Now and Then (15 page)

“My little sister is way cooler than I am,” she said. Emma laughed and gave her a playful shove.

“Paris is cool, not me,” she said.

“No, really, Em. I admire you for making your way here. I’m not as brave as you are.”

Emma shook her head and rolled her eyes at the compliment, but inside she warmed. Praise from Layla had always been rare, and it felt good.

*****

Emma’s jet lag faded as the familiar Chicago skyline came into view from the window of her train seat. It wasn’t the sight of the city that energized her, but knowing that
he
was there.

Cal
ifornia was fun, but she’d missed Cole. They spent most nights together now, and going to bed at her hotel every night without him was lonely. She’d thought about inviting him, but it was such a last-minute thing, and she knew he was swamped at work.

She’d texted him when her plane landed, again refusing his offer of a ride. It was much easier to get out of the congested O’Hare on her own, rather than meeting up with him. He was working
late but would come to her apartment later.

When
the train pulled to a stop downtown, Emma decided on a whim to go see Cole at his office. She stopped at a bakery to pick up chicken salad sandwiches and the cherry pastries he liked, knowing he always skipped dinner when he worked late.

The lightweight dress that had been perfect this morning in California was now making her bare legs break out in goose
bumps, and she walked quickly to get out of the cold.

She thought she’d have to blow the surprise by calling him when she found the doors to his office building locked, but a sympathetic security guard allowed her in. As the elevator rose
toward the 12
th
floor, a chill of worry swept across Emma’s skin. What if he wasn’t in his office, because ‘working late’ was code for ‘out with someone else’?

Emma didn’t want her self-doubt to spoil the happiness she’d found, but a voice in the back of her head was still telling her this was too good to be true. Cole Marlowe couldn’t possibly stay fascinated with
a dreamy artist like her long-term. She kicked herself for going to California and opening the door for some other woman to attract his attention.

As she peeked in the mostly darkened office windows of Murphy and Kline, Emma wished she’d called.
She was considering leaving, and taking the food home for later, when she saw a light peeking out from a cracked door ahead. Craning her neck to see inside, she glimpsed Cole reading something on a computer screen, his chin resting on his hands as he concentrated.

“Hi,” she said softly as she pushed the door open.

“Em!” He jumped up from his desk and hurried over, pulling her against him tightly. “I missed you. God, it’s good to see you.”

“I missed you, too
.” She nestled against his chest, breathing him in.

“
That dress …” he said, standing back to admire her legs. “You look really good. Must’ve gotten some sun in California.”

“A little. I brought dinner.”

“Did you? You’re amazing, baby. I’m starving.”

He
closed the door and then took the carryout bag and sat it on the ground, holding her gaze as he reached up and grazed her cheek with his fingertips. Emma felt the familiar flutter of anticipation that only Cole inspired in her.

The hunger in his blue-gray gaze had nothing to do with food, and Emma’s body responded before his lips even made it to hers. His hands moved over her
hips insistently and she clutched his wide shoulders for support, dazed with arousal.

He squeez
ed his hands against her ass, bending just enough to lift her from the ground. Her squeal quickly turned to a moan as Cole carried her to his desk, still kissing her deeply.

A cautious inner voice told her they couldn’t do this in his office. What if someone walked in? What if someone heard them? What if
there were cameras in here?

I don’t care. I can’t stop.

He sat her on the edge of his desk, kicking his chair out of the way. Emma yanked at his tie, throwing it to the side and reaching for the top button of his shirt. When Cole took a step back, she looked at him, puzzled.

“Turn around,” he said in a low, sexy tone. His lusty expression made Emma flip around in an instant. Her body quivered in anticipation of what was to come.

Cole ran his hands down the sides of her body, around to her stomach, across her breasts. His mouth was hot and demanding on her neck, and Emma’s breath shuddered out of her from the overwhelming feel of him.

“Hold on to the edge,” he said in her ear, his voice nearly a whisper. An intense jolt of longing shot between her thighs as she bent, p
ressing the front of her body to the desk and wrapping her fingers around the edge.

Being bent over Cole’s desk by him was beyond any fantasy she’d dared to have. The sensation of his fingertips lightly moving up the backs of her bare thighs was surreal, and she inhaled sharply when he reached
the hem of her dress and pushed it up around her waist.

Only her black satin panties kept her from being completely exposed to him, and Emma gripped the desk tightly as Cole bent behind her, his breath warm on the backs of her thighs.

“Em, I missed touching you,” he said, his lips feather-light as he kissed the back of one thigh. She trembled at the sensation of being kissed somewhere no one’s lips had ever been.

“Cole …” Her voice was breathy and desperate.

“Don’t let go of the desk,” he said, his voice firm. Emma clutched it as he slowly kissed the back of her other thigh, his fingers reaching for the sides of her panties. Heat flooded her as he slowly pulled them down to the floor.

His hands skimmed back u
p her thighs, agonizingly slowly, and Emma wanted to cry out for more. She pressed her lips together, trying to hold back, but when she felt his warm, wet mouth on the exposed cheek of her ass, she moaned.

He gave one cheek a light smack with his hand as his mouth moved to the other one, and Emma’s hold on the desk was knuckle-whitening.

“Ah! Harder,” she said softly. Cole paused, his breath hitching in the silence.

“You like that?” he asked.

“Yes.” She hadn’t realized it before because no one had ever done it. Or maybe it was because it was Cole. She didn’t care why she liked it, she just wanted more.

He stood behind her and w
hen the next slap came, it sent a deep wave of longing between her legs. It was hot and forbidden and so much better than she’d imagined it would be. Cole trailed his fingers lightly over the spot he’d smacked, and Emma silently begged him to do it again. When he did, she cried out with satisfaction.

“
Fuck
, Em,” he said, standing and pressing himself against her. “My handprint looks so good on you.”

His fingers traced
delicately over her hot skin, and her breath quickened at the sound of him unbuckling his belt. She craved him so badly it was an ache inside her.

His soft kiss on the throbbing skin of her ass was more than Emma could stand. When she moaned, Cole groaned in response.

“Do you want me, Emma?” he asked softly. She looked back at him, her cheek pressed to the cool wood surface of his desk.

“Yes,” she said, unconsciously pushing herself back toward him as far as she could while maintaining her hold on the desk.

“Tell me you don’t want anyone else,” he said.

“Cole … I only want you,” she whimpered. “Only you.”

“Fuck yeah, baby,” he said, entering her quickly and deeply. His hands encircled her waist tightly as he worked himself in and out of her, and Emma closed her eyes, reveling in the sensation.

She found C
ole’s ragged breathing and grunts of satisfaction more erotic than anything she was feeling herself. Knowing he wanted her this way, that she was capable of giving him such pleasure, made the sweet, deep waves of an orgasm overtake her quickly. She yelled out his name several times, losing her grip on the desk as he slid an arm around her waist, pulling her body against his roughly as he thrust himself into her one final time.

“Shit … Em!” he said, his strained voice hot against her ear.

The sensation swept through her so powerfully her body went limp in his arms, and she let him turn her around as he found his chair and fell back into it. He pulled her onto his lap, and she pressed her face into his shoulder.

“I know I’m a brute for fucking you as soon as you walked in, but I really did miss you, baby,” he said.

“I missed you, too. God, I was so wrapped up I forgot about a condom.” Panic gripped her chest. She’d never forgotten.

“
I used one. You must not have heard me get it out of my wallet.”

“No, I didn’t. I’m glad you were being smarter than me.”

“It’s never easy to stop and think about it with you. You have quite an effect on me, Em,” he said, wrapping his arms tightly around her back.

How can I ever be without this?
Emma wondered.

“Should we eat before I go?” she asked, forcing herself to move off his chest.

“Let’s just take the food and eat at home,” he said. “Want to stay at my place tonight?”

“Sure.
”

As they gathered their things and left the office, Cole wrapped an arm
around her waist, and a tug of warmth and possession reminded Emma that, for now anyway, he was hers.

Chapter 14
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Cole made a beeline for his kitchen when they walked in the door, and Emma heard the clinking sounds of him pulling plates out of a cabinet. She glanced around his living room, taking in the dark leather sofa and recliner, a big screen TV, a beat-up wood coffee table, and not much else. When she saw the painting she’d made for Cole hanging over the sofa, she flushed at the memory of it.

“How’
d the show go?” he called from the kitchen.

“Pretty good. I sold a couple pieces
,” she said.

He walked in the living room and handed her a plate, sitting down on the sofa with his own.

“Your place is so clean,” she said between bites. “It’s a lot cleaner than mine.”

“I’m never here,” he said. “All I used to do here is sleep, and lately I’ve been staying at your place.”

“Do you have two bedrooms?” She craned her neck, trying to get a glimpse of the rest of his apartment.

“Yeah, the second one’s an office I don’t use much. I didn’t need two bedrooms, but this was the only place open in this building and I liked it since it’s close to my office.”

Emma kicked her shoes off and curled her feet up underneath her.

“It’s really nice having you here,” Cole said. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too. Maybe next time I travel you can come with me.”

“
Yeah, I’d like to. Especially if you wear that bikini. I hate the thought of other guys seeing you in that.”

“Men see women in swimsuits at the beach every day,” she said, raising her brows and grinning.

“Not women like you. You don’t realize how gorgeous you are, which makes you absolutely stunning.”

Emma’s cheeks warmed at his compliment. In the back of her mind she still wondered if this was real. Could the most beautiful man she’d ever known really feel this way about her?

“I’m all gross from traveling, do you mind if I take a shower?” she asked, taking the empty plates into the kitchen.

“
Of course not, make yourself at home. Is it okay if I join you?”

Emma held back a laugh. Was it okay? Did she mind showering with the tall, sculpted blond god who could make her wet with just a wicked smile?

“Sure,” she said. “But I am a little sore from earlier, so--”

“
Oh, shit! Was I too rough? I’m sorry,” he said, reaching for her hand.

“Don’t apologize, Cole. It was exactly what I wanted and maybe even … needed. I loved it. But go easy for Round Two or I might not be able to walk tomorrow.”

“Is it bad that I’m turned on by the sound of that?” he asked, grinning.

“Probably not, because I’m turned on by the feel of it.”
Emma’s heart pounded from the thrill of being brazen, something she’d never dared with anyone but Cole.

“
Em, you’re the sweetest, dirtiest girl I’ve ever known and you’ve got five seconds to get naked and into my shower,” he said in a low tone, moving toward her purposefully.

Emma was pulling her dress over her head before she was all the way through the door of the bathroom. The marble tiled floor was cool under her feet, and she stepped onto a plush rug as she waited for Cole to turn on the water.
He had stripped his clothes off on the way to the bathroom and was down to his boxers.

It only took a few seconds for the water to get hot, and Emma felt a flicker of self-consciousness as Cole watched her, waiting for her to finish undressing. She only wore a bra and panties, but it was
something
. She wasn’t sure she wanted Cole eyeing every inch of her in the bright lights of the bathroom.

His eyes flared
bright blue with desire, and she realized he wasn’t moving. He slid his boxers off and she drew encouragement from his obvious arousal. Having a hold over him was a heady, warm sensation, and she relished it, sliding the straps of her bra down slowly before reaching around to unfasten it.

Cole’s lips parted and he sucked a breath in as he watched. Emma slipped out of her panties and stepped into the shower, with Cole
following closely. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and she closed her eyes, swimming in the sensations of the hot water and his body against hers.

“Want me to wash you?” he murmured in her ear. She
nodded and couldn’t help but smile, her pulse quickening from the intimacy of the moment. She eyed Cole’s hands in front of her as he lathered a soapy-clean smelling body wash. When he laid them on her stomach, she pressed her body back into him. The gentle way he moved his hands down her thighs, across her stomach and over her breasts contrasted with the firm muscle of his chest against her back and shoulders.

When he turned her around to face him, she was done in by the sight of water dripping from the ends of his short blond hair and running in streams down his sculpted chest. Emma launched herself into him, her lips demanding as she pressed them against his.

She felt a deep groan within his chest, and he lifted her legs around him, pressing her into the wall of the shower.

“I want you now,” she said, her lips still grazing his. “Right now.”

She was desperate to feel him inside her again, and it was only a second before she did. Emma wrapped her hands around his shoulders, moaning as he pulled her hips against his. Cole’s skin was hot beneath her fingers from the steaming shower water.

“
You feel so fucking good, baby,” he said, moving in and out of her slowly. “Show me you like it. Make me sore tomorrow, Em.”

She met his eyes, moaning with frustration as he slowed his pace.

“No, Cole, no … don’t stop!” she cried.

“I’m not stopping, baby,” he said, his voice strained. “Give me what I want and then I’ll go faster.”

Emma wanted to ask him what he wanted, but he sank himself deep inside her and she moaned loudly, lost in the hot, throbbing sensation between her legs.

“God … Cole!” She clutched his shoulders desperately as he kept himself buried inside her, not moving.

“You drive me fucking crazy, Em,” he hissed. “I want to be able to feel this tomorrow like you will. Give me something that’ll hurt so sweet it’ll make me hard. Come on, baby, just let go … give me your nails or your teeth – mark me. Make me yours.”

He pulled back slowly, and Emma knew the next touch would be it. Her entire body was humming from his words and the feel of him deep inside her. She was expecting him to go slow again, and when he slammed into her, her eyes rolled upward with the intensity of the orgasm that rocketed through her. Her cry was muffled as she bit down hard on his shoulder, her body constricting.

“Fuck, yes, baby,” he ground into her ear, groaning loudly.

Her body went limp in his arms, and she was panting as he lowered her feet down to the shower floor.
She looked at the steam rising around them and felt the heat of the water against her chest, realizing she’d temporarily lost touch with everything but their bodies.

“Cole,” she said, smiling. “God, that was …”

“I should’ve gone easier, I’m sorry,” he said softly, putting his palm on the small of her back.

“No, that was … intense and just … God, so good. I’m barely standing right now. You may have to carry me to bed.”

He turned off the water with a smile, reaching over the top of the shower door for a towel and handing it to her. When she opened the door to step out, she looked up at his shoulder and saw a circle of deep purple marks, some tinged with red.

“I really bit you hard,” she said apologetically.

“You did,” he said, glancing at his shoulder. “It was really hot. Just what I wanted.”

Emma wrapped the towel arou
nd her head and sighed with satisfaction as Cole dried her body with another one. The back and forth of him being rough and gentle, demanding and tender, was intoxicating.

He silently picked her up
and she looked at his face while he carried her to bed, wondering if the adoration she felt for him would ever fade. As he lowered her gently into the bed and rifled through his dresser to find her a t-shirt to sleep in, she admired the lines of him. He was solid, golden perfection, and she wondered if it was possible to feel more than she did at this moment.

He winked as he tossed her a
gray t-shirt, and she grinned when she unfolded it and saw that it was one of his old high school football shirts. Her inner 14-year-old passed out with excitement, and Emma pulled it over her head and crawled under the covers. Cole pulled on clean boxers and climbed in next to her.

The smell of him on the bed
sheets and the solid feel of him spooning her from behind lulled her to sleep quickly.

*****

The aromas of fresh baked bread and sautéed garlic made Emma’s stomach rumble as she looked for Cole at the small Italian restaurant where they were meeting for dinner. It was Thursday night, and he’d been working late all week. He came to Emma’s apartment when he left the office, but it was usually around midnight. She was always asleep when he got into bed and wrapped his warm body around her.

But it was nice. She loved waking up next to him, and morning sex was the only kind they were having these days, since they were both too tired by the time he got home from work.

“You look great,” he said as she approached the small round booth he sat in. “Your hair’s different.”

“Oh, I straightened it,” Emma said, touching it self-consciously. “Do you like it better this way?”

“It looks good – sophisticated, maybe. I like it both ways, though.”

Emma smiled at his diplomacy.

“How was your day?” she asked.

“It was great. I had the hearing on the case I’ve been working on, and I got the judgment. I won’t have to work so late from now on.”

“That’s good, it’ll be nice to see more of you.”

“I’m sorry I’
ve been so wrapped up in it,” he said, looking serious. “Being a new attorney at a firm like mine is tough. I have to put in a lot of hours to pay my dues.”

“Cole, it’s fine. I get wrapped up in my art sometimes. When I said it’ll be nice to see more of you, that’s all I meant. It wasn’t a dig.”

“I know, but I want you to know I want to be with you, even when I can’t,” he said, reaching an arm around her waist to slide her up against him in the intimate round booth.

A waiter appeared and tried to look invisible as he filled two glasses on the table with red wine.

“You can make it up to me,” Emma said softly. Cole laughed lightly as he lowered his face into her neck, kissing it gently.

“You know I will, baby,” he said. “As soon as we finish--”

Emma was distracted by movement next to their table. Her mouth went dry as she glanced away from Cole and saw her mother standing at the edge of the table, the hurt in her brown eyes and her drawn expression stabbing Emma in the gut.

“Emma,” she said in a level greeting.

“Mom! Oh, Mom.”

Cole had pulled away and now looked like a school boy who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
He was blushing and glancing down nervously. If the situation wasn’t so serious, Emma would have laughed at him.

“Hello, Cole,” Emma’s Mom said, piercing him with a sharp look.