Cole almost found the situation humorous as Rachel tipped her head back and came with a loud scream.
Un-fucking-real. She is totally uninhibited, he thought. This is going to be fun.
As her eyes opened, she focused on him, giving him a lazy self-satisfied smile. She released his now tender flesh with a condescending pat over his wolf tat on his chest.
As though she had broken the orgasmic spell she had dragged him under, he softly asked in a menacing tone, “Satisfied?”
She gave him a smug look. “Very.”
Cole dropped his hands from the wall and pinned her to it with his stare. “Good. Now, it’s time to negotiate.”
7
“Negotiate?” Rachel asked, managing to push the word past the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat.
Her eyes tracked Cole’s movements as he began to button his shirt from the top down.
“Yes, negotiate. You didn’t think this was over, did you?” he inquired, gesturing between the two of them.
Rachel didn’t know what to think as she stared at him, slack-jawed. All she could remember was his voice offering to do dirty, sexual things to her, and it was making her nerves start to tingle all over again.
Is a possible second orgasm on the table? If so, count me in.
“No, I can see that you’re starting to know me better than that. You see,” he informed in a voice that sounded far too calculating, “I never leave a negotiation until I get what I came for.”
Rachel finally removed her hand from between her thighs as his perceptive eyes glanced down there.
“Did it feel good?” Now that his shirt was in order, he took a step back toward her.
“Well, it certainly wasn’t awful,” she told him in a caustic tone.
Placing his left hand on the wall by her head, he raised his right hand to where she could see it. “I can make it feel even better. Let me touch you.”
Rachel couldn’t control the shiver that racked her body.
“I’m only asking you out of common courtesy. I figured I owed you that since your first agreement was given in the midst of an ear-blistering climax. So, what will it be, Rachel? Will you stick to your original decision? Or will you renege?”
Rachel’s brain was screaming, Renege, renege, renege! That did not, however, have any impact on the way her thighs tightened as Cole bent his head and licked the shell of her ear.
“Plus, there is one promise I haven’t kept tonight, and it goes hand in hand with my hands on your body.”
Turning her head up, Rachel looked into eyes that seemed to see and know everything. “And what would that be?”
The look on his face was so devious and alarmingly sexy that Rachel felt her nipples harden.
He revealed, “I promised you’d scream my name.”
Rachel didn’t remember that promise, and surely, that wasn’t something she would forget. “I don’t remember you promising me that.”
“Who said I promised you? I promised myself. Now, tell me what I want to hear, Rachel.”
Slowly, he moved his free hand toward her, and his index finger touched the satin ribbon around her neck. When she offered no complaint, he continued to stroke it.
“I want to take this and every other piece of material off you and start fresh. I want a blank canvas to play with. I want you to play with. I have from the moment I saw you. So, was that yes real, or should I go back out there and find a willing participant?”
Rachel considered all the erotic possibilities as his words began to tempt her, but before she could offer up an answer, Cole removed his finger from her throat and stood to his full towering height. He crossed his arms and took a step back from her, allowing his eyes to run down her body, and Rachel felt them like they were his hands touching her.
Hell, who do I think I’m kidding? I want his hands on me, his tongue in me, and that body naked and covering me. ASAP.
Rachel finally decided. “Don’t go anywhere. Stay here, and let’s negotiate.”
Cole wouldn’t have left if the building were on fire, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. “Okay, let’s negotiate. Well, obviously, you have issues with men—”
“I don’t have issues with men.”
Cole lifted his right arm and index finger in the universal hang-on sign. “For this to work, you need to listen until I am finished, or you will jump to the wrong conclusion. So, do you think you can hold your tongue for a minute? Or would you like me to?”
He watched her carefully as she pouted her lips.
“Thank you. Being interrupted isn’t something I enjoy. It would be a smart thing to remember.”
Re-crossing his arms, he remained silent as she straightened up against the wall. He could tell she was annoyed by his tone and getting ready to leave, but the look in her eyes belied her internal conflict. This was a woman who wanted the same thing he did. She was just too scared to admit it or chase it.
Good thing for her that I’m not.
“Now, as I was saying, obviously, you have issues with men controlling you or touching you. As I’m sure you know, I want to do a lot more than just touch you, Rachel, so maybe we can start slow. One hand, and if I prove to you that you can trust me, we’ll renegotiate.”
As she stood there, headstrong as ever, Cole stepped forward to her.
“Being petulant won’t help your case either. Tell me, Rachel, do you really want this? Because I need to know that you are in all the way before we go any further here.”
When her tongue came out to moisten her lips, Cole couldn’t help but reach out his hand, allowing his finger to follow the path it took.
“What exactly is it that you want from me?” she finally asked as she raised her eyes to his.
Cole re-crossed his arms and bent at the waist, so his face was hovering over hers. “I want you to give yourself to me.”
As he watched her pupils dilate, he knew the idea was as appealing to her as it was to him.
“For how long?”
“See? Now, you’re negotiating. Let’s start with a week.”
“A week? So, we meet here?”
“No.” He shifted, pressing his mouth to the corner of hers. “You come with me for the week. You stay with me, sleep with me, eat with me. You be with me.”
When a moan slipped free from her lips, Cole couldn’t help himself from kissing her hard and quick.
Then, quietly, he demanded, “Say yes.”
Yes, yes, yes! Rachel’s body was screaming, but nothing was coming out. Her stupid brain had to make sure this was a choice, not a takeover. So, of course, it had demands of its own. “I don’t think this is a negotiation right now. It feels a lot like coercion.”
She experienced a small slither of delight in the humor that tugged at the corner of his serious mouth.
“Very good, Rachel. You are right. I’m trying my hardest to coerce you without becoming physical. So, in my book, I am not actually stooping as low as I could.”
“This isn’t physical? It feels pretty physical to me.” Time to give him some of his own medicine. “My nipples are hard, and the ache between my thighs—”
“Could all be taken care of with one word.”
Raising her hand, she recklessly pressed her index finger to his lips. She was starting to fantasize about those lips that had just sent a jolt of pure lust through her. “Shh, it’s rude to interrupt during negotiations.”
“Rachel,” he cautioned.