Chapter 14
Violet
The sting of sex was starting to lessen into something far more pleasurable. Each thrust sent my senses spiraling in a million different directions it felt like. The first time had felt good. There was no mistaking that. The pain had only lasted a minute or so, but this time, it only lasted a few seconds before it gave away to something far more pleasurable than before.
Cole’s face was contorted in pleasure. His fingers were digging into the back of my thigh so hard that I knew there would be bruises there I would have to explain, but I didn’t care to stop it. He was here with me. He was here making love to me the way I always desired it—passionate and wild to the point that I could barely hang on to his writhing body.
Another orgasm came barreling down on me. It stretched every single one of my senses as it burst in my stomach. That rush of pleasure was intoxicating as I clung to Cole’s arms to keep grounded. I wanted to see that look on his face.
Sweat dripped down his temples. His eyes were clenched shut as he went jagged against me with a loud groan. I felt him release inside of me while his face collapsed in sheer pleasure. The both of us clung to one another for what seemed like hours with the sunlight shifting throughout the living room.
Exhaustion finally took me. After spending the past few nights worrying over Cole, I could finally sleep knowing his answer. His answer was lying next to me on the couch with his arms wrapped around me while we soaked up the silence together.
I woke a little while later when I felt Cole scoop me up in his arms. I opened my eyes to find him smiling down at me.
“Sleep,” he said quietly. “I’m just taking us up to my room.”
I didn’t protest. I slept long and hard to wake only two times in the night to find Cole’s arms wrapped around me tightly. It wasn’t until the bright morning light came through the bedroom windows that I finally felt rested.
Warm breaths puffed up against the back of my neck. Cole’s arm was heavy and secure against my waist when I sucked in a deep breath, unwilling to move just yet. Every inch of him was pressed up against my back. The blankets and sheets were tangled about our legs.
It felt so good to be here in his bed. A smile tugged at my lips while I mentally went over the previous day’s events. After wondering for days if Cole would turn into a ghost, I got my answer by him showing up at the beach. I got my answer from the way he had made sure that every inch of our love making felt even better than before.
I didn’t care if I had to lie to my mom again. If I could spend the rest of my day and Saturday night in Cole’s arms, it would be worth the constant pestering.
I shifted beneath Cole’s arms slowly to look over at him. My heart swelled with warmth at the sight of his face, utterly peaceful in his sleep. The dark shadow of a beard covered his strong jaw and cheeks. This was the man of my dreams, and I finally had him.
Unable to lay still any longer, I managed to slip out of bed without disturbing Cole as he wrapped his arms around my pillow instead. I found a spare shirt in the walk-in closet filled with fancy clothes and shoes to slip into before finding a guest bathroom further down the hall. Cole’s Hampton home was much more spacious than the one my parents owned. There was no doubt about that.
I found our clothes and my underwear downstairs in the living room from the afternoon before. Shimmying back into them, I went into the kitchen to look through the fridge for breakfast. My stomach growled loudly when I found pancake batter and fresh milk and eggs.
“Yes,” I said, pulling everything that I could find out. “Sex really does make you hungry.”
Especially sex with Cole. I probably burned at least a few hundred calories from yesterday. A giddy giggle left me at that as I measured out a couple of cups of pancake batter in a bowl. I started a pot of coffee, too, while I waited for the frying pan to heat up.
“Do I smell coffee?”
I looked up at the sound of Cole’s gravelly voice. He entered the living room, dressed in nothing but a pair of boxers. His hair was still ruffled from sleep and the afternoon before. A smile tugged at Cole’s lips when he took the sight of the bowl filled with pancake batter.
My stomach fluttered happily as he rounded the kitchen counter to walk up to me.
“I just made some,” I said, and gladly stepped into the circle of his strong arms.
I pressed my cheek up against his upper chest. A couple of chest hairs tickled my nose, but I wouldn’t change this feeling for anything in the world. It felt so right to be in the kitchen on Saturday morning, cooking breakfast for the both of us after an afternoon filled with great sex. Mind blowing sex that only seemed to get better every single time now.
Cole’s arms loosened around me as he pressed a kiss to the top of my head. He reached around then to grab two mugs from the kitchen cabinet to pour us both a cup of coffee.
“I haven’t had a woman make me breakfast in a long time,” he said, handing me a cup with a smile. “Besides for my house staff, that is. It’s nice having that again.”
That warmed my heart as I poured some pancake batter into the frying pan. I was making a good dent a least in Cole’s life.
“I’m glad that you are good with me being here,” I said, picking up my mug of coffee. “What are your plans for the rest of the day?”
Cole took a drink of his coffee. “What are yours?”
“I have none really. I’m not going to my mom’s party tonight, so my schedule is free for you.”
“I have to head back into the city by the evening,” Cole said. “How about we eat some breakfast, take a shower, and then enjoy a nice boat ride on the ocean before it gets to be too cold to do anything?”
“Anything you want to do,” I replied, flipping a pancake easily in the frying pan.
Strong hands cupped my breasts suddenly. I let out a startled gasp as heat immediately pooled between my legs at the bold touch. Cole’s lips pressed up against the column of my neck, leaving behind a trail of hot kisses that made me squirm with pleasure. I could feel something hot and hard press up against right ass cheek.
“I’m never going to want to stop having you,” Cole whispered into my ear, squeezing my breasts seductively. “You know how sexy you look standing here in one of my shirts. Are you wearing any underwear?”
I bit my lip meekly when one of Cole’s hands dipped down to cup me between my legs. His fingers pressed up against me teasingly and then retreated before I could fully enjoy the touch. The smell of burnt pancake drew us both out of the haze surrounding us as Cole grabbed the frying pan to dump the burnt pancake into the sink.
“It’s probably a good idea if we wait until after we eat,” Cole said, chuckling. “What do you think?”
I forced my body to cool back down to a normal temperature. “Might be a good idea. Don’t want to burn your fancy house down. You’d have to explain to everyone what happened.”
“That wouldn’t be a very pleasant explanation,” he said and grimaced. “I’ll get the pancakes ready. Think about it if you want to take the boat out with me for a picnic on the water.”
“You already know the answer to that.”
I paused when I caught sight of my phone spinning in a circle on the kitchen island. Sighing, I picked it up to see that I had three missed phone calls from my mom already this morning. Shit. I tapped a finger against my phone while I debated on calling her back with Cole standing alongside me. If she heard one thing that alerted her to where I was, it’d be over. Everything would be ruined before I could enjoy it.
“I have to call my mom really quick,” I said. “She’s called me three times.”
“Might be a good idea. She’ll send the police after you if you don’t call her back.” Cole glanced over his shoulder at me with a spatula in his right hand. “You can use my office if you want to talk privately to her.”
“Thanks.”
I walked up the stairs to Cole’s office which, in my opinion, was more like a large library with tons of books. He rarely used it, judging from the fine layer of dust on his desk.
“Where have you been?” Gloria asked, exasperated. “Vi, you can’t just take off on me like that. I know that you said you were with a friend, but it’s not like you to not answer your phone.”
“I’m sorry. We just got caught up talking this morning, that’s all.” I took a seat in Cole’s office chair, folding my legs underneath me as I gazed out the window that overlooked a large pool. “I haven’t seen her since college, so I’m going to stay here in the city with her for a little bit longer.”
“Where are you exactly?”
“Manhattan,” I said. The lie slipped out surprisingly easily. “We drove back to the city last night to have a few drinks, and we had too many to come back. We’re going to do some shopping here for the afternoon. I’ll be home later.”
Gloria sighed into the phone. “I suppose that’s fine, Vi. Find a nice dress to wear to the party tonight because—”
“I can’t come to the party tonight,” I interrupted, wincing at the irritating noise my mother made in the back of her throat. “I’m sorry, but Cole asked me to come back into the city to look at things for work. We have a big meeting in the city.”
“I swear that Cole is working you too hard.” My cheeked burned at that while the heat between my legs flared. “I’m going to speak with him about using you too much as a personal assistant. I think the job is starting to wear you down.”
“Don’t, Mom. I’m honestly fine. I have to go, so I’ll see you before I leave this afternoon.”
I hung up before she could say anything else. A small bit of guilt bubbled in my stomach, but I knew there was no way that I could be honest with her about my feelings for Cole. Or what had happened, either, over the past two weeks. My parents would never want Cole around again, and then they would pressure me to leave. It was just too much drama to deal with.
A fresh stack of pancakes was waiting for me when I came back down the stairs. My heart swelled with love when Cole looked up from the newspaper he was reading with a mug of coffee in hand.
“My afternoon is officially free,” I said, taking a seat next to Cole at the dining nook he was seated at. “I’m ready to go boating. My mom thinks I’m in Manhattan at the moment.”
Something flickered in Cole’s eyes at that. I could see that small bit of guilt eating at him, too, the guilt for lying to his close friends, but I leaned in to press a kiss to his lips to chase that away. I didn’t want our time ruined this weekend. I didn’t want to think of the consequences of anything just yet.
We spent the next three hours boating around the shores of the Hamptons. Cole brought a blanket for us to lay down on along with a picnic basket of various sandwiches and finger foods. With the gentle rock of the ocean waves against the boat along with Cole’s body propped over my own, his lips pressed against mine whenever we weren’t talking, it was hard to think of anything else besides the sunlight and the taste of Cole on my lips.
“I don’t want to go,” I said after kissing Cole for the fifth time at the bottom of his private driveway. The hedges were thick enough that Cole felt comfortable enough with kissing me goodbye down here. “Can’t I come with you now?”
Cole smoothed his hands over my shoulders. A fond smile tugged at his lips.
“I wish that you could,” he said. “I do have work to concentrate on when I get back to the city. I can’t afford to have any pleasant distractions like I’ve had all day.”
“I suppose you’re right,” I said.
Cole chuckled at the pout on my lips. “Don’t be so disappointed. You’ll see me in two days.”
“That’s a bit too long in my opinion, but I won’t be one of those clingy girlfriends.”
I winced when the word slipped off the tip of my tongue. The last thing we had done was talk about the status of our relationship, and I didn’t want to put a label on anything before talking to Cole.
“I’m sorry,” I rushed out. “I didn’t mean to let that slip out. I’ll see you on Monday morning, right?”
“Keeping your job does count on you being there by 8:00 am,” Cole said, dryly. “Keep out of trouble, Vi. Call me if you need anything.”
He pressed one last kiss against my lips before clicking the gate open. I stepped out after checking for any passing neighbors and turned to wave at Cole as the gate swung shut. He lifted a hand in goodbye.
The sound of sprinkles clicking in the distance filled the late afternoon air. I walked along with a dreamy smile permanently attached to my life. I was happy. Happier than I had been in a long time.