couldn’t stand would be the bucket of ice water her libido needed. After seeing her flushed face, Cole wouldn’t waste any time teasing her, and then they’d be back exactly where she needed them to be—at odds with each other.
But when she turned around, Cole didn’t taunt or tease. Didn’t ridicule or insult. Instead, he stared down at her as Nat directed them, his pale-blue eyes darker than Sadie had ever seen.
On Natalie’s command, Cole wrapped one of his hands around Sadie’s hip, his fingers digging into her lower back and guiding her closer so their bodies pressed tight together from the waist down. And, yep, she most definitely was not the only one still feeling the effects of this shoot. Parting his lips, he slid his other hand up her arm, over her shoulder, and to her neck, his thumb fanning against her cheek as his fingers delved into her hair.
Up this close, he smelled so damn good, like ocean air and sunshine, and she had the absolutely ridiculous urge to press her nose to his neck and breathe him in deep. Suck him into her body and keep him there forever.
“Good,” Nat said. “Now lean toward each other like you’re gonna kiss…”
Thank God Cole was following directions, because Sadie was frozen, her eyes wide and anxious as she looked up at him. Cole’s gaze, though, had turned heavy. Sultry. His eyes flicked from hers down to her lips and back again. They stood so close, their bodies pressed everywhere they could, and she could feel his exhales whispering across her mouth. Could taste the mint of his breath.
With one hand wrapped around his wrist, the other gripping the front of his shirt, she felt her eyes flutter closed without her permission, her lips parting as she finally gave in to this crazy chemistry between them and prepared for his kiss.
“Perfect! You guys were awesome. I think I have everything I need,” Nat said, snapping Sadie out of her stupor.
She jerked back, nearly tripping over her dress’s train, and Cole reached out to steady her, but she shook him off, unable to meet his eyes. “Great! Great. That’s…great.”
Well, that was fantastic—this whole situation had apparently zapped every ounce of her intellect so she could only say great. What was not great was that she’d very clearly lost her mind and nearly kissed Cole freaking Donovan during an extremely fictional photo shoot. She was an idiot.
“It was better than great,” Nat said, stuffing her camera and lenses into her bag. “It was amazing. Don’t you think, Cole?”
Sadie refused to look at the man her cousin spoke to. The one who’d so easily blown all of Sadie’s defenses out of the water, erasing three years of animosity with a single afternoon of close contact.
“Um, if we’re done,” Sadie interrupted before Cole could answer, “I’m freezin’, so I’m gonna go on in and get changed.”
Without waiting for a response, Sadie hiked up her nearly indecent dress and fled into the inn with the single ounce of dignity she had left.
Chapter Five
Hours later, Cole sat in the plush armchair in his suite, looking out the window toward the gazebo on the grounds, white lights twinkling under the pitch black of the night sky. Remembering the feel of Sadie’s curves against him as they’d stood there, closer than they’d ever been. He should have been embarrassed for how his body had betrayed him, his cock growing thick and hard the second he’d seen her walk out in that dress. But the truth was, his reaction was nothing new. He’d been drawn to her from the first moment he’d noticed her when he’d moved to town, smiling brilliantly at someone in the Square. As soon as she’d turned that grin his way, it’d knocked him on his proverbial ass.
Their distant attraction had continued until the day they’d officially met outside the courthouse. Recognition had lit her gaze before realization dawned. He’d sworn he could see her eyes shuttering right there in front of him. As he’d glanced between her and her sister—before Elise had started dyeing her hair, their appearances had been similar though he’d never had any trouble telling them apart—he could feel her disdain practically rolling off her.
From that day on, every heated glance toward him was filled with nothing but malice and hate. And he couldn’t even blame her. Cole prided himself on a job well done, and he’d lived up to that when he represented her former brother-in-law. Had done that