by Linda Kage
Missing him, I grabbed my phone and scrolled up through our text message history, grinning fondly over his wit and playfulness. When I came to the line that said, “I love you too,” I paused, my chest full and heavy with joy.
I hadn’t seen him yet since we’d exchanged those words, and suddenly that seemed wrong.
Before I even realized what I was doing, I typed:
And then I pressed send before rethinking my decision, though I immediately bit my lip afterward, feeling awful for bothering him at nearly three in the morning. Maybe it wouldn’t wake him, and he wouldn’t see it until sometime midmorning tomorrow. That would be fine.
But then my phone buzzed back and his reply lit up my screen.
And my heart leaped with a little thrill of excitement. He was coming over! I flew out of bed and hurried around the apartment, turning off most of the lights so it wouldn’t look as if I’d been scared out of my mind only minutes earlier.
When the knock came at my door, I yanked it open without even checking the peephole. I had a split-second pause, hoping it wasn’t Shaun before I opened it further and saw Colton yawning and scratching the side of his hair. The bruise around his eye from the night before looked bright purple and only added to his exhausted appearance.
“Colton,” I scolded. “You look beat, dammit. You didn’t have to get out of bed and come all the way over here. Why didn’t you just tell me no?”
“Because you’ve never asked me to come over in the middle of the night before.” He stepped inside, pulling me into a hug, before tugging me back and examining my face. “What’s going on?”
“I…” I opened my mouth to tell him everything, but then I paused. I didn’t want to worry him over Shaun, so I said, “I just wanted to be with you.” Which was also the truth.
His face relaxed with pleasure. “Then that’s what I’m here for.”
I took his hand and led him toward the hall. “So what did you do tonight? Work on more Vines?”
“Nah.” He rested his head on my shoulder as we approached my room. “Aspen had a good night, so I babysat while she and Noel went out for the evening. You smell really good. Like my Julianna.”
I smiled and ruffled his hair. He didn’t smell so bad himself. He smelled like my Colton. I tugged him into my room. “Thank goodness it was a good night for her. Do you think it’ll stick?”
“I do. When she got back, she spent time with both Beau and Lucy Olivia. Noel wouldn’t stop grinning. It was nice. And she and Caroline are going shopping in the morning with the kids.” He let go of my hand and went straight to my bed, flopping down face-first before he groaned in ecstasy. “Oh my God, has your bed always been this soft and comfortable?”
I grinned and sat next to his hip so I could smooth my hand up his leg. “Nope. I softened the mattress earlier today, just for you.”
Colton rolled onto his side to send me a haughty glance. “You’re being a smart-ass...at three in the morning.” He took my hand as his lips tipped into a grin. “That settles it; you’re definitely my soul mate.”
I glowed—freaking glowed—with giddiness. “You said it first,” I taunted.
He lifted a finger. “Uh…no. I believe that was you. You’re the one who gushed on and on over the phone about how much you loved me.”
I arched an eyebrow, ready to argue that one careless little declaration wasn’t even close to a gush. But then I came up with a totally different track that would catch him completely off guard. I tapped my chin thoughtfully. “Hmm, that’s true. I did say it first. That must mean I’m the smarter of us then for figuring it out before you did.”
His mouth opened and eyes flared, but he couldn’t seem to come up with a good argument for that. Finally, he sat up and retorted, “Well, I love you more.”
“Nope.” I shook my head, eager to win this argument. “Not even possible.”
Arching an eyebrow, Colton said, “Oh really? I bet you don’t love me this much.” Taking my hand, he placed it over the ESU sweatpants he was wearing, right between the legs. The length and hardness of his cock made a distinct ridge under the soft cloth.
Wow, he loved me quite a bit, definitely over eight inches worth.
Humming, I stroked him through his pants for a couple seconds, making him sigh out a breath and tip his head back as he closed his eyes.
Then I answered, “I may not love you that much. But I definitely love you this much.” Returning the favor, I grasped his wrist and urged it up my skirt so he could cup my panties and feel how soaked they were.
I may have had painful periods, but they never lasted long. So tonight, I was open for business.
“Damn, baby doll.” He groaned and massaged me before sweeping the crotch of my underwear aside and plunging two fingers inside me. I gripped his shoulders and rode his hand, greedily taking everything he had to give.
A second later, he mumbled, “Fuck, I need to taste this. Right now.”
He tumbled me onto my back and rucked my skirt up to my waist before he ripped off my panties and spiked his tongue into my pussy.
I arched under him, feeling that instant electrocution of pleasure. Gripping his hair, I held on to my man for dear life as he feasted, licking his way up to my clit and flicking it like the teasing bastard he was. As the pleasure mounted, I tensed, not ready for how powerfully or quickly I knew I was going to come.
“Don’t fight it,” Colton warned.
His tongue stopped teasing and went straight for the most sensitive nub of flesh.
I started to scowl, and would’ve argued that I wasn’t, but then I realized he could feel my muscles locking. Panting in an effort to just let it come, I purposely relaxed every limb, letting my knees fall open and spreading the backs of my arms across my sheets.
Colton chose that moment to spear me with two fingers and clamp his lips around my clit. I jolted and came, the rush of energy flowing through me like a freight train. I absorbed most of it but then had to grip my fingers around the sheets as the rest of it attacked.
Once the orgasm had consumed its fill, I slumped limply into my mattress, drained. Someone draw a chalk line around me, I was done.
But Colton sat up, grinning and suddenly very, very awake. Digging a condom from his wallet, he said, “I love it when you come. I don’t know why, but it feels like I win a victory every single time.”
I lifted an exhausted brow, trying to appear stern but probably failing, especially with my skirt around my waist and all my goods on display. “Have you been waging war on my pussy, young man?”
He laughed as he climbed off the bed and began to strip for me, revealing his perfect male form one piece of clothing at a time. “Not war, baby doll. It’s more like a peace treaty.”
Shaking my head, I argued, “What you just did didn’t feel very peaceful.” It’d felt out-of-this-world amazing, but not peaceful.
Grinning, he rolled the latex on and then crawled over me. “Oh, that was just the treaty’s after-party between new allies.” He sat upright on his knees over me, straddling my hips as he urged me to lift my arms so he could tug my top over my head. “You like being my ally, right, baby doll?”
I had no idea where he was going with this, and I kind of wondered if he did either, so I just smiled and nodded. “Sure.”
“That’s my lady,” he murmured approvingly as he finished stripping me bare, while I just lay there and watched him in total fascination. “We make a good team.”
He interlaced our fingers as he repositioned himself above me. “Just you and me against the world.” Pressing his forehead to mine, he pushed inside me, keeping eye contact the entire time. My inner muscles gripped him tight, receiving him eagerly, and we both spent a moment panting through the pleasure before he kissed me and began to move slowly, deeply, and so damn beautifully.
Our lips caressed and tongues stroked. His fingers played with mine while mine tangled with his. Our bare legs shifted past each other and abdomens pressed together. If I had a single b
ody part that wasn’t intimately involved with some part of him, I wasn’t aware of it. I only knew that he was everywhere and it felt so completely right because this was where he belonged, where I belonged, where we belonged.
“I like being on your team,” I confessed, letting go of his hands so I could sink my fingers into his lush hair.
He kissed his way along my jaw and down my neck, then ran his palm from the base of my throat to between my breasts as if needing to stroke and touch every inch. “Best team ever,” he announced, lifting his gaze to look into my eyes. His jaw tensed and a trail of sweat slipped down his temple. Eyes clouded and teeth clenched, he was close.
I wanted him closer than close. I wanted him there, all the way over the edge. So I reached down and cupped his tight balls before running an index finger along his sensitive taint. Muttering his surprise, he surged tighter inside me, tipping his head down toward my shoulder and groaning as he tumbled into oblivion. The power of knowing I could bring him to this place was my own aphrodisiac. My pussy clenched around his cock, and I tumbled off into my own climax.
When we finished, Colton tried to climb off me but only got about halfway there before collapsing partly on top of me and face-first into my pillow.
“Mmph,” he muffled into the pillow while his heat and sweat clung to mine.
Feeling overly affectionate toward him, I stroked his back with my long nails, which only made him purr out another groan.
Minutes passed, and we lay there against each other, soaking in the quiet aftermath of our peace treaty party. Finally, Colton turned his face to the side, until he was facing my neck and his cheek was propped onto my shoulder.
“I’ve been thinking,” he announced, his voice clogged with sleep, “and I don’t believe your dad will freak out about me.”
Surprised he’d been thinking about that at all, I kissed his forehead and gave his arm a supportive stroke. “Why’s that?”
“Because…” He set his elbow on the mattress and lifted his face so he could prop his chin in his hand and study me. “You’re not like that, and he raised you, right? So he can’t be too bad. I think you’re worrying about nothing.”
He made a point. My father had raised me to be fair and tolerant. It would make sense that he shouldn’t have a huge problem with Colton. But I’d also heard him make some comments that still made me wonder, not entirely certain.
I paused my hand on his arm, studying the two shades of our skin against each other. I thought it looked beautiful, and when it came down to it, it wouldn’t matter what Dad thought. I’d deal with whatever reaction he had because I wasn’t going to stop seeing Colton no matter what.
“I have something for you,” I announced, suddenly remembering the present I’d made for him and not really wanting to think about all that other junk.
Colton lifted his eyebrows, curious. “What’s that?”
“Here.” I squirmed out from under him. “It’s on my dresser.” When he scooted back enough to let me crawl over him and reach for it, I flushed, suddenly wishing I’d wrapped it or something. It felt lame to give him a present without any kind of garnish.
“It’s just…” Strangely shy, I thrust it at him. “Sorry, it’s not much. Just…silly.”
He took the small silver dream catcher keychain along with a new bottle of breath spray and held it up to watch the tiny feathers dangle from the loom with what looked like awe on his face.
“And look.” I twisted the bottle so he could read the new label I’d printed out and stuck to it.
“Colton’s monster repellent,” he read before throwing back his head and laughing. “Holy shit.” Curling his fingers around the tiny bottle, he held it to his chest. “I love this. Thank you.”
He found his keys and made a production of removing his old, empty bottle of breath spray so he could attach the new one along with the dream catcher so they dangled with his rabbit’s foot. “Perfect,” he announced.
When he looked at me, I flushed, feeling strange. “I got me one too,” I blurted, even more embarrassed.
Cocking his head, he asked, “A dream catcher keychain?”
I nodded. “And breath spray and a rabbit’s foot.” I crawled off my bed. “Wait right here.” I raced naked from my room and hurried to the front door to snatch my keys from the key rack. When I hurried back in, Colton chuckled at me and reached out to help me back onto the bed, calling me a streaker.
Ignoring his tease, I held up my keys to show him the matching dream catcher and bottle of breath spray along with my very own rabbit’s foot. “See.”
“Holy shit,” he murmured, slowly reaching out so he could examine everything better. Then he lifted his gaze and announced, “We’re a matching set.”
COLTON’S CHAPTER | 28
The ringing of a cell phone on the nightstand about a foot from my head woke me from a pleasant dream. Needing to shut it up as soon as possible, I blindly swiped out my hand and captured the bleating device. Somehow I was able to slide my thumb across the front and answer it without cracking open a single eye.
“’‘Lo,” I croaked.
A beat of silence followed before a hesitant voice asked, “Colton?”
Brandt.
“Yeah. What d’you want?” I mumbled, yawning as I tried to get my brain to function.
“I, uh.” He emitted an uneasy laugh that had me finally opening my eyes. Then he said, “Nothing. I mean, I wasn’t trying to call you. Sorry, I must’ve misdialed.”
With a grateful groan, I slurred, “Good.” Now I didn’t have to think and come up with a rational response to whatever he wanted. “I’m going back to bed.”
Clicking off the call, I started to put the phone back on the nightstand when I realized it had a completely different cover than my phone. I blinked at it a moment before determining it was a different size than my phone too.
Finally, I said, “This isn’t my phone.”
“What?”
I jumped. Next to me, the sheets rustled and I lifted my face to spot a dark arm creeping out from under white blankets. Those were not my blankets, and this was not my bed.
A second later, Julianna’s face appeared above the sheets, her head covered with that scarf thing and its adorable top knot. She blinked bleary eyes and yawned. “What’s wrong? Who was on the phone?”
I stared at her a moment before saying, “It was Brandt.”
She didn’t seem surprised or particularly guilty about that fact. After another hearty yawn, she wiped a hand over her face and said, “Okay. What’d he want?”
“I don’t know,” I told her. “He didn’t call me.”
“Huh?” She dropped her hand, blinking at me as if I made no sense.
I waved the phone I was still holding. “He didn’t call me,” I repeated. “He called this phone. This isn’t my phone.” Her gaze dropped to the phone in my hand, and her mouth promptly fell open as shock filled her face.
So I slowly asked, “Why was my brother calling your phone?”
“I…” She shook her head immediately as her gaze darted beseechingly to me. “I have no idea. It has to be something work related.” When I just stared at her without responding, she insisted, “It has to be.”
The phone in my hand started to ring again. We both gazed at it as if it had grown ears and a tail. I didn’t have to look at the screen to see Brandt’s name. Setting my jaw, I extended Julianna’s phone to her. She reared back, gaping at me as if I were handing her a poisonous snake.
“Your phone,” I offered in a dry voice.
She sighed and took it from my hand, wincing when she saw the name on the screen. “He probably just wants me to take on a shift or something for him,” she explained as she crawled off the bed and turned her back to me so she could answer the call.
“Hello?”
I crossed my arms over my chest and watched her as she paced a few steps away and listened a moment before answering, “Yeah, it’s fine. No problems at all. Really, you don’t h
ave to worry. It’s all good.” She glanced over her shoulder at me before turning away again and more quietly saying yes and no answers before blurting, “Look, I gotta go. I swear, everything is fine. We’ll talk later.” And then she hung up on him.
It took her a few seconds, but when she turned back to me, she was already wincing.
Seeing my expression, she let out a breath and said, “Don’t look at me like that, please don’t look at me like that. It’s not like that. I swear to you, whatever you’re thinking, it’s not like that.”
I shrugged. “What am I thinking?”
I wasn’t so sure myself. My chest felt oddly hollow and my heartbeat felt hard and slow, but other than that, I just…I wasn’t sure. I just knew my girlfriend had gotten a call from my brother, my brother she used to have a major crush on, my brother whose call had just prompted her to leave the bed with me and turn her back for privacy.
Striding toward me, she crawled onto the mattress and right into my lap until she was cupping my face in her hands. “Stop thinking something is there that isn’t,” she demanded softly. “You know better. I’m with you, and I want to be with you. And you should know him better too. He’s crazy about Sarah. I’m crazy about you. There is nothing to worry about.”
I heard her words and they made sense, but a part of me still fucking worried. “So he was just calling about work?” I had to ask…because I was being a stupid, insecure fucker and I couldn’t help myself.
Julianna paused dramatically as if she’d already been caught in a lie before she’d even answered me. Then slowly, she said, “No. Not really. I mean, something happened at work last night, and he wanted to talk about that, so technically—”
She was totally fucking keeping something from me. “What happened at work?”
With a groan, her shoulders collapsed. Then she sent me a small rebellious scowl before reluctantly mumbling, “Shaun showed up.”
“Shaun?” My eyebrows lifted. I wasn’t expecting that answer. “Ex-husband, Shaun, with the violent temper?”
