Broken Silence (Silence, #2)(39)

I tried to keep a straight face. “Oakley, let me do it.”

“No. I can,” she replied. Sighing, I leant against the wall, silently hoping the taxi driver would still wait. “It’s broken!” she insisted.

“Okay, give me the damn key.” I held my hand out and she dangled it in front of my face, smirking. As I thought, the second I went to grab it she pulled her hand away. “Oakley,” I said warningly, trying not to smile again.

“Yes, Cole?” Wrapping one arm around her waist, I pulled her closer. Her eyes widened in shock as she hadn’t expected it. I used her surprise to my advantage and grabbed it out of her hand. I unlocked the door, and she gasped. “You fixed it!”

I chuckled, shaking my head. She looked genuinely impressed. “Yes, I fixed it.”

Grabbing my shirt in her fist, she pulled me closer. “I have something else you could fix for me,” she whispered. I gulped and rested my hands on her hips, half holding her up. She suddenly frowned and looked up at me, worried. “I don’t feel good.”

“Let’s get you to bed then.” Please don’t puke!

I helped her up the stairs and gave her the pyjamas laying on the futon. She stripped down in front of me. Her chest and toned stomach was staring me in the face. My mouth went dry, but I snapped myself out of it, and made sure she got into her bed and had a glass of water ready for when she woke with a raging hangover.

Her eyes slowly closed and her breathing evened. She looked like an angel, and I was completely in love with her.



Ben and I grabbed our paint guns and made our way into the forest. We had been there so many times that they didn’t bother us with the whole induction and rules thing now. Nigel, the owner, made us sign our lives away and then we were let loose to inflict pain on each other.

“So what are you doing tonight? Actually, let me guess… you’re going to see Oakley?”

“I’m not sure what I’m doing actually.”

He chuckled. “Of course you’re not!”

I really didn’t have any plans to go and see her. We hadn’t arranged anything.

“What’s going on between you two anyway?”

I sighed. “Not sure. It’s complicated.”

“How’s it complicated?”

Was he serious? “You’re not that dumb, Ben. She lives on the other side of the world. She’s back for the trial of the men who abused her and we’ve spent the past four years apart.”

“So what’s your point?”

My mouth opened in disbelief. “Well… all of that.”

“That’s what you’re letting come between you? You need to man up, Cole. If you love her, then all of that other stuff will work itself out. Just grab her and kiss her.”

“Man up,” I muttered under my breath. It wasn’t a case of manning up; it was a case of not knowing what Oakley wanted it. “I don’t know.”

“You’re scared of getting rejected again? Like when she left you before.”

“Thank you for bringing that up again.”

“You’re a fool, man.”

Was he right? Was the only reason I wasn’t giving us another chance because I was scared she would leave me behind again? Of course that scared me, but I was older this time. I could move to Australia so why was I holding back?

After paintballing and losing, epic-style yet again, I dropped Ben off and called Oakley.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey. What’re you doing?”

“Nothing much. Everyone’s out, so I’ve just had a shower and I’m now watching re-runs of Friends. How was paintballing?”

“Fun and painful. Ben, the bastard, shot me in the same place over and over. I need someone to kiss it better.”

“Yeah? You’re mum’s pretty good at that stuff.”

“Don’t!” I yelped.

She laughed, and the effect it had on me answered Ben’s question: I was scared of losing her again. Terrified, in fact. But I had to take a chance.

“Look, I’m driving so I’ll call you later, okay.”

“Okay,” she replied, sounding confused by the abrupt call.

I was nervous. Really nervous, but I couldn’t wait any more.



Oakley opened the door and frowned.

“I thought you said you’d call later?”

Her damp blonde hair had just started to curl. It draped down her arms. Her make-up had been stripped off, leaving her fresh-faced. She had never looked more beautiful to me.

For a second I was frozen. She was perfect, absolutely perfect. I soon snapped out of it. Stepping forward, I slid one hand in her hair and the other around the back of her back, drawing her closer. She opened her mouth slightly to say something but closed it again. I didn’t give her chance to talk. I pressed my lips to hers and kissed her with everything I had.

My heart felt like it was going to rip out of my chest. I pulled her closer; our bodies pressed together almost painfully as we both tried getting as close as physically possible.

The kiss became urgent. Her fingers dug into my back, and she whimpered. That was it. I picked her up, and her legs wrapped around me.

I kissed her deeply and walked forward. I’d had enough messing around. I just needed her again. So I did the thing I had wanted to do since the second she walked back into my life, I carried her upstairs to bed.