A Late Thaw Read online

“I don’t understand.” She really didn’t. How could he say it so casually?

  “I want you.” He shrugged and grinned as though he wasn’t flipping her entire understanding of the world on its head. “I’m thinking you want me, too, though I suppose you wish you didn’t.” He brushed his knuckles over her forearm.

  She couldn’t hide her shiver. A thousand questions sped through her mind. She tried to settle on one, but Cole didn’t give her a chance. He stood up and held out his hand.

  She took it.

  How could she do anything else? Even a moment in his arms was more than she’d ever expected to get. Her body still buzzed from the startling kiss he’d given her in the kitchen.

  Cole squeezed her fingers and tugged gently. She rose, swaying unsteadily until he caught her elbows.

  “I didn’t peg you as the shy type, Ki-Face.”

  Her heart skipped a beat at his casual use of the lame name he’d called her during their first argument. Even as a seven year old, he’d been too good to actually say something hurtful. “I’m just a little tired.”

  “Then it’s a shame you won’t be getting much sleep.” Chuckling deeply, he held her hand and guided her up the stairs and into his room. As he flicked on the light, she tried to remember the last time she’d been there. His mother had set a strict no girls upstairs rule a week or two before his eleventh birthday. They managed it a few more times, hiding out to sneak candy before dinner, but not during the last decade.

  Not much had changed in the years since. The quilt looked newer, but had the same blues and greens as the old one. A model rocket was still proudly displayed on the dresser Cole’s grandfather built. The sight brought warmth to her chest. She couldn’t really remember a time she hadn’t been in love with him.

  Cole reached into the side pocket of the apron she still wore and pulled out her cellphone. “Your mom will be expecting you home soon. Ought to call her. Don’t want her to worry.” He held the phone up high, shaking it above his head.

  Kiley stood on her tippy toes to get it back. She swatted his chest as she plucked it from his fingers. “And tell her what?”

  Of course he thought of it before her. Cole was used to being responsible for others; he had family members counting on him and dozens of employees. She wished she could say the call wasn’t necessary, or even better, that she’d already handled it. She would have texted on the way if she hadn’t gotten used to having no one waiting for her. As a grad student, Kiley had a tiny dorm room all to herself. It had been a few years since someone had worried if she didn’t come home at night. Still, Cole’s rightness stung her pride.

  “That you’re with me.” He leaned in close. His words slid, hot and moist, across the shell of her ear. She shivered as he continued to whisper. “Best tell her you’ll be back late tomorrow, too. I mean to keep you naked and busy until the sun comes up.” As he stepped back, Kiley fought the urge to cool her cheeks with her hands. He smirked. “You might want to leave out that last part, though.”

  Kiley swallowed hard and hit dial. She didn’t look at him; that grin was too much. “Hey, Mom—yeah…um-hmm…yeah. Mom, I just wanted to let you know I’m probably gonna crash at the farm tonight. No. No problem. Cole and I were catching up a bit and thought we’d watch a movie. It’ll be late when we’re done, so—okay. Yeah. G—” She looked up at him. “That was weirdly easy.”

  “Moms like me.” He plucked the phone from her hand and laid it on his dresser.

  “How do they not know you’ve debauched most of their daughters?”

  “Ooh…debauched. Bringing out those fancy college words.” His large hands circled her waist and dragged her up against his chest. “Tell me some more.” He untied the bow her apron strings made at the small of her back and placed the apron down beside her phone.

  Kiley shook her head.

  “Come on, pretty girl, give me another.”

  Her stomach fluttered. Did he really think she was pretty? Or was that simply what he said to the women he got up to his room? “You’re incorrigible.”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that.” He reached for the lacing on the front of her bodice. “This has been encouraging me plenty.” A single jerk of his hand untied the knot at the bottom.

  “It doesn’t mean—”

  He kissed her hard and fast. “I know what it means, Kiley. I do know how to read.”

  Her face heated up again. She reached down, placing her hand on his to stop him from unwinding the laces. “They’re just for show. There’s a zipper in the back.”

  He laughed. “Of course there is.” He stepped behind her, brushed her hair over her shoulder, and kissed the back of her neck.

  “Oh!”

  “Do you like that?” Cole pressed another soft, open-mouthed kiss along her neck. “Tell me.”

  “Yes.” Her toes tried to curl in her too-tight shoes.

  “You don’t sound too sure,” he teased as he began lowering the zipper on the back of her dress. Cole pulled the zipper all the way down and then touched the sliver of bared skin with his forefinger. “I’m gonna have to work on making you sure.”

  “I am.” What would he say if she told him the truth then and there—that she’d loved him for as long as she could remember?

  Cole slid the fabric over her shoulders and down her arms. Once her hands were free, the dress fell easily, pooling around her feet.

  She crossed her arms over her breasts and wished again that she owned a bra that worked with the uniform’s strange neckline. Hell, while she was wishing for things she couldn’t have, she wouldn’t mind going up a cup size.

  “You make me crazy, and you have no idea, do you?” He rested his cheek on her head and rubbed his hands down her arms.

  Kiley tensed, expecting him to pull her arms away. But he didn’t.

  “I think you’re gonna have to sit down so we can get those shoes off.”

  She stepped gingerly over her dress and sat down on the edge of his mattress, wearing only a pair of white thigh-high stockings, cotton underpants, and high-heeled ankle boots. Ridiculous. “I didn’t really dress for this sort of thing.”

  He kneeled in front of her like a white knight and lifted one of her feet. “I don’t know. The stockings are pretty damned hot.” He unzipped her boot, yanked it off, and reached for the other. When that one dropped to the floor, too, he grinned. “And how many other girls have puffy white clouds on their panties?”

  She looked down and groaned. Sure enough, she was wearing cloud-printed underwear. If she weren’t still covering her breasts, she’d have covered her face. Kiley was sure her cheeks were cherry red. “They were a gag gift. A friend from school found them and he thought—”

  “You got a lot of guys buying you underpants?” He looked down, the muscle on the side of his jaw twitching. Was he jealous or merely disappointed in her again?

  “It’s not like that. He’s not a boyfriend or anything.” She’d only added them to the rotation in a moment of delayed laundry day desperation. Most of her underwear was boring but not actually embarrassing.

  He stood up and pulled his shirt up over his head. “Doesn’t matter. You’re not keepin’ them on anyway.” He smirked at her for a second before bending down and untying his own boots.

  “Cole.”

  He toed off his shoes and unbuckled his worn leather belt. “Yeah?”

  “You’re gorgeous.”

  He paused, hands at the button of his jeans, and looked at her with something like surprise on his face. “Oh, yeah?”

  She nodded. He worked hard, always had. His chest and arms bore the long, lean muscles to prove it. But it wasn’t the broadness of his shoulders or the definition on his abs that made Kiley ache for him. Cole was simply beautiful. She knew on an intellectual level that he wasn’t really perfect. His nose was a touch too big, and when he smiled the left side of his lips tended to rise higher than the right side did. What Cole possessed was an innate charm that made people smile at him without even thin
king about it. She did it right then.

  He pushed down his jeans to reveal an entirely unembarassing pair of slate grey boxer briefs hugging an already impressive erection. He held out his hands and came back to her.

  She stood up on her own, moved closer, and slid her arms around his neck. Cole moaned as he placed his hand on her back and hugged her until her breasts flattened against his chest. Kiley closed her eyes and clung to him, tempted to rub herself against him like a cat demanding attention. She was determined to maintain at least a touch of dignity. This was just sex to him, affectionate sex certainly, but still just sex. That he made it feel like more only meant he was a skilled lover.

  Surviving this night would require keeping a careful hold on her heart, but it would be worth it. Even a single night with Cole would be worth the lifetime of hurt that might follow.

  She buried her face against his chest and inhaled deeply, letting his familiar scent comfort her even as it pulled her arousal to a peak.

  Cole’s large hand cradled the back of her head, and he tugged lightly on her hair. “Gotta taste your lips again.”

  She rose on her toes to meet his mouth, sighing at the first teasing brush of his lips over hers. “Please, Cole.” She needed more.

  The hand on the back of her head tightened its grip, and he spoke against her cheek. “I’ve got you. Gonna make you feel so good. This…this is good, Ki. This is so good.” His voice was deep and hoarse, almost unfamiliar.

  Her heart beat fast and hard like the ever-present sound of her neighbor’s bass jacked up in the dorm. She was certain he could feel it, too. It would probably bruise them both. She bit her bottom lip to keep from telling her secret and scaring him away.

  He kissed her again, almost tenderly, and she melted against him. If he pulled away, she’d be nothing but a puddle on the floor. Instead, he scooped her up as though she weighed no more than a small child. Pressing her face into the crook of his neck, she laughed. “I’m pretty sure guys only do this in movies and those books with girls wearing corsets on the covers.”

  Cole placed her in the center of his bed and grinned. “But I’m doing it for purely practical reasons.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “You’re a sexy woman, Ki, but you’re also a klutz. I really don’t want to explain to the doc how you managed to end up with a black eye tonight.” He lay down on his side next to her and kissed her shoulder.

  “I’ll have you know that I’ve grown out of that.”

  He lifted his head. “Really?” His eyes twinkled mischievously.

  “Mostly.” She grinned, flirting with surprising ease. “And I’m way more flexible now.”

  The blacks of his eyes doubled in size. “You don’t say.”

  “I do say.” Kiley raised her arms above her head and stretched, arching her back and surprising them both with the sensuality of the gesture.

  He swallowed hard, and his eyes settled on her breasts. “Fuck.”

  Her nipples tightened painfully.

  She dragged his mouth to hers and poured her need into a kiss. She wanted to ask him if he could ever love her, really love her, but fear held her back.

  Instead, frowning up at him and cupping his face in her hands she asked, “Do you really think I’m pretty?”

  She winced at her own childish insecurity. It wasn’t that she was particularly unattractive; plain maybe. Cute on a good day. Her eyes were more grey than blue, and while she was thin enough, she couldn’t call herself shapely. She was an average girl in love with a man who could easily turn the heads of truly beautiful woman, and she’d known it for as long as she could remember.

  Cole looked confused for a moment, as though he didn’t understand the question. He’d probably never been with someone who’d make such a lame inquiry while in bed.

  He brushed her hair away from her face and rubbed his thumb over her cheek. “You’re wicked pretty, Ki. Don’t you know that yet?”

  His crooked grin made her entire body warm.

  His hand slid up to cover her breast. She gasped as her nipple peaked hard and tight. Each tiny movement of his palm made her twitch.

  “Wow. I think you like that an awful lot.” Grinning with self-satisfaction, he lowered his mouth to her other breast and flicked at her nipple with the tip of his tongue.

  She tangled her fingers in his hair, holding him in place. The swirl of his tongue sent spikes of pleasure on an express route down her body to join the aching between her legs. He settled his lips around her nipple and pulled. When she moaned, he moved to the other breast and repeated the entire process. Lick. Swirl. Suck.

  Chapter Eight

  KILEY MADE THE SEXIEST sounds he’d ever heard. There was a whole symphony of them: gasps, moans, and sighs. But Cole’s favorites were the tiny whimpers that seemed far too needy to come from his fierce and independent girl.

  Using his teeth, he tugged on her nipple as gently as he could and was rewarded with a perfectly hot groan and a raspy demand for more. She pulled his hair and writhed beneath him. Cole slid his hand down her side, marveling at the softness of her skin before grabbing her hips with both hands. He kneeled between her thighs and kissed a path from the valley between her breasts to the dip of her belly button, circling it with the tip of his tongue.

  “Oh!”

  “Mmm-hmm.” He rubbed his nose against her lower abdomen. It was even better than he’d expected; she was exquisite, passionate, everything he’d hoped for. Well, almost everything. He couldn’t help wishing she’d let him in her head a little bit. Did she finally see what they could be together?

  He traced one of the white clouds printed on her panties with his fingertip. “Forecast for me, girly. What kind of clouds am I looking at?”

  She laughed and pushed her elbows against the mattress to lift her shoulders and look down at him. “Cumulus.”

  He touched a cloud on her hip. “Is that good?”

  She shrugged. “Depends. There’s moisture in the air or else there wouldn’t be any clouds at all. They could easily become cumulonimbus and then there’d be rain.”

  “I suppose you’ve got a channel all picked out.”

  “What?” Her nose wrinkled.

  She was probably confused by the abrupt change in subject, but Cole couldn’t quite keep his questions about their future on the back burner. They were too loud, too big. Could this one night really be all they’d have? Could he live with only a taste of what he wanted to have forever?

  “To do the weather on,” he explained.

  She laughed. “I’m not on the television track. I did my internship forecasting for agriculture. It’s more like a desk job, lots of time staring at a computer—no fame or fortune.”

  “Hmm.” Cole tapped her nose. So fucking cute. Her meteorology degree made more sense now. Kiley wasn’t the smiling celebrity type. She was always happier behind the scenes. He forced his concerns aside and gave her a flirty grin. “You know I’ve been having a bit of a dry spell lately myself—could use some rain.”

  “Is that so? Looked like you were getting all you could handle earlier tonight.”

  Andi. She hadn’t liked seeing him with Andi. “Why Kiley St. Claire, you almost sound jealous.”

  “Of rain? That’s ridiculous.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, I still think you sounded jealous.”

  She reached up, slid her hand around his neck, and buried her fingers in his hair. “People hear what they want to hear sometimes.”

  “I see.”

  “Are we gonna do this or what?”

  He shook his head. “Are you always in such a rush to skip through the romance part?”

  She giggled. “I didn’t realize the romance was so important to you, Casanova.”

  “Well, then I guess you don’t know me as well as you think you do.”

  Gripping his hair, she pulled his head toward hers. “I know the important stuff.” Kiley kissed him hard enough to send stars spiraling behinds his eyelids.

  Of c
ourse she didn’t know the important stuff, not really. She didn’t know that when she’d stopped coming home for her school vacations it broke his heart, or that he still couldn’t imagine making a life with another woman. Cole was determined. Kiley was meant for him. She was meant to be his, and he was meant to be hers. If necessary, he’d prove it by making love to her until they were both hoarse from shouting. There were worse ways.

  He grinned. “I suppose you do. I suppose you do.”

  Chapter Nine

  KILEY WANTED TO LEAP out of her skin. Cole had tormented her hormones for nearly as long as she could remember. But having his hands on her, his lips trailing over her stomach and up her inner thighs, was beyond anything she was prepared to handle with decorum. She whimpered and clawed at his shoulders. “Damn it, Cole! Stop teasing.”

  The bastard chuckled. Worse, he chuckled in a deep, sexy manner sending her stomach into a somersault. The aching between her legs pulsed with want.

  He tucked his thumbs under the edge of her silly panties and yanked them down. “Still haven’t learned to be patient, I see.” He left her underwear hanging from one ankle.

  She used her other foot to toe them off and kick him playfully. “I’m plenty patient. You’re just too…oh.”

  Cole lowered his mouth and licked.

  Kiley promptly forgot every single word in the English language. “Glrghh!”

  “I’m too gleergh?” He smirked up at her.

  Too everything. Cole was far too perfectly everything. She swatted at him and pushed his head back down.

  “Oh…oh, wow. That is…oh!” Kiley fisted the sheets along the sides of her body. His lips, always moving, were soft against her. She heard him murmuring but couldn’t make out the words over the rush of blood roaring in her ears. His tongue replaced his lips, and Kiley’s eyes clamped shut. He teased, gentle at first, dragging her to the edge with long, slow licks. She rubbed her foot against his side, begging for release. Cole took his time and let her hold there, teetering on the edge, before finally closing his lips around her clitoris and sucking. Hard.

  Kiley came instantly. Waves of pleasure flowed through her body without reducing her want for him at all. “Cole.”