Chapter 72 Poison
Cole's POV
I did everything to keep my hands away from Celene as we rode together in the car all the way home...for now. I still wished for the day I would not have to pretend that my body does not burn and boil when she is around me.
I had decided that taking things easy with her was the best choice for now... she was still warming up.to me and everything loving me entailed... after sge settles, i would then introduce her to the wild, ravaging hunger that I was struggling to contain.
As the convoy of our cars rolled to a stop in front of the mansion, engines humming low and steady. I stepped out first, feeling the cool air on my face. My gaze immediately found Celene in the backseat, and without a word, I moved towards her.
She looked at me, wide-eyed, like she was about to protest, but I knew what i wanted... I was fast and well... it was too late.
I bent down, grabbed her lightly but firmly, and swung her over my shoulders. Her light, playful laugh burst out immediately, and the sound travelled downstairs, tightening the already tight bulge i was trying to hide.
“You’re insane, Cole...put me down right now” she giggled, kicking lightly.
“Oh... look at you being Bossy... now I'm definitely not putting you down" I said as I balanced her better on my shoulder, already moving toward the house.
Behind me, I watched Jeffery jump into action, like a man who’d just survived a minor battle with a unicorn and fucking raindow. He opened the rear door for my mother and gently guided her out with his hands on her elbows. He was careful but efficient as he handed her off to the two guards that also stepped out of theor own cars.
“Boss,” he muttered, eyes briefly meeting mine. “She… uh… looks fine. Can I...uhm...”
I knew what he was asking for, but I didn’t respond. I just carried Celene up the steps, adjusting her so her arms were loosely draped around my neck. The sound of her laughter followed me inside, echoing through the foyer, and I couldn’t help the faint smirk that tugged at my lips. Fuck, I loved this girl.
Then I felt a soft brush of something on my arm. I glanced down and saw Jeffery stumbling past me, flapping his arms like a possessed man. I took my time to stare at him now that we were home, and a real laugh escaped my lips.
He looked like he lost a bet with his young daughter. Pink glitter clung to his suit, blush smeared across his cheeks, pink fake feathers fell from his body as he kept slapping them away.
As he looked up and caught me looking, he muttered something incoherent about “never leaving Celene and makeup unattended again.”
I rolled my eyes, hiding the second chuckle threatening to escape. My poor hound, I thought, shaking my head.
Celene really did a number on him. It made my heart pound thinking about what having a daughter like her would ferl like. Would I also one day be in his shoes? Brudjing off feathers from my clothes? Wiping off pink glitter from my face? The mental image made me want to run all the way to our room and making that baby a reality...
Fuck it!! I needed that... I needed her. I needed everything.
I set her down gently near the stairs. She wiggled free, brushing off imaginary dust, laughing all the while. I gave her a smirk, letting my gaze linger. “Finally...You big, ridiculous, mountain man" she said, still giggling.
"Relax, its not like I'm the one you bathed in glitter" I said, staring at her still brushing off nothing from her body.
“Maybe… youre lucky you're not the one I colored. I would have taken pictures and put them out on social media,” she shot back, eyes sparkling.
"Well, that's what I want. That's the only reason Jeffery isn't getting punished for having your precious hands on him. Having you choose him to play and have fun with. I would always want to be the recipient of your attention, no matter how ridiculous it is. Celene... I want it all."
I let the words hang in the air. Because I did. I loved it. I wanted it... Every ounce of chaos, every laugh, every tiny spark of mischief...it was hers and I fucking wanted it all.
And right now, that was all that mattered.
Fuck... I sounded like an obsessed looser.
I turned my eyes to the side, and my mom was staring up at us, with that mischievous smile on her face.
"I'm too hungry to be watching lovebirds play around, Son. Feed me" she said and then stumbled off, while Celene giggled beside me.
The dining room was immaculate as always. I needed Celene and my mother to feel comfortable, so I made the chef pull all the stops with the food and the presentation. Candles flickered, wine glasses gleamed, and my mother had already launched into a story about some new boutique in town she was hoping to take Celene to next.
Celene sat beside me, her fingers brushing against mine under the table. The warmth of her hand was enough to make me relax, make all my worries fade away.
"We really need to visit the new grand mall I'm commissioning soon before all the other snobbish mafia women troope in there. You know Cole won't let you visit if there's too much crowd there"
"I guess so... but I'm not sure Jeffery will want to go with us anywhere near a boutique anymore." Celene said in response to my mother.
"Well, that's what Cole is there for, no?"
Celene grabbed my hand under the table as she laughed until she chocked. I offered her a glass of water as sge coughed, she drank it, butbthe cough wouldn’t stop.
She continued to cough while I rubbed her back gently.
And yet, she kept coughing. She held hwr jam to her mouth and spat out blood. Her eyes widened, panic flickering across her face.
“Celene?” I asked, leaning slightly closer, keeping my voice low.
She opened her mouth, but only a strangled sound came out. Her hand went to her throat, trembling and shaking like she was trying to claw somethimg out of her throat. My pulse jumped... no no no no no no no.
“Kitten?” I barked, my hand immediately on her back, supporting her as her knees weakened.
In the background of my panic, i could hear my mother’s scrambled, confused sentences, even she was panicking.
” Celene... what's wrong? What did she eat? Call the chef! Call everyone! Cole, call the doctor, Now!!!"
The graceful, calm woman I’d known was gone in an instant, replaced with frantic worry. I turned to look at Cekene who had gone lax and weak in my arms.
“She’s… she’s not...” my mother stammered, unable to form a coherent thought.
I didn’t waste a second. My hands were firm on Celene, lifting her into my arms without a thought, her small body pressed against mine. “Jeffery,” I barked, my voice sharp as a fucking whip. “Call the doctor from his quaters. Now. Move.”
My mother’s hands fumbled at the edge of the table, her face pale, eyes wide and frantic. “Cole! What...what is happening? Is it the food?”
“She ate something,” I growled, keeping my focus entirely on Celene. “I’ve got her.”
In a few minutes the on call doctor had arrived and was already at her side in an instant, checking vitals and scanning her body for other symptoms.. I didn’t look away from Celene for even a heartbeat. Her skin felt too warm under my fingers, too small and fragile, and I couldn’t stop the rush of protective fury that boiled through me.
My mother’s voice broke as she tried to speak again. “She… she’s... oh God, Cole!” But the words stumbled into nothingness, swallowed by the panic in her chest and my fucking head.