‘Come on,…come on. Please, please let me win.’
Shayla and I both stood still watching the ball go round and round and round before it drops. We lean over and stare at the number before we look at each other. “Yes!” I exclaim, holding my club up over my head. Shayla stares at the number for a long moment before she looks at me. I reach over and take hold of her chin and tilt her head up. “Pucker up baby, these lips are mine for the week,” I say gazing into her green eyes, and she pulls her head back sulking.
“Cole, come on, you can’t be serious about this.” She says, crossing her arms over her chest. I laugh and nod animated.
“Oh, but I am. If the shoe were on the other foot and you won, you would have made me end the agreement, wouldn’t you?” I ask smirking at her smugly. She rolls her eyes and sighs.
“Fine, no tongue.”
I frown, “No. No, no, it’s
“If you’re getting the urge to tongue fuck my dimple again baby go right ahead.” I tease, and she giggles smacking my arm. We spent the rest of the drive joking around about various things and rapping along to songs on the stereo. The time was just after nine ‘o clock at night when we pull up at the place Shayla suggested. It was bustling with people, everyone eating food while walking around, music playing in the background, twinkling lights. It was a nice setting. It felt cosy and welcoming. Shayla and I make our way through the crowd of people. I lace my fingers with hers and smile when she doesn’t pull away. She tugs me along to one of the carts. “So, what I usually do when I come here, is get little bits of food from different carts because there are too many goods choices to pick one. You up for that?” She asks, looking up at me and I smile nodding.“Sure, let's do it,” I reply, and she pulls me to a Mexican cart.
I press my forehead to hers and smile, “What can I say I’m just full of surprises.” I answer, using her own words on her and she grins, shaking her head. Much to my dismay, the song comes to an end the crowd disperses. Shayla pulls away brushing her fingers through her hair and looks up at me.“So, we have one last thing we have to do then we can go.” She says while I follow her as she navigates through the crowd. We walk over to the another, and I groan. I’m honestly so full I can’t eat anymore.“More food?” I ask her, and she smiles up at me as we queue up.“This is dessert, and you won’t be sorry after you eat it, I promise.” I nod, and she steps up and tells the girl at the stand her order. She’s given a cup full of something I couldn’t even tell you what, drizzled with some sort of syrup. “Come on.” I follow her, and we walk over to the banks overlooking the rive
“Coooooole?!”“Yeeeees?”I bite my lip and curse myself for leaving my towel on my bed. I stood in the bathroom for over ten minutes, wondering what the hell I’m going to do. I can’t walk out naked without Cole seeing me, and I’m bloody freezing.“Uh, I left my towel on my bed. Can you please bring it to me?” I call out and hear his footsteps as he walks past the bathroom.“Aren’t there any in the drawer?” I hear him ask.“I wouldn’t ask you if there was, now would I?” I retort shivering. I hear him chuckle on the other side of the door.“Fair enough, unlock the door then.” I tiptoe over to the door and unlock it before I open it wide enough to get the towel. I look up at him when he doesn’t let go of the towel, he smirks at me roguishly as I stare up at him.“Cole, let go of the towel,” I say tugging on it, and he p
“Such a tease.” He mumbles, closing the door and following me to the elevator. I lean against the wall as we wait for it to arrive. Cole stands beside me, and I can feel his gaze on me as I stare up at the numbers showing what floor the elevator was on. I really hate this stupid magnetic pull I have to this man. I tell my brain one thing, and it does the complete opposite. I kept telling myself not to look at him, because I know if I do, and our eyes meet he’s going to know he’s affecting me. Damn my brain to hell, because I look up at him and he smiles licking his full lips. He’s so beautiful. I want to cry. Our eyes linger on one another until the elevator dings, and I avert my gaze and straighten waiting for the doors to open so I can walk in.I stand at the back of the elevator. Cole walks in after me and pushes the button to the underground car park. He leans on the wall beside me, his hands in his pockets, his arm brushes mine, and I feel g
After a thirty-minute drive, we pull up at his parent’s place. He opens the door for me, and as I shift to get out, he stops me, steps between my legs and kisses me again, his hands on my thighs slowly trailing up to my hips where he squeezes and yanks me closer grinding his erection against me. We moan in unanimity into each other mouths slowly rocking against one each other, the friction only fuelling our desire for one another. Cole pulls away, and I groan disgruntled. Cole presses his forehead to mine and licks his lips. “Later sweetheart, later. I’m going to take care of every single one of your needs one by one.” He whispers, brushing his fingers through my hair. We stare at each other longingly for a while till we hear his mothers’ voice.“There you are,” Elaine huffs, walking over to us. “We have just over an hour to get you ready young lady.” She scolds me as Cole helps me out of the car. Elaine takes my arm and s
Goddamn. I was on the verge of losing my mind. When I walked into that bedroom and saw Shayla all dressed up in that sexy silver dress, I felt like my soul was on fire. I was worried they would overdo everything and turn her into one of those girls that slap the makeup on as their lives depended on it, but they didn’t. She had the bare minimum on, and I was thankful because, damn she’s naturally so beautiful, she would outshine every woman in the room even without make-up on. And the dress, a simple yet classy, backless silver, satin gown that hugs her natural curves perfectly. All my life, I went for girls that had long legs, blonde hair, and a slender frame. That was my type until I met her.I have a severe case of tunnel vision. I can’t see anything but Shayla. I’m fixated. I don’t know how I’ll make it through this party without dragging her off to one of the bedrooms, slipping her out of that satin dress, and making her mine.Th
“May I?” I ask, and she hesitates for a moment but nods. I smile and brush my fingers along her jaw before I curl my fingers at her neck and draw her in for a slow sensual kiss while we continue to sway. Shayla reaches up and strokes my jaw as she kisses me back, and I swear to everything holy that her touch sent electric shocks through me. That’s the first time she’s actually touched me on her own account since Vegas, without me coercing her and it felt incredible.We pull back from the kiss when everyone around us applauds. I press my forehead to hers as we continue to dance together till the song came to an end. “Tristan, your grandpa would like to see you both.” My father tells me as he walks past us. I nod and look at Shayla who pulls away averting her gaze.“He probably wants to meet you, come on.” I take her hand, guiding her through the crowd of people through the garden where my grandfather’s sitting under
I’m done with this party now. I’m mingled out. As I reach Shayla, I take her hand, and she looks up at me bemused. “You all right?” She questions following me closely.I nod, licking my lips, “Yeah, I’m just anxious to get out of here.” I smile at her, and she bites her lip and drops her gaze, a nice blush touching her cheeks. God, I’m going to ravish you.“Tristan, where do you think you’re going?” My mother asks in a flurry catching us as we walk through the foyer of the house.“Uh, we’re going to go home. Thank you for the party mother, it was exceptional, and we appreciate it.” I say dropping a kiss on her cheek and she looks at me with a scowl.“You can’t leave. It's so late, plus you’ve been drinking so you shouldn’t drive. Spend the night here. I’ve had the girls prepare your old room for you both.” I frown and look at Shayla who
Twenty minutes later, the house smelt sensational with home-cooked goodness. Cole strolls into the kitchen while his wife cooks pancakes. He wraps his arms around her from behind and kisses her pulse. “As good as this food smells, I can’t wait to eat you later,” Cole growls in her ear hungrily, making her grin. “Shh, baby, the kids are going to hear you,” Shayla whispers back, looking up at him, and he matches her grin leaning close. “They’re not even in here.” Cole chuckles, kissing her softly. Shayla wraps her arms around her husband’s neck and parts her lips when his tongue silently requests permission to meet her own. “Oh, barf. Mum and Dad are making out again.” RJ grumbles, walking into the kitchen, followed by Alaia, who grimaces as they take their seats at the dining table. Shayla and Cole laugh as they pull apart. “Now you know how we feel watching you slobber all over your little ‘friends’ you keep bringing over.” Alaia retorts, making air q
Sixteen years later…On a beautiful Saturday morning in the month of August, Shayla Hoult rolls over in the bed she shares with her gorgeous husband Tristan Cole Hoult and smiles contently. At the tender age of forty-six, he was still every bit as handsome as he always was. She lay on her side and admired him while he slept. He still looked the same—but older with fine lines that came with maturity, which made him even sexier. The stubble of his beard had specks of grey, which she loved.“Why are you staring at me?” Cole mumbles, his eyes still closed, causing his wife to start while she was lost deep in her thoughts. Shayla smiles, her cheeks flushing ever so slightly, and reaches over to brush her fingers over his cheek. Cole smiles, peels his eyes open, and blinks, looking at his beautiful wife smiling at him lovingly.“How long have you been awake?” Shayla giggles when he wraps his strong arm around her waist and drags he
I exhale slowly, and Cole sits up and turns the night light on, blinking a couple of times till his eyes adjust to the light. “My water broke,” I tell him, and he shifts and pushes the covers off himself and gets out of bed. I watch him walk around the bed to my side, and he takes hold of my hand to help me sit up.“Are you having contractions?” He questions, brushing my hair away from my face, and I nod. “What do you need me to do?”I exhale slowly when another contraction comes. I wait for it to pass before I speak. “Call my midwife, then my mum. Tell her I’m in labour, and we’ll drop Laia to her.” I instruct him, and he kisses my forehead before he grabs my phone. While Cole was on the phone, I take off my wet clothes and change into a pair of grey comfortable tracksuit bottoms and one of Coles oversized hoodies. The pain was getting worse by the minute, and I was worried we wouldn’t make it to the hospital. “Cole, we have to go. Like right now.” I whimper, and he l
“Shay.” I lift my gaze from staring at my huge baby bump and look at my husband, who rolls over when I turn the night lamp on. “You okay?” Cole questions drowsily, and I glower at him.“Why won’t this baby come out.” I hiss angrily, and Cole groans, leaning up on his elbow and looks at me, his green eyes narrowed.“Maybe he likes it in there and isn’t ready to leave just yet.” He smiles, rubbing my bump, and the baby squirms inside me at his father’s touch. My due date was six days ago, and this stubborn child is showing no indication of arriving anytime soon.“I’ve had enough.” I whimper, agitated. “I’m uncomfortable. I haven’t slept a wink in days, and I’m swollen like a beached whale. Look at me.” I complain, gesturing to myself, and Cole lets his eyes wander over me, and he smiles. “What are you looking at?”He blinks, bemused.“You just said—”“You get this baby out of me right now.” I huff, and Cole scratches his forehead, his brows fu
Shayla pulls back and looks up at me, tears flowing from her beautiful eyes. “Did you...” She trails silently, asking me if I had something to do with her killing herself off, and I shake my head.“No, I had nothing to do with that. She obviously couldn’t handle being locked up. The warden did say girls like her are like fresh meat to a hungry lion.” I explain, brushing her tears away.“I did.” I turn and look at Sam, and Shayla frowns. “I may have visited the prison. A guard there is a friend of mine, and when he found out you were my sister, he did me a favour.” He explains with a shrug, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his jeans. “It wasn’t enough that she was locked away, I wanted her to suffer, so I had my artist friend paint a photo of you and Cole kissing on the wall opposite her cell, she’d be forced to stare at it, be reminded every second, of every day that she didn’t break you,” Sam tells her. Shayla pulls away from me and runs into her brother's arms.
“That was a great party. I’m a grown arse man, and I had a blast.” Josh chuckles, sitting back on the sofa, taking a sip from his beer. I smile and nod, looking over at my mother and Shay’s mother directing the kitchen's cleaning crew. Sam comes across with baby Trey in his arms and sits on the sofa with a tired sigh.“It really was. Shayla did a great job with organising everything.” I tell him, and Josh nods, looking over at the baby in Sam's arms.“How’s fatherhood treating you, bro?” Josh questions putting his beer bottle down and taking Trey from Sam.“Tiring man, but I wouldn’t give it up for the world,” Sam admits looking over at Trey curled up on Josh’s chest. “To think I was terrified of ever having one of those, now I can’t picture my life without him.”I smile in understanding. “Yeah, they really do change your life, especially if it's with the right woman,” I state, and both men nod in agreement.“I feel so left out. I can’t wait to hol
“Happy birthday, princess.” I croon, looking down at Alaia, who just rose from her sleep. She smiles up at me as soon as she sees me, displaying her two teeth. She’s always so happy in the morning, and this morning was no different. She’s just lying in her crib, kicking back with her hands behind her head. “Good morning, my sunshine.” I pick her up and kiss her cheek affectionately. “Is my baby girl one-year-old today?” We walk out of the nursery back to our bedroom, where Shayla was still asleep. “Let’s go wake up, Mummy,” I whisper, kissing her temple and smile when I see Shayla lying on her front, peacefully sleeping. I crawl up on the bed and lay Alaia down on her stomach, and she immediately crawls over to her mother. I lay on my side and watch as she makes cooing sounds, pressing her hand to Shay’s face, who stirs from her sleep and smiles.“Mm, good morning, birthday girl.” She sighs, lifting her arm and wrapping it around Laia, who tries to crawl over her. She looks o
We see Josh and Aimee in the waiting room, along with Jo’s father, “How is she doing? Any news?”Aimee shakes her head. “Not yet. We got here not long ago.” I sit beside her, and Cole walks over to Josh, talking to Jo’s dad, Phil. “Did you look in the mirror before you left the house?” Aimee grins, her blue eyes raking over me.“No, why?” I ask apprehensively and look down at myself.Aimee laughs, “You look fucked out, girl. You could have at least run a brush through your hair.” I stare at her dumbfounded and reach to comb out my hair with my fingers.“We left in a rush,” I whisper, unlocking my phone and loading up the camera. “Do I really look that bad?” I look at my reflection in the camera and gasp a little. My face was all flushed, my hair a tousled mess, my lips were swollen, and I had love bites all over my neck. “Oh shit.” I curse, pulling my hair over my shoulder to cover up the love bites.Aimee nudges me, grinning wickedly. When I look
Later that evening, Cole and I were sitting on our bed, me on my tablet and him on his, looking through emails. “Do you not think we’re going a little overboard with this birthday party?” I ask, looking away from the tablet to him, staring intently at a document on his device.“No,” Cole utters, typing away on the screen. “What my baby wants, my baby gets.” I frown.“Cole, she’s turning one, she doesn’t have a clue what she wants. She’s not even going to remember this.” Cole looks at me and shrugs.“She’s aware of more than you realise.” He replies, his brows lifting to his hairline. “Don’t you see the way her little face lights up when she sees Moana on the screen?” I smile and nod, “Or the way she sways side to side when she hears the song.”“That is adorable.” Cole nods, smiling, and leans over, puckering his lips for me. I lean in and kiss him softly.“Let’s give our baby girl the birthday she deserves.” Cole mumbles against my lips, and I grin