Cole protecting you find.., p.11
Cole (Protecting You, Finding Us), page 11
I wake up to things being flung around the bedroom. “What is going on?” I ask, rubbing my eyes and trying to focus.
“I have no shoes. How could I have left my damn shoes at home?”
“You wore shoes here, Steph,” I say, sitting up in bed to find her suitcase completely emptied and the contents all over the room.
She looks at me with horror on her face. “They. Are. Green. Tennis shoes, Cole. I cannot wear green tennis shoes with a fancy black dress.” The pitch she ended that sentence with makes me want to sew my ears shut.
“What time is it?” I ask her, flopping back down on the bed.
“Seven thirty.”
“Why are you even up this early?”
“Don’t ask me how to explain my body, Cole. It does whatever the hell it wants. And somehow, it knew I left my damn shoes at home because I woke up in a panic about them.”
“We’ll ask my aunt what size she wears, and maybe you can borrow some of hers.”
“And if I can’t?”
I sit up again, realizing that I’m not going back to sleep. “Then we go to town and get you some. It’s not worth you getting this upset.” This time, I can see her with clear vision, and her face looks flushed. “Hey, are you okay? Is that a rash on your face?”
Her eyes close for a moment before she catapults off the ground and walks into the bathroom. “It’s fine. My skin can be a little sensitive sometimes.”
She stays in the bathroom for a few minutes, so I get out of bed and stretch. When she comes out, it looks like she put foundation on her face. She’s on edge today, and I hope it subsides once we find her some shoes to go with her dress.
After the first store, I couldn’t watch Steph put on one more pair of shoes. They were all black with a heel and looked nearly identical. I don’t understand why she couldn’t pick one of them. Nope, here we are at store number two, and there’s only one more store left in this town. At least sitting outside in the summer is far more enjoyable here than in Georgia. There was a moment in my life where I thought about moving here. But Georgia is home. My happy memories aren’t from the house I grew up in. They live in my friendship with River, Zayn, and Jaxon. And with Steph too. I can’t imagine life without them in it. The constant breeze that lives in the air during the summer here cools my hot coffee. I check my watch and realize she’s been in this store for a really long time, so I stand and turn toward the door just as she comes briskly walking out.
“Let’s go,” she says, holding a bag. But her tone is anything but relieved.
“Steph? Are you okay?” I bend down a little to look into her eyes, and what I see makes me uneasy.
“Yep,” she says. “Never better. Let’s get out of here.”
I look back to the store she came out of. “Did something happen in there?”
“Pfft. No.” She’s lying. I walk past her and rip the door open, ready to destroy anyone who put that look in her eye. “Cole,” she says, coming in after me and grabbing my arm. “I’m just nervous about making it back and getting ready in time for the party. Nothing happened—it’s okay. Let’s go.” She tugs on me, and I scan the small store but don’t see anyone that’s even looking in our direction.
Reluctantly, I let her pull me back outside, and we walk to the truck. Once we’re inside, she pulls the shoes from the box and shows me with a big grin.
“They’re perfect, aren’t they?”
The gold heels with two skinny straps that will rest on the top of her perfect foot are subtle but so fucking sexy. Just like her. Bringing her with me to Wyoming seems to be the wrong move with every passing hour. If those are her shoes, I’m actually scared for the dress. I’ve managed to keep my attraction to her a secret this whole time, and one little trip to Wyoming is challenging me.
After last night, I have no clue how I’m going to sleep in that bed again tonight. I wanted to run my hand up her leg, grab her ass, and pull her body on top of mine. I wanted to see the way her hair bounced as I took her and made her mine forever. In the shower this morning, as I stroked myself into oblivion to thoughts of my cock buried deep inside of her, I had another moment of fuck the consequences. I want her so bad it physically hurts. But that’s a feeling I should be used to when it comes to her.
“They’re nice,” I say. “You want to tell me why you came out of that store looking like someone needs their ass beat?”
“I don’t know what to tell you if nothing happened. I just want to get back to your aunt’s house so I have enough time to get ready.”
I don’t like ignoring that gut feeling that something isn’t right here, but I start the engine and head back. With the music blaring in the car, Steph looks out the window as she taps her fingertips on her leg. It’s a constant battle not to reach over and sink my hand between her legs and hold on to her thigh as we drive down the road. These urges have always been there, but I’ve never been alone with her for this long in a car before.
Steph pulls her phone out, and I flick my eyes between the road and the frown she’s wearing again. After typing on the screen for a minute, she drops her phone into her lap and sighs so loud I can hear it over the music. I turn it down and wait.
“That was Jaxon. He said I got another bouquet of roses delivered to work today. Don’t you think that’s weird?”
“I thought you said it was probably from a client?”
“That’s what I thought at first. But the other day, I got a delivery to my house.”
I nearly drive off the road, and all my warning bells are blaring. “You got them at your house?”
“Yeah. I don’t know who they’re from. Do you think Louis would have sent them?”
I put the brakes on, come to a stop, and angle my body in her direction. “Louis? Balls guy? You think he’s sending you flowers?” Rage flows down my arms and through my fingertips. I warned that guy to leave Steph alone.
“Maybe. But then why wouldn’t he put his name? It just doesn’t make any sense.”
I clench my hands on the steering wheel because something is definitely fishy about this. “And what did Jaxon say about it?”
“He doesn’t know I got them at home. I think he assumed it was a business appreciation thing, like you said. But I think after the delivery this morning, he’s a bit more suspicious. Just do me a favor, and don’t freak me out any more than I already am about it. Let’s let it go for today. Okay? We’ll deal with the mystery when we get back home.”
Everyone from the house is gone when we get back. I was given strict instructions by my aunt last night not to come to the hall before the time on the invitation. She said I deserved a vacation, even though it’s her birthday. I tried to argue and offer my help, but she wasn’t having it. She told me I can make it up to her next time I’m in town and that she wanted me to spend some time with Steph. This morning, I found a note from Aunt Millie on the dining room table, telling us not to come to the hall until the party starts. She suggested showing Stephanie the horses or the trail. I know what she’s up to, but I bet she didn’t predict that we’d spend half the day in town searching for shoes.
We walk in, and Steph takes her bag and walks to the stairs. “I’m going to try to call Levi.”
I nod, and as she takes the first couple of steps, I notice she’s going a bit slower up them than usual. She turns and gives me a smile, so I head to the back deck. It was always one of my favorite places. Sitting up here, towering over the land below but still feeling so small in the vast mountain range, is something I can’t recreate anywhere but here. I take a seat in the chair and think about what my aunt said. Maybe it’s time I tell her. But what if it ruins this? What if she doesn’t feel the same? What if I can’t see Levi as much as I do now? Would she still stop by my house for Levi to bring me the pictures he colors for me? Would Jaxon even talk to me anymore? Would I lose everything that’s important to me? Fuck. I can’t tell her.
I sigh and lean back into the chair when I hear a voice from below. I stay quiet as my father gets into one of the ATVs parked in the grass and sits there on his phone. My palms get clammy, and the adrenaline pumps through my veins. My body remembers how violent he was sometimes. I never told people about that, but Zayn knew. He was riding his bike past my house one day when my old man slugged me in the stomach on the front porch. Zayn ditched his bike and walked up there like he was going to do something. He sure told my dad off that day, but in true Ted McBride form, he went straight to Zayn’s dad to get Zayn in trouble. And although Zayn’s dad did lecture him on the use of the words “fuck off,” he was proud of his son for sticking up for me. I’ll always love Zayn for that, but that was the closest I ever got to hitting my dad back. If he had swung on Zayn, it would’ve been over.
“No, I haven’t seen him. Wouldn’t surprise me if the lazy ass is still in bed. God forbid he come down and help. Riding the easy train as he always does. Anyway, I’ll be back to pick you up in about two hours or so. Be ready to go. Yeah, yeah, love you too.”
He hangs up as the ATV’s engine starts and goes puttering down the back road to the event side of the property. He’s the only person I actually hate in the world. I have more respect for my mom, who just took off, than I do him. Why he was so hard on me is something I’ll never understand. And it pisses me off that he still affects me so much. The fire is already burning hot inside of me, and I hope I have enough willpower to ignore whatever fucked-up things he says tonight. But that’s why Steph is here. Just knowing she’s in the vicinity makes me want to keep it under control. And she’s the only one who can pull me from the dark place I go when I’m around him.
I was so far into my thoughts that I barely heard the footsteps on the wooden planks before Steph places her hand on my shoulder, and sparks fly through me. I crank my neck to the side as her fingers massage me.
“At least you know he’s going to be on his best behavior,” Steph says.
“You heard all that, huh?” I ask with a chuckle.
“I did. Don’t worry about him.” She walks around the chair and sits down next to me. “It’s his loss. You aren’t missing out on anything by staying away from him, and no one else feels the same way he does. So who are you going to listen to? One asshole or the rest of us?”
She looks at me with her comforting eyes, and my shoulder is still tingling from her touch. And that’s exactly why I ended up bringing her with. Fuck, I love this woman.
“Did you get ahold of Levi?”
From the look on her face, I already know she did. “It was very spotty between his service and mine, but I managed to hear him ask me to tell you he saw some star. I can’t remember the name…umm.” She starts snapping her fingers, trying to remember.
“Vega?”
“You always remember the little things, don’t you?” she asks softly as she rests her warm hands on the top of my shoulders.
“When it’s important, I remember everything.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Steph
“I’ll go get ready in the other bathroom so you can do what you have to do in this one,” Coles says with his clothes draped over his arm and a small black toiletries bag. I’m on the ground, searching through my already disheveled suitcase. Thankfully, I hung my dress in the closet when I got here, or who knows what it would look like.
“Cole?” He turns to me with his hand on the doorknob, and I squish my face together. “Do you have a razor? I can’t find mine anywhere.”
“Gee, that’s surprising,” he says, motioning to my disaster of a suitcase.
“Come on, it’s not funny. I can’t wear this beautiful dress and have my legs all hairy.”
“They aren’t hairy.”
I tilt my head. “When were you looking at my legs?”
His cheeks get the slightest flush, but he huffs as if he’s so annoyed. “I don’t have a razor that you can use.”
My shoulders fall. “Damn. I’m going to be so self-conscious tonight now.”
Cole closes his eyes and just stands in place for a minute before tossing his clothes over the foot of the bed. He goes into the bathroom and comes out with a towel, a bottle with a pump on it, and something else in his hand. He lays the towel down on the bed and takes a step back.
“Lay down.”
I stare up at him as if he’s just lost his mind. “Excuse me?”
He gives me his hand to help me up from the ground. “I don’t have a razor you can use. But I have one I can use. Just get up here so we can get to the party on time.”
I take his hand, and my heart beats in my chest so hard I swear you could see it from the outside as he easily hauls me up from the floor. He sets the bottle on the nightstand as I sit on the bed at the same time he does.
“I don’t understand. You wore shorts all day,” he says with hesitation on his face.
“It’s not the same as an intimate event where I’ll be sitting right next to people with my legs in view. Why can’t I just use your razor?”
“It’s a straight razor, and you would cut the shit out yourself. Unless you’re skilled at using them, they’re pretty dangerous. So do you want your legs shaved or not?”
I sigh, lie back, and cross my hands over my stomach, which is full of knots. I’ve seen Cole shave the guys before, and he does it with such focus and skill. I’m not concerned about him cutting me in the least. But he’s about to have his hands on my skin, and I don’t know if my libido can handle that.
Cole pumps two squirts of some lotion into his hands and looks me in the eye before running his hand over my shin. This was a mistake. A huge, colossal blunder in judgment. My body wants to move as he tortures me slowly. I look down at him, staring at what he’s doing, and I can’t help but wish he looked like he wanted me. He angles his eyes up and looks at me with an intense smolder that brings a feverish warmth to my core. His large, firm hands torturously stroke my skin, rubbing the lotion in, and I swear I feel his fingertips grip on like they don’t want to let go. Unable to keep my eyes off his face or my mouth closed, I decide looking at the ceiling would be a better option than staring. Because any more of his I’ll destroy you looks and I’ll be wetter than the ocean. I lose my breath as he travels above my knee, rubbing the lotion into my lower thigh, and I scream inside for him to keep going higher. Get it together, Steph. He’s a professional. I try to clear my brain and picture the lady who does my Brazilian bikini waxes just so I can get through this. I lose the heat of his hand, and I immediately regret trying to forget it was there.
“Be right back,” he says and goes into the bathroom. I try to rub my thighs together in an effort to ease the ache between them, but it’s only making the desire to be touched there worse. Only a sliver of Cole is visible through the bathroom door, but I swear I see him adjust himself before he comes back out with two disposable hand towels.
My nerves or adrenaline—hell, I don’t know, maybe it’s just my sex drive—is vibrating as he gets closer and grabs the razor from the nightstand. He sits back down on the bed next to me, opens the razor, which looks like it could slice me up into a million pieces, and puts his hand on my leg again.
“Maybe this isn’t a good idea,” I say, putting my hand over my chest to stop him from seeing how fast it’s rising.
“Hush.” I nearly jump from his demand. “Don’t move. If I need you to move, I move you. Understand?”
Do I say “yes, I understand” or “no problem”? No. I salute him. Salute him! Good grief, the awkward pouring from my soul at this moment is enough to make me want to crawl under this bed. He chuckles as the razor touches my skin with short and deliberate strokes, and I find myself trying to swallow, but my throat is like the desert. The sharp blade against me and knowing he has the power to bring me to my knees at any moment sends my body into fits of desire. I wish he would do it. Or that I would be brave enough to do it. He moves his fingers carefully over my skin and then drags the razor across. His laser focus skips a beat every time he pauses to wipe the razor on the towel, and I see his wandering eyes. I feel them on my body. I crave for his touch to return, like a little puppy dog waiting for its owner to come through the door.
He works his way around my leg, stopping just above my knee, even though I want his hands to go so much higher. He lifts, tilts, and angles my legs where he needs them to be. I never realized how demanding he can be, and it only pours fuel on this raging fire
This torture inside of me lasts the entire time his hands are on my body until he lightly drags his hands up and down my skin, finding any hairs he might have missed. I’m not even sure how long it’s been since we started this because my mind has been in the gutter since he touched me.
“You’ll never get a closer shave than that,” he says proudly. He lingers next to me as I sit up and run my hand over my leg.
“You’ve got magic hands.” There was no time to stop the words from coming out of my mouth before my brain comprehended.
He cocks his eyebrow and gives me a grin. “You have no idea.”
I giggle, but he doesn’t flinch and locks eyes with me. The air fills with static, and I feel like one more touch could send me over the cliff of no return.
“Thank you.” It comes out in a whisper, and I don’t even know why.
“Glad I could help. Now you don’t have to worry about all those strangers you’ll probably never see again looking at your tiny little leg hairs all night.”
He smirks, then gets off the bed, picks up his lotion, razor, and the paper towel, and heads to the bathroom. I twist to dangle my feet off the side of the bed and feel light-headed and like I need alone time with my vibrator. He walks back into the bedroom, grabs his clothes from the other side of the bed, and heads to the door.
“Need anything else?”
A big fat orgasm. “Nope, I’m good.”
“Oh my God, will you hurry up,” Cole shouts through the bedroom door. He’s been ready for at least a half hour, but guys have it easy. It said on the invitation dressy casual, and I’ve been waiting for the right occasion to wear this dress. The black midi-length fitted dress hugs my curves but keeps it classy. The thick shoulder straps are the perfect accent to the straight neckline that cuts just above my cleavage. There’s a slit on the front right side of my leg, which is long enough to be sexy but still family-friendly. I thought it was perfect. I fluff my curled hair one last time and check that my glossy red lipstick isn’t on my teeth before opening the door.
