by Avery, Lark
I retreated to my room to organize my portfolio and make a list of agents to contact. I wasn’t going to use Cole’s name to get me in the door anywhere. I would make it on my own talent. The sooner I could get this damn cast off, the better.
I’d started designing dresses for friends during college to make extra money. I’d learned to sew one summer when I was in high school. As a result, I’d become pretty good at creating party dresses. I could start that up again out here. LA had a reputation for endless socializing though you wouldn’t know it from Cole’s solitary lifestyle.
I paused in my organizing, hoping to hear sounds of Cole’s music but this place was like a tomb. It figured in a mansion like this, his music rooms were soundproof. I refused to listen to his music with my headphones. I was living in the same house with the man!
That night, I turned in without seeing him again though Sampson showed up later. He flopped down next to my bed and soon was snoring away. It was comforting, though when I finally fell asleep my last thoughts were of searching for Cole in a mansion full of empty rooms.
I woke up when I hit the floor. Or rather when I banged my arm on the thick rug. A cry escaped me before I was awake enough to realize what happened. The floor was so lushly carpeted, so I didn’t really hurt myself. I startled easily these days, and that was what made me cry out. Sampson’s solution was to lick my face.
“What’s the matter?” Cole rushed into my room, flicking on my overhead light. He was wearing pajama pants but no shirt. My sore arm was temporarily forgotten when I got good a look at him. It was the same amount of clothing as he’d worn in the hot tub this morning but knowing he had been wearing it in bed made me swallow back a moan.
How had he heard me way down in his room?
“You ok?” He crouched down to me.
Before I had a chance to reply he scooped me up, careful of my cast. He held me in his lap on the side of the bed.
I winced. My whole arm felt like it was full of pins and needles now. I must’ve whacked my elbow when I fell out of bed. “How could you hear me down in your room?”
He waited a moment before replying. “I left the intercom on.”
He was listening to me in my room. Holy fuck. I tried to unscramble my thoughts enough to figure out if I’d used my vibrator and panted his name.
That was pretty much my usual nighttime routine back in Vermont.
I remembered I’d not unpacked the vibrator yet. Thank God.
Why had he been listening to me?
With just my panties and a tank top on, I wasn’t wearing much as I perched on his lap. Under my ass, I felt his dick harden. I tested that theory out by shifting slightly. And it twitched.
“I should let you get back to sleep.” Cole didn’t move.
“Don’t leave.” I leaned my head against his massive chest. It felt so right to do that.
“Alaina,” he sighed. “Stop.”
“At the airport, you liked me well enough.”
He remained quiet.
“Cole, I’m a virgin,” I whispered.
“Fuck, Alaina. I really don’t want to know that.”
I wiggled my ass against him. More twitching. “Don’t you like me?” I persisted.
Cole’s laugh was hard. “I do. And that’s the problem.”
Hooray! Had circumstances been different I would have indulged in a victory fist pump.
Heat radiated throughout my body from its contact with his. “How is that a problem? We’re adults.”
“Ray asked me to look out for you. I shouldn’t be thinking of all the ways I could fuck you.”
My breath caught in my throat. I exhaled shakily. “Touch me, Cole, please. I want it so badly.” I turned my head against his chest, planting a kiss on his muscled pec.
“Alaina, don’t ask me to do this.”
“I want to know what your touch feels like,” I whispered. The fingers of my good hand combed through his hair. I loved feeling his curls against my touch.
“This is not a good idea.”
“It’ll be our little secret.” I drew the tip of my tongue along his collar bone. I inhaled his scent of leather and soap. It was imprinted on my brain after he’d lent me his jacket all those years ago at the wedding. “Please,” I whispered. “I have this little ache inside me. I can’t make it go away no matter how hard I try.”
“God help me.” His hand slid between my legs. At my knees, he parted my thighs, his touch left a wake of goosebumps over my skin. His fingers skimmed higher and higher, drawing circles on the insides of my thighs. At the top of my thighs, his fingers brushed against the outside of my panties. I practically bucked off his lap.
“You shave your pussy?”
“Do want to see?” I was pleased he noticed.
“I shouldn’t, but I do. Show me how you touch yourself.”
“I don’t want my touch, I want yours.”
Cole kissed my forehead. “Show me.”
I slipped my hand down my panties. My bare pussy was a new thing. I was surprised how turned on I was touching myself in front of Cole. Before it had been out of necessity in the darkness of my room. Now it was to bring mutual pleasure.
My pussy was already wet when I tickled my clit and sank a finger into my wet cunt. I rubbed myself while Cole groaned, shifting beneath me. I could feel his cock brushing my ass from underneath his pants. I slid my finger in and out of my pussy. A slurpy wetness echoed loudly. I whined, trying to adjust my angle but my finger wasn’t thick enough to bring me the relief I craved.
“Let me take care of you.” Cole murmured, pulling my hand away. He kissed my open palm with his sensual lips. Then his tongue licked my slick finger hard.
My whole body shuddered in relief at his touch. It was like I died and went straight to heaven.
Cole rubbed the outside of my panties as I shifted restlessly against his fingers. Then he pushed my panties aside, and his bare fingers made contact with my pussy lips.
I cried out from happiness.
“You’re so wet. Do you like me stroking your pussy?”
I swallowed a sob. I nodded, not risking speaking.
Cole slid one thick finger inside me then another. “God, you are so fucking wet and tight.”
I pressed my thighs together, trapping his fingers inside me. I started riding his hand. While his fingers stroked inside me, he thumbed my clit.
“Please don’t stop,” I begged. I could feel my orgasm building. The thought that Cole was getting me off was making me dizzy with need. “I can’t hold on much longer.”
“Come for me, you tight little virgin.”
“I’m close.” I murmured.
Cole increased his stroking speed, his thumb rubbed my clit harder.
Mother of God that felt so fucking good.
“Cole,” I gasped. “Please, please, don’t stop.”
His dark chuckle reverberated in his chest. “Come for me, baby girl. I want to feel your cum all over my hand.”
Of fuck. That was all I needed. I tipped over the edge, my body splintering apart in a million pieces. I bucked and cried out, not caring about anything other than the way Cole made my body feel.
As I quieted down, I could still feel his erection pressing against my ass. The back of my panties was wet from his precum leaking.
He started to lay me down on the bed, his hand sliding out of me. I cried out at the loss of contact between us though my body felt boneless in the best possible way.
But I knew that this opportunity was too good to waste. Odds were Cole would be back to his usual aloof self the next day.
“Don’t leave.” I reached out to him.
“I’m not made of stone. Let me go jack off to the smell of you. Go back to sleep.”
“No, I want to help.”
“Alaina, I’m a grown man, I’ll be fine.”
While he was standing next to the bed, I reached down under his pajama pants. His shaft was thick and pulsed in my hand. His balls were smooth and
hard. Cole shuddered with pleasure at my touch.
“We can do better than fine. Show me what you want.” Now the head of his cock jutted out of his pajama bottoms. I’d never seen a real live cock before. I licked my lips. I wanted to taste Cole more than anything in my life.
Glancing up at him, he was watching me with hooded eyes.
His cock was thick, veined, and the tip had a bluish tint.
“This is what you do to me. Ever since I saw you at the airport, I’ve been dying to bury myself inside you.” He growled.
I had longed to hear those words, and yet he seemed so angry at me last night and this morning. It wasn’t anger. But desire.
“Fuck me. You know I want it.” I didn’t want to waste a minute of what had brought us to this place.
“Alaina, it’s not that simple, and you know it.”
“No one will know.”
“I’ll know.” He hissed. But I knew now it was out of frustration more than anger with me.
“I’ve been saving myself for you, Cole.”
“Alaina, I can’t make love to you. I want to more than anything, but it’s just not right.”
“Cole, please, fuck me, I want to know what it’s like to have you inside me.”
He brushed my hair back from my face. “You are so beautiful. You steal my breath.”
My phone started vibrating. It was the absolute worst fucking time. Story of my life. I didn’t want to move, but then again I wanted to make sure everything was all right with Ray’s family.
Reluctantly I untangled myself from Cole. I grabbed my phone off the bedside table and headed into the bathroom to pee.
My ability to multitask was one of my many superpowers.
Everything changed when I closed the bathroom door and read the message.
I went cold all over. Every ounce of pleasure drained out of my body. I was numb, but I let out an agonized moan.
Within seconds, Cole pounded on the bathroom door. “Alaina! What is it? Let me in.”
I opened the door, shaking like I’d been standing in a freezer. Tears flooded down my face, and I didn’t bother to wipe them away. “He…He’s got my number.” I thrust the phone to Cole as I stumbled past him fleeing the bathroom.
I was shaking so hard my teeth chattered. I huddled against the wall in a corner by the bed where I could see the window. I had to know I was safe. It wasn’t over. That knowledge had me curling into a ball.
“What are you talking about?” Cole looked at my phone.
I knew what he was seeing—a picture of the two of us from last night of me kissing him at the baggage claim.
“Fucking paparazzi.” He spat the words. Disgust made his lip curl. He dropped the phone on the nightstand.
I couldn’t stop shaking. Cole gathered me up into his arms. “They’re maggots, but they won’t hurt you. I’m so sorry about that. It’s a sad fact of my life.” He pushed my hair away from my face.
I shook my head, pushing back my tangled curls more. “It’s not paparazzi. It’s him.”
Cole stilled. His voice was deadly calm when he spoke. “Who?”
“Bill Lurant. He’s been stalking me. I left Vermont. I got a new number. He shouldn’t be able to find me.” Now that I started to speak and Cole’s arms were around me, the words tumbled out. “Everything was ruined.”
“Start at the beginning, Alaina.” Cole put me in my bed and wrapped me up in the comforter then he put his arms around me again. My panic dropped a notch. If I could only stay like this forever.
I took a shaky breath then continued. “I did an internship in New York last summer at the Met’s Costume Museum. Bill worked at the museum as a security guard. At first, he seemed nice by walking me back to my sublet when I worked late. But then he started following me everywhere I went. He said we were a couple, but we never were. I didn’t—couldn’t think of him like that. Anyway, I told him we weren’t and that I didn’t want to see him anymore. That’s when the notes and photographs started. It was relentless. I ended up leaving my internship early. I thought it was over when I went back to Vermont, but he showed up there too. I called the police but Bill was good at not getting caught.” I caught my breath on a sob. “I thought it was over when I came out here.”
“What did Ray do about all this? Why wasn’t I told?” Cole asked. His voice was deadly quiet, but I heard the steel in it.
“I asked him not to. I wanted to handle it myself. Then a few months ago Bill showed up at my apartment disguised as a delivery man. He tried to kidnap me. I fought him off.” I touched my cast lightly with the fingertips of my other hand.
“You didn’t fall off a horse,” he said flatly. “He broke your arm.”
“I fell down the stairs trying to get away from him. A neighbor came to help me. Bill escaped. The police have been looking for him, but he vanished. Now he’s here in LA.”
“One thing is for sure. You’re not going anywhere until this fucker is apprehended.”
Emotions churned through me. On the one hand, I wanted to be with Cole, but I absolutely didn’t want to be a burden. I wanted him to want me there, not feel like he was duty bound to protect me. I knew that was his nature from when we first met.
“I can’t stay here forever. The police have tried to find him, but he’s very good at evading them.” I chewed my bottom lip. I hated feeling hunted.
“I’ll hire private security. I swear to you, we’ll find him before he bothers you again. Trust me.”
And so help me, I did.
3
Cole
The next morning, I left Alaina sleeping in my bed while I met with the security team in my kitchen. Last night had been a disaster in more ways than one. I’d made an exception to my ‘this is the last time’ rule by making her come again by fingering her. I told myself I’d done it so she could relax enough to fall back asleep.
But I couldn’t hide the fact that it was no chore bringing her to orgasm. Alaina made me feel like no one else. Prancing around in her white bikini made me want to fuck her and protect her against the world. Hearing some stalker had been scaring her for months and was responsible for her breaking her arm made me ready to kill him with my bare hands.
To hell with my sensitive, artistic nature. If anyone threatened what was mine, then I was going to do whatever was necessary to stop that. In the meantime, I’d hire security for the house and Alaina when she went out. But she was only leaving here when that was absolutely necessary. No sense in giving this asshole any easy swipes at her. I could have my house locked down like Fort Knox.
Her safety was foremost in my mind. And while she was living in my house, keeping away from her was going to be very difficult.
The more I tried not to think about claiming her, the more it seeped into every corner of my mind. Her smile. Her scent. Her laugh. It was delicious torture.
Devon was at the house early this morning too. He was driving me to meet with my manager, and I’d called him in early. Already, a private detective was looking for Bill. In the meantime, we’d have a security detail at the house twenty-four seven. And Alaina was not to leave here without me or security. I didn’t like leaving her here, even though the security guys were former marines. Despite their professional demeanors, I knew what they were thinking about Alaina because I had the same thoughts.
Alaina was still asleep when Devon and I Ieft for my meetings. The business aspect of my career was just as demanding as the music side. My agent, Marty wanted to see me in his downtown office. I had so many offers coming in for endorsements or sponsorship, it was difficult to keep on top of all the requests. It would take a few hours at least to go over things with him.
Besides maybe a few hours away from Alaina would help me clear my head. The security guys would protect her with their life. And I had every alarm on in the house and around the perimeter. Plus Sampson was with her, and I’d had my other assistant cancel the rest of the house staff for the immediate future.
It was difficult to
keep my head in the game when thoughts of Alaina popped in my brain at any given moment. Right now the damn thing was filled with thoughts of her writhing against my hand last night when she orgasmed. It was a fucking thing of beauty watching her come apart like that.
Devon got us through the LA morning traffic and shortly before nine a.m. we arrived at Marty’s office in downtown LA. His office was in an expensive building made of glass and steel. The building’s artwork was the envy of many a museum. A smartly dressed assistant brought me a cup of coffee. She was brunette, and pretty enough I supposed, but she was dull as a dime compared to Alaina. I found myself sitting in Marty’s office wishing I was back at the house.
“Earth to Cole are you listening?” Marty, with his rumpled shirt and his crooked tie, paused mid-ramble. His amiable appearance was calculated as I’d learned the first time we’d sat down together on the same side of the negotiating table. Then his slightly befuddled appearance morphed into a barracuda. He was an excellent guy to have on my team. “What’s going on?”
“Just some family problems.” My fingers squeezed the fancy leather chair arms.
“Since when do you have a family? And don’t tell me you’re sitting here mooning over the dog.”
“I’m not mooning,” I said hotly. I set the fancy coffee down so hard it splashed out of the cup and onto the table. “I have family problems just like everyone else.”
Marty studied me over the tops of his bifocals. He pressed a button unseen, and an assistant appeared to clean up my mess. “Is there a quickie wedding I need to know about?” My manager was also my lawyer which meant he existed in permanent terror about California’s fifty-fifty property split. He preached about prenups the way my dentist droned on about flossing. Both were equally dull topics.
“Nothing like that. A childhood friend asked if his sister could stay with me. She has some—problems.”
“We can get her in any treatment program she needs. Just give me the word.”
