The Birthday List(72)

A greedy moan came from the back of my throat as Cole teased. He nipped and sucked on my lips but he was holding back. My hands, dangling limp at my sides, reached for his waist, but he jerked his hips back, not letting me get a grip.

“Cole,” I pleaded when he broke away.

He was panting as he searched my eyes. “How far do you want to take this?”

The answer came without hesitation. “All the way.”

He leaned back, like he didn’t trust himself to be too close. “Are you sure? Because once we do this, once we cross that line, we aren’t going back.”

I cupped his jaw. “I’m as sure as I’ve ever been. This. Us. I want this. I want you.”

I’d barely gotten the last word out before Cole’s mouth slammed down on mine. This time, there was no teasing. No playing. No holding back. Cole kissed me so deeply that I was lost to anything other than his mouth.

My hands clung to his back as I pulled him closer, needing more. I was dizzy from the throbbing between my thighs and the lack of oxygen, but I just held tight, desperate to consume him completely.

On a groan, his hands left my hair and moved down to my ass, squeezing tight as he picked me up off the bed and laid me on my back, and not once did he break the latch he had on my mouth. As my hips cradled his, his hard length rubbed against my aching clit. I arched up, rubbing myself against the thin cotton that separated us.

Cole’s tongue dove back into my mouth, plundering relentlessly as his hands roamed to my breasts. He squeezed them over my camisole before yanking it down, freeing them so he could fill his large hands.

I arched my chest into his hands, craving a harder touch on my pebbled nipples. And Cole didn’t disappoint. With his palms still cupping my breasts, he used his thumbs to flick and tease my hard buds. Every tug and roll sent my pulse shooting directly to my center. Surely my wetness had seeped through my panties and sleep shorts. Surely Cole could feel just how much I needed him inside.

My hands slid between us, working their way toward the waistband of Cole’s pants, but before they could slip inside, he broke away, cursing.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

“What?” I breathed.

He collapsed onto my chest, panting and still cursing into a pillow. When he lifted his head, his jaw was clenched tight. “I don’t have any condoms.”

Fuck.

Before I could say anything, Cole rolled over me, reaching for the phone on the nightstand. “I’m going to call the front desk.”

“Wait!” I smacked his hand away from the receiver. The last thing I wanted was for a bellhop to bring up a condom that had been sitting around an old mountain lodge for who knew how long. “I’m on birth control, and I haven’t been with anyone since . . .”

His hand came back to the bed. “I just had my annual physical and I get tested every year. I’m clean.”

I lifted my head from the pillow, pressing my lips to his. “Then what are you waiting for?”

He grinned, the light in his eyes sparkling brighter than I’d ever seen. “My perfect woman.”

My heart flutter was so strong, it was nearly all I could feel. And with that feeling came something else, a realization. I shouldn’t feel guilty for having heart flutters with someone other than Jamie. I should feel lucky—incredibly, unbelievably, magically lucky. I’d found someone else who made me feel cherished and loved and protected.

Cole had earned these heart flutters.

And he should have them.

As he fit his lips back to my smiling mouth, I closed my eyes, savoring the realization. Savoring his kiss and the heat between us that scorched my skin. I craved more of the burn, more of his skin and his body, so I slid my hands into the waistband of his pants. With a relentless grip, I filled my hands with Cole’s ass.

“Poppy,” he groaned as I squeezed. Even with my fingers digging in hard, they barely made a dent in the muscle. Cole’s body was too solid. Too hard. Every inch.

And I was done with these clothes keeping it away.

My hands traded his waistband for my own. I hooked my thumbs into my shorts and did my best to wiggle them free, but with his weight on top of me, they barely slid down an inch.

I tore my lips away from Cole’s and huffed.

He chuckled against my cheek. “That’s my job.” Starting at my jaw, he began peppering kisses down my neck.

I abandoned my undressing efforts and let my hands fall to my sides, enjoying the way Cole’s tongue licked and his mouth sucked on my skin.

Down he moved, to the dip between my collarbone, then to the swell of one breast. His hot mouth found my hard nipple and he sucked it inside, rolling it once with his tongue before letting it go with a pop.

He did the same to the other nipple as his hands came to the hem of my camisole. By the time he’d dragged it up my torso, I was writhing beneath him. The torture was agonizing. Beautiful. It was driving me crazy but I didn’t want him to stop.

“Cole,” I pleaded. “More.”

He hummed and broke away from my breast, finally whipping my camisole over my head and tossing it to the floor. He leaned back on his knees, his eyes darkening as they feasted on my naked skin. “You are so beautiful.”

My heart swelled as I pulled in a shaking breath. There was so much I wanted to say, to tell him how special he made me feel, but I was lost for words. All I could do was hold his eyes as he slowly stripped off my shorts and pink lace panties.