Okay, probably not appropriate for this exact moment, but to be real—I did not land in bed with Bella stripped down to almost nothing by saying the right things. Not sure I can count on one hand the times I’ve said the right things in life.
Her fingers—along with her nails, dammit—press into my biceps and her face turns hard. “No, Cole. I’m apologizing because I allowed it to go this far. I should have told you sooner. I’ve just never gotten to this point with anyone.”
I know I’m not improving my averages when it comes to perfect words, but I can’t help it and I damn sure can’t keep the self-satisfying grin off my face. Despite what she admitted, I press my cock—that is now even hungrier—into her uncharted territory. “You mean, no one’s ever done this?”
Her panties were soaked when I slipped her jeans off fifteen minutes ago. By the look in her eyes, I know she feels it in her clit.
But she doesn’t answer.
I lean down to take her mouth—her lips might be as swollen as her clit is when I’m done. The need to taste every inch of her just shot through the roof.
I let her mouth go but our breaths are still entangled in a way that might leave a scar on my soul. “Why me?”
Her chest heaves below mine where I have her pressed into the hotel bed. She shakes her head. “I don’t know. You piss me off on a daily basis, Cole. Trust me, I’ve asked myself that same question.”
I slide my hand under her back and roll, pulling her on top of me. But my cock has no desire to lose contact, especially now, so I grab her behind the knees and pull them up my sides. “I’ll tell you why me.”
“For the love, you are a cocky arse. Yes, Cole Carson, please enlighten me as to why I’m here, close to naked, and have just admitted how I’ve never been like this before—with anyone—yet, for some reason you are the chosen one. Tell me. I cannot wait to hear.”
I slide my hands up her thighs and cup her ass, easily palming each beautiful globe as I file away all the wicked plans I had for them. They’re going to have to wait.
It can all wait.
“Because I challenge you. Because I respect you. Because you know I know how good you are at your job. I’ve even stood up for you over the last two months with assholes who have dismissed you because you’re young, beautiful, and they think you got where you are because of your name. And also because I’m hot and you turn into a knot of sexual frustration waiting to be untangled every time I brush a finger across your fair skin.”
Her golden hair curtains us and I’ve seen every emotion pass through the bright eyes I’ve tried my hardest not to get lost in over the last two achingly-long months.
She doesn’t argue, so I run a hand up her spine and press in, her tits molding to my chest. “For a little while there, I thought maybe you were into older men, but now I know that’s not the case. You’re only into me.”
“Cole—”
I shake my head and lift my hips, watching her breath catch. It might be the most fascinating thing I’ve ever experienced—to have complete control over something as complicated and spectacular as Isabella Donnelly. How I can control the oxygen that feeds her body and gives her life by what I do between her legs. And I plan to spend a lot of time there in the foreseeable future.
Who knows, maybe my unforeseeable future too.
I pop her bra clasp with a flick of my fingers and I’m well aware my actions do not mimic my words. “I’m going to slow things down, sweetness.”
I lose her eyes and she buries her face into my neck as her bra hangs slack. I drag my hands up her sides, brushing the small swell of her tits that are still pressed into me. Not sure I could be more obsessed with her body. She’s tall, lean, and strong, yet so very fucking female.
“No sex,” I announce and feel a smile spread across my skin. I dip my hand into the back of her panties and easily reach between her legs where she’s spread wide—open and ready—only for me. And like I knew from earlier, she’s wet. “But I am going