Luke reached up, sliding his hand into Cole’s hair, pulling him closer. Their mouths met briefly in a kiss that sent a different sort of sensation fluttering through his insides. This man had the ability to cause sensory overload with just a look, but when he kissed him like that, gentle and soft, Cole was suddenly reduced to a jumble of emotions.
As long as Cole had known Luke, he’d never sensed that he could open himself up completely, but these rare, intimate insights into his soul made him realize they were still moving mountains. He knew it wasn’t easy for Luke, which was why he latched on to these moments, storing them in his memory banks so he could reflect back on them when his doubts seemed to inundate him.
“Mine,” Luke breathed against his lips and Cole answered by sliding his tongue in deep.
Cole was able to recognize that Luke had a different way of showing his love, his inability to say the three worlds that Cole longed to hear freely. There were just times like this when he wished he didn’t need to hear it.
Chapter Three
“Please tell me that you know what you’re doing,” McKenna’s concern was evident even though she was trying to disguise it with a strangled laugh.
Cole couldn’t resist the urge to roll his eyes. Luckily, he was looking away from her so she didn’t see his frustration. Seriously? It was a baby crib. How hard could it possibly be to put together? And who appointed his stepbrother’s fiancé as his watchdog?
“Again, why didn’t you ask your man to put this together?” Cole still wasn’t sure how he got nominated for the job, but he’d been told – twice already – that he needed to get it put together quickly because the baby shower was supposed to commence in just a couple of hours and he had to be out of sight by that time. Someone dropped the ball, obviously, and if it weren’t for the fact that this was for Sierra – well, technically this was for him as well – he’d have said no thanks.
“He was supposed to,” McKenna clarified as she paced the floor behind him. “Something came up, and he had to go to a meeting. If I remember correctly, it was your lover who called that meeting.”
Cole grinned. Yes, it was true. Luke did have Tag jumping through plenty of hoops these days. Every time he turned around, Luke was coming up with another idea on what he wanted to do with the club, but changing his mind just as quickly. He wasn’t sure at the moment what the last one had even been.
“I really wish you’d sit down,” he told her, not bothering to look up from what he was doing. “You’re going to wear a hole in the damn carpet.”
“You don’t have carpet,” she retorted, laughing.
At least she was smiling again. It was almost funny how out of sorts McKenna, Ashleigh and Sam were as they ran back and forth through the house trying to get everything ready. Somehow they’d managed to score his house as the location for the baby shower, but it’d been a little tricky. Luckily, Sierra’s mother was just as much a part of this as the others, only her job was to keep Sierra busy today. Cole had offered to be the one to keep her busy, but he’d been told to stop thinking with his dick. He smiled at the thought.
As soon as McKenna’s heels clicked out of the room, Cole busied himself with finishing up. As much as he loved Sierra, and as eager as he was for the baby to be born, he did not want to be involved in this little estrogen-fest.
For the next fifteen minutes, Cole worked diligently while the women busied themselves in the other room. He was grateful for the reprieve. At least he had managed to steer clear of Sam for most of the day. The woman was a nervous wreck. He couldn’t imagine how the others were managing to deal with her at the moment. Maybe he’d be lucky and he’d get to finish his little project in peace and then disappear before anyone noticed.
“Where does this go?”
The sweet voice from the doorway told him that he was not so lucky.
Turning around, Cole saw Ashleigh staring back at him, holding a bolt in one hand and a confused expression on her face.
“It’s an extra piece,” he assured her.
“Are you sure?”
No, he certainly was not. Cole couldn’t help but laugh. It was either that or storm out of the house and tell these high maintenance women to put it together themselves. Not that he actually would do the latter, but it sounded good.
“I’m sure, Ash. Now, get back in there and help Sam.”
Ashleigh nodded her head, but he could tell she still didn’t believe him.
Picking up the bolt, Cole turned to stare back at the crib he’d just put together. Scratching his head, he tried to figure out just where he could’ve possibly gone wrong.