Chapter 27

I WAITED FOR THE RIGHT moment, and then I climbed up, all the way to Cole’s room.

As soon as I’d heard his mother was going to take him home, I’d been watching the hospital. Once the black SUVs had shown up, I’d known they’d come for Cole.

Now that he was at home, maybe I’d finally get to him.

I’d expected there’d be more guards, but maybe Elizabeth and Cole’s mother believed that I’d come to my senses and given up on Cole, or maybe they had no clue that it wasn’t all that hard to get to his room.

Either way, the guards were the usual ones, and I’d managed to get past them.

Cole’s window was cracked open, so I slowly started pushing it up.

It was nighttime, and his room was in darkness, but there was enough moonlight to show me that he was in bed.

What if his mother had drugged him?

What if I wouldn’t be able to talk to him?

Hell, what if he shouted for help once he saw me?

“Cole,” I whispered as I opened the window all the way.

Before I hauled myself inside, I had to be careful. If Cole couldn’t tell it was me who was trying to get in, he might shoot me.

“Ava?” he asked, and relief flooded me.

Of course he hadn’t forgotten me.

I hopped inside and then I rushed toward his bed.

“Oh, thank god!” I said as I climbed on top of him and placed my hands on each side of his face.

He was real.

He was solid.

He was fine and he was alive.

My lips crashed against his, and his arms went around me, but he winced.

“Shit. Are you all right?” I asked as quietly as possible.

Maybe the guards were outside.

I didn’t want anyone to come check what was going on. Although, Cole’s mother wasn’t in charge here, was she?

Cole could just tell them all to get the fuck out of here, but then his plan would fail, or at least I thought it would.

“I’m fine,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I’ve missed you.”

I felt his erection poking at me, and a wicked smile crossed my lips as arousal shot through me.

My mouth collided with his again, and his hands slipped under my shirt.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I whispered as his fingers explored my body.

“Yeah. Just got grazed by a bullet and hit my head. But we’ll talk about that later. I want you,” he said, and I was more than happy to oblige.

He tugged my shirt over my head, and then he gripped my ass, pulling himself up so he could kiss my neck.

“Oh hell, Cole,” I said as his mouth closed around my earlobe, sucking gently. “Wait.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked when I pushed myself off him.

“Nothing. Just let me get out of these stupid clothes.” I didn’t want any barriers between us.

“Good idea.” He took off his shirt.

I had some trouble with my pants because they were too tight, but when I was finally naked, I climbed on top of him and splayed my fingers over his chest.

“Don’t move,” I said as I lowered my mouth to his skin.

There was a bandage and a few nasty bruises on his chest—they were bad enough for me to be able to see them—so I left a path of gentle kisses around them.

“Oh fuck, Ava.” He groaned as I licked my way down his stomach, and when I reached his thick length, I cupped him.

My fingers slid up and down his shaft, and once I took him into my mouth, he grunted.

I teased him with my tongue, just trailing it over his tip, and then I licked and sucked him until his whole body was shivering under my touch.

“Ava, please stop. I can’t take it anymore,” he said, reaching out for me.

But I only let my fingers slide to his balls, pressing and squeezing gently.

His fingers gripped the sheets, and when I thought he couldn’t take it any longer, I let go of him and went to grab a condom.

My insides were aching for him, and I wanted to feel him stretching and filling me. Once I straddled him, positioning myself over him, we were both making small noises of pleasure.

I closed my fingers around him and guided him into my slickness. Rocking my hips, I impaled myself on him.

A groan escaped my lips as I threw my head back, moving against him faster and faster. Our bodies joined over and over again, and I did my best to stay as quiet as possible.

It was very likely someone was going to hear us, but it was hard for me to care about that right now.

Cole’s hips lifted toward mine, meeting me thrust for thrust, and the pleasure inside me was growing and growing until I could no longer focus on anything except for him.

Every inch of me was trembling and pulsating as I rode him, and when all the sensations were too much to bear, I exploded into a billion pieces.

Cole throbbed inside me as he came with a cry, and he held onto my hips. His gaze was on me, and even in the darkness, I could see the love for me in his eyes.

I rolled off him and settled on the bed next to him, carefully resting my head on his shoulder.

He placed a soft kiss on my forehead, and for a few moments, I could forget about everything that was going on and that was bothering me.

In his embrace, I was completely safe from the world.