Page 76 of Echoes of Us
"I saw you run."
His words were almost lost in her ragged breathing.She pressed her back harder against the cold wall, focusing on the familiar hum of lab equipment through her tears.Anything but the way he stood there, so perfectly Cole in this moment that it physically hurt.
He moved into the room, moonlight sliding over his features.No measured steps now, just that restless energy she remembered from their first meeting in this timeline.He stopped a few feet away, and through her tear-blurred vision, she could see his fingers drumming against his thigh - not Dale's stillness, but his own nervous tell.
Her sobs had quieted to shuddering breaths when he crouched in front of her.The moonlight caught his features, sharp and beautiful in a way that was entirely his own.
"I watch you," she whispered, the words spilling out raw and honest."Always trying so hard to be what everyone needs.The perfect son, the brilliant student, even the careless player - whatever role keeps people from seeing how much you feel everything."Her voice broke."But I see you, Cole.I see how you burn too bright and feel too much.How terrifying that must be."
He went completely still, the kind of stillness that came before storms.When he spoke, his voice was barely audible."Stop."
"You think if you move fast enough, love carelessly enough, no one will notice that you're the one who feels every single thing too deeply."She met his eyes, tear-blurred but steady."That's why you run.Why do you push everyone away?Because you don't know how to burn any less bright."
Something cracked in his expression - that perfect mask he wore shattering completely.His breathing turned ragged, matching hers.
"Ashley."Her name came out like a prayer, like a curse.
Then his mouth was on hers.
The kiss wasn't gentle.It wasn't careful.His fingers tangled in her hair, sending pins scattering across the lab floor.She gasped as he pulled her closer, closer like he could erase any space between them.Her tears mixed with the taste of wine on his lips.
"Cole."His name broke on a sob against his mouth.His hands trembled as they framed her face, thumbs brushing tears from her cheeks even as his kiss turned desperate.
The wall was cold against her back, but he was fire, pressing against her until she couldn't tell where she ended, and he began.Buttons scattered as she pulled at his shirt.When her fingers found bare skin, his whole body shuddered.
A sound escaped him - something raw and broken that she swallowed with another kiss.His hands gripped her waist, lifting her against the wall as her legs wrapped around him.She could feel his heart hammering against hers, matching rhythms like they were trying to break together.
"Please."The word fell from her lips like a prayer.He answered by burying his face in her neck, breathing her in like he was drowning.When she pulled his mouth back to hers, she tasted salt - his tears or hers, she couldn't tell anymore.
He kissed her like he was coming apart, and she let herself break with him.
CHAPTER29
The cold wall against Ashley's back disappeared into insignificance compared to the heat of Cole's body pressed against hers.Her dress hitched higher as he lifted her, and her legs wrapped instinctively around his waist.Her fingers twisted in his hair as his mouth found that spot beneath her ear, the one that made her whole body tremble.A sob caught in her throat - not from pleasure but from how perfectly he remembered her, even here, even now.Her heart felt like it might shatter from the weight of everything she'd finally understood.
Cole's hands gripped her thighs, steadying her against the wall as his mouth traced fire down her throat.His touch was desperate, claiming, making her forget everything but the feel of him.This was her Cole - not the man he would become, not his brother's echo, but purely, wildly himself.The realization made tears slip from her eyes even as desire coursed through her veins.
She would have him, even if it's only once, as the real man that he was.She had to, couldn't breathe, thinking that all she had until now were mere fragments.
Cole's hands slid higher, taking her dress with them until she was laid bare to his hungry gaze.Her back pressed harder against the wall as his mouth traced lower, his kisses burning against her sensitive skin.His hands, usually so controlled, trembled as they explored her body, drawing gasps and sighs that echoed in the empty lab.
"Need you," he breathed against her collarbone, and she arched into him in response.He took the invitation, his mouth hot and demanding as it moved lower.One hand braced her against the wall while the other teased and stroked until she was gasping his name.
"The table," he growled, and she nodded frantically.He carried her there without breaking contact, papers scattering as he laid her down.The polished wood was cool against her heated skin, but she barely noticed.All she could focus on was Cole's mouth as it continued its devastating path down her body, his hands holding her steady as she writhed beneath him.
When his mouth found her center, her cry echoed off the walls.His fingers joined his tongue, working her higher and higher until she could barely breathe.This was Cole unleashed - wild and desperate and so utterly himself.Every stroke was perfect, precise in its desperation, pushing her toward an edge she'd been aching to fall from.
"Come for me."His voice was rough against her skin, and she shattered at the command.Pleasure crashed through her in waves as she cried out his name, her fingers tangling in his hair.
He rose above her, fumbling with his belt, his movements urgent but uncertain.She reached between them, guiding him where she needed him to be.For a heartbeat, he hesitated, his eyes searching hers.
"Please," she breathed, and whatever restraint he had left vanished.
He surged forward, joining them completely in one devastating thrust.The perfect fullness had her crying out, clutching his shoulders as he buried his face in her neck.They stayed frozen for a moment, both overwhelmed by the intensity of their connection.
"Ashley."Her name was a prayer on his lips before he claimed her mouth again.Each thrust after that was a claim, a promise, a desperate plea.The lab filled with their shared breaths, skin against skin, the sound of coming home.
His movements grew more intense, more demanding.One hand pinned her wrists above her head while the other found exactly where she needed him most.She guided his fingers with breathless words until everything narrowed to this moment - his scent surrounding her, his weight above her, the perfect rhythm they created together.
