He constantly checked Jasper's social media accounts and when he saw that there were no recent posts (which was bad, I gathered because Jasper was a hotshot photographer and he never failed to update his Instagram business profile), Cole sort of went numb. That was the only way I could describe it. It was as though he believed that Jasper had left him or something. I saw now what had made that arrogant, blond man come bearing a white flag in front of me that day in the cafeteria. Hell, watching Cole in pain was the hardest thing to witness.
The morning before Jasper was to arrive, Cole, my workaholic Cole, took the day off. The last voice message I heard him leaving on Jasper's phone consisted of him apologising profusely, begging Jasper to call him back and telling him he would go to the police if Jasper did not show up on their doorstep soon. It would have been funny if I did not love the guy so much and seeing tears in his eyes while he sat staring at the phone with a pale face made my heart ache for him.
But at least the plan was working. Jasper had touched base with me a couple of times so I knew he was fine. At one point, he threatened me to be especially good to Cole because he could no longer stand to hear the pain in those voice messages. Man, that giant of a guy had a hell of a soft spot for Cole Sawyer. His grizzly bear facade completely melted when it came to his 'little boy'.
I found it absolutely adorable. And fascinating as fuck.
The moment Jasper walked in through the door on Monday morning, I froze at my position in front of the kitchen counter where I was making green tea for Cole. He looked so handsome and dangerously appealing in black, I almost spilled the tea due to nervous excitement.
Our eyes met and held for a few significant seconds during which my heart pounded hard against my chest but then Cole was there looking at Jasper with a relieved expression on his face before it turned to anger borne out of love.
"What the fuck is wrong with you, Wells?" Cole yelled, not even letting the blond guy drop his luggage and take a breather. "You couldn't leave me one fucking message?" he berated, scowling. "Where the hell were you?!"
Jasper sucked his lips through his teeth and I waited for him to say the words I had told him to say. And to my utter relief, instead of being his usual arrogant self, he regarded Cole sadly and shrugged in a gesture of defeat.
"I thought you'd be happier if I just disappeared," Jasper told him in a low voice. "I thought you didn't want me anymore."
As expected, Cole's expression grew incredulous. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, his bare chest heaving with angry breaths as he stood there in his jeans. Then he shook his head and moved forward to pull his boyfriend into a hug.
"Get over here," he growled, holding tight to Jasper. "Jesus. Don't ever fucking think that. And don't you ever do that to me again."
I grinned uncontrollably as I watched them, elation flooding through my heart. Wow. That was a Kodak moment right there.
Jasper's love-filled gaze captured mine once more over Cole's shoulder as he hugged the guy back and I winked at him and mouthed, 'You're welcome.'
He smiled at me with that quirk of his lips before drawing back and then kissing Cole with a fervour that made me weak just from watching them. I could not take my eyes off the pair as they attacked each other's mouths, all masculine and passionate, testosterone leaping off their hungry, angry bodies. Christ. I wanted to go take a cold shower. Maybe I should and give them some privacy.
Clearing my throat, I tried to make light of the situation and said loudly, "So I guess this means I'll be sleeping alone tonight, huh?"
They pulled apart immediately. Well Cole did and then looked at me like he had forgotten I was there while rubbing the back of his neck, seemingly embarrassed. It did not bother me in the least. My eyes darted to the bulge in his jeans and I whimpered a little before turning on my heels and heading to the bathroom. I did not have the courage to tell my beautiful boyfriend all the thoughts that were running through my head right then.
~~~
Chapter 20
Cole
Jasper groaned in satisfaction as he rolled off me and I lay there trying to catch my breath for a long minute. Damn. That was some make-up sex. I was beat.
"We should fight more often," I murmured sleepily into the mattress.
"No," he replied in a firm, no-nonsense tone. "We shouldn't."
I laughed a little and then turned to lie on my back and stare at the ceiling. "Fuck. I missed this."
He grunted. "You have no idea." There was a pause and then he added. "At least you were getting some."
I turned to study his flushed, handsome profile, taking it all in. He was here, lying next to me, talking to me, wanting me. It was like coming home. I belonged here. But...she belonged with me too. My chest clenched with pain when I thought of Skye in her room, alone. She was my sweet girl. My beautiful baby. Gorgeous, warm, caring. I missed her too.
Jasper glanced at me, took in my expression and narrowed his eyes a little. "What?"
I shook my head, blinked back the unexpected tears and tried a smile but I was
