Chapter 26 Ella
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
ELLA
There are two small flecks of the darkest of blues hidden in the hues of his eyes.
My eyes slowly cascade down his face, landing on his mouth. Cole watches me, his tongue darting out to wet his lips as his nostrils flare. Tension brews within the air between us and there’s a spark of electricity connecting the molecules.
“Ella,” he half growls, half groans. His throat bobs as he swallows hard. “You’ve gotta stop looking at me like that.”
Excitement dances in my stomach as confidence soars inside my soul. He makes me feel confident in myself. He makes me want to take a chance—to take a risk. To do something I wouldn’t normally do. “Like what?”
“Like you wanna finish what we started earlier.”
I pull my legs onto the bench swing, tucking them under my body, rising onto my knees. My hands find his shoulders and I throw one leg over his body. I lower myself onto his lap, straddling him. “What if I do want to?”
Cole’s nostrils flare, his eyes darkening as he grabs my hips. His fingertips dig into my flesh and his eyes probe mine with an intensity that ripples down to my toes. “What about Chloe?”
“She’s sleeping,” I assure him, lifting my hands to cradle the back of his head. His dirty blonde, wavy locks of hair feel like silk between my fingers. “She was exhausted, so I don’t imagine she’ll be waking up anytime soon.”
His hands abruptly find the sides of my face and he pulls me down to him.
I inhale sharply as my mouth crashes into his.
My mouth melts against his as he kisses me gently at first. His lips are soft and warm, moving against mine slowly as he takes his time.
There’s no hesitation from me as his tongue touches the seam of my mouth.
I instantly part my lips, letting him in.
The kiss deepens and he cups the back of my neck with one hand as the other slides down my neck, over my arm, and down my torso. He’s deliberately slow and always the gentleman. There’s nothing rushed about the way he moves, almost as if we have all the time in the world.
And my god, I wish we did.
His tongue slides against mine, tasting and teasing as his hand ends up on my thigh. I kiss him back with a need to feel him closer. To feel more of him. My fingers are tangled in his hair and my tongue moves with his. It’s a careful art of taking and giving and Cole never takes more than he gives.
I’ve never met a man more gentle or more attentive. He continues to put me ahead of himself, constantly lifting me to heights I never dreamed of being able to reach.
I can never thank the universe enough for bringing him into my life.
My movements become hurried and I kiss him back with a fervent need that’s spilling into my veins.
My body has a mind of its own as I press myself against him, feeling how hard his cock is beneath me.
This is the closest we’ve been and my inhibitions are already dissipating.
My self control is waning and I find my hands dropping down to the waistband of his pants.
“Ella,” he murmurs as he abruptly breaks away from me. He lets out a shallow, ragged breath and my heart runs rampant in my chest. “Not like this.”
Rejection hits me in the center of my sternum. “Why?”
“You have no idea how badly I want to strip you out of these skimpy fuckin’ shorts and have you sink down on my cock right here.” He lets out another breath, his voice as strained as his cock is against his pants.
“Oh,” I breathe as warmth builds in between my legs. These feelings are all foreign to me, yet they feel right with him. I’ve never had anyone make me feel like this before… not even Jacob when we first met.
“When this finally happens, I want to take you on a real date. I want us to have an entire night of time carved out where I can take my time with you and we won’t have any interruptions.”
My heart swells inside my chest as my throat simultaneously constricts. “That sounds perfect,” I say, my voice quiet, not fully trusting myself.
“You deserve the world, Ella,” he says with genuine honesty shining in his eyes. “I have no intention of givin’ you anything less than that.”
I’m beginning to form a habit of finding myself speechless around this man. A cool, gentle breeze drifts past us and I instinctively shiver against it. Cole abruptly rises to his feet, swiftly lifting me into the air and supporting me with his arms.
“What are you doing?”
“Takin’ you inside where it’s warmer,” he says matter-of-factly. My heart triples in size and I wrap my arms around his neck, pressing my face to the side of his, breathing in the smell of leather. He’s familiar and comforting and I revel in the sense of security I feel with him.
Cole carries me through the house and into the living room where he sets me down on the couch. He walks away, grabbing a blanket from the basket in the corner. He drops down next to me and instead of sitting there, he grabs me, pulling me with him as he lies down on the couch.
I settle against his side, my face pressed against his chest as he throws the blanket over both of us and wraps his arms around me. “Do you want to watch a movie?” I ask him, slipping my arm around his waist.
“If that means I get to lay here for a few hours holdin’ you, then yes.”
A buzzing sound comes from somewhere in the distance, past the blanket of sleep I’m wrapped up in. I squeeze my eyes tighter, settling into the warmth that encapsulates me. I start to drift back asleep and I’m toeing back into the dream I was in as the sound grows louder.
The warmth beside me stirs and I’m pulled back into my dream.
Except it isn’t a dream.
My eyelids slowly open and I blink a few times, settling into my reality. My arm is wrapped around his waist and my head is still on his chest. He holds me tightly against his side and he breathes evenly, his chest rising and falling as he’s still asleep.
There’s a soft glow from the silent TV as the movie ended hours ago. Cole fell asleep with me on the couch. Sunlight is already beginning to poke through the windows as the sun begins to rise, changing the colors in the sky.
The vibrating sound starts again and that’s when I realize it’s my phone on the coffee table. The screen lights up for a third time and I lift myself up, reaching over Cole for it. My eyebrows pull together as I see Remi’s name. It’s six-thirty in the morning. Panic instantly floods me.
“Hello?”
“Ella. Shoot, I’m sorry to wake you.” Her words are hurried and her voice sounds like she’s been crying.
“We think Mom had a heart attack. She called me around five with symptoms that woke her up in the middle of the night. I brought her into the emergency room and they’re talking about taking her in for a procedure. ”
I quickly sit up, my knees knocking into Cole. His eyes flash open and he blinks the sleep away as he stares at me with confusion. “Is she okay? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Honestly, they said it could be a lot worse, so I think that’s a good thing?”
Cole is alert with a look of concern as he watches me quietly. He moves out of my way and I climb off the couch in a haste.
I start to pace. “I’m going to wake up Chloe and we will be there as soon as we can.”
“Ella,” Cole interrupts as he walks over to me. His arms find my biceps and he holds me for a second. “Just go. I’ll let my brother know I won’t be coming today, they can handle things at the ranch. I’ll be here with Chloe.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.” I shake my head as tears prick the corners of my eyes.
Iris isn’t my biological mother, but she’s the closest thing I’ve had to one in years.
She’s Chloe’s grandmother. She took me under her wing when Remi picked me up from the airport, completely terrified and pregnant.
Iris helped heal me.
“Who is that?” Remi asks, but I half ignore her and stare at Cole.
“I’m tellin’ you, you can. We will be fine, El, I promise you.” He pauses, gently squeezing my arms. “Go be with Remi and Iris, I’ll take care of Clo.”
Tears fall from my eyes and my throat constricts. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I am more than sure.”
I let out a harsh breath. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, Remi.”
“Okay, I’ll be here. Thank Cole for me, too.”
The corners of my lips twitch and I nod. “I will.”
We end the call and instinctively, I step to Cole, wrapping my arms around his waist, burying my face in his chest. “Thank you. I really appreciate you staying here with her.”
“You don't have to thank me, Ella,” he says with a softness in his tone as he holds me tightly and presses his face against the top of my head. “I am here for whatever you need, whenever you need me. Go be with them and make sure Iris is okay.”
Emotion washes over me, overwhelming my senses and I revel in the way he feels wrapped around me.
He's surprised me more than I ever imagined.
When I first saw him again, I wasn't looking for anyone.
I didn't need any kind of distraction. I was fine on my own, doing my thing with Chloe and knowing I never needed another person to complete me.
A relationship wasn't something I planned on getting into any time soon, especially when I was still trying to nurse the wounds that Jacob left.
Cole Wild helped me to heal. He showed me that not everyone is like Jacob Evans.
There is good to be found in people. There is hope in the world.
He has changed my view on so many things, but he also helped me to look at myself differently.
There's still a lot of work to be done, a lot of internal habits and thought processes I need to change.
But now there is a confidence within me that I never knew I possessed.
I'm starting to believe in myself more than I ever have before.
I'm starting to believe in this... in us.
“I don't know what I did before you,” I murmur, my voice barely above a whisper. My nostrils flare, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. Now that he's in my life, I can't imagine it without him. I don't want to imagine it without him.
Even if he is only a friend.
“You did what you had to do, El,” he whispers, his hand stroking my head as he runs it over my hair and down my back. “But now I'm here to lift some of the burden from you. I'm here to do the heavy liftin’ for you.”
“I don't need you to do any of that.” I pull away and peer up into his eyes. “I don't want you to ever feel like you're taking on any of my problems or anything like that.”
He lifts his hand to cup the side of my face. “Then just let me be here by your side. I'm here to support you, to lend a helping hand. I'm at your disposal, Ella Daniels. Whatever you need, I'm your guy.”
I lift up on my toes, pressing my mouth against his as my lips melt against him. Cole holds onto me as he kisses me gently before pulling back.
“Go,” he says, moving me away from him. “Take your time. Take the entire day. When you come home, we'll be here.”
The words linger on the tip of my tongue, but I don't dare speak them out loud. “Thank you, Cole.”
“Anything for you, El.”