“You know, we could do something else and leave these plans alone for the night,” Michael suggested huskily.

  The idea made her balk. She was not ready yet, not for that step. Juliette put her hands on his chest and pushed him away. “We’re going to wait, remember?”

  “Every time I kiss you, I want us married now. Maybe eloping is not a bad idea,” Michael teased.

  “Uh, you nixed that idea, buddy, so you lost out.” Juliette got off the bed to put some distance between them. Her doorbell rang suddenly, and she was thankful for the reprieve. She knew eventually she could not put it off any longer, and when the time came, she would have to let Michael touch her body. She was completely claimed by Cole, but she prayed she could put him out of her head on her wedding night.

  “Are you expecting anyone?” Michael asked.

  “No, not that I know about. Maybe it’s a messenger with more wedding stuff from my mother,” Juliette said. She walked out to the living room, and Michael trailed behind her when the bell rang again with more insistence. “She has got to stop sending me this stuff. Small wedding, I said.”

  Juliette opened the door, and her heart leapt when she saw Cole standing in the doorway. It seemed to be raining outside because his hair was plastered against his head. He pushed some wet tendrils off his face. She hardened her heart, remembering how they’d left things and everything he’d said.

  “What are you doing here, Cole?” she asked coldly.

  “I’m here to get you, Jewels.” He tried a hesitant smile.

  “Don’t call me that!” Juliette snapped. “You lost that right.”

  She tried to close the door, but Cole stopped her, stepped inside, and begged. “Juliette, I need to you listen to me, please!”

  “Get out, Cole. You said all you needed to say.”

  “Who’s this?” The question came from Michael, and both Juliette and Cole looked around at the other person in the room.

  “This is Cole, my dad’s ex head of security.” Juliette paused. “He was the help.” She saw the barbed wire words hit the mark, and he winced.

  “I was more than that, Jewels, and you know it,” Cole said.

  “And I asked you to go, Cole,” she reminded him.

  “I will if you come with me.”

  “She’s not going anywhere with you, and she said leave.” Michael put his arms around Juliette’s waist. “I suggest you go now.”

  “This is no concern of yours, playboy,” Cole snarled. “And take your hands off her. She’s mine.”

  Juliette heard the warning bells go off in her head when Cole’s demeanor changed. He was jealous. She saw it in his eyes. She needed to diffuse the situation so she tried to smile, and looked up at her fiancé. “Michael, go in the bedroom. Let me talk with him, and then he’ll go.”

  “I’m not leaving you alone with this guy!” Michael exclaimed. “And, by the way, Cole, I’m going to be her husband, and before you rang that bell, we were comfortable in bed.”

  Cole’s eyes darkened. “Step off, gnat, before I smash you. Final warning.”

  “Cole, behave. This is my home, and I won’t have you acting like a gorilla.” Juliette saw what was about to take place. It was like a train wreck happening in slow motion. Michael let go of her waist and moved toward Cole. She cried out. “Michael, no!”

  Of course he was not listening. He took a fighter’s stance. “Listen, dude, I have had ten years of karate, and I’ve been trained in self defense by some of the greatest in Italy. I think I can…”

  Before Michael could finish his words, Cole’s fist connected with such force it knocked his opponent out instantly, and Juliette watched her fiancé fall like a bag of cement.

  “What the hell, Cole? Are you trying to kill him?” Juliette cried out and rushed to an unconscious Michael.

  “He was getting on my nerves,” Cole growled.

  “Oh gee, that’s just great. You come in my home and knock out my fiancé, then stand there….”

  Juliette’s words were cut off by Cole’s lips taking hers in a kiss. Fire, heat, desire, and longing, everything she’d hoped she could feel when Michael had kissed her she got when their lips mated. By the time he was finished plundering her mouth, she was breathless.

  “Shut up about him, Jewels,” Cole murmured. He bit her bottom lip gently.

  Juliette looked up at him. “Why are you here? Cole, why are you doing this to me? Wasn’t what you said enough? Did you come back to get one more in?”

  “No,”

  “Then why?” she asked.

  “This is a good, old fashioned kidnapping,” Cole explained.

  “Huh?”

  He moved quickly and threw her over his shoulder. Juliette gave a small scream. “What the hell are you doing? Put me down!”

  “I’m kidnapping you, Jewels. Enjoy it.” Cole strode out and closed the door behind him.

  Chapter Seven

  Juliette soon saw that Cole was dead serious when he’d said he was kidnapping her. He apologized and kissed her hard before blindfolding her. In the car, he put soundproof earphones on her so she could not hear what was being said or figure out where they were going. She yelled, she screamed, and she cussed at him all the way. How dare he? After all she had gone through in the past four months? He walked back into her life and decided he could take her and do as he pleased?

  The airplane took off. She knew it was an airplane because she recognized the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach when they took to the sky.

  “Where are we going, Cole?” she yelled. It was probably louder than necessary because of the earphones.

  She felt one of the speakers lift, and his voice whispered in her ear. “You’ll see when we get there. Now, stop shouting. I’m trying to sleep.”

  Juliette fumed silently, debating whether she should start sighing loudly just to piss him off. She decided against it, not knowing if he had duct tape and not quite sure if he would use it or not. Eventually, she fell asleep because, with everything that had taken place, she was dead tired. It had been after eleven when Cole had knocked on her door. After that, she had lost hours. Not being able to see a clock, she did not even know what time of the day it was. She felt Cole lifting her into his arms.

  “Cole, where are we going?” she asked tiredly as she rested her head against his chest. “You know Michael probably has the police involved by now. I don’t want you to go to prison.”

  “You’ll see soon, baby. Go back to sleep.” He kissed her forehead. “I won’t go to prison. Don’t worry.”

  “Sure, you say that now until you are dancing with some big guy named Booby Mack at the prison social,” she murmured.

  Cole laughed. “You are the funniest person I have ever met.”

  “I’m being serious!”

  “Be quiet, Juliette. You’re being kidnapped, remember?” Cole slid her into the seat of a car.

  She blindly saluted. “Yes, sir, Mr. Kidnapper.”

  His voice came from next to her. “You should take this more seriously.”

  “Why?” she asked.

  “Because I am not planning on letting you go.” His tone was serious.

  Juliette sat in silence and pondered his words. In one aspect, she was elated he wanted to be with her. On the other hand, was it too late after all that had been said? Four months had gone by without a word from him. She had picked up what was left of her life and then tried to move on the best she could. Should she, could she, let him back in knowing that she might get hurt once more?

  The drive was shorter than she expected. She figured he’d whisked her away to some icky warehouse in the middle of nowhere, or New Jersey. Instead, when he helped her out of the car and took off her blindfold, she was standing in front of a brick house with huge windows. Looking past it, she could see the lake and the big oak tree on the other side. They were back in Tennessee, and Salvation.

  “Where are we? Whose house is this?” Juliette asked.

  “This is my home. I’ve been living here since I retired,” Cole admitted.

  “Wait, you’re telling me you moved to Salvation?” Juliette was astonished. “You must be kidding me. Why would you?”

  “It felt right,” he admitted. “It was the last place I was happy, and I was with you.”

  “I don’t know what to say.” For once in her life, Juliette didn’t have the words to convey what she felt. Cole had turned the tables completely on her with this new revelation.

  “Don’t say anything yet. Come inside and look around.”

  As soon as he opened the door, a ball of black and white fur rushed at his feet, yipping happily. Then, the fur ball began to sniff and lick at her toes.

  Juliette lifted up the roly-poly puppy and exclaimed, “Oh, who’s this?”

  “This is Shadow.” She could hear the pride in his voice. “He got his name because of his coloring and that he never leaves my side when I’m in the house.”

  “You bought a dog?” Juliette said, amazed.

  “You keep stating the obvious,” Cole said, amused. “Come sit and let me talk to you. Bring the fat puppy.”

  “He’s not fat. He’s just full of sugar,” Juliette crooned.

  “Uh-huh, say that when he goes outside to use the bathroom.” Cole smiled.

  Juliette followed him into the living, and she looked around as she went. The house had a wide, open lived in feel. She wouldn’t have expected that Cole even knew the first thing about decorating, but everything seemed to match with different earthy tones. She sat down on one of the wide suede sofas that graced the room.

  She folded her arms. “So, what do you have to say, Cole? I have a fiancé to get back to.”

  “Were you really going to marry that guy, Jewels?” His voice was soft.

  “Yes, I was. You sure as hell let me know what you felt, Cole. What was I going to wait for?” She was not going to give him an inch. She’d spent so long fighting for him to see her and to love her. She was not going to fall back into the trap of believing in something that was not there.

  “Juliette, I’m sorry okay?” Cole ran this hand through his hair. She noticed that it had grown longer since she’d last seen him. “Bernadette said I can heal the hurt if you let me. Please let me, Jewels. I’m sorry.”

  “You’re sorry. Is that it?” Juliette scoffed. “You bring me here against my will. Then show me a puppy and a house, and you think that will sway me? Why would you think this means anything to me, Cole? I’m a spoiled, rich girl, remember? Who scratches her wanderlust and fucks the servants.”

  “I didn’t say that, Juliette,” Cole pointed out.

  Juliette stood quickly, and they were nose to nose. “You implied it. So why do you think any of this small town crap impresses me? Maybe I want three thousand dollar shoes! Maybe I want to go back home and lay in bed with Michael and let him buy me expensive lingerie and watch me model it before we snuggle in bed. Maybe I like how he kisses me or how he touches my body…”

  Cole pulled her roughly against him, and her eyes widened. She had gone too far because now she saw the hurt and turmoil on his face and in his eyes.

  “You let him touch you?” he asked.

  Juliette raised her head defiantly. “That’s not any of your business.”

  He took her lips without another word, plundering her mouth with his as if trying to erase any thought of Michael being that close to her. Juliette struggled for a minute before she raised her hands to his head and buried them in his hair. She pulled him closer as they kissed. Both of their bodies strained against each other while their tongues dueled and fought for supremacy. A battle that neither won. She could not resist his touch, no matter how much she tried. He had the power to wrench every last drop of passion from her body and leave her wanting more.

  Their lips never left each other while their frantic hands pulled and tugged at clothing. Juliette vaguely heard the sound of material being ripped, but she didn’t know if it was his or hers. She gasped when her breasts met the heat of his chest and he molded her to him. He lifted her off her feet and took her nipple into his mouth. Juliette cried out when the sensation coursed through her body, when she felt his lips on her skin. With only a few steps, he was at the sofa she’d just vacated. Cole went to his knees, still holding her high in his arms. He untangled her legs from around his waist and peeled her tights away from her body in one, smooth stroke, taking her panties with them.

  Without preamble, he touched the sensitive nub of her clit with his thumb and penetrated her pussy with two fingers. Juliette arched off the couch in pleasure. With every thrust of his fingers, she could feel her body melting from the inside out. He was far from done. Cole dipped his head and licked that sensitive part of her while his fingers manipulated the velvet walls of her pussy. She came with his name on her lips, panting, pleading for more. How could she deny what he made her feel? She was wanton under the hands that knew her body so well.

  “Does Michael make you feel like this?” Cole growled. He unbuckled his jeans while she watched from under heavy lids. “Does he make you come like I do? Does your pussy gush for him?” Cole rubbed the head of his cock against her slit. Juliette bit her lip when she felt the engorged tip against her sex. “Answer me, Juliette!”

  “Oh God, no. Cole, just take me please!” she finally begged, unable to stand the torture anymore.

  He rammed his cock inside her waiting flesh. Their bodies made a sexual slick noise each time their skin met. He grabbed her hips and pounded himself inside her. Juliette watched through her own pleasure haze. His muscles bunched and strained with each movement he made. There was no control about this act of mating. Each thrust was meant to bring them the utmost intensity of sexual desire. Their moans mixed and blended together until they cried out in unison when they reached the pinnacle of release. Cole fell against her, drained, while Juliette caressed his back, which was slick with a sheen of perspiration.

  After a few moments, Juliette spoke. “I’ve never slept with Michael. I could never bring myself to.” Her laugh was unhappy even to her own ears. She felt tears begin to trickle from her eyes. “I guess you ruined that for me too. That I could never love anyone like I love you.”

  Cole raised his head up to look into her eyes. He wiped the tears away with him thumb before he kissed her gently. “You’re not ruined, Jewels. You just belong to the right person . . . me.”

  “You say that now in the aftermath of sex,” Juliette replied. “How am I supposed to believe you?”

  Cole stood suddenly and held out his hand to her. “Go upstairs and clean up. There’re a few things in the closet in the master bedroom you can wear. I have one more thing to show you, and then, if you still don’t believe me, I’ll take you home.”

  Juliette nodded. She wondered what else he could have to show her. She looked down and saw her T-shirt begin to move across the floor, and a wide smile crossed her face.

  “I think my shirt has grown legs.” She pointed to the pink and white tee moving quickly toward the coffee table. It stopped with a tiny yelp when it hit into one of the mahogany legs.

  Cole plucked the shirt off Shadow who looked at them curiously before going to flop down in his doggy bed by the door. “Yeah, I’ll pick these up. He’s getting in his teeth, so he chews or tears up everything.” He looked at Juliette and smiled gently. “Go get dressed, woman. There are things to be done.”

  Juliette went up the stairs quickly. She felt her heartbeat speed up with excitement. She didn’t know what was coming, but her heart told her it was going to be something to remember.

  * * * *

  They were on the road, driving again. Cole looked across to the passenger side and the woman he loved. Her body was tense with apprehension, and he felt guilty knowing he had caused it. He’d hurt her, and now he planned to spend the rest of his life making up for it. She was dressed in a pink sundress and looked utterly delectable. Cole was glad he had listened to Bernadette’s advice. The dress was perfect on her. The sun kissed her bare shoulders, making the brown skin shimmer like it carried flecks of gold. It made him jealous in a way that anything touched her skin other than him. Cole laughed at himself. This was what love did to you.

  He saw her eyes widen when she saw the big red and white stripes of the tent come into view. Outside, long flags fluttered in the wind, beckoning them closer to what was inside. When the car stopped, Juliette got out slowly and closed the door behind her.

  She looked at Cole with curiosity on her face. “What is all this about, Cole?”

  He shrugged with a sly smile, and then they heard the announcer over the speakers outside.

  “Come one, come all, to the fabulous feature inside. Quell your curiosity, and come through the curtain to see the greatest show in the universe!”

  He held out his hand to her once more. “I guess we’d better go inside and see what he is talking about.”

  When she placed her hand is his, they walked inside the big tent. From the time they came through the billowing red curtain, the crowd inside began to cheer. They were center stage, and the spotlight was on them. Inside, the people in the stands stood and cheered. Juliette gasped when she saw her mother and father in the very front row, along with Bernadette and a few of her friends from the circus.

  “Why are my parents here?” Juliette asked him over the loud cheering and whistles. “What the heck is going on?”

  Cole kissed her quickly before the announcer walked over and gave him the microphone. He quieted the crowd by raising his hand and gesturing for them to take a seat. When the last of the applause died down, Cole began to speak.

  “Juliette, I wanted everyone who’s important in your life to be here to witness this,” Cole said. He took her hand, and their eyes locked in a gaze. “I am so sorry I hurt you, Jewels. I was told I was a big buffoon…”

  “Darn right you are!” Bernadette called from the audience, and the crowd laughed, and then quieted again.

  Cole threw Bernadette an exasperated glance, and she blew him a kiss. “Like I was saying, I am an idiot and, when I hurt you, I was the biggest ass in the world. I was scared and confused and thought I knew what you needed better than you did. My life would have been completely and utterly empty without you in it.” He stared at her with a pleading gaze. “Juliette, I love you. We’re not alone, and I can’t take it back in front all of these people.” On the sawdust floor, Cole got down on his knees. “Marry me, Juliette, and if it’s here, in New York, in front of cameras, or sitting by the lake, I will always remember the promises I made to you under the big top tent.”

 

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