“Want to ask me where I was tonight?” I don’t know why I say it except that I want him to know and coming right out with it seems…presumptuous?
He cocks an eyebrow.
“Well, first off, I walked out on my parents.”
“Is the building still standing?” he asks, not even trying to hide his amusement.
“Uncertain. I sort of ran off in the middle of dinner.” I pause. “Know what else I did?”
“What’s that?”
“I broke up with my boyfriend.”
This gets his attention. He turns to put his back against the railing and folds his arms, attentive.
Cooper chuckles, shaking his head. “There, now it makes sense. You’re on the lam and you figured, where better to hide out? No chance anyone will come looking for you here. Am I right?”
“Something like that,” I answer sheepishly. That wasn’t the explicit thought in mind when I gave the cab driver Cooper’s address, but it was certainly an unconscious instinct.
“So how long do you plan on lying low? Not to be a dick about it, but I’m not running a hotel here, princess.”
“Touché.”
Silence engulfs us, louder than the crashing of the waves against the shore.
This morning, I woke up sweating. As I blinked against the sun, the final frames of Cooper holding me against the wall—my legs wrapped around his hips, his hands burning across my skin—evaporated with the morning dew on my windowsill. What do I do with that? These are new feelings for me. I’ve never been this wound up over a guy. And yeah, okay, he’s shown some interest too, but if he doesn’t make the next move, I don’t know what any of this means.
“Part of me wishes we never met,” he finally says, shadows playing across his face from the deck lights.
“Why’s that?” I mean, besides the obvious, I guess. I have been a major pain in the ass to him and probably way more trouble than it’s worth.
“Because this is gonna get messy.” Arms at his sides, he closes the small space between us until he’s got me pinned against the railing with only his eyes.
Something in his expression shifts, and like a subliminal signal to my system, I’m suddenly alert.
“What’s going—”
Before I can finish the thought, his lips are on mine.
Caging me against the rail, Cooper kisses me deeply. Urgently. This whole time, for weeks, we’ve held our breath until this moment. Relief. As his hands find my hips and press me into the splintered wood, I forget myself, consumed by lust. I kiss him back like a starved woman, moaning when he parts my legs with his and I feel his erection.
“Tell me now,” he mutters, running his mouth down my neck. “Are you going to tell me to stop?”
I should consider the question. The future implications. All the ways I’m completely unprepared for what happens when I wake up tomorrow and survey the damage of tonight.
But I don’t.
“No,” I answer. “Don’t stop.”
Unleashed, Cooper doesn’t hesitate. He yanks down the front of my dress just enough to expose my breasts. When he wraps his lips around one budded nipple, the rush of excitement, the adrenaline syringe through my chest, is overwhelming. I’m a different person with him. Unbridled. I grab his hand and push it down until he finds his way under my dress. Then his fingers are pulling away my bikini underwear, sliding across my clit, entering me.
“Ah fuck,” he whispers against the feverish skin of my neck. “So wet.”
Two fingers move inside me, while his thumb tends to the bundle of nerves that’s pulsing with excitement. I hold on to his broad shoulders, biting my lip so hard I taste blood, until my legs are shaking through an orgasm.
“Mmm, that’s my girl.” A grin appears as he bends to kiss my lips, swallowing my gasped breaths.
His words send a thrill shooting through me. His girl. I know he doesn’t mean it that way, just a turn of phrase, but the idea of being his, being entirely owned by him tonight, triggers a fresh wave of desire.
I hurry to undo the front of his jeans and pull him out, stroking. His answering groan is music to my ears. His hands slide down to squeeze my ass, dark eyes glittering with heat.
“Let’s go inside,” I urge.
“I’ve got a condom in my pocket.” His voice is hoarse as I hold him throbbing in my hand.
“Really, why?”
“Let’s not ask those questions.”
Fair. Until an hour ago I had a boyfriend. Whatever Cooper was getting up to, or about to get up to, is none of my business.