29. Sunny

There weremany ways Cole could have played his next move.

For a while, I sat on the edge of the guestroom bed in the robe I"d changed into, staring into space for God knew how long. I reminded myself that the last time I"d tried to quietly separate from him, he"d blackballed me all over town and basically rendered me homeless.

But not this time.I suddenly reanimated, and as I yanked a pair of yoga pants and one of my endless Benton Girls tees out of the dresser drawer, I resolved to counter any wicked move he tried to pull to stop me from leaving.

I"d show up at Tony"s and Cherenity"s place—just show up, I decided as I crossed the hallway to the bathroom. And if they gave me any pushback about sleeping on their couch, I"d push past them with my trash-bag suitcase and tell them,"You owe me one. Actually, several."

Then I"d ask to borrow Pru"s car while she was rehearsing and during shows so that I could sign back up with a rideshare service. I"d?—

"Sunny."

I shrieked and dropped my post-shower outfit to the black-and-white checkered floor when I found Cole sitting on a delicate towel stool. Next to the clawfoot bathtub I"d admired but never used. Holding a still-boxed red CalPresso Supreme Plus Coffee Machine.

"I didn"t mean to scare you."He threw me a miserable glance and held up the box."This is for you. It"s easy to use—single serve pods. No early morning thinking required."

Okay, waiting with a gift in my bathroom had definitely not been on my"What Chess Move Will Cole Benton Pull Next?"bingo card.

Also..."How did you get a coffee machine up here in the five minutes it took me to gather my clothes?"

"It"s been over twenty minutes," he answered. "This is actually my second time running the bath."

Oh, yeah. I"d spent the first fifteen minutes sitting on the bed, dazed by the fact that I'd said out loud to someone—for the first time in my entire life—that Rich Harrison was my father.

"I fucked up,"Cole said, standing up with the box."Please take this coffee machine and this bath."

I glanced at the tub full of bubbles next to him."Cole ‘Triple Ice' Benton ran me a bath?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I..." Cole visibly struggled with his answer. "I regret my actions downstairs—what I said, whatI assumed. I would like for you to take this coffee machine as a peace offering."

"A peace offering,"I repeated."And what do you expect in return?"

"Nothing."

I folded my arms across my chest. "There"s always something with you."

"Yes, I"ve been told I tend to have transactional thinking." Cole glanced to the side. "But what happened today was a lot. I put you through a lot. And I don"t want to compare you to a virus, but I think I might have caught a huge case of empathy from you."

Cole set the coffee machine on the bathroom counter and rubbed the back of his neck. For once, he looked more like a sheepish human male than an imperious Ice King."Anyway,it's a peace offering. I don't want to fight with you anymore, Sunny, and…"

Again, he visibly struggled to find his next words."I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the way I acted. At the restaurant, in the elevator, and downstairs."

An apology.

I had just gotten an apology from Cole Benton.

That also had not been on my bingo card.

I didn"t know what to say.

So, I dropped my robe and walked over to the clawfoot tub, challenging him with, "You seriously don"t expect sex? Or a reversal of my decision to move out in exchange for your apology? And the CalPresso coffee machine?"

Cole swallowed but answered, "No. Both are yours to do with whatever you wish."

I lowered myself into the bath. Slowly. Giving him time to show the true colors of his thoughtful gesture.

Cole"s eyes stayed on me. Burning with the usual hunger—but also something else. Something that looked painful.

But he averted them when he noticed me watching him watch me.

"I'll just go...um...take a shower of my own before I get back to work. Call Agnes if you need anything."

I did need something, I admitted to myself. Something Agnes couldn"t provide. Answers.

"Cole, wait,"I said when he was almost to the door.

His shoulders tensed. As if he was afraid. Of me. Of what I"d say next. But eventually, he turned back around.

"You were serious this morning when you made Tomas drive me to your grandmother's house, weren't you? All that stuff you were saying about control. You weren't joking. You really were trying to punish me for making you lose control at the Benton Girls show. It was about control, wasn"t it? All of it."

To his credit, Cole didn"t hit me with several moments of weaponized silence before he answered. With a nod.

"And the things you said to me during that fight were about control, too. You were trying to prove you controlled me, right?"

"Not you." He shook his head."Not you. Me. I was trying to prove I could control myself. That you didn't have me wrapped around your finger.

He averted his eyes. "Again, I know I went too far, and I..."He took a deep breath."I'm giving you all the control. Whatever you want me to do right now to make this up to you, I'll do."

"You're not serious."I shook my head, unable to fathom the Ruthless CEO giving me, the lowly showgirl, control over our entire relationship.

But he finally re-met my eyes and said,"I'm always serious."

"So if I asked you to take the rest of the day off from work and stay here and talk this out with me?—"

He came all the way back into the bathroom and stood at the end of the clawfoot tub as he pulled his GoNoTo phone out of his pocket and instructed it to"Call Agnes."

"Calling Agnes..."the phone"s clipped AI voice answered.

"Hello, Mr. Benton. What can I do for you?"came Agnes's efficient voice over the speaker.

"I'm not coming into the office today."

Holy Cow, he's actually doing it!Giving me control of his schedule.

A wicked smile lifted my lips, and an even more wicked thought popped into my mind. I shifted to my knees and moved through the water toward the side of the tub where he stood.

Meanwhile, Agnes sounded genuinely confused."What? I mean, certainly, Mr. Benton, but you took a half day yesterday, too. Are you okay? Are you sick? Should I send a doctor up?"

I could hear the sincere worry in Agnes's voice as I rose to my knees to unzip Cole"s pants and pull him out.

But, of course, Cole wasn't sick. I doubted he ever got sick. And even if he didn"t feel well, he"d still come back to work.

"I'm fine, Agnes?—"

He cut off when I took him into my mouth, my hand fisting his shaft as I teased my tongue over the mushroom head of his tip. Cole expelled a huge breath of air.

"Mr. Benton? Mr. Benton?"Agnes said on the other side of the phone.

I bobbed my head up and down, sucking him as far down my throat as I could.

And Cole"s hand went up to my head to guide the action. But unh-unh-unh! I knocked his hand away and waggled my finger at him.

Because he wasn"t in control. I was.

"Mr. Benton? Mr. Benton?"Agnes asked again.

"I'm fine, but I need to get off the phone," Cole finally answered, his voice straining. "Just clear my day! Bye."

He hit the end call button without waiting for Agnes's answer.

And not a moment too soon. Just a few seconds later, he unleashed into my demanding mouth.

I swallowed every drop before pulling back to say,"Oops, it looks like I made you lose all your control before I could get mine."

His pale green eyes flashed with guilt. Then determination. "I can get back there."