It's A Shame (16 page)

His arms encircled
my waist holding tightly. A little too tight, but I didn’t care. His hand lunged under my shirt and quickly pushed my bra up, releasing my breasts like he was desperate to touch me. The surface of my skin tingled under path of his roaming hands. His long fingers encircled my breasts and he began kneading them, his touch urgent, demanding. His thumb and forefinger rubbed my hardening nipples, rolling them. His caresses turned passionate, and I knew he was as desperate for me as I was for him.

He deftly
lifted me and carried me to the bedroom, the coffee forgotten.

Chapter
14

He set me on the bed and pulled my shirt over my head.
His hands were moving so quickly over my body, I hardly had time to catch my breath, and I loved every second of it.

I loved every touch, every kiss, every
flick of his tongue. He opened my zipper and tugged my jeans off. I laughed out loud when his eagerness nearly had me sprawled on the floor.

He
hooked my thong with his thumbs and quickly pulled it down my legs… where it landed I didn’t care. He swiftly wrenched his clothes off, stepping out of his pants, and stood looking down at me lying across the mattress.  The burning intensity in his eyes reflected, and mirrored, my own.

My eyes traveled slowly down his perfect body, drinking everything in
, thirsty for the sight of him. His muscular biceps flexed as he opened and closed both fists rhythmically, almost like he was holding back, restraining himself. From his chiseled chin, down to his chest, with its neat matting of crisp hair, leading to the slim trail that lured my eyes further down. Down the perfect V, dipping lower.

My eyes
charted the thin black trail over his rippling abs, down over his slim hips to the path that led to the most beautiful erection I’ve ever seen. The sight of his naked body was food for my starving soul. My lips were so parched; I dragged my tongue slowly across them.

He growled deep in his chest and lowered
himself to the floor, kneeling between my legs. I unhooked my bra and tossed it to the floor freeing my breasts as he spread my thighs wide. There was a desperation, a need, that flowed through my body into his. He lowered his head and began eating me with an intensity that set my soul aflame.

As he
licked me, he tenderly spread apart my moist folds with his fingers. Flicking his tongue so exquisitely over my tightened clit, plunging it deep inside me. I rolled my head back and let out a guttural groan opening my legs wider for him, my movements beckoning him.

His hands
swiftly roamed over my belly, causing the muscles in my thighs and haunches to clench. He grabbed my ass and dug his fingers into my tender flesh holding on tightly as he pulled me towards his mouth.

I was gasping as h
is tongue alternated from flicking lightly over my clit to delving deep into my cleft. My stomach contracted with longing.

My
climax built at an alarming rate, and I could feel my body began to shake violently. I grabbed the comforter, feeling the soft down crush between my fingers as I squeezed, my head rolled from side to side as I lost control. I lifted my hips up and down in a pulsing beat with his tongue. I was so turned on, so frenzied I wasn’t able to stop my body from pushing the limit.

He held
on, his strong fingers gripped me tightly, holding me in place as he tormented me with anticipation.

I screamed as my climax washed over me, flooding me. The
overwhelming tingling sensation traveled the length of my body, my legs clenched around his midsection in spasms. My toes curled painfully, and I moaned my pleasure over and over again spastically jutted my hips up and down, one orgasm leading into the next…he worked tirelessly.

I felt, more than saw, Cole climb up me
. His hot smooth lips glided across the tightened skin of my belly on his way up, sending hot flashes rippling over the surface. The heat within me built as he lifted my body, along with his pulling me up along side him, until my legs were solidly on the bed. Then he gingerly knelt between my thighs.

I looked up to see h
is back straighten and nearly lost my breath as he flexed his shoulders back. His body loomed above me. His torso—straight, muscular, powerful—quivered as he looked down at me, my naked body as exposed as my soul. His hooded eyes scoured the length of me. His emotions, bared for only a few seconds broke me…sending me spinning into the abyss. I saw the love and desperation reflected in those deep green pools. Not unlike the desolation and anguish, I was feeling.

His erection rubbed along my inner thigh
leaving a trail of heated wetness. At that moment, the only thing I wanted was to feel him inside me. I didn’t care what happened. I didn’t care what he might have done. I only know I needed to feel him inside me one more time. I reached for his cock, lining it directly over my opening as I raised my hips up to meet his, connecting us.

Our eyes locked
, and he smiled his wickedly beautiful smile and my blood immediately melted into swimming pools of sensation that rippled through my veins, setting my soul on fire. The tip of his cock grazed my clit as he lowered his body onto mine…and with a loud moan, plunged his length deep within me.

I gasped and closed my eyes feeling him fill me, complete me.

Heady with the sensation
s his skilled moves elicited I closed my eyes and instinctively wrapped my legs around him, pulling him closer to me, raising my hips. The new angle of our bodies enabled him to sink deeper, and he pushed himself further into me. I moaned as I felt the tip of him press against my insides, filling me completely. The sensation of his heavy sac rubbing against me, with each drive, pushed me unto a plateau I’ve only experienced with one lover…him.

His hips
rocked to a rhythm of their own sending me spiraling into an orgasm that left me shattered into tiny slivers. When my panting slowed and my cries quieted he rolled slightly to the side, and leaning on one elbow he slowed the thrusts, slowed the driving of his hips.

I opened my eyes
to find his eyes focused on mine, conveying a need we both shared. This intense desperation we both communicated, the need to fill the void when we’d been separated, was overpowering.

I
began to come just looking at him, all the raw emotion conveyed in those green orbs exposed. He leaned into me, and his lips closed over mine.

Our hips
moved as one, imparting a primal need. The intensity we felt for one another, at that moment, transected invisible lines, tethering my body and soul to his in a way I’ve never experienced before.  Another orgasm exploded, splintering throughout my entire body, and like shards of glass I came apart. Ripple after ripple, wave after wave, I climaxed again, and again.

My body strung so tightly his slightest breath could have me coming.
His movements quickened for a moment then stopped as his cock sank deep into me. His beautiful face contorted with pleasure, and he shuddered pumping his hot semen into me, filling me. His mouth never breaking the contact it had with mine. His eyes focused penetratingly on the luckiest girl in the universe.

He began kissing my throat
, trailing kisses up to my ears.

“Bingo
,” I mumbled.

“Bingo?”
his voice throaty, he looked at me questionably.

“B
ingo…” I breathed, “We both came at the same time, together. I love when we do that.”

He smiled
tenderly.

“Grace…I’m so sorry…”

I raised my
two fingers to his mouth.

“Shhhh.
I’ve missed you so much, let’s not talk. Let’s just hold each other.”

He
shoved his face into my hair and inhaled deeply.

“I love you Grace
,” he whispered, “You know that don’t you?”

“Mmmm…right back atcha Ace.” I felt
his smile against my neck.

We made love again, this time slow and deliberate.
Worshipping each other. Our breathing regulated and we lay silent, our hands slowing roaming over each other’s bodies. Neither of us slept well without the other. Exhausted, I laid my head against his chest and listened to the rhythmic beat of his heart as it lulled me into a restful sleep, and as the dawn broke we slept peacefully in one another’s arms, our legs entwined.

Chapter
15

I
opened my eyes finding us both shrouded in darkness.  I lay still, my head on his chest listening to his even breathing as I ran the events of the past two days over and over in my head.

I agonized over the loss and pain I’d felt.
It was as if we were separated months rather than days. Being without Cole, thinking that I lost him, was a palpable pain. So strong, it frightened me to the point I knew I never wanted to undergo that heartache again.

In our short time together,
we’ve been forced to deal with a lot of craziness. All the horrific things we survived only made us stronger, and I knew if we could get through all of that, then we can surely get through
Hurricane Lauren
.

And then there’s the fingers…Oh my God. I just realized that I had been so self
-absorbed with my own issues I totally forgot about the
fingers,
and the woman those said fingers belonged to.  I shuddered so violently that I quickly looked up to see if it had woken Cole.

I
tried to focus and prayed it was a nightmare, but realized it was all too real. I wondered if the finger delivery had anything to do with my ‘visitor’. Although I was inclined to believe that Dean may be right. Maybe I was guilty of an over active imagination. Maybe I did sleep walk, took out my suitcase, and packed Cole’s things but…
was I that distraught that I actually packed a suitcase for him without remembering. 

A chill ran down my spine
leaving me with that same uneasy feeling I got whenever I thought of that night…that someone was in my apartment. I couldn’t shake off that feeling. There was something was seriously wrong here, and I hoped the police would come up with something, anything, so that this nightmare would disappear.

I rarely had nightmares,
but I knew that Cole had them frequently.

He
told me he some time ago he used to dream, very vividly, about the fire that took the lives of his family. He’d wake in a cold sweat, shaking violently nearly every night. He told me how helpless he felt, how he carried the guilt for not having died alongside his family, the guilt that he was spared.

I didn’t sleep well when I slept alone and I
wondered if his nightmares returned when I wasn’t lying next to him, when we were separated. He once told me I held the nightmares at bay, that I was his savior. He just didn’t grasp how much he was
mine
.

I
shook my head and silently wondered if we would all ever really
heal
and know peace; thinking it may not be in our stars. I silently wondered if I’d be able to go on with my life, each day, if things stayed like this. Then the memory of those hours I spent without Cole surfaced, and I knew I would do whatever it took to keep him, keep us.

I moved my leg and
started to slowly push myself away from Cole’s warm body. I tried to be extra careful not to disturb him, but my stomach was beginning to growl loudly. It appears my appetite has returned with a vengeance and I wanted to get up and make a light supper for us both.

“Hey
,” he whispered hoarsely, his voice heavy with sleep, startled me. “Where are you going?”

“Hey yourself
,” I whispered as I grazed his face lightly with my lips. “I was going to go fix us both something to eat. I can’t remember when I ate last. I’m starving.”

“I do
,” he said as he reached for me, pulling my body closer to his. I could make out the outline of his body in the dark as he slowly raised himself onto his elbow. When he spoke, the warmth of his minty breath caressed my cheek. “The last time I ate, was when I was with you.” I felt his lips on mine.

They had found me
in the darkness, their soft heat branded mine. We were drawn to one another like magnets.

“Grace, I can’t do that again. I can’t be without you.” He nuzzled my neck
playfully, but I could hear the despondency in his tone.

“I hated every second.
” I put my arm around his neck. “I love you…let’s never fight again.” I meant it. Oh God, I wished Cole knew how much I meant it.

He laughed.

The sound that rose from his chest was warm, light, hardy and I could feel the goose bumps rise along the surface of my skin.
I’ve missed that sound much more than I care to admit
.

“That may be easier said than done.”

I lay there in the dark pouting.

“A
nd I know you are pouting…”

I
laughed as I felt the pad of his thumb run lightly over my pouting bottom lip. I smiled feeling his pelvis bump against my own.

T
he warmth of his hand seared me as he began kneading my breast. His fingers moved with urgency across my body, and before I knew it, he had lowered his head locking his lips on my pulsating nipple.  He bit the hardening peak tenderly, and I arched my back, pushing the tender swollen flesh closer to his lips. His lips traced my areola and I couldn’t help the shudder that raced through my body.

I sat up and threw my leg over him, straddling his midsection
. Then lowered my body forward so he could continue the decadent torture of my nipples. I moaned my pleasure as he placed his hands on my ass and pulled me up to him, positioning me above his head.

With his fingers digging into my ass he
lowered me down onto him, down to his waiting mouth and pushed his tongue into my cleft. My body shook involuntarily as he skimmed my hardened knot with the tip, running it over and over across me. I felt my hips pulsate, moving over his tongue, unable to stop. I quaked as my climax slowly crawled up my body, reaching my core and continue until it exploded outward. I grabbed the headboard for balance, digging my fingernails into the soft leather, and quivered. My wet opening to his mouth, his tongue roving my clit.
Heaven.

“Before you get up…
.” His voice was husky and seductive.

I knew in my heart that
I would never get tired of loving him. Never get tired of having him inside me. Never get tired of feeling him lying against my body, molding his own to mine.

I raised myself to my knees and h
e sunk his fingers into my opening. I moaned in ecstasy. Cole growled low, and I felt the bed dip as he shifted me back down onto the mattress. Raising himself above me in the darkness, he found his way home.

After we showered, I
threw on a pair of gym shorts and a tank top and strolled into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, I pulled out the left over pork tenderloin.

A
fter heating it in the microwave I shredded it and put it to the side. In a bowl I combined some brown sugar, ketchup, spices, and my own secret ingredient and stirred it all together making a spicy, tangy sauce. Then tossed it together with the shredded pork. I grabbed two onion rolls from the freezer and defrosted and heated them in the microwave.

I
shredded cabbage and carrots and tossed it with homemade dressing making a quick, but tasty coleslaw. Then unfurled the tablecloth and lay it on the living room floor standing back to admire my impromptu picnic.

I
brought over the food I’d just made and placed it down on the checkered cloth, set the ‘table’, and completed our romantic supper for two with two frosty mugs of ice-cold beer. I shoved additional beers into ice in my champagne bucket.  Poor man’s champagne, crisp, cold and perfect with pulled pork.

“You amaze me.” I looked up to see Cole standing there
wearing the sweetest smile on his face.

I took me a cool minute to gather my thoughts.

“You amaze
me
. What the hell was that?” I turned my head and looked towards the bedroom, clearly indicating the incredible sex we’d just had. “Where did you…um. Never mind. Never look a gift horse in the mouth
, or a mouth that happens to be a gift, so to speak.” I smiled wickedly jumbling my words. “Nice move Ace. That was totally intense.” I muttered. “Now sit down before I change my mind about eating and twist your arm for a repeat performance.” I laughed, standing with my hands on my hips…twitching. Yes, I was literally twitching. Only Cole could make me forget about food when I was
this
hungry.

“No arm twisting required.” He said in his oh-so-sexy voice.

“Holy shit…Ace.”

“Okay,
okay. Let’s eat.” He whispered hoarsely. “Damn, you are beautiful.”

“Ace…
” I pleaded.

He walked over and took his place on the floor
. Then lifted my mug and handed it to me as I sat down cross-legged across from him. As I took the beer from his hand, his fingers grazed mine, sending an electrical jolt through my body. I was seriously debating eating at all.

He held his mug to his mouth and I watch
entranced, as he tilted it back taking a large swig. The muscles in this neck moved in sync with the sound of his swallowing. I truly don’t think he’s ever looked sexier to me. I had to take a deep breath before I began making our plates.

After we ate and cleaned up, Cole turned on the TV
and sat on the couch, with his leg crossing over his knee. I dried off my hands and walked over to stand above him.

“Want de
ssert now?” I asked.

“Only if
dessert
is you.” He lifted his eyebrows emphatically than smiled that wicked heart-pounding smile. “Seriously, I’m stuffed. That was delicious. Thank you. However, I wouldn’t mind another taste.”

I giggled.

“I know o’ a special way you can thank me,” I said using my best seductive southern voice.

Cole reached out and grabbed me around the wa
ist pulling me onto his lap. His hand started rubbing my thigh, massaging me tenderly before drifting over to the area where my thighs joined.

I squirmed on his lap
as his fingers drifted down till they were centered over my hardening knot rubbing in a circular motion. The sensation went right through my clothes. I wrapped my arms around his neck planting kisses on his cheek, then his chin. I dragged my tongue along his neck, sliding over his warm skin, drinking in the taste of him. I heard the news come on the television in the background.

“That could be arranged,” he said with a wicked grin. “But before we
eat
our dessert, I want to talk to you.” I raised my eyes to his questionably, wiggling on his leg.

“It can wait
, can’t it?”

“No, it can’t. I
need to tell you everything…” He looked down. If I didn’t know better I would think he was ashamed.

‘
The body of a woman was discovered today by a jogger face down in shallow water in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The woman was mutilated, missing four fingers from her right hand. Her identity is unknown. She is approximately twenty years old, medium height, with long brown hair...the police are asking anyone with any information….’

We both snapped our heads around,
our eyes riveted to the flat screen. I didn’t hear the rest of the story; my heart stopped at four fingers, and my brain went totally numb. Cole jumped up almost dumping me onto the floor in his haste to get his cell from the dining room table and pushed a preset speed dial.  I heard him talking to someone who could only be Detective Dean Johansen, whom he apparently had on speed dial. Needless to say, I didn’t hear any more of the news.

I stood up abruptly,
“Oh my God…no…could that…oh my God…is it the same? Could it be her fingers?”

Cole walked
directly to the flat screen and turned it off, then spun around to face me. I must have looked totally crazed, because he wasted no time walking over to me. He sat in the empty spot he just vacated and pulled me into his arms. I just buried my face in his chest and continued shaking my head.