Her response was chilly to let him know for certain that letting him drink of her was a mistake, “Not likely.” Working out for half the day was not smart when one had precious little to refill on and his offer of food was a wicked temptation. A mental debate ensued, weighing whether or not she could eat his food and resist the seduction that was sure to follow. Shrugging away her doubts, Ella dropped her book with a thump at her feet…what the hell, she liked to challenge herself.
Ella tossed off the quilt before padding over to him, jabbing a finger at his chest with her bold command, “Surprise me.” She tossed in with another finger jab, “FYI, I am starved.” His expression told her that she had shocked him by readily accepting his offer. Cole straightened to reply and she slammed the door in his face.
She wondered as soon as she did it if he would be back. The contents of her pantry were low and what remained was rather unappetizing. Stopping in front of the wall mirror, she also considered whether she should make herself more presentable, then vetoed that idea. She was not primping to impress him. Settling back down in her chair, she curled up with her book once more. Ella experienced multiple failed attempts to get back into her reading. Her hunger would not allow for it; the offer of a meal had her concentration completely disrupted. As thirty minutes ticked past to forty-five, she began to believe he had washed his hands of her and taken all opportunity for good food with him.
Ella had just slid out of her chair and begun a petulant trek to the kitchen, wondering what she might have to make a toast sandwich more satisfying, when he knocked at the door. That brought a beaming smile; she was nearly dancing with excitement when she flung the door wide. The censure in her tone was belied by the sparkle in her eyes, “That took you long enough. Did you not get the ‘FYI, I’m starved’ part?”
Tousled or not, she was gorgeous when she was happy. Raising a brow, indicative of a little censure of his own over her high-handed manner, Cole moved back a few feet from the door. He was holding the bags well out of her reach.
Ella understood that this would be a stand-off and she was too hungry to play the game for that long. After making a face at him, she waved her hand and turned away, retreating into her apartment, “Oh, alright, come in then, Vamp.” He wasted no time, closing the distance between them in less than a breath…freaky vampires and their preternatural speed. Ella could feel him and she stopped short, causing his chest to make contact with her back.
He heard her slight intake of breath and then her slow exhalation of the same when he leaned his face down. Patiently he reminded her with a whisper at her ear, “I think you’ve forgotten how to address me Ella. I wouldn’t have thought as often as you screamed my name last night that you would need the reminder.”
She turned, having to take half a step back to peer up at him, “I did not forget. I just choose to keep the reminder between us.”
He shifted the bags into one hand and chucked her under the chin with the other, “And I prefer my dinner companions to be civil, Brat.” Cole pivoted, bags in hand, heading towards the door. He wondered how many steps he would take before she called him back. It took only two before her hands were tugging on his arm, “Alright…Cole.” Her expression implied that his name tasted foul on her tongue.
Sparing her a glance, he was holding back his laughter and still feigning as though he would pull free of her hold and leave, so she switched to a sweetly cajoling tone, “Cole…please, I really am famished.”
He gave a curt nod and used her hold on his arm to drag her along with him as he changed directions. Heading to her kitchen, Cole deposited the bags on the counter and began to pull out containers. She stood there watching, probably not even realizing she still had both hands tightly circled around his bicep. He was acutely aware of the touch though and was fighting to keep the black shift from his eyes. Apparently his Vampiric instinct to claim the witch was not going to ease until he actually did.
His easy manner gave no hint of the level of heat in him, “Do you have an opener?” He sat a bottle of wine down close to where she stood. At her nod, he gave his attention back to the contents of the bags, his tone mimicking hers from earlier, “And, FYI…I do not do fast food, Ella.”
With a good natured laugh, she flipped him off for mocking her. Cole laughed right along with her, but spun and quickly grabbed her when she made move to retrieve the opener from a drawer behind him. He tugged her backside up against his hips, boldly leaning around to graze his lips along her cheek before he murmured, “And, if you call me ‘vamp’ one more time tonight, I will bite you.”
Ella did not pull away as he expected she would, but instead leaned back into him a little more and sassed, “Does ‘Fangs’ work for you then?” Cole chuckled and tugged on her ponytail, nudging her away to let her work on the bottle.
She busied her hands with the wine. It could have been opened in half the time, but she needed a few spare moments to ease the heat that had begun licking at her in all the most delicious places. Ella was chiding herself mentally for going twofer on the bad decision making. Two nights in a row, making cozy with a hot vampire that was able to get under her skin with the slightest effort. She had yet to find adequate defense against her attraction to him and tonight he was utterly charming. She had taken down the one barrier she had when she had invited him in yet again. It had been foolish to think she would have the willpower to put him off tonight…epic fail on the decision making.
Cole was watching her as he finished opening the containers. He could tell she was waging an internal battle and losing on all fronts. Her cheeks were still flushed and her breathing was shaky. He wasn’t going to lie - he had not survived this long by not being honest with himself – Ella affected him nearly as greatly as he did her. He was ready to feast on her rather than the sumptuous meal he had spread out.
The smell of the food finally seemed to rouse her from her thoughts. Ella turned back to him, all but shoving the bottle into his chest to push him out of the way so she could see the offering. She actually moaned a little bit with her excitement. He doubted she was even aware of it, but it shot through him. His gut clenched tight, the sound reminiscent of her during her passion the night before.
He calmed himself with a few measured breaths, watching her eye the fare. An added bonus of his being what he was, it allowed him to travel great distances in a blink. Getting her dinner from one of his favorite bistros in New York was as easy as going through the local drive thru. He reached above her head, opening cabinets until he found dinnerware and a pair of wine glasses. Tugging her back from the counter so that he could fill her plate, Cole let his hands linger in an intimate hold on her hips.
Ella shot him a sidelong glance when finally freed her so that he could dish the salad, prime rib and the remaining sides onto her plate. Handing it to her, he proceeded to fill his own. When she remained still, continuing to eye him, Cole peered down, inquiring with just a look. He was feeding her and it would be rude to insult him, but curiosity got the best of her. She did have the good grace to blush a little when she asked, “You eat?”
Cole laughed at her question, nodding, “Yes, and I know how to use a spoon and fork as well, Ella.” His plate in hand, he pushed her with his elbow to get her moving in the direction of the table in her sitting room, “You really do not know much about my kind, do you?”
Shrugging, she looked embarrassed and deposited her plate on the table. Waving him towards a chair, she sidestepped and went back to the cabinet to retrieve the wine. She gave her excuse when she returned, “I have spent as much time out of the Realm as in, Cole. Even when I was there, I felt distanced, not a part. It is not an excuse, I should have made it a priority to know more of both the Witch and the Vampire, but I never had the desire to engage in any of it. I prefer my existence here, it is…simpler.”
Sliding his glass across the table and handing him the bottle where he sat, she shrugged again at the end of her explanation before sliding into her chair. She could still feel th
e pink in her cheeks; he would probably think her ignorant. That should not matter to her, but it did.
He simply nodded, surprising her with his response, “There are those of us that realize there is much more to this world than the war between the Light and Dark and the drama of the Realm. There is nothing wrong in not letting it define you, Ella.”
Ella smiled at him like he was her favorite person. She was almost ready to lean over and kiss him for validating her stance on the matter…almost. None of her species seemed to understand her feelings.
Cole knew instantly he had earned points. He believed what he had told her, but he did not mind that his opinion had also made headway with the witch. He pointed at her plate, “Now, eat… before your FYI-starved-self faints.”
She could tell from his smile he was playing with her again and she enjoyed his banter. Ella gave him an unreserved one in return, leaning across the table to put her hand briefly on his arm, “Thank you.” Cole knew it was gratitude for both the food and his understanding.
The meal was over-the-top fabulous and the questions he plied her with regarding her history and how she had come to call Chicago rather than the Realm her home did not seem to interfere with her enjoyment. He knew most of the answers but he needed Ella to give them to him for the sake of appearance. Cole was content enough to listen and watch her eat each and every bite on her plate. Only once did she attempt to ask him about his life pre-immortal. He easily steered the conversation back to safer territory and she seemed not to mind.
Ella took her time though, not hurrying through their conversation as she savored the food. Cole knew it was a treat for her since her meager existence did not allow for this type of extravagance. He had ordered twice as much as they needed. It brought him pleasure to think she would be spoiled by enjoying it for the next few days. He did not care to examine the feelings that providing for her evoked in him.
Cole was just filling her glass a second time when she pushed back from the table and offered him a smile, “It is good that I spent half the day at the gym, otherwise, I would have just gained five pounds.”
He ran his eyes over her and then gave her a doubtful look before collecting their plates. Cole enjoyed the fact that the pretty pink had returned to her cheeks by the time he finished examining her. Inclining his head in the direction of the small loveseat in her sitting area and handing her the wine, he instructed that he would join her momentarily. Ella was all too happy to oblige, so sated from the delicious food and smooth wine that she could go to sleep if given the opportunity. She nestled into the cushions and a few minutes later her lids drooped. She could hear him splashing the water on the plates and straightening up and experienced a flash of guilt over leaving him to the work after he spoiled her with such a wonderful meal.
Ella moved to join him in the kitchen, but his hand pressing to her shoulder startled her, “I think I told you to stay here.”
She had not heard him move behind her and twisted her head so that she could gaze up at him. The warmth in those amazing eyes was focused intently her. Tonight they appeared the color of warm bourbon and the look he was giving her was equally intoxicating.
He walked around the side of the sofa, keeping his hand on her shoulder as he did. Her skin tingled from his touch. In his other hand he carried a small container. Cole nearly laughed when he dropped down next to her, witnessing the excitement taking over her previously relaxed pose. She was like a kid in an ice cream shop. He set the container in his lap and waved the spoon at her, “I am betting you are a chocolate girl, but that you are probably too full to have any of this…” He couldn’t contain his laughter when she sat upright at the word ‘chocolate’ and leaned closer to him, eyeing the container in his lap.
“Yes, and no,” she was not going to mince words. Given the quality of the meal he had just fed her, she could only imagine what divine creation was in that box. His teasing deserved an appropriate response though and Ella decided it was only fair to encourage him to share. She leaned in closer and locked her eyes with his. Slipping her tongue slowly over her bottom lip, her hands settled on his knee next to the dessert. Her words were laced with heat and her eyes were deliberately molten with green sparkle, “Please Cole…please.” She knew by his swift intake of breath and the dark flicker in his eyes that he was remembering every time she had whispered that to him last night. It gave her no small amount of satisfaction, because she had replayed those same moments over in her head at least a hundred times that day.
Cole closed his eyes and counted to ten before looking at her again. The little vixen was playing the game every bit as well as he. Raising his hand, he cupped it around her neck, tugging her forward until her hands fell to his chest to keep her from falling into his lap, “Kiss me Ella and I’ll give you your chocolate.”
Her teasing reminder of last night had shot white heat all the way through him. Cole had been fighting the urge to drag her to bed since he first saw her looking so disheveled when she grumpily answered the door. He wanted to toy with her tonight, raise her passions but leave her in need. If she kept up the teasing he would be hard pressed to do that, and he was not used to being so easily deterred from his plans. It was not his nature and did not mesh with the disciplined personality that had made him the most revered of Dark warriors.
She was weighing his offer again, just as she had last night. Cole could tell she was trying to overcome the lingering remnants of wariness. That was unwise, he had to admit, because she should be wary. If she had any inkling of who he was in the Realm, she would not be looking up at him so prettily begging to share a sweet treat. He leaned to set the container on the floor at his feet and crooked a finger at her, “Come here Princess, I am dying to taste you again.”
She shivered at that little coaxing flirt, having just decided that there was no use crying over spilt milk. After her missteps last night, she might as well pour the whole gallon out and dance in it. Ella watched his eyes darken completely when she leaned in, fascinated with the shifting colors. Sliding her hands up to rest on his shoulders, she raised her mouth to his.
He was looking at her in anticipation when she paused and then she found out why. His voice was velvety heat, “Ella, I want you to kiss me.” She blushed – as he knew she would. Despite all her confidence and spunk, she was still fairly innocent in these types of interactions and he appreciated it more than she could possibly imagine. He would enjoy teaching her all of the many ways to please and take pleasure.
Ella hesitated only a second and then brushed her lips lightly over his. Cole could tell that she was uncertain how to move forward since he was not taking charge. She rubbed her lips against his again, softly and then again. Sliding his arms around her, he stroked her back encouragingly while she continued with her soft touches. He could sense her tighten and a quick look down into her upturned face confirmed that she was becoming frustrated by his failure to take over.
She caught him watching her. Ella just stared at him for a moment before she lowered her lips back to his. Never one to give up easily, this time her mouth was slightly parted and she gave his lower lip a hard nip and then a tug. That earned her a low growl. Encouraged, triumph lit her features as she slid her tongue along that lip before drawing it between her own to suck and nibble.
His fingers found their way into her long tresses and knotted in them. Tugging her head back, he pulled her mouth free of his and whispered against her lips, “Good, Ella, very good…hot little witch.” Cole gave her lower lip similar treatment, his nip and tug a bit rougher.
Ella could tell that he wanted more, and so help her, she did too. She nearly whined in disappointment when he freed his hands from her hair and abruptly set her back in her former spot before grabbing the container. Leaning to put it on the small table in front of the sofa, a flick of his fingers opened the lid to display the contents. Cole saw a different kind of desire in her eyes when they lit on the rich layers of cream and chocolate. He could have an incredible time spoilin
g this witch if he was of the mind to, but he pushed that thought away. All a means to an end, he reminded himself…if a pleasurable means, so be it.
He pulled the table closer, so as to be within easy reach and surprised her when he tugged her into his lap. Ella could feel his heat for her. Shifting a bit, her pulse was picking up and wariness entered her eyes when they lifted to find him studying her. Cole pressed a finger to her lips, “Shhh, Witch, be easy…same rules as last night.”
She believed him and that calmed her. Doing exactly as he suggested, Ella curled back against him, her head cushioned on his chest. He dipped the spoon into the rich dessert and raised it to her lips. Laughing self-consciously, she obediently opened her mouth to let him feed her.
Groaning her delight over the decadent treat, she glanced up at him quickly when he discarded the spoon on the table. Surely he was not just going to give her a single bite. Her complaint was cut short when he quickly tapped her on the nose in warning, “Shhh, Ella…why am I always having to tell you to behave?” Giving him a disgruntled frown, she nonetheless settled back again. Her gaze was fixated on his hand when it dropped to the container and tore off a piece of the cake. Raising it back to her mouth, he waited patiently until she parted her lips for him. Depositing the morsel on her tongue, he let his fingertips linger and she obligingly licked at the bit of chocolate remaining there.
Nicholas leaned in and gave her a soft kiss when he pulled his fingers away and then brought more chocolate to her lips. Again, the soft kiss followed, then more chocolate. He repeated the feeding ritual until half the treat was gone. By then Ella had closed her eyes and was totally lax against him. When he had begun, the deposits of chocolate had raised whimpers of pleasure from her. When they finished, it was only when his lips touched hers that the throaty sounds greeted him along with the sensual glide of her backside over his lap.
Forsaken (Ancients of Light #1) Page 6
