Cole’s eyebrows rose. “What does my heart say? Are you serious?” he chuckled.
I smacked his arm. “Yes, I’m serious. Stop overanalyzing and think with that thing that beats in your chest. At the end of the day, what do you want to do?” Cole was silent as he considered my question.
“What will make you happy?” I demanded.
Cole stared at me for a long time, chewing his lip ring.
“You,” he said quietly.
And then he was reaching for me and I couldn’t deny him or myself any longer.
His hand curled around the back of my neck and he pulled me toward him. And just before his lips met mine, he looked deep into my eyes and I saw something shift in their depths.
“Just you,” he whispered before he claimed my mouth with his.
It started softly, almost gently. But as with any time we were together, the tentative touches caught fire and we began to devour each other.
I parted my lips and he plunged his tongue inside, tasting every inch of my mouth. I reached down to the hem of his shirt, planning to rip it off him when he stopped me.
He pulled back suddenly. “You said no sex.”
“Are you kidding me right now?” I practically screeched.
Cole shook his head. “You were pretty adamant, Viv. I just don’t want you coming back later and saying I took advantage of you or something. That I manipulated you.”
I cocked my head to the side and looked at him. “Are you manipulating me?” I asked bluntly.
Cole recoiled. “No!” he proclaimed, grabbing my hands and kissing my knuckles. “God, no! Please believe me,” he begged me.
I smiled sweetly.
Because I believed him. I really did. I knew that this time wasn’t about anything but Cole wanting to be with me. For me.
This was about us.
I leaned forward. “Then fuck me, Cole,” I growled, reaching for his shirt again.
And he stopped me again.
“What now?” I whined. I was three seconds away from going cavewoman and clubbing him.
“Not here,” Cole said, standing up. He held out his hand and pulled me to my feet.
He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the tip of my nose. “We’re doing this right. Where’s your bedroom?”
My mouth went dry. Cole was hard to resist under normal circumstances. But this Cole, with his seductive tenderness, would wreck me.
“This way,” I said softly and led him down the darkened hallway to my room.
I didn’t turn on the lights right away and almost argued when Cole flipped on the bedside lamp.
He looked around, taking in everything, just as he had done in the living room and kitchen. Then he turned to me and slowly lifted his shirt and dropped it onto the floor. I watched as he unbuckled his jeans and lowered his pants. He kicked them off and stood before me, naked and amazing. His body wasn’t overly muscular. But he was lean and defined, covered in ink.
He stared as I followed suit and took off the overly large Generation Rejects T-shirt, my bare breasts heavy with my arousal. I hooked my fingers into the edge of my sweatpants and underwear and lowered them all at once.
Since we were being all sexy and stuff, no need to kill the mood with my parachute underwear.
Why, oh why hadn’t I worn a thong?
But something told me I could be decked out in full body Christmas pajamas and Cole wouldn’t care.
His eyes consumed me. He licked his lips and my knees almost buckled from the intensity of his look alone.
He wanted me.
All of me.
I had never felt more beautiful.
“Come here,” he commanded.
Once upon a time I would have leaped across the room and into his arms at his request.
But some things had changed.
I didn’t move. I tilted my head to the side, my hair falling around my shoulders.
“No. You come here.”
Cole’s lips twitched into a sexy smirk.
“Is that how we’re going to play this?”
I put my hand on my hip and watched in satisfaction as he crossed the room towards me. When he was less than a foot away I beckoned him closer with my finger.