His eyes drop to my mouth, then lower. “Then I’ll start with the one I’m best at.”
He kisses me again, slower this time. Every inch of me lights up like I could come from just this and I hate how easily my body forgets every reason this is a bad idea.
I push at his chest, but it’s like pushing a brick wall. “Why should I believe you?” I breathe, my voice shaking. “You say you lied, but now you’re here saying you didn’t mean it.”
He braces a hand beside my head on the wall, trapping me between him and it. “Because I’m a fucking idiot, Hailey.” His other hand slides up, thumb tracing my jaw. “I told myself I didn’t want this. Didn’t want you. But every damn night since that elevator, I can’t stop seeing you.”
The air between us crackles. His confession hangs between us. He leans closer, his mouth brushing the edge of my ear. “You drive me insane.”
I shiver. “Good.”
That pulls a low, dangerous laugh from him. “You’ve got a smart mouth.”
He kisses down my neck and I gasp when his teeth graze my skin. He murmurs something against my throat about the taste of my skin. His hands are everywhere now—spanning my waist, sliding down to the curve of my hips, gripping me like he’s afraid to let go this time.
My back hits the edge of the kitchen island before I realize we’ve moved. He presses closer, his breath ragged.
“You need to ask for my forgiveness first,” I manage, my voice trembling but defiant.
That gets a flash of a grin. “Oh, sweetheart,” he says, voice gone dark. “I’ll do better than ask.”
He kicks off his boots, the thud echoing against the cabinets. He drops to his knees in front of me, eyes locked on mine, reverent and filthy all at once.
“Cole—” I lift my leg, pressing my bare foot against his chest.
“I’ll gladly beg,” he murmurs. “But I’d rather earn it.”
I swallow hard, heartbeat wild. “And how exactly are you planning to do that?”
His hand wraps around my ankle, his thumb gently rubbing small circles. “Thought I’d start here,” he says, voice a shade lower. He drags my leg to the side, opening me, leaning in between my thighs. “And work my way up.”
He runs his nose up my inner thigh. Fire. That’s the only word that comes to mind to describe the instant burn I feel. I gasp, fingers gripping the edge of the island behind me. He inhales shamelessly at the edge of my panties and his eyes flutter shut like I’m the best thing he’s smelled in thirty-one years. And I know I’ve lost all my defenses.
“Then I’ll finish with my tongue inside you,” he murmurs, mouth right there. “Till you forget you were mad.”
My knees nearly buckle. “Oh God.”
He kisses over the thin cotton, slow, teasing, like he’s tasting me through it. I feel every hot press, every drag of his tongue against the material. My head falls back. He hooks his fingers in the waistband, and I help him, lifting so he can strip them down. He doesn’t even toss them to the side, instead letting them pool at my feet. He leans in, pressing one single kiss to my bare pussy, then stands. He looks around me to the island like he’s searching for something but then quickly reaches up and pulls his shirt over his head, tossing it onto the counter.
My eyes drop to his chest andoh my God, yes.His body is unlike any other man I’ve been with. In fact, he makes them look like boys. I reach my hand out almost instinctively, touching his thick pec that’s peppered with dark hair.
“Up,” he says, his hands on my waist as he lifts me, then places my bare ass on his shirt on the counter. “So you’re not cold,” he murmurs, kissing me softly. His tongue slides into my mouth just briefly before he’s pushing me to my back and spreading my legs over his shoulders. His hands clamp to mythighs, thumbs stroking my skin gently, holding me open and helpless.
“Wait.” My thighs attempt to close, but he pushes them farther open. “I—I didn’t shower after work and then the marketplace.”
His eyes flash to mine, his smile devious. “Even better.” He licks his lips slowly, his hands spreading me open fully now. “I want to taste you, not a shower.”
There’s no slow warm-up, no shy testing the waters. It’s just tongue, mouth, and heat right where I need it. I cry out, fingers diving into his hair. He groans into me like the sound turns him on, like the taste does, and it just… spirals.
He licks me like I’m dessert, like he came over here in a snowstorm for this and only this. Broad tongue up the center, then a soft suck on my clit that has my hips jerking. I’m muttering nonsense, begging, swearing. He just tightens his grip.
“That’s it,” he rasps against me. “Give it to me, baby.”
He turns his head slightly to change the angle, sliding one long, single finger deep inside me as his lips wrap around my clit.
I break. It crashes through me hot and fast, toes curling, belly pulling tight. I moan his name long and loud, but it trails off into nonsense. He groans like it’s the best reward, riding me through it, licking me through it. Lapping at my release like he can’t get enough.
I’m still shaking when he does it again.
