Heat Up the Fall: New Adult Boxed Set (6 Book Bundle)

by Gennifer Albin

“You’re no princess.”

  “I could have told you that.”

  “No, I mean because that’s what daddies call their baby girls, and you are no child, Ruby Cotton. You must be a queen. Do they have queens in New Orleans?” It would have been funny if his face wasn’t so serious.

  “Voodoo queens,” I offered sleepily.

  “Ah, that explains it.”

  “Explains what?”

  “Your spell.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  We slept until late afternoon, then did it again after we ate some frozen pizza and before Law and Nox came stumbling in around midnight. For a guy who didn’t sleep around, Cole had a good supply of condoms, for which I was eternally grateful.

  Each time got a little better, as we guessed each other’s nonverbal cues and laughed in the middle, which was a new experience for me, but one I liked.

  My body felt stretched and sore, spent in the best possible way when I fell asleep for the night, my back pressed against Cole’s chest and his strong arm snuggling me tight against him.

  I woke up feeling deliciously worn out. Cole still slept, morning light trickling across his face and highlighting every beautiful angle. I missed his eyes, the way they changed color with his mood, and how they shot shivers through me with every shift, but seeing him this way reminded me we were both vulnerable.

  It should have been a good moment, and part of me wanted to climb on top of him and go again, but the fact that everything felt too good to be true ruined it for me. He was too nice, the sex was too good, the Stuarts had too much history…I could see the other shoe hanging above my head, ready to knock me out cold any moment.

  “Stop,” Cole mumbled, not opening his eyes.

  “Stop what?”

  “You’re feert again. I can sense it. Every muscle in your body tenses up when you start to freak out.”

  “How do you know?”

  “You’ve done it twice since last night, and before at the beach.” He peered at me, blinking away sleepiness. “Everything’s fine.”

  “Only fine?”

  “Pretty fucking great.”

  I cuddled closer to him, pressing skin against skin and trying to reassure myself with his solidity. “So, do you think we’re at a point where I can say something completely blunt?”

  He chuckled, turning toward me and twisting a piece of hair between his fingers. “When were you not at that point?”

  “I have to leave for class in thirty minutes, but I’d really like you to fuck me quick and hard before I go.” I gave him my sauciest look, and I don’t know whether it was that or the request, but Cole didn’t hesitate.

  He flipped me over with a sure arm, one hand toying firmly with a breast and the other raising my hips to give him a good angle to push inside me. The double sensations and the confidence with which he manipulated my body made me cry out, but I stuffed a pillow over my face quickly. The twins were home, and for all of the things I was into, exhibitionism wasn’t really one of them.

  Cole rocked inside me, a hand firm on my ass as he gave me exactly what I’d asked for, and within minutes we were both straining to get closer. The friction from the sheets burned the outside of my thigh and Cole’s mouth was hot on the back of my neck, his tongue sending tactile shivers down my spine.

  He squeezed my breast a little harder and I arched into his touch. The other hand left my ass and slid around between my legs, rubbing in time with his thrusts and making me forget trying to be quiet, forget my fears, forget everything but the crazy amazing feeling of his hands all over me and him inside of me. We came together, each making more noise than we probably intended as we thrashed in an attempt to make it last as long as possible.

  I rolled over and he kissed my mouth, nipping my bottom lip and then soothing the bite with his tongue. I smiled against his lips, happier than I could recall being, pretty much ever.

  Too happy.

  “I have to say, I’ve never been with a girl confident enough to just ask me to fuck her.”

  It made me self-conscious at first, but the way his eyes drank me in said it wasn’t a bad thing. “If you don’t ask, you can’t get what you want. And I feel comfortable with you. You’re so accommodating,” I finished with a smile that felt more confident that I did.

  “I promise to try to give you what you need.” His brow furrowed, his gaze taking on a concern that I hadn’t seen until now. “It’s okay, right? The sex?”

  “Are you kidding me? Cole, I may regret telling you this, since it’s going to make your head too big to fit through the door, but the sex is fucking amazing. I’ve had like, half a dozen orgasms in less than twenty-four hours.”

  His ears turned pink and a shit-eating grin spread his lips. “We seem to be compatible.”

  I snorted. “That’s the understatement of the year.”

  “It’s never been that way for me. Like, my body senses what yours wants, and you anticipate the exact right way to move…it’s weird.”

  “That’s just my voodoo magic.” I waved my fingers in his face. “Pay no attention to the dead animal bones you find in your underwear drawer.”

  “God, you are fucking adorable. And smart and funny and so sexy I’m ready to say screw your Shakespeare class and go again.”

  “Can’t. I have a paper due.” I leaned up to kiss him, intending to move, but it took another five minutes before I finally made it out of bed and into the shower.

  It wasn’t until I was out the door and waiting in line at The Grind that I realized that with all of the intimate details I knew about Cole, he’d never told me what exactly he’d been so afraid of until now. What he was still hiding.

  ***

  “Wait, what?”

  “Cole and I hooked up,” I whispered again.

  “I know, I heard you. I’m not deaf. But what?” Her dark eyes were huge as we waited for the rest of speech class to trickle in.

  I’d actually managed to get there with seven minutes to spare and hadn’t been able to stop from blabbing my news. “He says he wants to date me—like not as a fling or sex, but as like, something. A thing.”

  “Duh, Ruby. That’s what he’s wanted for weeks, but what changed your mind?”

  I shook my head, my throat tight. “I didn’t want to say goodbye.”

  A sly smile spread across her face until her eyes sparkled with mischief. “And I’m assuming you didn’t get the cold shoulder that created the ratings, so I’m going to need details.”

  Cole walked through the door right then, his gaze seeking me out immediately. He glanced between Emilie and me, his smile growing, and then winked. The professor hustled in right behind him and Cole took his seat up front, leaving Emilie and I to our discussion.

  “Crazy good, Em. I can hardly walk straight.”

  She squealed, drawing attention from most of the class. Cole didn’t turn around but I could almost feel his shit-eating grin growing wider.

  “Yes. Oh my god. Yes. I’m so happy. You should look happier.” She paused, narrowing her gaze at me. “You look like you’re about to throw up.”

  “It seems too good to be true, that’s all. The great sex, the nice guy…I mean, he says it’s a thing, but I can’t help but remember what happened with his family, and the website, and the fact that he still hasn’t told me—”

  “Okay, stop. This is new and it’s scary. I get it. But there’s not always a booby trap over the door, Rubes. Sometimes it’s just a door.”

  I nodded, still trying not to cry. Discomfort churned in my stomach, dulling the glow from the past couple of days and the tiny bit of hope trying to stay lit.

  The professor cleared his throat and started talking. Emilie reached over and squeezed my hand. “You want to go to the Homecoming game together? The four of us?”

  I snorted, earning a look from the prof, even though we were just waiting on someone to set up their PowerPoint presentation. “Quinn’s going to the football game?”

  “Well, you know we all hav
e to be at the Homecoming Alumni crap, so I talked him into it. Or I held his whiskey hostage and promised it would be at the tailgate. You in?”

  “I’ll ask Cole.”

  “You’ll tell Cole. Plus, he’s not like Quinn. He’s a joiner.” She nodded seriously and let go of me, and we both focused on class.

  Her assessment of Cole made me smile. It didn’t seem possible, or probable, to be as happy as I wanted to be—as happy as I would be, if I could let go and enjoy it.

  ***

  We only had to sit through one more Homecoming skit before the Alumni vote that would choose a winner, then we could head to the game. I hated that the skits started before noon, but loved that it meant that we’d have at least five hours to drink at the tailgate before watching Vanderbilt kick our assess all over the football field.

  Emilie had totally bailed on the skits, along with most upperclassmen, but since I was Homecoming Chair I didn’t have much of a choice. Cole sat next to me, his big hand wrapped around mine, index finger stroking circles on my palm that were, for some reason, making me want to get him naked. Then again, everything did that these days.

  “Regretting the decision to volunteer for social chair?” I leaned closer and whispered in his ear, taking the briefest taste of him before pulling away.

  A serious expression darkened his green eyes as he turned to me. “Never.”

  “You’d better pay attention. Kappa and Alpha Chi are the last group. Don’t want to miss your sister.”

  “I kind of want to go tumble you in the back of the car, instead.”

  “What kind of big brother are you?” Trying to sound indignant while my body burned at the suggestion proved difficult.

  Music began, some kind of swing tune, and we both reluctantly turned to stare at the stage. The Kappas—mostly freshman, all gorgeous—and the Alpha Chi pledges went through the motions of a swing dance, which actually looked pretty fun, then presented their Hero—a man who had graduated from Whitman in the twenties and went on to found one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the country.

  “He’s a hero?” I whispered to Cole.

  He shrugged. “Before he died he gave away almost his entire fortune to cancer research—his wife died of breast cancer.”

  The number ended and the crowd started to move. Cole and I almost made it to the back door when we ran into Audra, who I still had no desire to see after the scene at the house. Her sharp emerald gaze sank to my hand, clasped inside her brothers, and sparkled when it rose to his face.

  “What did you think, bro?”

  “Oh, rousing. I even stayed awake.”

  “I’m sure you’re tired.” She rearranged her face into a serious expression, then glanced at me. “Hey, Ruby. Nice to see you.”

  “Hi,” I managed, making a valiant attempt not to die of embarrassment.

  “Let him get a little more sleep, okay? Big meet this weekend.”

  She ran off, leaving my cheeks as hot as the rest of me.

  “I have a feeling I probably deserved that, after all of the times I embarrassed her in high school.” Cole’s tone was wry, but he searched my face with a concerned expression.

  “I’m fine. I was bound to run into one of your siblings eventually, since you populate half the university.”

  “I’ve actually decided you must actually know voodoo, since you’ve magically managed to avoid both Law and Nox for the past week.”

  We exited the theatre and decided to walk over to the football stadium. If we got into the backseat of that Town Car, we wouldn’t be getting out any time soon, and his driver had already been within hearing distance for way too much hanky panky.

  Students and alumni filled the stadium parking lot with a sea of black, green, and white. Tents popped up to protect fans from the November sunshine, so everyone could get drunk and play silly games in peace. The smell of smoked meat filled the air and joined chatter and laughter, the distant sound of the marching band gearing up, and the occasional shouted announcement from the televisions that the guys had rigged up for the day.

  We wound around to the west side of the stadium, where the SEA tailgate raged at full strength. Cole had agreed to come with me to this one since I wasn’t ready to face his brothers yet, and he and Quinn were good enough friends that none of the SEAs would act stupid about it.

  Pretty much everyone in the Greek system had a love/hate relationship with it—the divisions were arbitrary and stupid—but there were still boundaries many were hesitant to cross. Girls had an easier time forming and maintaining friendships outside their house than guys did.

  Quinn handed us both whiskey and 7Up, even though Cole and I shared an affinity for rum, but booze was booze. He and Emilie stood outside the tent next to us. The autumn sunshine hit my head and warmed me down to my toes. The thought flitted through my mind that Liam would never have come here or been willing to spend time with Quinn and Emilie, and for all of my fears about where things might end with Cole, it was nice to have this moment.

  “Earth to Ruby. Come in.” Quinn raised an eyebrow at me and then threw back the rest of his drink.

  “What?”

  “I asked why the play was delayed.”

  “Oh. Our director had a family emergency and she’s not going to be back until after Thanksgiving. We haven’t even held auditions yet.”

  Emilie rolled her eyes. “Like you’re not going to get the lead.”

  “There are a couple really talented sophomores.”

  Cole snaked a warm arm around my back and tugged me close. “You are amazing and talented and whatever part you want, you’ll get. Plus, you’re going to look super sexy prancing around with a gun and boots.”

  He leaned down and kissed me; it started out chaste but lasted a little longer than we meant it to, like our lips refused to take orders from our brains.

  “Are we this disgusting?” Quinn’s dry question snapped me out of Cole-land.

  He had asked Emilie, but I answered. “Yes. Hell, yes. Worse.”

  “It’s not a competition,” he replied as he refilled his drink.

  “Good, because you’d definitely win.”

  The four of us talked for a while, then Emile and I went to the port-a-potty and came back to find a table set up and a group getting ready to play Flip Cup.

  “You playing?” Cole asked, a roguish grin on his face that showed off his dimples.

  My heart pounded and my mouth went dry. It was hard to believe he still had such an effect on me now that we’d been in bed together, but it surprised me to find that I still enjoyed the flirting and the anticipation of what we’d do later almost as much as the actual sex.

  Okay, not almost. But still plenty.

  “Sure.”

  “I want Ruby on my team,” Hunter said too loudly.

  He was a theatre major and a real dick, an opinion I’d held even before he’d basically tried to rape my best friend last year. Quinn had given him an impressive black eye. He’d gotten off easy.

  “I’m not very good,” I shot back, trying to be as polite as possible.

  “Girls like you are always good at drinking games.”

  The remark didn’t rankle. I’d heard similar ones far too many times to still get upset by them, and really it only did me the favor of revealing the super snobs on Whitman’s campus. I hated that Cole heard it, though, because one of these times the reminder would be his wake-up call.

  He stepped to my side and picked up my hand. “If by ‘girls like you’ you mean ‘amazing girls I happen to like very much that you’ll respect’ then that’s fine. If you’re being a snotty wallaper, then we’ll have to discuss it further.”

  Cole and Hunter stared each other down for several seconds. I wanted to tell them both to cut it out, but didn’t want to make a bigger deal out of the nonevent. Eventually, Toby moved to the table and dropped a load of red plastic cups.

  He looked up at me and smiled. I didn’t smile back, even though Emilie had forgiven him for his
part in her bad semester. He’d been a shitty friend, whether he’d taken a few punches for it or not.

  “We’ll do girls against guys. Ruby, Emilie, Blair and Kennedy….”

  “Kennedy’s fucking passed out. Already,” a pretty girl wearing Kappa letters said, rolling her dark eyes. She swept the thick chestnut hair over her shoulders. “She’ll be fine, but she’s not playing anything.”

  She introduced herself as Blair, then told Cole that she and Audra were friends, and I tuned out the chatter as Toby arranged the teams and we started to play. I actually did suck at Flip Cup, and we lost easily a bunch of times in a row. I couldn’t stop thinking about the way Cole came to my defense, and how he said he liked me very much.

  How long would he like me very much? How long until he got tired of constantly defending me, or his choice to date me to his friends and family?

  A wavering confidence returned by the time we’d finished the game and walked into the stadium. Cole didn’t take his hands off me for more than five minutes at a time, and the four of us got along great. When we climbed into the Town Car to head home, it seemed like the entire day couldn’t have gone better, incident with Hunter aside.

  I needed to relax, before I let my own issues ruin the whole thing.

  Chapter Twenty

  We’d left as soon as the game finished, and thankfully the twins were still out. I felt grimy and tired after drinking most of the day, and Cole’s eyes were bloodshot, too.

  He sat down on the edge of the bed and grabbed his laptop. “I need to do a couple of things for Quinn before we crash.”

  “I think I’ll take a quick shower.”

  The shower in the old house had been remodeled and I loved it. The tile was a weave of pretty earth tones and it had a couple of benches, which made shaving way easier than the stalls in the sorority house. Two heads with amazing massage settings and giant glass doors completed the picture, and I’d enjoyed watching Cole through them just this morning.

  I turned the water as hot as I could stand it then stripped and stepped into the steam. The beating water sluiced away the dirt from the day spent carousing outside, and I used some acting tricks in an attempt to visualize my worries washing away, down the drain and into the ground along with soap and water. Cole liked me. He did.