Darkness Before Dawn

shiny they are. They drip perfection and expensiveness, and my mind battles between wondering how much they cost to whether or not I can pull off wearing them.
    "They're beautiful," I whisper in awe, looking from the earrings to Cole and back to the earrings. I place them over the back of my hand and swallow as my eyes drift from the earrings to my equally as shiny engagement ring and back to the earrings. "They probably cost a fortune, Cole," I murmur, looking back into his eyes.
    He furrows his eyebrows and looks at me like I'm crazy before placing a kiss on my lips and taking the earrings from me. "Blake, if the world was for sale, I'd buy it for you. Don't worry about how much they cost. Put them on and open the other box so we can go."
    I nod, picking up the other box and opening it to find the skeleton key he replaced for the one I lost when I was taken. I smile when I see he picked the one with nothing at the top of it, just a beautiful skeleton key. He brings his hand out in front of me and turns it over so I see a small engraved message on the back of it. I bring it closer to my face and read: You own me. Placing the box on the counter, I shift my body and pull his face down to mine and kiss him deeply. My heart thumps against my chest when I feel him run his hands down the sides of my body and back up until he reaches my face and separates our mouths.
    "We need to go," he whispers against my mouth, biting my bottom lip and pulling it into his mouth. "That dress makes me wanna do really...really dirty things to you."
    I close my eyes and take a steadying breath, letting my hands drop from his face and backing away with my new earrings in my hand. Once I put them on, we fix our clothes and step out of my closet, flipping the lights off and leaving the messy wrapping paper to be picked up later. Cole grabs his jacket and shrugs it on. I watch as he fixes his bow tie while we walk to the elevators, making me stumble a step and curse when he reaches to steady me.
    "You really suck at walking in heels," he mutters with a low laugh.
    "Shut it. You're distracting to walk around," I snap back, turning my face to hide an embarrassed smile.
    He places his hand on the nape of my neck as we reach the elevator and escorts me in before turning around and instructing Spencer and Bruce to take the next one. The men exchange confused glances but don't argue with Cole as the elevator door closes. Before I can look up to question him, he backs me into the elevator wall and moves his hand from my neck to pull on the bottom of my hair and crane my neck. I swallow loudly, seeing his eyes boring into mine before he dips his head and places kisses along my jaw and down my neck as he lifts the skirt of my dress and tucks his free hand under it. My shallow breath increases when his mouth reaches my chest and his fingers flick over my underwear. I close my eyes and not for the first time tonight I wonder if we should cancel on this event and go back to our room.
    "I really shouldn't have told Colleen we would be there," he murmurs against my nipple before biting it through the material.
    I moan softly, trying to concentrate on what he's saying and keep my eyes from rolling to the back of my head at the feel of his touch. He drops his hands and takes a step back when the elevator chimes, letting us know we reached the lobby. I let out a frustrated groan, leaning my head against the wall behind me. He chuckles and reaches for my hand to guide me out of the elevator, leading me to the front of the building.
    "Where are we going?" I ask in confusion.
    "Limo," he replies, tipping his head at Pat, the doorman that's holding the door open for us.
    "Oh. Why a limo? Are a lot of people going with us?"
    He drops my hand and stops walking, turning his body around to look at me. "Nope, just you and me," he replies with a grin and twinkling eyes that make my insides do somersaults.
    "Oh," I whisper.
    "Oh," he mocks with a raised eyebrow.
    I duck my head and step into the limo, lifting my dress so that I don't step on it and slide over to the other side to give Cole room to enter behind me. I look outside and see him talking to Spencer and Bruce before he stops in front of the driver. I watch the driver's confused face as Cole gives him directions, telling him what streets to take. I can't help but laugh at the sight; he must think Cole's crazy.
    Cole slides in beside me and smiles at my questioning look before facing forward and taking his cell