As Rachel walked toward him, Cole let his eyes travel over her as though he, too, was seeing her for the first time. Maybe I am. When she reached him and took his hand, he looked around her toward his mother.
“We will,” he replied softly before they turned and left the room.
They quietly walked down the hospital corridor. Not one word was spoken between them as they got on the elevator and took it down to the ground floor where they made their way to his car. When they reached it, Cole followed her to the passenger door, opened it, and let her inside. All was done in complete silence.
Maybe I was too quick to tell her? Well, it’s too late now. He had said it, and he would be damned before he took it back. As he slid into the driver’s side, for the first time, he found that he wasn’t a fan of the cozy interior.
He looked toward her as she stared out the passenger window. Tearing his eyes away from her, he started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, driving them to the hotel he usually stayed at when he would visit his mother.
As the car drew to a stop, he expected something from her, but again, nothing came. With every passing minute, his anxiety level was growing, thinking that he had pushed her away. By rushing and not keeping his thoughts under control, he had screwed it all up. Well, fuck. She would just have to put up with him until tomorrow when he could take her home.
When they got inside the hotel lobby, she moved to the waiting area and took a seat, presumably waiting on him. With a frustrated sigh, Cole made his way to the front desk and booked a room. Once it was paid for, he took the key card and turned, surprised to see her standing behind him in the middle of the foyer.
It didn’t escape his notice that several men were taking a long look at the elegant woman waiting for him, but for the first time since the hospital room, Cole felt everything fall back into place.
She wasn’t annoyed or upset. She wasn’t even pushing him away. No, the look in Rachel’s eyes was telling him something completely different.
When he reached her side, Cole crooked his elbow, and as she slid her hand through, he wondered what was going through her mind, but she seemed to want silence, so he gave it to her.
Rachel’s heart was thumping so loudly in her chest she thought it might very well burst.
When they finally reached their room, Cole inserted the key card and pushed open the door, ushering her in first with a gentle hand on her back. She entered the low-lit suite, and when Rachel looked at the large king bed, she knew exactly what she wanted.
Stepping farther into the room, she wasn’t surprised or shocked to hear the door click and lock. Without looking behind her, she reached behind her neck and untied the bow securing the ribbon of the satin cream dress. As it shimmied down over her body, she released her high ponytail, and she swore she could have heard a pin drop. She was completely naked beneath the dress, and once it pooled at her feet, she stepped free of the material and turned to find him.
She was ready, ready to offer herself completely.
Open. Naked. Vulnerable.
Cole was leaning up against the wall, just inside the door, with his hands firmly lodged in his tuxedo pants pockets. His legs were crossed at the ankles, and he looked brooding and magnificent.
Without a word, Rachel kept her eyes connected to his as she stepped free of her heels and made her way to him. She watched him tracking her in silent concentration, and as those seductively possessive eyes traced every inch of her body, she noticed different emotions behind them. Earlier, there had been lust, hunger, and raw desire, but this, right here, the way he was looking at her was making her feel heated, mesmerized, and full of love.
When she stopped before him, he pushed away from the wall and moved until his shoes touched her bare toes. She now had to look up at him, and when she tipped her face to do so, his hands cupped her cheeks.
“I love you.”
Rachel blinked away the tears that were gathering in her eyes as she finally spoke. “I love you, too.”
Slowly, he lowered his mouth and pressed his lips against hers in a kiss that relayed every raw emotion he was feeling. His lips were strong, persuasive, and gentle as he coaxed her mouth open. Raising her hands, she placed them against his white dress shirt where she could feel his heart thundering under her palms.
“Your heart is beating so fast.”
Raising his head, he placed a hand over hers as he walked her back toward the bed. “For the first time in my life, I find that I’m nervous.”
As the back of her bare thighs hit the high mattress, Rachel slid her hands up to Cole’s bow tie and tugged it free. “Nervous?”
“Yes,” he confirmed, lifting her up onto the bed. “I’m only human, Rachel.”
“Are you sure?” she flirted with a sassy smile.
“I’m positive, and tonight, I don’t want anything to go wrong.”
As she sat there, he reached up to the top button of his shirt and began undoing each one. Once he reached the spot where his shirt disappeared into his pants, he stopped and looked her over.
“Lie back,” he requested in a low voice.
She had no hope of resisting him. Very slowly, Rachel pulled herself further up the bed and lounged across the ivory comforter as she watched him toe off his shoes and then remove his socks. Once they were gone, he straightened and started to pull the dress shirt from his pants.
Rachel couldn’t help the way her mouth parted from the pleasure of watching Cole undress in front of her. Once all the buttons were open, he shrugged out of the shirt and dropped it to the floor. She had thought he was magnificent earlier, but that was nothing compared to him standing naked from the waist up in only tuxedo pants. Now, he was her every fantasy.
Cole examined the naked seductress who was looking up at him from under her lashes. Her mouth was slightly open, and as he moved his hands to the button of his pants, he felt a sense of pride as she licked those sensual lips.
This woman, this woman is mine.
Quickly, he released the zipper and pushed his pants and boxers free. When he stood back up, he moved to the edge of the bed. Placing a hand on her knee, he gently pushed, and he felt a smile cross his lips as she parted for him.
Cole stepped closer and moved up onto the bed. He lowered himself over her until his entire body was pressed against hers. Placing his palms by her head, he kissed her hard.
“Wrap your legs around me.”
She did as requested, and he rolled them both over until she was lying up on top of him. Smoothing his hands down her back to her curvaceous ass, he pulled her against his body as he arched up and rubbed his cock against her.
She placed her hands by his head on the plush bed and pushed herself up a little. “I like this.”
“I thought you might.” He continued rubbing himself against her, and then he placed his hands behind his head, giving himself over to her.
She ground down on him and spread her legs wide, so they were on each side of his hips. With one hand on his chest, she sat up until she was straddling his thighs, and his stiff shaft became a very obvious sign of how much he wanted her.
With his right hand, Cole stroked his fingers between her spread thighs, and as she pushed against them, he confessed, “You’re the best fucking thing my eyes have ever seen.”
As he moved his hand away from her to fist his raging hard-on, he watched Rachel smooth her hands up and over her stomach to cup her breasts.
“Rachel,” he growled out as he watched her tongue swipe against her bottom lip while she writhed atop him.