Edible

25

The minute Cole set foot off the elevator, Logan stopped him.

“Well, if it isn’t my absent partner back from his impromptu trip out of the city to see his ailing mother.”

Cole rolled his eyes, not even sparing him a glance. Making his way down the hall to where Jane was seated behind her desk, Cole nodded and smiled as she held out several envelopes to him.

“These came for you this morning, Mr. Madison. All your other mail is in your inbox.”

“Thank you, Jane. Did you have a nice weekend?” he asked, ignoring the fact that Logan was still hovering behind him with an annoying-as-shit smirk on his face.

“I had a lovely weekend, sir. And you?”

Jane was barely containing the grin she was holding back. She knew exactly what he had done this weekend since he had called to have her make sure several things were in place.

“My weekend was…” Cole paused as though thinking about it. Just to further irritate Logan, he said, “Interesting and eventful.”

“Well, something must have happened besides the norm. Usually, you come back here pissier than when you left. Although, this time, you did leave after a date with that hot piece of—”

Before the words left Logan’s mouth, Cole turned on him and pinned him with an icy glare. “Stop before you say something that will not only embarrass Jane but will also come back to bite you in the ass.”

Logan raised a dark brow from behind his glasses and looked to Jane, who was now much more composed. “My apologies,” he offered.

Cole turned and made his way to his office. Pushing open the door, he walked inside and hung his coat on the rack. Unbuttoning his jacket on his way toward his desk, he didn’t bother looking behind him to where he knew Logan was standing.

“What, Logan?” Cole demanded as he placed his briefcase down on the floor.

As he sat down in his chair, he pulled the large stack of mail from his inbox and started to flick through it. He didn’t bother looking up at the man who had now stopped in front of his desk.

“Want to tell me what happened this weekend?”

Cole leaned back in his chair and finally looked at Logan. Raising his hands, he let his fingertips come together at a point in front of his face. Feeling a grin tug at the corner of his mouth, he realized he was looking forward to shocking the hell out of Logan. Sitting silently, Cole began to twist the platinum band that was on his left hand.

“Come on, Cole. What’s happened with Lydia?”

“Mom’s fine. You should come and visit her sometime,” he said, still playing with his latest accessory.

“I don’t know that she would like that so much. Your mother wasn’t my biggest fan,” Logan pointed out as he turned and walked over to the couch that was pushed up against the wall.

Sitting forward, Cole rested his arms on the table. “Well, that’s true. Can you blame her though? She found out pretty late in the game that her husband had another child.”

Logan shrugged as he undid his jacket before sitting. “Didn’t seem to bother you.”

“Yes, it did. I hated you.” Cole chuckled.

“At first, but my charm, intelligence—”

“And annoying habit of never, ever going away.”

“Wore you down,” Logan tacked on the end.

Cole frowned, remembering those first few meetings. “You made sure we roomed together at college. Although how you managed that, I will never know.”

Logan gave Cole a look that was all too familiar. It was his victory smile, arrogant and cocky. It was almost the exact replica of Cole’s.

“It was my amazing power of persuasion, which was another reason you agreed to become partners with me.”

Cole narrowed his eyes on his half-brother.

Yes, Logan is right. It had been a huge shock when the section of his father’s will regarding his college trust fund had been read on his eighteenth birthday. That had been the day that he and his mother had found out that his father, who had passed away before Cole had turned five, had fathered a second son—a son by the name of Logan Mitchell, who was a year younger than he was.

That day changed Cole’s life forever. At first, he’d been certain it was in a bad way, but as he had gotten to know Logan, he’d found he actually liked him.

Even though Logan was currently annoying the shit out of him.

“Is there a reason you are still sitting on my couch?”

“Is there a reason you are avoiding my question?” Logan fired back, placing his right ankle on his left knee.

“No reason,” Cole replied, once again twisting the ring on his finger. Sitting back in the chair, he looked Logan directly in the eye and announced, “I got married this weekend.”

He had to give the guy credit. Logan’s expression barely changed, except for the slight rise of his eyebrows over his glasses and the widening of his blue eyes.

“Excuse me? Did you just say you got married this weekend?” As Logan said that, his eyes finally dropped to the ring Cole was twisting around his finger. They locked on to it, and before Cole could say a word, Logan shot out of the couch and shouted, “You’re not fucking joking, are you?”

Cole, serious as ever, shook his head and replied casually, “No, I’m not.”

That seemed to ignite a second round of incredulity.

“Un-fucking-believable,” Logan scoffed as he crossed the office. “A ring and everything, huh? I’m assuming it’s hot cheetah pants from last week, right?”

Cole couldn’t help but laugh at that description. He knew Rachel would get a kick out of being described that way. She’s definitely not a cheetah, but she’s a tigress, for sure. “Yes, a ring and everything, and her name is Rachel.”

Logan pushed his hands into his suit pockets and rocked back on his heels, letting out a long whistle. “Oh boy.”

“What?” Cole responded to the intentional provoking before he could help himself.

“You’re so screwed.”

Cole thought about that before replying thoughtfully, “Yes, that is one of the benefits— nightly. Hell, sometimes hourly. How are you doing in that department, Mitchell? Who’s the flavor this month, Candace or Luke? I can’t seem to remember or keep up.”

“Fuck you, Madison. Neither. I’m currently flying solo.”

“Or playing with yourself solo, right?”

“Laugh all you like. I’m not the person who just signed up for one partner for the rest of his life. Mind you, she’s an extremely sexy partner.”

Cole glared at him. “Do you mind? Don’t you have enough to choose from, considering at nineteen you doubled your options?”

Logan walked back toward the door, laughing. “Don’t get mad at me because you just narrowed yours down to one.”

“I’m not mad at all. I’m the luckiest fucker in the world, and for all your talk about options, you admittedly have none right now.”

Logan tsked him as he turned to open the door. “Why would I pick one when there are so many yet to try?”

“Get out. I have to catch up on some work.”

Logan gave him a final look of what Cole could only call mock sympathy.

“Poor Rachel. You always were the all-work-and-no-play guy.”

“And you were always the pain in the ass.”

Logan gave a wink behind his glasses, and as he left the office, he replied, “Truer words have never been spoken but only if they behaved and asked nicely.”

The morning flew by, and it was around four thirty when Cole heard a knock on his office door. With the phone to his ear, he covered the mouthpiece and called out for the visitor to come in. He was so busy concentrating on the person speaking at the other end that he didn’t notice Rachel slip inside the door.

“Yes, I realize that, but like I told you this morning, there’s nothing we can do until we hear back from their lawyer, Dan.” Cole shook his head as he listened to Daniel Pearson. Once again, Daniel was underlining the reasons it was of the utmost importance that Cole hurry along his company’s hearing. The problem was that it was currently out of Cole’s hands, and nothing could be done but wait. Ahh, patience. So little people have it.

As Cole felt a headache starting to form, he remembered someone had knocked on his door. Looking up, he felt a sense of happiness and warmth rush in to replace his previous annoyance. There, standing with her back leaning against the door, was Rachel.

His eyes locked with hers as her brightly painted pink lips mouthed the word, Hello. Honestly, he could have stared at those lips for hours. Lucky for him, he now had the rest of his life to look, touch, and taste them.

Raising his hand, he crooked a finger at her, signaling for her to come to him. The look that came into her eyes as she started forward had Cole shifting in his chair. Everything about her called to him, and she knew just how to use it.

Her hair was out and falling over her shoulders, just as it had been this morning when she had left his—no, our—bed. The leather pants she had poured herself into now seemed glued to her legs, and the outrageous pink top she had matched it with…well, it suited her perfectly.

Yes, there are definitely perks to being married, Cole thought as she came to a stop opposite his desk, like knowing she will be coming home to me every night.

Raising his eyes to hers, he watched her place her small black purse on the table. She pressed her palms to her thighs, like she was finding it difficult to stand still. Leaning back in his leather chair, Cole noticed her eyes drop to his lap before she quickly averted them.

Ahh, so it seems everything about me is calling to her as well, and Cole loved it.

“I can definitely try to get a hold of them today. Maybe we could set up a meeting for tomorrow?”

Daniel reiterated that he would prefer to know this evening, and Cole continued to pay attention…well, as much attention as he could with Rachel moving her hands to the laces of her leather pants.

Cole reached out and rapped the wooden desk twice with his knuckles. Instantly, she froze, and her eyes warmed as he motioned with two fingers for her to come around the desk. Slowly, she stepped back and pivoted to make her way around to where he was sitting. Swiveling in his seat, Cole spread his legs apart and gestured for her to step forward.

“Dan, listen to me. This morning, when I spoke to Michael, he was very clear that they had not yet made a decision. I know it’s hard to be patient…” Cole raised a brow at Rachel, who had stepped forward between his legs. “But sometimes there’s no other option.”

Rachel smirked as he reached out and tugged at the bow tied in the center of her abdomen, low on her hips. As the tie came free, he dipped a finger into the top of the leather and slid it along the front, causing the crisscross laces to part.

“Dan, we have done everything we possibly can,” Cole placated as he sat up straighter in his chair.

Glancing up at Rachel, he indicated with a nod of his head what he wanted from her. She knew straightaway because with one quick move, she raised her shirt, baring her unlaced ties and her navel ring.

“Uh-huh,” Cole mumbled. He was now tracing the silver piercing and moving his finger over to the bottom of the tattoo on her ribs. He was about to sit back and finish up the conversation when he felt her hand thread through his hair.

She gripped it in a small fist and tilted up his head, so he was looking at her.

As Cole listened halfheartedly to the man on the other end of the line, he found himself staring up into the blazing blue eyes of Rachel, the tigress.

It’s really such a shame his mouth is busy, Rachel thought as she gripped his dirty-blond hair in a loose fist. Somewhere deep inside her, she thrilled at the fact that he allowed her to tip his head back.

“I will be here first thing in the morning. No, I was out of town Friday and Monday,” he explained to the apparently very needy client on the other end of the line. All the while, he kept his eyes focused on hers.

Rachel licked her lips slowly and brought her left hand up to her mouth. She licked the tip of her index finger, and Cole’s gaze followed it as she dipped it inside her mouth. His eyes narrowed as she sucked a little more suggestively than she probably should.

See? I can tease, too, she thought, remembering back to his little game in the library last night.

“I can call them up in the morning, and if they haven’t gotten an answer by then, we can definitely try to push them a little harder.”

Speaking of harder, Rachel mused, glancing down between Cole’s legs, it’s definitely hard alright. As she looked back into his eyes, she moved the finger she was sucking down to her loosened pants.

He pulled against the grip she had of his hair to follow that hand down to the top of her pants. “Dan, how about you let me give them a call, and I will give them a heads-up about tomorrow?”

Rachel had a feeling that at this stage, the words coming out of Cole’s mouth were complete lies. As his left hand grasped her hip to hold her in place and his thighs came together to keep her still, he sure as hell didn’t seem to be about to make another business call.

Pushing her fingers inside the leather, she flattened her palm against her stomach and slid it down farther into the snug pants. As she did, she gripped his hair tightly, and he pulled against it. He glared up at her, not with anger but with burning heat and frustration.

“Okay, yes, that sounds good. Nine tomorrow morning. I’ll wait to hear from you,” he replied. This time, he seemed less controlled. He sounded strained, and his voice was taut. Finally, his right hand reached over and hung up the phone.

As soon as it was in its cradle, Rachel pulled his hair much tighter, tilting his head back. As his eyes blazed up at her, she leaned down with her hand still in her pants and licked from his cheek to his ear where she bit it playfully.

“Good afternoon, husband.”

“Rachel,” Cole growled as he tried to move his head.

She couldn’t help the lust she felt, knowing she was keeping him in place with her tight grip. “Uh-uh,” she warned. “Behave.”

Dragging her tongue back across the stubble on his cheek, she flirted with the corner of his mouth. He parted his lips, and Rachel couldn’t help but take a bite of his bottom one. Both of his hands gripped her hips as he tugged her in close. As she bent down, he strained up in the chair to get closer to her.

“What are you doing to me?” he finally whispered against her mouth.

Rachel finally released her grip in his hair and smoothed her hand down to cup his neck. With her other hand still wedged down her pants, she let out a small squeak as Cole stood and turned with her, crowding her against the desk with her back to the door.

“Did you lock the door?” he asked as he looked down between their bodies to where her hand was now trapped between them.

“I didn’t know there was a lock,” she admitted, thinking he would stop.

Instead, he gave her a shrug and a casual head tilt. “You better hope no one walks in then since you have your hand in a very compromising position.”

Rachel couldn’t help the small giggle that escaped her mouth as Cole leaned down and nuzzled her neck.

“And what about you?”

“What about me?” he countered. This time, it was his mouth by her ear. “You’re blocking me from anyone’s view. I could unzip my pants and have you give me a hand job, and Jane could walk in and be none the wiser.”

“That sounds like such a good plan,” she agreed. She turned her head, so they were staring at each other.

“But?”

Rachel shrugged as if she were indifferent, and then she moved her fingers against her own flesh. “But my hand’s currently busy.”

The look that came on to Cole’s face told her she was about to get it—and good.

That was when, just as he had predicted, his office door swung open, but it wasn’t Jane, who would leave as soon as Cole told her to. It was Logan, a man she had met once. And she knew he would not leave until he was damn well ready to.

Cole’s head snapped up as he crowded in against Rachel, who still had her hand inside the leather he wanted out of the way. Of course, fucking Logan has to walk in, Cole thought as he glared at the man standing in his door, sizing up the situation.

Cole could only hope that he didn’t catch on, or he knew there’d be no making Logan leave. Logan was perverse that way.

“Oh, look who’s here. It’s Mrs. Madison.”

Cole felt Rachel stiffen as she looked over her shoulder to stare at Logan.

“I see you heard,” she said, trying for light but coming off tense.

“And I see you’re still a hot piece of—”

“Logan,” Cole growled as he rubbed himself up against Rachel, who had turned back into him. “Are you here for a reason?”

“Well, of course. I didn’t come all the way down to your office in the hopes of catching you with your pants down…well, not literally anyway.” He paused.

If Cole had thought that was the end of it, he was sadly mistaken.

“Good to see that I found the hot cheetah with her hands down her pants instead. It makes this much more interesting for me, I must say.”

When Cole felt Rachel shake against his body, he thought he would kill Logan if he had made her cry. He looked down at her, and as she tipped up her face, he was surprised to see laugh lines crinkling her eyes as she shook with silent laughter. Every day, she had managed to surprise him, and this, right here, was no different.

“Something amusing here?” Cole asked, staring down at her.

Closing her eyes tightly, she let out an even louder giggle. Just as he was about to push the issue, he heard Logan’s voice chime in.

“Oh, Cole, don’t you realize that you are the only stiff prick in here?”

Cole glared up at his brother and business partner and growled through gritted teeth. “Get out.”

Rachel’s laughter seemed to increase as she removed her hand and started to tie the strings of her pants. “It’s okay, Cole.” She pulled herself together and turned around to face the man she had met last week, Logan. “You know, you remind me a lot of Cole—arrogant and persistent. The only difference is that you mask it better.”

“Hear that?” Logan scoffed to Cole. “She thinks I’m better than you.”

“No, she essentially said you lie better than me,” Cole pointed out.

Rachel looked back and forth between the two of them. “How long have you two worked with each other?”

“Too long as of three minutes ago,” Cole responded quickly.

“Aww, it’s so heartwarming to hear how much your own brother cares.”

“Wait, what? You two are brothers?” Rachel asked as she looked at first Logan and then Cole.

Cole let his head fall back as he stared at the ceiling, searching for sanity. “God give me patience,” he mumbled.

“Yes, shocking, isn’t it? I’m the much better looking one,” Logan said with a laugh as he walked forward and placed the file in his hand on Cole’s desk.

“Sometime today or tomorrow, do you think you could take a break from your husbandly duties and use the desk for something it was designed for?”

Cole brought his head back up and pinned the man across from him with what he hoped was a look that would kill or at least certainly hurt. “Who told you she was here?” he finally asked.

“Marissa,” Logan admitted and held up a finger. “In her defense, I asked her to alert me of strange women going into your office.”

Cole shook his head and pointed at the door. “Leave. Now.”

Logan turned to Rachel and gave her his usual killer smile accompanied by an easygoing wink. “I will talk to you later, Mrs. Madison.”

As he exited the office, Rachel turned to face Cole with a shocked look on her face. “That’s your brother?”

“Half-brother, and now, you get to claim him, too.” Cole felt his lips twitch.

“Well, speaking of brothers, mine invited us to dinner on Friday night.”

Cole pulled back and looked down at her skeptically.

“A friendly one,” she added with a grin.

Cole hugged her in close. “Maybe we should bring Logan, you know, as a party trick.”

Her laugh bubbled up and out of her, and Cole realized nothing could have ruined that moment for him as she nestled into his chest, like she felt just as home as he was.