Page 25 of Ice Cold Heart
For one moment, she wasn’t my coach’s daughter, she wasn’t my tutor, she wasn’t a friend. Her vivid green gaze lifted to mine, and the tension between us pulled taut. Avery’s thumb traced across my lower lip, igniting a bolt of heat that traveled straight to my cock.
The only thing keeping me from crossing the short distance was the uncertainty shadowing her eyes. I couldn’t kiss her and keep her trust—I needed her to make the next move.
She tipped closer, and a sudden, loud quack from the floor by my feet made us both jump. Henry stared up at us and wiggled her little tail, happy she’d gotten our attention. With a sigh, I squeezed Avery’s hand and let it go.
She sat back, letting out a whoosh of air. “Yeah, Cole, you can listen to my audiobooks with me. Hopefully, we can figure out your sweet spot and help you find a way to consume books without torturing yourself.”
The moment was broken, possibly for the best. If Avery had kissed me, I doubt we would have stopped simply because we weren’t supposed to be getting naked together on a random Monday. She’d have enjoyed herself—we both would—but I didn’t want her to chalk the experience up to a fluke.
Avery wanted to keep me neatly tucked away in the friends-with-very-defined-benefits box. I wanted complicated. Every second I spent with this girl only made me want a thousand more. The problem was I couldn’t keep my hands off her.
She grabbed the book from where she’d let it fall on the couch and opened it to the first of Sheherazade’s stories. From the outside, she looked the same as she had when she’d arrived. The tongue thing might have been a mistake, but I didn’t think so. She’d responded. Despite her insistence she wasn’t interested in a relationship, she’d leaned in, at least until Henry had interrupted us.
The guys may have decided I was the golden boy of the group, but I wasn’t a saint. If she was going to tease me at every turn then pull back, I was going to return the favor. Until she gave in and admitted she wanted more than a series of orgasms.
11
Fifteen hours later, and I couldn’t stop thinking about Cole’s mouth. I’d made it through tutoring, driving home, eating alone in the dark, and passing out while scrolling social media—all while maintaining a carefree attitude. Inside, I was an inferno of doubt and frustration. I wouldn’t be surprised if I breathed fire on my way into the newspaper office.
I almost kissed him. Again. The moment on Cole’s couch marked the second time he’d pushed me right up to the edge of my boundaries using nothing more than sexy words. Well, and his mouth and his tongue and the bulge in his sweats he hadn’t bothered to hide when we’d actually gotten down to studying.
With a quiet curse, I nearly tripped down the last set of steps to the basement office. Thinking about Cole was dangerous to my mind and my body. A flush swept through me when I remembered just how dangerous he’d probably be to my body based on the sheer size of him. The man was fantastically proportional.
“I know that look. You’re thinking about dick.”
My head snapped up at Marco’s comment. Thankfully, no one else was in the office, as predicted.
“You’ve known me all of a week. You couldn’t possibly know what I’m thinking.”
“Mmm,” he hummed. “No, sorry, babe. I know what someone’s face looks like when they’ve been dickmatized.”
Before I responded, I checked the space one more time to be sure I wasn’t about to create an impression I didn’t want. Jonah’s door was open to his empty office, and Sebastian’s was closed. Marco followed my gaze over his shoulder and smirked.
“It’s not Jonah’s time, but Seb is in there. Make sure you speak clearly if you want him to hear you though. He has a tendency to work with headphones on.”
I studied Marco’s smug expression and raised a brow at him. “I’m sure that has nothing to do with his officemate.”
He held up his hands. “Not my fault he doesn’t like my music. Which I play at a high volume. Pointed directly at his office.”
I shook my head. “I don’t get it. Why are you trying to drive him insane?”
“You’ll see,” he muttered, just as Sebastian’s door opened.
I hadn’t met my editor in person yet. We’d exchanged a series of needlessly polite emails about work policies and story ideas, but he hadn’t been around when I’d shown up to help distribute the paper on Monday.
Marco turned and crossed his arms, squaring off next to me, or maybe claiming his territory. With the lack of other people in here, he had slim pickings for work friends. We hadn’t made it far past the bottom of the stairs, barely to the first desk, but Sebastian frowned and made a beeline for us.
I was immediately filled with an intense dislike. He wore the same thing Scott put on almost every day, pressed khakis and a button-down shirt. Also like Scott, Sebastian carefully styled his hair into business casual boredom. What the fuck had I seen in him? Compared to Cole’s easy comfort, both Sebastian and Scott looked like they were disappointed in the waitstaff for bringing the wrong brand of sparkling water. With Marco’s attitude factored in, I was already prepared to hate the man.
Sebastian took in my outfit of a tight long-sleeved shirt over camo cargo pants tucked into my favorite boots. I’d added a puffy vest because, while the temperature had risen in the sun, the shade was still chilly. A furrow formed between his brows and transformed to an outright scowl when his gaze landed on Marco.
“Shouldn’t you be working on your article? The last one needed a second round of edits before I could put it in the paper.”
My hackles rose, and I had to rein in the sudden urge to go at this guy like a mama bear. Marco had been nothing but nice and supportive to me. Other than Cole, he was the only friend I’d made at TU. Granted, I wasn’t particularly trying, but I appreciated them anyway.
Marco didn’t need me though. He bowed to Sebastian and added a fancy little hand flip. “Whatever you need, Sebastian. I’ll be in my hovel if you need me.”
Sebastian’s frown deepened, but he dismissed Marco and turned his attention to me. Marco sent me a cheeky grin from behind Seb and mimed turning up his music. I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing.