
