Break In Two (42 page)

Later that night at the hotel, as they climbed into bed, Cl
aire looked over at Cole, "What you said at the pub, Cole, about marrying me today, would you really have?"

Cole turned to Claire with a serious expression, "Yes, Claire, in a heartbeat. If these past few weeks have shown me anything, it's that I don't want to waste another minute not knowing that we are together for good. I want to start our life together."

He gave her a long kiss on the lips and then let go, "But, I also don't want to rush you. I understand that you need some time to trust me and trust this again so I'll wait as long as it takes for you to get where I am."

"Today has been so amazing, Cole," she said, touching his cheek with her fingertips, "It feels like we picked up where we left off on the side of the mountain. But I still have a few questions."

"Okay," he said hesitantly, "What kind?"

"I wish it didn't matter, but I really have to know if you and Gabriela did anything physical."

"She did. I didn't," Cole said.

Claire sat up in bed and tucked her knees in to her chest, "What does that mean?" she asked quietly.

Cole sighed, sitting up and leaning against the headboard, "It was a few weeks ago. I had taken Tomas overnight so she could have a break and I could spend some time with him. In the middle of the night, I woke up with her in my bed, naked, giving me a blow job. I had been dreaming it was you and I said your name. She stopped and told me that you were gone. That woke me up. I got really pissed off and made her leave. It was awful. I felt like I was cheating on you and I felt so manipulated at the same time. She didn't try anything again."

"Wow. That is terrible. The thought of her touching you like that is
so
not good for my rage," Claire replied, trying to make a joke. After a moment, she said, "And, what did she think would - don't answer that - I already know."

"The good thing is that she is out of our lives forever. And I never felt anything for her the entire time she was back. Not even for a minute, Claire. I just kept missing you and wishing I could come get you. I was pathetic. I didn't even wash your pillow case, so I could smell you every night."

"Really? Oh my God, that's sweet. And it's a serious relief for me. Until yesterday, I was certain that you had moved on with her and had forgotten all about me."

"That's just not possible, Gorgeous. You're as much a part of me as the ranch is."

"Really?"

"More even."

Claire leaned her head on him for a moment, her gratitude being crowded out by guilt. She needed to tell him why she really left. She was so close to having everything she ever wanted and she was suddenly terrified that she might be about to ruin everything.

"Cole, there is something I need to tell you. I went out for drinks one evening with someone. I met him on the plane over here and he had been kind to me. We ran into each other at the park and he asked me out. As soon as I got there, I wanted to leave. I felt like I was cheating on you."

Cole looked surprised for a moment and then said, "Claire, you don't owe me an explanation. I had to expect that you were going to move on with your life. I practically pushed you to."

"There's more to it that I need to explain. When we went out, I told him a little bit about what brought me to London. He decided very quickly that I left you for my own selfish reasons - to protect my fragile ego - as he put it."

Cole wrinkled his nose up in surprise, "What? That's bull shit. There is nothing selfish about you, Claire. How could someone you just met possibly know what your reasons were anyway?"

"Yeah, at first I thought he was dead wrong. But then as I started thinking about it, I realized that he's kind of right. I mean, my decision to leave was
in part
for you and Tomas to be together, but it was just as much because I couldn't stand the thought of having you choose her over me. I didn't think I could survive that, so I left. I was so angry and so insecure, Cole. I gave up on you and I'm sorry."

Cole stared down, thinking about what she just said. He sat quietly for a minute and then spoke up, "Claire, I already knew why you left. When you told me you were leaving, the first reason you gave was because I had lied to you and that you couldn't handle being around Gabriela the way things were. But then, when you started talking about it being the right thing for Tomas, I knew there was no changing your mind. If it had
only
been for you, we could have worked it out. And you know what? I don't think anyone could blame you under the circumstances. You were put in a shitty situation; I wasn't listening to reason, I was keeping a secret from you and she was stirring the pot. What were you supposed to do?"

"I don't know, Cole. I've been thinking about that over the past couple of weeks, trying to figure it out. Maybe I should have stood my ground and stayed."

"The way I see it, it's not so cut and dry. As far as you knew, that would have meant I would lose my son. There wasn't much choice in the matter. You did what you had to for me and to protect yourself. No one could fault you for that."

Claire let out a big breath of air, "I'm so glad you see it that way, Cole. I've been so scared that you would think less of me when I told you the truth about why I left."

Cole pulled her to him and gave her a kiss on the lips. He looked down at her, "Not a chance, Gorgeous. Besides, you told me the truth just now and it would have been a lot easier to let me think the whole thing was for my benefit. That's who you really are, Claire. You are an honest and caring person."

Claire put her hand on his chest and looked into his eyes, "I won't ever run like that again, Cole. No matter what happens. I'm going to stay and fight for us. I promise you."

Cole grabbed her on the waist and pulled her on top of him so she was straddling him, "I won't ever give you a reason to run again."

Claire kissed him hard on the mouth, her hair falling around him. Cole gently tucked her hair behind her ear as he opened his mouth to slide his tongue in between her parted lips. Claire moaned softly at his touch. He laid on his back with his hands running up and down her body slowly. He let his hands glide over her bottom and then gave her a little squeeze.

She held his face with one hand as they kissed. She pulled her mouth away and then moved over to his ear lobe, sucking on it gently, then biting it carefully. Cole groaned with pleasure as she moved her hand down to his chest and then over his tight lower abdomen.

"Yup, still hard as a rock," she said, pressing her hand to his body. She reached down lower over his boxer briefs, finding his cock thick and ready for her, "Mmmm, this is still hard as a rock too, just how I like it."

"Careful, Claire, we might be moving past cuddling here."

Claire gave him a sultry look, "We better be..."

"Well, if you really want to, I suppose I could be persuaded to have sex with you," Cole replied, lifting his hips off the bed to quickly slip out of his underwear.

Claire giggled and kissed him, "You should know I've been doing a lot of yoga lately, so you might have trouble keeping up with me." She pulled her t-shirt off, leaving her body nude, except for a pair of lacy red French-cut panties.

"You should know that I have a lot of pent-up energy, so this might take all night," he said, cupping her voluptuous breasts with his large hands. Claire could feel herself becoming wet in response to his touch. Since she had left Colorado, it was as though the sexual side of her had been in hibernation. Cole had woken her up with one touch, bringing back the wild, uninhibited woman that harboured inside her.

Cole lowered his mouth to her breasts. He slowly kissed them, one at a time, savouring the feeling of her skin in his mouth, "You have the best tits."

Claire rubbed herself over him in one long drag. There was nothing but a tiny strip of lacy fabric between them now, and the feeling of his hard cock on the other side of her panties excited her like nothing else could. Cole gripped her around her hips with both hands, flipping her onto her back and tugging her panties off. His gaze was hungry as he lifted himself to lie over her. They kissed each other with an urgent passion now, mouths melding together as Claire parted her legs and wrapped her ankles around Cole's waist. She held his firm ass in her hands, squeezing him roughly with her fingers. She had never wanted anything as much as she wanted him inside her right at that moment. It was a desperation she had never known before. Cole moved his face down, kissing her neck and then her breasts, one at a time, then came back up to hover over her, looking her in the eye. He gave her a loving smile.

"You are so fucking sexy, Claire Hatley," he said, as he lowered himself to her body. The head of his cock pressed against her warm pussy and he could feel how wet she was. He shifted his hips from side to side slowly, finding his way inside her.

Claire moaned, lifting her bottom up to bring herself closer to him. Their bodies joined together with no space between them, bringing them both the most delicious relief from the despair of being apart. They were here in a moment that neither of them had allowed themselves to believe possible. Claire opened her eyes and saw Cole watching her, his face full of desire as he moved his body easily over hers. Their eyes locked on each other as he rocked back and forth, thrusting a little harder each time.

"I missed you so much it hurt," Cole said.

"I missed you too. All of you," Claire said, moving her hands up to his face and pulling his head down to kiss her. She tugged gently on his bottom lip with her teeth and then reached her head up to suck on his neck. Claire could feel his large cock circling inside her tight pussy, rubbing up against her clit forcefully. Their breathing became ragged as Claire moved her hands down to Cole's ass and pulled him to fuck her harder and faster. Harder. Faster. She let out a groan that showed him how much she loved the feeling of his body on top of hers, his smooth skin rubbing against her soft curves.

Cole opened his eyes again. He could see that Claire was close to coming by the expression on her face as she stared at him. Her breasts were full and he could feel her erect nipples against his chest as they moved in unison. Her mouth was open and she licked her top lip as she smiled seductively up at him. She gripped his body tighter with her legs.

"Just like that, Cole...." she breathed, "Right there. Yes," she moaned.

Cole could feel her squeezing his cock with her sex and he watched as her body jolted with the force of her orgasm. He could feel her nails digging into his back as she let the waves of her climax roll through her. Cole pressed his forehead to hers as he came with one final thrust of his body into her. Claire smiled at him as she felt his cock thicken and release inside her. She was overcome with the love that she felt for him and the pure ecstasy of being with him again. He was hers and he loved her and wanted to marry her.

Cole stayed on top of her for a long time after they finished, kissing her face, mouth and neck, letting his lips linger over her. He breathed in the smell of her perfume and took in the feel of her silky smooth skin, an irresistible combination.

"There hasn't been a moment since I first saw you that I haven't wanted you, Claire and there never will be. Being apart from you was absolute hell."

Claire hugged him tight to her body, her eyes filling with tears, "I still can't believe you are really here with me. I thought I would never see you again and I didn't know how I would ever get over you."

"You won't ever have to, Claire. You're mine. All mine, for the rest of our lives."

The next morning, they stayed in bed making love and talking, needing to savour the bliss of being together again. It seemed hard for either of them to believe that they were in each other's arms after everything that they had been through. They showered together, exploring each other's bodies with enough tenderness and desire to erase the past weeks. Somewhat reluctantly, they got dressed and went for lunch at Janet and Ted's.

As soon as they were done eating, Ted spoke up, "I am going to steal Cole away for a while this afternoon, if you don't mind, Claire. I was hoping to catch the Ashes on TV down at The Olde Ship and thought I would introduce Cole to cricket."

"Sure," Claire said, grinning, "Just have him home in time for supper, I was going to make everyone a special treat tonight."

That afternoon, as she chopped vegetables, she smiled to herself at how well Ted and Cole got along. Everything felt so natural with the four of them. She never felt this way the few times that Ted and Janet had met Antonio. It was always strained and Claire felt like she was often making excuses for something he had said or done, or for his noticeable absences.

Janet sat at the kitchen table, tapping away on her computer. She had taken time off between Christmas and New Year's but needed to respond to a few urgent emails in the meantime. Claire poured two glasses of red wine and brought one over to Janet, setting it down in front of her.

"Here. So you don't forget you're supposed to be on vacation."

Janet glanced over at the wine and smiled, "Almost done. I just have to finish this reply and then I want you to spill all the juicy details of you and your man."

Claire walked back over to the sink and started washing some kale. When she shut off the water, she heard the sound of Janet's laptop closing and looked up to see her sister crossing the kitchen and flopping down on the bar stool at the island.

"So? What are you willing to dish?" Janet said, eyes wide.

Claire laughed, "Where do I even start? He is just...wow, you know? Kind and caring and fun all wrapped up in that delicious body of his. I am in over my head."

Janet smiled at her, "You know what? It is so wonderful for me to see you like this. You're happy. I haven't seen you smile this much since we were kids."

"What?" Claire asked, wrinkling up her nose in surprise, "No way."

"It's true, Claire. I've been worried about you since Mom and Dad died. You just never seemed to find your groove. You were always fun to be around, but I could tell that something was missing and I think it was your cowboy."

Claire took a sip of her wine, digesting what her sister had just said, "You know what, Janet? I think you are right. I haven't really experienced pure joy since they were alive. Not until I met Cole. I certainly didn't feel good when I was with Fuckwit."

"No, you didn't. You were completely missing that sparkle that you had as a kid. You seemed to lose your confidence. Now it seems like you have it back."

Claire leaned against the counter, "It's true. When I met Cole, I started to see myself through his eyes. He makes me feel so beautiful and has so much respect for me. I finally realized what my own worth is. It's like for the first time, I know how a man should treat a woman and I would never settle for less. I think that's why it was such a huge hit for me when we broke up. I have never loved anyone like this and to lose him was like having my heart ripped out and put through a paper shredder. It was completely different than when I found out Antonio was cheating on me. I was humiliated and upset about being betrayed, and about losing my home, but I didn't feel anything close to the same pain as when I lost Cole."

"I could see that totally. Cole is a wonderful guy, Claire, and I am absolutely rooting for you guys to make it...." Janet's voice trailed off hesitantly.

"But....?"

"But I am worried that if things don't work out this time, you'll fall apart again. You were a fucking mess when you got here."

"I know. I kind of went off the deep end there, but then I started to pull it together. I realized something when Cole showed up here - I survived losing him. I got hurt but I was moving on with my life. I feel like I'm stronger now, more confident. Before I was so insecure and jealous, you know? Every woman was a threat. Now I know that it won't
literally
kill me if he did decide to leave me."

*              *              *

That night, as they walked back to the hotel, Cole looked down at Claire with a serious expression. "You know, I've been assuming that you're coming back to Colorado and we'll live there. I just realized I haven't asked you if that's what
you
want."

Claire stopped walking and looked up at him in surprise, "Of course I want that, Cole. I want to be with you. Besides, you can't leave the ranch, it's your home."

"No. The ranch is where I live.
You're
my home. That became clear to me when you left and I could hardly stand being there. The only thing I wanted was to get on a plane and get to you. I can start over anywhere, Claire, but not without you. We can build a life anywhere that will make you be happy," he replied, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her.

"I'll be happy on the ranch. That's the life I want to build with you." She kissed him back, her heart swelling at the thought that he would give it all up for her.

"I want you to know that if you ever change your mind, I'll go with you wherever you need to be. I'm serious about that."

"Thank you, Cowboy, that means a lot to me. For now I want to get into that warm bed waiting for us at the hotel."

He grinned at her, "Done."