My Sweetest Sasha: Cole's Story (Meadows Shore Book 2) (19 page)

His hands ran the length of her body and across the swell of her hips, over and over, each time getting closer to the place that so desperately needed his attention. He drew the seduction out well beyond reason.

“Please, please,” she begged shamelessly.

“What do you want, Alexa? What do you need—tell me, please tell me,” he said tracing kisses along her lower jaw, his hot breath sending tiny ripples to her core. “I want to give you everything you need.”

“Touch me. I need you to touch me,” she pleaded

“Where?” he asked between kisses and nips. Where should I touch you, baby?” His mouth moved along her neck to her ear. “Take my hand—show me.”

Without hesitating she clasped her hand over his, entwining their fingers, and slid them down her belly to the moistness between her legs.

“Mmmm,” he whispered, holding her earlobe between his teeth. “Is this where you need me to touch you?” he asked, rubbing the pad of his thumb over the wet bundle of nerves.

“Yesss,” she gasped, gripping his arms.

He slid his fingers over the moisture, and she lifted her hips off the bed while he slipped one finger inside her, and then another. When she was at the edge, his thumb moved mercilessly over the swollen bud. Her body tightened, and he continued the delicious assault until she bucked, releasing a muffled scream into his shoulder, and he felt the contractions around his fingers.

* * *

He held her against his chest, not sure whose heart was pounding hardest. He stroked her gently, wanting her to ride out her orgasm in the safety of his arms. But he didn’t want her limp. He wanted her to remain aroused, wanted to bring her back to the brink and watch her tumble off the edge again. God, he wanted that.

When he felt she could manage more, he started exploring her with his mouth, moving closer to the vee between her legs until he felt her stiffen. He swept back up to her eyes, while continuing to stroke her heat. “Hey. Was I about to do something you don’t like?” Even if she’d never liked it, he knew he could make her love it. “Talk to me, Alexa—I need you to be honest with me.”

“I … I’ve never had that experience. I’ve done it … you know. But no one’s ever done it to me.”

God, men are assholes, plain and simple. It’s a wonder the human race isn’t extinct
. “I want keep my hands on your body sweetheart, but you’re looking down again,” he said, and waited until she gazed into his eyes. “I want to taste you—let me, please.”

She was still so aroused he could feel it. She nodded with a shy innocence that made his heart clench. She was trusting him. Trust he didn’t deserve, given the things he wanted to do to her right now. But it was trust that he wouldn’t betray, not today, not ever.

She pulled his head closer until she could reach his mouth, their tongues tangling and hands dancing over bare skin until they were breathless. He could taste the sweet peach notes lingering from the wine, and feel the vibrations from her soft moans. His lips trailed kisses over her breasts, between her ribs, dipping into her navel. He gently parted her outer lips with his thumbs, tasting the pink, sensitive flesh, slipping his tongue inside her before focusing all his attention on the hard little mound.

She gripped the sheets while she climbed, and cried out his name when she erupted on his tongue. This time he gave her no time to recover. He sheathed himself and lifted her over him so she was on top, their sexes touching. He grasped her hips and slid her back and forth over his cock, stroking the swollen bud and driving them both to the brink of insanity.

* * *

She could feel his need, and reached between them, grasping the hard shaft, slowly sliding her body onto his, until she was completely lost in the sensation of fullness.

His breathing was rough and jagged, but he kissed her sweetly while she moved tentatively over him. As her arousal intensified, so did her confidence, and she pressed both hands against his chest and pushed herself upright, rolling her hips over him in a steady rhythm.

His eyes were black, and he was fighting for control while her body sailed on the heady winds of power.

“I need you closer,” he choked out, and flipped her over, covering her body with his. He put one arm on either side of her head and rested his weight there.

“I can’t hold on anymore.” His eyes were wild. “Come for me,” he demanded. “Please come for me.” It was a final prayer from a desperate man, said while he reached between them and drove her over the edge.

Clinging to him, she threw her head back, and moved frantically to meet his thrusts. On a long moan that sent him into overdrive, she let go, and he gave himself fully to the passion. His fingers sinking deeper into her flesh, drawing her closer while he pounded into her, stilling only after they’d squeezed out every last drop of mutual pleasure.

He flopped onto his back and disposed of the condom, and then reached for her, cradling her trembling body close. “I didn’t mean to be so rough with you—I tried to stay in control for as long as I could, but at the end, I completely lost it. Did I hurt you?”

“Hurt me?” She brushed her hand over his ribs and shook her head. “No,” she sighed, “it was amazing.”

He loved the way she looked now, spent, resting peacefully on his chest, almost as much as when she’d been straddling him, moving in a rhythm she knew would take him down.

“You own me,” he whispered into her hair.

She melted into his chest, and he could feel her slow, even breath against his heart.

He couldn’t sleep. Instead, he lay awake reliving what had just happened between them. God knows, he’d had plenty of sex in his life. Good sex—great sex, even—but this was different. Every single thing about it had been different. Everything.

Why had the sex been so good, so freaking fantastic, so deeply satisfying with her? And why did he still feel so damn good? The only answer he could come up with scared him half to death.

* * *

Alexa awoke to a mouthwatering smell—
Mmmm, dinner
, she thought, when she’d gotten her bearings. She went into the bathroom and smiled, until her jaw hurt, at the votives still flickering around the room. As she bent over each tiny candle, she made a wish, the same wish each time, before blowing it out.

After brushing her teeth and finger-combing her hair, she fished a pair of leggings and an oversized shirt out of her suitcase. One quick look in the mirror, and she followed the delicious smells to the kitchen, taking in Cole’s apartment while she went in search of food.

The entire building had been renovated, with dream kitchens, and bathrooms fit for royalty, but the architect had left the ten-foot ceilings, generous crown molding, and marble fireplaces that had warmed tenants a century before. She walked down a long hall, wide enough to hold a small sofa or a couple of chairs, peeking into each room as she made her way to the kitchen, where she could hear pots clanking and the sound of running water.

“Hey. You’re dressed, too bad,” he said with a cheerful, smacking kiss.

She smiled shyly up at him.

“You’re beautiful.”

She shook her head, “You’re the one who’s beautiful.” And she traced her finger along his jaw.

“Are you hungry?” he asked in low, hoarse voice.

“Starving. What smells so good?”

“Chicken marsala.”

“Really?”

“Don’t be too impressed, it’s easy to put together. Will taught me how to make it years ago. He promised that it never fails to impress the ladies.”

Her smile faded. “I’ve never made it for any woman besides my cousins,” he added quietly. It was true.

“The past is the past—it has to be,” she said skimming her hand over his arm.

He reached for her, cupping her face. “Say you’ll stay with me tonight. I want to feel your heart beating against me while I sleep.”

“I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.”

* * *

They rushed through dinner, both anxious to get back to bed, back to sharing themselves with each other, and the intimacy they’d created.

“I need a shower, but I don’t want to leave you, not even for a few minutes.” He gently combed his fingers through her hair, pulling it off her face. “Shower with me.”

It wasn’t a question, but a plea. She stood on her toes and ran her tongue along his lower lip. “I’d love to.”

He lifted her off the floor and she wound her arms around his neck. Somehow they made their way to the bathroom, never once taking their lips off each other.

Cole poured soap into his palms and rubbed them together before gliding effortlessly over Alexa’s skin. He moved behind her, “hold on to the seat, hold on tight, babe,” he warned before he slid his fingers over the hot, slick flesh between her legs.
Oh, God
. He wanted her again. Badly. “Are you up for this?” he murmured in her ear.

She didn’t answer, but turned around and gripped his long thick shaft in her hands, bending forward to run her tongue over the swollen head.

She’d surprised him, and he took a half step back. “Whoa. Alexa, you don’t need to do this.”

Her lips were red and swollen, her body flushed. She looked up at him, drunk with lust. “Show me what you like—teach me how to make you feel good … Show me … Now.”

There nearly wasn’t anything to show her because, like a sex-starved teenager, he nearly lost it right then and there. He slid down onto the edge of the shower seat to steady himself, and she nestled between his legs, sitting back on her heels. Dropping his head back, he closed his eyes firmly, feeling more like a kid with a tenuous hold on control than a man in his thirties who’d already had a mind-blowing orgasm not that long before.

When it seemed like he’d regained some semblance of control over his body, he took her hand, and taught her to grip the base of the shaft so the motion mimicked the movement of her mouth. And he guided her to that sensitive spot, the one that made his knees buckle and his mind go blank. Her tongue found all of the other responsive places unassisted, every last one, while she used her free hand to stroke the smooth skin inside his thighs.

When he couldn’t take one second more, when he couldn’t distinguish between the warm water pulsing over his skin and her mouth leading him to the precipice, when it was all a blur of sensation hurrying him closer to the rim, he gathered every bit of reserve and pulled away from her. Her breathing was labored as she gazed up at him through long thick lashes.

“I can’t hold on anymore … let me make you come … I need to be inside you.” His breath was ragged as he tried to pull her from her knees. But she wasn’t having any of it.

With the warm water still falling over them, she lowered her head and clamped her mouth firmly around him. He emitted a long, low growl, and surrendered fully.

They both knew it.

He stroked her hair and moved it over one shoulder so he could watch her pleasure him. When it became too much, he gripped the seat, his body tightening, then pulsing with a powerful explosion that sent a shudder through them both.

Seconds later she was in his lap on the shower floor, enveloped by him, the water cascading over them from every imaginable angle.

Cole’s schedule was unrelenting, but she was back working at the hospital, and they were figuring out how to make the most of every minute they had together. And although it was often at odd hours, they managed dinner together nearly every night.

They’d stolen some time for a meal while the hospital was quiet, and now they were pressing their luck and enjoying an intimate dessert. Before they’d even gotten through the first layer, Cole’s phone rang. He groaned, but didn’t waste a second before moving off her to answer the call.

She could hear Sophie’s voice on the other end of the line, and from the look on his face something was wrong, terribly wrong. “I’ll meet the ambulance at the emergency room,” he said before hanging up.

“My grandmother was at Sophie and Max’s with the baby. It sounds like she’s had some sort of cardiac event,” he said locking the office door behind them.

He made several calls on his way to the ER to wait for his grandmother, but he never once let go of Alexa’s hand.

* * *

Angelina had a heart attack, and was being prepped for bypass surgery. Thank God she’d been at Sophie’s, since the community hospital closest to Meadows Shore didn’t have much of a cardiac unit.

Neil Levinson wasn’t on duty, but when Cole called him, he rushed in to do the procedure. They’d been friends since residency. Neil had big balls and an ego to match, but he’d earned them—he was an outstanding cardiac surgeon. The best.

“Why are you here?” asked Neil.

“I’m scrubbing in,” said Cole with his hands under running water.

“Like fuck you are.”

“There’s no way I’m letting her go in there without me.”

“You’re an asshole. I’ll call security if I have to.”

Cole grabbed his colleague, his friend.

“Go ahead hit me. It’ll make you feel better, because this is all about you, right? Maybe you’ll knock me out and then we can waste a little more time waiting for another surgeon to come in.”

Just then Sue Miller walked in. It was almost as though she had a six sense.

“Get him the fuck out of here,” Levinson shouted at her.

Sue gripped Cole’s arm, wedging herself between the two talented prima donnas. “I’m scrubbing in. I’ll handle this,” she said firmly. “You need to get out—think about how anxious you’ll make the team if you’re looking over their shoulders. Do you think that’ll help your grandmother?”

She glanced at Alexa, who stood on the other side of the glass. She marched Cole over to the door, and opened it, ordering Alexa to, “Find something for him to do,” before shoving Cole out the door.

* * *

Alexa reached for him, but he pulled away and stormed down the hall—pissed off and out of control. He tore right past his family toward the stairway. She stopped to let Sophie and Will know what happened.

“Where do you think he went?” asked Will.

“Probably his office—I don’t think he’d leave the hospital.”

“Max … ” pleaded Sophie.

“I’ll go,” he said, squeezing her shoulder.

“I’ll walk up with you,” said Alexa.

Max walked through the outer office and stood in the doorway studying Cole, who was slumped over his desk. “Hey,” he said.

“Where’s the baby?”

“With my dad and Lucy.”

Cole nodded. “Why aren’t you with your wife?”

“Why aren’t you with your family?”

“There’s nothing I can do.”

“You can stop being a major dick.”

Cole glared at him like an angry panther ready to pounce.

“Go ahead take a swing if you think it’ll make you feel better.”

“Don’t tempt me.”

“Your family loves you, and they need you to be with them.”

“There’s not a fucking thing I can do to help any of them. Nothing.”

Max knew he wasn’t getting through to Cole, but he’d caught a flash of vulnerability when Alexa appeared in the doorway. If it were him, only Sophie could soothe him, only she could drag him out of the dark cave. His gut told him to let Alexa handle Cole.

“I’m going back to my wife. To your family. If you want to talk, you know where you can find me.” Max stopped short and swung around to face Cole. “Get over yourself—you’re not that important in the scheme of the universe. Someone told me that once, and I’m quite sure he didn’t pretty it up, either.”

It was Cole who’d said those very words to Max, more than a year ago.

* * *

Alexa stood behind Cole, not saying a word. She rested her hands on his shoulders and worked the kinks from his neck. She could feel him begin to relax under her fingers. He put his hands over hers and swiveled in his chair, pulling her onto his lap.

“This isn’t good,” he whispered, closing his eyes.

“I know it’s scary, but they assembled a strong team.”

“I should be in there with her.”

“You’re a great surgeon, the best. And I’m sure if Neil’s grandmother needed surgery he’d want you to lead the team. But Levinson’s a cardiac surgeon,” she said. “He needs to lead the team today.”

He tensed and lifted his head off her. “Now you’re going to tell me how to take care of my family—how to practice medicine?”

Alexa leapt from his lap and out of his reach. “No. I’m not going to tell you anything, because when it comes to people you care about, especially your family, you always need to control everything—manage everything yourself. I don’t know if you’ve ever taken a good look at any of them, but they can pretty much take care of themselves, and they do a damn good job of it.”

She had a hand on each hip, now, and she was mighty pissed. “You can’t trust another human being to help you, to share the burdens of life. They’re all yours, like you’re some goddamn martyr. What your family needs is for you to
be with them
because they love you, and to help interpret some of the medical jargon. But you’d prefer to sit in your fucking office like an asshole having a pity party.”

And she stalked out, leaving him with his mouth open, feeling like a bucket of ice water had just been dumped over his head.

The sweet little blonde from Minnesota had kicked him in the ass—with steel-toed boots.

She took her time reaching the elevator, and he sneaked in beside her just as the doors were closing. She pressed the button for the first floor without saying a word. Neither the operating room nor the family waiting area were on the first floor.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“To get sandwiches and coffee. It’s going to be a long night, and everyone’s going to need sustenance. And then you’re going to take it upstairs, and
I’m going to help you carry everything
. Maybe your family will think you just stormed out to get food, rather than … ”

“Can we get cookies too?” He interrupted, reaching for her hand and squeezing it tight. She squeezed back.

“I love you, Alexa.”

She burrowed under his arm. “I feel like I’ve loved you forever,” she said sweeping her hand over his chest. “Sometimes it’s a tough, dirty job, but I’m getting better at it.”

“I’d kiss you, but you’ve developed a serious potty mouth. You cursed, like, six times in less than a minute.”

“I know. I’ve been spending too much time around you and your brothers.”

“And Max … he’s the worst.”

He pulled her closer until there was no daylight between them. “It’s going to be okay. Levinson is the best in the business, and the team’s top-notch. They can do this procedure with their eyes closed,” he whispered into her hair.

She tightened her grip around him. “Let’s get the food, and then you can tell your family what you just told me.”

* * *

Angelina made it through the procedure with flying colors, but keeping her down and quiet was another story. She was one tough cookie. The Claytons and the Harringtons, every last one, had spent countless hours at Meadows Shore after the surgery, trying to keep their grandmother still.

On the Sunday following Thanksgiving, before they all left to go home, she rounded everyone up for a word or two. Apparently she’d grown tired of the hovering.

“I feel like I am dying,” Angelina said.

“Come on Vovó, you’re healthy as a horse. Better than ever. Don’t talk like that,” said Mark from the back of the room.

“I am not going anywhere. Not until my grandchildren are ready. When your parents died, I made a pact with God. I pray an extra rosary every day, and he will not call me home until you are all ready to let me go.”

“Then I guess you’ll live forever,” said Luke, wrapping his arm around her.

“I will, in your heart, my love. In your heart. I will live forever in all your hearts. And in Liliana’s,” she said, gazing at the sleeping baby.

She looked at each of her grandchildren. “One day I will go and be with my husband again, with my children. I miss them.” Her eyes glistened. Everyone’s eyes glistened.

She’d buried her parents, her husband at the age of twenty-four, and both her children. The pain she’d endured would have sentenced most to a life of antidepressants, but not Angelina. There was too much that needed doing every day to sit around and wallow in self-pity. Her granddaughters had inherited her grit.

“Now—I don’t want to see any of you, no one except Liliana, until Christmas. Go on with your lives, and let me live mine. No more deathwatch. No more.”

Angelina refused to listen to another word from any of them, not one more word.

* * *

At Christmas, Cole and Alexa worked out their schedules to spend time at Meadows Shore and with the Petersens in Minnesota. Jane and Owen adored Cole, but Henry was a tough nut to crack. He didn’t care for Cole, and he made no bones about it—so much for
Minnesota nice
.

“He’ll come around,” Alexa would reassure him, but even she didn’t seem convinced.

Henry’s attitude complicated matters, because Cole had decided it was high time he made Alexa a permanent part of his life. She understood him, could manage him better than any other human being ever had, and always brought out the best in him—always. He needed her in his life, in his corner, every minute of every day.

It wouldn’t be an easy life, but they’d go into it with their eyes wide open and fully committed to making it work. He’d spend every day of his life working on being a good husband to her. He hoped he could convince her of that, but first he needed to convince her father.

But could he convince her father?

* * *

Every year Cole and his brothers got together and watched football games all day Sunday during the Hawks’ bye week. It was the only weekend Jake was available during the fall to watch the games with them.

“We weren’t sure if we could keep this tradition going now that you’re spending all your free time with Alexa,” said Luke.

“Did you have to ask permission to hang out with us?” snickered Mark, opening a bottle of Sam Adams.

“She’d never stand in the way of me spending time with you knuckleheads—it’s one of the reasons I love her.”

“Love her?” asked Will locking eyes with him.

“With everything I’ve got.”

“You going to marry her?” asked Drew.

“One day—soon, I hope.”

“Why wait?” asked Will grabbing a handful of pretzels from a bag near his feet.

“She’s good for you. You’re not such a jerk when she’s around,” added Mark.

“I asked for her dad’s blessing. And he told me he wouldn’t agree to the marriage.”

“What the fuck?”

“Why not? You’re plenty good enough for her.”

“That’s ridiculous, ask her anyway. It’s not like we live in Victorian times.”

His brothers were the best. She was way too good for him and they knew it, but they’d stand by him until hell froze over.

“He’s her father, her family. It’s a matter of respect. He doesn’t like me,” Cole shrugged.

“So what? No father likes some guy who’s bang … you know, hanging out alone with his daughter,” said Mark, wondering if he’d caught himself in time, or if he needed to make a beeline for a door with a solid lock.

“Never known you to care so much about what other people think,” said Will, carefully assessing his reaction.

“This is different.”

“Why? What’s so different about it?”

“I offered to give up my job and move to Minnesota, but she wouldn’t let me do it.”

“Whoa! Wait a second. You were going to leave Boston General? Leave Boston?”

Cole nodded. His brothers were gaping at him like he had six heads. “She’s given up a lot. My job could destroy us. I know it, and she knows it. Alexa’s taking a big risk to be with me.”