13. Ella

13

ELLA

B eing with Colt makes me feel better than I’ve felt in a very, very long time.

The way he looks at me, the way he touches me. The chemistry and desire that crackles between us…I thought it was a myth, something I’d imagined from better days that never really existed.

But one touch, one kiss, and it all came surging back.

It was real. And it’s still burning just as brightly between us. Or at least it does for me. And if how hard he was between my thighs was any indication, then it did for him too.

That or he wasn’t lying about it being a while for him and he’s just desperate…

“Stop it,” Colt instructs as we pull into a basement garage in downtown Seattle.

It’s fancy and exactly what I expect from him.

“You’re overthinking everything, and it needs to stop.”

“I can’t help it,” I whisper.

He pulls to a stop and kills the engine.

“Well, lucky for you, I know exactly how to get you out of your head.”

He’s climbed out of his truck before I get to comment.

Predicting his next move, I sit and wait for him to open the door. Just like before, he leans in to help me from his beast of a car; only this time, he doesn’t just lift me to my feet.

“Colton,” I cry when he throws me over his shoulder and takes off toward the elevator. “Put me down, I weigh a ton.”

“Shut your mouth, Bombshell. It’s like carrying a feather,” he growls while happily palming my ass that’s on full display for him.

“That is not true, and we both know it,” I argue, wiggling around in the hope of forcing him to put me down.

But as the seconds go on, my fight begins to ebb away.

I remember my thoughts as I watched Luca do this to Peyton only a few hours ago. I remember the jealousy, the need to be wanted by someone so fiercely they couldn’t wait for me to walk.

And I have it.

Right here, right now. Colton is giving me exactly that.

Everything he’s said to me tonight, all the reassurance and compliments make my body burn red hot for him.

If he’s turned off by my new curves, the extra inches I’ve added since college, then he hasn’t shown it.

It’s the exact opposite of what I expected.

I thought he’d take one look at me and wish I was the girl from before—that’s if he even remembered me. But it seems he remembers just as well as I do.

It’s a headfuck.

A massive headfuck.

“Jesus, are you in the penthouse or something?” I mutter when we seem to keep climbing and climbing.

He chuckles, giving me my answer as he palms my ass before spanking me so hard I let out a little yelp.

“I should have guessed. Once a player, always a player,” I tease, earning myself another spank. And fuck, does it feel good.

Chad has barely touched me in…longer than I care to admit to, let alone given me anything near this kind of thrill.

All the blood rushes to my head as I hang there over his massive shoulder, but as his hands continue to roam over my ass and down my thighs, I can’t find it in myself to care.

It’s freeing in a way I haven’t experienced since…

Since waking up in the hospital.

Thankfully, the ding of the elevator puts a halt to that train of thought. It’s not where my head needs to be right now.

Not if I’m going to find a way to be brave enough to see this through with Colt.

I want to. I really, really want to. But I can only swallow my insecurities about my body for so long.

Having his hands on my curves is one thing, but seeing my scars? That’s something else entirely.

Just to show off a little bit more, Colt doesn’t even pull out any keys to get inside. Instead, the front door just seems to magically open for him. Or at least that’s what I tell myself while the only thing I have to look at is his ass. Not that it’s a bad view—very much the opposite, in fact. I’d just like to see his home as well.

Looking to the side, I try to take in his upside-down penthouse apartment. It’s…exactly what I thought. The ultimate bachelor pad.

“What is this? A photoshoot for GQ or something?” I ask as I’m whisked through the living area in favor of the bedroom.

I barely get a glance at the massive bed and the huge expanse of windows that showcase Seattle before the world spins around me and I’m thrown down on said bed.

“Some things never change, huh? Colton Rogers always thinks with his dick,” I tease as he stands at the foot of the bed with his arm over his head, ready to tug his shirt from his body.

He stills at my comment and slowly lowers his arm, regret shining in his dark, lust-filled eyes.

“Fuck. Shit. I’m sorry. I just…fuck.” Lifting his arm once more, he combs his fingers through his hair until it looks like it hurts. “Do you want a drink? Something to eat?”

Sitting up, I slide to the end of the bed as pain and confusion flicker across his face.

“I was teasing.” Wrapping my hands around his thick thighs, I drag them up, loving the way his muscles bunch.

“I-I was just…” He swallows as I close on the bulge in his pants. “Following through on my promise to—fuck, Bombshell,” he barks as I rub him through the fabric.

I hold his eyes, watching as they dilate and his lids lower.

“Do you know how hard it was not to fuck you in the park?” he groans.

“Something tells me quite hard,” I tease, squeezing his length with the final word.

“Fuck, yeah. So hard.”

I make quick work of his belt with my free hand, and in only seconds, I have his fly open and I’m dragging his jeans and boxers over his ass and down his thighs. His cock springs free, the tip already glistening with pre-cum.

Oh my god.

I can’t help but smile as my core aches to feel him stretching me open. Safe to say I haven’t felt anything that big down there for a while.

I probably should send Chad’s boss a condolence card, because hell knows she’s mourning his missing inches right now.

“Bombshell, I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t be laughing,” Colt says, amusement laced through his tone. Arrogant fuck knows I’m not laughing at his cock.

“Sorry,” I whisper, leaning forward to lick his slit to make up for it.

His taste explodes on my tongue, and instantly, it’s five years ago.

Anything that’s holding me back shatters to nothing, and as Colt groans in pleasure, I sink down on his length.

“ELLA,” he booms when he hits the back of my throat, his fingers tightening in my hair, holding me in place.

My lungs and eyes burn, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Bringing this powerful enigma of a man to his knees was always my favorite thing to do.

Sliding my palms around to his solid ass, I pull back before licking him and sinking back down.

“Holy fuck. So good. So fucking good,” he praises as I drive him crazy. “Fucking addicted to your mouth, Bombshell.”

Flutters erupt in my belly and between my thighs as his grip tightens and he begins to lose control.

Upping my pace, I suck hard, taking him deeper until his shaft swells thicker and he roars, his deep voice bouncing off the walls around us as he spills his seed down my throat.

“Fuuuuck, you’re such a good girl taking my cock, baby,” he praises, making heat pool between my thighs as I clean him up.

Once I’m done, I rest back on my palms and stare up at him.

All the things he wants to do to me play out in his eyes, and my nerves return.

Reaching over his head, he finally drags his shirt off, revealing his incredibly toned and perfect body.

The exact opposite of mine.

“What’s wrong?” he asks as he kicks his shoes and pants off, leaving him gloriously, shamelessly naked for me.

It’s not until he says that that I realize I’m hugging myself as if I’m about to shatter, all while hiding my belly and chewing anxiously on my bottom lip.

“C-could…could I get that drink?”

“My spunk taste that bad?” he jokes.

“No,” I say in a rush. “I just need…” a second to have a serious word with myself .

“Ella,” he growls as if he can see straight through me. “There’s a bottle of water on my nightstand if you need it so desperately, but there isn’t anything stronger in this apartment. I want you to remember this in the morning.”

I watch him with my heart in my throat as he presses his knee to the mattress and prowls toward me, his cock already hard for round two.

“O-okay,” I breathe as I’m forced to my back.

His lips find mine and he kisses me just like he did at the park. It steals all my thoughts and consumes every inch of me.

My hands take on a life of their own, roaming over his body, feeling how his muscles pull and ripple. The only thing better would be if I could see it, too.

His touches start innocent enough, keeping my nerves at bay, but as our kiss heats, he begins exploring my body, discovering all the bumps and lumps that never used to be there.

I fight my reaction to pull away and hide until he sits back and grips the bottom of my shirt, ready to pull it off.

Then I panic.

“Turn the light out,” I all but shout.

He rears back, his eyes widening in shock.

“Please,” I add, as if it’s going to make a difference. I can already see from the hard set of his jaw that it isn’t.

“Fuck that. You’re not hiding from me. Not now, not ever.”

Without waiting for a response, he grabs my shirt again and drags it over my head.

“You’re beautiful, and your curves are…sinful.”

Closing my eyes, I swallow nervously.

Because that pause wasn’t because of my curves.

It was because of the scar that cuts across my belly.

My breath catches when something soft brushes over that imperfect skin. My eyes fly open in shock, and what I find causes a lump so huge to crawl up my throat that I find it hard to breathe.

“Colton,” I whisper as he kisses my scar, before tracing across the line with his tongue.

Desire unfurls inside me the second his eyes lift to mine.

I’m so lost in his dark orbs that I don’t notice he’s undone my jeans until he sits up and begins stripping them from my legs.

“Colt,” I whimper.

He might be okay with the scar on my belly, but my leg is an entirely different story.

“Shh,” he soothes, backing down the bed so he can tug off my shoes and peel my jeans from my feet.

Lifting my foot, he places a kiss on the arch before moving to my ankle and up my calf.

“Colton,” I moan, my skin erupting in goosebumps.

Without a word, he makes me feel more beautiful and wanted than I have in five long years.

It only solidifies what I discovered the second Letty opened her front door.

Coming here was the right decision.