Page 30 of Big Package

He waited. Even now, with his breathing rough and his body hard against mine, he waited for me to tell him what came next. That did something to me the kiss hadn’t.

I touched his face. “I’m sure.”

I had spent months trying to get control of my life back, refusing to let anybody else decide what happened to me. This wasn’t losing control. I was choosing it. Choosing him. At least for tonight.

I pulled his shirt over his head, revealing a broad chest, strong shoulders, and scars I didn’t know the stories behind. His muscles tightened under my palms.

“Still think I wear too many clothes?”

“Definitely.”

He smiled, a real one, and kissed me again.

Somewhere between the counter and the back room, the sweatshirt I had on joined his shirt on the floor. Cole stopped at the door to my tiny office.

“Emmy. We don’t have to do this.” He was giving me another out, making sure a kiss hadn’t become permission for anything else. The care in that nearly undid me. For one reckless second, the word love flashed through my mind, so unexpected that I shoved it aside before I could even think about it.

I took his hand and led him in. “I want to.”

There was a desk, shelves of paperwork, and a loveseat I’d bought mostly because it fit under the window.

Cole looked at it, then at me. “Is that thing comfortable?”

“I’ve taken naps on it.”

“You fit.”

“I’m beginning to think your size could be a logistical issue.”

His lips split into a grin. “You haven’t seen the rest of me yet.”

“Careful. That sounds like a challenge.”

“Maybe.”

“You’re supposed to be the responsible one.”

“That was yesterday.” He kissed me until the loveseat stopped seeming like a problem.

There was nothing rushed about the way he touched me after that. Cole took his time, like the man who used as few words as possible had decided he could say everything with his hands. He undressed me slowly, and every time his eyes met mine, the choice felt entirely mine.

When he lowered me onto the loveseat, he caught my hand and kissed my palm. “You okay?”

“Yes.”

“Still sure?”

I pulled him down by the neck. “Cole, if you ask me again, I’m going to start questioning whether you actually want to do this.”

His expression changed. “You have no fucking idea how much I want this.”

That was what I needed.

I kissed him, and whatever restraint Cole had been holding onto shifted. His mouth moved over mine with more hunger, but his hands stayed deliberate, one braced beside me while the other traced slowly along my side.

When his fingers brushed a spot along my ribs I wasn’t expecting, I tensed. Cole stopped immediately and lifted his head. “Too much?”

“No. Just unexpected.” I touched his face before he could pull away. “Don’t stop.”