Chapter 55 Cole
COLE
Anger still continues to vibrate just beneath the surface as I hold my hand out for Freya.
She stares up at me with her chest heaving and wide, hungry eyes. But there is more than just desire in them, and I hate it. There’s a nervousness that has no place there. Not while she’s with me.
He put that there. With just his presence and a few pain-inducing words, he sent her tumbling straight back to times she’s been fighting to forget.
I hate him.
I don’t care who he is, how well he sings, or how many number-ones or platinum albums he has.
I hate him for what he’s done to Freya.
He’s made her question herself, her worth, her beauty. No man should ever hold the power to tear a woman down like that, and I want to fucking end him for causing her so much pain, for shattering her self-confidence.
Freya sits up and hesitantly slides her hand into mine.
My teeth grind as I think about how differently she’d have reacted if we hadn’t seen him. In the limo, she was so carefree. But the second his voice echoed down the hallway, everything changed. It was like she’d seen a ghost.
I knew who he was the moment I saw him. I may not be a huge fan of his music, but he spends so much time in the media, it would be impossible not to.
A lot of things then started falling into place. Freya’s fear of going out tonight, of being in front of the public and photographed for all the media outlets. And Hailee’s warning about the backlash…yeah, now I’m understanding.
Rowan Conaway doesn’t do anything quietly. He doesn’t seem to care if it’s good press or bad press; he’ll take it all to ensure everyone is saying his name.
My stomach knots as different scenarios play out in my mind. But each of them leads me to one place.
He’s going to use us.
I close my eyes for a beat before I tug Freya to her feet. The instant her dress tickles against my stomach, I force all those thoughts from my head and stare down at her.
“You and me, yeah?” I rasp.
Her eyes still dance with tears, but there’s a determination within them that wasn’t there a few seconds ago.
“Yeah,” she agrees.
“Do you trust me?”
She bites down on her bottom lip. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if she said no. After everything she’s been through, really, it should be her answer. Hell, I’m an asshole for even asking. But I need to know that even a small part of her does before we take this any further.
Slowly, she nods, and the corners of her lips curl into a smile. “Yes, Cole. I trust you.”
My heart slams against my ribs as those five words flow through me.
I know it isn’t a big declaration, but it’s more than I’ve ever had before.
Wrapping my hand around the back of her neck, I pull her to me and take her lips in a heated and teasing kiss.
Long minutes pass as I explore her mouth as if it’s the last chance I’ll get, while my hand remains locked at her waist.
My body screams at me to step it up a notch, but I ignore it.
Freya has spent years dealing with a man who is clearly only out for himself and his own gains. I want to prove to her that I am not him. That the most important thing to me is her.
When I eventually pull back, her eyes are dark and her lips are swollen.
“Cole,” she whispers, her hands sliding over my shoulders and down my chest.
My cock jerks in excitement that she might allow them to descend that low. It won’t happen; I’ll stop her before she gets close.
Just because she’s already had two tonight, it doesn’t mean she owes me one before she gets any more. That’s not how I work. That’s not how anyone should work.
My fingers wrap around her slim wrists, stopping her movements when her hands are splayed on my ribs.
“W-what?” she stutters.
“I’m worshipping you, remember?”
“I-I know. But I—”
“Trust me, there will be time for you to do whatever you want, baby. But right now, it’s about you,” I insist as I drag my pointer finger across her full bottom lip. “Still trust me?”
She nods, and my fingers hook beneath the straps of her dress. As I pull them down, my lips trail kisses over the newly exposed skin of her left shoulder.
She shudders at the light tickle of contact, and I smile when goose bumps erupt down her arm.
Understanding what I want, Freya lowers her arms to her sides, and the second I let go of the fabric, it floats to the floor around her feet.
My breath catches in my throat as I stare at her standing before me in just a tiny pair of black panties.
Her tiny hands make fists at her hips, telling me that she’s desperate to cover herself.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Freya,” I say, forcing my eyes to hold hers so she can see the sincerity in them.
They still glitter with moisture, but she’s with me.
“I’ve never wanted anyone like I want you.”
She swallows thickly as she reaches for me.
I flinch when her warm palm wraps around my waist.
“Then take me,” she says with a little more confidence.
Wrapping my arm around her back, I press her against me, loving the feeling of having nothing between us.
My lips find hers again, and I kiss her as I lower her back to the bed. Pushing my knee between her legs, I shuffle between them and settle.
She whimpers into my mouth as my hands begin to roam.
I start at her hips before dipping into her waist, bumping over her ribs, and then finally cupping her breasts.
“Oh god,” she gasps as I squeeze her gently.
“That good, baby?”
She nods as she looks down at my giant, calloused hand on her delicate skin.
Her breasts are on the smaller side, but they’re perfect. Everything I could ask for.
“Oh,” she cries when I pinch both of her nipples at the same time.
“Sensitive, huh?”
She nods again.
I smirk down at her.
Oh, we’re going to have so much fun together.
Dropping my head, I kiss her throat before working my way down her body. I lick down her collarbone before kissing my way to the swell of her breast.
“Perfect,” I muse, cupping them again and flicking one peak and then the other with my tongue.
“Cole,” she gasps.
“Have I ever told you that I’m a boob man?”
She shakes her head as she watches me lower my mouth back to her.
“Let me show you.”
Her fingers sink into my hair as I tease her, sucking, nipping, and licking her into a frenzy.
She squirms on the bed, her back arching, offering more of herself up to me, begging me to take it further, to make her come.
“Fucking hell, you look so good right now, squirming around on my bed. Whenever I look at it from now on, I’m going to get hard, imagining you in the middle of it, begging for me.”
“Cole,” she moans as she none-too-gently tries to push me lower.
“Is my girl getting desperate?” I ask.
“Yes, yes. Please, Cole.”
I smile up at her.
There was a time not so long ago when I looked at Kodie and Casey, and Linc and Parker, and didn’t think a life like that would be for me.
Commitment is a terrifying word to a person who’s only ever been abandoned and let down by those around him.
Long-term relationships were never anything but a pipe dream for me.
I never thought I’d find anyone who would want to stick around.
As a kid, I’d come to the conclusion that I was unlovable.
But since meeting Freya, she’s made me believe things I never thought possible.
She makes me want things I never thought I’d get to experience.
My heart racing, I kiss down her stomach and then lick across the skin above the waistband of her panties.
She whimpers, her legs wrapping around me in an attempt to drag me closer to where she needs me.
Tucking my fingers under the lace around her hips, I pause. “May I?” I ask, not wanting to assume she’s ready, despite what her body is telling me.
“Yes,” she breathes, and I drag them off faster than I thought possible.
The second I unhook them from her foot, I sit back and look at her.
Holy shit.
My chest heaves as I take her in.
Mine.
“Cole?” she whispers when I just sit there with my hands on her knees, staring.
“I’m sorry, I just…you’re incredible, Freya. You’re…”
“I’m…?”
A laugh tumbles from my lips.
“Everything. You’re everything.”
A smile spreads across her lips.
“So are you.”
I shake my head, unable to believe I come anywhere close to her. I’m just a man who stops a bit of rubber going into a net multiple times a week. Sure, I have money, but that’s about all I have to offer.
Freya, though…she’s…god, I can’t even put into words how incredible she is.
“Cole, you’ve changed my life in ways you can’t imagine. You’ve helped me find a part of myself that I was scared had gone for good.”
“You make me a better person,” I say. “For you, I want to be the best person.”
“Maybe that quest can wait until tomorrow. Right now, you have something else to do.” Her eyes drop from mine in favor of what’s hiding behind my boxers.
My cock jerks under her stare.
“I’m ready,” she whispers shyly.
“Shit. Yeah. Okay.”
I was going to eat her out again, but now she’s said that, fuck. All my good intentions have gone straight out the window.
“Condom, Cole,” I mutter to myself before pushing to my feet and walking to my nightstand.
I pull the drawer out and grab one before returning to the bottom of the bed.
With my eyes locked on the goddess in front of me, I tuck my thumbs into the waistband of my boxers and shove them down.
Kicking my underwear aside, I crawl back onto the bed between her legs and let her watch as I roll the rubber down my shaft.
I shuffle closer, and she gasps the instant we make contact.
“It’s…it’s been a while,” she admits quietly.
“We’ve got all night. We can take it as slow as you need. Although, after the foreplay we’ve had tonight, I can’t promise I’ll last all that long.”
She reaches out and covers my hand that’s resting on her thigh.
“We’ve got all night,” she repeats. With her eyes locked in mine, I can’t help but pray that we have a whole lot more time together than just tonight.
Forever, maybe.