He kisses the top of my head, releasing another long breath and a chuckle. “That was only round one, sweetheart.”
“Really? How exciting.”
He chuckles again. I love the sound of it, the low, leonine rumble under my ear. It sends a shiver of delight over every nerve ending. I cuddle closer to him, enjoying everything about this moment.
“You’re very large. Everywhere.”
His chest shakes with laughter. “Thank you?”
“It’s a compliment. I like how big you are. How strong. It makes me feel—”
I was about to say safe, but stop myself, suddenly bashful. But Cole proves he’s a mind reader once again.
“Good. I want you to feel safe with me.”
I crinkle my forehead. “How did you know?”
He thinks about it for a moment. “Are you familiar with Star Trek?”
“Now that’s a strange segue, cowboy.”
“Is that a yes or a no?”
“Yes, I’m familiar with Star Trek.”
“So you know who Mr. Spock is.”
“How are we talking about Vulcans while you’re still inside me?”
“I’m getting there.”
“Get there quicker.”
He gives me a soft swat on my ass. “Be quiet now.”
Smirking into his neck, I say, “Good luck with that.”
He sighs, then says, “We have a little bit of that Vulcan mind-meld thing Mr. Spock would do.”
“But without having to touch each other’s face to merge our thoughts.”
“Exactly.”
“So it’s not at all like that Vulcan mind-meld thing. It’s just telepathy.”
“Are you always this argumentative?”
“I’m not being argumentative. I’m being logical.”
“So that’s a yes, then.”
It’s my turn to chuckle. “I suppose so.”
He wraps his arms around my back and gives me a hard squeeze. Into my ear, he whispers, “You’re so goddamn cute.”
My face flushes with pleasure. My heart melts. But because I don’t want to seem like too big a sap, I play it off like his praise doesn’t faze me. “I’d be even cuter if my stomach wasn’t growling.”
“Are you hungry?”
“Famished. The girls and I didn’t have supper before we went out tonight.”
His tone turns disapproving. “How old are you?”
“Thirty…ish.”
“Well, Miss Thirtyish, you’re not very good at adulting.”
“Because I didn’t eat supper?”
“Because you went out for a night of drinking without putting food in your body first. You don’t take care of your basic needs.”
I push off his chest and sit up, smiling down at his stern, handsome face. Then I wriggle my hips and lightly scratch my nails over his abs. “On the contrary, cowboy. I’m taking care of my basic needs right this very moment.”
He glowers up at me in that way of his that he thinks is terribly scary. My smile turns into a grin.
Then he’s rolling me over onto my back and tickling me, and I’m screaming with laughter.
The only way this night could get better is if he left me a hundred and fifty million dollars on his way out the door.
Cole
Her laughter is music. Especially this laugh, so different from the one I heard down at the bar with all its sorrow and sharp edges. This laugh is light and bright and peels another hard layer off my heart.
By the time this night is over, she’ll have stripped it bare.
Beaming up at me, she throws her arms around my shoulders. “You give me hope for manity.”
“What the hell is manity?”
“The male part of humanity.”
“So you mean men.”
She furrows her brows. “I have no idea what I’m saying. You just tossed my salad so well, I’m making up words.”
I drop my head, bury my face in her hair, and dissolve into helpless laughter.
“Aha!” she cries. “I knew you were a big softie under all those dark thunderclouds!”
I try to stop laughing so I can scowl at her and prove her wrong, but I can’t. Somehow, she found the bolted door where I keep all my vulnerable things locked behind and kicked it right off its hinges.
Nipping my earlobe, she says warmly, “You have the most beautiful laugh. I’m glad I got to hear it.”
The breath I draw into my lungs burns as if the air itself is on fire. Choked by emotion, I have to keep my face hidden in her hair because I’m afraid of what she might see.