Epilogue - Miranda
One year later . . .
"What is wrong with me that I loved this book?" Melody peeks at the rest of us through her fingers.
The other ladies around the table cackle and nod in agreement.
"It says you are up for a good time," I tease.
Melody sticks her tongue out at me, laughing as she grabs her purse. "Well, this good time needs to go home and get into my jammies." She gives me a kiss on the cheek as the other ladies pack up their things and say their goodbyes.
It's book club night—one of Cole's brilliant ideas to drum up enough business to hire more help. One night a week, various book clubs can reserve space at the shop, and they have to meet a minimum per person. We’re booked through the end of the year for these nights.
"What time do you want me to pick up Jeremy tomorrow morning?" I ask Melody before she ducks out, my eyes on Cole as he collects empty coffee mugs. He expertly avoids the flirtatious overtures from the horny ladies who just spent two hours talking about smut.
Melody waves a hand. "Whenever you feel like it. Mom's staying over tonight since I have to be at work by seven tomorrow, so I'm sure she'll make a big breakfast."
Cole politely smiles at eighty-year-old Mrs. Jennings, offering her an arm as he helps her toward the door. She rubs his bicep and sighs before leaving.
Cole locks the door behind everyone and turns, lifting an eyebrow. "Remind me to make sure Jeremy is never here on these nights. Someone has to protect him from the sex-crazed ladies of Duhring Park as he gets older."
I laugh as I walk over to him, my heels clicking on the hardwood floor. I wrap my arms around his neck as his hands land on my hips and he kisses me passionately. Grabbing his waistband, I pull him close and kiss him hard. I break away, panting. "But who will protect you, my love?"
Cole growls playfully, stopping my wandering fingers. I pull back, surprised. "Not yet, baby. I want to show you something."
He turns me around with his hands on my shoulders and walks me toward the curtain separating the shop from the back. I try to glance at him over my shoulder, but he says, "Keep walking. It's right upstairs."
"You know it's probably a little too dusty up here to have fun, Cole." I laugh. "Unless you want me to get all dirty, Mr. Rose?" I say in a naughty voice.
"Enough of that." Cole grits. He continues walking me up the stairs, undeterred, but I hear the sexy edge in his voice.
Cole stops me in front of the door to our old apartment. Jeremy, Cole, and I moved into a modest house in a nearby neighborhood last month. We're still close enough to the shop and school to make it easy, but now we have more space and room to breathe. Cole and Jeremy are inseparable, and now that he's moved up to seventh grade, it's a little less weird in the classroom. Or so they tell me.
Cole reaches around my hip as he kisses my neck, and I lean into his touch. Pulling away, he turns the knob, throwing open the door to our old apartment.
I look up and suck in a gasp. "Cole!"
I run into the immaculate apartment, now set up as an art studio. Twirling, I see an easel, paint supplies, and a gorgeous deep purple velvet chaise lounge in the middle of the room. I spy a potter’s wheel in the little bedroom straight ahead, with fresh tarps spread out under it, waiting to get smeared with clay.
Cole comes up behind me, kissing the top of my head. "You mentioned paints, but I remembered you loved pottery, too, so I set up both. I would’ve had it done sooner, but you’re always here. Something we’re going to remedy soon."
I turn to him. "I love it," I whisper. "I love you , Cole."
I throw myself at him, ripping at his clothes until his hard cock springs free. He pulls the tie on the side of my dress and it falls in a puddle at my feet. I chose not to wear a bra today.
Cole looks pleased. He strokes his hard length, biting his lip as he stares at my breasts. "No underwear, little ghost?"
I shrug impishly. "What's the point? You keep stealing them from me."
"Baby, you are so beautiful." He kicks off the pants still around his ankles as he makes his way toward me.
"You think this view is good?" I turn, shaking my full ass at him as I glance over my shoulder. "How's this angle?" I lean forward over the back of the chaise lounge, using my heels to my advantage to push my ass up, giving him the perfect view as I bend over.
Cole exhales shakily as he runs his hands up my back and lines up behind me. He notches himself at my entrance, pulsing the tip into me a few times, teasing and edging me until I'm ready to beg. Each time I try to push back for more friction, his hand holds me in place.
"How do you want it, baby?"
"Hard. Fuck me, Cole."
Hearing his name always gets me what I want, and he nudges my feet wider before he enters me in one long thrust. My whole body tenses as he buries himself to the hilt with a moan. I relax, trying to bounce my ass so he can't help but grab it. Soft, panting breaths are all I can manage as I adjust to the angle, reminding him to move again.
He starts slowly, thrusting in and out. "Are you ready, little ghost?"
My response is garbled as I push back against him. My toes scrabble for purchase against the ground as I try to take control.
"Shh, don't move. I'm going to make this so good for you." Cole flattens his hand against my back. "Baby, your skin is so soft and pink. It gets little red marks the more turned on you are."
I nod, whimpering as wetness from my core drips down my inner thighs, begging for his cock to use me.
His hand is solid against my back, pinning me in place on the couch, and I relax into the sensation. I confessed to Cole a few weeks ago that I like the idea of being held down sometimes during sex, so he's been working it in when the moment feels right. He can read me like a book because I don't want to be in control tonight.
Cole thrusts into me, gripping my ass, and I whimper as he pulls me higher off the ground. "Like this, baby?"
"Yes. Fuck me, Cole. Please."
He drives into me, his hard length rubbing against my walls at the perfect speed. I can do nothing but enjoy the blissful sensations creeping through my body.
"I need…more, Cole!" I choke, shaky from being on the edge and desperate to fall into pleasure.
Cole releases his grip and reaches around my hip to bury his thick finger between my folds, searching for what he knows will push me over. He flicks my hardened nub once, twice…and I explode, crying out his name as I throb around him. I hear him grunt his release as he follows me, thrusting a few more times to draw it out as long as possible. My climax radiates to every cell. I desperately hold on to the sensations pulsing through my body until I sag against the chaise lounge with Cole on top of me.
Cole kisses my back and gently pulls out of me, pulling me up and kissing me deeply. "So, you like it, huh?"
"Let me paint you."
Cole laughs as he walks to the small kitchenette and grabs a towel. He walks me around the chaise lounge, laying me down and cleaning me up before he kisses my forehead. "Soon. Let's lie here for a minute." He positions himself on his side, burying me deep into the back of the chaise lounge. I’ve never been happier.
I turn, looking at the man who has changed my life. His eyes fly open as I say, "Cole, I want to marry you."
***
Would you love to read about Cole and Miranda's One Night in College ?