The lightest sun

Chapter 17

Jane
"A cold night, but the air around us is burning."

I blink, letting my gaze roam over his flushed cheeks, the glint in his dark eyes, and the way his nostrils flare with labored breaths.

Maybe it's because I'm too cold, my blanket having slipped onto the terrace boards. This can't be real. Cole Canning couldn't have just said he wants all of me. Did my words at the restaurant affect him that much?

"Audacious. Absolutely audacious, to ask for all of me when all I wanted was to apologize. You agreed to my terms, didn't you? But instead, you just followed me. Then I spent the entire night worrying about you, Cole Canning. You and your damn perfect face, your ridiculous broad shoulders, and that tight ass like some sexy jerk. So... screw you."

I jab my finger into the center of his rock-hard chest. "And screw you twice over for being jealous when you have no right to be. If I'm acting weird, it's because you're acting like an asshole who just wants to possess me."

I turn away, but Cole is faster. His hand shoots out and grabs my arm, stopping me mid-stride. I whirl back to face him, my body pressing against his naturally.

"I don't just want to possess you. I want you to be my woman."
"Shut up."
"Keep talking like that, and I'll fuck all that sass right out of your pretty little mouth."

I arch an eyebrow at him, shivers running down my spine. The air between us sizzles so much that I don't even feel the cold of the night anymore. "Excuse me?"

He brushes the back of his hand across his lips, like he's savoring every word he just said. "You heard me, angel. Keep barking at me, and I'll put you on your knees, spread those perfect lips, and fuck your mouth just to shut you up."

My mind is spinning. The man in front of me isn't the man I've been living with for the past month. This is a different version of him. The version from that night at the hotel. The one that completely broke my defenses. The one that pulls me to him.

The version I like, even though I don't want to admit it. But I must.

His words are sharp, but I know Cole well enough to understand that his words often sound like jokes, though his hands are always gentle. But not this time. He's dead serious.

Holding his burning gaze, clearly full of challenge, something stirs within me. Slowly, I sink to my knees in front of him, lifting my chin to catch every flicker of emotion in his eyes. "Try it, Canning. Be the first man to control me. If you can, of course."

The muscle in his jaw tightens. I know he's on the edge, but he's holding back. I'm not some innocent little girl. I know when a man wants me. Yes, I haven't had sex since getting pregnant, but I did manage to have a child somehow.

And Cole Canning wants me. Too much. So much that it's becoming uncontrollable.

He just needs to let himself have me. If he can manage to make me his, then I'm done for. But that's not easy.

So, I give him a little shove with my elbow. I lick my lips and open my mouth wide, sticking out my tongue, never breaking eye contact. The most brazen invitation in the world. And the strangest one I could ever expect from myself.

"Fuck." He mutters and steps forward, the last remnants of restraint seemingly snapping and falling around us. My pussy clenches, and my chest nearly vibrates with anticipation. When his broad hand cups the back of my neck, I hum with pleasure. Did I really just hum?

"You're just a fucking tease to my nerves, Jane Sherrington." He grabs my glass and drops it onto the terrace behind him, the heavy thud almost breaking it against the wood.
"Then give up if it's so hard."
"Not in this fucking lifetime."