Chapter 5 #2
He makes a sound low in his throat and stands, pulling me with him. “Bedroom.”
I nod.
He leads me down the hallway to the guest room. The bedding is messed up since I woke up wondering what was going on. Quickly, he straightens everything, pulls back the covers, and dims the lamp.
“Better,” he says. “I want to see you, but I want you to be comfortable.”
“Okay.”
He cups my face. “Last chance to change your mind.”
“I’m not changing my mind.”
“Okay.” He kisses me again, slower this time. Thorough. Learning my mouth and my responses.
His hands move under the hem of the thermal shirt, and I gasp at the contact. Rough palm against my ribs, moving up slowly.
“Cold?” he asks against my mouth.
“No. Nervous. But good.”
“Tell me if that changes.”
“I will.”
He sits back on his heels and pulls his flannel off, then the T-shirt underneath in one smooth motion.
I stare.
Broad chest. Defined muscles that speak to years of physical work and hard living.
Scars, some surgical in neat lines, others jagged like stories written on his skin.
Dark hair trails down his stomach and disappears beneath his jeans, and lower, the clear outline of his arousal strains against denim.
My belly tightens with want. My mouth goes dry.
“Your turn.” His voice is gravelly.
I sit up and pull the thermal over my head. My sports bra is plain, nothing fancy. I resist the urge to cover myself, to apologize for not being…
“Beautiful.” His eyes darken, and his gaze tracks over me like a physical touch.
My skin prickles everywhere he looks. “I’m not—”
“You are.” He kisses my shoulder. My collarbone. The hollow of my throat. Each touch is reverent. “Every part of you.”
My breath comes faster.
His hands go to my waist, his thumbs brushing the skin above the thermals. “Can I?”
“Yes.”
He peels the pants down slowly, taking his time. When I’m in only my underwear, he looks at me. Really looks. Not leering or clinical. Appreciative.
“You’re staring,” I say.
“Yeah. I am.” He meets my gaze. “Because you’re stunning and I want to remember this.”
“Cole—”
“My turn.”
He stands, unbuttons his jeans, and steps out of them. His dark gray boxer briefs do nothing to hide his arousal.
Cole climbs onto the bed, gathering me close. His skin against mine steals my breath. “Still okay?”
“Yes. More than okay.”
He kisses me again, deeper now, and his hands explore down my back and over my hips, tracing patterns that make me squirm.
When his fingers hook into my underwear, he stops. “Yes?”
“Yes.”
He slides them down, and I help, kicking them off. His eyes track the movement like he’s memorizing every inch of revealed skin.
I reach for his, and he lifts his hips, letting me take them off him.
Then we are naked. Both of us.
My breath steadies. I don’t want to cover myself. I want him to look.
He pulls the quilt over us, cocooning us in warmth. “We don’t have to do anything else. This is enough.”
“I want more.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure, Cole. I want you. I want this. I want to know what it feels like to be with someone who sees me.”
He kisses me again, harder this time, and his hand slides between my legs.
I gasp.
His fingers find my center, exploring gently. “Good?”
“Already wet.”
“Cole…”
He rubs slow circles that make my hips roll forward, seeking more. “You’re so ready.”
“For you. Only for you.”
“Yeah, baby. Only for me.” He drags one finger through my folds before circling my clit. My back arches. “I love watching you react to my touch.”
Pleasure sparks through me with every pass of his fingers. He builds a rhythm: slow circles, then faster ones, then slow again.
“Please—”
“Not yet.” He slides one finger inside me, and my body clenches around the intrusion. “Easy. Let me work.”
He pumps slowly, working me open before adding a second finger. He finds a spot inside, and my hips lift off the bed.
“That’s it.” His voice is rough. “Show me what you need.”
“Cole… I’m close…”
“What do you need, baby? Tell me.”
“Don’t stop… Please don’t stop.”
His thumb finds my clit again while his fingers work inside me, and the dual sensation has me climbing fast. His fingers curl, hitting that perfect spot while his thumb maintains steady pressure. Pleasure coils tight in my belly, winding tighter until I can’t breathe.
“That’s it.” He moves down my body, his mouth trailing kisses over my stomach, my hip bones, and the inside of my thighs. His breath is hot against my skin, making me shiver.
When his mouth finally finds my core, I arch my back off the bed. His tongue explores slowly, thoroughly, learning what makes me gasp, and my hips lift again, seeking more.
“Cole—”
“Relax, baby. Let me take care of you.”
He licks broad and slow, then focuses on my clit with gentle suction that makes me see stars.
“You taste good.”
The praise, combined with the sensation, builds heat even faster.
My hands fist in his hair. My thighs tremble on either side of his head. I’ve never felt anything like this focused attention, deliberate care, and overwhelming pleasure.
“That’s it,” he encourages. “Don’t hold back.”
The climax hits, and I cry out as pleasure crashes through me in waves. He doesn’t stop but gentles his touch, drawing it out, prolonging every aftershock until I’m boneless and gasping.
He presses a kiss to my inner thigh. “Beautiful.”
Cole moves back up my body, pressing kisses along my skin. When he reaches my mouth, I taste myself on his lips.
“You okay?” he asks.
“More than okay.” My voice is shaky. “That was...”
“Just the beginning.” He reaches for the nightstand and pulls out a condom. Tears it open and rolls it on.
“How do you want me?” he asks.
“I… what?”
“You’re in charge tonight. Tell me what you want.”
Heat floods my face, but I don’t look away. “I want…” I gather courage. “I want to be on top. Want to watch you. Want to see your face when I take you.”
His eyes flare, pupils blown wide. “Yeah. Take what you need, baby. Take everything.”
He lies back, and I straddle him, my hands braced on his chest. He grips my hips, his thumbs stroking circles on my skin.
I reach between us and position him at my entrance. Then I sink down slowly.
The stretch is even more intense than before and overwhelming in the best way. I pause, adjusting to take him inch by inch, feeling every ridge, every pulse, the heat of him filling me completely.
His eyes squeeze shut, his throat working as he fights for control. “Holly—”
“Look at me.”
He does, and the intensity in his gaze steals my breath. Raw need, barely controlled desire, and something deeper that makes my chest ache.
When I’m fully seated, we both stop. His hands grip my hips. My thighs tremble from the effort of staying still. The fullness is almost too much.
“Move,” he grits out. “Please, baby. I need you to move.”
I lift slowly, pulling almost all the way off, then sink back down. The drag of him inside me, the friction and the angle sparks pleasure up my spine.
I do it again and again. Finding a rhythm that works, learning what makes him groan and what makes his fingers dig into my flesh.
I pick up the pace, chasing the sensation. His body fills me deep at this angle, stretching me, making me feel claimed from the inside out. My hands brace on his chest for leverage, nails digging into muscle as I ride him harder.
“That’s it.” His hands grip my hips tighter, guiding me. “Take what you need.”
I do.
“You feel so good,” he grits out. “Made for me.”
“Yours.” I gasp. “Only yours.”
His thumb finds my clit and circles with the perfect pressure. “Come for me, baby. I want to feel you.”
I cry out his name, clenching around him.
He moves with me, his hips rising to meet mine. The rhythm builds between us, natural and perfect. His thumb on my clit, his body filling me, the way he looks at me like I’m everything.
“Mine,” he says. “Say it.”
“Yours. I’m yours.”
“That’s right.” His voice breaks. “My girl. Mine to keep. Mine to love.”
The words, combined with the pressure of his thumb and the fullness of him inside me, send me over the edge. I cry out his name, clenching around him.
He follows seconds later, hips jerking, his face buried in my neck, groaning my name like a prayer as he comes.
We collapse together, breathing hard.
“That was…” I can’t finish the sentence.
“Yeah.”
He pulls out carefully, and I wince at the sensitivity. He kisses my forehead, then disposes of the condom and returns with a warm washcloth. He cleans me gently, reverently, checking my face for discomfort with every touch.
“You okay?” he asks. “Sore?”
“A little. Good sore.”
“I wasn’t too rough?”
“You were perfect. Exactly what I needed.”
His shoulders relax, his breathing steadying. “Need anything? Water? Tea? Food?”
“You.”
He climbs into bed and pulls me close, tucking the quilt around us. I rest my head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat.
We lie in silence, his fingers tracing lazy patterns on my shoulder.
“Holly?”
“Yeah?”
“What happens tomorrow?” His voice is quiet. Careful.
My insides twist. “What do you mean?”
“When the roads are clear. When you go back to town.” He pauses. “Is this… was this because we were stuck up here?”
I push up on my elbow to look at him. “Do you think that’s what this was?”
“No. But I need to know what you think.”
I take a breath. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone. You scare me and make me feel safe at the same time.” My voice drops. “I think I don’t want this to end.”
His hand cups my face. “Neither do I.”
“But?”
“But I live on a mountain. You live in town. I’m...” He struggles. “I’m not easy to be with. I’m too quiet. Too private. I have days when the grief comes back, and I can’t function. I…”
I press my fingers to his lips. “Stop.”
“Holly—”
“I don’t need you to be easy. I need you to be you. The man who walked out in a storm for my grandmother’s recipes. The man who hung Christmas lights because I made cookies in his kitchen. The man who chose me on purpose.”
His throat works. “You’re sure?”
“I’m sure. Are you?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything.” He pulls me down for a kiss. Soft. Sweet. Full of promise. “We’ll figure it out. The distance. The differences. All of it.”
I smile. “Good.”
He tightens his arms around me. “I’m never letting you go, Holly. You’re stuck with me.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
My phone buzzes on the nightstand.
We both freeze.
I reach for my phone. It’s a text.
Sophie: Road crew just finished the main route. Should be clear to town by mid-morning.
I show Cole the screen.
His jaw tightens. “Sooner than I thought.”
“Yeah.” My throat is tight. “Time to go back.”
“Yeah.” He pulls me closer. “But Holly?”
“Yeah?”
“Tomorrow we face the daylight.” His voice is low. “I’ll be at your side.”
I nod against his chest, wanting to believe him, but uncertainty coils in my stomach.
I’m still not sure what happens when we face real life. Friends. Questions. His privacy. My job at the business association and all the volunteer commitments that come with that.
“Sleep.” He presses a kiss to my hair. “We’ll figure it out. The distance. The differences. All of it.”