Page 33 of Chasin' Cole

When he stops walkin', I step around him and slowly start unbuttonin' my shirt. "I want this."

There's a war ragin' in his charcoal eyes. The same war ragin' in my head. The one that knows if we cross this line, there's no goin' back. He could leave and never come back. He could hurt me, break my heart, take somethin' that doesn't belong to him, and never come back.

But I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's the only person I'd ever give myself over to fully.

I slip the white cotton off my shoulders, reach behind me, and unclasp my bra.

"Wait," Cole holds up a hand. "Just wait a second, Rose."

But I don't listen to him.

Because even if it hurts like hell, I still want him.

Chapter 11 – Waitin’

Just wait a second, Rose.

Wait?

For what?

For him to leave?

For him to be in a remote location for a year with no contact?

For the next 365 days to pass quickly?

What am I supposed to be waitin' for?

He takes a step closer, his dark eyes slidin' from my face to my bare chest. I know I should be nervous—ashamed even—but I like the way it feels. His eyes on me. Only on me. I think I’ve liked it from the moment he showed up at the creek.

"Wait—"

"If you saywaitone more time," I lick my dry lips, "I'm going to wring your neck."

"We need to talk before we do," he pauses for a moment and uses his hand to motion between us, "we dothis."

"I don't want to talk," I shake my head slowly. He always wants to talk. Always wants to slow down. Always wants to think before we do. Can’t we just…be? Be in the moment. Be with each other. Be what we are right now. "I just want you, Cole."

"Rose," he groans as he runs a hand through his black, inky locks. "This is...once you do this...you can't undo it."

"I know," I smile.

"I'm going to be gone for a year," he tries again.

"I know."

"Rose, this isn't just a kiss. This is...somuch more. It's sex. It's...it's going to make you feel things you've never felt before. It's going to tie us together in a way you've never been tied to anyone before."

"Why are you tryin' to talk me out of it?" I ask quietly. Always protestin’. Always tryin’ to convince me I don’t know my own mind. Why…wait… "Do you...do you not want me?"

He closes the gap between us as his hands slip around my waist. He pulls me against him and presses his forehead to mine. My hard nipples scrape against the front of his shirt, sendin' a shiver down my spine. Oh, it feels good. So good.

"Of course, I want you," he says. "But you've had a rough morning and I don't want you to give part of yourself away when you're not ready to. Running into Rowdy and Kenzie, that had to take its toll on you.”

Oh, Cole. Sweet, innocent Cole. I've wanted to give him everythin' since that day in the creek when I kissed him, and he kissed me back. All these years, I’ve been chasin’ after him and Brock. I never realized maybe I was just chasin’ Cole.

"I'm ready," I tell him. "If I wasn't, I wouldn't have taken my shirt off."

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