Sweet Addiction (Sweet #6)(38)

He raised himself off her enough so that she was forced to meet his gaze. Then he began thrusting rhythmically. Harder. Until the slap of his hips meeting her flesh echoed over the room.

“Look at me,” he said harshly when she would have closed her eyes and dreamily drifted away.

Her eyes flew open again and she stared at the firm line of his jaw. The fire and determination in his eyes.

He screamed possession without saying a word. His body owned her. Over and over he took until she moaned softly, unsure of whether she wanted mercy or wanted none.

“Every part of you …mine. Your body is mine. Your ass is mine. Your br**sts are mine. Your pu**y is mine and I’ll possess it whenever I like for however long I like. Your mouth is mine to take. Say it, Ren. Say it while I come inside you. Tell me you’re mine and make me believe it.”

She reached up for him, looped her arms around his neck and pulled him down. “I’m yours, Cole. All of me. Every part. I’m yours to do with as you wish.”

And for now it was the absolute truth.

CHAPTER 18

Ren lay curled in Cole’s lap on the overstuffed couch in his sunroom. It was a beautiful room, full of windows bursting with light from the side and above. The room was almost completely glassed in and the view of his garden was magnificent.

It reminded her of a children’s book. A fantasy garden that hid secret pathways. Enchanted and magical.

It was clear that this house was Cole’s refuge. Built to exacting standards. Ultimate comfort and privacy in mind. Here nothing could encroach and that gave her an added measure of security and comfort.

He took another strawberry and held it to her mouth. She took a bite, the sweet fruit delectable on her tongue. Cole had arranged for an entire buffet in the sunroom and had fed her by hand whatever she wanted.

She felt pampered and ridiculously spoiled and now she was content to lie in his arms.

He’d kicked up his feet and stretched lengthwise on the couch so his back was to the arm. She was draped over him and every once in a while he reached for something to feed her. His other hand stayed in her hair and he absently stroked through it and down her arm almost as if it was impossible for him to stop touching her.

“I think this would be perfect for your office,” he said. “Do you think you can work here or do you prefer something not so open?”

It shouldn’t have surprised her that he would have arranged for her to have space to work. Lucas would have seen to it.

“It’s perfect.” And it was. Where better to create her own children’s tales than in a setting that looked straight out of one?

“I’ll have all your things brought here and arranged to your liking.”

She frowned. “I don’t have my stuff yet.”

“He had everything sent over this morning,” Cole said quietly.

“Oh.”

Silence descended and she tried so very hard not to read anything into the fact that Lucas had made no effort to see her. She wouldn’t allow it to hurt her because she had no idea the motive or lack of one and she refused to speculate.

“Do you remember when we used to do this on the weekends?”

Cole’s question brought her sharply out of her thoughts and sent her mind seeking in a completely different direction. Maybe it had been intentional. But it was effective because her mind wandered back to days spent just like this. She sprawled across Cole’s body, both of them content to just be.

Her smile was wistful and a little bittersweet. “Yes, I remember. We had such good times.”

He kissed her forehead. “Yes, we did.”

She angled her head so she could stare up at him. “How can we just fall back into this, Cole? We don’t even know each other anymore. It’s been ten years since we were together. This has all happened so fast that I’m having a hard time putting it all together. Is it a game? Are we having a fling for old time’s sake? I feel like I need to know what the expectations are. I mean, Lucas gave me to you. I get that. The three of us are adhering to rules that most other people don’t have any knowledge of and yet they’re important to all of us. Or at least they are to me. I need to know where I stand with you. Take away the rules, the agreement, the fact for the next two weeks I am for all practical purposes your property and just tell me what this is.”

“You don’t ask much,” he said dryly.

He stroked his fingers through her hair, kissed her tenderly on the forehead again and then expelled his breath in a long sigh.

“I made a mistake, Ren. I’ve always known it. Walking away from you was the worst decision I’ve ever made. I hurt you and I hurt myself. We were so young and I was so worried that I was taking you over. I should have trusted in your strength. I should have had more faith in myself but I loved you so much, it killed me to think of hurting you, of what I did to you or could do to you in the future.”

She leaned away to rest against the back of the sofa so that she could see his face.

“But the need in me wouldn’t go away. It shamed me because I thought that anything that had brought someone I loved pain was an …abomination. It wasn’t until later that I realized that it wasn’t the practice of dominance and submission that was wrong. It was my handling of it and my ignorance. It was me who placed you in a position of danger. You were mine to protect and cherish and I failed you on every level.”