Chapter 46 Freya
FREYA
Isit bolt upright in bed, my heart thundering against my chest as the loud bang that woke me fades to nothing.
Glancing at the bed beside me, I find it empty. I can’t say I’m surprised. Cole is almost always up with the sun. I guess that’s why I wasn’t really expecting him to be there that morning at my parents’. But he was. All of him was still there.
Disappointed he’s not still here with me, I swing my legs from the side of the bed, pressing my feet into the thick, soft carpet.
My eyes catch on the clock on the nightstand, and I balk.
I should have been up long before now.
Forgetting about the noise, I dart across the hallway to my own bedroom so I can freshen up before heading out to start breakfast, hoping that Cole won’t be too annoyed that I’m late. I mean, it’s totally his fault. He kept me up late with all the kissing.
Warmth spreads through me as I think back to the night before, and my need to go and find him grows uncontrollably.
Assuming he’s in his gym, I turn toward the kitchen, but very quickly come to a grinding halt when I find him there with a towel thrown over his shoulder and a mess everywhere.
“What on earth are you doing?” I blurt in shock.
Cole spins toward me, and I can’t help but burst out laughing when I see the flour smeared across his cheek.
He smiles at me. But it’s not his confident, cocky smile that I’m used to. It’s uncertain and nervous, and I’m pretty sure I fall a little more for him then and there.
“Making breakfast?” I’m not sure it’s meant to come out sounding like a question, but it does.
“Do you need some help?” I ask, moving a little closer.
I may have pulled on a hoodie, but my legs are still almost fully exposed, and Cole’s eyes drop right to them.
“Are you trying to suggest I don’t know what I’m doing?”
“No, not at all,” I say with a smirk. “Just thought I’d offer my services, you know, should you need a hand.”
“Come here,” he says, reaching for me.
The moment I’m in touching distance, he grabs my hand and pulls me into his body, wrapping his arm around my back.
“Hey,” he breathes, gazing down at me as if I’m the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.
“Hi,” I squeak, reaching up and brushing the flour from his cheek.
“Did you sleep well?”
“I did. Too well, it seems. Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Because I didn’t need to. I don’t have to be at the arena today. I kept you busy last night; you deserved the rest.”
A smile pulls at my lips as my cheeks heat at the mention of our night.
“Not regretting it, are you?” he asks, trying to sound confident, but I see the flicker of vulnerability in his eyes.
“Nope. Are you?”
“Not in the slightest. It was the best night of my life.”
“Wow,” I laugh. “No pressure on what comes next, then.”
He shakes his head. “There’s no pressure, Whirlwind. We take all this at a pace you’re happy with. As long as I get this, I’m happy.” He squeezes me tighter before lowering his lips to mine.
We stand there in the middle of the chaos he’s created and lose ourselves in each other.
The scent of burning hits my nose, and I quickly pull back.
He frowns.
“Something is burning,” I point out.
“Oh, shit. I put the pan on.”
He spins around and quickly lifts the frying pan from the stove as it billows with smoke.
“Whoops,” he says shyly.
“So, back to my offer of help…” I tease.
“I’m making you breakfast,” Cole states, having abandoned the pan and turned the stove off.
He spins back to me, wraps his hands around my waist, and lifts me from the floor.
After setting me on the kitchen counter, he turns back to what I think is pancake batter.
“You can tell me what to do to ensure I don’t fuck it up any more. But first, coffee?”
“Please,” I say, watching as he gets the machine going. “Aren’t you meant to be resting with those?” I ask, nodding at the ice packs strapped to his knees.
“Meh. I wanted to make my girl breakfast. I can rest later.”
“Your girl?” I ask before I can stop myself.
“Uh…” He stills before lifting his hand to drag his hair back. “I’d like you to be, if that’s okay with you.”
How is this giant of a man so freaking soft and cute?
“I’ve never had one before,” he adds, only making him even more adorable. “Always wondered what the fuss was all about, but I think I get it now.”
“You think,” I ask as he holds my coffee out for me.
“Yeah. I never understood why men suddenly stopped caring about themselves and instead focused on making a woman happy. I thought it was crazy.
“Well, call me crazy, because all I want is to see you smile, and I don’t care what I have to do to make it happen.”
“You don’t have to do anything. Just be you.”
His eyes bounce between mine. “The problem is, that’s never worked for me before.”
I reach for him, cupping his jaw.
“That’s on them, Cole. Not you.”
His lips twitch into an unsure smile as he leans into my touch.
I lean forward and press my forehead to his. “I’ll be your girl,” I whisper. “If you’ll have me.”
His eyes hold mine; no words are said, but they’re not needed.
“So, what are you trying to make?” I finally ask, breaking the silence.
“I was attempting to make you pancakes,” he says, confirming my suspicions.
“Okay, are you ready for instructions?”
He stands back and nods. “And if it still goes wrong, I’ll take you out for breakfast.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I say confidently. Of course, I am aware of the fact that I’m saying this to a man who managed to destroy something that just needed warming up in the microwave, but I’m feeling confident. “What are you doing with the pancakes?”
“Um…” Cole looks around. “Fruit,” he says, his eyes landing on the bowl in the middle of the island. He really hasn’t thought this through.
“Right. In the fridge, there is a packet of bacon and breakfast sausage. Grab both of those. How do you feel about eggs?”
“I love eggs, you know that.”
“Okay, I’ll rephrase. How do you feel about cooking eggs?”
“Umm…”
“It’s fine. I’ll talk you through it. There’s always a diner instead, right?”
“This was a stupid idea,” Cole mutters.
“No, it’s not, it’s sweet. And you’re going to make us a delicious breakfast.”
“Confidence looks good on you,” he muses before taking a sip of his coffee, rolling his shoulders back and getting to work.
“That was good,” I say, placing my cutlery down on my empty plate.
“Really?” Cole asks, sounding very unsure of himself and the food we’ve both just eaten.
Honestly, the bacon was a little overcooked, but the pancakes were nice and fluffy, and the scrambled eggs were great. So was the fruit. Granted, he only cut that up, though.
“So, what are you doing with your day off? Are you heading to the shelter?”
“Kinda. I was thinking about volunteering again today, but I fancied somewhere else.”
“Oh?” I ask, curious about what else he might be doing in his spare time.
“I need you to come with me, though.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Did you have plans today?”
“Other than prepping meals for you, no.”
“I think you can probably postpone that. Something tells me that your boss won’t mind.”
I suck in a breath through my teeth. “Oh, I’m not sure about that. He can be a bit of a tyrant.”
He quirks a brow. “Oh, really? Is that what you’ve been telling Casey about me?”
I try to keep a straight face, but I clearly do a very bad job of it because he leans forward inquisitively. “What have you been telling Casey, Freya?”
Oh my god.
I drop my head into my hands, hiding the blush that hits my cheeks.
“Freya,” he warns. The deepness of his voice sends shivers racing down my spine.
“ImighthavesaidIwantedtokissyou,” I confess as fast as possible.
His warm fingers wrap around my wrists, and he gently tugs my hands away from my burning face.
“What was that?” he asks, his eyes boring into mine.
“I might have told her that…Iwantedtokissyou.”
“And what did she say to that?”
“She told me to do it. Told me to trust you. Told me that she was pretty sure you’d be on board with the plan.”
He chuckles.
“Are you going to tell her about last night?”
I hesitantly nod, my heart racing with fear that he doesn’t want me to talk about him.
“Good. I’m glad you have someone you trust to confide in. And she was right, I’m very much on board with any plan that involves you kissing me.”
Sliding from the stool, he twists me around and steps between my legs.
“Let me show you.”
He wraps his hand around my neck and tips my face back with his thumb beneath my jaw.
His lips brush mine in the sweetest of kisses before he drags his tongue along the bottom one, seeking permission to deepen our connection.
I make him wait a second or two, but I can’t hold out any longer. Twisting my fingers in his T-shirt, I drag him closer, losing myself in his kiss.
We’re both breathless by the time we part. His pupils are blown, and when I drop my eyes, it’s impossible to miss that his sweats are a little tighter than they were before.
The urge to reach for him and discover what’s really hiding beneath the fabric burns through me, but I force myself to keep my hands where they are. It’ll be worth the wait.
“So, are you going to tell me more about what we’re doing today?”
He grins down at me. “You’re in?”
“As long as it’s with you, then, yeah. Of course I’m in.”
“Okay, go and get dressed. You need to be in something comfortable but also something you don’t mind getting dirty.”
I narrow my eyes at him as I try to figure out what he’s planning, but he gives nothing away.
“Changing your mind?”
“Nope. Not a chance,” I say as I jump from my stool and rush toward my bedroom. “What are you doing? You need to get ready, too.”
Cole looks back at the disaster that is his kitchen, looking torn.
“It’ll still be there later,” I tell him.
“Yeah,” he agrees before marching my way. “Be ready in thirty?”
“You got it, boss.”
Twenty-eight minutes later, I step out of my bedroom wearing a pair of leggings and an oversized T-shirt. I’d love to say that it was my first outfit option, but the truth is I went through four different ones before settling on this.
Cole is already in the kitchen, tidying up what we said we’d leave until later.
“I thought we were going out?” I tease.
At the sound of my voice, he immediately stops what he’s doing and turns my way.
His eyes hold mine for a beat before dropping down my body.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thanks,” I mutter shyly. I haven’t done anything special, and it’s not like I’m wearing fancy clothes, but it doesn’t seem to matter to him. “Gonna tell me where we’re going yet?”
“Nope. Grab your purse. We’re heading out.”
I do as I’m told and follow him out of the apartment. With the elevator still out of action, we walk past the other two front doors toward the main one. Noise filters down the hallway, letting me know that at least one of them is occupied.
Hand in hand, we ride down to the parking garage, and when we get to Cole’s car, he opens my door for me.
“Thank you,” I say, as I climb in. “Do I get a clue yet?”
“Nope,” he teases before closing me in and then joining me.
We chat away as he drives us across town. I keep my eyes on the road, searching for clues, but I don’t come up with much.
“What is down here?” I ask when Cole stops at an intersection I’m not familiar with, with his blinker on, ready to go left.
“Wait and see.”
I squirm in my seat, getting more impatient by the second.
He’s barely around the corner when I spot a sign.
My heart jumps into my throat, excitement taking over.
“Are we…”
“Are we what, Whirlwind?” he asks innocently.
“Are we going to the dog shelter?”
“Oh, is that something you’d enjoy doing?” he asks, as if he doesn’t know.
“Spending my day with dogs? And you? Are you kidding? Wait, you are coming too, right?”
“Yeah, I’m coming too.”
“Oh my god, I’m so excited,” I squeal, clapping my hands together in a way that I’m sure resembles a small child.
“Just remember, you can’t bring them all home.”