But what if I don't have to be less anymore? What if I can be more?
The realization crashes over me like a wave. I unbuckle my seatbelt, my hands steadier now, my decision made. I slide out of the passenger seat and open the back door.
The leather of the backseat is cool against my legs as I settle in. Through the gap between the front seats, I meet Cole's eyes in the rearview mirror. They're dark with hunger, with need. Mirroring my own.
"Come here, Cole. That's an order."
4
COLE
"You heard right. Come here, Cole. That's an order."
Meredith's words knock the air out of me. My fingers curl around the steering wheel as I stare at her through the rearview mirror. Meredith's eyes are dark pools of want, and she sucks her bottom lip between her teeth. The same lips that just commanded me into the backseat with her.
Fuck.
She just ordered me again. Something about the way this pampered heiress thinks she can boss me around makes my cock strain against my zipper. Two years of restraint, and she breaks me with six little words.
What am I saying? She broke me yesterday.
For half a second, I don't move. Can't move. If I go back there, there's no returning to what we were before. The professional line I've maintained will disintegrate. But who am I kidding? That line disappeared the moment I pressed her against the wall last night.
We're in a parking lot. A public fucking parking lot. But it's the far corner, relatively secluded, and the windows are tinted dark enough that no one can see in unless they press their face to the glass. And right now, I don't give a damn if the entire board of Ashton Collective walks by.
I've waited two years for this woman. I'm not waiting another second.
I release my seatbelt and turn to face her. "You sure about this?"
She doesn't answer with words. Instead, she unbuttons the top of her blouse, exposing the creamy swell of her breasts. My restraint shatters. A man can only have so much.
I exit the driver's side and circle to the back door in record time. The few seconds it takes feels like an eternity. When I yank open the door, she's waiting, eyes gleaming with anticipation and a touch of nervousness.
Maneuvering my 6'3" frame into the backseat is a challenge, but I've done more difficult things for less reward. I fold myself in, closing the door behind me, and suddenly the air is thick with tension, so thick I can slice it with a butter knife. The space is confined, forcing us close together.
"Come here," I growl, reaching for her.
She slides toward me eagerly, and I pull her onto my lap. Meredith barely has time to settle when I capture her mouth with mine, urgent and hungry and demanding. Her lips part instantly, and I taste her, my tongue pumps in and out of her warm mouth.
She moans into my mouth, her hands work at the buttons of my shirt. I shrug out of my jacket and let it fall to the floorboard. Myfingers find the buttons of her blouse, and I undo them one by one, revealing more of her perfect skin.
When I push the fabric from her shoulders, she stiffens slightly. Her hands come up and hover as if she wants to cover herself. I pull back to look at her, and the uncertainty in her eyes makes me want to hunt down every person who ever made her doubt herself. Those eyes; kind but now also wanting.
"Don't," I say, my voice gravelly with want. I catch her hands in mine. "Don't hide from me."
She bites her lower lip. "I'm not?—"
"You're beautiful. The most beautiful woman in the world." I release her hands to trace my fingers along the lace edge of her bra. "Every single inch of you."
She laughs nervously. "You don't have to say that."
"I don't say shit I don't mean." I cup her breasts through her bra, watching her eyes flutter shut at my touch. "You're perfect. You've always been perfect."
I lean forward and press my lips to the swell of her breast. "Do you know how many nights I've dreamed about this? About you?"
Her breath hitches as I continue my exploration, trailing kisses across the top of her breasts.
"That time you wore that red dress? I had to excuse myself to the bathroom just to get my shit together."
