Page 43 of Echoes of Us
"Ashley."Her name was a warning on his lips, but his grip tightened on her waist."You don't want this.Not really."
"Don't tell me what I want."The words came out fiercer than she intended.She pushed up on her toes, bringing their faces closer, close enough to share breath."You don't know anything about me either, Cole Westwood."
Something dark and hungry flashed in his eyes.His hand fisted in her hair, not quite pulling, not quite gentle."No?"His voice had dropped to a rough whisper, and his other hand slid up her spine, making her arch closer."I know you'll regret this tomorrow."
"The only thing I'll regret," she breathed against his mouth, "is if you don't kiss me right now."
For a heartbeat, he hovered there, so close she could feel the heat of his mouth.Then he turned his head, his lips finding her neck instead.The first touch of his mouth against her pulse point made her gasp, fingers digging into his shoulders.
His grip tightened in her hair, tilting her head back further as he traced a burning path down her throat.She felt his teeth graze her collarbone, felt his free hand slide down to grip her hip, and suddenly her legs couldn't hold her.
Cole caught her, lifting her easily onto the table.Papers scattered, and a textbook thudded to the floor, but neither noticed.His hands slid up her thighs, pushing her skirt higher, and some distant part of her brain registered that this was why she'd avoided his touch all week - because once he started, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop.
"God, your legs," he groaned against her throat.His fingers dug into the flesh of her thighs, then slid higher, gripping her ass and pulling her to the edge of the table.The position brought her core against him, and she couldn't help but wrap her legs around his waist, trying to get closer.
"Yes," she gasped as he sucked hard at the junction of her neck and shoulder.Her hands found their way under his shirt, mapping the muscles of his back, remembering every plane and ridge she'd known so well in another life.
He felt her trembling and pulled back just enough to look at her.The raw need in his eyes stole her breath - but there was something else there, too, something uncertain.She reached for him without thinking, her heart so full of love and longing she couldn't contain it.
That's when everything shattered.
"It's not me you're seeing, is it?"His voice had gone cold."You're thinking of him."
"What?"She blinked, dazed."No, Cole-"
But he was already setting her away from him, his movements jerky and harsh."I won't be his stand-in, Ashley.I won't be anyone's second choice."
"You don't understand-"
"I understand perfectly."He stepped back, and the loss of his heat made her shiver."The way you look at me sometimes...you're seeing what you want to see.Who you want to see."His laugh was bitter."Let me guess - Dale's too much of a gentleman to make a move, so you thought you'd settle for the bad twin instead?"
"That's not-" But how could she explain?How could she tell him he was the only one she'd ever truly wanted, in this timeline or any other?
"Save it."He was already gathering his things, movements sharp with anger."We’re done studying.Good luck tomorrow."
"Cole, please-"
He paused at the door, his back to her.For a moment, she thought he might turn around.Instead, his shoulders stiffened."And Ashley?Next time you want to experiment with the wrong brother...don't."
The door clicked shut behind him with devastating finality.
She sat there for a long time, her skirt still rumpled, her neck bearing marks from his mouth, trying to figure out how everything had gone so terribly wrong.The irony of it made her want to laugh or maybe cry - Cole thought she wanted his brother when, in every possible version of her life, she'd only ever wanted him.
CHAPTER15
The lecture hall breathed with the collective anxiety of fifty students, their presence marked by squeaking chairs and nervous pen-tapping.Ancient wood paneling absorbed their whispers, reduced now to near-silence as the former TA's email about a family emergency was confirmed by Dale's unexpected presence at the front of the hall.He moved between the rows distributing exams, his careful movements so different from Cole's restless energy.
Ashley shifted in her rigid wooden seat, hyperaware of how her turtleneck pressed against the marks Cole had left.She'd chosen black despite the season's warmth, the fabric now damp at her collar.Each subtle movement brought fresh evidence of last night's spectacular unraveling.
She found her attention drifting to Dale despite herself.The way he held himself - the same height as Cole, same elegant hands, but where Cole moved like barely contained lightning, Dale's presence was all about quiet comfort.He'd rolled his sleeves up in the warm room, revealing forearms identical to his brother's, yet somehow softer.Less threatening.
When Dale passed her row, his cologne - woody, earthy and subtle, nothing like Cole's fresh dark scent - made her fingers clench around her pencil.His shadow fell across her exam booklet as he paused, probably noting her white-knuckled grip.
"You’ve got this," he whispered, too quietly for anyone else to hear, and moved on.
Two hours later, Ashley's hand cramped around her pencil, as Dale called time.Her hair had come loose from its careful arrangement, strands sticking to the back of her neck where sweat had gathered despite the room's chill.She caught Dale's eye as she handed in her exam - his encouraging smile made guilt twist in her stomach, especially when she thought the mark on her neck had started to peek above her collar.
But she'd done well.She knew it with the same certainty she'd known the answers to questions that would have baffled her a week ago.Every solution, every proof carried echoes of Cole's voice, his impatient sighs, and the way his hands moved when explaining concepts to her for the tenth time.Without him...
