My Ex’s Dad is Coming to Town (Bringing Home Trouble)

5. Cole

CHAPTER 5

COLE

I wasn’t used to being rattled, but somehow all Winter had to do was look at me and I became putty in her hands. And touching her—fuck—I shouldn’t have allowed myself the pleasure of running my finger down her cheek. The thrill that went through me at the contact would be something I’d cherish long after we went our separate ways.

The only thing keeping me from thrusting my hands into her silky hair and claiming her as mine was my son. I’d never known my father and didn’t have any kind of role model to follow, but fucking my son’s ex-girlfriend didn’t seem like a move that would strengthen the already tenuous bond between me and Ryan.

That was the problem, though. I didn’t want to just fuck Winter—I wanted to possess her. She did not know what kind of power she held over me. With one crook of her finger, I’d be tempted to give up everything for her. It didn’t make any sense, but I couldn’t deny it.

I finished placing an online order including some proper pajamas for her and poured myself a generous amount of the scotch my room attendant had left on the bar. The alcohol would take the edge off, but I needed to watch myself and not get carried away.

Winter came into the living room, but I didn’t look up. “Everything should be here in about an hour. Do you want to go somewhere for dinner or order in?”

“It doesn’t matter to me. What do you want to do?” Her tone held an undercurrent of wariness, like I’d hurt her feelings or shocked her when I threatened to spank her. It was for her own good. In a perfect world, she’d be on a plane to Texas right now and I never would have bumped into her at the airport. Instead, I was going to spend the next twelve hours fighting off a tragic case of blue balls.

My gaze swept over her. As much as I’d like to get her out of the hotel and away from the temptation of that huge bed, neither of us was dressed for the hotel restaurant, and I didn’t want to make her go out in this weather.

“Let’s order in. Do you want room service or something else?” I swirled the liquid around in my glass as I studied her. My fingers itched to run over the roundness of her perfect ass, or wrap around her slim throat and force her to look into my eyes as she shattered around my cock.

“You know what I really want?” The way she sucked her bottom lip into her mouth had my dick pressing up against my zipper in record time.

“What’s that, Winter?”

Her brows arched and a light pink stain crept over her cheeks. “Chicago style pizza. Isn’t that what this town is known for?”

I wondered if I could make her cheeks flush like that if I buried my tongue deep inside her.

“Cole? Do you not like pizza?” Her face fell.

Goddammit. I shifted my attention back to her. “Pizza’s great, and I know just the place where we can get authentic deep dish. Is sausage okay?”

She nodded.

I called down to the concierge and asked for a large deep dish from my favorite pizza place in Chicago and also for them to send up a bottle of Chianti from their wine collection when it arrived. With nothing to do but sit around and wait, I poured a little more scotch in my glass.

“We’ve got about an hour until dinner arrives.” I gestured to the couch. “Want to sit down and finish getting caught up?”

“Sure.” She slid onto the cushion and tucked one leg up underneath her. “Tell me how you’ve been since the last time I saw you.”

The last time… the memory had been etched onto my brain. She and Ryan had come to my place last Christmas. Ryan had been grumpy as hell—like father like son, I guess—but Winter had been full of the holiday spirit. She’d wondered how we could celebrate Christmas with no tree. That same afternoon, I’d driven all over LA until I found a Christmas tree farm that hadn’t sold out. We’d spent the rest of the afternoon listening to Christmas carols, hanging ornaments, and putting presents underneath the tree .

Being around her had sparked something back to life inside my dark, dead heart. It was like she carried sunshine in her pockets and sprinkled it around like confetti.

I couldn’t very well tell her I’d spent the last year thinking about her, so I kept things vague. “Work has been going well. Between spending time at the office and the gym, I don’t have room for anything else.”

“No? That’s too bad.”

“What about you?” Eager to shift the conversation away from me, I rested my arm on the back of the couch and gave her an encouraging smile.

“I guess I can’t give you too much crap about spending all your time at work. That’s pretty much what I’ve been doing since Ryan and I broke up. I got my massage license and have been working to build up my business, but I think I’m going to give up on Seattle and move back home.”

“About that,”—I reached over and squeezed her hand—“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“If I’d been a better father, a better role model…” My words trailed off as I shifted my gaze to the floor and shook my head. I couldn’t tolerate cheating. That’s what ended my relationship with Ryan’s mom before it really even got started.

“You’ve been a great father to him.” Winter scooted closer to me on the couch and rested her palm on my arm. The heat from each one of her fingertips felt like it burned through my shirt and left a permanent mark on my skin.

“I don’t want to talk about Ryan.” Even saying his name while I was undressing his ex-girlfriend in my mind felt like an enormous betrayal. I clasped my hands together behind my neck and kneaded the flesh at the base of my skull. The headache that threatened before had started pounding again.

“Are you hurting?”

“Just a little bit of a headache.”

Winter got up from the couch and walked around behind me. “Move your hands.”

“I’ll be okay.” I wasn’t sure if I could handle her touching me. I dreaded it and craved it at the same time.

“I said move.” She slapped at my hands until I let them fall to my lap. Then she dug her thumbs into the tight knot of muscles at the base of my neck.

I groaned—the mix of pleasure and pain a release I didn’t know I needed. Her fingers worked magic on my neck and shoulders. She massaged the base of my skull, beating back the headache until she’d eliminated every bit of pain. Then her fingers slid into my hair. Chills raced down my spine while heat hurtled toward my cock. The sensation of her nails lightly scraping over my scalp was the most erotic experience I’d had in years.

“Is that better?” Her hands stilled on my shoulders and she leaned forward. My cock twitched as her warm breath brushed against my ear.

“Thank you.” I wrapped my fingers around her forearm and gently tugged her around the couch until she stood in front of me. Then I uncurled her fingers and traced the lines etched into her palm. “You’ve got an incredible gift, Winter.”

She stared down at me, her eyelids heavy. Her breasts sat at eye level. I licked my lips, so eager to taste her skin. “You’re more than welcome. Is there anything else I can do to help you feel better?”

The pouty breathlessness in her voice tempted me. Either she was the biggest cocktease I’d ever met, or she had no idea what kind of effect being around her had on me.

I was about to give in, jerk her down to my lap and let her feel exactly how hard I was. A knock sounded at the door. The tension between us dissipated.

Thank fuck. Saved by Chicago deep dish. I gently brushed her aside so I could answer the door.