Page 94 of The One Who Never Left: Colter

CHAPTER 35

“What if I told you Lynlee’s at Ms. Tutty’s until nine?” Sutton said, her voice low and confident like she’d already made up her mind. “And that for one night, I want to be something other than a mom?”

Colter felt that land deep. Not like a temptation, more an invitation.

He shifted her to the end of the seat, until her ass was barely hanging on. Close enough that the space between them felt charged. So close he could smell the season on her skin, see the streetlight glimmer off those cobalt pools, the unmistakable want in her eyes.

“I’d say that one night isn’t going to be nearly enough time for everything I’ve been thinking about.”

He let his hands slide slowly and deliberately, memorizing the way she felt under his palms.

“You’re trouble,” she said lightly.

“You say that like it’s new information.” He dipped his head, brushing a kiss where her pulse fluttered. “And none of those thoughts involved you holding back.”

“You get one hour,” she said firmly. “Then I go back to being a mom and you go back to being you. So make it count, doctor.”

Colter lifted his head, studying her face, the determination there. “Did I ever tell you I’m good at negotiating?”

“One night.”

“I like a challenge,” he said, smiling.

She didn’t let him finish.

Her hands slid up his chest and suddenly she was kissing him again—no hesitation or second-guessing, just heat and intent and all the things she’d been holding back crashing forward at once.

He groaned softly against her mouth, hands tightening at her waist as she pressed closer, like she’d decided this moment mattered and she was done pretending otherwise.

There was nothing more captivating than a woman who knew what she wanted and that changed the balance of things. Especially when what she wanted was him.

Her scent hit him first—warm and spicy, like wine and something darker beneath—and it tangled with her taste until his thoughts scattered. When her mouth softened against his, when her breath hitched just slightly, something inside him snapped clean in two.

He’d barely been able to think straight when she was a restaurant’s length apart. Now, knowing how much she’d been holding back? He was finished.

He slid his hands up her ribs until he reached the undersides of her breasts, pulling her closer, grounding himself in the curve of her body, the way she fit against him like she’d always known exactly where she belonged. She shivered at the contact, a soft sound slipping from her lips as she pressed closer instead of pulling away.

“Not here,” she murmured against his mouth.

But she didn’t stop him. If anything, she leaned in closer, breath unsteady, nails skating down the back of his neck.

“Okay,” he said, voice rough, even as he kissed along her jaw, her throat, lingering just long enough to make her inhale sharply. “Then tell me where.”

She tried to answer, but her hands betrayed her—sliding over his shoulders, tugging him closer. God, she was intoxicating like this. So open and wanting and completely unapologetic.

He kissed her again, slower now, like he was memorizing her. Every small reaction—every breath, every tremor, felt like permission.

“My place,” she whispered, the words barely audible but unmistakable.

That did him in.

He shifted, leaning back just enough to really look at her—to take her in. The way her clothes were rumpled, the way she looked at him like she was standing on the edge of something dangerous and choosing it anyway.

“Your place it is.”

The trip to Sutton’s place took less than she expected. In fact, they made the five minute drive in under three and when they reached her apartment building they both sprinted up the pathway.

Colter had a longer stride, so he was practically pulling Sutton along. The closer they got to Sutton’s place, the higher her anticipation grew. By the time they reached her front door, nerves were buzzing through her veins—right alongside want and adrenaline and the very real awareness that this moment mattered.