SO COLD (18+) currently editing

Chapter 63

SO COLD

I was feeling good today. I was dressed in an off-the-shoulder bodycon dress with black heels that were made for drawing attention. Instead of my normal t-shirt-and-ripped-jeans attire, I took a little more effort in my appearance this morning when I woke up. I spent some time in the bathroom perfecting my eyeliner and being a little heavy handed with my highlighter and smearing on a subdued dusty red lipstick to perfect the look and fell a little more in love with myself. Make-up sure was a God-given blessing. I remembered back in January looking down at myself and seeing the big beer belly I carried and how awful I was feeling in my body. It was a long journey to feeling better again and Isiah's home cooked healthy meals and boxing helped in getting back on track to being healthy. Sure, I fell off a few times and succumbed to offerings of greasy pizzas and shots of vodka, but I was determined and seeing results (sharper jawline, dying beer belly) made me think twice when I thought of tossing it all away for a bottle of Scotch.

I nipped to my bedroom for my car keys and wallet and then headed downstairs to the living room. Irvin had hooked up the PlayStation to the TV and James had joined him for a game of Fifa 17. Cole was sitting by the fireplace, a Tupperware box in his hand, a fork in the other, commentating on the match. "Take the shot, Irvin! And...he fucking misses. Wow. Twice in a row. You're hopeless."

"Has anyone seen my phone?" I queried, making my presence known. I strayed near the doorway, scanning the room quickly.

"No," Irvin said distractedly, focused on the game.

Cole raised his gaze towards my direction, mouth moving as he ridiculed Irvin for losing six to three and then he stopped mid-way. In a slight daze, he said, words accented. "Jesús, you look beautiful," aphrodisiacal and appreciative, he added on. "I regret breaking up with you."

Pleased, I met his gaze and my mouth curled up in delight. "We can reconcile in the bedroom."

Unsure what to do, he groaned in despair. "I can't. Don't tease me, Shay."

"Having sex would definitely be a bad idea," Irvin threw in his two cents, disapproving, a stern expression plastered on his face. "Please don't make my breakfast come out of the wrong hole."

"For once, the boy is the voice of reason," James agreed.

Irvin threw him a dirty look. "I'm always the voice of reason."

"Come here, Shay," Cole ignored the pair and took my attention. He hadn't looked away since and he gestured for me to walk to him with a wicked tilt of his mouth. When Irvin advised against the idea, he snapped irritably. "Shut the hell up, boy." He discarded his food on the table and stood up.

"I was sort of kidding, Cole." I said with a slight grimace.

"I wasn't," he reached me and took my hand, pulling me after him into the hallway. He warned seriously. "If you try to interrupt us, I will kill you, Irvin." He led the way to the chilly dining room and suggested with a devilish smile. "Irvin is annoying me. We should have sex on his table."

"I would be a shit best friend if I did that," I shot down the proposition. "I have to go to work. I need to observe Steven Talbot. If I leave now I can catch him just as he leaves college grounds. I printed off his class timetable and I'm crossing my fingers that he sticks to it and doesn't have any meetings or work to catch up on in the teachers' lounge."

"I'll send Irvin to follow him. Why don't you spend the day with me?" he perched his ass on the edge of the dining room table, and rested a hand on my waist, holding me close to his chest and confessing. "I want to make love to you. And I want to kiss you."

"Then kiss me," I met his intense gaze and dropped my gaze to his mouth, I leaned down as if I was overcome by lust and then quickly pulled back. "Sike!" I laughed at his disgruntled expression.

He furrowed his brow, standing up and twisting us around so I was now sat on the table, his hands skimming down my dress and then under the material of my dress. "I don't appreciate you teasing me," he pushed apart my legs and exposed my bare thighs and crouched, low voice, sinful grin, kissing my skin softly, going further and further upwards. "Take a ride with me to a hotel. We'll spend all afternoon in bed. I'll call you slut and make you beg for me to take you. We'll drink whiskey and have drunk sex and then call for room service. What do you say?" He paused, finger skimming my panties. "You're already wet."

I tugged my dress down, grabbing his wrists and tugging him to stand upright. "As much as I would love to add to my list of mistakes, I can't. Maybe after I find my father we can have celebratory sex. Or you can eat me out as a reward. Right now, though," I put a hand under his chin so he looked at me, "I'm going to be celibate. And I'm already regretting my decision. I need to go," I didn't think twice, I leaned up and quickly brushed my mouth against him, stealing a kiss.

He grabbed me from behind as I tried slipping away, arms tightening when I protested. "That's not very fair of you," he growled throatily in my ear, bristly jaw tickling my neck. His teeth nipped my ear and then grazed downwards to my throat. He kissed just under my jaw and murmured. "No one has to know, Shay. It'll be just you and me. We don't even have to acknowledge it after. Please. I miss you. I hate spending nights away from you. I want to go slow and deep inside of you, I want you under me, panting. Begging."

"You're making this very hard on me, Cole. As much as I would've liked to, I didn't get dressed up for you to rip my clothes off. It's for another man."

His voice went cold. "What the hell are you talking about? Who?"

"Guy Fieri."

He relaxed on his hold, and he sighed slightly. "You're an ass."

"I really need to leave," I escaped his arms and reached the door.

"Wait for me, I'm coming with you. I need to grab my coat."

"You don't need to," I touched the door handle.

"I want to spend time with you." He put his hand over mine, and pressed his lips against mine and opened the door, lips quirked up in satisfaction. "After you." He smacked my ass. "Goddamnit. Guy Fieri is a lucky man."

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