Page 90 of Mistletoe Mistake
“Cole.” My name from her lips sounded somewhere between a plea and a curse as I teased her, switching between slow and fast movements, bringing her close but not letting her go all the way.
Knowing she was close, I decided to try something I'd been curious about ever since she had come on my command the night we did our student role play out in the living room. I pulled entirely back from her so no part of me touched her and pulled the hat back up so I could see again. Entirely removed from her, I gave the order.
“Come for me, Gemma.”
Just as I'd hoped, her hips pressed down into the bed as her back arched off of it, her body writhing in ecstasy as her climax finally hit. Being able to bring her that kind of pleasure with just my words gave me a feeling of power unlike anything I'd ever experienced. It was an incredible turn-on.
Grabbing a condom from the bedside table, I rolled it on and entered her before she had even finished pulsing. I could still feel the last few aftershocks as I pushed into her, feeling her contract around my dick, drawing a groan of pure satisfaction from my throat.
Once we were joined together, I didn't want to rush. Christmas Eve was ten days away, meaning I would have to be without her for nine nights, so I wanted to make that night last as long as possible.
She seemed to feel just the same, not urging me to go faster or to do anything other than what I was doing, kissing her lips while moving slowly within her, drawing out each stroke as long as I could. I had no concept of time, no idea how long we stayed that way, but finally, my need grew too great and my pace increased, thrusting harder and faster into her until she came again, bringing me right along with her.
We fell asleep still naked and tangled in each other's arms, and the morning came far too quickly.
Almost before I knew it, Jackson and I were on the plane heading back to New York. Gemma had left the hotel before me in the morning, needing to go to work. We didn't bother with a long, drawn-out goodbye, knowing our separation would only be temporary. After she'd gone, I made arrangements for her things to be returned to her flat that evening. It seemed strange to realize that in all the time we had spent together in the city where she lived, I had never seen her flat, but I would see it on Christmas Eve, when I came back to see her.
Jackson seemed subdued on the flight, unusually for him. When I asked him about it, he simply said that he was disappointed that he and Holly weren't on the same page when it came to relationships. I hadn't realized he'd been so interested, but then I supposed I had been pretty preoccupied with my own relationship. I tried to make up for it by talking it all out with him since we had the time then.
He said that Holly was exactly the kind of woman he would be interested in, but she had no interest in a long-term relationship, while he was ready to commit to someone. She'd suggested they get involved but keep things casual, but he didn't want to get too attached. In the end, they hadn't done anything more than kiss a few times. I felt bad for him, but sympathizing was really all I could do.
When we landed, my regular driver met me at JFK to take me directly to Isabel’s house. My sister was expecting me for our usual pre-Christmas extended family gathering, taking place on Saturday. I would stay with her the whole weekend.
After I got in the door and went through the usual round of greetings, I sat down with my sister in her kitchen as her children, my niece and nephew, ran circles around us and from room to room. A bittersweet melancholy filled me as I watched them. My nephew was nearly three years old, only a little older than my daughter would be, if she even existed. I'd watched him change so much, and it hurt me to think that I might have missed all those same moments with my own child.
“So, who is she?” Isabel asked, drawing me out of those thoughts and dropping me into thoughts of Gemma instead.
“What makes you think there's a she?” I countered, taking a sip from the scotch she'd offered me. We always played this game: she did her best to get information out of me, and I made her work for it.
She smirked at me. “I'm not blind, little brother. Even if I hadn't seen the photos, I would be able to tell just by that smile on your face.”
It surprised me that she would have seen the photos. “I didn't know you subscribed to the British tabloids,” I said, still avoiding her question.
“I don't,” she replied just as drily. “But when your brother is photographed looking at dildos, the pictures find you.”
I couldn't help laughing at that, and Isabel grinned.
“God, it's good to see you laugh again, Cole. I love this woman already. Now, drop the act and tell me everything.”
~Gemma~
Returning home to my flat for the first time in ten days felt very strange. I felt Cole's absence keenly, but I was also equally aware of him despite him not being there. He texted me regularly and phoned me from time to time, keeping me up to date on what he was doing and asking what he could do to help me get ready to move.
Once Holly got over her shock about me moving to New York, she was completely delighted for me, even though she swore she would miss me terribly. I would miss her too, more than I could even say. She had been my rock for the last year, the one who kept me sane when everything else fell apart, but we both agreed that between video chats and cheap flights, plus the fact that we'd still be working together even if not in the same office, it would almost be like nothing had changed at all.
I made arrangements to have things from both my office and my home shipped to Cole's apartment in New York in early January. He told me he could have one of the rooms in the apartment made into an office for me, or that I could have an office at the Stamer Hotels headquarters where he worked. Or both. It seemed like nothing would be too much trouble. I wasn't used to that kind of generosity from anyone, but I knew that from him, it came without any kind of strings attached. He wouldn’t do it if he didn’t truly want to.
A few days before Christmas Eve, I was still deep in work at the end of the day as everyone else packed up to go home. There weren't many people in the office to begin with since we'd given most of the staff the week before and the week after Christmas off, in celebration of our new contract with Stamer Hotels and in recognition of the hard work that they’d be expected to put in on that contract in the new year. I'd hired a temporary receptionist for the week so our regular one could have the time off, and she buzzed me to let me know a man was there to see me, someone who didn't have an appointment.
My heart leapt in hope. Could it be Cole? It would be just like him to surprise me, to show up without telling me he was coming. I told her to send him in and quickly checked myself in the mirror, trying to see myself as he would see me, making sure nothing was too out of place.
However, when the door opened, my heart sank right back down again. It wasn't Cole at all.
The anti-Cole stood there instead.
“Edwin?” I asked, hardly able to believe my eyes. “What are you doing here?”
He lingered in the doorway nervously. “I'm sorry to bother you at work, but I didn't think you'd see me at home. Do you have a few minutes? I'd like to talk to you.”
