My eyes drift over to the door, where I find Cole engaged in a conversation with Austin. All of the patrons have since left and it's only a few of us still here. Vera watches her assistant as she writes something down in her notebook at the front desk.
My heart is so full, it's overflowing with love and adoration from everyone tonight.
Cole walks up to me, a smile spreading across his entire face. “I'm so proud of you, El,” he tells me as he stops in front of me. “I know it's getting late, but since neither of us have eaten, do you want to go get dinner with me?”
I shake my head at him. His eyebrows pull together and he waits for me to explain. My throat bobs and I swallow. “Do you remember that date you talked about taking me out on?”
His eyes widen and excitement washes over his irises. “I told you if I took you on a date, it would be proper and planned.”
“Are we limited to only one date?”
He smiles brightly. “Absolutely not. I'll take you on as many dates as you'll allow.”
“Okay, good,” I say, smiling as I look up at him. “I think I'd like to go out on a date with you tonight.”
He stares at me for a moment. “You think or you know?”
“I know.”
I do know–I know it's him.
And it will always be him.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
COLE
Ella's back presses into the door and I plant my palm alongside her head, pushing it against the wood, caging her in. My mouth drops down to hers in an instant and I drink her in, stealing the air from her lungs. Her hands tangle in my hair and she holds my face down to hers as my lips move against her mouth. Gone are the soft and tender kisses. Instead, we're both caught in an intense race to the top. To the abyss of euphoria when I dive deep inside of her and slam into her until she's screaming my name.
Her fingers tug on my hair and I nip at her bottom lip, urging her to open her mouth with my tongue. She doesn't hesitate and kisses me back in a bruising, demanding manner. Her teeth clash against mine as she strips me bare. I've never been more vulnerable and exposed than I am with Ella Daniels and I don't even fucking care.
I'll gladly bare my entire soul, stripped of skin and bone for her. She can have every last piece of me. I'm beginning to fear I'm nothing without her.
“We should probably go inside,” Ella breathes against my mouth, only breaking our kiss to murmur the words before her tongue slides against mine once more. We're tangled up in oneanother, completely consumed and completely lost. I want to drown in her.
“Or I can bend you over the railing and fuck you right here,” I quip.
Ella laughs softly against my mouth as she tugs on my hair once more. “I don't think your brothers would appreciate a show like that.”
“Fuck them,” I growl, nipping at her bottom lip. “I dare them to look at what's mine.”
She lets out a ragged breath. “Is that what I am?”
“Damn right,” I murmur, sliding my hands under the straps of her dress before pushing them down her arms. “Let me get you inside and show you just how much you are mine.”
Ella turns around in my arms, taking my keys from me and drops her hand down to the doorknob as she unlocks it and pushes the door open. She turns back around to face me, an intense need burning deeply in her eyes as she reaches for me. She grabs my tie, pulling me towards her as she pulls me into the house and kicks the door shut behind me.
She leads me into the house and I don't protest as I tell her where my bedroom is. My steps don't falter and I follow after her until she releases her grip on my tie as she steps into the room. I pause in the doorway, my eyes glued to her as she slips out of her dress, letting it fall onto the floor. A groan rumbles in my chest. She's not wearing a bra or any panties. Ella glances over her shoulder before she moves to stand by the bed.
My hand drops to my pants and I quickly undo them, pushing them down to the floor before I step out of them. I reach for the buttons of my shirt and unbutton them as fast as I can as I watch Ella turn around to face me. Mischief dances with lust in her eyes and she watches me with a hooded gaze as I strip down until I'm completely naked.
I reach her, my hand sliding along the nape of her neck, lifting her hair. “You're so goddamn beautiful, Ella.”
Her eyes search mine as she lifts her hands to my chest. Her lips part as if she's going to say something, but I silence her with my lips, stealing the words from her tongue. She plants her hands against me, spinning me around so I'm the one whose back is to the bed now. She breaks away from me, giving me a gentle shove until I'm flush against the mattress.
“Scoot up to the headboard,” she instructs as she bends for a second. I don't protest or dare question her as I move to exactly where she tells me to go. A smile lifts the corners of her lips as she holds up my tie and begins to walk toward me. “I want to try something. Can we do that?”
“You can do whatever the hell you want to me, El,” I breathe, my chest expanding as she climbs onto her knees on the bed. “I'll never tell you no.”
