Nicole Edwards - Temptation

No sense in staying up any longer… Logan had apparently been successful in getting Luke to talk.

* * *

Good God.

Someone must have hit Luke square in the face with an anvil. That was the first thought that sprung to Luke’s mind the next morning when he awoke to the sun bathing the edges of the bed through the blind’s wooden slats.

“Sonuvabitch.” Apparently that was fast becoming one of his favorite words these days.

Throwing his arm over his eyes, he attempted to shut out the blinding light and to hold his brains inside of his head. Whiskey was not his friend in the morning that was for damn sure.

Despite the throb behind his eyes, Luke’s mind immediately drifted to the night before. And it didn’t have anything to do with the fifth of whiskey he and his brother had downed. He couldn’t get his mind off of Sierra. Or Cole. And the way he’d successfully managed to push the two of them away. Likely for good this time.

Fucking idiot.

What the hell was Luke supposed to do now?

When the answers didn’t just spring forth, not that he really expected them to, Luke pushed himself to the edge of the bed. He knew of one thing. He had to get his ass out of bed and attempt to salvage the two things that actually meant something to him.

He just didn’t know exactly how he was supposed to do that.

 “Yes, ma’am.” Sierra rolled her eyes as she managed to remember her manners. The woman deserved to be called a few choice other things, but at the moment, Sierra knew her reputation was on the line. Not that she should care. She was going back to Nashville, right? At least that was the plan she had drafted in her mind the night before. It had sounded so finite when she had shared the news with Sam.

“No, ma’am.” Once again Sierra let the woman drone on and on while she tossed in the expected answer where necessary. “Yes, of course I can be there this afternoon. I’ll see you then.”

Gritting her teeth as she pressed the end button on her cell phone, Sierra resigned herself to the fact that her shitty day had just gotten shittier. At least she had a few hours to build up the nerve required to spend another afternoon sitting in a room with Susan Toulmin while the woman proceeded to tell her in no uncertain terms what a terrible designer she was. The thought that this was the last time she had to see the woman was the only thing that would get her through the afternoon.

She needed caffeine in a bad way. And maybe some aspirin. A bottle of aspirin. After the night she had, most of it spent pathetically sobbing her eyes out as she curled into a ball on her bed, Sierra wasn’t surprised by the furious pounding behind her eyes. Pushing her weary body up from the couch, she ventured into the kitchen. Coffee would go a long way toward ridding her brain of the fuzz left over from the night before. Maybe.

After she had rushed out of Club Destiny, almost plowing right over Cole, Sierra had managed to make it to her car just in time to realize she was in no shape to drive. Thankfully Sam must have known because the woman came to her rescue and offered to drive her home.

Well, not home exactly.

Her original intention was to take Sierra to Luke’s, but she managed to tell her friend that under no circumstance would she be caught dead at Luke’s house. She was done with the man.

Finished. Through. Kaput.

Damn him.

Through a haze of tears, Sierra made her way to the coffee pot. She’d be damned if she would shed one more tear for that rat bastard. Let him have Susan Toulmin… the bitch. They deserved each other.

At least that’s what she tried to tell herself as she filled the carafe with water and tossed coffee grounds into the flimsy paper filter. Her brain was fully onboard with her plan to banish Luke McCoy from all conscious thought. Her heart not so much.

Standing barefoot in the kitchen, waiting for the coffee to brew, Sierra choked down two aspirin and then took the time to look around. Her little rental hadn’t become much of a home in the last few months. Which meant she had very little to pack up and take with her. Mostly her clothes and a couple of pieces of furniture.

The thought of going back to Nashville was bittersweet. She hadn’t yet gotten comfortable with Dallas. Big fat liar. Truth be told, when Sierra had been with Luke and Cole, she’d felt more at home than any one place she had ever lived. Her heart sank right into her stomach at the thought. None of it mattered. He’d made his choice, and clearly it hadn’t been her.

To top it all off, Sierra received a call from Cole just before dawn. She’d answered the phone, still groggy from sleep, secretly hoping it was Luke on the other end of the line, calling to grovel at her feet and profess his undying love.

So not the case.

However, the sound of Cole’s deep, familiar voice had her nerves settling and a spark of hope igniting in her chest. Whatever for, she had no idea. After she assured him that yes, she was alright, and yes, she did get home in one piece, they said their goodbyes. Little did Cole know that Sierra’s goodbye had been more final than he might have thought. She was going back to Nashville and Dallas would be just a little blip on the roadmap of her life.

The coffee gurgled to completion and Sierra grabbed one of the boring, white coffee cups she had picked up at the dollar store when she had moved in. No need to go out and find something that would cheer her up. At least not yet. She’d have plenty of time to do that when she got back home to Tennessee where she belonged. She would likely have to buy another house since hers was currently rented. That would ensure she couldn’t have a momentary relapse and wind up back in the Big D.

A pounding on the front door had her sloshing coffee in her cup, the hot, black liquid spilling over and onto her shirt. “Damn it.”

Setting the cup on the counter and grabbing a hand towel, Sierra attempted to wipe off the now cooling liquid as she headed for the door.

The door. Oh, shit.

Who the hell would be at her door that early in the morning? Whoever it was, she shouldn’t answer it. The knock thundered again, eliminating the hope that it might have been Sam coming to check on her. Definitely not a dainty, feminine knock. Her traitorous legs moved closer to the door and Sierra found herself glancing through the peephole, praying that it wouldn’t be…

Whew! It wasn’t.

Gripping the handle, Sierra pulled back the door, still trying to dry her now damp t-shirt.

“Hey.” Cole’s beautiful face peered down at her, those indigo blue eyes caressing every inch of her skin as he took her in.

“What’s up?” She asked, doing her best to sound nonchalant but feeling a little unsteady from the intensity of his gaze.

“Can I come in?” He was halfway through the door as he asked the question, apparently sure of her answer. Good thing because she hadn’t been… sure that is.

“Ok.” Stepping back so he could come inside, Sierra felt incredibly small once again. She’d gotten used to being around Luke, but Cole still had the ability to make her feel utterly feminine and incredibly fragile.

Realizing she was still trying to dry her shirt, she tossed the hand towel onto the back of the chair and turned away from Cole. “I need to, um, change. I’ll be right back.” See, that wasn’t so hard. She could talk to this man. There was no reason to get all flustered when he was around.

Sierra double timed it to her bedroom, ripped the stained t-shirt up and over her head, tossing it in the direction of the clothes hamper in the corner and missing it entirely. What was wrong with her? When she reached for the dresser drawer, she noticed her hands were shaking. And not some little vibration either. No, this was a full blown earthquake in her limbs.

She wasn’t aware how long she stood there, staring down at her hands, but the next thing she knew, Cole was coming up behind her, turning her in his arms and pressing her against his chest. She pressed her damp – shit, she was crying – cheek against his broad torso, her hands snaking around his waist. His masculine scent filled her nostrils and soothed her frazzled nerves.

“Baby, it’s going to be alright.” Cole muttered, running his hand through her hair as he cupped her head, holding her against him.

How did he know it would be alright? How did he even know what the problem was? She sure as hell didn’t.

And when had he taken to calling her such an endearment? Baby?

A sudden flash of memory had Sierra gripping Cole tighter. The remembered way that this man made love to her while they were alone in Vegas had heat coursing through every limb, chasing away the icy chill that had been in residence since the night before. On top of that, she had the scorching hot reminder of Valentine’s and the way he had settled between her legs…

What was she doing?

To her relief, Cole took a step back, but when he tilted her head back to meet his gaze, Sierra’s stomach nearly plummeted to the floor. The heat in his eyes was hot enough to scorch the sun.

“God, I’ve missed you.” He whispered.

Missed her?

“I’ve missed you too.” She had? What the hell was going on?

Sierra was mesmerized by the midnight blue depths of his eyes, the way he looked at her, the way his fingers felt on her chin, the heat emanating off of his massive body… she was in trouble here.

“I’m going to kiss you, Sierra.” Cole stated, his voice low and intense.

Heaven help her, the only thing she could do was nod and anticipate the sweet, seductive feel of his mouth on hers.

The room disappeared when his lips came down to meet hers, and she was lost to the tender, gentle way he plied her mouth open with his tongue. This wasn’t hot and fierce, though her blood was boiling and she wanted nothing more than to climb his body. No, Cole was making love to her mouth, using his tongue to delve gently, taking up residence, filling her with longing and need.

The next few minutes passed in a blur, their bodies melding together, their clothes quickly falling to the floor to be forgotten as Cole eased Sierra down onto her rumpled bed, sliding between her thighs as she held on for dear life. If only he would take her like a starving man, she might stand a chance of surviving the sensual onslaught. Instead, Cole eased between her legs, his mouth devouring every inch of her skin, taking long minutes to tease her nipple – one and then the other – until Sierra was nearly blinded with lust. She needed to feel him.

“Look at me.”

Sierra had been lost to the sensations, her eyes closed, her head thrown back, but his voice lured her to the present.

Opening her eyes, she was struck with tenderness. The way Cole looked at her said so much more than words ever could. This was so much like the last time they had been together in Vegas, yet so very different. His emotions were written clearly on his face, and Sierra choked back a sob as she pulled him closer.

“You don’t know how bad I’ve wanted to bury myself inside of you again.” Cole whispered, his lips a hairsbreadth away from hers. “It’s nearly killed me having to stay away from you.”

Sierra inched downward, trying to align their bodies, wanting to feel him inside of her. With his weight hovering above her, she couldn’t move, so she did the next best thing. “Make love to me, Cole.” The whispered words tore from her chest, the emotions coming out with them as she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down until their lips met once more.

Her body opened to him, taking him in until she wasn’t sure where she ended and he began; an all too familiar cliché she hadn’t fully understood until that moment when their bodies joined in the most elemental of ways.

“You feel so good.” Sierra moaned, unable to hold herself back.

He lifted her knee, holding it close to his side, changing the angle as he slid slowly in, before retreating. Over and over he filled her. Sierra wanted the moment to last forever, wanted to remember the way it felt in Cole’s arms, making love to him, giving him her very soul. Because when it was over, she knew she would have to walk away.

She couldn’t possibly love two men. And how could she ever believe she and Cole weren’t settling?

“So tight, baby.” Cole groaned.

Sierra lost herself to the sensations, Cole’s impressive body above her, his seductive mouth doing wicked things to hers. When he slid his rough, strong hands down her arms until their palms touched, fingers intertwining together, then lifting them above her head, Sierra knew she was a goner. There was too much emotion involved. She wasn’t going to survive with her heart intact if he kept doing what he was doing.