Page 180 of Unspoken Rules

“Never has before.”

“Maybe you’ve never found anything perfect before.”

I step back, taking a seat on the stool near the island but stay facing Cole.

“Then what is this? What are we doing? Why are you here?”

Rapid-fire questions. Thanks, anxiety.

I should allow myself to get lost in Cole, but I learned once that isn’t safe. At least, not until we figure things out first.

“I’m here because I love you. Because I want us to be together,” he says.

Those words… I’ve wanted to hear those words for so long.

“How is that possible? You have a company on the other side of the country. Your life is there. I’ve made one here.”

“Long distance relationships work.”

“I don’t want a long distance relationship, Cole,” I argue.

He steps to me, cupping my cheeks and looking into my eyes. “Can we take this one step at a time? You’re getting ahead of yourself.”

I grit my teeth, fighting back the urge to argue with him because he’s right. I am getting ahead of myself because that’s what I do.

“Okay.”

He leans forward, pressing his hands to the island and boxing me in. His bright blue eyes meet mine. They look so hopeful. How the hell does he look so hopeful?

“Do you want to be with me, Bryson?”

“You know I do,” I answer quickly.

He shakes his head. “I don’t mean just be with me, I mean actually be with me. In a relationship. Are you willing to figure it out? To fight for it? To make this work?”

“What kind of question is that? Yes, of course.” I lick my lips and take a breath. “That’s what I’ve wanted this whole time.”

He leans in to kiss me. “Then that’s all we need for now.”

His hand moves to my nape, then around my neck and down my chest. His eyes follow his hand as he moves further down, sliding it around my waist.

“I want to be with you, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen. If you are too, that’s all we need. The rest we can figure out.” His eyes dart to mine again, and he smiles.

“Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be doing now?” I ask.

Cole raises a brow, dipping his fingers into the waistband of my pajama pants.

“Says who?”

I open my mouth, but I have nothing to say. Especially not when he tugs on my pants, freeing my dick that gets hard the moment he looks at it.

The man shouldn’t have this type of power over me.

Cole drops to his knees and drags his tongue down my shaft before gently sucking on my balls.

“Fuck,” I moan, leaning back. The counter top digs into my back, but I rest my elbows on the counter to hold myself up as Cole wraps his hand around my dick and strokes.

“What’s the fastest you’ve ever come, Bryson?” He runs his tongue along the crown of my dick.

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