Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
REINE
When Grams’ show finally comes to an end, I glance around the corner and watch her pad down the hallway, her old slippers shuffling on the linoleum. The second her bedroom door clicks shut, it’s like someone takes their finger off the pause button.
Cole’s on me before I can blink, pinning my hips to the kitchen counter.
“Finally,” he murmurs, brushing a strand of hair out of my eyes with a touch so soft it makes my breath hitch. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this.”
“It’s been the longest night ever,” I deadpan, but my voice comes out in a whisper because his hands are already under my shirt. I clutch at his shirt, knuckles white, but he’s already picking me up and carrying me down the hallway.
He looks down at me for a second, just breathing. “I need you more than my next breath.”
I lean up and kiss his stubbled chin. “Then stop talking and show me how much.”
That’s all the encouragement he needs. He sets me on my feet and pulls my shirt over my head before reaching behind me to unhook my bra.
After tossing them aside, he gives me a little push, and I fall back onto the bed.
I lean up on my elbows and watch as he steps back to peel his shirt over his head.
I reach for him, wanting his skin on mine, but he tuts and shakes his head.
“Hands above your head. Don’t move,” he growls, and I shiver so hard the bed shakes.
I obey, heart pounding. He slowly removes my boots and socks, then pulls my jeans off in one slow, torturous move. My eyes cross when he kisses his way up my leg, pausing to bite at my inner thigh just hard enough to make me squeak.
His fingers trail up my ribs, and then he closes his mouth around my nipple. I dig my fingers into the soft covers as he sucks until I’m gasping and squirming. He moves to the other side, repeating the process, pinning my hips so I can’t escape even if I wanted to.
“Please,” I beg, totally gone. “Cole, please.”
He hums low in his throat and takes his time blowing my mind. Then he works his way down my body, stopping to bite the inside of my knee. He spreads my legs open, the cold air hits my girly parts a second before his tongue follows.
He devours me like he’s starving, tongue flicking, lips sucking, fingers digging in just enough to sting in the best possible way. He keeps going until I’m right on the edge, then pulls away, grinning down at me with his chin wet and eyes dark.
My mind turns to goo, and I’m pretty sure if I don’t get his cock inside me in the next ten seconds, I’m going to explode into a billion tiny pieces.
He ignores my pleas and starts to slide back up my body, taking his sweet-ass time. If this is what torture feels like, just sign me up for a fucking lifetime sentence.
“God, you’re gorgeous,” he growls against my skin, sending goosebumps breaking out all over my body. He keeps me spread wide, his hands anchored on my thighs, holding me open for his hungry gaze. I can’t breathe. I can’t think. My brain is just a tangled mess of want and need.
“Stop teasing,” I whimper. Yep. I’m reduced to whimpering. “And fuck me.”
He looks up at me and grins, cocky as hell, and I see the dark heat in his eyes. He slips off the bed, already kicking off his boots. It doesn’t take him long to rip away his pants and underwear.
Cole’s cock springs free, thick and hard, bobbing heavy against his abs. My whole body clenches in anticipation. He strokes himself, slow and deliberate, his gaze locked on my dripping pussy.
“Spread wider,” he orders.
I don’t even hesitate. My thighs fall open, and he grips my ankle, tugging it up over his shoulder before lining the head of his cock right at my slick entrance.
The first push is slow, stretching me wide, and I almost scream from how fucking good it feels.
My back arches off the bed while my hands fist the sheets above my head.
“Fuck, you’re tight,” Cole growls, driving in another inch.
My pussy clenches around him, desperate and greedy, and his hands dig into my thighs to hold me open as he grinds deeper.
“And you’re all goddamn mine,” he grits out, his hands fisting my thighs, holding me wide open as he starts to move.
I’m stretched around him, so full I can barely process it.
I lose track of everything except the pulse between my legs and the wild look in Cole’s eyes as he slams in deeper.
I wrap my legs around his waist and dig my heels into his ass, not about to let him go anywhere. “Less talking, more fucking,” I growl, and he just laughs, low and dirty, then starts to move faster.
It’s frantic, but somehow slow at the same time. Like every inch of his cock is mapped to every nerve ending in my body. He drives me to the edge, pulls back, then slams in again until I’m a trembling mess.
The first time I come, it feels like I might break. He keeps going, fucking me through it, groaning my name and biting my shoulder.
“Mine,” he whispers, over and over, like he’s branding me with every thrust. “All mine.”
He circles his hips and hits that spot deep inside me that makes me see stars. I come again, and again, until I lose track of where my body ends and his begins. I can barely breathe by the time he comes, pulsing deep inside me.
We lie there for a long time. I’m wrapped in his arms and can feel his heart pounding under my cheek, and I never want to move again.
He kisses the side of my face, softly, then buries his nose in my hair. “I love you,” he says, voice low and hoarse. “And I’m never letting you go.”
“Promise?” I whisper, and for a second, I’m not even joking.
“On my fucking life, Montana,” he whispers back, then props up on his elbow and just looks at me.
I’m about to say something sappy when he grins, wide and wicked, then reaches off the bed for his jeans. He fishes around in the pocket and pulls out a tiny black velvet box. My heart stutters, and my brain, already on low battery, shorts out completely.
He doesn’t even kneel or ask or do anything remotely normal. Instead, he flicks open the box, revealing a vintage-looking sapphire ring set in platinum. It’s a fucking stunner, old and dark and exactly what I’d pick.
“Marry me,” he whispers against my lips.
I can’t breathe. I can’t think. I just start to laugh, high and wild, tears leaking out of the corners of my eyes. I look down at the ring, then at him. My chest feels too tight for words, so I just nod, once, hard. “Yes.”
He grins, wicked and gorgeous, then slides the ring onto my finger. It fits, of course, and the second the cold metal hits my skin, something inside me settles into place. Everything becomes perfect.
“Holy shit,” I whisper as he settles back on the pillow and pulls me close. “We’re getting married.”
“Hell fucking yes, we are.” We lie there, tangled and stupidly happy, until our breathing slows and the sweat dries on our skin.
I stare up at the ceiling, feeling the weight of the ring on my finger, and realize I’m not scared at all.
Not even a little bit. This is the craziest thing I’ve ever done, and it’s also the only thing that’s ever felt right.
Cole tucks me under his arm, pulling me in so close I can hear every beat of his heart. “We’ll tell Grams in the morning,” he says, voice sleepy.
“And your family?” I ask, thinking about the mob of Carringtons waiting down in Texas.
“We’ll head down to Texas and tell them together.” His thumb rubs slow circles over my hip, and my blood pressure shoots through the roof again.
“Sounds like a plan to me.”