Complete Me (Book Three of The Kirkland Family)

Complete Me: Chapter 34

Chapter 34

When Rose heard Cole coming up the backstairs, she'd been curled up on her sofa, staring with blurry eyes at her door. She dozed a few times but jerked awake every time a creak or footstep sounded. It had only been Mona prancing around in her newly painted apartment. There was still a lot to be done in the third apartment, and they planned to tackle the tile in the bathroom next week, but Mona had plans of her own for a few unconventional storage solutions in the kitchenette and living area — all supplied from the store, so they would both save some time and money on future renovations.

In fact, Mona seemed to have a lot of plans...several ideas spouted in several minutes, all day long, all weekend long. Rose's mind had been diverted between Mona's persistent energy, Mr. Shaw's secrets and Cole's absence, so she should be exhausted, yet she needed to see Cole, needed to speak to him, to hold him, feel his arms around her.

All weekend, she thought of him, dreamed of him, saw him in her music when she played. There had been one particularly wanton piece inspired by the memory of Cole's kiss that caused her to squirm on the piano bench. She had to stop playing, barely able to believe that the thought of Cole kissing her — and more — created such a bodily reaction. She wanted him. There was no denying it any longer.

But Rose knew firsthand that sex, for the sake of just having sex, was not in her nature. She tried that once. It had been a horrible experience. The foreplay had been nearly non-existent; the actual act had been gawky; and the aftermath had been a disaster. She would not go through that again. And she hadn't. Rose Kirkland hadn't thought much about sex until Cole Fuller strolled into her life.

But she didn't want sex. She wanted love...his love. Rose closed her eyes, saw Cole smiling at her, watching her, touching her so gently... Every element, fragment, bone and organ in her body reacted. Her skin rushed with heat and grew too tight. Her pulse quickened. Her lungs struggled to fuel her muscles with oxygen. And all her essential female zones activated a slow, steady countdown.

Okay...maybe sex would be good, too...

Men had kissed her before, touched her, smiled at her. But only Cole made her simmer with hunger and a need to fill the empty spots in her heart. For weeks now, those feelings confused her and scared her, and she hadn't set out to fall in love, but she drew up a picture of them together...five years from now, ten years...both a hundred years old and together, still so much in love. And she envisioned him without her... Would he move on? Would he find love again? Rose wanted to believe that he wouldn't. And when she tried to create her future without him... Well, the song she played at the time depressed Mona so badly that the girl threw an old teddy bear at her and told her to stop.

So...there it was. All of Rose's ruminations over the weekend and more aligned during this evening.

And it led to one conclusion. She — somewhere along the way — had fallen in love with Cole and had been too senseless to realize it. Then she heard him. Knew it was him. The curl of her toes and rapidly beating heart foretold his arrival. Her body always seemed to know when he was near. And that cemented her decision to take their relationship to the next level. She confirmed her feelings as soon as she saw him tonight, standing just at the top of the stairs, frowning at Mona's door. His clothes were wrinkled. His hair was smashed to his skull on one side as if he fell asleep on the plane. A dark shadow of whiskers covered his jaw, and a sad, neglected look in his gorgeous brown eyes lanced at her heart. But she loved him. God, how she did. Every part of her body woke up when she saw him, when he smiled down at her, framed her face with his hands, kissed her. Every beat of her heart after that sang with contentment and completion and blissful euphoria.