CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN Ginger
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Ginger
C ole doesn’t speak to me in that stern dad voice or yell at me, like I thought he would. In fact, he doesn’t really say anything, which might be worse. The two of us move like wooden people into the cabin, and we all go to change and pack our wet clothes into plastic bags to transport home.
It’s just before dinner when Cole finishes packing up the truck. I hand Mabel a sandwich for the road and, as I head back inside for the final bits, Cole’s eyes meet mine. This is the first moment we’ve had alone since he met us on the dock.
“Cole. I—” I try very hard to choke back the tears I can feel coming.
He doesn’t hesitate for one second. “Fuck, baby, you’re shaking.” He pulls me right to his chest, kissing my shoulder through my hair.
“Listen, there’s lots to talk about,” he whispers, looking toward the porch to make sure Mabel doesn’t hear him. He uses his finger to lift my chin. “You did such a good job of keeping Mabel calm, and from what I can tell, not even phased, through that whole experience. And she should’ve been scared, Ginger, because that was so fucking dangerous—” He sets his jaw and looks down to try to keep his composure.
“Let’s just get home, and Mabel into bed,” he says, sliding his hands down the tops of my arms.
I swallow and nod but I don’t argue. Instead I try so hard not to let the way he says “home” like it belongs to both of us become something I crave, something I need.
Cole turns to get Mabel in her seat and, after giving the cabin one last look, I follow them to the truck and open the passenger door. I slide in and gulp down my remaining tears, talking to Mabel like nothing is wrong the whole way home when in truth I think I might be a little traumatized.
By the time we reach Cole’s and unpack the truck, I’ve stopped shaking and am feeling calmer. Safer. Now that we’re in Laurel Creek, the atmosphere is more relaxed. Cole takes Mabel in and gets her ready for bed while I start putting things away. It’s not even nine o’clock but she’s exhausted. I promise her we’ll watch Annie tomorrow and she seems satisfied with that as she says goodnight.
After I start a load of laundry, I head to my part of the house and settle in to take the longest, hottest shower I can. It’s here that I finally let go, allowing the tears to consume me as the water runs over my skin.
We’re safe. She’s safe. We’re safe. I repeat this to myself until the water starts to turn cold.
I step into my matching tank and pajama shorts and blow-dry my hair, taking my time to compose myself.
I pull my robe on, tying it tight. I’m determined to spend the rest of the night apologizing to Cole, but when I open the door to my bedroom I jump and suck in a breath, because sitting on the edge of my bed in the almost-dark room is Cole, sitting shirtless in his sweatpants.
He stands as soon as he sees me before making his way over. The light glints against the wall as the sun sinks down behind the horizon and I’m not prepared for the feelings I’m experiencing right now. Fear mostly, guilt and shame, but as Cole pulls me into his arms, the most prevalent thing I feel is relief.
I mold against him the way I have so many times before, wrapping my arms around his warm waist. But this time, it feels different.
“Cole. I am so sorry. What I did, choosing to stay out longer, not paying attention to the clouds, was so stupid.”
“Yes, it was,” Cole confirms, and I know he must be angry, but his next words surprise me. “But it wasn’t your fault. I didn’t tell you what the weather can be like out there, and I should have. Because I know you, Ginger. I know you’re impulsive and so …” He flexes his jaw as he searches for the words. “You’re so goddamn giving, and I know you just want to make her happy. If you were having fun with Mabel, of course you’d opt to stay out longer.”
He pulls back and places his hands on either side of my face. My heart feels like it may cease to beat as he stares into my eyes.
“I can’t even imagine how afraid you must have been out there.”
Tears fill my eyes once more.
“I was so scared,” I admit in the tiniest whisper. “Her safety was in my hands and I wasn’t experienced enough to take her out that far. All I could think about was how worried and helpless you would feel.”
A lone tear spills onto my cheek and I look down to avoid his intense whiskey irises. Cole tips his forehead to mine and closes his eyes, swiping the tear away with his thumb. He breathes out a sigh and the scent of him overwhelms me.
“But you did keep her safe,” he says softly.
My breath stills and I keep my forehead pressed to his. I feel his hands slide down to my waist. His large fingers hesitate for a moment at the knot of my robe, and I stand frozen, as though we’re at a tipping point. The moment he starts gently untying my robe and pushing it open, the decision is made. My pulse thunders in my ears with the loosening of the fabric, so loud I’m sure he must hear it.
He slides his hands in, slowly, and I let out a tiny moan. His fingers feel cool and callused against my freshly showered skin as he circles under my tank with his thumbs. I open my eyes and look into his. Cole’s hands move upward to graze my ribcage and he lets out a groan, tugging me closer, flush against him, before bringing a hand up to the side of my face, tracing my cheekbone lazily.
“In case you are completely oblivious to what is going on here, it wasn’t just Mabel I was worried about out there,” he says, his voice low and deep.
The heat emanating from his body is all I can feel. His hands move into the back of my hair, and his lips hover over mine, forcing me to stop breathing. For a moment, it feels as though we both do. The struggle in his eyes echoes mine and every cell in my body tingles at his closeness.
Cole tips my head back, before bringing his lips down to my neck, kissing me there once, then twice. He moves his mouth to my cheek, and dots light kisses all the way to my mouth. His soft lips ignite my entire body and I clench my thighs together as his lips brush against the corner of mine.
“Every single night is a fight …” he says breathlessly. “Every goddamn night since you’ve been with me, Ginger.”
I have no strength to speak as he continues. “It’s a constant fight for me, because all I want to do is leave my room and come to yours.”
I shudder as he pulls me even closer.
“I stop myself because I know if I start kissing you, we’ll see daylight before I’m done.”
“Cole …” I whisper, trying to remember how to breathe.
“Today just showed me it is time to stop fucking fighting.”
His arms wrap around me and his lips drop to fully capture mine in a kiss I’m not prepared for. Fire spreads through me as Cole’s mouth forces mine open, and I swear the feeling of his lips on mine causes the earth to shift on its axis.
I’m willing and boneless against him, matching his urgency, kissing him back with everything I have. It feels like coming home.
He doesn’t waste one second taking what he wants from me, what he seems to need.
His lips, his tongue, even his teeth grazing my bottom lip, overwhelm me as his hands move through my hair, tilting my head slightly for better access. He groans into my mouth like I’m his lifeline as much as he is mine. His tongue searches every corner of my mouth as his hands continue to roam. The taste of us together washes through me and I instantly want more.
I want it all .
I shudder, which coaxes a groan from him. And before I even know what’s happening, I’m pressed against the bedroom wall. Our bodies flush, fitting together like two pieces of a puzzle.
“So fucking sexy … ” Cole growls as he pulls my bottom lip between his teeth again. “I can’t stop this anymore, Vixen.”
So don’t.
His hands move up my sides and under my tank to my breasts, lightly pinching my pebbled nipples as he presses his lips to my neck and bites me there. The slight pain mixed with pleasure causes me to jolt in his arms. Just as quickly as he nips, he kisses over the sting.
“I don’t want to try anymore. All I want to do is fucking bury myself so deeply inside you that you remember me there every single second. So you feel empty without me.”
Oh fuck.
“So do it,” I dare him. Please, please do it.
A low sound rumbles through Cole’s chest as his mouth finds mine again. He lifts me up against the wall and I wrap my legs around him. I can feel him hard and pressing between my thighs. I’m past the point of caring so I push back, searching for the friction I so desperately need. I want him. God do I want him .
Who am I kidding? I’ve always wanted him.
The air around us peaks with electricity as I melt into his hard, bare chest, the ache growing more with every swipe of his tongue. My reactions are frenzied, out of control. I can’t catch my breath, but I don’t even care to if it means missing one second of his mouth on mine. One of his hands holds me up at my hip as the other slides to the base of my neck. Cole massages my throat, gently igniting a trail across my skin. His lips leave mine and move to my neck, and I whimper as they lick over the sensitive spot behind my ear.
“Fuck,” he groans, closing the gap between us even further. Never in my life have I felt like this—totally lost in desire. I grip Cole’s shoulder with one hand and slide my other to his waist, exploring his abs and the hard muscles of his warm back I’ve only just recently feasted my eyes on. Everything is clouded and hazy as we move together, and his cock presses against my clit, giving me just what I need. It hits me that he’s going to make me come and he hasn’t even removed one piece of my clothing. That thought causes shivers of pleasure to race through me.
“That’s it, so fucking eager … take what you need from me,” he coaxes, his voice gruff.
“Yes …” I whimper, pressing my aching core against his hardened cock. My mind floods with nothing but him and unfiltered lust.
I move against him as his tongue fucks into my mouth. Everything Cole does sends tiny zaps of pleasure everywhere, all at once. His hand at my hips moving me against him, my breasts pressing into his hard chest, my nipples grazing him as I ride him, both of us still clothed. I’ve never experienced anything so erotic as I move in a driving rhythm.
My core spasms and waves of pleasure pulse through me as the orgasm takes hold. My eyes close as I tighten my legs around his waist, they shake as I unabashedly grind against him.
“That’s it, greedy girl,” Cole murmurs as static lines my vision.
“Fuck, Cole … I’m coming …” I moan into his shoulder. He holds me up as I pant uncontrollably, coming down from my high. It’s the only sound that cuts through the dark room.
“Coming all over me and I haven’t even taken your clothes off yet? Atta girl, Vixen,” he purrs into my ear with a chuckle.
Before I have a chance to tell him he’s a cocky motherfucker, we hear a sharp thump from the other side of the house. A door? We both suck in a breath.
“Fuck.” Cole tips his forehead against mine for a beat, composing himself. He pulls back and lowers me to the floor, squeezing my waist, before letting go and adjusting the drawstring on his sweats. I pull my robe around myself, tying it tight. One last desperate look from him in the dark before he swings my door open and goes down the short hallway to the living room.
I slump down on my bed and take a breath, still feeling his arms around me as I hear Mabel speak.
“I woke up. I had another bad dream.”
Cole’s voice cuts through the silence. Shaky still, but low and reassuring. “Okay, buddy, I’ll be there in just a minute.”
I’m still shaking, trying not to pass out after coming against Cole, fully clothed like a desperate teenager.
“I want Ginger. Can she lie with me?” I hear Mabel squeak out.
“Um … well,” Cole starts.
I stand and am in the living room in three seconds flat.
“Of course I can. I was just … getting ready for bed,” I say, moving past Cole and taking her hand.
Cole’s eyes follow me as I wander down the hall with Mabel’s hand in mine, letting her lead the way. I look back over my shoulder. The same longing and confusion swirling around my head is reflected back at me in his expression.
I snuggle beside Mabel in her bed, pulling the blankets up around us. She looks up at me in the dark and twists her little fingers into the curls of my hair, almost like she needs something to fidget with.
“I was scared today. I didn’t want to tell you,” she whispers.
I swallow down the lump in my throat. Her eight-year-old honesty makes my chest tighten.
“You can always tell me anything, sweet girl. And I was scared too,” I reply. “But we were brave together, weren’t we?”
“We’re a team,” she says, placing her tiny hand on my cheek.
I giggle. “Yes, we are. A great one.”
“We’re all a team,” she hums sleepily.
I kiss her forehead, and pull the blankets up, tucking her in tight.
“Me, you and Daddy,” she continues with a yawn, twisting her fingers back into my hair.
I gulp, trying to swallow all the emotion coursing through me. My feelings for her; my feelings for Cole. They threaten to suffocate me as I lie here and try to hold it together.
Whatever is happening between Cole and me, Mabel is the priority, but I can no longer deny these feelings I’ve always had for him. They are on a freight train heading at warp speed down a track. The only thing that will reveal whether we land safely, or crash and burn, is time.
But tonight, I need to let go. So I simply kiss Mabel’s forehead and breathe in her sweetness. Needing her as much as she needs me.
“Goodnight, Ginger.” She yawns.
“Goodnight, sweet girl.”