Cole (All In Book 2)

by Liz Meldon

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgments

  ALL IN Trilogy

  A Sweet Surprise

  Downward Dog

  Finally

  New POV

  A Gentlemen’s Agreement

  Done Deal

  Newsletter Connect

  Thanks for reading!

  About the Author

  Cole

  All In, #2

  Liz Meldon

  Published by Liz Meldon, Amazon Edition.

  Copyright 2017

  License Notes

  Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to purchase their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  ALL IN Trilogy

  1. A Sweet Surprise

  2. Downward Dog

  3. Finally

  4. New POV

  5. A Gentlemen’s Agreement

  6. Done Deal

  Newsletter Connect

  Thanks for reading!

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you to my phenomenal beta reader and editorial guru Amanda, along with my amazing proofreader Phoenix, for catching my errors with poise and tact. As always, much love to my author besties group, my sun and stars, and my parents for being incredibly supportive of this journey. Last, and certainly not least, a great many thanks to my readers, especially all you squeeing about the trilogy on #bookstagram. Without you, there’s nothing but me and my imagination.

  ALL IN Trilogy

  FINN

  COLE

  SKYE

  Cole (All In, #2)

  Skye Summers: Gainfully employed university grad, cat servant, leftover sushi connoisseur…

  Sugar baby falling hard and fast for two men.

  Still reeling from her steamy encounter with Finn, Skye has a tidal wave of feelings to decode when the snarky billionaire shows up on her doorstep with a bouquet of chocolate roses. Oh, and a declaration that if she and Cole aren’t a real couple outside of their sugar daddy contract, then Finn is coming after her heart—hard.

  And, honestly, Skye doesn’t hate his enthusiasm. In fact, she finds Finn and his wit rather charming.

  Her suppressed feelings for sugar daddy Cole, however, refuse to quit. Even if they left things a little awkward after Finn’s party, four years of blossoming love aren’t easy to forget.

  But when Cole waltzes into her usual Wednesday evening yoga class, looking gorgeous as ever, Skye finally learns that her feelings might not be so one-sided…

  1

  A Sweet Surprise

  “Now, we would be interested in meeting with you sometime in the next week for a more in-depth interview.”

  Skye Summers did an embarrassing little dance around her living room, thrilled that she had passed the phone portion of her interview.

  “Perfect,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound like she was bouncing around her apartment at the thought. If anything, weren’t you supposed to sound like you didn’t need the job in question, that the arduous, soul-crushing postgrad job hunt was just something you did in your spare time—for fun?

  “Does Wednesday at three work?” Her interviewer Hans Timmons, an older gent with a kind voice who had managed to make Skye feel comfortable for the first time ever during an over-the-phone interrogation, ran the only sex museum for miles. While he insisted that it was more of a gallery for nude artworks, Skye knew better. And she didn’t care. The history of human sexuality was just as important as exhibits dedicated to Roman gladiators—more important, given how prudish society in general was these days.

  While it hadn’t been her area of study—at all—in college, she was willing to take whatever job she could if it meant she had a paid museum position to add to her bleak résumé. Sure, the thing was loaded with the dozens of customer service jobs she’d toiled away at before she met her sugar daddy Cole, but those could only get her so far in this new world of museum grunt positions. Even though she would be at the bottom of the ladder in all the spots she had applied for—assistant implied she’d have zero creative power, only a step above intern—she was required to have a ridiculous amount of work experience, despite having just graduated. Apparently her cover letter had been doing her good since she’d completed her degree a little over a month ago: she’d had six interviews since May, and as June crawled by, she hoped to have a few more before the true Californian summer hit her ocean-side town of Coral Bay.

  “Three o’clock sounds perfect,” she insisted, voice quivering just slightly as she penciled the appointment into her day planner. “Would you like me to bring anything beyond my résumé and references?”

  “No, that’ll be all. I look forward to chatting more with you, Miss Summers.”

  “You as well, Mr. Timmons.”

  They played the who-has-the-last-word game for about ten seconds longer before he hung up, and Skye tossed the phone on her couch, threw her arms up, and squee’d. Every in-person interview was a victory. Sure, it’d be nice to get the job, but every time someone read her cover letter, scrutinized her résumé, and deigned her worthy of a phone call, it meant she was doing something right. Some of her college friends still hadn’t landed an interview yet.

  Skye just needed one to stick. And she had a good feeling about this one. She could chat about sex all day. Sure, her cheeks would be permanently pink for about three months when she first started, but it would all be old hat after a while.

  Oz, her ball of pure white feline fluff, sleepily cracked open one blue eye from the other end of the couch, clearly unimpressed that his afternoon nap had been interrupted—again. She grinned, creeping across the cushions toward him, then laughed when he rolled onto his back, belly up for rubs.

  “I’m not falling for that,” she cooed in a voice strictly reserved for cat cuddling. Knowing better than to stick her hand in the bear trap, she went for his cute little face instead, smooshing it between both hands and showering him with kisses. His only protest was a pitiful meow, and while his paws pressed to her face, his claws remained sheathed.

  She loved him for that.

  And she adored Cole—despite their recent weirdness at Finn Rai’s…sexual event—for giving her this little bundle of kitten joy four years prior. Life was somehow easier with her Oz man around.

  Purrs intensified, the cat gave in to her affections, but just as Skye was about to scoop him into her arms, someone knocked at her apartment’s door. She straightened with a frown; the front desk hadn’t called to let her know someone had stopped by to see her. Since the bash at Finn’s house, she had nothing scheduled with Cole either. None of her friends were likely to make random house calls.

  Another knock, this time louder. Untangling herself from Ozzy, she strode over, tugging her little booty shorts down—it was too warm for yoga pants, too cold with the AC blasting, so she opted for less clothes and open windows to strike a happy medium. She did a quick T-shirt check to make sure it wasn’t see-through, then peered through the peephole.

  Roses peered back.

  Slowly, toeing the line been caution and curiosity, Skye undid the various locks, then opened the door just a few inches—and found Finn Rai smirking on the other side of that bouquet.

  “Finn…” Her first instinct was to shut the door and pretend she wasn’t home. She hadn’t taken him up on the tantalizing offer of brunch suggested on the card he had slipped into her purse last week—though not because she didn’t want to. Skye just hadn’t decided what would be healthiest for her rela
tionship with Cole yet, but that hadn’t kept the deliriously sexy Finn Rai, heir to the Rai’s Sweets chocolate empire in Britain, out of her dreams.

  “Skye…” With a voice like velvet, his head tipped to one side as that smirk shifted into a grin. “Are you indecent?”

  “No.” She hesitated a few moments longer before opening the door, then popped a hand onto her cocked hip, ignoring the bouquet that was clearly meant for wooing her. “Just wondering how you got my address. Pretty sure I didn’t give it to you.”

  He was even more handsome in daylight: tall, with the broad shoulders of a swimmer, brown skin a tad more sun-kissed than she remembered, and a devilishly handsome smile. He wore a pair of knee-length green shorts, stopping at the right length for her to admire marvelously toned calves, and a beige tee with a slight V-neck—just enough for her to catch a glance at the muscular chest she knew lay beneath. Flip-flops replaced the leather dress shoes of their last encounter, and she decided right then and there he was one of the few men who looked equally scrumptious in formal attire and casual loungewear. Still, the slightly styled cowlick of his jet black hair, the dark hue mirrored in his eyes, suggested he had put some effort into his appearance.

  The butterflies in her stomach fluttered to life at the thought.

  “Well, you see, I have eyes everywhere,” he teased. The delectable rumble of that sultry baritone, wrapped in a posh English accent—oh, it was positively swoon-worthy. Skye leaned on the door for support, hoping Finn wouldn’t notice, and narrowed her eyes.

  He waited, as if expecting a response, then cleared his throat and straightened, lowering the bouquet. “Actually, Cole gave it to me.”

  “What?”

  “I said I was sending thank-you cards,” Finn admitted with an impish shrug. “These are for you.”

  Skye bit her lower lip before letting her gaze drop to the roses. They really were quite lovely, though there was something strange about their color. Darker than standard roses… Thicker, too. Finn held the bouquet out for her, and when she finally accepted it with a long, drawn-out sigh, Skye caught a whiff of one of her favourite scents.

  “They’re chocolate?” She went for one of the leaves, laughing softly when it popped off and started to melt between her fingers. Finn slipped his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth onto the balls of his feet, his pleasure at her surprise obvious.

  “Any old idiot can get actual flowers,” he mused.

  She popped the leaf in her mouth and briefly closed her eyes, savoring the exquisite taste. Rai’s Sweets really did make the best chocolates, and from the look on his face, Finn knew it.

  “I had it commissioned for you at the shop in LA. It arrived this morning.” He watched her break off another leaf and pop it in her mouth, smiling. “I’m actually in charge of rolling out this new service in the US… We can pretty much make anything out of chocolate.”

  “It tastes delicious,” she murmured, swallowing a moan.

  “And, as I recall, so do you.” Finn pursed his lips when she looked up sharply, cheeks on fire, and appeared to be trying not to laugh. “Can I come in? Just to talk… Or more, if you want. I’m game either way.”

  Skye contemplated slamming the door in his smug face, just to knock him down a few pegs, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. Instead, she sighed again and stepped aside.

  “Just to talk,” she insisted, fighting the urge to dreamily float along behind him in his cologne cloud as he breezed by. Sandalwood. Cedar. Woodsy yet refined—the scent brought forth images of Finn hiking through towering red pines to a cabin. Said cabin would be stocked with every amenity a billionaire could need, and he’d sip bourbon on a deck while Skye padded toward him, wearing his discarded shirt over her naked, glowing, totally satisfied body, post-orgasm…

  She blinked and slammed the door harder than necessary.

  Whoa.

  This…was not good. Did the cologne companies know their product had such insane effects on women?

  Or was it all Finn? Maybe he just enhanced something that was already mind-altering…

  Focus, Skye.

  Shaking her head, she crossed the spacious, sparsely furnished apartment and set the bouquet of chocolate roses on the kitchen island. Finn had already made himself comfortable on the couch, and as she turned back, deciding to hover there at the island to keep some distance between them, she found him lifting a limp, sleepy Oz onto his lap. The cat appeared mildly disgruntled to be manhandled by a stranger, but soon closed his eyes, purring, as Finn massaged his neck.

  Skye knew just how talented those fingers could be…

  Another headshake to refocus. “What are you doing here?”

  “Straight the point today, I see,” he mused, his attention on Oz. Skye folded her arms over her chest.

  “Well, we left things kind of awkward, and now you’re here, so…”

  “I just wanted to talk,” Finn told her. He finally looked up from Oz, perfectly businesslike, and stretched his arm along the back of the couch. “Are you romantically involved with Cole Daniels?”

  Anxiety skittered through her in prickling waves.

  “How is that any of your business?”

  “I’ve made it my business.” Finn’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I’m many things in this life, Skye. Some pleasant, others not. I know that. However, one thing I’m not is a man who fucks his friend’s girlfriend. I’ve never been that man, nor do I have any intention of becoming that man. So,” he scooped Oz up to his chest, then inched to the edge of the couch and leaned forward, meeting her eye, “I need to know the truth.”

  To anyone else, Skye would have told her usual lie, that she and Cole had been dating for years, right away. However, knowing that Finn had met Cole long before she even started telling said lie, she couldn’t deceive him. She couldn’t let him walk away thinking he had screwed over one of the nicest men Skye had the privilege of associating with. And, given how firmly he spoke, his tone suggesting an instant shift from playful to no-nonsense, she had a feeling Finn felt the same way about Cole as she did.

  Well. Maybe not completely. Even though she had come to terms with the fact that Cole probably, maybe, potentially wasn’t interested in pushing the boundaries of their relationship, she still had feelings for him. Ones she had been trying to bury by throwing herself into her workouts, her day trips to the beach, her Friday night sushi gab-fests with her friends, and her soul-crushing job hunt. Skye liked to keep busy, but in the week that had followed her run-in with Finn and her weird goodbye with Cole, she had been living on overdrive. Hell, she was due at the cat sanctuary in an hour so she could voluntarily clean cages and litterboxes, immediately followed by a paint-and-wine-night thing with her girl Brynn and a few friends downtown.

  “Skye.” She leapt out of her wandering thoughts at the sharp way Finn said her name.

  “It’s complicated,” was the best answer she could give him.

  He did a great job at maintaining his steely demeanor while Oz, now wide awake, sniffed and rubbed his fuzzy cheeks against Finn’s stubbly cheek. “Why?”

  “Because…” She threw her hands up. “Because it just is.”

  “I am privy to some information regarding his use of that agency.” The way his face pinched with distaste sent her hackles up. She recrossed her arms, scowling as he struggled to say it aloud—something Skye had grappled with at first too. “The… The… Well… I know that he has a, er…” He gestured to her, floundering. “You know.”

  “Sugar baby?” she offered, after which Finn settled back on the couch, Oz still cuddled to his chest, and scoffed.

  “Yes, that. What a ridiculous title.”

  “I’m not arguing with you there.”

  “He’s told me some details of the arrangement,” Finn continued without missing a beat. “I’m surprised we’ve never run into each other at events, but Cole and I have been a bit opposite with schedules in the last five years, and for my own sanity I don’t follow the tabloids. But
from what I’ve gathered, he’s very fond of his…sugar… Oh, don’t make me say it.”

  While it was tempting to draw out his torment, the subject matter was a little too dangerous for Skye to hem and haw around.

  “Look, I can’t confirm or deny anything that you’re saying,” she told him, reaching back and snagging another chocolate leaf, “as per my contract.”

  She popped it in her mouth quickly, though she didn’t taste the chocolate as strongly this time. The silence that followed weighed her down, smothering her taste buds, drying out her throat. Finn was back to massaging Oz, his brow slightly furrowed.

  “Right.” He cleared his throat. “I see.”

  Panic started to make its presence known as a wave of nausea struck her. “You can’t say anything to anyone—”

  “Like I would do that to Cole.” Another scoff. He retracted his hands when Oz took a swipe at him, and they both watched the fluffy white creature toddle off his lap and settle one cushion away. The cat stared at Finn for a moment, then began furiously grooming himself, as if to clean off all that scrumptious man smell. Finn chuckled, then folded his hands on his lap with a soft sigh. “Cole and I are friends. Not society friends, actual friends. Good friends. His reasons for using the agency’s services have always made sense to me. Before you arrived, the press, particularly back home, was ruthless when it came to his love life. I wouldn’t ever bring that on him again.”

  Relief left her unsteady, and Skye grabbed another leaf before joining him on the couch, keeping Oz between them as a buffer.

  “Thank you,” she said softly, breaking the leaf in half and offering him some, which he accepted with a small smile.