Cole (Protecting You, Finding Us), page 16
“I told you, you’re going to take it easy, and you’re coming home with me once you get out of here so I can make sure of it.”
“Am I?” I ask, grinning.
“Yep. I already talked to Levi about it, and he’s ready to be the best nurse ever. You should see the picture he made you. Freddy with a stethoscope.”
I laugh and wince, and she squishes her face together. “Freddy. He’s been home alone too long already.”
“No he hasn’t,” she says. “I’m so sorry that I didn’t ask you, but there were so many other things that you needed to be worried about. I brought Freddy to my house yesterday. Levi’s back from camping, and he is loving having him there.”
“Steph, are you kidding me? You brought that cat into your house?” I chuckle again and hate how much it hurts when I do. Because there’s so much to be happy about right now.
“One full day and I’m already down two full toilet paper rolls.”
She giggles, making me laugh again, and I hiss with the pain. She gets out of her chair and touches my arm with a concerned look. I reach up and cup her cheek. I’ve never been more excited to be alive. I wanted her my whole life. I wanted to know how she felt. How she tasted. How she moved. Now all I want is forever. “Let it hurt, princess. Laughing with you is worth it.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Steph
It’s been two months since Cole was shot in my garage. It was hard to come back into this house after everything that happened. But this is my home, and there’s no way I’m going to let Aiden have the power of disrupting my life any more than he already has. I pull into my garage and stay in my car until the door fully closes behind me. The door that leads into the house opens, and Cole sticks his head out with a smile. I hop out of my car and race to get inside.
Cole stayed here after his surgery, and it was a good thing Jaxon was insistent on getting Eckerd trained to run the front end of JJ’s Graphics because I didn’t go to work for the first two weeks after Cole was released from the hospital. The only thing I was worried about was the change in routine for Levi, and we had a few hard days because things were different. Then one day, he asked us if Cole was living in our house now. Cole and I just looked at each other, shrugged, and changed the subject.
“How was your day?” he asks, slipping his fingers under the strap of my purse, guiding it down my arm, and hanging it on the hook by the door.
“Fine. How was your first day back to work?”
He ignores my question and presses his hand onto my stomach, pushing me up against the hallway wall. It’s the first day Levi is at his dad’s house in four days, which means we haven’t been alone in four days either.
My back hits the wall, and he presses his body hard against me. “I love coming home to you,” I say before he seals his mouth over mine. His hand sneaks under the hem of my shirt and settles on my naked hip. The deeper our kiss, the tighter his fingertips hold on. His hand moves up my shirt, cupping my breast and running the pad of his thumb over my nipple just enough for me to feel it through my bra.
“I’ve waited all day for this,” he says, laying his hot mouth on my neck. “You got me all fucked-up, princess.”
“What did I do?” I pant as he traipses his fingers down until he finds my core and rubs over my jeans.
“First shave at work, all I could think about was your legs and how badly I wanted to fuck you on that bed.”
I grin as I wrap my arm around his shoulder and tickle the back of his neck because I know it’s a spot that drives him wild. He grabs the back of my thigh, hiking my leg up to his hip as he steps further into my body, pressing his hard cock against me. I shimmy my hips into him, and his groan is almost drowned out by a loud beep coming from the kitchen.
“You got something cooking in there?”
He drops my leg, wraps his arm around my back, and guides me to the kitchen, never taking his lips off mine, even as I giggle when I trip a little over his foot. With all the time off Cole had, he discovered a love for baking. Which is good for him, not so good for me. Mainly because he’s really good at it, and I’ve been eating so many desserts. He’s been experimenting with the recipes his aunt sent him and some he found online to make them with less sugar and no dyes for Levi.
Cole grabs my hips and hoists me onto the kitchen island.
“Hey,” I say, wagging my finger at him. “I don’t think you should be picking me up like that.”
He snarls at me as he pulls me close to sit on the edge by my ass. “I’m okay,” he says, gently pushing the hair behind my shoulder, and kisses me again. Then he backs away, grabs a potholder, and takes what looks like a chocolate cake out of the oven.
“That looks amazing,” I say, my mouth watering.
He grabs the mixing bowl off the counter across from me and brings it over. With a devilish grin, he sticks his finger inside, scooping up some frosting and holding it out for me to lick off. But just before my mouth gets to it, he slides it down my cheek.
“Whoops,” he says. I giggle as he leans in and licks it off.
I stick my finger in the frosting bowl, and instead of playing cat and mouse with him, I’d rather just wave the white flag. I smear the frosting down my neck and wait. He stares at me for a minute with flared eyes but doesn’t go after it. Instead, he pulls me off the counter and unbuttons my pants. As he’s sliding them down my legs, he sucks the frosting from my neck, then pulls my shirt off before putting me back up on the counter.
Another dig into the bowl with his finger has me pressing my thighs together as the throbbing between them is so intense if he doesn’t touch me soon, it feels like I’m going to explode. It’s an exciting game in my head, trying to guess where he’s going to put it, but not for long. He pushes my legs apart and slides his frosting-filled finger down my thigh before shoving it into my mouth. I lick and suck the sweetness from his finger, but all I can focus on is his mouth getting closer to my soaking-wet core.
“Cole,” I pant and move my hips.
“Be still, princess,” he says, closing his mouth over my clit and sending me off on a cloud. “So fucking sweet.” His fingers push inside and work me as I try to stay still on the island by gripping the cold granite edge.
Just as I’m climbing higher, he takes his mouth away, and I whimper for him. “You know I want that all over my cock. You sure you don’t want a condom?”
I nod, and he slides his pants down. After a conversation about birth control the other day, we decided not to use them. He lines up with me and works his way in. I brace myself with each surge and beg for more as he sinks slowly inside.
“Please, Cole,” I breathe, and his guttural groan hits my ears as he torments me with glorious pleasure.
“This is mine,” he says, kissing me gently as he circles the sensitive nerves of my clit with the pad of his thumb. “This is mine,” he says again, this time pounding into me, and I let out a broken cry. He picks up speed, and the only sound in the house is our bodies being one. “That’s right, princess. You’re finally mine.”
My body feels like it’s on another planet, but I’m right here with him. Right where I’ve wanted to be for so long. I keep moving back on the counter, no matter how hard I try to hold myself in place. “Hold on,” he says, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling me off the counter.
Still buried deep inside of me, he walks to the kitchen chair and sits down with me straddling him.
His eyes search mine, and they’re full of happiness. “I love you,” he says, and I put my feet on the sides of the chair as he leans back, and I tremble above him.
“I love you too,” I manage to get out before he grips onto my ass and slams me down onto him.
My body begins to send fireworks in all directions as the rush of a climax hits me. My fingernails dig into his shoulders as my legs start to tighten so much I can’t move.
“Oh, God. Cole,” I moan, letting the orgasm take over as it paralyzes me.
He stands and lays me down on the table, which is a little shorter than the island, and I swear the damn thing is going to break as he drives into me with such power I think I might explode into a million tiny happy pieces.
My walls convulse around him as he moans my name and buries himself in deep. I move my hips a little, and he jolts with each one as he holds on to the tops of my shoulders, pushing in as deep as he can. He collapses over my body, and I listen to his heavy breathing.
“Are you okay? Does anything hurt?” I ask.
“Just like after the other two times we’ve had sex since I was in the hospital, I’m fine. Just need a minute.”
I rub his back as we lie there catching our breath. He pushes up, holding himself over me.
“Shower time?” he asks, and I nod. “Then we’ll have some chocolate cake.”
“With frosting?” I ask, giggling.
“Fuck yeah, with frosting. Lots, and lots of frosting.”
I pick Levi up from the school pickup line, and he immediately frowns when he sees the front seat is empty. He gets in the back and throws his book bag to the other side as he puts on his seat belt.
“What’s the matter?”
“Where’s Cole again?” he asks.
“Remember, I told you last week he’s back at work now, and some days he doesn’t get off in time to come for pick up.”
“He’s going to be at the house tonight though, right?”
If I thought Cole and Levi were close before, being together in the house these past two months has made them closer than I thought possible.
“Yeah, he will. Why?”
“I like him there. Is he staying forever?” The thought has crossed my mind, but there hasn’t been a discussion about it, and I’m kind of shocked that it’s coming from Levi. “I think he should stay forever. And Freddy. Freddy stays.”
“Are you saying you’d be okay if Cole moved in with us?”
“Yeah. We love Cole, right?” he asks.
“Yeah, buddy. We love Cole.”
We all clap as Jaxon and Holly enter the tent they have set up in their beautiful backyard. Jaxon holds on to Holly’s protruding belly and kisses her as Zayn’s dad introduces the new Mr. and Mrs. Judge into the reception part of the evening. It’s not the summer wedding they originally planned, but after what happened to Cole, it took a while for things to feel not so heavy. And as much as he hated it, it took about six weeks for Cole to feel like he was somewhat normal again, but when he felt better, wow, did he feel better. It shocked me how fast he healed, but when the doctor cleared him for sexual activity, our alone time was used wisely.
We’re still waiting to be called for Aiden’s case, but we’ve been assured that there’s plenty of evidence to get him convicted.
Louis hasn’t made an appearance in Airabelle Valley again, but he didn’t disappear completely. Jaxon came over the week after Cole was shot in my garage, and on the front page of a newspaper from the city was a big picture of Aiden’s mug shot. The article was written by Louis, and he tore Aiden apart. I knew the article was coming out before Jaxon showed me because Louis sent me an email. He apologized for his awful behavior and said he had no idea how brutal Aiden was going to get. He never thought there would be violence involved. They had partnered up to get a story from me after they came for Ella’s kidnapping and realized who I was. When Aiden ditched him to get his own story, Louis wanted to beat him to it by buttering me up with flowers and gifts so I’d meet with him again. So sick, and I’m still far from a fan of Louis. I’ll never talk to him again. But he got his story.
“Are you feeling okay?” Cole asks as we sit down at the table.
“I’m tired. And my stupid fingers hurt.”
Cole kisses the back of my hand, then gently rubs his thumb over my knuckles. These last few months, we’ve been taking care of each other. I no longer have to hide when I feel like shit. I can just go lie down. It is a relief that I don’t have to pretend to be fine every minute of every day, but I still worry about what my future looks like. Cole says no matter what, we’ll worry about it together. I try not to think about it too much. But the constant doctor’s visits, bloodwork, and vision checks make it impossible to ignore. But I’m not doing it alone anymore and that feels better than I thought it ever could.
Holly and Jaxon already have their plates of food made and waiting at their seats for them, but they walk over to us anyway.
“Are you doing okay?” Jaxon asks me, and before I answer, he turns to Cole. “How about you, are you doing okay?”
We both laugh. “We’re fine, Jaxon. Stop worrying about us, and enjoy your wedding.”
Holly tugs on Jaxon’s arm. “See? I told you,” she says. But we all know Jaxon is never going to stop worrying. If he did, then we’d be the ones on edge.
They walk over to a table filled with some of Holly’s friends that she’s made through Juneberry. One of them is a vendor for her shop and made all of our dresses, including her gorgeous wedding dress.
Levi and Saige run over from sitting with Zayn’s mom, and Levi shows me a flower from Saige’s flower girl basket. “Did I do okay?” he asks.
“You did great, buddy,” Cole says, straightening the little bow tie on Levi’s tux. “Best ring bearer ever.”
“I didn’t throw all the flowers out though,” Saige says, looking worried. “I think I walked too fast.”
“You walked fine,” Levi tells her. “But I farted as I was walking down.”
Saige starts to laugh as I bury my head into my hand, and I hear Cole laugh. “Last one to the swing smells like cheese,” Levi says as they run off together into the yard and to the swing set Jaxon put out there for when Levi visits him.
“Those two are something, aren’t they?” Cole looks proudly toward them, and I grab his face, turn it toward me, and kiss him.
I reach across the bed but find it empty. The shadow of leaves dance in the sunlight on my wall through my bedroom window as I hear the distant tunes of Saturday morning cartoons playing in the living room. Levi is usually with his dad on Saturdays, so Cole records the good cartoons and watches them with Levi when he comes home during the week. But since it’s Jaxon’s wedding weekend, they get to watch them on a Sunday morning instead.
I hear them laugh, and I already know they’re both eating cereal on my couch in their matching new pajama pants. I couldn’t wait until Christmas to have pajamas printed with a black cat hanging out of a toilet bowl. And since Levi found it so hilarious, I went ahead and printed a pair for him too.
Last night was amazing. I watched my brother get married to the love of his life. And now they’re going to have a baby and live happily ever after. I hear Cole say something to Levi, and then little footsteps come trotting down the short hallway. Levi peeks in my bedroom door, and I smile at him.
“Morning, my boy,” I say, laughing as I spot his cat pajama pants. I expect him to come leaping into my bed like he likes to do for a morning hug.
Instead, he snickers and takes off running, yelling, “She’s awake!”
A bell jingles, and I hear Freddy meow loudly. Then Levi runs into my room, holding that stupid spider on a pole that Freddy loves to chase, and he comes darting into my room after it. Levi puts the toy up on my bed, and Freddy jumps after it. I sit up and see something hanging around Freddy’s neck, so I try to grab him, but he runs away from me and back out the door.
“Freddy! Get back here,” Levi shouts and runs out.
Cole pops his head in. “Stay there,” he says.
“What are you two up to?” I ask but get no answer. Then I hear about three crashes, and I collapse back into bed. “I don’t even want to know.”
Cole appears out of breath, holding his cat, who looks a bit wet. “The flowers?” I ask, and Cole just shakes his head in disbelief. I tried putting the flowers from Jaxon’s wedding high on the counter, but nothing in this house is high enough for Freddy.
He walks over to me with the cat and takes the loose string off from around his neck. I catch the sparkle of a diamond ring, and I gasp as I sit up in bed. He lets Freddy go as Levi appears in the doorway, smiling. I hold my breath as I watch Cole sink down to one knee next to me.
“We’ve been through more than most people do in their whole lives, and we’ve proven that nothing can come between us. I want to wake up next to you each morning. Eat cereal on your couch wearing matching cat pajamas with Levi.” I laugh through the tears and put my hand over my mouth. “You’re not just my best friend. You’re my soul mate. My partner. My confidante. And I want you to be my wife. Marry me, Stephanie. Because I’ve already spent a lifetime loving you.”
I look over to Levi, who is jumping in place as the tears roll down my cheeks. “Yes,” I whisper. “Yes, Cole, I’ll marry you. Because I love you too.”
Cole bolts up from the ground and kisses me.
“Eww,” Levi yells as he runs out of the room.
I smile against his lips, and he backs up to slide the ring on my finger. A solitaire princess cut. It’s perfect.
He leans over me, pushing me back onto the bed, cupping my cheek, and claiming my mouth. A crash comes from the living room, and Levi yells, “Get out of my cereal!”
Freddy comes running into the room with a fruit circle stuck to the middle of his forehead. “Cole! It’s all over the floor,” Levi shouts. “What do I do? Oh no!”
“It’s okay, buddy,” Cole yells back. “I’m coming.” I laugh at the chaos, and Cole presses a soft kiss to my neck. “Don’t get dressed. After Isaac picks up Levi, we aren’t leaving this bed.”
“You should call your aunt,” I say, holding on to him before he gets up.
“She already knows about the ring, princess.”
“And what about the wedding? Doesn’t she book pretty far in advance?”
“Are you telling me you want to get married in Wyoming?”
