Cole took great pleasure in drying Ava off after their escapade in the shower. He had carried her to her bed and plopped down beside her. Her dog stayed quiet in the next room. Cole vowed to pick up some special treats for the cooperating animal.
Though he had been completely drained, he somehow felt revitalized. The change in Ava had been monumental. The confidence, the command over her own body—and his. Something had damaged her along the way, and he hated the thought that it could have been him.
Her ex-fiance had done quite a number on her.
But had he been any better?
Ava touched something in him that scared him senseless.
He wanted more out of life.
Something permanent.
Something with roots.
Something he had been avoiding at all costs.
Something involving her.
He’d never known he could enjoy the tenderness of being next to a woman as much as—or maybe even more than—the intimate act of sex. Last night—when he had drifted off to sleep with her cuddled up in his arms—had been torture to his body, but had done something to his heart. He’d never tell her that when he had carried her to her bed, intending only to tuck her in and go home to his empty life, she had clung to him and begged him not to leave her again.
She had nuzzled him and kept a firm grip on his heart, and though he knew she was asleep and unaware of her actions, he had become her protector.
In reality, he was no good for her. He couldn’t trust himself to give her the life she deserved.
But he could do his damnedest to help her see how potently desirable she was.
He knew other men looked at her the way he did. He had been nearly out of his mind with jealousy the night at Jake’s Lounge when he had caught other men ogling her. He didn’t know what he would have done if her friend had picked someone else to join her in the kissing closet. He’d probably be in jail right now.
She didn’t know the effect she had on men, though. That shitbag ex of hers had convinced her there was something wrong with her. Something undesirable.
She needed to know how she looked when she was in the throes of pleasure. She needed to see the fire in her own eyes. If she could experience what he did when he was with her—even vicariously—then maybe she could put the criticism of her ex behind her. She deserved to know the power she had over men.
“What are you thinking?”
Ava interrupted his thoughts with her pointed question. She draped her arm across his middle, and his erection jolted back to life.
She didn’t even have to try.
“I’m thinking that I have more plans for you.”
“Oh, really?” She practically purred as she reached up and kissed his chin.
“Yup.”
“Do these plans include dessert?”
“Something like that.”
In one quick motion, he sat up and flipped her onto his lap, facing her full-length mirror. She struggled to turn around, but he wouldn’t allow it. He had important business to conduct here in bed, and everyone knew that business was his life.
He watched her in the mirror as a flush spread across her body. He kissed her neck, inhaling her sweet scent. He nibbled gently on her earlobe, absorbing her shivers and pulling her closer.
At his urging, she opened her eyes and watched as he played with every part of her body. Each time she looked away, he brought her attention back with a tweak or a gentle reprimand.
Ava moaned and communicated exactly what she wanted from him using only body language. This was a language he understood completely. He followed her nonverbal commands and became more and more excited in the process.
He parted her legs. She fought him at first, but he had ways of encouraging compliance.
“Open your eyes, Ava.” He softened his command with a gentle stroke. “Look in the mirror.”
She did as told, but a deeper flush than before spread from her face to her neck and chest.
He increased his attention, eager to drive away any remnants of embarrassment from her.
She licked her lips and wrapped her hands around his elbows. Her eyes darted around, looking everywhere but where he wanted her to.
“Look at yourself, Ava.” He used his most commanding tone—the one that encouraged nothing but compliance.
“Cole, don’t.” She closed her eyes again.
He stilled his hands. He whispered in her ear, asking her to open up for him.
Her eyes flung open as he plunged his finger into her.
“Just keep watching.”
She did as told, flushing deeply, but watching boldly.
“Do you see what I see when we’re together, Ava?”
She licked her lips again, but then tried to pull his hand away.
“Oh, no you don’t. My hand stays.” He kissed her neck, her shoulder, everything he could reach from his position. His eyes held hers in the reflection.
After more stroking and teasing, he no longer needed to tell her to keep watching. Desire pooled in her emerald eyes, and even as she moaned and moved her head back to rest against him, she remained tuned in to the show he was producing in the mirror.
He wanted to taste her. His passion, his need, his desire for her were being pushed to the limits.
She was so close to completion—he could feel it.
She reached her arm over her head and pulled his face to hers. As they kissed, her body began to tighten. Before he could stop her, she flipped around to mount him, wrapping her legs around his waist.
She screamed out his name as they finished together. The stinging in his shoulder intensified as she gripped him, but it only urged him on.
He let himself go with a howl, pure joy mixing with raw, animalistic impulses.
No other woman could ever do what Ava did to him without even trying.
Ava drooped against him; a wilting flower left too long in the sun. An unfamiliar pang of guilt rushed through him—he had pushed her into a great deal of physical exertion today.
Then again, she had done an awful lot of pushing herself. Ah, she had been so bold. So perfectly commanding.
“I guess this means I win the bet.” He couldn’t resist the urge to tease her, though he knew he was inviting a slap.
“Hmm…” She sounded like she was savoring a delicious dessert. “I think I could learn to like losing if this is the consolation prize.”
Ava crawled off him and pulled him over to the pillows, where they settled in quickly.
As soon as Ava reached over to grab his hand, Bear came waddling in and started howling at the bed.
“Oh, my poor baby. You need to go out!” Ava bolted out of bed, threw on her clothes, and disappeared into the other room.
Her words triggered a realization, which hit him like a steel beam crashing into his sternum. Fear clawed at his throat as he remembered they hadn’t used any protection.
Damn.
He was always careful.
Always.
How had he lost himself so completely?
As he regained his breath, he realized a smile had begun to creep in.
What would it be like to watch as his baby grew in her womb?
What would it be like to take her to doctor appointments, run to the store for late night ice cream cravings, coach her through labor and delivery?
He closed his eyes and imagined sitting with Ava as she brought a newborn to her breast. She would be the best mother—she had a knack for kids and they all adored her. She was a natural caretaker—her students, her neighbors, her dog.
Reality barged in on his fantasy.
His imagination fast-forwarded to him having to leave for work at sunrise. Traveling around the world to grow his business. The rage on Ava’s face as he slumped in after a fifteen hour workday, a screaming baby adding lines to Ava’s once-flawless face. He imagined leaving Ava alone as he met with town leaders and planners, trying to maintain his business at the expense of his family.
Just like his father had done.
Cole wouldn’t make the mistake his father had. He wouldn’t marry and disappoint a woman he loved. He couldn’t bring a child into the world knowing he wouldn’t be there to provide the emotional nurturing a father should provide. He wouldn’t stand by as his wife led what amounted to a single’s life so he could spend his life with empty buildings.
He knew how to create a house, but not a home.
He knew how to please a woman, but not how to make her happy.
He knew how to build a business, but not a life.
“Geez, I thought you’d look more relaxed. You look like you’re contemplating how to end world hunger.” Ava bounced onto the bed, her hair a disheveled mess and her eye makeup smudged into a shadow beneath her eye.
He had never seen anyone so beautiful.
“I was counting down the seconds until you came back.”
“You’re such a sap.” She smacked him lightly on the arm, then nestled in at his invitation. “Oh, the neighbors are wondering when you’ll be back to finish the lawn. I told them you were fixing my sink.”
He didn’t have the heart to tell her that one look at her current state would have even the most blind elderly neighbor knowing exactly what he was doing in her house.
Bear jumped onto the bed and settled in at their entwined feet. Cole had a list of things he had planned to accomplish today, but surprisingly, he felt no urge to do anything but hold Ava as she drifted off to sleep. A nap? He hadn’t had one since he was in preschool. Now, however, he was feeling relaxed and languid enough to consider drifting off along with her.
The beeping of his cell phone interrupted the peace. Ava darted to an upright position, panic in her eyes at the sudden interruption.
“It’s okay, babe. Just my cell. Go back to sleep.”
Ava looked around the room, clearly confused. She brushed her hair out of her face and fell back against her pillow.
“Answer it, dummy.” She smiled at him, then covered her head with the pillow, rolling over to face the other side.
Cole ran his hand over the contour of her hip. The cell phone could wait.
The beeping stopped only to restart a minute later. Ava sat up again, demanding that he answer his phone.
“What if it’s your dad? There could be an emergency.”
His heart pounding at the thought, Cole bent over the side of the bed where he had discarded his jeans earlier. Pulling his cell phone from the holster, he answered gruffly.
His best friend and business partner, Ben, chastised him for not answering his phone.
“I have no doubt that you can handle any problems that arise. Don’t bother me for the rest of the day.”
Cole ended the call before Ben could continue.
The phone beeped again as Cole tried to recapture the coziness he had been so wrapped up in.
“What did I just tell you?” He snapped, trying to keep his voice to nothing louder than an irritated whisper.
“You need to get your ass back to the office. I have something important for you to sign.”
“I’ll get to it in the morning.”
Stunned silence.
“You don’t want to hang up on me again. A contract was just faxed over, and you need to sign it right away. What the hell are you doing, anyway? You left hours ago to close on that old people’s house.”
Ava’s warm hand on his arm drew his attention away from whatever Ben was trying to say.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “They need you. Go.”
He needed to be inside her. Again.
He also needed to sign that contract. He had a feeling it was exactly the thing he hadn’t dared to hope for.
“I’ll be there in fifteen.”
Ava rolled away from him again, her body stiff. Was she upset with him? She had urged him to go.
He kissed her bare shoulder, then stood up to pull his clothes on. Unable to find his shirt, he smiled when he realized he had left it with the lawn mower.
He had a spare in his truck. He’d use that.
“Ava, thank you for—”
“Don’t you dare say it.”
Cole thought there was nothing as adorable as an embarrassed Ava.
He knelt beside the bed and kissed her forehead.
“I’m sorry to leave so quickly. There’s a contractual issue.”
“You don’t have to explain anything to me, Cole.” Her voice was curt when she replied. So different from the gentle lull she addressed him with before.
He stiffened. “I know I don’t have to. I want you to understand. I’d rather be here with you.”
“But duty calls. I get it.”
She rolled over so her back was to him.
He didn’t have time for a petty fight. Duty did call, and if she preferred to leave things this way, he’d oblige her.
“See you tomorrow.”
“Mmhmm.”
He hesitated at the door. Her mumbling spoke volumes about how much she believed in him. He should stay—he should prove to her that she meant more to him than any contract in the world.
But why give her false hope? If the contract was the one he assumed it was, he’d be leaving and would have to let her down, anyway.