Chapter 11
Cole
I wake to sunlight filtering through my bedroom windows and reach for Harper, expecting to find her warm body curled against mine. Instead, my hand meets cold sheets.
The bed is empty.
I sit up, listening for sounds of her moving around the apartment. Nothing. I pad naked through the apartment, checking the kitchen, the living room, and her office setup in the dining room. All empty.
When I knock on her bedroom door, there's no answer, but I can hear the sound of running water from her bathroom.
I should give her privacy. I should go back to my room, get dressed, and pretend last night was just about physical release. But everything in me rebels against that idea.
I push open her bedroom door and cross to the bathroom. Through the frosted glass shower door, I can see her silhouette, head tilted back under the spray.
I slide the door open and step inside. “Good morning.”
Harper spins around, startled. Her hands immediately fly up to cover her breasts, water streaming down her flushed skin.
“Cole. What are you—”
“Why did you run off?” I ask, reaching for her wrists and gently prying her hands away from her chest. “I want to see you.”
She tries to cover herself again, but I catch her hands.
“Last night was a mistake,” she says in a trembling voice.
“The only mistake was you sneaking off from my bed.” I cup her breasts, feeling their weight in my palms, watching her breathing change. “But tell me why you think it was a bad idea.”
“You know why,” she gasps as I brush my thumbs over her nipples.
I lower my head and take one peaked nipple into my mouth, sucking gently. Her protest turns into a moan.
“We can't have a serious conversation when you're doing that,” she says weakly.
“Multitask,” I murmur against her skin, then lift my head to meet her eyes. “The only problem I see is your brother.”
Her head falls back against the tile wall as I continue my attention to her breasts. “Brett is the least of my problems,” she manages between moans. “The problem is we're working together. It's wrong.”
I drop to my knees in front of her, the warm water cascading over both of us. I grip her thighs, spreading them apart.
“So, is this wrong?” I peer up at her. “You think how wet you are for me is wrong? How hard I am for you?”
A whimper is her first answer. Then her hands come down, finger tangling in my wet hair, trying to push me back between her legs. I hold firm, resisting the pressure. “I won’t continue until you answer my question.”
Her hips give a frantic, little jerk. “No,” she gasps, the word tearing from her. “It's not wrong. Please, Cole.”
Her plea shatters the last of my control. My tongue strokes a slow, firm path through her slick folds, holding her hips firmly in place.
My tongue circles her clit, and her cries grow louder and more desperate. I slip two fingers inside her, curling them, finding that spot that makes her scream, my mouth never losing its rhythm.
“Fuck!” Harper cries out, her hands curling in my hair. “Don’t stop, Cole.”
Her words ignite a feral, possessive fire in me, driving me to push her further, to wring every last scream and shudder from her body.
Her pussy tightens around my fingers to the point I can hardly move them. And then it breaks. Harper comes with a raw, broken shout, her body convulsing around my fingers and against my tongue. I pull my fingers out, then gently lick her folds, drawing out every last shudder until she is limp.
I stand and reach for her shower gel, squeezing a few dollops into my palms. I work it into a lather and begin to wash her. I soap her stomach, her breasts, then drop to my knees once more to wash the inside of her trembling thighs.
Only when she is clean do I quickly lather and rinse myself.
Without a word, I wrap her in a towel, lift her into my arms, and carry her to my bed, laying her down on the sheets.
The towel falls away as I lay her on the bed, her skin glowing in the soft light. For a long moment, I just look at her, taking in her full breasts, still hardened nipples, and the rapid flutter of her pulse at her throat.
The control I maintained in the shower completely shatters, replaced by a raw, aching need that’s anything but gentle.
I follow her down, bearing my weight on my arms, and crush my mouth to hers. She melts against me, her mouth opening under mine. She tastes of sweet mint, and I can’t get enough of it.
When I finally break away, we’re both gasping for air.
“Turn over,” I say, my voice rough and strained.
A shiver racks her body, but she obeys, getting on all fours, her ass curvy and round.
I run my palm down the length of her spine, from her neck to the swell of her hips, and feel her tremble. My fingers slide lower, through the slick heat of her pussy, and she moans, pushing back against my hand. She’s so wet, already ready for me.
I grab a condom from my nightstand and roll it on quickly.
When I arrange myself behind her, my world narrows to this space, this woman.
Gripping her hip with one hand, I line up my cock with the soaked entrance to her pussy.
I lean over her, draping my body along the length of her back, and press an open-mouthed kiss to her shoulder.
And then I push inside. The air vanishes from my lungs.
A low groan tears from my throat as I sink all the way in, my hips flush against her ass.
For a second, I don’t move, giving her time to adjust.
She lets out a little whimper when I pull out almost all the way, only to cry out when I plunge into her in one brutal thrust.
“You feel so fucking good,” I tell her, my voice guttural. “So wet and tight for me.”
“Perfect. You’re fucking perfect,” Harper says in between moans.
I growl filthy words as I slam into her, the sounds of our ragged breathing and the slap of my hips against her ass fill the room.
“Faster,” Harper says.
I increase my pace, each thrust going deeper. It doesn’t take long before her walls are clenching around me. Readjusting my position, I slide a hand around her hip, then tease her pulsing clit with my fingers.
Harper cries out, her whole body tensing.
“That’s it, come for me,” I command, my own release coiling tight in the pit of my stomach. “Let me feel you come on my cock.”
Her climax hits her, a wave of contractions that milks me, and I lose all control. With a final, deep thrust, I follow her over the edge, my own release crashing through me.
I collapse over her, then, realizing how heavy my body must be on her, I fall to the side and take her along with me. I hold her for a few minutes, then get up to get rid of the condom.
“Cole, we should talk about this,” Harper says when I come out of the bathroom, propping herself on her elbow to look at me.
She’s scared. I get that, but right now, I’m still in that daze of good sex. Better than good. It’s the best sex I’ve had in years.
“This is complicated,” she says, eyes boring into mine.
“It doesn't have to be.”
She lifts her head to look at me. “Of course it does. I'm planning more events for your team. What happens when this burns out? When you get bored? When you meet someone else?”
The questions sting. They imply that I’m some kind of man whore. And while that’s the usual hockey player persona, that isn’t me. “Is that what you think this is? Just physical?”
“Isn't it?” Her green eyes search mine. “We're attracted to each other, we're living in close quarters, we gave in to temptation. But that doesn't change the fact that we’re wrong for each other.”
She has a point, and I hate that she does. We are wrong for each other. Harper is not my type, purely for the fact that I want her to stick around.
Then there’s the problem of Brett. He’s going to skin my ass when he finds out. Not that he frightens me, but I’d hate to lose a decades-long friendship.
“So what are you saying? We pretend last night never happened?” I finally ask.
“I don’t know.” She pulls the sheet up to cover herself. “My career is just getting started, Cole. I can't afford for people to think I slept my way to success.”
“I’d hate for that to happen, too.” The hockey world is small and gossipy, and Harper deserves better than having her achievements questioned.
“Fine,” I say. “We keep it professional at work events.”
“And here?”
She’s asking too many questions too soon. But there’s no way I can go back to treating her like a roommate. She’s too fucking beautiful with her swollen lips and hair mussed from my hands.
No, this is not ending just yet. I pull her to me. “Here, you're mine.”
Her breath catches. “Cole.”
“Unless you tell me you don't want this. You have to want this as much as I do…and I think you do.”
She stares at me for a long moment, and I can see the war playing out in her expression. “I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
“Of losing myself in you. Of forgetting why I worked so hard to get where I am.” She sits up. “You're Cole Maddox. You're used to getting everything you want. What happens when you decide you don't want this anymore?”
The vulnerability in her voice cuts through me. “Harper, I can’t predict that future, but I can promise you this. When I’m in, I’m in. I don’t play around.”
“I've spent my whole life trying to prove myself. I finally have something that's mine, something I built from nothing. I can't risk that,” she says, her gaze focused somewhere beyond the window.
I reach for her hand. “You won't lose that. What we have here doesn't change how incredible you are at your job.”
“I’m not so sure because right now, instead of analyzing last night's event and planning follow-up strategies, I'm in bed with my client, having the best sex of my life.”
Despite the seriousness of our conversation, I smirk. “Best sex of your life?”
She smacks my chest, but she's fighting a smile. “Don't let it go to your head.”
“Too late.” I capture her hand against my chest. “Stay here with me today. Let me show you that this doesn't have to complicate everything.”
She shakes her head. “I can’t. I promised Ariel I’d meet her for breakfast before going to work.”
“It's Sunday. The work will still be there tomorrow.”
To my disappointment, she stands up. “I want to write a report while the details are still fresh in my mind.” She grabs a towel and fastens it around her body. “Meanwhile, can I think about this?”
What is there to think about? We can't keep our hands off each other. Aloud, I say, “Sure, take all the time you need.”