16. Cole

CHAPTER 16

COLE

“ H arder,” Bella demanded.

“Are you?—”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

Cole belted her ass, and the open-handed slap tipped her over the edge.

She gripped the far side of the kitchen island, her sweat-slicked skin sliding over cool granite as he lifted her hips to the optimum angle and increased the tempo of his thrusts.

He’d been grappling with his feelings all day. Curiosity warred with shame. Excitement battled with disgust. Disgust at himself, not at Bella, and he hadn’t been totally sure that her suggestion wasn’t a sick joke.

But there she was, stretched out in front of him, her toned ass pink from his hand.

A few hard thrusts, and he followed her into oblivion with a startling observation: he’d never come so hard in his life. His legs shook as he collapsed over her, supporting himself on his elbows as he peppered her back with soft kisses. How was he supposed to give her up in barely more than a week ?

“I hope that was as good for you as it was for me,” he murmured.

“Give me a minute.”

A chill ran down his spine. Was her asking for time a good thing or a bad thing?

“I’ll get rid of the condom.”

Had he done something wrong? Cole had never laid a hand on a woman before, not in that way. Gretchen had been strictly vanilla, and the rest of his experience was limited to the occasional one-night stand and Frankie, who was adventurous but in a whole different way. And Frankie was firmly in friends-with-benefits territory. They texted each other memes and hooked up occasionally when they were both on Ilha Grande at the same time. She’d had three boyfriends and two girlfriends since they met—discreetly, because her father was a member of the House of Assembly—and she also tried to set Cole up with “nice girls” from time to time, but there was never any spark.

With Bella, the flames grew higher with every night they spent together.

When he got back to the kitchen, she was sitting on the island, stark naked and grinning. Thank the heavens for that. She didn’t smile often, but she lit up the room when she did.

“Whoever built this place did a good job,” she said. “The cabinets are plenty sturdy.”

“Are you okay?”

“You think I would have kept my mouth shut if I wasn’t? For future reference, I don’t do gags either.” Cole stepped closer, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. “I wasn’t sure you’d do it, but I’m glad you did.”

“I wasn’t sure I’d do it either,” he admitted. “Your ass is the colour of raw steak.”

“I’d be more concerned if it was medium rare. Why weren’t you sure? Because I could tell you liked it. ”

Of all the questions she could have asked, that was the wrong one. And when he didn’t answer, she tried filling in the blanks.

“Let me guess—you went to a strict Catholic school where the nuns spanked you with rulers, and now you’re full of repressed guilt that you secretly liked it?”

That was so far off base that he couldn’t help laughing.

“I went to a state school in Crescent City. No nuns in sight.”

“Hmm. You headed south for the weekend and took a wrong turn into a Silicon Valley sex party. The sight of all that leather freaked you out, and you vowed never to go near a flogger again?”

“You have quite an imagination.”

“You think tech execs don’t enjoy spicy parties? I have it on good authority from a friend of a friend of a friend that they do. But if that’s not the reason, did you get a computer virus and swear off porn sites for the rest of your life?”

“Maybe I’m just a gentleman?”

“Maybe you are.”

Fuck it. He wanted to know what made Bella tick, and the only way to get her to open up was to lead the way.

“Or maybe I accidentally bought my ex a sub collar, and she freaked out and told me that men who get involved with the BDSM scene are sick and need their heads examined.”

Bella’s eyes widened, and her lips twitched, but she didn’t laugh out loud.

“That sounds like a joke, but you’re actually serious, aren’t you?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Go on, you have to elaborate. How did you accidentally buy her a sub collar?”

“Her birthday was coming up, and women like jewellery, right? We were both at college, and I wasn’t exactly flush with money, so when a guy selling jewellery came into the bar where I worked and offered pretty necklaces for a good price, I picked out a nice one and gifted it to her. I thought the ring at the front was so she could add a charm or something.”

Now Bella was laughing. “You had no idea?”

“None. And neither did she at first. She went out with her friends, and I guess one of them must have told her because she came home and threw it at me.”

“That’s one way to end a relationship.”

If only. Cole had looked back on that moment many times and wished he’d seen it for what it was. A red flag. A sign they weren’t compatible. Not because she wasn’t into BDSM, but because she’d taken a simple mistake and twisted it to suit her own agenda.

“It wasn’t the end. I apologised and bought her a purse instead. She chose it.”

The designer purse had been expensive, and he’d spent the next six months working extra shifts to pay off his credit card balance. Gretchen had said she deserved the gift after he embarrassed her in front of her friends.

“And then you went back to your vanilla sex, but you didn’t live happily ever after.”

“Something like that. Have you eaten dinner?”

“Nice subject change. Very subtle.”

Cole leaned his forehead against Bella’s. “I’m not going to waste our time together talking about a woman who’s been out of my life for six years, especially when we’re both naked. If you’re not hungry, we can continue this in the bedroom.”

“I already ate.”

Bella didn’t say a word when he threw her over his shoulder and headed for the stairs. Less than a month since he’d met her, and she’d already blown his mind in a way Gretchen never did.

What would it take to convince her a relationship was worth a shot?

“This isn’t Wonder Burger,” Bella said as the cab drew up outside Carlo’s Italian. Perry had recommended the restaurant—family run, good food, not pretentious, he said.

“I’m not taking you to Wonder Burger dressed like that.”

The Porsche had been repaired, and Bella arrived at Uncle Mike’s place at eight thirty, five minutes after Cole. He always thought of the house in McNeil as Uncle Mike’s home rather than his because his heart lay in San Gallicano, but now the return to his peaceful beachside villa would be bittersweet.

Bella had climbed from the car wearing a slinky black wide-legged jumpsuit with a narrow silver belt, and he’d nearly suggested getting dinner delivered, but then he remembered that he needed to think strategically. His whole relationship with Bella was back to front. How was it that he knew she liked being spanked, but he had no idea of her surname? She hadn’t volunteered the information, and now he couldn’t think of a way to ask without it coming across as awkward.

He could hardly steal her purse and take a look at her driver’s licence, could he?

And time was ticking. Seven days until his return to Emerald Shores, and last night at the Galaxy had been so busy that he’d crawled into bed in the early hours, too tired to do anything but wrap his arms around Bella. Morning sex was his new favourite thing .

“Hmm,” she said as the cab driver opened the door.

What did “hmm” mean? “Is that good or bad?”

“The food is good. The owner’s wife runs front of house, and she gossips too much.”

“Do you want to go somewhere different?”

She huffed out a breath. “I’d rather get the talking part over with.”

Who had hurt her? Most of the time, Bella was brash and confident, but something else lurked around the edges. A hint of vulnerability? He saw it in the quiet moments, but she quickly tucked it away.

Damn, these thoughts were getting deep for a brief fling.

“Should I be offended?” he asked.

“Not really—I don’t enjoy making awkward small talk, period.”

“Small talk is always awkward?”

She didn’t answer, just hobbled toward the restaurant on her crutches, and Cole hurried to open the door. The host’s eyes lit up when he saw her, and then his expression turned puzzled.

“Did you make a reservation, ma’am?”

Bella shrugged.

“Where’s the rest of your party?”

“Right there.” She jerked a thumb at Cole, and he got the impression she would have folded her arms if it weren’t for the crutches. “It’s just him tonight.”

“The reservation is in the name of Gallagher,” he supplied.

The host ran a fingernail down the page in front of him, then beamed and picked up two menus.

“Please follow me.”

The man led them to a quiet table in a dimly lit corner and pulled out Bella’s chair. Once she was seated, he fussed around with napkins and candles, completely oblivious to her scowl. Which only grew deeper when an older lady rushed over.

“Miss Bella! It’s just the two of you for dinner this evening?”

Interesting. She was a regular? And she usually came with a bigger party? For some reason, Cole hadn’t really considered that she might be part of a large social group. She always seemed like such a loner.

Bella leaned to the side and pretended to check under the table. “Sure looks that way.”

“Chef is making almond-and-orange pandoro—I’ll give you a box to take for Marcel.”

Marcel? Who was Marcel?

“He’ll be happy about that.”

“You’ll have the tagliatelle alla nostromo?”

“Could you give us a minute?”

“Of course, of course.”

The woman backed away, and Cole couldn’t help himself.

“Marcel?”

“Chill, he’s gay.”

“I wasn’t worried, more curious. You seem so…”

“Antisocial?”

“I’m not sure I would have used that word.”

“I just like to keep my sex life separate from the other parts of my life.”

“You don’t find it easy to trust people.”

“So? I have good reason.”

There it was. Someone—he suspected a man—had hurt her, and hurt her badly. And Cole didn’t want to repeat that mistake.

“I understand. I really do. Let’s forget about the past and focus on tonight. You come here with your friends?”

She gave the slightest nod.

“So let’s pretend this is just another one of those times, except tonight you’re with a different friend. Chocolate or cheese?”

“What?”

“Which do you prefer? Chocolate or cheese?”

“Why does that matter?”

“It doesn’t. We can eat good food and discuss things that are totally inconsequential in the big scheme of things.”

For a long moment, he thought she was going to trash the idea, but she scrunched her mouth to the side and then answered.

“Cheese.”

“Because it’s healthier?”

“Because it has a higher melting point. Can’t carry an emergency chocolate bar in your purse in Vegas.”

“So you carry an emergency cheese stick?”

“I carry an emergency PowerBar. Lion or shark?”

“Neither?”

“You have to pick one.”

“Then I guess a shark. They generally leave people alone, plus I spend most of my time on land, so it’s more difficult for one to eat me.”

“How many lions are there in San Gallicano?”

“Okay, that’s a fair point. Would you rather go to outer space or the bottom of the ocean?”

“Outer space. Things happen slower there. If anything goes wrong at the bottom of the ocean, you won’t even know it’s the end.”

“Maybe it’s better that way?”

“Even when things look dire, if you keep your head, there’s often a way out.”

“Are you speaking from experience?”

“Sailboat or superyacht?”

They carried on with the back and forth through three courses. Bella dodged any personal questions, but she did relax, and Cole managed to build up a better picture of her. She favoured practicality over enjoyment, although he knew from the night they met that she liked to have fun too. She was adventurous, the kind of woman who would pack a bag and head to the airport without a second thought. And she was generous. Not only did she insist on splitting the cost of dinner, but he saw the tip she added to her half of the check. He’d left twenty percent; she left fifty. And when she caught him looking, she shrugged and said, “Rosa has two kids in college.”

Writing obituaries must pay better than he thought. First, there was the Porsche, and then there was the fact that she lived alone. Cole had spoken to a property management company about renting out Uncle Mike’s home when he returned to San Gallicano, just in case he managed to keep it out of the bank’s hands, and he’d been shocked by how much rental prices in the US had increased in the time he’d been away.

Or maybe Bella had gotten money in a divorce? That would also explain her bitterness toward relationships. If he’d known her surname, he would have googled her, but he didn’t think he’d find much. When he’d asked her “Facebook or BuzzHub,” she’d said neither, and when he’d pushed her, she’d said BuzzHub because it ran on a subscription model rather than selling data to anyone who wanted to pay, but she didn’t use social media so it didn’t matter anyway.

“Admit it, that wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be,” he said as he climbed into the back seat of a cab beside her.

“I admit nothing,” she replied, but she was smiling. A genuine smile, not the tight one she’d offered when Rosa asked if the food was okay.

That night in bed, Cole curled around Bella and slid into her from behind, soft and sweet. She didn’t ask for more. But as she came closer to the brink, it felt so natural to move his hand up to her neck, to wrap his fingers around her throat and tighten them just a little. She pressed back into him, and that was the first time she moaned his name when she came.

And he knew he was in big, big trouble.