Chapter 18 #2
His mouth tips in a slow smile. “Smart-ass.” He pushes off the dresser, crossing the room in two long strides. “You really wore that dress knowing you were gonna see me?”
“I didn’t wear it for you.”
He reaches out, dragging the backs of his fingers down my arm, making me shiver. “Bullshit.”
My voice falters. “So? What if I did?”
“I like that.” His hand travels up my arm to my neck. “I like that you think about me.” He watches his fingers as they trace the outline of my jaw. “I think about you… a lot more than I thought I would. A lot more than I probably should.”
My breath catches. “And is that a bad thing?”
“No.” He steps closer, his nose running along my jaw. “It doesn’t feel like it is.”
“Cole—”
He cuts me off with a kiss that’s rough and claiming, tasting of beer and the last few hours of self-restraint he’s been exhibiting. I melt into the kiss, my hands sliding up his chest, my body pressed flush against his.
His hand slides farther up, gripping the back of my neck, the other fisting in the skirt of my dress like he’s seconds from tearing it.
The sound I make against his mouth only spurs him on.
I can feel his pulse racing against my lips when I press a kiss to his jaw, and he groans like the sound alone could give us away.
“Lock the door,” I whisper.
“No one’s coming up here,” he murmurs before pressing me backward until the back of my knees hit the bed.
“This is insane,” I breathe. “Someone will notice us gone.”
“Yeah,” he says, low and rough. “But you’re already here.”
His mouth finds mine again. There’s no teasing this time, no pause for second thoughts. His hands slide up my thighs, pushing the hem of my dress higher until cool air skims my skin. When his fingers hook into my panties, I stop breathing.
“Cole—” It’s half plea, half warning.
“Shh,” he mutters against my lips. “I’ve been thinking about this all night.”
He sinks to his knees, and the sight of him looking up at me undoes me. He spreads my thighs, taking a second to admire me first, and then his mouth is on me with long, slow, wicked licks. I grab at his shoulders, desperate to keep quiet, but a groan escapes anyway.
He lifts his head just enough to smirk. “You gotta stay quiet, remember?”
“I can’t—” The rest of the words melt into a moan when his tongue slides against me again. My fingers tangle in his hair, the music and laughter from downstairs blurring into white noise. He doesn’t give me any chance to catch my breath. He licks and sucks at me like his life depends on it.
When I come, it’s fast and hard, my body almost convulsing.
He rises immediately, catching my face in his hand, kissing me hard, letting me taste exactly what he just did to me.
His belt clicks open, and then he’s inside me before I can think, one arm circling my waist, the other covering my mouth as a strangled cry breaks free.
“Easy,” he grits out, his breath rough against my ear. “You’re gonna get us caught.”
My muffled answer vibrates against his palm, my nails digging into his back. Each thrust pushes words out of me that can’t make it past his hand, just muffled sound. When he finally loses control, it’s silent except for his low curse muffled against my skin.
He stays pressed against me for a second, both of us shaking, before he pulls back. His hand falls from my mouth, thumb brushing my lower lip.
“You okay?” His voice is gentler now, hoarse.
I nod, still catching my breath. “I can’t believe we just had sex in your old bedroom.”
He grins, planting a gentle kiss to my temple. “Me neither.”
We both fall into quiet laughter when a floorboard creaks outside the door. Both of us freeze.
“Cole?” Maddie’s voice floats down the hall, getting closer. “Mom’s looking for you!”
Panic floods me. My dress is still bunched up around my hips, his pants undone.
He’s across the room in two strides, hand braced on the doorknob. “Be right there!” he calls, voice a full octave too casual. Then quieter, to me, he says, “Don’t. Move.”
I try not to laugh but it bursts out anyway, muffled behind my hand. My heart’s still hammering. Every nerve in my body is alive.
Maddie’s footsteps pause right outside. “You okay in there?”
“Yeah,” he says smoothly. “Just grabbing something.”
There’s a beat, then she hums. “You’re missing the reindeer game tournament.”
“Tell Mom I’ll be down in a sec.”
We both hold still until the creak of her steps fades down the hall. I exhale, shoulders sagging, adrenaline spiking all over again.
“Oh my God,” I whisper, collapsing back on the bed, chuckling. “We almost died.”
Cole turns, a smirk tugging at his mouth. “You almost got us killed. You don’t exactly whisper when you come.”
“You had your hand over my mouth!”
He steps closer, leaning over me, voice low enough to make me shiver. “And yet I fucked you so good, it still wasn’t enough.”
“Cocky,” I mutter, but my smile gives me away.
He tucks a stray curl behind my ear, the gesture tender enough to steal my breath. “Stay up here a few minutes, then come down. I’ll go first.”
I nod. “And if someone asks where you were?”
He flashes that slow grin. “I’ll tell them I was taking out the trash.”
I bite my lip, laughing quietly. The door clicks shut. I press my palm to my flushed cheek, still tasting him on my lips, knowing I’ll never hear “White Christmas” the same way again.