“Right, and the longer they’re here, the more they will shop,” Elliott adds, much calmer and with a greedy smile.
“Exactly.”
That clearly gives her the confidence boost she needed, and she’s off explaining the rest of the details for the next hour.
I excuse myself, make my call to Roger and a few crews I have around the city. I debate calling Marcus. I want to apologize, but I know he doesn’t want to hear it. At least not yet. I hate how much it hurts Lyla, and I miss the fucker. Him and I have been thick as thieves for the past year and part of me feels lost without him running in and out of my daily life. I don’t miss the clubs, but I do miss football games on the couch and grocery shopping we always did together. Before I head back inside, I notice a black SUV that’s driving really slow by the warehouse. Blacked-out windows and Illinois plates. I stay close to my truck as they pass, not speeding up until they pass the stoplight at the end of the street. I take my phone out to snap a picture just in case.
“Hey, baby.”
Lyla wraps her arms around my waist as she meets me in the kitchen, already dressed in her soft pajamas. “What smells so good?”
“I attempted dinner, but it’s now in the trash. I won’t lie. I ran over to that Italian restaurant you like to make up for it.”
I look down at her sheepishly. She laughs as she pushes up to her toes to kiss me. I meet her halfway happily. After all the stress lately, I’ll do anything to help distract her.
“It smells amazing. Thank you.”
“You bet. I was thinking maybe tomorrow night you and I go on an official date.” I throw it out there as I turn for the plates. I can’t believe this woman still makes me nervous, but she does. I turn around to find her staring at me with her head tilted to the side, not in question but an adorable and confusing look on her face.
“A real date, huh? What did you have in mind?”
I clear my throat, feeling something I don’t really want to address right this second and brave the next phase of my plan.
“It’s a surprise.” I say this casually as I spoon the pasta onto our plates. I grab the still warm garlic bread, and she stops me, resting her hand on mine and looking deep into my eyes. Seconds pass without a word, and her eyes suddenly change to a different kind of hunger. She slides my hand around her waist, and I can’t help the splitting grin across my face. She pulls my hand lower to her ass, and I squeeze as she presses her body to mine.
“I would love to go out with you, Cole. Anytime, anywhere.”
Then she kisses me. Hard. I pick her up onto the counter but instantly stop and look to the front door and back to her.
“Fuck, baby, you got me so hot right now but let me take you to bed.”
This instantly kills the mood. Neither one of us wanting Marcus to walk in on us again. I watch her smile fade quickly and she looks to the floor. I reach and take her chin in my hands and press my forehead to hers. No words are necessary. I’m thankful she doesn’t push me away in favor of Marcus. I wouldn’t blame her, but it would fucking kill me. I’m an unworthy asshole to have her affections, and I swear I won’t ever take that for granted.
She slides down off the counter, and we eat dinner. The food is great, and we make light talk about construction projects I’m working on and design ideas she wants to bounce off me. I love that we can talk shop together. I’ve never met a woman who wouldn’t roll her eyes at me when talking about work, but Lyla loves it just as much as I do. She tells me all about the meeting and how Sam and Elliott seem to be just as thrilled about all her ideas. I tell her all the time she’s a genius at design, but she always shrugs it off. Now she seems validated and beams with excitement.
We head to bed late after talking for hours and fall into each other like nothing outside our room even exists. She is a dream I never want to wake up from.
21
Lyla
As much as I pretended it was no big deal, I’m crazy nervous. Cole is taking me on our first real date, and everything about it feels different. He helps me into his truck, and we head out of the city.
“Where are we going?” I assumed we would be going out to dinner, and I’m wearing my best little black dress, complete with lace sleeves and plunging neckline, like seriously plunging; I have to be careful bending over.
“It’s a surprise.”
The way he says this is like a sexy purr I feel throughout my entire body. Almost a promise that this isn’t at all what I expect, and dirty things are going to happen. I love surprises, especially ones that might get Cole naked, so I stay quiet for the rest of the ride. The city starts to fade into the rearview mirror and an army of butterflies start a parade in my stomach.
“Almost there,” he says, noticing my inability to sit still. The truck pulls down a sandy road with a Beach Ahead sign, and we park in front of a sand dune. I can’t take it anymore, so I open my own door while he grabs a basket from the back seat I hadn’t noticed before.
Cole takes my hand after I slip out of my high heels. No need to ruin them, I toss them into the open window, and we head down closer to the water. He starts by laying out a large plaid blanket, then I sit and watch him lay out tall white candles he pushes into the sand around us. Followed by a wood tray, meat, fruit, olives, and nuts. Whiskey, red solo cups, and Tupperware filled with something chocolate and cake-shaped.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” My grin is as full of as much mischief as I can muster.
“Oh no, ma’am, I didn’t forget it.”
He knows. He remembers and knows exactly what I’m talking about. He turns around and digs back into the basket and pulls a full bottle of teddy bear-shaped honey. My smile is literally hurting my face, and my heart couldn’t be any fuller. How something so small could mean this much to me is ridiculous and yet I can’t help it.
My eyes move to his lips, and he moves in closer to me, scooting over to kiss me. He touches my cheek, and I don’t hold back. I kiss him with all the love I feel. As scary as that is, I feel it so strongly in this moment. I know it’s too soon and I’m a mess. He deserves so much better than me, but hopefully he never figures that out.
He leans away and kisses my nose before staring into my eyes. I don’t know what he’s looking for, but I stare back, so thankful he’s here with me in this moment. A loud crash breaks our trance, and my head snaps to the ocean. Fireworks shoot up from a couple boats below.
“Oh my gosh,” I say in shock and look around, expecting a crowd. No one else is around; we are the only ones here. “Did you know they had fireworks tonight? Where is everyone?”
He doesn’t say anything, just moves me over his lap and between his legs and wraps me in his arms. I lean back and take it all in. Grabbing a slice of meat, I put it to his mouth, and he eats it from my hand, nipping at my fingertips.
“Do you like it?” he whispers right next to my ear.
“Yes, I love it. This is by far the best date of all time.”
“Good. Worth every penny then,” he says, leaning back, then grabbing a grape and putting into my open mouth before I could get out my question of what he meant. I chew and swallow, but when I’m done, his mouth is full. Intention written all over his face. I decide to enjoy the rest of the show. Something I’m starting to suspect was all organized by the man around me.
His warmth is the only thing keeping me from shivering as the breeze blows off the ocean. The sky lights up in blues, reds, yellows, and all the colors of the rainbow. Finally, a dozen go off at the same time and finish with a large red heart. I giggle and cuddle closer to him. Both adoringly and because it’s gotten so cold. He leans back again and pulls a smaller fuzzy blue blanket around us. I grab the whiskey for a little more help. We drink and eat the amazing food he brought and talk about our favorite movies and songs, and I finally ask him if he set up the fireworks. I don’t think he wanted to admit it, but he finally says he knew a guy and that’s the end of it. I laugh it off and conversation is easy. Like always when I
’m with him.
Facing him now, I ask, “So, food mostly eaten, booze mostly gone, whatever will you do with me now, Cole?”
Flirting, I continue to feel down his delicious abs, suddenly hungry for something else. At his belt buckle, I lock eyes with him and bat my lashes as I unclip the notch and get all the way to unzipping his pants when he stops me with his hand and growls that sexy sex growl he does when I get him worked up. He presses my hand to his length as he leans forward.
“Do you really want to start something here, baby? Because you can’t start something you can’t finish, and I’m going to fucking ravish you.”
I’m so wet and turned on by those simple words; quickly looking around to confirm we’re still alone, I climb on top of him, straddling his waist, and pull the blanket around my back and his. My dress is hiked over my ass at this point, and his hands push it up higher but I’m warm and covered. I wiggle on his lap, getting the reaction I want as I feel him grow harder, and I moan in his ear. Pulling his hair just a little I ask, “This night has been perfect, can I show you how thankful I am?”
I bite down on his earlobe and work my way down, kissing his neck. “Baby, when you do that. Mmmm. Yes. All things yes.”
Freeing his cock, I pump him slowly, and he captures my mouth with his. The waves crash behind me, but otherwise silence surrounds us. He works his mouth down my jaw, to my neck, and bites when he hits my shoulder, and I start pumping harder.
“I need inside you now, Lyla.”
Using my name surprises me but not as much as he does when he reaches between us and rips my panties off.
“I want to feel you and only you tonight. If that’s okay. I’m clean and you know I take the pill every day.”
“Fuck, baby, nothing would make me happier. I don’t want anything between us. I’m clean. I have the paper in my office to prove it.”
I groan like a savage ready to attack him and kiss him fiercely. I’m soaked for him and slide on easy. He meets my thrusts, and I land on him hard. Feeling like I can’t get enough of him, I move his hand from my ass to my clit. He takes over, breaking our kiss to smile at me.
“Fuck, you are so sexy. Show me what you like.” I’m on edge and the way he’s looking at me has me that much closer. He pulls me close, bottoming out inside me, and moves us until I’m underneath him. He drives into me so hard I see fireworks again. This time I feel them all over my body, and I come with the most intense orgasm I have ever had. As I clench around him, he comes undone, collapsing on top of me but holding his weight on his forearms.
“You’re welcome,” he pants, and I can’t help but laugh. We adjust our clothes and lay looking up at the stars for a while longer, not wanting the best night of my life to ever end.
22
Cole
Fucking A. I watch Lyla as she does another squat in front of me, happily taking my time with my own reps. She is so fucking beautiful; how did a sorry ass man like me get so lucky. I think I might ask myself that for as long as she’s with me. Our date went better than I imagined, and we’ve been on cloud nine together ever since. All of her things are officially in my room and that body is in my bed every night; we grocery shop and cook together, work together, hell we are even working out together, and still I can’t get enough of this woman. As I watch her plump apple ass dip low, I fantasize about the many positions I can bend her into and still bury my cock in it. We have made jokes but I’m dead serious, I want in.
Suddenly jerked out of my head by someone brave enough to shake my shoulder, I realize I’ve been staring for a while and she’s moving on to bar pull-ups. I drop my bar and glare down at the small guy beside me.
“What?”
“Hey, man, just realized who you were and wanted to come over and get your card. You built an apartment complex for my company awhile back, and we were wanting to do another project like that soon.”
“And you are?” I ask, not believing a word this little shit says for a second. He’s slick and wearing all the top brand athletic wear but screams slimeball.
“Name’s Darren Henry. I’ll be in touch this week to set something up. We have a site in mind. Just wanted to introduce myself.”
His grin turns my stomach, and I can’t wait to get away from this guy. I look to Lyla and her back is still to us as she listens to music on her headphones. I nod and soon he’s backing away.
Lyla and I finish up our Monday routine and head home to shower. We prefer to do it together at home. Not always fucking but always enjoyable. Dinner was amazing and she made me grilled chicken in a mouthwatering sauce, green beans, and twice baked potatoes with cheese and chives.
It was a long day and we head to bed just happy to be in each other’s arms. I know I love this woman when she’s taken over every aspect of my life and I keep thinking about more. That is scary, and I’m not about to scare her off. Any other woman would be demanding I say the three little words where Lyla would be the one woman to pack up and head back to Chicago if I even hinted at it. No, I’ll show her instead. Another date maybe. Maybe I can patch things up with Marcus and put our little family back together; that would certainly win me points.
For now, I’ll hold her and whisper into her ear how fantastic her ass feels against my cock. I grin devilishly as she grinds back on me. We fall asleep teasing each other, too tired to do anything about it.
The next morning, I have her coffee ready and waiting when she comes down showered and dressed for our day at the retail warehouse. I had a dream, giving me the best idea how to tell her how much she means to me, but I will need Charlie and Marcus in on it, and that comes with its own challenges.
We are hours into the remodel, and I’m covered in sawdust and sweating through my flannel. Lyla’s knocking out a back wall with a sledgehammer bigger than she is. I laugh and stop what I’m doing, dust off my arms and beard, and head over to be closer just in case she needs me. Not that I make it obvious or she will kick my ass.
I start on stacking the old driftwood she wants to reuse. I’m moving everything to the far side when I spot her phone. There are forty-one missed calls. I pick it up, not even thinking twice about it. We share our phones all the time and have discussed how we won’t ever have anything to hide from each other, so I know she won’t care. She even programmed my fingerprint to hers and I did the same with my phone. If that’s not fucking commitment, I don’t know what is.
I open it and see it’s all from the same number and assume it’s from the asshat who’s been harassing her. Motherfucker. This is the perfect reminder to check in with Roger and get an update. He’s been working around the clock, putting his former military intelligence skills to work for us and I’m grateful for a family friend with a certain kind of connections. Anything that would help my girl. She’s got the wall and hammer down, and Scott, a crewman, is there helping her now. I step outside just in time to meet a mail carrier on a bike who comes to a screeching halt before he runs into me. The tire stops directly against my steel-toe boot. The guy looks up at me and apologies a dozen times.
“Dude, it’s fine.”
I wave him off and step back against the building. He reads the address and pulls out a letter.
“Well, man, this seems to be for you anyway.”
I take the manila envelope, and he takes off. No signature required, I guess. I tear into it and grind my teeth at the threat I read on the note inside. It’s for Lyla from the son of bitch who won’t leave her alone. This shit has got to stop. I take it to my truck and snap a shot of it for Roger. No sender address. I hate that I have to give this to her. I want to shield her and protect her, but I can’t leave her in the dark. I take a deep breath and go in, then ask her if she’ll go to lunch with me.
We head to a hole in the wall China place I know she’ll love. I’m shocked when the chef comes out to meet her. Saying he saw her and wanted to personally say hello and invited her to come cook with him anytime. She is constantly amazing me. I can tell this praise always makes he
r uncomfortable, but I’m afraid she feels like she doesn’t deserve it anymore. These assholes from Chicago have caused her so much pain, and I’m determined to fix it.
She steps back into the kitchen for a while, but when we sit down to eat, we’re alone and I ease her into it with a kiss and tell her about Roger and that he’s the best man for the job.
I give her the letter to read. It’s the same threat as before. He wants Howard or his money or he’s going to make her life hell. He even threatens to come after her, and I wish I could tell him to fucking try. I will rip any man limb from limb who dares to touch her. She takes the news well, considering, but I see the unease in her eyes. She’s acting strong and believe me I know she is, but she’s scared too. We grab some extra food for the crew and head back to work. We keep busy, me never letting her out of my sight. I’m officially paranoid, and I would be afraid she feels smothered, but she keeps looking at me with a look of adoration. Fuck, I love that look.
23
Lyla
It’s a long hard day at the warehouse, but things are finally looking like a retail space. We are nowhere near done, but I see my vision coming to life and love it. The dark-teal painted walls and dark paneling wood are perfect for the boutique and aren’t the cliché turquoise other beach-themed stores are using. Plus, the guys loved the idea to paint the pipes on the ceiling crazy bold colors to add the dramatic pop of color to match the different clothes. I love all the little things that will set this place apart. I might be burying myself in my work and avoiding the chaos around me, but so far, it’s working out just fine.
As a huge bonus, I get to stare at Cole’s amazing muscles glistening with sweat so it’s by far my favorite job I’ve ever had. Including being an up-and-coming chef with my face plastered on billboards in Chicago. Cooking never came with these sexy perks.
Whiskey and Honey: Can a forbidden fling be real love? (The Empire Records Series Book 1) Page 11
