by Sarah Hegger
Tired of his slow pace, she cupped his nape and dragged his mouth to hers. “You talk too much.”
He let her take command of the kiss, hanging back and letting her explore him.
The sense of power surged through her blood, and Ellie sat up and unbuttoned his shirt. She spread the sides away from his lovely flesh like it was her own special present.
Cole was a sensory delight and she ran her hand from the dark, flat discs of his nipples, over the ridges of his belly to his waistband. She retraced her caress and tugged at his shirt. “Off.”
He sat up and shrugged out of his shirt. “Now what?”
He was hers to do with as she chose, and Ellie straddled his thighs.
Cole sucked in a breath and gripped her hips. “I thought I was the guide.”
“I learn fast.” Ellie pressed her mouth to the hot skin of his neck. Through her robe, his chest pressed hot and hard, and she gloried in the differences between them, tormenting herself by brushing her nipples over his chest.
“Ellie.” He groaned her name. “You feel better than I imagined.”
Tugging at her robe, he slid both palms over her bare thighs.
His hands on her skin only made her crave more. “Yes, Cole.” She nipped at his bottom lip. “More, Cole.”
“More like this?” His hands slid up her thighs and gripped her bare bottom.
“Yes, Cole.”
At the apex of her thighs his erection pressed, a bold reminder of his desire.
Ellie rotated her hips against him.
He groaned and threw his head back. “Jesus, Ellie. You need to slow down.”
“You need to hurry up.” She went right on tormenting them both. “You’re not the only one who’s been waiting.”
He gripped her bottom tighter and moved.
Suddenly, Ellie was on her back, staring up at him before she knew what he was about.
He tugged open the edges of her robe. “Ah, Ellie.” He gazed down at her, taking in every inch of exposed skin. “You sure are something sweet.”
Under the heat of his stare, she felt more beautiful than she had in her entire life. He looked at her as if he wanted to consume her.
He stroked the flat plane of her belly and cupped her hip. His touch branded her skin, marked her as his in the same way his gaze did.
Pressing her back into the bed, he kissed her. This kiss was gentler, like he was savoring her. His hand stroked her thigh to her knee and pressed at the crook of her knee.
Ellie bent her leg for him, and his hand swept up to her hip again.
He pulled her leg over his hip, the soft wool of his trousers stroking her overheated skin.
He’d taken control of them again, and Ellie was happy to let him. He released her mouth and pressed hot, sucking kisses down her neck and on her chest.
His mouth closed over her nipple and Ellie arched off the bed. The heat of his mouth was like nothing she’d ever felt. She wanted more of it. The suction speared through her tummy and made her privates throb.
Between her thighs, she was wetter than she could have believed. The girls had told her about this, but the reality was so much better.
And then he slid those long fingers between her thighs, and she lost the power of thought. Her whole being seemed poised on his caress. He slid his fingers through her and found her pleasure spot. Her hips jerked in response to the stroke of his fingers.
“That’s it, my Sugar,” he whispered. “Let your body tell me what it likes.”
He moved to her other breast and gave it his attention.
Ellie gripped the back of his head and held him there. Her body was alive with sensation, from the hot suction of his mouth to the slow, strong stroke of his fingers between her thighs.
His mouth left her nipple and traveled down her ribs to her belly. He pressed his face into her belly, his teeth scraping her soft skin. He bit the jut of her hipbone and drifted lower.
Ellie tensed. She’d heard about this too, and doubt flickered. This was impossibly intimate, and she felt suddenly self-conscious. “Cole?”
“Mmm.” He pressed her thighs apart. Raising his head, he peered at her over the length of her body. “Is that a yes, Cole or a more, Cole?”
“It’s a—” His mouth opened on the inside of her thigh, so hot and so silky and she couldn’t think.
Then he put his mouth there and she lost all coherent thought. Dear God, it was like a sensation overload. The heated slide of his mouth over her intimate flesh released a need in her that demanded satiation.
With his lips, his tongue and every so often the brush of his teeth, Cole introduced her to a whole world of new sensation that made a slave of her. Time and place dropped away as her being narrowed to the point of where he was driving her out of her mind.
Her climax unfurled through her belly and her thighs. She exploded beneath him, arching into his touch, and staying suspended in the moment of her completion.
Cole rose and gathered her close to him. He held her while her heartbeat slowed.
Ellie knew enough to know only one of them had gotten satisfaction. “Cole?”
“Yes, Cole or more, Cole?” He stroked her back and gripped her bottom.
And there really only was one answer. “More, Cole. I want all of you.”
“Really?” He shifted her until she was straddling him. His cock was even harder, and it lay hot between them. Reaching over, he grabbed the protection and slid it on.
Ellie parted her thighs over his thighs. “Show me how.”
Sliding his hand between her thighs, Cole touched flesh that was almost too unbearably sensitive.
“It would be my pleasure, Sugar.” He gripped her hips and positioned her over him. “Put me inside you, Ellie.”
She closed her fist over his velvety length and stroked. It felt silkier than she’d imagined. Positioning him where she most wanted him, Ellie eased onto him
There was an uncomfortable moment of stretching and then her wetness eased the passage and he slid inside her.
Cole clenched his jaw, sweat beading on his face as she took him in careful bit by careful bit.
The sense of completion surprised her, and Ellie took a moment to appreciate the sensation of being joined to him in the most elemental way possible.
“Ellie.” Cole gripped her hips and moved her on him. “I’m not gonna last much longer, baby.”
Carefully, firmly he showed her how to move on him.
Watching the play of emotion and pleasure on his face was fascinating. It increased her own pleasure as her body opened and responded anew to him. Another climax built, and Ellie abandoned herself to the gathering sensation.
She fell over the edge into the sweet dark beyond.
Cole followed her with a shout and a tightening grip on her hips.
With her wrapped around him, Ellie’s drumming heart matched his. This moment belonged to them, and nobody else in the world existed. She had expected some physical pleasure, not as much as she had gotten, but some. What she hadn’t expected was the intimacy. Whores talked about the mechanics of sex but never the intimacy.
In this moment, she and Cole were connected on a level that transcended their reality.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ellie woke to the clatter of her drapes being drawn.
Molly stood at the window, grinning. “Sorry.” She shrugged. “Did I wake you?”
“It’s fine.” Her eyes watered in the bright morning sunlight. “What time is it?”
“It’s after ten, ma’am.” Molly had a soft Irish lilt to her speech. Large green eyes dominated a rounded face that would have been plain without the scattering of freckles. “I brought up some coffee and sweet rolls for your breakfast.” She grabbed a tray and rattled it over to Ellie. “Unless you’d prefer something else?”
“No, that’s fine.” The smell of coffee and pastries perked her up. “It’s perfect, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Molly picked up her dress from wh
ere Ellie had hung it over a chair and bustled into the closet. She came back with one of Ellie’s new dresses. Holding it up to the light, she examined it. “As widow’s dresses go, this is lovely.”
“Thank you.” Ellie added sugar and cream to her coffee and took a sip. The rich coffee sweetness crept through her and warmed her outlook.
Cole must have left in the night, because there was no sign of him in her room. Not even the discarded robe. She had a vague memory of stumbling around sometime in the wee hours and finding a nightgown.
Molly examined the stitching on her gown. “Whoever did this has a good hand.”
“Thank you.” The praise puffed her up. “I bought it readymade and then did some alterations.” Ellie losing herself in sewing may very well have saved Bridget’s life as they traveled.
“You did this?” Molly’s eyes grew even larger. “Well, I never would have thought that. I would have thought one of those fancy dressmakers.”
“No.” Ellie bit into one of the sweet rolls and moaned. “These are delicious.”
“I know.” Molly giggled. “Don’t tell Mr. Roberts, but I like to sneak one or two.”
Ellie stuffed the rest of the roll into her mouth. “I don’t blame you.”
“Oh, Lord!” Molly clapped her hand over her mouth. “I got so busy chatting, I forgot.” She flapped her hands at Ellie. “You must get up. Mister Cole said to tell you he’d like to take you somewhere today.”
“Where?”
Molly rolled her eyes. “Well, I don’t know that now, do I? He said to get you ready to go out.”
Grabbing another roll, Ellie scooted out of bed. Her body told the story of how she’d spent the night with a collection of aches and twinges. “Is Bridget about?”
“That one?” Molly rolled her eyes. “I never saw a lovelier girl, but I also never heard one talk quite so much either.”
At least Bridget had started speaking again, even though it was interposed with long periods of sighing. “Is she coming with us?”
“Mister Cole said no.” Molly giggled and poured warm wash water for Ellie. “She didn’t mind though. She took herself off to the kitchen, and she and Cook are getting on like old friends. Cook is not much of talker, and for all her chatter, Bridget is useful in the kitchen.”
As quickly as Molly could chivvy her, Ellie was washed, dressed, with her hair stylishly arranged, and eased out of her bedroom.
Molly picked up the basin of wash water to return to the kitchen. “You call for me when you get back and I’ll take care of you.”
Ellie didn’t think Molly would give her any other choice. “I’ll do that.”
Downstairs, Robert’s pointed her to Cole’s study, where Cole was waiting for her.
Cole’s secretary looked up from his desk close to the door as she entered. He stood. “Good morning, Mrs. Pierce.”
“Good morning. I’m sorry I don’t know your name.”
“Sebastian,” Cole said from deeper inside the room. Sitting behind his desk like a relaxed monarch, he smiled at her. “Good morning, Mrs. Pierce. I trust you slept well.”
“Passing well, thank you.” Did he think he could make her giggle and blush? That roguish light in his eyes said he did. “Tell me, Sebastian, do you have vermin in the house?”
“Vermin?” Sebastian paled. “I sincerely believe not.”
“It must have been a dream then.” Ellie smiled at him. “But I was sure something crawled into my room in the middle of the night.”
Cole’s grin broadened. “How very uncomfortable for you.” He glanced at Sebastian. “Will you see that Roberts looks into it?”
“Of course, Mr. Mansfield.” Sebastian scurried for the door. He stopped and went pink to his hairline as he looked at her. “And rest easy, Mrs. Pierce, if there is a filthy creature in this house, we will rid ourselves of it immediately.”
“You’ve set them an impossible task,” Ellie said as the door closed behind Sebastian.
“They’ll be fine.” Cole rose with feline grace and sauntered toward her. “That will teach Sebastian to ogle my girl.”
Ellie steeled herself against the easy charm of his smile and the heart racing possibilities gleaming in his eyes. “First off, Sebastian didn’t ogle me.” He stopped right in front of her, and she had to tip her head back to maintain eye contact. “And I’m not your girl.”
“I was thinking about that.” His gaze touched as firmly as a caress on her curves. “I know we said last night would be a once only thing, but I’ve been reconsidering that.”
Ellie’s heart beat like a bird against her ribcage. “Cole, we both know this can’t last. We went into it knowing that.”
“I understand that, Sugar.” She wished she knew how he could make her name sound like a heated touch. “But maybe there’s something between forever and never again.”
He smelled good enough to scramble her thoughts. Here she’d thought scratching the itch would help alleviate it. Turns out, it didn’t work like that. She wanted more, and knowing exactly what more felt like, sharpened her hunger for him. “What did you have in mind?”
“A widow is a woman of some experience.” He slid an arm about her waist and brought her to rest against him. “It would be remiss of me to send you into the world having only a taste of what is available to you.”
“Hmm…” She pretended to mull his words. It was hard to concentrate with the warm strength of him pressed against her. Taking a deep breath, she gathered her scattered thoughts. “You want to visit me again?”
“Sugar Ellie.” He growled her name, and the sound skittered over her skin like a cat paw. “Turns out you’re even sweeter than your name implies. Sweet enough to make me want more.”
“More?” It was wrong and dangerous how her heart skipped at those words. Whores were always warning against getting their feelings engaged. After last night, however, Ellie was afraid that was already a lost cause. She didn’t care to examine how deep her feelings were, but caution whispered to her. “You’re going to have to spell that out, Whisky.”
“I’m not in New York yet.” He shrugged, but she sensed the tension he wasn’t showing. “And we still have to see you set up in Denver before I go.”
That had never been the deal. “Cole, I—”
“I’m not leaving until I know you’re safe and set up.” His face hardened. “So don’t even suggest it.”
“Okay.” She was so stupid that for a moment she had entertained the vague possibility he wouldn’t go to New York. Of course he was going to New York. He’d lived most of his adult life getting to this point. “And you want us to be together until you go?”
Cole winced. “That sounded bad. I didn’t mean it like that.” He looped his other arm around her waist. “I know I sound like the biggest cad out there, Ellie, but if you were willing, I wanted to see if we could enjoy the time we had.”
No. The sensible answer was hell no. Risking getting any closer to this man was a carriage wreck into hell. Dear God, but she craved it anyway, and a lifetime spent not having what she wanted had taught her to take what he offered with both hands. “Like a love affair?”
“Exactly like a love affair, Sugar.” His beautiful face would probably haunt the rest of her days. “For as long as it lasts.”
There really was only one answer. “For as long as it lasts.”
“Is that a yes, Cole?”
For as long as she could, she would take what she wanted. “That’s a yes, Cole, and definitely a more, Cole.”
“I like that.” He dipped his head to her ear. “Now this is how I greet my lover.” The kiss he gave her left her breathless. “Good morning, Ellie.”
The world seemed a brighter place this morning. “Good morning, Cole.”
“Right.” He pulled his arms away from her. “As much as I’d like to take this celebration upstairs, we have an appointment.”
“We?” As far as she knew, the only people she and Cole had in common were her brothers and the peop
le in this house. “Who with?”
“You’ll see.” He rested his hand in the small of her back and guided her to the door. “Trust me.”
Probably the only person in the world whom she did trust.
The carriage waited outside for them, and Cole climbed in beside her. His face grew serious as they set off. “I want to make sure nobody can ever force you into doing something you don’t want to do again.”
“Cole, that’s not your responsibility.” Her carefree gambler had a serious side she was only learning about now.
Cole got that hard look on his face again. “I don’t see it that way, Ellie. And I’m going to make sure you’re okay whether you like it or not.” He got his dander up every now and again and assumed she’d let him boss her around.
“Indeed. We need to talk on that some more.”
“Ellie.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “At least hear my plan before you get all independent and bloody minded.”
“I’m not bloody minded.”
“You can be,” he said. “And sometimes too stubborn for your own good.”
Now that was fighting talk and Ellie gathered her ire to let fly with it.
“We’re here,” Cole said before she could get started.
Despite her annoyance, Ellie was curious, and she peered out the window. They were stopped on a busy, broad street with buildings on either side of it.
Ellie stepped out the carriage and gawped. She couldn’t help it, but she’d never seen so many people or buildings this size. The clatter of carriages, the voices of all those folks, hammers going, and horse’s hooves crowded around her.
“What do you think?” Cole stood by a boarded-up building with an expectant look on his face. “I mean, it needs some work, but it wouldn’t take much.”
Ellie had missed something vital as she looked from Cole to the building and back again. “What’s it for?”
“You.” He threw his arms wide. “You want to be dressmaker, and a dressmaker needs a store.”
Words failed her, and she stood there gaping like a landed fish. “I don’t understand.”
“I own this building.” Cole took a key out his pocket and fitted it into the door. “And the tenant recently vacated.”
