Rescue Me(20)
As if they had a mind of their own, her hands moved up from where they rested on his shoulders and twined themselves in his hair.
He ran his hand up her thigh until it nearly cupped her backside and she felt a throb radiating from her center.
"Cole," she murmured.
For an agonizing moment, the debate on his face was so obvious that she thought he was going to release her and walk away.
But then he dumbfounded her by pulling her even closer to him, if that was possible, and lowered his head to hers in a soft, testing brush of lips.
Her breath came out in a sigh and was swallowed as his mouth captured hers again, more urgently this time.
Yes. This. This is what she had been dreaming of, secretly wishing for. So secretly that she hadn't even admitted the depth of her desire to herself, having brushed her dreams of the past few nights off as nothing.
But what she was feeling as he kissed her was definitely something.
She responded to his warm mouth, opening for him to delve deeper.
As he plunged his tongue inside her mouth again, her legs began to quiver.
He expertly scooped her up, keeping one hand on her hip and lifting her other leg until they were wrapped around him. He backed up to the closest wall and pinned her against it with his body, allowing his hands freedom to roam up from her waist.
Meredith let her head fall back and he trailed hot, wet kisses down her neck, causing her to let out a small cry when he nipped at the sensitive skin along her collar bone.
"Meredith, I—. Oh." A distant voice broke through her foggy brain, and she tried to make sense of it. It wasn't Cole because he had been steadily making a path toward her chest with his mouth. If it wasn't him, then who—?
Her eyes snapped open and she looked directly over Cole's head to where someone was standing in the doorway, a shocked expression on their face.
CHAPTER SIX
Cole stopped moving entirely and lifted his eyes to Meredith's face, but she couldn't meet his gaze.
"I'm so sorry," Katrina said, stumbling over her words and turning to go back out, but stopped and headed back toward whatever it was that had brought her in. She stopped again and looked like she didn't know whether to continue on or run out the door. Her eyes were as wide as a deer caught in headlights. Meredith couldn't suppress the laugh bubbling up in her throat. She knew she should be mortified, but she was too caught up in relishing the way Cole made her body feel.
"It's okay, Katrina," she said with a sigh.
Cole looked visibly relieved when she spoke the name and he slowly lowered her to the floor. He gave her a wolfish grin and lifted his brows suggestively at her before turning to face their intruder, keeping his arm around her.
Meredith couldn't believe they had just been caught but was almost relieved by the interruption. Where would this have gone had Katrina not walked in? She was pretty sure any willpower she may have had would have quickly evaporated under the heat of Cole's skilled kisses. She squirmed at the thought, aching to feel his mouth on her again.
Katrina seemed to have collected her wits, and overcoming her initial shock, a devilish look came over her face. "Don't let me stop you. I just need to get my gym bag. I left it here earlier by mistake." She rushed to grab it from the back of the room and turned to leave.
"No, wait," Meredith called out. "We want you to watch us."
Cole regarded her like she'd lost her mind and Karina stood agape.
"Watch you?" She had a look of bemusement on her face and it took a moment for Meredith to realize what she'd said.
"No! Not like that," Meredith said in a rush. "We were just practicing the dance when—." She had to stop Katrina from leaving her alone with Cole. "Well, anyway I think it looks pretty good, I just want another opinion."
Cole narrowed his focus on her, but she couldn't meet his gaze. Yeah, she was shrinking back from him again, but she was starting to panic. All of a sudden the implications of what they were doing had become clear and she knew they had to stop. They were lucky it had been Katrina and not Brandon that had caught them.
Shrugging away from her, Cole grabbed a water bottle from the fridge in the corner and drained the whole thing at once.
"If you really want me to," Katrina said hesitantly, looking back and forth between the two of them.
"Yes. I do," Meredith said firmly. She had to get herself under control, and fast. On the pretense of trying to find the right song on her iPod again, she took a few minutes to collect herself. Keep it professional. That's what she had to do.
Katrina sat down to watch and Cole and Meredith took their places. Her eyes latched onto his again and the desire he wasn't even trying to hide nearly killed her resolve. After that kiss, there was no way it was going to be that simple.
***
Damn it all.
What the hell was that about? Cole had been ready to throw her down on the floor and strip her naked. He should have felt relieved that they had been interrupted, but now he was a frustrated jumble of nerves.
Meredith wouldn't look at him and Katrina was watching the tense dynamic between them with unabashed curiosity. He forced himself to focus so he could get through the rest of their time in the studio. They took their places as Meredith started up the music. When she twirled into his arms for the third time, there was a noticeable difference in her carriage. She had withdrawn again. He knew he should be glad for it because he had no business taking this any further, but all he wanted was her pliant body in his arms again.