Cole

  Turning around, I found the suite immense and impressive. The living room was a step down in the middle of the room. The kitchen was something I’d seen in a magazine, and there was a veranda. It stretched from the kitchen past the living room and wrapped all the way around. I hadn’t even looked for the bedrooms. I’d just started, heading down the small hallway, when the phone rang.

  I picked it up. “Hello?”

  “Ms. Bowman?”

  “This is.”

  “This is Thomas from the front desk. I’m calling to inquire if the room is okay?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  “Is there anything you’d like brought up for you?”

  “No. Thank you, though.”

  I was about to hang up when I heard, “One more thing, Ms. Bowman.”

  I frowned. “Yeah?”

  “I have a message to pass along from Mr. Cole.”

  I straightened.

  “He sends his apologies that he’s not in the room right now. He’s currently in a meeting and unable to get away. If you’d like, there’s a dress laid out in the master bedroom. Mr. Cole will be arriving shortly and wonders if you’d meet him in a private box at The Octavia? We have staff that will accompany you until he arrives, if you’d like any added direction and guidance.”

  “Oh.” This was a little Pretty Woman-esque, but I shrugged. “Sure. When do I have to be ready?”

  “Thirty minutes.” That came out in a flat voice, and he hung up right after. So, not Pretty Woman-esque. The guy sound annoyed with me.

  I rolled my eyes, but moved to the master bedroom. The dress stopped me in my tracks. It was white, with a translucent covering. I lifted it up, and it looked like something a Greek goddess would wear. I could only imagine having my hair up in braids and a light coating of glitter makeup.

  I suppressed a shiver—not a bad one, just one that didn’t feel right to me. This stuff happened to Sia. This was a story she would’ve told me after meeting a brand new boyfriend. This stuff didn’t happen to me.

  I laid the dress down and sat. I…I didn’t even know what to think about all of this. Who is Cole?

  I sighed and sat back when I heard another phone ringing. This time it was mine, and I searched for it in my bag, which had been placed on the bed next to the dress.

  Cole’s name was sprawled across the screen when I found it. “Hey.”

  “Hey, are you at the hotel?” He paused one second. “Ken did tell you about coming to New York, right? Are you still in Chicago?”

  “No. I’m here. I’m in New York.” I laughed. It felt good to hear the small fear in his voice. I reached over, fingering the dress. The fabric was so soft. I knew I’d never worn something so extravagant. “Cole.”

  “Hmm?”

  “What is this? This whole thing?” I glanced around the hotel room. “Are you trying to wow me or something?” He didn’t have to. I’d seen him naked. That was wow enough. “This is too much.”

  “Wait. What are you talking about?”

  “The private plane. The dress. What club is The Octavia?”

  He groaned. “Okay, I’m sorry. The private plane was because if you agreed, I just wanted you to come as soon as possible. That was me being selfish. I’ve been in business meetings all day long, and I only have tonight free. I just wanted to see you.”

  “You didn’t pick out the dress?”

  “No. I asked one of my staff to handle the details. I had no idea he’d pick out a dress for you.”

  “A guy picked this out then?” I didn’t know what was worse, thinking Cole had picked it out or knowing another man did. Another man, definitely the other man. If Cole had picked it out…again, that good kind of shiver happened. “You haven’t seen the dress?”

  His voice dropped low. “Do I want to? And the note said to meet me at The Octavia?”

  “It wasn’t a note. The front desk guy, Thomas, called me.”

  He barked out a laugh. “That wasn’t the front desk. Thomas is one of my guards. We have about twelve Thomases working for us. I’ve no doubt that was an inside joke. I’m sorry. Listen, I was going to go to The Octavia for a bit, but you don’t have to come. It’s a nightclub my buddy owns here.”

  “A nightclub?” Another place and adventure that Sia would’ve had, and would’ve told me about. I sat up, forgetting the dress. “I’ll come.”

  “Wait—”

  “No. I want to come.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.” I couldn’t remember the last time I went to an actual nightclub. A restaurant, one of Sia’s events at the Gala—those I’d go to, but not an actual dancing club. Something stirred in me. I was waking up, and I said again, “I want to come.”

  “Uh.” He hesitated. “Okay. The club’s next to the hotel you’re in. That’s why I wanted a room there for you. Give me a bit, and I’ll come over.”

  We hung up, and I didn’t have time for the nerves to explode. I knew they would, but that was ridiculous. I knew Cole, kind of. I’d slept with him, no kind of there. Definitely. So nerves didn’t make sense, but as I picked up the dress and went to the bathroom, the back of my mind called bullshit on me.

  This was new. This was out of my comfort zone. This was…my hands were shaking, and thirty minutes later, I stood back and smoothed down the front of my dress. This was surreal.

  The dress wasn’t long so it looked appropriate for a club, ending between my thigh and knee. A good amount of thigh was showing, and the loose, see-through fabric that covered the rest of the dress shimmered in the light. It really was beautiful, something I never would’ve picked to wear, and it meant more now.

  I wanted to surprise Cole, just like he’d surprised me with this trip.

  I gazed in the mirror. My old sandy-blond hair was back. It had been a drab mop for so long, but it had changed. It was shining now. I touched some of the looser strands that had fallen down to frame my face. The rest was pulled back into one large, messy braid. My makeup was minimal, though I had pulled out a shimmering lip balm.

  Yes. I studied myself. I was satisfied. I saw a spark in my eyes that I hadn’t seen for so long.

  I heard the door open, then Cole called out, “Addison?”

  I moved through the bedroom, stopping in the doorway.

  He was yawning, a hand scratching behind his ear when he turned, asking, “You here…” His voice trailed off when he saw me. “Whoa.” His hand fell to his side. “Wow.” A wolfish grin curved over his face, and he came toward me, his hand coming to rest on my side. “I might need to have Thomas pick out more of your clothes. Wow.”

  Warmth spread through me. Whether it was his reaction, or seeing him, being near him again, I wasn’t sure.

  “Is Thomas looking for a job?” I murmured. “Personal shopper?”

  Cole laughed softly, the sound ending as he looked into my eyes. He touched the side of my face. “Do you know how beautiful you are?”

  My heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t talk.

  His eyes darkened. He cupped the side of my face, and his gaze fell to my lips. “I am so very, very happy I asked you to come here. Even if it’s just for one night.” He leaned in.

  I held my breath.

  His eyes flicked back up to mine. “Are you okay with this?”

  “With what?” I rested my hand against his chest. I could feel his heart, a strong thumping against me.

  “Coming here, being whisked away. I have to go back to my meetings tomorrow, but all those weeks were becoming too long.” He looked torn, a hesitancy filling his gaze. He leaned back an inch. “We don’t have to go to The Octavia. We can have a nice meal somewhere, then come back.”

  “What? No. I want to go to The Octavia. It sounds fun.”

  “Are you sure? It’s loud, and dark, and…”

  “What?”

  “It’s sex.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “How’s that a problem?”

  “You’re more than sex.”

  Oh. I fell quiet, so co
nscious of his hand holding the side of my face.

  “I know that’s how we started, but it’s more already,” he added, his voice growing softer. “You’re not someone I’d fly in, just for sex. You’re worth an expensive dinner, quiet time together, any view you want. It’s your company I wanted tonight, because I was missing you. I just want you to know all of that. I don’t…”

  I covered his hand and swallowed over a lump. “I know. It’s the same for me.”

  He stared into me, searching, and for a moment, I felt like I got a glimpse of the real Cole. He was dangerous, mysterious, and mesmerizing, but he was more. Kind. Considerate. I saw a glimmer of someone who cared.

  A jittery sensation grew in my stomach, and I licked my lips. Confusion, euphoria, exhaustion. All of those emotions slammed into me, and I didn’t want to think about them. I pressed my hand harder against him and leaned forward. The feel of him—his other hand had moved to my waist—anchored me. I was getting swept up, but I needed my feet on the ground.

  I heard myself saying, my voice a hoarse rasp, “Let’s go to The Octavia.” The sudden need to experience this club was powerful.

  He nodded, his hand dropping into my mine.

  He’d told me I was beautiful. He’d told me I was more than sex to him now.

  But he hadn’t kissed me, and I was suddenly drowning for the touch of his lips on mine.

  He led me out the door, and two men fell in step with us. One walked before us, standing a few yards away, and the other walked behind. They were far enough away to give us the sense of walking without them, but they were there, and I clutched Cole’s hand.

  Who is Cole?

  That question grew more and more urgent, nagging me, but when he glanced over and I saw the lust in his eyes, the question dissipated. I was beginning not to care who he was, as long as he was with me.

  We went through a back door into The Octavia, and even though it was dark, I knew the instant we changed buildings. We’d gone through a back hallway that connected the two. As soon as the door opened, techno music hit our ears. A makeshift wall rose in front of us, and neon light flashed behind it. The smell of dry ice filled the air, along with sweat and, as Cole had said, the smell of sex, too.

  We went down a hallway, seeming to circle around the main dance floor, and sex was all I felt. I heard moaning behind closed doors, then heard moaning in the music itself. We passed a clearing, and I looked over. It was like we were rounding a stadium, except there were no seats. The stadium floor was for dancing, and there were sections cut off that circled the building and led up to where we were, at the top of the entire thing. All those separate sections had their own bars, with the floors lit up in the same neon color that flashed in rhythm with the music. Some sections had couches. Others were filled with people dancing, and a lot of people were on the stairs talking. The stairs connected everything, except the top floor where we were. Two thin poles ran the length from each makeshift wall so we were kept from going below, or they were kept from coming to us above. I had a feeling it was the latter. A few people nursing drinks glanced up when they saw us, and they looked surprised. It was like they hadn’t realized people could walk above them.

  I squeezed Cole’s hand harder. I knew I’d said I wanted to come here, but I hadn’t known. This place was huge—not as huge as a real stadium, but bigger than any other nightclub I knew about. Who was his friend? And if his friend owned this, what did Cole own? Or maybe he helped manage these places? Maybe he was just connected to someone wealthy. But as the guy who’d been leading us turned back and spoke to Cole, I didn’t feel like that was the case.

  I could see his mouth moving, but I couldn’t hear the words. The music was too loud, and a second later, Cole nodded. He changed our positions, so I was holding his left hand instead. I felt like he wanted his right hand free. He was walking closest to the makeshift wall now, and as we kept going, another man materialized out of nowhere. This guy wasn’t walking right next to me, but close enough. I was smack in the middle. The two others had closed their distance, so now I was surrounded by four men, in a diamond shape.

  I couldn’t even process this switch, so I held on to Cole’s hand. That was it. I focused on him, and a moment later, he ducked inside another room. It was a private box, directly above the DJ’s booth, which was three floors below us.

  Cole spoke to the three men before he shut the door behind us. I was relieved.

  He noticed me watching the door as he came over, his hand touching the small of my back. “What?”

  I didn’t ask who they were. Gut instinct told me he wouldn’t answer. “I thought they were coming in with us.”

  “No.” His hand tightened its hold on my back, his fingers pressing in. “But two of them will stay out there. It’s just typical security measures.”

  I held his gaze. “Really?”

  He stared back, not blinking, no reaction, until his hand fell away. “They’re a part of the stuff I can’t tell you about.”

  That was what I thought. “Don’t bullshit me, okay?”

  One corner of his mouth curved up, and his hand came back to my waist. “I won’t.” His finger tucked into a part of my dress where there was an opening, and he tugged me back until I came into full contact with him. He pressed right up against me, and his arms came around, holding on to the box’s wall as he dipped his head down to rest on my shoulder. He spoke right next to my ear. “I’m sorry.”

  I closed my eyes, not caring about the hundreds of people beneath us. The entire club was dark. The lights had been flashing over the dance floor, but I knew no one could see us from below. I leaned back, winding my arms up around his neck. My back arched, pushing my breasts forward. My dress had a low V-neck, so I knew he could see. I wanted him to see. I wanted him to touch, to caress. I wanted all of it.

  “Addison,” he murmured into my ear.

  I could hear his desire, and an almost drugged smile crossed my face. The security guards were gone from my mind. The feeling of sex that penetrated the club’s atmosphere had slipped past my walls, and I wanted what I’d wanted back in the room. I wanted Cole to kiss me.

  I wanted more, as well, but until then… I turned around, my arms looping around his neck. I leaned back so I could see him. The club was now our backdrop.

  The same primal want stared back at me. I touched the side of his face. “I’m going to go back to my life tomorrow.”

  His eyes grew hooded.

  “But this night, being here, this isn’t normal for me. I don’t do this kind of stuff. Thank you.”

  He frowned. “For what?”

  “For pulling me out of that life, at least for a bit.” For waking me up.

  His hand gripped my hip, and he moved in, pressing against me. I felt him grind into me, and a drunk feeling coursed through me, though I’d had nothing to drink. He dropped his head down, brushing a kiss to my naked shoulder.

  He murmured against my ear again, “It should be me thanking you. You have no idea.”

  I stilled. His tone wasn’t normal. He wasn’t guarded, and he wasn’t teasing.

  Then he said, with an eerie seriousness, “My life I can’t talk about, but this—you coming to me—is like a breath of oxygen. I can breathe again.” He dropped his mouth, lingering on my shoulder. “Something pure among so much tainted.”

  I closed my eyes. I wasn’t going to ask what he meant. He wouldn’t tell me, but I reached back, took hold of the wall, and used it to push myself forward, even closer to him. I caused a small opening behind us, and Cole wound his arm around me, lifting me in the air.

  I gazed down at him, half-laughing, my arms around his neck. “What are you doing?”

  He grinned back, his eyes so dark and wanting as he turned me to sit on top of the bar in our box. I thanked goodness we had no bartender, and then Cole stepped between my legs. He touched my face again, tilting it as he came in. His lips pressed to mine, and right there, another tingle went down my spine. He was where he was s
upposed to be—with me, touching me, being with me.

  I pulled him in, and I didn’t care who could see us. As he deepened our kiss, I let go of everything. There was only this moment. I was only with him. Tomorrow I would think about the future. Tomorrow I would think about Sia, about my life back in Chicago, but right now, for this moment, it was only Cole.