One Bossy Dare: Chapter 25

Almost a week since the craziest night of my life and the world won’t stop.

It’s still spinning.

I’ve been crashing at Dakota’s place ever since I left the hospital. It was just easier, especially when I started hyperventilating at the thought of spending a night alone in my apartment.

I can’t be alone with these nightmares.

The ones where that sneering, leather-faced lunatic gets out of jail and comes to finish me off.

Dakota’s place has a gate and awesome high-tech security, being a billionaire’s place and all. I just wish it wasn’t such a pitiful substitute for the man who left that day before I worked up the nerve to ask for him…

Then again, after the way we stomped on each other’s hearts, I might not want to see me either.

He put his life on the line.

He saved mine.

Isn’t that enough?

Dakota knocks on the guest room door. I jump as she pushes it open.

“How are we feeling? Less like death warmed over today?” She smiles brightly.

I moan, propping myself up on a couple pillows.

Seriously. I’d rather have whiplash than this monster crick in my back from spending God knows how long crushed in that suffocating box.

“My back still hurts, and I need coffee. Like now.”

“Easy, lady. They were pretty clear about caffeine interacting with your painkillers,” she says.

I glare at her.

“Caffeine is my painkiller and it makes me less stabby. You know the risks.”

She laughs. “I had a feeling you’d say that, so I brought you something.”

She lifts her hand from behind her back, revealing a tall cup with a familiar black-and-white logo.

Wired Cup.

I gasp, reaching for it excitedly, and immediately wince when my back reminds me I’m moving too fast. “You’re really going to let me have it?”

“It’s decaf.” She bites her lip. “Um, sorry. It’s all you get until you’re off the drugs.”

“Decaf is for wimps.” I roll my eyes.

I’m pouting, but I hold my hand out anyway, accepting it like the precious nectar it is.

Even decaf fit for a mouse is a step up from the lemon-water I’ve been sucking down like a desiccated cactus.

She places the cup in my hand and sits in the chair beside my bed.

I bring the cup to my lips and take a drink that strokes my entire soul.

“Oh my God! I haven’t had a good cup since I wound up in a thriller movie,” I say, going in for a second loud slurp.

Dakota beams like the sun. “I tried to get your campfire brew, but it’s not quite available yet.”

When I manage to unhook the cup from my lips, I say, “That’s okay. This is awesome. I love the Colombian-light stuff, even if it is de-crap.”

“Ah, now I know you’re getting better. You can still tell exactly what it is with two sips. So, how are you doing with—” She pauses, turning a hand in the air. “Everything else?”

Everything else meaning Cole.

We’ve been doing this carefully coded dance for the last few days.

It usually ends in my heart dumping out on the floor without even using his name.

Yes, I’m that sad.

Just saying it will break me.

Oh, Dakota offers all the advice, support, and whatever else without using his name. Just like the nicest happily married bestie you could ever hope for.

I sigh, turning the cup in my hand.

“I should’ve known better, Dakota. I mean, I’ve been burned before, right? Once bitten…I guess I’ll get over it. Someday.” I hope. “I think I’m going back to San Diego. I’ll work a day job until I can save enough money to open a small coffee shop on the Pacific Coast Highway. I didn’t realize how much I missed home until we were in Hawaii.”

“No way! You can’t leave me. Don’t move back to California. You’ve built a life here—and you’d better collect your licensing fees for that coffee, whether or not you let Crankyface back into the picture.”

“Like he’d want back in? I’ve been nothing but trouble. Before the whole saving my life thing, I lived in a studio apartment he was scared to let his daughter visit. There isn’t a lot holding me here. You have Lincoln and a cute baby girl. I have bills and blew my chance at love.”

I slump back, suddenly boneless.

“You have your best friend no matter what.” She points at herself cheerfully. “With your experience, you could get into any big coffee chain. Apply to the Mermaid’s R & D if you need something to do. They’re right here in Seattle. Or hell, see if you’ve got enough when the Wired Grump pays out to start up Liza’s Love.” She pauses again. “Also, if you’re dead set on leaving, it might make sense to work everything else out. If only for closure.”

My pout returns. “He hasn’t even called me since it happened…”

“No, but he called me to make sure you were okay. He waited for you all night. Lincoln said he looked like a kicked puppy when you didn’t ask for him.”

“I was so messed up in the head. And kind of afraid to talk,” I admit, staring down. “How could I even look at him after the way I cussed him out? After he went and saved my flipping life?”

Guilt jabs me in the stomach.

“Yeah, well, he definitely got the impression that you don’t want to talk to him. Not that I blame you,” she says with a sigh.

“But he’s not willing to find out why I’m afraid, is he? If he still cares—”

“Eliza. Pause.” Dakota takes a deep breath. “This dude borrowed another rich guy’s yacht and sailed it across the Puget Sound during the worst storm we’ve had in twenty years. He battled a man with an axe and rescued you from a giant fish chest. He told Lincoln he just wanted to kiss you even while you still smelled like a cat food factory. Um, it’s safe to say he cares.”

Dang.

She’s definitely convincing.

A faint smile pulls at my lips. “That sounds like the Lump I know, hero complex and all. He thinks he can save the world.”

“Not the world. You. He does feel responsible, but not in the way you think,” she points out.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, based on what little Linc pulled out of him, he’s about as miserable as you. He’s feeling wicked guilty about the whole thing, beating himself up. It was his friend and his past that almost made you swim with the fishies forever…”

That stupid man.

That stupid, kindhearted, heroic freak of a man.

I swallow the rock in my throat, blinking back tears. “I’ll be thankful to him forever for what he did. I have to be. But we’re still worlds apart—do you really think we have a chance at any kind of relationship? Saving me from a lunatic doesn’t instantly fix the deeper issues.”

“He loves you enough not to pursue that relationship, if you don’t want it. Because he can’t stand the thought of hurting you more.” She pauses, a thin smile appearing. “I just write sappy poems, but that sounds like a hell of a foundation to work with. I’d call it love, Eliza.”

I snort, my inner pessimist rising up. “Love? You think he loves me?”

“Eliza, Eliza…hold still.” Her hand hovers over my face.

Then she flicks me between the eyes.

“Ow, what the hell?” I jerk back. “What was that for?”

“That’s me, waking you up. You’re welcome. And not to be the pushy, overbearing best friend from every bad rom-com here, but he loves you, silly. After Derek, I know this scares you,” she lays her hand on my shoulder. “On paper, Cole seems similar, but we both know he’s not. He’s proven it a thousandfold. If you’d just be honest with yourself for one minute, you’d know I’m right. You’d have to admit you love him, too. There’s also something else to consider.”

“What?”

“Well, until he hears from the police or reads your statement, he can’t know everything Troy said, right? Don’t you think he deserves that closure?”

Oh, crap.

A hot tear escapes my eye.

Why am I even crying?

Because Dakota is right. I might just be the dumbest, most stubborn woman in Seattle.

“Closure, yeah. Everything else…maybe,” I whisper. “But if he loves me enough not to pursue anything, then maybe I love him enough to let him.”

“That’s stupid,” she clips.

“What can I say? We’re People of Inaction. So full of love we’re too paralyzed to actually make each other happy.”

“I think you need another brain scan. I can’t believe what I’m hearing.” She gives me a skeptical look.

“Yeah, yeah. I know.”

“When you’re on your feet again without your spine falling out, you need to find him, Eliza. Talk, before this gets even more ridiculous and one of you starts training messenger ravens or something.”

That wins her a laugh. “Oh, no. You’re still the only woman ever who gets a guy groveling with a trained raven.”

A huge smile stretches across her face and she blushes. “It was nice. But I want you to stop being your own worst enemy. Go get your happily ever after. Do not mess this up, Eliza, or I’ll brick you up in the nearest wine cellar.”

Big words when your best friend is a Poe and a poet.

My stomach flips over. I’m woozy and dizzy and I can’t even blame it on the painkillers.

I don’t want to lose Cole.

I don’t want to lose Destiny, either, and they’re a package deal.

But what if they’re already gone?

What if I make the effort and Cole decides I’m not worth it? If he tells me to get lost?

“Eliza, are you okay?” Dakota asks.

I drain my coffee and set the empty cup on the nightstand beside my bed.

“Whatever. I guess I’ll call him.”

“Nope.” She smiles so sweetly I almost die. “This is a conversation you’re having in person.”

“But—”

“No buts, Eliza. We both know you’d never forgive me if I let you do this over the phone.”

God, she’s right. But I can’t just up and do it in person, either.

“Dakota, I’m scared,” I whisper.

“I know, honey. But I don’t think you need to be.”

I grit my teeth, imagining something awful. “What if he tells me to get lost?”

She snorts. “He won’t, but you’ll never know if you don’t try.”

I shake my head.

“I’ve already told my parents I’d move home. They totally freaked out after—” After Troy tried to kill me, I’m about to say, but I can’t find the words. It makes it too real again. “After the incident. And maybe he should call me first?”

“Too easy. He’s waiting on you, girl.” She sighs, looking up at the ceiling before she glances at me again. “Look, if one of you doesn’t make a move ASAP, you’re both going to lose. Guaranteed. I’m not his best friend, so I can’t advise him. You’re the only one I can talk any sense to—is it getting through?”

“His best friend can’t get bail at the moment,” I say glumly.

“Good, neither of you have anything else to worry about then. I vote you’re going to have to listen to your friend this time.”

“I’ll take the leap, but if this ends badly, I’m blaming you, Dakota.”

“Ends badly?”

“Meaning, if I humiliate myself and he’s as uninterested as we think—”

“If that happens, I’ll sign over Evermore to you. Lincoln might be kinda pissed—but I know there’s nothing to worry about. One thousand percent.” She stands. “Speaking of Evermore, I’d better go squeeze in some writing while she’s down for her nap, but I’ll be back for lunch.”

“Thanks.”

She grins. “What are friends for?”

I look down at my arm, still in the sling. “Hey, Dakota?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re going to have to help me get decent. I have a hard time imagining myself as something any man wants to see right now.”

She laughs. “Oh, stop. To him, you’re Cleopatra and Marilyn Monroe rolled into one. But I’ll help you get ready…”

Later, after she’s done with her words for the day, we go shopping and buy a sundress that matches my sling.

A few more nerve-racking texts with Destiny, and my chariot awaits.

She’ll send Cole’s driver over and say he’s picking up one of her friends. Kind of important because he knows the code to their gate.

It’s easy enough to joke about our secret mission and Dess’ bright laughter helps.

At least this way, if I’m utterly humiliated by Cole Lancaster, I can pretend it was all just a bad joke.

Destiny opens the door with a squeal before I can knock.

She stares at me and lunges, curling herself around me like a scared kitten.

“Eliza, oh my God. Are you okay? I was so scared. I thought you—”

I hug her with my one good arm while she clings to my neck. “I’m fine, honey. It’s great to see you again. I would have called sooner, but I figured your dad didn’t want to see me anymore. I didn’t want to make this more awkward.”

She pulls away, tossing her head with a lopsided teenage grin.

“No way! He’s pretty much having Eliza-withdrawls—for realsies—but promise me something?” She waits until I nod. “If you guys ever break up for real, can we still be friends?” The kid bites her lip.

“I love you, sweetheart, no matter what happens with your dad. Don’t you ever worry.” I pat her cheek lightly, loving how her smile lights up her face.

“Awesome. Thank you.”

“Okay, now I need your help. Can you show me to the kitchen? And make sure the coast is clear. The best conversations always happen over a steaming cup of coffee.”

“Right! I’ll grab everything you need. Oh, but Dad doesn’t drink the kind of coffee you do… He’s surprisingly basic with his morning cup. All we have now are regular old Wired Cup beans.”

“Pedestrian tastes for the CEO of a whole coffee chain, huh?” Leave it to that lunk to make me smile. “I came prepared, Dess. Don’t worry about the beans.”

And I’m as good as my word.

Once I’m in a kitchen that’s only slightly less impressive than the lab, I brew up a very simple blend. Toasted vanilla beans and cacao with a mix of peaberries I’ve brought, plus the standard coffee on hand in the house. It’s my latest black-and-white experiment, customized to Cole’s liking.

A little while later, when he comes home and heads to his balcony, he finds the steaming cup of coffee waiting.

I hunker down behind a patio couch, taking deep breaths so I don’t hyperventilate. My heart feels like a hummingbird behind my ribs.

God, if this doesn’t work…

But I watch his handsome silhouette as he lifts the cup and takes a slow sip that ignites those sky-blue eyes. He stops and looks around.

“Eliza?”

I don’t answer.

Cole takes another pull from his cup and when he lowers it, he’s wearing a smile that melts my heart.

“Eliza, show yourself. I know damn well Dess didn’t make this.”

Heat throbs under my cheeks.

Okay, deep breath.

This is what I came here for, right?

I stand up quickly and walk out from behind the couch, keeping my eyes trained on the ground. I just can’t bring myself to look at him yet.

“What are you doing here?” he asks, slowly moving toward me.

I force myself to meet his gaze, trying not to choke on my next breath.

Cole’s eyes glow like diamonds with the magic power to send me to heaven or hell.

“Destiny let me in,” I say, shifting my weight shyly.

He smiles wider than before, his eyes twinkling.

“Good Dess.” His eyes roam my body, and he’s silent just long enough to make me well aware of it. “Shit. You’re still in a sling.”

He sighs, something protective and hurt in his expression.

“It’s on the mend. All thanks to you, Cole.”

“Bullshit.” His face falls. “You’re in that thing because of me. Because I had my head so far up my ass I couldn’t see the danger right in front of me. Goddamn, I’m so sorry. If I’d just come to my senses sooner—”

“Cole, can you sit?” I ask softly. “Before you go off on yourself, Troy told me a few things you should know.”

He motions to the sofa and we sit together.

Between quick sips of coffee that ground him, I relay everything the monster told me about what truly happened to Aster Lancaster.

His face works through every emotion imaginable.

Anger.

Sadness.

Betrayal.

Disgust.

Relief.

Finally sweet relief.

But I also see something else every time he looks at me. And I can’t let myself get too wrapped up in it—too hopeful—or I’ll never finish my story.

It’s a little surreal, like I’m describing a movie rather than a nightmare that actually happened.

“Fucking shit,” he whispers when it’s over, sinking back against the couch. “Ever since he showed his real face, I knew it was something like that. But to have all the missing pieces, thanks to you…”

He shakes his head fiercely, reaching out, urging me closer.

“It’s the least I can do, giving you some closure,” I whisper.

“I needed it, Eliza, but there’s something else I need a whole hell of a lot more than the gritty details about that backstabbing cock.” He inhales sharply.

My eyes search his. My blood runs so hot my goosebumps feel like tiny mosquito bites.

“What?” I whisper.

“I’m looking at it now. You, woman, were always my missing piece. Always the right shape to fill the gaping hole in my life. I’m just sorry as hell it took me so long to come to my senses,” he rasps.

His soulful gaze is determined to burn me down.

With shaking fingers, I cup his face with my good hand.

“Don’t. Don’t apologize, Cole. I’m only here—alive—thanks to you. You can’t blame yourself for what Troy did.”

He leans closer, his breath hot against my lips.

“I blame myself for a lot, Eliza. Not making sure he got put away after killing Aster. Not noticing his peculiarities. I hate myself for the bullshit I said to you. If I’d thought harder about my words, he never would’ve hurt you. You wouldn’t have been in his car that night. There’s no way to slice this where it isn’t my fault. You almost got killed because of me, and I’m so fucking sorry. About as sorry as I am for ever hesitating to say how much I love you.”

Oh my God.

Butterflies swarm my stomach in force.

It’s hard to look at the fraught honesty etched on his face without going to pieces.

“Cole, stop. You weren’t too late. You…you saved me,” I whisper roughly, tracing my finger down his jawline. “And I know you said some things you shouldn’t have. So did I. You were worried about Destiny and knowing what Troy did now, you were right to be. You don’t have to tell me how much you love me. You showed it. You risked your life…for mine.” I bite my bottom lip, hot emotion scratching my throat. “By the way, you can’t do that ever again. You know that, right?”

“Like hell.” He blinks at me and his brow furrows. “Why not? I can’t live without you, Eliza.”

“Because you can’t leave Destiny an orphan, and I love you a lot, too, crazyman.”

His arms lock around my waist and his lips brush mine.

“Goddamn. You realize it’s taking every ounce of self-control I have not to kiss you right now?”

“Do it.”

“But—”

“Do it,” I whisper again, grabbing his shirt.

His hands sweep lower, stopping on my butt for a delicious squeeze before skimming up again.

Then he takes my face in both of his huge, worn hands. His lips claim mine with a low, sweeping growl like a desert storm announcing rain to the starving earth.

I gasp.

I tremble.

I fall for him a hundred more ways as our mouths go to war, desperate and hungry and so eager to be one.

When he tears himself away, he stands, taking my hand. “On my lap. Now. I’m afraid I’ll fucking break you.”

“I’m not that brittle,” I promise.

“No, but with that arm…”

I laugh.

He pulls me down on him in one movement. My hips love the heat of his thighs. Almost as much as my face appreciates the roughness of his hands, his stubble, every time his skin rakes mine.

“I don’t deserve you,” he snarls in my ear. “I can never make up for the torture I’ve put you through.”

My heart sinks for a moment.

“This better not be the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech?”

He shakes his head, his other arm holding me tighter.

“No. I’d have to be a hell of a lot dumber to let you go again. This is the ‘I’m afraid I’ll hurt you again, or you’ll realize I don’t deserve you and run away speech.’”

I purse my lips. “That’s so not happening.”

“Yeah? Why are you so sure?”

“You know why.”

He smiles. “I have a good idea, but I want to hear you say it.”

I lay my head on his shoulder, turning so my lips brush his earlobe. “Because I’m madly in love with you, Cole Lancaster. I could probably live without you, but it would suck too much to try.”

With a satisfied growl, he shifts me sideways in his lap and locks his arms around me, taking extra care to keep pressure off the sling. “I am not hurting you, am I?”

Too dazed for words, I shake my head.

He’s definitely not hurting anything when he claims my lips again.

The kiss starts so gentle, so tender, but grows urgent with every hungry stroke of his tongue, a dark preview of his deepest wishes, thrusting in and out.

I’m already so wet it’s appalling.

This time, when I break away with a ragged breath, he curses sharply. “Fuck. Eliza, I’ve missed that so goddamned much. Stay with me tonight.”

His eyes search mine, bottomless blue oceans wild with demands.

“…I wish I could. But all of my pain drugs are at Dakota’s.” I wince. “Damn, I’m sorry. I didn’t expect we’d pick up right where we were before—” Before everything.

“We’re not.”

I look at him, feeling confused.

“Did you forget? You resigned, Eliza. You’re not my employee anymore. That means no BS with HR or worries about people in the office running their mouths. No more shadow romance. I can take you to dinner and to Destiny’s turtle talks whenever I damn well please—if you’re willing to sit through a two-hour PowerPoint on sea turtle mating habits.”

This time when I laugh, I can’t stop.

That sounds so nice.

I think I’d happily listen to Destiny geek out about sea animals forever because it means she’s in my life—and so is her gorgeous grump of a dad.

Before I can form words again, he continues. “Fair warning, we’re not picking up where we left off. I’m a million times more committed now. Nothing comes between us again, sweetheart. I won’t let it.”

My breath hitches.

My heart soars.

I’ve fallen into a dream and I never want to wake up.

Honestly, I might not even need my pain meds. This man makes me weightless and giddy and high.

And he shifts me from his lap onto the seat beside him before he stands, gently pulling me up into his arms.

I raise an eyebrow.

“Call Dakota now. See if we can pick up your things,” he growls.

“Um, but actually, I don’t—”

“I know. I should have asked you first. I want you here with me that badly, woman,” he whispers, pressing his forehead to mine. “Don’t make me spend another night without you. I can’t be alone in that bed—even if all I get to do is hold you all night.”

Sweet baby Jesus.

He could’ve stopped five minutes ago because my heart is already wrecked.

Happy tears sting my eyes.

“Okay!” I whisper.

And he pulls me into another sticky sweet kiss, stealing my breath even when I’m a sobbing mess.

His lips find mine over and over, and soon he picks me up like a bride and carries me into the house, again so careful of my injury with every step.

“Where are you taking me?” I giggle as he brings me over the threshold.

“Where do you think?”

“But what about—”

“I’ll lock the door and deal with the inquisition from Destiny later. But if she’s on her phone, she’s preoccupied. I promise.”

“What about the coffee? You didn’t finish and it’s a really good one.”

He grins until his face screws up.

“You’ll make us both more in the morning,” he says, and he’s as good as his word.

Just like that, we’re upstairs in his massive bedroom. He kicks the door shut behind him, stopping only to lock it.

He drops me on the bed, smothering my face and neck in frantic kisses, coming back to my mouth every so often to rake his teeth across my lip or caress my tongue.

I’m a ball of nerves.

It’s not just the heady anticipation of what comes next.

It’s knowing what it was to lose him and win him back.

It’s coming home to a man who cherishes me.

The way his warm tongue flicks across my hard nipples once he’s laid me bare.

The way he carefully undresses me, and then rips his own clothes off in two frenzied movements before sliding into bed on his back and guiding me over him with a dizzying squeeze of my ass.

“On top? You never let me—”

“Can’t risk hurting you again.” He ends that fierce statement by pressing his lips to mine.

Oh, right.

The way his eyes brighten tells me it’s a promise—a vow he means to keep. I spread my legs slowly, careful to find my balance, taking him in more than just physically.

God, my body missed this.

The challenge of engulfing a man so enormous, my walls hugging his thick, angry head. I can feel him pulsing inside me, this bestial thing that’s been deprived of its prey for too long.

This is it.

Everything we lost reclaimed in a hot fusion of flesh.

I can’t be closer to him than I am right now with his body connected to mine. He’s already pumping slowly, his hips rising to meet mine, plunging his cock in to the hilt.

“I-I can’t lose you again,” I whisper. “Oh!”

With a feral look, he pulls my hips tighter against his, craning his face up to kiss me. He holds me up so I don’t have to put pressure on my bad arm.

I’m gliding all over Cole Lancaster.

Even when I’m on top and theoretically in control, he shows me who’s boss.

His kisses come so intense, so rough, so full of teeth that mean to mark me, I can’t decide what’s better. The way his tongue chases mine or the way he moves, owning me so deeply.

“Eliza, fuck!” He throbs again in my depths, growling my name, and breaks away from my face to plant his lips on my shoulder.

No, not just his lips.

He’s sucking, biting me, aiming to leave a secret mark on my skin I’ll enjoy wearing.

I clench around him, secure in his arms, riding the hottest sex-high of my life and relishing the fire building in my core.

He senses it, too.

The heat. The sweat beading on my skin.

The way I whimper when he drives deeper—oh God, deeper—when he molds my throat to his palm, when he sends the other crashing against my ass in a blistering smack of white-hot sweetness just before I go cascading over the edge.

“Go, sweetheart! Come your pretty head off,” he orders, eclipsing my lips with his.

My body obeys him effortlessly.

This time, when I come for this glorious man, he has my entire body, mind, and soul.

He has my heart forever—and I want to prove it as my senses return.

I fixate on riding him.

A messy smile pulls at my lips as I watch the stunned heat in his eyes. I’m on the attack, and I’m going to make this man give me every freaking drop in his balls.

The tempo rises as we crash together.

Just several blinding minutes of chaos tangled together, his thrusts pleasing and punishing and racing me to the finish.

“Eliza! Shit, I’m—” His loud groan chokes off the last word.

I know, baby. I want you to break inside me, Cole.

It’s all I can think, wishing I could say those words, but I’m already breathless.

The instant his cock roots deep inside me, swollen and seething, I’m gone.

We come together in a grinding, violent collision.

Nails and kisses.

Curses and prayers.

Sin and souls.

I don’t even realize I’ve left several long red scratches on his shoulder until my face falls against it. I kiss the parts of his skin I’ve savaged.

His breath keeps me so turned on as he pulls out with a parting kiss, ragged and satisfied.

When it’s over—as if this isn’t just round one—he holds me so tightly I can feel his heartbeat against mine.

“It’s never been that good, Eliza. Never,” he whispers, kissing my forehead. “Holy fuck. Loving you should come with a warning label.”

I smile at how awestruck he sounds.

“What? Like a prescription? Like ‘may cause grumpy bossmen to come so hard they can’t walk for twenty-four hours’?”

“Brat.” He smacks my ass, chuckling loudly. He looks at me with his eyes warm and narrow. “That’d be a good start, anyway. I’m sure it’d be longer than a novel, though.”

“Liar! No way.” I playfully slap his arm.

Just like that, we’re lost in each other’s smiles again. Why does it feel so easy?

Maybe because this time, it’s crystal clear.

It’s lasting.

Later, he texts his driver to go to Dakota’s house and pick up my things.

When I wake up in the morning after two more rounds of gravity-defying makeup sex, I expect him to be getting ready for work.

But he sits on the edge of the bed, stock-still, gazing at me. “I decided I’m working from home until you’re fully recovered,” he tells me.

“What? That’s totally not necessary, Cole.” Oh, but there’s no hiding the overwhelmed quiver in my voice.

He leans down and kisses me. “I want to be here with you. Already had a set of keys made for you this morning.”

“What? So, I’m like—” Living here now?

He shrugs nonchalantly.

“Keep your apartment if you want to, but I’d feel better with you here full-time so I know you’re safe.” He holds up a hand. “I don’t mean to rush anything. Hell, after Troy, I just think we’d both feel better. I have security. Nothing would ever happen, but if someone ever got stupid enough to try, I’m here to rip their throat out.”

Wow.

For the first time ever, I don’t mind him doting on me, being a little overpossessive.

I definitely don’t mind feeling like I belong.

There’s no place I’d rather be than in Cole’s world.

There’s no life I can imagine without him.