19. Colton

19

COLTON

“ I n my fiancé’s bed,” she confesses. “You used to do everything. All the things I needed but wasn’t getting. I used to wait for him to go out, slip my hand into my panties and pretend it was you.”

“Fucking hell, Bombshell,” I groan, my cock aching all over again.

“I used to call out your name when I came.”

“Fuck, yeah, you did,” I mutter before sucking on the sweet spot of her neck and making her moan.

“What about you?” she asks, breathlessly. “Did you ever think about me?”

I can’t help but laugh. “Every goddamn day, Ella.”

She stills in my arms.

“You’re lying,” she accuses.

“Trust me, I’m not. I never forgot about you. But recently, you’ve been even more present in my mind than usual. It’s like I knew you were coming. The universe was preparing me for this.”

“That’s a bit woo-woo for you, isn’t it?” she teases.

“Yeah, it is. It’s fucking true though.”

I might be willing to share a few secrets, but I keep any thoughts I’ve had recently about long-term relationships and how those look when one half is a professional athlete to myself.

One, I don’t want to get her hopes up. And two, I’m fucking terrified.

From as early as I can remember, I was of the opinion that serious relationships were toxic. That sooner or later, the supposed love turned to hate and everything fell apart in apocalyptic fashion.

Hell, I still think that. I’ve lived through the fallout, seen the pain it can cause.

But more recently, I’ve seen the other side.

Kane and Letty, Luca and Peyton, Leon and Macie. Hell, even Tristan, Knox and Violet with their less traditional approach. They all make it look so easy, effortless really. It makes me wonder.

But then I remember who I am, and I shut it all down.

There’s a reason everyone else makes it look easy. They don’t have the same threat looming over them. They don’t have to fight so hard to live a normal life despite the bullshit genes they inherited.

“What’s wrong?” Ella asks, feeling my body lock up with tension.

“N-nothing, Bombshell. You’re wet and naked and in my arms. There is literally nothing wrong right now.”

Liar .

Silence falls as we lose ourselves in our thoughts.

While I might be terrified of what having her here in my arms right now might mean, I’m powerless to do anything about it.

It’s right. Natural. Effortless.

It’s always been the same between us.

Just Ella’s presence settles something inside me that no other’s ever has.

She’s the calm to my manic. And that is something I crave more than almost anything else in the world.

Peace.

“ S hit,” Ella hisses once we’ve finally emerged from the bathroom and she’s located her purse and cell that were abandoned on the floor of my bedroom when we arrived last night.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ve got five missed calls from my boss,” she confesses.

The mention of her boss makes me realize that she probably has a job at home. From the second I laid eyes on her, all I wanted to do was forget she had a life outside of this little bubble and keep her all to myself.

“And another two from my mom.”

“Nothing from him?” I ask, regretting the question the second it passes my lips.

She holds her phone to show me the number of missed calls from her ex-douchebag.

“Oh shit. He’s really missing you, huh?”

She laughs, but there’s no amusement in it.

“He’s missing something, but it’s not me,” she says as I pull on a pair of boxers.

“What did you do?” I ask teasingly.

“I stole the wad of cash he was secretly stashing in the closet.”

“Bombshell,” I gasp in mock horror.

“It was barely five hundred dollars. And it’s not like he doesn’t owe me.”

“From the way he’s treated you, five hundred barely scratches the surface,” I say, reluctantly pulling on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt.

She doesn’t say anything in response, and the need to ask her more, to demand to know everything about that little cock sucker, burns through me.

She remains silent and just drops her cell to the bed with a sigh, sitting there in only a towel, her hair hanging limply around her stooped shoulders, her fists clenched in her lap.

“We’re going for breakfast before I take you back to Kane’s.”

I can’t lie, I wasn’t overly happy when she insisted I take her back once the bath water had gone cold. As far as I was concerned, all we needed to do today was order takeout that we could eat in bed, naked. But she wasn’t having any of it. Not today at least. One day soon, I’ll make it happen, I have no doubt.

I wanted to argue, but the knowledge that she’s just upped and left her life meant I agreed.

I’ve got no idea what her plans are, and I’m too scared to ask right now. I just know that I need to do what she wants. And I can only hope she hangs around long enough for me to convince her that going back would be a really fucking bad idea.

I mean, I’m pretty sure I showed her enough times last night and this morning why she should remain here.

She told me that she’d come more in the last twelve hours than she has in years. Assuming that’s true, what other reason could she need to forget that Texas even exists?

“You ripped my panties,” she states, holding up the ruined lace as if I need reminding of my overenthusiasm last night to get between her thighs.

“And?”

“I can’t go to breakfast without panties.”

Stalking over, I stand before her and grab her hands, tugging her to her feet.

Dipping low, I grab the towel that’s wrapped around her with my teeth and pull it from her body.

“Colton,” she gasps as it hits the floor.

“If only you wore a dress yesterday,” I muse. “Maybe you should go to breakfast wearing nothing but my jersey. Let everyone know you’re mine.”

“Colt,” she warns.

With that image playing havoc in my head, I release her and run to my closet.

“What are you doing?” she calls, but I ignore her as I hunt for what I want.

I’m back in seconds, tugging my jersey over her naked body.

“There. Now you’re ready.”

“I can’t go out like this,” she argues.

Stepping up to her, I wrap my hand around the back of her neck, forcing her to tilt her head back to keep eye contact.

“I know a girl who would have done it,” I taunt, making her eyes flash with recognition. “I bet she’d have sat opposite me in the restaurant and spread her legs too, just to drive me wild.”

She frowns. She knows what I’m doing, and I’m banking on her still being stubborn enough to go along with it.

“Yeah, Bombshell?”

“I look a mess.”

I smirk, looking her up and down. “I promise you, you don’t.”

“But—”

“No buts,” I say, reaching for her hand and dragging her into the bathroom. “Stand there,” I demand before pulling a hairdryer from the vanity and plugging it in.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting you ready to go out. Now, shush, you’re distracting me.”

Turning the hair dryer on, I aim it at her blonde locks and set about doing her hair.

It seems today is all about firsts. First sleepover in my apartment, first bath in my tub, first shift as a hairdresser.

“That looks surprisingly good seeing as you used your man shampoo and don’t own a brush,” she confesses, combing her fingers through her locks and inspecting my handiwork.

“Well, if shit goes wrong, at least we know I have another talent in life.”

“I can assure you, you have plenty,” she teases.

“Yeah, problem is, I only want to use those skills with one woman. And anyway, no one could afford me.”

“Colton Rogers, as egotistical and big-headed as ever,” she mocks, walking out of the bathroom, her ass swaying beautifully beneath my jersey.

“So, can we go eat now? I’m fucking starving.”

She looks down at herself questioningly. I expect her to refuse when she looks up and just demand I take her back to Letty’s. But much to my surprise and delight, I get the opposite.

Her eyes burn with fire and determination as she says, “Let’s go.” Although, she quickly adds, “Before I change my mind.”

Taking her hand in mine, I drag her out of my apartment and into the elevator to descend to my car.

“You’re fucking incredible, do you know that?” I blurt as I back her up against the wall. “Even more so than you used to be.”

I claim her lips in a filthy kiss that leaves us both breathless by the time the doors open to the parking lot.

She smiles up at me, her eyes sparkling with happiness, her lips swollen from my kiss.

Fuck me. I’m pretty sure this woman was made specifically for me.

And I let her fucking go.

Shaking my head, I follow her like a lost little puppy toward my truck.

Opening her door, I help her up, not-so-accidentally letting my hand slip under my jersey to grab a handful of her luscious ass.

“Colt,” she gasps, trying to stop me.

“What? There’s no one down here to see. And even if there was, they’d only be jealous.”

With another quick kiss on her lips, I jog around to the driver’s side, trying to rearrange my boner that’s tenting my sweats as I go.

She might be worried about going out without underwear, but I’m more likely the one who’ll end up embarrassing myself. No doubt someone will snap a photo of me to sell to the media walking around with a hard-on for the hot girl wearing my jersey.

I smirk.

Fuck you, douchebag cowboy. You didn’t want her? Well, I fucking do. More than you could ever know.