Balotelli-Bale Series Book #4: THE OTHER MAN PART 1

Chapter 15: London

"... sometimes all a woman needs from a man
is affection..."

Keira's POV
There is something beautiful about rain. I am not sure how to describe it but it has a a lot to do with the feeling of being indoors, listening to it pelt against the windows. It's a comfortable sound. I'm sitting by a bay window, holding a hot cup of tea and looking out at the raindrops. It helps to have a beautiful view of the abandoned streets. I can't help but sigh at how peaceful I feel. I haven't felt this way in a very long time. It is as though my tragic life has been paused and I am opening a brief new chapter of nothing but roses. I don't feel anything but a calmness.

It has a lot to do with the man I'm with. The calm that comes with being around him is addictive. It's hard not be comfortable around Cole Michael. He has an easy going warm personality. He gets me before I even speak. We are definitely on the same wavelength.

A feathery kiss on my cheek tore my attention away from the beautiful rainy morning. Cole enveloped me in his arms. He rested his back on the wall and pulled me to settle against his body. He wrapped his legs around me. "Just making sure you won't escape me like you did last night."

Last night he must have intended to get intimate. His body language suggested so. I feigned fatigue and slept in a different bedroom here at his town house. "I am sorry about that but I was tired."

"Or scared." He gazed down at me fondly. I looked into the baby blue eyes full of affection. He had a delicate frown on his handsome face. "I would only touch you with your consent. I want you to know that. It would have pleased me to make love to you. I imagine you must be addictive."

Cole got straight to the point when we were having dinner. He expressed interest in me and not that he wants to be my friend. He wants a relationship.

"I would not know that." I chuckled. "But this feels good. I feel safe in your arms."

"I feel content with you. I don't know why but as much as we are strangers this feels right. It is one of those things that fits without a fuss."

"Like two pieces of a puzzle." I looked up at him.

I did not expect it when he kissed me. I moved away suddenly.

"I'm sorry." He apologized.

I touched my lips. They feel charged with need. The two times Nick and I have kissed have been aggressive. There's strong hunger between us when we kiss. But Cole's is comforting. I like it. I want to be kissed like this but I don't want to encourage him.

"Cole, it's okay. But I hope you understand that I can't give you anything."

He took my hands. "How about we start with it just being a kiss. Don't make much out of it and I won't expect anything. It feels horrible to let this moment pass."

Is it wrong to want to feel loved like this? Is it wrong to wish for a man who is sensitive and gentle with my body and my feelings? Cole knows what I am feeling without me saying a word just as I am aware that his heart needs to handled with nothing but love. He is hurt just as I am and we both need someone gentle.

"Okay." I agreed.

He started slow, his arms drawing me close. I don't think I have ever been kissed like this, so gently. His lips grew hot and intense. I moaned softly as he pulled away. "I bet we can fit even better naked in bed making slow deep love with the soft pelting of the rain against the windows."

"Cole Michael!" I chided him trying to break free from his arms but he pushed me down on my tummy pressing his weight against me. His deep laugh got to me and I couldn't help but laugh even more so when he tickled me to the point I feared I would pee on myself. 'Stop! Stop! I will pee on myself!"