Like a schoolyard bully, he held them out of reach. “I don’t think so. Didn’t you know? I’m staying another night.”
“What! No.” Madison screeched.
Which only made Cole grin harder. He leaned in to draw a finger along her jaw. “Aren’t you going to ask me why, Princess?” His voice dropped to a low, seductive rumble.
Madison fought to stop her eyes from closing, to halt her lips from nuzzling against the roughness of his palm.
“N-no.” She jerked away, half-choking on the answer.
His eyes met hers and for a split-second, his self-satisfied mask dropped.
“Because they smell of you.” A ring of honesty circled his words and he looked away.
Madison knew exactly how he felt. Her cheeks filled with fire as she recalled her own earlier excursion into her panties. Lust that had been simmering below the surface, reignited. She looked up, expecting to see the smug little smile brushing at the corners of his lips…only to find nothing but the intensity of matching desire. His mouth softened. A mouth Madison knew was imminently, insatiably kissable.
She closed her eyes. She needed to clear her head.
This couldn’t happen.
“That’s just creepy,” she rasped, pulling on her dwindling willpower to push him away. She stumbled for the safety of her bedroom.
Low, sexy laughter dogged every step. “Tell yourself what you have to.” His words chased her across the living room. “But we both know what’s going on here.”
She hid behind the door, her heart pounding. Yes. She knew exactly what lay between them. Money. Power. Suspicion. For all Cole might fancy a repeat of the other night, the fact remained he couldn’t care less about her. He’d relegated Madison to the couch, had her cook dinner like a housemaid, all to humiliate her—to take her down a peg or two.
But he still wanted her. And despite everything she knew about Cole, it brought her a little comfort to know he didn’t hate her so much his desire had disappeared. How desperate was that?
But underneath the brashness and innuendo, Cole was proving to be a good man. While it was hard to reconcile his behavior with Madison, his patient treatment of his prickly sister, painted a different story. That was what made it difficult. That and the fact she knew what it was like to have his full, appreciative attention.
One more night.
Madison leaned her head against the door and squeezed her eyes shut. All she had to do was survive one more night with Cole. For whatever reason, he’d given her the breathing space she needed to fix her life. She didn’t have to run back to her mother. Or Logan. All she had to do was put on an outward show for one more night.
It shouldn’t be hard. Madison had spent a lifetime perfecting her mask.
She straightened her shoulders and shook out the last of her tension. This was what she’d been born to do. To play the part and present herself as a calm, confident, well-bred woman. No matter her insides were jelly, set quivering every time Cole came within five feet. The trick was to remember no one else knew that except her. And she’d had years of experience squashing bad feelings into a place no one could find.
Madison locked herself in the bathroom for a long, leisurely shower. She took her time washing her hair and scrubbed down every inch of her body until it glowed with freshness. Only when she felt truly clean did Madison step out from under the water and build up the layers of her outward appearance. Each sweep of the brush boosted her confidence, each dab of lotion, every stroke of moisturizer against her skin. Until she oozed poise and composure out of her perfectly exfoliated pores.
A pity it was wasted on an empty apartment.
She told herself it was a relief to be left on her own. Madison had never had sleepover nights with girlfriends and Patricia wouldn’t be seen dead at anything less than five star. But as she looked around the room, it did seem empty. Despite the mess.
She bit back a smile. The Langford siblings knew how to fill a space, their belongings sprawled across her lounge as if they owned it, discarded wrappers and debris scattered on every available surface. But instead of irritation, Madison found herself humming as she wiped crumbs off the bench and put cushions back in the right place. Thank God she’d let the cleaner go last week. Danika wouldn’t have known what to do if she’d had to actually clean something.
With the apartment restored to reasonable order, Madison pulled out a blank notebook from her polished cherry wood desk. Cole had given her a job and she intended to do her best to fulfill it.
First, she spent an hour researching local trails and city walks, mapping out routes she and Jess could take in her area. Once she’d exhausted all of those possibilities, she considered other places of interest. There was a pool and mineral spa nearby that Jess might find therapeutic and Madison’s gym membership was alive for another six months. Jess could go as a plus one once Madison figured out her capabilities.
Something she needed to understand before she planned anything further. When Cole came home before Jess, it provided the perfect opportunity for Madison to discuss Jess’s physical limitations in private.
“What’s this?” Cole was surprised when she started reading through her notes and asking questions.
“You’re paying me to do a job,” she reminded him.
He raised his brow. “So there are things you take seriously besides handbags and shoes.”
“Don’t presume to know everything about me.” Madison bristled.
The smile gave Cole away. “It’s okay. I get it.” He put up his hands and his expression sobered. “And I think it’s great the way you’re trying to stand on your own two feet.”
“This is hardly standing on my own two feet,” she scoffed.
“Oh, I don’t know.” He nodded towards the notebook. “I’d say you’re doing a thorough job.”
His gaze wandered over Madison for a second, more detailed appraisal. Awareness followed the path of his stare, heat flickering between them as if his fingers scorched a path across her skin. Something sparked in the depths of his ice-blue eyes, his stare slowly changing from thoughtful, to intrigued…to hunger. Madison felt it licking between her breasts, smoldering in her belly. Her grip tightened on the pen.
“Very thorough,” he purred.
His approval made her feel good. Desired. Deserving.
Her chest swelled when he smiled. It felt good to be recognized as more than just a show pony. She pushed her emotions behind a layer of professionalism, clicking the nib of her pen in and out.
Cole edged closer, each small step intensifying her reaction to him, until she thought her body might explode into flames. Was he going to kiss her? God, she hoped he was going to kiss her. Her hands were clammy, fingers numbly clutching the pen as he leaned close…
“Would you be just as meticulous in taking care of me?”
A cold wave of reality crashed in, extinguishing Madison’s desire. She struggled for breath, humiliation cutting through her. Cole thought of her as an object to look out for his sister, but hell, if he could get a little extra thrown in…
“Madison?” The smile had disappeared from Cole’s face.
Her fingernails bit into the softness of her palm as she struggled to tamp down the hurt welling up like blood from a cut.
“Thank you for your offer,” she said, super-sweet. “I’m sure you can understand if I’m not interested in overtime.” Her gaze flicked down, then back up in dismissal. “I have better things to do.”
Cole’s eyes narrowed and his lips tightened into a frown. Madison didn’t wait around to hear his response. It was better to believe he was being an asshole than remind herself how nice he could be.
How much she wanted him.
She grabbed her gym bag from the closet and flew out of the apartment, feeling the burn of his attention all the way out of the door.
A few thous
and miles on a treadmill would help. Because a part of Madison—a very big part—had wanted to say yes to Cole. Regardless of what he thought.
She hit the gym hard, pounding out a harsh rhythm on the treadmill until sweat trickled between her breasts, tracking like tears down her cheeks. And while the exercise helped hold back her tide of sexual energy, it did nothing to extinguish the fire burning in Madison’s belly for a certain blond-haired devil.
The couch managed to make itself even more uncomfortable the second night.
She shifted restlessly, trying to find an angle which supported her aching neck and kept the blood circulating to her feet. She was in the process of re-bunching her pillow for the third time when the door to her bedroom eased open. Madison froze mid-gather as Cole’s silhouette filled the doorway. She slammed her eyes shut, pretending to sleep.
There was a slight rustle. A scuffle of feet on the carpet. Silence.
She slitted her eyelids open. Shit. Madison rocketed upward.
Cole stood not two feet away, his arms folded over his chest—his very naked chest—staring down at her. She clamped her mouth shut, swallowing back the soft moan of temptation and squeezed her eyes closed.
“You’re interrupting my sleep,” he stated.
“Then you shouldn’t have taken my beeee…argh.” The rest of the sentence never made it past Madison’s lips as Cole scooped her into his arms. “What are you doing?” she yelped.
“Shh.”
In the time it took for the shock to wear off and her limbs to start working again, Cole had reached the bedroom and dumped her on the bed. Madison scrambled to get off, but Cole was quick, diving after her, wrapping her in his arms and pulling her hard against him. His breath rasped in her hair, his heartbeat a wild tempo she could feel pulsing through her back.
What the… Was he…spooning her?
“Seriously. What are you doing?” Madison’s voice rose in time with her own pounding heart. And it wasn’t indignation. The heat of his body along her spine ignited fires in all kinds of interesting places. Madison renewed her efforts to escape and he slung a leg over the top of her thighs, pinning her down.
“Giving us both a good night’s sleep,” he said firmly. “Now hold still or you’ll stir things up.” Cole flexed his hips and Madison felt the hard shaft of his cock press into her buttocks. She froze.
“That’s right. Settle down, or believe me, neither of us will get any rest.” His voice rumbled through her back, his words a dark promise she had no doubt he would fulfill.
Like that would help her relax. Too scared to move, Madison lay like a rock in Cole’s arms, trying to regulate her breathing to resemble anything normal. Of course, she couldn’t. Not with Cole virtually on top of her. The slightest touch of his skin against hers was like a mini explosion of heat, slivers of lust arcing through her every time he took a breath. Her nipples ached to be touched, the rough press of his fingers a brand at her side. Two more inches and those same fingers would graze her breast. Ease the ache.
A small sigh escaped, refusing to be held in.
“What’s the matter now?” His grip on her hip tightened imperceptibly.
Madison stifled another sigh. He wanted a list?
“You’re on my side,” she hissed.
She could feel his smile in the darkness. And it riled her more.
“I’ll trade,” he offered, his fingers tapping out a tempting tattoo. “Switch sides for one kiss.”
Madison teeth sank into her lower lip to stop the sound of her panting. Liquid heat prickled at her sex, hormones heading south to join the party and she fought the urge to clamp her thighs together. Every movement, every breath was a reminder how much she wanted Cole. She bit down harder, concentrating on the sharpness of the pain until it was all she could feel.
“No way.” Madison croaked. “I’ll stay where I am, thank you very much.”
Cole gave a throaty chuckle and gathered her closer. “Wise choice, Princess. Now, go to sleep.”
Chapter Eleven
Hot. So hot.
Madison skimmed her hands across warm, muscled skin. In the safety of her dream, it seemed only natural for lips to follow. Mmm. Skin tasting of warm subtle spices. Her satisfied moan was answered by a low, sexy murmur.
Madison paused, thoughts pressing in through the fugue…then hands tangled to dance in her hair, pulling her back to the sensual expanse of skin. So good. She was achingly tight and she rubbed against the fantasy body molded to hers, giving up trying to make sense of her dream.
Hot breath puffed at her hair, the rigid brand of an erection pushing into her belly. Madison wriggled against the silken smoothness, luxuriating in the feel of hard and soft. She slid down, making little mewling sounds. She needed to feel the heat of his cock sliding into her mouth, to hear Cole’s gasp of breath as she pleasured him.
Cole. Madison’s eyes sprang open, unable to convince herself it was a dream any longer.
“Madison?” The man in question uttered her name, half-harsh plea, half-question.
She bucked upward against that warm, enticing skin. His weight lifted and she scrambled out, tangling in the sheets to land on the floor with a solid thud. Pain flared in her hip as Cole’s head popped over the side.
“Get back up here,” he growled wickedly.
“No way.” Madison tried to scoot away, but he was beside her before she could unravel herself from the bedding.
He scooped her up. “Uh-uh. No. You don’t get off that easy.” His gaze was filled with nothing but desire. Hot, burning desire.
Her insides melted to a warm gooey puddle, an answering flare of need squeezing the breath from her lungs. When he dropped a trail of scorching kisses across her cheek, a sigh of pleasure left her and her traitorous body gave in. After being in Cole’s arms all night, her body was begging for his touch. It wanted what it wanted. And it wanted Cole.
“You started, so I get to finish.” His mouth was fever-hot against her lips.
He lowered her to the bed and quickly followed, pushing up her nightshirt, his hands shaking. His mouth settled on her breast. She let out a gasp as his tongue swirled and danced around her nipple, licking and sucking at the aching peaks. First one. Then the other.
It was better than anything Madison could have dreamed. She couldn’t deny Cole anything as hot, wet kisses landed on her belly. One. Two. Three. On a downward path of rediscovery. Her breath rasped embarrassingly loud, but Madison didn’t care. He brushed work-roughened thumbs across her mouth-softened nipples and pleasure arced like lightning, straight to her sex, dampening her panties as she pressed closer. Clever fingers slid down the sensitive skin of her arms, over her hands to settle in the hollow of her waist.
“Touch me.”
His husky demand released Madison from any lingering shackles of self-restraint and unleashed desire gathered like a storm. She found the smooth skin she’d been craving, roaming across the expanse of his chest, finding all of the secret places she’d been fantasizing about. Lips. Tongue. Hands. She couldn’t get enough as she lapped at his nipples, nuzzled at his throat, digging her fingers into that firm, muscled ass as she rubbed against the coarse hair feathering his chest.
Cole abandoned his attempt to tease her as they both got caught up in the pleasurable frenzy of skin against skin. He pushed his cock into her mound, imitating the act they were both desperate for. Her legs parted on a moan as he slipped his hand into her panties and found her wetness. He ran his finger up and down her slit, drawing moisture up to coat her clit until it was slippery with juices.
She flexed her hips. Madison wanted him. All of him. Inside her. Now. But she couldn’t formulate the words. Her mind was a tangle of desire and heat and erotic need.
Still, Cole understood her silent message. She pointed to the bedside cabinet and his movements became focused as he rummaged inside for condoms, she
athed himself…
“Ready?”
Madison didn’t answer, just drove her hips upward, groaning with heartfelt enjoyment as the blunt head of his cock breached her pussy. He drove forward, his hard length a pleasurable shock that filled her in one long thrust. She hooked her legs around his hips to lock him to her and rocked against him. His guttural moan was lost in the curve of her neck as he buried his head in her shoulder.
“Oh, fuck. Yes.” He slid his hand under her ass, tilting her to the perfect position to pound the living fuck out of her.
Madison met every thrust, sweet, dizzying sensations building, layering one on top of another. The exquisite slide of his cock as he drove deep inside her, his soft grunt of pleasure punctuating the slap of his balls against her flesh. Just when she thought it couldn’t get any better, another rush of pleasure would rise up to swamp her, pulling her back under until she was nothing but a swirl of sensation. There was no warning, no time to prepare as an orgasm the size of a Mack truck slammed through her, so intense tears squeezed from her eyes.
“Cole. Oh God. Cole. Cole.” Words formed to tumble from her mouth.
“Yeah. That’s it. Give it to me.” Cole yelled out, his cock thrusting deep as he welded his body to hers with the scent of sex and sweat. He lowered his head to her shoulder, breathing hard.
“That’s what I’ve been waiting for.” He let out a guttural moan of relief.
Madison couldn’t help but giggle. This had been coming since the moment they’d seen each other again.
“Well, at least I’m doing something right.” Satisfaction hummed through her voice.
She gasped as Cole rolled, taking her with him until she was tucked into the crook of his shoulder.
“More than something.” He twisted to look at her, pushing back a lock of hair from her forehead. “I also appreciate what you’re doing for Jess.”
Madison blushed with the unexpected compliment. “It’s my first real job.” She grinned shyly. “I want to make sure I do it well.”
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