Chapter 37 Riley
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Riley
We’ve barely stepped into the house when Theo and Finn’s cell phones go off. Theo’s head falls back, his eyes closing for a beat.
“I just wanted to go to bed,” he groans.
Finn smacks him on the shoulder. “At least you weren’t in bed already. Those are the worst.”
I look between them with confusion, not understanding what’s going on. Without saying anything else, they head upstairs.
I hear both of their bedroom doors close. Then the light bulb goes off in my head.
“Search and rescue?” I ask, spinning to face Cole, who is hanging his coat in the closet. He holds out his hand, waiting for me to hand him mine.
“Yeah.”
“Do they always go together?”
He shakes his head. “We usually get called out in pairs or more if it is necessary.”
He pauses. I don’t know where his mind has wandered to, but I would guess it is to the day we met and his solo mission.
“Sometimes we have to do it alone, if no one else is available. They switch up who is paired up, though.”
Finn and Theo lumber down the stairs a few minutes later. They’ve both changed into warmer clothes with their go bags slung over their shoulders.
Theo pulls me in for a hug, kissing the top of my head. “Sleep well tonight.”
Finn steps in as soon as his brother retreats. “Be good while I’m gone,” he says with a wink before giving me a bear hug.
“I’ll do my best,” I mumble against his chest with the little air I have left in my lungs.
Then… they’re gone. I stare at the door they just disappeared through for far too long. A wave of panic starts to wash through me.
“Where are they going? Is it safe? It’s dark out there already.” I’m rambling, but I can’t seem to stop myself. I open my mouth to continue voicing my runaway worries, but Cole’s hands on my shoulders stop them in their tracks.
He spins me so I’m facing him. “They’re going to be fine. It’s a pretty simple call. A couple of guys were out snowmobiling, but they ran out of gas and can’t get back.” I let out a relieved breath. “They know exactly where they are. They just have to go get them.”
“So… they’ll be back soon?” I ask.
He cringes a little. “They will be out most of the night, probably. The spot they have to get to is pretty far out.” The panic starts to creep up again. He runs his hands soothingly over my arms. “It’s a super easy drive, even in the dark. I promise.”
“Okay.”
“Okay,” he says in return. We both become aware that he is still touching me in the same breath. His hands fall back to his sides as he takes a hearty step back.
The silence in the house feels suffocating. Mav isn’t even here to break the tension. He left the science fair with Abby to start his week with her.
It’s just Cole and me here in this big house with nothing separating us besides the loads of baggage piled high between us.
Cole blinks a few times, then walks into the kitchen. He pours himself a glass of whiskey but doesn’t take a sip. It seems like he did it more to keep himself busy, rather than wanting the drink.
“Cole,” I say. I wish my voice carried more conviction, but I just don’t have it in me. “I’m sorry.”
His eyes stay trained on the counter in front of him.
I don’t want to dive back into all of this, but I have to. “I’m so sorry. I wish I could go back in time and talk to you before I ran away. I wish I could do something to heal the heartbreak we both went through because of something I did.”
His head slowly rises, tentative eyes landing on mine. “Both of us?”
“Yes.” I nod. “Both of us. I was heartbroken, too. I was a shell of a person for a long time after I left.”
I think he’s going to lower his gaze again, but he keeps his eyes locked on me.
Tears well in my eyes. “It was real for me, too, Cole.” A single tear tracks down my cheeks. I swallow past the emotion welling inside of me. “It still is.”
His frozen appearance shows he’s never going to be able to forgive me. I know a part of him wants to, but there’s just too much history there tainting things.
My head falls as I turn to the stairs.
“Riley.”
His broken voice slices through my heart. I can’t bear to turn and face him. The look on his face is sure to sever my heart from my chest.
“Fuck it,” he mumbles.
I only turn when I hear his footsteps moving toward me. He doesn’t stop a few feet in front of me like I expect. His firm body crashes into mine.
His fingers slide into my hair as we stumble backward until my back collides with the wall. Air whooshes from my lungs just in time for his lips to land on mine.
I stand there in shock for half a beat before reality sets in. Cole is kissing me. He is actually fucking kissing me.
After everything we discovered this last week, I never thought this would happen again. I don’t know what brand of temporary insanity he has found himself in, but I’m not going to fumble the chance to kiss him.
He groans when I start kissing him back. My hands slide up his chest, looping around his neck. His hands grip the back of my thighs, hoisting me into his arms. My legs twine around his waist.
Our lips and tongues duel in a battle for dominance, but my will slowly fades. I don’t want to fight him. I just want to be here with him, enjoying every inch of his body pressed against mine.
I’m slowly melting to putty in his arms. His kisses roam over my jaw and down my neck. I groan, arching into him.
“I missed the noises you make,” he says between kisses against my fevered skin.
“I missed you,” I breathe out.
His grip on my thighs tightens. His eyes are bottomless wells of longing when they land on me.
“I tried so damn hard not to, but…” He trails off, shaking his head. “I missed you, too.”
My hand trails down the side of his stubbled face. “You don’t have to miss me right now.”
“No, I fucking don’t.” The words are barely out of his mouth before his mouth is back on mine.
I don’t think I’m ever going to get enough of kissing this man. It’s like a drug that makes me only want more after the smallest taste.
That’s exactly what Cole is. He’s a drug I’ve been craving for the last eight years. It’s probably careless of me, but I don’t think he’s the bad kind of drug.
As terrifying as it is, I think he’s the kind that could heal me from the inside out.
His words from the other night ring through my mind. But what if it’s what heals you instead?
My limbs tighten around him, and he pulls me away from the wall. We continue kissing as he rounds the sectional, his weight pressing into me when he lays me back against the cushions.
Our shoes are kicked off, but neither of us makes a move to remove any more clothes. We kiss for what feels like forever, but no amount of time would ever be enough.
I can feel his cock pressing against my thigh, and I know for a fact my panties are drenched right now.
“Cole,” I whimper, arching my hips into him. This need building inside of me is too much.
“What do you need, sweetheart?” he rasps against my ear. His words alone send a shiver down my spine.
“You.”
He groans, resting his forehead on my shoulder. Leaning back on his haunches, his eyes lock with mine.
They remain locked as he removes piece after piece of my clothing. His eyes turn questioning when his thumbs hook in the waistband of my underwear.
“Yes,” I say, barely containing my desire for him.
He bites his lip as my underwear falls to the floor. His eyes leave mine, unabashedly roaming over every inch of me.
He doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t need to. His eyes are speaking louder than his words ever could.
The way Cole looks at me has always made me feel beautiful. The intensity in his gaze leaves no room for doubt to creep in.
He reaches behind him, pulling off his shirt. His chest and abs are just as defined as they used to be, but the smattering of hair across his chest now has the faintest sprinkle of gray that I find sexy as hell.
I just know Cole is going to continue to age like a fine wine—or maybe an expensive bottle of whiskey is a better analogy for this man.
His hands splay across my thighs, spreading them wider. He runs a single finger through my wetness. I suck in a harsh breath, my back arching off the couch. He moves down, so he’s situated between my legs.
I can’t reach anything else on him, so my fingers grip his hair. “No, come here,” I whine, trying to pull him up toward me.
He gently bats my hand away. “No. It’s been eight long years.” His eyes burn with urgency. “I need to taste you.”
Oh fuck…
All objections leave my body with the first slide of his tongue against my clit. My hands fall to either side of my hips, completely submitting to the pleasure he is dragging from the simplest of touches. His thumbs spread me open so his tongue can delve inside of me.
“Fuck,” I pant through labored breaths.
He alternates between stroking over my clit and dipping his tongue into my pussy. I’m already teetering on the edge of release, and he hasn’t even been down there for two whole minutes.
“Stop fighting it,” he says. “Remind me how sexy you sound when you come.” He wastes no time, rolling my clit between his lips. “Now.” He doesn’t even move his mouth away, just mumbles against my sensitive flesh.
His teeth gently nip at my clit. My orgasm crashes through me, almost violently. Flashes of all the times he made me come in the same way fly through my brain.
It’s like I’m experiencing multiple orgasms all at once in a storm of feelings. The bliss overtaking me is so intense. It feels like I’m going to black out, but his tongue prolongs my orgasm and keeps me tethered to reality.
He crawls up my body. His pupils are almost completely blown with lust. When he kisses me, I can taste my release on his lips. It makes me crave him that much more.
My hands slide down his toned back, palming his ass over his jeans. “Get these off,” I groan, tugging on the belt loops on his pants.
With one last kiss, he moves from the couch to stand. He slowly slides his jeans down his legs.
The sight of him in only his black boxer briefs makes my mouth go dry. Moving to sit on the edge of the couch, my face is in line with his cock that is tenting his boxers.
He reverently cups the side of my face as I press a kiss to his length through the fabric. He lets out a staggered breath, sliding his fingers through my hair to keep it away from my face.
I slide his underwear off. His cock looks painfully hard as it bobs between us. I only get one kiss pressed to the tip before Cole is easing me back onto the couch.
“If you do that, I won’t last long enough to slide inside your perfect pussy.” He hooks one of my knees under his elbow, opening me up even more for him. “And nothing is going to keep me from being inside you right now.”
I can feel every ridge and valley of his cock as it glides against me. My over-sensitized clit wants to retreat into my body, while also begging for just one more stroke.
I’m such a mess right now.
My breath hitches in my throat when his cock notches at my entrance. He kisses me tenderly as he slowly slides inside.
The fractured pieces of my universe settle back into place. I can breathe for the first time in nearly a decade.
I claw at his skin, desperately trying to keep his body glued to mine. He doesn’t seem in any rush, content just to be inside of me. His drugging kisses make me feel complete.
He starts at a leisurely pace, dragging his hips away from me before sliding back in. Pleasure begins to seep in like molasses, dripping across every cell of my body. He isn’t fucking me. This is… more.
Each time his pelvis hits mine, I grind my hips up into him. He doesn’t move any faster, but his strokes become more intentional. He hits that spot inside of me that makes stars dance across my vision.
I wrap my free leg around his waist, wanting to be as close to this man as humanly possible. “Fuck,” I moan, burying my face in his neck.
I don’t even make a conscious choice before I’m kissing and sucking along his neck… hard. I’m sure I’m leaving marks on his skin, but neither of us gives a single fuck. I actually kind of like the idea of leaving my mark on him.
“So perfect,” he groans, tugging slightly on my hair.
“I’m going to come,” I say, nipping at his earlobe.
“Good.” The word is barely more than a breath against my skin. “Come with me.”
His grinds into me one… two… three more times. Both of our bodies tense in the same moment, our orgasms seeping over us. We cling to one another as the pleasure seems to ebb on forever.
It didn’t hit us hard and fast. It crept up slowly, dragging us under until we had no way to fight it, kind of like us.
We lay motionless for so long that the sweat on our skin started to dry. Finally, he slides out of me and walks to the kitchen. He comes back with a washcloth, washing away the evidence of what we just did from my skin.
A wave of sadness hits me at the loss, but it falls away when he lies beside me. He pulls me into the safety of his arms and drapes a blanket over us.
I have no idea what’s going on between us, but I don’t think we have the energy to talk about it right now. Burrowing my face in his chest, I inhale the scent that is purely him: slightly musky with fresh pine.
We’ll figure everything out tomorrow, but for now, I’m going to sleep in the comfort of his arms… even if it’s just for this one night.