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Cole arrived thirty minutes later as I was finishing mashing the potatoes. At his knock, I checked the security camera to make sure it was him, then called out for him to come in.

“Hey,” he said, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “Uh, food smells great.”

“Yeah.” I shrugged as I lifted a piece of sizzling chicken from the pan. “I’m not hungry, but it seemed like the thing to do. Keep life as normal as possible, you know?”

“Avery… I’m sorry. About everything,” Cole said. He looked utterly miserable.

I nodded as I filled a plate and placed it on the island in front of Cole. “Eat. If you do, then I can force myself to eat, too.”

Cole glanced down at the fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and roasted broccoli. He chuckled.

“I’m not all that hungry, either,” he said. “I can’t stop thinking about Ashton.”

“Same,” I muttered, then sat on the stool beside him with my own plate. “But we can’t help him if we starve ourselves.”

“True.”

We picked at our food in an uncomfortable silence. When it became too unbearable, I finally said, “We haven’t been handling this well, have we?”

Cole’s shoulders slumped, and he dropped his knife and fork. The cutlery clattered against the plate. “No. We haven’t. I’m sorry about this morning.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “I wasn’t very encouraging about your plan.”

Cole snorted a laugh. “Maybe it was shit, who knows. I just want us to be on the same page. I want to support you and have your support. You and I, we have to be a team. I know I’ve been a dick to you, and I’m sorry about that. I’m just so stressed about everything.”

“If you’ve been a dick, then I’ve been a bitch, so we’re pretty even. And you’re right.” I gave him a sad smile. “We have to be a team. Be kind to each other, listen, help each other… all that stuff.”

“That would be nice,” Cole said. “We won’t be able to help Ashton if we’re always at each other’s throat.”

Our eyes met, and for the first time in several days, there was a stirring in my chest. Our bond was still there, still strong as ever. When he leaned forward and kissed me, I didn’t pull away. Instead, I sank into him as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to my feet.

It had been two days since our last kiss. The burst of emotion almost brought me to tears again. Cole gripped my hips tightly and pulled me closer. His body heat radiated through my clothes, warming me as he slid his tongue across mine.

“Should we be doing this?” I murmured against his mouth.

Cole grabbed my ass and squeezed before pulling away and looking deep into my eyes.

“I want to forget. For one night. You and me, and nothing else. Is that okay?” he asked.

Before I could think it through, my head was bobbing up and down. All the horror and terror of the last two days weighed so heavily on me that I’d felt crushed, suffocated. Forgetting, even for an hour, sounded amazing.

“One night,” I agreed. “Then we focus on Ashton.”

Cole’s face softened, and he cupped my cheeks, peering so deep into my eyes, he might as well have been looking directly into my soul.

“I will do anything to bring our son home. I promise you. If it’s the last thing I do in this life, I will bring him home.”

I believed him. I could see the fierce determination in his eyes.

His plan hadn’t been ill-planned after all.

Cole knew how dangerous it was, and he didn’t care.

He was willing to die to bring Ashton home.

He’d rather cast aside his own life than leave our child in that madman’s clutches.

As I looked into his eyes, I knew I’d never loved him more than I did at that moment.

After everything that had happened between us—how much I loved him when we were younger, how badly he’d hurt me—that was what did it.

The raging fire of love he had for a boy he’d only known for a few weeks melted my heart.

Regardless of what happened, I loved this man.

“Take me to bed, Cole,” I whispered.

In answer, he let out a deep growl of approval and kissed me again. He picked me up and carried me down the hall to my bedroom. All I wanted was to release all the pent-up frustration and worry and fear that had been building inside me since the moment I realized Ashton was gone.

Cole laid me on the bed and rose up, gazing down at me as he unbuckled his pants.

Keeping my eyes locked on his, I struggled to pull my jeans off.

My pussy was dripping wet, and heat pulsed between my legs as if someone had lit a fire in my underwear.

My clit tingled and throbbed as I kicked my jeans away and dragged my panties down.

Cole let out a hungry growl and fell forward onto the bed, burying his face between my legs. His tongue slipped deep into me.

“Oh, fuck .” I gasped, throwing my head back.

Strong fingers clasped my thighs and pulled my legs apart. Pleasure pulsed up from my clit as his tongue flicked over the sensitive flesh. As he fucked me with his mouth, I struggled to drag my shirt and bra off, stopping every few seconds to moan in delight at some other movement of his mouth.

Finally free, I lay back, looking down and watching him.

Cole glanced up as he sucked on my clit, looking into my eyes.

He let out a deep, rumbling moan that vibrated through my entire pussy, and my mouth dropped open, a gasp sucking into my lungs.

It felt so fucking good. Reaching down, I ran my fingers over my nipples, circling, grazing, and gently pinching them as I enjoyed the sight of his mouth on me.

Heat and waves of pleasure crisscrossed my body, becoming more powerful by the second.

Cole released one of my thighs, and an instant later, I felt the sweet stretch as two fingers slipped inside me.

Gritting my teeth, I wrapped my legs around his head, pulling him closer.

A sharp, intense orgasm built deep within me.

As he swirled his tongue around my clit and thrust his fingers into me, it grew stronger and stronger.

Reaching down, I dug my fingers into the sheets, clutching them tightly, my thoughts breaking apart into a fractal pattern of chaos as my orgasm rushed forward and crashed over me like a wave of warm water. It was amazing and made me feel a little delirious.

“Shit,” I cursed, gasping for breath.

Cole rose onto his hands and knees, moving up my body and dropping kisses onto my stomach along the way. After flicking his tongue over my throat, he looked into my eyes.

“Are you ready?”

Still reeling from the first orgasm, I looked at him dumbly. “Huh?”

I cried out as the full length of his cock filled me, stretching me.

I convulsed as another orgasm shuddered through me.

Cole stayed still, not moving an inch as he watched the expression on my face.

His pubic bone rested against my sensitive clit, the pressure sending spastic shocks through me, making it hard to think.

I dug my fingers into his shoulders, clenched my teeth, and looked into his eyes.

“Fuck me,” I hissed.

I didn’t want to make love, didn’t want slow and sweet. No, after everything, I was angry, full of rage and a sense of loss. This was not the time to be gentle. I needed him to fuck me, and to fuck me hard. If there was any way to get my mind off what happened, that was it.

A smile flashed across Cole’s lips. “Are you sure?”

In answer, I lifted my hips, driving his cock even deeper into my pussy. He grunted in surprise, his smile widening.

“Tell me if it’s too much,” Cole said.

“Give it to me,” I whispered, surprising myself with the demand.

Cole moaned, then pulled nearly all the way out of me before slamming back into me.

My eyes rolled back, and my nails bit into his skin, urging him to go faster.

The bed creaked as Cole rode me, sweat slicking his chest, and the room echoed with the slapping sound of skin on skin as he thrust into me.

“You feel so good,” he moaned, nuzzling my cheek.

Before I could respond, he sat up and raised my feet until my legs were resting on his shoulders. He hugged my legs and pulled me toward him as he rammed into me. The new angle sent his cock hammering into my G-spot, and I cried out in bliss as pleasure cascaded over me like rain.

“I’m gonna come,” Cole said through gritted teeth, moving his hips feverishly.

“Don’t stop,” I moaned as I felt another orgasm approaching. “God, don’t stop.”

He grunted but moved even faster, my breasts bouncing with each thrust. I moved my free hand down my body and rubbed my clit, sending my pleasure to another, almost inconceivable level.

“ Fuck ! Oh, fuck, yes ,” Cole cried.

His cock twitched, pulsed, and spasmed inside me.

A grin spread across my lips as a sweet and warm climax shook me to my core, sending ripples of ecstasy through me as his thrusts became slow, languid, and deep while he rode out his own orgasm.

A moment later, he collapsed on top of me, breathing heavily, and I wrapped my arms around him.

We barely even had the energy to get cleaned up before we fell back into bed and passed out. My sleep was blessedly free of dreams. I’d gotten what I wanted—one night of forgetting. It was what Cole and I both needed. But would it be enough to get us through?

A buzzing sound ripped me from sleep the next morning. My phone. I slid out of bed and scrambled around the bedroom, looking for it. Finally finding it in my discarded jeans, I tugged it out and answered, keeping my voice low to let Cole sleep.

“Hello?”

“Avery? It’s Langston. Just landed at the airport with Zayde and Porter. Zayde’s renting us a car. We should be at your place in an hour or so.”

Despite the danger and the lack of a really good plan, knowing that reinforcements—reinforcements I knew I could trust—were on the way made me feel better about everything. Sighing, I glanced over my shoulder at Cole, who was snoring gently.

“Okay,” I said. “Do you have the address I texted you?”

“Yup. It’s already punched into the maps app on my phone. We’ll see you soon.”