Nicole Edwards - Temptation

Apparently he had more than a minute, based on the fact that the door to Luke’s room clicked shut, and Cole knew Sierra had likely disappeared into her own room. Gripping his hands into fists, his short nails digging into his palms, Cole stood in the center of his room and fought to breathe. It was something he’d grown used to over the years.

Ask anyone and they would tell you that Cole Ackerley was a calm, even gentle man. What they didn’t see was the fury that bubbled like acid deep in his gut. Those same people would tell you that Luke was the aggressive one, the one with the temper, the loose cannon that could go off in the blink of an eye. That’s where the two men were similar; however, Cole had spent years reining in that temper, burying the aggression and single handedly convincing everyone he was the gentle giant without a mean bone in his body.

Sometimes he wondered why he even bothered. Especially when it came to Luke. The man was dominant, he was aggressive. And Cole loved that about him. Yes… loved. Luke McCoy was the one man that Cole had given himself to whole heartedly. Without thought.

After that one night in October, Cole had accepted what Luke still made a conscious effort to deny. There was something between them, something that they could fulfill in one another that no other person, man or woman could satisfy.

He’d learned early on that he was bisexual, although he wasn’t all that fond of the term. In his opinion, there wasn’t a single term that would define the satisfaction to be found in another human being, when it came to intimate contact in any form.

As far as sex was concerned, Cole had never thought to set boundaries on himself or question his preferences. There were numerous women he’d enjoyed over the years, and a handful of men. Either way, Cole found satisfaction in the person, not their gender.

Which led him to Sierra and the way his body responded to her. From the moment he’d laid eyes on her at Club Destiny, Cole had accepted that she was the one woman who would likely change him forever. Did he believe in love at first sight? Not specifically. Does that mean it doesn’t exist? No. And Sierra Sellers was living proof because Cole had found himself fantasizing about the woman in more ways than one since that fateful day.

And now, Luke had gone and dismissed them both as though they weren’t worth the effort because he couldn’t maintain his control when he was around them. That’s how Cole knew there was something more between the three of them. Something more between Luke and Sierra and something more between Cole and Sierra. When another person has the ability to make you lose your mind in sheer, unadulterated bliss, they were worth pursuing.

Grabbing his cell phone and pacing toward the window that overlooked the strip, Cole dialed the familiar number.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Those were the first words out of Cole’s mouth.

“Look, I’m catching a plane back to Dallas tonight. What happened…” Luke sounded calmer than he had earlier, but Cole knew he wasn’t thinking rationally.

“That’s fucked up, man.” Cole let out a frustrated breath, jamming his fingers through his hair. “How can you walk out on her like that?”

“It’s for the best.” Luke stated, followed by a few seconds of silence. “This isn’t what I want.”

Right. Cole had been down this road before. Luke could say the words all day long, but the only person who might believe them was him. Cole knew better. This was everything Luke wanted, but since the man didn’t have the power to control what was happening, he was going to run fast and hard.

“Keep telling yourself that, Luke. Maybe one day you’ll believe it.” Cole clicked the end button, tossing the phone on the bed to keep from heaving the damn thing at the wall. He felt the blood begin to pound in his head, every muscle going rigid, and he knew he had to calm down.

He wanted to go to Sierra, to check on her and make sure she was alright, but he needed some air first.

* * *

An hour after she had come back to her room, Sierra had showered and put on her pajamas. At three o’clock in the morning, she knew she should be asleep, but she just couldn’t do it. Hell, she’d even tried lying down, but thoughts of Luke and what happened were scrambling her brain. Part of her wanted to know if he had come back or not. Her pride told her that it didn’t matter. What he had done was unforgivable.

One last ditch effort to get some rest had her filling a glass with water, downing it quickly, then heading back to the bed. Just as she pulled the blankets back, there was a knock on the door. Her traitorous heart started pounding harder, anxiety filling her chest like a helium balloon.

She stopped at the door, her hand resting on the knob, but she didn’t turn it. What would she say to Luke if he showed up now? She dared a glance through the privacy hole and saw Cole standing there, and she immediately opened the door.

“What’s the matter?” She asked, taking in his weary appearance.

“Did I wake you?” He asked, looking her directly in the eye.

“No.” Sierra took a step back so he could come inside. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Me either.” He admitted, thrusting his hands into his pockets and strolling toward the window.

Despite everything that happened over the course of the last few hours, the pain that Sierra now felt deep down from Luke’s abandonment, one look at Cole and all negative thoughts vanished. The man had a body to die for, his broad back rippled with strength, and she could see the flex and give of his muscles beneath the thin fabric of his t-shirt. Tanned arms flexed with restrained energy as he turned to face her.

Sierra took a step forward, realizing exactly what Cole had come to her for. The same thing she realized she now wanted from him. Comfort.

“I want you, Sierra.” Cole said, a flash of insecurity fluttered on his handsome face before it was masked with a deep, dark hunger.

Sierra understood the vulnerability, and she suspected that he wouldn’t want her to know exactly how much Luke’s abandonment had affected him, as well. Standing before her, Cole’s emotions were masked entirely, but she figured they were weighing heavily on his mind. Neither of them could control Luke. Neither of them had the ability to help Luke understand that he couldn’t blame himself for so many things that were out of his control.

The feelings.

The need.

Just from the amount of time she had been around him, Sierra knew that Luke thought he could control everything, every situation, but then when he realized he was just as human as the rest of them, he panicked. Based on the concern reflected in Cole’s beautiful deep blue eyes, Sierra accepted what Cole already had. Luke wouldn’t be back tonight.

Unlike Luke, Sierra wasn’t going to walk away. Not from him and not from Cole. She needed to reassure Cole. He’d taken a chance coming to her room and if the words Cole had said that morning rang true, he wasn’t going to back down either.

Taking a step closer, she gauged his reaction, but he didn’t move. His eyes locked with hers and Sierra held her breath, waiting for that moment when he might push her away. Instead, he took a step closer and her heart pounded harder.

“Make love to me, Cole.” She whispered.

In an instant, Cole was on her, his hard body pressed firmly against hers, the feel of his erection pressed between her legs. Sierra latched onto him, melding her lips with his, relishing the comfort that she found in his arms. Without hesitation, he managed to rid her of her clothes, along with his own, claiming a condom from his back pocket before he had her flat on her back.

“I can’t be easy, Sierra. I need to be inside of you right now.”

“Please.” She whispered, pulling his head down, and when their lips touched once again, she realized just how much he had been holding back.

“I need to feel you.” Cole stated, pushing up from her as he opened the foil packet and sheathed himself before aligning his body with hers once again, driving into her in one hard thrust.

“Oh God!” Cole was buried to the hilt, filling the empty, lonely spaces that Luke had left when he had walked out on them earlier. And suddenly Luke no longer mattered because Cole was here.

Sierra pulled him closer, the weight of him on top of her felt like heaven. When he tried to pull back, she held him closer, wanting to feel all of him against her. Then he was kissing her again, gripping her hands and lifting them above her head as he drove into her over and over again. As her body tightened around him, he slowed his pace and then pushed back, allowing her to gaze deep into those all seeing, all knowing eyes.

 “I need you to love me, Cole.” The words were out before she could stop them, and the look on his face nearly broke her heart.

“Always, Sierra.”

Sierra was happy to be home. Four days in Vegas was more than she could handle and considering the circumstances, she thought she had managed to hold herself together pretty well. When she and Cole had woken up Saturday morning, he’d excused himself to his room to shower before returning to walk with her to the conference. It wasn’t until then that he told her Luke had flown back to Texas, although she was pretty sure he had known it when he had come to her during the night. She had been glad he waited to tell her because the news broke her heart all over again.

Granted, the edges of her heart were still cased in anger and fury at the man, but the net of it was that he’d hurt her. Badly. The things Luke made her feel, both with the way he buried himself deep inside of her body, and eased his way into her heart weren’t normal for her. And because the man was just as out of control as she was when they were together, made it nearly impossible to think that he could have walked away so easily. Although that was awfully pretentious – or maybe just naïve – considering they hadn’t been in any sort of committed relationship before they had finally done the deed.