With a groan, she buried her hands in his hair and pulled his mouth against hers. Now it was her tongue that teased his, her mouth that moved across his chest, tasting the glorious texture of his skin. When she moved lower, the muscles of his stomach tightened in anticipation.
A feeling of power swept over her as she sank to her knees. She was the one who could make him feel like this. Her touch alone could drive him to the edge of ecstasy and then beyond. Gently, she kissed the velvety skin, circled it with her tongue. She was rewarded by the fisting of his hands in her wet hair, by the trembling of his legs. And when she took him fully into her mouth, by the gasp of agonized pleasure that erupted from his lips.
Cole was dying. The heat of Charley’s mouth surrounded him. Every movement, every pressure, sent a new surge of exquisite torture through him. He never wanted it to stop, had to make it stop before it was too late. He tried to pull away, but failed. Head thrown back, eyes closed, teeth clenched, he drowned in the sensations.
At the last instant, he wrenched himself away, gasping for air like a man drowning. “No,” he moaned when she reached for him again. His legs were so weak he didn’t know how he could still stand, much less carry Charley to the bed.
But he didn’t have to. She stood, picked up the condom, and pulled him into the bedroom. Together, they collapsed across the bed. When his mouth covered hers, she arched toward him. Frantically, his hands moved over her taut breasts, forcing her nipples into rounded marbles of desire.
He was crazy with his need for her. Rising to his knees between her legs, he opened her with his thumbs, gazing down at the passion-swollen flesh. “God, you’re beautiful,” he groaned. Dipping his head, he tasted, savored, caressed, until she writhed beneath his mouth.
When she whimpered mindlessly, he could stand it no more. Replacing his mouth with his fingers, he fumbled the condom on one-handed, and then plunged his erection into her, hard and deep. Eyes locked on her face, he watched as the climax hit her and her whole body convulsed around him. Watched as she screamed his name when he joined her, his own climax spilling into her waiting, ready body. “I love you, Charley,” he whispered, knowing she was too deep in her own pleasure to hear him.
When the tremors had passed, he rolled weakly to the side, taking Charley with him. He couldn’t bear to let her go yet. Would never be able to let her go.
A feeling of desperation washed over him and he tightened his arms around her. “You belong to me.” The fiercely spoken words were out before he could stop them.
Charley went still. “Yes,” she whispered into his neck. “I do.”
Chapter Fourteen
Cole finished buttoning his shirt, then tucked it into his jeans, his eyes never leaving Charley. How had he lived ten years without her when now it almost killed him to go a whole day not seeing her?
She had finished dressing and was standing in front of the mirror, putting her hair into a ponytail. Every time her gaze met his reflected image, she smiled. And every time she did, his heart would flip in his chest.
She had said she belonged to him. The memory made him want to shout with victory. He rolled it over in his mind again, savoring the feeling. Did this mean she was ready to move in with him? Or even better, agree to marry him? That was one of the things he planned on finding out before the day was over.
Unable to resist touching her again, he walked up behind her and nuzzled her neck. “Ready for that picnic?”
“Almost.” She glanced down at the pup lying near her feet. “I want to put Whiskey out in the backyard first. He probably needs the fresh air.”
“We can take him with us if you want to.”
Charley leaned over and scooped the pup up. “Maybe next time. I don’t want to spend the whole afternoon keeping him out of mischief.”
Cole followed her out the back door, then through the gate and around the house to the Jag.
“Wouldn’t you rather take the Blazer?”
“No, where we’re going, we won’t need it.”
Charley glanced at him over her shoulder as he opened the door for her. “Where are we going?”
“To the glade.” She didn’t even look surprised, and he suspected she’d known all along.
“Okay.”
Cole reached across Charley and fastened her seat belt. When she arched a brow at him, he grinned. “Living in L.A. makes you a firm believer in seat belts.” He backed the Jag into the street and turned toward the city limits.
In spite of the sun and heat, he’d put the top down on the car. He glanced at Charley to gauge the effect of the wind and found her watching him.
“Your house is beautiful. Are you really going to sell it?”
For an instant, Cole went blank. His house? He glanced at her. There was only one house he owned that was going up for sale soon. “You went to California?” He down-shifted as a curve came into view. “What were you…” he paused, frowning at a sudden resistance in the steering wheel. He’d had the Jag thoroughly checked out before his trip back to Canyon Bend. There shouldn’t be anything wrong with it. Even as the thought appeared, the resistance increased.
Charley didn’t seem to realize there was a problem. “I had a nice long visit with your mother. It was wonderful to see her again. And I liked Kristy’s father quite a bit. It was easy to see how in love he is with your mother.”
Cole’s hands gripped the wheel until his knuckles whitened. Charley’s words were lost in a sudden surge of panic. Something was wrong, badly wrong. The steering was barely responding to his movements now.
They were quickly approaching a curve, and the Jag lurched as he tried to pull it back into line. What little control he had left seemed to be deteriorating rapidly. He hit the brake to slow the vehicle, and to his horror, the pedal went all the way to the floor. The emergency brake proved just as useless.
“Cole? What’s wrong?”
He could hear the panic creeping into her voice. “Hang on, Charley.”
Tires screamed on pavement as the Jag went up on two wheels in the sharpest part of the curve. The stench of over-heated rubber swept past them. He down-shifted into second, using the action to slow the car, but his relief was short-lived. They were still going too fast.
Adrenaline raced through his blood stream like a locomotive, enhancing his strength enough to wrestle the steering wheel back to the left. Metal gears ground as he shifted into first, and the car slowed even more.
He actually thought they were going to make it. They were at the end of the curve, heading onto a straight, level stretch of road, when the wheel suddenly loosened under his hands. The steering was gone.
As if in slow motion, his eyes focused on the tree that loomed dead ahead. Instinct taking over, Cole threw one arm across Charley and braced himself. Helplessly, he watched as the Jag plowed into the tree. There was one second of agonizing pain before something slammed into his chest, then darkness descended, Charley’s scream still ringing in his ears.
* * * * *
“Charley? Please, baby, wake up.”
Cole. His voice sounded frantic, and she frowned, wishing the screaming wail would stop so she could hear him better. Hands lifted her eyelids and a blinding glare filled her vision. She tried to push the hands aside, to turn her head away, but pain shot from her temple to the back of her head. A gasp escaped her lips.
“It’s okay, Charley. Don’t move. The paramedics are here. They need to examine you.”
Paramedics? A cascade of images flashed through her mind. Cole fighting to control the car. A tree. Panic filled her and she struggle to rise. Hands pushed her back and held her. “Cole!”
“I’m right here, baby. I won’t leave you.”
She felt him grip her hand, and hung on tightly. The light vanished from her eyes, and she blinked, forcing them to stay open. People surrounded her, loomed over her, the images blurred and doubled. Her desperate gaze found Cole, tried to focus on him.
His face was snow-white and a trickle of blood ran
down his cheek. His left arm was clutched against his chest.
“You’re hurt.” Her voice came out a cracked whisper, but he heard her.
“It’s just a scratch.” The smile he gave her was forced and full of pain. Her view of him cut off abruptly as a paramedic leaned in front of her.
“Miss Hart? I’m going to put a neck brace on you. Try not to move.” He slipped the thick padding gently under her head and fastened it on the side. “We’ve already got you on the back board, now we’re going to lift it onto the stretcher. Just relax and let us do the work.”
At the first jarring movement, blackness threatened to wash over her again, and she felt her hand slipping from Cole’s. “No!”
“He’s right next to you, Miss Hart. We just need to get you in the ambulance.” The man’s voice was smoothly placating. “Mr. Jordan is going with us.”
Sky and trees spun sickeningly above her as the stretcher was lifted and turned. Nausea coiled in her stomach. Good, she thought, half hysterically. If she threw up on him, the man was bound to move and let Cole close to her again.
There were some clicking noises, and the stretcher finally came to rest inside the ambulance. The back doors slammed shut and the vehicle began to move, siren still screaming. When the paramedic leaned to one side, she finally found Cole.
He was sitting across from her, another man checking his left arm, but his eyes were fixed on her. Reaching across the narrow aisle, he folded her hand gently in his, and she felt it tremble.
“I love you, Charley.”
His lips barely moved as he spoke the words, but she’d heard it. Hadn’t she? Tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision even more. She had to see his face, had to see if he’d really said it, if he’d meant it. She tried to brush the tears away, but the paramedic caught her hand. A sharp stick brought her attention back to what he was doing.
“I’m starting an IV, Miss Hart. It’s just standard procedure. Nothing to worry about. We’re almost at the hospital now.”
Charley didn’t care about the IV, didn’t care about the pain or the hospital. She only wanted to know if she’d imagined Cole’s words. She lifted her head, trying to see around the paramedic, but the neck brace prevented the movement.
“Cole?” The back doors flew open again, and hands guided the stretcher into the emergency room.
“I’m here. I won’t leave you.”
“Mr. Jordan, we need to get her to CT.”
“Then I’ll go too. I’m not leaving her.”
Charley listened to the voices as lights flashed by overhead.
“Look, Mr. Jordan. She’s going to be fine. We need to check your arm. It may be broken.”
“It can wait.”
“Stop, please!” Charley pleaded. “For just a minute, I promise.”
The movement stopped, and suddenly Cole was there, leaning over her. Charley wet her lips. “In the ambulance. You said…” Words failed her. What if she’d been wrong? She couldn’t just blurt it out. But she didn’t have to. He knew.
“I said I love you, Charley. I’ve never stopped.”
“Oh, Cole.” Her breath caught on a sob but she forced it down. It was true, she hadn’t imagined it. “Go let them check your arm. I’ll be fine.”
He hesitated. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Go.”
Cole brushed her lips in a gentle kiss. “I’ll be here when they finish. I love you.”
* * * * *
“Hey, gorgeous, are you gonna sleep the day away?” Cole brushed a strand of hair from Charley face. Her lips quirked up at the corners, but her eyes stayed closed.
“Maybe I need a prince to kiss me awake.”
“Sounds like my kind of job description.” He slid his arm around her and kissed her, holding her tightly. “God, Charley. I was so afraid when I couldn’t wake you up.” His throat hurt with the depth of his emotion. “Don’t ever do that to me again. I don’t think I could live without you.”
There was a bandage under the corner of his eye, and she traced it with her fingers. “It scared me, too.” Her gaze met his. “It’s amazing how something like an accident can put things into perspective, isn’t it? I keep thinking, what if one or both of us had been killed? I never would have had the chance to tell you I love you.”
Joy arrowed through his body. “Charley,” he whispered. “There’s so much we have to talk about.”
“I know.” Her fingers raked through his hair. “And we will. Later. I think it may take a while.” Her gaze moved over him until it reached the cast that covered his left forearm from wrist to elbow. “Your arm!”
He held it up. “It is just a partial fracture. They put the cast on to keep it immobile. It barely aches, and they gave me an analgesic for that. You, on the other hand, have a mild concussion. The doctor said they’d keep you here a few more hours just to be on the safe side, but then we can get you home.”
The curtain encircling the emergency room cubicle stirred, and they both looked up as Ben Zimmerman stepped into view. “Well, considering the shape that car’s in, you both look amazingly good.” He took a notebook from the pocket of his khaki uniform. “Feel up to telling me about it?”
Cole shrugged. “Sure, but there’s not much to tell. First the steering went, then the brakes. Then we hit the tree. Thank God the air bags worked.”
Ben put the notebook away. “Sounds like it might have been electrical. I had the tow truck take it to Bob Stanton’s garage. He’ll check it out and get back to you.” He moved around to the side of the bed and looked down at Charley. “That’s some knot you got on your forehead, kid. How do you feel?”
“Other than a headache, not bad.”
“Cole’s right. Be glad the air bags worked. And that you had your seat belts on. Now, there’s a whole waiting room full of people out there who want to see you. I’ve been holding them off at gunpoint, but I don’t know how much longer I can keep them out.”
“Who’s here?”
Ben glanced at Cole. “Half the county, I think. Victor, Douglas and Frannie made it to the hospital before I did. And Kristy wasn’t far behind. Then there’s this little tiny woman who talks like a six-foot-four, three-hundred-pound wrestler.”
Cole laughed. “That would be my housekeeper, Mrs. Paulson.” He stood. “I’ll go out and talk to them. Charley really doesn’t need to have them all in here right now.”
“I’ll stay here with her.”
“Thanks, Ben.”
As soon as he stepped into the hall, everyone surrounded him. Cole held up his hand as they bombarded him with questions. “Charley is fine.” He gave them a brief rundown of what had happened. “The doctor is going to let her go in a few hours.”
“She shouldn’t stay alone,” Victor said. “I’ll take her home with me. Lettie can keep watch on her tonight.”
Cole pinned him with a chilly look. “She won’t be alone. She’s coming home with me. And that’s where she’s going to stay.”
Victor glared back at him. “What does Charley think about that?”
“She agrees.” Cole looked at Frannie, completely ignoring Victor. “We’re going to need a car. Think you can find one to rent?”
“Of course. I’ll call the agency and they’ll bring one over.”
Kristy touched his arm. “Is there anything I can do?”
Cole rubbed his forehead, thinking. “Can you go by Charley’s and get Whiskey? Then, you and Mrs. Paulson may as well go home. We’ll be there in a few hours.”
“She’ll need some clothes, too,” Frannie said. “I’ll run over with Kristy and help her pack some things. I know where Charley keeps the spare key. Would it be all right if I looked in on her before I go?”
“Sure. Just run Ben out.”
Frannie smiled at him. “Don’t worry, I won’t stay long.” She pushed open the door and went in.
“I’m going to see her, too. And don’t try to stop me Jordan. She’s my niece.”
As much as he’d like to ke
ep the man away from Charley, Victor had a point. If he wanted to raise a fuss, he’d win. He was legally Charley’s next of kin. Cole nodded. “Wait here. As soon as Frannie is done, I’ll see if Charley wants to talk to you.”
* * * * *
When Frannie left to run her errands, Cole took Charley’s hand. “Your uncle is waiting to see you. Do you feel up to it?” Her hand tightened on his and Cole frowned. “Is something wrong? You don’t have to see him if you don’t want to, Charley.”
She sighed. “I suppose I better. Knowing Uncle Victor, he won’t leave until I do. And despite everything, he must be worried about me. Just stay with me.”
“I will.” He leaned over and brushed her lips with his, then stood.
A nurse came in to check her vitals while Cole went to the door. “Victor? She’ll see you.” When Douglas would have followed, Cole blocked his path. The man’s icy, unblinking eyes gave him chills. “I said Victor. No one else.” Without a word, Douglas positioned himself next to the door. Crossed arms stretching his suit over bulky muscles, he watched as Victor trailed Cole inside.
The nurse was just leaving as they reached Charley. “What did she say?”
Charley smiled at him. “She said everything looks good.” Her gaze moved to her uncle as she reached for Cole’s hand again.
“Uncle Vic.”
He came to the other side of the bed. “How do you feel, darlin’?”
“Pretty good, considering. There’s no need for you to worry. The doctor says I’m fine. They’re going to release me soon.”
Victor touched her cheek. “Why don’t you come home with me? Lettie can cook all your favorites, and we can take care of you.”
Cole fought to suppress his anger. “I told you, Victor. She’s coming home with me.”
Victor glanced back down at Charley. “Is that what you want, darlin’?”
She turned to Cole, her gaze meeting his for a long moment. “Yes. That’s exactly what I want to do, Uncle Vic.” Charley looked back at her uncle. “I’ll come see you in a few days, I promise. There are some things we need to talk about.”