“She won!” Shaun exclaimed, clapping along with the crowd.
“Yep,” Cole replied before inserting two pinkies into his mouth and letting free a loud whistle. His mom looked their way and showed them her prize with pride. He grinned over at Shaun, who was still applauding and smiling.
“La-la-Lacey!” Both Cole and Shaun cringed at the high-pitched squeal nearing a sound only a dog could hear. A carbon copy of his sister, but with blonde hair, motioned for Lacey to join her and two other Pink-branded clones.
His sister held out an open palm, bouncing on the balls of her feet with excitement. “Can I borrow some money?”
Cole reached for his wallet without delay. No price was too high. Hell, he would even give her friends money if he had to, just to get them to take her away. He handed over two twenties, and Lacey gave him a quick hug and disappeared at last.
“Thank Christ,” he breathed.
Shaun shot him a smirk. “Relieved?”
“You have no idea.” Cole stretched both his arms over his head and stopped when he felt a soft crack, successfully releasing some of his pent-up tension. “Wanna walk around and get something to eat?” he asked, pointing in the direction of a few food tents far enough away from the pavilion and his mother. He would have all the time in the world to apologize to her, but right now he needed to have Shaun all to himself for as long as the festival would allow.
“Sure.” She nodded, and they walked side by side through the maze of people. He kept a wary eye on the vendor tables, not wanting to run into his ex either.
“So, what do you fancy?” he asked, moving out of the way of a group of kids bustling toward the bumper cars they had passed.
“What do you suggest?” she volleyed back. “You’re the Corn Festival veteran.”
“Well,” he said with a dramatic pause, “there’s of course corn – roasted corn, corn dogs, corn fritters, corn deep fried and dipped in chocolate… Please, stop me when you hear something you like.”
“Chocolate? Really?” she asked, looking nauseated by the thought.
Cole chuckled. “Yes, but not as bad as it sounds. Some of the stuff I didn’t mention,” he shivered, “not so much.”
They neared a street corn stand, and Cole took note of Shaun’s eyes lighting up at the sight of grilled cobs drenched in creamy goodness sitting underneath a warmer, the smell almost as incredible as the sight.
“Street corn?” She looked over at him in anxious delight. Cole shouldn’t have expected anything less from someone as worldly as Shaun.
“Yep,” he said with a grin. “Cobs grilled and then smeared with spicy mayo before they’re rolled in bits of cheese and smoked jalapeños. Then finished off with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.” Cole’s stomach growled along with every decadent detail.
“I can’t remember the last time I had one. Are they good here?” she asked, wearing a “Please say yes” look.
“We’ll get some and you can tell me.” Cole knew the corn was a block party for the taste buds, but he wanted to enjoy the experience of watching Shaun’s first bite without any influence on his part.
He lifted up two fingers when a gentleman with an apron shouted an acknowledgment in his direction. “Careful, it’s hot,” he said, blowing on the first cob before handing the grilled delicacy over to Shaun. He held out a five and the vendor gave him a matching cob of his own.
They continued to walk, enjoying their respective cobs. Shaun moaned and wiped with a napkin at a drip of melted mayo that had started running down her chin. “Oh my god, so good.”
Cole nodded in agreement and polished his off while it was still hot.
“So, what else you got?” Cole laughed at Shaun’s question. She threw the remains of her food conquest in the garbage and wiped her hands clean.
“I almost forgot about your healthy appetite.” He grinned, recalling the lunch they’d had back in Mason. “Follow me, Ms. Wright.” He circled her arm around his elbow and led her toward some of his favorite food stops, but pulled up short when he spotted Christine surrounded by a group of teenage girls pawing over a table covered with small silver tubes. With her usual long, dark-blonde hair dyed brown and cut into a smooth bob, he hardly recognized his ex. Cole had intended to visit Carlos’s Walking Taco stand just past the commotion, knowing that it would best any other food here at the festival by a mile, but not even the promise of fresh taco ingredients piled into a bag of homemade tortilla strips could convince Cole to introduce Shaun to his Christine on purpose.
“Something wrong?”
Cole feigned confusion and swiveled his head around in the opposite direction. “I thought the fried pickle place was this way, but now I’m not so sure.”
“We already passed it.”
He cursed her observation skills. “We did?”
“Uh, yeah.” She raised a curious brow and pointed toward a large wooden barrel that had PETE’S PICKLES written on the side in huge, neon-pink chalk lettering.
Deep-fried pickles wouldn’t be enough to silence the growl of his stomach, which considered them and the corn an appetizer for more promising acquisitions scattered around the fairgrounds. “Okay. Corn dogs?”
“What about them?” Shaun asked, staring at him strangely. He couldn’t blame her. He was acting strange.
“Do you like corn dogs?”
“They’re all right, I guess.”
Damn, Cole thought. He really wanted to knock her socks off with the tacos, but the corn dogs would have to do. “Corn dogs it is,” he replied, answering his mental indecision.
On the way to a secluded picnic table, they collected corn dog poppers, a basket of fried pickles, and a bag of maple sugar cotton candy, his personal favorite.
Not wasting time he didn’t seem to have, Cole reached for Shaun’s hand before she could grab one of the last remaining pickles. “Shaun, I’m really glad you’re here.” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, glad she didn’t pull away. A cover band played the chorus to a stripped-down version of Pat Benatar’s “Love Is a Battlefield” in the background, adding to the ambience.
“Me too,” she replied.
“Now that we’re finally alone, there are a few things–”
“Seriously, you can’t come say hi?” Cole yanked his arm back, wincing at the sound of Christine’s voice. “Lacey said you would be here this weekend. I made sure to get my table next to Carlos’s. I know how much you love those damn tacos.”
Making a note to himself to kill Lacey, Cole stood and nearly lost his balance when his old girlfriend vaulted into his arms. He turned his head just in time to catch her kiss on his cheek instead of his lips. Untangling himself from her hold, he motioned toward Shaun, who remained seated. “Christine, I’d like you to meet Shaun Wright. Shaun, this is Christine Garret.”
“That’s all the introduction I get?” Christine punched his shoulder a little harder than he thought necessary, and he rubbed at the sore spot. “We were engaged, for heaven’s sake, or did you forget?”
Fuck. Cole swallowed, feeling all the color drain from his face.
CHAPTER 23
Cole stood there unmoving, struck stupid by the depths to which Christine dared to sink. First she’d tried to kiss him, after years spent not really talking, and then she just had to mention that stupid engagement, which he couldn’t regret more. On purpose, he had no doubt. He risked a glance at Shaun, who remained seated at the picnic table. From her stoic expression, he imagined not for long.
At a loss for words, Cole started to stutter incoherent sounds, but was soon interrupted by another unplanned arrival.
“Hey! Who forgot to invite me to this reunion?” Jake’s casual drawl grated Cole’s nerves further. Who the fuck else wanted to pop on over and interrupt every godforsaken moment he managed to get alone with Shaun? He should consider selling admission tickets and awarding door prizes.
Christine slinked over to his best friend and gave him a hug, although not nearly as affectionate as the one she’d
subjected Cole to. A sudden movement from Shaun caught his eye and drew the attention of all other parties. Freeing her shapely legs from the table, Shaun started toward the assembling group consisting of Cole and his childhood friends.
“Hello, I’m Shaun,” she said, reaching out a palm to Jake and giving him a polite smile. The tone of her voice was once again Business Shaun, the version of his boss he had hoped would not reappear until they had returned to Mason, at the least. Jake furrowed his brow after successfully unfurling himself from Christine’s tentacles. He shook the small, delicate hand, giving Cole an “Is this really her?” look and completely missing the opportunity to share his name. Cole could hardly blame his best friend. Seeing the two women side by side verified the different leagues they were in, with Shaun in the overwhelming lead. Cole could tell from years of experience that Christine did not appreciate Shaun’s effortless confidence, probably expecting her adversary to turn tail and retreat. Not Shaun, and damn him for getting aroused in response.
“There you are! I was wondering where you’d run off to.” Cooper Haines must’ve smelled blood in the water, since he was circling their small party, chowing down on one of Carlos’s walking tacos. “What did I miss?” he asked, his customary Haines Sanitation t-shirt accented by a small taco-sauce stain down the center. He tipped his head back and dumped the remaining contents of the wax paper pouch into his mouth. Cole secretly hoped he’d choke a little on a tortilla strip.
“Cole was just introducing us all to Shane,” Christine answered.
“Shaun,” Shaun corrected.
“Is that so?” Cooper swiped at his mouth with the back of his forearm, as if he’d never heard of napkins. A predatory hunger lit up behind Cole’s frenemy’s eyes, which traveled the length of his boss’s body from combat boots to ponytail. Cole did not like it one bit.
“Uh, I should probably let the four of you catch up, then. I’ll just go find your mother.” Shaun was outnumbered, and Cole could tell from the hesitation in her voice that her confidence was starting to falter.
“Yes,” Christine agreed.
“No!” Cole didn’t give a shit that his voice carried or that people strolling by gawked in their direction. He’d grown tired of riding shotgun in every aspect of his life, forfeiting control and happiness to his friends and family. How about his fucking happiness? It was currently embodied in the beautiful woman who was about to leave his ass behind for good if he didn’t do something.
He turned to the other woman. “Why the hell would you even bring up our crackpot engagement, Christine? Especially considering I can’t remember the last time we actually said more than two words to one another.” Cole released the long breath of frustration he’d been holding onto. “Besides, we were both still in high school, and I bought that ring from a gumball machine,” he added with calculated sarcasm. He didn’t like the game Christine was playing at, and he was determined to let her and everyone else know.
Christine’s glossy pink pout formed a perfect O while Jake, the jerk, laughed into his fist.
“Now, you look here,” Cooper started, coming to Christine’s defense. “I won’t stand by and let you talk to her that way.
“Fuck off, Cooper.” When Cole finally made eye contact with Shaun, she wore the last thing he expected – a smile of amusement.
His vision tunneled, everything and everyone else receding into the background. The bright light at the end was Shaun. His thighs propelled his feet, eating up the short distance to her. Cradling her face in his hands, he took from her the one thing he’d ached for from the moment she’d emerged from the airplane back in Ridgecrest. Lips as sweet as he remembered parted, accepting all he had to give.
Rising back to the surface, they both gasped for the shared air between them, foreheads touching, lips a whisper apart. Audience both gone and forgotten.
“Come with me,” Cole commanded, not waiting for an answer. He grabbed her hand as if she were the last person on earth and he couldn’t afford to let go for fear of losing her forever. He pulled her toward the festival exit, every step closer to freedom. He refused to stop moving, desperation animating his body parts. Thunder rumbled in the distance as angry clouds stampeded their way through the gray-blue sky.
They didn’t make it to the truck before the heavens released the rain. Soaking wet, they jumped into his pickup as soon as he could get both doors open. Cole was starting to really consider getting the passenger door fixed. Shaun peeled off her leather jacket as he fumbled with the ignition and heat, trying not to stare. The white tank, made partially transparent, left nothing to his imagination. Hell, it only reminded him of everything he’d once earned the pleasure to touch. He gripped the steering wheel tight, knuckles white, hands wishing the curve belonged to her body instead.
“I should’ve told you about Christine.” Shit, Christine was only the tip of a gigantic iceberg, hell bent on sinking the S.S. Cole into the murky depths of what if. What if he had been honest with her from day one? What if he didn’t have the weight of his uncle’s treachery yanking him down from below?
“Why?” she posed, breaking his train of thought. “It’s not like we’re really…” She finished her sentence with a lift of her shoulders and turned her head to stare out the side window. Tracks of raindrops painted a somber backdrop. Cole shifted the truck into reverse and pulled into a line of cars with the same intention of retreat. The windshield wipers swept at the deluge in a futile effort.
“Cole.” He turned his head at the soft address, still unable to inch Old Bess forward.
“Yeah?”
Two delicate fingers traced the arch of her lower lip. Lips that had been locked with his mere moments before. Lips he wanted to devour until they were swollen and flushed. As if hearing his unspoken desires, Shaun’s gaze burned with a heat that rivaled the air bursting though the truck vents. Cole started to shift his body toward the growing warmth, but they both jumped at the sound of a car horn blaring from behind. The traffic had begun to move.
Shaun gave a soft laugh and Cole faced front, proceeding to follow the slow cavalcade.
Once off the festival grounds, Cole steered the truck away from home, away from all distractions. Few knew of his hideout, a small plot of land he’d purchased a year ago with hopes of one day building a home for himself. Now the more responsible option would be to sell the land and attempt to buy Robert out of his and his family’s lives. Although he doubted the land would be nearly enough when combined with his savings.
Cole parked the truck under a large willow with a gnarled trunk. A perfect tree for climbing, and the perfect umbrella from the rain. He sat there with the engine idling, the urge to ravage Shaun with his lips, hands, body almost too much to control. He wanted to chase away all thoughts of Christine and prove to the woman next to him that he needed more between them.
“Where are we?” she asked, eyes trained out the side window. Cole inhaled a deep breath, but that only managed to bring the scent of Shaun deeper into his lungs.
“Come on, I’ll show you,” he gritted out through clenched teeth. After shutting off the ignition, he opened his door and grabbed the moving blanket he used for deliveries that was wedged behind the truck seat. He climbed into the empty flatbed and spread the blanket over the damp surface, the water no match for its quilted thickness.
Shaun finally exited the truck and joined him at the rear just as he released the latch on the tailgate with a loud screech. The look in her eyes when their gazes met left no question: she knew very well his intentions. She bit her lip at his intense stare, her breathing visibly short and quick. She clenched her fists at her side and walked to the edge of the tree canopy, seemingly not yet ready to concede defeat to the thriving flames of attraction that had reignited the day before, upon her arrival.
She reached a hand through the safety of the willow tree, and droplets streamed through her spread fingers. Cole jumped down from his roost and tentatively walked up behind her.
“This is a pr
ivate place of mine,” he said low, making it clear that there was no chance of interruption. The rain continued to fall, a wall of water forming a dense circle around them, a shield from the outside world.
“You know, this is pretty cool.” Her compliment was clipped at the end when his chest met with her back.
He rested her damp ponytail on her other shoulder and brushed his lips against her skin, hot, wet, and speckled with goose bumps. “I finally have you all to myself. Something I wanted from the moment you stepped off that damn plane.”
She didn’t turn, but their bodies touched with every labored breath. “Was that your plan all along? To have me to yourself?”
He lifted his mouth to her ear, fingers twitching for a stronger hold. “Yes,” he breathed. “Does that bother you?”
The only sounds that followed came from the rain and Cole’s heart pounding in anticipation of a favorable answer of any sort.
“No,” Shaun finally replied, and she spun to kiss Cole with an unexpected fierceness that rocked him back onto his heels. Probing tongues stoked a fire hot enough to chase away the chill of their wet clothes. Clothes that needed to be discarded, badly, he thought. Quivering fingers yanked Cole’s shirt up, their mouths and bodies parting only long enough for her to yank the soaked cotton over his head. It fell to the ground with a thwack.
She nipped and licked at his ribs, and the urge to be inside of her was all that he could focus on. He began the task of removing her tank top, the bra beneath sheer against her damp skin. Unable to resist, Cole suckled the beaded tip of the dusky flower in perfect bloom beneath the transparent fabric. When he moved to sample the other bud, Shaun raked her blunt nails along his scalp, holding him to her. He worked her shorts down her slender legs while she unglued his jeans from his lower half, both reflexively kicking off their shoes and socks. A flurry of multitasking. Both desperate for the other to be naked. Their undergarments were quickly discarded, and Cole took a tentative step back, partly to gaze at the beauty that was Shaun and partly to gain a better hold on himself so as to not end this way too soon.
Drawn Through You Page 19
