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)
Instead, Cole stops, turns, and plants one palm against the wall above my head.
I'm caged in—back to the wall, his body close enough that his hard chest brushes against my breasts. He's not touching me, but might as well be. With him this close, my last brain cells die.
His voice, when it comes, is low and rough. "I would if I could."
My breath stops. Protocol, be damned.
My heart slams against my ribs as I stare up at him, searching his face for any sign he's joking. But Cole isn't joking, at least, he doesn't look like it. His jaw clenches, his heated gaze drops to my mouth, and heat floods my body. His breath flames my cheeks. I drop my eyes.
I realize in this moment, I want nothing more than to be kissed by him.
Breathe, Ms. Ashton, I tell myself. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight.
2
COLE
She's still staring up at me, her breath caught, pupils blown wide, lips slightly parted. My hand remains braced on the wall above her head as every cell in my body strains toward her.
I've never been this close to her, so close I can see the smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks, so close I can hear her swallow hard.
Two years.
Two fucking years of keeping my hands to myself, burying my desires, and never crossing that line.The line I'm about to obliterate.
Her pulse flutters visibly at the hollow of her throat. I watch it, fascinated by this tangible evidence of her desire. For me. Not her bodyguard, not her employee. Me.
"Kiss me, Cole." Meredith lifts her chin and raises her eyebrow. "That's an order."
Something inside me snaps. The last thread of my control, probably. The one I've been clinging to since the day Dex handed me Meredith's file.
I was reviewing security plans in my office when my brother dropped the folder on my desk. "Potential client. Big one. Robert Ashton wants security for his daughter."
I flipped it open, expecting to see the usual details. Instead, I found myself staring at a photo of the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. Dark wavy hair framing a face. Warm, intelligent eyes. The kind of curves that make a man's hands itch to trace them.
"She's refusing a full detail," Dex explained. "They compromised on one bodyguard who has to stay with her 24/7."
I knew I should pass it to someone else for several reasons. One, taking a personal protection assignment after years behind a desk was a bad idea. Two, I had several reliable men who could do the job.
But the thought of someone else keeping her company burned through me.
"I'll handle it myself," I said, already knowing I was fucked.
Now, Meredith's order hangs between us. "That's an order." As if I need any more prompting.
Fuck it.
My hand slides from the wall to cup her face, thumb brushing across her cheekbone. Her skin is soft, impossibly so, lips parting on a sharp intake of breath.
"Yes, ma'am."
The first touch of her lips against mine is electric. Soft and warm and perfect. For half a second, I try to be gentle, to ease into this, to not overwhelm her. That lasts until she makes a small sound in the back of her throat and fists her hands in my shirt, pulling me closer.
My control shatters. I press her against the wall, my body flush against hers, and deepen the kiss. Her mouth opens under mine, inviting me in, and I accept without hesitation. She tastes like everything I've wanted and denied myself.
Her hands slide up from my chest to grip my shoulders, then one moves to the back of my neck. Her nails scrape lightly against my skin, and I nearly growl at the sensation.
I tangle my fingers in her hair, angling her head to deepen the kiss further. She responds with equal hunger, arching against me, making those small sounds that are driving me insane, her tongue tangling with mine.
For two years, I've imagined this. For two years, I've tried not to. And none of my imagination came close to the reality of Meredith pressed against me, kissing me like she's been waiting just as long.
I remember every moment of torture from the past two years. Every time I had to stand stone-faced while she unknowingly tested my control.
The first time I saw her swimming laps in her pool at midnight. She wore a simple black bikini, nothing provocative by design, but on her curves, it was devastating. Water streaming down her skin, her hair slicked back. I had to turn away, focus on the perimeter, count backward from one hundred.
There was also the charity gala six months ago. She wore a red dress that hugged every curve, the back dipping low to reveal the elegant line of her spine. I was positioned behind her as she walked to her table, watching every man in the room eye her with appreciation. By the end of the night, I nearly broke three fingers and mentally tortured a dozen more.