AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah,” I correct her. “You did. But that’s okay. You have every right to do anything you need to. You don’t owe me anything.”
“I know.” Her response comes immediately. “But I’m also allowed to regret the way I acted too.”
For the first time since we’ve exited Tom’s, I turn to face her and my heart skips a beat.
The lights around us do nothing to illuminate her face, but her curls are shining, and the way Casper leans toward me sets my body on fire.
“Take me to bed, Cole.” The smile on her face dares me to say no. “Or lose me forever.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Her words, with the threat of losing her forever, are too close to the truth of our situation for comfort.
I’m not strong enough to walk away—not yet.
Not without one more night with her in my arms.
13
CASPER
Neither Cole nor I say a word the entire trip back. I have no idea why he isn’t talking, but I keep my mouth shut so I don’t chicken out. The entire last week has been miserable, and secretly, I’ve wanted him to come and see me. To force me to talk to him, but he didn’t.
My arm is starting to throb from the tattoo, but it isn’t really painful. Still, I find myself rubbing the skin around the plastic that Tom wrapped it in, trying to ease the discomfort as much as I can.
In fact, neither one of us says anything until we are standing in the space between our two places, and I am trying to work up the courage to invite him inside.
“Which house?”
His voice is hoarse and almost inaudible, but I don’t move away from him. His breath runs along my neck, and I shiver with anticipation of what I know is going to come.
“Mine.”
I step forward, but Cole reaches out and grabs my hand, pulling me back until he knows I’m not going anywhere.
“Casper.” His eyes bore down into mine. “I need you to tell me you want this. I don’t want to go in there with you and start something that you’re only going to regret in the morning.”
He bites his lip as he waits for my answer. When I shift slightly, I feel his erection dig into my stomach, and I press as close as I possibly can. Watching the expression on his face, the way his eyes glaze over with the pressure of my body against his, I wrap my arms around his neck. With a smile on my face, I dig my fingers into the hair at the base of his scalp and pull tight. Cole groans but lowers his face to mine.
“I want you,” I tell him quietly. Then I press my lips to his in a brief kiss. “I’ve never wanted anything more.”
Letting go of the grip I have on his neck, I step back and practically flee up the stairs to the front door. I don’t need to look over my shoulder to know that Cole follows behind me. There is too much at stake, too much for the two of us to do, for him not to be there.
He growls when I don’t move fast enough. “Open the door, Casper.”
The need in his order spreads through the air between us, making it hard to think. Despite that, I slide the key into the lock in time for Cole to take control.
I’m practically shaking with need by the time we make it inside. When I head for the couch, Cole grabs my hand and smiles devilishly.
“We’re making it to a bed this time.” Then he leads me up the stairs and to the bedroom without saying another word.
As much as I want him and need to feel his body on mine, there is a huge part of my soul that thrives on his attention to detail.
The sex had definitely been hot on the kitchen table. But it’d been rushed—fast and starving. I want him to take his time with me. I want to take my time with him. I want to show him what I’m capable of and ultimately what I need.
By the time he pulls me into his arms in the middle of the room, I have already pretty much melted into a puddle of desire right there at his feet. If he touches me, there is a chance I’ll implode.
That’s the only reason I manage to come up with for why I was fleeing from him. He takes a step forward, and I take one back. Until there is nowhere for me to go except down onto the bed, which I am beyond ready to do.
