She yawned and closed her eyes as she snuggled closer to the man holding her to him. Was she willing to give up her newfound independence? Would Cole even want her to? Did he feel threatened by a woman’s independence the way Craig seemed to have been?
Paige wasn’t sure. Hopefully she would be able to think things through and find answers to her concerns before Cole left to go back to Dallas. She had a feeling that if they missed their opportunity to explore their feelings this time, there might not be another one.
Seven
When Cole woke up sometime after midnight, several things immediately became apparent. The baseball game had been over hours ago, Paige was sound asleep in his arms and he wanted her. Hell, if the truth were known, he’d wanted her since he’d returned to Royal over six months ago.
Unable to stop himself, he turned his head to place his mouth over hers. He told himself he was just going to give her a little good-night kiss and that would be it. But when her lips clung to his, he didn’t even try to stop himself from continuing, nor did he consider that he was playing with a fire he might not be able to put out.
Soft and sweet, he traced her with his tongue as he savored the taste of her. Parting her lips on a contented sigh, Paige murmured his name and a surge of heat made a beeline straight to his lower body.
Deciding that he’d better call a halt to the caress before things went further than he intended, Cole moved to break the kiss. But it appeared that Paige had awakened with other ideas.
When she brought her delicate hand up to cup his cheek, her eyes locked with his. Cole could see the desire in the dark gray depths, and he felt as though he might go up in a puff of smoke right then and there. If he was reading her right, Paige wanted his kiss and a whole lot more. He couldn’t have denied her if his life depended on it.
Bringing his mouth back down on hers, Cole deepened the caress to explore her thoroughly and completely. To his amazement, she kissed him back with the same degree of passion and need. His heart pounded hard in his chest when she engaged him in a game of advance and retreat, nipping at his lower lip with her teeth.
Some men might have found her taking control to be a threat to their masculinity. Cole found it sexy as hell. He was secure enough not to be intimidated and loved the fact that she wasn’t afraid to show him what she wanted. He had a feeling that Paige was just beginning to discover her strength as a woman, and he wanted to be the man who helped her find it.
When he eased away from the kiss, he ran his fingers through her silky auburn hair as he rained tiny kisses along her delicate jaw and down her throat to her collarbone. “Paige, I want you.” He raised his head to gaze down at her. “I want you to take me deep inside you and make me feel like you’re never going to let me go. But if that isn’t what you’re feeling, too, tell me now.”
“I want you, too,” she said, nodding.
“Are you sure?” He kissed her cheeks, her eyes and the tip of her nose. “Because I don’t want any awkwardness between us in the morning and no feelings of guilt. My making love with you this time won’t be a way to escape the fear of a storm, it won’t be a mistake, nor will it be disrespectful to Craig or your marriage to him. It will be just you and me sharing a special moment together.”
“I’ve never wanted anything more in my life than to share that with you, Cole,” she said without hesitation. “But what about your knee?”
He smiled as he lowered his head to brush his lips over the satiny skin along the column of her neck. “We’ll have to be a little more creative. You can take the lead this time and be on top,” he whispered.
“I’ve never been...on top,” she said, running her hand down his side to the tail of his T-shirt.
Cole really wasn’t surprised by her admission. His brother had been a very selfish individual and hadn’t cared enough to encourage Paige’s adventurous nature. But Cole wasn’t going to think about it now. There would be plenty of time for that later. Right now, he had the most exciting woman in the entire world in his arms and he was determined to bring her as much pleasure as possible.
“You’ll do just fine, Paige.”
When she lifted his shirt to run her hands over his abdomen, he quickly pulled it over his head and tossed it to the floor. As she continued to explore his pectoral muscles and abs, a wave of heat flowed through his veins, making him a little light-headed.