Page 14 of Lethal

Suddenly, I’m lifted off Vander, floating through the air until I’m deposited on a lap on the next lounger. Cole’s arms wrap around me, squeezing so tightly, air rushes from my lungs, and I find it impossible to take a breath in. He buries his face in my neck, taking his fill of my scent from the way he inhales.

“Cole,” Vander growls, his anger clear in the single word. “We agreed since you were an idiot, I’d get to see her first.”

“And you did,” Cole snaps back, lifting his head to glare at Vander. “I never said how long I’d wait.”

My back stiffens. The familiar smooth tone of my stalker filling my ears. Cole’s British accent nowhere to be found. Vander notices my reaction first, and he lets out a resigned sigh. “I’ll leave you two alone.” He stands and cups my face, leaning over to give me a toe curling kiss, not caring at the fact I’m in Cole’s lap. “Don’t go easy on him. Lord knows he was a pain in my ass and deserves it.”

Vander walks away, moving to enter the house with the others, leaving me alone with Cole. “Raven.” The word is but a reverent whisper on his lips. He moves, placing me where he was sitting and shifts so he’s kneeling between my legs. I let him gather my hands and cradle them to his chest. “I’m a cold, unfeeling, emotionless man… It’s who I am with everyone else, but not with you, never with you.”

I’m being stubborn, not wanting to look at him, but his words demand my attention. A need to search for how sincere he is takes over me, it’s something I can’t ignore even if I wanted. His gaze remains fixed on me, but I don’t know how much I can trust the sincerity I find there. Cole and I are far too similar. He’s well acquainted with faking his emotions.

So is this the truth? Or all an act?

I’m not sure there’s anything he can do to make me trust him. Either I do, or I don’t… I have to decide. Yes, or no. You have to pick, Raven.

Cole’s hand flashes out and grips my throat, commanding all my focus. He lifts me from the lounger and turns my body so my back is pressed against his front. His lips brush against my ear as he nuzzles against the side of my head. “Focus, Raven. Don’t make me get Grayson so I can force him to work his magic.”

My thoughts instantly go to when Grayson tied me up, forcing me to stay in the moment and concentrate only on him, instead of my spiraling thoughts. Kinda like what I’m doing right now. Cole’s hand squeezes. It’s a small reminder to pay attention to him, as if he knows the direction my mind went.

“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” His other hand bands around my waist, holding me tight. I lean my head back on his shoulder, giving in to the sensation of him propping me up, taking the burden of my thoughts onto himself. Because that’s what it feels like. Like he’s taking the weight of the world from me simply by the way he holds me.

“I don’t know if I can trust you or not.” My arms wrap around my middle, before shifting down to touch him where he instinctively tightens his grip.

“Why, Countess?” He moves us to the pool, stepping in slowly, the water cooling my sun-kissed skin the deeper he takes me.

I scoff. “What haven’t you done? You left. Decided to say ‘fuck you’ to your family and ran off to kill without me. You hid the fact you were my stalker. Your accent is suddenly missing. You fucked me and didn’t have piercings, now you suddenly do.” I run out of examples, even though it feels like I have a million more I should be able to offer up right now.

His thumb rubs soothingly back and forth on the side of my throat. The comforting weight of his hand resting there gives me the sensation I can let everything go, the weightlessness of my body in the water adding to it. He releases my waist, encouraging me to float while keeping my head on his shoulder.

“And those things make you feel like you can’t trust me?”

My fingers twitch, wanting to grasp a knife. How the fuck isn’t he getting this? “You lied to me, Cole. About more things than I’ll ever know.” I put my arms out, using them to help me float on the surface.

The vibration of him chuckling shakes my head where it rests against his shoulder. “Now you know the truth, Raven. I have no more secrets I want to keep from you. Ask me anything, I’m an open book.”

“Even if you answer my questions, how can I trust what you’re telling me?”

“Why wouldn’t you be able to?” The man is insistent about wanting to get to the bottom of things, that’s for sure. Even though I don’t want to share my reasoning, I do it anyway, before I can grow weary of his pestering. I can already see he’s like a dog with a bone right now.

“Because you’re as good as me at faking emotions. How do I know you’re telling the truth? How do I know you mean it?”

Cole hums in understanding and kisses my cheek. “Was my confession not enough for you? I’m that man with everyone else. But you own my soul. I can’t deceive you. It would go against every fiber of my being. And we both know psychopaths only care about themselves. I’m a selfish man. But not when it comes to you. You’re the exception to every single fucking rule.”

His hand leaves my throat, and I instantly miss the calming effect it has on me. Maybe the fact I’m so comfortable putting my life in the palm of his hand, literally, means something…

He turns me in his hold until I’m facing him. Cole moves my arms to wrap around his shoulders, my nipples brushing against his soaked shirt, reminding me that Vander ruined my top. I hold on to him, finding his pleading gaze. The tender touch of his fingertips glides along my side and down my legs, encouraging me to wrap them around his waist.

“What are you doing?” I whisper, as his hands raise to my face, holding me so damn tenderly it hurts. The air around us seems to still, telling me how serious things have turned.

“I want us to see each other for the rest of this conversation.” He licks his lips, our eyes locked together. “We don’t experience emotions like everyone else. But everything in me says what I feel for you is my personal version of love. I’m devoted to you. You’re my everything. My reason for existing. Without you, I’m nothing. You’re my obsession.”

His lips brush against mine in a hint of a kiss. “And I think you feel the same way. I fucked up. But we can work through my mistakes, because we can’t live without each other. We’re two halves of a whole. I’d be broken beyond repair without you.”

He pauses, as if thinking about what he said, and his brows furrow. The act showing me this isn’t something he scripted ahead of time. He gives a self-deprecating laugh. “Shit. I didn’t realize how true that is until now. I was a worthless man the three days I wasn’t by your side. The only thing I was good for was mindless killing. I didn’t even enjoy it as much as I normally do. I need you more than I ever realized. Please forgive me, and know I’ll never make that mistake again. I’ll never leave your side again.”

Cole is right, we are the same, which is how I know he’s speaking the truth. It’s hidden in the part of his soul I own. “You even attempt to leave me again, and I’ll aim for your heart instead of your leg. Don’t test me.”

The smile he gives me makes my pussy flutter. Down, girl, he still needs to be punished.

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