ROMANCE: Billion Dollar Question (BWWM Billionaire Bad Boy Romance) (African American Alpha Mail Order Bride New Adult) (7 page)

For a split second, Cole looked taken aback by her question.

“Don't get me that look,” she said pointedly. “It's more likely coming from your side and we both know it.”

“My parents aren't racist,” Cole sighed. “No one in my family is. In fact, I think the only racist I've ever met in person is your ex.”

“I doubt that,” Amy laughed.

“I don't hang out with bigots.”

“Neither do I.” After a moment she added “And Chad doesn't count.”

“I wasn't going to count him since you broke up with him.”

Amy smiled. It was sweet of Cole to think she had broken up with the jackass, but sooner or later the truth was going to come out.

“I didn't break up with him,” Amy said before she lost the courage to do so.

“Now I know he's a dumb ass,” Cole said shifting gears as they pulled onto the highway. “You don't leave a good woman and expect that she's going to let you come crawling back into her life.”

“He left me at the altar.”

“Fuck,” Cole muttered under his breath and pulled the car onto the shoulder of the road.

“Is everything okay?” Amy asked confused.

“This isn't a conversation we should have in a moving car,” he grinned at her and took her hand. He entwined his fingers through hers and gave a reassuring squeeze.

“I think it's better if you drive,” she smiled looking down at her lap.

“It's not something you should be embarrassed about. He's the jackass that stood you up at the altar.”

“I shouldn't have said anything,” she said tugging her hand away gently. “Can we just forget about this?”

“No,” Cole shook his head. “I'm never going to be able to forget that look in your eyes when you said he stood you up at the altar. I'm never going to be able to get how afraid you are of opening up. He left you because he's a dumb ass.”

“You don't know me,” she said blinking back tears that threatened to fall. “Cole, for all you know I'm a horrible girlfriend. I could be a horrible person.”

“But you're not, Amy!” Cole said taking her hand again. “You're not. You've been hurt. You've had you're heart broken, but that doesn't make you a horrible person. It just makes you human. There's always some dumb ass that breaks everyone's heart. It's a risk we all take by not being hermits and hiding away in our houses and only speaking to our plants.”

Amy laughed despite the tears that streamed down her cheeks.

“I know how it is. I've been there. I've done that. Right out of school, I married my high school sweetheart Samantha. Everyone thought we were the perfect couple and that we were going to ride off into the sunset and have the perfect life. As you can see, that didn't happen. No, I got busy with work and Samantha got busy with the man I thought was my best friend. That was four years ago. They're married now with a toddler and another baby on the way. Sure, maybe I paid a little too much attention to work or maybe I just felt how unhappy Samantha was and didn't want to be around it. I'll never know for sure. No one will. And this,” Cole motioned to the space between them and then held up his their gripped hands, “this could end horrible. It could go down in flames. Maybe we're not right one another. Maybe I have some bad habit that would make you want to smother me with a pillow before the honeymoon was ever over. I don't know. You don't know. That's the thing about life. We never know! We don't know, but that doesn't mean we don't try anyway. Who knows maybe this is meant to be. Maybe there was a reason for Samantha cheating and Chad leaving you at the altar. Heck, maybe this is the reason the universe made Debra such a crappy liar. This could be it. Yeah, you're scared. Hell, the way I felt the first time I saw you scared me witless, but that's how I knew I had to go for it. It's often the things that scare us the most that are worth having. I want to try this. I want to try us.”

Cole reached over and wiped a tear from her cheek. She leaned into his hand and closed her eyes for a moment.

“I'm not asking for forever or anything beyond today. What I'm asking is that you give this a try? Sure, we were only officially introduced yesterday, but there's something between us. I know you have to feel it too. It kept me up most of the night. I almost called you at three this morning, because I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep.”

Amy unfastened her seat belt and wrapped her arms around Cole's neck. She leaned her forehead gently against his and closed her eyes. He brought his arms up around her. When she opened her eyes Cole's gaze locked to hers. She searched his piercing blue eyes for answers trying to grasp something more concrete than both of them waking up at the same time in the middle of the night.

“Okay,” Amy whispered, “for today let's try.”

Cole's lips claimed hers in a hungry kiss. She kissed him back seeking out answers that only brought more questions.

Chapter 3: Just For Today

The rest of the drive to the beach had been full of a silent understanding. Amy told the story of how Chad left her at the altar and how two weeks later she found out from a once mutual friend that he had been cheating on her for the last six months of their relationship. He had taken off with what should have been their honeymoon tickets with the woman he had been cheating on her with. Several times Cole offered to turn the car around and go kick his ass. Usually the overly macho and protective attitude would send Amy running for the hills, but with Cole it made her feel safe and protected.

“I've never seen a stretch of beach so empty,” Amy said as Cole pulled the car onto the sand.

“It should be empty as it's private beach,” he laughed.

“You own a private beach?”

“Yeah,” Cole nodded. “A yacht, a jet, and part of an island too.”

“Damn,” Amy said suddenly feeling subconscious. How could she ever fit into his world? She'd grown up in a poor neighborhood, but was lucky enough to have parents who nurtured her natural talent for story telling. It was her mother who had submitted and resubmitted her first completed manuscript during her senior year in high school until they finally found a publisher who was willing to take on a new unheard of writer.

“Hey,” Cole said taking her hand. “None of that matters. None of it. It's all things I've collected when I was bored with nothing better to do. Can you imagine being alone on an island? Even if you own the island it sucks.”

“I guess so,” Amy laughed.

“I know so,” Cole said and pulled her into another passionate kiss.

Amy stepped out of her shoes and walked to the place where the sand and the ocean met. While Cole set out the picnic he had packed for them, she let the salty water wash over her feet and wiggled her sand in the toes. She waded deeper into the water until the waves nearly touched the hem of her denim shorts. She let it dance across her finger tips as she decided to let go of the past just for today.

Lost in the touch of the waves she didn't hear Cole walking up behind her. She startled and tensed for just a moment when he wrapped his arms around her waist. His fingers trailed against the tiniest part of her midriff that her shirt exposed. She leaned back against him and wrapped her arms over his.

“I hope you brought your swimsuit,” he whispered in her ear.

His breath was warm against her flesh and gave her goosebumps.

“I'm a step ahead of you,” she laughed. “I'm wearing it under my clothes.”

Cole gently twirled her around so that they were facing. His hands trailed over her hips and came to rest on the small of her back. Amy smiled up at him through her lashes feeling younger than she had in years. She rose to her tiptoes and gave him a gentle kiss. Then she stepped back and pulled her shirt off over her head. She tossed it over Cole's shoulder and it landed with a soft thump on the sand.

Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again. His lips were warm and demanding pressing hard and hungrily against hers. Cole's fingers trailed over her back and sides spreading his warmth across her torso and into lower regions of her body. She bit back a moan when one of his hands tentatively cupped her breast. Amy leaned into his touch imagining the beautiful and stark contrast his hand would be against her bare breast. His free hand trailed over her stomach towards the button of her shorts. She stopped him stepping back and shaking her head with a mischievous grin.

“I thought you were wearing your bathing suit underneath,” Cole arched a dark brow.

“I am,” she nodded and stepped close to him again, “but I'm not going to be the only one stripping down out here.”

She tugged his shirt over his head and tossed it away. His chest was just as muscular as she imagined it would be. She traced the well defined line with her finger tip and he drew in a sharp breath of pleasure before pulling her into another passionate kiss. Amy leaned close against him. His warm skin felt delicious against her mostly bare torso.

Feeling raw from the events earlier in the day, every touch made her feel more alive and more connected to Cole. It wasn't what she'd usually do on a second date, but she knew she wanted him. She wanted to be with him, to surrender to his warm passionate kisses and his soft tender caresses. She wanted to feel their bodies unite as one as they sought pleasure, affection, and reassurance from the other that this could work.

Her hands trembled as Cole's fingers undid the button of her shorts. She kissed him harder letting the ocean wash away every fear and doubt as they arose in her mind. Amy stepped out of her shorts and tossed them onto the sand with their shirts. Cole rested his hands on her hips and allowed his gaze to travel the length of her body. Amy now stood clad in a only a white string bikini. The contrast of her flesh and the fabric was stark and stunning.

“You are so damn beautiful,” he said pulling her close for another kiss.

Their tongues danced together as Amy wrapped her arms around Cole's neck. She leaned into his body savoring the closeness. His manhood was becoming alive between their bodies and when the kiss broke she flashed him a mischievous grin.

“I've never met a woman who could make me come undone so easily,” he chuckled and kissed her again.

When the kiss broke he pulled her into a full embrace and held her close to him. He stroked her hair with his free hand. She could feel his tense breaths and knew that he was trying to calm down his urges.

“It's okay, Cole,” she said looking up at him.

“This doesn't mean we have to take it all the way today. This just means we want one another. We can still wait.”

“Cole..” she said his name.

“We'll wait until you're ready.”

She smiled at him thinking about how sweet he was to be considerate of the fact she may not be willing to let him inside of her most personal spaces yet, but she wanted him. Her heart and body longed for the greatest and most complete connection a man and a woman could know.

“Cole, I want you. I want this.”

Cole didn't wait for further invitation. His mouth claimed hers in a hard passionate kiss and his tongue snaked between her plump lips. He gripped her hips and tentatively moved his hips against hers. Amy held tightly to his shoulders and returned the motion grinding against him. She trembled as he undid the ties to her top and tossed it behind them.

“You're trembling,” he said and kissed the top of her head.

“I'm nervous,” she admitted, “and excited and a million other things that I'm not sure there are words to describe, but I want you.”

She leaned in against him and resumed the kissing. Her nipples hardened against his chest as her body began to warm and react to his gentle caressing of her hips and thighs. His fingers were strong, but gentle in their touching. His fingers surrounded her warm sex and she moaned into this kiss. No other touch had ever felt so damn right. He massaged her body softly through the fabric of her bikini bottom and she ground against his hand taking every bit of pleasure she could get from his first touches of the most intimate spots of her body.

“Come on,” Cole said taking her hand and turning back to the shore.

Together, they walked quickly to the blanket the held their lunch. Cole quickly set the food aside and gently pulled Amy down onto the blanket with him. She lay on her back with him on his side. He kissed her neck nibbling at her flesh. His strong hand massaged her breasts and teased her now aching nipples. He moved over her and kissed her lips hard before starting a journey down her body. His lips pressed against every inch of her ebony skin that they encountered. Cole licked, nibbled, and kissed his way down her torso. Amy ran her fingers through his thick soft hair as the desire of her body slowly rose into a hungry fire.

Gently, he untied the strings of her bikini bottom and she spread her thighs willingly opening herself to his touch as he tossed it aside. His fingers trailed over her thighs slowly moving towards the place where her desire pulsated. Cole's gently fingers brushed against her warm wet folds before his mouth joined in giving her the most passionate and intimate kiss she had ever received.

Her fingers dug into the sand as he used his tongue to tease and torment her into a frenzy. Every inch of her body ached for him, to be one with him. His kissing stopped when she was only moments from the sweet edge of climax.

She whimpered in longing as he rose to his feet and stripped off the rest of his clothes revealing to her the entirety of his muscular body. His long thick manhood hung between his legs throbbing. She reached out for him.

Cole knelt between her open thighs and kissed her hard. Reaching between their bodies, she wrapped her fingers around him and guided him into her.

Cole began rocking his hips working into her inch by inch. She sighed in pleasure wrapping her arms around his shoulders to pull him closer to her. Amy longed to fill every inch of him against her skin as their bodies united.

She became lost to the pleasure that washed over her as Cole moved inside of her body. Their movements were like a finely tuned and perfected primal dance making them one entity for the short time they were connected.

“Cole!” she moaned as a long slow thrust finally sent her blissfully over the edge. 

When the waves of pleasure finally subsided she lay with her head on Cole's chest as they both panted to catch their breath. His arms were wrapped protectively around her.

“I think we should keep trying tomorrow too,” she laughed.

“I don't think a lifetime of tomorrows would be enough, Amy,” he panted.