Chapter Six
Cole
“A tree?” Tess stares toward me as though I’m holding the three heads of Christmas past, present, and future, but I see the grin she’s trying to hide. “You cut down a tree?”
“You said you wanted a fresh cut tree, so I cut you one. Spruce.”
“Where’d you get the stand?”
“Just a couple of two by four’s nailed together. Found ‘em out back.”
The wind whips down the street and rattles the windows as Tess stares back with the wide-eyed wonder of a woman who isn’t sure what to think or whether or not to trust.
“I’m sorry about your past,” I say, reaching out for her hand. “You didn’t deserve that. You deserve people who stay, Tess. People who see you, who love you, who want every part of you.”
A tear streaks down her face, and I brush it away slowly, feeling the warmth of her touch as silver light spills in from outside. Her cheeks are still red from the cold, but I swear she’s never looked more beautiful.
I shouldn’t want to touch her as badly as I do.
I shouldn’t confuse her anymore than she already is.
She’s decided to go back to New York. That’s where her life is, where she belongs.
Well, where she wants to belong, though I’m not all together sure if that’s true.
How could it be when she looks like this in the halo of my touch?
“You’re still cold,” I say, my voice low.
“I’m fine,” she lies, her chattering teeth betraying her.
The space heater is on, but it’ll take some time to fully heat the area, so I step forward and wrap her into my coat until she’s pressed against me so tight that I feel her warm breath against my throat. I wish I could take every bit of pain she’s ever felt away.
“Cole,” she starts, but the word dies when I tilt her chin up.
I don’t know what’s happening. I don’t have permission to touch her. I didn’t ask. I don’t plan to ask. Whatever’s happening inside of me is beyond permission. It’s feral, it’s real, and I need her.
Slowly, I lean into her lips, quick and rough, like I’m stealing the last bit of warmth on Earth.
A tiny sigh leaves her breath, and my tongue presses against hers as her nipples go hard against my chest, the world gone except for the desperate heat growing between us and the wild thought that freezing to death wouldn’t be so bad if it felt like this.
My hands find her throat, then the back of her neck, my lips never leaving hers as we dance backward against the back wall shelves that line the bookstore.
Fuck. I need to slow down.
We shouldn’t do this here. I don’t know what cameras are on alert or who could walk in.
Mostly though, I don’t know what could happen after this.
She knows it too. I can feel it in the way her hands hesitate, in the way her lips part as though there’s a piece of her that wants to tell me to stop but doesn’t.
She’s younger than me, she’s leaving, and she doesn’t trust easily. I know these things clearly, but she doesn’t stop me, and right now, that’s enough.
“Your majesty,” I groan against her throat as my teeth scrape across her skin, “I hope you don’t mind me saying… but you’re so fucking beautiful.”
She bites back a grin as though she doesn’t want to let herself feel. However, her hands keep moving, working against my jeans, cupping my balls, drawing her thumb over the tip of my cock.
Fuck.
“It’s been so long since I’ve been with a man like this.” Her gaze meets mine, and for a second, I feel the vulnerability in her shallow breaths.
“We can slow down. I know I’m getting ahead of myself. I just—”
“No!” She shakes her head and pulls me closer, our bodies pressing against one another in the dim light of the bookstore. “Whatever you do, don’t slow down.”
I lean her back on the ladder that slides back and forth against the shelves, dig my hand into her jeans, and palm over her soft little pussy.
“You’re soaked,” I growl against her neck. “Do you like this?”
She moans softly in my ear as I draw slow circles around her swollen clit, staring into her green eyes.
What the fuck am I doing? I’m getting attached. The whole fucking point is not to get attached.
She moans against my lips, and my cock grows harder, poking against her stomach.
“You like this, don’t you?” I groan against her larynx, my teeth scraping gently. “You’re so wet for me.”
A tiny release of air expels from her lips as she rests her forehead against my shoulder, her small hand gripping at my cock in my pants.
I cup her tit, trying to be satisfied with the way she feels over the fabric, but it’s not enough. I need to feel her hard nipple against my tongue. I need to pluck and twist them as she comes all over my hand. I need to hear her beg.
Pulling up her shirt, I push the lacy little bra she wears to the side and lean in, scraping my teeth against her nipple as she shivers against my chest.
“Oh God.”
“Forgive me your majesty, but I need to feel those thighs shake. Can you do that for me? Can you soak my hand?”
She whimpers against my chest, the first sign of submission this woman has ever shown, I’m sure, which only makes me want her more.
“Right there, Cole.” She bears down on my hand and squeezes her channel tight around my fingers as I pulse into her in a come-hither motion.
She’s greedy, desperate, hungry, and I love every second of it. I love it, and all at once, I realize I don’t want it to end. Not this moment, not the sarcastic remarks, not the guarded eye rolls, not the earned moments of intimacy. I want her now and for as long as I can get.
Her head tilts back against the ladder as it wobbles back and forth, her hair spilling down over my hand as I hold her in place.
I lean in, burying my feelings against her breast, desperate to subdue whatever bullshit is bubbling up with the sensation of her hard nipple against my tongue, but nothing is taking the emotion away.
I want her. I want her for good.
Fuck!
She strokes my cock harder, a soft whimper in her throat as I growl like a wild animal against her chest, thrusting harder and deeper inside of her.
“I’m gonna come, Cole. Don’t stop.” Her words come in a series of pants that drive my cock even harder.
“Good girl. Right there. Come for me.” My words are loud and rough as she wiggles and convulses against my touch.
It’s then that I hear the jingle above the store door, and I see a man step inside. This is what I get! I knew I should’ve slowed down!