Chapter 42 Cole
Cole
“So. You called me your girlfriend.”
Cassie doesn’t waste any time when we get back to my house.
She kicks off her pink cowboy boots in the hallway and folds her arms across her sparkly silver top. Despite her skimpy country bar outfit, the look on her face is all business. Which would be extremely cute if she weren’t demanding why I accidentally just broke all our rules.
Accidentally. Right.
No, I didn’t mean for the word to slip out like that. Especially not when she was on the brink of getting off.
But I know why it left my mouth. Because a secret, halfway relationship with Cassie isn’t enough for me. She brings out a primal part of me.
Like a fucking caveman, all I want is to claim this beautiful, brilliant woman as my own.
“Did you mean it?” she asks.
Fuck it. I’m too lost in my feelings for Cassie to deny it. I’m a grown man and I’m done running from my emotions. Even if it means I’m about to get my heart ripped out.
“I meant it. I’m sorry for breaking the rules we agreed on. But I’m not sorry for wanting all of you. Not just a temporary part of you.”
Her bright blue eyes flicker in surprise for a moment. I catch an edge of pleasure in her gaze.
I see my chance. I close the distance between us, gently walking her backward through the doorway to my bedroom. Her sweet floral perfume hits me, and I have to clench my jaw to stop myself jumping ahead and pinning her to bed right now.
“I’ve been honest with you here tonight. Baby, I need you to do the same with me. Tell me what you want. Do you want to be my girlfriend?”
Her arms tighten across her chest, flustered. It’s not like her to stumble over her words, but right now she does.
“Even if I did, how would it work? That’s—that’s why we agreed on the rules, Cole.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
I take a step forward, and she softly stumbles back onto the bed with a gasp.
I bracket her jaw with my hand, tilting her head to look up at me.
Cassie has teased things out of me I didn’t know were possible.
Warmth. Kindness. Forgiveness for myself and for others.
But I’m not feeling particularly nice tonight.
Tonight, I just want to take what I want.
She meets my eyes where I stand above her. “I don’t know if I can answer your question.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because the answer really scares me, Cole.”
My chest jolts. Fuck, I think she wants me exactly like I want her. But she just won’t admit it yet. Can’t admit it.
She shifts her thighs together where she sits, and my eyes flick down to catch the movement.
I’m suddenly hyper-fucking-aware that her pretty orange panties are still in my pocket. She’s still bare underneath that little skirt.
I can see she’s frustrated from earlier. She was this close to coming on my fingers right there behind the bar before I opened my stupid mouth.
An idea hits me, and I grin. I’m going to use it to my advantage.
Maybe it’s a tiny bit manipulative.
But fuck it. I respect the hell out of Cassie. If she walks away from us, it’d kill me. But I’d let her go if she really meant it.
But if this is what it takes to make her admit we can be more than just casual, I’m not above it.
I drop to my knees in front of where she sits on the bed, planting one hand firm on her knee. “Negotiate with me, 007.”
Her eyebrows lift. “What?”
My lips quirk up at her look of surprise. “I’m trying to speak your language here, baby. I know you love to negotiate. You know my position. I want you to be my girlfriend. So let’s negotiate.”
“That’s insane—”
I slide my hand up along her thigh under her skirt, dragging one hand through her folds. She makes a muffled yelp.
I was still half-hard from earlier, but the feeling of her wet against my fingers shoots heat right to my cock.
“Fuck, you’re still so wet. You must be so frustrated. You didn’t get to come earlier.”
She blinks her eyes shut tight, white teeth nipping at her lower lip. Desire is written all over her face. “We’re—we’re supposed to be talking.”
“We are talking. But don’t you want to come, baby?”
I run the pad of my thumb along her skin. Circling around her clit, but not touching it. Not giving her what she needs. Not yet.
“Fine,” she whimpers, “yes, I want to come. Stop teasing me. Please touch me. Please.”
“You asked for it.”
I drag my fingers down and slide one inside her. My thumb slides over her clit. The pressure is teasing. Her body arches away from the bed, hips rolling into my touch.
I drop my face against her thigh. The feel of her trembling muscle against my cheek is absurdly hot. “Admit this isn’t casual,” I order, “and then I’ll let you come.”
She props herself up on her elbows. A small smile flickers across her face. “You’re being mean.”
I push another finger into her slick, tight cunt and the smile on her face melts into a perfect frown of pleasure.
“I’m not known for being nice,” I grit out. “If you want me to be nice, then say the word. I’ll be gentle. I’ll treat you like my princess. Is that what you want, Cass?”
She shakes her head, collapsing back onto the mattress. Glossy brown hair spills out across the bed.
“No. I don’t want nice. Not tonight.”
“Good.” My voice rumbles in my chest.
I join her on the bed, crowding over her, and finally let myself kiss her, tasting the tequila from earlier on her tongue. I never really liked the taste of alcohol much, even when I used to drink. But fuck does it taste good on her soft lips, all sharp and sweet.
I pull off her skirt and quickly unbuckle my belt, pulling my cock free. I don’t bother with the rest of our clothes, because this feels urgent in a way I’ve never fucking felt before.
I grip her hips hard, running the head of my stiff cock over her clit—once, twice, enjoying the way she whimpers each time I do it.
Then I push into her. She’s soaked, dripping from the way I’ve been teasing her all evening. But fucking hell, she’s still incredibly tight.
Usually, I take my time working myself inside her, making her desperate before I get all the way in. Tonight I just grip her hips and slide in with one firm stroke until I bottom out.
Her eyes roll back. The sound she makes nearly makes me come right then and there.
“Too much?” I check through gritted teeth.
“No.” Her eyes widen, fingers fly to my wrists where I’m gripping her hips. Her nails drag along my skin, and the flicker of pain just turns me on all the more. “Don’t you dare stop. Just—just keep moving.”
“Baby, I was just checking if it was comfortable for you. That doesn’t mean you’re in charge tonight. You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
Her eyes flicker. A sharp breath falls from her pouty lips.
I shift my hips slightly, and she whines. But I don’t give her what she really needs. No friction. I’m fully seated inside her. So wet and tight around me, but I don’t move.
“Maybe I’ll make you wait like this.” I grin down at her, lifting my hand to run my thumb along her trembling lip. “Wait until you’re ready to admit your feelings to yourself.”
It’s fucking killing me too. Every muscle in my body is taut with how badly I just want to pump back into her. But am I going to let her know that?
Not yet.
She probably knows it anyway. But I want at least an illusion of control when it comes to her.
Her breath grows more ragged. She wriggles her hips, grinding against my cock. I pin her to the bed.
“I want you, Cole. I admit it. I—I want more.”
The sound of that is like heaven. But I didn’t start this just to hear that. “Is that right, baby? Do you think about me when you’re alone?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Because I think about you all the fucking time.” I pull out halfway, then plunge back into her. “Good girl,” I praise her, and I feel her flutter around my cock. Christ. “You like that, don’t you? When I tell you how good you are for me.”
Her face flushes. She’s rolling her hips against me. I don’t even know if she’s aware she’s doing it.
“I like it,” she breathes. “Way too much.”
I pull back out, grunting at the wet, tight feel of her sliding against me. She whimpers in protest.
“You want more? Earn it. Tell me you’re mine.”
I grip under her knee, guiding her leg back. Opening her up for me. Wider. Spread out so I can watch my cock teasing at her pussy.
“I’m yours,” she gasps.
Thrust. I sink back into her—bliss hits me, rushing along my spine. My jaw is tight. I need to stay in control here. I need to not come when I’m so close to getting exactly what I want from her.
But it’s nearly fucking impossible with just how perfect she feels tight around my cock. Squeezing. Pulsing. Like her body was actually made to fit mine.
My voice is barely above a growl. “Tell me who you belong to.”
“You, Cole.” She meets my eyes, half-lidded. I’ve never seen anything so pretty in my whole entire life. “Only you.”
I groan. Hearing that is enough to bring me dangerously close to coming inside her right now.
“That’s fucking right. Because I belong to you too, Cassie. You fucking own me. You can do whatever the hell you want with me, but don’t forget you’re all fucking mine.”
All.
Fucking.
Mine.
I punctuate each word with a thrust. Deeper each time. Until I’m hitting a spot that I know undoes her. Because I know Cassie’s body. I know her heart. I want to know her like I’ve never known anyone. Want her to know things about me I’ve never let anyone know.
I’m proud of how I somehow keep it together when she comes on my cock. I still manage to drop down to her ear and talk her through it in just the way she likes.
“Come for me. So perfect. Taking it so well.”
I barely make it another ten seconds. With a guttural sound, I come inside her. Filling her up because she’s all mine.
I collapse onto the bed next to her, pulling her body flush against me, enjoying the feeling of her gorgeous tits against my skin. I can feel her heart still beating fast. From her chest through to mine.
A dazed look of pleasure on her face, she slowly sits up and looks at me. “We still have to keep this secret from everyone at work.”
“I know.”
“Having a secret boyfriend might be even more complicated than a secret, unlabeled thing.”
Boyfriend. Like an idiot teenager, I can’t help but grin at the word. “I know. But once the season is done, we’ll have more freedom.”
She threads her fingers through mine. “I can wait a few more months. Because now you’re mine, I don’t think I want to let you go.” She kisses me, and it’s blissful enough that I feel like I could fuck her all over again right now. “It was a pleasure negotiating with you, All Star.”