Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 17631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 88(@200wpm)___ 71(@250wpm)___ 59(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 17631 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 88(@200wpm)___ 71(@250wpm)___ 59(@300wpm)
No, it's relief. Massive relief. A huge weight off my shoulders.
So this is what it feels like to stand up for myself. To speak my mind. To not let anyone walk all over me.
Cole unlocks the doors with a press of a button. I slide into the passenger seat, and he gets behind the wheel.
The moment the doors close, sealing us once more into our private bubble, I burst into wild, free laughter. With laughter-drenched tears. I fill my lungs.
"Did you see his face?" I gasp between peals of laughter. "I thought his head was going to explode."
When Cole doesn't immediately respond, I turn to look at him. He's smirking, but his eyes tell something else. It's dark with desire, and he's staring at me like he's already taking off each layer of clothing.
"That," he says, voice low and rough, "was the hottest thing I've ever witnessed."
My laughter fades. "Really?"
"Watching you eviscerate that asshole while looking like a fucking goddess? I'm never going to recover."
The tension that's been simmering between us all morning ignites. I reach for him the same moment he reaches for me. Our mouths crash together in a desperate, hungry kiss that makes yesterday's seem tame by comparison.
God, he kisses like a beast.
His hand slides into my hair, tilting my head back to deepen the kiss. I clutch at his shoulders, trying to pull him closer despite the console between us. His other hand slides up my thigh, bunching the fabric of my skirt.
When we break apart, we're both breathing hard, and the windows have started to fog.
"Why did that feel so freeing?" I ask, my voice barely steady.
Cole cups my face, his thumb grazes my jaw. "Because you finally stopped shrinking yourself to make other people comfortable."
I stare at him, and something clicks into place inside me. All these years, I've been making myself smaller, quieter, less, because I thought that's what I was supposed to do. Polite, meek Merry. What I was supposed to be. How a proper heiress behaves.
But what if I don't have to be less anymore? What if I can be more?
The realization crashes over me like a wave. I unbuckle my seatbelt, my hands steadier now, my decision made. I slide out of the passenger seat and open the back door.
The leather of the backseat is cool against my legs as I settle in. Through the gap between the front seats, I meet Cole's eyes in the rearview mirror. They're dark with hunger, with need. Mirroring my own.
"Come here, Cole. That's an order."
4
COLE
"You heard right. Come here, Cole. That's an order."
Meredith's words knock the air out of me. My fingers curl around the steering wheel as I stare at her through the rearview mirror. Meredith's eyes are dark pools of want, and she sucks her bottom lip between her teeth. The same lips that just commanded me into the backseat with her.
Fuck.
She just ordered me again. Something about the way this pampered heiress thinks she can boss me around makes my cock strain against my zipper. Two years of restraint, and she breaks me with six little words.
What am I saying? She broke me yesterday.
For half a second, I don't move. Can't move. If I go back there, there's no returning to what we were before. The professional line I've maintained will disintegrate. But who am I kidding? That line disappeared the moment I pressed her against the wall last night.
We're in a parking lot. A public fucking parking lot. But it's the far corner, relatively secluded, and the windows are tinted dark enough that no one can see in unless they press their face to the glass. And right now, I don't give a damn if the entire board of Ashton Collective walks by.
I've waited two years for this woman. I'm not waiting another second.
I release my seatbelt and turn to face her. "You sure about this?"
She doesn't answer with words. Instead, she unbuttons the top of her blouse, exposing the creamy swell of her breasts. My restraint shatters. A man can only have so much.
I exit the driver's side and circle to the back door in record time. The few seconds it takes feels like an eternity. When I yank open the door, she's waiting, eyes gleaming with anticipation and a touch of nervousness.
Maneuvering my 6'3" frame into the backseat is a challenge, but I've done more difficult things for less reward. I fold myself in, closing the door behind me, and suddenly the air is thick with tension, so thick I can slice it with a butter knife. The space is confined, forcing us close together.
"Come here," I growl, reaching for her.
She slides toward me eagerly, and I pull her onto my lap. Meredith barely has time to settle when I capture her mouth with mine, urgent and hungry and demanding. Her lips part instantly, and I taste her, my tongue pumps in and out of her warm mouth.