Page 65 of Grin and Bear It

My hand slid over his abs and up his chest, much slower than before. It felt like I wanted to store the shape of him away inside my head forever. But there was so much more to it. That shit eating grin faded and something serious replaced it, his eyes boring into mine as he watched me touch him.

And that reminded me of why this was a really bad idea.

I went to jerk away. It wasn’t fair to him for me to be starting anything, to be using him when he wanted—

“Don’t.” He covered my hand with his and his other hand snaked around my waist, holding me close. “Don’t stop touching me. Maybe this will be the only time…” His focus dropped to my mouth and stayed there. “If it is, I want every damn thing you’ve got to give.” His brows creased slightly. “Even if it's just this.”

He moved our hands then, sweeping them up over his chest, along the thick column of his neck towards his mouth, and then pressed the softest lips to my fingertips, a sweet little kiss, right before his tongue flicked out. That shouldn’t have been so hot, but the slick slide of his tongue along suddenly sensitive skin had me pulling in a breath as he sucked on the tip of one finger, making me want to push more into his mouth. When he finally pulled away, I made a small sound of protest, and put my hand back on his chest so I could feel the rapid beat of his heart as he drew me closer.

“Need to kiss you right now.” He growled that out and somehow that sound made me turn to mush. Maybe because he sounded desperate, hungry, like he’d fucking die if he couldn’t. His head dipped closer and I thought he was just going to claim my lips. “Tell me I can.”

“But Cole—” I started to say, the small voice of logic screaming at the back of my head finally having its chance to be heard.

“Doesn’t have to be forever. I’ll settle for right now.”

And that’s when the voice fell silent. I stared into his eyes, trying to communicate my confusion and need and seeing an answering response in his eyes. My hand slid into his hair. It was so fucking soft, the feel of it like Tyson’s fur, right before I tugged his head down.

“Mmph!”

My moan was smothered the moment he kissed me, slamming his mouth down on mine and demanding entry. My lips parted automatically and his tongue slid in then he made a very thorough inspection of my mouth.

“Fuck, Ellie…” Cole pulled away for just a second to stare at me, then went back for more, sucking on my bottom lip. “I can’t get enough.”

He pulled me tight against his body so I could feel exactly how he was responding to all of this, my own desire flaring hotter and harder than it ever had before, then he drew away again. Cole pressed our foreheads together, his eyes heavy lidded, before he spoke again.

“You don’t fucking get it. Of course, you don’t. You’re still working out who the hell we are but, love, all we want is to make you happy.” A kiss was deposited on my lips, mine following his when he pulled back. “Make things better for you.” Another kiss. “Keep you satisfied.” That came out in a much throatier tone, his eyes an unnatural shade of blue now. “It’s what I was fucking born to do, El, so can I?”

We could stop this. We’d just been kissing. That didn’t have to amount to anything. We could pull away, he could put his damn shirt on and we could pretend this didn’t happen. That would’ve been the smart thing to do, whether I decided to take things further with Cole or not.

But I didn’t.

He was telling me every damn thing I wanted to hear. Despite whatever the fuck was going on with my head, I knew I worked hard, gave my all to whatever was important to me. But buying this house had been an uncomfortable reminder that sometimes even my best wasn’t enough. He was talking about stepping in and making up for that deficit. Taking all my problems away and making them all better, and that had me clinging to him, frozen to the spot. Because this was the conundrum of being a modern woman. Some days you wanted to go out and be a boss bitch.

And sometimes you just wanted someone strong and capable to step in and make it all better.

It was weird, but the knowledge of what the guys were and the way they felt about me, made this somehow easier to accept. I ran my finger down the sharp slope of his cheekbone, feeling the rasp of his stubble, right before he took my hand in his and pressed his lips to my palm.

“Just let me look after you, Ellie.” His voice broke on that. “In any way that you’re OK with.” He scooped me up in his arms like I weighed nothing, then laid me down on my bed. Cole followed me down, trailing kisses down the suddenly sensitive skin of my neck. “You say stop and I stop, no questions asked.”

“And if I don’t?”

Fuck, where had that come from?

Cole jerked up, sitting there, his knees either side of my hips, in time for me to see a slow smile spread across his face.

“Yes is my favourite word,” he replied. “Keep saying it and then see what happens.”

Chapter33

Cole

Fuck… I felt like I was drowning in my mate, her bed giving under my knees, her body spread out before me. But then she said the word that sent a shiver up my spine.

“Yes.”

I moved then, grabbing the hem of her t-shirt and pulling it up over her head, tossing it aside before going completely still.

“What?” she asked with a frown, one that got deeper as the minutes passed, then her hands went to cover her bra. My hands shot out, gripping her wrists and then pushing them back deliberately until her hands were pinned to the bed.

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