We got back to his place and went inside. I half-expected Cox to go straight to his office, but he followed me to the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed while I stepped out of my heels.
“Come here.” He patted the spot next to him.
I sat, not quite sure if I could meet his eyes. My feelings were all over the place.
He gently brushed my hair back from my face. “Sophie, I need to apologize.”
“For what?”
“For how I treated you when we were kids. I should have already, but I kept thinking it was so long ago, how could it matter? And maybe it doesn’t. But I’m sorry anyway.”
“Thank you. I forgive you.”
I thought that was it—that he’d said what he needed to say. Because he was right: It had been a long time ago. And we’d been kids. I wasn’t going to hold him responsible for things he’d done when we were children. He certainly wasn’t mean now. And he only pulled my hair when I wanted him to.
But he fingered one of my curls and kept talking. “The time we lived on Ashford Street was something of a low point. It was before my mom finally kicked my dad out.”
“Your dad?”
He nodded slowly. “He drank. A lot. He wasn’t so bad when he was sober, but when he wasn’t, he got violent.”
I touched the side of his face. “Oh, Cox.”
“So I lashed out. I was being hurt at home and I took it out on kids at school. Particularly you. It’s not an excuse, but it’s the truth. And I’m sorry.”
My heart ached for the little boy he’d been. “I’m sorry one of the people who should have loved you the most was hurting you.”
He kept playing with my hair and I had the strangest feeling that it made him feel better. “Do you want to hear something terrible?”
“Okay.”
“I liked you. In fact, I liked you so much, I was mad at you for the way you made me feel. I think that’s why I picked on you so much.”
“You liked me? I wouldn’t have known.”
“No, I was a dumbass. But you made some very confusing things happen in my pants.”
“Do you want to hear something else that’s terrible?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t like you at all.”
We both burst out laughing. It felt good, dispelling some of the yucky feeling in my stomach.
“Sugar, I don’t blame you one bit. I didn’t deserve to be liked by you.”
I traced a fingertip along his lips. “I like you now.”
“That’s good news. Because I still like you.” He took my hand in his and kissed the tips of my fingers.
A part of me wondered if we should have the dreaded divorce conversation. I knew we needed to eventually. But he kissed his way up my arm to my neck and the warmth of his mouth on my skin and the scratch of his stubble made it hard to think about anything else.
“I like you in this dress,” he murmured in my ear. “But I’ll like it even better when it’s on the floor.”
I laughed softly. “Me too.”
Still kissing my neck, he lowered the zipper. The dress slipped off my shoulders.
“Fuck,” he growled, looking down at me. “You’re wearing them.”
I was wearing them. The bra and panties he’d sent to my office right after Vegas.
He slid a thumb over my nipple and I gasped. The lace was rough against my sensitive skin. He traced a slow circle, the friction sending a burst of electricity through my body.
I stood and stepped out of my dress while he took off his clothes. This was what I needed—Cox inside me. I needed him filling me, silencing my worries over what was going to happen between us.
Grabbing my hips to pull me close, he sat on the edge of the bed and nuzzled my chest through the lacy fabric. “You’re so fucking sexy.”
Heat bloomed between my legs. “Cox, I need—”
“I know, sugar.” He dragged his tongue over my nipple, the rough lace and heat of his mouth making me gasp again. “I’ll give you everything you need.”
He took off my bra, then hooked his thumbs in the waistband of my panties to slide them down my legs. I loved the way he looked at me. He’d never once made me feel self-conscious about my curves. In fact, I’d never felt sexier.
His hands roamed over my body while his mouth left a hot trail on my skin. Just when I thought I couldn’t take it anymore—I was going to die right here if he didn’t fuck me now—he got a condom out of the nightstand.
I climbed on the bed and he got on his knees in front of me. His erection jutted out, thick and ready.
“Come here,” he growled.
He stayed on his knees, resting back on his heels, and hauled me onto his lap. I was already so wet, his cock slid in easily, and I wrapped my legs around him. Grabbing my ass, he pulled me closer. His thickness stretched me open, filling me in all the best ways.
Our mouths tangled, velvety soft tongues sliding against each other. He held me close, staying deep inside me, his grip firm. As much as my body cried out for more—for movement and friction—I reveled in his kiss. In my skin against his and the way he held me tight against him.
My heart fluttered as he kept kissing me and a burst of emotion lit me up like a firework in the night sky. Because this wasn’t just sex. This moment, this feeling, was so much more. It was intimate and vulnerable. It was connection.
It was love.
Oh my god, it was. I was in love with Cox.
I whimpered against his mouth, feeling like I could cry. Or laugh. Or maybe both.
He kissed his way to my neck again and murmured in my ear. “Fuck, you feel so good. I don’t want this to end.”
I held him tighter because I didn’t want it to end, either. Any of it.
Groaning, he shifted his hips and moved me up and down his hard length. I rolled my hips, grinding against him as he thrust inside me. He kept hold of me with one strong arm and slid his fingers into my hair. His fist clenched around my curls and he pulled my head back to bare my neck.
I held onto his shoulders, riding him while he lapped his tongue over my skin. Every drag of his cock through me made my inner walls tighten around him.
“I want to devour every inch of you,” he growled.
His grip on my hair loosened and he moved his hand to cup my cheek. My hard nipples rubbed against his chest and he clamped his mouth on my neck, sucking hard.
“Cox,” I breathed.
Driving in deep, he groaned again, his voice reverberating through me. He kept sucking my neck and his finger brushed my lips. I flicked my tongue out, licking it, and he slid it into my mouth.
Our bodies moved in sync—in a slow, erotic dance. Like we’d been made for each other. I sucked his finger while his cock slid in and out, his mouth still clamped on my neck. He filled every bit of me.
He owned me.
Heat and pressure built deep inside. His breath grew ragged and his hips jerked harder. He was close. I could feel it.
Movement suddenly caught my attention and my eyes flicked to the partially open door.
Someone was there.
Oh my god, it was Althea.
My breath caught and I almost stopped. We had to stop. She was standing right there, wide-eyed and open-mouthed.
But Cox moved his other hand to my ass and thrust in so deep, my eyes rolled back.