“I got held up at the office.” Cole was surprised she had left out the well-deserved apologies all around. He’d been thrown into the fire without anything to protect himself from getting burned.
“Save your excuses for your mother.” Preston glanced over at Cole, who felt uncomfortable from witnessing the brutal exchange. “It was a pleasure to meet you, son.” He expected a polite and customary, “Say hi to your uncle,” but dislike for Robert appeared to be a family trait.
Without a single word to Cole, Shaun started toward a server carrying a tray of martinis once her father left to attend to other guests. He gripped her by the arm and stopped her advance.
“I should be really pissed with you right now. Hell, I am pissed with you right now.”
Shaun yanked her arm from his hold. “Look, I don’t have to explain myself to anyone.” She considered him for a moment. “Robert took off early and left me with a huge mess to clean up.” She looked away. “I’m sorry I was late.” A quiet sniff was followed by a cleared throat. “Now let’s see if we can find Myles. I’d rather not be here longer than I have to.” She circled her arm around Cole’s and steered them in the direction of the growing crowd.
“Shaun.” He pulled her back, refusing to budge.
She lifted her head and glared at him. “What?”
He felt the hurt and embarrassment radiate off her in powerful waves. Although she was trying to shield the pain with anger and indifference, he couldn’t justify kicking her while she was down. Not like this.
“You look absolutely beautiful.” He brushed at the corner of her eye with his fingertip, wiping away a smudge from her eyeliner.
Her mouth parted in a soft gasp. She licked her glossed lips and swallowed. “Thank you.” Everything around them dissolved further into the background. “You know, you don’t look so bad yourself. You wear a tuxedo very well, Mr. Jacobson.” Her smile turned up the heat on his insides, and his eyes zeroed in on lips he knew were as soft as they looked. The memory of their kiss still remained prominent in his thoughts. God, he ached to kiss her again.
“Why, thank you, Ms. Wright.”
“Now, shall we?” She inclined her head toward the crowd.
Cole couldn’t deny that having Shaun on his arm made him feel like a million bucks. She was by far the most beautiful woman at the party, and heads turned in their direction as they walked by. Sure, she happened to be the daughter of the host, but Cole had no doubt she would compel the same response in a room full of complete strangers.
Shaun finally stopped near a stocky man with dark hair and dark eyes who looked to be in his early forties. He was wearing a stylish steel-gray tuxedo with satin lapels, and his face was round and jovial.
“Shaun! I was hoping to see you here.” The man grasped her by the arm and kissed her cheek.
“Good evening, Myles.” Cole waited for an introduction, but it never came. “I was worried you were avoiding me.”
Myles chuckled. “And risk having to answer to Preston?”
Shaun’s expression did not lighten; apparently that was not the answer she wanted to hear. “You are free to choose, Myles. If what we’ve proposed is not the right fit for your restaurant, I’d rather you be honest.” Impressed by Shaun’s inability to back down, Cole remained silent, although he felt much like a third wheel, unsure why she had even brought him along.
Myles grew serious. “Shaun, I jest. I loved what you showed me at our last meeting. I loved it so much I wish to move forward as soon as possible.” He signaled a female server carrying a tray of cocktails over. “Let’s drink on it.”
Shaun finally cracked her signature smile and lifted one of the martinis on the tray. Myles selected a Bloody Mary, and Cole wiggled the bottle he still held in his hand.
“Shit! Forgive me, Myles. I’d like you to meet Cole Jacobson. The talented designer responsible for the redirection.” Shaun’s address helped Cole look past her initial neglect, especially when she gave his bicep a gentle squeeze. “Cole, this is Myles Bertram, the owner of Ciao Belleza.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Cole.” Myles reached out a palm, looking between Cole and Shaun and then back to Cole as they shook hands. Amused suspicion lit his features, but Shaun didn’t clarify their relationship further. “Jacobson?”
“He’s Robert’s nephew.”
“Interesting,” Myles replied with a smirk. “To a perfect partnership,” he exclaimed, drink in the air. They all clinked their glasses and followed with sips. Cole’s beer was tepid and near the bottom.
“Would you excuse me a moment?” Shaun didn’t wait for a reply from either of them before moving farther into the party and leaving them on their own, giving Cole full view of the back of her dress, or the lack thereof. The gossamer fabric dipped down to just above her ass, leaving her delectable flesh completely on display. His mind drifted to thoughts of tracing every inch with his tongue, his hands sliding up under her dress while his hardening cock rubbed against the valley of her backside.
The fantasy died when Shaun walked up to her mother, who was currently engaged in a conversation with another woman Cole recognized. Olivia Stiles.
CHAPTER 12
Cole stared after Shaun while Myles proceeded to go into further detail regarding the design of Ciao Belleza. To be honest, Cole couldn’t give a shit at the moment, providing only the occasional nod and grunt of agreement. His focus was permanently engaged on Shaun as he thought about how incredible she looked in that dress – scraps of fabric tailored together, leaving very little to his imagination. Predominantly bare legs that went on for miles, balanced on cream-colored stilts. Current fashion passed the sexy calf-defining devices off as shoes, and Shaun used them as her trademark beautifully. Cole imagined her wearing nothing more, legs wrapped tight around his waist, and suppressed a groan with the final swig from his beer. His surreptitious thoughts regarding her shoes turned angry when Olivia leaned in close to whisper private words against Shaun’s ear. He tried to ignore the tug of something along the lines of jealousy in his chest. What did he have to be jealous about? Shaun and he had kissed, but so far that was all, even though he found himself wanting more.
When he had met her father earlier, soon after arriving, he had enjoyed the small bit of pride the man felt toward Shaun. Why shouldn’t he be proud? Shaun was an incredible woman. However, the pleasant regard had been short lived. Once Shaun had joined the conversation, a different man had taken her father’s place. Cold and cruel, spewing words in a tone that would give the most confident person cause for insecurity. Cole couldn’t understand her father’s inability to express his true feelings toward his daughter in her presence. Shaun had tried to shake off the understandable pain, but Cole had seen the shadow lurking behind her eyes. At least the coveted sparkle had returned after a little effort on his part. The smile she had given him had warmed his heart. His whole body.
“Cole?”
Shit. He returned from his wandering mind to find Myles requesting an answer to a question Cole did not remember hearing. “I apologize. I think I might have had one too many of these.” Cole lifted his empty beer in defense of the lie.
“Right.” Myles eyed him with a conspicuous smirk on his lips, following Cole’s previous line of vision. “Of course. Maybe we should continue our discussion this coming week. You can take a look at the place. How does Tuesday sound?”
Cole would agree to almost anything in order to be near Shaun now instead of chatting business with Myles. “Perfect for me. I’ll let Shaun know.” Cole smiled, a smile soon chased away when another woman joined the circle building around Shaun, this one a tall brunette. “Would you excuse me, please?”
Cole didn’t wait for Myles to answer. The poor man had been discarded by Shaun and him both, rather abruptly, but Cole couldn’t worry about their client. Not now. Not when he saw the pained expression Shaun tried to mask shortly after the woman’s arrival.
He stalked over quickly and placed his palm against the small of Shaun
’s back, unable to resist after seeing it bare and open. He felt her tense beneath his touch, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she turned to face him, and the hurt hidden behind her eyes had returned, along with something else.
She inhaled a deep breath against his hand. “Cole, I would like to introduce you to my mother, Gloria Wright. Mother, this is Cole Jacobson.” He waited for the title of employee, design manager, prick with a mouth on him. But just his name left her lips.
“We met earlier, dear.” The older woman, almost as beautiful as her daughter, offered a delicate hand, and Cole clasped it gently with his.
“Pleased to meet you again, Mrs. Wright. Thank you for allowing me to borrow your husband.” Cole’s gaze quickly moved to the other two women, who were sharing a surprisingly intimate embrace.
“You’ve already met Olivia Stiles,” Shaun began. Cole tried not to imagine the blonde on her knees as he shook her hand as well. “And this is her girlfriend.”
The other woman’s name seemed lodged in Shaun’s throat, but the brunette took it upon herself to finish the introduction regardless. “Jessica Ortiz.”
Girlfriend? Cole cast a quick glance at Shaun’s mother, who seemed equally bewildered by the presence of Olivia’s date. Who had invited whom? he wondered.
“Jessica’s new line is releasing this summer in Milan and she asked me to be part of the show.” Olivia gave Jessica a quick peck on the lips in thanks. It seemed Shaun had been right – that Olivia would find someone more connected to latch onto.
Against his better judgment, Cole decided to make a move that had a ninety-nine percent chance of failure. The slim odds for success were all he needed. Lowering his mouth, he brushed his lips over Shaun’s temple and pulled her tight against him. She didn’t shove him away, so he continued with his course of action.
“Ready to leave, beautiful?”
His mouth hovered down the side of her face, pausing at the curve of her cheekbone. Eyebrows arched all around, but Shaun played along, to his surprise. She lifted her head, offering him a small smile.
“Yes.” The “please” remained unsaid, but her eyes spoke the appeal in silence. Cole grew bolder, the bastard in him thinking he would take advantage as much as he could while she was willing. He leaned in and gave Shaun a kiss, filled with enough unrestrained passion to provide the gaping onlookers with something to wag their tongues about long after they left. Passion he genuinely felt but didn’t have the balls to act on otherwise.
“Then let’s go.” He grinned at Shaun, who was staring up at him in complete surprise, before looking back at the rapt audience. “A pleasure to meet you all. Gloria, thank you again for having me.”
Shaun stepped away from Cole to give her mother a hug and kiss before linking her fingers with his. They strode toward the exit, never breaking contact.
“Would you like to say goodbye to your father?”
Shaun shook her head, looking as though the effort of opening her mouth would crack the fragile resolve she kept. When they reached the front of the house, Shaun gave a nod to the attendant, and soon the car Cole had arrived in pulled up to the curb. She refused to release his hand.
“Take me home.” A demand, not a question. She reached down and plucked her shoes off before climbing inside to find a seat.
Cole didn’t have the heart to say no. Not after everything he had witnessed her go through since her arrival. A lesser person would have crumbled, making some sort of scene. Hell, he would make a scene if his ex dared bring a date to a family party. Sliding in beside her, he allowed the driver to close the door and then disappear to the front seat of the sedan. Within minutes, they were pulling away from the Wright House of Pain, the silence between them a fourth occupant in the car.
Cole cleared his throat, alerting her that a question would follow. “Shaun, are you all right?”
She held up a hand, eyes trained on the shapes passing by the tinted side window. “I don’t want to talk about it. Any of it.” At her request, they remained silent for the rest of the ride. Cole wanted to bundle her up in his arms, this woman who remained so strong while surrounded by adversity and hurt everywhere she turned.
When the car finally came to a stop, Shaun exited without the driver’s assistance, and Cole followed, unsure whether this was a good idea for either of them. He considered hoofing his way back to his own apartment, figuring he would hail a cab once the air had cleared his head enough.
“I don’t want to be alone right now,” Shaun murmured, and any thoughts of going home were abandoned.
Cole wasn’t sure what he expected, but nothing he imagined would have come close to the reality of Shaun’s apartment. The place was huge and perched on top of what looked to be a converted warehouse in the trendy fashion district of Mason. The whole top floor belonged to her, requiring a special key for the elevator to even ascend to the penthouse loft.
Carelessly dropping her shoes just inside the door, Shaun spoke to Cole over her shoulder. “Would you like something to drink?” She made a right and disappeared under a set of wooden slat stairs.
“Um, sure.” He followed her in, closing the door behind him. Looking around, he could immediately see why she wanted his decorative assistance. Apart from a few standard pieces here and there, the impressively designed space was relatively bare of furniture. The teak floor plan was open, with the stairs leading up to an enclosed loft. Shaun reappeared from a small kitchen, which was tucked away beneath the upper level, with two bottles of Heineken and handed him one.
He took a pull. “Looks like you weren’t kidding when you said you needed furniture.” He smirked.
She gave a soft laugh and glanced around, taking a drink herself. “Yeah, I moved in recently and spent so much time on the design, I haven’t had much time to fill it.”
“You designed this?”
“Yeah,” she said with a casual shrug. “This used to be just one big space. No divisions or what not. I added the loft and moved the kitchen.” To say he was impressed was an understatement. “Let me show you why I just had to live here.”
Expecting her to lead him up to some extravagant closet, Cole let Shaun grab his free hand and pull him farther inside instead, not stopping until they reached a set of sliding glass doors. She glided them open and walked outside, the warm spring air pleasantly coaxing Cole to follow. He stepped out onto a large garden patio, with a small infinity pool in one corner overlooking the vast cityscape.
“Wow.” Shaun smiled wide and kept moving toward the far edge, playfully crooking her finger, watching him with each step. He stared out in complete awe. “This is unbelievable.”
“You really think so?” She chewed at her fingernail.
He nodded. “Hell yeah.”
“This took the most work. The configuration was tricky because we cut back the roof from the original structure, but everything turned out just as I’d envisioned it.”
“Shit, Shaun. Tell me again, why aren’t you designing at the firm?”
Her smile faltered. “I told you, this is just a hobby.”
“Those sound like your father’s words, not yours.”
She set her beer down on top of the stone wall outlining the patio. “Don’t assume you know me, Cole, or my family because you spent all of, what, twenty minutes with them.”
“I don’t, I just–”
Shaun shook her head. “Please, I don’t want to talk about them. Not here. Not now.”
“Okay,” Cole conceded, not wanting the rare moment between them to be ruined by an argument.
She braced her elbows on the flat ledge and looked over, comfort in her element conveyed in her body language and expression. “I feel so small here. So insignificant, and what’s crazy? I love it.”
Cole glanced over at Shaun, the moonlight outlining her profile in a soft glow. Her long waves swayed in the gentle breeze. She looked like an angel.
“God, you’re beautiful.”
Shaun turned to meet his eyes and stepped clo
ser. She lifted the beer from his hand and set the bottle next to hers. Cradling his face, she steered his head lower until their lips met. The tender yet urgent kiss awakened every suppressed feeling, like a flash of lightning to his insides. His arms wrapped around her narrow waist, pulling her tight against his chest. Every fantasy that had flickered through his mind at the party reappeared like a cheat sheet in the event he forgot how much he wanted her in every which way.
Shaun tasted of alcohol and sin, an exotic cocktail impairing all his better judgment. He shouldn’t be here. They shouldn’t be doing this and playing right into his uncle’s plans. The kiss turned feverish, desperate. Tongues engaged in an erotic battle, attempting to gain the higher ground. Her hands moved to his tuxedo shirt, tugging the garment up from his trousers and apprehension from his mind.
The heat of her palms glided along his lower abdomen, forcing him to groan into the deepening kiss. He wanted her hands all over him and his all over her. He double palmed her backside, her dress rising up to reveal nothing beneath but smooth skin. No panties? Cole cursed at the thought.
Shaun grasped his wrists and pushed him so his back slammed against the wall, then placed his arms out on either side on the ledge. “We shouldn’t be doing this,” she rasped against his lips, standing on the tips of her toes to meet him. Cole hated that her thoughts mirrored his, the horny bastard in him hoping that neither of them would have the courage to stop. “You’re my employee. It’s unprofessional.” Her mouth returned to his neck, licking and sucking while he turned his eyes upwards and saw stars. Literally.
“Christ, Shaun.”
She pulled back. Cole’s skin itched from the sudden loss of contact, and her body was the only balm. His feet attempted to resolve the complication and inched forward.
“I need to know, why did you pretend to be involved with me in front of Olivia?” Her gaze traveled over his face, questioning. “I played along, but why?”
Drawn Through You Page 10
