Page 121 of The Alpha's Second Chance Mate

Cole arrived thirty minutes later as I was finishing mashing the potatoes. At his knock, I checked the security camera to make sure it was him, then called out for him to come in.

“Hey,” he said, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “Uh, food smells great.”

“Yeah.” I shrugged as I lifted a piece of sizzling chicken from the pan. “I’m not hungry, but it seemed like the thing to do. Keep life as normal as possible, you know?”

“Avery… I’m sorry. About everything,” Cole said. He looked utterly miserable.

I nodded as I filled a plate and placed it on the island in front of Cole. “Eat. If you do, then I can force myself to eat, too.”

Cole glanced down at the fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and roasted broccoli. He chuckled.

“I’m not all that hungry, either,” he said. “I can’t stop thinking about Ashton.”

“Same,” I muttered, then sat on the stool beside him with my own plate. “But we can’t help him if we starve ourselves.”

“True.”

We picked at our food in an uncomfortable silence. When it became too unbearable, I finally said, “We haven’t been handling this well, have we?”

Cole’s shoulders slumped, and he dropped his knife and fork. The cutlery clattered against the plate. “No. We haven’t. I’m sorry about this morning.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “I wasn’t very encouraging about your plan.”

Cole snorted a laugh. “Maybe it was shit, who knows. I just want us to be on the same page. I want to support you and have your support. You and I, we have to be a team. I know I’ve been a dick to you, and I’m sorry about that. I’m just so stressed about everything.”

“If you’ve been a dick, then I’ve been a bitch, so we’re pretty even. And you’re right.” I gave him a sad smile. “We have to be a team. Be kind to each other, listen, help each other… all that stuff.”

“That would be nice,” Cole said. “We won’t be able to help Ashton if we’re always at each other’s throat.”

Our eyes met, and for the first time in several days, there was a stirring in my chest. Our bond was still there, still strong as ever. When he leaned forward and kissed me, I didn’t pull away. Instead, I sank into him as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to my feet.

It had been two days since our last kiss. The burst of emotion almost brought me to tears again. Cole gripped my hips tightly and pulled me closer. His body heat radiated through my clothes, warming me as he slid his tongue across mine.

“Should we be doing this?” I murmured against his mouth.

Cole grabbed my ass and squeezed before pulling away and looking deep into my eyes.

“I want to forget. For one night. You and me, and nothing else. Is that okay?” he asked.

Before I could think it through, my head was bobbing up and down. All the horror and terror of the last two days weighed so heavily on me that I’d felt crushed, suffocated. Forgetting, even for an hour, sounded amazing.

“One night,” I agreed. “Then we focus on Ashton.”

Cole’s face softened, and he cupped my cheeks, peering so deep into my eyes, he might as well have been looking directly into my soul.

“I will do anything to bring our son home. I promise you. If it’s the last thing I do in this life, I will bring him home.”

I believed him. I could see the fierce determination in his eyes. His plan hadn’t been ill-planned after all. Cole knew how dangerous it was, and he didn’t care. He was willing to die to bring Ashton home. He’d rather cast aside his own life than leave our child in that madman’s clutches. As I looked into his eyes, I knew I’d never loved him more than I did at that moment. After everything that had happened between us—how much I loved him when we were younger, how badly he’d hurt me—that was what did it. The raging fire of love he had for a boy he’d only known for a few weeks melted my heart. Regardless of what happened, I loved this man.

“Take me to bed, Cole,” I whispered.

In answer, he let out a deep growl of approval and kissed me again. He picked me up and carried me down the hall to my bedroom. All I wanted was to release all the pent-up frustration and worry and fear that had been building inside me since the moment I realized Ashton was gone.

Cole laid me on the bed and rose up, gazing down at me as he unbuckled his pants. Keeping my eyes locked on his, I struggled to pull my jeans off. My pussy was dripping wet, and heat pulsed between my legs as if someone had lit a fire in my underwear. My clit tingled and throbbed as I kicked my jeans away and dragged my panties down.

Cole let out a hungry growl and fell forward onto the bed, burying his face between my legs. His tongue slipped deep into me.

“Oh,fuck.” I gasped, throwing my head back.

---