Chapter Twenty-Two
ADELE
Someone has to be in charge
My pulse was galloping, pounding so hard that the beat reverberated to my bones.
Anticipation was burning like a flame racing up a fuse.
Even though I had thought about this, contemplated it, and made a very conscious decision that I wanted this with Cole, the intensity of my need was almost frightening.
Tangled within that was my emotional fear about letting myself be vulnerable with anyone.
I wasn’t prone to emotional drama, but I had never wanted someone the way I wanted Cole.
The way he looked at me made me feel encompassed, wrapped in his protectiveness and strength.
The steely vein of independence that ran through everything for me rebelled at how I savored the way I felt with him.
As if I could let go. As if I could be vulnerable.
We were inside my little apartment, which, thank goodness, was somewhat decorated when I moved in.
I had been so busy since I got here that it was still exactly the way it had been.
I’d unpacked my few bags and left it as is.
I hadn’t even gotten food from the store yet because Maggie kept insisting I eat over at the resort.
The food was amazing, so it was hard to turn that down.
Somehow, we got through taking our shoes and jackets off. Now, I was just standing in the middle of the living room, looking at Cole and starting to think way too much about this.
One of his dark brows rose high. “Have you changed your mind?” he asked.
Although there was a teasing hint in his tone, I could feel the seriousness behind it. Even though I wasn’t ready to admit it, that meant the world. I had never been with a man so solicitous of me, my feelings, my wants.
I held his gaze and shook my head sharply. “Where should we start?” I asked, my voice miraculously steady despite the churning in my stomach.
Cole tipped his head to the side, a slight smile curling at the corners of his lips. “Well, I’m going to let you take the lead, Adele.”
My cheeks flushed hot. “Cole!” I protested.
He chuckled, and I couldn’t help the warmth that spread through me. He couldn’t have known how much I needed that. I needed his teasing to lighten the moment because this whole thing was a lot for me.
“We have options,” he said. “We’re here in the living room.” He gestured to the side at the couch.
I swallowed, trying to steady my nerves. This was happening. The question wasn’t whether I was ready for this, but if I could let myself relax.
“There’s always the kitchen counter,” he teased, “but maybe we save that for later.”
My mouth dropped open and heat flashed through me in a blast.
“And last, there’s your bedroom. Actually, there’s also the bathroom where we could test out the shower or counter.” His tone was practical and low, the sound of his voice strumming every chord of need in my body.
I wanted all of it now, at once, but I figured maybe we keep it the most simple.
“Bedroom,” I whispered.
“Lead the way, sweetheart.” He gestured toward the door.
I turned and promptly walked into the bedroom. Cole followed me and closed the door behind him. For a second, I wanted to ask why, but as if reading my thoughts, he commented, “You never know.”
A giggle slipped out. “Oh, God, does everyone know you’re over here with me?”
Cole shrugged. “Somebody probably noticed I walked you over here. Don’t worry,” he assured me. “Haven and Elsa are busy minding their own business, Kendall and Jude same, and well…” He rolled his eyes. “My mom pays attention to everything we all do, but she’ll be cheering for us.”
“Is this going to change her opinion of me?”
“Is what going to change her opinion of you?”
“Me being with you like this?” I wanted Maggie to respect me.
“Well, it’s not like we’re going to give her the details,” he sputtered, looking aghast.
The horror in his eyes made me giggle again. “Okay.” Before I could overthink it, I got right down to business and promptly began stripping out of my clothes. I was kind of in a hurry.
“Hey, hey, Adele, slow down.”
I turned back to face him. I was down to nothing but my panties, a pair of socks, and a tank top.
I should have felt ridiculous, but I didn’t.
I felt startlingly comfortable. “I don’t want to slow down, Cole.
I guess I am in a rush, but it’s more that…
” I took a quick breath, closing my eyes and gathering up my courage.
Opening them again, I circled my hand in the air between us.
“I really want this. I don’t know if I can take it slow, not this time.
So if you didn’t notice yet, you’re wearing too many clothes. ”
I wasn’t sure what it was about my little speech, but Cole moved with alacrity after that.
In a matter of seconds, he was down to a pair of fitted boxer briefs.
My mouth watered as I took him in. I already knew he was handsome.
Sweet hell, that dark hair, those blue eyes, his muscled, lanky frame.
He was strong, but in the way of a man who worked his body hard as a firefighter, as a wilderness guide, and then some.
As I let my gaze trail over him, my eyes greedily taking in every detail, I noticed a few scars. As if he could read my thoughts, he gestured to one, a jagged line along his ribs. “Worst rope burn I ever had.”
I sucked my breath in through my teeth. “Ouch.”
“Yeah, that’s one way to put it. It hurt like hell,” he said flatly.
I snorted a laugh. “I bet.”
“Now you’re the one wearing too many clothes.” His voice was low, the sensual tease contained within his words sending sparks scattering through me and butterflies twirling in my belly.
I yanked off my tank top and toed off my socks one at a time without even bending over.
We stared at each other, almost as if we were taking each other’s measure.
The next few moments felt like opposite forces.
On the one hand, they flew by in a blink.
On the other, the time moved so slow and hot it felt like warm honey sliding off the end of a spoon.
When my senses recalibrated, Cole had me stretched out on the bed.
He was resting on one elbow and his palm was trailing over my belly.
His knuckles curled lightly as his touch explored me.
Every millimeter where he touched me sent sparks scattering in their wake.
Goose bumps rose in a sharp tingling sensation all over, my nipples so tight they ached.
Cole’s fingers unfurled and trailed upward, lightly tracing over my scar.
I experienced the ping of self-consciousness that I usually felt whenever someone noticed my scar, much less touched it.
He was the only man I’d ever been with who deliberately touched it.
With anyone else, it was an accident, and if they happened to notice, they jerked away as if touching a hot stove.
My pulse raced a little faster, and my throat tightened with emotion.
I couldn’t quite believe it, but he honestly didn’t seem to care about my scars. His thumb moved downward in a stroke over it, the touch soft and feathering. My pulse hummed along, and sensation gusted through me.
When he dipped his head and dusted lazy kisses on the side of my neck, I arched into him and gasped.
All the while, I kept scrambling to try to feel like I had some sort of control.
It was a lost cause, especially when I felt his lips close over a nipple, giving me a hot suck.
My fingers speared in his hair as I flexed into him.
He teased one nipple to madness before turning his attention to the other. By the time he lifted his head to drop a lingering kiss in the valley between my breasts, right over my cluster of scars, I was beside myself, panting.
“Cole…” I rasped. I was impatient and shifted to slide my hand over the hard ridge of his arousal.
I bit my lip, glancing toward him when I heard the hiss of his breath between his teeth and he let out a strangled sound. “Adele.” His voice held a hint of warning.
I suddenly needed this, needed to feel in control, savoring the feeling of having Cole at my mercy. Rolling to the side, I slipped a hand into his boxer briefs, curling my palm around the velvety hot length of his arousal.
“Oh my God, Adele,” he murmured.
I giggled as I gave him a little shove to push him on his back and straddled him. “I’m taking charge.”
His eyes locked to mine, dark and searching. It felt as if he was taking my measure, and I gave a little saucy shrug before sliding back and yanking his boxer briefs down.
Cole naked was a sight to behold. All of him was muscled.
He had a smattering of dark hair on his chest, narrowing to a line down his abdomen.
There wasn’t an inch of him that wasn’t fit.
Aside from that first scar, I saw another on his shoulder, and another on the side of his knee.
I traced my fingers over each before leaning down to press kisses on the heels of my touch, asking, “What happened?”
He cleared his throat, his breath a little ragged, as he gestured to his shoulder. “Me and a branch met. I was going too fast. Nothing horrible. My knee—a boulder; it won.”
I giggled again.
He suddenly got serious. “Adele…” he began.
“Just a sec.” I leaned down, curling my palm around his length, as I brought my lips to his crown.
A hint of salt and tang danced over my tongue.
His fingers tangled in my hair, and I savored the subtle sting on my scalp.
I needed this. I needed to savor this. I’d never been with a man who felt this into me.
Cole seemed to actually want me, and I was enjoying this. Enjoying feeling like I could drive him as wild as he had already driven me. I felt like I could push him to the outskirts of his control and I wanted to.