Page 36 of Second Chance Wedding
Her toes curled into the fuzzy slippers, and she really wished she’d waited for that bath and remained fully dressed and armored up.
Ana turned and got a water bottle from the fridge, and when she swung around, she noticed his gaze shifting from the direction of her hips back to her face.
She felt heat crawl into her cheeks and swallowed.
Cole was…gorgeous. At least to her. He wasn’t classically beautiful like a male model but more the rugged, outdoorsy type. His once too-thin face had filled out and squared over the years, and his lanky body had bulked and firmed with muscle no doubt earned from his military training. Had he grown an inch or two taller?
His appearance was more proof of just how young they’d been when they’d planned to marry. He’d still been a boy whereas now she saw the man.
Ana took the steps that brought her back to the island and held the bottle of water out to him by the cap. She watched as his gaze lowered to her hand but startled and dropped the bottle when he abruptly shot to his feet.
Cole rounded the island like his chair had caught fire.
“Cole, what on earth?” She backed away until her hips hit the countertop behind her and stopped her retreat.
Cole lifted his hand, and his fingers tugged at her robe.
She gasped, swatting at him. “Have you lost your mind?”
Silent, he shot her a quelling glare and gently but firmly caught her wrists and tugged her hands behind her, trapping them at the base of her back and holding firm.
“Where did you get it?” he questioned in a low voice that sent tingles through her that had to be fight-or-flight related but electrified and singed her veins all the same.
She froze, her body flush against his as he shifted and lifted his right hand to tug at the collar of her robe once more.
“Where did you get this bruise?”
She blinked at him, the heady presence of his body and hold fading to one of soul-deep wariness. “What?”
Her voice emerged as a whisper because of the way her heart pounded, and her lungs refused to work properly. That, and the fact that given the location, the bruise had formed when Ben threw his phone and hit her with it. It had hurt badly at the time and throbbed for days afterward, but she’d been so busy; she hadn’t taken a moment to really look at it. Because why would she want to when doing so meant admitting Cole had been right?
“Ana.”
Her name held a wealth of warning and heat. So much so she found herself softening into his hold because this was Cole, and while he’d secured her hands to get a look at the bruise, he hadn’t once hurt her.
Still she knew better than to tell him the truth. “What bruise?”
A muscle spasmed in his jaw, and he lowered his head until their noses almost touched, his deep blue gaze searching hers.
As she watched him, his gaze shifted lower, and she felt his fingertips lightly brushing over her skin. The pain wasn’t bad until he pressed the spot for a millisecond to make his point and drew a gasp from her lips.
“What happened?”
She forced her gaze to his. “I don’t— Sasha and I put out new stuff every day. Some of the boxes are heavy a-and awkward.”
She waited and prayed and hoped he wouldn’t see through the evasion. She was a horrible liar, but she’d spoken the truth. She often came home with mysterious bruises, though none as painful as this. And she would not give Cole the satisfaction of hearing her say he was right, and Ben had hurt her in his anger.
Just like Cole said.
After a long moment where he thoroughly searched her gaze, Cole lowered his head. She caught her breath when she felt his lips brush over the spot in the gentlest of kisses, lingering over the caress, his breath hot and moist against her skin.
A shiver ran over her body and brought goosebumps with it. “Cole… What are you doing?”
His big body stilled, and he angled his head, and this time she felt his lips press just under her ear in a spot guaranteed to make her tremble.
Like he remembered that it would?
“I don’t know. But you smell good enough to eat.”
