AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Could we do a trial run? Do a little of that wrestling or whatever tonight?” My face was getting so hot, I was certain my cheeks were bright red. “You know what? It’s a stupid idea. Just forget it.”
“Hey, no, not at all. It’s not a stupid idea,” he soothed. “I think it’s actually really smart. Better to try a little nibble of it rather than go full throttle from the start, you know?”
My face was still burning hot, but I managed a nod.
He came over to me and touched my cheek gently. “You want to try tonight?”
I bit my lower lip. “Where would we start?”
“A little tumble in that bed, maybe?” He nodded toward it. “We can keep it tame. My goal could be to get you subdued, undressed, and in the bath.”
I glanced at the bed before meeting his gaze again. I could feel how much he was holding himself together for my benefit, could practically see the taut quality of his breathing as he waited for my answer.
“You’ll keep it playful?” I asked. “I don’t want it to be too menacing or scary.”
The corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk. “It’ll be like a really sexy game of tag.”
I snorted. “Yeah. Okay. Let’s give it a shot.”
“All right, sweetheart.” He lowered his head to kiss me.
The kiss felt like a precursor to what was about to occur. It was sweet but claiming. His tongue snaked into my mouth and tangled with mine. Just as I expected the kiss to end, Cole shifted the angle and bent further into my space, taking ownership of it.
Each moment I didn’t move, he became more and more demanding. He crowded in on me until it was all I could do to back against the wall. It was enough to overwhelm me, and before I realized it, I was pushing at his chest.
He parted just enough to smile down at me. “Did you finally remember what we’re doing here? Did you remember that you’re supposed to be fighting me off, sweetheart?”
Cole took another step back, one eyebrow raised. His expression had an almost teasing quality to it, like he was daring me to make a move. I glanced at the massive bed, then back at him. His expression and stance were both at ease, but I was as tense as a cat ready to bolt.
A few long seconds passed, then I took off running.
Cole tracked me with his eyes, giving me a head start. I went around the bed, putting it between us in the hope he’d lose some time by having to navigate around or across it.
“You sure you want to be in a corner like that?” he asked coyly.
Shit. I’d moved myself into a trap. There were only a couple of feet to move in, and I was hemmed in by a wall. When I looked back at Cole, he was stalking toward me.
I let out a yelp, scrambling onto the bed and rolling across it. I’d intended to catch myself in time to leap from the bed and run down the stairs. Unfortunately, I’d miscalculated my force and trajectory and wound up falling to the floor with a graceless thud. It didn’t hurt, but it was embarrassing.
Cole gasped. “Marley, you okay?”
I peeked over at him from behind the edge of the mattress. His eyes were wide with genuine concern. It was endearing—a little crack in the game that showed his true care and regard for me. I almost wanted to hurry over to him and kiss him, promise him I wasn’t hurt, and tell him how adorable he was.
But we were playing a game. One I wanted to win.
I jumped up and ran, knocking over one of the chairs as I hurried to the narrow staircase.
“Hey!” I heard him shout behind me as I rushed down the stairs.
My body sang with the thrill of getting one over on him. I was certain I’d be able to get downstairs and find a hiding place before he even got out of the room.
But just as I was about to drop onto the first floor, I was suddenly plucked off my feet. The abrupt movement surprised me so much that my feet hadn’t even registered that they could no longer move me.
Two arms, thick and corded with muscle, wrapped around me, crushing me to my captor’s chest.
“Gotcha,” Cole growled in my ear as he started hauling me back up the stairs.
I reached for the stair railing, clasping my hands to the wooden banister. Cole laughed, freeing up one arm to pry my hands away from it. What followed was a game of chicken where every time he took one of my hands off the railing, my other hand replaced it.
