Page 50 of Shelter
It made me feel worth knowing.
His tongue stroked mine with what I could only name as tender exploration. Mine followed suit, learning as it did his welcome and his will. Cole’s hand at my neck became fingers in my hair, massaging my scalp and sending a river of chills down my spine. His touch made my nipples peak and rub against the flannel of my pajama top. Against his chest.
And all at once I wanted to touch him there almost as much as I wanted his touch on me.
I placed my hand on his waist, fisting the cobalt sweater that made his eyes so blue they were almost electric. He moaned, and his kiss deepened when I felt his abs tense under my touch. My hands, I knew, were too cold to touch him bare, but ever since he’d tortured me withJane Eyrein nothing but his swim trunks, I’d burned with the desire to run my hands down his sides and across the rippled terrain of his stomach.
As though he read my mind, his hand left my knee, gripped my own with its warmth, and tucked it under his sweater. The moment he pressed my hand to his flaming skin, Cole’s breath shuddered.
“Fuck. You’re freezing.” His words muffled against my mouth, and then he chuckled against my lips. “Why are you always so cold?”
His mouth sealed again over mine before I could answer. But my fingers splayed against the solid smolder of his abs, and I couldn’t stop my question.
“Why are you so hot?”
I sounded drugged. And the moment he started laughing, I realized I also sounded like an idiot.
“Glad you approve, Cormier,” he purred, moving from my lips to my jaw as he laughed.
“That’s not—” Embarrassed, I braced my hand against him, aiming to pull away, but Cole gripped me tighter.
“Oh, no,” he protested, his burning mouth now on my neck, but somehow, I could still feel and hear his smile. “You said I was hot. I’ll carry that with me for the rest of my life. Don’t ruin it now.”
I wanted to argue. Instead, the feel of his mouth on my neck had my eyes closing. I gave a growl of frustration. He chuckled again and pressed his lips to my ear.
“I love it when you get mad.” His voice was a sexy whisper that made the tension leave my shoulders and the embarrassment I’d felt a moment before boil away. In spite of myself, I laughed.
“Wh-what?” I stammered, my breath hitching when his kiss returned to my neck. “Why…?” I wanted to ask,“Why do you love it when I get mad?”But that was too many words.
“Mmm,” Cole moaned, the sound echoing deep so that I felt it in the very base of my body. “Because you don’t pretend… You don’t hide…”
His words sunk in, but I didn’t entirely believe him. I could pretend when I needed to. For years in school I’d just kept my mouth shut so no one would know how dumb I was. And clearly I’d pretended forever that I didn’t care what Cole thought of me. I’d done it so well, I’d even fooled myself.
His hand still held mine against his armored abs, a place where he was both strong and vulnerable. I stroked my fingers against his smooth skin. He was so warm, I wanted to crawl into his sweater and press my flesh against him.
“You’re not afraid of anything.”
I stiffened when he said this, unable to fake that it was the truth. I swallowed and lifted my head, which I’d tilted back into the cradle of his caressing hand.
“I wouldn’t say that.”
Cole straightened then, and for the first time since I’d attacked him with my kiss, our eyes met. Staring into his liquid blue eyes made me feel completely naked. He now knew things about me even I didn’t fully understand.
A frown creased his brow. “Does this scare you?”
No. Yes.My mouth worked but no sound came out. “What?”
His frown deepened. “Am I scaring you?”
I blinked, grasping his meaning and the concern in his eyes. “No. No, you’re not scaring me—”
“I shouldn’t be doing this,” Cole said, shaking his head. He dropped both of his hands, and that was when I felt afraid.
“Wait. Why?” I protested, my stomach plunging.
He covered his face and gave a muffled groan through his fingers. “Because. You’re too young. And I’m an asshole—”
“No, you’re not.” He looked miserable. Guilty and ashamed. And I hated it. So, I grabbed his hands and pulled them from his face. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I kissed you, remember.”
