Chapter Twenty-Five
Evie
It’s been so hard seeing Colton and not telling him the truth. When he dropped Carter off this afternoon, I still felt traumatized from the story Veronica told me. I didn’t know how to look at the man I was falling for in the eyes, eyes that I now knew were so similar to my son’s and not be honest with him after he specifically told me that that’s what he needed from me. I felt like a complete hypocrite because here Colton was learning how to sign so we could communicate easier, he was putting an effort in with my son, and he asked me for only one thing, honesty. Now after learning the truth, I couldn’t even give him that. I didn’t know what to do. I still feel like crawling out of my skin as Veronica’s words replay in my mind.
It doesn’t help that when he dropped Carter off, he told me about the talk he and his father had the other day. His father told him his mother left him in a fire and didn’t look back. If there was one thing I was sure of, James Mathis was the devil in disguise. It sickened me that he would want Colton to believe his lies probably knowing how hurt Colton would feel about his mother leaving him and not looking back. It just about gutted me when he told me because Veronica is a good woman. A woman who would never have left a child behind if she didn’t fear for their lives. What I don’t understand is how Colton doesn’t remember having a younger brother. Jake was two when he and Veronica left. Colton was five. I guess I don’t remember much about being five, but I would have thought he would remember a sibling. I think the whole trauma has made him block things out.
Now I’m getting ready for our mystery date. He said he’s taking me out but not to a public place. I’m not sure what that even means but I’ve spent the last hour blowing out my long red hair and adding loose curls. I’ve also put on some eyeliner and mascara to accentuate my blue eyes. I don’t think Colton has ever seen me with makeup since I don’t wear it often. I didn’t even wear makeup the night of the Veterans gala. I finally add a pinkish color lip gloss, and smooth my hands down my form-fitting black dress. My ensemble is a little sexier than what I usually wear out on a date but this is Colton. I want to be beautiful for him even though I know he’s attracted to me when I’m in simple sweats. I want him to feel goosebumps run down his body the way they run down my body when I first see him. I spray a light mist of vanilla body spray over my body and run to the door since the red lights began to flash, indicating Colton is here to pick me up. I run for the door in my stilettos since my excitement is running high. My red curls bounce as I make my way to the door.
I open the door, and my heart picks up pace. He looks so handsome, no, drop dead gorgeous in a black dress shirt and black dress pants. His blue eyes glisten as he takes me in and I watch how he completely stills as his gaze runs over every inch of my body leaving a trail of heat in its tracks.
“You look beautiful,” he signs, and my eyes widen as warmth spreads down my chest.
I sign back, “Thank you.” Then I begin to speak, “Where did you learn to do that?”
He smiles and enters my apartment. “Carter helped me out this afternoon,” he says. Then he signs, “You take my breath away.” He motions and the heat in his eyes makes me feel airy, but most of all I love the effort he’s making to learn sign. My earlier doubts about our relationship being difficult begin to fade away.
“Thank you,” I smile breathlessly. “You have no idea how much it means to me that you are learning.” I hold my hands together interlaced in front of my heart.
“I think I know what it means and now that I see your reaction, I’m committing to learning until I’m fluent. You mark my words.” His grin is salacious. He leans forward and presses a kiss to my lips. He smells freshly showered, his dark hair is still wet and brushed back. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him with every part of me. We begin to make out as our bodies are pressed together, his hands running up and down my behind.
He breaks the kiss and pulls his head back. “I should have told you to wear sweats, even though you’re hot in sweats too. Just this dress, Evie is gorgeous the way it hugs your body…” he bites his lip, “we better get out of here, before we spend another evening in this apartment.”
“That wouldn’t be so bad,” I protest.
“No, but I have a place I want to take you,” he responds. “Ready?”
“One second.” I grab my purse and my cell phone. Colton takes my hand and doesn’t let go leaving me to lock my front door with one hand. He’s got a silly grin on his face like he’s excited about something.
We head out to his car, a black sports car parked at my curb. It looks expensive. He holds the door open for me, and I get in. Then he closes the door and comes around, my nerves from earlier have dissipated as an exciting thrill washes over me. His car has a new car leather smell mixed with the scent of his cologne, and it’s delicious. He starts the car, and we head out into traffic.
“Where are we going?” I ask, realizing it will be hard for him to look at me and drive. We stop at a red light, and he turns to look at me.
He signs, “Trust me?” My stomach flips that he’s signing again.
“I do,” I answer and sign thinking it’s a good way for him to learn. The problem is, I feel like an imposter because he can’t trust me and I hate every minute of it.
He turns the knob on the radio, and we head out to the highway. I just look out the window wondering where on earth he’s taking me. We finally pull into a local airport strip. My eyes turn wide.
“You know I need to be back for Carter tomorrow afternoon, and I don’t have a passport on me.” I must be speaking fast because my excitement has quickly melted into nerves as I’m reminded that Colton isn’t just a regular guy.
“I know. Where we’re going we don’t need a passport,” he says, and his smile stretches from cheek to cheek.
“Okay.” He parks the car and we both exit the car. He walks hand in hand with me even though he’s guiding us toward a row of planes.
I point. “Are we going on one of those?” I ask nervously.
His grin grows wide. “We are.” He nods. “I’ll be flying us to my lake house on Lake Michigan. Have you ever been to Evanston?”
My jaw drops. “I’m sorry did I read your lips, right? You will be flying as in you will have control of the plane.”
He chuckles and throws his head back slightly. The sun is still up, and a warm breeze rustles his hair. “Don’t be so surprised. The one thing my father did let me do that was fun was take flying lessons. He bribed me since I had spent my first semester of college partying and got shitty grades. Once I started flying, I kept my end of the bargain and got straight A’s.” He looks to me like he’s proud of that accomplishment. Only hearing that story makes me so angry as I think of what an asshole his father truly is. “Don’t worry. I’ve been flying for years now. I’m quite good. You’re completely safe with me.”
As he says those words, I feel my gaze soften. “I know,” I say, but I feel like I spoke those words too softly. Truth is I felt safe with Colton.
“Good.” He rubs his hands together and guides us toward the plane where a man is waiting with a clipboard in his hand.
“Hey, Trip.” Colton shakes his hand.
“Hey Colton,” the man says back. “You guys are scheduled for an eight fifteen take off. Should be perfect timing to watch the sun setting,” the old guy says, looking at Colton with a friendly stare. I liked that Colton didn’t require people to call him Mr. Governor for respect. It showed just how down to earth he truly was.
“That sounds perfect. You have yourself a good night.” Colton shakes Trip’s hand again. And we boarded the small plane. I had been on a plane before with Jake but nothing this small. Colton prepared us for takeoff going over all the safety procedures required in case of a crash. I swallowed hard as he mentioned the parachutes and where to pull the string. He noticed my nerves and brushed the back of his hand on my cheek. “Don’t worry beautiful. This is going to be fun.”
I took the back of his hand and gave him a small kiss there, and his aquamarine eyes warmed. It made my heart flutter.
“Okay let’s do this.” Colton turns his attention to the plane. We get ready for take-off. Colton’s expression becomes serious as he plays with the buttons on the dashboard of the plane. Then he speaks something into his mouthpiece, and we are reversing, then driving straight toward the runway. Nervous butterflies float in my stomach, but the excitement and surge of adrenaline win out. I am enjoying myself. I can’t contain my smile if I wanted to. Colton gives me a sidelong glance and his smile grows just as wide. The plane picks up speed, and it is exhilarating. And then we are airborne. My stomach dips momentarily as I watch the ground moving further and further away from us. The sun is setting, and the view is beautiful.
Colton turns his head to look at me and waits until I return his stare. “What do you think?”
I feel speechless, but one word comes to mind. “It’s perfect.”
“So are you,” he says, and I love the way those words look on his mouth. He was doing something to my insides. Putting together pieces that had been broken for so long. It felt like we had just been up in the air for a short time when Colton spoke into the mouthpiece telling someone we were preparing for landing.
The way he commanded the plane was a sight to see. He was sure of himself. Confident. It’s the way he was viewed in the media. Looking at him you wouldn’t think he had such a broken past, or more so that there were parts of him that were broken. I hated how his father controlled him and now that I knew the truth from Veronica, I hated it even more.
We come to a soft landing on what Colton said was his personal runway. I wasn’t sure what that meant until we exited the plane and I took in the grounds of what Colton said was his lake house. This wasn’t a lake house. It was an estate settled on acres of land. The grass was so green and perfectly manicured.
“Colton this is…” I was out of words.
“From all my homes this is my favorite one. I love being close to the water here. Lake Michigan just feels different,” he begins to explain.
“I…can see what you mean.” I inhale the fresh air. It is cleansing, beautiful, relaxing.
We walk toward the main house passing a large outdoor pool along the way. The main house was a sprawling mansion covered in stone. It has an old-fashioned feel to it.
He uses his key to enter the front door. “I asked my staff to work tonight so we aren’t completely alone, but they are pretty good at making themselves scarce. They live in the staff quarters, so I can have my way with you later on.” He leans in and presses a chaste kiss to my lips. I am in awe and definitely in a little bit of shock. Back in my apartment, things always seemed very normal with Colton. He showed up in jeans most of the time. except the one odd time he wore a suit. Back there, we were just a man and a woman falling in love. Now I was reminded of his wealth, his power, and it was overwhelming.
“This is quite a date.” I force a smile.
“I hope I didn’t go overboard, I just…” he pinches the back of his neck. “I wanted tonight to be special. I know you don’t want to go out in public with me because of the repercussions, but I thought this was the next best thing.”
“It’s perfect.” I blow out a breath. “A little overwhelming but perfect.”
His eyes turn warm. “Thank you for telling me how you feel. I want you to be able to tell me anything that’s on your mind,” he says, and I feel like his words are some strange form of karma.
“I want that too,” I practically sigh.
“Come, you must be starving, the house chef Rosita is an amazing cook.” He leads me to the dining room where we are greeted by his house staff. He introduces me to his maid, Alysia; his chef, Rosita; and the butler, Carmen. Every one of his workers calls him Colton and every one of them look to him fondly. I think that says a lot about him as a person. We sit for a delicious three-course meal.
“Ready for dessert?” Colton asks at the end.
“I couldn’t possibly.” I lean back in my chair. My tummy feels too full.
“I hope you are because I thought dessert could be a swim in the pool. The nights are chilly here this time of year, but the pool is set to ninety-five degrees. It’s fun to swim when it’s cold out.” His blue eyes gleam the way they did when he was thinking something naughty. It made my insides warm.
“A swim sounds great, but I didn’t bring a bathing suit.”
“There are no neighbors for miles here. After dinner, the staff will retire to their quarters, and then we have this place all to ourselves so I can finally have my way with you,” he says. I want so badly to know the sound of his voice when he says sexy things to me. Just from reading his body I know he is turned on and so am I. I am already wet from the promise of his words.
He leads me through French doors at the back of the house where a beautiful veranda is set up with tables, chairs, couches and lined with lovely red flower beds. We walk through a stone trail lined with the perfectly manicured grass I had seen when we first landed and finally we walked through the gates of the pool area. I notice that two of the loungers are set up with plush white towels, and what looks like a bathrobe. Colton seemed to have planned every minute of our date, and it is endearing.
We stop in front of the lounge chairs, and Colton turns to me. “This dress is hot, but I’d like to see what’s underneath.” His hands rake up and down the sides of my dress…once, twice… on the third time, he grabs the bottom of my dress and flips it over my head leaving me in a blush lace bra and matching panties. Colton takes a step back, and I watch his breath hitch. “You don’t even know how beautiful you are,” he says. The way he looks at me makes me feel beautiful. My past doubts and insecurities seem to melt away when he gazes at me. I take a step forward and begin to unbutton his dress shirt. I can feel his fast breaths on my face letting me know he is just as affected as me. Colton gets to work removing his dress pants. He pulls his boxers off with his pants, showing me the apparent signs of his arousal. His cock is standing erect pressed against the hard lines of his stomach.
I reach for it, but he stops me shaking his head. “Not yet. First, take off your bra and panties.” He takes a step back. I think so he can watch me. “As much as I like you in a pair of high heels they will have to go.”
I unclasp my bra, and my breasts fall. The feel of the cool wind brushing against them causes my nipples to pucker instantly. Or maybe it is the sultry look on Colton’s face. He takes a step toward me as I stand buck naked in front of him. Only I surprise him and run away. As I turn my head, I see him chasing me, so I dive straight into the pool hoping he was right about the temperature. The warm water brushes against my naked skin, and it feels exquisite, sexy. It makes my insides clench as the warm water caresses my exposed skin.
Colton dives in after me, he looks happy, carefree, he doesn’t have the heaviness that seems to set into his features most of the time. He catches up to me in the water and grabs hold of me. I wrap my arms around his neck enjoying the feel of our naked bodies entwined under the water.
“Tell me you are on the pill,” he says.
“I’m on the pill,” I laugh.
“Seriously?” he questions himself because he was being demanding.
“Yes.” I nod, and before I can breathe another word, I feel his cock throbbing at my entrance and my insides clench.
“I’m clean,” he says, looking directly into my eyes. His blue eyes are glistening off of the shine in the water. I’m so wet for him already, since dinner I had been wet or maybe even while on the plane. He thrusts inside me in one swoop, and I feel lost as my head falls back. He pumps in and out of me, and I’m lost to him. Our lips haven’t even touched, and I’m moaning as his cock drives in and out of me. The warm water is only intensifying all that I’m feeling. There is something so erotic about the two of us fucking in the middle of his pool in the dark, our eyes glued to one another as he moves inside me.
“I’m going to come,” I hiss, and my head falls back. His hand wraps around the back of my head, and he lifts it up then he taps my shoulder. I’m so, so close. I open my eyes to see what he wants.
“Keep your eyes open. I want you looking at me when I come inside you.” His words set me off as I begin to move faster, fucking him harder. It’s so intense like this, looking straight into his eyes while coming so intensely. My orgasm persists as I feel his cock jerk and I know he’s coming too. We are both panting as we come down from our highs and it is then that he locks his lips with mine. I can feel him walking us to the edge of the pool. We don’t speak. We just watch each other. It almost feels like he is trying to understand my quiet world. He walks us over to the steps, and we stare up at the stars for a while. The sky is so clear up here. You can see so many more stars than you do in the city. He takes my hand and leads me out of the water. I shiver as we make our way over to the lounge chairs. He passes me a robe first and I sheath myself in the thick plush fabric.
“You’re shivering. I should get you inside.” He reaches down for his clothes and picks my dress up too. I get my stilettos on not wanting to walk all the way barefoot. He holds my hand, and we saunter back slowly. It seems like we have come to a point in our relationship that silence isn’t awkward. It brings me relief because it’s nice just to hold his hand and take in the view of the beautiful grounds.With the flower gardens lit at night, the place feels magical now. We reach the back veranda we came from earlier. Colton guides us through the house, and up a large central staircase. I realize how much I’ve grown to trust him. He leads us down a hall to a vast room; a dark wood canopy bed sits in the middle. Everything about this place is luxurious, decorated with ornate things that look super expensive. I wonder if this is Colton showing me all the sides of him.
He finally turns to me, and his blue eyes have a calm swirling through them. I exhale at the sight of him again. He’s just so dreamy. “Would you like me to run you a bath?” he asks.
“If you’ll join me.” I nod.
He gets that smile on his face again where his eyes twinkle. “I had that exact thought.” He walks away to a bathroom connected inside the room, and I continue to look around. I can’t help but wonder how many of his dates he’s brought up here, to this very bed. My stomach sinks at the thought that I couldn’t possibly compete with those women. They have so much more experience than me. They seem to have seduction made into an art form. I’m hardly a seductress. I don’t even know how to make bedroom eyes. I want to laugh at myself.
Colton exits the bathroom still in the same robe that I am wearing too. “What is on your mind?” he signs, surprising me. Then he mouths did I get that right?
My heart bursts just a little further. Is he trying to make me fall in love with him? Because he’s doing a bang-up job if he is.
“You don’t want to know, I’m foolish,” I say, but I can’t hold his gaze. My thoughts embarrass me.
He closes the steps between us showing me a tenderness that makes my heart beat just a little faster. “Nothing you could say is foolish.” He looks from me to the bed. I watch as his mind seems to be processing something. “I’ve never brought any dates here if that’s what you were thinking. I’ve had dates at my apartment in the city and even back at the governor’s mansion but not here. I come here to have peace and quiet. You are the first woman to be in my bed,” he says, and I take a large intake of breath feeling more pressure than I did before.
“Hey.” His brows creased. “None of that. Don’t question yourself with me ever. To me you are perfect. I wouldn’t want to change anything about you. The fact that you are the first woman to be here should say something to you. I feel different about you. Everything with you is…special.”
I release the breath I was holding. Any reservations I have melted away. “Thank you,” I sign.
He presses a kiss to my lips. “Ready for that bath now?”
I follow him into the bathroom. It’s almost the size of a large bedroom. It’s decorated with cream-colored marble and ornate looking faucets. I wonder if it was Colton who designed this house. The bathtub is huge and circular and filled with lots of bubbles.
I giggle. “We are having a bubble bath?”
“Don’t laugh, there’s nothing like a warm bubble bath to relieve tension and relax.”
“Ah, another thing I’ve learned about you now. That is adorable.”
“Hey, I’m not adorable…” he says, stalking toward me. “I’m handsome, sexy as hell.” He drops his robe to the floor, and my stomach clenches at the sight of his completely naked body. A body built like an Adonis. It still seems surreal. He places his hands on the tie of my robe, unties it and then pushes the robe off my shoulders. The atmosphere turns from joking around to heated in milliseconds. “Come.” He extends his hand for me to take it and guides us to the bath. I enter first and take a seat. Colton enters behind me. I lie on him for about a minute, but the ache between my thighs is unbearable as I lie naked against his cock which I feel throbbing against my back. I twist my head and tilt my face up to capture his lips. He lifts me under my arms and turns my body, so I’m facing him. I straddle him, and he wraps his arms around my back. I slide down on his cock and begin to move. The water sloshes at our sides as I rock on top of him. He uses his hips to create friction then he breaks the kiss and places both hands on each of my breasts, kneading them while thrusting into me. My head falls back as I absorb all the pleasure he gives me. I feel his cock growing harder. I rub myself faster along his length feeling the intensity building. He has a lustful look on his face.
“You are so beautiful,” he says. He pulls one hand off my breast and puts it under the water. Not a moment later I feel his finger graze my clit as he begins to work me over while thrusting into me. I rock my body harder increasing the friction of his fingers against my clit. And then I’m detonating, moving on him up and down at a quick pace, chasing my ecstasy. His body jerks and I know he’s coming too, my stomach clenches. I place my hands on his shoulders for support as we ride the wave together.
When I’ve come down from my high, I’m breathless. I slide up and allow his cock to slip out of me then I fall on his chest placing my head on his shoulder. He draws slow circles on my back. We stay like that for a while enjoying the closeness, the intimacy. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such close intimacy with someone. After a while, the bath water grows cold, and we leave the bath for the shower.
We wash each other’s hair and bodies. Before we leave the shower, Colton presses my hands against the wall of the shower telling me to display my fine ass. Then he takes me again from behind, holding his hands on my hips as he thrusts into me. Finally, he wraps an arm around my waist and dips his hand between my legs. I’ve learned he’s a very generous lover. He doesn’t want to come unless I’m falling with him. He rubs my clit while pressing his other hand to my breast and strokes me over and over until it’s his name I’m calling out.
***
“Colton,” I say his name into the darkness as his tongue assaults me in the most delicious way. Only I don’t want to come like this. I don’t want to come unless I have his dick in my mouth. I’ve learned that Colton likes to dominate in the bedroom. I’ve also learned that I also want to take the reins and do what I like too. Colton says he finds my need to dominate him sexy as hell. I’m so close to coming, but I hold back and turn my body, so Colton and I are sixty-nining each other. From this angle, my pussy is practically flat on his face, and I’m able to suck the hell out of his cock. He begins to shift his hips as my head bobs up and down taking in his wide girth. My hips are moving on their own accord as his tongue moves in perfect strokes across my clit to my opening. And then I’m coming, and it’s so intense I see a white light as I suck him down. My pussy is on fire, and all the sensation is too much, too good, so erotic. We are both flying high as his semen shoots into my mouth, and I do my best to take it all down, but some of it leaks down the side of his cock, and it’s so messy, so filthy. It turns me on more, and my orgasm continues, my pussy greedy for his delectable tongue. When we’ve both come down from the high of ecstasy, I fall to my side and lay upside down on the bed gathering my wits about me. Colton extends a hand to twist my body right side up. I settle into the crook of his arm. A place I’ve come to feel safe and content. I just hate the looming feeling that hangs over me with knowing the truth. It’s dreadful.
He places a soft kiss on my forehead, and we lie quietly in bliss for a while. Then he shifts beside me, and I turn my body to look at him. He leans on his elbow watching me, pushing a stray strand of hair off my face. “You’re so beautiful. You know that,” he says and I gather it isn’t a question even though I can’t hear his tone.
I just watch him looking at me. He’s so handsome with that angular jaw, perfect nose, aqua blue eyes. We lay quietly for a bit while we catch our breath.
“Evie, I need to tell you something…” he begins, and my stomach dips wondering what it may be.
“What is it?” I ask softly. I want to lay back and relax. Enjoy our post-coital bliss but if we need to communicate I need to be on my stomach facing him using my shoulders for support. “What is it?”
“This…I mean us…it feels good. I mean it feels right,” he says, and I can tell he’s nervous because his eyes tend to narrow in a soft way when he is.
“I know what you mean,” I answer and I can’t hear myself, but I’m sure I sound dreamy.
“I didn’t think I had a chance with you…” he says and I’m a bit floored because he’s the handsome drop-dead gorgeous Governor of Illinois. I’m just some simple, deaf teacher. I hate to classify myself but how can I not? My thoughts trouble me, but my old insecurities sometimes decide to resurface when I don’t want them to.
“I think you’re confused.” I playfully check his forehead for a fever.
“No fever, it’s true. When you called me a schmuck and stalked off the night of the gala, I thought to myself game over. Then your grandfather walked up to me, and I thought game on.” He smiles devilishly, and it lightens his blue eyes even more.
“Game on, huh? I seriously thought you recognized me from the rally and wanted to have me arrested. I was trembling from the inside out. I couldn’t get away from you fast enough,” I admit, remembering that night and how I ran off as fast as I could in my four and a half inch heels. It was no small feat.
“The first woman I met that didn’t succumb to my charm.” He pushes out his lower lip.
“If I recall it didn’t take me too long to succumb to your charm.”
“I wouldn’t say that. You’ve been very guarded with me. Tonight though I think I got under your skin.”
“Colton, you’ve gotten under more than my skin, especially tonight.” I wink playfully even though I know he’s trying to have a serious talk with me. But because I know the truth about his past it makes me nervous, so I feel the need to brush off his words. I suddenly wish I wasn’t so inquisitive. I wish Veronica never told me. Now it plagues my thoughts, and makes me feel guilt I shouldn’t be feeling.
“We’re terrific in bed together,” he says with a crooked grin. I feel like he wants to say more but is holding back. I think to myself that I want to say more too.
Instead, I answer, “Agreed.”
“I think I’d like to see how terrific.” He lifts off his back and turns me on mine then pins me to the bed, his blue eyes staring what feels like right through me. I never had a chance of resisting him. I just hope he doesn’t hate me when all’s said and done.