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“It’s not me you’re running from. We’ve established that. Your past maybe? But that doesn’t explain why you don’t want everyone to know about us. Or maybe you’re just running from yourself?”

When he stopped directly in front of her, he bent down, so they were eye-to-eye. “It’s a little bit late to worry about all that, don’t you think? By now, I’m sure that Josh and your brother know all about this. Put down the dress, Rachel, and come with me.”

Cole held out his hand to her and waited. Her wary eyes met his as she finally relented and placed her palm in his hand. Without another word, he tugged her along behind him as he walked down the hallway to his room.

When they reached the cream rug in the center of his room, he let go of her hand and moved around to the right side of the bed. After turning back the covers, he looked over to the rigid spine of the complicated woman in his room.

He hadn’t been lying. She intrigued him, and he wanted to know all of her.
That’s only part of it though,
Cole thought. As he moved back over to her, he now found himself fighting another need that was clawing at him.
I need to look after her. I need to protect her.

When he stopped before her, he started to undo the buttons of her shirt. He kept his eyes fixed on hers until he reached the top. Sliding both his hands along her collarbone, he removed the material from her and let it fall to her feet.

In the moonlight that was shining through the window, Cole thought Rachel had never looked more desirable. Completely naked and one hundred percent vulnerable, she left him speechless.

Reaching out to the script that was written along her ribs, he finally read the passage:
At any given moment, you have the power to say this is not how the story is going to end.

That was when everything started to make sense. This woman—with the loud hair and the even livelier clothes—was sad.

Removing his finger from her skin, he pushed his jeans off his body, baring himself to her in the same fashion, as he held out his hand. “Let go, Rachel. Let go, and lie down with me. Close your eyes, and forget everything. Tomorrow will be here soon enough, and you can argue with me then.”

When she placed her fingers in his, he squeezed them and led her to his bed where they both got in quietly. Moving in close behind her, he wrapped an arm around her, placing it under her breasts, as he formed his body against hers.
We fit like two pieces of a puzzle finally coming together,
he thought.

As her body gave in and relaxed into sleep, Cole closed his eyes and wondered how to go about making Rachel his.

“I think tonight went well, don’t you?” Rachel asked as she removed her hat and unbuttoned her coat.

Ben pushed in through the door behind her, closing it with a lot more force than was necessary. “What part exactly were you thinking went well? The part where your brother asked me a million questions about our plans? Or the part where your father glared at me all night?”

Rachel chuckled as she shrugged out of her coat. She had known Ben had been uncomfortable, but she didn’t realize just how upset it had made him.

Poor guy. Meeting the family for the first time is always hard.

“Oh, come on, Ben. You can’t be serious. Mase was just trying to be polite, and…well, dads always glare at boyfriends.”

Ben spun around to face her as he threw his jacket on the couch. “Just how many boyfriends do you have, Rach?”

Rachel pulled off her gloves and smiled as he walked closer. He knew she hadn’t dated before him. He was being ridiculous. She tilted up her head, thinking he was about to tell her he was kidding. Instead, his hand whipped out, strong fingers gripping her chin.

“Ouch! Ben, you’re hurting me,” she told him, trying to tug her chin free.

Rather than releasing her, Ben tilted her head back farther and leaned down toward her. “I don’t care how many guys you dated before me, and I don’t want to hear about them either. You might find it amusing, but I don’t.”

“Ben,” Rachel pleaded. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Then, why say it?”

Releasing his grip with a cruel flick of his wrist, he turned away from her. As he walked to their bedroom, the last thing Rachel heard him mutter was, “Stupid bitch.”

Rachel awoke with a start.

Sitting up in a panic, she scooted up to the headboard, clutching the sheet to her chest. As her eyes locked on the bedside table clock, she saw that it was two forty-five.

“Rachel?” a low, calm voice cut through the air and reached her ears.

Looking across the bed on the opposite side from her, she saw Cole propped up on his elbow, staring at her with wary eyes.

“Are you okay?” he questioned cautiously.

Trying to calm her breathing, she reached up and pushed her hair behind her ear. Nodding, she lowered herself back down on the bed. When she was flat on her back, looking up at the ceiling, she felt the bed dip, and she knew Cole had moved closer.

Turning her head on the stark white pillow, she stared through the darkness to a man she had never thought she would trust, let alone sleep beside.

“Bad dream?” he pressed gently.

Rachel blinked twice, just to make sure he was real, and for a brief moment, she closed her eyes. When she opened them, she saw he was still there beside her, larger than life, and she nodded.

“Do you have those often?”

Finding it easier not to look at him, she turned her head back to stare up at the ceiling. “Sometimes,” she whispered.

She was surprised when she felt tentative fingers on her naked shoulder.

“Want to talk about it?”

Feeling a tear escape her right eye, she reached up to brush it away. “Not really.”

“Rachel?”

Turning her head back toward him, she allowed herself a moment to really give in, to really see at him.

“You can trust me,” he promised.

Reaching across her chest to the fingers on her shoulder, she pressed them closer to her cool skin as she rolled to her side, scooting in close to him. As his strong arm slid around her body, she found herself tracing the writing on him.

Before drifting back to sleep, she softly muttered, “I know.”

With the alarm beeping incessantly, Cole woke up a few hours later with his arm still wrapped tightly around Rachel. Reluctantly, he released her and rolled over onto his back to hit the snooze button.

How is it that we have moved forward so far in only one night?

As he shifted and turned back to her, he was surprised to see her wide blue eyes open, staring back at him. Giving him a shy smile, she pressed a small palm to his chest and pushed him down on his back.

Cole raised a brow at her as she moved to her side. As she propped herself up on her elbow, the sheet fell down around her waist.

“Not that I’m complaining, because this is affording me one hell of a view, but what are you doing, Rachel?”

Taking her bottom lip between her teeth, she reached out a delicate finger and traced the wolf tattooed on his right pec. “I want to see you.”

“See me?” he queried.

“Yes, see you,” she replied.

She lifted her hand and whipped the covers all the way off of him, leaving them both naked in his bed.

Never one to be ashamed of his body, Cole craned his neck to look down at their bodies. Turning his head, he brought his eyes back to her. “Well, now, you can definitely see me.” He chuckled as he fingered one of her hard nipples. “And I must have done something right because I can see all of you.”

“I know.” She grinned impishly as she scooted up to her knees beside him. “I want to know all about this,” Rachel informed him as she made a gesture to his piercings and tats.

Cole thought about the request for a moment. “Why are you so brave this morning?”

She leaned down over him with her hands behind her back, and he enjoyed her full round breasts as they swayed forward to graze his chest while she kissed him softly.

“Because I trust you,” she admitted.

As she sat back up, Cole was surprised to feel his heart warm at her admission.
Damn, it didn’t only make my heart happy, but it’s also making my cock hard.

“Okay, Rachel, what do you want to know?”

He studied her closely as her eager eyes looked over his body. When they zeroed in on his morning erection, he waited for the question that he figured was obvious, but in usual Rachel fashion, she marched to the beat of her own drum.

“When do I get to taste you?” she asked, her gaze lifting back to his eyes.

As he met her stare, Cole replied, “When I say so.”

She pouted at him as he raised his arms and placed them under his head. Suddenly, he was liking this game of hers very much.

“Not now?” she double-checked, letting her eyes fall back to his Prince Albert.

“No, not now.”

“Why not?”

“Because I said no.”

Rachel scoffed, “What guy says no to a—”

“Rachel?” He waited for her to look at him. “Not. Now.”

“Fine. Your loss though.” She shrugged before she pointed to his arms. “What do your tattoos say?”

Feeling a smug smile cross his lips, Cole reached out and took one of her arms. Tugging her down over him, he shifted and rolled them over, so he was lying on top of her. As she parted her thighs, he snuggled between them and placed his palms on each side of her head.

“Not going to answer that either?” she guessed as she reached up to trace the bar through his left nipple.

“I’m going to answer,” he told her, pressing his hardness against her warm mound, “but you keep interrupting me. That’s not very nice.”

As Rachel’s eyes met his, he thought he saw some hesitation for a moment, but as he continued looking down at her, he felt the hesitation disappear as her mouth curved and her lips parted.

“No, it’s not. So, what’s my punishment going to be?”

Playing with the red-and-black hair that was spread out on the pillow, Cole rocked against her. As a small moan left her lips, he leaned down to her ear.

“Patience of a saint. The mind of a sinner. That’s what my tattoos say.”