The bridge of my nose stings from the depth at which I feel his words. He means them, I can feel it in my heart and soul.
“Cole,” I swallow the lump in my throat. “You hardly know me. How can you believe that?”
“Because it’s true.”
I search his eyes. Now that we’re not in the heat of sex I see them more clearly. The layers of different browns in their milk chocolate depths. They’re stunning, just like the rest of him.
“This can’t be anything more than what it was, and you know that.”
His fingers flex on my body. “Remind me. Whatwasthis?”
He’s annoying me, so I wiggle on his lap even though I know it’s bratty. The action to remind him of what “it was” that both did together. It does what I hoped, and I feel the tic of his spent cock.
Cole only raises a brow at my antics, giving me a“really, Vixen?”look.
I stop and heave a sigh. “I came to you to fulfill my Christmas wish, and you did that, Santa. So thank you.”
His gaze doesn’t waver, and he doesn’t balk at my words. Instead he smiles, his lips curving slowly until his dimple shows.
“Why are you smiling like that?” I ask.
“Because, I’m happy you think I fulfilled your wish. But I haven’t yet, Vixen.”
My face screws up in confusion. “If you didn’t, what did we just do?”
“We had incredible sex. But it was only the start.”
My heart skips a beat in my chest. “What?”
He laughs softly. “When I asked you why you came to me on Christmas Eve, what did you say?”
I know what I said, but I play dumb. “That I wanted to suck your dick, and have you fuck my needy pussy.”
Cole’s eyes twinkle as he clucks his tongue against his teeth. “Just so you know, baby. I’m keeping a list of every time you’re being naughty—and I’ll check it twice before I spank your ass red again.”
Liquid arousal pools between my thighs and I do my best not to grind into his dick that’s gotten harder beneath my ass.
I clear my throat. “You keep speaking like this is going further than it already has.”
“Because it’s going to,” he says confidently. “Now tell me. What did you say you wanted when you first sat on my lap?”
His confident words spark hope in my gut that shouldn’t be there. He’s being unreasonable, but by the look in his eye and his hold on me, I know I’m not going to leave here without answering him. That the time for being cheeky is done. Cole isn’t going to let me wiggle my way out of this, and if I let him spank me, I know that we’ll end up back here again once it’s through.
“I said I didn’t want to be alone.” Repeating the words again places a weight on my chest that had been removed for a time, and again I find the bridge of my nose stinging with tears that want to fall.
Cole’s chest springs to life with a warm and understanding hum. His hand on my thigh stroking up and down. “And you won’t be alone again, Vixen. Not if I have anything to say about it.”
The burn in my nose reaches my eyes, and suddenly tears are slipping down my cheeks in slow, heavy drops. Cole’s hand steadies me on his lap while the other finds my face, his thumb catching the tears as they fall. I sink into his touch, desperate for the comfort it brings.
“I want you, Vixen North. I wasn’t lying earlier when I said I have wanted you since the moment I met you.”
“Cole,” my voice breaks. “That can’t be true.”
“But it is. You captivated me the first time we met, but you were young and determined to make your way through college. Holly needed you as a friend and you needed her. Every time I saw you the spark in my chest grew, then last Christmas when we spoke all night, you stole my heart and ran off with it.”
“But you didn’t pursue me,” I counter.
“I wanted to,” his fingers on my cheek flex. “I wanted to Vixen, so badly. But I wasn’t sure if you wanted me. You’re young, so beautiful, and I’m—”
