No One to Hold Read online

  “No, I’m the lucky man.” I give a huge, dimpled smile as Emile walks up to me. “Have a nice evening,” I tell threesome brunette, and walk off with Em, who takes the vodka and seltzer from me.

  “I was wondering what was taking you so long with the drinks, Cole. I see you were ambushes by the brunette.”

  Her English mistake makes me smile, and I don’t correct her. “And two other blondes before her.” I chuckle at the look on her face. “I’m sure you get guys hitting on you all the time, too.”

  “No. Some yes, but most men are too intimidated by models.”

  “I guess that’s because you travel in packs. But not every man runs from the challenge.”

  She shrugs and leads us back to the table her friends have snagged.

  A couple hours later and a few more beers into the night, Wills comes up to me and whispers in my ear, “Rose is fine. Roberto didn’t catch the unsub, but Rose wasn’t injured.”

  “What?” I roar over the house music blaring through the crowd.

  Heads turn in my direction, but I don’t care. What the hell is he talking about? I pull out my cell and see ten missed calls, three texts and two voicemails. “Fuck!”

  I open the text icon. All three are from Rose. The first one, about an hour ago says: I’m fine. There was a scuffle with a flower delivery.

  The second one, about thirty minutes ago reads: Don’t worry about me. No damage.

  Ten minutes ago, the last one says: Hope you’re having fun with Emilie. I’ll check out the pix tonight. Roberto’s making me do a police report.

  I’m feeling so many emotions at once: anger, hurt, fear. Why do I have to be all the way across the country from her?

  “Wills, stay here with Em and make sure she gets home okay. I’m going back to the penthouse to get to the bottom of this mess.”

  “Boss, I need to protect you.”

  “Wills, whoever this is seems to be targeting my girlfriend, not me. Stay here with Emilie. Tell her I had to go, that something came up with my girlfriend and not to worry about me. I need to call your boss and get the full scoop. I need to talk with Rose. And I need privacy.” I stride out of the club, ignoring Wills’s pleas and the many women in my path.

  Finally, I’m in a car on the way back to the penthouse. I call Rose, but she doesn’t answer. “Shit!”

  Taking a deep breath, I check my voicemail and listen to my PI’s message. “Cole, Kates here. Your stalker posed as a flower delivery person and accosted Rose on the street outside her office building. The stalker gave Rose a box, which contained a single dead red rose. Rose wasn’t hurt, but Roberto was unable to catch the delivery person.”

  The next voicemail is from Roberto. “Cole, I’m so sorry that I couldn’t tackle the unsub—er, unknown subject. Rose was dazed but not hurt. She refused to go to the hospital. I’m taking her down to the police station to file a report. I promise to protect her with my life.”

  A single dead rose? Ro refused to go to the hospital? This is my worst fucking nightmare. As soon as the driver parks in front of my building, I race out the car and up to my penthouse. Then I dial Rose again.

  “Hi, Cole.”

  It feels so good to hear her voice. “Baby. Are you all right? Tell me what happened.”

  “Cole, I’m fine. I’m finishing up here at the police station.”

  “All I heard is that you were confronted by a flower delivery person who gave you a dead rose. And that you refused to go to the hospital to be checked out.” The fear in my voice nearly strangles me. “God, if something were to happen to you . . .”

  “I’m fine. I was knocked to the ground, but that’s it.”

  “Why wasn’t Roberto with you? What the hell was he doing?”

  “Cole, Roberto was in the car outside my building. I was about to get in, but this happened so fast. It certainly wasn’t his fault. Listen, I have to go back. Detective Mahoney took my statement and needs me to finish up. I’ll call you later. I’m fine, don’t worry.”

  “I worry, sweetheart.” Because I love you so much.

  I call Kates, who basically reiterates what Rose already told me. He also lectures me about ditching Wills in the club.

  “Why the fuck didn’t Roberto stop this?” I demand.

  “He was following protocol by waiting in Rose’s car in front of her building.” That was my protocol to protect Ro from Gruesome’s rules. Shit. Kates continues, “Your stalker has just upped the ante. It’s good that Rose is joining you on the East Coast tomorrow. Roberto will be traveling with her.”

  “Nothing else better happen.” I hate this feeling of impotence.

  “We’re on it, I promise.”

  “Do you have any leads?”

  “We’re having the note analyzed.”

  “Note. What note?”

  “The flower delivery came with a note that said, ‘This is my last warning, slut. Move out of my man’s house or else end up like this.’”

  “BRO, HOW ABOUT this one?” Jayson hands me a great photo of Mom, pregnant with me.

  “Yeah, that’s a good one. Put it in Rose’s pile.”

  “Rose’s pile is pretty high. When’s she coming over?”

  “She’ll be here in,” I check my watch, “twenty minutes.”

  I can’t wait. It’s been agonizing to be apart from her, especially after what happened in LA. Rose has been staying at her mother’s, laying low after the attack—our hopes of spending a night in New York together were toast—and I’ve spent the past day going through photos of Mom with Jayson and Dad.

  “I’m looking forward to seeing Rose again.”

  “Me too, Dad.” I also want to strip her naked and check every square inch of her body to prove to myself that she wasn’t hurt. I don’t care what she’s been telling me, I want to see for myself. And then I want to make her scream, in a good way.

  “Did your PI get a beat on the stalker?”

  “Not much yet, Jayson. The only thing they’re sure of is that it’s a woman who probably lives in the LA area. But, she’s like a ghost.”

  “And the cops? Have they found anything about the robbery?”

  “Nothing. But they’re going to have to fence some of their loot eventually. When they do, I’ll be waiting.”

  “You’ve got a lot going on out in LA, son. Maybe you should both stay on this coast for a while.”

  “I’d really like that, Dad, but I’m off to Las Vegas they day after tomorrow to play ‘No One to Hold’ at Ozzy Martinez’s show.”

  “How’s Martinez doing?” Jayson pipes up. They met when Jayson came to LA to help decorate my house years ago. That fueled his interior design bug, which has turned into a flourishing career for him.

  “He’s good. He’s finished the main part of his tour and is resting up in LA. I saw him recently at my house. Rose and I hosted our first party.”

  “Nice.”

  Our conversation is interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. I race Jayson to the front door, just like when we were kids. All my hours in the gym give me the edge, though, and I get to the door first. In my excitement, I nearly rip it off its hinges. Standing on the front step is Rose, looking more beautiful than ever. My breath catches as I drink her in.

  “While my big brother stands there gawking at you, I’d like to invite you in, Rose,” Jayson says while inserting himself in front of me.

  She gives my brother a smile, which is the only encouragement he needs to pull her into his embrace. Stepping back from him, she crosses the threshold, and I reach out and cup her face. When she looks at me, her eyes seem different—somewhat guarded, maybe? But I don’t stop to think about it; I need to connect with her. I lean down and give her a sweet kiss, pouring my heart and soul into it. I relish the shiver that runs up her spine.

  “I’ve missed you so much, Ro. Welcome home,” I whisper in her ear. Then I turn us both around to face my father, who has just cleared his throat.

  “Rose, it’s great to see you again. Pleas
e come in.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Manchester.”

  “My dear, we’re way past those formalities. Call me Ken, please.”

  “Thank you, Ken.” They hug, then dad leads the way to living room. Roberto came to the door with Rose, and I hang back to talk with him. Relief is written all over his face after I reassure him I don’t blame him for what happened in LA. We shake hands, and I head off to the living room while he joins Wills out on the street.

  Rose, Dad, Jayson, and I spend a couple of hours going through the “Rose pile” of photos, whittling it down considerably.

  “Is that all of them?” I ask Dad.

  He nods, then shakes his head. “No, wait, there’s one more box. Let me get it.”

  He disappears into the back of the house. Jayson is on the phone with Carl in the kitchen, which means Rose and I are finally alone together for the first time since the incident.

  Catching her hand, I pull her toward me. “I’ve been so worried about you.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Something’s up.” I caress her arm, trying to get her to relax a little. “You’re wound tighter than a monkey’s nut.”

  My phrasing makes her laugh. Success. “Let’s see what I can do to make you feel better.” I move in closer to her, closing the distance between our lips.

  Something’s off. It’s like a wall has been erected between us in the three days we’ve been apart.

  “What’s going on, Ro?” I ask, kissing her neck.

  “Your father is in the next room.”

  “He’s happy for us, Ro. Believe me.”

  I slant my mouth over hers, running my tongue across her closed lips. Soon, our tongues are dancing, imitating what the rest of me wants to be doing. Rose melts into my body. Much better.

  In between kisses, I admit, “I’ve missed you. Missed this.” Knowing that we have limited time, I try to cool things down, but my cock ignores me.

  “This is the last box, Cole.”

  We spring apart like guilty teenagers. While I’m trying to regain a semblance of propriety, Rose responds breathlessly, “Thanks, Ken.”

  Dad places the box on the coffee table. “These were Julie’s favorite photos and keepsakes. Every so often she’d take a photo and say that she wanted to keep it in her ‘special place.’ I came across this box about a month ago.” He swallows.

  Sitting down, Jayson asks, “Have you looked through them, Dad?”

  “Yes. There are some good ones in there. While you guys are going through them, I’m going to order some pizza, okay?”

  Sensing that looking at these photos again would be too tough for my father, I say, “Sounds good, Dad. We can’t get good pizza in LA.” He disappears into his study to place the order while Rose and I share a secret smile, remembering our trip to my neighborhood pizza joint.

  “It’s tough for him,” Jayson says. “I can’t imagine what my life would be like without Carl and we haven’t been together a quarter as long as Mom and Dad were.”

  “I know, me either,” I respond, squeezing Rose’s hand.

  “Are you ready to take a look at your mom’s most important photos?” Rose says, squeezing my hand in return. “We don’t have to do this now.”

  “I’m ready. Jayson?”

  “Yeah, let’s do this.”

  An hour later, we’ve gone through the entire box. All of us shed some tears and laughed a lot, especially at the hairdos and clothes. The potential pile for the video has expanded again.

  “Are you sure you want to share all of these with the world, Cole?”

  “I have to admit, I’m feeling pretty raw right now, so why don’t we go over them again back in LA, Ro.”

  “I had a feeling you’d say that. Jayson, do you have any issues with Cole releasing these?”

  “No. I don’t want Mom to be remembered as just another lung cancer statistic or Cole’s Grammy date. Although that evening certainly was a highlight of her life. I can’t believe how many photos of Adam Baret there were in that box.”

  Rose giggles, causing a chain reaction throughout the room. Dad walks in with two pizza boxes in hand. “I got back here at the right time, I see.”

  “STAY WITH ME tonight, Ro.”

  “I can’t. I promised Mom some girl time.”

  Frowning, I say, “We haven’t been alone for more than five minutes since you got here. You were attacked in LA. I just spent the past two days going through Mom’s photos. I’m raw and I want to be with you. I need to be inside you.”

  She sucks in her breath. To sweeten the deal further, I offer, “Tell your mother that I’m giving you two a spa day tomorrow. The works.”

  “Well, she did look like she could use a massage.”

  “You do, too.” I nuzzle her neck. “But only with a female masseuse. C’mon, what do you say? Stay here with me tonight?”

  Before she says another word, her entire body sags against mine. Gently, I tuck her hair behind her ear.

  Rose sighs and rests her head against my shoulder. “I have no self-control where you’re concerned.”

  I bring my arms around her and hold her close, inhaling her scent. “Right back at ‘ya.” We remain entwined for a long while.

  “Let me call Mom and tell her about the change of plans. Why don’t you make the spa arrangements while I’m on the phone with her?”

  Reluctantly, I let go of her and we each take care of business. After hanging up with the spa, I walk into the kitchen. Dad’s pouring a glass of scotch. “Hey, Dad.”

  He points to an empty glass, but I shake my head. “Is Rose leaving?”

  “No. That’s what I came to talk with you about. If it’s okay, she’s going to stay over here tonight.”

  “No problem. You know where the guest room is.”

  “Dad. Really?” I know this is a sensitive area, having been over this before, but I’m sure even Mom would let Rose and me share a bed together.

  “Who am I kidding? Sure, you two can sleep together. You may still want to use the guest room, though. Your mom and I put a queen-sized bed in there a few years ago. More comfortable than your twin.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” I go over and give him a hug. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, son.”

  Smiling at my father, I pour a couple of glasses of wine for Rose and me, and Dad and I return to the family room. Jayson and Rose are laughing it up.

  “I remember my big brother, clear as day playing the leads in all our high school musicals. There was one night—”

  “I’m sure Rose isn’t interested in hearing about high school, Jayson.”

  She smiles up at me impishly. “I’m finding Jayson’s stories fascinating. You weren’t always this super cool, smooth guy, it turns out.”

  I shoot Jayson a “what did you tell her” look, followed by an “I’m going to kill you” look. For his part, Jayson gives me his “I’m innocent” look, which means I interrupted at precisely the right moment.

  “Reminiscing is over. Rose is going to stay over here tonight, so we’re going to retire now. Say goodnight, Jayson.”

  “Just when I was getting to the good stuff. Well, he won’t be around all the time, we’ll have to pick this up later. It was great seeing you, Rose.”

  “I agree, Jayson.” Rose kisses his cheek and whispers something in his ear, causing him to bark in laughter.

  “Ken, thank you for your hospitality. I’ll see you in the morning.” She gives my father a hug and a kiss on his cheek as well.

  Lacing our fingers together, I guide her toward the stairs. “Night, Dad. See you, Jayson.”

  Finally, we are in my room, alone. “Dad’s right, this twin bed isn’t going to work. Let me grab some things, and we’ll use the guest room.”

  “I thought we weren’t allowed to sleep together under your dad’s roof?”

  “Dad relented. Besides, if he hadn’t changed his mind, I would have gone to you anyway. I’m glad we don’t have to sneak around, though.”


  Smiling, she looks around my room. “I like your teenage bedroom. Especially the posters.”

  “Well, I was a typical hormonal boy when I last lived here. Models and rock bands were my idols.”

  “Not much has changed. You’re even dating a model.”

  “Ha, ha. Very funny. Look, I need to do something before we leave this room.”

  Determined to make sure she wasn’t injured from the latest stalker incident, I silently start removing her clothes, kissing every square inch of skin as it’s revealed. Once she’s standing naked in front of me—the first woman ever naked in this room—I pull her arms to the side and eyeball her thoroughly. I let out an audible sigh. There’s not a scratch or bruise on her.

  “Perfect.”

  “I’m hardly perfect, Cole. Perfect is Emilie.”

  My girl needs some reassurance. I’m up for the job, in more ways than one. “Ro, you’re perfect for me. I love your hair.” I run my fingers through it, from scalp to tip, inhaling her floral shampoo.

  “I love your collarbones.” I lean over and lick the valley of her sexy collarbones.

  “I love the way your boobs fill my palms.” I demonstrate with both of them.

  “I even love your cute knees.”

  Then it hits me square in the face. I have to tell her how I feel about her, not only her body. Sure, this isn’t the most romantic moment, but it feels right.

  I look into her blue eyes and say, “I love you, Rose Bloomer.”

  She sucks in a breath. “Really?”

  “Yes. Let me show you.”

  I begin by kissing her beautiful mouth while pressing her to my body, my hands splayed across her ass. I press my thigh between her legs, causing her to ride up on her tip toes and clutch my shoulders. My tongue invades her mouth as I walk with her so that the back of her legs are pressed against the bed. Gently, I bring her down to a sitting on the bed and position myself on the floor between her parted thighs. I’m rushing her, but I have to hear her come. Now. While I’m nipping at her left nipple, I let my fingers explore her pussy. She’s wet for me.

  I leave her nipple and say, “Let me do this for you, Ro.”

  I lick her wet folds; exploring, sucking. Hearing her moan softly, I look up while my tongue remains deep in her body. Our eyes lock, and her back arches while I rhythmically stroke her clit. Her body tightens, and I know that her release is close. Her hands are in my hair, silently urging me to continue. Inserting two fingers into her, I increase my tempo. Soon she’s shattering all around me.