21. Bailey

Stop smiling,I told myself. Play it cool.

Hearing and seeing Cole's reaction to Trevor's cupid attempt, as well as my bikini made me a whole lot happier than it probably should have. Not as happy as hearing that he'd dreamt about me. Or that he remembered every outfit I'd ever worn around him. But happy nonetheless.

"So, your friends are matchmakers?"

My heart thudded wildly in my chest as Cole fanned his chiseled arms out in front of him on the bubbling surface.

"They are."

"And they never tried to set you up?"

"They've wanted to, but I wasn't… I didn't want to get set up. I've just been concentrating on the business for the past few years."

"Hmm." He made a noncommittal sound as if he knew that wasn't the entire story. Which it wasn't.

"I haven't been in the right headspace to meet someone," I admitted.

"Right." He nodded and met my gaze. The look in his eyes said he knew where my head had been, which was with Simon. "When's the last time you've been with someone?"

"You mean… been withsomeone?"

His lips curled into a half-grin that had a bad-boy edge to it. "Yes, I mean, hanky-panky."

My head fell back as I laughed at the callback to the day I found out he was a plus one for hire. I still couldn't believe that's what I'd said.

"It's been a while," I answered without answering.

"How long is a while?" He followed up.

I'd always been very private about my sex life, or lack of sex life. I wasn't embarrassed, per se; it just wasn't a conversation I felt comfortable having with 99.99999999% of the population. But it seemed Cole was the 0.00000001% that I did feel comfortable with.

"Two years," I confessed.

"Hmm."

There was that sound again. However, this time, it held a more observatory tone. He didn't seem at all surprised.

"That's how long it's been for me, too."

I chuckled, sure that he had to be joking. I'd seen the way women and men looked at him. Their age didn't seem to matter; he charmed and attracted everyone, from teenagers to the elderly. When he walked into a room, everyone took notice.

I'd witnessed women flirting with him relentlessly. I'd observed phone numbers being slipped to him. I'd clocked women's not-so-subtle invitations to meet them in a dark corner, bathroom, and once in a car outside.

When his face remained steadfast, my smile slipped. "Wait, are you serious?"

"Yes."

"You haven't had sex with anyone in two years?"

He shook his head.

"Why not?"

His lips curled up, and he turned his head, revealing the deep dimple in his left cheek. The indention in his face did funny things to my insides. "I just haven't been in the right headspace."

Touché, I thought to myself.

"What about you?" He moved to the center of the spa, and my breath caught in my throat. The water hit him mid-chest, which meant his broad shoulders and chiseled biceps were on display. His large hands rested on the edge of the deck, caging me in his arms. "Why haven't you been with anyone in two years?"

I had to tilt my chin up to meet his eyes. When I did, the look in them stole all the oxygen around me. Not that it would matter anyway. I completely forgot how to breathe. Who needed air when Cole was this close to me? Cole wasn't touching me, but his entire body surrounded me, below and above the water. And I loved it. I loved feeling cocooned by him.

Speak, I told myself. He'd asked me a question. What was the question? Oh, right, why haven't I had sex in the past two years? The only response I could think of was to say that it was because I'd been waiting for him. But that seemed very OTT, which I'd learned from Trevor meant over the top.

The arousal coursing through me must have drained all of my brainpower. All I could think to say was, "I just haven't been in the right headspace."

He'd stolen my answer; it was only fair I took it back.

"Oh, yeah?" he grinned.

Not trusting myself to speak again for fear that if I opened my mouth, I would beg him to kiss me, to touch me, so I nodded in response.

His hand moved from the side of the spa, and his fingers tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. It was the same thing he'd done when we'd been stuck in the bathroom. I closed my eyes, loving the feeling of his work-worn fingertips brushing against my forehead and the rim of my ear.

"And what about here, with me, now?" he rasped. I opened my eyes. "Where's your head at now?"

"It's warming to the thought."

"Just warming, huh?" He chuckled. "Maybe another kiss would help tip the scales in my favor."

The moment he said the word kiss, the playful atmosphere changed to something much more electrically charged. Inside, I was jumping up and down, but I did my best not to show my eager enthusiasm.

Play it cool, I reminded myself. WWOD? What Would Olivia Do?

Channeling my inner bestie, I shrugged my right shoulder in an attempt to sound nonchalant and unaffected. "I guess it's worth a try."

My attempt to lighten the mood and cut the sexual tension was a huge fail. The intensity in his eyes went from making me hot to thinking I might spontaneously combust.

He closed the distance between us. His hands cupped my face, and his mouth lowered onto mine. Unlike the kiss we'd shared in the courtyard, surrounded by people, which was tender, measured, and sweet, this one was raw, urgent, and primal.

His tongue slid into my mouth, crashing against mine with feral intensity. Urgency roared inside of me as he possessed me. I'd never experienced a kiss like it. It was all-consuming. I lost myself in the rhythm of his sensual exploration.

I heard myself whimpering into his mouth with desperation as my arms wrapped around his neck and his hands gripped my ass cheeks. He moved between my legs, tugging me closer to him. My body moved through the water until it was flush up against him. The hard evidence of his arousal pressed against my core, and my hips jerked to feel more of it.

He stood, his hands still gripping my hips as he lifted me out of the water. I closed my eyes and buried my face in the crook of his neck. I expected him to get out of the spa, but he stayed in, setting me on the edge of the jacuzzi. My feet and calves were still dangling in the water. I was still acclimating to what was happening when his large hands ran up my inner thighs, spreading my legs farther apart. The roughened pads of his fingers sent thrills racing up my body.

His fingers reached the apex of my legs, and I stared down, watching as his thumbs traced the edges of the fabric covering my sex. I watched as his knuckles brushed along the seam of my wet bikini bottom. I braced myself for the impact of what I was going to feel when there was no barrier of cotton between my sex and his touch. He leaned down and pressed a kiss on the material. I sucked in a shaky breath of anticipation when he moved back and stood up, so his upper body was completely out of the water.

I stared at his chest, my pulse racing in anticipation of what was going to happen next. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long to find out. He reached out and tugged both sides of my bikini top off, leaving my breasts bare. He stared down at my chest with reverent awe, as if he were seeing the eighth wonder of the world.

I'd always been self-conscious of the size of my areolas. Probably because the first person who saw them was Simon, and he'd said they were the size of a silver dollar, and it wasn't a compliment. They weren't, I'd checked, but it stuck with me.

A deep, male groan of appreciation ripped from Cole as he lowered his head and covered my right and then my left nipple with his lips, sucking my nipples into his mouth as his hands massaged my mounds of flesh. When I felt his teeth bite down on my distended peaks, a jolt of tingles exploded in my core. My hands moved to his head, my fingers fisting in his hair as he fed on my breasts like a starving man at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Pleasure coiled low in my belly, causing my hips to roll, seeking relief. I was already close to the edge when I felt his hand move between our bodies, and his fingers pull my bikini bottom to the side. The air hit my dampened flesh a second before Cole's fingers began running up and down my folds. If I'd thought his roughened pads felt good on my thighs, that was nothing compared to the friction they caused on my sex.

Simon was only man I'd ever been this turned on with, but it was different. He didn't have rough hands. He was an academic. He came from money, and aside from one summer working for Habitat, he'd never done manual labor in his life. I'd never really thought about his privilege in terms of sex appeal until now. But I realized I liked being touched by a man who worked with his hands. It awakened the wanton woman in me.

Being with Cole unlocked a side of myself I'd never been familiar with. It was the side that wanted to be with a man that I knew could protect me. It was the side of myself that wanted to be Jane to Cole's Tarzan. He made me feel safe and dangerous at the same time.

As my release began to build, he switched his position, lowering himself back down into the water so his face was between my legs. The heat of his breath fanned my feminine flesh a fraction of a second before his mouth covered my core. His tongue was flat as he licked me from the base of my slit to the top. The moment his tongue brushed against my clit, pleasure exploded in my belly. My hips jerked up at the shock of ecstasy. I would have levitated if it hadn't been for Cole's left hand gripping my hip, keeping me in place. His right hand moved up my torso and cupped my breast. His finger and thumb pinched my nipple. I covered his hand with my own. Seeing the contrast of his sun-kissed tan against my pale complexion and feeling the friction of his work-roughened hands against my smooth skin, the contrast only heightened my excitement.

His tongue flicked my clit and within seconds, I was coming apart. I closed my eyes as flashes of light burst behind my lids. Pleasure lashed through me as my body shuddered in release.

Cole continued moving his tongue around my clit in suctioning swirls, drawing out my orgasm, wringing out every last drop of pleasure he could give my body until I finally went limp with exhaustion.

My eyes were still closed when I felt myself being lifted in the air. I automatically wrapped my arms and legs around his muscular frame. He picked me up as if I weighed nothing, which was also a new turn on for me.

"That was…so good," I whispered against his neck as he stepped out of the spa with me in his arms.

"That was just the beginning." His voice was gritty and rough, sending an aftershock of pleasure whipping through me.

I wasn't sure if his statement was a promise or a threat. I hoped it was both.