Chapter 41
41
COLE
It had been at least an hour since the water shut off, and Paige left the bathroom only to go into her room and shut the door. I’d expected emotions when I shared the news, even expected her to feel overwhelmed, but I hadn’t expected it to last this long. She obviously needed time to digest everything. Deciding to let it go, I got up and headed to my bedroom but stopped outside her door. It took everything in me not to turn that knob and go to her, but I held off. She knew where I was if she needed me, and as I stared at her closed door, it was obvious she wanted some time to herself.
I grabbed shorts and threw them on before climbing into bed and finally accepting the exhaustion I felt after the weight of Paul Lewis was lifted. He couldn’t get to her, couldn’t get to Bailey, and I’d had no idea how much that had been plaguing me until I could let it go.
I woke when the bed dipped and pushed up to my elbows to see a shadow in the moonlight from the window. “Paige. Are you alright?”
I laid my head down when she straddled my waist, and my body roared to life. She leaned down until I could see her face. Reaching up, I placed my hand against the side of her neck just as she began to speak.
“I don’t want to just be friends anymore,” she whispered.
Those were the words I’d waited three weeks to hear. I wanted to believe them, but after everything tonight, I couldn’t be sure this wasn’t just an emotional reaction. “Maybe we should talk about it tomorrow.”
“We don’t do well with this stuff in the daylight,” she said, and I saw a small grin on her lips. “I love you, Cole. I’ve loved you for a long time. Tonight, I think I was overwhelmed by the news and the thought that I was going to lose you.” She settled herself on my lap, and I groaned when her heat surrounded my hardening cock. “I’m not going to let that happen.”
I wanted to listen to everything she was saying because it was everything I wanted to hear, but I was too distracted to concentrate with her body pressed tightly to mine. “Baby, if you want to talk, you’re gonna have to get off me.”
She leaned down until her lips hovered just above mine. “I don’t wanna talk.”
When she laid her lips against mine, I tightened my hand on the side of her neck and kissed her the way I’d wanted to for a long fucking time. She opened her mouth, and I didn’t hesitate to deepen the kiss, needing to show her how I felt and how I’d been feeling for a long time.
I broke the kiss to catch my fucking breath when she slid her body along my hard cock, but Paige wasn’t in the mood to slow down. Reaching between us, she slid her hand along the waistband of my shorts and slid inside.
“Jesus,” I groaned when her hand wrapped around my cock.
But I didn’t want to play, and I had the feeling she didn’t either. We’d been doing this dance for months, ignoring the pull we both felt and trying like hell to deny our attraction, but we couldn’t anymore.
Grabbing her waist, I flipped her to her back and pulled my T-shirt over my head. She lifted her chest at the same time and pulled off her tank top. There were no sweet words, just sounds in the darkness of two people starved for each other. We came back together, our lips fused, and dueled for control of the kiss, both still fumbling to get the rest of our clothes off. I needed to feel her silky skin against mine and all of it. I hated that I hadn’t had the chance the one and only time we’d been together.
She hummed when I ran my hands over her skin. “I love your hands on me.”
Sliding my lips over her cheek, I kissed down her neck, wanting to make this better for her than the last time, but she didn’t want that. She wrapped her long legs around my hips, and we rolled. She moved over me and grabbed my cock in her hand. Positioning herself, she slid down. She threw her head back while bouncing her hips, lost in her own pleasure, and all I could do was watch. She was so fucking beautiful, but watching her like this was on a whole different level. Running my hands up her body, I kneaded her breasts, rolling her nipples between my thumb and finger, and she cried out, moving faster. She needed this release, and I wanted to give it to her. I shoved my hand between us and rolled my finger over her clit, grunting when her pussy squeezed me hard. I knew she was close. Her body was flushed, and she was lost in the sensations. She dropped down and crushed her lips on mine, and I rolled us again. Pushing her legs up, I thrust hard and deep. She didn’t need fast. She needed to feel me as deep as I could get. Angling my hips, I continued until I found the spot that made her scream.
“Cole, there, right there.”
She threw her arms over her head and grabbed the posts on my headboard while I slammed into her. Feeling myself getting close, I dropped my hand between us and rolled her clit until I felt her orgasm take hold. She squeezed me so hard she forced me to come with her.
I collapsed but shifted my weight to the side so I wouldn’t crush her. We lay there quietly for a while. The only sound in the room was our slowing breathing.
When I finally caught my breath, I reached up and wrapped my hand around her neck, rolling her head to look into her beautiful blue eyes. “I love you too.”
She studied me for a minute before she grinned slowly. “Sure. Now you do.”
Chuckling, I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her against me until our bodies were pressed tightly together. I loved lying with her in the dark, confessing all the things that used to be uncomfortable in the light of day, but there were no confessions tonight, just a peace that settled over me as soon as her body was pressed against mine.
She laid her hand against my chest. “You know we never talked about it last time because we were drunk, but we didn’t use any protection.”
She was right, and it wasn’t something I’d considered, which wasn’t normal for me. I never thought about it in the garage at Jake’s house, which made sense, considering how much we had to drink, but tonight was different. Tonight, neither of us drank anything, and the notion that I could get her pregnant never crossed my mind.
I ran my hand over her hip. “I never even thought about it.”
“Me neither, and that’s odd because I’m a strict you-need-to-wear-a-condom sort of girl.”
I grinned slowly. “I’m a strict wear-a-condom sort of guy.”
She laughed softly. “Just another thing we screwed up.”
“What do you mean?”
She ran her hand over my chest and up to the side of my neck. “We wasted a lot of time not talking to each other and assuming. We could’ve been right here a year ago if we’d communicated a little better.”
I squeezed her hip. “Maybe we needed the year to figure out what the hell we both wanted.”
She smiled sweetly. “Maybe you’re right.”
I thought back to what started this conversation and sighed. “Any chance you’re on birth control?”
She laughed and pushed up, forcing me to my back before swinging her leg across my waist. “Nope.”
“I didn’t think so.” I groaned when she settled herself on my lap.
Leaning down, she slid her body over mine. “Any chance you have condoms?”
I gestured toward the side of the bed. “Drawer in the nightstand.”
“Well, in that case…” She smiled before pressing her lips to mine.