hirteen
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Luke felt like a teenager who was about to get laid for the first time. He had fully intended to merely tease Sierra, but when he had buried his finger deep inside her, finding her slick and warm, he hadn’t thought of anything more than making her come. Thinking about how she would feel wrapped tightly around his cock hadn’t fared well for him. Hell, if Cole hadn’t shown up when he did, the other man might have been looking for a ride home. Instead, Luke insisted on making Sierra come, but he couldn’t do it himself. Not yet. He wouldn’t have been able to bury his head between her legs and be satisfied with just that.
So, Cole had obediently licked her pussy until she came right in the club, and now the three of them were climbing back into the limo, heading back to their hotel. For Vegas standards, it was still early, just a little after midnight, but Luke didn’t give a shit. He’d gladly spend the remaining night hours buried deep inside of the woman who was sitting beside him now. He didn’t even have the strength to tease her, for fear he would come in his jeans long before he ever got them off.
Thankfully the drive back to the hotel was a short one, and once they arrived, the three of them exited like the limo was on fire.
Luke had to make a conscious effort to tip the driver, then to walk through the casino rather than run. He was holding Sierra’s hand while Cole held her other, and she was nearly running just to keep up with their long strides. He had to give her credit; she made walking in heels look like child’s play.
Once inside the elevator, Luke pressed her up against the wall, cameras be damned. For her sake, he didn’t use his hands, but he did crush his mouth to hers as she twined her fingers into his hair.
“Remember, there are cameras in here.” He warned her as she attempted to climb his body.
“At this point, I don’t mind an audience.” Her soft laugh made him smile. He liked that she was so hot, so responsive to his touch.
The elevator dinged, announcing their arrival at their floor and Luke allowed her to walk out in front of him so he could enjoy the view. Cole fell into step beside him, but on the way to Luke’s room, Cole stopped at his own.
“What are you doing?” Luke asked, clearly confused.
“Giving you some space.”
“If I wanted space, I would have fucking asked for it.” He told him, taking one step closer. “When I want to be with her alone, I’ll let you know.” Gripping the back of Cole’s neck, he brought his face close to the other man, his eyes raking over his near perfect features.
Cole had the ability to turn him on like no one he’d ever met before, until Sierra. And yes, he was more than a little confused about what it was he wanted, but tonight, his intentions were clear. He didn’t trust himself alone with Sierra. Not yet. His emotions were all over the place and being alone with her would likely result in him thinking something stupid.
Partly because she had him scared shitless of all that he might want from her.
Cole nodded his understanding, and they moved down to Luke’s door, where he ran the key card through the reader and pushed the door open hard enough to slam into the wall.
“I want you naked.” He ordered Sierra, crowding her against the wall as the door slammed shut behind them. “Fuck. Leave the boots on.”
Without finesse, Luke helped her to remove the dress, pulling it up and over her head – thank God for spandex. When she stood gloriously naked in nothing but those fuck me boots and a smile, Luke took a second to look his fill. Her skin was a creamy white, her long, glossy black hair a stark contrast against her pale skin. Her eyes sparkled like the clear blue waters of the ocean and were focused on him.
Luke pressed her into the wall as she tried to hurriedly unbutton his shirt. Apparently she was frustrated with the pace because she pulled and buttons went flying, and then her hands were on him. He started on his jeans, but she shoved his hands away, deftly undoing the button and then quickly and, bless her, gently eased the zipper down. Luke knew he couldn’t wait. He managed to push his jeans down over his hips and then he lifted Sierra, pressing her back into the wall, her legs wrapped around him as he thrust inside of her. Damn she was so fucking tight.
He held still for a moment, allowing her body to adjust to his size, but then she was wrapped around him completely, her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck and she was trying to impale herself on him.
“Slow baby.” He warned, knowing he wouldn’t last this first time.
“I don’t want slow.” She argued and then crushed her mouth to his. Sweet, erotic whimpers told him how much she needed him.
“Put your hands on my shoulders.” He told her, breaking the kiss and gripping her tighter.
When her hands were braced, he gripped her ass, holding her up as he rammed into her again and again.
“Luke!” She screamed his name, her body gripping him like a velvet vice and he had to grit his teeth to keep his head from exploding. Literally.
“Fuck, baby.” Luke growled, continuing to pound inside of her, unable to stop himself. He leaned forward, nipped her shoulder as she came around his cock. When her body stilled, he carried her over to the bed. He needed more room, better traction. Still buried deep inside of her delectable body, he followed her onto the bed, never unsheathing himself from her body, lifting her legs over his arms so he could get a better angle.
Angling as deep as he could, Luke slowed his thrusts, wanting to hang on a little bit longer. When he noticed Cole in his peripheral vision, standing beside the bed, his jeans unbuttoned, stroking his cock in a rhythm to match Luke’s thrusts, another thread loosened inside of him and he barely restrained himself. Sierra began moving; lifting her ass to meet his thrusts, and Luke couldn’t hang on. He pressed her into the mattress, bending her nearly in half as he pounded into her over and over, harder and faster.
“Fuck!” He growled, and he came with a fury, nearly falling on top of her as his body spasmed out of control.
Managing to roll off of her, he fell onto the bed, pulling her against him.
“Luke.” Cole’s voice broke the silence, and he managed to move his arm from over his eyes long enough to glare at the other man. The look on Cole’s face was not what he expected, and he glanced down, his eyes moving in the direction of Cole’s to see what the other man was referring to.
“Son of a fucking bitch!” Luke sprang up from the bed, unsure of what to do or where to go. “Mother fucker!”
“What’s wrong?” Sierra asked as she pulled a sheet over her nude body, concern and what resembled terror on her pretty face.
How the hell did he let that happen? Not one fucking time in all of his thirty nine years had he ever had sex without a fucking condom. Never.
He’d lost his control, lost all sense of what he was doing, who he was with. How could he not think about protecting her?
Cole stood firmly rooted in place in the middle of the room, staring at him with wide eyed confusion. He shot a look at Sierra and then back at Luke, never saying a word. The silence in the room was unnerving, and Luke had the sudden need to get away from them both, but an even stronger urge to keep them close.
“It’s ok, Luke.” Sierra said quietly, apparently realizing what he had freaked out about, and Luke stopped pacing just to stare at her.
“How the hell is this ok?” Was she out of her fucking mind? He could have gotten her pregnant.
“I’m on birth control.” She said, sitting up on the bed and moving toward the edge, pulling the sheet tighter around her naked body. “To regulate my periods.”
Luke let out the breath lodged in his chest and felt marginally better. Only momentarily though. He still didn’t understand how he could have been so thoughtless.
This woman screwed with his head. He’d been blinded by lust and burying himself inside the sweetest woman he had ever known. This wasn’t like him. He couldn’t afford these types of distractions in his life.
Fuck.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Sierra watched as Luke panicked despite her reassurance that they were protected. Admittedly, she was slightly unnerved that she had never even thought about protection. She’d only been with one man in her life, so she was clean, and based on the way Luke was reacting, he religiously used condoms. Until now.
Wondering what he was going to do next, she tracked his movements as he paced again, then went to the closet and pulled out another shirt. He disappeared into the bathroom and she heard the water running.
She glanced at Cole who now sat on the couch, his jeans once again buttoned, his head hanging low. She wanted to ask him what they were supposed to do next, but he didn’t look like he had the answers any more than she did. A minute later, Luke answered the question when he walked right out the hotel room door without a backward glance.
What the hell?
“Where is he going?” She asked, pulling the sheet tighter around her, anger bubbling up in her chest. Aside from being hurt, she was pissed as hell.
“He’s fucking running.” Cole growled and stood.
Well, he could just run for all she cared. Sierra stood from the bed, the sheet still around her, and headed to the bathroom. She grabbed her discarded dress on the way. Within minutes, she was cleaned up and dressed. When she returned to the room, Cole was no longer there, but the adjoining door was open. She contemplated sticking her head inside, but as far as she was concerned if he had wanted company, he wouldn’t have disappeared.
Salvaging what little pride she had left, Sierra walked out of Luke’s hotel room and down the hall to her own room. If she was going to fall apart, she’d be damned if she would do it in front of anyone else.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Cole took a deep breath, trying his best to contain the fury and rage that had ignited within him the second Luke stepped out of the hotel door, effectively running away from yet another situation in which he couldn’t control. Not that he hadn’t expected this sort of behavior from Luke. He’d lived it once, so Luke’s reaction was true to form.
What pissed him off the most was Luke’s ability to turn his back on Sierra. It was one thing for Luke to walk out on Cole, or to ignore him entirely, but it was not ok for him to do the same to Sierra. At least not as far as Cole was concerned.
The selfish bastard thought of no one but himself, and when he got like this, there was no reasoning with the man. So instead of following him out the door, chasing him down and beating some sense into him, Cole leashed in some of the rage that had threatened to break free. One look at Sierra’s stunned face allowed Cole to hang on to that frayed thread of sanity, and he’d slipped into his room, hoping for a minute to breath.
Apparently he had more than a minute, based on the fact that the door to Luke’s room clicked shut, and Cole knew Sierra had likely disappeared into her own room. Gripping his hands into fists, his short nails digging into his palms, Cole stood in the center of his room and fought to breathe. It was something he’d grown used to over the years.
Ask anyone and they would tell you that Cole Ackerley was a calm, even gentle man. What they didn’t see was the fury that bubbled like acid deep in his gut. Those same people would tell you that Luke was the aggressive one, the one with the temper, the loose cannon that could go off in the blink of an eye. That’s where the two men were similar; however, Cole had spent years reining in that temper, burying the aggression and single handedly convincing everyone he was the gentle giant without a mean bone in his body.
Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered. Especially when it came to Luke. The man was dominant, he was aggressive. And Cole loved that about him. Yes… loved. Luke McCoy was the one man that Cole had given himself to whole heartedly. Without thought.
After that one night in October, Cole had accepted what Luke still made a conscious effort to deny. There was something between them, something that they could fulfill in one another that no other person, man or woman could satisfy.
He’d learned early on that he was bisexual, although he wasn’t all that fond of the term. In his opinion, there wasn’t a single term that would define the satisfaction to be found in another human being, when it came to intimate contact in any form.
As far as sex was concerned, Cole had never thought to set boundaries on himself or question his preferences. There were numerous women he’d enjoyed over the years, and a handful of men. Either way, Cole found satisfaction in the person, not their gender.
Which led him to Sierra and the way his body responded to her. From the moment he’d laid eyes on her at Club Destiny, Cole had accepted that she was the one woman who would likely change him forever. Did he believe in love at first sight? Not specifically. Does that mean it doesn’t exist? No. And Sierra Sellers was living proof because Cole had found himself fantasizing about the woman in more ways than one since that fateful day.
And now, Luke had gone and dismissed them both as though they weren’t worth the effort because he couldn’t maintain his control when he was around them. That’s how Cole knew there was something more between the three of them. Something more between Luke and Sierra and something more between Cole and Sierra. When another person has the ability to make you lose your mind in sheer, unadulterated bliss, they were worth pursuing.
Grabbing his cell phone and pacing toward the window that overlooked the strip, Cole dialed the familiar number.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Those were the first words out of Cole’s mouth.
“Look, I’m catching a plane back to Dallas tonight. What happened…” Luke sounded calmer than he had earlier, but Cole knew he wasn’t thinking rationally.
“That’s fucked up, man.” Cole let out a frustrated breath, jamming his fingers through his hair. “How can you walk out on her like that?”
“It’s for the best.” Luke stated, followed by a few seconds of silence. “This isn’t what I want.”
Right. Cole had been down this road before. Luke could say the words all day long, but the only person who might believe them was him. Cole knew better. This was everything Luke wanted, but since the man didn’t have the power to control what was happening, he was going to run fast and hard.
“Keep telling yourself that, Luke. Maybe one day you’ll believe it.” Cole clicked the end button, tossing the phone on the bed to keep from heaving the damn thing at the wall. He felt the blood begin to pound in his head, every muscle going rigid, and he knew he had to calm down.
He wanted to go to Sierra, to check on her and make sure she was alright, but he needed some air first.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
An hour after she had come back to her room, Sierra had showered and put on her pajamas. At three o’clock in the morning, she knew she should be asleep, but she just couldn’t do it. Hell, she’d even tried lying down, but thoughts of Luke and what happened were scrambling her brain. Part of her wanted to know if he had come back or not. Her pride told her that it didn’t matter. What he had done was unforgivable.
One last ditch effort to get some rest had her filling a glass with water, downing it quickly, then heading back to the bed. Just as she pulled the blankets back, there was a knock on the door. Her traitorous heart started pounding harder, anxiety filling her chest like a helium balloon.
She stopped at the door, her hand resting on the knob, but she didn’t turn it. What would she say to Luke if he showed up now? She dared a glance through the privacy hole and saw Cole standing there, and she immediately opened the door.
“What’s the matter?” She asked, taking in his weary appearance.
“Did I wake you?” He asked, looking her directly in the eye.
“No.” Sierra took a step back so he could come inside. “I couldn’t sleep.”
“Me either.” He admitted, thrusting his hands into his pockets and strolling toward the window.
Despite everything that happened over the course of the last few hours, the pain that Sierra now felt deep down from Luke’s abandonment, one look at Cole and all negative thoughts vanished. The man had a body to die for, his broad back rippled with strength, and she could see the flex and give of his muscles beneath the thin fabric of his t-shirt. Tanned arms flexed with restrained energy as he turned to face her.
Sierra took a step forward, realizing exactly what Cole had come to her for. The same thing she realized she now wanted from him. Comfort.
“I want you, Sierra.” Cole said, a flash of insecurity fluttered on his handsome face before it was masked with a deep, dark hunger.
Sierra understood the vulnerability, and she suspected that he wouldn’t want her to know exactly how much Luke’s abandonment had affected him, as well. Standing before her, Cole’s emotions were masked entirely, but she figured they were weighing heavily on his mind. Neither of them could control Luke. Neither of them had the ability to help Luke understand that he couldn’t blame himself for so many things that were out of his control.
The feelings.
The need.
Just from the amount of time she had been around him, Sierra knew that Luke thought he could control everything, every situation, but then when he realized he was just as human as the rest of them, he panicked. Based on the concern reflected in Cole’s beautiful deep blue eyes, Sierra accepted what Cole already had. Luke wouldn’t be back tonight.
Unlike Luke, Sierra wasn’t going to walk away. Not from him and not from Cole. She needed to reassure Cole. He’d taken a chance coming to her room and if the words Cole had said that morning rang true, he wasn’t going to back down either.
Taking a step closer, she gauged his reaction, but he didn’t move. His eyes locked with hers and Sierra held her breath, waiting for that moment when he might push her away. Instead, he took a step closer and her heart pounded harder.
“Make love to me, Cole.” She whispered.
In an instant, Cole was on her, his hard body pressed firmly against hers, the feel of his erection pressed between her legs. Sierra latched onto him, melding her lips with his, relishing the comfort that she found in his arms. Without hesitation, he managed to rid her of her clothes, along with his own, claiming a condom from his back pocket before he had her flat on her back.
“I can’t be easy, Sierra. I need to be inside of you right now.”
“Please.” She whispered, pulling his head down, and when their lips touched once again, she realized just how much he had been holding back.
“I need to feel you.” Cole stated, pushing up from her as he opened the foil packet and sheathed himself before aligning his body with hers once again, driving into her in one hard thrust.
“Oh God!” Cole was buried to the hilt, filling the empty, lonely spaces that Luke had left when he had walked out on them earlier. And suddenly Luke no longer mattered because Cole was here.
Sierra pulled him closer, the weight of him on top of her felt like heaven. When he tried to pull back, she held him closer, wanting to feel all of him against her. Then he was kissing her again, gripping her hands and lifting them above her head as he drove into her over and over again. As her body tightened around him, he slowed his pace and then pushed back, allowing her to gaze deep into those all seeing, all knowing eyes.
“I need you to love me, Cole.” The words were out before she could stop them, and the look on his face nearly broke her heart.
“Always, Sierra.”