Page 92 of Stay
“Hey.” lex jerks his head toward the second floor. “He’s up in his room. Go on up.”
With that, he swings around and leaves me standing on the porch before walking into the living room where a bunch of guys from the hockey team are sitting around playing video games.
Avoiding eye contact, I slip past them before racing up the stairs and taking them two at a time. I need to get this over with before I chicken out.
Or Luke suddenly decides to tell him first.
I suck in a breath, trying to settle everything inside me before wrapping my knuckles against the thick wood. When his muffled voice greets me from the other side, I push it open and find Cole at his desk, bent over a textbook. He does a double take before rising to his feet and closing the distance that separates us.
His brows draw together as his gaze searches my face. “Are you feeling better?”
I almost wince. It’s just another lie for me to untangle. My shoulders collapse at the thought.
Avoiding the question, I say instead, “Do you have a few minutes to talk?” Another round of nerves detonates in my belly as I gesture to the books on his desk. “It won’t take long.”
“I’m never too busy for you.” Expression softening, he reaches out and grabs my hand before towing me to him. Once his arms wrap around me, I squeeze my eyes shut and pray this won’t be the last time we’re together like this. “I’m glad you stopped by.”
I hope he feels that way after I’ve gotten everything out.
Untangling himself from me, Cole walks us to the bed so we can sit down. My hands are still clasped within his. The physical connection is all that’s keeping me going. Unable to hold his searching gaze, mine skitters away as I try to remember what I want to say and how I want to say it.
A long silence stretches between us.
“Cassidy?” He reaches out, touching the side of my face with gentle fingers. “Tell me what’s going on. I can tell that you’re being eaten up with something.”
Now that I’m here, I have no idea how to begin. It feels as if everything in my life led up to that one turning point. One bad mistake spiraling into another and then another until I was all but drowning in them.
“Baby?”
The soft way he says the endearment tears me up inside. I shake my head and stare at my knotted fingers until they blur before my eyes.
“You wanted to know what happened to me…” my voice trails off as I peek at him.
He strokes the side of my face as concern floods his eyes. “I want to know because I want to understand you better.”
My insides feel just as tangled as my fingers.
When I remain silent, he presses his lips to mine.
I shudder, needing to feel his warmth flooding through my veins, filling all the cold dark places inside me. I’d thought it wouldbe a quick kiss, a bit of reassurance to give me the strength I needed to continue. As it unfolds, he deepens the caress. Or maybe I do.
What I know is that I need to feel the intimate connection between us.
I whimper when his tongue slips inside my mouth. Sparks of desire shoot through my body. His hands slide from my face to my shirt before he quickly tugs it over my head. Needing to feel his bare skin, I do the same, yanking his shirt up as he unhooks my bra, until we’re both naked from the waist up.
“God, baby, I want you so badly.”
Before I can say anything, his mouth claims mine as he palms my breasts, stroking the pebbled nipples before leaning down to suck one stiff bud between his lips. With a groan, my fingers tunnel through his messy strands. He releases the tightened peak before kissing his way down to the waistband of my skirt.
A few heartbeats later, I find myself flat on my back with my skirt being pulled down my hips and thighs. My panties quickly follow suit until I’m completely bared to him.
“I need to be inside you.”
Intensity brims in his whiskey-colored eyes as they linger over every inch of me before locking on mine. “You’re so fucking beautiful, Cassidy.”
The thickness of his murmured words does strange things to my insides.
One hand settles between my legs before he parts them. His attention drops to my wet heat. Air gets clogged in my throat as he presses a kiss against my core, dragging the velvety softness of his tongue across me. He widens my thighs before circling my clit and sucking it into his mouth. My body tightens, arching off the mattress, as every nerve ending throbs and sizzles at the intensity that crashes over me, threatening to suck me under.
