“The other day you told me that you wanted me to beg for you. Any day of the week.”

He said nothing. He waited.

“This is me. Begging.”

Cole couldn’t help the brief laugh at the simple calmness of her voice. “Yeah, you sound really desperate there, Tiny.”

She smiled and rested her hands against his chest. “Give me a break; I’m just now finding out that I’m not in love with the guy I thought.”

Cole’s heart stopped for a moment, but he forced his voice to stay calm. “Oh yeah?”

She fiddled with the button of his shirt, not quite meeting his eye. “I’m not saying I wasn’t in love with him once. But tonight, I was braced for the usual agony when I looked at Evan and remembered all the ways he broke my heart….”

“And?”

“I wasn’t thinking about any of that. It seems my mind kept drifting to other places.” Penelope looked up. “Other people. One in particular.”

His hands slid up her back. “Is that so?”

She shrugged. “What can I say? You look really good naked.”

“You know, this speech would have been more effective on a Tuesday. Seeing as it’s Friday, you had a pretty good chance of getting laid anyway.”

“Didn’t seem that way when you were walking away,” she said quietly.

“My mistake,” he whispered, leaning down to brush his lips against hers.

“So you wanna come up?”

“Fuck yes I want to come up.”

Chapter 24

It was strange.

She and Cole had done this several times now. Hot sex. Raunchy sex. Playful sex.

Great sex.

But tonight, as they stood facing each other with only the streetlight from her window illuminating her bedroom, it felt different.

Special.

Important.

She didn’t want it to be important. She wanted it to be spontaneous, and fun, and safe, and—

Penelope’s thoughts scattered as Cole slowly, methodically unbuttoned his dress shirt, and tossed it aside.

His eyes never left hers as he kicked off his shoes and then stripped off the rest of his clothes.

Her mouth dropped open at his boldness, and he smiled. “You did say you liked me naked.”

She tried to speak, but her mouth was dry.

He stepped forward and rested his hands on her waist before dipping his head and brushing his lips along the side of her throat.

Penelope sighed his name, and his hands slipped under her shirt, his fingers hot on her back as his mouth explored her neck.

He tugged her shirt over her head, then his lips captured hers in an erotic kiss that reminded her of hot, sultry summer nights, even though it was only June.

Cole’s hands flicked her bra open, his hands sliding forward to cover her with warm palms as she arched her back. Together they moved toward the bed, tumbling onto it in a graceless heap without their mouths ever breaking contact.

Cole’s fingers went to the button of her pants, and she helped him, wiggling them down her legs until she could kick them aside.

She crawled over him then, shamelessly rubbing her naked body against his, relishing the contrast of their bodies, hard against soft, rough against smooth, big against small.

Cole’s hands were on her butt, her thighs, then he slipped one finger under the fabric of her underwear, sliding down until he found her wetness.

He slipped a finger inside, then a second.

Penelope moaned as he slowly thrust his two fingers in and out of her, his eyes latching onto hers. His eyes were dark with want. Want for her. For this.

But for how long?

Driven by a sudden, desperate fear that their days as lovers were numbered, Penelope rode his hand harder until she came with a shuddering, harsh climax that was both too much and not nearly enough.

Before the last shudder had ripped through her, Penelope moved off him, digging around in her nightstand until she found a condom.

She’d never felt this frantic. Greedy. She’d never wanted like this.

Cole started to reach for the condom, but she batted his hand aside, instead rolling it on herself.

Then she peeled off her underwear and resumed her position on top of him, feeling heady with a strange feminine power at the flare of lust in his eyes.

“Penelope—”

She found his hands, kissing his knuckles before she pinned his hands above his head.

He was twice her size. He could easily fling her off and take control.

He didn’t.

“I’m all yours,” he said gruffly.

That was all it took.

Three simple words, and Penelope’s inhibitions flew out the window.

For years, she’d been thinking she wasn’t good at this. That she wasn’t sexy. That she wasn’t worth wanting.

Years of ridiculousness fixed by three words from one magnificent man.

Acting on instinct, Penelope shifted upward slightly until her nipples brushed softly over his mouth.

Cole lifted his head, his tongue fluttering against the tip of one breast before blowing cold air against it teasingly. In response, she lowered herself farther until he had no choice but to take her nipple into his mouth and suck.

“Cole,” she gasped.

His lips moved to the other breast, all the time keeping his hands pinned to the pillow. He let it be her show. Her moment.

She was tempted to ride the sweet torture forever, but the man’s mouth was too skilled.

She wanted him now. Inside.

Penelope sat up, giving him a naughty look through her lashes as her hand wrapped around him and guided him to her opening. She held his gaze as she slowly sank onto him in one slow, sensuous movement.