Chapter Two
Cole lowered to the floor, gathered Peyton, and cradled her in his embrace. Her eyes had glazed into a glassy pool of tears, then she passed out. He swept his knuckles across Peyton’s cheek, wiping the beads of sweat from her clammy skin. She’d punched his ribs and he’d deflected several blows, but one nailed his right eye. He’d have a shiner by morning. What the hell happened to her?
He arranged Peyton’s legs under one arm and wrapped the other around her shoulders. Peyton’s petite body weighed next to nothing, she’d lost a considerable amount of weight since he’d last seen her. He rose and placed her on the tall, country-style bed. Peyton whimpered as he covered her with the homemade quilt. Retrieving a washcloth from the linen closet, he doused it with cold water and wiped the perspiration from her face and neck. He checked her pulse. What should’ve been a strong and steady beat was thready.
Peyton thrashed under the covers. The large warm ups she had on twisted around her neck and she gurgled.
“Damn it.” He whisked the blankets off and untangled the material from her throat. Peyton gasped and inhaled a deep breath. “Not happening again.” He undressed Peyton down to her silk camisole and lacy panties. The hot pink socks with the lime green polka dots had to go too.
He sat on the edge of the bed and sighed. Peyton had a lot of explaining to do when she woke. Would she disclose or hide her problems? Cole wanted Peyton to trust him, but he doubted she desired to expose her heart to him again. He wanted to reconnect the bonds he severed and hoped Peyton would accept his pledge to take care of her for the rest of his life. He’d have to wait and see what his future held.
The hours ticked by at a painstakingly slow pace. He’d checked her vital signs, keeping the vigil every thirty minutes. Everything had been normal the past three times. He glanced at the clock then wished he hadn’t. Exhaustion finally ruled over him. He disrobed down to his boxers, climbed onto the bed beside Peyton and drew the covers over them. Peyton groaned as if in pain when he cradled her.
“Shh, my bright-shining star. Everything will be okay.” Whatever was wrong with Peyton, he’d give his life to save hers.
He brushed her raven hair away from her beautiful face, stroking her high cheekbones with the back of his fingers. Her long eyelashes curling up at the ends lay against her pale skin. Having Peyton nestled against him stirred the memories he had refused to examine until this past year.
The first time they met was at the company Christmas party. He was like any other red-blooded man beckoning her for plain ol’ sex. Yeah, he’d hit on her. She laughed and rebuffed his advances until one day she’d given in.
They had dated for well over a year before he asked her to marry him. He’d longed for children, a little girl who looked like Peyton, and a son to throw catch with in the backyard. It wasn’t too long afterward, his mother called and spoke to him as though she’d never abandoned her family. His insecurities ignited into an uncontrolled blaze burning every last inch of ground, and the bridge he’d painstakingly built over the years toward trusting women collapsed in the inferno.
Uncertain whether he’d ever heal, he gave in to the firestorm of anxieties. He didn’t want to hurt Peyton, but delaying the inevitable would’ve only caused her more grief so he freed Peyton from the fires of his personal hell. But there was more. Life always had a way of weighing down even the strongest.
Within twelve months, Peyton rose to superstar, writing for the big screen. She’d been willing to take a hiatus from her career to start a family, but the timing wasn’t the best for him.
As the firm acquired more criminal cases, his hours increased. He was damn good in contractual law, but he excelled in exonerating alleged desperados, whether guilty or innocent, he didn’t care. In fact, he’d done his job so well, when he’d defended numerous icons and won, he became a senior partner. For the first time in the firm’s history, names were rearranged.
He and Peyton had leased an apartment on the twelfth floor in the same high rise as his office to alleviate his commute, which meant less down time for him. Every waking hour, he was at his desk. To spend more time with him, she’d bring lunch to the office, and he’d throw it off to the side, pretty much ignoring her presence. One day, she’d asked him, “Are you seeing someone else or is your aversion just directed at me?” He had disregarded her question.
Peyton had made one last effort. She promised him a paradise of beautiful sunsets, walks on the beach, romantic dinners, and plenty of sex. He had chosen not to go to Tahiti. The bottom line, he didn’t have a single minute to give to her, and the worst part, the demons from his biological egg donor smothered him until he couldn’t breathe. He wished Peyton would have focused on her career, then maybe, and he acknowledge it was a long shot; he would’ve had time to explain or at least win one battle.
He wanted the white picket fence and all that came with it, but he’d been terrified and a coward for not telling Peyton about his struggles. His fear of Peyton walking away just like his mom had on Easter, Thanksgiving and the last time on Christmas was too much. Back then, his dad actually thought his mother would come back like the other times. When she never returned, Cole detested her and all the holidays, especially Christmas. The recollections were too bitter to forget. Hell, he still refused to forgive the woman who betrayed his family and him. His anxieties had contaminated all his relationships, including the one with Peyton, the very person who had his heart.
Before Peyton left on her vacation, he’d taken the initiative of choosing their favorite restaurant to break off their engagement, figuring they would both leave before ordering. He found her sitting at their table. Peyton grinned when she first saw him, but after she looked closer a frown wrinkled her face. She had sensed something was wrong.
He sat and tried to tell her their relationship was over, but his lips never carried the words he wanted to express.
The emotions skittering across Peyton’s eyes ranged from anger to acceptance, then she shut him out completely. She dug into her purse and withdrew the ring. Peyton had known his intent even before she saw him that night. She laid the family heirloom from his father’s side on the table in front of him. “Don’t bother sticking around. I haven’t eaten all day and I’d prefer to dine alone.”
He unfolded from his chair.
She pinned him with a beautiful smile. “I’ll be out of our—your apartment before my trip. Have a good life.”
For someone who had never taken the time or the inclination to reflect on life’s journeys, he’d spent the last twelve months trying to figure out how he’d turned into such an asshole or closer to the truth, let his fears rule his heart. How could he treat the one woman he loved with dishonesty? The most important question still remained. How would he correct what he’d messed up three years ago? He had to begin somewhere and trust would be one hell of a start.
He’d planned on finding her, wooing her back into his arms and his life. When Peyton first arrived, he saw her indifference; he’d been hurt and frustrated. As a result, he drove to her cabin and rebuffed her concern. All Peyton had tried to do was to reach out to him. He shook his head once. “Damn.” There were times he was a complete idiot.
With Jillian inviting Peyton and the arrival of the blizzard, he may have a chance to win Peyton back. Maybe these were signs of good things to come? Who was he kidding? He believed in facts not coincidences of nature. However, if he could right the wrongs he had committed with Peyton long ago, he’d be one happy man.
Peyton curled her body onto him. Her lips grazed his neck as her tongue flicked across his pulse point. His bright-shining star had given him the happiest times of his life. Back then, he had been too paranoid from his mother’s behavior to realize what he had. His hand kneaded Peyton’s back, traveling to her flat stomach to play with the silver, belly-button stud.
Peyton’s eyelids fluttered open. Golden, desire-laced eyes captured his. Just as quick, her demeanor changed, and she jerked away from him. She cast the blankets off and rolled out of his arms. When she landed on the floor, her feet wobbled then steadied.
His hand shot down to keep the quilt at his waist. No need for her to see how his body reacted to her attentive mouth…just yet.
“What in the hell do you think you’re doing in my bed?” Peyton whisked her hair from her face.
“Actually, this is more mine than yours.”
She glanced down at her lack of clothing. “Ahh.” The shriek erupted from her beautiful rose-hued lips, the ones he wanted wrapped around his shaft. His length hardened into a steel rod as he pictured her nipples the same color as her mouth, which he wanted to taste and savor. From past experience, all he had to do was pay attention to her perky breasts and she would climax.
Peyton grabbed her clothes and tugged them on. She strode out of the room irritated as hell at him.
“That went well.” The mattress creaked as he heaved his frame from the bed. He slipped on his jeans and followed the noises coming from the kitchen.
Cole leaned his hip against the counter and crossed his arms against his bare chest, daring her to comment further. While squinting from the white glare of morning sun shining through the cabin windows, three things were on his mind. First, he wanted to find out what had happened to her earlier. Second was to free her of those ridiculous warm-ups shrouding her delicious curves, and third sink into her luscious, wet sheath, preferably all within the next minute. He’d better calm down. Cole gulped at his reflection from the glass cabinet and fingered the purple hue around his right eye. “Care to explain?”
“No.” Peyton’s hand shook as she set the mug inside the microwave. She closed the door and pushed the number one.
Intrigued by her lack of resolve, he pressed further. “I heard you scream and found you sprawled on the floor where you punched me. I’m sporting a shiner, compliments of you.”
The amber metallic flecks glittered under the lighting and her gaze softened. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“I know.” He closed the distance, parting his legs to cradle her groin. When he gathered her in his arms, she angled into his curves. Without prodding from him, her fingers skimmed over his waist and tightened around his back. To let her know the full effect she had on him, his palms pushed her rear to rub against the bulge in his pants.
He floated over the whorl of her ear, expressing in the softest voice he could muster, “You, my love, are killing me.”
She placed both hands on his chest and shoved. “I’m not your anything. Besides, you always woke up with an erection.”
“Your premise has too many holes to even begin counting, but I’ll give you two. You’re assuming you don’t mean anything to me and second, that I had fallen asleep last night.”
Her hands braced each hip. “Then you and your cock don’t care who is in your bed?”
He winced. “Damn, Peyton. When did you get so cynical and a filthy mouth to boot?”
“You loved hearing dirty words… just not mine.” She raised her hand. “I’m outta’ here.”
He grasped her elbow. “Not until you answer my question. You were comatose. Tell me why you think I don’t deserve an answer.”
“I’m fine. It’s nothing for you to be concerned about.” She wrenched from his light grip.
Peyton was hiding something, and so far he’d been unable to make any connections. He’d have to change his tactics because she’d never open up with him putting her on the defensive. “I’m worried. Believe it or not, I do care about you.”
Worry lines crossed her forehead then she quickly erased them. “Pretending doesn’t suit you.” She shook her head. “I’m going to take a shower before I go. I’ll be out of your hair within the hour.”
He strolled to the window and swiped the sheer curtains to each side. “I don’t think you’re going anywhere soon.” Cole released the material. “By the time you get out, I’ll have breakfast ready.”
Peyton’s head tilted to the side and for the first time, her lips curved into a smile. She scampered out of the room. Now that was the woman he remembered.
Cole whistled a lively tune. At first, he had tallied several errors, but he reversed his fouls. Peyton couldn’t leave because of the weather and that would give him some time to convince her to try again. The bacon sizzled in the pan as he readied the eggs and bread. He would dazzle her with French toast and his best homemade omelet.
When he nestled Peyton between his legs, she’d responded. After filling her tummy, she’d be putty in his hands, and he would move to phase two of his seduction plan, to let her know she could trust him. He held his breath and released it. He hoped she would give him the benefit of the doubt until he could prove to her he had changed for the better. According to Jill and Leah, he had come a long way.
He lined the cleaned vegetables on the cutting board in a row. All of the knives on this estate were damn sharp, and he’d have to keep his mind on what he was doing. Cole gathered the fresh veggies with his left hand, sliced with his right. Soon, he had a rhythm. The cadence solidified his meandering thoughts back to his work.
Normally, he would’ve never considered celebrating Christmas with Jill and Richard, let alone visit at this time. Peyton had been his first reason, but the second objective was to make a decision about his job. One of the nagging problems still festered and he had to get away. All of his partners had issued an ultimatum either accept a force buy-out or defend the client. If he chose the former, they had a lot of influence and he’d be black-balled. And he didn’t have any jobs lined up, although, he had been thinking of opening his own practice. As for the latter, his gut instinct had never let him down before.
“Shit. That hurt.” He wrapped his finger in a paper towel, the blood oozing from his wound spread across the quilted layers. One thing he had going in his favor, he always healed faster than most folks. And if he continued to wield cutlery, he damn well better figure out how to maneuver around his colleagues.