Page 53 of Ice Cold Heart
I looked around at all the food and took a slow sip of my coffee. “How many people were you planning to invite to brunch?”
I’d meant the question to be teasing, but his shoulders hunched like I’d made a biting criticism. He finished chopping what I now saw were green onions and dumped them in the pot on the stove.
Instead of answering me, he went to the cabinet and pulled out three plates. “Here. Set the table, will you?”
I stared down at the stoneware, wondering if he’d finally succumbed to all the blunt force trauma he’d experienced during his years with Boston. When I tried to hand back a plate, he shook his head.
“I invited Cole.”
All my warm, cozy feelings vanished, replaced by panic and a hot flash of lust. “You did what?”
“I invited Cole. He’s close with his family, and he couldn’t make it home this year. I figured you wouldn’t mind since you’ve been spending so much time with him for the tutoring.”
Heat filled my cheeks, and I was supremely glad he hadn’t turned away from his mystery food to talk to my face. I couldn’t say the words circling in my head. No. Hell no. What the fuck?
After waking up in Cole’s bed with him curled around me, I couldn’t handle the domestic farce of a family Christmas. It was a miracle Dad hadn’t noticed I’d spent the night there. He’d assumed I’d come home then gone back for a morning session.
Honestly, his impulse surprised me. Dad wasn’t the thoughtful type. Or at least, I hadn’t believed so.
I cleared my throat, carefully setting the plates on the table. “That was nice of you.”
“He’s a good boy. Doesn’t need to be alone when we have plenty of space here.”
His words arrowed into me. They were the same ones my mom used to say about Scott. Such a good boy. I shuddered as I remembered the way she looked at him. Had he looked back?
The doorbell rang before I could dive too deep into my own personal hell, and Dad waved me off. “Go get that, would you? This gravy needs constant stirring.”
Caught between my fucked up past and my bizarre present, I must have looked crazed when I opened the door. Cole took one look at my face and shook his head with a quiet laugh.
“I take it he didn’t tell you?”
I crossed my arms and cocked a hip. “I found out five minutes ago.”
“I can leave if you don’t want me here.” He tried to appear nonchalant, but I saw the way his jaw ticked.
Cole expected me to send him packing. It would be the smart thing to do considering I’d spent a good portion of the morning ogling a picture of his naked torso. Then again, with my dad as a chaperone, I couldn’t very well hit my knees in front of Cole begging for a repeat. As long as we stayed in the public areas of the house, I could indulge in the warmth of his company without risking a backslide.
I glanced past him down the front walk, despite knowing Dad had only invited him. Sometimes these guys traveled in packs. “Where are your roommates?”
Cole grinned when I didn’t immediately tell him to leave. “Reese is sleeping off his latest conquest, Mase is planted on the couch with a new game, and from the noises coming out of Gavin and Eva’s room, they’re busy with each other.”
“Just us then, huh?” My voice came out huskier than I intended, and Cole’s eyes sharpened on my mouth.
“And your dad.”
“And my dad.” I suddenly remembered I hadn’t put on lipstick. Usually, I’d rush upstairs to armor up, but I was determined to try to relax today. Besides, he’d seen me without makeup before. The night he’d crawled into bed next to me.
“I finished my assignment. Started the next one.”
“Good.” The tightness in my throat prevented me from saying anything else. My nipples were hard beneath the soft cotton of my bra, and if he so much as brushed a finger along my skin, I might combust.
Cole tempted fate by reaching for my hand and bringing my fingers to his lips. “I’m happy to meet you in the library for our tutoring sessions, but I didn’t take you for an exhibitionist. Are you going to be able to keep quiet when it’s my turn—or am I going to have to do it?”
My eyes fluttered shut at the image of Cole between my thighs, his hand over my mouth, sliding in and out of my wet heat while holding me against the shelves. It was a particular fantasy of mine—the hushed moans and whimpers, the musty smell of old books mixed with the guttural scent of sex, the risk of getting caught at any moment.
Now I’d never be able to picture it without Cole. Maybe the library wasn’t a great idea after all.
When I opened my eyes, he was directly in front of me, and the heat in his gaze said he knew exactly what I’d been imagining. Cole moved closer, and I retreated without thinking, bracing my back against the doorframe. His lips twitched with amusement as he followed me onto the stoop. A slow, deliberate chase.