Page 55 of The Plus One Professional

There was that sound again. However, this time, it held a more observatory tone. He didn’t seem at all surprised.

“That’s how long it’s been for me, too.”

I chuckled, sure that he had to be joking. I’d seen the way women and men looked at him. Their age didn’t seem to matter; he charmed and attracted everyone, from teenagers to the elderly. When he walked into a room, everyone took notice.

I’d witnessed women flirting with him relentlessly. I’d observed phone numbers being slipped to him. I’d clocked women’s not-so-subtle invitations to meet them in a dark corner, bathroom, and once in a car outside.

When his face remained steadfast, my smile slipped. “Wait, are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“Youhaven’t had sex with anyone in two years?”

He shook his head.

“Why not?”

His lips curled up, and he turned his head, revealing the deep dimple in his left cheek. The indention in his face did funny things to my insides. “I just haven’t been in the right headspace.”

Touché, I thought to myself.

“What about you?” He moved to the center of the spa, and my breath caught in my throat. The water hit him mid-chest, which meant his broad shoulders and chiseled biceps were on display. His large hands rested on the edge of the deck, caging me in his arms. “Why haven’tyoubeen with anyone in two years?”

I had to tilt my chin up to meet his eyes. When I did, the look in them stole all the oxygen around me. Not that it would matter anyway. I completely forgot how to breathe. Who needed air when Cole was this close to me? Cole wasn’t touching me, but his entire body surrounded me, below and above the water. And I loved it. I loved feeling cocooned by him.

Speak, I told myself. He’d asked me a question. What was the question? Oh, right, why haven’t I had sex in the past two years? The only response I could think of was to say that it was because I’d been waiting for him. But that seemed very OTT, which I’d learned from Trevor meant over the top.

The arousal coursing through me must have drained all of my brainpower. All I could think to say was, “I just haven’t been in the right headspace.”

He’d stolen my answer; it was only fair I took it back.

“Oh, yeah?” he grinned.

Not trusting myself to speak again for fear that if I opened my mouth, I would beg him to kiss me, to touch me, so I nodded in response.

His hand moved from the side of the spa, and his fingers tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. It was the same thing he’d done when we’d been stuck in the bathroom. I closed my eyes, loving the feeling of his work-worn fingertips brushing against my forehead and the rim of my ear.

“And what about here, with me, now?” he rasped. I opened my eyes. “Where’s your head at now?”

“It’s warming to the thought.”

“Just warming, huh?” He chuckled. “Maybe another kiss would help tip the scales in my favor.”

The moment he said the word kiss, the playful atmosphere changed to something much more electrically charged. Inside, I was jumping up and down, but I did my best not to show my eager enthusiasm.

Play it cool, I reminded myself. WWOD? What Would Olivia Do?

Channeling my inner bestie, I shrugged my right shoulder in an attempt to sound nonchalant and unaffected. “I guess it’s worth a try.”

My attempt to lighten the mood and cut the sexual tension was a huge fail. The intensity in his eyes went from making me hot to thinking I might spontaneously combust.

He closed the distance between us. His hands cupped my face, and his mouth lowered onto mine. Unlike the kiss we’d shared in the courtyard, surrounded by people, which was tender, measured, and sweet, this one was raw, urgent, and primal.

His tongue slid into my mouth, crashing against mine with feral intensity. Urgency roared inside of me as he possessed me. I’d never experienced a kiss like it. It was all-consuming. I lost myself in the rhythm of his sensual exploration.

I heard myself whimpering into his mouth with desperation as my arms wrapped around his neck and his hands gripped my ass cheeks. He moved between my legs, tugging me closer to him. My body moved through the water until it was flush up against him. The hard evidence of his arousal pressed against my core, and my hips jerked to feel more of it.

He stood, his hands still gripping my hips as he lifted me out of the water. I closed my eyes and buried my face in the crook of his neck. I expected him to get out of the spa, but he stayed in, setting me on the edge of the jacuzzi. My feet and calves were still dangling in the water. I was still acclimating to what was happening when his large hands ran up my inner thighs, spreading my legs farther apart. The roughened pads of his fingers sent thrills racing up my body.

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