Page 66 of Chasin' Cole

"Rose," he whispers. The sound vibrates through my body, sendin' shockwaves to all my senses as I lift my eyes. He swallows hard. "I should get dressed."

I gently shake my head as I look down the length of his toned torso and see he only has a towel wrapped around his waist.

Oh.

He was showerin'. And he's naked right now. Well, beneath the rough material of the towel. Look away, Rose. Look away before you get sucked back in.

My teeth sink into my bottom lip as I peer up at him. "Sorry. I was just goin' to get some coffee."

I try to pull away from him, but his arms don't let go. "Rose." Every time he says my name, my body shivers against my will. "I want to kiss you right now."

I close my eyes briefly, rememberin' the feel of his lips on mine. The soft caresses. The taste of his tongue as it slid into my mouth.

But before I give in, we hear little footsteps. "Aunt Rose?"

I take a deep breath, gazin’ into his eyes for a split second before he releases me and walks around me. The sound of his door closin' brings me back to reality.

"Aunt Rose?" I hear again.

"Yeah?" I say to Annabeth.

"Mommy says coffee's ready," she smiles at me, her head tilted to the side.

I nod my head before runnin' a hand over my face, tryin' to ignore the fire flickerin' in my lower stomach.

When I walk into the kitchen, Lacey flashes her eyebrows at me. "How was last night?"

"I didn't sleep much.Thanks to you."

"So, I take it things went well?" she beams.

"We didn't talk," I tell her as I pour a cup of coffee. "I went to bed. I think we were both a little blindsided."

Lacey exhales. "I'm sorry, Rose. I thought maybe..."

"No, don’t apologize," I shake my head. "Your intentions were good."

"They always are," Brock grins as he strolls into the kitchen, his hair a mess, and wraps his arms around his wife. "Did you two make up?"

I shrug as I take a sip of coffee. "There's a lot to figure out."

"Well, Lace, we're goin' to stay out of their way, right?" He raises his eyebrows at his wife.

She nods, almost reluctantly. "We're going to stay out of it."

"Stay out of what?" we all hear. I turn to see a fully clothed Cole enterin' the kitchen.

My palms begin sweatin' and my heart rate picks up speed.

"Nothing," Lacey hitches a shoulder.

"When are we goin' sleddin'?" Annabeth interrupts from the living room.

"Just as soon as I get some coffee in me," Cole answers.

I step out of his way, avoidin' his penetratin' gaze and pad back down the hallway to the safety of my room, where I wonder how I'm supposed to get through the rest of the day when my body keeps going haywire every time he walks into a room.

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