Don’t succumb to the darkness. You spent months working on this. You are worth more. She can’t take this away from you. He loves you.
“I can assure you, it’s top shelf.”
My eyes flew open, locking on designer shoes only a few feet away. My head rose, taking in his presence, and I smiled even as I gasped a stunned breath. The stranger was a few inches taller than I was with silky, dark-brown hair and chocolate eyes to match. He licked his lips and smiled back, extending his hand out for me.
“I’m Landon,” he said.
My eyes focused on the dimple that formed in his cheek. “I’m Katherine.” I reached out to meet his hand. Landon surprised me by taking my hand and lifting it to his lips.
“It’s a pleasure, Katherine.” His lips touched the back of my hand, and I felt my face burn. “You seem like you don’t like your drink. Can I get you another?”
“No, I’m okay. Thank you, though.” My hand lifted, pointing back to where Cole stood. “I’m waiting for my …” The word boyfriend failed me as I looked into Landon’s eyes.
“I figured you weren’t here alone, but I can keep you company if you like until … whoever it is gets back.” He gave me a boyish grin.
“That’s kind of—”
“Unnecessary,” Cole’s voice came from behind me. I let my eyes slide shut, knowing that he had overheard what Landon said. Landon was dreamy and sexy, but he wasn’t the man who possessed me. He wasn’t the man I loved.
“Sorry, Rhodes, I was just keeping the pretty lady company.” Landon winked at me.
“Thank you.” I gave him a shy smile.
Cole’s hands pulled me by the waist towards him, and Landon turned away, walking back through the crowd. My eyes were locked on him until he vanished in the crowd.
“You were flirting,” Cole growled, his lips brushing my temple as he pressed a kiss to my skin.
I turned to face him, my eyes locking with his. “No, I wasn’t.” My lips pouted.
“I saw you.” His hand crawled up my arm, wrapping around the flesh.
“You didn’t see anything. I wasn’t flirting,” I hissed through my teeth.
“Do you want him, Kat?” Cole asked, bringing his lips over mine but refusing to kiss me. “Knowing that another man wants you … does that turn you on?” His tongue slid across my bottom lip. Where was he going with this?
“Does it bother you that you’re not the only who sees me?” I retorted.
“You were flirting.” His eyebrows narrowed.
“You left me to be with her.”
“Katherine—”
“Don’t bat your eyes at me. Don’t give me your authoritative tone. I’m your date, your girlfriend, here to meet your mom for the very first time, and you left me alone to go talk to another woman. Another woman who wants you in her bed. Another woman who has, on many occasions, made rude remarks towards me. So yes, another man looked at me, and yes, he seemed interested in me. And you want to know the truth? I loved it.” The last part was a lie, but it felt good to throw it in his face. I wanted him to feel the jealousy I felt every time he was near Devon.
His hand tightened. The man who had escorted me tonight was gone. Rage flashed across his face. “You are mine, Katherine.” His lips barely parted when he spoke. I could see the white of his teeth as he gritted them. “You understand, whether you like it or not, I’m not letting anyone else have you. Your body, your heart …everything.”
I went to speak, to fight him for leaving me, but instead, I found myself aroused by his demand. My tongue licked my dry lips just before his mouth captured mine, sucking on my tongue. My lips were soaked when he pulled away.
“You’re not to flirt with other men. Do I make myself clear?”
“But you left—”
“To make sure Devon never spoke to you in that manner again,” he hissed between his teeth. His lips tickled my ear when he spoke. “I love you, Katherine.”
“I love you … too,” I whispered. Crowds of people passed beside us, but we didn’t move, locked in each other’s presence.
“Is it bad that I want you right now?” he asked, his right eyebrow rising.
“Do you think there’s a closet we can sneak into?” I couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of my mouth.
“We’re leaving.” Cole took my hand in his as he dragged me through the tight room. Without a single goodbye, he had me outside and heading towards the limo where Raul waited with the door already open.
Cole guided me inside the car, his hands outstretched as I climbed in. Scooting to the other side, I waited for him to follow me. He spoke with Raul briefly before shutting the door behind him.
I was breathless, panting for air when his eyes locked back on mine. My core ached to be touched, but it needed to be by him. The way his fingers crawled up my body, igniting my internal flame. The way his eyes undressed me, stripping me until he could see my soul. When his lips met my skin, they healed my wounds. His kisses made all the darkness disappear. His lips were everything. He was my everything. My savior.
Loosening his tie, his golden eyes ran up my body. “Come here,” he ordered. I pulled my dress up high around my thighs so I could move. Cole sat back on the leather seat, spreading his legs apart.
“Get on top.”
My hands flew to the button and zipper of his dress pants. His cock sprang free and my fingers locked around his thick girth as I began to stroke it, desperate to feel him inside of me.
Cole held my dress as I climbed on top of his lap. Pulling my thong to the side, I slid down his length. My eyes rolled to the back of my head as he buried himself deep inside me.
Landon was attractive, but he was no Cole. No other man made me feel like he did. No one ever would.
30
Katherine
Thomas brought me to my own apartment late Sunday night. Cole had begged me to spend another night, but finals were approaching and studying at his house was pointless. I caught myself reading the same paragraphs over and over, and he always found a way to distract me with sex—not that I was complaining.
I tossed my keys in the bowl and went to search for Lila. I heard noises from her room like she was slamming drawers. When I walked into her room, I saw her sitting on the floor, pulling her clothes from her suitcase and shoving them back where they belonged.
“Li?” I strolled further in and sat on her bed. “Why are you unpacking?”
Lila was the kind of person who packed for a trip the second it was booked. Her suitcase for Napa had been packed for almost a month now, and the second my exams were over Lila, Ben, and Lori, Lila’s sister, and I were off to Lila’s bachelorette party. Ben and I had planned the entire weekend. Wine tasting, and spa treatments around the clock. A perfect relaxing weekend.
“I’m not fucking going.” She kicked her bottom drawer closed and fell back on her pile of clothes.
“Why not?” I hugged her pillow.
“Nope. Not going. This wedding is not happening.” She tossed clean clothes into the hamper when they didn’t all fit in her drawers.
“What do you mean, not happening?” I straightened on the bed. Lila had picked her wedding dress. The invitations were sent out, and in a few short weeks, she would be the new Mrs. Garretson. She couldn’t be calling the wedding off, could she?
“I’m just … ugh! This shit is pointless.” Her hands covered her eyes.
“Lila, you’re worrying me. What’s going on?” I crawled off the bed and joined her on the floor.
She hopped up from the floor and stomped over to her desk. “Mrs. Garretson handed me this today.” She thrust a stack of stapled paper at me, then pulled it back before I could take it.
“What is that?”
“A prenup!” she bellowed. “Why the hell do I want to marry into a family that has all these fucking rules?” She sat back and flipped through the pages. “Hell, I didn’t even want a relationship a year ago. Now I’m getting married, and for what? To have my futu
re mother-in-law toss legal crap at me!” She shoved the papers at me again, and I grabbed them.
“Does Caleb know that his mother gave you this?” I asked flipping through the legal jargon.
“Yes, apparently everyone in that family has one,” she quipped with sarcasm.
“Well, Li, a prenup is normal these days.”
“I get a million dollars for each child I have.” Her fingers poked angrily on the part she was referring to. “A million dollars. Who the hell told her to put a price tag on my future children?”
“Li—”
“No, Kat, this is insane.” She pushed off the floor and began to strip her bed. Her usual self when she was pissed or upset—she cleaned.
“How did Caleb propose?” I asked when her nose grew crimson like she wanted to cry.
“What?”
“You never told me how he proposed. I was too fucked up, and we weren’t really talking. Last I knew you were anti-relationship, let alone marriage. Tell me?”
She sat next to me on the floor again. Twirling her engagement ring around her finger, she looked up at me. “After I knew you were using again and I didn’t know how to help you, he became my crutch. I didn’t mean to lean on him as much as I did, but I needed someone. Someone to hold me as I cried and worried about you. And Caleb—being Caleb—was right by my side. He was always helping me research ways to help you without scaring you off. I went from calling him just to party and a quick hook up, to telling him how much I loved him. The nights you didn’t come home he would close up the restaurant early and sleep here with me. One day, I woke up curled in his arms and I realized I never wanted to be anywhere else. All of sudden it clicked. We clicked.”
“Li…”
“I hadn’t had a weekend off in about two months, and I was desperate for a weekend of sleep. He knew that. He suggested that I give worrying about you a break and spend the weekend at his place. When I woke up that morning, there were roses all around me, and he’d brought me breakfast in bed. It was chocolate chip pancakes with Nutella.” She laughed.
“Then we took a drive out to Connecticut. At first, I’d complained. I wanted to stay in bed all day, but he persuaded me. He said it would be good to get some fresh air. We took a hike up Kent Falls, and he had this whole picnic planned out. It was so unexpected, so sweet. I remember lying on the blanket, staring at the falls when he rolled over and placed a little box on my stomach. It wasn’t your typical down on one knee. It was … Caleb. He didn’t even ask me to marry him. He just said, “What do you think?” I looked deep into his eyes and knew that I wanted a forever with him. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind when I looked up at him and said yes.” She whispered the last part while brushing at the tear that rolled down her cheek.
“Li, listen to what you just said. Is a prenup from your mother-in-law—which, by the way, you are totally allowed to hate—reason enough to call off your wedding?”
“No … I guess not.” She sniffled back.
“A prenup is negotiable. You can have your lawyer look at it.”
She took the pages from my hand and folded them. “But that’s my issue. Why get married if it comes with a contract about the divorce? It’s like you’re setting the whole marriage up for failure.”
“No, it’s understandable when you are marrying someone that comes from a lot of money. You have to look at it as an investment.”
“How so?”
“Caleb could have all the money now, but what if you find the cure for cancer? What if you become an awesome kick-ass doctor who saves the world from a terrible disease?” I winked at her and a faint smile spread across her rosy face.
“But I would want to share that with him. There’s no price tag for me.”
“Then have a prenup about that. It’s all negotiable.”
“Gosh, what am I going to do when I don’t have you to talk me out of my own head?” She laid her head on my thigh, wiping away her tears.
“You’ll have your husband, silly.” I brushed back her hair. “Come on, you need to pack because we leave for Napa in a week.”
“Fine. But as soon as I’m done reorganizing my suitcase to perfection, we’re writing a new prenup so I can shove it in that wench’s face.”
The week leading to my finals was hell.
I was fighting a cold, studying around the clock, and I kept having nightmares that I was going to fail. I had locked myself in my bedroom for five consecutive days, only leaving my room to shower and use the bathroom. Lila and Ben cheered me on by sending me pictures of the hotel we were staying at. I even managed to eat in bed while I studied. Cole didn’t like the idea of me disappearing for five days, but he understood that I needed this time to focus.
The night before my exam, after all the studying was finally finished, and my brain could no longer function, Cole showed up at my small apartment with take-out food and a variety of flavors of ice cream. He looked like the typical boy next door, wearing jeans and a black T-shirt.
Once he set the bags of food and ice cream on the kitchen island, he turned towards me, closing the space between us. He wrapped me in his arms, lifting me off the floor, and his lips caressed mine as I wrapped my legs around his waist. I had missed him in the five days we were apart. I craved his touch.
One strong hand supported my bottom as his other hand gripped the nape of my neck. Our kisses were hungry, needy, sucking and stroking each other’s tongue as we began to pant. Breathless, he pulled away from me, his golden eyes locked on mine.
“I’ve missed you,” he whispered against my lips.
“We can skip dinner,” I moaned, arching against his pelvis.
“Oh, no you don’t.” He stood me back on my feet. “I’m here to keep you company tonight. There’ll be none of that.”
“Come on. Just a little?” My hand moved to his crotch, and he whisked it away.
“I’m serious, Katherine. I want you focused for tomorrow.”
It had been five days, and yes, in the past we had gone longer than that, but I had become accustomed to having him every night—multiple times a night. I was spoiled.
I bit my lip. “Well, since you don’t want me, I’ll just be a few minutes. I need to shower first, take care of something.” I drew my shorts down my legs, kicking them towards him. My hands cupped my breasts, pinching my hard nipples. “Maybe ten minutes.” I winked at him and yanked my shirt over my head. My heavy breasts hung on my chest, my nipples perked up with desire.
His breath was heavy as he eyed my body. Moving his hand to the front of his jeans, he began to stroke his already-hard cock. “One time,” he growled as he unbuttoned his jeans.
“That’s all I need, Cole.” My hands reached between my legs, my fingertips sliding along my clit.
His boxers and shirt joined the rest of the clothes on the kitchen floor. His hands gripped my waist, tossing me up on the cold granite. The heat of my body cooled when I lay on the kitchen island. My legs spread for him.
“This is going to be quick,” he grunted, stroking his ready cock, pressing it over my clit.
“You know how I like it.”
My hand rubbed my clit as Cole wasted no time slamming into me. His fingernails dug into my thighs, spreading them apart as he tore through me with long, hard thrusts slamming deep over and over. Gasping for air, I pinched my nipple with my free hand. Cole growled, fucking me hard, driving his cock deeper each time.
The world around me went dark as my eyes rolled to the back of my head and my lids fluttered closed. My back arched off the granite, and I split into millions of pieces as I came. Cole was right behind me. His hand released my thigh, and he yanked on my nipple, slapping it as he came. His body shook, and my walls milked him as he poured himself deep inside me.
Gasping for air, he leaned over and kissed my red-marked breast. “You’re a fucking tease.” He slid his tongue around my nipple. “But God, I fucking love you.” I giggled at his comment.
Once Cole and I were cleaned up and dresse
d again, I cleaned up the kitchen, sanitizing where he had screwed my brains out while he reheated the food he had brought. Thai didn’t reheat well, but I wasn’t complaining. After sharing a pint of ice cream, we made our way back to my bedroom. It wasn’t late, but my body was exhausted from the last few nights of cramming.
The city lights outside my window lit my small bedroom. This was the first time Cole was spending the night with me at my place. It was—as he’d said so many times to me—sweet. My heart filled with love as he crawled into bed and patted the side next to him. It was a queen-sized bed, not like the California king he was used too, but it didn’t seem to bother him. He fluffed the pink pillowcase his head rested on and lifted the purple comforter for me. With his arms opened for me, I found my spot next to him, curling into his side. His lips pressed a kiss on my forehead.
“You’re going to do great tomorrow.” He wrapped his arms around me. “I have never seen anyone study as hard as you.”
My head rested on Cole’s chest. With sleep crawling up my body, I drew the three little numbers that allowed me to tell him how I felt without saying a word. I traced a heart around his chest. “I love you.”
“I love you too. Even if you’re leaving me for a bachelorette party.”
I snuggled closer into his nook, unable to move away. “What?” I laughed. “You’re going with the guys to Caleb’s.”
“True.” He laughed. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”
“Promise?”
“Yes.” He kissed me one last time as sleep took over my body.
31
Katherine
My muscles were relaxed, my skin rejuvenated. According to my computer, I had aced every single one of my exams. All of the hard work had paid off, and the long weekend in Napa was exactly what the doctor had ordered. We spent the entire time pampering ourselves, but it was time to get back to the real world.
Redemption (Savior Seires Book 2) Page 19
