Momentary Lapse (15 page)

“Drop it, Marcus,” Cole cut off the litany of questions he had no logical answers for. “They're not family. You know that.” As far as he was concerned, Russell and Thomas were the enemy.

“So, that's it. You're going to give up?”

“Fuck no!” The denial exploded from Cole's lips. His teeth hurt from gritting them so hard, but he still managed a grim smile. “I'll talk to Henry Crovens, get the full set of plans and any supporting documents. Give me a few days to look through it. Then we attack.”

He left for Wellsford within the hour. Into the eye of the storm.

And in the middle of the tempest, sat Madison. His moment of calm. Cole couldn't wait to see her again. He'd been distracted when they'd talked over the last few days, but she was exactly what he needed now to keep his mind off his problems.

Time away had served to reinforce how much he'd missed her. He liked being around her. Enjoyed her company. Cole wanted her back in his arms. In his bed. In his life.

She was the only ray of sunshine in an otherwise shitty day.

Chapter Sixteen

“Madison? What the hell…?”

Madison spun around. The first flutter of delight at hearing Cole's voice overshadowed by a shiver of dread when she realized where she was.

Crovens.

What she was doing.

Talking to Logan.

Cole stood at the other end of the corridor, fists clenched at his sides, his face cold and uncompromising. Her heart dropped further.

Why hadn't she told him? It'd been too easy to pretend
not
telling him was okay when he wasn't here. But it wasn't. One look at his face told her that.

She swallowed. “Cole. I-I didn't know you were back.”

“Clearly.” Something dark flashed across his eyes as he glanced from her to Logan and back again. Then he dropped his head and turned away.

“Madison, what's going on?” Logan drew her attention, his gaze arrowing in on Cole, retreating.

Shit.
“Cole. Wait!”

Ignoring Logan, Madison rushed after Cole, her heart thudding in her chest. If he left now, she would never get another chance. She grabbed his arm in desperation, almost tripping when he stopped. He looked at her with such a chill in his eyes she almost let go. Almost.

“Madison!” Logan barked from behind her.

Madison didn't turn back. Her fingers tightened reflexively on Cole's arm and she looked up at him. His face was set, cold and drawn with lines of anger. And sadness. Her chest constricted. She'd done this to him.

“Please.” She pleaded.

The stairwell sat just a few feet to the right and she tugged Cole toward it. At first he seemed immoveable, but then he followed and it gave Madison the barest glimmer of hope.

They cleared the door and Cole pushed past, yanking free of her hold as if her touch offended him. The door closed behind her with a discordant thud and a swish of air.

Madison leaned against it. Blocking his escape. Cole gripped the railing of the landing with both hands, staring down toward the bottom of the stairwell as if it held all the answers. He could still race off down the stairs if he wanted to, but she would chase him…she glanced down at her five-inch heels.

Even if it killed her.

He looked up then, his expression a heart-wrenching mix of anger and hurt. Starkness.

“Are you fucking him?”

Madison's jaw dropped. “What? No!” She shook her head vehemently. That he thought she would go to Logan…after everything they had done together.
Ouch.
That hurt. “I needed a job. Logan was the only person who could give me one. It's just for a few months.” She tried to explain. “Until I gain experience.”

“What's wrong with the job I gave you?” Cole's eyes glittered dangerously. “Oh, that's right. It wasn't good enough for you.”

His words were laced with scorn that bit right through her. Madison shifted, locking her knees so her legs wouldn't buckle under the weight of his loathing.

“I need real experience if I'm going to take care of myself. We both know our arrangement is only temporary.” She lifted her eyes to meet his stare, daring Cole to refute the fact her future didn't involve him.

His harsh expression faltered but he didn't deny it.

“Logan owes me and he's still getting my allowance,” she hurried on. “Why shouldn't he pay for that?”

“And what about Jess? Did she figure in your plans?”

Madison blinked. “Of course!” She let go of the solidness of the door to draw closer to Cole. “I'm still going for walks with her. I'm still taking her to the gym.” She laid the tips of her fingers on his arm and looked up into the stiff set of his face. “I could never forget Jess. If she needed me, I'd walk away from this in a second.”

Cole looked skeptical, but Madison held fast. She'd spoken the truth. She would never abandon Jess. She wouldn't willingly leave Cole.

His grip tightened on the railing. “So, you're doing this to punish Logan?” He snorted in disbelief.

“No.” Madison huffed out a breath. “Yes,” she conceded, almost crying when she felt the tension in the air easing. “It seemed fitting.” She gave a deprecating laugh. “Believe me, he's getting a raw deal. I can't even work the filing system.”

“Don't
ever
sell yourself short.”

Madison barely saw Cole move but the next moment he buried his head in her hair, a sigh torn from deep inside as he trapped her in his arms. Tears pricked at the back of her lids and a pang of regret shook her. She fisted her hands in his shirt, feathering her lips across his cheek. Needing his touch. He turned to meet her kiss with a hunger that made her go weak. Fierce. Hot. Demanding.

“I need to know you're mine.” His voice rumbled against her mouth, ragged words that set her heart beating faster. He pushed her against the door.

Madison was desperate for his touch. “Only you.” Guiding his hand beneath her skirt she let him feel what he did to her, groaning loudly as he stroked her wetness.

Fingers slipped under her panties and she didn't protest, knowing Cole needed this as much as she did. The tightness of her skirt was constricting and she rucked it past her hips, widening her legs to give him better access.

“Ahh. Yes.” He slid one finger inside her. Two.

Rubbing his cock through his jeans wasn't enough. Madison unzipped and released him, loving the feel of his hard swollen shaft filling her palm. She nudged his fingers out of the way, pushing her hand against her pussy to coat it with creamy moisture. She wrapped her fist around his cock, creating a delicious friction that had him grunting softly.

“Oh. Fuck. Yes.” His hips moved in time to his fingers as they thrust in and out of her, never breaking their kiss as they worked each other hard.

The orgasm hit low and fast, his mouth deadening the sound of her moans. He speared his fingers inside her, thumb pressing her clit as she rode it out. Cole's pace stuttered, his breath a delicious rasp in her ear as he held her through waves of pleasure. The base of his cock thickened, the head slick and hard and ready. Madison sank to her knees, laying a series of short licks around the bulb. Cole groaned deeply, his movements jerky. One hand settled in her hair, the other on the door, bracing himself.

“I'm going to fuck your mouth,” he rasped. Rocking forward, he pushed the head of his cock past her lips. “Ah God. Yes.” He released a sharp hiss of air. “Mine.”

Madison wrapped her arms around his waist, molding her hands to his ass. She let him set the pace, gripping the base of his cock to pump him as he pistoned in and out of her mouth, along her tongue, hitting the back of her throat. Cole's fingers twisted in her hair, pulling her head back so he could look down on her swallowing his cock. His eyes were burning, hot heat, lips parted, teeth gritted.

His hips shot forward one last time, his eyes closing as come spurted over her tongue, filling her with his sweet taste. The tremble in his legs quieted and his hands were sure and steady as he pulled her up.

Suddenly conscious of where she was—in the stairwell at work—Madison shoved her skirt back over her hips. Her cheeks filled with heat.

God, what would her mother say?

“I'd ask if there were any regrets…but…” Cole tucked his shirt back in.

“No. No regrets.” Madison slid from his hold, confused. Was he saying he did? Her heart twisted with a bitter ache and she wrapped her arms around her middle.

He caught her to him and kissed her. Hard.

“Madison, I—”

“I-I better get back.” She stumbled away from him. “I'll see you…later.”

He threw a sharp look her way, but opened the door and let her duck past. Run away.

Madison grimaced at the bathroom mirror as she cleaned up. She could barely face herself, scared of what she might find. Scared to think about what she'd come so close to losing today. Acknowledging how much it would hurt when Cole did say goodbye.

“I need to know you're mine.”

He'd said the words, but they both knew his possession was fleeting.

Madison rinsed her hands and took one last, candid look in the mirror. Clear brown eyes stared back and for a moment she let the true Madison shine through. The spark in the depths was lust, the frown on her lips, confusion. She trailed fingers down her cheek, checking off the emotions that spoke to her as clearly as if she'd spoken them out loud. Hurt. Anger. Sadness. Hope.

She slipped her mask back in place and walked out.

Logan didn't acknowledge what had happened with Cole when Madison crept back to her desk. He fell back into his easy, flirty patter, acting like nothing was wrong. Or almost nothing. Madison pretended too.

Nervousness only started to build as she took the elevator down to the ground floor and prepared to go home.

Would Cole even be there?

He hadn't bothered hiding his distrust. How could he have thought she would go back to Logan's bed? Bitterness stung like a dull ache in her chest. Madison wanted to be whatever it was Cole needed. But how could she eradicate his suspicions of her? Of the people in her life?

And could she blame him for what he thought? She used to be the very person Cole accused her of being. She'd strengthened relationships with the biggest gain, playing up to the crowd that netted the most worth. Would he ever believe she was different now? She sure as hell felt different.

For now, she was stuck in a kind of flux, caught between two worlds and two lives. Worlds that were on a collision course to disaster.

That didn't mean she couldn't enjoy every minute of reality Cole offered her. Even today, when he'd been furious and jealous as hell, he'd been nothing but honest about his feelings.

She drew to a stop out front of Crovens.

“You're here.” Madison couldn't help herself. A stupid grin split her face and she closed the gap to wrap her arms around Cole's waist, feeling lightheaded. Almost giddy.

He swung her around to tuck her into his shoulder.

“I thought you might like a ride home.” Cole landed a kiss in her hair and her belly tingled with pleasure. “I called Jess. She's out until late.”

His car was parked at the curb. Rolls of plans and a wodge of bound documents littered the front seat. Cole gathered them up and transferred them to the back.

“So, we could get a bite to eat? Or do something else if you'd like?” He leaned in as Madison slipped into her seat. His brow hiked up suggestively.

“Something else?”

Excitement danced in hot waves along Madison's spine. The door snicked shut and she drew a wobbly breath. Yes. She wanted to do something else—several something elses, in fact. But after what had happened today, maybe it would be prudent to take time out and talk. She needed to know Cole was okay about her job at Crovens. His opinion mattered.

“What about your mall project?” she asked as he got in beside her.

“What about it?” He cast her a sideways look.

Madison frowned. “I was just curious about where it was, that's all. I've heard Noah talk about it.”

The mall project was the hot topic at work. It was the biggest construction program on their books. They all thought Cole was some kind of entrepreneurial genius—or certifiably crazy, depending on who you talked to.

Cole stared through the windshield for a beat. Then shrugged. “There's nothing there at the moment. It's just a lump of dirt.”

“I'd still like to see it. You can show me your plans. Sell me your vision.” Now she'd had the idea, Madison was surprisingly eager to see the development as Cole saw it.

The realization hit. She barely knew him. This was an opportunity to unveil yet a different side to the intriguing man she was fast coming to admire.

Another long look and Cole nodded. “Sure. Let's go see the nonexistent mall. I'll buy you a make-believe fur coat and a pretend diamond ring.” He grinned, but something sat behind it. Some inner sadness or worry that caught at Madison's chest.

“Then, I'll treat you to an imaginary ice-cream.” She linked fingers with him, flashing him a smile.

“Oh no. You'll buy me a real ice-cream.” Cole managed a laugh. “After all, you're a working woman now.”

She buckled in and they drove to the outskirts of Wellsford, to the proposed site of the new industrial park. Excavators and heavy moving equipment sat slumbering in silence at the end of the day's work. In the center of all the machinery lay an empty lot. Stones and dirt were heaped into mounds at the edges, but inside was speckled with grass and small pockets of scrubby wild flowers.

When Madison jumped out and took a few steps forward, her heels sank into the soft earth.

“Don't you want to see the plans?” Cole stood by the car, watching her with interest.

“No thanks.” She grinned back at him. “I've tried reading them already. They may as well be written in Russian for all the sense they made.”

She went back and took off her shoes. No way was she ruining a three hundred dollar pair in the dirt. Besides, the ground was warm from the sun, and it felt nice against her bare feet.

“Why don't you give me the grand tour?” She swept her arms in front of her. “Is this the main entrance?”

Cole laughed as he came around the car to join her. “Ah. No. This here is where the electrical transformer goes. It will feed the mall with power.”

“Ah. The service entrance then.” She nodded sagely as if she knew what she was talking about. “Where…um…services go.”

“Yes.” Cole's eyes sparkled with humor.

“Perfect,” Madison declared. “Let's go in.”

As Cole stepped Madison through the proposed shopping center, he couldn't help but sneak looks at her.

Was she playing up to him?

Madison seemed genuinely interested. She was asking questions, exclaiming over his description of the entrance foyer, adding her own little tweaks to his planned light and water fountain. Whereas Cole knew her idea of a mall was probably gold-plated designer shops with a platinum card entrance fee.