Breaking Free (Phoenix Rising)

Chapter 13 - Ellianna

Light floats into my face making me blink awake. The end of last night was a little blurry but I remember Cole and I remember him talking with Ty, then that Chris guy when we got here. I'm safe and I'm warm. Comfortable in a super soft bed.

I start to become more aware of my surroundings. I feel a heavy arm over me. I blink a few more times getting the last of the sleep out of my eyes before I turn. I am assuming the arm is Cole's, everything here smells like him. All of my sense are overwhelmed with leather and sandalwood, typical Cole scent.

Then I realize I am in my panties and one of Cole's tee shirts. "fuck." I mutter.

Cole groans and I try to slide out from under him.

"Kitten."

"I shouldn't be here Cole." I say. Embarrassed because I didn't think I was that drunk, but here I am in his tee shirt and not remembering if or how we did anything. He grabs me and pulls me tight to him so I can't make my escape in response. I look around more, there's two sets of doors on the other side of the room that I can see. I wouldn't have any idea how to get out of here anyway.

He rubs his face in my hair. "You're fine L. Also, nothing happened. You stripped in the middle of the night, I should have know you hate sleeping still in your bra or jeans. I grabbed my shirt from the floor and put it on you." He explains letting me sigh in relief. I've done that to him and Sonja before. Sonja was mortified one morning because she didn't remember what happened and I was completely naked passed out in her bed.

"Besides, it's not like this is the first time you've woken up in my bed." Cole chuckles and I scoff. "Stop fretting L"

"Too much, too fast Cole."

He sighs and rolls on his back, releasing me from his arms.

"We need to talk L. Just hear me out, then you can stay or run away. Your choice and I'll respect your decision and back off if you choose to run."

"Going to fill me in on your secrets?" I ask.

"That's the plan." He says and turns his head to watch me with those blue eyes of his.

I slide up the bed so I'm sitting against the headboard. "Fine. Fill me in then."

He give me a half smile. "Shower and I'll get you something to eat. I need to take care of something first. Work stuff. Plus, I asked Paul and Chris to join us for some of it. I'm sure you'll have questions and they are better to answer on some things then I am."

I furrow my brows at him. He makes no sense. "Sure, Whatever you want Cole."

He gets out of the bed and heads to one of the doors across the room, opening it. "Bathroom, towels are in the first cabinet." He walks to the next door. "Closet. Help yourself. I live with a bunch of other men, so for the sake of my mental health, please find something covering."

I laugh at that, not that he looks amused. Cole, jealous and protective as ever. "Remember you punched Jimmy Martin because you thought he was looking at my ass?"

"He was." Cole states getting into a pair of jeans.

"I doubt it. Jimmy is gay, he and his husband adopted a little girl right before I moved." I inform him. He looks at me in utter shock at that information. "Always so jealous."

He shakes his head, sliding a tee on. "Territorial, there's a difference."

"Yeah. Yeah. You better go along and do whatever it is you got to do." I say dismissively, tossing my hand in the air at him before sliding out of his massive, soft bed I could just about live in.