I grabbed a flute of champagne as I was hauled along, knocking back half of the drink in one swallow. My mother’s lips tightened. Then she wreathed her face in smiles as we pulled to a stop in front of her intended target.
“Governor Bell, I’m sure you remember my daughter, Madison?” Her grasp loosened as she surged forward for the prerequisite air-kisses and faked polite introductions.
I glanced around for somewhere to place the glass, my attention snagging on Cole charging through the ballroom. My insides turned to liquid. He looked fantastic in his tux. And what lay underneath was just as flawless. I’d relived every memory of Cole in my mind a hundred times, each unforgettable moment paling to insignificance now he was here in the flesh. The tips of my fingers tingled with a longing to touch, to rediscover each perfect dimple, every dip of his stomach… Shivers of need spun down my spine.
Only to turn to ice when I realized he was heading for the exit. Leaving. Breath crushed from my lungs as a wave of disappointment collapsed over me. I snatched up another drink. Tipped it back.
A tiny part of me had hoped Cole might have come for me.
But he’d come because Jess had asked him to. She’d been hell-bent on attending the auction ever since I first mentioned the event. Somehow she’d managed to talk Cole into bringing her.
He’d come.
He’d seen.
And he didn’t care.
I shouldn’t either. I’d been the one to send him away.
But as Cole’s broad back disappeared through the crowd, I knew I didn’t want him to leave. Not without having the chance to talk to him one last time.
I huffed out a breath. Yes. I was being stupid. Nothing I said would give me the unquestionable trust and acceptance I was looking for…but I had to tell Cole how I felt. That I loved him.
Cole would throw it back in my face for sure, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I’d tell him, then I’d get on with my life. I would get over him. Eventually.
“Madison?” Mother called out in her fake, tinkling voice as I made my move to chase Cole down and tackle him with the truth. She pressed cold fingers against my arm. “People are staring.” She grated in my ear. “Don’t do this.”
“Do what?” I asked, fierce determination hidden behind a saccharin smile. “Go after the man I love?”
Mother hauled me away from the governor’s crowd. “I thought we’d covered this. You are way out of his league.”
I smiled. Out of his league? She had it all wrong, although she would never see it.
“He was expelled from school,” she continued, going for the kill-shot. “Is that what you want? A wannabe drug addict?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. I knew Cole had been in trouble at school, but I didn’t believe for one moment he’d been involved in drugs. He was too honest about himself for that. He would never willingly cede control. That was what I loved about him. I shot a quick glance across the room. Cole was nearly to the door.
“People change, Mom. You did when you left North Dakota. I’ve changed.” I removed her hand from my arm. “You can thank Cole for helping me see myself the way I really am.”
“So, you would give up all this.” This time it was my mother who laughed. “The money? The nice clothes?” Her smile turned nasty. “It’s all right now, when you think you’re in love. But it won’t last. You’ll be left, cold and alone, and all too late you’ll realize what you’ve lost.”
“It was too late the moment I met Cole,” I said. “I can’t be who you want me to be. I want my own life, with or without him.”
I walked away and didn’t look back.
“Madison St. James.” My mother’s voice hissed in the undertones of a whisper.
I started running, uncaring that I brushed guests aside, or that people shot me peculiar glances. For once, I couldn’t give a flying fuck what any of them thought. Not my mother. Not Governor Bell. None of them.
Only one person’s opinion mattered.
And he was disappearing out the door.
Chapter Thirty-one
Cole
From the corner of my eye, I caught a ripple of activity ruffling the crowd like wind through wheat grass. A tingle of heat burned between my shoulder blades. I halted and turned, eyes skipping through the faces until they lit on one.
Madison.
She drew to a stop, a hesitant look on her face.
Her expression of uncertainty caught at my heart and squeezed tight. I started toward her, drinking her in, drowning in the sea of emotions that rushed through me, too numerous to follow. Hope. Despair. Need. Want. Love.
I tracked her every movement while she made her way to me, reeling from the effect of being so close to her again. On stage, Madison had been too beautiful for words. Up close, she was a complete devastation. Her scent gripped me hard. She smelled just like she looked. Clean and fresh and mouthwateringly sweet. A sense of calm settled over me.
I cleared my throat. “I want to talk to you. About us.”
Now the moment was here, I didn’t know how to put everything I felt for Madison into words.
“About us?” One brow rose.
“I’ve been an idiot. A total fucking idiot.” The words tumbled out. I shook my head as her eyes widened. Shit. This wasn’t how I wanted to explain everything. Not here. Not like this. “Can we go somewhere else?” I suggested. “There’s a hotel close by we both know.”
A small frown bit into her forehead, her brows pulling together. The chill of defeat rolled over me. Despite running after me, she was reluctant to go any further. I rubbed at my chin, glancing around the room, trying to find the answer. My gaze lit on the spot Jess had been in not five minutes ago. She’d gone. Disappeared. And I didn’t even care. I was right where I needed to be. Now, I just had to convince Madison she was in the right place too. With the right person.
“Do you trust me?” I offered my hand, an invitation to join with me.
Madison hesitated a moment and I held my breath. Waiting.
She looked up at me, the hurt in her eyes so clear I felt it like a knife to the chest. “I think the question is more about whether you trust me.”
“With all of my heart.” My voice cracked as I spoke the words that had never been truer. I tightened my hand around hers, gripping so hard I was scared I would crush her fingers, yet unable to find the courage to let go.
“So, will you come with me?”
Her eyes met mine, dark and smoldering. “Yes.”
My heart started hammering and it wasn’t for fear of what to say anymore. The way Madison was looking at me, we needed to go. Now. Otherwise Patricia St. James might just get more of a spectacle than she bargained for.
It was Madison who guided me out through the dressing room. Mostly deserted, backstage was stark and bare away from the glamour of the ballroom. Giving into the temptation to touch, I put my arm around her back as we found our way outside. The brush of her skin was a sizzle of heat against my palm, sending a flurry of warmth to pool in my gut. Harden my cock.
My grip tightened and she looked up at me. The corners of her mouth curled upward and her breath blew against my cheek, sending shivers of desire scudding down my spine.
“I dreamed of you,” I told her.
“You’ve been in my thoughts too.”
“I don’t take it lightly, what you’ve done,” I started. My head was swimming, lightheaded with hope. I fumbled with words that should have come naturally, impatient to have her back in my arms and never let go. “I can see you’ve been struggling…to get away from your position. Your wealth…power…everything I thought I hated about you.” I tried to cup her face but she started to pull away. “I was wrong about that,” I tried to explain, conscious I was fucking it up. “I’m sorry. I’m trying to say I know what you meant, about the life you’re stuck in. Thomas and Logan too, no doubt.” I was surprised to feel a pang of sympathy for my cousin. And Logan. The man who had sent Madison rebounding into my arms. “I’ll be wit
h you, wherever you are. Whoever you choose to be. I don’t care if you’re Lady Madison or lowly Madison, you can live your life however you want, as long as I can be a part of it.” My voice faltered. “I need to be a part of it.”
Time and again, Madison had proved her belief in me. She had stepped up and claimed my heart. She deserved so much more than I could give her…but I’d spend a lifetime proving my worth if she’d let me.
“I see you for who you really are,” I said. I crushed Madison’s fingers, fearful she would run if I let go. “I feel who you are,” I whispered hoarsely.
Madison said nothing for a long moment. Then she reached up and pressed her lips to mine, our breath melding us together. It felt so good.
Right.
Before I could lose myself, Madison pulled back and slipped her fingers in mine. She looked up at me and squeezed my hand in return.
“I see you too,” she said.
And there was only truth between us.
Chapter Thirty-two
Madison
Hailing a cab was the easy part. Keeping my hands off Cole in the back seat?
Impossible.
Blood thudded hotly through my veins, my body flushed with heat. I turned my head to inhale his scent, spicy and succulent, drawing him deep into my lungs. I closed my eyes, running an exploratory finger down the center of his thigh. I felt his answering quiver and shifted in my seat as the ache inside my belly exploded into full-blown need.
Cole trapped my fingers against the hard muscles of his leg. So not helping. Another shaft of pleasure shuddered through me. He slipped his hand around the back of my neck and my mouth watered as he slowly lowered his head, inch by tantalizing inch, until he was only a whisper away. If I stretched up, the softness of his mouth would melt into mine. I could almost feel the lick of his tongue against my lips. Probing…stroking…tasting.
With a low moan, I lifted my head to close the distance. My fingers curled into his jacket, glad to have something to hold onto as Cole’s mouth crashed against me. He yanked me against the hardness of his chest, the heat of his erection smoldering through my dress, scorching a brand into my hip.
I was in flames, and Cole was both the ignition source and the cool salve to save me. I needed to touch him, but there was no room for me to get beneath his shirt. I found the column of his neck, seeking solace in the silky lengths of his hair. He stroked my hip, fingers running down to the slit in my dress.
I couldn’t hold back. I dug into his waistband, tugging at his shirt, desperate to find skin. I needed to reassure myself Cole was real, that I wasn’t going to wake up and find myself in a dream as I had on countless mornings since he’d left.
Tension relaxed as my fingers found the flat surface of his stomach. I roamed further, stretching to follow the line of his ribs, the curve of muscle just below his nipples.
“Mmm.” A hum of satisfaction purred from my lips.
Cole pulled back, his breath a ragged hiss, an expression close to pain clouding his features. He carefully extracted my hand from under his shirt. He kissed my fingertips, teeth scraping gently, making me squirm in my seat.
“The things I want to do to you.” His words were a caress, brushing against my breasts and between my thighs. I had come alive under his touch and it took all of my will to show restraint and not fling myself into his lap. “I can’t do them here. But soon,” he promised.
His pledge of fulfillment had to last me the rest of the short, torturous drive. I vowed I’d give Cole everything he wanted. Everything I had. Being without him had been agony. This was real.
We made short work of the trip to his hotel room door. Cole got busy finding a way into my gown while trying to swipe his card through the access reader. Only one of those actions was successful. Cool air hit my back as my dress gaped open.
If we didn’t get through the door, I had a feeling we’d end up on the floor. Naked. Right now. His mouth wandered along my collarbone and I drew a shuddering breath. Every inch of his body pressed into me. Wanting me.
“Cole. Door. Now,” I rasped.
The door pushed open and we were inside. I let my dress fall where I stood and stepped out of my panties. Behind me came a sharp intake of breath, then Cole moved to unclip my bra. My breasts swung free of the cups and he swung me around, lowering his head to capture my lips with a feather-light kiss.
“Perfect,” he murmured.
I stretched up, wanting to claim his mouth and be claimed. But Cole had other plans. I sank back onto my heels in frustration when he drew away.
“Patience.” He half-chuckled, half-growled, and I had the satisfaction of knowing he teased himself as much as me.
He reached for me again and this time it was me who stepped away.
“No. You now.”
Moving to the bed, my greedy gaze never left Cole as I sat down. I wanted him to strip out of his clothes, to see if reality matched my memory, which had painted a very sexy picture. I licked my lips as he complied with my wishes, easing out of his jacket. All the while, his stare lapped at my thighs.
“Open your legs. Let me see,” he ordered.
I let my thighs fall open and his lips parted as the glistening dampness of my pussy was exposed, my swollen clit. I skimmed my hands along the tops of my legs, holding back my own shiver of pleasure.
“The quicker you get undressed, the sooner you can be inside me,” I reminded him.
Cole’s shirt came off a lot quicker than his jacket had. And what was revealed was every bit as spectacular as I remembered. More so. I wanted to press my fingers into the dimples at his spine, trace every dip, each ridge that defined the outline of his hips.
Squeezing my hands together, I tried not to give into temptation. My body ached, heat and damp creating a sensuous slide against my clitoris as I wriggled impatiently. Waiting. Until the last item of clothing lay in a heap on the floor.
Cole stepped within reach. I wrapped my feet around his calves to pull him closer, watching his skin raise into a rash of goose bumps as I trailed fingers along his stomach. His cock stood proudly and I wanted to taste it, to lick along its length and make him come. Violently. I rolled my eyes to look up at him in silent question.
“No.” Cole shook his head. “I need you now. Fast. Then you can do whatever you like.”
I gripped his hand. There was something else I wanted for tonight.
“I use contraception. I-I’ve always used condoms and get regular checks.” My face heated, but I ploughed on regardless. “If…if you trust me?”
A sweet, sexy smile stole over his face. “No question.”
My chest filled with warmth, a heady feeling that stripped away the last of my doubts and fears. I hadn’t needed to hear it to see the truth—I’d seen it in Cole’s expression the moment I stepped in front of him—but the sound of those words meant more than I could ever explain. I felt like I’d waited a lifetime for this one perfect moment.
“No holding back.” Shivers of anticipation danced across my skin and I ran my fingers up his sides, pulling him forward at the same time I moved back. We collapsed together on the bed, skin against skin all the way.
“No holding back.” Cole growled his agreement.
My senses spun. I wanted him. Every cell in my body ached for Cole like a burn that scalded my insides. Wherever he touched, my flesh tightened, sending quivers of delight shooting through me. My nipples hardened, desperate for his fingers to find the sensitive, aching nubs.
I pressed forward, arching my back, wanting him to engulf me with his heat, to bury his head at my breasts, his cock deep inside me. Little sounds of pleasure rose like bubbles from my throat as I tried to articulate what I needed from him.
“Soon.” I felt rather than heard the words against my mouth.
When he finally eased back, we were both breathless. Cole’s eyes were molten ice, the palest of blue with irises of the deepest black. He delved down to my pussy and slipped a finger inside. I opened myself up, giving in
to the mindless pleasure as he eased in another.
“God. So wet.” A shudder racked him and he shifted between my legs, his cock a searing heat against my thigh. “This is going to be fast.”
“Don’t care. Do it. Now.” My words were a slur, turning to a gasp as he positioned his cock and pushed inside.
It was the most intensely powerful feeling to have his unsheathed length entering me on a slow glide.
“I have to see,” I demanded, wanting to savor each exquisite moment.
Cole pushed to his knees. Locked tight inside me, he lifted my ass as he slowly withdrew. I looked down the length of my body and could see his cock slide out, coated in my juices. He stopped as the bulb of his head breached my sex, eased back into me again.
“You feel so fucking good.”
I could only say one word. “More.”
He swung my legs up to rest on his shoulders, finding purchase as I dug my hands into the sheets.
“Please,” I groaned.
Maybe it was the please that did it, or maybe Cole couldn’t hold back any longer, but no sooner had the plea left my mouth, than he let go of all control, thrusting into me again. And again. Long strokes that filled me, swept me up, completed me.
I burrowed my fingers into the bed, my hips writhing with the quickening tempo, drunk with mindless pleasure.
“Yes. Yes. That’s it. Yes,” Cole urged me on, driving into me.
A long moan eased through my throat, interweaving with the hard slaps of my ass slamming into his thighs as he gripped my legs with bruising strength. I held on with everything I had, heavy tingles gathering in my stomach as the tension built.
Cole’s attention was riveted on my face, his eyelids fluttering closed as pleasure hit him hard. The sight, the sound, the scent, the slide of his cock as he drove deep became too much. I screamed Cole’s name, although I couldn’t hear any sound over the roar of air as my world exploded around me. I was pure sensation, spiraling outward, shattering everything in my path as I let go.
The Rebound (One Night Stand Series Book 2) Page 16
