Page 34 of Cole's Command

Chapter Twelve

Eden

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IN THE LONG LIST OF reasons Eden’s mind should be crumbling at the caress, uppermost were the obvious concerns about her professionalism. She could lose her license to practice over this; everything she’d ever worked for could vanish in an instant. That was what she ‘should’ have been thinking.

Instead, as Cole’s lips crashed into hers, all she could think about was passion. The sudden heat and depth of feeling when his tongue delved into her mouth, the intoxicating scent of his earthy cologne as it enveloped her senses, and the guttural noise that escaped her own throat as she opened to receive him.

So, this is what desire tastes like?

Eden had never known anything like it, her entire life thus far a conveyor of study, examinations, and achievement. She’d known vaguely that sensations like this existed, had seen the odd romance movie and read the occasional paperback, but had never believed the yearnings fiction purported were true. Until now.

His fingers, tightening at the back of her neck, insisted otherwise as they held her steady and allowed his lips to claim her. His free hand brushed over her skirt, and though he hadn’t ordered it, her knees parted, silently inviting him between them.

In that one beautiful and protracted moment, there was nothing but feeling and the possibility of more—more times like this—ecstasy created between two people irrefutably attracted to each other, and for that one quivering period of time, it was enough.

But as he withdrew his departure burst the bubble.

Panic erupted in her mind, her heart thundering as Eden realized what she’d done. She’d succumbed; permitting the younger man who was her paying client to kiss her, and worse—she’d reveled in every moment of the intimacy.

Oh, my God. Throat drying, she shook free of his hands, rising to her feet as she struggled for composure. What am I thinking? He can finish me for this. I hardly even know him. What if he finishes me?

“I’m not going to finish you.” Cole’s tone was infuriatingly calm as he gazed up at her with those huge eyes. “Don’t think like that.”

“What?”

The room was starting to spin, the soft furnishings she’d so carefully selected melding into one as her brows knitted. Frantically, she tried to decide her best route to salvage her career; her limited options rotating in her mind like a merry-go-round. It took a clear moment for her to process what he’d said, to understand that he had somehow managed to answer a query she hadn’t even vocalized.

“Wait...” Her head pounded. “H-how did you do that?”

It was the last thing she should have been worried about. Her career was hanging by a thread and the man before her could rightfully end everything she had held dear for so long, but instead she had been stopped in her tracks by Cole’s uncanny ability to know and respond to things she hadn’t even said out loud.

“Know what you were thinking?” he asked, rising to his full height and towering over her.

“Y-yes.” Craning her neck to meet his eyes, she stumbled backward, almost losing her footing until he reached out and steadied her. “Thanks.”

“You’re okay.” His voice was so smooth, but as he neared, all Eden could think was how enormous he was. He’s so damn tall. She’d known that, hadn’t she? Yet she couldn’t recall standing beside him before until that moment.

“How is that possible?” She couldn’t clear her head, couldn’t ground herself enough to understand what had happened. How could he have known what she was thinking? It wasn’t possible.

“You look pale.” His brow furrowed as he signaled to the sofa behind him. “You should sit down again.”

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