Chapter 7
Chapter seven
Grace
Iwoke up warm. Warm and well rested.
Then I opened my eyes, and the panic struck.
I wasn’t alone.
I wasn’t in my bed.
I wasn’t in any bed actually.
An arm was wrapped around my waist, holding me tightly.
There was a warmth on my neck and something hard digging into my ass.
“Fuck,” I swore under my breath.
As reality hit, I started to freak out. I was at Cole’s house. I’d fallen asleep. We’d fallen asleep. I’d spent the night wrapped in his arms.
He murmured in his sleep and tightened his hold.
I wanted to flee but I didn’t want to wake him. This was bad, so very bad.
I shifted an inch and waited to see if I roused him, but his breathing remained even.
Slowly, carefully, I inched out of his grip and fell to my knees on the floor beside him.
He was so gorgeous it should have been illegal.
Somehow, after a night spent talking and watching movies and sleeping on the couch, he was effortlessly handsome.
I forced myself to stop staring and found my feet.
I padded down the hall into the bathroom and took care of business before washing my hands and splashing water on my face.
Where Cole was beautiful first thing in the morning, I certainly was not.
My hair was a mess, and my eyes looked tired with deep black bags under them.
They looked deep enough to carry all my emotional baggage.
I tried to finger-comb my hair before pulling it back in a messy braid.
I squeezed a blob of toothpaste onto my finger and did my best to brush away my morning breath.
The walk of shame was bad enough without the furry feeling on my teeth, or worse, my breath smelling like I’d licked a trash can.
“It’s as good as it’s going to get without a shower,” I told my reflection as I dried my hands and prepared to sneak out.
I crept back down the hall and found my boots, the last thing I wanted to do was to pull them on. Tucking them under my arm, I grabbed my things and headed for the door. I almost made it too. Almost.
“Didn’t take you for one to try and sneak out,” Cole grumbled, his voice thick with sleep freezing me where I stood.
“I wasn’t,” I lied, turning around.
Cole rose from the couch and stretched his arms high above his head, causing his shirt to rise, giving me a glimpse of those hard planes of his stomach I’d admired.
“Join me for coffee?” he invited, and I swear my jaw hit the ground.
“I shouldn’t,” I declined, my head swiveling from Cole to my car and back again.
I could already hear my sisters’ taunts now. Barely back in town and already out all night. If I could sneak up to my room before they found out, maybe I could avoid it, but coffee with Cole … I wasn’t sure I was ready to say goodbye to him just yet.
“Yes, you should. Let me duck to the bathroom real quick, then I’ll get breakfast started.”
“Breakfast? I thought you said coffee,” I called him out as I set my boots down by his front door, not missing the hiss of breath he sucked in.
A mischievous smirk danced across Cole’s features. “I’m a lot of things, Grace, but I don’t kick women out the door after they’ve spent the night in my bed.”
Cole flashed me a wink and strutted down the hall no doubt thinking he got the last word. But one thing he’d soon learn about me was, I liked having the last word. I needed to.
“So, I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t spend the night in your bed then,” I replied to his retreating ass.
Cole mumbled something I didn’t catch, but I made my way into his kitchen.
It was magical in here this time of the morning.
The sun streamed through the huge windows, you could tell this was the heart of the home.
Flashes blinded me of chaotic Sunday breakfasts filled with family and Saturday nights shared with friends.
I shook off the images, reminding myself Wattle Creek wasn’t my forever, and started the coffee.
While the machine gurgled and spluttered, I stared out the window at the bird sitting atop the Magnolia tree and my stomach churned.
Cole mightn’t have thought much about his word choice, but I was certainly giving it some thought.
He didn’t kick women out after they’d spent the night in his bed.
I couldn’t help but wonder if that happened often.
The moment the idea crossed my mind I wanted to slap myself.
I didn’t know why it hurt, but it did. I guess it was a good thing I hadn’t slept with Cole.
The last thing I wanted to be was just another notch on this cowboy’s bedpost.
The coffee finished, and I was just starting the second cup when Cole appeared looking refreshed and ready to tackle whatever the day would bring.
I brought my mug to my lips and took a sip. It was hot and strong and was the wake-up call I needed.
Cole prowled toward me and my heart pounded.
When he took the mug from my hands, I almost whimpered.
It was cruel to give me my coffee and then take it away.
I watched as he set it aside and turned back to me, determination wrinkling his brow.
When his huge hands grasped my hips, I gasped, and Cole chuckled before he lifted me off my feet and set me back down on the counter.
“What are you …?” I didn’t even get to finish my question.
“Clearing something up before your imagination has a chance to run away with you,” Cole declared as he took my hands.
Sitting on the counter, I was the same height as him and met his eyes. The man obviously wanted to say something and was adamant I heard him.
“O-Okay,” I stuttered as nerves fluttered in my belly.
“Firstly, I’m a gentleman in every room in this house except one. I treat women with respect just like my mama taught me.”
“Okay.”
“Secondly, the last woman to spend the night in my bed, was not in this house. No woman has ever even spent the night in this house. None until you, Grace Hamilton.”
I swallowed deeply. “How long have you lived here?” I managed to ask, my voice timid.
A grin cracked Cole’s seriousness. “Two years,” he answered.
“Oh.”
“And lastly, the only reason you didn’t spend the night in my bed was because you looked so peaceful asleep in my arms I didn’t want to wake you.
But let me be real clear here, Grace. Next time, you’ll be in my bed, and it won’t be as peaceful,” Cole promised with a growl before sealing his promise with a bruising kiss.
It was a kiss that left me breathless and curled my toes. With my face cupped in his hands, Cole kissed like a starved man. But it wasn’t enough. I slid closer to him, needing more.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmured against my neck as he trailed wet kisses down the column of my throat.
I tilted my head back, giving him more room.
A moment ago, I was determined not to be another notch and now I wanted to whittle that bedpost down to a toothpick.
I wrapped my legs around his waist pulling him against me, gasping when I felt his hardness pressed against my hot center.
Suddenly, coffee wasn’t the focus of my morning.
“C-C-Cole,” I panted as he skated his hand down my side and along my rib cage setting every nerve ending alight.
“Yeah, sweetheart,” he drawled, pulling back and looking at me with dark eyes.
“I have a question.”
“Shoot.”
“You said you were a gentleman in every room in this house except one …”
Cole didn’t answer. Instead, he picked me up like I weighed nothing at all, tossed me over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry, and headed out of the kitchen.
“Where are you taking me?” I giggled only to get a slap on the ass that flooded my panties.
“You’ll see,” Cole said, his words laced with promise.
A few short strides later and with all the blood rushing to my head from being upside down, Cole came to a stop.
Another slap landed on my ass, surprising me. “Showing you,” Cole growled and kicked open the door.